tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22149020157240231602024-03-13T21:37:06.188+05:30Idle ThoughtsBimmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123814876608036530noreply@blogger.comBlogger97125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902015724023160.post-40723747061543639612018-03-13T08:25:00.000+05:302018-03-13T08:25:50.389+05:30Woke up....<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
....from a hibernation. Or at least that's what it feels like when I see my last post on this blog was in 2014.<br />
<br /><br />
Must get some thoughts together for more frequent blogging. Stay tuned.</div>
Bimmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123814876608036530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902015724023160.post-57547013411367575202014-11-07T12:27:00.001+05:302014-11-07T12:27:29.272+05:30Healthy living...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I just came out from a Health talk conducted by Dr. Lakmali Amarasiri. Did you know that when it comes to cooking (heating)...<br />
<br />
1) Coconut oil is healthier than most vegetable oils.<br />
2) Butter is healthier than margarine.<br />
<br />
Food for thought!</div>
Bimmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123814876608036530noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902015724023160.post-47986606161042977592014-06-16T23:23:00.001+05:302014-06-16T23:23:37.770+05:30Goal or Not?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Goal line technology was finally used in world cup football (or soccer, if you live in North America) a few days back and not a moment too soon either. I mean, I don’t understand why sports organizations are so backward about adopting anything that improves decision making. The argument about taking the game away from humans is silly. It is still played by humans isn’t it? As keen spectators, we just want to see both teams treated fairly and consistently. <br />
<br />
But I still have one gripe. Couldn’t the football community have come up with something better than calling it “GoalControl”? Cricket came up with “HawkEye” which is way more cooler, surely football can do better?</div>
Bimmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123814876608036530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902015724023160.post-79790345198710187482013-10-08T17:24:00.001+05:302013-10-09T13:06:51.264+05:30Please recycle !<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div align="left" dir="ltr">
If you live in Colombo then this is your garbage. So please recycle !</div>
<br />
<img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj62Taq2zX1l32hHzbjecX_lnKNSqCtPpDt90CXeEN8sDS_gbiyMx0rOGdWTk_4PnMsdwVnKL3QSiUww8Sgd0ODlcFBNLZUrvNCiyBgfh-SbMv8-MFUB_cZ8DZxmCjGQxSGehQT6EXpk1E/s400/IMG_20130914_065145.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Recycling-centre (aka Garbage mountain) at Meethotamulla</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
Bimmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123814876608036530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902015724023160.post-26424288658461572502013-02-18T13:00:00.000+05:302013-02-19T15:06:14.002+05:30So can I take my dog or not?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOuGqnbw7hkby4rSP-5LePAKJVrqP3W8Wkmyyt_3Vo87h46v6cXMbV3GoxQtLebpDk0eIXTeRDx9brG2JOjqtk_YaVqTZDe7lC9C0IwAlCgvPp86GBn2Kjr2f3xmk26bR9WCKpKLqR9Oc/s1600/no-dogs-allowed-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOuGqnbw7hkby4rSP-5LePAKJVrqP3W8Wkmyyt_3Vo87h46v6cXMbV3GoxQtLebpDk0eIXTeRDx9brG2JOjqtk_YaVqTZDe7lC9C0IwAlCgvPp86GBn2Kjr2f3xmk26bR9WCKpKLqR9Oc/s320/no-dogs-allowed-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Sometimes we just love to put in as many words together as possible
don't we? - even if it makes the message completely
incomprehensible.<br />
<br />
Couldn't they have just said "No dogs allowed."?</div>
Bimmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123814876608036530noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902015724023160.post-22994427002789292592013-02-08T08:00:00.000+05:302013-02-08T08:00:00.887+05:30Chairman of Selectors<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
When I first heard Sanath Jayasuriya was appointed as the chairman of selectors of Sri Lankan cricket, I shook my head partly in disbelief and partly in disappointment. Sanath was a great cricketer (in his day). But he seems to have now turned into this horrible politician who is intend on meddling in the one sport we are good at. What if he selects himself into the team?<br />
<br />
But then I read this wonderful blog by Andrew Hughes on cricinfo.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://blogs.espncricinfo.com/thelonghandle/archives/2013/01/dont_give_up_the_day_job_sanat.php">http://blogs.espncricinfo.com/thelonghandle/archives/2013/01/dont_give_up_the_day_job_sanat.php</a><br />
<br />
Andrew is right. Perhaps it is a blessing in disguise. Better to screw-up cricket than the country's economy. </div>
Bimmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123814876608036530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902015724023160.post-53512959430934581342012-12-14T19:20:00.000+05:302012-12-14T19:20:00.327+05:30At the movies<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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</xml><![endif]-->I wanted to go see “Skyfall” despite the bad reviews I have
seen. There is nothing like a Saturday afternoon spent watching a bit of ‘007’
action. Come to think of it, I have never heard of a bond movie spy with a
number greater than ‘009’. Why is the prefix ‘00’ then I wonder?<br />
<br />
Anyway, I called up the dialog movie ticketing line for some
hassle free ticket purchase. Alas, they only cover ‘EAP cinemas’ I was told by
the slightly irritated female voice on the other side. What was I thinking? Surely
I should have known that? My bad.<br />
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I don’t have 3G on my outdated mobile phone and going to the
internet on that is a nightmare. Didn’t feel like booting up my computer – I
would have to get up from this comfy position on the couch to do that – why am
I even considering that?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ll take the plunge and go to the cinema. Even if the movie
is in 3 hours that will give me some time to browse through at the bookstore or
at the computer/tech crazy joints next door to the cinema. Yes, as you can
tell, I am a pretty brave sorta’ guy.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I reached the ‘city that is majestic’, and took the elevator
to the top floor. I was pleasantly surprised, large brand-new white tiled air
conditioned space just for the ticketing counters and snack-bars on the
opposite side. I blinked hard as I stepped out of the elevator in disbelief.
This is indeed a far cry from the cinema I came to a few months back to watch
Spidy in 3D. Where was the BO? Where were the snaking queues engulfing every pillar
going down the staircase? This is certainly a refreshing change.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I walked up to the ticket counter. There were 3 guys behind
the 3 counters but none of them were even remotely interested in me. After much
hand waving (y’see the glass between us seem to muffle my voice as none of my
repeated ‘excuse-me’s reached their ears), finally I got one of them asking me
‘Yes? Can I help?’. You certainly can my boy, “What time is the next screening
of sky-fall?” I asked. “It’s at 1.30 and 1.45” he said. Wow, I only have to
wait another 30 minutes – what timing! The show must have been playing for a
while, no one else is here.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But then the guy tells me “But sir, you have to stay in the
queue till we issue tickets at 1.15”. Hello? What queue? The place is empty!
“What do you mean queue?” I asked. Then I was directed at a door which led to a
staircase going downstairs. When I opened the door, it hit me like the heat
that hits you when you step out of an airplane at Katunayake Tarmac. There is a
freaking queue after all – complete with BO!</div>
</div>
Bimmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123814876608036530noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902015724023160.post-24553365856911834502012-09-14T07:26:00.000+05:302012-09-14T07:26:00.212+05:30Beautifying Colombo<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
There is a massive effort put on cleaning up and beautifying Colombo city and it’s suburbs. I think it is great. Certain areas have transformed and looks pretty slick now. People have also taken to it like ducks to water and have come out in droves to enjoy newly built parks, waterfronts and walkways. We see more people engaging in morning and evening walks and generally having a good time.<br />
<br />
This is all great. But there is room for improvement. Firstly, I cringe at wasted effort and money I see being put into the area near parliament roundabout/waters edge. For some reason the landscape designer involved can’t seem to make up his/her mind – the area is being built/cleared up/rebuilt at least five times in the last 12 months. I hope this is an isolated case. Anyway, they really should plan properly before they bring in the builders.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2_S5zHWH_Q4owxvKCs-30Ydk44d5pgdKbld16OIWoRqVlfDlYkW6URrFLiCjGyh9P2qPHf3M2PM9_x4PZ75IctnSwEw-ZbJuw2zjqceWmp40yPAisdkF-3l1D27D2uopkBIKJAMiSYZE/s1600/IMG00763.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2_S5zHWH_Q4owxvKCs-30Ydk44d5pgdKbld16OIWoRqVlfDlYkW6URrFLiCjGyh9P2qPHf3M2PM9_x4PZ75IctnSwEw-ZbJuw2zjqceWmp40yPAisdkF-3l1D27D2uopkBIKJAMiSYZE/s200/IMG00763.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lack of maintenance?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Secondly, maintenance. I worry about this. I really do. Already I have seen broken down structures, signboards and marking that are left un-replaced. Neatly manicured lawns and grass fields left unattended growing weeds and going bald in patches. I wish the authorities would consider maintenance not just as an afterthought but right at the time of initial planning.<br />
