Or just Lizzie, if she like you ...

Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas Queen, Defender of the Faith, Duchess of Edinburgh, Countess of Merioneth, Baroness Greenwich, Duke of Lancaster, Lord of Mann, Duke of Normandy, Sovereign of the Most Honourable Order of the Garter, Sovereign of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Sovereign of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, Sovereign of the Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick, Sovereign of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, Sovereign of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Sovereign of the Distinguished Service Order, Sovereign of the Imperial Service Order, Sovereign of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India, Sovereign of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire, Sovereign of the Order of British India, Sovereign of the Indian Order of Merit, Sovereign of the Order of Burma, Sovereign of the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert, Sovereign of the Royal Family Order of King Edward VII, Sovereign of the Order of Merit, Sovereign of the Order of the Companions of Honour, Sovereign of the Royal Victorian Order, Sovereign of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem.

Or just Lizzie if she likes you.

Sears: Now shipping to Maldives ...

Hello.
Sears is now shipping to Maldives. Its good to see more online shops shipping to Maldives.
I usually shop on Amazon, but not everything on Amazon can be shipped here to Maldives.
I herds Macy's now ships to Maldives, too. Good stuff.
Laterx.

BurstSpeed: Speed when you need it the most ...

Hello.

Internet has become an integral part of our daily life. We use the internet to consume all sorts of information from catching up on our daily news headlines, connect with our family and friends, listening to music or watch videos.

Though the usage pattern may differ across a wide spectrum, its a given that almost everyone spends a fair amount of time on the internet everyday. While everyone wants the best internet connection with breakneck speeds, most of us settle for the lower home plans with limted speeds and allowances. There is nothing wrong with home plans. I've been using a home plan for several years now and I'm quite happy with it. It has been stable, reliable and quite speedy most of the time.

However, there are times when I wish my internet was a bit faster for at least a few hours. There are certain days when I would be more than happy to pay for higher speed internet. Like the days when I upload lots of photos and videos to share with my family abroad. The days when I'm backing up my files to a cloud-based service, days when I'm downloading an update for my current operating system.

A quick google search showed me that this service does exist in other countries. SpeedBurst, BurstSpeed, TurboBoost, PowerBoost, different internet service provioders call the service different names, for obvoius reasons, but it basically serves the same purpose. It gives you more speed when you need it the most.

A "burstable" internet service is one that allows you buy a certain amount of bandwidth, usually on a prepaid model. In theory, it essentially enables you to utilize higher speeds without paying for the bandwidth you do not use.
It is a service that increases Internet speed temporarily when your online activities require higher speed Internet than usual. This service is cost-saving and supports the heavier usage of Internet. You can request for the extra speed for certain periods from your service provider.

I wish we had a smiliar service in Maldives. I would gladly pay for a such a service. What say you?

Laterx.

The first rule of the Synonyms Club ...

The very first rule of the Synonyms Club is that you do not in any circumstance talk or,

