Win/Win is one of six total philosophies of human interaction.
1. Win/Win - People can seek mutual benefit in all human interactions. Principle-based behavior.
2. Win/Lose - The competitive paradigm: if I win, you lose. The leadership style is authoritarian. In relationships, if both people aren't winning, both are losing.
3. Lose/Win - The "Doormat" paradigm. The individual seeks strength from popularity based on acceptance. The leadership style is permissiveness. Living this paradigm can result in psychosomatic illness from repressed resentment.
4. Lose/Lose - When people become obsessed with making the other person lose, even at their own expense. This is the philosophy of adversarial conflict, war, or of highly dependent persons. (If nobody wins, being a loser isn't so bad.)
5. Win - Focusing solely on getting what one wants, regardless of the needs of others.
6. Win/Win or No Deal - If we can't find a mutually beneficial solution, we agree to disagree agreeably - no deal. This approach is most realistic at the beginning of a business relationship or enterprise. In a continuing relationship, it's no longer an option.
The most appropriate model depends on the situation. When relationships are paramount, Win/Win is the only viable alternative. In a competitive situation where building a relationship isn't important, Win/Lose may be appropriate. There are five dimensions of the Win/Win model: Character, Relationships, Agreements, Supportive Systems and Processes.
1. Character is the foundation of Win/Win. There must be integrity in order to establish trust in the relationship and to define a win in terms of personal values. A key trait is the abundance mentality that there is plenty for everybody (v. the Scarcity Mentality). The abundance mentality flows from a deep inner sense of personal worth and security.
2. Relationships are the focus on Win/Win. Whatever the orientation of the person you are dealing with (Win/Lose, etc.), the relationship is the key to turning the situation around. When there is a relationship of trust and emotional bank account balances are high, there is a much greater probability of a successful, productive interaction. Negative energy focused on differences in personality or position is eliminated; positive, cooperative energy focused on understanding and resolving issues is built.
3. Performance agreements or partnership agreements give definition and direction to Win/Win,. They shift the paradigm of production from vertical (Superior - Subordinate) to horizontal (Partnership/Team). The agreement should include elements to create a standard by which people can measure their own success.
1. Defined results (not methods) - what is to be done and when.
2. Guidelines - the parameters within which the results should be accomplished
3. Resources - human, financial, technical or organizational support available to accomplish the results.
4. Accountability - the standards of performance and time(s) of evaluation.
5. Consequences - what will happen as a result of the evaluation.
The agreement may be written by the employee to the manager to confirm the understanding.
Developing Win/Win performance agreements is the central activity of management, enabling employers to manage themselves within the framework of the agreement. Then the manager can initiate action and resolve obstacles so employees can do their jobs.
There are four kinds of consequences that management or parents can control - Financial, Psychic, Opportunity and Responsibility. In addition to personal consequences, the organizational consequences of behaviors should be identified.
4. The Reward System is a key element in the Win/Win model. Talking Win/Win but rewarding Win/Lose results in negating the Win/Win paradigm. If the outstanding performance of a few is rewarded, the other team members will be losers. Instead, develop individual achievable goals and team objectives to be rewarded.
Competition has its place against market competitors, last year's performance, or another location or individual where cooperation and interdependence aren't required, but cooperation in the workplace is as important to free enterprise as competition in the marketplace. The spirit of Win/Win cannot survive in an environment of competition or contests. All of the company's systems should be based on the principle of Win/Win. The Compensation system of the managers should be based on the productivity and development of their people. Reward both P (production) and PC (building production capacity).
5. The Win/Win process has four steps.
1. See the problem from the other point of view, in terms of the needs and concerns of the other party.
2. Identify the key issues and concerns (not positions) involved.
3. Determine what results would make a fully acceptable solution.
4. Identify new options to achieve those results.
You can only achieve Win/Win solutions with Win/Win procedures. Win/Win is not a personality technique. It's a total paradigm of human interaction.
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Warren Edward Buffett's Time Line - World's Richest Man
1943: (13 years old)
* Buffett filed his first income tax return, deducting his bicycle as a work expense for $35.
1945: (15 years old)
* In his senior year of high school, Buffett and a friend spent $25 to purchase a used pinball machine, which they placed in a barber shop. Within months, they owned three machines in different locations.
1949: (19 years old)
* In 1949, he was initiated into Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity while an undergraduate at the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania. His father and uncles were also Alpha Sigma Phi brothers from the chapter at Nebraska, where Warren eventually transferred.
1950: (20 years old)
* Buffett enrolled at Columbia Business School after learning that Benjamin Graham and David Dodd, two well-known securities analysts, taught there.
1951: (21 years old)
* Buffett discovered Graham was on the Board of GEICO insurance at the time. After taking a train to Washington, D.C. on a Saturday, Buffett knocked on the door of GEICO's headquarters until a janitor allowed him in. There, he met Lorimer Davidson, the Vice President, who was to become a lasting influence on him and life-long friend.
* Buffett graduated from Columbia and wanted to work on Wall Street. Buffett offered to work for Graham for free but Graham refused. He purchased a Sinclair gas station as a side investment, but that venture did not work out as well as he had hoped. Meanwhile, he worked as a stockbroker. During that time, Buffett also took a Dale Carnegie public speaking course. Using what he learned, he felt confident enough to teach a night class at the University of Nebraska, "Investment Principles." The average age of the students he taught was more than twice his own.
1952: (22 years old)
* Buffett married Susan Thompson.
1954: (24 years old)
* Benjamin Graham offered Buffett a job at his partnership with a starting salary of $12,000 a year. Here, he worked closely with Walter Schloss.
* Susan had her first child, Howard Graham Buffett.
1956: (25 years old)
* Benjamin Graham retired and folded up his partnership.
* Buffett's personal savings are now over $140,000.
* Buffett returned home to Omaha and created Buffett Associates, Ltd., an investment partnership.
1957: (27 years old)
* Buffett had three partnerships operating the entire year.
* Buffett purchased a five-bedroom, stucco house on Farnam Street for $31,500.
* Susan was about to have her third child.
1958: (28 years old)
* Buffett had five partnerships operating the entire year.
1959: (29 years old)
* Buffett had six partnerships operating the entire year.
* Buffett was introduced to Charlie Munger.
1960: (30 years old)
* Buffett had seven partnerships operating the entire year.
* The partnerships were: Buffett Associates, Buffett Fund, Dacee, Emdee, Glenoff, Mo-Buff, and Underwood.
* Buffett asks one of his partners, a doctor, to find ten other doctors who will be willing to invest $10,000 each into his partnership. Eventually, eleven doctors agreed to invest.
1961: (31 years old)
* Buffett revealed that Sanborn Map Company accounted for 35% of the partnerships' assets.
* Buffett explained that in 1958, Sanborn sold at $45 per share when the value of the Sanborn investment portfolio was $65 per share. This meant buyers valued Sanborn at "minus $20" per share, and buyers were unwilling to pay more than 70 cents on the dollar for an investment portfolio with a map business thrown in for nothing.
* Buffett reveals that he earned a spot on the board of Sanborn.
1962: (32 years old)
* Buffett's partnerships, in January 1962, had in excess of $7,178,500 of which over $1,025,000 belonged to Buffett.
* Buffett merges all partnerships into one partnership.
* Buffett discovered a textile manufacturing firm, Berkshire Hathaway. Buffett's partnerships began purchasing shares at $7.60 per share.
1965: (35 years old)
* When Buffett's partnerships began aggressively purchasing Berkshire they paid $14.86 per share while the company had working capital (current assets minus liabilities) of $19 per share, this did not include the value of fixed assets (factory and equipment).
* Buffett took control of Berkshire Hathaway at the board meeting and named a new President, Ken Chace, to run the company.
1966: (36 years old)
* Buffett closes the partnership to new money.
* Buffett wrote in his letter “unless it appears that circumstances have changed (under some conditions added capital would improve results) or unless new partners can bring some asset to the partnership other than simply capital, I intend to admit no additional partners to BPL.”
* In a second letter, Buffett announced his first investment in a private business — Hochschild, Kohn, and Co, a privately owned Baltimore department store.
1967: (37 years old)
* Berkshire paid out its first and only dividend of 10 cents.
1969: (39 years old)
* Following his most successful year, Buffett liquidated the partnership and transferred their assets to his partners. Among the assets paid out were shares of Berkshire Hathaway.
1970: (40 years old)
* As chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, began writing his now-famous annual letters to shareholders.
1973: (43 years old)
* Berkshire began to acquire stock in the Washington Post Company. Buffett became close friends with Katharine Graham, who controlled the company and its flagship newspaper, and became a member of its board of directors.
1979: (49 years old)
* Berkshire began to acquire stock in ABC. With the stock trading at $290 per share, Buffett's net worth neared $140 million. However, he lived solely on his salary of $50,000 per year.
* Berkshire began the year trading at $775 per share, and ended at $1,310. Buffett's net worth reached $620 million, placing him on the Forbes 400 for the first time.
1988: (58 years old)
* Buffett began buying stock in Coca-Cola Company, eventually purchasing up to 7 percent of the company for $1.02 billion. It would turn out to be one of Berkshire's most lucrative investments, and one which he still holds.
1999: (69 years old)
* Buffett is named the top money manager of the 20th century in a survey by the Carson Group, ahead of Peter Lynch and John Templeton.
2002: (72 years old)
* Buffett entered in $11 billion worth of forward contracts to deliver US dollars against other currencies. By April 2006, his total gain on these contracts was over $2 billion.
2004: (73 years old)
* His wife, Susan, dies.
2006: (75 years old)
* Buffett announced in June that he would give away more than 80%, or about $99 billion, of his $491 billion fortune to five foundations in annual gifts of stock, starting in July 2006. The largest contribution will go to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
2007: (76 Years old)
* In a letter to shareholders, Buffett announced that he was looking for a younger successor or perhaps successors to run his investment business. Buffett had previously selected Lou Simpson, who runs investments at Geico, to fill that role. However, Simpson is only six years younger than Buffett.
2008: (77 Years old)
* Buffett becomes the richest man in the world according to Forbes.
* Buffett filed his first income tax return, deducting his bicycle as a work expense for $35.