<br />
However, full points to the authorities for trying and succeeding to a great extent in making Colombo more livable. I hope this trend will continue and will become sustainable too.</div>
Bimmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123814876608036530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902015724023160.post-56601902524451617412012-09-05T09:12:00.000+05:302012-09-05T09:14:26.688+05:30Trishaw wisdom<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvOZA12CHxm3DFR_L52l6kcOsv-CFyH8es_IZDyNiPchIRqJuZgTGPnUMcDsTl7VKiCFU9VphDkiXDevtReqO2lysRBCPEMAHPW823kCt2SyeU7oecDauQNuY0K8i6vfm77YARvySkXNA/s1600/IMG00769.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvOZA12CHxm3DFR_L52l6kcOsv-CFyH8es_IZDyNiPchIRqJuZgTGPnUMcDsTl7VKiCFU9VphDkiXDevtReqO2lysRBCPEMAHPW823kCt2SyeU7oecDauQNuY0K8i6vfm77YARvySkXNA/s400/IMG00769.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
Bimmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123814876608036530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902015724023160.post-30290418787487458992012-04-25T07:30:00.000+05:302012-04-25T07:30:00.660+05:30No remote? You must be kidding…<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
My pay TV provider’s customer service levels have gone from bad to worse. In addition to multiple incidents of breakdowns and delays in bringing the service back online, recently they had to gall to tell me to pay for a replacement of the remote control. Y’see the remote control is 5+ years old and died a natural death. I didn’t drop it on the floor nor did I hit my neighbor’s cat with it. Surely if the set-top box stopped functioning, they would have to replace it free of charge? So what is so special about the remote control? Isn’t that a part of the package?<br />
<br />
I hear DialogTV’s customer service is pretty good. Perhaps I will seriously look at switching providers after this latest incident.</div>Bimmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123814876608036530noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902015724023160.post-57937776566775328222012-03-31T19:15:00.006+05:302012-03-31T19:36:32.598+05:30Earth Hour 2012<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfMsdlwuBaxHkzsVGIihY9Ac4YEJqLFyRzFjonRdehv6ofXNUwzj_iDSN4ixNFbCrF1HO4ibfHGFoPHv8Qm0hPCYRZ_elzeD6Pg44k8rlOxcOc5sOyTWoU57Cyp8FAMJYDIyhR20nYBPk/s1600/earth-day-earth-in-hands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Image from www.earthhour.lk" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfMsdlwuBaxHkzsVGIihY9Ac4YEJqLFyRzFjonRdehv6ofXNUwzj_iDSN4ixNFbCrF1HO4ibfHGFoPHv8Qm0hPCYRZ_elzeD6Pg44k8rlOxcOc5sOyTWoU57Cyp8FAMJYDIyhR20nYBPk/s1600/earth-day-earth-in-hands.jpg" title="" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image from <a href="http://www.earthhour.lk/">www.earthhour.lk</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Let's switch off as many electrical appliences as possible on Saturday 31st March from 8.30pm to 9.30pm.<br />
<br />
Visit <a href="http://www.earthhour.lk/">http://www.earthhour.lk/</a></div>Bimmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123814876608036530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902015724023160.post-17561260009481271642012-03-20T08:02:00.004+05:302012-03-20T13:49:55.871+05:30Eating out : Good service is as important as good food<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I was battling through mentally and physically draining peak time traffic in Colombo trying to reach home after an equally grueling day at work. As I was passing one of our favorite take away joints, it just dawned on me that I was supposed to bring home dinner tonight. I had passed the turnoff and I was in no mood to make a U turn in this heavy traffic. Briefly thought about calling for a pizza but quickly dismissed the idea after remembering that I was supposed keep fast food away from the kids as much as possible.<br />
<br />
That meant only one thing, eating out. After a quick call to one of my good buddies in the restaurant business, I decided to take the family to Bayleaf.<br />
<br />
We reached Gregory’s road around 8pm. There was an unusually cool breeze and a slight threat of rain. We chose the verandah to enjoy the breeze. Mercifully the place was sparsely occupied. And the diners were well behaved and didn’t talk loudly.<br />
<br />
The kids chose pizza after all – well, at least it was gourmet. I chose the seafood ravioli and my wife, bacon spinach fettuccini. Kids finished their meals without us having to make a fuss – the pizza must have been pretty good. I haven’t had ravioli in years and quite enjoyed it. My wife loved her fresh fettuccini too. All in all, the food was good.<br />
<br />
What really made an impression on us was the service. We ordered a few drinks. The strawberry margarita was garnished with a large fresh strawberry. Both my kids love strawberries and had to grudging share it.<br />
<br />
