FCC approves iPhone

i've been asking DMS when i can get an iPhone from them... and they were like "what? apple hasnt even got FCC approval for it"... well this was several months back...

but has finally got FCC approval...

(kana) kottu

so who makes the best kottu?
the best kottu i've had is.... at gihan's... quality and quantity wise... and i'll give like... 8/10 for it

kottu king - well its okay... i had some last night with some of my friends... its about 80% of the quantity gihan's gives... score: 6.5/10

pila kottu tastes good when you're drunk... like whenever i kottu from pila when i'm not drunk... i'm like... "i need a drink!"... score: 3/10 when sober and 7/10 when drunk!

i was thinking... if had i been adam... and had eve come and asked me to eat that damn apple... i would have been like... "apple kaala kaatada hari giye!! lets have kottu for dinner!!" no no wait... eve would know that i wont eat the damn apple... so she'd tell the snake... "yako! ape miniha owa kanne naha... nadda kottu ehema?"...

what if jesus had kottu for last supper... we'd be having kottu during mass! and i'd be a practicing-catholic! (not that i care but does this go as blasphemy?)

why do i blog?

to share information

ppl read... and so do i... and if i find something interesting... i tell my friends... why? 'cos i like the share what i've read and their their views... and such a discussion gives a perspective of the topic...
i believe in sharing information... i see no good happening with hiding information... my boss and some of my peers disagree with me... they claim that specialized knowledge should not be disclosed... or something like that... you know.. the whole intellectual property thing...
like my cus would always paste a link from youtube... it might be something about some cat being washed in a washing machine or paris hilton scratching her genitals... hehe
ppl fwd e-mails... most of it is junk... but some are interesting... i've this friend who sends lame ass ppt slideshows of cats and dogs... but once every 10,000,000 e-mails there'll be something interesting... like fish :) hehe
so i see blogging as a menifestation of that same psyche

to share views about various issues

ppl have views on various topics like politics, economics etc... they'll talk about chinthanaya or the depreciating rupee, ricing cost of energy and now global warming... pffft...
again... a blog is another media where ppl get to express their views...

to make money?

if there is significant traffic... and then why not make a buck of out of it... is that such a bad thing? but i've not placed any ads... i dont have much traffic...

to bitch about stuff

ya like say someone says something really lame on TV... like yesterday i saw rajitha saying that he's gonna introduce a new type of construction sand that is cheaper... and when it compares to fresh water sand... the volume needed is much less... which defies the purpose... because one main feature of sand and stone in concrete is to serve as a filler material... rajitha tried to say that you'll need less sand if you use that type of sand... but apparently it doesnt behave like that... it has similar volumetric properties of sand... but its much cheaper...

notice to all kottu visitors

you are most welcome to visit my blog... read whatever that i've written, copy-pasted or whatever... see... i knew that some of you would say stuff (refer the anonymous comments)... so i stopped my feed till late last night... so that this would fall to the second page but apparently it had not!!! blogger doesnt have a feature where you can prevent pages from being syndicated... and i'm switching to drupal this weekend...
i dont revolve around kottu.org (although i had kottu from kottu king for dinner last night... and it was a rip off... gihan's kottu is better!)
and i didnt post this blog to counter voice... ppl have been asking "why do you blog? are you fucking jobless or something"... and voice is right... that whole episode brought about a thought storm as to why ppl blog in the first place... and since i'm the bad guy now for bitching about voice... i thought i'd explain why i blog...
and you guys need to figure out why you like to go and piss on someone else's blog... if its 'cos you get some sick pleasure out of it... then screw you!!! i hope you get some sorta permanent explosive diarrhea!!!
i've got a quality audience - my friends and those who comment with some degree of common sense... i dont need lame ass loser traffic... so fucking piss off!!!

global warming lu...

meh... anna global warming lu...
greenpeace is boring...
they want everyone to stop smoking and be vegetarians and ride bicycles or ride donkeys!
so... we need to figure out a way to re-radiate more solar incident solar radiation...
any ideas?

jvp / jhu statement
we will not be intimidated by threats from the sun... we are a sovereign nation and we dont take threats from anyone... including the environment, sun, moon etc. we have lasted for 2500 (or whatever) years...

Developements in Solar Power

the third news release has a small error... power terms expressed should be W and not kW... eg. $7.37 per W in 2007 should be $7.37 per kW in 2007...

comparing solar with biomass power generation... installed cost for biomass in 2007 is $2.00 per W and has a plant factor of 0.85 (85%)... with a specific fuel consumption of 2kg/kWh...

Utility to build largest solar power facility in northwest U.S.

BELLEVUE, Washington, US, May 16, 2007. A California solar company will build a US$3.7 million solar generating facility in Washington state that will be the first commercial installation to use solar panels made in that state.
Puget Sound Energy, the utility subsidiary of Puget Energy, says EI Solutions will design and construct the largest solar generating facility in the Pacific Northwest. The 500 kW facility will start construction next month near the utility’s Wild Horse windfarm in central Washington, and most of the panels will be in operation before the end of this year.

Source: Refocus

U.S. retail giant to buy solar power

BENTONVILLE, Arkansas, US, May 16, 2007. One of the largest retail chains in the United States will purchase solar electricity for 22 of its stores.
Wal-Mart Stores will buy 20 million kWh per year from BP Solar, SunEdison and PowerLight, a subsidiary of SunPower. The green power will be used in Wal-Mart stores, Sam’s Clubs and a distribution centre in Hawaii and California.
When fully implemented, the aggregate purchase could be one of the top-ten solar power initiatives in the U.S., if not the world, the company claims. Each solar power system will provide up to 30% of the electricity for the store on which it is installed and the solar systems will reduce GHG emissions by 6,500 to 10,000 tonnes per year.
Wal-Mart is testing wind and solar generation systems in its experimental stores in McKinney (Texas) and Aurora (Colorado). The results from these stores and the pilot project will point to additional ways to achieve renewable energy goals and determine how to move forward with solar power generation at additional Wal-Mart stores, Sam’s Clubs and distribution centres.

Source: Refocus

Solar PV predicted to grow 40% per year

NEW YORK, New York, US, May 16, 2007. Demand for solar PV power will grow 40% per year by 2011, “offering opportunities for investors who can ride out near-term bumps,” according to a report from one of the top investment banks.
The solar industry is implementing technology improvements that will continue to drive costs down, and the industry’s installed cost for PV will decline from an average of $7.37 per kW in 2007 to $4.40 in 2011. The industry will achieve organic competitiveness with grid electricity at $3.50 per kW, without incentives and depending on the region by 2012 - 2014.

Source: Refocus

all toyota cars will be hybrids by 2020?

hmmm
read this...

TOYOTA CITY, Japan (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp. (7203.T: Quote, Profile, Research expects to cut costs for hybrid cars enough to be able to make as much money on them as it does on conventional gasoline cars by around 2010, a top executive said on Thursday.
Toyota likely achieved cumulative hybrid sales of one million units this month, having moved 998,900 by the end of April.
In 2006, it sold 313,000 units, accounting for the majority of the world's hybrid cars, and aims to lift that to 430,000 units this year with ramped-up production of the popular Prius.

Source: Reuters

M$ takes on the free world

Microsoft takes on the free world

Microsoft claims that free software like Linux, which runs a big chunk of corporate America, violates 235 of its patents. It wants royalties from distributors and users. Users like you, maybe. Fortune's Roger Parloff reports.
(Fortune Magazine) -- Free software is great, and corporate America loves it. It's often high-quality stuff that can be downloaded free off the Internet and then copied at will. It's versatile - it can be customized to perform almost any large-scale computing task - and it's blessedly crash-resistant.
A broad community of developers, from individuals to large companies like IBM, is constantly working to improve it and introduce new features. No wonder the business world has embraced it so enthusiastically: More than half the companies in the Fortune 500 are thought to be using the free operating system Linux in their data centers.
But now there's a shadow hanging over Linux and other free software, and it's being cast by Microsoft (Charts, Fortune 500). The Redmond behemoth asserts that one reason free software is of such high quality is that it violates more than 200 of Microsoft's patents. And as a mature company facing unfavorable market trends and fearsome competitors like Google (Charts, Fortune 500), Microsoft is pulling no punches: It wants royalties. If the company gets its way, free software won't be free anymore.