1945: (15 years old)
* In his senior year of high school, Buffett and a friend spent $25 to purchase a used pinball machine, which they placed in a barber shop. Within months, they owned three machines in different locations.
1949: (19 years old)
* In 1949, he was initiated into Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity while an undergraduate at the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania. His father and uncles were also Alpha Sigma Phi brothers from the chapter at Nebraska, where Warren eventually transferred.
1950: (20 years old)
* Buffett enrolled at Columbia Business School after learning that Benjamin Graham and David Dodd, two well-known securities analysts, taught there.
1951: (21 years old)
* Buffett discovered Graham was on the Board of GEICO insurance at the time. After taking a train to Washington, D.C. on a Saturday, Buffett knocked on the door of GEICO's headquarters until a janitor allowed him in. There, he met Lorimer Davidson, the Vice President, who was to become a lasting influence on him and life-long friend.
* Buffett graduated from Columbia and wanted to work on Wall Street. Buffett offered to work for Graham for free but Graham refused. He purchased a Sinclair gas station as a side investment, but that venture did not work out as well as he had hoped. Meanwhile, he worked as a stockbroker. During that time, Buffett also took a Dale Carnegie public speaking course. Using what he learned, he felt confident enough to teach a night class at the University of Nebraska, "Investment Principles." The average age of the students he taught was more than twice his own.
1952: (22 years old)
* Buffett married Susan Thompson.
1954: (24 years old)
* Benjamin Graham offered Buffett a job at his partnership with a starting salary of $12,000 a year. Here, he worked closely with Walter Schloss.
* Susan had her first child, Howard Graham Buffett.
1956: (25 years old)
* Benjamin Graham retired and folded up his partnership.
* Buffett's personal savings are now over $140,000.
* Buffett returned home to Omaha and created Buffett Associates, Ltd., an investment partnership.
1957: (27 years old)
* Buffett had three partnerships operating the entire year.
* Buffett purchased a five-bedroom, stucco house on Farnam Street for $31,500.
* Susan was about to have her third child.
1958: (28 years old)
* Buffett had five partnerships operating the entire year.
1959: (29 years old)
* Buffett had six partnerships operating the entire year.
* Buffett was introduced to Charlie Munger.
1960: (30 years old)
* Buffett had seven partnerships operating the entire year.
* The partnerships were: Buffett Associates, Buffett Fund, Dacee, Emdee, Glenoff, Mo-Buff, and Underwood.
* Buffett asks one of his partners, a doctor, to find ten other doctors who will be willing to invest $10,000 each into his partnership. Eventually, eleven doctors agreed to invest.
1961: (31 years old)
* Buffett revealed that Sanborn Map Company accounted for 35% of the partnerships' assets.
* Buffett explained that in 1958, Sanborn sold at $45 per share when the value of the Sanborn investment portfolio was $65 per share. This meant buyers valued Sanborn at "minus $20" per share, and buyers were unwilling to pay more than 70 cents on the dollar for an investment portfolio with a map business thrown in for nothing.
* Buffett reveals that he earned a spot on the board of Sanborn.
1962: (32 years old)
* Buffett's partnerships, in January 1962, had in excess of $7,178,500 of which over $1,025,000 belonged to Buffett.
* Buffett merges all partnerships into one partnership.
* Buffett discovered a textile manufacturing firm, Berkshire Hathaway. Buffett's partnerships began purchasing shares at $7.60 per share.
1965: (35 years old)
* When Buffett's partnerships began aggressively purchasing Berkshire they paid $14.86 per share while the company had working capital (current assets minus liabilities) of $19 per share, this did not include the value of fixed assets (factory and equipment).
* Buffett took control of Berkshire Hathaway at the board meeting and named a new President, Ken Chace, to run the company.
1966: (36 years old)
* Buffett closes the partnership to new money.
* Buffett wrote in his letter “unless it appears that circumstances have changed (under some conditions added capital would improve results) or unless new partners can bring some asset to the partnership other than simply capital, I intend to admit no additional partners to BPL.”
* In a second letter, Buffett announced his first investment in a private business — Hochschild, Kohn, and Co, a privately owned Baltimore department store.
1967: (37 years old)
* Berkshire paid out its first and only dividend of 10 cents.
1969: (39 years old)
* Following his most successful year, Buffett liquidated the partnership and transferred their assets to his partners. Among the assets paid out were shares of Berkshire Hathaway.
1970: (40 years old)
* As chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, began writing his now-famous annual letters to shareholders.
1973: (43 years old)
* Berkshire began to acquire stock in the Washington Post Company. Buffett became close friends with Katharine Graham, who controlled the company and its flagship newspaper, and became a member of its board of directors.
1979: (49 years old)
* Berkshire began to acquire stock in ABC. With the stock trading at $290 per share, Buffett's net worth neared $140 million. However, he lived solely on his salary of $50,000 per year.
* Berkshire began the year trading at $775 per share, and ended at $1,310. Buffett's net worth reached $620 million, placing him on the Forbes 400 for the first time.
1988: (58 years old)
* Buffett began buying stock in Coca-Cola Company, eventually purchasing up to 7 percent of the company for $1.02 billion. It would turn out to be one of Berkshire's most lucrative investments, and one which he still holds.
1999: (69 years old)
* Buffett is named the top money manager of the 20th century in a survey by the Carson Group, ahead of Peter Lynch and John Templeton.
2002: (72 years old)
* Buffett entered in $11 billion worth of forward contracts to deliver US dollars against other currencies. By April 2006, his total gain on these contracts was over $2 billion.
2004: (73 years old)
* His wife, Susan, dies.
2006: (75 years old)
* Buffett announced in June that he would give away more than 80%, or about $99 billion, of his $491 billion fortune to five foundations in annual gifts of stock, starting in July 2006. The largest contribution will go to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
2007: (76 Years old)
* In a letter to shareholders, Buffett announced that he was looking for a younger successor or perhaps successors to run his investment business. Buffett had previously selected Lou Simpson, who runs investments at Geico, to fill that role. However, Simpson is only six years younger than Buffett.
2008: (77 Years old)
* Buffett becomes the richest man in the world according to Forbes.
Friday, March 07, 2008
Never, put your banana in the refrigerator!!!
Bananas contain three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose
combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial
boost of energy. Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough
energy for a strenuous 90-minute work-out. No wonder the banana is the
number one fruit with the world's leading athletes. But energy isn't the
only way.
A banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a
substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to
our daily diet.
Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst
people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a
banana. This is because bananas contain Tryptophan, a type of protein that
the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your
mood and generally make you feel happier.
PMS: Forget the pills - eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains
regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.
Anemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of
hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.
Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in
potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure. So
much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana
industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk
of blood pressure and stroke.
Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school were
helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break,
and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power.
Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning
by making pupils more alert.
Constipation: High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help
restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without
resorting to laxatives.
Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a
banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and,
with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while
the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.
Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you
suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.
Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood
sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.
Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing
the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it
amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.
Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous
system.
Overweight and at work? Studies at the Institute of Psychology in
Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like
chocolate and crisps. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found
the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report
concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control
our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two
hours to keep levels steady.
Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal
disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw
fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also
neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of
the stomach.
Temperature control: Many other cultures see bananas as a "cooling"
fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of
expectant mothers. In Thailand , for example, pregnant women eat bananas to
ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because
they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.
Smoking &Tobacco Use: Bananas can also help people trying to give up
smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium
found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine
withdrawal.
Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the
heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water
balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing
our potassium levels. These can be re-balanced with the help of a
high-potassium banana snack.
Strokes: According to research in The New England Journal of Medicine,
eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by
strokes by as much as 40%!
Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to
kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with
the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or
surgical tape!
So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it
to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three
times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the
other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the
best value foods around So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase
so that we say, "A banana a day keeps the doctor away!"
PASS IT ON TO YOUR FRIENDS
PS: Bananas must be the reason monkeys are so happy all the time! I will
add one here; want a quick shine on our shoes?? Take the INSIDE of the
banana skin, and rub directly on the shoe...polish with dry cloth. Amazing
fruit.
combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial
boost of energy. Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough
energy for a strenuous 90-minute work-out. No wonder the banana is the
number one fruit with the world's leading athletes. But energy isn't the
only way.
A banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a
substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to
our daily diet.
Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst
people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a
banana. This is because bananas contain Tryptophan, a type of protein that
the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your
mood and generally make you feel happier.
PMS: Forget the pills - eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains
regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.
Anemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of
hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.
Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in
potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure. So
much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana
industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk
of blood pressure and stroke.
Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school were
helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break,
and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power.
Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning
by making pupils more alert.
Constipation: High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help
restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without
resorting to laxatives.
Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a
banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and,
with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while
the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.
Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you
suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.
Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood
sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.
Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing
the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it
amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.
Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous
system.
Overweight and at work? Studies at the Institute of Psychology in
Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like
chocolate and crisps. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found
the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report
concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control
our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two
hours to keep levels steady.
Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal
disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw
fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also
neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of
the stomach.
Temperature control: Many other cultures see bananas as a "cooling"
fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of
expectant mothers. In Thailand , for example, pregnant women eat bananas to
ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because
they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.
Smoking &Tobacco Use: Bananas can also help people trying to give up
smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium
found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine
withdrawal.
Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the
heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water
balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing
our potassium levels. These can be re-balanced with the help of a
high-potassium banana snack.
Strokes: According to research in The New England Journal of Medicine,
eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by
strokes by as much as 40%!
Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to
kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with
the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or
surgical tape!
So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it
to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three
times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the
other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the
best value foods around So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase
so that we say, "A banana a day keeps the doctor away!"
PASS IT ON TO YOUR FRIENDS
PS: Bananas must be the reason monkeys are so happy all the time! I will
add one here; want a quick shine on our shoes?? Take the INSIDE of the
banana skin, and rub directly on the shoe...polish with dry cloth. Amazing
fruit.
