Monday, September 30, 2024
Sunday, September 29, 2024
A Disappointing Roti Experience in Bandaragama
Yesterday, while out and about, we came across a restaurant in Bandaragama that boasted of serving "ගලේ පුච්චපු රොටි" — roti prepared on a hot granite slab.
Intrigued by their claims of a unique taste, different from the usual metal plate preparation, and having seen many romanticize the experience, we decided to stop by and give it a try.
Unfortunately, our expectations were met with disappointment.
The rotis were more akin to tortillas than the traditional Sri Lankan roti we know and love, which is typically made with freshly scraped coconut, chopped onions, green chillies, and curry leaves.
Unfortunately, our expectations were met with disappointment.
The rotis were more akin to tortillas than the traditional Sri Lankan roti we know and love, which is typically made with freshly scraped coconut, chopped onions, green chillies, and curry leaves.
These essential flavours were notably absent.
As for the accompaniments — chicken curry gravy, mushrooms, lentils, and Kochchi sambal — they were ordinary at best, lacking the "wow" factor we were hoping for.
To make matters worse, being charged Rs 100 for such an unremarkable roti felt almost sacrilegious.
To make matters worse, being charged Rs 100 for such an unremarkable roti felt almost sacrilegious.
The establishment also lacked basic amenities, such as toilet facilities.
Patrons were left with the rather unappealing option of taking care of their needs on the side of a busy trunk road.
All things considered, it felt more like a truck stop than a place for families to enjoy a meal.
Will we return?
Will we return?
Most certainly not.
Friday, September 27, 2024
Thursday, September 26, 2024
A Fare Question: The Case for Electronic Payments
The simple act of paying a bus fare in Sri Lanka has become a perplexing puzzle.
For a minimum fare of Rs 28, handing over a Rs 100 note results in a Rs 70 return.
Where does the remaining Rs 2 disappear to?
It's a question that has puzzled commuters and raised concerns about transparency and efficiency in public transportation.
The answer lies in the antiquated cash-based system.
The unaccounted-for Rs 2, while seemingly insignificant, represents a systemic inefficiency.
For a minimum fare of Rs 28, handing over a Rs 100 note results in a Rs 70 return.
Where does the remaining Rs 2 disappear to?
It's a question that has puzzled commuters and raised concerns about transparency and efficiency in public transportation.
The answer lies in the antiquated cash-based system.
The unaccounted-for Rs 2, while seemingly insignificant, represents a systemic inefficiency.
It neither benefits the loss-making Ceylon Transport Board (CTB) nor the passenger.
This inefficiency is a stark reminder of the need for a modern, electronic payment system.
Such a system would not only ensure accurate fare calculation but also streamline revenue collection.
By eliminating the need for physical cash handling, service providers could reduce their operational costs and potentially decrease their reliance on subsidies.
Moreover, electronic payments could help mitigate the risk of fare evasion, a significant problem that contributes to the financial burden on public transportation systems.
The reluctance to adopt electronic payments can be attributed to several factors, including concerns about union resistance and potential political backlash.
However, the continued reliance on outdated systems is a disservice to both commuters and the public transportation sector.
The new regime has an opportunity to address this issue and implement a more efficient and transparent payment system.
By taking bold steps to modernize public transportation, the government can improve the quality of service, reduce costs, and enhance the overall commuting experience for Sri Lankans.
This inefficiency is a stark reminder of the need for a modern, electronic payment system.
Such a system would not only ensure accurate fare calculation but also streamline revenue collection.
By eliminating the need for physical cash handling, service providers could reduce their operational costs and potentially decrease their reliance on subsidies.
Moreover, electronic payments could help mitigate the risk of fare evasion, a significant problem that contributes to the financial burden on public transportation systems.
The reluctance to adopt electronic payments can be attributed to several factors, including concerns about union resistance and potential political backlash.
However, the continued reliance on outdated systems is a disservice to both commuters and the public transportation sector.
The new regime has an opportunity to address this issue and implement a more efficient and transparent payment system.
