Dreamsmademe Blog

I realized sometimes we pay very little or no attention at all to certain things we get done on regular basis.

For me taking a haircut is a such thing. Yeasterday evening I walked up to the saloon I've been going for the last ex-number of years. The fellow (barber) who runs the place wasn't there, the place was opened at large. So unlike other times I had time to look around until he comes. And I wondered how come I haven't noticed this before.

He's really gotta nice small place, in the 2nd floor of the Nugegoda Super Market building overlooking Old Kesbewa Road enterance to Nugegoda town. When I acknowledged it he said he's gonna put up a name board outside the wall so people can see it from down.

Then suddenly I realised I've been going there for years, but I stilI don't even know the saloon's name, not even the guy's name,



When I think of it I felt little ashamed of myself. Life's just like that sometimes, you don't see the very parts of it for negligence. Too bad.

This is what I love about my neighborhood. I have talked about it even here for sometime back.

Last Saturday evening a herd of big buffaloes (nearly 15 of domesticated ones) invaded my lawn. It was exciting to watch these magnificent creatures eating their way thro the lawn pruning the grass.

With few moves I figured they were obviously scared of humans but I was more scared to get closer than my camera's zoom range. If they really want I knew in one move they can rip off my hip swinging their big horns.

Nonetheless the experience itself made my day and I watch them for nearly half an hour untill Gayani calls me and get me out of my trance.

NB: Posted later for the last Wednesday 21, September 2005.

Today is one heck of an eventful day.

I don't know what it supposed to mean. Mostly good things still a miracle day. So many things had happened during the cause of nearly 8 hours. Good and bad, happy and sad, emotional and witty and as a whole I don't know what to call it. Feel like a lifetime of events had happened on one fine day. I won't believe that there will be another like this ever.

To name a few I can recall:

* Day started as you will see in my last post I tried the newest version of my favourite Graphics Suite Macromedia Studio 8 for the first time. The pieces of software out of which I make my living.
* Next in the morning Rani Aunt had little unnecessary case to step into a court.
* Hence I too tried walked into the court for the first time and virtually thrown out for my lack of awareness which my sin was I was wearing a T shirt. I was told I was not supposed to (?)
* Ruani's father had a small stroke and hospitalised suddenly. Good, he was allright soon.
* My one of the best colleagues in the office has given his resignation.
* Gotta another good news from the office I’ve been waiting for sometime on top of my friend’s leaving news.
* I got my first replacement card from HSBC once after I lost my wallet last with all its possessions.
* For the wallet’s sake, tried to get a copy of the police complaint for license replacement which was unsuccessful
* Further more there was some hearts' matters taken place.

Oh, What a Day to finish!

I will just write down these for safe keeping though I know will never forget this day. Hugh, funny sometimes how life takes us its rounds. I don't know what to call it. A Miracle Day with equally balanced good and bad!

Wow! Today I woke up to the nice feeling of my long waited user experience upgrade.

Guess, in a while I am gonna see the new incarnation of my favourite work-flow application, Macromedia Studio 8 2005 release.

These babies making my living since way back in 1998. I always loved them. Always I was eagerly waiting for new updates to this Famous Graphics Suite, now brought by industry mammoth Adobe Inc from Macromedia, and Macromedia either never failed me unless in one occasion (Studio 7 2004 release with so many bugs). Now installing the newest trial of Studio 8. Will see how these babies behave this time.

Meanwhile enjoy these few shots I’ve got from the installation :-)


Main beauty who dresses up my work with nice leaner graphics,


The industry leader, main reason why Adobe brought Macromedia for,

Note: Even in Colombo most places traffic chaos start with simple stupidity of the police taking over the lights. When lights are on or let the people go, traffic moves just fine.

In the ancient times Kandy city is built as a fortress with limited access. This doesn't help at all for the modern lifestyle. Many people now owns some sort of their own vehicle. Generally I guess in Sri Lanka, there are more vehicles than its road network can support.

In Kandy there aren't much traffic lights, too many lanes and the cops are being the dumbest, you can see the traffic hell in Kandy if you drive a vehicle. Naturally too much traffic start creating havocs in Kandy for the last decade. Parking is next to impossible in the city at any given time. This has been neglected nearly 10 years and finally last year the government made a decent multi story parking lot to overcome this within city parking problem.

This ended up as even more vehicles are entering the city now. Still roads are ignored at large. There is only three main access points to Kandy with narrow single lane roads which were built way back in 18th century. Namely Galagedara Kadugannawa and Kundasale passages.  Where as the Galagedara one we live is being the most difficult. They are widening the road from Kurunegala side for years. It never finishes.

Forget all that but when you reach Katugastota, the bridge is one goddamn bottleneck for anybody who reach or leave the city thro this way.