Monday, March 03, 2008
T h e B e s t M o m e n t s I n L i f e
1. Falling in love :(
2. Laughing till your stomach hurts :)
3. Enjoying a ride down the country side :)
4. Listening to your favorite song on the radio :)
5. Going to sleep listening to the rain pouring outside :)
6. Getting out of the shower and wrapping yourself with a warm, fuzzy towel :)
7. Passing your final exams with good grades :(
8. Being a part of an interesting conversation :)
9. Finding some money in some old pants :)
10. Laughing at yourself :)
11. Sharing a wonderful dinner with all your friends :)
12. Laughing without a reason :)
13. "Accidentally" hearing someone say somthing good about you :)
14. Watching the sunset :)
15. Listening to a song that reminds you of an important person in your life :)
16. Receiving or giving your first kiss :(
17. Feeling this buzz in your body when seeing this "special" someone :)
18. Having a great time with your friends :)
19. Seeing the one you love happy :(
20. Wearing the shirt of a person you love and smelling his/her perfume :(
21. Visiting an old friend of yours and remembering great memories :)
22. Hearing someone telling you "I LOVE YOU" :(
"True friends come in the good times when we tell them to, and come in the bad times.....without calling."
2. Laughing till your stomach hurts :)
3. Enjoying a ride down the country side :)
4. Listening to your favorite song on the radio :)
5. Going to sleep listening to the rain pouring outside :)
6. Getting out of the shower and wrapping yourself with a warm, fuzzy towel :)
7. Passing your final exams with good grades :(
8. Being a part of an interesting conversation :)
9. Finding some money in some old pants :)
10. Laughing at yourself :)
11. Sharing a wonderful dinner with all your friends :)
12. Laughing without a reason :)
13. "Accidentally" hearing someone say somthing good about you :)
14. Watching the sunset :)
15. Listening to a song that reminds you of an important person in your life :)
16. Receiving or giving your first kiss :(
17. Feeling this buzz in your body when seeing this "special" someone :)
18. Having a great time with your friends :)
19. Seeing the one you love happy :(
20. Wearing the shirt of a person you love and smelling his/her perfume :(
21. Visiting an old friend of yours and remembering great memories :)
22. Hearing someone telling you "I LOVE YOU" :(
"True friends come in the good times when we tell them to, and come in the bad times.....without calling."
Sunday, February 24, 2008
PicLens: Coolest Web photo viewer ever . . .
PicLens instantly transforms your browser into a full-screen 3D experience for viewing images across the web. Our new interactive "3D Wall" lets you effortlessly drag, click, and zoom your way around a wall of pictures for an extraordinary viewing experience. The new search box lets you search the Web in full-screen using Google, Yahoo, SmugMug, Flickr, Photobucket, and DeviantArt. Just type a query and view all the results in the PicLens wall.
"Visually, the results are stunning. This Firefox plugin is going to find a lot of fans very, very quickly." - Review on Techcrunch.com
" Coolest Web photo viewer ever . . . It's stunning." -- Review by CNET
Piclens is currently works on:
* Flickr, Smugmug, DeviantArt, Photobucket, Picasa
* Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Hi5, Friendster
* Image search on Google, Yahoo, Ask, Live, and AOL
* A growing number of Media RSS-enabled web sites
With PicLens, viewing images on the web will never be the same again.
Now available for Windows and Mac.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/5579
"Visually, the results are stunning. This Firefox plugin is going to find a lot of fans very, very quickly." - Review on Techcrunch.com
" Coolest Web photo viewer ever . . . It's stunning." -- Review by CNET
Piclens is currently works on:
* Flickr, Smugmug, DeviantArt, Photobucket, Picasa
* Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Hi5, Friendster
* Image search on Google, Yahoo, Ask, Live, and AOL
* A growing number of Media RSS-enabled web sites
With PicLens, viewing images on the web will never be the same again.
Now available for Windows and Mac.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/5579
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Goo Goo Dolls - Iris
Verse 1
And I'd give up forever to touch you
Cause I know that you feel me somehow
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be
And I don't want to go home right now
Verse 2
And all I can taste is this moment
And all I can breathe is your life
Cause sooner or later it's over
I just don't want to miss you tonight
Chorus
And I don't want the world to see me
Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
Verse 3
And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming
Or the moment of truth in your lies
When everything seems like the movies
Yeah you bleed just to know your alive
Chorus
And I don't want the world to see me
Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
Chorus
I don't want the world to see me
Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am
Thursday, February 14, 2008
'What does love mean?'
An email I got from a friend :)
'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore.
So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.'
Rebecca- age 8
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different.
You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.'
Billy - age 4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.'
Karl - age 5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.'
Chrissy - age 6
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.'
Terr i - age 4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.'
Danny - age 7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.'
Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you h ate,'
Nikka - age 6
(we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.'
Noelle - age 7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.'
Tommy - age 6
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling.
He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.'
Cindy - age 8
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'My mommy loves me more than anybody
You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.'
Clare - age 6
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.'
Elaine-age 5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.'
Mary Ann - age 4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.'
Lauren - age 4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.' (what an image)
Karen - age 7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.'
Jessica - age 8
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge.
The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child.
The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.
When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the littl e boy said,
'Nothing, I just helped him cry'
'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore.
So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.'
Rebecca- age 8
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different.
You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.'
Billy - age 4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.'
Karl - age 5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.'
Chrissy - age 6
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.'
Terr i - age 4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.'
Danny - age 7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.'
Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you h ate,'
Nikka - age 6
(we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.'
Noelle - age 7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.'
Tommy - age 6
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling.
He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.'
Cindy - age 8
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'My mommy loves me more than anybody
You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.'
Clare - age 6
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.'
Elaine-age 5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.'
Mary Ann - age 4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.'
Lauren - age 4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.' (what an image)
Karen - age 7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.'
Jessica - age 8
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge.
The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child.
The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.
When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the littl e boy said,
'Nothing, I just helped him cry'
Monday, February 11, 2008
In memoriam...
Kotte Nagaviharaya Chief incumbent Ven. Madulawe Sobhitha Thera holding a special bana at the D.S.Senanayake College premises in remembrance of the seven college students, baseball coach and the two girls who lost their lives at the Fort Railway Station suicide blast last week.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
DS BaseBall Team Tragedy
DS Brothers - You are in our hearts forever...
The highly active Fort Railway station is somewhat deserted with an extended weekend holiday in the offing. It is unnaturally calm in this normally busy transport hub. On this lazy Sunday afternoon gun totting security personnel at every entry\exit point remind the travellers of the troubled times they are going through.
Security has been beefed up and troops are on red alert, With Sri Lanka at the doorstep of another landmark in its annals, in the form of their 60th independence anniversary which is to be flagged off with a grand celebration in a few hours.
Sixty years hence the struggle by our forefathers to gain freedom from the clutches of colonial rulers, another struggle is being waged, this time to free the nation from the clutches of terrorism.
In this backdrop the Fort Railway station and the general area resembles a mini fortress with armed guards at every nook and corner.
The time is 2.05 p.m, the train from Kandy arrives at the station and among the crowd are seven young baseball players and their coach from D.S. Senanayake college in Colombo, returning after a club match in Kandy.
There are heavy bags on their backs and menacing looking baseball bats in their hands. The young men in the prime of their lives move to the exit point, at the corner of the number three platform, laughing and joking with each other. They either did not see or did not take any notice of, a young woman who had a deadly secret: a suicide jacket strapped to her waist. In their eyes, she could have been just another passenger waiting to disembark. But she had no plan of ever going home.
The big clock overhead turns to 2.10, and stops its tick, tick as crows are the first ones to take flight in unison with the sound of the deadly blast, sending its shockwaves on unsuspecting, innocent bystanders.
The clock which stopped at 2.10 p.m would be repaired in the near future and its hands would weave back and forth once again. But those young hearts which stopped ticking at 2.10 p.m on February 03, 2008, would never tick again. The life journey they began with so much hope and dreams is shattered so cruelly, on the concrete floor of a railway station to appease the bloodlust of terrorists.
White balls lathered in red slowly roll on the concrete floor and shattered bats lie in the cold concrete, so are their bodies which have been decimated in their prime.
For Rajarathnem Radeeswaran (18) of Dematagoda the fate has had it's say. His life has been snatched away by an organisation which claims to be the very guardians of the community he represents.
The tears of his mother M.Wasantha is the same as his dear friend Thiwanka's mother from Dehiwela, both have lost their beloved sons and at what cost they ask ?
His Father Vijayan Rajaratnam who is in shock over his son's death has a baseball cap in his lap, and talks about his son's love for the American game, which had paved the way for him to get the nod in getting admission to the famed D.S. Senanayake college.
Young Eranga Chaturanga who resides next to his beloved college too has bid adieu to this world at a time when both his mother and father had sought greener pastures in the Middle East, to make their son's life more comfortable.
But alas they have to return home abandoning the hope of a brighter future for their loved one, as his life has been terminated by a cruel terror which has no regard for human life.
Baseball captain of DS Nadeera Jayawardene who missed that fateful journey speaks painfully about the demise of his colleagues, calling it as an irreparable loss. The pain would haunt the rest of his and his friends' lives.
He painfully recollects the memories and says "I was scheduled to join them but because it was not a college match and also because I had to attend some other matters I did not go".
According to Nadeera six of his team mates had returned on the previous day but the rest had stayed back to visit the historic sights in Kandy, unknowing that death lay waiting to snatch them away on their return.
Kolitha Kumara (19) from Hokandara and Supun Halalla of Angoda who were studying in the A\L Commerce class were best of buddies according to their friends, and had excelled not only in sports but in studies as well.
Alas both had their future dreams shattered as victims of a conflict in which they never took part.
Young Dinuth Priyasanka of Agalawatte who was staying at his aunt's house in Colombo was eagerly awaiting to commence his A\L studies in the Science stream and according to friends was aspiring to be a doctor.
His father had migrated to Middle East with the untimely death of his mother to make his two children Dinuth and his sister's lives more comfortable. But now the grief stricken father has to return home, with his dreams shattered to see his beloved son lying in a cold coffin, a victim of a cold blooded attack by a group which calls themselves 'freedom fighters'.
Freedom at what cost? Could anybody even with a semblance of humanity justify attacks on innocent schoolchildren and unsuspecting civilians, asks Uvidu Vidura a senior prefect at the D.S.senanayake College. Now the only thing left for us is to pay the highest honour and assist their bereaved families on behalf of our college, says Vidura giving voice to the DS student community, as the coffins of their colleagues are brought to the school hall one by one.