By taking bold steps to modernize public transportation, the government can improve the quality of service, reduce costs, and enhance the overall commuting experience for Sri Lankans.
Wednesday, September 25, 2024
Monday, September 23, 2024
බලමු මේ කුහකයෝ කව්ද කියලා ?
ලැබුන ජයග්‍රහනය සාමූහිකව සමරමු, හැබැයි කුහකයෝ නම් වෙන්න එපා.කියලා සමාජ ජාලවල සංසරණය වන කතාවක් දැකලා මේක ලියන්න හිතුවේ.
බලමු මේ කුහකයෝ කව්ද කියලා.
පාසල් අධ්‍යාපනය අඛන්ඩව පවත්වාගෙන යාමට ඉඩ නොදෙමින් වැඩ වර්ජන කරමින් ලමයි අමාරුවේ දාන අයද?
කැට හොල්ලන කොල්ලෝ කුරුට්ටෝ දාල විශ්වවිද්‍යාලවල කලබල ඇති කරලා ඒවා වහලා දාන්න කටයුතු කරන අයද?
ඉස්පිරිතාලවල වැඩ වර්ජන, අකුරට වැඩ කරලා ලෙඩ්ඩු අමාරුවේ දාන අයද?
රාජ්ය සහ පුද්ගලික ව්‍යාපාරයකට දියුනු වෙන්න නොදී තර්ජන, ඝර්ජන සහ වැඩ නැවැත්වීම් වලින් එවා පාඩු ලබන ව්‍යාපාරකරපු අයද?
බස් කොච්චී, ට්‍රාන්ස්ෆොර්මර්, වෙළද ව්‍යාපාර ගිනිබත් කරපු අයද?
බස් එකක්, කෝච්චියක් නොදුවවන්න වැඩ වර්ජණ, කඩාකප්පල්කාරී වැඩ කරපු අයද?
නැත්නම් සාධාරණ රැකියාවක් කරලා, රටට අවශ්‍ය බදු මුදල් වෙලාවට ගෙවපු අයද කුහකයෝ.
ඔය අද කුහකයෝ ගැන අටුවා ටීකා ලියන කීදෙනෙකුට අද වෙනකොට ආදායම් බදු ගෙවන අංකයක් තියෙනවාද?
දුෂණ මර්ධන පනතට විරුද්ධව පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ එදා චන්දය දීපු අය අද දූෂණ මර්දධනය ගැන කතා කරන එක කුහක කමක් නෙමෙයිද?
මේ ටික එදා මුන්ට තේරුණා නම් අද සමහර විට අපි සිංගපූරුවට වඩා ඉහලින් ඉන්න තිබුනා.
ප්‍රශ්ණේට උත්තරේ එදාත් තිබුනා, අදත් තියෙනවා.
අනුන් බලේ ඉන්න කොට කුහකකම් කරන්න හොඳනම් දැන් කරාම ඇති වරද මොකක්ද?
Sunday, September 22, 2024
Friday, September 20, 2024
Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Monday, September 16, 2024
Sunday, September 15, 2024
Saturday, September 14, 2024
USE OF DRONES FOR AIRPORT INSPECTIONS.
Drones are becoming popular and useful in various industries,
including airport management and offer many benefits for
inspecting airport facilities, equipment, and operations.
Types of inspections
Drones can perform a variety of inspections at airports, such as
checking the surface conditions, markings, lighting, and signs of the
runways and taxiways for foreign object debris.
Inspect the roofs, walls, windows, and doors of the terminal and
hangar buildings, as well as monitor fire safety systems, ventilation,
and electrical wiring.
They can also patrol the airport perimeter fence to identify breaches
or intrusions, as well as monitor access points, gates, and vehicles.
Furthermore, drones can survey wildlife habitats and populations
around the airport to assess potential risks of bird strikes or other
wildlife hazards.
Additionally, they can measure the noise, air quality, and water
quality impacts of the airport operations.
Advantages of drones
Using drones for airport inspections can provide several advantages,
such as saving time and money, improving accuracy and quality,
and enhancing safety and security.
