Wall ad for a bespoke tailory ...

Found this advertisement near the SinaMalé flats.
Heard that many women are setting up their own businesses these days.
Am told there are loan schemes targeted only at businesswomen.
I think this is great. The days of stay home wives are over?
Maybe not, but things are looking better.

Malé.
Maldives.

Good bye 2011! Hello 2012 ...

"What can be said in New Year rhymes,
That's not been said a thousand times?
The new years come, the old years go,
We know we dream, we dream we know.
We rise up laughing with the light,
We lie down weeping with the night.
We hug the world until it stings,
We curse it then and sigh for wings.
We live, we love, we woo, we wed,
We wreathe our prides, we sheet our dead.
We laugh, we weep, we hope, we fear,
And that's the burden of a year."

May happy times and warm memories brighten your new year.
Have a great year. Happy New Year.

Before the walls came down ...

This is the entrance to Maafannu ward cemetery.
The walls came down to about halfway earlier this year.
They said our youngsters were using the compound for doing illegal stuff.
And that they were disturbing the dead. And not showing respect.
Well, now that the walls have come down, lets see how that goes.
I'm skeptical, but I do hope it goes better.

Malé,
Maldives!

The yellow crane ...

Saw this noisy machine passing by my house.
This is the view from my third floor balcony. Its pretty big!
Could not capture as much detail as I wanted to. Should try harder.

Malé,
Maldives.

Marsh land in Kulhudhuffushi ...

Some say its marsh land. Some say its a body of water. Some say its fresh water, others say its brackish water. Whatever they say, This is a beautiful place. I went there one afternoon and it was very peaceful. A must visit if you are in the area.

H.Dh. Kulhudhuffushi,

Maldives

Abandoned: Back to nature ...

From where I come, I will return.
Just a stone's throw away from the last house on the main road, an old abandoned truck is being claimed back by nature. Half of it has already gone! I'm told this is one of the first trucks to be brought on to the island for the harbor project.
I wanted to do an HDR of this, but I didn't get enough time set up a tripod and take multiple shots. I should have! Next time, maybe.


H. Dh. Kulhudhuffushi,
Maldives.

Children's park at Kulhudhuffushi ...

Children playing in an elevated play house at a small children's park.
Malé needs to get more of these children parks soon. We need them more than ever now.

H. Dh. Kulhudhuffushi
Maldives.

Ordered: KODAK PLAYSPORT Zx5 video camera ...

Hello.

So it has been a few months since I've been thinking about getting myself a small video camera. Not a big HandyCam type, but the small home movie type.

I have been researching this for a bit now and it seems there are only three good options available to me for the amount of money that I want to spend. The GoPro series, the Flip Series and the Kodak Zi8. The latter has been in active development and had a few recently upgraded models available.

The GoPro was a bit expensive and was designed for extreme sports and fast action recording. Surprisingly, The Flip wasn't available anywhere and I read somewhere that the company has gone belly up. So, the only real choice for me was the Kodak models.

Kodak has a few models available right now but what I had a good look at was the KODAK PLAYSPORT Video Camera. It looked good and the specs were nice enough. FULL HD 1080p recording. HD 720p@60fps for fast action recording. Dustproof, shockproof and waterproof down to 10feet. I read a few only reviews, watched a few YouTube videos reviews and I was sold.

So last week I got on the internet and ordered myself the KODAK PLAYSPORT Video Camera Zx5. I went for the BLACK version. Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals were in full swing. I crashed the party as well and got a steep discount. Good timing I guess.

My camera has shipped and is on the way here now. Can't wait to get my hands on this and shoot some baby videos. Looks like I can do exactly that later this week.

• Processed Through Sort Facility, November 23, 2011, 11:16 pm, ISC NEW YORK NY(USPS)
• Arrived at Sort Facility, November 23, 2011, 11:15 pm, ISC NEW YORK NY(USPS)
• Shipment Accepted, November 22, 2011, 8:53 pm, BROOKLYN, NY 11256
• Electronic Shipping Info Received, November 22, 2011

Also, I guess now I need to familiarize myself with some video editing software. Come to think of it, I have never even opened up iMovie, ever. Not once.

would appreciate if you could point me in the direction for home video editing. Nothing fancy, just trimming and adding audio tracks and stuff. Thanks.

Laterx.

Trying to do the lobster thing ...

Attempting indoor barbecue with all precautions.
Trying to grill a lobster. Did not turn out too well.
Guess I need to learn a lot about shell food.
I had a just a tiny bit, it didn't taste bad.
They say it could have tasted a whole lot better.
Maybe next time!

Malé, Maldives.

Barbecue: Potatoes over the grill ...

A photo from a barbecue I was invited to a few days ago.
It was at the beach and it was fun!
Among many other things, I learned that aluminum foil retains heat for longer than you'd think.
I am guessing these will be done now :)

Hulhumalé, Maldives.

Shooting from an elevated position ...

Nazee shooting some pictures for a calender.
He wanted to shoot from an elevated position.
Maybe he wanted a better angle on the circle below.
This was the best we could do given the circumstances.
Photo came out alright, I guess.

Malé, Maldives.

Follow me at 20:45 ...

A banner inviting us to a religous sermon.
I like the name come up with for these sermons.
I think I saw one named "HellFire".
This one is named Follow Me or Obey Me.
Banner doesn't say who though.

Malé, Maldives.

Looking up a wind chime ...

You know what that is?
It the worms eye view of a wind chime made of sea shells.
Sounds good? It does!

Malé, Maldives.

Carbon Neutralization ...

Nice retro motor bike.
I have seen a few of the on the streets lately. Could be a fad.
But could also be an attempt at attaining nationwide carbon neutralization.
I'd like to think so

Malé, Maldives.

Guardian Frog ...

A ceramic guardian frog looking over a friend's aquarium.
I remember most of us had pets when we grew up in the late 80s.
But now, the city is so congested that there is no more room for indoor hobbies.
Every available space in our home is being turned in to a small apartment or flat.
Miss those time when we had room to run around and play soccer on the streets!

Malé, Maldives.

Don't Just Wear, RéWear ...

A rather uniquely named clothing shop in Malé.
I like what they are trying to do hear. creating their own brand and promoting it.
Nice concept.

Malé, Maldives

Single Purpose Window ...

I am assuming these are expatriate labor quarters. The living conditions in these quarters are really bad, almost inhumane. But still, the owner and operators make a nice profit due to lack of regulation to avert these type of business practices. Perhaps, a better mechanism to monitor them may help.

Malé, Maldives.

Tourist City ...

Tourist to Maldives mostly stay in resort hotel islands away from the city.
Most of the resorts nearby offer half day tour to the capital city. It normally called Malé excursion.
Tourist come around in the afternoon, do a little bit of sigh seeing and shopping, and leave before sundown.

Malé, Maldives

The Missing Lock ...

We live in a time where people lock and double lock doors.
And they thought painting the gates bright blue would keeps the punks out? I don't think so.
Hope they don't have any valuable stuff inside there.
Would hate to see them being stolen and and end up in the black market!
Yes, there is a black market for stolen good.
You didn't know? Really? Hmm ...

Malé, Maldives.

Hollow Blocks ...

Hollow blocks. What walls are made of.
One of the few local industries supplying construction material to builders.
I remember these being made in Malé, but most of these business have now shifted to Hulhumalé or Villingili.