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What to do if there’s lawlessness or human threat?

If society as we know it were reduced to complete anarchy, what should one do? When the laws that govern our daily existence fall apart, who will take charge? Think in Mafia terms - People will quickly congregate in support of an individual they deem powerful and also capable of providing protection in exchange for their loyalty. Here’s where a family discussion will come in handy, and evaluating the need to Bug In or Bug Out. Do you feel you’ll be able to stay in and weather the impending societal upheaval, or would you rather make a quick getaway where your only master is nature itself?

Here are some things to consider

• Are basic amenities like the waterline, emergency services, electricity, and prisons still carrying out their usual functions – if not, how safe are you at home?
• Is the military capable of taking over? If so, do you want to stick around for that?

The post What to do if there’s lawlessness or human threat? appeared first on The Survival School.

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Can you find happiness in a crisis?

Yes! We are talking to the millions whose lives may be affected by the Covid-19 – not the sickness but by lockdowns, loss of business or job, boredom – well, anything that generates fear and stress!

We can tell you all the smart things about how worrying will not do any good but let’s talk about how to actually do something about it. The rule of the thumb is to distract yourself from stress!  Just the same way you wear a face mask, wash your hands and practice social distancing to keep the Corona away, there are distraction methods to keep the virus of stress and unhappiness away!

1. Acknowledge sadness!
Yes, let’s be realistic.  It’s ok to feel stressed and sad, so give yourself a little time for that before you say time’s up!  Let it lead to thinking of all the things you can actually be grateful about. And find good distractions.
2. Stick to a time schedule similar to the one you had before the lockdowns.
If lockdowns are making you sleep late and long, then don’t!  You have already got enough rest and sleep, now, work out a daily timeline that gives you purpose.
3. Go to work, in your mind!
If you WFH that’s great, but if you don’t have work, then allocate time to put your mind to work.  Re-energize your career path by revisiting your talents and opportunities.  Assign yourself a project of improvement; or even a brand new business idea!
4. Break for meal and tea times – at the proper times!
Good breakfast, your fav rice & curry for lunch and a thoughtful early dinner are a must.  If you don’t you ain’t smart as you think you are, sorry!
5. Give your mind & body a good work out.
Sweat it out, in your garden if you have one or allocate time for a good calorie burn.  If you haven’t been doing this before Covid-19, you have all the more reasons to start now and get fit.
6. Start a new and engaging hobby.
Productive googling can find you wonders – make you richer with knowledge and may even land you a brand new hobby.
7. Socialize from home!
Building close relationships helps to enrich life.  Now, there’s even time!  So, try!  First up, start talking, laughing and playing with your own family!
8. And, don’t watch too much of news!
Be well-informed and that’s that.  Bombarding your mind with the stress of the new corona virus will actually do more harm than good.  Depend for information from a reliable source and yes, it is ok to watch movies, read books, play a musical instrument, well, there’s much to do!
9. Help others!
Believe it or not, one of the best ways to feel happy is by helping others.  You can do so by cheering others on and by thinking of the people who are hungry and deprived and finding ways to helping them.
10. Believe in new beginnings!
This long lockdown can inspire new beginnings.  If you confront a dead-end, well, try a brand new route.  Put your creative hat on.  Remember, if there’s a will, there’s a way!

The post Can you find happiness in a crisis? appeared first on The Survival School.

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Get ready for life 2.0!

It is happening in our lifetime! A new world order is already here and social distancing may be here to stay! It means that we will probably have to get used to doing things differently. If not, we may just have to regret.

Here’s what we are learning in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic:

• Disasters can change the world and it pays to be better prepared.
• Tougher countries like China and India handled the situation better than far more liberal and democratic countries where the death toll was far greater!  Our own government seemed to have handled the situation better than most countries with the support of the security forces.  We might need a more disciplined approach to life.
• The consumer economy we live in has taken a battering with the analog businesses like hotels, restaurants, spas and airlines collapsing in a heap.  Social distancing may further hamper the way we do things.  It means you should be ready to live and do things differently.
• The world is healing and when we get back to life, we should allow our government to initiate societal changes that politics usually don’t encourage, like controlling urbanization, decentralizing both State and private sector institutions and creating satellite branches for popular schools.  We should be willing to travel less to our schools and work places, continue to order goods from home and have fewer vehicles on the road.
• We should earnestly look to plough our lands and grow our own food, organic preferably.
• Imports have been cut and that should get those of us who can to start new factories to produce our own stuff which will also create new jobs.
• Suddenly, we see the importance of public health.  Let’s take a cue from Singapore and create a cleaner, healthier society by starting with our own healthy lifestyles.

