Happiness Blogs

Social enterprise ripples in Sri Lanka

noreply@blogger.com (Isura Silva) — Tue, 11 Feb 2014 10:38:00 +0000

Last evening we had a great session on social enterprise in Sri Lanka.

British council did a wonderful job convening it.

It was a dream to have this kind of conversations in Sri Lanka.

Back in 2006, when I started the journey, I never thought this much progress was possible.

War ended, internet penetrated thick and fast, and it seems all the stars are aligning fast.

Good to see this. More on the conversations will follow as separates blogs later.

I for one, is inspired and energized.

Start with you.

noreply@blogger.com (Isura Silva) — Mon, 10 Feb 2014 09:54:00 +0000

It's always a pleasure see Loku Sir (Dr.Ariyaratne) speak.
He spoke today to Sarvodaya leaders at all levels.

He said, "problems start inside you. Answers are also with in you."

Do not look for faults in others. It's just a waste of your time and energy.
Start from the smallest step. Let the compassionate thoughts lead you.

It takes lot of first steps to realize the beauty of it. But there's always a first step.

Mel

noreply@blogger.com (Isura Silva) — Sun, 09 Feb 2014 05:25:00 +0000

Following @MelGuna was how I knew her. I interacted with her few times on twitter.
I did not meet her, I did not even know her face.

That paint bass came to rob her phone. She happened to be in between bass and phone.

She's gone now.
Gone like the wind.

I tried to swallow this hollow piece of tragedy for a week.
I don't know her, she lived closer to my office, she's one like us, living in Colombo.

Like everything else, we keep on moving. Life is too busy to pause, to contemplate.

Next time you see a thief or get hit by a car, might be a good idea to leave them alone.
Think of it as compassion to your own self, by letting go.

Is Cricket loosing it ?

noreply@blogger.com (Isura Silva) — Sat, 08 Feb 2014 09:11:00 +0000

At age 15, I used to wait in-front of TV impatiently for the commentators to come out to the pitch and give their analysis of the pitch for the match. A test match. A bloody 5 day test match, which I would watch ball-by-ball.

Insane right?

I saw a tweet today that ICC has shaken their powers for the money or something like that - and I don't feel a thing. I don't care.

Well, lot of people care. Lot of people love IPL. I'm not. Who cares ?
People loved Kerry Packer. People hated him.

People love excitement. There are many alternatives to keep you distracted.

A little dining experiment.

noreply@blogger.com (Isura Silva) — Sat, 08 Feb 2014 05:52:00 +0000

Can you?

Can you step in to a restaurant, and dine, with out taking a look at your phone?

Can you step in to a restaurant, and dine, with out phone by your side ?

Wave

noreply@blogger.com (Isura Silva) — Fri, 31 Jan 2014 01:52:00 +0000

'Wave' is an amazing memoir novel.
It's the real life story of a tsunami survivor, who lost all she loved.
Mother, father, husband and 2 sons.

Read it to feel the gift of life.

I was struck by Sonali's detailing of the event. I can't imagine the grief she went through.

The decision she took to share about the agony, is a brave one. It takes lot of guts.

The book helped me to feel life in a sensible manner.

The book lets you question your life, in every page.

What more can a writer achieve ?

The book I gave up.

noreply@blogger.com (Isura Silva) — Wed, 29 Jan 2014 11:29:00 +0000

I planned for a book.
I started it. Wrote 3 chapters, yet could not get on with it.
I showed it to few friends, got advise on writing books, but it did not pick up from my end.

I wanted to write a book because I liked writing.
Was fascinated by the book for some time. Fascination was not enough.

I thought hard.

Would this be something people like?
Don't worry about people, just write what you love.

That tussle in my mind, disturbed the joy of putting up a simple blog post. Blog posts dried up.
Writers block.

I will write more frequently on this blog. 3 posts a week.
But not the book. For now.

Self Driving Car

noreply@blogger.com (Isura Silva) — Tue, 28 Jan 2014 02:48:00 +0000

I always had doubts about self driving cars. Also we don't have an answer to traffic we create.

Major issue about self driving cars is, safety. I watched Sebastian Thrun, the man behind Google self driving car, speaks about his vision.

A fascinating 3 minute video : Click here.

Advise on careers can be lethal

noreply@blogger.com (Isura Silva) — Sat, 25 Jan 2014 15:23:00 +0000

I overheard a person on phone.