Drones can inspect large areas and hard-to-reach places faster and
cheaper than human inspectors or vehicles, while capturing high-
resolution images, videos, and data that can be analyzed and stored digitally.
They can also reduce the need for runway closures or disruptions to
the airport operations, reduce the exposure of human inspectors to
hazards, and improve the detection and response to security threats
or incidents.
Using drones for airport inspections presents several challenges, from
regulatory and legal issues to operational and technical ones.
For example, drones must comply with aviation rules and regulations,
coordinate with air traffic control, and have reliable systems.
Additionally, they must be operated by trained and qualified pilots
and inspectors who can follow standard procedures and protocols,
as well as have the support of airport management and staff who
can integrate them into operations.
All of this must also take into consideration the privacy and property
rights of airport neighbours and stakeholders.
Best practices and tips
Using drones for airport inspections can be effective and efficient,
but it requires careful planning and coordination.
Before using drones, one should conduct a risk assessment, define
the objectives and scope of the inspection, select the appropriate
drone model and equipment, and obtain the required permissions
and approvals.
During the inspection, one should follow the flight plan and the
inspection checklist, communicate with the Air Traffic Control and
airport staff, while monitoring the drone’s performance and status.
Afterwards, download and review the images, videos, and data
collected by the drone.
Generate a report, share it with relevant parties, be mindful of GDPR
(General Data Protection Regulations) requirements, provide
recommendations for improvement, and offer feedback.
By adhering to these best practices and tips, one can use drones for
airport inspections safely, legally, and effectively.
including airport management and offer many benefits for
inspecting airport facilities, equipment, and operations.
Types of inspections
Drones can perform a variety of inspections at airports, such as
checking the surface conditions, markings, lighting, and signs of the
runways and taxiways for foreign object debris.
Inspect the roofs, walls, windows, and doors of the terminal and
hangar buildings, as well as monitor fire safety systems, ventilation,
and electrical wiring.
They can also patrol the airport perimeter fence to identify breaches
or intrusions, as well as monitor access points, gates, and vehicles.
Furthermore, drones can survey wildlife habitats and populations
around the airport to assess potential risks of bird strikes or other
wildlife hazards.
Additionally, they can measure the noise, air quality, and water
quality impacts of the airport operations.
Advantages of drones
Using drones for airport inspections can provide several advantages,
such as saving time and money, improving accuracy and quality,
and enhancing safety and security.
Drones can inspect large areas and hard-to-reach places faster and
cheaper than human inspectors or vehicles, while capturing high-
resolution images, videos, and data that can be analyzed and stored digitally.
They can also reduce the need for runway closures or disruptions to
the airport operations, reduce the exposure of human inspectors to
hazards, and improve the detection and response to security threats
or incidents.
Using drones for airport inspections presents several challenges, from
regulatory and legal issues to operational and technical ones.
For example, drones must comply with aviation rules and regulations,
coordinate with air traffic control, and have reliable systems.
Additionally, they must be operated by trained and qualified pilots
and inspectors who can follow standard procedures and protocols,
as well as have the support of airport management and staff who
can integrate them into operations.
All of this must also take into consideration the privacy and property
rights of airport neighbours and stakeholders.
Best practices and tips
Using drones for airport inspections can be effective and efficient,
but it requires careful planning and coordination.
Before using drones, one should conduct a risk assessment, define
the objectives and scope of the inspection, select the appropriate
drone model and equipment, and obtain the required permissions
and approvals.
During the inspection, one should follow the flight plan and the
inspection checklist, communicate with the Air Traffic Control and
airport staff, while monitoring the drone’s performance and status.
Afterwards, download and review the images, videos, and data
collected by the drone.
Generate a report, share it with relevant parties, be mindful of GDPR
(General Data Protection Regulations) requirements, provide
recommendations for improvement, and offer feedback.
By adhering to these best practices and tips, one can use drones for
airport inspections safely, legally, and effectively.
Friday, September 13, 2024
Thursday, September 12, 2024
Wednesday, September 11, 2024
Sunday, September 08, 2024
Friday, September 06, 2024
Tuesday, September 03, 2024
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