1. Babble: enthusiastic or excessive talk, or meaningless sounds or nonsense words;
to talk in this manner
2. Back talk: a disrespectful response; to respond disrespectfully
3. Backchat: see back talk, badinage, and gossip
4. Badinage: light, witty talk
5. Banter: see badinage, with a connotation of good-natured teasing or arguing; to engage in such talk
6. Barb: a hurtful and/or critical comment
7. Blandish: see cajole
8. Blandishments: see cajolery/cajolement
9. Blarney: nonsensical talk
10. Bluster: boastful or threatening talk; to speak boastfully or threateningly
11. Cackle: see chatter (verb only)
12. Cajole: to persuade with soothing or flattering remarks
13. Cajolery: talk with the intent to persuade
14. Cajolement: act pertaining to cajolery
15. Causerie: see chat (noun only)
16. Chaff: see badinage; also, to tease good-naturedly
17. Chat: an idle or inconsequential conversation; to engage in such talk
18. Chatter: quick, extensive, and/or aimless talk; to talk in such a manner
19. Chin music: see chat (noun only)
20. Chinwag: informal talking; to talk informally
21. Chitchat: see badinage
22. Circumlocution: evasive or verbose talk
23. Comment: an opinion or observation; to say something of this type
24. Confab: see chat (also, a formal meeting)
25. Confabulation: see chat and confab (also, something made up)
26. Confer: to exchange opinions or seek advice
27. Conference: a meeting, or an event consisting of presentations and/or meetings
28. Confess: to admit to a thought or action considered improper or shameful
29. Conversation: a talk between or among two or more people
30. Converse: to speak back and forth with one or more people
31. Crack: an uncomplimentary comment; also, to quickly say something, as when spontaneously telling a joke pertinent to a situation
32. Dig: see crack
33. Discuss: to engage in serious talk
34. Discussion: a serious talk
35. Dish: see gossip
36. Double-talk: intentionally confusing or ambiguous language, or talk that is at least partially meaningless; to engage in such talk
37. Fast-talk: to persuade or influence by deceptively authoritative and/or flattering speech
38. Flibbertigibbet: see gossip
39. Gab: see chatter
40. Gabfest: talking consisting of gab
41. Give-and-take: an exchange of ideas or comments
42. Gossip: see chat, with an additional connotation of talk or talking about the personal lives of one or more other people (also, someone who engages in such talk)
43. Jangle: see chat
44. Jaw: see chat
45. Jest: a humorous or mocking statement; to make such a statement
46. Natter: see chat
47. Negotiate: to talk in order to reach an agreement
48. Negotiation: a talk in which the speakers seek to reach an agreement
49. Palaver: a discussion or conference, especially one between unequal participants, or deceptive speech, or see chat; to talk idly, try to persuade or deceive, or come to terms
50. Parley: see confer, with the possible connotation of talk between antagonists to agree to terms to cease hostilities; to engage in such talk
51. Patter: quick or monotonous speech, as in delivering a humorous speech or in rote delivery of prayers; to speak in this manner
52. Pillow talk: romantic talk, such as would be engaged in while the speakers are in bed
53. Pleasantry: polite, inconsequential talk, or see banter and jest (nouns only)
54. Quip: a spontaneous observation or response; to say something of this type
55. Raillery: see banter and jest
56. Rap: see chat and patter
57. Recital: public delivery of read or memorized material, or of details or answers
58. Recitation: an official or ceremonious recital
59. Recite: to deliver read or memorized material, or details or answers
60. Remark: a statement of judgment or opinion, or a reference to something notable; to comment in this manner
61. Repartee: an exchange of clever, witty statements, a single such response, or skill in talking in this manner
62. Schmooze: see chat, with the connotation of one conducted so as to gain personal or professional advantage; to talk in this manner
63. Small talk: see badinage
64. Spit: to talk about things or opinions a listener disagrees with or disapproves of
65. Straight talk: frank, straightforward talk
66. Sweet nothings: flattering talk intended to charm a potential or existing romantic partner
67. Sweet talk: talk intended to persuade, or to endear oneself to the speaker; to engage in this kind of talk (the verb form is hyphenated)
68. Table talk: informal talking such as that heard during a dinner party
69. Tete-a-tete: an intimate or private talk
70. Waggery: see banter and jest
71. Wisecrack: a clever or sarcastic comment; to make such a comment
72. Wordplay: witty, playful talk
73. Yack: to talk at length
74. Yammer: to talk relentlessly, or to complain
75. Yap: excessive talk

about the Synonyms Club. There is no second rule!

Facebook Groups: Seriously ... WTF ???

Hello.

I have been on Facebook for a long time. I might not be as active as some of my friends, but I do maintain an active account nevertheless.

I have always had issues with Facebook. This is a not a Facebook bashing post. I have done it enough on Twitter as I went along. I'm sure you've heard some of the horror stories.

Facebook isn't all that bad, they do good things sometimes. If I really think hard for a few minutes, maybe I can think of something good to say about Facebook.

When Google+ arrived without much fanfare, Facebook scrambled to give the controls over to the users and they did roll out some cool features. I like Google+ and I think Facebook did too little too late.

Anyways, the problem I'm having now is with Facebook groups. I have searched around in the account settings and privacy settings, and for the life of me, I couldn't figure out how to stop people from adding me to groups. Most of these groups are stupid and I want no part of it. You know you have come across a few groups like that too, right?