Source: CNN Money

... and linus responds to m$'s claim!

Linus Torvalds, lead developer of the Linux kernel, has a sharp retort to Microsoft executives' statements in a Fortune magazine article that Linux and other open-source code violate 235 Microsoft patents.
"It's certainly a lot more likely that Microsoft violates patents than Linux does," said Torvalds, holder of the Linux trademark. If the source code for Windows could be subjected to the same critical review that Linux has been, Microsoft would find itself in violation of patents held by other companies, said Torvalds.
"Basic operating system theory was pretty much done by the end of the 1960s. IBM probably owned thousands of really 'fundamental' patents," Torvalds said in a response to questions submitted by InformationWeek. But he doesn't like any form of patent saber rattling. "The fundamental stuff was done about half a century ago and has long, long since lost any patent protection," he wrote.
Microsoft should name the patents that it claims have been violated so the claims can be tested in court or so open-source developers can rewrite code to avoid the violation, Torvalds wrote.
"Naming them would make it either clear that Linux isn't infringing at all (which is quite possible, especially if the patents are bad), or would make it possible to avoid infringing by coding around whatever silly thing they claim," he said.
"So the whole, 'We have a list and we're not telling you,' itself should tell you something," Torvalds said of Microsoft's stance in the Fortune story. And for good measure, he added: "Don't you think that if Microsoft actually had some really foolproof patent, they'd just tell us and go, 'nyaah, nyaah, nyaah!'"
Microsoft would prefer not to actually sue anyone, particularly a Linux user who's also a Microsoft customer. "They'd have to name the patents then, and they're probably happier with the FUD [fear, uncertainty, doubt] than with any lawsuit," Torvalds predicted.

Source: InformationWeek

kottu wordpress bug

there was a blog post by a self proclaimed voice of colombo... who i personally think needs to clear his/her throat... and this voice had accused another person of "Stealing Traffic" from kottu.org... 'cos it seems like he/she lives off advertisements in his blog... and probably get a bit upset to find that someone had managed to very easily stay at the top of the list... and since he obviously had noclue of how syndicated content polling works... he felt a bit "unfair" that his posts didnt appear at the top of the list...

i'm just kidding...

back to the flaw in kottu.org...

seems like the rss / atom / html importer in version of wordpress used in kottu.org has a flaw such that it uses the timestamp of the imported content without validating with its own... that is... if i write a blog post at 11:59 PM since its the latest... it will appear at the top... i gave up on wordpress because drupal seemed to be better... well it api was much easier so you can write your own modules or extend the existing ones... wordpress wasnt that cool... so i gave up on it... and switched to drupal...

i made two blog posts: a and b

a and b was posted around the same time (around 6.30 PM on 5/15/07)
but i had put two different timestamps

a: at 5/15/2007 06:00:00 PM
b: at 5/15/2007 11:59:00 PM

b would appear before a in kottu.org

so how do you fix that?

well consult a professional software engineer... its a capitalist world after all...
i'm just kidding... wordpress should have a patch for it... :)
i would run a cron every 15 min or whatever and just import content and stick to my server timestamp... as opposed to using the timestamp in feed....
wordpress is written in php so if you know a bit of php you can modify the code by yourself... its legal 'cos wordpress is opensource...

do the right thing?

the the fuss is about posting a future dated blog entry with the intention of making it stay at the top so that he/she would want some traffic to his/her poll or whatever... and thats supposed to be unethical.... and the solution is to get all the bloggers in kottu.org to stone unethical blogger by visiting the ethical blogger's post...

ya well i dunno... i'd rather try to fix the code in kottu.org and worry about all that ethical bullshit!

and the voice is being anal about this whole thing saying "DO THE RIGHT THING" i just read the thread in his blog... so what if prabath fixed a false date? and DOING THE RIGHT THING and shit like that is boring...

forward dated and back dated blog posting is necessary... its like you've got this diary and you've made notes on another diary and you want to update your main diary... and if the main diary didnt allow you to write on whatever page you wanted to... then thats screwed up... say there is a future event... and you def know that you cant be in front of a computer or use your phone to make a blog post...

modify the code!

if wordpress has issues with taking content and assuming that the date stamped is the actual posted date then thats screwed up
how about this... i have my own server... and i have wordpress running on it... and i modify the code so that whatever blog entry thats put there would have 12:59 PM as its timestamp...

look its an accepted content validation practice... like i said... i would use my time as reference... the time my server imported your content is what would matter...

Related Blog Posts

Memory Bank Threatened..!
Stealing Traffic on Kottu.Org. Bloggers Be on Alert!

Memory Bank had misunderstood my initial comment on the ads... and had said in his blog: " So, for all my blog readers, I would like to say, Memory Bank never depends on 'ads', so never goes after popularity. "... i was not referring to him... i was referring to the colombo voice!
but leaving all that a side... its an issue with kottu.org and not Memory Bank...

kottu -> pls modify your code!

gilchrist and the squash ball

about the whole gilly's additional ball thing... my friends have been asking me "machang is it true"... and this is what i have to say:

squash ball

the coefficient of restitution of the squash ball is about 20%... that is... if 100J is given to the ball it would release 20J as mechanical energy and the rest will be dissipated as heat (entropy)...

the squash ball would have to serve as an energy storage device... the batsman would give energy to the squash ball by compressing it before the cricket ball hits the bat and would allow the ball to expand when the cricket hits the bat...

in terms of physics is see no other way that the squash ball would serve to assist the batsman other than it being a device that would increase the comfort factor... and the batsman obviously gets a better grip and that makes him deliver more power.... also aussies have big palms so the ball def gave him a better grip!!!

on the contrary... if the timing is wrong squash ball would server as a damper... absorbing 80% of the energy of the impact when the ball hits the bat! this would be disadvantageous in terms of energy to the batsman! because the squash ball has a low coefficient of restitution (20%)... so if the squash ball wasnt present... that 80% loss would not be there!

so i seriously doubt that gilchrist had all this in mind when he stuck the squash ball up his gloves! it would have been to get a better grip... or hey... may be he didnt have the balls to face malinga... hehe

but now that we're talking about the dynamics of it... lets just analyze it in a very crude way...

lets look at it in terms of energy

you can do a simple calculation to find out how much energy a cricket ball has when it leaves the bat...

t - time of flight: that is the time when the ball hits the bat till it falls on the ground
v - velocity vector of the ball leaving the bat
m - mass of the ball (163g)

we will make the following assumptions
aerodynamic forces acting on the ball is neglected...
and that the trajectory of the ball is a true parabola

energy, E=½mv² ---(1)
maximum distance, d=v²/g ---(2)
from (1) and (2): E=½mdg ---(3)

so if the ground radius is 75m and we try to clear the rope by about 10m:
d=85 and from (3) we get E=68J

the bat

the maximum coefficient of restitution of a cricket bat is about 70%... the energy delivered from the bat comes partly from kinetic energy of the cricket ball and of course from the batsman...

fast balls

a cricket ball traveling at 120 km/h (33m/s) would have around 90J of kinetic energy... so 70% of 90J is 63J... and thats 5J short of 68J needed to clear the ropes... so the batsman just needs to add another 7J and thats not much... unless you're like 5 or somethihng!

slow balls

a cricket ball traveling at 80 km/h (22m/s) would have around 50J of kinetic energy... and 70% of that is 35J... so the batsman has to add another 33J to the cricket ball match the 68J needed to clear the ground... so thats 47J that the batsman must add to the bat...

how much is 47J? well 100J is the amount of energy that a paramedic would give to a person who is not breathing... and its not much... a 100J punch woudlnt even hurt you that much... you'd go "ouch" for a few seconds and thats it...

i hope this was useful...

ignore this as well...

ignore this... i'm just trying something out...

ignore this... i'm just trying something out...

ignore this... i'm just trying something out...