Few minutes later, to our pleasant surprise, the waiter brought a couple of large strawberries for the two kids – on the house. That thoughtful gesture made our evening and will be remembered I’m sure.<br />
<br />
We left Bayleaf quite satisfied and wanting to come back just as a light drizzle started to come down.</div>Bimmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123814876608036530noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902015724023160.post-81371776322156183482012-03-09T13:51:00.009+05:302012-03-14T14:36:24.401+05:30(C)orporate (S)ocial (R)esponsibility<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">CSR has been a buzz-word (or a buzz-acronym) in the last few years in such that it had become almost fashionable to be able to belong to one. Despite it being unceremoniously brandished about, it is serious business – or at least it should be. Anyone who has gotten involved with a proper CSR effort would know how effective it can be as a tool in contributing to the society in a multitude of ways.<br />
<br />
While the company I work for has done quite a bit of CSR projects in the past few years, my first hands-on involvement was in February. We travelled to Oddusunde (in Wanni region) and helped build 51 houses in a village that was decimated by war few years back. While most of it was hard and backbreaking labour, it was nothing compared to troubles those villagers have gone through during the war, and the hardship they are going through now trying to rebuild their shattered lives with nothing but a few pieces of meager belongings.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-7zWQHJgy08AUk1xdndrNmXg6Lh5k0hKlkIoUk0MxiOOXS_1pGcgrScsBg0TMCo19Cw6BuY7iNyWCnHPgg1qHqM33wTVUZDEJdrPaspR2hOi-dtk9l4SubXEc8EePuq3LP11YTNpc-_w/s1600/20120218_111109.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-7zWQHJgy08AUk1xdndrNmXg6Lh5k0hKlkIoUk0MxiOOXS_1pGcgrScsBg0TMCo19Cw6BuY7iNyWCnHPgg1qHqM33wTVUZDEJdrPaspR2hOi-dtk9l4SubXEc8EePuq3LP11YTNpc-_w/s320/20120218_111109.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture by Subhash Edirisinghe</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Despite losing so much, it is heartening to see the resilience of the villagers. It was easily the most satisfying effort put in by me in the recent past. It is so addictive, that I will probably volunteer next time the opportunity arises as well. </div>Bimmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123814876608036530noreply@blogger.com1Oddusudan, Sri Lanka9.15 80.6499999999999778.8878725 80.267054499999972 9.4121275 81.032945499999983tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902015724023160.post-62990656396824266222011-12-14T13:00:00.003+05:302011-12-14T14:47:25.700+05:30Crates or Sacks?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">If you are living in Sri Lanka, you would definitely be aware of the major commotion related to the change in laws for transporting vegetables. Most seem to think the intention behind enforcing such a law is good, but the process of planning and implementing is poor.<br />
<br />
On one side, the farming community (including the middle-man, or should I say middle-person?) are trying to save every cent to maximize profit. On the other side we seem to have a minister who is not willing to compromise having being frustrated by delays in enforcing the law and also smarting from a slightly bruised ego.<br />
<br />
I quite like the article below (if you ignore the political brownie points it seems to be trying to score). Looks like this Harsha dude knows what he is talking about (at least in this instance).<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.lbo.lk/fullstory.php?nid=1755694470">http://www.lbo.lk/fullstory.php?nid=1755694470</a><br />
<br />
So what is your take on this? A country like India seems to be wasting as much as 40% of veggies during transportation and storage. I believe it is much less here in Sri Lanka. Nevertheless, will crates save a considerable amount of wastage as indicated by the minister? Or is he just trying to get rid of some plastic items probably offloaded to us by our big brother China? Do the farmers have solid reasons to oppose such a law? Or are they just resisting change just for the sake of it?<br />
<br />
Let's have your say friends....</div>Bimmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123814876608036530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902015724023160.post-29021606922929692022011-12-09T09:12:00.000+05:302011-12-09T09:12:47.298+05:30“Internet Not Found”<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Your alarm goes off. It’s 6.30am on a warm Tuesday morning. You know you have an early meeting to attend and hurry into the toilet clutching your blackberry in one hand. You sit on the throne, and start checking your email on your smartphone. Wow, no emails, you are relieved to see that. But wait, your colleague in USA should have gotten back to you on that proposal last night – today is the deadline. You immediately start typing a “reminder” email – must hurry before he goes to sleep. You press “send” but after a while you see “Sending failed” message. You try again, but in vain.<br />