We All Support "X" as (Upper North Province) President:
I may even support this guy, but I'm not from that area and I can't vote for him even if I wanted to.

I bet I can find 1,000,000 people who hate Manchester United:
I bet you can, but I'm not one of them. I am just indifferent about soccer on TV.

World of 7-Billion:
I know. So what can I do? I don't think it something I want to celebrate. Leave me out. Thank you.

Various Dhivehi island/atoll news website groups:
So you slapped on -live behind your island name and made a local news website? Good for you. Well I don't want to read it, and I definitely dont want to be on a Facebook group promoting your hatred, one way or the other!

Free The Kimboo:
This may be the first ever Maldivian group I was invited to. I was invited by primary0. I think every social network thereafter had some group or petition to free the Kimboo. On second thought, I think I'll stay in this group just for the heck of it.

After a little Googling, I found out that I actually have no control whatsoever on who adds me to groups or what groups I'm added to. If I don't want to be in a group, my only option is to go to that group and manually leave the group. This is infuriatingly stupid!

Talk about Facebbok and giving users the control of their content and delivery. Sucks!

Laterx.

Earthrise: It is unimaginably beautiful ...

Hello.

I don't really know where I got this picture from, but it has been sitting on my Desktop for a long time.

I think this is an absolutely awesome picture. I admit that perspective may be a little bit distorted, but if a picture could ever convey a message, this picture sure does! For me, it conveys a powerful, expansive and a beautiful message.

This one image says so much about us as a species, us humans, about our ambitious ideas, long journeys, successful endeavors, proud achievements and accomplishments.

It also tells a lot about our hunger for knowledge, ability to learn about the unknown and how little we know about our selves and our yet undiscovered universe.

I hope we will keep looking. I hope we will adapt. I hope we never quit!

Laterx.

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.

Budget.mv: This is beyond stupid !!!

Hello.

Why does our National Budget website have a section to create your own avatar using 31 programme budget icons? I have no vague idea!

I can understand if this was on a private or a commercial website marketing a product or a brand. I might even understand this on Tourism Portal website using unique Maldivian icons to make an avatar which might appeal to a foreign visitor.

I don't know about everyone on the internet, but I would usually visit a government website when I need to look up current and accurate information or when I need historical data for a research project. I visited the Ministry of Finance website to have a look at our National Budget. I wanted to see how much the projected national revenue was and how it has been sliced to be spend on health, education, transport and infrastructure projects among others.

While looking at the budget, I did find some ambitious projects while huge sums of money have a been allocated to highly controversial and still hotly debated projects. I guess that will always be the very nature of every annual national budget of any given country.

However, during no time that I spent on that website did I have the slightest inclination to upload my photo and make an avatar to use on any social network. I don't really know where to begin to tell someone how inappropriate this is. I think its highly unprofessional for an official government website.

But thats just me, your mileage may vary. So, go ahead, give it a shot if you so want. In the mean time I'll visit the Health Ministry website and try to find an online game you can play while you wait for them to activate our free health insurance!

Laterx.

Sin tax: Heavily taxing our smokes ...

Hello.

Rant mode: ON

Cigarette prices have increased dramatically over the past week. Today I paid more than double the price last week for a pack of Camel Blue. Yep, no more Camel Lights!

Smoking is injurious to health. Though there is a continuous debate about the risks of passive second hand smoke, the general consensus among us all is that cigarette smoking puts you and other around you at risk. I believe so too.

There is absolutely no doubt, cigarette smoking is a prominent public health concern in the Maldives, especially with almost 50% prevalence rate in youth demographic. Health Ministry officials must be planning and working on clever ways to deter smokers, or so I assume. I assume, because I've not seen many anti-smoking campaigns in the country. Except to periodically increase excise tax of cigarettes.

It seems our government is on a tax spree these days. They are taxing anything and everything, so there is no reason why cigarettes should not be taxed, especially when tax money is used to build, run and maintain public services — including health facilities. Sin tax for the betterment of the country? Sure!