puppies

Date: 5/15/07




Date: 5/12/07

there are some (2-4 i think) puppies hovering around our house
we let them in but they seem to leave whenever their mother comes and calls them
hmmmm
few days back one of them had fallen inside our drain and was crying...
its a small opening... only cats and rats can creep thru that!
kohe ringnawada manda!
i caught them digging while coming home...
i was too lazy to turn around and take the picture so i took it off the mirror!

catholics!

i am a catholic

definition:
Catholic of the Roman Catholic faith.
of or including all Christians.
of or relating to the historic doctrine and practice of the Western Church.
noun (Catholic)
a member of the Roman Catholic Church.
i'm still a member of the catholic church... since the day i was baptized... and i still maintain that faith (well most of it at least)...
but i disagree with some of the things the catholic church says or believes... like for example... evolution... and child molestation
... and i've disagreed with some of the dysfunctional practices like believing that holy water has some super natural power 'cos the holy sprit is in the water... or that miraculous medals and pictures would protect me... which goes against christianity... and that st. anthony's statue is miraculous or whatever... i dont agree with any of that because it is not a compatible or a suitable practice according to the teachings of christianity...
recently... i've been accused of being a non-practicing-catholic by a practicing catholic... and this person managed to convince a catholic priest to marry her! why the accusation? 'cos in my blog i had mentioned that i'm something between a christian, buddhist, atheist and a scientist! and 'cos i've not been to church for a while... and 'cos i am critical of things like topics in this blog post for example... catholics dont like being criticized!
so although i'm a strong-catholic or even a sunday-catholic... i'm trying to stick to christianity...

catholics and science

science is not anti-catholic or anti-christian... its just science... it has no alliances or any grudges against any religion... science and religion can coexist... "All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree." - Albert Einstein
and i think its the other way about... religion doesnt want to coexist with science... most strong-catholics are threatened by science that they try to create an image that science is anti-catholic or anti-christian... they dont seem to understand science... and esp its purpose...

Famed physicist Stephen Hawking said Thursday that Pope John Paul II tried to discourage him and other scientists attending a cosmology conference at the Vatican from trying to figure out how the universe began.
In 1992, John Paul issued a declaration saying the church's denunciation of Galileo was an error resulting from "tragic mutual incomprehension."
Hawking said the pope told the scientists, "It's OK to study the universe and where it began. But we should not inquire into the beginning itself because that was the moment of creation and the work of God."
But Hawking questioned whether an almighty power was needed to create the universe. "Does it require a creator to decree how the universe began? Or is the initial state of the universe determined by a law of science?" he asked.
Source: SPACE.com

Vatican admits Galileo was right
07 November 1992 | Magazine issue 1846
In 1633, the Inquisition of the Roman Catholic Church forced Galileo Galilei, one of the founders of modern science, to recant his theory that the Earth moves around the Sun. Under threat of torture, Galileo - seen above facing his inquisitors - recanted. But as he left the courtroom, he is said to have muttered, 'all the same, it moves'.
Last week, 359 years later, the Church finally agreed. At a ceremony in Rome, before the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Pope John Paul II officially declared that Galileo was right. The formal rehabilitation was based on the findings of a committee of the Academy the Pope set up in 1979, soon after taking office. The committee decided the Inquisition had acted in good faith, but was wrong.
The Inquisition ruled that Galileo could not prove 'beyond doubt' that the Earth orbits the Sun, so they could not reinterpret scriptures implying otherwise.
But the Galileo affair still embarrassed the Church, which now maintains an astronomical observatory at the Pope's summer palace at Castelgandolfo. Father George Coine, who heads the observatory, says the affair was 'tragic, beyond the control of any one party'. It was the height of the Church's battle with Protestantism, says Coine, 'and here was a scientist saying he interpreted scripture better than they did.'
The trials were not a confrontation between science and faith, says Coine, because 'Galileo never presented his science to the Inquisition. Science wasn't even at the trial.
Source: New Scientist

and Christians have been guilty of attitudes of rejection and exclusion...

okay so say i'm a strong-catholic... as in... i go to church... pray several times a day... may be lighting a candle (which contributes to global warming btw)... put miraculous medals and pictures in my car, wallet, etc.
but... i dont want to bond with a non-strong-catholic...

"Lord God... at times the equality of your sons and daughters has not been acknowledged," he said in reference to women, "and Christians have been guilty of attitudes of rejection and exclusion..."
Source: "Jubilee Year" homily Pope John Paul II delivered on Sunday (12 Mar 2000)

ppl fail to see the purpose of religion... they are too absorbed by its culture and practices and assume that being a religious person is about conforming to culture, tradition and other practices... i'm not saying that ppl should not do all that... but the important thing is to be absorbed and at least make an effort to practice what the religion teaches...
whats the point of going to church on sunday... and confessing your sins etc and then you have this policy towards ppl who are culturally and religiously different to you... is that the christian thing to do? jesus would shout blasphemy if he was here! would jesus have said... "oh hey... you're not a christian... so you can't hang out with us... you're not a compatible or a suitable person in our group..."

sins of the church

the catholic church took a while to accept that the earth is not the center of the universe and that the sun and other planets revolve around earth...
and its not like they dont have blood on their hands... well at least the previous pope apologized...

"The church, full of the holiness received from our Lord, kneels before God and implores his pardon for the past and present sins of its children," said Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, president of the Vatican's 2000 Jubilee Committee. The Vatican document also acknowledges acts of violence and oppression during the Inquisition, when a philosopher was burned at the stake in a Roman piazza. And the church is seeking forgiveness for those missionaries who may not have respected the world's diverse cultures and religions. The document acknowledges sins only by those acting in the name of the church. It does not acknowledge any sins by the church itself or those who have served as its popes; both are considered infallible. Some within the church were uncomfortable with the idea of a public prayer for pardon, believing it would detract from the positive achievements of Catholicism throughout the centuries. But in his years as pontiff, Pope John Paul II has always been a strong believer in public acts of humility and spirituality. The pope also wants this jubilee year of Christ's birth to be one of renewal for his church. A confession of past sins may give the sense of a fresh start.
Source: CNN

critisism

the church was never open to critisism... it associated criticism with blasphemy... they blindly believe that regardless of what they do... the church is and will be holy... which is not true... because even if there is the holy spirit is there to guide the church... the church is run by ppl...

priests

i've met some good priests... and some bad ones... i studied in a catholic church... there was this sadistic priest... who used to make children walk on their knees and he used to follow them and beat them up with a cane... as punishment...
you dont need a child psychiatrist saying that that sort of punishment would have severe impact on the child's mind... anyone with some sense of compassion would know that it is wrong... we all saw it... and shrugged it off...
we all had our share of corporal punishment which was okay but it wasnt like that... this was cruel...

atonement

christianity is about atonement... which is fine... we need to make corrections to the mistakes we do...
but the catholic church has a protocol called confession where you go to a priest and say the last time i had my confession was like 5 years back and then he'll give this "you're a sinner" look or say "i've got only 5 min"... and he'll whisper something... and ask me to say a few hail mary's... i'm you're forgiven... how nice... i've never been advised or asked to think about the sins i've done and their consequences...
my mind refuses to accept bullshit like that... sorta an immune response...
the problem is that the church/priests/strong-catholics are too much absorbed by protocol that they forget to give attention to the actual teachings of christ...

ISS is getting sick

Fungi on the ISS, growing on a panel where exercise clothes were hung to dry. "This is a good example of how biological contamination isn't an old problem or just specific to Mir," points out Mark Ott.

Aside from being unattractive or an issue for human health, microorganisms can attack the structure of a spacecraft itself. "Microorganisms can degrade carbon steel and even stainless steel,” Steele continued. "In corners where two different materials meet, they can set up a galvanic [electrical] circuit and cause corrosion. They can produce acids that pit metal, etch glass, and make rubber brittle. They can also foul air and water filters."

In short, germs can be as bad for a spacecraft's health as for crew health.