" No, don't let him take IT courses. Look at me, IT did not take me anywhere. As I told you get him to do banking, at least he can get a low interest loan "

Can you see the lethal dose ?

Anybody seeking advise on careers, need to talk to 5 people. Actively.

By active means, You ask questions that clear your doubts. It's your future and it should be in your hands.

Talk to people who have done well after you have understood your passion.
Yes, Passion matters.
Passion is the difference between a job and a career.

"I'm going to Mars"

noreply@blogger.com (Isura Silva) — Fri, 24 Jan 2014 02:27:00 +0000

"100,000 people have signed up to live in Mars, knowing they will not return to planet earth.
Only few will get the chance for first flight". This little amazing news popped in a dinner conversation.

SpaceX is not science fiction. It's actually happening. Elon Musk is a visionary in every sense.

The signed up people will get supplies in Mars from Earth once every 4 years. (Not verified)
They surely have tons of money to sign up. I wonder, why rich people want to do this?

I guess these people want to leave a legacy - "we were the first, we dared to be different."
So they decided to vanish in to thin air (or rather space).

Hierarchy of human needs is so elusive. Self actualization is a tricky place to be.

Relaxation can happen at tension.

noreply@blogger.com (Isura Silva) — Wed, 22 Jan 2014 12:01:00 +0000

Long tension story short: I was 15 minutes late today to leave home, and met with an unprecedented traffic. My wife got late for school and me for office. My first meeting was delayed 30 minutes.
Not nice, when it was the first thing in the morning.
The image of my wife been late (a not happy face) lingered on until I reached office.
At office, I had to plan for the meeting and I am already 30 minutes late !

A traffic - a simple block at the beginning of the day made such an impact, and it was manifesting in me.

Instead of the routine, I took a different open approach for the meeting. Rather than peeping in to the relevant docs and notes, I made it clear upfront, that I need to discuss things in detail, step by step. I started asking specific relevant questions. Not rushed, but focused. It took 45 minutes, and it was a success.

Then I switched on Self Control on web for 3 hours, slowly engaging in work, with out giving in to the rush.

" Tension is who you think you should be.

Relaxation is who you are "

~Chinese proverb

what would I lose?

noreply@blogger.com (Isura Silva) — Tue, 21 Jan 2014 11:06:00 +0000

When we get to some point of achievement in life, (or sometimes at a failure) we value ourselves by asking the question " what would I lose? "
Most often people stuff many things in their back pack. 'Back pack' here is the metaphor for the burden of life. Too many things in your back pack weighs you down from doing things that matter. It gets too heavy, by the day.

A good question to ask, time to time, is, " What should I put in my back pack"

Talking about back pack, 'Up in the Air' is a very good movie to watch.

Self Control on Web.

noreply@blogger.com (Isura Silva) — Sun, 12 Jan 2014 05:59:00 +0000

When I am in-front of laptop, creating a document, I wish I had the resolute to switch off social media.
I had the wish, but not the resolute.
So in to 20 minutes of work, I would go to internet for some 'search' and end up in twitter and facebook or some blog(s). It would take 15 minutes to understand I am trespassing.
Then another 10 minutes (minimum) to re-focus on what I was doing.

Now I know I have a problem (Most of the time I ignored), and I have found a cure.

Enter 'Self Control', a free and open software for mac users to black list web sites. Once I black list a website and set up a timer, I wont be able to access those sites, even if I restart the computer or delete the application. It's a pretty neat app. (Download here)

There are alternatives for other platforms. For Windows, one notable app I found is K9. (download here). There are many other options.

Recommended by Thameera: RescueTime - Works on all platforms, tells you how much time you spend on each website.

Life is meaningful

noreply@blogger.com (Isura Silva) — Sun, 29 Dec 2013 12:35:00 +0000

Life is meaningful, When I like things I do.
Not when I do things I like.

When I say 'I don't like the things I do' , mostly it means I am uncomfortable.
That extra effort to 'like what I do' even when I don't feel like doing it first, takes me out of my comfort zone. That's when magic happens.

When I like things I do, it's about caring and sharing.
When I do things I like, mostly it's about my self.

Myth of aspiration

noreply@blogger.com (Isura Silva) — Fri, 27 Dec 2013 20:42:00 +0000

Entrepreneurship is about 'go get' your aspiration, dream of things what drives you.

