Seafood Bliss - Sea Fish Restaurant

Sea Fish is a restaurant dedicated to serving good seafood dishes. Its location behind the Regal cinema in a secluded corner in the Colombo city it helps to maintain the calm and quiet ambience of a good restaurant. They serve a wide selection of seafood main courses out of which my favourite is "Cheese Batter Prawns". They also have some decent Crab dishes as well. The quality of the food and service is considerably better than some other restaurants claiming to serve seafood. It is definitely worth the sea food lovers attention.

A Classification of Ocean Waves

The sight of waves breaking at a shore is common sight to most of us. While it is relaxing to watch the constant pounding of the waves while listening to the hum of the sea, we don't give much thought to the way these waves are formed or the types of waves in the ocean.
Ocean waves are classified into seven major groups depending on their size, period and way of formation. These types are described below.

1. Capillary Waves
Capillary waves are the smallest of these types, having a period generally less than 0.1sec and a wavelength less than a couple of centimeters. Capillary waves are caused by local winds, more specifically short bursts of winds. Capillary waves are similar to ripples created on a body of water by dropping an object into it. The restoring force in the case of capillary waves is surface tension

2. Chop waves
These are the the common waves in the ocean familiar to everyone. These waves have periods of several seconds, and wavelengths ranging from 1 to 10 metres. Chops are wind generated waves. A consistent blowing of find over a considerable fetch(sea surface area over which the wind blows) causes these waves. The restoring force of these waves is gravity.

3. Swells
Swells are much larger wind generated waves. Very powerful winds are required for the creation of these waves and they are related to distant storm surges. Periods can vary between 10 and 30 seconds and wavelengths are in the order of hundreds of metres. Swells occurring alongside a storm in coastal ares can have devastating effects.

4. Seiches
Seiches are standing waves that can be created by wind, seismic disturbances or by tidal resonance. The word seiche originates in a Swiss French dialect word that means "to sway back and forth". This an accurate description of the wave because it actually sways to and fro like a see-saw. These waves can be generated at harbours, estuaries, lagoons and even swimming pools. You can visualize a seiche by giving a nudge to your tea cup. The resulting oscillatory motion of the liquid in the cup is similar to that of a seiche. Seiches can have periods ranging from a couple of minutes to several hours and wavelengths upto hundreds of kilometres.

5. Tsunamis
Tsunamis are massive and catastrophic waves generated by submarine disturbances. Two major tsunamis have occurred during the past decade causing severe destruction to places affected. The most common submarine activity leading to tsunamis is subduction between tectonic plates. However other disturbances such as landslides could also produce tsunamis. Tsunamis can have a period of about an hour and wavelength can reach hundreds of kilometres.

6. Tides
Tides that are caused by the gravitational attraction of the sun and moon are familiar to us but few realize that it is classified as a wave. Tides have periods of 12.8 or 24.8 hours and are related to the earths speed of rotation. Wavelengths are in the order of thousands of kilometres.

PACMAN

Here is a classic retro game. Use the arrow keys to move round. Have Fun!

Colombo Fort Cafe

Harpo's Colombo Fort Cafe is situated in the Dutch hospital shopping precinct in Colombo. Having an old world look and feel to it it is a nice place to chill out and have a drink. I went there with my mother to grab a bite and was quite disappointed with the menu. There wasn't a big selection of food although being a Harpo's joint it had plenty of pizzas to offer. We didn't go there for pizzas and therefore felt the selection was inadequate. We ordered the Lebanese Chicken with Saffron rice, Fried Calamari and a tropical beef burger for me(I'm a huge fan of burgers). The rice and chicken were not up to the standard, the chicken was overcooked and had no flavour in it. The Calamari was crispy and tasted good while the beef burger was the best of the three. It was spicy and full of flavour.

