1960 Medical batch, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Monday, August 19, 2013

Experts Errors of Judgement - email from jksw

''The Bomb will never go off, I speak as an expert in explosives."

- - Admiral William Leahy , US Atomic Bomb Project
"There is no likelihood man can ever tap the power
of the atom."

-- Robert Millikan, Nobel Prize in Physics, 1923
"Computers in the future may weigh
no more than 1.5 tons."

-- Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949

"I think there is a world market for maybe
five computers." -- Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943

"I have travelled the length and breadth of this country
and talked with the best people, and I can assure you
that data processing is a fad that won't last out the year." -- The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957

"But what is it good for?" -- Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968,
commenting on the microchip.

"640K ought to be enough for anybody."

-- Bill Gates, 1981
This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings
to be seriously considered as a means of communication.
The device is inherently of no value to us" -- Western Union internal memo, 1876.
"The wireless music box has no imaginable
commercial value. Who would pay for a message
sent to nobody in particular?"

-- David Sarnoff's associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920s.
"The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a 'C,' the idea
must be feasible"

-- A Yale University management professor in response to Fred Smith's paper proposing
reliable overnight delivery service. (Smith went on to found Federal Express Corp.)
"I'm just glad it'll be Clark Gable who's falling on
his face and not Gary Cooper" -- Gary Cooper on his decision not to take the leading role in
"Gone With The Wind."

"We don't like their sound, and guitar music
is on the way out"

-- Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.
"Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible" -- Lord Kelvin, president, Royal Society, 1895.
"If I had thought about it, I wouldn't have done
the experiment. The literature was full of examples
that said you can't do this" - - Spencer Silver on the work that led to the unique adhesives for 3-M "Post-It" Notepads.
"Drill for oil? You mean drill into the ground to try
and find oil? You're crazy" -- Drillers who Edwin L. Drake tried to enlist to his project to drill for oil in 1859.

"Stocks have reached what looks like a
permanently high plateau." - - Irving Fisher, Professor of Economics, Yale University , 1929.
"Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value" -- Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre , France .
"Everything that can be invented has been invented"

-- Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, US Office of Patents, 1899.
"The super computer is technologically impossible.
It would take all of the water that flows over
Niagara Falls to cool the heat generated by the number
of vacuum tubes required." -- Professor of Electrical Engineering, New York University
"I don't know what use any one could find
for a machine that would make copies of documents.
It certainly couldn't be a feasible business by itself." -- the head of IBM, refusing to back the idea, forcing the inventor to found Xerox.

"The abdomen, the chest, and the brain will forever
be shut from the intrusion of the wise and humane surgeon,"-- Sir John Eric Ericksen, British surgeon, appointed Surgeon-Extraordinary to Queen Victoria 1873.
And last but not least...
"There is no reason anyone would want a computer
in their home."-- Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977

CoMSAA reunion programme.

The 2^nd International Congress and Reunion of the

Colombo Medical School Alumni Association (CoMSAA)

7^th-8^th September 2013 at the Hotel The Blue Water, Wadduwa

Scientific Programme - 8^th September 2013

9AM to 12.20 PM

8.00-9.00 Tea

9.00 Academic procession

9.05 National anthem

9.10 Lighting of the oil lamp

9.15 Welcome address by President, CoMSAA

9.25 Address by the Dean

9.35 Award of the Founder President’s Medal

9. 40 Vote of thanks

Session 1 - Chairperson : Prof. Lalitha Mendis

09.45 Dr. P Veerasingam. Some milestones in the history of the Col Med School

10.05 Dr. Anuruddha Abeygunasekera Beyond Evidence-Based Medicine

10.25 Dr. Ruvan Ekanayake. Intervention in IHD. Are we over-acting?

Session 2 - Chairperson: Prof. A H Sheriffdeen

10.45 Dr. Lakshman Senanayake. Gender based violence

11.05 Prof. Saman Gunathilleke. Overdiagnosis-overtreatment

11.25 Dr.Surangani de Lanerolle. The Body in Motion

11.45 The debate

Giving detailed medical information to lay public on mass media is counter-productive

Moderator: Dr.Dennis Aloysius

Four speakers. 7 minutes each

Proposed by; Dr. Hemantha Perera, Dr.Lalantha Ranasinghe.

Opposed by: Dr. Dr. B.J.C. Perera, Dr.Sarath Gamini De Silva.

At the end the leaders of the two teams will have 3 minutes each to wind up.

Winners will be decided by the audience by the show of hands.

12.30 Lunch

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Religion and humanity - email from Kamalini Kanapathippillai.

The world is so secular today.

If Jesus were to come in the form of a homeless man, are we ready for him?

Pastor Jeremiah Steepek (pictured above) transformed himself into a homeless person and went to the 10,000 member church that he was

to be introduced as the head pastor at that morning.

He walked around his soon to be church for 30 minutes while it was filling with people for service....only 3 people out of the 7-10,000 people said hello to him.

He asked people for change to buy food.....NO ONE in the church gave him change.

He went into the sanctuary to sit down in the front of the church and was asked by the ushers if he would please sit at the back.

He greeted people to be greeted back with stares and dirty looks, with people looking down on him and judging him.

As he sat in the back of the church, he listened to the church announcements and such. When all that was done, the elders went up and were excited to introduce the new pastor of the church to the congregation.........

"We would like to introduce to you Pastor Jeremiah Steepek"....The congregation looked around clapping with joy and anticipation.....

The homeless man sitting in the back stood up.....and started walking down the aisle......the clapping stopped with ALL eyes on him....he walked up the altar and took the microphone from the elders (who were in on this) and paused for a moment....then he recited

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ (Matt 25:34-40)

After he recited this, he looked towards the congregation and told them all what he had experienced that morning...many began to cry and many heads were bowed in shame.... he then said....Today I see a gathering of people.......not a church of Jesus Christ.

The world has enough people, but not enough disciples...when will YOU decide to become disciples?

He then dismissed service until next week.......Being a Christian is more than something you claim. It's something you live by and share with others.

May you always have love to share, health to spare, and friends that care.

How bushman finds water in the desert - email from jksw

This is really wonderful. Don't miss

http://www.flixxy.com/animals-are-beautiful-people-baboon.htm

Saturday, August 17, 2013

'Thimbirigasyaaya' - email from Lesley Sirimanne.

Thimbirigasyaya R.I.P.

Born in Thimbirigasyaya, Colombo 05

My favourite Colombo street name (by a long, long way) was Thimbirigasyaya Mawatha.

Four years ago it was very much an 'avenue' with lines of trees on each side.

These have now been torn down for 'beautification' and widening, along with the stalls and small shops which ran alongside the road.

I say 'was' because not only has the old street changed beyond recognition but the name has now been changed to:

A bit of a mouthful - tripling the number of syllables in one fell swoop (and Thimbirigasyaya was quite a long name anyway).

I'll try it out on my trishaw drivers next week.

Thimbirigasyaya, of course, refers to Thimbiri trees [See Who or what is Thimbirigasyaya?].

It is almost as if there is a wish to eradicate evidence that there have ever been any trees here.

Any why abolish Sinhala names, particularly those of flowers and trees?

There are few enough of these, but they are often the best.

Within spitting distance is a road that I think is ripe for renaming (Torrington Avenue) - see Colombo Jumbo.

But clearly British tyrants are more in favour than Sri Lankan trees!

I wonder if anyone is actually going to use this new name?

It's another ploy to confuse visitors, frustrate map makers and penalise businessmen.