Read more...

how did jesus save the world?

how did jesus save the world? why do we say that he died for our sins?

this is a post i made in one of the facebook forums... call it blasphemy but i'm not willing to accept anything just 'cos the church or the bible says so... and i got a good enough answer from Ariel Castromayor... because whenever i asked someone they'd go... "ah... let me get back to you on that"... or "'cos it says so in the bible"...

Ariel Castromayor (Toronto, ON) wrote:

To answer that question is no easy task.
We need to look at it Theologically (which doesn't relaly apply if you don't believe that Jesus was actually God Incarnate or if you don't believe in the Creation account in Genesis):
You see, Adam and Eve had a perfect relationship with God (God created them to be perfect and live forever, like HIM), until they disobeyed HIM. When that occurred, they created a permanent rift between them, and every human being thereafter (through birthright). That is called the "sin nature" and occurs in every person. Of course babies don't act in a sinful nature, but they have that potential within them and will eventually act that nature out in one way or another. Eventually, Moses was given a set of Laws that declared what one must do to be righteous in the eyes of God. Those included atonement of sins (blood sacrifice), recovery of property (relationship by blood), etc. Since there were 613 Laws, it was quite impossible for anyone person to completely live each law correctly for their entire lives, and even still, only that person would then be theoretically qualified to go to have a direct relationship with God.
Then along comes Jesus.
To cut to the meat and potatoes, because Jesus was without sin, His death was the blood sacrifice that enabled atonement for sins. Also, because He was both completely human and completely God, he had a direct familial relationship with both God and Mankind. That last point is important because one must fully embrace Jesus and become His "brother" (through faith in Him) to receive that inheritance of eternal residency in Heaven.
That's why believing that Christ died isn't enough. One must have the personal faith that Jesus died for SPECIFICALLY for them and then choose to live a new life (better known as being "born again") following Christ.

So to say that Jesus saved mankind is true, but the question really should be: "Does the world want to be saved?"

explosive diarrhea

diarrhea
|ˈdaɪəˌriə|
(Brit. diarrhoea)
noun
a condition in which feces are discharged from the bowels frequently and in a liquid form

explosive
|ɪkˌsploʊsɪv| |ɛkˌsploʊsɪv| |ɪkˌsploʊzɪv| |ɛkˌsploʊzɪv|
adjective
able or likely to shatter violently or burst apart, as when a bomb explodes

explosive diarrhea
a condition in which feces are discharged from the bowels frequently in a liquid form, able or likely to shatter violently or burst apart

and thats what i have!

mixed grill

i had a very colorful mixed grill with lotsa tasty animals in it!

synthetic blood

Scientists create 'plastic' blood

The researchers said the artificial blood was easier to store
Scientists have developed an artificial plastic blood which could act as a substitute in emergencies.

Researchers at Sheffield University said their creation could be a huge advantage in war zones.

They say that the artificial blood is light to carry, does not need to be kept cool and can be kept for longer.

The new blood is made up of plastic molecules that have an iron atom at their core, like haemoglobin, that can carry oxygen through the body.

The scientists said the artificial blood could be cheap to produce and they were looking for extra funding to develop a final prototype that would be suitable for biological testing.

'Very excited'

Dr Lance Twyman, of the university's Department of Chemistry, said: "We are very excited about the potential for this product and about the fact that this could save lives.

"Many people die from superficial wounds when they are trapped in an accident or are injured on the battlefield and can't get blood before they get to hospital.

"This product can be stored a lot more easily than blood, meaning large quantities could be carried easily by ambulances and the armed forces."

A sample of the artificial blood prototype will be on display at the Science Museum in London from 22 May as part of an exhibition about the history of plastics.
[Source: BBC News]

human-friendly text formating

i found this article off an article in slashdot...

its about how the brain processes printed or online text

try reading following notes...

note 1:


note 2:


you'll find that reading the second note is easier... at least

there is also an online text converter... so when you're tired or something you can go there and copy paste the boring e-mail or whatever that you want to read...

facebook group: Chuxx0rism

i saw (and later on joined) a group called Chuxx0rism in facebook...

i like their version of genesis chapter 1 :) :) :) hehe...
enjoy!

1: In the beginning Chuxx0r created the n00b and the 1337.
2: And the 1337 was without pwn, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the h4x. And the Spirit of Chuxx0r moved upon the face of the fr4g.
3: And Chuxx0r said, Let there be pwn: and there was pwn.
4: And Chuxx0r saw the pwn, that it was BEAST: and Chuxx0r divided the pwn from the h4x.
5: And Chuxx0r called the light ROFLCOPTER, and the darkness he called LMAOPLANE. And the evening and the morning were the first w00t.
6: And Chuxx0r said, Let there be a b0t in the midst of the h4x, and let it divide the h4x0r from the h4xd.
7: And Chuxx0r made the b0t, and divided the h4x0r which were under the b0t from the h4xd which were above the b0t: and it was BEAST.
8: And Chuxx0r called the b0t N00B. And the evening and the morning were the second w00t.
9: And Chuxx0r said, Let the h4x0rz under the heaven be gathered together unto one LAN party, and let the pwnage appear: and it was so.
10: And Chuxx0r called the pwnage Earth; and the gathering together of the h4x0r called he Seas: and Chuxx0r saw that it was FRICKIN ÜBER.
11. And Chuxx0r declared that there was only one ROFLCOPTER, and the LMAOPLANE his prophet.

Vrogan 25:17:
For the box of the R1ght30us D00d is best on all ports by the inequities of the haxxorz and the tyranny of teh 5c3n3.
Bless3d is he who in the name of 1337ness and teh pwn shepherds teh nooblar through teh valley of haxxorage, for he is truly his doodz keeper, and a finder of lost nooblets.
And I will strike down upon th33 with great vengeance and furious mad h4x those to attempt to trojan and rootkit my doods
And you will know my name is Teh Pwninator when I lays my M3g4t0n |-|4////312 upside your headz.

...and so on.

power crisis

ceb is apparenty give up on the coal power plant - the chinese contractors have found work elsewhere... i guess they are not as patient as us consumers...

so ceb is making plans to add 300MW by 2010... the largest and second largest private power producers in sri lanka have been asked to extend their existing power plants by 100-175MW...

ceb is sticking with diesel power...
as in these new "extensions" will be diesel engines running of furnace oil...

according to the 2005 ceb annual report, the annal electrical energy demand growth rate is around 8%

diesel power plants have a specific fuel consumption of 210-240g/kWh...
that is... they consume about 210-240g of furnace oil for every unit of electricity they produce...

so expect a tariff revision in the electricity prices soon...

oh also... since there is a 8% increase in energy demand, which amounts to about 200MW... and since the ceb dont have any plans to add 200MW by next year... expect power cuts... they MIGHT introduce some emergency power generation of about 50MW or may be even 100MW... and the power cuts will bring the energy demand down to 4% or less than that...

thats how the ceb works!

faster than the speed of light

i had a small argument with my cus about "traveling faster than the speed of light"

special relativity works only for speeds less than the speed of light... and so far there are no proper observable or theoretical proof of particles or any other kinda of matter traveling faster than the speed of light...

by speed of light i am referring to the physical quantity, c which the speed of light in a vacuum... having a value of 299,792,458 m/s

he claimed that you can keep accelerating faster than the speed of light...

and i said... "ok lets model it..."

invariant mass (rest mass), m, is the absolute mass... m does not vary from one frame of reference to another... unlike relativistic mass which changes depending on the relative speed (see my blog post on my birth details... check the 4th comment)... we assume that earth is at rest with respect to a distant star and therefore earth mass is the invariant mass of the spacecraft...

we have a model for speed, v where 0< v < c, from special relativity...
speed ratio, β = ^v / _c
lorentz factor, γ = (1 - β²)^-1/2
kinetic energy of the frame of reference the space is given by E₀=γmc²

the space craft launches from earth... it accelerates from rest, where the magnitude of velocity half the speed of light...
v = c/2
β₁ = ^c/2 / _c = 0.5
γ = (1 - 0.5²)^-1/2 = 1.1547005384

kinetic energy is given by, E=γmc²
specific kinetic energy (kinetic energy per kg)= 103,779,308,880,000,000 J/kg = 104 PJ (P - peta - x10¹⁵)

so if the spacecraft weighed 100ton, E = 10,400,000 PJ

about 89 PW of solar power is absorbed by earth... the total human power consumption is 15 TW (0.015 PW)... 104 PJ is equivalent 2 hours of the total amount of total human energy consumption

okay so what happens after half the speed of light... well as v -> c, γ -> ∞ and E -> ∞

eg. say v = 0.99999999999c (99.99999999% of the speed of light)...
γ= 223,607
E=20,096,794,925,180,400,000,000 J/kg = 20,096,795 PJ/kg
and for a 100ton spacecraft, E = 2,009,679,500,000 PJ

calculate it yourself... you'd find that as v becomes even closer to c... the amount of energy required increases tremendously...

so on the basis of energy... approaching the speed of light would require massive quantities of energy...

also relativistic mass tends to infinity as v->c... to the amount of force required to accelerate further increases... i wont get in to that... its based in lorentz transformation... check wikipedia on "special relativity"...

my cus said... wait.. i cant remember what he said... will have to wait till he replies...