The Colombo Fort Cafe

The Coffee Bean

A branch of "The Coffee Bean" is situated on the third level in the east tower of the World Trade Center. The other branches are situated at the Bandaranaike International airport and at Maitland Crescent. I've been to the one at world trade center and in my opinion, it's one of the finest coffee shops around. The cafe Latte they serve is the best I've had, and with 400ml of the stuff you'll never say it wasn't enough. Along with a wide selection of beverages they also serve delectable burgers, sandwiches, wraps and other snacks. The comfortable lounge is perfect to relax while sipping some hot coffee.

Here's a guide to different types of coffee extracted from their brochure,

The flavor of each coffee is dependent upon the origin characteristics and the roast degree of each coffee. This combination is used to determine the flavor category of each coffee: 'Light & Subtle','Rich & Smooth' and 'Bold & Distinctive'.
While the origin characteristics influence the look, taste and smell of the coffee, the roast degree also influences the final product. As coffee is roasted darker, its origin characteristics become muted. As the roast is progressing, the heat accelerates, intensifying the flavor by creating caramelization in the bean, which adds a new dimension to the flavor and aroma, not present during the early stages of the roast. While light and medium roasted coffees are more moderate in flavor and maintain much of the origin characteristics, a medium dark to dark roast coffee is very intense and loses much of the origin characteristics during the roasting process.
Available types,
Light & Subtle Coffees
-Jamaican
-Kona
-Brazil Cerrado
-Java Estate
-House Blend
-Tierra Natural Blend


Rich & Smooth Coffees
-Ethiopia Yirgacheffe
-Costa Rica La Cascada Tarrazu
-Colombia Narino
-Guatemala Antigua
-Papua New Guinea Sigri A
-Mocha Java Blend
-Panama Paraiso Blend
-Merengue Blend


Bold & Distinctive Coffees
-Kenya AA
-Sumatra Mandheling
-Anniversary blend
-Colombia Narino Dark
-Viennese Blend
-Sumatra Mandheling Dark
-Espresso Roast Blend
-French rost


Flavored Coffees
-Butterscotch Toffee
-Irish Creme
-Creme Brulee
-Cinnamon Hazelnut
-Chocolate
-French Vanilla
-Hazelnut

Decaffeinated coffees of some flavors are also available at The Coffee Bean.

Seniority Complex

Some of the seniors in university have the "Seniority Complex". For no apparent reason they love to shout at the juniors and and make them feel uncomfortable. While seniors are usually expected to set an example and guide the younger ones, these seniors do quite the opposite. They address the juniors in harsh words and they keep reminding the juniors that they are senior and that the "seniority" should be respected, while not even pronouncing the word "seniority" properly! In my opinion, respect should be earned, not demanded like this. The reason for this odd behavior could be that they wan't to cover up their own incompetence. These seniors have the personality of an earthworm and are good for nothing and therefore the false pride and authority derived from shouting at the juniors might be what they are after. they also seem to have forgotten that they too were juniors before. This is a serious problem and if not taken care of, it can be a factor in the degradation of this educational entity.

Trincomalee - Sun Sand and Surf

Trincomalee is a must visit destination in Sri Lanka. Although it has been a while since I've been there,(before I started writing this blog) While going through the stunning pictures that I took back then made me write this post.
Trincomalee has one of the best coastlines in the country and the best snorkeling site in Si Lanka according to my experience.
I wont write too many details in this post. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Surroundings

View of the beach from the hotel we stayed-Hotel Club Oceanic

Pigeons in the Garden

Local Fishermen

Traditional Fishing 

A good catch

Pigeon Island - Arguably the best snorkeling site in Sri Lanka

Pigeon Island from a Distance

Crystal Clear Water

The crystal clear water and the magnificent coral reef at Pigeon Island is perfect for snorkeling. Although I didn't see any turtles like in Hikkaduwa, lots of multicolored reef fish, luminescent jellyfish and lovely corals were to be seen. I hope this place is conserved and that it retains its natural beauty in the future.