The very gates from which they came to school day after day has opened for one last time. But this time round the entry is not on foot, but over the shoulders of their weeping colleagues, with their youthful bodies wrapped in satin in a cold coffin.
The young baseball coach of DS, Malinda Arumadura (27) of Gandara would never see his one year old child and his wife Sadeshi, whom he married recently. His dreams of a happy family life too got shattered like his body on that concrete floor at Colombo Fort.
A weeping student in front of their colleagues' remains says this Nation has lost many innocent young lives. "I hope my friends would be the last. I hope the blood spilled by them would not be in vain."
And as one banner erected by students proclaimed
Let the white doves fly
Don't let anyone cry
End War by and by
Then no one will sigh
The Last Group Picture after the Kandy Tour
Published Videos
D.S. Senanayake College - BaseBall Team Members Funeral
LTTE kill 10 School Children: 7 Baseball Players & Coach
D.S. Senanayake College - BaseBall Team Members Funeral
DS Senanayake College Baseball team
The highly active Fort Railway station is somewhat deserted with an extended weekend holiday in the offing. It is unnaturally calm in this normally busy transport hub. On this lazy Sunday afternoon gun totting security personnel at every entry\exit point remind the travellers of the troubled times they are going through.
Security has been beefed up and troops are on red alert, With Sri Lanka at the doorstep of another landmark in its annals, in the form of their 60th independence anniversary which is to be flagged off with a grand celebration in a few hours.
Sixty years hence the struggle by our forefathers to gain freedom from the clutches of colonial rulers, another struggle is being waged, this time to free the nation from the clutches of terrorism.
In this backdrop the Fort Railway station and the general area resembles a mini fortress with armed guards at every nook and corner.
The time is 2.05 p.m, the train from Kandy arrives at the station and among the crowd are seven young baseball players and their coach from D.S. Senanayake college in Colombo, returning after a club match in Kandy.
There are heavy bags on their backs and menacing looking baseball bats in their hands. The young men in the prime of their lives move to the exit point, at the corner of the number three platform, laughing and joking with each other. They either did not see or did not take any notice of, a young woman who had a deadly secret: a suicide jacket strapped to her waist. In their eyes, she could have been just another passenger waiting to disembark. But she had no plan of ever going home.
The big clock overhead turns to 2.10, and stops its tick, tick as crows are the first ones to take flight in unison with the sound of the deadly blast, sending its shockwaves on unsuspecting, innocent bystanders.
The clock which stopped at 2.10 p.m would be repaired in the near future and its hands would weave back and forth once again. But those young hearts which stopped ticking at 2.10 p.m on February 03, 2008, would never tick again. The life journey they began with so much hope and dreams is shattered so cruelly, on the concrete floor of a railway station to appease the bloodlust of terrorists.
White balls lathered in red slowly roll on the concrete floor and shattered bats lie in the cold concrete, so are their bodies which have been decimated in their prime.
For Rajarathnem Radeeswaran (18) of Dematagoda the fate has had it's say. His life has been snatched away by an organisation which claims to be the very guardians of the community he represents.
The tears of his mother M.Wasantha is the same as his dear friend Thiwanka's mother from Dehiwela, both have lost their beloved sons and at what cost they ask ?
His Father Vijayan Rajaratnam who is in shock over his son's death has a baseball cap in his lap, and talks about his son's love for the American game, which had paved the way for him to get the nod in getting admission to the famed D.S. Senanayake college.
Young Eranga Chaturanga who resides next to his beloved college too has bid adieu to this world at a time when both his mother and father had sought greener pastures in the Middle East, to make their son's life more comfortable.
But alas they have to return home abandoning the hope of a brighter future for their loved one, as his life has been terminated by a cruel terror which has no regard for human life.
Baseball captain of DS Nadeera Jayawardene who missed that fateful journey speaks painfully about the demise of his colleagues, calling it as an irreparable loss. The pain would haunt the rest of his and his friends' lives.
He painfully recollects the memories and says "I was scheduled to join them but because it was not a college match and also because I had to attend some other matters I did not go".
According to Nadeera six of his team mates had returned on the previous day but the rest had stayed back to visit the historic sights in Kandy, unknowing that death lay waiting to snatch them away on their return.
Kolitha Kumara (19) from Hokandara and Supun Halalla of Angoda who were studying in the A\L Commerce class were best of buddies according to their friends, and had excelled not only in sports but in studies as well.
Alas both had their future dreams shattered as victims of a conflict in which they never took part.
Young Dinuth Priyasanka of Agalawatte who was staying at his aunt's house in Colombo was eagerly awaiting to commence his A\L studies in the Science stream and according to friends was aspiring to be a doctor.
His father had migrated to Middle East with the untimely death of his mother to make his two children Dinuth and his sister's lives more comfortable. But now the grief stricken father has to return home, with his dreams shattered to see his beloved son lying in a cold coffin, a victim of a cold blooded attack by a group which calls themselves 'freedom fighters'.
Freedom at what cost? Could anybody even with a semblance of humanity justify attacks on innocent schoolchildren and unsuspecting civilians, asks Uvidu Vidura a senior prefect at the D.S.senanayake College. Now the only thing left for us is to pay the highest honour and assist their bereaved families on behalf of our college, says Vidura giving voice to the DS student community, as the coffins of their colleagues are brought to the school hall one by one.
The very gates from which they came to school day after day has opened for one last time. But this time round the entry is not on foot, but over the shoulders of their weeping colleagues, with their youthful bodies wrapped in satin in a cold coffin.
The young baseball coach of DS, Malinda Arumadura (27) of Gandara would never see his one year old child and his wife Sadeshi, whom he married recently. His dreams of a happy family life too got shattered like his body on that concrete floor at Colombo Fort.
A weeping student in front of their colleagues' remains says this Nation has lost many innocent young lives. "I hope my friends would be the last. I hope the blood spilled by them would not be in vain."
And as one banner erected by students proclaimed
Let the white doves fly
Don't let anyone cry
End War by and by
Then no one will sigh
The Last Group Picture after the Kandy Tour
Published Videos
D.S. Senanayake College - BaseBall Team Members Funeral
LTTE kill 10 School Children: 7 Baseball Players & Coach
D.S. Senanayake College - BaseBall Team Members Funeral
DS Senanayake College Baseball team
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
DS BaseBall Team Tragedy
DS Brothers - You are in our hearts forever...
The highly active Fort Railway station is somewhat deserted with an extended weekend holiday in the offing. It is unnaturally calm in this normally busy transport hub. On this lazy Sunday afternoon gun totting security personnel at every entry\exit point remind the travellers of the troubled times they are going through.
Security has been beefed up and troops are on red alert, With Sri Lanka at the doorstep of another landmark in its annals, in the form of their 60th independence anniversary which is to be flagged off with a grand celebration in a few hours.
Sixty years hence the struggle by our forefathers to gain freedom from the clutches of colonial rulers, another struggle is being waged, this time to free the nation from the clutches of terrorism.
In this backdrop the Fort Railway station and the general area resembles a mini fortress with armed guards at every nook and corner.
The time is 2.05 p.m, the train from Kandy arrives at the station and among the crowd are seven young baseball players and their coach from D.S. Senanayake college in Colombo, returning after a club match in Kandy.
There are heavy bags on their backs and menacing looking baseball bats in their hands. The young men in the prime of their lives move to the exit point, at the corner of the number three platform, laughing and joking with each other. They either did not see or did not take any notice of, a young woman who had a deadly secret: a suicide jacket strapped to her waist. In their eyes, she could have been just another passenger waiting to disembark. But she had no plan of ever going home.
The big clock overhead turns to 2.10, and stops its tick, tick as crows are the first ones to take flight in unison with the sound of the deadly blast, sending its shockwaves on unsuspecting, innocent bystanders.
The clock which stopped at 2.10 p.m would be repaired in the near future and its hands would weave back and forth once again. But those young hearts which stopped ticking at 2.10 p.m on February 03, 2008, would never tick again. The life journey they began with so much hope and dreams is shattered so cruelly, on the concrete floor of a railway station to appease the bloodlust of terrorists.
White balls lathered in red slowly roll on the concrete floor and shattered bats lie in the cold concrete, so are their bodies which have been decimated in their prime.
For Rajarathnem Radeeswaran (18) of Dematagoda the fate has had it's say. His life has been snatched away by an organisation which claims to be the very guardians of the community he represents.
The tears of his mother M.Wasantha is the same as his dear friend Thiwanka's mother from Dehiwela, both have lost their beloved sons and at what cost they ask ?
His Father Vijayan Rajaratnam who is in shock over his son's death has a baseball cap in his lap, and talks about his son's love for the American game, which had paved the way for him to get the nod in getting admission to the famed D.S. Senanayake college.
Young Eranga Chaturanga who resides next to his beloved college too has bid adieu to this world at a time when both his mother and father had sought greener pastures in the Middle East, to make their son's life more comfortable.
But alas they have to return home abandoning the hope of a brighter future for their loved one, as his life has been terminated by a cruel terror which has no regard for human life.
Baseball captain of DS Nadeera Jayawardene who missed that fateful journey speaks painfully about the demise of his colleagues, calling it as an irreparable loss. The pain would haunt the rest of his and his friends' lives.
He painfully recollects the memories and says "I was scheduled to join them but because it was not a college match and also because I had to attend some other matters I did not go".
According to Nadeera six of his team mates had returned on the previous day but the rest had stayed back to visit the historic sights in Kandy, unknowing that death lay waiting to snatch them away on their return.
Kolitha Kumara (19) from Hokandara and Supun Halalla of Angoda who were studying in the A\L Commerce class were best of buddies according to their friends, and had excelled not only in sports but in studies as well.
Alas both had their future dreams shattered as victims of a conflict in which they never took part.
Young Dinuth Priyasanka of Agalawatte who was staying at his aunt's house in Colombo was eagerly awaiting to commence his A\L studies in the Science stream and according to friends was aspiring to be a doctor.
His father had migrated to Middle East with the untimely death of his mother to make his two children Dinuth and his sister's lives more comfortable. But now the grief stricken father has to return home, with his dreams shattered to see his beloved son lying in a cold coffin, a victim of a cold blooded attack by a group which calls themselves 'freedom fighters'.