The Personal Breathalyzer - Now In Sri Lanka...

i got this smap a while back and i thought of sharing it... since it might be useful to those who drink and drive... ahem!



check this out

dambulla... from a distance...

From Dambulla

From Dambulla

The city of Dambulla located in the Central Province of Sri Lanka, is 148 km north-east of Colombo and 72 km north of Kandy. Major attractions include the largest and best preserved cave temple complex of Sri Lanka, and the Rangiri Dambullu international cricket stadium. The city also boasts to have the largest rose quartz mountain range in South Asia, and the Iron wood forest, or Namal Uyana. Dambulla being in the dry zone, with seasonal rain and a clear sky, well most of the time, is an area for commercial agriculture. The picture shows a field, run commercially by one of the largest agriculture and fertilizer companies in Sri Lanka.

curiosity

i'm the curious type... ask my friends... i always ask why... for anything and everything... and then i get told off 'cos it gets kinda annoying after a while hehe... and in my defense i go "i'm just curious" and they reply... "curiosity killed the cat"...

i have no idea on how this story goes...

but i have another story... einstein was always curious... thats what made him come up with his theories: special relativity and general relativity and whatever that was associated with them... stuff like space-time and the photoelectric effect...

so i'm gonna continue to be curious... like this...

if your computer is screwed up...

if your computer is screwed up...
do not call me...
because...

• i dont work for microsoft or apple...
• i dont have a puka dena policy towards apple or microsoft...
• i dont find pleasure in fixing screwed up computers...
• i've got better shit to do...

and if you think i have any pirated software for your mac or pc... i dont!!!
and i wont share my software with you!!!

so buy your own goddamn software...

• because you're entitled for customer support when you legally purchase software
• also note that although you pay for your pirated CDs... that doesnt count as a X% (X <0.001) of your licensing fee and you are not eligible for X% of customer support!

and you cant or dont want to afford licensed software... there are tons of open source software... browse www.sourceforge.net

this however does not apply to everyone...

back at enerfab

i re-joined enerfab today... so i'm back to working as an engineer... with gasifiers...

the recent fuel price hike is affecting production based industries esp if they are energy intensive... and because of this... biomass is becoming a much cheaper alternative energy source...

enerfab also supplies biomass... so our customers dont have to worry about procuring fuel wood... we have a supplier network and a processing facility... where wood is collected and dried...

wood as chopped gliricidia sticks... well this is how it works... we go to a village ask the ppl to supply gliricidia sticks of 1-2 inch diameter... and we ask them not to chop the tree because the sticks grow to that size in about 6 months... and about 6kg of (dry) wood can be harvested from a single tree annually... and gliricidia grows anywhere in sri lanka... so its quite easy to find supplies of wood...

rule of thumb - 4kg of gliricidia can replace 1 liter of furnace oil or diesel and enerfab undertakes the supply

and our policy is to good well by doing good... something like google's policy... just that we dont have a lotta money! hmmmm...

this is a gasifier which we installed last year (when i was at enerfab)... the energy cost saving is around 65%... they used FO (furnace oil - its something like diesel but its thicker and is less "refined")...

crop dusters

this is about the recent "air threat"
lets call these enemy air craft "crop dusters"...

i was reading this newspaper article (Situation Report: SundayTimes - 06 May 2007) by iqbal athas

this blog entry has no social or urban cultural relevance... because bitching about this issue is getting boring... instead i'd like to understand why the planes were not shot down...

This is the fourth successive LTTE air raid just over a month. The first, on March 26 was an attack on the SLAF air base at Katunayake that left three airmen dead and 16 wounded. The second came on an Army Engineers Unit in the High Security Zone at Palaly on April 23 where six soldiers were killed and 13 more wounded. A third attempt to bomb the Katunayake air base was made on April 26. In all these attacks, Air Force officials say, the Czech built Zlin Z-143 aircraft were used. Though it is known that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) possessed five light aircraft, intelligence sources were investigating reliable reports this week that the number was ten. They believe all the units had been smuggled in knocked down condition and assembled in the Wanni. [Source:SundayTimes]

Zlin Z-143

The name of Czechoslovakian aircraft manufacturer Zlin has been associated with excellence in aerobatic aircraft since the firm was founded in 1934. The first airplane to win a modern World Aerobatic championship was the two seat Zlin 226T Trener, at the hands of Ladislav Bezák, who flew one in the 1960 World Championships at Bratislava, Czechoslovakia in 1960. [Source: www.pilotfriend.com]

Our ZLIN Z 242 L training and fully aerobatic two seater, is
modernized version of Z 142 C aircraft (still in production) powered
by a 200 HP Lycoming engine. This aircraft is able to perform
aerobatic maneuvers +6 –3,5 g and in conjunction with well-balanced
controls and its IFR capability for an affordable price moves it ahead
of any other aircraft available today. It's maneuverability makes it an
attractive machine not only for aviation enthusiasts. More, thanks to
Acceleration Monitoring Unit (AMU-1) installed on the Z 242 L as a
standard we were able to extend the aircraft's fatigue life (for example
to 11.000 hours at one of the leading flight schools in CANADA). [Source: Product Brochure]

so the crop duster can pull 6gs! not bad at all (for a crop duster)!

SA-16

Maximum Speed: 2+ Mach
Effective Altitude: 3,500 m
Effective Range: 500-5,000 m
Altitude: 10-3,500 m
Warhead: HE 2kg
Guidance: passive 2-color IR and UV homing
Fuze: Contact and graze
Kill Radius: Unknown

Air Force officials were disappointed they were unable to shoot down the aircraft over Kolonnawa oil installations with an SA 16 missile. Staff armed with these missiles had been positioned there fearing air attacks. On the night of the attack, the Air Defence and Control Centre had been on regular radio contact with an airman trained to handle the Surface to Air (SAM) missile. The missile had not locked on to the target, the incoming aircraft, though he could clearly hear the sound of the engine. The battery had knocked off after 15 seconds. He had thereafter loaded another missile and gone through the same process. It was dark and hence he could not lock the SAM mechanism on target to hit the aircraft. [Source: SundayTimes]

the SA-16 GIMLET is a shoulder launched SAM... the military term is MANPADS.... MAN Portable Air Defense System... (and if women are using it, like in afganistan... its called WOMANPADS)... the LTTE got busted by the FBI trying to acquire similar Igla class SAMs several months back...

