Train Passing the Lee Valley Bridge , Chingford Line

Train Passing the Lee Valley Bridge , Chingford Line

Sunday Walk

Someone tried Fundamental Atomic Property To Turn Matter Invisible

 

A new study confirms that as atoms are chilled and squeezed to extremes, their ability to scatter light is suppressed.

How Ultracold, Superdense Atoms Become Invisible

A new study confirms that as atoms are chilled and squeezed to extremes, their ability to scatter light is suppressed.

An atom’s electrons are arranged in energy shells. Like concertgoers in an arena, each electron occupies a single chair and cannot drop to a lower tier if all its chairs are occupied. This fundamental property of atomic physics is known as the Pauli exclusion principle, and it explains the shell structure of atoms, the diversity of the periodic table of elements, and the stability of the material universe.

Now, MIT physicists have observed the Pauli exclusion principle, or Pauli blocking, in a completely new way: They’ve found that the effect can suppress how a cloud of atoms scatters light.

Normally, when photons of light penetrate a cloud of atoms, the photons and atoms can ping off each other like billiard balls, scattering light in every direction to radiate light, and thus make the cloud visible. However, the MIT team observed that when atoms are supercooled and ultrasqueezed, the Pauli effect kicks in and the particles effectively have less room to scatter light. The photons instead stream through, without being scattered.

MIT Physicists Use Fundamental Atomic Property To Turn Matter Invisible

An evening to remember

 

An evening to remember

It was an evening to remember for a long time. It also showed what’s the friendships are about. I am going to write a long blogpost but I cannot help but write this for now.  It was the evening to introduce my book that published in September 2019. After this long Covid pandemic time,  only yesterday I could introduce the book to London.

 There were some problems I could not foresee. Even I wondered that 13thof November may be such a bad day as they say superstitiously. It changed however; things start moving. First of all, my long time Saroj (Who studied in Kiev) came to conduct the event as promised bringing with him Fish curry prepared by Gayani and Sumudu. They could not come due to family emergency in Sri Lanka.  But they made sure that I received the curry. Nandana and Yamuna kindly gave him a lift as his car was not available. Yamuna, made sure the hall is warmed and lighting arrangements work with Rohitha who studied also in Kiev those days. Ines, my kind-hearted wife made all the food arrangements with the help from Sheela, who brought a parrippu (that’s dhal in Sinhalese) all the way from West London.  To tell the truth without Ines’s help all this I could not have done all this.  Kumara who studied in Kiev came with Rohitha, Dhammika and Bandula.  It may seem like a “Kiev Affair” with their contribution but I assure this is a Moscow Affair. Kumara supported the laptop operations with the projector and kindly videoed the event.  

Everyone pulled their own chairs leaving me the hardest bits. To run the vent. And my friends came from places afar. Athula , who studied in Moscow friendship university came all the way from Wolverhampton with a bottle of Champagne (French one, not the Soviet Champagne, but sweet taste was there) He contributed to the event with his readings from the pages of the book and his valuable memories of those times. Subodha came to participate the event from Brentwood, Essex.   Asha S who studied in Moscow State University, Vipuli, a product of Peradeniya, my famous blogger friend Marcus Priyantha read pages form the book and shared their thoughts. Marcus’s speech was particularly interesting and he had sharp insight into the affairs of the then Soviet Union and Russia. Vijitha Gunaratna, the famous dramatist joined the discussion from Sweden with his valuable input.  Nuwan Jay also joined the discussion bringing the examples from films. We were discussing usng Sinhala and English lanaguages so Ines could participate in the discussion too.

Ayumini and Nissanka Wikramaratne, a father and daughter duo contributed with number of amazing songs. I have to mention Ayumini’s mother Indu was helping to prepare the music and event last few weeks.   Delani made a nice Biryani for all of us, although she could not come, Asha made the raita for it,   Ines made a really tasty salad to complement it. Thanks to all of you, the evening was a success. Vajira and Krishanthi gave us the containers to keep food warm.

All in all, the evening well with Champagne and smooth Beluga Vodka to finish the event as the tradition. Thank you to my friend from Moscow Leonid Ponkratenko for the Vodka.  I should mention Bandula’s real Havana cigars he brought all the way from Cuba. We made good use of them for the after party at my house.  Some of us met at our house for the after party and you can see that from the picture.

Thank you all for attending and also from those who congratulated, contributed and gave the encouragement. I felt I really have friends and family. What more Do you want. What more Do I need.  

p.s - When Athul was talking he reminded me when we first met. Our mutual friend Sudath was the Sports Secretary when I was the general Secretary of the student union of state univercities. One of the first things we organised was a cricket match with Lumumba University. We lost. But Athula forgot one crucial detal. We, state univercities team lost every single cricket match we played after that.

Ajith 

Train passing Brimsdown Station towards Stansted Airport.

Express train to Stansted Airport , It does not stop in Brimsdown. Only slowtraisn stops. 

House Boat in River Lee

taken while cycling along the river Lee on 13th fo August.

Zizek did not tell this story in Sri Lanka

Zizek did not tell this story in Sri Lanka

A female teacher went for a coffee latte. Barista told her "Sorry madam, we don't have coffee latte. I can give you a coffee without milk. We don't have milk powder”

But teacher was adamant she wants coffee with powder milk.

"I will bring it to you. Where I can buy it" She asked the barista. 

 

"The shop across the road sells milk powder. But they don't have it." Barista replied.

 

"I am a teacher. I am so tired teaching online since the morning. Can you please give me a coffee without milk then? Anyway, where I can buy a gas cylinder." teacher asked.

 

"The shop next to the shop selling milk powder sells gas cylinders. But they don't sell gas to the teachers. " Barista says.

 

"Why is that? Isn't it illegal!" Angry teacher asked.

 

"Not at all madam, they don't have gas." barista laughed.

 

When the teacher finished her coffee, another teacher called Mr A. Lover took her to a "One night stand in Australia" hotel.

 

The receptionist at the hotel told them there are no rooms because the hotel is surrounded by the ministerial security division.

 

"Why on earth is that" They both screamed together.

 

"Mr Raheliya Kembukwella is practising polygamy" Receptionist replied.

 

When the T- shirts clad CID officials heard that,  they immediately arrested the receptionist and bundled her to an official three wheeler to take her to the police station,  for the grave crime of disclosing a government secret. 

Ajith D

There is a wonderfully dialectical joke in Ernst Lubitsch’s classic comedy Ninotchka: the hero visits a cafeteria and orders coffee without cream; the waiter replies: “I’m sorry, sir, we have no cream. Can it be without milk?” In both cases, the customer gets coffee alone, but this single coffee is each time accompanied by a different negation, first coffee-with-no-cream, then coffee-with-no-milk.

“It's not the same thing: coffee without cream or coffee without milk.
What you don't get is part of the identity of what you get.”

― Slavoj Žižek

Soviet Joke-

"A man walks into a shop. He asks the clerk, "You don't have any meat?" The clerk says, "No, here we don't have any fish. The shop that doesn't have any meat is across the street."

Virgin Train pulling out from Macclesfield Station

Virgin Train pulling out from Macclesfield Station

Underground water channel resurfaces on the other side

Underground water channel resurfaces on the other side of the small foot.bridge, Millers Dale - peak distrct 

Making Hay Bales (Millers Dale area of Peak Distrcit)

A farmer in Peak distrct is using his tractor to make square hay bales.

Gold digger or Keeper or Russian Affiars

 

There is a new TV series in “All 4” with glamorous Russian actresses and Russian dialog with English subtitles. It is candidly showing off Moscow's social elite. The theme did not change from Soviet days that much except that oligarchs now have more money and new and exclusive homes. At that time Communist party high officials lived with wife in the large flat and lovers in numerous small flats around the suburbs in Moscow. They took their lovers to dachas at the weekend (summer house). Now it’s just changed to large palace like houses owned by nouveau riche oligarchs in subburbs of Moscow and their lovers in Moscow posh flats. Ah yes, rich have a way of dealing with police too. They can get away with murder even.