Question: 'What is really that drives you?'

A wealthy professional in Colombo, respected in many circles for his technical proficiency and unparalleled commitment, confessed me that he wants to run away from city and hide in a village.

A youth in a village, with eyes gleaming with hope, is willing to stay away from his family and risk legal boundaries, to find greener pastures ($).

Now let me ask you the question (above) again. 'What is really that drives you?'
Pause.

'Will achieving that dream, would fulfill your life?'
Pause.

'Do we need to burn our selves too, ignoring people who've been there, done that?'
Pause.

'If entrepreneurship is about been smarter, shouldn't we be reflecting more than acting too fast?'
Pause.

Android domination, in numbers.

noreply@blogger.com (Isura Silva) — Sat, 30 Nov 2013 14:44:00 +0000

This picture tells a remarkable story of android domination, which might be the greatest tech domination in history. Picture above and quote below was pulled out from a google+ post of Tim O'Reilly.

Look at the numbers. Impressive figures. It goes on to show that in a complex competitive eco system of devices, apps, operating systems, law suits, patents, telcos, etc, a well crafted business model, always lead.

In two short years Android has blown up the mobile market, going from 142m users (57% market share) to 709m users. This incredible growth is surely one of the most rapid marches to market dominance in history. iOS has also grown substantially from 75m users in Q2 2011 to 232m users in Q3 2013 (19% market share). The big loser is Symbian, which has fallen from a 20% market share to 5% in just two years. This is followed by Blackberry (down to 5% share) and Windows Mobile (6% market share), although Windows Mobile has recently started to grow again in 2013.
Interestingly, “Don’t know” has fallen from 20% market share to 5% market share, indicating how important the OS experience has become to users.
These results underline how mobile operating systems have radically reshaped the internet experience. Today, thanks to OS integration of internet services (e.g sharing via Twitter), in-built aggregation tools and the central positioning of app stores means the operating system is increasingly defining how we use the internet. This has far-reaching impacts across all aspects of digital behavior and can be crystalized in the example of the growth of messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Snapchat and Line. No longer do we need one service to do it all;operating systems promote the usage of an increasing number of services that do one thing, and do it well.

Sri Lanka Rich List

noreply@blogger.com (Isura Silva) — Thu, 28 Nov 2013 04:30:00 +0000

'Rich' is the new buzz now. In past, I looked at rich on Silicon Valley, then on Indians in awe. Now it's our own.
Forbes published 'the richest 6 of Sri Lanka', few days back. (Read full article )
It talked about Dhammika Perera's journey. (Read full article )

This gives 'hope' for entrepreneurs. If Sri Lanka to get the best from the window of opportunity now, having lots of entrepreneurs is the way.

It might be a clear indication of where Sri Lanka is heading. Getting rich is always good. It alleviates poverty. There's the other side too - the dark side. The greedy and the corrupt, that take over the 'gold rush'. Enron, Lehman brothers & Galleon told us how not to run a company.

But greed is omnipresent.

It's premature to tell. Sri Lanka has the chance to be a model for sustainability. There are lot of 'if's.

Faraz Shouketaly has written a book on the same. This is from their PR.

The Rich List Company today announced that its 2013 edition of The Sri Lanka Rich List, written by internationally renowned investigative journalist Faraz Shauketaly, will be available from Friday, December 6. It will be released with an official launch party at the RnR @ Racecourse in Colombo. This definitive guide to the richest in Sri Lanka celebrates the extraordinary citizens who believe in their country and its potential, and is built on a solid foundation of transparent wealth and deep research into financial and corporate Sri Lanka. Expect names such as Stassen Group’s Harry Jayawardena, Odel’s celebrity CEO Otara Gunewardena, and Dhammika Perera, whose fortune is estimated to be at US$550 million by Forbes Asia.

More can be found from the website : thesrilankarichlist.com

Google + Android domination of smart devices

noreply@blogger.com (Isura Silva) — Sun, 03 Nov 2013 00:34:00 +0000

"Fusion Smart Village" started off in 2010, with Google Nexus 1 phones in Sri Lanka.
At this moment, the tech savvy around the globe are head over heals about Google Nexus 5.

