Who came first? Chicken or Egg?

The age-old question is finally answered,... with a little help from uncle Johnny.

Check it out.

So much for that!

There is a popular belief (at least in these parts of the world) that clear plastic bottles filled with water will deter cats and dogs. Well, someone forgot to tell that to this fella.

Face-off with Facebook

Now that I’ve touched on LinkedIn, let me state my opinion about it’s more social/informal counterpart, Facebook. Now we all know how successful and addictive it has become. I have been pleasantly surprised and amazed by the number of long lost fiends I have discovered due to Facebook. Some of them after more than 20 years.

But there is the proverbial “other side of the coin” that we must always look at. The one that give pedophiles yet another tool (a very effective one at that) to exploit unwary children, a place where Spammers can go to town, an avenue to easily and unintentionally expose your deep dark secrets to millions of strangers and an addictive tool which can become the most effective time waster since the introduction of news bulletins at national TV networks.

But more than anything what I cannot comprehend is why in the world some folks want to invite total strangers into their “friend list”. Is it because they think it might be “cool” to have a “friend list” that exceeds the 500 or even the 1000 mark? I of course reject these invites. But I know some don’t.

Any idea why?

Linked-In or Linked-Out?

Lately, I have been receiving reminders fairly frequently from the socio-professional network called LinkedIn. All this time I have been treating them just as I treat any Nigerian email claiming to share a sudden multi-million dollar windfall if I reply to them; drag-and-drop in the trash – the electronic trash that is – on my computer.

But today I had some time to myself and curiosity took the better of me – isn’t it curious how curiosity does it? I clicked on the link and ended up on the sign-in (or is it the sign-on?) page (I’m sure most of my readers are conversant with the terminology – if not, too bad). I entered my personal email address and tried a few of my usual password. I got in on the 4th attempt – had it been a site designed by folks who design ATM software I guess I would have had it after the 3rd incorrect attempt. “Designing ATM software”, now why does that sounds awfully familiar?

Anyway….

WTF? There were 43 requests waiting for me. Some were requests for endorsements and others invitations to join various groups. I was no longer interested in joining any other group. That left me with 14 requests for endorsements. Suddenly I felt important. People actually want my endorsements? Wow! I started writing a few in earnest. By the end of the day, I had only managed to complete 6.

One question though,… Do potential employers really take these endorsements seriously? I mean in this internet/social networking age, deceptions and impersonations are as commonplace as fries at McDonalds aren’t they?

Sri Lankan specials!

This sign-board was seen by the side of the road on the way to Trincomalee. It translates to "Freshwater fish (from the lakes) with warm rice". Mouth-watering stuff.

Fishy down-south

Stilt fishing is indigenous to Sri Lanka. It pretty much requires climbing on to a precarious looking stilt often in the shape of a cross. More often than not, these stilts are located near reefs where the waves break – adding that nice “rocking” experience to it. I’ve never really had the guts to climb on to one. But as you can see on this photograph, a more adventurous tourist didn’t seem to mind trying it out at all. I watched him struggle on to the device while the onlookers (mostly Sri Lankan folk) grinned expecting his relatively bulky figure to crash onto the rocks and the water below. But alas! He not only climbed onto it, but managed to get hold of a fishing rod too.

Too bad.

Here's one for the brain

You may have read this one before. It is a superbly put argument creative enough for you to wonder, just for a moment, that perhaps there is some truth in it.

A herd of buffalo is said to move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when they are hunted, it is the slowest and the weakest that are killed first. This natural "trimming" infact benefits the herd, as the slower members gets eliminated, the overall speed of the herd increase.

In much the same way, the human brain can operate only as fast as the slowest brain cells through which the electrical signals pass.

It is also known that excessive intake of alcohol kills off brain cells, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. Therefore, regular consumption of spirits helps eliminate the weaker brain cells, constantly making the brain a faster and more efficient.

I can't think of any better reason for having a cold one tonight. Let's see if my posts get smarter from tomorrow.

Cheers!

Blogging, Soccer, etc.

I wish I was able to blog more frequently. Not that I have a lot to write about. But the main issue seem to be time - or lack of it. But I cannot let the world-cup, the soccer kind, pass away without adding a paragraph or two on how has changed my life - to be more precise, my evenings.

I’ve played to odd game of soccer when growing up. Not by choice, but since it required only a ball – or something that looked like a ball that can be kicked without losing a toe-nail. The goal posts were almost always a couple of stones or bricks. But as we grew up, we watched soccer players like “Klinsmann” playing on the Telly. The slightest touch of an opposing player used to send them sprawling across the paddock – they were far from the tough nuts like Springboks or All-Blacks. I was having none of that – so my days of playing soccer faded away.

Just like it had happened for many others, Africa and the Vuvuzela attracted me to the sport back again this time. Suddenly I found myself coming home from work, sitting in front of the Telly completely riveted to it. There were even times I watched back to back games till early morning hours. I started to back Argentina and Germany. Although Argentina eventually got knocked-out, Germany is well and truly in with a chance. Today a friend of mine invited me to watch the final on a 30 foot screen at a popular sports club – I am seriously thinking of going.

My wife says it is midlife crisis.

What a comeback...

Us Sri Lankans love to hate Aussie sports teams, especially when it comes to cricket. Often cricketers like Warne and Ponting have got under our skin.

So it is no surprise that I was rooting for the Pakistani team as I was watching the Australia vs. Pakistan T20 world cup semi-final last Friday. With just two overs to go, Aussies looked down and out. But what a comeback it was eventually. You cannot help but admire their self belief and the determination in pulling it off. I wish the Sri Lankan team can take a page out of that.

Hats off to the Aussies.

Cable Business

I've been with the same cable-TV provider for several years now. Despite others coming up (and also dying off) like mushrooms, I decided to stick with my provider through thick and thin. The reason being their superior customer support - in other words, they attended to any phone call within a couple of hours.

Unfortunately, during the last year, this has deteriorated like a new layer of asphalt on Galle Road. Now it takes a good 5 attempts to get through to their "hotline". And when you eventually do, you can guarantee that the first complaint never even get's through to their "technical staff". Infact, this is exactly what happened last week. When I didn't hear back from them 2 days into the complaint, I called back to remind them. Guess what, they could not even locate my previous complaint in their "system".

There is one silver lining though. Due to not having TV facilities, I missed out on the SL-AUS T20 on Friday. Biss!

D-Day

It's 26th already and I am still not sure who to vote for.

Apart from winning the war (which was a great feat) MR really hasn't done anything extraordinary. And the fact that he called the election early shows that he wanted to secure more number of years as the president while the proverbial iron is hot.

On the other side, SF is a strange fellow - mysterious, bitter and with a shady past. To me, his intentions are purely to take revenge from the Rajapaksa's family. And I don't care much for his bedfellows (JVP) either. Although I sympathise with him for how he was treated by the government in the recent past, I can't risk the country's future on a personal vendetta between him and MR.

So I will probably end up voting for MR. I guess the known devil is better than the unknown one. Then again, there are 18 other candidates too...