Best Sri Lankan Books (Political Joke)

One of the best piece of Sinhala Joke I read for a while.....lol

Author unknown, but I must say, its a pretty good and unbiased. Made me chuckle while reading... :)

Best of "The Voice" Season 3 - My Favorites

The Voice Season 3 has started with the blind audition and I'm already rooting for several of the singers. My votes so far for,

Melanie Martinez's - "Toxic",
Bryan Keith's - "It will Rain"
Benji's  "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"

 

 

 

Reading and displaying tf vector content of Apache Mahout SequenceFile

This java code segment reads through the Apache Mahout SequenceFile (generated by the Mahout seq2sparse tool), to display the tokens and their tf values. The code uses the dictionary file to map the token index to token in the dictionary.

You can read the Mahout Wiki on creating vectors from Text Documents. I have created tf vectors from a directory of documents and followed the process explained in the wiki.  You basically need to run Mahout seqdirectory tool to create intermediate SequenceFile and then seq2sparse tool to create the tf vectors and dictionary file. Then you can use my code to examine the content of the SequenceFile and identify which terms in a document get higher term frequency and do further research.

In first few lines, the code reads and populate a HashMap of the dictionary file created by the Mahout seq2sparse tool and next the reader reads the tf-vectors of the SequenceFile and each of the token of the tf vectors are mapped from the dictionary map.  You may need to import some of the followings,

import org.apache.hadoop.conf.Configuration;
import org.apache.hadoop.fs.FileSystem;
import org.apache.hadoop.fs.Path;
import org.apache.hadoop.io.IntWritable;
import org.apache.hadoop.io.LongWritable;
import org.apache.hadoop.io.SequenceFile;
import org.apache.hadoop.io.Text;
import org.apache.mahout.math.NamedVector;
import org.apache.mahout.math.SequentialAccessSparseVector;
import org.apache.mahout.math.Vector;
import org.apache.mahout.math.VectorWritable;
import org.apache.mahout.math.Vector.Element;

public static void readMahoutSequenceFile()
{
 Configuration conf = new Configuration();
 FileSystem fs;
 SequenceFile.Reader read;
 try {
  fs = FileSystem.get(conf);
  read = new SequenceFile.Reader(fs, new Path("/Sparsedir/dictionary.file-0"), conf);
  IntWritable dicKey = new IntWritable();
  Text text = new Text();
  HashMap dictionaryMap = new HashMap();
  try {
      while (read.next(text, dicKey)) {
         dictionaryMap.put(Integer.parseInt(dicKey.toString()), text.toString());
      }
   } catch (NumberFormatException e) {
       e.printStackTrace();
   } catch (IOException e) {
       e.printStackTrace();
   }
   read.close();
         
   read = new SequenceFile.Reader(fs, new Path("/Sparsedir/tf-vectors/part-r-00000"), conf);
   Text key = new Text();
   VectorWritable value = new VectorWritable();
   SequentialAccessSparseVector vect;
   while (read.next(key, value)) {
        NamedVector namedVector = (NamedVector)value.get();
        vect= (SequentialAccessSparseVector)namedVector.getDelegate();
        for( Element  e : vect ){
           System.out.println("Token: "+dictionaryMap.get(e.index())+", TF-IDF weight: "+e.get()) ;
          }
         }
         read.close();        
  } catch (IOException e) {
   // TODO Auto-generated catch block
  e.printStackTrace();
 }
}

Amex extended warranty - Amex the best credit card ever!

My first experience with any of the extended warranties from credit cards. I brought a Canon printer from Walmart (online) with their site-to-store option which cost me about $32. I guess after 1 year, the printer started breaking, there was something wrong with the head unit and my printouts are slightly slanted with some fade marks on the corners of the printout. Still the photocopy/scan options work though.

I'm using my Amex card for most of my online purchases, because of its outstanding reward options. I normally get 5% cash back from money spend on grocery, gas and medicines and 1% in anywhere else. And also I know they have an extended warranty program which normally covers upto 1 year of manufacturers warranty if your purchase suddenly malfunction or the manufactures doesn't take the returns. Normally Walmart is pretty good with return policy and you can always return your product within 3 months for a full refund, even without a receipt.

So, I had a chance to test out the extended warranty of Amex when my printer starts bad last week. I thought its going to be a lengthy process with calling to an amex agent and submitting my receipts etc. I was pleasingly suprised how easy it was, I had to submit a single online form which asked about the device, the problem, buy date, amount and manufacturer's warranty.  So, I did that and thought I'm gonna get a call later with all sort of questions why/how/when and probably need to submit some sort of paper work before it is processed and most probably its gonna be a declined claim.

I just checked my Amex account, surprise, surprise..there is a $32 benefits payment in my account from the approved Amex extended warranty.

I'm definitely gonna recommend the Amex credit card to everyone!

Quotes:

friEND
girlfriEND
boyfriEND
bestfriEND

Everything has an ...END.....except,

famILY....which has ILY = I Love You!

Been There

This is a running list of places I have been to in the United States and around the world. No particular order or date.

North America

• Texas
  Austin, Bryan/College Station, Corpus Christi, Houston, Laredo, San Antonio, San Marcos 
• Mexico
  Monterrey, Nuevo Laredo  
• Washington
  Seattle, Redmond

Europe

• Italy
  Catania, Milan, Verona, Venice
• France
  Paris
• UK
  London, Becontree

Asia

• Sri Lanka (most places except northern part) 

Suddenlink Monthly Usage Allowance (Data Cap) - FAQ

How can someone monitor usage or change my future notification options?

Most Suddenlink customers already have access to an online usage summary that is updated daily. If that summary is available in your area, it can be found by logging in to your online account at Suddenlink.net, choosing "My Account," and then choosing "My Internet Usage Summary." If you do not yet have an online account with suddenlink, visit Suddenlink.net; follow the registration instructions provided there; and then, when complete, choose "My Internet Usage Summary."  You need the pin and account number to create your online account. To view, click on My Suddenlink > My Account > My Internet Usage Summary. If you do not see a link to "My Internet Usage Summary," it means it is not yet introduced this resource in your area. Importantly, Suddenlink will not apply allowances to any Internet account until the online usage summary is available. Finally, where the usage summary is available and a monthly allowance has been established for residential Internet accounts, those customers can – after receiving their first overage notification – change their future notification options by visiting their Internet usage summary page.

Will un-used gigabytes roll over to the next month, like un-used cell phone minutes? 
Not at this time. Usage allowances are reset each month, for each billing period.

What happens if I'm one of the few who exceeds the monthly allowance?
After you are notified that a monthly allowance has been applied to your account, the following steps will be taken for the very few who go over their allowance:
After the first overage, the customer's Web browser will be directed to a Suddenlink notification page. The customer will be required to read that page, select how he or she wants to receive future notifications (by Web browser or email), enter the account number, and then save the information.
From that point forward, future notifications on this subject will be sent each time an account reaches 80% of its monthly allowance and again when it exceeds 100%. Those notifications will be delivered through the means selected on the first overage, unless customers change their notification preference by visiting their Internet usage summary page at Suddenlink.net.
Customer accounts will not be billed for exceeding their monthly allowance until the third overage. On the third and subsequent overages, the monthly allowance will be increased in installments of 50 GB at a cost of $10 per installment.

If the maximum advertised download speed is...
Less than 10 Mbps
150 GB  Cap

10 to 30 Mbps
250 GB  Cap

Greater than 30 Mbps
350 GB  Cap

Read mroe at : Frequently Asked Questions: Suddenlink Data Cap

How to stop email notification "You requested a new Facebook password"

Lately I was getting at least couple of these notifications "You requested a new Facebook password" and sometimes more than ten email notifications per day. Also I guess because I have couple of emails associated with my account, this each notification get forwarded to all of my email accounts.



