Nisadas

Seeing as how the political situation in Sri Lanka is going, I just had to write something about it. But of course, I know so little and mostly hear about things so late that they’re old news by the time I find out.

In this context, I found the following quotes fascinating, especially since it seems that there is a career option that has maintained a sense of tradition.

• “I have come to the conclusion that politics are too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.” Charles De Gaulle
• “Crime does not pay … as well as politics.” Alfred E. Newman
• “Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy.” Ernest Benn
• “Being in politics is like being a football coach. You have to be smart enough to understand the game, and dumb enough to think it’s important.” Eugene McCarthy
• “Nothing is so admirable in politics as a short memory.” John Kenneth Galbraith (emphasis added)
• “The word ‘politics’ is derived from the word ‘poly’, meaning ‘many’, and the word ‘ticks’, meaning ‘blood sucking parasites‘.” Larry Hardiman (emphasis added)
• “Politics is the art of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them. “ Paul Valery
• “I’ve seen many politicians paralyzed in the legs as myself, but I’ve seen more of them who were paralyzed in the head.” George Wallace
• “The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.” Winston Churchill
• “We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.” Aesop
• “Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.” Ronald Reagan

Interesting, isn’t it? You’ll find the entire list from which these were excerpted here.

It would seem that time does not take its toll on this ancient practice. Regardless of the boundaries of time and geographical location, people take up this profession, and so many fall prey to its charms.

Politics – a topic as old as civilisation.

After messing around with Dial-Up, paying the nice people at Linuxant for a modem driver that works with my Conexant Winmodem on that lovely version of Vector SOHO Linux , I’ve been given the good news.

The people at Sri Lanka Telecom have extended their service area for ADSL to my hometown.

So,
Step 01

1. I go to the local SLT Teleshop and asks for an ADSL application.
2. I fill in the application, stating no need for installation or equipment, because I’ve already bought a 4-port Edimax Router and splitter from the people at Eastlink.
3. Of course, I’ve got documents proving that I have the permission of the phone line owner to get ADSL.
4. I thank the nice people at the Teleshop and go home.

Step 02

1. The people at SLT call back a few days later and say that the ADSL connection has been made available
2. I attach the little wire that comes with the splitter to the little box that normally connects the modem/phone line, the other end being connected to the splitter.
3. The Ethernet cable that comes with the router is then connected to the Router and the LAN port on my PC. Of course, if there wasn’t an inbuilt Ethernet port, I would have to buy a separate Network card.
4. I start up the computer, and my router is immediately recognised by my operating system.
5. I follow the instructions for installation(included in the router package or available online)
6. I open my browser and go online.

Life is good.

PostScript: This is for all my pals who wanted to know about how I setup ADSL. Individual experience may vary. Drop me a mail.

PPS: In case there is more than phone in the home, there might be some wiring required. In that case, a good conversation with the SLT people should be of some help.