A Collection of Daily Wisdom by Dennis Sylvester Hurd since September 2003.

This week Joel and Lynne will be up to visit for a few days. It looks as if the weather will stay around 30C (85F). Phew, we're not used to such heat here. Ben has to work; however, Macie, the puppy, will be able to make the trip. It will be fun to meet her.

Labels: Joel

There are film classics released every week now. The DVD included a special feature explaining the processes involved in making a restoration. It was one of the last to be shot on dangerous cellulose nitrate stock. