Nattu and Millzero (and Obofili) has recently started off a website on photography. It hopes to be a place for Maldivians to enhance their interest in photography. They have created a forum to share knowledge on photography, post tips and tricks, do gear reviews and also have a section to share photos for critique. I have no idea where this project is leading but anyone interested in the art of capturing the visual world on film (or the CCD?) might benefit if a shared and thriving community were to establish with this...

Check out the site at www.PhotographicMaldives.com

This is a guide to becoming a techno rebel: a guide to becoming a radio pirate and raiding the silent airwaves with your own content. This is a follow up to my recent call for relaxing the grip on radio broadcasting in the Maldives.

One of the easiest transmitters to build is a FM transmitter. A basic low power transmitter can be assembled in a few hours, using a minimal set of equipment and components and best of all, it can be done without denting the wallet too much. I am going to describe how to build a very low power FM transmitter. Do not expect this to cover the entire country, an atoll or even an island - it surely will not. However, it will be able to transmit around a block (maybe more with a good antenna) which is more than enough to tread into the world of radio and let yourself be heard.

Notes on construction:
- You need basic familiarity with electronics to undertake this project. If you studied GCE O' level Physics (or A? level Physics) then you should be familiar with the basic knowledge to go ahead with the construction.
- You can build this using a variety of construction techniques. The preferred method would be using strip board or perf board however point to point wiring would work too. Have a look here for a quick intro to circuit construction methods. Strip boards ARE available in Male'.
- The components given below can be interchanged for a equivalent and values can be approximated. So go ahead and scrounge around broken electronic items for the required components - chances are you will find most of them in broken TVs, Radios and even some toys.

Components:
- 100 Ohm resistor ( brown black brown )
- 100k Ohm resistor ( brown black yellow )
- 15pF ceramic disc capacitor
- 5pF ceramic disc capacitor
- .001uF ceramic disc capacitor
- 1uF electrolytic capacitor
- BC548 or BC108 or equivalent transistor
- Length of insulated copper wire
- Two 1.5 Volt AA size batteries
- Audio jack

Schematic:


The tuning coil used is a length of the insulated copper wire wound around a small pencil about 6 times. The circuit can be tuned to the broadcast FM range by adjusting the coil appropriately. Turn on a FM radio and set it to the frequency you want this circuit to transmit at. Next, try squashing and/or spacing the coil turns until it is tuned to the desired frequency.

The audio can be fed to the transmitter via a tape player, a PC or even an Ipod. All that remains is for you to make your killer radio programs and broadcast it. Have fun!

Dhiraagu is currently running a promotion to mark the rollout of their new wifi hotspots around Male'. The hotspots, which are setup in some of the popular cafe's and restaurants, lets customers at these joints enjoy speedy access to internet via laptops, pocket pc's and smartphones. Access is to be granted with the purchase of vouchers but I am not sure if the access offered is time based or data transfer based. However, it would probably be a safe bet that it would not be cheap.

The great thing about this wifi promotion is that they are giving FREE access for the duration of the promotion. That means people in the vicinity of the hotspots can get high speed free internet! The signal is strong and easy to catch atleast around the block and recievable even further off if a wifi antenna is used to boost the signal reception. If you are really desperate for internet and want to cash in on this opportunity, quickly slap up a bi-quad or cantenna for 2.4Ghz use, connect to your wifi card and surf away. Making an antenna certainly makes for an interesting project to while away the afternoon and access to such a antenna has the additional benefit of letting you connect to one of the numerous (unprotected) wifi networks around.

Stay connected!

I am a believer that technology, when applied effectively, can be a boost to the development pace of Maldives. However, technology isn't always put to its best use in the country. For example, one of the things that the government has maintained through the years is a strict constrictive policy on broadcasting. They are proud to claim that the (government operated) Voice of Maldives is the sole radio station in the Maldives meanwhile ignoring the fact that they've denied anyone else from doing the same and thus letting the government operation reign the airwaves all this while. (This misdirection is similar to the headlines that feature on the telly and radio news about Maldivian contingents "winning" the third place in sports competitions abroad - the unspoken word here being that the competition was only participated by three countries!)

Anyway, the purpose of this control over TV/Radio broadcasts undoubtedly lies not far from the fact that they are an effective medium to educate and inform the masses. Conservative and authoritative governments often resort to imprisoning the airwaves and monitor the airwaves for anyone breaking this sacred law. The Radio Monitoring Station in Male' polices the airwaves for disruptive use of radio transmitters as well as keeping a lookout for those who dare raid the airwaves with their own content.

I agree that some degree of control over the radio spectrum is necessary and is advised. All governments do have laws that govern the use of the airwaves - primarily to let the spectrum be managed effectively so as to be of use to as many people as possible. It lets radio stations broadcast without fear of being trumped by other nearby radio stations. It lets radio stations broadcast without much interference from industrial and home use devices. Sadly, this doesn't seem to be the case in the Maldives. The sole radio operator is the government using up only a single slice of the radio spectrum leaving the rest unused. Therefore, a policy to restrict other broadcasters could not be for any other purpose than laying a grip on what is broadcasted!