Freedom at what cost? Could anybody even with a semblance of humanity justify attacks on innocent schoolchildren and unsuspecting civilians, asks Uvidu Vidura a senior prefect at the D.S.senanayake College. Now the only thing left for us is to pay the highest honour and assist their bereaved families on behalf of our college, says Vidura giving voice to the DS student community, as the coffins of their colleagues are brought to the school hall one by one.
The very gates from which they came to school day after day has opened for one last time. But this time round the entry is not on foot, but over the shoulders of their weeping colleagues, with their youthful bodies wrapped in satin in a cold coffin.
The young baseball coach of DS, Malinda Arumadura (27) of Gandara would never see his one year old child and his wife Sadeshi, whom he married recently. His dreams of a happy family life too got shattered like his body on that concrete floor at Colombo Fort.
A weeping student in front of their colleagues' remains says this Nation has lost many innocent young lives. "I hope my friends would be the last. I hope the blood spilled by them would not be in vain."
And as one banner erected by students proclaimed
Let the white doves fly
Don't let anyone cry
End War by and by
Then no one will sigh
The Last Group Picture after the Kandy Tour
Published Videos
D.S. Senanayake College - BaseBall Team Members Funeral
LTTE kill 10 School Children: 7 Baseball Players & Coach
D.S. Senanayake College - BaseBall Team Members Funeral
DS Senanayake College Baseball team
The highly active Fort Railway station is somewhat deserted with an extended weekend holiday in the offing. It is unnaturally calm in this normally busy transport hub. On this lazy Sunday afternoon gun totting security personnel at every entry\exit point remind the travellers of the troubled times they are going through.
Security has been beefed up and troops are on red alert, With Sri Lanka at the doorstep of another landmark in its annals, in the form of their 60th independence anniversary which is to be flagged off with a grand celebration in a few hours.
Sixty years hence the struggle by our forefathers to gain freedom from the clutches of colonial rulers, another struggle is being waged, this time to free the nation from the clutches of terrorism.
In this backdrop the Fort Railway station and the general area resembles a mini fortress with armed guards at every nook and corner.
The time is 2.05 p.m, the train from Kandy arrives at the station and among the crowd are seven young baseball players and their coach from D.S. Senanayake college in Colombo, returning after a club match in Kandy.
There are heavy bags on their backs and menacing looking baseball bats in their hands. The young men in the prime of their lives move to the exit point, at the corner of the number three platform, laughing and joking with each other. They either did not see or did not take any notice of, a young woman who had a deadly secret: a suicide jacket strapped to her waist. In their eyes, she could have been just another passenger waiting to disembark. But she had no plan of ever going home.
The big clock overhead turns to 2.10, and stops its tick, tick as crows are the first ones to take flight in unison with the sound of the deadly blast, sending its shockwaves on unsuspecting, innocent bystanders.
The clock which stopped at 2.10 p.m would be repaired in the near future and its hands would weave back and forth once again. But those young hearts which stopped ticking at 2.10 p.m on February 03, 2008, would never tick again. The life journey they began with so much hope and dreams is shattered so cruelly, on the concrete floor of a railway station to appease the bloodlust of terrorists.
White balls lathered in red slowly roll on the concrete floor and shattered bats lie in the cold concrete, so are their bodies which have been decimated in their prime.
For Rajarathnem Radeeswaran (18) of Dematagoda the fate has had it's say. His life has been snatched away by an organisation which claims to be the very guardians of the community he represents.
The tears of his mother M.Wasantha is the same as his dear friend Thiwanka's mother from Dehiwela, both have lost their beloved sons and at what cost they ask ?
His Father Vijayan Rajaratnam who is in shock over his son's death has a baseball cap in his lap, and talks about his son's love for the American game, which had paved the way for him to get the nod in getting admission to the famed D.S. Senanayake college.
Young Eranga Chaturanga who resides next to his beloved college too has bid adieu to this world at a time when both his mother and father had sought greener pastures in the Middle East, to make their son's life more comfortable.
But alas they have to return home abandoning the hope of a brighter future for their loved one, as his life has been terminated by a cruel terror which has no regard for human life.
Baseball captain of DS Nadeera Jayawardene who missed that fateful journey speaks painfully about the demise of his colleagues, calling it as an irreparable loss. The pain would haunt the rest of his and his friends' lives.
He painfully recollects the memories and says "I was scheduled to join them but because it was not a college match and also because I had to attend some other matters I did not go".
According to Nadeera six of his team mates had returned on the previous day but the rest had stayed back to visit the historic sights in Kandy, unknowing that death lay waiting to snatch them away on their return.
Kolitha Kumara (19) from Hokandara and Supun Halalla of Angoda who were studying in the A\L Commerce class were best of buddies according to their friends, and had excelled not only in sports but in studies as well.
Alas both had their future dreams shattered as victims of a conflict in which they never took part.
Young Dinuth Priyasanka of Agalawatte who was staying at his aunt's house in Colombo was eagerly awaiting to commence his A\L studies in the Science stream and according to friends was aspiring to be a doctor.
His father had migrated to Middle East with the untimely death of his mother to make his two children Dinuth and his sister's lives more comfortable. But now the grief stricken father has to return home, with his dreams shattered to see his beloved son lying in a cold coffin, a victim of a cold blooded attack by a group which calls themselves 'freedom fighters'.
Freedom at what cost? Could anybody even with a semblance of humanity justify attacks on innocent schoolchildren and unsuspecting civilians, asks Uvidu Vidura a senior prefect at the D.S.senanayake College. Now the only thing left for us is to pay the highest honour and assist their bereaved families on behalf of our college, says Vidura giving voice to the DS student community, as the coffins of their colleagues are brought to the school hall one by one.
The very gates from which they came to school day after day has opened for one last time. But this time round the entry is not on foot, but over the shoulders of their weeping colleagues, with their youthful bodies wrapped in satin in a cold coffin.
The young baseball coach of DS, Malinda Arumadura (27) of Gandara would never see his one year old child and his wife Sadeshi, whom he married recently. His dreams of a happy family life too got shattered like his body on that concrete floor at Colombo Fort.
A weeping student in front of their colleagues' remains says this Nation has lost many innocent young lives. "I hope my friends would be the last. I hope the blood spilled by them would not be in vain."
And as one banner erected by students proclaimed
Let the white doves fly
Don't let anyone cry
End War by and by
Then no one will sigh
The Last Group Picture after the Kandy Tour
Published Videos
D.S. Senanayake College - BaseBall Team Members Funeral
LTTE kill 10 School Children: 7 Baseball Players & Coach
D.S. Senanayake College - BaseBall Team Members Funeral
DS Senanayake College Baseball team
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Boot It !
When your computer doesn't do what you type,
And half the screen is covered with a big white stripe,
The vendor won't pay any mind to your gripe,
So boot it. Just boot it.
When you discover that a process won't die,
If kill -9 won't work there's nothing else to try.
Your jobs are dead meat, so kiss 'em goodbye
And boot it. 50 hours of work,
Just boot it, boot it.
And if you can't boot it, shoot it!
When you reboot it, work will be lost.
It doesn't matter what this will cost.
Just boot it. Just boot it.
Just boot it. Just boot it.
When all the characters are coming out weird,
And won't come back right even when the screen is cleared,
You can't fix such things by tugging your beard
So boot it. Just boot it.
If your computer still is running Windows,
And every time it crashes your frustration grows.
When the system's not free, you will always be hosed.
Just boot it. Put a GNU system on,
And boot it, boot it.
Or put it in your horn, and toot it!
It doesn't matter what was to blame.
Till you reboot it, your machine's lame.
Just boot it. Just boot it.
Just boot it. Just boot it.
It doesn't matter what you did wrong.
Till you reboot it, your machine's gone.
Just boot it. Just boot it.
Just boot it. Just boot it.
And half the screen is covered with a big white stripe,
The vendor won't pay any mind to your gripe,
So boot it. Just boot it.
When you discover that a process won't die,
If kill -9 won't work there's nothing else to try.
Your jobs are dead meat, so kiss 'em goodbye
And boot it. 50 hours of work,
Just boot it, boot it.
And if you can't boot it, shoot it!
When you reboot it, work will be lost.
It doesn't matter what this will cost.
Just boot it. Just boot it.
Just boot it. Just boot it.
When all the characters are coming out weird,
And won't come back right even when the screen is cleared,
You can't fix such things by tugging your beard
So boot it. Just boot it.
If your computer still is running Windows,
And every time it crashes your frustration grows.
When the system's not free, you will always be hosed.
Just boot it. Put a GNU system on,
And boot it, boot it.
Or put it in your horn, and toot it!
It doesn't matter what was to blame.
Till you reboot it, your machine's lame.
Just boot it. Just boot it.
Just boot it. Just boot it.
It doesn't matter what you did wrong.
Till you reboot it, your machine's gone.
Just boot it. Just boot it.
Just boot it. Just boot it.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Whatt a Day....
Sometimes its shocking how life treats you. After all what matters is true friends who will march the jourey along with you. Yesterday was my friends Wedding and Home Coming. It was nice and hes the first person to get into married life from my college batch mates. Yohan and Asanthika, I wish you both Happiness and Posperity in the coming wedded years ahead.
Monday, January 21, 2008
RMS Sri Lanka Visit BLOGS & PICS
http://budlite.blogspot.com/
http://www.web2media.net/laktek/2008/01/19/rms-in-sri-lanka/
http://www.web2media.net/laktek/2008/01/19/rms-in-sri-lanka/
Hard facts on free software with RMS
Richard Matthew Stallman, popularly known as “RMS”, the founder of the GNU Project and The Free Software Foundation (FSF), was in Sri Lanka this week. He is an American software freedom activist, a hacker, and software developer. In September 1983, he launched the GNU Project to create a free Unix-like operating system. Stallman pioneered the concept of copyleft and is the main author of several copyleft licences including the GNU General Public Licence, the most widely used free software license. He has also developed a number of pieces of, highly used development tools, including the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC), the GNU symbolic debugger (GDB) and GNU Emacs. Stallman co-founded the League for Programmeming Freedom in 1989.
The Nation Economist was able to get a special interview with the software freedom activist. The following are excerpts.
(Q) What is Free Softwear?
