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.

Google Surprises

Google is the most used search engine around the world. It gained its popularity due to its new clatter free approach to searching the internet and its unique result sorting algorithms. While doing the best at what it does, the search engine also has some lesser known "easter eggs". Listed below are some of them.
1. Tilt
Type the word "Tilt" or "Askew" in the search box to find google to show its meaning quite literally.

tilt

askew

2.Let it snow
Introduced as a seasonal special, typing in Let it snow" will cause snow fakes to come down and create frost on the browser window. The search button turns to a 'Defrost' button while also allowing you to wipe your screen by dragging the mouse pointer around.

Let it snow

3.Once in a blue moon
Google Calculator is very useful tool to many people. Finding the value of physical constants, or unit conversions have become so much easier with Google's inbuilt calculator. But what if you want to know the answer to a somewhat childish question, like "What is the loneliest number?" or want to physically quantify the frequency indicated by the phrase "Once in a blue moon", Simply type it in Google!

loneliest Number

Conversion of Once in a blue moon to Hertz

4.Recursion
Type in the word recursion in the Google search box and you will find under "Did you mean" the exact same word link. Clicking this apparently corrected word link will bring you back to the same results with the same "Did you mean" link, thus making you 'feel' the meaning of recursion..

Recursion

5. Google Gravity
Although not an original Google creation this is also worth checking out. Type Google gravity and hit the "I am feeling lucky" button, or Click on the first link out of the search results. This will take you to a Google page where the effect of gravity is very apparent. It also allows you to search using this interface and the search results will also obey the laws of gravity!

Google Gravity

New year in Hospital

I spent the fist few days of this year-2011 in hospital. Due to severe headache and fever I was hospitalized because the doctors suspected it was Sinusitis, right at the beginning of the new year. Later however the doctors found that it was the flu. To make things worse, I was supposed to sit for my end semester examinations two weeks later. I was discharged after one week.

This time around I got the feeling that I may have to end up in hospital just like before when I was hit with high fever and a headache yesterday. I didn't wan't it to end up like last time, so I went to the doctors immediately and got some antibiotics. I feel better today and I am recovering. I just hate to get hospitalized...