The name is actually misleading. Russian name for the series is called   sadershanka (содершанка ) , which means the keeper.  German series calls it "Russian Affairs". 

Mistresses wants only the money and easy comfortable life in Moscow that their rich lovers pay generously. And the rich lover will keep their marriage lives intact. This supposed to be a crime thriller by the way.

Director, the script writer and all the cast are Russian and it was filmed in Russia. Why the Russian president Putin allowed such a film series to air in the first place? Perhaps he had enough of the antiques of some oligarchs and "clearing out” operation is on the card? The series depicting the decadent nature of the advanced capitalism to allow president to manoeuvre freely?

waring: You cannot watch it with the family as one can confuse it with an erotic movie.

Gold Diggers 

Bagshaw Cave , Stagalmite creation

We did horizontal caving in Bagshaw cave, Peak district, 2021 July.

We found this water dropping.

-A stagalmite is an upward-growing mound of mineral deposits that have precipated frm water dripping on to the fllor of a case. -(Copied from google)

So about 1000 years from now on there will be a stagalmite here.

Stagalmites are typically composed of calcium carbonate, perhaps also with lava, mud, peat, pitch, sand, sinter or amberat.

My Father's day

Today my lovely daughters 

gave me a father's day gift with flowers

with hugging and kissing

they are making a cake with my wife

she bought me flowers and Champagne

she is doing schichtkraut for lunch

It's a German affair

This father's day

I remember my poor father

There were no father's day

I have no idea 

how he raised us 

on his meagre allowance 

When we passed exams,

doing well at school, and out

That's his father's day

he left us early, at 62

My Mother was younger

 than what I am now

I can't imagine, because

I think I am still young

at least at heart at 56

I can't imagine how lonely for her

how sad its for her

I can promise you,

dear  father

We will look after

Love of your life

For the rest of our lives

The least we can do

For all you did for us

your four children

only treasure you left

 

A & E visit to a NHS hospital

I had my second Astra Zeneca jab recently.  About week and half ago, my head started constantly aching. I took paracetamol (Panadol) 3 times a day to ease the pain. To make matters worse, my blood pressure started going up as well. By Thursday and Friday, it had gotten much worse and I called the GP. They advised me to call the NHS using their 111 service, who in turn told me to see the GP. On Tuesday, I called GP again and the doctor advised me to go to the nearest A&E in order to get a blood test done now that I had taken the vaccine. This was to check D-Dimer levels in the blood to rule out possibility of serious blood clots forming.

I didn't want to stay in A&E for seven, eight hours with Covid-19 around so I asked the GP to write a letter to give to my Private Healthcare Provider so I could go private. She agreed but insisted that, because private hospitals may take a day to arrange an appointment, using the NHS A&E was better. I decided to adhere to her advice and my wife dropped me at the North Middlesex hospital's A&E at around 1:00pm.

There were only 3 people in the queue to the receptionist, and within 5 minutes I was directed to a waiting hall. There were about 30-40 people in there and 5 or 6 rooms with specialist nurses who were trained, like doctors, to do the initial check ups. It took only 15-20 minutes for them to call my name. The nurse checked my blood pressure and sugar level, asked some questions and decided I should see a doctor. 4-5 minutes later I was called to a phlebotomist to have a blood sample taken for the tests. 

I was later moved to the bigger waiting room on the other side and told to wait for the doctor's call. About 30 minutes later, a Doctor Riva came and asked me to come to the patient room. She checked few details with me, did some testing and assured me that I did not have a problem, despite the high blood pressure and headaches. It might have been migraine but she was going to consult with a specialist and then come back to me. In any case, I had to wait for the blood test results as well.

After about 10 minutes, she returned and told me that the consultant agreed with her. She apologised for the delay in getting the blood test results. "We're a bit busy," she said. There were about 50 people in the waiting room. 