I think this is another way of spamming these days, and you need to be cautious dealing with these and most probably these are some of newer ways to steal your account information or to take you to some phishing sites.

Facebook for Dummies By Abram, Carolyn/ Pearlman, Leah (Google Affiliate Ad)

I remember some of similar phishing attacks,
1. You get an email from (or similar to) your bank saying that you need to change your password for security  purposes. If you respond with your account details (most probably with the form given with email), somebody else is getting this or it will take you to a phishing site. Always remember to check the email address and the URL (whether the additional s like in https:\\ whether this is a secure transaction).
2. You get an email from someone who wants to transfer millions/billions of dollars worth of money or gold or some hidden treasure. If you initiate any discussion, they will ask you some money for initial processing or some paper work. Same thing with big lottery win notifications. Be cautious, no body going to give you a free money unless this is one of your own relatives :)

Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook By Hasday, Judy L. (Google Affiliate Ad)

OK, back to Facebook notification. What is this and should we do something about it? Again, be careful when you responding to even official emails from facebook. There may be a catch somewhere. This is just my opinion, but if you have some other information different from what I suspect here, please do reply.

The email notification is seems to originate from facebook and seems legit,

Hi Sampath,

You recently asked to reset your Facebook password. To complete your request, please follow this link:

https://www.facebook.com/recover.php?.........................

Alternately, you may go to https://www.facebook.com/recover.php and enter the following password reset code:

 xxxxxxx 

Please note: for your protection, this email has been sent to all the email addresses associated with your Facebook account.

*Didn't Request This Change?*
If you did not request a new password, let us know at:

https://www.facebook.com/login/recover/disavow_reset_email.php?........

Thanks,
The Facebook Team

OK, here's what I think what is this. Your facebook account associated emails and publicly visible, anybody can record one and try to modify your password. But for any password change to work, you need to click the given url or enter the password reset code at facebook. But what is the catch here, if you do one of above, you don't know the password but somebody else now knows both your user account login email and password. Now he owns your facebook account. Done deal!.

Facebook for Grown-Ups by Miller, Michael [Paperback] (Google Affiliate Ad)

If this is not what I'm suspecting, it may be a phishing email, and eventually take you to some bogus site. I don't want to click and check, so be my guest if you want to check and let me know :)

Now the real problem, you know that you didn't initiate the change of password or how to avoid getting these emails or avoid anybody trying to modify your password in the first place. Simple, just change your email visibility in facebook account. Here's how to do that.

If you have new facebook timeline, just click on your profile and then click "Update Info" right under your cover picture. Then goto Contact Details and click Edit. Now you can see all your email addresses and then the visibility options. Change each emails to "Only Me" or "Friends". I advice your to make it "Only Me", because even friends (you think) can trick you (may be your Ex-)  to take control your account.  Also remember to hid emails from your timeline. If your real friends want to contact you, then they should know how to find you, so no worries!

The Facebook Guide for People Over 50 By McFedries, Paul (Google Affiliate Ad)

Large collection of Free Microsoft eBooks for you!

Large collection of Free Microsoft eBooks for you, including: SharePoint, Visual Studio, Windows Phone, Windows 8, Office 365, Office 2010, SQL Server 2012, Azure, and more,

Microsoft SMS&P Partner Community Blog - By Eric Ligman

Buddhism more scientific than modern science

Ven. Ajahn Brahmavamso reflects on Buddhism’s enduring significance

I used to be a scientist. I did Theoretical Physics at Cambridge University, hanging out in the same building as the later-to-be-famous Professor Stephen Hawking. I became disillusioned with such science when, as an insider, I saw how dogmatic some scientists could be.

A dogma, according to the dictionary, is an arrogant declaration of an opinion. This was a fitting description of the science that I saw in the labs of Cambridge. Science had lost its sense of humility. Egotistical opinion prevailed over the impartial search for Truth. My favourite aphorism from that time was: "The eminence of a great scientist, is measured by the length of time that they OBSTRUCT PROGRESS in their field"!


To understand real science, one can go back to one of its founding fathers, the English philosopher Francis Bacon (1561 - 1628). He established the framework on which science was to progress, namely "the greater force of the negative instance". This meant that, having proposed a theory to explain some natural phenomenon, then one should try one's best to disprove it! One should test the theory with challenging experiments.

One must put it on trial with rigorous argument. When a flaw appears in the theory, only then does science advance. A new discovery has been made enabling the theory to be adjusted and refined. This fundamental and original methodology of science understood that it is impossible to prove anything with absolute certainty. One can only disprove with absolute certainty.

Some misguided scientists maintain the theory that there is no rebirth, that this stream of consciousness is incapable of returning to a successive human existence. All one needs to disprove this theory, according to science, is to find one instance of rebirth, just one! Professor Ian Stevenson, as some of you would know, has already demonstrated many instances of rebirth. The theory of no rebirth has been disproved. Rebirth is now a scientific fact!

Ordinary people know so little about science that they can hardly even understand the jargon. Yet, if they read in a newspaper or magazine "a scientist says that?", then they automatically take it to be true.

Compare this to our reaction when we read in the same journal "a politician says that?"! Why do scientists have such unchallenged credibility? Perhaps it is because the language and ritual of science has become so far removed from the common people, that scientists have become today's revered and mystical priesthood. Dressed in their ceremonial white lab coats, chanting incomprehensible mumbo jumbo about multi-dimensional fractal parallel universes, and performing magical rituals that transubstantiate metal and plastic into TV's and computers, these modern day alchemists are so awesome we'll believe anything they say. Elitist science, as once was the Pope, is now infallible.

Some know better. Much of what I learnt 30 years ago has now been proved wrong. There are, fortunately, many scientists with integrity and humility who affirm that science is, at best, a work still in progress. They know that science can only suggest a truth, but can never claim a truth. I was once told by a Buddhist G.P. that, on his first day at a medical school in Sydney, the famous Professor, head of the Medical School, began his welcoming address by stating "Half of what we are going to teach you in the next few years is wrong. Our problem is that we do not know which half it is!" Those were the words of a real scientist.

Buddhism is more scientific than modern science. Like science, Buddhism is based on verifiable cause-and-effect relationships. But unlike science, Buddhism challenges with thoroughness every belief. The famous Kalama Sutta of Buddhism states that one cannot believe fully in "what one is taught, tradition, hearsay, scripture, logic, inference, appearance, agreement with established opinion, the seeming competence of a teacher, or even in one's own teacher". How many scientists are as rigorous in their thinking as this? Buddhism challenges everything, including logic.

It is worth noting that Quantum Theory appeared quite illogical, even to such great scientists as Einstein, when it was first proposed. It is yet to be disproved. Logic is only as reliable as the assumptions on which it is based. Buddhism trusts only clear and objective experience.

Clear experience occurs when one's measuring instruments, one's senses, are bright and undisturbed. In Buddhism, this happens when the hindrances of sloth-and-torpor and restlessness-and-remorse are both overcome. Objective experience is that which is free from all bias. In Buddhism, the three types of bias are desire, ill will and sceptical doubt. Desire makes one see only what one wants to see, it bends the truth to fit one's preferences. Ill will makes one blind to whatever is disturbing or disconcerting to one's views and it distorts the truth by denial. Sceptical doubt stubbornly refuses to accept those truths, like rebirth, that are plainly valid but which fall outside of one's comforting worldview. In summary, clear and objective experience only happens when the Buddhist 'Five Hindrances' have been overcome. Only then can one trust the data arriving through one's senses.