<br />
Cursing the mobile provider, you bring up your browser to catch up on your favorite news site. Strange, there seem to be a connectivity issue again. What’s going on? Let me try Google, surely that cannot be down? But wait, it doesn’t connect either. It must be this damn mobile service provider. You cannot waste any more time on this for now. You get dressed, gulp down a particularly strong cup of coffee and jump in your car.<br />
<br />
You tune into your favorite radio station while driving to work. The morning news bulletin is unusually brief, almost as if no interesting news to report. But then one item catches your attention. There seem to be widespread complaints that most internet providers having technical problems this morning. “That explain it..” you mutter to yourself – “I hope it is not that undersea cable again”. What a disaster that was.<br />
<br />
You arrive at work right at 8.15am. You have 15 minutes to check your email and a headline or two on the internet. But alas, your office internet provider seems to be suffering from the same issue. No connectivity to internet!<br />
<br />
Suddenly you realize that a lot of people at work are giving each other nervous looks. Someone even mentioned that this connectivity problem is not just local; it seems to have affected other countries too. What? Can that happen? Surely not?</div>Bimmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123814876608036530noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902015724023160.post-47880950601745244512011-10-28T09:03:00.000+05:302011-10-28T09:03:11.213+05:30Learning to ride a bicycle<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">They say cycling is the most efficient mode of transport. It’s a pity that Chinese moved on to gasoline vehicles and then again to Hybrids now – they should have stayed with bicycles.<br />
<br />
Since of late, my eldest (10 year old) have been asking us to get her a bicycle. I suspect it is more because some of her friends having bicycles than her love for the same. In any case we went shopping for one over the weekend. Ended up at a place in Galle Road which sold foldable bikes – wow, now that’s a neat trick. It only came in silver/black combination. Luckily my daughter loved it too (she is growing out of that usual ‘pink’ phase). So we got it. After also buying a helmet, the question was whether we get some training wheels or not. Although my daughter was looking forward to owning a bike, I was quite sure that she will put up a tantrum when she has to learn how to ride it (She did the same when she got on a horse the very first few times). So I am pretty certain that if I had offered her training wheels, she would not really grow out of it. So I decided not to bring it up.<br />
<br />
Now that we brought the bike home, I am trying to figure out the best way to train her to ride it. Should I hold it from the back and run behind the bike as some parents do? Or should I ask her to ride/learn on her own. I honestly cannot remember how I learnt.<br />
<br />
Any advice?</div>Bimmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123814876608036530noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902015724023160.post-42027423747790298832011-09-30T07:05:00.008+05:302011-09-30T07:05:00.556+05:30Colombo Election<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I can almost hear all the Sri Lankans out there sighing with disgust at the mention of the word “election”. But why don’t we like them? Is it because they are more frequent in Sri Lanka than the chances of garbage collecting man turning up? Or perhaps there are more candidates than the number of bees in a bee-hive? Or even maybe because none of the candidates come up with a proper election manifesto? Not to forget the likelihood of selected candidate swapping sides soon after the result,… I am sure you get my point here.<br />
<br />
But to me, this election is slightly different. At least I see it in a different perspective - mainly because I got some insights into some of the candidates. It made it a wee bit interesting.<br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;"><li>For one thing, most candidates seem to be online these days. They promote their campaigns on facebook, twitter and through their own websites and blogs. Perhaps the election laws prohibiting the usual “election poster” has resulted in this exodus to the internet. </li>
<li>Banning the election poster is one thing, but enforcing it is another. Although the posters are being taken down by police, more new ones get pasted at the same places by the next morning. I reckon what you need is the ability to financially penalize or even disqualify a candidate instead of merely tearing down their poster.</li>