The post Get ready for life 2.0! appeared first on The Survival School.

New mechanism to issue curfew passes

Curfew passes for entities with 50 or more employees located in the district of Colombo, Western Province will be issued by the Police Headquarters. The Office of the Senior Deputy Inspector General in charge of the Western Province will be entrusted with issuing passes to organizations with 50 or more employees located in the districts of Gampaha and Kalutara in the Province.

In all other Provinces, the Office of the Senior Deputy Inspector General in charge of the Province is authorized issue curfew permits to organizations with 50 or more employees located in the respective Province.

Link

Published Date: 7th April 2020

The post New mechanism to issue curfew passes appeared first on The Survival School.

Curfew Times in Sri Lanka

Accordingly, the ongoing curfew in the districts of Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara and Puttalam will remain in force until 5.00am on Monday, April 27th.

In all other districts, curfew will be effective from 8.00pm to 5.00am till Friday, the April 24th.

In these areas, curfew will be re-imposed at 8.00pm on Friday, the 24th April and continue until 5.00am on Monday, April 27th.

In these districts, curfew will continued to be in force during the weekend, April 25th and 26th.

Link

Published Date: 20th April 2020

The post Sri Lanka Curfew Times appeared first on The Survival School.

What we have is a bit of a paradox.  The same man who fears for his life restrains himself from speaking on the same mobile phone that he has no qualms about using while driving.  What’s more baffling is he would break the law on one hand while on the other not doing something which the law has no problem with.  Ever heard of somebody getting copped for talking on a mobile phone while refueling?

But now, let’s get down to the bottom of it.  Has a mobile phone ever ignited an inferno at a filling station?  On the evidence of research carried out so far, the answer is a resounding NO!

From the American Petrolium Insitute to the Australian Mobile Telecom Association, the answer is an assured NO.  The media reports that the Australian Transport Safety Bureau which investigated over 240 filling station fires worldwide said that no fires were caused by mobile phones.

Believe it?  Well, no one debunks the possibility of a remote chance of an ignition through the use of a mobile device but the majority of investigated fires were caused by static electricity. If you get out and get in wearing synthetic clothing which comes in contact with synthetic parts of your car, you may well build up a static charge enough to ignite a fire.

The moral of the story: if you are worried about your life quit talking on your mobile phone especially while driving and ok, while refueling.  You may not want to keep getting out and in while at the filling station!

Watch out: Static electricity can cause a fire at a fuel station while a mobile phone may likely to endanger your life while driving.

The post What’s more dangerous, using a mobile phone while driving or refueling? appeared first on The Survival School.

The evolution of the language may be slow, quite late, to be precise in France but the new word has been in expert practice for centuries with the French teaching the world the true art of amorous kissing.

The French admits that a lack of a word never stopped the nation from embracing the popular past-time and in fact, people never really needed the word on the tip of their tongues, preferring instead to let the action do the talking.

Is kissing a tabooed practice in Sri Lanka?

Trapped between old values and modern thinking, young people in Sri Lanka struggle to come to terms with realities of society.  But experts warn suppression may actually do more damage than good as the gender respect and social etiquette take a beating.  “Sri Lanka brings up an introverted society by law, by culture and thanks to a lot of emphasis being placed on ‘image’ or what others perceive.  However, we possess an ‘island mentality’ which endows within us the urge to express ourselves freely without fear of ‘tomorrow’”, says Sri Lanka Update’s Dr. Dinesh Watawana.  Trapped between societal expectations, the law and one’s own psychological mind-map, what we have is a frustrated society, especially young people, Dr. Watawana avers while adding that the right way is to strike a good balance without hurting the precepts of a largely Buddhist society.

No one admits it, few talks about it and marriage puts paid to it; no one quite knows why kissing is frowned upon in Sri Lanka and why young lovers need to court trouble, just to experience the ecstasy of love.  Science says that kissing comes with a variety of health benefits where doctors even suggest that it should be done on a daily basis.  The biggest revelation of all: couples who kiss everyday live 5 years longer!

Need reason to kiss; well we can give you a few healthy reasons why!

• Increase longevity while reducing stress.  Kissing promotes well being by releasing happy hormones or endorphins to the blood.
• Great facial exercise- a good French kiss puts 29 facial muscles into a good work out, firming up facial muscles and giving your face a natural younger look.
• It promotes oral hygiene, reduces plaque build up and keeps the dentist away.
• It burns calories; so longer the better.  Increases metabolism helping reduce weight.