Because scientists are not free of these five hindrances, they are rarely clear and objective. It is common, for example, for scientists to ignore annoying data, which do not fit their cherished theories, or else confine such evidence to oblivion by filing it away as an 'anomaly'. Even most Buddhists aren't clear and objective. One has to have recent experience of Jhana to effectively put aside these five hindrances (according to the Nalakapana Sutta, Majjhima No. 68). So only accomplished meditators can claim to be real scientists, that is, clear and objective.

Science claims to rely not only on clear and objective observation, but also on measurement. But what is measurement in science? To measure something, according to the pure science of Quantum Theory, is to collapse the Schroedinger Wave Equation through an act of observation. Moreover, the "un-collapsed" form of the Schroedinger Wave Equation, that is before any measurement is made, is, perhaps, science's most perfect description of the world. That description is weird! Reality, according to pure science, does not consist of well ordered matter with precise massed, energies and positions in space, all just waiting to be measured. Reality is the broadest of smudges of all possibilities, only some being more probable than others. Even basic 'measurable' qualities as 'alive' or 'dead' have been demonstrated by science to be invalid sometimes. In the notorious 'Schroedinger's Cat' thought experiment, Prof. Schroedinger's cat was ingeniously placed in a real situation where it was neither dead nor alive, where such measurements became meaningless. Reality, according to Quantum Theory, is beyond measurements. Measuring disturbs reality, it never describes it perfectly. It was Heisenberg's famous 'Uncertainty Principle' that showed the inevitable error between the real Quantum world and the measured world of pseudo-science.

Anyway, how can anyone measure the measurer, the mind? At a recent seminar on Science and Religion, at which I was a speaker, a Catholic in the audience bravely announced that whenever she looks through a telescope at the stars, she feels uncomfortable because her religion is threatened. I commented that whenever a scientist looks the other way round through a telescope, to observe the one who is watching, then they feel uncomfortable because their science is threatened by what is doing the seeing! So what is doing the seeing, what is this mind that eludes modern science?

A Grade-One teacher once asked her class "What is the biggest thing in the world?" One little girl answered "My daddy". A little boy said "An elephant", since he'd recently been to the zoo. Another girl suggested "A mountain". The six-year-old daughter of a close friend of mine replied, "My eye is the biggest thing in the world"! The class stopped. Even the teacher didn't understand her answer. So the little philosopher explained "Well, my eye can see her daddy, an elephant, and a mountain too. It can also see so much else. If all of that can fit into my eye, then my eye must be the biggest thing in the world"! Brilliant.

However, she was not quite right. The mind can see everything that one's eye can see, and it can also imagine so much more. It can also hear, smell, taste and touch, as well as think. In fact, everything that can be known can fit into the mind. Therefore, the mind must be the biggest thing in the world. Science's mistake is obvious now. The mind is not in the brain, nor in the body. The brain, the body and the rest of the world, are in the mind!

Mind is the sixth sense in Buddhism, it is that which encompasses the five senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch, and transcends them with its own domain. It corresponds loosely to Aristotle's "common sense" that is distinct from the five senses. Indeed, ancient Greek philosophy, from where science is said to have its origins, taught six senses just like Buddhism. Somewhere along the historical journey of European thinking, they lost their mind! Or, as Aristotle would put it, they somehow discarded their "common sense"! And thus we got science. We got materialism without any heart. One can accurately say that Buddhism is a science that has kept its heart, and which hasn't lost its mind!
Thus Buddhism is not a belief system. It is a science founded on objective observation, i.e. meditation, ever careful not to disturb the reality through imposing artificial measurements, and it is evidently repeatable.

People have been re-creating the experimental conditions, known as establishing the factors of the Noble Eightfold Path, for over twenty-six centuries now, much longer than science. And those renowned Professors of Meditation, the male and female Arahants, have all arrived at the same conclusion as the Buddha. They verified the timeless Law of Dhamma, otherwise known as Buddhism. So Buddhism is the only real science, and I'm happy to say that I'm still a scientist at heart, only a much better scientist than I ever could have been at Cambridge.

Best of "The Voice" Season 2 - My Favorites

I don't normally follow most of these super star competitions, including most of the Sri Lankan copycat versions and UK, US talent shows. But "The Voice", I guess something pretty cool, apart from how it selects competitors just by the voice (which is called blind auditions), the season 2 just blew my mind by the shear talent of these guys.  Specially Tony Lucca and Jamar Rogers, two of my favorites in the competition right now, and still I believe Jesse Campbell (after that epic battle with Anthony Evans) is going to get the title this time. Jesse's voice and performance is freakingly alien and flawless, I cannot imagine anybody else can beat him in final battle rounds, except may be Jamar or  Jermaine Paul (Alicia Keys backup singer). Thats freaking awesome, Jesse, Jamar and Jermaine........3 J's.............

The series consists of three phases: a blind audition, a battle phase, and live performance shows. Four judges/coaches, all noteworthy recording artists, choose teams of contestants through a blind audition process. Each judge has the length of the auditioner's performance (about one minute) to decide if he or she wants that singer on his or her team; if two or more judges want the same singer (as happens frequently), the singer has the final choice of coach.

Each team of singers is mentored and developed by its respective coach. In the second stage, called the battle phase, coaches have two of their team members battle against each other directly by singing the same song together, with the coach choosing which team member to advance from each of individual "battles" into the first live round. Within that first live round, the surviving acts from each team again compete head-to-head, with public votes determining one of two acts from each team that will advance to the final eight, while the coach chooses which of the remaining three acts comprises the other performer remaining on the team.

In the final phase, the remaining contestants (Final 8) compete against each other in live broadcasts. The television audience and the coaches have equal say 50/50 in deciding who moves on to the final 4 phase. With one team member remaining for each coach, the (final 4) contestants compete against each other in the finale with the outcome decided solely by public vote.

Here's few of my favorites during the Blind Audition rounds, and its damn cool, some performances are better than the originals, specially Jamar's "Seven Nation Army". 

Jamar Rogers - "Seven Nation Army" (The Voice Season 2 Blind Audition)

Tony Lucca - "Trouble " (The Voice Season 2 Blind Audition)

 Jesse Campbell - "A Song for You" (The Voice Season 2 Blind Audition) 

 Erin Martin - "Hey There Delilah" (The Voice Season 2 Blind Audition)

 

Charlotte Sometimes - "Apologize" (The Voice Season 2 Blind Audition) 

Naia Kete - "The Lazy Song"(The Voice Season 2 Blind Audition)  

RaeLynn - "Hell on Heels" (The Voice Season 2 Blind Audition)  

Jermaine Paul - "Complicated" (The Voice Season 2 Blind Audition)   

Anthony Evans vs. Jesse Campbell: "If I Ain't Got You" Best Duet ever!!!!

I'm not sure why Christina Aguilera wanted to pair Anthony and Jesse? Yes, they are similar vocalists, but you cannot just compare the shear talent of them, they both simply the best in the competition "The Voice" right now. I'm so pissed, Christina want to sent Anthony home after that epic battle of royale.  He deserved to be in the final showdown. There are more undeserving competitors in The Voice right now.......

Be Your Own Therapist - Venerable Robina Courtin (A Tibetan Buddhist nun)

Google Tech Talks October 3, 2008

ABSTRACT

We spend our lives being seduced by the outside world, believing without question that happiness and suffering come from "out there." In reality, Buddhist teachings explain that they come from the way we perceive and interpret things, not the things themselves.