(A) ‘Freedom’, I believe, is translated into Sinhala as “Nidahas.” Free Software means, software that respects the user’s freedom. The idea is that computer users should be free. The crucial issue is always: what are the essential freedoms that everyone should have?
They should have four essential freedoms.
• Freedom 1: The freedom to run the programme as you wish.
• Freedom 2: The freedom to study source code and modify the programme.
• Freedom 3: The freedom to copy the programme so you can help your neighbour.
• Freedom 4: The freedom to improve the programme, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits.
So this makes the software part of human knowledge. So you can adapt, extend and pass on to each other.
The other alternative is user subjective software or proprietary software/non-Free Software. Software that keeps users divided and helpless. If you are forbidden to share with people, then it is unethical to use it at all. Fundamentally, unethical, because it is attempting to divide people, and helpless, because the users don’t have the source code, as it is kept secret, so they can’t change anything, they can’t even tell what the programme is really doing. This is, fundamentally, unethical, because it is dividing people. These developers are keeping the users helpless. These are predatory practices, which resembles colonial systems. After all, how does colonization work? Divide and rule. Keep people divided and helpless, and then you can get what you want from them. That’s what proprietary software does. It keeps you divided, by saying you are not allowed to redistribute and they keep you helpless, by not giving you the source code. This gives developers power over the user. That power is unjust. Proprietary software is, fundamentally, wrong. The goal of the free software movement is to put an end to this injustice. Our aim is, there should be no proprietary software, that all software should be free. Users of software should have the freedom they want.
(Q) The term “Free Software” has been widely misunderstood. Is it software that is free of charge?
(A) Not necessarily. It is a misunderstanding. It is because, in English, we don’t have a good word for “Nidahas”. We only have the word “free” which can also mean “gratis”. So, it causes confusion. It even took me a few years to recognize these two different meanings of the word “free”, have to be carefully distinguished. In Sinhala and Tamil, these two words explain it well. You have to get the meaning of this word right. It’s not a matter of price at all. It’s a matter of freedom. So, if you think of free speech, it is not free bear, then you will understand free software. I have nothing against programmemers getting paid to write software. In fact, most software programmemers paid to write are not meant to be proprietary, it’s custom software. One client wants to use it and is paying for its development. And that is ethical, as long as the developers respect the client’s freedom. So, most of the software has nothing do with this question. But most users are using proprietary software. That means they are victims. They are under the power of developers, who are usually mega corporations, such as Microsoft, Apple, Dobby, Oracle. There are many of them, as in the case of European colonisation, like some countries managed to grab more colonies and others managed to grab a few colonies, but still, its wrong. So, rather than trying to judge which colonial power is better, we should put an end to it.
(Q) How did you learn to appreciate free software?
(A) It’s trivial for people who are naturally born programmemers. Once you get an idea of programmeming, it is obvious. I read manuals of computers and thought of programmeming. To learn, I had to do it. I was absolutely fascinated by it. By chance, at MIT, I met a free software community. In the lab, the software we had was free. We were happy to share it with anybody at any time.
(Q) Was this the Hackers’ community?
(A) That’s right. We called our selves hackers. To be a hacker meant that you were fascinated by computer programmeming. But, more generally, hacking meant and still means playful cleverness. So, if you enjoy finding opportunities to play at being clever and if you admire other people’s playful cleverness, then you are a hacker at heart.
(Q) But isn’t it unethical to hack?
(A) It might be, in some cases. But generally, no. This term was confused in the 1980s. When the world found out about hackers, they focused on one kind of activity some hackers do. Some hackers, sometimes, do things like breaking security. Why did hackers originally, start breaking security? Because, at University, there were administrators who would stop them from using the computers, usually, for stupid reasons. There would be a computer nobody is using. Then, there would be somebody with something interesting to do, using this computer. Administrators would oppose that person citing rules and regulations. So, this clever person, the hacker, who enjoyed playful cleverness, rather than beat his head against the wall, would just go around and use this computer anyway, for research. It was not a matter of harming anyone. Because, these computers were meant to be used by university students for work and interesting things. So the people who want to use these computers did not let the bureaucrats get in their way.
The reason that they did was because they were fascinated by programmeming and they loved playful cleverness. So, their solution to any problem would be playful cleverness. This was not anybody’s privacy. The computer did not belong to any person. It belonged to the university, for students to use it. They did not steal anything. It wasn’t a bank’s computer. It was just a computer facility at university, meant for research.
I am not in favour of theft. Its fine that banks should have security and I don’t want people to break that security. I don’t want anybody to take my money or your money.
(Q) What happened at AI Lab, once you stared working?
(A) Initially, we had a free software community and eventually, it died due to commercial outside intervention.
(Q) So, that means there were people who had made free software before you?
(A) For sure. It was just the people’s way of life. I did not invent free software. In fact, in the 1950s, lot of software was free. Because, nobody thought of restricting the user. Even in the 1970s, there was still a fair amount of free software. Some operating systems were free software. During the 70s, that mostly disappeared. And by the 1980s, the lab’s free operating systems became obsolete too. Our community died for other reasons.
So, I found myself facing the prospect of looking at the rest of my life without freedom, without community, without anything but, a world of ugliness. I did not want to live that way. I thought, I would make life ethical. I am going to fight for freedom. So I started the free software movement. I did not invent free software. I launched a movement to bring back the freedom to cooperate with other people.
(Q) What is GNU project?
(A) I want to be able to use computers that have freedom and cooperate with people. Computers won’t run without an operating system. There wasn’t one. So, I decided to develop one. I named it GNU. There were about 50 operating systems at that time, but none were free. There were many different kinds of computers with many different operating systems. They were different in technical ways but, in terms of freedom, they were all same.
(Q) When you founded the GNU project, what was the reaction of the public?
(A) The public did not react at all. But, some programmemers were enthusiastic, and volunteered to write part of the system. So, in 1990, we had most of a part of the system. But one important part was missing. That part was the kernel, the programme which allocates the computer’s resources to all the other programmes which it runs. It’s the lowest level of the system. The other parts runs on top.
1992 Linux, which is a kernel, was released. So, when we put together GNU, which was mostly complete and Linux, to fill the last gap, the result was free operating system, which was basically GNU, but contained Linux as well. So, GNU plus Linux is the fair name for it. And ever since, it has been possible to use computers free.
The Community is developing more and more free software. Here you find SAHARA, a rather noteworthy piece of free software developed for disaster coordinating activities. Developers of these can be in one continent, while its Users can be anywhere.
I personally don’t do much of programmeming now. There are many who develop free software now. Most important thing I do now is to spread the idea of freedom. I have always been a freedom fighter. In the 1980’s, the best way I could contribute is writing software, because there weren’t many of us then. What I contributed personally, was an important part in what we did in 1980. It was a substantial part.
(Q) What is the difference between “Free Software” and “Open Source”?
(A) Free Software and Open Source are the slogans of two different movements with different philosophies. In the free software movement, the goal is to be free to share and cooperate. We say that non-free software is antisocial, because it tramples the users’ freedom, and we develop free software to escape from that.
The Open Source movement promotes what they consider a technically superior development model that usually gives technically superior results. Free Software and Open Source are also both criteria for software licenses. These criteria are written in very different ways but, the licences accepted are almost the same. The main difference is the difference in philosophy.
(Q) What are your views on the IT sector in Sri Lanka?
(A) It’s difficult to say. I have been here only a few days. Yet, I can see Sri Lanka has the same problem as in the US, which is most people are using proprietary software. This is a social problem which needs to be corrected. Like Microsoft, they restrict users’ freedom. So, you should not use them. You should use software that can be used in freedom.
You get a lot of practical benefits by using free software. It is almost like having freedom of speech. The particle benefits you get are you don’t pay lots of money to mega corporations, and mega corporations can’t restrict you freedom, because they are using unauthorised copies. Trying to stop people from sharing is evil. Government should never allow that.
(Q) What is your advice to aspiring young software developers in Sri Lanka?
(A) My advice is don’t make the mistake of thinking about software only in terms of practical convenience. Don’t forget about freedom. Don’t forget about social solidarity. Anyone trying to stop you from sharing information, is trying to tax society. Don’t let them get away with it. If you develop software, respect the freedom of the user. Don’t try to subjugate other people and don’t let anybody subjugate you. You deserve to be free.
Sunday, December 02, 2007
100 Things To Do Before You Die
Something to laugh about taken from the Internet...
1. Sucker-punch your boss.
2. Become a member of the Mile High Club, even if you have to do it alone.
3. Go to your high school reunion dressed as a homeless guy.
4. Stand outside the Today Show window and moon Al Roker for two straight hours.
5. Drink an entire keg of Guinness by yourself (no time limit).
6. Test-drive a top-end sports car and lead the cops on a high-speed chase.
7. Rack up $5,000 on your Discover card, then tell them you just “discovered” you don’t have any money.
8. Befriend George W. Bush and try to get him to start drinking again.
9. Interview a female intern on a trampoline.
10. Visit Don Knotts’ grave site. (Keep in mind that he’s still alive.)
11. Make it through an entire porn video.
12. Survive a bar fight.
13. Watch two women bring each other to fake orgasm in person.
14. Jell-O wrestle Britney Spears.
15. Hike through a jungle, armed only with a machete.
16. Learn all the words to “Louie, Louie.”
17. Grow a handlebar mustache—just to see if it might look good on you.
18. Go to the top of the Empire State Building, then hit all the buttons in a crowded elevator on the way down.
19. Take the Steelers +3.5 and the Jets -2.5 and have the Jets beat the Steelers by three so you win both bets.
20. Hit a hole in one (with witnesses).
21. Hold auditions for a posse.
22. Wake up In a Frickin’ Gutter
Joe Alaimo, 32, Queens, NY:
“My five buddies and I arrived in Paris at night and decided to buy a bunch of wine. Soon after that I was walking across the Notre Dame plaza in my ’wears. Next thing I knew it was daylight and I was facedown in a gutter above the Seine, being shaken awake by some guy wearing a beret.”
23. Restore a Classic Car
John Heidenry, 34, Hoboken, NJ:
“I picked up my ’70 Cadillac convertible for $2,500. Over the next six years, I spent $16,000 on a new engine, rear quarter panels, a killer paint job, the interior, and rechroming. What the hell? I can fit five girls in the backseat—try doing that in a Porsche.”
