Nisadas

Since it’s Poya holiday today, I’m home and able to do some much needed upgrades that I had meant to do for some time.

First of all, I decided to upgrade to the latest version of WordPress – version 2.0 to be exact. The new version didn’t give too much trouble, except for when I didn’t really follow instruction about overwriting the old files. But now things are done and I’m running WordPress 2.0. Quite a lot of new functions, most of which would be familiar to anyone who’s got a blog at WordPress.com.

Also, I’ve been meaning to upgrade my exsting version of Firefox on Breezy. Sadly, there doesn’t seem to be a package available in the repositories. After some searches and abortive attempts at installing the latest version (including losing my existing copy), I found that the best thing to do was Installing Firefox from mozilla.com which worked fine for me.

Now things seem ok, but there is some occasional bugginess. Ah well, more likely my own meddling under the hood than anything else.

So that’s it for now. Both new versions seem to be running fine (aforementioned bugginess aside). Nevertheless, I kinda liked the old WordPress interface – but perhaps I’ll get to like the new one with time…

I am still alive. And occasionally kicking. Contrary to what my pals might think.

Of course, subsequent to my shift away from full time participation in being part of (arguably) Sri Lanka’s best web design firm, I’ve had my laziness at posting compounded by a lack of time and inspiration.

So I have decided to make this post to share with you a little piece of Sri Lankan innovation:

I normally catch a bus headed into Colombo from the outstations, since they don’t stop at too many halts and have more courteous (no, seriously) conductors. This photo was taken in a bus that travels from Matara to Colombo and back. The journey likely takes around five hours, if you consider the traffic and bus stops.

So what do these people do on these long journeys? They watch VCD movies.

This is in a Viking Leyland bus, most commonly known for loud horns, thundering along the roads with little concern for road rules, passenger comfort or general safety.

Given that reputation, I was pleasantly surprised that this particular bus (or rather its owners) had taken an innovative step towards making life interesting for its passengers.

I wonder whether they charge extra depending on the movie being played.