<li>Then there are these crafty ways to get around the advertising ban. Y’see, apparently the ban is on advertising “Vote for this number”. So some candidates advertise websites that include their number and the “cross” (sign for voting). There are also candidates who organize events (like musical shows) on the day that match their number (ie. someone with number 20 would organize a musical show on the 20th of the month). And advertise in bold letter the organizer’s name (which happens to be the candidate) and the date of the event (which is their number). Too bad if your number is greater than 31.</li>
<li>Just got to know about a certain candidate who had come out with a poster indicating that he was rubbing shoulders with the president at a certain prestigious international event. But the truth of the matter seems to be that he was neither with the president nor at this event – it was a hoax with a bit of photoshop involved.</li>
<li>Out of all the people, the “mudalali” at my local grocery shop is also a candidate this time. It takes him a considerable amount of time to figure out the change when I purchase anything from that shop. So he is not the brightest I have met. But then again, level of intellect or qualifications doesn’t seem to be a prerequisite for this job.</li>
</ul><br />
Few days back the postman delivered my voting documents together with a large sheet of paper. The paper listed out all the candidates. There were 11 groups and 26 candidates in every group. Making it 286 candidates in total. Last time I checked, population of Colombo city was less than 650,000. That is one candidate for every 2,200. To put it in perspective, my school (which had 5,000 students) would have produced 2 election candidates.<br />
<br />
<div>All this may be interesting but doesn’t encourage me to get off the sofa and go to the polling booth. After all there will be two interesting world cup (rugby) matches on the 8th.</div></div>Bimmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123814876608036530noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902015724023160.post-35056909154530368942011-09-08T07:06:00.002+05:302011-09-08T09:14:50.516+05:30No nonsense Traffic Cop<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz0f0YwtnNJw_DyLi4JiwoZC3HhU5Va_DUp9ZVmXYY7QhitIRaaZli8_QwXVBkVc0RHIDu22hrgWaz7tY-Rb1gUqxQ3D5WreENQPQM-hSDMZiv-J1Ke3JwEMB6gtqYtn3CXIx8YhVR0Z8/s1600/booked-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" nba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz0f0YwtnNJw_DyLi4JiwoZC3HhU5Va_DUp9ZVmXYY7QhitIRaaZli8_QwXVBkVc0RHIDu22hrgWaz7tY-Rb1gUqxQ3D5WreENQPQM-hSDMZiv-J1Ke3JwEMB6gtqYtn3CXIx8YhVR0Z8/s320/booked-2.jpg" width="320" /></a>This is a brilliant capture I recently received on email. Thought you all might enjoy it.</div></div>Bimmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123814876608036530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902015724023160.post-53896434077835137392011-08-30T07:31:00.009+05:302011-08-30T07:31:00.236+05:30Southern Highway – would you dare?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Now that the opening up of southern highway is just around the corner, a few of us at work have been contemplating when it would be “safe” to get on it. The estimates varied. Here is a summary.<br />
<br />
<div closure_uid_4wd1z8="170"><div closure_uid_iacwrp="158"><u>At least after the first 6 months</u> : Reason being that the moment it opens up, there will be a flood of morons who would try to taste what it would be like to legally drive at 100kmph – assuming that it would be very different to doing the same illegally as they have done since getting behind a vehicle for the first time. The only silver lining here is that it will probably eliminate some of these brain-cell-challenged-maniacs – probably a few offspring of some ministers together with their expensive duty-free rides. I just hope they won’t take a few innocent folks with them when they go.</div></div><div closure_uid_4wd1z8="170" closure_uid_iacwrp="164"><br />
</div><div closure_uid_4wd1z8="170"><div closure_uid_iacwrp="162"><u>In the first 6 months and then from 18 months onwards</u> : Essentially stay away from the road 12 months after the first 6 months. The argument here is that during the first 6 months, sanity will prevail and people will hopefully take it slow – what this being a new thing and all. After that they will slowly gain confidence and try to push the limits. “If 100kmph is legal, what’s the fun in driving at that?”. This will last for about 12 months until authorities wake up and start putting cops behind trees with speed guns, sniper guns and bribe collecting tins.</div></div><div closure_uid_4wd1z8="170" closure_uid_iacwrp="167"><br />
</div><div closure_uid_4wd1z8="170"><div closure_uid_iacwrp="165"><u>Never, infact take the Galle road</u> : Two reasons for this. First is that our drivers don’t use their indicate lights for a toss and the break-lights don’t work on most vehicles that were made two years or earlier – and as my friend rightfully pointed out, at 100kmph both those mistakes can often be fatal. The second reason being that most morons out there would have started using the new highway. Galle road will become relatively moron-free.</div></div><div closure_uid_4wd1z8="170"><br />