Simply put, if you are responsible for paying the hospital bills (read: Madhana, national insurance plan) for a group of people, you will want them to refrain from damaging their health. That is a no brainer. Though some people advocate that the government should not try to be the moral compass for smokers, I personally believe that, the government has every right to help the citizens stay healthy.

However, I vehemently disagree with the method employed by the government to curb cigarette smoking. Doubling or tripling excise taxes and thus exponentially increasing the retail price of cigarettes feels lot less like a Government initiative to discourage smoking but more like a callous effort to balance the national budget.

This is the Government we are talking about and I don't suppose we  need to tell them that cigarettes are addictive in nature and that addiction plays an important role in the decision making and purchasing process of smokers. Any regulation that limits smoking or freedom of smokers will be met by stark criticism.

Every society on this planet has its vice. Maldives being a muslim country, the only legal vice we can afford to indulge in is smoking. Drastic changes in prices of an addictive product like cigarettes may actually have unintended consequences. Off the top of my head, here is what comes to mind.

Craving will triumph price. It won't reduce the number of smokers. Smoking is addictive. Price elasticity of demand does not apply to cigarettes. An increase in cigarette prices has had nil to little impact in consumption. Cigarettes remain price inelastic. A price increase has never diminished the number of smokers in a community. However, there is some indication that it may deter potential smokers who light up for the first time. This is the only group of people who will respond to a price increase.

Cheap cigarettes will flourish. This may actually make people smoke more. We all want to smoke fresh top brand cigarettes but when you can't afford the premium, you settle for cheap sub-standard products. Used to smoke Camel Lights? Now you will smoke Lucky Strike from Sri Lanka, Dunhill from Indonesia and Marlboro from China. Cheap cigarettes will flood the market. This will again put existing smokers at more risk. Not good.

Smuggled and contraband cigarettes. Cheap cigarettes for everyone and a decrease in government revenue. If there is enough demand for a product or service, someone will surface somewhere to provide just that. When onerous taxes are levied on cigarettes it will induce smuggling and open up the market for illicit traders to cater for consumer demand for cheaper cigarettes. This will push the trade underground and off the books. Total tax-paid industry volume of cigarettes may decrease. Not good.

Increase in crime rate and corruption. If you can't afford to feed your addiction, you are bound to make hasty decisions which might involve participating in illegal activities. Criminal networks that specialize in cigarette smuggling and street vending operate more comfortably in small countries with high cigarette tax but lack proper monitoring controls. Also, the level of tobacco smuggling tends to rise with the degree of corruption in a country. Naturally.

If the rationale of this sudden increase in excise tax is to reduce smoking amongst the population, that is a sadly misinformed and unfortunate decision. Personally, I think the only way to significantly reduce cigarette consumption in the country is through early preventive education starting from childhood. Price alone won't change anything, not with smokers.

The average politician may think that a staggering price increase may make Maldives slowly and diffidently quit smoking. I think not, it will just make us go more broke!

That enough ranting. Now I need a Dunhill Light.

Rant mode: OFF

Laterx.

A creative writing workshop with Ashok Ferrey ...

Hello.

About a week ago, I attended a one-day creative writing workshop organized by National Center for Arts of Maldives and Open Mind Workshops based out of Colombo. The workshop was hosted by Mr. Ashok Ferrey, one of the best English Language writers in Sri Lanka. He has three published books and is about to publish his fourth.

I was not supposed to be attending the workshop. I wasn't the least bit stoked about attending a lecture where almost everyone in the seminar hall could write circles around any tripe I could ever write.

I just went there in the morning to help out my friend Simon in arranging the whole thing. When Simon asked me to join in for a few minutes and listen to what this Ashok guy had to say, I reluctantly sat down hoping I could sneak out unnoticed when the attendees break out for morning tea. I was sleepy and I wanted to go home!

Ashok started the workshop informing us that he is old fashioned and that he would not have any slide shows or visuals up on any screens and he'd just use pen and paper. I chuckled silently at this and started mentally planning the shortest and safest route to the exit.

Half hour in to the lecture, after the introductions, Ashok started talking about and pointing out things that I didn't even know I did when I sat down to write something. Ashok had some insights about all the stages of the lengthly process of writing and he patiently dumbed it down and shared it with us. I was hooked.