24. Spend a night in jail for a semicool reason and talk shit about the screws.
25. Have sex on your boss’ desk. Don’t clean up afterward.
26. Get banned from a casino.
27. Get drunk in Tijuana and goad a tough yet disinterested Mexican to beat you up.
28. Go to karaoke night and sing “Free Bird,” regardless of what song’s playing.
29. Kick your dad’s ass.
30. Pleasure yourself in a voting booth.
31. Spray-paint “Scooby Rules!” on the Great Wall of China.
32. Backpack across Europe wearing loud Hawaiian shirts and a cowboy hat. Offer everyone ketchup.
33. Put all the money you have in the world down on a blackjack table. (This should be the very last thing you do before you die.)
34. Have an all-night orgy with all your ex-girlfriends, then present a trophy to the Most Improved Lady.
35. Foil a crime in heroic fashion.
36. Make Mike Tyson flinch when he’s old and punch-drunk.
37. Eat chunks of cooked dolphin off a naked woman’s body.
38. Smoke a joint in synagogue and yell out, “This is my High Holy Day, you bastards!”
39. Hurt yourself badly while working around the house.
40. Catch a home run at a baseball game—even if it’s just batting practice.
41. Visit Graceland and ask to see the bathroom where the King’s blue suede shoes were stepped on for the last time.
42. Grab the P.A. system at a department store and keep repeating the words “Blow jobs, two for one in aisle seven.”
43. Drive cross-country without a map.
44. Land a Big ’Un
“Wild Bill” Skinner, 53, Clovis, NM:
“Early one morning, in the Gulf of Mexico, I noticed a school of sharks. So I decided to do a little fishing. I hooked up a big chunk of bait, and as soon as I cast it a 12-foot hammerhead bit. Holy shit! I thought. I quickly climbed into the lifeboat and pushed off. For the next half-hour, that shark just wore himself out dragging me in circles. Then I rowed back to the main boat and spent 30 minutes reeling him in. However, the captain didn’t want a 600-pound fish thrashing the side of his boat. So I had to cut it loose.”
45. Do doughnuts on the White House lawn in a monster truck.
46. Give your girlfriend an enormous candy-diamond Ring Pop and try to convince her it’s the real thing.
47. Sit in the stands at a Packers game in December without a shirt.
48. Name a pet “You Filthy Whore” so when you yell, “Come back here, You Filthy Whore,” the whole neighborhood pays attention.
49. Invite friends over for dinner, then mail them a bill for everything they ate.
50. Pick up a piece of road kill with a stick and chase a child with it.
51. Learn to bowl overhand.
52. Run a marathon and stop at 26 bars along the way for refreshments.
53. Watch every second of every game of March Madness at a sports bar in Vegas.
54. Visit Australia…nah, strike that.
55. Stand outside a bar pretending to be a bouncer and collect a “cover charge” from clueless tourists.
56. Drop by an ex-girlfriend’s for a booty call even though it’ll cause a serious headache.
57. Convince a girlfriend to get a tattoo of your name on her butt.
58. Secretly record your girlfriend having an orgasm. Then put it on the outgoing message of your answering machine.
59. Enjoy a competitive game of “Where’s My Finger?” with the cast of Charmed.
60. Make double the salary your father made. If you can triple it, hire him as your personal valet.
61. Get drunk and cut someone’s hair.
62. Go to an all-you-can-eat buffet the moment it opens and stay for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
63. Be a guest voice on The Simpsons.
64. Take a bank robber’s gun from him and blow his brains out…or, whatever.
65. Play a hurtful, unfunny practical joke on an office rival, where apologizing for an earlier unfunny practical joke is part of the gag.
66. Watch all 100 of Maxim’s “100 Greatest Guy Movies” (March 1998 issue) in one week.
67. Frequent a local bar so much they’ll let you cash a paycheck there.
68. Tour a brewery wearing your underwear outside your clothes.
69. Jell-O wrestle Britney Spears, again.
70. Wait in the express line of a supermarket with too many items. When someone complains, take out a glue gun and start combining your purchases into one giant bundle.
71. Own a house that has a basement bar and rec room.
72. Expose yourself on a nationally televised sporting event.
73. Be a Champ!
Bob Hamm, Pana, IL:
“About five years back, I decided to become the world’s greatest six-gun twirler. I practiced five hours a day, every day (with prop guns). Three years later, when I climbed onstage for the World Gun Spinning Championship in Deadwood, South Dakota, I entered a state of pure concentration. I threw my guns for six minutes, culminating in a 15-foot-high Montana Big Sky Flip. When announced as the winner, I was overwhelmed with a sense of accomplishment. To celebrate I went out with my friends for a big T-bone steak.”
74. Have sex in complete silence, with your in-laws in the next room.
75. Get banned from San Antonio (like Ozzy Osbourne did in 1982 for urinating outside the Alamo), then try to break in. (Hint: Try the Rio Grande.)
76. Teach a monkey martial arts and then kick its ass.
77. Drink vodka in Moscow, smoke a cigar in Cuba, eat some Peking duck in Beijing, and take a dump in North Korea.
78. Whenever your girlfriend’s father starts to say something at dinner, pretend you gotta sneeze and say, “I’mherdaddy.”
79. Ride in the ambulance with Keith Richards on the way to get his transfusion.
80. Go into a gun store and ask the guy, “What do you recommend for teaching someone a lesson?”
81. Light a fire using only sticks. Then find a volleyball and befriend it. Next ask yourself if you’re a fucking wacko.
82. Secretly Date Two Women Who Know Each Other
John Kings, 34, New York, NY:
“The girls and I met at New York University. Besides a mutual dislike for each other, the only thing they had in common was a desire to get me into bed. Mandy made the first move. One night after a party, she took me back to her place. The next day, as I left her apartment, I ran into Sue, who lived only three buildings down. I knew it was bad, but up to Sue’s I went. Then things began to get weird. I was sleeping with each girl twice a week and I’d wake up forgetting where I was, worrying about saying the wrong name! After about a month and a half, it just became too damn psychotic, so I decided to break up with both girls.”
83. Eat between six and nine White Castle hamburgers for lunch every day for a week.
84. Snip the ponytail off a Hells Angel in a dive bar, then make a quick exit and tip over that row of bikes out front.
85. Go to a strip bar with your girlfriend and get her a table dance.
86. Date a coworker, break up, and ride out the awkwardness.
87. Jump from the second story of a building into a dumpster full of Chinese restaurant trash and fluorescent light bulbs.
88. Get a woman to pay you for sex. Or at least try.
89. Smoke opium in the jungles of Thailand. (Maxim categorically denies having just suggested that.)
90. Sneak into the Playboy Mansion while Hef’s alive. Work for the caterer if you have to.
91. Go to Vietnam and have a drink in a small dingy bar in memory of the guys.
92. Lock Emo Philips and Gallagher in a room together with nothing but two carrot peelers and a flatulent donkey. Leave them to die.
93. Call a cop a “doughnut-eating fascist” to his face. When you get out of the hospital, send him a dozen doughnuts.
94. Buy a round for a packed bar.
95. Meet Mr. T and thank him for helping keep you off the streets.
96. Discuss the latest advancements in superstring theory with Carmen Electra.
97. Pull off a hoax that gets reported as truth in a newspaper.
98. Knock on a random door in every country you visit and try to talk your way into a home-cooked meal.
99. Karate-chop a board in half with your bare hand.
100. Send your gorgeous sister to the Maxim offices so she can brighten up the lunch meeting with a striptease.
1. Sucker-punch your boss.
2. Become a member of the Mile High Club, even if you have to do it alone.
3. Go to your high school reunion dressed as a homeless guy.
4. Stand outside the Today Show window and moon Al Roker for two straight hours.
5. Drink an entire keg of Guinness by yourself (no time limit).
6. Test-drive a top-end sports car and lead the cops on a high-speed chase.
7. Rack up $5,000 on your Discover card, then tell them you just “discovered” you don’t have any money.
8. Befriend George W. Bush and try to get him to start drinking again.
9. Interview a female intern on a trampoline.
10. Visit Don Knotts’ grave site. (Keep in mind that he’s still alive.)
11. Make it through an entire porn video.
12. Survive a bar fight.
13. Watch two women bring each other to fake orgasm in person.
14. Jell-O wrestle Britney Spears.
15. Hike through a jungle, armed only with a machete.
16. Learn all the words to “Louie, Louie.”
17. Grow a handlebar mustache—just to see if it might look good on you.
18. Go to the top of the Empire State Building, then hit all the buttons in a crowded elevator on the way down.
19. Take the Steelers +3.5 and the Jets -2.5 and have the Jets beat the Steelers by three so you win both bets.
20. Hit a hole in one (with witnesses).
21. Hold auditions for a posse.
22. Wake up In a Frickin’ Gutter
Joe Alaimo, 32, Queens, NY:
“My five buddies and I arrived in Paris at night and decided to buy a bunch of wine. Soon after that I was walking across the Notre Dame plaza in my ’wears. Next thing I knew it was daylight and I was facedown in a gutter above the Seine, being shaken awake by some guy wearing a beret.”
23. Restore a Classic Car
John Heidenry, 34, Hoboken, NJ:
“I picked up my ’70 Cadillac convertible for $2,500. Over the next six years, I spent $16,000 on a new engine, rear quarter panels, a killer paint job, the interior, and rechroming. What the hell? I can fit five girls in the backseat—try doing that in a Porsche.”
24. Spend a night in jail for a semicool reason and talk shit about the screws.
25. Have sex on your boss’ desk. Don’t clean up afterward.
26. Get banned from a casino.
27. Get drunk in Tijuana and goad a tough yet disinterested Mexican to beat you up.
28. Go to karaoke night and sing “Free Bird,” regardless of what song’s playing.
29. Kick your dad’s ass.
30. Pleasure yourself in a voting booth.
31. Spray-paint “Scooby Rules!” on the Great Wall of China.
32. Backpack across Europe wearing loud Hawaiian shirts and a cowboy hat. Offer everyone ketchup.
33. Put all the money you have in the world down on a blackjack table. (This should be the very last thing you do before you die.)