This deeply held misconception is at the root of our dissatisfaction, self-doubt, anger, depression, anxiety, and the rest. But our minds can change. By becoming deeply familiar with the workings of our own cognitive processes through introspection and learning to deconstruct them - truly, being our own therapists - we can loosen the grip of these neuroses and grow our marvelous potential for contentment, clarity, and courage, which are at the core of our being.

Speaker: Venerable Robina Courtin
A Tibetan Buddhist nun for 30 years, beloved teacher and power-house personality, Ven. Robina Courtin is Executive Director of Liberation Prison Project, based in San Francisco. (LiberationPrisonProject.org)

A lifeline for people with nothing and no one, since 1996 Liberation Prison Project has supported the spiritual practice of over 15,000 prisoners, mainly in the US and Australia. These days, the project spends $50,000 every month, nearly half of it on salaries and benefits for a fulltime staff of ten (eight in the US and two in Australia, including three former prisoners), supported by a team of 150+ volunteers worldwide.

Ven. Robina travels the world, teaching and raising funds, touching countless hearts and minds with her down-to-earth, no-nonsense packaging of the Buddha's teachings, often filled with tasty stories from her own real-life struggles, attachments and relationships. She is able to put across to her students in and out of prison that change is possible; everyone can learn to develop their qualities, to be joyful in the face of difficulties - even on death row.

"Ven. Robina has taught me to look at everything that occurs in my life with a different view," writes one Australian prisoner. "She has given me dignity, courage, and honor."

Robin of Sherwood (Links included) - Best TV Series ever...

My Previous links stopped working. Please see my new post for the working links. enjoy. Please spread the word and share with your Facebook, Google+, Twitter friends.

I bet you remember the time of “Robin of Sherwood”, 80’s era, the British TV series we loved so much. Remember, we used to make swords using some wood clamped together and writing the “Albion” the infamous Hern’s son’s sword!!!

ROBIN HOOD BY CROWE,RUSSELL (DVD) (Google Affiliate Ad)

Thanks to Pathum Padeniya, I found the full episodes list of the TV series. I bet you are gonna love it.

My favorite is the episode “The King's Fool” at Season 1 – Episode 6 where the King Richard the Lion heart beat the hell out of Little John….

ROBIN OF SHERWOOD SET 1 BY ROBIN OF SHERWOOD (Blu-Ray) [4 DISCS] (Google Affiliate Ad)

I hate those cheesy Hollywood themed Robin Hood movies, they never gives you the same adrenaline rush of the “Robin of Sherwood – The Hooded Man” 

ROBIN OF SHERWOOD SET 1 BY PRAED,MICHAEL (DVD) [5 DISCS] (Google Affiliate Ad)

Here’s the links:

http://www.pathummedia.info/watch/?v=55c5d64a5ca

http://www.pathummedia.info/watch/?v=1586aa4d159

Also if you wanna see other shows, here’s the link to Pathum’s web site:

http://www.pathummedia.info/

There were three series, composed of a two-hour opening episode and 24 one hour long episodes, although the pilot is sometimes screened as two one-hour episodes, and the episodes comprising "The Swords of Wayland" were transmitted as one episode in the UK on their original screening on a Bank Holiday weekend in 1985. It was shot on film, and almost entirely on location, mostly in the north east and south west of England; HTV West in Bristol was the base of operations and most of the filming was done in and around Bristol and its surrounding counties.

Together with Richard Lester's offbeat 1976 film Robin and Marian, Robin of Sherwood is one of the most influential treatments of the core Robin Hood legend since The Adventures of Robin Hood, featuring a realistic period setting and introducing the character of a Saracen outlaw.

ROBIN OF SHERWOOD SET 2 BY CONNERY,JASON (DVD) [5 DISCS] (Google Affiliate Ad)

Michael Praed played Robin of Loxley in the first two seasons. His 'Merry Men' consisted of Will Scarlet (Ray Winstone), Little John (Clive Mantle), Friar Tuck (Phil Rose), Much (Peter Llewellyn Williams), the Saracen Nasir (played by Mark Ryan) and Lady Marian (played by Judi Trott). He is also assisted by Herne the Hunter (John Abineri). As in the legend, Robin is opposed by the Sheriff of Nottingham (Nickolas Grace) and Guy of Gisbourne (Robert Addie), as well as the Sheriff's brother Abbot Hugo (Philip Jackson) (representing all the greedy abbots in the legends). Robert of Huntingdon and his "Merry Men", in the final shot of the series

At the end of the second season, Robin of Loxley is killed and Robert of Huntingdon (played by Jason Connery) replaces him as Robin Hood. During the course of the third season, the new Robin discovers that he is the half-brother of his nemesis Guy of Gisbourne (an idea suggested to Carpenter by the fact that both actors had blonde hair). This particular story arc was never resolved due to the show's cancellation at the end of the third season.

Robin Hood and Little John: Or Harlequin Friar Tuck, and the Merry Men of Sherwood Forest (1881) (Google Affiliate Ad)

Hope you like it, don't forget the share :)

HOW IS YOUR GENERAL KNOWELDGE?

A Small Questionnaire to Test your Intelligence
Below are four (4) questions and a bonus question. You have to answer them instantly. You can't take your time, answer all of them immediately. OK?

Let's find out just how clever you really are.....
Ready? GO!!!

First Question:
You are participating in a race. You overtake the second person. What position are you in?











Answer: If you answered that you are first, then you are
absolutely wrong! If you overtake the second person, you take his place, so you are second!
Try not to screw up next time.
Now answer the second question,
but don't take as much time as you took for the first one, OK ?

Second Question:
If you overtake the last person, then you are...?


















Answer:
If you answered that you are second to last, then you are wrong again. Tell me, how can you overtake the LAST Person?

You're not very good at this, are you?











Third Question:
Very tricky arithmetic! Note: This must be done in your head only .
Do NOT use paper and pencil or a calculator. Try it.
Take 1000 and add 40 to it.. Now add another 1000 . Now add 30 .
Add another 1000 . Now add 20 . Now add another 1000
Now add 10 . What is the total?





Did you get 5000?
The correct answer is actually 4100..
If you don't believe it, check it with a calculator!
Today is definitely not your day, is it?
Maybe you'll get the last question right....
...Maybe.

Fourth Question:
Mary's father has five daughters: 1. Nana 2. Nene 3. Nini 4. Nono What is the name of the fifth daughter?









Did you Answer Nunu ?
NO! Of course it isn't.
Her name is Mary. Read the question again!

Okay, now the bonus round:
I may have sent this one before. I'm never sure.










A mute person goes into a shop and wants to buy a toothbrush. By
imitating the action of brushing his teeth he successfully
expresses himself to the shopkeeper and the purchase is
done.

Next, a blind man comes into the shop who wants to buy a pair of
sunglasses; how does HE indicate what he wants?







He just has to open his mouth and ask...
It's really very simple.... Like you!

PASS THIS ON TO FRUSTRATE THE SMART PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE

Bootable USB thumb/pen/flash drive for a Vista and/or Windows 7 installation

Required:

• USB Flash Drive (4GB+)
• Microsoft OS Disk (Vista / Windows 7)
• A computer running Vista / Windows 7

Step 1: Format the Drive

The steps here are to use the command line to format the disk properly using the diskpart utility. [Be warned: this will erase everything on your drive. Be careful.]

1. Plug in your USB Flash Drive
2. Open a command prompt as administrator (Right click on Start > All Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt and select “Run as administrator”
3. Find the drive number of your USB Drive by typing the following into the Command Prompt window:
   

   diskpart

   list disk

   The number of your USB drive will listed. You’ll need this for the next step. I’ll assume that the USB flash drive is disk 1.
4. Format the drive by typing the next instructions into the same window. Replace the number “1” with the number of your disk below.
   

   select disk 1

   clean

   create partition primary

   select partition 1

   active

   format fs=NTFS

   assign

   exit

   When that is done you’ll have a formatted USB flash drive ready to be made bootable.

