"A meek endeavor to the triumph" by Sampath Jayarathna

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

How to remove AVG Secure Search option from Mozilla tabs

Lately, my Opera browser starts consuming lots of memory around 200k compared to Firefox which is about 70-90k. I really liked the Opera speed dial option and its mouse gestures. But I guess this is the time to move on and try something different.



So, I'm going to see how the Mozilla works, hopefully it should works. So far so good. But one thing that annoyed me at the start was the AVG secure search option. I don't like browser to tell which search engine I should try. I like Google and Bing than anything else, so I thought this should be an easy fix. Whenever I opened a new tab in Mozilla, this goes to a default AVG secure search. But I couldn't find an option to disable that, not even after removing the AVG search option from the search engine list.

AVG Internet Security 2013, 1 user 8098948 (Google Affiliate Ad)

After looking around for sometime, I found a solution, but not sure this may hinder any safety features of the browser or not. If you find so, do let me know.

Here's how to remove the default AVG secure search option in a new tab and moving it to your speed dial or to your default home page.

Avg Technologies Usa Inc. AV12N12EN001 Avg 2012 Anti-Virus 1 User (Google Affiliate Ad)

Run Mozilla Firefox.
Choose the Add-ons option from the Tools menu.
Select the AVG Safe Search add-on and click on the Disable button.
Close Mozilla Firefox and run it again.

Or you can go to control panel and un-install programs and then change the AVG by un-checking the add-on option.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

World fastest cars Top 14 - 2011/2012


1. Bugatti Veyron Super Sport
267 mph, 0-60 in 2.4 secs. Aluminum, Narrow Angle 8 Liter W16 Engine with 1200 hp, base price is $2,400,000. Although the Bugatti Veyron lost the title to SSC Ultimate Aero on March 2007, Bugatti challenge the record in Germany on July 10, 2010 with the new 2010 Super Sport Version and the Veyron once again claims the title of the fastest car in the world at 267 mph. The original Bugatti Veyron has a top speed of 253 mph, priced at $1,700,000 and equipped with 1001 hp.





2. Hennessey Venom GT
260 mph, 0-60 in 2.5 seconds, has a 6.2-liter LS9 Turbocharged V8 Twin Turbo V8 Engine 1200 hp, has a price tag of $950,000. The Venom GT has yet to be tested and proven, but could possibly hit a top speed of 275 mph. This might just be the Veyrons closest competitor!


2. Koenigsegg Agera R
260 mph, 0-60 in 2.9 secs. 5.0-liter V8 Engine with twin turbo’s, housing 1099 hp. Base price is $1,600,000. If you're into snow sports, the Agera R can be fitted with a Ski Box as well as winter tires, not that I would take one on a ski trip or anything like that. While the Agera R has a massive theoretical top speed, the current tested top speed is 260 mph. Expect this snow car to be the Bugatti's arch enemy for the next 5 years


3. SSC Ultimate Aero
257 mph, 0-60 in 2.7 secs. Twin-Turbo V8 Engine with 1183 hp, base price is $654,400. Tested in March 2007 by Guinness World Records, The SSC Ultimate Aero was the fastest car in the world from March 2007 to July 2010. On March 2011, the Koenigsegg Agera R also surpassed it, forcing this American made car to the #3 spot. Shelby SuperCars will continue their quest to reclaim the fastest car title, and their new SSC Tuatura might do the job (we'll just have to wait).

4. Saleen S7 Twin-Turbo
248 mph, 0-60 in 2.8 secs. Twin Turbo All Aluminum V8 Engine with 750 hp, base price is $555,000. Smooth and bad-ass. It will make you want to show it off non-stop.



5. Koenigsegg CCX
245 mph, 0-60 in 3.2 secs. 90 Degree V8 Engine 806 hp, base price is $545,568. Made in Sweden, it is the older brother of the Agera R, only losing to 4 other supercars in the world.