This video by Marques Browniee explains how Google (with Nexus 5, Kitkat and Google 'now') will high jack even the iOS environment.

Since 2010, smart devices have made tremendous strides. It will just keep getting better with Google glass, smart watches, and soon on your fridges, cars and watching machines.

The time has come for machines to start conversation among machines, with out our intervention.
Science fiction has become so real.

What #SmartVillage means now

noreply@blogger.com (Isura Silva) — Wed, 23 Oct 2013 11:16:00 +0000

Tomorrow (24 OCT), I will be speaking about "Smart Village" at Google Business Group's "Mobile for Business" event.

This is from the event page,

Can smartphone help develop rural communities on education and improve economy? and can a very personal device like smartphone be a shared device?
"Smart Village" an innovative project since 2010, created by Sarvodaya-Fusion (a social enterprise) to see the response for above questions and we were led in to remarkable insight. Isura will share how those insights, which show the potential for using internet and devices to uplift rural small enterprises can help your business.

It is amazing to see how Fusion has evolved since SmartVillage inception in 2010. Something that started as an experiment, is now a country wide movement.

Here's the thing though..." Can we truly reap the benefits knowing that rural communities are ready for internet and devices?" " What is stopping us as a nation?"

Let's discuss, tomorrow.

Writing my first book.

noreply@blogger.com (Isura Silva) — Fri, 18 Oct 2013 16:57:00 +0000

Writing a book is hard. First I needed to find a topic I was passionate, and then to brainstorm and check if that is something people would buy.

This 'buy' thing was Gihan's idea. I wanted to publish as a e-book. But Gihan said, "if you need to be serious about writing a book, it should be printed."

I guess he's right.
I have set 3 month deadline for the first draft. That is January 12, 2014.

So blogs on this space will be slow to come. I am putting effort each day in to the book. Mostly it is about one page per day. Not bad, considering the 'writer's block' I had been.

My wife, Muditha, seeing the first few pages, said "go ahead". A rare spontaneous 'yes' from her!

She's right behind me on this.

Crystal was helpful, motivating me on twitter. She will go through the first draft. Thanks.
https://twitter.com/isura/statuses/389025083768848385

This sounds crazy, I know. Just now completed the first page of the book I'm writing. Yes, you heard right. Heh. #theBookProject #fb
— ISURA (@isura) October 12, 2013

The conversation must build. Hence I will be sharing updates on hashtag #theBookProject on twitter and facebook.

Your thoughts, comments, critique would be lovely.

Let me type.

Cheers !

Pic Credit: Tetra Images

Battery performance in iOS 7

noreply@blogger.com (Isura Silva) — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 11:49:00 +0000

First impression was great. iPad looked as if it is a new device. So much cooler and fresh outset .

iPad mini used to be the best tablet I used regarding battery power. But after iOS 7 upgrade, it started draining faster. One thing of course is I used it extensively as it is impulsive to see all the app updates and do upgrading.
Yet after all the excitement gone, and life settles back on iPad, I still find battery performance is not as it is used to be on iOS6.

So here's a very comprehensive guide, explained step by step to avoid unnecessary drop of battery. The best I saw ploughing through many articles.

It worked. (Make sure you do all the steps described)
Not to the extent of magical iOS 6 times, but still is a better option.
Many thanks to thameera for been the sounding board when things went wrong.

Pic Credit

When do we need a " Board of Life" ?

noreply@blogger.com (Isura Silva) — Sat, 21 Sep 2013 07:45:00 +0000

Shruti Challa said, an entrepreneur needs a "Board of Life".
Not a Board of Management, not mentors, but a Board of Life.

This board needs to have people whom you can fall back when things get screwed.
Life, Work, Projects, Personal, Health, what ever.
I agree.

Having access to them, on demand, is the key.
No, they do not have to allocate time, weekly or monthly, which is the popular belief on mentors. (Good mentors do not have that much time)

Pic Credit : Mike Hill

How a Sri Lankan rural startup won an award in UK

noreply@blogger.com (Isura Silva) — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 02:28:00 +0000

And when you thought that there's no positive thing in news on Sri Lanka, this pops up.

Amazing story. Entrepreneurship is well and alive in this country. And they are not in the limelight, like the superstars on TV, yet.
And no, you don't have to be "techy" to run a start-up. Or have ivy league credentials.
Imagine a day people talk of start-ups, just like they talk of super stars.