Step 2: Make the Drive Bootable

Next we’ll use the bootsect utility that comes on the Vista or Windows 7 disk to make the flash drive bootable. In the same command window that you were using in Step 1:

1. Insert your Windows Vista / 7 DVD into your drive.
2. Change directory to the DVD’s boot directory where bootsect lives:
   cd d:\boot
3. Use bootsect to set the USB as a bootable NTFS drive prepared for a Vista/7 image. I’m assuming that your USB flash drive has been labeled disk G:\ by the computer:
4. bootsect /nt60 g:

You can now close the command prompt window, we’re done here.

Step 3: Copy the installation DVD to the USB drive

The easiest way is to use Windows explorer to copy all of the files on your DVD on to the formatted flash drive. After you’ve copied all of the files the disk you are ready to go.

Step 4: Set your BIOS to boot from USB

This is where you’re on your own since every computer is different. Most BIOS’s allow you to hit a key at boot and select a boot option.

Find the original article here.

How to enable flah player in Opera browser

After looking all around, finally figure it out myself and and still laughing at myself why I didn't looked at this in the first place.

Here you go,

If your Opera browser is giving an error message or warning and not playing youtube videos or any other flash based videos, and you've downloaded the flash player countless times and not any success, here's what you needed to do.

After installing flash player as the browser suggest, just go to Tools, Advanced, Plug-Ins and then scroll down to the place where Shockwave Flash is listed, make it enable. Thats all, if you are still laughing, I'm with you, TOTALLY :) and the fun part I'm a PhD CS major, and I had to run around several days and several uninstalls of Opera to figure this out :)

රට ගිය ඇත්තෝ - must read this

I'm not sure this is a true story or not. But worth to read it............