6. McLaren F1
240 mph, 0-60 in 3.2 secs. BMW S70/2 60 Degree V12 Engine with 627 hp, base price is $970,000. The fastest car in the 20th century with doors that looks like bat wings. Maybe Batman needs to order one and paint it black



7. Gumpert Apollo
224 mph, 0-60 in 3.0 secs, 4.2 liter V8 Engine that houses 650 hp. Base price: $450,000. Gumpert claims that the Apollo was designed such that it could drive upside-down in a tunnel with speeds at 190 mph or above. Of course, no one has tested this yet.


8. Noble M600
223 mph, 0-60 in 3.7 secs. Twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 Engine with 650 hp. Base price is $330,000. The Noble M600 also happens to be a very cool car. Its inconspicuous design sports a slender and contoured body which does not scream out for attention at every second of the day.


9. Pagani Zonda Cinque Roadster
217 mph, 0-60 in 3.4 secs. Twin turbocharged AMG V12 engine that produces 678 hp. Base price is $1,850,000. The Pagani Zonda Cinque Roadster is a limited-edition, with five ever produced. It is the quintessential exotic and exclusive supercar.

9. Ferrari Enzo
217 mph, 0-60 in 3.4 secs. F140 Aluminum V12 Engine with 660 hp, base price is $670,000. Only 399 were ever produced; the price goes up every time someone crashes.




9. Jaguar XJ220
217 mph, 0-60 in 3.8 secs. Twin Turbo V6 Engine with 542 hp, base price was $650,000. Made in 1992, this car still has what it takes to make the list.

10. Ascari A10215 mph, 0-60 in 2.8 secs. 5.0 litre BMW V8 S62 Engine with 625 hp. Base price: $650,000. The company planned to produce 50 of these supercars at its factory in Banbury, England.




10. Pagani Zonda F
215 mph, 0-60 in 3.5 secs. Mercedes Benz M180 V12 Engine with 650 hp, base price is $667,321. With a V12 motor, this baby can do much better.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Criminal penguin captured on film

A "criminal" stone-stealing Adelie penguin has been captured on camera by a BBC film crew.

The team, filming for the documentary Frozen Planet, spent four months with the penguin colony on Ross Island, Antarctica.
The footage they captured shows a male penguin stealing stones from its neighbour's nest.
The birds build their stone nests to elevate and protect their eggs from run-off when the Antarctic ice melts.
Males with the best nests are more likely to attract a mate, so, in a colony of half a million penguins, the best stones are highly prized.
In the chaos of the penguin colony, cameraman Mark Smith managed to capture a remarkable sequence, with one penguin repeatedly returning to its nest to add stones, apparently unaware of the fact that his neighbor would steal a stone every time his nest was unattended.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Toilet Story

Saw this in a facebook post, thought I should share this, Humor Alert! This is hilarious!

OMG!....I was in in the public restroom -

I was barely sitting down when
I heard a voice in the other stall: "Hi, how are you?"
Me: embarrassed, "Doin' fine!"
Stall: "So what are you up to?"
Me: "Uhhh, I'm like you, just sitting here."
Stall: "Can I come over?"
Me: (attitude) "No, I'm a little busy right now!!"
Stall: "Listen, I'll have to call you back. There's an idiot in the other stall who keeps answering all my questions! ~~

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Rare Photos

Google in 1999, when they started
Lady Diana accident scene
Football player dies while playing
Pope John Paul with the man that tried to kill him
The moment when Geoge Bush was notified of the attack on the Twin Towers
The Titanic ship before sailing
Holocast done by Hiltler
The Beatles when they were adolescents
School grades of Albert Einstein
Construction of the Empire State Building. This is a copy of the original photo
Jews in concentration camp
First computer ever made
Charlie Chaplin and Mahatma Gandhi
Construction of Christ The Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro
Black physicians treating in the ER a member of the Ku Kux Klan
Body of President Kennedy in 1963
Adolf Hitler as a child
Evolution of the Coca Cola
Berlin wall being torn down
Construction of Disney world
Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee
Osama Bim Laden Family. Osama is the one with red circle around his face
The Beatles before they became famous
Elvis Presley drafted into the Army
Papa Pio XII and Hitler
The Titanic at the bottom of the sea
Sadam Hussein with the noose around the neck
CHE GUEVARA AND FIDEL CASTRO
The FIRST McDonald
Early construction of Brasilia, capital of Brasil