Imagine the size of an access to Sri Lanka’s second largest city.

Last Friday I sat along in a bus for nearly two hours just to go home from Good-Shed Bus Stand to Nugawela (Just 8 Km). Idiot city cops at the bridge simply don't understand that all the vehicles enter the city has to leave fast so the town is less populated. Imagine the queue started from Mahiyawa Tunnel near Indra Traders and the traffic was stand still until we reached the bridge nearly one hour later. I think the queue itself was 1.5 Km long.


Taken some other time, this is nearly where the police guy was.

Gosh! To everybody's surprise we could see the goddamn cop in the middle of the bridge Katugastota side allowing whole long 4 minutes for the entering vehicles and only gives 2 mins for the leaving traffic. It was peak hour and people leaving the city after work than coming. Supposed to be a traffic police Hugh! These cops should be shot on the spot for this plain ignorance. I heard somebody is muttering why can't we run over this idiot in sarcastic manner. What this morons didn't see was the queue was endless from the city side we came and the entering one was mere eyes length. Still worse standing in the middle of the narrow bend he was blocking more traffic than helping.

I wonder why these cops are paid for just creating havocs in the road.

Simple solution to this is placing few traffic lights there and get rid of the cops. If the Kandy Municipal Counsel can't afford to build a better bridge they can fire these unnecessary police morons and even save few bucks.


At least President Premadasa's time they build this nice bridge in Gannoruwa so I can at least avoid this dilemma if I drive.


Nice but very narrow Kadugannawa Old Passage, luckily here they built a diversion for sometime back.

This guy talks about all the hyped of new iPod nano, exactly that’s my point.



WE WANT CONVERGED DEVICES!

Read here the original post: iPod nano? Nah, Not impressed. Period.
Further reading here: What, Apple taking phone market. I wish.

I have talked about this long ago here: Digital Convergence

And now I own a Treo 650, I feel I am getting there, almost.

It’s just a matter of somebody is making a standard on these devices. Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Plam and Microsoft stand a better chance, but Apple owns the class. Who’s gonna merge this is the question of the hour.

The iPods case is “Those 99.9% of the universe is just there in US, if you get out if US, the player is the mobile phone”
I know here in Colombo I have seen more Treos and Sony Ericssons than iPods.

Last Sunday was unforgettable.

I have felt helpless in life quite a few number of times but this kind of thing I can never recall.

In the morning I had lost my wallet somewhere along the way to back to a near by shop. Carring the wallet in those big pocketted lose night shorts was my sin. Driving licence, bank cards, from few references to the last penny I owed in hand had gone. Wierd I have never given such an importance to a wallet until the day. Being on Sunday banks are closed and penny less makes you got nothing much to worry though my lovely friends had lend me some pocket money for survival.


This is the exact one I had photographed sometime back. All its possessions are now gone.

With no identities to prove me, just like born in to exile is a funny feeling. Major hassle was losing the driving licence. Sri Lankan Police is utterly useless they didn't at least offered me a some sort of authorised document for me to temporary use as an identity.
If I drive and caught they'll sure give me a ticket me for not having a licence it is as though I purposely lost it. Gosh!

I am not sure of what the procedures to get it back. I am sure more hassle is on my way. Police just asked me to wait a week to see whether some good heart will return it but I doubt that. In contrast none of the bank cards were a problematic they immediately canceled them and will issue me new ones within the cause of the week. The point is I can be without bank cards but not the  licence. Authorities never undersand or look into these matters. Our procedures are dumb and useless.

Sri Lanka is full of nice cultural events since the early days. Perehera (processions) is such a thing which held in various parts of the country while Kandy Perehara being the most famous processions from my home town way up in the hill capitol.



Even though our people boast much about these cultural things none is really geared to preserve the traditional values much. Being commercialised most of these events now lack the former glory and the talents as I’ve seen them during my childhood days. Anyway it is still interesting.



Now it is the Kotte Perehera season (The area where I hang around mostly). I was not keen on standing up hours and watch this by the sides of the jam packed road though I had no choice since my gang deosn’t leave me alone. So last night we watched it. Surprisingly it was nice because of the place we’ve got with less crowd making it memorable event to watch. So I wished I would have shown it to my friend Ruani too who hasn’t seen this type of things. Any other times I remember we just unable to watch it peacefully with the too much crowd hovering around and  watching girls go pass by was the only interesting part. :-)

Final two days anyway it is nearly impossible to watch cos all roads get packed up with by standing people. You only see the backs and do the head count then. I don’t wanna do that.

This time no hussle at all. I wished I had brought my camera with me than the phone's lousy one. It captures nothing in detail. Still enjoy the Perehera men doing their dance.