මේ කතාව කොහොම පටන් ගන්නද කියල මටම තේරෙන්නෙ නැහැ.
අපි මෙහෙම පටන් ගමු. මගේ නම සමන්. සමන් ජයසිංහ. ගම කඩවත. මම සිංහ සමාජයේ සාමාජිකයෙක්. සිංහ සමාජයේ වාර්ෂික සමුලුවකට තවත් කට්ටියක් සමඟ ඇමරිකාවේ චිකාගෝවට යන්ට මට (අ)වාසනාව පෑදුනා. ඇමරිකන් උණ සෑදී වලිප්පුව සෑදී සිටි මම ආපසු ආවේ නැහැ. මට එහේ පොඩි ජොබ් කට්ටක් සෙට් උනා. දැන් අවුරුදු හතරක්. තව අවුරුද්දකට වීසා තියෙනවා. තව කීයක් හරි හොයා ගෙන ආපහු යනවා.
මට රැකියාවක් ලැබුනේ ගෑස් ස්ටේෂන් එකක. ගෑස් ස්ටේෂන් කියන්නේ පැට්‍රල් ෂෙඩ්.
පැට්‍රල් ෂෙඩ් එකක වැඩ කරනවා කියන කොට ඔබට මතක් වෙයි කාකි කොට කලිසමක් ඇඳල කාකි අත් කොට කමිසයක් ඇඳල රබර් සෙරෙප්පු දෙකක් දෙපයට දාගත්තු බුලත් හපයෙක්.
ඒත් ඇමරිකාවෙ එහෙම නැහැ. අපිට ලස්සන යුනිෆෝම් එකක් තියෙනවා. ටයි එකකුත් දාන්න ඕන.
මෙහේ ( ගෑස්) පැට්‍රල් ගහන්නේ වාහනය පදවන්නාමයි. පොම්ප 10 ක් 12 ක් විතර තියෙනවා. ක්‍රෙඩිට් කාඩ් පාවිච්චි කරල තමන්ටම ගෑස් ගහගන්නත් පුලුවන්. එහෙම නැත්නම් ඇතුළට ගිහිල්ලා පොම්පයේ අංකය කියල මුදල් ගෙව්වාම මට කරන්න තියෙන්නේ කොම්පියුටරයෙන් පොම්පය විවුර්ත කරන එකයි. ඊට අමතරව හදිසියෙන් ගන්න අවශ්‍ය බෙහෙත් පෙත්තේ එක දක්වා බඩු විකුණන මිනි මාකට් එකකුත් තියෙනවා.
මේවා හදිසියට හොයා ගන්න පුලුවන් අඩුවෙන් ගෙවන පොඩි රස්සාවල්. තනිකඩයෙකුට යම්තම් ජීවිතේ ගැට ගහ ගන්න ඒ මුදල ප්‍රමාණවත්. වැඩිපුරම මේවායේ වැඩ කරන්නේ නීති විරෝදී සංක්‍රමණිකයන්. මට බැංකු ගිණුමක් අරින්නවත් , වාහනයක් එළවන්නවත් බැහැ. not authorized to work කියල පාස්පෝට් එකේ ගහල තියෙනවා. නිකමට හරි පොලිසියට මාට්ටු වුනොත් ඩී- පෝට් තමයි.
ඇමරිකන් ඉංග්‍රීසිය අමුතු ඉංගිරිසියක්. උන්ගෙ “ඇ” කාරය වැඩි. ඩාන්ස් – ඩෑන්ස් ,… ක්ලාස් – ක්ලෑස්.. පාස් – පෑස් වගේ. ඒ අනුව මගේ නම සමන් :…. සැමන් විය යුතුය. ඒත් උන් මගේ නම වෙනස් කෙරුවා ” සෑම්” කියලා. මම සැමන් නොවී සෑම් වීම ගැන සතුටු උනා.
ගෑස් ස්ටේෂන් එක ඇතුලේ තියෙනවා කස්ටමස්ලට යන්න වැසිකිළියක්. ඒවාට කියන්නේ “රෙස්ට් රූම් ” නැත්නම් “වොෂ් රූම්” කියලා.
ඇමරිකාව කියන්නේ ගෙදරට මරගාතෙ- ලෝකෙට පරකාසෙ කරන රටක්. මෙහේ තරම් හිඟන්නෝ නැතිව ඇති ලෝකෙ කොහේවත්. මුන්ට කියන්නේ “හෝම්ලස් පීපල්” කියල. “බෙගර්ස් ” කියන වචනය පාවිච්චි කරන්නෙ නැහැ.
අ. පො. ස. විභාගයේදී මට විශිෂ්ට සම්මාන තියෙනව ඉංග්‍රීසි භාෂාවට සහ සාහිත්‍යයට. ඊට අමතරව උසස් ආයතනයකින් ලද සහතිකයකුත් තියෙන නිසා මා හිතා හිටියේ මා තරම් ඉංග්‍රීසි උගතෙක් තවත් නැතිව ඇති කියාය. එහෙත් මා කියනා දේ මුන්ට නොතේරෙයි. උන් කියනා දේ මටද නොතේරෙයි.
ඒ නිසාම මට දී තිබුනේ කස්ටමර්ලා අඩු රෑ සේවා මුරයයි.
දිනක් එක් හෝම්ලස් මිනිහෙක් ඇතුළට ඇවිත් ” may I use your rest room ” කියල මගෙන් ඇහුවා.
“rest room only for customers” කියලා මම මිනිහව එළවා ගත්තා. මගෙ තාත්තගේ වයසේ මිනිහෙක්. මට පස්සෙ දුක හිතුනා. උගෙ මූන අමුතුයි. හමේ පාට සුදුත් නෙවෙයි.. කලුත් නෙවෙයි. ඇස් දෙක පැහැදිලියි. බැල්ම තියුණුයි.
පසුවදා සුපුරුදු රෑ ෂිෆ්ට් එක නිම වෙලා මම පයින්ම මගේ නවාතැනට ගාටමින් හිටියා. වෙලාව උදේ 7.30 ට විතර ඇති. පාර අයිනෙ බංකුවක් උඩ හෝම්ලස් මිනිහෙක් ඉඳගෙන හිටියා. මිනිහා මොනවද තාලෙට කියනව මට ඇහුනා.
” ඩූව් ඩීමට් කාරෙ බෙන්ඩා…” ටිකක් පුරුදු හඬක්. ඒ අර මම එළව ගත් මිනිහා. මම මිනිහට කිට්ටු කළා.
හලෝ.. are you singing ?
මිනිහ පැහැදිලි ඉංග්‍රීසියෙන් ” cold….can you buy me a coffee ? මිනිහගේ කකුල් දෙකම වන වෙලා. ඒවාට දැමූ දම් පාට බෙහෙතට උඩින් සාරෙ ගලමින් තිබුණා. මම වහාම කෝපි එකක් අරන් දී,
” are you sick?”
“I am having cold and fever”
මගේ සාක්කුවේ ලංකාවෙන් ගෙනා පැනඩෝල් පෙති වගයක් තිබුණා. ඉන් දෙකක් මම මිනිහට දුන්නා.
” Panadol ? are you sri lankan ?”
” my god ! are you sri lankan too ?
දිග සුසුමක් හෙලූ එයා මොනවදෝ කියන්න ලෑස්ති උනා.
මට මහන්සියි. නිදිමතයි. අපි පස්සෙ හමුවෙමු කියල , රෑ ෂිෆ්ට් එකෙන් මාටියා ගහපු ඩොලර් කීපයක් මම මිනිහගේ අතේ තියල නවාතැනට ගියා.
රෑ නිදි වරා සිටියත් උදේ සිදුවූ දේ නිසා මට නින්ද ගියේ නැහැ.
කොහොමටත් රෑ නින්ද වගේ නෙවේ දවල්ට නිදා ගන්න එක.
ඊට පස්සෙ දින කීපයක් යන තුරු මම මිනිහව දැක්කෙ නෑ.
එදත් සුපුරුදු පරිදි මගේ රෑ ෂිෆ්ට් එක. හදිසියේම ” අරයා” ආවා. රෑ 12.30 ට විතර. ඇතුලට නෑවිත් වීදුරු ජනේලෙන් මා දිහා ඔරවා ගෙන හිටියා. ඔහුගේ රැවුල , කොන්ඩේ දිගටම වැවිලා තිබුනා. වැඩි හරියක් සුදු කෙස්.
ඒ වෙලාවේ කස්ටමර්ලා අඩුයි. මම කෝපි එකකුත් හදාගෙන මිනිහ ළඟට ගියා.
” Are you speaking Sinhala ?” මිනිහා මගෙන් අහනව.
” මම හිතුවේ සෑම් මහත්තයා ඉන්දියන් හරි මෙක්සිකන් හරි කියල. ලංකාවෙ කොහේද ?”
මටයි මිනිහගේ විස්තර දැන ගන්න ඕන. මිනිහ මං ගැන අහනව.
මෙතන ඉඳල ලියන්නම් ඔහු මට කී කතාව.
මගේ නම සිරිල් සපරමාදු. මගේ වයිෆ් පද්මිනී. අපි හෝමාගම.
ලොතරැයි දිනුම් වලින් හරි ගියේ කීයෙන් කීදෙනාටද සෑම් මහත්තයෝ. මටත් ඇදුනා ලොතරැයියක්. වීසා ලොටරි එක. දැනට අවුරුදු 25 කට ඉස්සර මම මහ බැංකුවේ මාණ්ඩලික නිලධාරියෙක්. මගෙ වයිෆ් ගුරුවරියක්. අපි ලංකාවෙ හොඳ ජීවිතයක් ගත කළා. ඇමරිකන් එම්බසියෙන් ලියුම ආදා ඉඳල සතියක් අපේ ගෙදර ලිප පත්තු උනේ නෑ සෑම් මහත්තයෝ. අපෙ සේරටම ඇමරිකන් උණ හැදුනා. අපිට ළමයි තුන් දෙනයි. වැඩිමළා පුතා ඊළඟට දූලා දෙන්නා. අපි මෙහේ එනකොට පුතාට 7 යි. දූලට 6 යි, 5 යි. අපි තිබ්බ සේරම සේසත විකුණලයි ආවෙ.