He talked about professional writing techniques. How to tap in the the inner voices in our heads, how to control it and turn it on and off on demand. He told us it is a trick that every writer should try to master, and that some would master it sooner than others. I'm sure I'll be the last person to master this, if I ever do. Perhaps because listening to voices inside your head and trying to interact with them is, in my book, a good working definition for insanity. With a febrile imagination like mine, I'd definitely try this technique very carefully.

Ashok went on to explain how we should properly plan out our writing, how we should write something, bury it, and return to work on it after a few days. Ashok explained to us how we should break down our work to short manageable paragraphs, how we should try and describe people without using adjectives and how we should try to limit the commas we use in our writing because they have a tendency to slow the reader down.

I really enjoyed the workshop. After the Q&A session towards the end of the day, I stood in line to purchase his books. I picked up Colpetty People and The Good Little Ceylonese Girl, both collections of short stories. I also stood in line to get Ashok to autograph my books. It was a good day and I was one the last to leave seminar hall. I had an enlightening and fun time!

A well planned and well executed creative writing workshop can elevate your work exponentially. You can take away a lot from these kinds of workshops to help you improve your writing skills. I'd definitely recommend any of Ashok's workshop to any of my friends who wants to improve their writing. Be it journalism, magazine articles, business letters or novels.

If you think I've become slightly better at getting my point across to you in this blog, all thanks to Ashok. If not, I must have dozed off in class again. I really need to stop doing that.

Laterx.

PS: Ashok Ferrey is a pseudonym.

Sentiments about the concept of liberty ...

Hello.

Seems America is waking up. This is good. Check out this poem.

In Arlington we lay to rest
our bravest and our very best.
We send our children off to war
defending what we soon ignore. 

“You’re free to worship,” so we say.
“But if you’re muslim, go away.”
Is this what they were dying for:
Intolerance, and nothing more? 

Must one be christian to obtain
the liberties that we proclaim?
These soldiers died for liberty.
They didn’t die for bigotry. 

So look upon this hallowed field,
not only crosses are revealed.
For you’ll see stars and crescents too.
They also sacrificed for you. 

In Arlington we lay to rest
our bravest and our very best.
They knew what they were dying for.
It’s something that we can’t ignore.

Words of a soldier, written by Joe G. A 27-year veteran of Strategic Air Command, United States Armed Forces.

Sad to say that sometimes, the converse it true too!

Laterx.

Contemplating Disqus comment system ...

Hello.

Just a quick note to tell you that, I'm contemplating installing Disqus commenting system on this blog. It seems, Blogger is not showing up comments as it should, there are signing in problems, and I've been told by people on twitter that they have tried commenting on this blog, but the comments just disappear after submission. Well, that is not good. Not good at all!

Disqus seems like a good alternative anti lets you manage comments from multiple blogs in one central location. This is going to be a real time saver. The one killer feature Blogger lacks is the ability to reply to comments from the admin panel. Disqus lets me do this and lot more. Also, I have been hearing a lot of good things about Disqus lately, a lot of high profile people are implementing Disqus commenting system on their blogs. I take this as a good sign, I don't want to make the switch and learn that the service is going away soon.

Disqus is importing all my Blogger comments to its database as I write this post. Check out the blog, see if you like the new commenting area, leave a comment, tell me what you think.

The one caveat I have with Disqus is that, it is trying to do more than what is necessary, too many features, and the commenting area looks a lot busier than what I am used to. Distraction?

Anyway, let us see how it goes.

Laterx.

Camel Blue: Limited Edition Box ...

Hello.

Shameful exploitative advertising or shrewd corporate schemes. Branded marketing or a nauseating advertising campaign. Whatever they are labeling this, I for one, quite like the new design Camel came up for Camel Lights Cigarette packs! I think its pretty cool!

I hear that the new designs that have hit the local stores have sparked a small controversy. Haters going to hate, but I kind of like the limited-edition pack Camel Blue they are rolling out. I think the design is visually appealing and quite hip. I like it!

I'm not promoting smoking. I am not saying its in any way a healthy choice. All I'm saying is I like what Camel have done with the box.

