Dear Peterites, We wish to share with you the Volume 3 of the 2015 Old Peterite Newsletter which includes activities carried out by St. Peter’s College Old Boys’ Union, it’s Batch Groups, Foundations and Overseas Branches during the period of August-December ‘2015. Also includes a special message from President Romeish De Mel inviting you to register for the Peterite Business Directory for which the form is attached along with the application for the OBU membership (for those who have not yet become members of the SPC OBU).   Since there were so many events and activities held in Sri Lanka and overseas, it was quite a task to compile this. Hence there was a delay and apologies for it. Yet this augurs well for the St. Peter’s College & for the OBU. Not the delay but the amount of content as this shows how active, united and passionate we Peterites ...

So a LEGO robot might be able to monster a Rubik’s cube in a little over three seconds, page but put together a dedicated machine from a more flexible part list and well, the popular multi-coloured puzzle getsdominated. Try 1.019 seconds on for size. A pair of guys on YouTube by the names of Jay Flatland and Paul Rose built there own mechanical solver using an array of webcams, 3D printed frames and stepper motors. There’s nothing inherently complex about the setup — in fact, it looks like more work went into the software: As you can see in the image, the program takes the image input from the cameras and converts it into a “unrolled” version for human consumption, as well as something the solver can understand. The robot is wired to function only when all cameras are working, so priming is done by simply putting paper in front ...

Dilemma of Cholesterol & Saturated Fat Written by Dr Harold Gunatillake FRCS, FICS, FIACS, AM(Sing), MB,BS- Health writer to magazines, newsletters, newspapers and other organs  “Cholesterol has been on the “naughty” list of nutrients for nearly 40 years, with health officials warning us to stay away from high-cholesterol foods since the 1970s to avoid heart disease and clogged arteries. But US officials have finally given the green light for a U-turn on previous warnings, which means eggs, butter, full-fat dairy products, nuts, coconut oil and meat have now been classified as “safe” and have been officially removed from the “nutrients of concern” list.” This article has become breaking News today and viral, many readers may be cautious to accept this new concept as Gospel truth or as hype. They will want further clarification, explanations and confidence and time would enlighten them. We said it over a decade ago repeatedly in ...

Irangani Sirimanne – The Beauty Queen by Agnes Thambynayagam “Bitten by the pageant bug, Irangani Gunatillake was thrust into being a goodwill ambassador of her country during the dawn of post independent island nation of Ceylon” ( January 23, 2016, Texas, Sri Lanka Guardian) A few days ago I had the opportunity to read an article written by Mr. S Skandakumar, currently High Commissioner for Sri Lanka in Australia for ‘The Island’ and ‘The Sunday Times’ entitled “The way we were….”, a reflection of the true nature, character and the sprit of the Sri Lankan people. The article inspired me to narrate this little story about an inspiring Sri Lankan woman–a story that must be told: Dr. N.M. Perera, the Finance Minister of Ceylon hugs the Royal Queen Irangani in 1956 Irangani was born on 27 September 1937 in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) to a Ceylonese diplomat Felix Sirimanne and Beatrice ...

The Lost Culavamsa on 20th February SriLanka Association of NSW Ajith Karunaratne President email: president@slansw.org.au Niranjan De Alwis Vice President email: vicepresident1@slansw.org.au Lakshman Senanayake Vice President email: vicepresident2@slansw.org.au Sunil Amaratunga Treasurer email: treasurer@slansw.org.au Rafi Mubarak Secretary / Public Officer Email: publicofficer@slansw.org.au   Sharmila Jayasinghe Niriella Editor email: editor@slansw.org.au   Kishani Ariyasinghe Secretary secretary@slansw.org.au Committee Members Pubudu De Alwis Chaminda Hindurangala Lasitha Delungahawatta   Bala Indrajit   Jinani Nissanka Sheran De Zoysa   Sam Masachchi   Gnani Thenabadu   ...

Truths Everyone Forgets Too Soon You know how you can hear something a hundred times in a hundred different ways before it finally gets through to you? The ten truths listed below fall firmly into that category – life lessons that many of us likely learned years ago, and have been reminded of ever since, but for whatever reason, haven’t fully grasped. This, my friends, is my attempt at helping all of us, myself included, “get it” and “remember it” once and for all… 1. The average human life is relatively short. We know deep down that life is short, and that death will happen to all of us eventually, and yet we are infinitely surprised when it happens to someone we know. It’s like walking up a flight of stairs with a distracted mind, and misjudging the final step. You expected there to be one more stair than there ...

Health and Views 2016 January 3rd Issue Click here to read more Health & Views January 3rd issue ...

A cut above the rest: Stunning drone photographs capture the new Seven Wonders of the World like you’ve never seen them before By Becky Pemberton For Mailonline: 17:02 GMT, 21 December 2015 A group of enthusiastic drone photographers have shot a series of stunning images high above the new Seven Wonders of the World. AirPano, a Russian-based photography group, spent years travelling to attractions including the Great Wall of China, Petra, the Roman Colosseum and Machu Picchu. The breathtaking panoramic shots highlight the grandness and splendour of the timeless locations, which were selected via a process that received more than 100 million votes. +Swirling clowds surround the iconic Christ The Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, just one of the new Seven Wonders of the World AirPano, a Russian-based photography group, spent years travelling to the likes of Chichen Itza in Mexico to capture the new list ...

THE WAY WE WERE… S. Skandakumar The year was 1965. At the conclusion of our traditional big match versus St Thomas’, the Royal team was summoned by the Principal and told that reciprocal matches had been initiated with schools in Jaffna and as a first step, the school’s cricket team was to proceed over the weekend, for an encounter with St. John’s College. So a team of 14 players, comprising of a Muslim captain, ten Sinhalese, two Tamils and one Burgher bundled into the Yal Devi the following Thursday, and arrived at the Jaffna railway station to a truly warm reception. Over the next two days we played some fascinating cricket before an unprecedented and enthusiastic crowd. A challenging declaration by our captain, on the second day, in the true spirit of the game, left the Johnians around 140 runs to make from 20 overs. Their talented players rose to ...

Political Fortunes of a Few Before the Welfare of the Nation There are lessons to learn from D.B. Wijetunga The first twelve months of the Sirisena Presidency by Malinda Seneviratne Sirisena Cooray, who could be called the Basil Rajapaksa or Gotabaya Rajapaksa of the Ranasinghe Premadasa era, once related an interested story. He was speaking at a time when Mahinda Rajapaksa was President and seemingly invincible. He was speaking about the decisions that had to be made immediately after President Premadasa was assassinated. The following is the gist. ...