Unlike for the French, public kissing can land you in hot water here.  But the Enquirer can seal this with a kiss: French kissing is not only good for married couples, it will also keep the love and affection growing in heaps and bounds.  Don’t know quite how to do it?  Well, there’s a whole page on how to French kiss in wikihow.

While in public, we may be different to the public but that’s all about respect for others and one’s beliefs.  So, while modern thinking may make you disagree, what’s important is to respect the law and customs of the land.

Please try it only at home!

To kiss or not: While kissing may be good for relationships, exercising discretion will keep you out of trouble

The post To kiss or not to kiss! appeared first on The Survival School.

Jethawanaramaya

Standing at 400ft (122 meters), Jetawanaramaya was one of the tallest structures in the ancient world, second only to the Great Pyramid of Gaza.  Built by King Mahasena in the Anuradhapura era, around 100 million baked bricks are said to have been used to build the awe-inspiring architectural wonder.  The great Stupa, somehow, doesn’t get the recognition and fanfare it deserves.

Sigiriya

Touted as the unofficial 8^th wonder of the world, Sigiriya Rock Plateau was a monastery as early as 3th century BC before King Kasyapa turned it into an architectural wonder in the 5^th century BC.  Believed to have formed from the magma of a volcano, Sigiriya rises 200 meters from the surrounding plateau.  Inside the complex, remnants of a pleasure palace, gardens, ponds and fountains pointing to an intricate architectural and engineering feat have visitors spellbound.

Dalada Maligawa

The most venerated of all architecture, Dalada Maligawa or the Temple of the Tooth Relic is a holy complex of three primary buildings – Vedahiti Maligaya, Pattirippuwa and Aluth Maligawa.  First built between 1593 – 1603 by King Vimaladharmasooriya, its most famous outer portion – the spectacular Pattirippuwa was built by King Sri Wickrama Rajasingha between 1798 – 1815).

Altair

Sri Lanka’s own leaning tower, Altair places the country right on top among modern-day marvels.  The taller tower stands at 240 meters while the second, at 209 meters, leans on it, creating a heart-stopping picture that lends fame to one of Sri Lanka’s latest mix developments.

Galle Fort

A rare living heritage city of the world, Galle Fort is the largest fortress built by conquering Europeans in Asia.  The vast fortified complex was originally the work of the Portuguese in 1588 but later on in the 17^th century completely redesigned and rebuilt by the Dutch.  Buildings from simple house to government offices and magnificent churches make Galle Fort a haven for old architecture.

Lotus Tower

Civil & Structural Engineers

Proclaimed to be the tallest structure in South Asia with a height of 1150ft (350 meters) the Lotus Tower is expected to join the world’s most celebrated broadcast towers.  Located on the banks of Beira Lake, the tower – in the shape of a lotus flower – adds to Sri Lankan architectural prowess with the structure housing a revolving restaurant, luxury hotel and a banquet hall.

Sri Jayawardenapura Parliament

The crowning legacy of Architect Geoffrey Bawa, the Sri Jayawardenapura Parliament was commissioned in 1979.  The massive complex was designed as an asymmetric group of colonnaded pavilions with striking copper roofs picturesquely ‘floating’ on a man-made lake, dredged connecting the Diyawanna Oya.

KumbukRiver

KumbukRiver is among the world’s top 10 most unusual hotels, putting Sri Lanka on the world map of tourism.  The eco resort on the edge of Yala in Buttala is made famous by the architecture of its primary eco villa built in the shape of an elephant – in whose belly guests can actually sleep.  The 40ft, 2-story structure is a tribute to indigenous local artistry and craftsmanship.  Lonely Planet lists it among the world’s hotels to be woved, among other international accolades, making it a true Sri Lankan wonder.

Independence Memorial Hall

A national monument, the Independence Memorial Hall was unveiled in 1953 to commemorate the independence of Sri Lanka from British rule.  Located in Independence Square in Colombo 7, the monument known for its decorated concrete pillars inspired by Kandyan architecture was built on the same place where the ceremony of independence was held on February 4, 1048.

Sambodhi Chaitya

One of the most ignored landmarks in Sri Lanka, the majestic Sambodhi Chaitya was built in 1953 at the Colombo Harbour.  Perched on top a platform supported by two gigantic interlocking concrete arches, the Stupa is uniquely different to all other Stupas and is made impressive by its height and the aceess way rising above the ground.

The post 10 Most Unique Buildings In Sri Lanka appeared first on The Survival School.

A wonderful serenity has taken possession of my entire soul, like these sweet mornings of spring which I enjoy with my whole heart. I am alone and feel the charm of existence.

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