Anyone know why they rolled out this Limited Edition? Any special occasion we don't know about?

Laterx.

TextEdit: Here’s to the crazy ones ...

Hello.

I've been on a Mac for several years now and have been using TextEdit as my "go to" word processor. Its simple, clean and quite powerful for normal day to day text editing requirements. At least for me it is.

Few weeks ago, I noticed the TextEdit icon and wondered if there was any actual readable text on the TextEdit icon. I thought it was probably some random unintelligent text made to look like a typical letter. The though has been bugging me since then but I never got around to finding it. Today, I got the chance and did some Googling. What I found was a pleasant surprise.

The Mac OS TextEdit icon contain an actual letter. Not just a letter, but a very nice poem from Apple's "Think Different" advertisement campaign. It reads:

Dear Kate, 

Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. But they have no respect for status quo. You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them, disbelieve them, glorify or vivify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. 

Take Care,
John Appleseed

I know John Appleseed is fictitious name akin to John Doe that Apple uses in their advertisements, but who is Kate?

Seems Apple has actually puts some good thought behind their icon designs. Cool, huh?

Laterx.

Found it !!! The answer to life's problems …

Hello.

Vicks VapoRub. This medicine, this ointment, this is the stuff that cures everything. I mean everything. I shit you not!

I'm sure you've used it for something when you were a kid. I am sure it was passed down to you by your parents. I'm sure they would've told you that it worked miracles. I'm almost certain that you would've agreed.

When I was a kid, Vicks VapoRub was used to as cold medicine, cough medicine, for headaches, body pain and all other life's ailments. Whatever was wrong with us physically, the solution was always Vicks VapoRub. It was like a little magic formula. It may not cure anything, but we sure felt that it does! So, smelt it, sniffed it, rubbed it and sometimes, even ate it.

Every household had it. It was like they never ran out of Vicks VapoRub at home. And the best part is, everyone is eager to share it. There is no way someone would say no if you asked they for some Vicks VapoRub. I don't know why!

Lately, I have had to buy a few of these bottles. So I did a little bit of research on it.

I first thought that Vicks from India but turns out its actually an American Product now and its sold globally. Vicks say their VapoRub can help cure cough, nasal congestion, sore throat, runny nose, sneezing, chest congestions, aches, pain, and fever. There have been only few studies done on Vicks VapoRub, but they say it actually does help.

The whole world is addicted to Vicks VapoRub and they think it works wonders. Myself included.

Laterx.

iTunes Plus: lets switch it on and see ...

Hello.

I may prefer using a Mac. I may love using Mac OS X. I may think Apple as a company has some good products out. Some of you may have even labeled me a Mac evangelist. Yet, they do have stuff I just don't enjoy using.

For one, I loathe iTunes!

I think iTunes is slow and bloated. And it updates with minimal changes the day Apple release any product or a product update. So, I try to stay away from iTunes as much as possible. However, thats not quite as easy if you are on a Mac.

I mainly use iTunes to play my music and catch podcasts. Even then, I have iTunes running minimized and in the background. I use the omnipresent menu bar controls to interface with iTunes and play my music. I like it that way. You never even have to see iTunes at all.

The last time I opened up iTunes, there was an link to iTunes Plus. I didn't know what it was so I clicked on it thinking it would tell me more. Well, it did, kind of. It showed me the above screen. I wish it did gave some kind of options whether I wanted it or not. It didn't, but I guess I do want my music to sound better. Here is what Apple says about iTunes Plus.

iTunes Plus is the new standard on iTunes. iTunes Plus downloads are songs and music videos available in our highest quality 256 kbps AAC audio encoding (twice the audio quality of protected music purchases), and without digital rights management (DRM). iTunes Plus music can be burned to CD as many times as you need, synced to any AAC-enabled device (such as iPod, iPhone, or Apple TV), and played on any Mac or Windows computers you own.

Apparently, iTunes is now re-downloading all my purchased songs in double the bit rate and all my music has apparently been upgraded to sound way better. I wouldn't know. Not with these cheap earbuds I use.

I used to have a good pair of Sennheiser earbuds. They were pretty awesome, until it literally started to come apart. I think now would be a good time for me to do a little bit of research and invest in a decent pair of headphones. What do you recommend?