The content currently on the radio is also something I deem questionable. This (government) station has been bombarding the airwaves with their line of thinking, with the limited content they deem worthy. This operation also allows for the intentional (or unintentional) spread of a single propaganda that has gripped the minds of its listeners. What the station deems unworthy or unsuitable for airtime never gets heard by the populace. Additionally, anyone who listens to radio knows that it has been dominated by more or less the same old bunch of people - I know I've heard the same voices for the last 15 years or so that I can recall! The typical content they broadcast throughout the day has been Dhivehi and Hindi songs. News feature on the hour, dictating the government news and activities. English music is scattered sparsely into the day with an additional English-only hour at sunset. Educational programs have typically been far fewer from the many "argument" heavy drama's broadcasted. All this content of course has a sizeable following - after all this is coming from the sole local station in operation and has been the only source of news about the country. Some people even like the content - after all what other choice is there? what alternative have they heard?

It might be high time that the restrictions on broadcasting be relaxed. It might be high time that the masses have access to alternate view points. It might be the time to unleash a radio spectrum full of diverse programming and content. Let it be full of music varying from Dhivehi, Hindi, English, from pop, classical, trance and even industrial! Let people have access to educational content with programs on everything from language learning to electronics! Let it be broadcasting news relevant to people and society!

Are these mere ideals? Does anyone agree with these opinions?

I was going through one of my photo albums when I stumbled across this photo of a doll clad in the Maldivian traditional dress - the "dhivehi libaas" with black and white striped "kandiki". The dress also has authentic "kasabu" decoration around the neck of the dress. The doll even has a model "fahtaru bai" (necklace) around its neck to complete the attire. My mom, who is an avid craftswoman, made this doll as a present for the host family that I stayed with when I attended the Asia Pacific Children's Convention in Fukuoka, Japan in 1994.

This lady in red (dhivehi libaas) makes for a eye catching item on a mantelpiece and probably would make a popular souvenir if someone were to start producing these locally...

Haha. I am still laughing. There had been a recent rumour, spread via email and SMS text messages here in Male' (and possibly the rest of Maldives as well) that Mars was coming so close to earth that it would be visible tonight to the naked eye almost as large as the full moon. The message had apparently been passing around quite fast and people were talking about it excitedly - even the Kasauti stuck housewives, the bling sporting I-am-so-cool youth littering Male' and even much of the rebels-without-cause political acivitists that make up the majority of this sad city seemed to chattering up about it. As I walked along the road tonight, I saw people looking up at the sky to grab a glimpse of this so-called spectacular event. Some had flocked out to road from the confines of their homes to get a better look. I even saw a man looking up eagerly into the sky with a set of binoculars!

However, the sad truth is this is all a hoax. Yes, you've been duped had you believed the whatever SMS or friend who told you about it. In fact, Mars came closest to earth in 2003 and at the time it was so close that the red dot that signifies Mars on the night sky outshined the brightest and largest stars in the sky - it even easily grabbed the attention away from Venus and Sirius that usually are visible the brightest on the Maldivian night sky. Technically, the planet was around 56 million km way from earth and would be closest it comes to planet earth in 60,000 years! The news was mentioned in popular media outlets. Read about the event from these articles at NASA, RedOrbit and BBC.

A bunch of my close friends and I watched the planet through my telescope back then and was in awe of the clarity with which the mysterious red planet appeared. The close proximity of the planet made it easy to view not only with the naked eye but was a total delight to witness with the aid of a telescope. I would have captured images but my telescope wasn't as cool as the one that President Maumoon supposedly has in his mini-observatory in Theemuge.

Anyway, if this hoax has ignited and interest in the stars and events taking place in the mostly dark canvas of the night sky, then let me point you to SkyMaps.com where they have a freely downloadable map of the sky for each month to make your viewing easy. The constellations, planets and stars are shown for easy spotting and the celestial events for the month are also listed on the maps. It surely can contribute toward an exciting educational evening with friends/lover as you try to spot the stars and map the heavens

Enjoy

I stumbled across a very interesting article featured on a body modification enthusiast site sometime around May/June. The article had popped up on Digg and had gotten quite a lot of coverage. The article documents the process of implanting a neodymium magnet under the author's skin and his experiences after this body modification procedure. The magnet was tiny and protected by a biocompatible sheathing to prevent the (toxic) neodynium from reacting with the body. Neodymium is a rare earth natural magnet that is very very powerful. I had read about it in a Edmund Scientific catalog around the time I was in Grade 8 and had fancied owning one ever since after being very fascinated with the magnet powers these magnets supposedly posses.

The article stirred up curiosity in me in two things - the magnetic power of the magnet, and the sensory extension the implant process brings. I am especially curious about the latter. Any sensory extension, be it temporary or permanent, would be quite an amazing feeling. Maybe I am wrong but I reckon this would be an easy way to experience new/artificial sensations we could feel once science and technology lead to easier/cheaper routes to sensory/mental enhancement via direct neural connections ie. the cyborg era!

I am now decided and eager to undergo the magnet implantation process. I also have a few ideas burning on some experiments I want to run if/when I get the implant done. All that remains now is to get those magnets and get someone to slice my hand open and dump the magnet in. Very simple. I hope...