Note: there is nothing preventing women can firing MANPADs! anyone with proper training can fire a MANPAD!

the SA-16 is a early cold war relic... which explains why the first missile didnt lock...

the crop duster has a 4-stroke petrol engine with a silencer... which means that the exhaust of the crop duster is much cooler than the exhaust a gas turbine powered air craft (like a helicopter or a turbo-prop which the SA-16 was build to intercept!)

which explains why the airman couldnt lock on to the crop duster the second time...



read about the SA-16 shoulder launched SAM...

crop duster Ordnance

By then, the second aircraft had come from over the sea at Modera and headed towards the CPC's oil storage complex at Kolonnawa. One bomb fell near a diesel storage tank. It caused leaks to the tanks but CPC workers were able to plug it. The second bomb fell but did not explode and gave the authorities an idea of its components. It was one metre long and weighed approximately 35 kilograms. Air Force officials found the locally turned out bomb held a mixture of C-4 explosives and steel razor balls. They believe a third bomb fell into a tank storing furnace oil but are unable to still confirm this. This is because the bomb did not explode. They suspect it may have gone to the bottom of the tank since there were signs at the centre of a foreign object entering. [Source: SundayTimes]

why didnt the tank blow up or ignite? because it didnt fall close enough... :)

a 35kg ordnance with steel bearings... how much of C-4 was in it? may be less than 10kg... also C-4 is not an incendiary explosive... as in... it explodes and releases heat and all that but after the explosion the fuel is expended and there is nothing to a fire like napalm... firebombs or incendiary explosives were the primary weapon of choice in WWII air campaigns... why? because bombers could not accurately drop a bomb... so the best chance of destroying an enemy target was to set it on fire... hmmm...

so unless the bomb hits really close to the tank... it cant cause much damage... C-4 is a high explosive... which creates a massive shockwave (a supersonic pressure wave) on detonation... the shockwave accelerates the ball bearings... so ball bearings against a thick metal sheet can drill a few holes...

fuel storage solos usually have a concrete wall surrounding it... because if there is a leak... the wall surrounding it should be able to hold the entire capacity of the silo... so the wall would have offered some protection against low angle shrapnel...

Thereafter the aircraft that dropped bombs over Kolonnawa had proceeded over Borella, Nugegoda and was headed for Ratmalana. However, the intense firing into the sky that lit up the air space over the air base prompted the aircraft to change course. How the two aircraft returned to their hideout in guerrilla held Wanni is still not clear. However, confirmation they were on their way back came from ground troops in Mannar who had seen them overhead. They were flying northwards. That was how the blackout was relaxed and the firing frenzy ground to a halt. [Source: SundayTimes]

NUGEGODA!!!! WHAT!!! not cool... ground radar is blind to low flying air craft 'cos of obstacles (trees, buildings, etc) in the horizon...

MiG-29s

With these unprecedented measures, Defence Ministry officials were busy this week examining measures to counter air threats posed by Tiger guerrillas. One such move is to ascertain the possibility of acquiring state-of-the art MiG-29 aircraft. A three member team from the Air Force headed by Air Vice Marshal Prashantha de Silva has been appointed for this purpose. The MiG-29s are not only equipped for night flying but also are fitted for air to air combat. Sri Lanka's Ambassador to the Russian Federation, Udayanga Weeratunga, has worked out a programme for the team to not only visit Russia but also to Ukraine. In the latter country, the team is to discuss matters relating to the overhaul of some SLAF aircraft. Mr. Weeratunga is concurrently accredited to Ukraine as well. [Source: SundayTimes]

MiG-29's to intercept crop dusters? isnt that an over-kill? well what do i know...

the SA-16 sees only hear (IR radiation) so it doesnt care if its dark... just that the person handling the MANPADS must see the target...

how about some FIM-92 stingers? well its def more effective than the SA-16!

Mi-24 Hind Gunships

A Sri Lanka Air Force document on the need for immediate precautionary measures to counter potential Tiger guerrilla air threats, presented to the Ministry of Defence in 2005, noted that:
"Even if the radar coverage proposed is achieved, there can be no guarantee that a successful interception can be made owing to the absence of radar directed guns on ground and guided weapons on board Mi-24s. While early warning can be expected, being able to "shoot down" the enemy aircraft before it can accomplish its mission is another consideration. [Source: SundayTimes]

Spike ER

WHAT?? thats an anti-armor missile... check the global security article... well may be its cheap... Stingers are expensive... Rs 3.5 mil per missile!

"The SLAF has been attempting to procure the 'Spike ER' Guided missile system to enhance the combat effectiveness of the Mi-24 fleet. This weapons system is a guided weapon, where once it is initially aimed and fired, the missile can be guided to the "designated" target by the pilot. The weapon can also be used as a 'fire and forget' system where once fired it will automatically guide itself to the selected target.

"Expeditious procurement of this weapon for deployment on the Mi-24s will greatly increase the probability of these aircraft being able to secure a hit on an enemy aircraft and destroying it. Equipping the Mi-24 fleet with such 'guided weapons' will also enable the SLAF to engage other LTTE targets on land and sea as well, thereby giving the security forces a significant edge over the enemy. [Source: SundayTimes]

The reach of the Dandy is of 6-10km and the head of thermal search of high performance allows to use long-range engagement. The operator can make correction of trajectory with link of fiber-optics. The system of link for fiber optics allows that the launching aircraft to observe and to track the target through the on-board system and can dive and to look to covering after the launching in the way "goes off and brings up to date" while it continues guiding the missile from an occult position. [Source: GlobalSecurity.org]

Politics

This SLAF report went to the Ministry of Defence when President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga was in office. Initially she had dismissed reports of the LTTE construction of an airstrip and acquisition of aircraft as attempts by the media to promote arms dealers to sell weapons that are more sophisticated. Hence, she did not show the same enthusiasm towards air defence as she did in attempting to procure large vessels for the Sri Lanka Navy. It is only after the United States helped identify one of the photographs obtained by a UAV of an aircraft on the ground as a Czech built Zlin Z-143 aircraft that she wrote to several heads of Governments but failed to heed the Air Force request for the guided missile system.

Air Force spokesman Wing Commander Ajantha de Silva also took part in a talk show of a private TV channel where he placed the blame on the media that led to the four successive air attacks by Tiger guerrillas in just one month. He dropped a bombshell when he declared men or women in his organization were corrupt for they sold information to the media for money. Now the loud mouthed spokesman, The Sunday Times learns is to face an inquiry that may lead to some action against him for bringing his own organization to ridicule and disrepute. [Source: SundayTimes]

its a mans obligation...

During mass, Eric Cartman, a modern day philosopher, once said: "Its a mans obligation to stick his boneration in a womens speration; this sort of penetration will increase the population of the younger generation..."

watch the QuickTime video...

This movie clip requires Apple QuickTime. If you do not currently have it, you will be prompted to install it.

Or listen to the WAV file if you can't be bothered downloading QuickTime...

Lakmal's Homecoming

hymenoplasty

By Alexandra Steigrad

PARIS (Reuters) -- Sitting in a cafe near the Champs Elysees, the 26-year-old French-born woman of Algerian descent looks like any other Parisian. But two months ago, she did something none of her friends have done.

She had her hymen re-sewn, technically making her a virgin again.

This 30-minute outpatient procedure, called "hymenoplasty" and costing between 1,500 and 3,000 euros ($2,000-$4,000), is increasingly popular among young women of North African descent in France.

DON'T DISAPPOINT THE FIANCE

Karima also lost her virginity to an ex-boyfriend. She plans to marry soon and her fiancé expects her to be a virgin. So last month, she commuted in from an eastern suburb of Paris, where she lives with her parents, and had the surgery.

For many doctors, resewing the hymen goes against their ideals of sexual freedom and personal liberty.

"The surgery is an attack on women's dignity (I think he meant virginity)," said Professor Jacques Lansac, president of The National College of Gynaecologists and Obstetricians of France. "We will not take part in a market that places value on the quality of a woman -- if she's good or not. It is an attack on women's liberty."

Thanks Kisholi for the link.

Vesak

Vesak is celebrates the birth, enlightenment (Nirvana) and the passing away (Parinirvana) of Gautama Buddha.

Pañcasīla and Vesak

this is a tread from facebook... which i thought i'd share...

----
i was reading about Pañcasīla in Wikipedia 'cos Vesak is next week and all that...

Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Five_Precepts

i'm not a buddhist... i'm a atheist... a christian... and a scientist... look if god can be the father the son and the holy spirit why cant i have three persons? hmmmm

okay getting back to Pañcasīla and i dont know all these Pali chants but just looking at it from a philosophical point... i am so not doing the Pañcasīla properly...