Laterx.

Addu Convention Center: Place looks good !!!

Hello.

This right here, is the brand spanking new Convention Center in Addu Atoll. Its almost complete and I hear they are just finishing up the landscaping around the building now. I also heard that they are trying to get the building somewhat Leed certified. That's a first! Good work, people!

Whatever some people are saying about it, I personally think it came out pretty good. I like it. I really do.

This convention Center is being built to host the 17th Saarc Summit. Maldives, especially Addu City and Fuvah Mulak, is gonna play host to the eight summiters from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and us Maldives!

If all goes well and according to plan, the 17th Saarc Summit is going to put South on the map and boost their local economies. From what I can gather from all the coffee table talk, their economies are doing quite well right now.

I wish our southern friends all the best. This may be the first time you are playing host to an international delegation or this calibre. Do your best and make us proud!

We do appreciate the money, effort and sleepless nights spend by you Southerners in preperation of this event. We know you have worked hard for this and we wish you good luck!

My only real concern here is that I am not sure what the City is going to do with that building after the Summit is over. I am sure Addu City will find a way to montize a facility like that and not let it get run down. I would hate to see a place like this go to waste!

Laterx.

I am not sure who took the above photo. I think I saw it on Twitter. If anyone knows who took that photo, shoot me an email or send me a mention on Twitter. I will see to it that s/he gets proper credit. It is a nice photo!

Hitting it up at the Farmers Market ...

Hello.

I’ve been hitting the local Farmers Market quite frequently for a few months now. Exploring, learning, and shopping at the Farmers Market has been something that I've wanted to do for a long time, but I guess it took me a few years to really get into the habit.

Farmers Market (or local market, as its popularly known here) is a public place where farmers and growers interact directly with buyers and other members of of the community. It's become an important service in most cities, where farmers can make a decent profit by selling retail and buyers  have access to fresh locally grown produce. Farmers Markets are critical for the survival of small family-owned farms and preservation of the agriculture oriented island communities across the country.

Yes, some items may be slightly pricier than what you'd pay at your local grocery store, but if you think about the quality, flavor and freshness you'll totally agree to spending a bit more. Besides, a lot of stuff is also cheaper and still of higher quality and freshness, especially what is in season. The last time I went there Papaya was in season and being sold at MRF 5/- a Kilo. I bought a few, naturally.

By shopping at the Farmers Market I get to buy locally grown fresh fruits, vegetables and stuff while doing my bit to support local commerce and agriculture. Local farmers work pretty hard and I think they need all the help that we can give.

My local Farmers Market is situated at the busy marine drive near the old Fish Market area. On my first visit the market looked like a busy, loud and chaotic place with people shouting indiscernible stuff at each other and laughing at their inside jokes. I had no clue what they were saying. I remember I was overwhelmed by the scene, especially seeing buyers who possessed almost a cult-like knowledge of exactly which stall they wanted to go to, what they wanted to buy and where all the bargains are at. I almost felt like a trespasser, it was definitely not a very inviting place.

Fortunately for me, it was a just a phase, it soon passed. Now I feel quite confident shopping at Farmers Market. I can never be as good as some people I know or who I see there regularly, but I don't think I will be lost in the crowd anymore either.

My local Farmers Market has recently been cleaned up, renovated and reorganized. Its quite family friendly now and I've seen kids enjoy their outing there. If you have never been to your local Farmers Market, I sincerely suggest that you check the place out. You might find some stuff that you have always wanted to try but not normally available at your favorite grocery store. You might even discover something that you like that you've never seen or tried before. Who knows, you may even enjoy shopping there.

See you at the Farmers Market!

Laterx.

Outlander: A terribly underrated movie ... ?!?

Hello.

Seen any good movies lately? What are some good movies you've watched recently? Its been ages since I've watched anything recent that was worth blogging about.

I've actually started watching movies that came out few years back. It seems re-watching a movie a few years or even months later can totally change the view you held of a movie. You might end up truly liking a movie that you didn't enjoy before. Its weird, but it does happen sometimes, especially if you watch a decent copy of a movie.

