What's your favourite Sri Lankan product?
Check out my post on the subject. and share your favourite. You might even discover something new.
My copy of The Economist magazine is now officially almost 48 hours late. Clearly there is no crisis or cause for alarm. It is a magazine after all which is why I have not called the police. Haggling with the local distributor is not going to help either.
I’m shocked that I even have to convince myself that there is no crisis. Repeatedly. I still have 3 old copies left to survive on (read it dry). Perhaps I’ll read the tender invites from third world governments or take a sniff at the small eternal ad in the back about opening a Swiss bank account.
I don’t think I’m addicted to that blasphemously free market wad of paper. I think its the style of the writing. The snooty flow of the phrases that also informs. The closest metaphor I can think of is a Vodka WITH nutritional value. Drunk straight out of the bottle (as opposed to those silly little glasses). Clearly I have digressed and the magazine still hasn’t arrived.
Of course I could read the thing off the screen or download an audio version. Both seem unacceptable for inexplicable reasons.
Vut Tu Du but wait…
As there is no crisis. Just an excuse for a short little post.
Yes that’s you, the puss flecked 16 year old diarrhoea stain with a face in a Biggle’s book. This is a message from the 21st century by your adult self. You wouldn’t be getting this if not for the coercive powers of an angel and an anthropologist. Before you drift off here are some gifts of hind sight.
You are going to get through the O’Levels with results you have never dared to dream about so don’t commit suicide (you actually can’t). You are not as stupid as you think you are. Its the result of 3 things -
- setting standard impossibly high
- putting down your hard won achievements to luck
- viewing mistakes as proof of inherent stupidity
The really important thing though it to trust your first instincts without question and doubt all secondary thoughts. Your first instincts about a person, situation or a place is almost always right. You will find this out the long hard way later. Particularly in regard to women (you’ll be shocked to know there will be a lot of them).
Women (not girls)
Three women will declare that they want to marry you. You should run from them as fast as possible. Bail out to relationships your instincts tell you are dead. Or you’ll end up going down with the burning wreckage. It will hurt pretty bad but you will survive and be toughened. I won’t give you relationship advice because you’ll need to go through all the duds before you eventually find THE ONE. It will take a while but the journey will be worth it.
There is nothing wrong with having diverse interests. People will call this weird because you will impossible to pigeon hole. To a surprising lot this will make you a frightening character. Don’t wait for institutions to adapt to changes you see coming. Ditch them for more enlightened places.
You are right in feeling uncomfortable about divides between art, technology, and the “social” sciences. Trying to find connections between them will be interesting, lonely, fulfilling and without any safe harbours or clear routes. You’ll have to hack your own path which is the only way you can feel true to your self.
Computers are going to be a big part of life, not just yours. Two big tips
- Computers will be the new oil paint in art.
- Avoid tinkering endlessly with-something called Linux – you won’t save the world with it.
In a few months, after you’ve passed the O’levels, you’ll be picked for the rugger team. Don’t leave it because your mother’s scared that you’ll break your spine. It’s the best game you’ll ever play. It will show that you can be a team player without compromising things you care about. Leaving the team is something you’ll regret your decision the rest of your life (if you do stay on the team after reading this I hope you don’t end up in a wheel chair).
In a few years you are going to travel to places with snow and realise that snow is not as fun as it seems in the books you read. The good thing is that you’ll finally make life long friends from people all over the world. You’ll get to travel and work in interesting places.
When you start feeling worn down by the life you are leading head home to Sri Lanka. Even thought it might mean the last thing you would want to do. It will be the only place you’ll truly feel at home. Going back to the insane island is the only way to realise that. I know you won’t relived this but the LTTE will be totally destroyed within the first decade of the 21st century. That won’t fix everything but it will be a big step.
A few last tips from the future. In 2004 buy shares (never-mind if you don’t understand the term or how to do it) in a small American company called Google. Don’t forget that. To answer some of your more pressing questions about the early 21st century: There are still no bases on the moon, and humans haven’t gone to Mars. There will never be another Blake 7 series (sorry to traumatise you). Orwell’s 1984 was metaphorically spot one. Colombo at least has more than 2 TV channels. The rest you’ll discover sooner and later.
Sorry I had to yell at you but that’s the only way I could get your face out of that Biggle’s book. All the best and don’t forget what I told you about google.
I here by tag Herr Java Jones, Indi, the libertarian and Sanjana 
I don’t want to make biological links about blog tagging (its infectious all right). Have been floored by my annual cold. Didn’t help that I decided like the go-na (stupid ox) that I am to still go to toil and finish of the list sneeze of a very big project. In the interim I contributed (no doubt in a very minor way) to the profits of the tissue industry. The heavily processed remains of anonymous slaughtered trees went to the bin soak in the output of my sinuses. In other words I’m not pulling a sick note to get out the dear 16 tag post which will materialise sooner than later. Till then, have a good weekend. [sneeze]
There’s a virulent tagging virus (called Dear 16) going around. Its instigator has been kind enough to chart it. He’s start quite a few of these in the past but I think this one’s a masterpiece. Its certainly opened up many pent-up time capsules. I’d even say its becoming a blogopsheric phenomenon. I thought I’d been lucky enough to dodge the bullet but got tagged by the Angel. Vut tu du kno?
I don’t want to write it. Feels like it will open too many worm cans. Or perhaps it will be cathartic. Reading the other ones certainly gives the feeling that it is. Thankfully I’m pressed for time right now so I’ll put it off. Peck it out as I usually do on the phone and copy pasted it into the blog.
This feels coercive already..
Magtoo.com lets you create and share panoramas from multiple photographs without using any graphics software. The system is geared to share your creations via numerous social networking sites such as Blogger, Facebook ect. Though the site is still under development I was able to create a 360 degree panorama of view from the summit of Sigiriya mountain quite easily.
360 degree panorama image of the view from the summit of Sigiya mountain - generate via magtoo.com
All I needed to do was upload the images in one selection step and the system did the rest. I was quite impressed by how Magtoo.com stitched the overlapping areas of the images together quite seamlessly.
An additional benefit is that you can mark the location of your panorama on google maps. A feature that might appeal to geo blogging nerds while the rest might just shrug.
For a free online service in testing phase Magtoo.com has only a few drawbacks. Currently (mid Nov 2009 ) it is not possible to insert your panorama into a wordpress.Com blog in the same way you might add a youtube video. Copy-pasting the embed code doesn’t work either. There is a feature to “post” a panorama onto a wordpress blog. You’ll have to enter your blog’s login details to do that – which I’m not entirely comfortable about doing. The only low tech way do share your creations is via an old fashioned link to your magtoo.com profile page.
There is a “post to wordpress option” which I haven’t used. Blogger by contrast features prominently on magtoo’s list of social media sites.
Currently you need to use internet explorer on windows to with some activx add-on enabled to create a panorama. Non IE users including OS X people are out of luck for now.
Overall I think these issues are quite minor. The site lets you create something that would otherwise require downloading and installing yet another piece of software.
I think Sri Lankan photobloggers should give panorama creation via magtoo a shot. It’s an ideal tool for Kirigalpoththa to share his vistas from the hiking trails of Sri Lanka. I think Panoramism is the next logical step for Indi’s night-time long exposure photography.
Give magtoo a try and share a wider view with a bigger picture.