මාත් ඔයා වගේ ගැස් ස්ටේෂන් එකක වැඩ කළා. වයිෆ්ට මොන්ටිසෝරියක රස්සාව ලැබුණා. අපි දෙන්නාගෙ පඩියෙන් පවුලක් නඩත්තු කරන්න අමාරු නිසා මම ජොබ් දෙකක් කළා. ඒක හරිම අමාරු වැඩක්. හිතේ වේගෙට කළාට මම නිතර නිතර ලෙඩ වුනා.
විවිධ හැල හැප්පීම් මැද කාලය ගෙවී ගියා.
පුතා නම් ඉගෙනීමට වැඩි උනන්දුවක් පෙන්නුවෙ නෑ. දූල දෙන්නම ” මාස්ටර්ස්” දක්වා ඉගෙන ගෙන දෙන්නම ඇමරිකන් කාරයො දෙන්නෙක් එක්ක විවාහ උනා.
ඒව නිකම් ” නමට විවාහ” ලාස් වේගාස් වල තියෙනව ” drive through ” කසාද බඳින්න තැනක්. ලොකු දුව වෙන ස්ටේට් එකකට ගියා පදිංචියට.
ඉන්න තැනක අපි කාටවත් කීවෙ නැහැ.
පුතා මෝටර් මෙකැනික් කෝස් එකක් කරල මෝටර් රත හදන කොම්පැනියකට බැඳුනා. මිනිහට හොඳයි. හැබැයි නාස්ති කාරයා. බීමට ඇබ්බැහි උනා. ඉතිරියක් , අනාගතයක් ගැන හිතුවෙ නැහැ.
පොඩි දුවට බබා ලැබිල අවුරුදු 5 කට පස්සෙ අපිව එක්ක ගියා එයාලගෙ ගෙදරට. අපි එහේ හිටියේ ආගන්තුකයෝ වගේ. මගෙ වයිෆ්ට නම් වැඩ තිබුනා. ඒ මිනිපිරී – නිකෝල් – බලා ගන්න එක. කෙලීට තිබුනේ නිල් පාට ඇස් දෙකක්. සුදු පාට හමක්. කොන්ඩෙ නම් කලු පාටයි. ටිකක් මගෙ වයිෆ් පද්මිනිත් වගෙයි. සමහර දාට නිකෝල් මගෙ උනුහුමට තුරුල් වෙලා නිදා ගත්තා. මම ඇගේ හිස පිරි මැද්දා. ඈ ඊට ආසා කළා. මම ඈට ” කිරි සුදු හාවා” ඉගැන්නුවා.
දවසක් අපේ බෑණා – මයික් පියර්සන්- අහනව මගෙ දුවගෙන් what the hell that old man doing here කියල.
Don’t talk like that. He is may dad. ඒ මගෙ දුව.
But this is my house– ඒ බෑණා.
OK I will ask them to leave. You can hire a baby sitter for 600 dollars for a week.
මම එදා හිතා ගත්තා මම තව දුරටත් මෙහේ හිටියොත් ඒක මෙයාලගෙ පවුල් ජීවිතයට බාධාවක් කියල.
” පද්මිනි… මම යනව පුතා ළඟට. ඔයාට මෙහේ කරදරයක් නැහැනෙ.”
අපි දෙන්නා බැන්දට පස්සෙ කවදාවත් වෙන් වෙලා ඉඳල නෑ. එයා කඳුලු පුරවා ගෙන මා දිහා බලා ගෙන ඊට කැමැත්ත දුන්නා.
” මතක් කරල බෙහෙත් ටික අරගෙන යන්න”
පුතා ජීවත්වුනෙ single bed room අපාර්ට්මන්ට් එකක. මිනිහ මාව සතුටෙන් පිළිගත්ත. ඒත් වැඩි විස්තර ඇහුවෙ නෑ. ඒ එයාගෙ හැටි.
මම ගිය ගමන්ම කළේ ගේ අස් කරන එක. පුතා කැම බීම කරල තියෙන්නෙ පිටින්.
” තාත්ත බියර් එකක් බොනවද?” පුතා බියර් බෝතලයක් කටේ තියාගෙන බොන ගමන් මගෙන් ඇහුව. මම මගේ තාත්ත ඉස්සරහ වාඩිවෙලාවත් නැහැ.
මම මටම සාප කර ගත්ත. දුර දිග නොබලා ගත්තු තීරණ නිසා අද අපේ පවුල සී සී කඩ. දරුවන් දෙමාපියන් අතර සම්බන්දයක් නැහැ. දරුවො හිත් පිත් නැති මැෂින් වගේ. රොබෝල වගේ.
මම මාකට් එකට ගිහින් පුංචි රයිස් කුකර් එකක්, තේ හදන්න අවශ්‍ය කරන දේ සහ තවත් දේ ගෙනාවා.
” පුතා මීට පස්සෙ පිටින් කෑම කන්න එපා. අද ඉඳල මම උයනව”
“ඉතින් කොහොමද මේ තත්ත්වෙට වැටුනේ ?” මම එයාගෙ කතාවට බාධා කලා.
” අනේ සෑම් මහත්තයෝ, මං ගැන කාටවත් කියන්න එපා. ඒක අපේ රටට කරන අගෞරවයක්.”
පුතා මගෙත් එක්ක මුලින් හොඳට කතා බහ කළා. පස්සෙ පස්සෙ අහන දේට විතරක් උත්තර දුන්න. සුමානයක් දෙකක් යනකොට මට එයාගෙ වෙනසක් තේරුනා. මිනිහ මාව නොරුස්සන ගතියක් මට දැනුන.
එදා ජූනි 15. පුතාගෙ උපන් දිනෙ. මම උදේම නැගිටල කිරිබත් ඉව්වා. පුතා කිරිබත් කන්න හරි ආසයි.
” පුතා අද කලින් ගෙදර එන්න. මම ඩිනර් ලෑස්ති කරනව.”
මට හොඳට උයන්න පුලුවන්. මම කහ බතක් උයල චිකන් උයල, පරිප්පු වේලෙන්න උයල, ලූනු සම්බෝලයකුත් හැදුව. පුතා ආවෙ නැහැ. මම රෑ 11 වෙන තුරු බලා ඉඳල තනියම කෑම කෑවා.
තව ටිකක් බලා හිටියා. මට දන්නෙම නැතිව ඉඳගෙන හිටි පුටුවෙම නින්ද ගියා. පුතා තව කට්ටියක් එක්ක එනකොට පාන්දර 3.00 ට විතර ඇති. සේරටම හොඳටම වෙරි.
උන් ළඟ වස ගඳයි. මරිජුවානද මොනවද ගහල. සාලෙ ලයිට් පත්තු උනා. එකෙක් අහනව “Who the fuck is this ?” කියල.
“Are you living with your dad ?” ඒ තව එකෙක්.
මම දවසක් පුතාගෙන් ඇහුව ” පුතාට මම ඉන්න එක කරදරයක්ද ?” කියල.
” කරදරයක් නම් නෑ. ඒත් යාලුවෙක් වත් ගෙන්න ගන්න විදිහක් නෑ. “I too have a life තාත්තෙ”
මට දැනුන ලොකු විනාශයක් අත ළඟ කියල. මම දවස් කීපයක්ම පොඩි දුවටත්, පද්මිනීටත් කෝල් කරන්න උත්සාහ කළා. එයාලගෙ ෆෝන් එක ඩිස්කනෙක්ට් කරල. එයාල වෙන කොහාටද ගිහිල්ල.
පුතා හදිසියෙම එයාගෙ කාර් එක වික්කා.
” තාත්තෙ මම යනව නිව්යෝර්ක් වලට . ට්‍රේනින් එකකට. සති දෙකකට.”
එයා ඇඳුම් බෑග් එක, ලැප්ටොප් එක එහෙම අරගෙන පිටත් උනා.
එදා ඉරිදා දවසක්. මම ටිකක් දවල් වෙන තුරු නිදා ගත්ත. කවුදෝ දොරට ගහනව. මම ගිහින් බැලුව.
නෝටන් ලෝපෙස්- අපාට්මන්ට් මැනේජර්.
“Your son din’t pay rent. You have to pay or leave the apartment”
” Can’t you wait? He will be back in two weeks”
” No he is not coming back. He moved to NewYork”
මගේ පුතා අභිනිෂ්ක්‍රමණය කරලා.
පුතා ඉපදුනේ ජයවර්ධනපුර රෝහලේ. මට පනිවිඩේ ලැබෙන කොට හවස 3.00 ට විතර ඇති. සීසර් සැත්කම නිසා පද්මිනීට සිහිය ඇවිත් තිබුනේ නැහ. පුතා කොට් එකේ හිටියා. අඬ අඬා. මම ඇඟිල්ලෙන් එයාගෙ ලපටි ලා රෝසපාට කම්මුල් ස්පර්ශ කළා. ඇඬිල්ල නැවතුනා. ළඟ ඇඳක හිටි ගැහැණියක් ” දැක්කද තාත්ත අඳුර ගත්තු හැටි කීවා. මට අද වගේ මතකයි.
සපරමාදුගෙ කතාව ඇහුවට පස්සෙ මෙතෙක් කල් ජීවිතය ගැන තිබූ ආසාවන් සේරම වෙනස් වුනා වගේ කියල මට හිතුනා. මම නවාතැනට ගිය ගමන්ම අම්මට කෝල් කළා. මගෙ තාත්ත ජීවතුන් අතර නැහැ. ෆෝන් එක ගත්තෙ අම්ම.
මම “හලෝ” කිව්වම” ආ මගෙ පුතේ.. දැන් කාල බීලද ඉන්නෙ? දැන් ඔහේ වෙලාව කීයද?” කියල ඇහුව. මට එක පාරටම ඇඬුම් යන්න ආවා.” ඇයි පුතාට සනීප නැද්ද?” අම්ම අහනව.” ඔය හිටිය ඇති පුතේ ඉක්මණට ආපහු එන්න”