I remember watching Outlander when it came out back in 2008. I didn't think much of it then. Am not saying I hated it, just that I didn't think it was a really good movie then.

I watched it again a few days back, in full HD glory, and it turned out to be a brilliant movie. Kind of makes me think why I didn't like it the first time I watched it. I don't know.

The film begins with a spaceship crashing in to Norway, in the year 709 A.D, the era of Vikings. The lone survivor of the crash, Kainan, is taken prisoner by the Vikings. Soon, mysterious disappearances and brutal deaths take place around the Viking settlement and Kainan, tell them an alien creature called the Moorwen is responsible. Initially and understandably so, the Vikings seem hesitant to believe his story, but soon the intergalactic space traveller join forces with the vicious Viking sword fighters to trap and kill the beast.

The movie sports a great cast. James Caviezel as Kainan the space traveler from a far-off world, Sophia Myles as Freya the daughter of the king and Kainan's love interest. It also stars Jack Huston as Wulfric, the young short-tempered Viking warrior, Ron Perlman as Gunnar, the burly leader of the enemy Viking warriors and John Hurt as Rothgar, the king.

James Caviezel was perfect as spaceman adjusting to Viking way of life and Sophia Myles was beautiful and graceful even as a Viking. I remember she was amazing in Hallam Foe, another movie you might want to check out if you haven't seen it yet.

I don't know why Outlander did so poorly in the box office, but I really liked the movie. I think its a very good movie, and is terribly underrated by most movie critics.

Have you seen Outlander? I would like hear your thoughts in the comments.

Laterx.

Have you read all Tintin comics yet ???

Hello … 

Today I saw the trailer for the upcoming movie The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn and I have to say, it looks pretty darn interesting. I think its going to be huge.

I wrote here before about reading Adventures of Tintin comics when I was younger and reading them again recently. As kids, me and my friends tried collecting all Tintin books. None of my friends were able to collect them all, and neither did I. There were always a few titles missing.

Times have changed since when we were kids, and now, every Tintin comic ever published is available for download on the internet. I list below all the titles I found online. You can easily download the PDFs here if you ever want to read any of the Tintin comics.

01. Tintin in the Land of the Soviets [PDF, 33.5MB]

02. Tintin in the Congo [PDF, 25.7MB]

03. Tintin in America  [PDF, 13.9MB]

04. Cigars of the Pharaoh [PDF, 16.8MB]

05. The Blue Lotus [PDF, 15.7MB]

06. The Broken Ear [PDF, 16.5MB]

07. The Black Island [PDF, 17.1MB]

08. King Ottokar's Sceptre [PDF, 16.1MB]

09. The Crab with the Golden Claws [PDF, 14.2MB]

10. The Shooting Star [PDF, 15.1MB]

11. The Secret of the Unicorn [PDF, 14.8MB]

12. Red Rackham's Treasure [PDF, 15.8MB]

13. The Seven Crystal Balls [PDF, 15.5MB]

14. Prisoners of the Sun [PDF, 16.1MB]

15. Land of Black Gold [PDF, 15.8MB]

16. Destination Moon [PDF, 16.5MB]

17. Explorers on the Moon [PDF, 16.1MB]

18. The Calculus Affair [PDF, 16.2MB]

19. The Red Sea Sharks [PDF, 16.4MB]

20. Tintin in Tibet [PDF, 17.0MB]

21. The Castafiore Emerald [PDF, 16.7MB]

22. Flight 714 [PDF, 18.8MB]

23. Tintin and the Picaros [PDF, 18.0MB]

24. Tintin and Alph-Art [PDF, 15.0MB]

25. Tintin and the Lake of Sharks [PDF, 9.8MB]

26. Tintin in Thailand [PDF, 2.9MB]

27. The Freelance Reporter [PDF, 2.0MB]

28. Tintin and The Mysterious Visitor [PDF, 1.4MB]

29. They Explored the Moon [PDF, 2.1MB]

30. The Voice of the Lagoon [PDF, 5.3MB]

Here is the link to my Tintin folder at Minus. You can browse through all the covers with descriptions and download any and as many you want.

Hope you enjoy the comics. I know I did. Good times!

Laterx.