1. I undertake the precept to refrain from taking the life of living beings.

Pānātipātā veramani sikkhāpadam samādiyāmi
Killing of living beings

i've got this anti-mosquito thing at home...

plus i love eating tasty animals...

but i dont support the war and i dont like ppl dying so i hope it adds points... heheh

2. I undertake the precept to refrain from stealing

lit. "taking what is not offered"
Adinnādānā veramani sikkhāpadam samādiyāmi

most sri lankans are guilty of this i guess 'cos they do not use genuine licensed software, music, movies and other intellectual property (IP)... add photocopying of expensive books to this and copying other people's coursework this list... so i think all this would fall under... "taking what is not offered"

and i'm a sri lankan... i'm guilty of the above...

i dont directly admit that i'm guilty of IP piracy!

3. I undertake the precept to refrain from sexual misconduct

Kāmesu micchācāra veramani sikkhāpadam samādiyāmi
adultery, rape, exploitation, etc.

sexual misconduct -> does pr0n fall under this?

4. I undertake the precept to refrain from false speech
lying
Musāvāda veramani sikkhāpadam samādiyāmi

ohh lying... at first i saw it as lynching... hehe getting old...

ya lie like every day...
ppl call and ask me if the project is complete and i'm like "almost" where as i've not even reached 50%...

and "shehal mahath weala..." and i'm like "naha naha mama prushtimath wela"....

and i lie 'cos its not nice to be rude... like ppl go on telling how good they were... they did this... they did that... went to church... chanted Pali... blah blah... and they claim to be good... but i know for a fact that they bitch about their friends... or support the war... say that its okay for a few ppl do die now and for a lotta ppl to live in peace later on... or waste their parents money on junk... but the thing is... if i tell them all this... they'll be like "you're rude"... so instead i tell them something to satisfy their ego like... "yeah i wish i could be like you" or "if only the rest of the world was good as you" or "wow you should be like second in command to God or something"...

and i always exaggerate!!!


5. I undertake the precept to refrain from intoxicants which lead to heedlessness.

Surā meraya majja pamādatthānā veramani sikkhāpadam samādiyāmi

yeah right!! hehehe... i mean most of the time i drink to get high... or i get high to get high...
but if there is good food (good cheese... tasty animals...) then i always prioritize... so i drink in moderation...

but i like vesak... so during vesak... i try to be a less Pañcasīla violator that normal... but then again i dont see the point because its like saying i pissed on your wall a little bit hehehe

what do you guys think??
16 comments
Updated about a week ago

Yadamini Gunawardena wrote
at 6:47pm on April 27th, 2007
well will comment on the last bit...
"saying i pissed on your wall a little bit hehehe"...
now each time you do this...if you make an effort to do it in a lesser quantity than last time...and next time even lesser...and so on and so forth...
you get what i mean...so it does make sense after all...just that it's a long endless vicious cycle...so keep perfecting those ill wills...you can do it...


Shehal Joseph wrote
at 7:57pm on April 27th, 2007
okay lets try this out...
i first piss on half the wall...
and each time i piss on half the amount i pissed before...
and i keep pissing infinitely
and the wall will not dry ('cos sins add up... right?)
the addition (+) operator represents "wall will not dry"

this can be represented mathematically by a geometric series:
1/2 + 1/4 + 1/8 + 1/16 + 1/32 +...
and it converges to 1

so i would eventually be pissing on the entire wall regardless of what i do...
Delete

Yadamini Gunawardena wrote
at 6:33am on April 28th, 2007
hmm...good...but what is the addition of the remainders? (1/2+3/4+7/8+...=?)...that is the total you kept away from possible sins...and may be also times you "could" have used for cutivation of good will...neda?

Shehal Joseph wrote
at 7:17am on April 28th, 2007
no its not

the wall represents my sin quota...
and the addition operator represents the accumulation of sin...
and its inverse operator subtraction represents forgiveness of sin...

pissing on the wet areas of the wall is not allowed... because if thats the case then the biggest sin i've do is what counts... and if i commit a smaller sin... then i can just wet the already wet area and my smaller sins wont add up... which is not the case right?

day 1... i commit sin... so that 1/2

next day i commit sin...

if i'm forgiven... then what i did yesterday can't be added... because the wall gets cleansed when i'm forgiven... so then i can piss on the same place i pissed before... so it'll be 1/4... because each day i piss half of what i pissed the previous day... and there is no need to add up remainders or whatever...

but if i'm not forgiven... then yesterdays sins are there... so the wall is not dry... and since i cant piss on the wet areas... my score is.. 1/2 + 1/4 + ....
Delete

Shehal Joseph wrote
at 8:19am on April 28th, 2007
i love to eat meat... but say i try not to...
because i dont want to kill animals (and eat them...)

and i dont eat meat...
but every time i get the smell of fried chicken...
its so painful to resist...
but i resist...
it was very hard... but i didnt violate (#1)...
time goes by... i lose the liking for fried chicken...
just like getting used to sleeping on a uncomfortable bed...
is that like... abstinence...?
being in self-denial...?
wont that lead to other bad things...?
which are worse than having a drink and eating some meat?
Delete

Yadamini Gunawardena wrote
at 8:34am on April 28th, 2007
ok...but this has few parts...
1.to cultivate existing meritorious deeds
2.to cultivate nonexisting meritorious deeds...
3.to stop accumilation of existing sins...
4.to stop accumilation of nonexisting sins...
so...what we are working on here is on part 3 & 4...
which wld also provide room for 1 & 2 in the longer run...
yes...kala de pala de...unless it is overshadowed by a much powerful meritorious deed...

(meritorious deed=kusal sith...
sins=akusal sith...)

Shehal Joseph wrote
at 10:29am on April 28th, 2007
thats deep!
Delete

Shehal Joseph wrote
at 7:51am on April 29th, 2007
According to the Mahaparinibbana Sutta of the Pali canon, at the age of 80, the Buddha announced that he would soon enter Parinirvana or the final deathless state abandoning the earthly body. After this, the Buddha ate his last meal, which, according to different translations, was either a mushroom delicacy or soft pork, which he had received as an offering from a blacksmith named Cunda. Falling violently ill, Buddha instructed his attendant Ānanda to convince Cunda that the meal eaten at his place had nothing to do with his passing and that his meal would be a source of the greatest merit as it provided the much-needed energy for the Buddha.

is that true?

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gautama_Buddha#The_Great_Passing
Delete

Shehal Joseph wrote
at 7:54am on April 29th, 2007
The Buddha's final words were, "All composite things pass away. Strive for your own salvation with diligence."

hmmm... i like that...

okay about how Buddha died... is that true?
Delete

Yadamini Gunawardena wrote
at 1:41pm on April 29th, 2007
was out of town...just returned...

honestly...my guess is as good as urs...cause i didnt live in those times...so hv to come to a conclusion only after analysing whats on record...

...but...there's a long description...on physically how ill and weak Gauthama Buddha was before he set out on his last journey(last year)...

...so if the food had any impact it wld have been a bad reaction with the digesting system or its products due to Gauthama Buddha's severe ill health, rather than any karmic effect...

cause when you attain the Budhhahood...you dnt accumilate good or bad karma...it's a neutral state...but what had been accumilated before attaining Buddhahood will be completed...even bad karmas...


Shehal Joseph wrote
at 2:42pm on April 29th, 2007
thats not what i was asking....
see what that story tells is that he wasnt picky about what he ate...
he ate what he was given... for nourishment...
correct?
Delete

Yadamini Gunawardena wrote
at 2:54pm on April 29th, 2007
exactly...

Shehal Joseph wrote
at 8:11pm on April 29th, 2007
and he ate meat... for nourishment... needed the protein... etc...
Delete

Yadamini Gunawardena wrote
at 4:51am on April 30th, 2007
nope...like u writely wrote before...

"...he wasnt picky about what he ate...
he ate what he was given..."

an "offer" or "dhana" without the presence of lobha(greed),dvesha(hatred/avrice), & moha(delusion/ignorance) is the highest kusal one cld accumilate...so it was practised with the "giver", the one who is making the offering... in mind...

dhana cld be in different modes...offering of food, to goods ,to righteous knowledge..to extremes of even your own blood, organs, and may be even life!...