</div><div closure_uid_4wd1z8="170">Personally, I will adopt a wait-and-see policy on this.</div></div>Bimmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123814876608036530noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902015724023160.post-70896683296071980242011-06-30T19:30:00.003+05:302011-07-01T09:16:45.184+05:30Dodgy Petrol?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">As many of you might have already heard by now, there is a general concern among the Sri Lankan public (the ones who own/drive vehicles at least) that there is something wrong with the petrol that is available at the ol’ “petrol-sheds” out there.<br />
<br />
I don’t read newspapers. Don’t even watch local “news” programmes on the Telly. So it is not surprising that I only heard about this issue yesterday. Only when a colleague of mine at work informed a few of us of an interesting telephone conversation he had just had with his friend who worked at a prominent car dealership in Colombo. He said that there are droves of pissed-off owners brining their sputtering vehicles to this particular dealership to figure out why their vehicle doesn’t run so smoothly anymore. The cause? Apparently, dodgy petrol.<br />
<br />
“Oh sh*t! My tank is almost empty” I thought. I was planning to stop by a petrol-shed on my way home tonight to fill her up. During the next 30 minutes, I had called up someone I know who worked at Ceylon Petroleum Coorporation (CPC) and a couple of vehicle dealerships I knew to see if anyone can confirm this. The funny thing is that all three confirmed the story but the dealers were blaming the CPC and CPC was blaming the petrol-shed owners. Now what?<br />
<br />
I had very little choice really,.. ignore the warning signs and pump petrol as usual or take the bus. If you had ever travelled on a bus in Colombo you would know that it is not much of a choice at all. So on my way home, just as I planned earlier, I stopped by a petrol-shed. I asked the attendant to fill ‘er up. While waiting I thought I would try my luck with the fuel attendant who looked cheerful enough. Cheerful enough for a petrol-shed attendant pumping petrol at the peak of evening traffic in Colombo that is.<br />
<br />
“So what is this fuss about contaminated fuel then?” I asked casually.<br />
<br />
Suddenly his cheerful demeanor vanished into thin air. He said, “I don’t know why people believe all these stories.”<br />
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Glimmer of hope,.. but I wanted confirmation. “You mean there is no problem”?<br />
<br />
“Did I say that?”<br />
<br />
Huh? I thought…<br />
<br />
“There is a problem. But don’t believe what they say sir”.<br />
<br />
He was clearly irritated by my ignorance. But at least he called me “sir”. So I pushed it…<br />
<br />
“So what is the problem then?”<br />
<br />
“Cars do have problems with this petrol. People come and complain to us sometimes. But how do we know it is our petrol? CPC says their petrol is pure. We take good care of petrol here. But the customer complains. Who knows what is going on?”. He picked up a pebble and threw it at a stray dog that got a little inquisitive – he missed the target but the mongrel was street-wise and didn’t hang around.<br />
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“Click” – it was the auto-cutoff of the petrol pump indicating that my tank was now full. That is my cue, I thought. So without another word, I paid for the petrol and drove away.<br />
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The way I see it, this is not something I can control even if I get to the bottom of this. So I decided to stay happily ignorant. By the way, the vehicle still works.</div>Bimmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123814876608036530noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902015724023160.post-26069482731954639342011-06-13T08:59:00.000+05:302011-06-13T08:59:34.979+05:30Treat Yourself<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I never thought the humble cupcake can become the most sought after treat in town. But then again, I haven’t seen Miss Cupcake’s work until now either. They look lovely and are competitively priced too. But do they taste good? Well, try them out for yourself…<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_117212921696985">Treatz facebook page</a><br />
<br />
By the way, they do contribute 20% of the profit to a well deserving cause. A socially responsible business - good on you Tina!</div>Bimmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123814876608036530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902015724023160.post-14746825844953945042011-05-16T07:30:00.001+05:302011-05-16T12:01:19.262+05:30Create your own life, it is in you!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">A friend of mine's email signature states "Create your own life, it is in you". It started me thinking... it is so true isn't it? It inspired me to share this following link with you all,...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/10-hard-ways-to-make-your-life-better.html">"10 hard ways to make your life better"</a>'<br />