Nimali Gunawardana from Ambalantota in the Hambantota District was crowned last night as the UK’s Youth Business International (YBI) Start-Up Entrepreneur of the Year 2013 at an awards ceremony in London.
The award is endorsed by UK’s Prince of Wales and prior to receiving her award, she and other award winners had an audience with the Prince Charles.

Nimali runs a small-scale business named Nimali Chips and Fibre Mill, which produces and exports environmentally-friendly coir for mattresses and coir piths and more uniquely making coconut husk chips, which is a new industry.
Nimali, who comes from an impoverished background, was determined to overcome traditional ideas about women in Sri Lanka. However, a failed coir business venture and a lack of collateral meant that banks rejected her loan requests.
With the help of UK’s YBI member Youth Business Sri Lanka (YBSL), Nimali’s new business employs 13 people and is looking to generate a turnover of more than $ 39,200. And she is just 25 years old.
Nimali is one of seven children from an underprivileged family and she worked to pay for her higher education. Thereafter, to make ends meet, she became a machine operator in a garment factory.

Read FT full post here

Pic courtesy: FT

7 things successful start-ups do.

noreply@blogger.com (Isura Silva) — Mon, 09 Sep 2013 13:23:00 +0000

1) Get to work, fast

2) Look for quick break even (i.e. simply, to get to that awesome state: income = cost), cash
generating projects.

3) Offer high value products and services that can sustain direct personal selling.

4) Not trying to hire the crack team.

5) Growth, Growth, Growth.

6) Focus on cash.

7) Build relationship with their Bank (Bank Manager).

Exceptional list. This was taken from the article " Bootstrap finance: The art of start-ups" by Amar Bhide. I edited few words for simplicity.

Pic: Courtesy

How to use your android's data connection through USB on a Mac.

noreply@blogger.com (Isura Silva) — Sun, 08 Sep 2013 03:59:00 +0000

08 September 2013,

I wanted to use the data connection in Android phone on a Macbook.
Why? because I can have a solid internet connection from my phone data connection to my laptop with out needing a dongle. One data connection, 2 devices.

The operating systems: in android device - Ice cream sandwich(ICS) and in Mac - Mac OS X 10.7.2.

When I started my android journey in 2010 along side Fusion Smart Village, having a Google nexus one (on Ginger Bread) was the coolest thing :). I could simply enable the wifi hotspot in Ginger Bread OS and use the data connection as a wifi hotspot. And that was how the rural communities also used the smart phone as a shared device. Because of that, the smartphone was tagged by community as a "mobile telecentre". At that time I never tried the USB tethering option, which is, you simply connect android phone with USB cable to your computer. So now I wanted to try it with the new OS: ICS.

For simplicity, below is a technical explanation of tethering. There are 3 types of tethering. According to wikipedia,

"Tethering refers to connecting one device to another. In the context of mobile phones or Internet tablets, tethering allows sharing the Internet connection of the phone or tablet with other devices such as laptops. Connection of the phone or tablet with other devices can be done over wireless LAN (Wi-Fi), over Bluetooth or by physical connection using a cable, for example through USB.
If tethering is done over Wi-Fi, the feature may be branded as a Mobile Hotspot. The Internet-connected mobile device can thus act as a portable wireless access point and router for devices connected to it."

I tried about 6 different apps/drivers until I could yell " Got it!". It took about 4 hours.
Some of the apps needed installation from, both phone and laptop end. But would give error messages at the very last step.

The winner, the absolute beauty was " HoRNDIS". Very simple. I just downloaded a simple driver package, and installed. Then I connected the phone through USB cable, it automatically picks the connection. That's it ! . So go to their page here, and avoid wasting few good hours of your time. But be notified the solution works, if only you have Mac OS 10.6.8 (snow leopard) to 10.8.2 (Mountain Lion)

Useful Links:

The other notable apps I used can be found from this Mashable article. But in my pursuit and also noted in many tech forums, most of them works fine for Windows, but not for Mac.
The most popular one is PdaNet, but that gives an error message on the last step: "error code "e00002c5".

So happy android tethering on Mac !. This is just my experience explained. There are many who try this.

Has it worked for you? If you are one using/trying, please drop a comment below.

Thanks Udara and Gopi for technical guidance earlier on ICS.

Pic: courtesy