I was told that if I wanted to go home, she could call me with the results and that if they were bad I could come back to the hospital. At around 4:00pm I was on my way home and received the call from Dr Riva, who told me the D-Dimer test results were good and that I was in range.

Amazingly, the whole process took only 3 hours. A courteous, efficient care and service by the NHS. 

Well done. 

Train Ride in Wales Caernafron to Protmadog_2

Train Ride in Wales 2012- Caernarfon to Porthmadog -1

Journey made in 2012

The Quarantanians

It's already the 8th day of the quarantine period. One can walk up to 300 meters to the left side, then 250 meters to the right side and hit the walls and security. Then one can walk up to 300 meters to the front, there is the beach. You can walk 150 meters up and down the beach but not allowed to go beyond the yellow line. You can come back and walk by the swimming pool, climb up the staircase about 20 meters to the upper floor rooms. That's about it.

Once a busy hotel, but now the place is almost empty apart from package tourists from Kazakhstan or China and us quarantenians. No Germans, No Brits, No Russians. At times silence is deafening. There are only 2 police officers and around 10 private security personnel. You know that there is a world outside these walls, from the facebook 😏. It's more like Soviet Union or East Germany but in a smaller scale. Anyway, the point is, you can get used to the situation and accept it as new normal. Then someone asked what about North Korea. Immediate reply was "oh there are Government run hotels". I hope second dose of the vaccine will make the difference. There you go. Happy quarantine day.

I was given a Vaccine, I posted in facebook

I was given the Astra Zeneca Vaccine and  I posted it in facebook. I said thank you to NHS. It riled some people. 

One reason I posted in here that, I was given the vaccine against the Corvid 19 is this, I was talking to a young man about 24 years of age and who is still believing in fairies. I seriously thought he is one of Peter pan’s long-lost sons. He told me that vaccine has a small chip that is very difficult to detect. Through that chip government can dictate to us what we should do. We will be fed wrong information. I told him that’s already happening through YouTube, face book, twitter and other media anyway. They don’t need a chip to insert.

Then he said they can control us and we will become robots. So, I asked him, are we going to walk like Robots as well? To that he has no reply.

And I found out that his whole family, mother, fathers, sister, aunt, uncle , gran and all of them think vaccine is not needed. Face mask is BS and whole coronavirus saga is a lie.

Well, I asked them what about the deaths?

They asked me, have you seen them? I said no.

“Well, there you go. No one saw these deaths. All these numbers are media lies. Hospitals are empty.”

You know what, first time in my life I stopped arguing. Because I was laughing so hard I forgot to argue.

--It is not me who wrote this false story. _ RobotR2D2XYZ0101010122£$%

East German simple food - Schichtkraut aus der DDR

These days, Ines enjoys testing different types of food recipes on the family. I call them Lockdown Recipes. Yesterday she tried out a recipe we’ve never had before. She told me that it was an easy old GDR recipe (GDR standing for German Democratic Republic, or the former East Germany, as it is better known).

Apparently, it is called ‘Schichtkraut’. It’s pronounced ‘Shiçt-kr-out’* (see below) but for the sake of convenience I omitted the ç. I was lucky Ines didn’t throw the spoon at me.

What I like about this simple recipe is that it only has 3 main ingredients: minced meat, cabbage and sliced potatoes. Ines added goat’s cheese on top, as well as cumin and other spices, and then put it into the oven for half an hour. And that’s it.

I call it 2 in 1 food because you can drink the sauce afterwards as if it were a nice cabbage soup. My stomach has very high acid levels, so this dish is ideal for me. It’s not very heavy on the stomach, and the cabbage and cumin make it easier to digest.

Try it if you’re interested.

*The ç is pronounced like the hissing sound between the ‘h’ and ‘yoo’ sounds of the 1^st pronunciation of the word ‘huge’. It’s difficult to learn, so can be substituted for a ‘k’ or ‘sh’ sound instead.