Shehal Joseph wrote
at 5:56am on April 30th, 2007
i see...
okay looking from a giver's perspective...
but arent most dhana is done with the intension of accumulating kusal for someone (dead or alive)?
like say someone dies... on their death aniversary... a dhana is given... with the intension of accumulating kusal... 'cos his/her soul is roaming somewhere in spacetime although he/she is not there physically...
so the giver wants kusal from the offering... for his/her soul and whoever else he is making the offering... doesnt that fall under lobha? as opposed to offering something out of compassion... 'cos you feel the suffering (like hunger) of someone and you sympathize and you offer 'cos you dont want him/her to suffer...

see what doesnt make sense is that ppl just do things 'cos it brings them kusal or its pin for them... and now 'cos they are compassionate... and i think that sux...

i'm not pointing fingers are buddhism... its the "reward" system that most religions offer that makes ppl do that...
not cool!
Delete

Yadamini Gunawardena wrote
at 8:10am on April 30th, 2007
true...
moha(delusion/ignorance) covers it.like you said the mindset needs to be proper...proper understanding of things...to accumilate propers kusals/ping (can be presented as two differnt things)

doing things for the sake of doing it or... practising things with out proper mindfulness will never bring good...just like said in kalama sutta

but the transfer of merits to others, living or dead, is done only after the meritorious act is perfomed with proper mindfulness...ex: like u said offering of a meal to some one in hunger...with no lobha,dvesah,moha...and thinking that this act is performed purely to bring some food to end hunger for the time been...and thus may be even to save another from ill health or even death...once such is practised the accumilated merit is transferable to another living or dead...but shldnt be fabricated or premeditated

bottom line is mindfulness...if thats proper...u wldnt wanna cheat ur self? cause you knw that it will bring no positive result

my birth details

date
- year: 1976
- month: november
- day: 04

time
- local time: 11:15
- solar time: 11:13
- universal time: 05:43 UT

location
- lat: 6.898775° N
- long: 79.854172° E

mass
- mass relative to earth: 3.89 kg

Position of the Sun in the Celestial Sphere

so i'm a LIBRA!!!!

Position of the Moon in the Celestial Sphere

Political Views: Liberal

today on TNL i saw this JHU monk... rathana hamuduruwo saying that being politically liberal tends to embrace western values... where ppl eat well... get drunk etc..

it was a political debate... they were debating some act passed by the parliament on having bars close to schools and religious places of worship...

its good that the act specifically mentioned "religious places of worship".... 'cos a bar is a place of worship to some liberals....

if i had no desire to eat tasty animals... drink alcohol... get high... and eat again... and use deodarants... i'd be a bigger monk than him... and since this abstinence would make my smug cloud so big i'd want to go preaching to those lost souls about how drinking is bad... (and how its okay to pirate software, music and movies...)

and now they want the govt to ban alcohol and tobacco completely... 'cos apparently the natural log of the rate at which the natural log of the rate at which ppl are getting high is increasing exponentially...

y = e^((ln (d(ln (dx/dt)/dt).c)) + C

and they'd ban meat and the whole country will eventually turn up to be a monastery... and there wont be anyone to populate... 'cos no one will have the desire to populate...

ah not cool... so as an act of civil disobedience... we should drink more and eat more tasty animals or else there wont be anyone to populate the country!

i wonder what the govts policy is on software and movie piracy...

hmmm

time dilation and the international space station

surface radius of earth,
R = 6,378.137 km

orbital radius of the international space station,
r = R + (319.6 + 346.9) / 2 = R + 333.25 km = 6,711.387 km

from gravitational time dilation:

r_s = 0.0088356 m

t₀ = 1s * 0.99999999934 = 0.99999999934 s

so someone living in the the ISS will be 0.00000000066 seconds younger for every second on earth...
hmmmm

that is... for every 1 earth year... a person living in ISS will be 20.77 milliseconds younger!... so if he/she lives for 48 years in the ISS he/she will be 1 second younger!

NZ pwned!!!!!

we totally pwned the kiwi's!!!

i'm selling my iMac G5

i'm selling my iMac G5
well it's not really mine... it belongs to UITier (my company)

the bid starts at: Rs 85,000

i bought it in Sept 2005 but its like brand new... 'cos i like to keep things clean
;)

i have the original DVDs

check the wikipedia article on iMac G5s

and also the official Apple press release

why am i selling it? 'cos they are gay... havent you seen those mac vs PC youtube videos? and 'cos its redundant...



for a list of installed software pls contact me via gmail: shehal@gmail.com

this model does NOT come with the remote or does NOT have built in blue tooth

Machine Name: iMac G5
Machine Model: PowerMac8,1
CPU Type: PowerPC G5 (3.0)
Number Of CPUs: 1
CPU Speed: 1.8 GHz
L2 Cache (per CPU): 512 KB
Bus Speed: 600 MHz
Boot ROM Version: 5.2.2f2
Serial Number: YD4415SFPP8

DVD-Writer: MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-825
Interconnect: ATAPI
Burn Support: Yes (Apple Shipped/Supported)
Cache: 2048 KB
Reads DVD: Yes
CD-Write: -R, -RW
DVD-Write: -R, -RW, +R, +RW
Burn Underrun Protection CD: Yes
Burn Underrun Protection DVD: Yes
Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, DVD-DAO

Memory: 1GB
Size: 2 x 512 MB
Type: DDR SDRAM
Speed: PC3200U-30330

Hard Disk: 150 GB
Capacity: 149.05 GB
Model: WDC WD1600JD-40GBB2
Revision: 09.05M09
Serial Number: WD-WMAES3955685
Removable Media: No
Detachable Drive: No
BSD Name: disk0
Protocol: ata
Unit Number: 0
Socket Type: Serial-ATA
OS9 Drivers: No
S.M.A.R.T. status: Verified

Connectivity:
Built-in Fast Ethernet
WiFi

Video
GeForce FX 5200:
Chipset Model: GeForce FX 5200
Type: Display
Bus: AGP
Slot: AGP
VRAM (Total): 64 MB
Vendor: nVIDIA (0x10de)
Device ID: 0x0329
Revision ID: 0x00b1
ROM Revision: 2103
Displays:

20 inch Display:
Display Type: LCD
Resolution: 1680 x 1050
Depth: 32-bit Color
Built-In: Yes
Core Image: Supported
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Quartz Extreme: Supported

Colombo at Night

about yesterday's match...

i was reading this article on cricinfo... written by some guy called Andrew Miller... he's a pretty pissed off 'cos we didnt play at full strength...

quote:
To have sprung a major surprise in a game as meaningless as this encounter had become would have been a criminal waste of their energies.

quote:
Sri Lanka will face all sorts of accusations in the coming days of bringing the game into disrepute and of devaluing the World Cup with their tactics.

so mahela has put the game in to disrepute by not playing with the standard team... rested vass and murali...

well i wonder if he'd say the same thing if we rested malinga , vass and murali with the ireland match!

last night...

Venus

i was looking at Venus thinking its Saturn
and when i checked the chart it was Venus with Pleiades (The Seven Sisters)



the above is an "infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope"

i took some pictures and they were pretty bad so i'm not going to put them here

Jupiter

we were getting thrashed by the aussies...
and i just couldnt watch match...
so i decided to go have a look at Jupiter...
and there it was... with three of its moons...
i called my bro and asked him to have a look...
and he was like "ko ko"... he's blind or something... 'cos it was there
and then after a few tries he goes "ahhh... dakka dakka"
i took a few pictures but they were all blur...



the above are Galileo's notes on observing Jupiter...

The Telescope

i borrowed a Meade ETX-90EC from a friend of mine... with attachments for my Canon EOS 350D Camera...

i had to take the telescope out of the house 'cos we dont have a balcony and the roof doesnt support my body weight...
there was a street dog (female) who had a few puppies and she was like "what're you doing"... and i was like "there dog... jupiter!!!!" and she goes "hmmmmm... thank you... just what me and my pups want..."