Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Tube-well antics, Sri Lanka.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "J. K. S. Weerasekera"
Date: Mon, 28 Jan 2013 14:18:05 +0530
Subject: FW: A PRIZE WINNER
These are my favourite things…
Likely down south in arid area.
These artisan wells are not too deep, not more than 20 feet.
 I too used one 15 years ago, in Nugegoda  building a house at a new plot, the water not supplied for 5 months by official means.
jksw

From: Baylon Perera <baylonm@gmail.com>
Date: 28 January 2013 00:43:24 GMT
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: Fwd: A PRIZE WINNER
  

Aren't you laughing?




Monday, January 28, 2013

Billy Vaughn, Silvery moon, La Paloma

Billy Vaughn - These two pieces were played again and again to much appreciation on the radiogramme in the male medical students common room, in the early 1960s in Colombo. I hope it makes you feel nostalgic.
Click on each of the web-links below and relax:-

1. Silvery Moon:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp5yyQu1m1c&feature=youtube_gdata_player


2. La Paloma:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXGMNYh9Na4

'The spoon' - email from Sunil Liyanage







Subject: The spoon: A lesson on how consultants can make a difference in an organization. Very Impressive!

Last week, we took some friends to a new restaurant, 'Steve's Place,' and
noticed that the waiter who took our order carried a spoon in his shirt
pocket. It seemed a little strange. When the busboy brought our water and
utensils, I observed that he also had a spoon in his shirt pocket. Then I
looked around and saw that all the staff had spoons in their pockets. When
the waiter came back to serve our soup I inquired, 'Why the spoon?'

'Well,' he explained, 'the restaurant's owner hired Andersen Consulting to
revamp all of our processes. After several months of analysis, they
concluded that the spoon was the most frequently dropped utensil. It
represents a drop frequency of approximately 3 spoons per table per hour. If
our personnel are better prepared, we can reduce the number of trips back to
the kitchen and save 15 man-hours per shift.'

As luck would have it, I dropped my spoon and he replaced it with his spare.
'I'll get another spoon next time I go to the kitchen instead of making an
extra trip to get it right now.' I was impressed.

I also noticed that there was a string hanging out of the waiter's fly.
Looking around, I saw that all of the waiters had the same string hanging
from their flies. So, before he walked off, I asked the waiter, 'Excuse me,
but can you tell me why you have that string right there?'

'Oh, certainly!' Then he lowered his voice. 'Not everyone is so observant.
That consulting firm I mentioned also learned that we can save time in the
restroom. By tying this string to the tip of our you-know-what, we can pull
it out without touching it and eliminate the need to wash our hands,
shortening the time spent in the restroom by 76.39%.

I asked quietly, 'After you get it out, how do you put it back?'

'Well,' he whispered, 'I don't know about the others, but I use the spoon.'

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Favourite songs of the 1970s, 'Top of the world' - The Carpenters

A prayer in old age - email from Sunil Liyanage


My prayer
Inbox
x

Sunil Liyanage
17:55 (12 hours ago)


Almighty God you know that I am growing older.
Keep me from becoming too talkative, from repeating all my jokes and anecdotes,

and particularly keep me from falling into the tiresome habit of expressing an opinion 

on every subject.

Release me from craving to straighten out everyone's affairs. 

Keep my mind free from recital of endless details.
 
Give me wings to get to the point.

Give me the grace, dear GOD, to listen to others as they describe their aches and pains.

Help me endure the boredom with patience and keep my lips sealed,

for my own aches and pains are increasing in number and intensity,

and the pleasure of discussing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by.

Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally, I might be mistaken

Keep me reasonably sweet.

I do not wish to be a saint (Saints are so hard to live with), 

but a sour old person is the work of the devil.

Make me thoughtful, but not moody, helpful, but not pushy, independent,

yet able to accept with graciousness favours that others wish to bestow on me.

Free me of the notion that simply because I have lived a long time,

I am wiser than those who have not lived so long. I am older, but not necessarily wiser!

If I do not approve of some of the changes that have taken place in recent years,

give me the wisdom to keep my mouth shut.

GOD knows that when the end comes,

I would like to have a friend or two left.