ෆෝන් කාඩ් එක ඩොලර් පහයි. ඒක ඉවරවෙන තුරුම මම අම්මත් එක්ක කතා කළා. ඒත් මගේ හිතේ ඇතිවුනු පීඩනය ඉවත් වුනේ නැහැ.”
ඇයි සපරමාදු අන්කල්ට පංසලට යන්න තිබුණනේ?” බුද්ධාගමේ නේද ?
ඔය සිංහළ ඇසෝසේෂන් එකට එහෙම ගියෙ නැද්ද?”
ඒව තියෙන්නෙත් ලොකු මිනිස්සුන්ට විතරයි. ඒවයින් කෙරෙන්නේ බාස්කට් බෝල් ටූනමන්ට්/ ඩිනර් ඩාන්ස් වගේ ඒව කරන එක විතරයි.
හැමදාම ජොබ් දෙකක් කරල මම ගෙදර එන්නේ කොයි වෙලාවෙද ඇඳට වැටෙන්නෙ කියල බලා ගෙන. ඒ නිසා මට යාලුවෙක් ආශ්‍රය කරන්නවත්, පංසලකට පල්ලියකට යන්නවත් බැරි වුනා. මගේ හිතේ තිබූ හීන මාණය නිසා ලංකාවෙ මිනිස්සු ගැවසෙන තැන් වලට නොයා ඉන්න මම පුරුදු උනා.
මම කීප වතාවක්ම ලංකාරාමයට ගිහින් තියෙනව. ඒ කඨින දවස් වල. කටට රහට කාල එන්න. මට ජිනානන්ද හාමුදුරුවන්ට මූන දෙන්න බෑ.
මගෙත් එක්ක වැඩ කරන උන් මම නිතරම හෝම්ලස් මෑන් කෙනෙක් එක්ක කතා කරනව නෝට් කරල. උන් කියන්නේ ඒ මගෙ ඩෑඩ් කියල.
මගේ තත්වයත්, සපරමාදුගෙ තත්වය වගේම බරපතල එකක්. “මටත් වඩා අබලන් මගෙ හැරමිටිය” කිව්ව වගේ අනේ අපොයි කියල හිත හදා ගන්නව ඇරෙන්න මට වෙන කරන්න දෙයක් තිබුනේ නැහැ . ඉඳල හිටල මම කීයක් හරි සපරමාදුට දුන්න.
” ඉතිං සපරමාදු අන්කල්, ආංඩුවෙන් ගානක් හම්බ වෙනව නේද?”
මුලදී මට සෝෂල් සෙකුරිටි ලැබුණා. ඒත් දැන් මට ඉන්න තැනක් නෑ. ඇඩ්‍රස් එකක් නෑ.
මට හිඟමන් ලැබෙන්නෙ කලාතුරකින්. උන් හිඟමන් දෙන්නෙත් පාට බලල.
” දැන් කොච්චර කල් වෙනවද මෙහෙම වෙල?”
දැනට අවුරුදු 5 කට වඩා .. සමර් එකට නම් ගානක් නැහැ. වැටිච්ච තැන නින්ද යනව. වින්ටර් එකට අපි ගිහින් දානව කෑම්ප් එකකට.
” ඉතිං අංකල් ගෙ වයිෆ් දැක්කෙ නැද්ද ඊට පස්සෙ?”
ඇයි නැත්තෙ ?
දවසක් මම පාක් එකේ බංකුවක ඇලවෙලා හිටියා. මං දැක්ක හැඩ රුව හුරු පුරුදු කෙනෙක් පොඩි බබෙක් කාට් එකක දාගෙන පාක් එකට එනව. ඒ පද්මිනී. දිග කලිසමක් ඇඳල. අඳුරන්නත් අමාරුයි.
මම ඒ වෙනකොටත් හොඳටම ජරා ජීර්ණ වෙලා. මම එයා ළඟට ගියා. එයා ඇස් උඩ තියා ගත්තා.
” ඔයාට මොකද මේ උනේ?” මම ඔයා හැම තැනම හෙව්වා”
” පුතා මාව දාල ගියා.. ඔයා දැන් කොහේද ඉන්නේ?”
“පොඩි දුවලත් වෙන කොහාටද ගියා. මං හිතන්නෙ ෆ්ලොරිඩා වලට… බේබි සිටින් කරල පළපුරුද්ද තියෙනව කියල මට සහතිකයක් දීල ගියා.. මම දැන් ගෙදරක බබෙක් බලාගන්නවා.. ඔයා කොහේද ඉන්නේ ?”
” මට ඉන්න නියම තැනක් නෑ. හුඟක් වෙලාවට ෆ්‍රී වේ එක යට තමයි නිදා ගන්නෙ”
” ඔයා කෞන්ටි හොස්පිටල් එකකට ගිහින් ඔය තුවාල වලට බෙහෙත් දාගන්න”
ඉස්සර මට ලෙඩක් හැදුනම වැඩියෙන් කලබල වෙන්නෙ පද්මිනී. මාව බලෙන්ම දොස්තරගාවට ඇදගෙන යනව. ලෙඩේ කියන්නෙත් එයාමයි. හැමදේම වෙනස් වෙලා.
” මට පරක්කු වෙනව. 5.30 වෙන කොට මේ බබාගෙ අම්ම එනව”
මගේ පපුව හෝස් ගා ගෙන ගියා. හැමෝම වෙන් වෙලා යනව. අපි ආයෙ කවදා හමුවෙයිද ?
දවසක් මං හම්බ වෙන්න රෑ 12.30 ට විතර සපරමාදු ආව. එයා මට දුන්න පොලිතින් වලින් ඔතාපු පාර්සලයක්
” සෑම් මහත්තයා මට පොඩි උදව්වක් කරන්න. මේ අපේ ෆොටෝ ඇල්බම් එක. ඔයාට පද්මිනී අඳුරගන්න අමාරු වෙන එකක් නෑ. ඔය ඇල්බම් එක එයාට දෙන්න. ඕක ඇතුලේ සල්ලි වගයක් ඇති . ඒකත් එයාට දෙන්න.”
ඔයා ආපහු ලංකාවට යනව කිව්වා නේද ? යන්න…… මේක හොඳ රටක් නෙවි.”
සපරමාදු එදා නම් කතා කලේ සිහි විකලෙන් වගේ.
‘ඔයාට මගෙ වයිෆ් හම්බ උනේ නැත්නම් ඔය සල්ලි වලින් මහත්තයගෙ අම්මට මොනව හරි අරන් යන්න..”
පහුවදා පාන්දර මට කස්ටමර් කෙනෙක් ඇවිත් කිව්ව ට්‍රෑෂ් බින් එක ළඟ හෝම්ලස් මිනිහෙක් වැටිල ඉන්නවා කියල. මම විගහට ගිහින් බැලුව.
ඒ සපරමාදු. මම 911 කෝල් කළා.
ටික වෙලාවකින් ඇම්බියුලන්ස් එක ආව. මම වීදුරු කවුලුවෙන් බලා හිටියා.
සුදු රෙද්දකින් වහපු සපරමාදුගෙ සිරුර ඇම්බියුලන්ස් එකෙන් කොහාටද අරන් ගියා.
සපරමාදු මැරිලා.
නිමි.

For all those born in 80’s !

I was born in February, 14th 1980 (Yes Valentines Baby). And if you think about our past, this is so true :) 

We are the last generation that learnt to play in the street. We are the first who’ve played video games, see cartoons in color and went to amusement parks. We were the last to record songs of the radio on cassettes and we are the pioneers of walkmans and chartrooms…We learned how to program the VCR before anyone else, play with Atari, Super… Nintendo and believed that the Internet would be a free world all on a 56Kbit model. Traveled in cars without seat belts or air-bags and lived without cell phones. Rode our bicycles down the roads without breaks. We never had phones but still kept in touch. We did not have Play stations, 99 television stations, flat screen’s, surrounds sound, mp3s, iPods, iPhone, iPads, touch tablets and broadband……….

 

But nevertheless we had a GREAT TIME……

How I learned to mind my own business

Nice story.....lol

How I learned to mind my own business: I was walking past a mental hospital the other day, and all the patients were out in the yard shouting, "13....13....13...." The fence was too high to see over, but I saw a little gap in the planks, so I looked through to see what was going on and some idiot poked me in the eye with a stick! Then they all started shouting "14....14....14..