<br />
Go ahead, make a change today. Good luck!</div>Bimmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123814876608036530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902015724023160.post-66584756821065833802011-03-22T07:00:00.003+05:302011-03-22T09:07:36.494+05:30Traffic cop breaking the law? Surely not!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNpVmPeDNGW5Ao22jR89m1ZVDIRIQnCTAMBwDvp_aH5fyBlaz1gX7rPrUDlUy857zbh19CZyiTGs8NFCIvwQxYhIai8k5sMmA7lTqWuC8OhpPC07FK4tOFYettVn0lVbldheGxPs71ED8/s1600/No+helmet-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="cssfloat: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNpVmPeDNGW5Ao22jR89m1ZVDIRIQnCTAMBwDvp_aH5fyBlaz1gX7rPrUDlUy857zbh19CZyiTGs8NFCIvwQxYhIai8k5sMmA7lTqWuC8OhpPC07FK4tOFYettVn0lVbldheGxPs71ED8/s400/No+helmet-3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It is a sad state when people who are supposed to enforce the law, breaks it themselves. This picture was taken by my good friend 'B' the other day in Colombo. Can you spot how many laws this cop had violated?</div></div>Bimmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123814876608036530noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902015724023160.post-68069318338187992692011-02-22T20:54:00.003+05:302011-02-23T14:57:02.044+05:30Conspiracy Theory<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">If you are the sort who tends to look for a conspiracy in everything, then you’d love to live in Sri Lanka these days. One recent incident in particular jumps up like a cat in heat. The ICC word cup!<br />
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<u>Team Selection :</u> Sana and Vaas were included in the preliminary squad. Now my 10 year old girl could have told you how stupid that was – and she does not even follow cricket! Why have them included? Well I reckon they wanted everyone to start taking about cricket – y’know, any publicity is good publicity right?<br />
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<u>Venues :</u> They created a whole new ground in Hamba just for the world cup instead of spending 0.0001 of that money on getting floodlights fitted in to SSC. There are two theories here. One is that MR wanted to show off – reminds me of Asterix and Cleopatra story where Cleopatra bets good ol’ Julius that she can build a great palace in 3 months… or something like that. Secondly, some big-wig(s) would have thought “What a great opportunity to get some decent commission?”. I don’t even want to discuss “Pallekele”.<br />
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<u>Tickets Fiasco</u> : I tried to find out how I can secure some tickets since early January. I was given a different date to call every time I called the cricket board. After three unsuccessful attempts I gave up. <a href="http://as-good-as.blogspot.com/2009/01/and-of-course-cricket.html">My previous unsavory encounter with the cricket board</a> didn’t help me to summon up my courage to try one more time. I later heard that out of the 30,000 capacity at Premedasa stadium, only 8,000 tickets are available for sale to the general public. WTF? My theory is that MR, Ministers and Cricket Board Officials must have friends, relatives and debtors who collectively make up the rest of the 22,000.<br />
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<u>Banned Items :</u> I agree that one should not bring knives and even glass bottles to a cricket ground, but what about the humble Beer and Papare? Who on their right mind would spend one full day outdoor in blistering heat and 90% humidity without cold beer available like running water? And Papare? When did Sri Lanka ever play a single cricket match without the unmistakable Papare music in the background? I remember carrying a banner which in bold letters announced “Warne is a Wimp!” when we played against Aussies at the Premadasa in 1996 – how can you deprive a teenager that privilege? The theory? They wanted to create an outrage so huge that subsequently when they lift the ban, the fellow who lifted the ban can become a household name instantly. That works out well especially when there is yet another election around the corner.<br />
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Jeez, my head is spinning just by thinking about other possibilities. Time to have a cold beer and enjoy the re-runs of Lions crushing hapless Canada. Oh how I wish I had a Papare CD. Cheers!</div>Bimmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123814876608036530noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2214902015724023160.post-91185953355307905932010-12-29T20:24:00.002+05:302010-12-29T20:24:00.683+05:30Who came first? Chicken or Egg?The age-old question is finally answered,... with a little help from uncle Johnny.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.adaderana.lk/news.php?nid=11184">Check it out.</a>Bimmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123814876608036530noreply@blogger.com0