Saturday, October 08, 2011

UK Transit (stopover) Visa, London Heathrow Airport

I noticed number of visits for one of my previous post about the stopover at London Heathrow airport. This happened in 2007 and me and my wife both were in transit to USA after our vacation at Sri Lanka. We had a 15 hour layover (or stopover) at Heathrow and we were able to obtain 24 hour entry visa to UK and spent few hours at my cousins place before catching the flight next day.
See my previous post here.



I'm not sure how the law regarding this 24 hour visa, and I'm still getting number of emails requesting more information about this. So, I did a quick search and found following information, so this will help you deciding whether you need a transit visa before the travel or whether you can obtain visa on arrival through the UK Border Agency. But most of the time it is a safe bet just to contact your airline to make sure that you need or need not transit visa.

A Stopover in Venice by Walker, Kathryn [Paperback] (Google Affiliate Ad)

This questionnaire will help you to decide some of it.

Do you need a visa?

This section explains how you can transit through the UK when traveling to another country. It also explains the documents that you will need to bring with you.
If you pass through the UK without staying here on the way to another country, this is called 'transiting'.

The Scientific Tourist Through England, Wales (Google Affiliate Ad)

There are two types of transit through the UK:
You will transit airside if you arrive on a flight, remain in the arrival lounge of the airport without passing through immigration control, and then depart on another flight from the same airport.
You will transit landside if you arrive on a flight, pass through immigration control and then leave the UK within 48 hours (or 24 hours if you are travelling under the 'travel without visa' concession).

If you want to spend longer than 48 hours in the UK before continuing your journey, you must come to the UK as a visitor.
Also read the more information section bottom of each of the above links which gives you information based on your country and whether there is a valid entry visa for Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the USA, and a valid airline ticket for travel via the UK, as part of a journey to or from one of those countries (which is called Transit without visa' concession - DATV exemptions)

Thursday, October 06, 2011

OUTSIDE THREAT Comet ElENIN october 16 2011...UFO invasion?


Visa required to enter Sri Lanka - 1st Jan 2012

This is to keep you informed, from 1st January 2012, all foreign passport holders would require to obtain a visa prior to entry into Sri Lanka.

The process is simple and the cost is just US$50 as a standard for all countries for processing the visa prior to arrival. Those who arrive at the airport without a prior visa could obtain so at the port of arrival for US$75!

However, Singaporeans and Maldivians are not required to have a visa prior to arrival (to reciprocate their kindness).

The Visa could be obtained as follows:

  • On line by logging on to www.eta.gov.lk (detailed information and the visa forms are provided through this site). The information is available in many of our key languages ( English, Arabic, Russian, Japanese, German, Spanish, Chinese etc). The visa is provided within a day.
  • Through a 3rd party
  • At the port of arrival

ETA processing fee Charges in United States DollarsTourist Visa with Double Entry for 30 days US$ 50

Tourist Visa Single Entry up to 90 days US$ 50
Tourist Visa with Double Entry up to 90 days US$ 50
Business Visa with Multiple Entry for 30 days US$ 60
Business Visa with Single Entry up to 90 days US$ 60

* * The visa prior to arrival will be implemented from 1st January 2012 and on 1st of October 2011, www.eta.gov.lk was launched. Hence please feel free to check this simple yet informative site for more details.

Monday, October 03, 2011

PhD Qualifiers - Oct. 11th

Getting ready for my PhD qualifiers, and only a week before the judgment day. Am I depressed already?

My reading list is not bad compared to others like my friend Josh who got 2 entire books (Architecture and Algorithms) a 38 page research paper and another 8 pager. My case, I got only 4 papers each with 14,8,12 and 12 pages each. Feels like my list is too light, may be I should plan reading few more from the respective reference lists.

Fingers crossed, hope I should be OK.

New Look & New Template

New look and matching theme similar to my personal web site Web Maze. Hope you like it.