34. Have an all-night orgy with all your ex-girlfriends, then present a trophy to the Most Improved Lady.
35. Foil a crime in heroic fashion.
36. Make Mike Tyson flinch when he’s old and punch-drunk.
37. Eat chunks of cooked dolphin off a naked woman’s body.
38. Smoke a joint in synagogue and yell out, “This is my High Holy Day, you bastards!”
39. Hurt yourself badly while working around the house.
40. Catch a home run at a baseball game—even if it’s just batting practice.
41. Visit Graceland and ask to see the bathroom where the King’s blue suede shoes were stepped on for the last time.
42. Grab the P.A. system at a department store and keep repeating the words “Blow jobs, two for one in aisle seven.”
43. Drive cross-country without a map.
44. Land a Big ’Un
“Wild Bill” Skinner, 53, Clovis, NM:
“Early one morning, in the Gulf of Mexico, I noticed a school of sharks. So I decided to do a little fishing. I hooked up a big chunk of bait, and as soon as I cast it a 12-foot hammerhead bit. Holy shit! I thought. I quickly climbed into the lifeboat and pushed off. For the next half-hour, that shark just wore himself out dragging me in circles. Then I rowed back to the main boat and spent 30 minutes reeling him in. However, the captain didn’t want a 600-pound fish thrashing the side of his boat. So I had to cut it loose.”
45. Do doughnuts on the White House lawn in a monster truck.
46. Give your girlfriend an enormous candy-diamond Ring Pop and try to convince her it’s the real thing.
47. Sit in the stands at a Packers game in December without a shirt.
48. Name a pet “You Filthy Whore” so when you yell, “Come back here, You Filthy Whore,” the whole neighborhood pays attention.
49. Invite friends over for dinner, then mail them a bill for everything they ate.
50. Pick up a piece of road kill with a stick and chase a child with it.
51. Learn to bowl overhand.
52. Run a marathon and stop at 26 bars along the way for refreshments.
53. Watch every second of every game of March Madness at a sports bar in Vegas.
54. Visit Australia…nah, strike that.
55. Stand outside a bar pretending to be a bouncer and collect a “cover charge” from clueless tourists.
56. Drop by an ex-girlfriend’s for a booty call even though it’ll cause a serious headache.
57. Convince a girlfriend to get a tattoo of your name on her butt.
58. Secretly record your girlfriend having an orgasm. Then put it on the outgoing message of your answering machine.
59. Enjoy a competitive game of “Where’s My Finger?” with the cast of Charmed.
60. Make double the salary your father made. If you can triple it, hire him as your personal valet.
61. Get drunk and cut someone’s hair.
62. Go to an all-you-can-eat buffet the moment it opens and stay for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
63. Be a guest voice on The Simpsons.
64. Take a bank robber’s gun from him and blow his brains out…or, whatever.
65. Play a hurtful, unfunny practical joke on an office rival, where apologizing for an earlier unfunny practical joke is part of the gag.
66. Watch all 100 of Maxim’s “100 Greatest Guy Movies” (March 1998 issue) in one week.
67. Frequent a local bar so much they’ll let you cash a paycheck there.
68. Tour a brewery wearing your underwear outside your clothes.
69. Jell-O wrestle Britney Spears, again.
70. Wait in the express line of a supermarket with too many items. When someone complains, take out a glue gun and start combining your purchases into one giant bundle.
71. Own a house that has a basement bar and rec room.
72. Expose yourself on a nationally televised sporting event.
73. Be a Champ!
Bob Hamm, Pana, IL:
“About five years back, I decided to become the world’s greatest six-gun twirler. I practiced five hours a day, every day (with prop guns). Three years later, when I climbed onstage for the World Gun Spinning Championship in Deadwood, South Dakota, I entered a state of pure concentration. I threw my guns for six minutes, culminating in a 15-foot-high Montana Big Sky Flip. When announced as the winner, I was overwhelmed with a sense of accomplishment. To celebrate I went out with my friends for a big T-bone steak.”
74. Have sex in complete silence, with your in-laws in the next room.
75. Get banned from San Antonio (like Ozzy Osbourne did in 1982 for urinating outside the Alamo), then try to break in. (Hint: Try the Rio Grande.)
76. Teach a monkey martial arts and then kick its ass.
77. Drink vodka in Moscow, smoke a cigar in Cuba, eat some Peking duck in Beijing, and take a dump in North Korea.
78. Whenever your girlfriend’s father starts to say something at dinner, pretend you gotta sneeze and say, “I’mherdaddy.”
79. Ride in the ambulance with Keith Richards on the way to get his transfusion.
80. Go into a gun store and ask the guy, “What do you recommend for teaching someone a lesson?”
81. Light a fire using only sticks. Then find a volleyball and befriend it. Next ask yourself if you’re a fucking wacko.
82. Secretly Date Two Women Who Know Each Other
John Kings, 34, New York, NY:
“The girls and I met at New York University. Besides a mutual dislike for each other, the only thing they had in common was a desire to get me into bed. Mandy made the first move. One night after a party, she took me back to her place. The next day, as I left her apartment, I ran into Sue, who lived only three buildings down. I knew it was bad, but up to Sue’s I went. Then things began to get weird. I was sleeping with each girl twice a week and I’d wake up forgetting where I was, worrying about saying the wrong name! After about a month and a half, it just became too damn psychotic, so I decided to break up with both girls.”
83. Eat between six and nine White Castle hamburgers for lunch every day for a week.
84. Snip the ponytail off a Hells Angel in a dive bar, then make a quick exit and tip over that row of bikes out front.
85. Go to a strip bar with your girlfriend and get her a table dance.
86. Date a coworker, break up, and ride out the awkwardness.
87. Jump from the second story of a building into a dumpster full of Chinese restaurant trash and fluorescent light bulbs.
88. Get a woman to pay you for sex. Or at least try.
89. Smoke opium in the jungles of Thailand. (Maxim categorically denies having just suggested that.)
90. Sneak into the Playboy Mansion while Hef’s alive. Work for the caterer if you have to.
91. Go to Vietnam and have a drink in a small dingy bar in memory of the guys.
92. Lock Emo Philips and Gallagher in a room together with nothing but two carrot peelers and a flatulent donkey. Leave them to die.
93. Call a cop a “doughnut-eating fascist” to his face. When you get out of the hospital, send him a dozen doughnuts.
94. Buy a round for a packed bar.
95. Meet Mr. T and thank him for helping keep you off the streets.
96. Discuss the latest advancements in superstring theory with Carmen Electra.
97. Pull off a hoax that gets reported as truth in a newspaper.
98. Knock on a random door in every country you visit and try to talk your way into a home-cooked meal.
99. Karate-chop a board in half with your bare hand.
100. Send your gorgeous sister to the Maxim offices so she can brighten up the lunch meeting with a striptease.
Nine Women Every Guy Should Hey-Diddle-Diddle
1. A flight attendant
The theory: A cute stewardess under 200 pounds is as rare as a fiery plummet to earth.
2. A farmer’s daughter
The theory: Outfoxing a shotgun-toting father is the original extreme sport.
3. A nurse
The theory: She knows where it hurts and how to make it feel all better.
4. A broken wing
The theory: While she may have problems, screwing your brains out isn’t one of them.
5. A friend’s sister
The theory: It’ll kill your friend, and you and your other friends can high-five.
6. A teacher
The theory: She likes baby talk and naughty boys, and knows how to use a ruler.
7. A Foreigner
The theory: Remember—you’re in a band, and your phone number is 555-1212.
8. A cheerleader
The theory: Pompoms, short skirts, and white panties can bend time and space.
9. A work superior
The theory: She seduces you and then tosses you aside like garbage. Yes!
The theory: A cute stewardess under 200 pounds is as rare as a fiery plummet to earth.
2. A farmer’s daughter
The theory: Outfoxing a shotgun-toting father is the original extreme sport.
3. A nurse
The theory: She knows where it hurts and how to make it feel all better.
4. A broken wing
The theory: While she may have problems, screwing your brains out isn’t one of them.
5. A friend’s sister
The theory: It’ll kill your friend, and you and your other friends can high-five.
6. A teacher
The theory: She likes baby talk and naughty boys, and knows how to use a ruler.
7. A Foreigner
The theory: Remember—you’re in a band, and your phone number is 555-1212.
8. A cheerleader
The theory: Pompoms, short skirts, and white panties can bend time and space.
9. A work superior
The theory: She seduces you and then tosses you aside like garbage. Yes!
I'm 23 now...Phew
As the time passes by we all become old... A friend of mine ones said growing old is mandetory and growing up is optional..pick your choice?
Anyways my 23rd B'day was soo remarkable with a suicide bomb blast near my house. And i still pray God for saving my mom's and sister's lives with his mercyfullness.
People, Thank you very very much for all the warm birthday wishes…posted on ma wall, fun wall, super wall, post-it items, booze mails and sent personal messages, instant messages, emails, e-cards, letters, post cards, phone calls, anonymous phone calls, MSN personal messages, Jolly Greetings, and SMSs... as well as for the free gifts, graffiti, hatching eggs, growing gifts, actual gifts, pre-paid pizza deliveries, gift vouchers, Audio CDs, more live fish for my fish tank, aliens for my solar system, surprised lunch outs and not so surprised dinner outs :) …and etc. etc.
.. & .. man.. all those cakes thrown @ me.. yum yum yum & yep yep yep... i'll surely remember to throw... some @ you as well.. on your coming b'dayz. :)
Anyways my 23rd B'day was soo remarkable with a suicide bomb blast near my house. And i still pray God for saving my mom's and sister's lives with his mercyfullness.
People, Thank you very very much for all the warm birthday wishes…posted on ma wall, fun wall, super wall, post-it items, booze mails and sent personal messages, instant messages, emails, e-cards, letters, post cards, phone calls, anonymous phone calls, MSN personal messages, Jolly Greetings, and SMSs... as well as for the free gifts, graffiti, hatching eggs, growing gifts, actual gifts, pre-paid pizza deliveries, gift vouchers, Audio CDs, more live fish for my fish tank, aliens for my solar system, surprised lunch outs and not so surprised dinner outs :) …and etc. etc.
.. & .. man.. all those cakes thrown @ me.. yum yum yum & yep yep yep... i'll surely remember to throw... some @ you as well.. on your coming b'dayz. :)
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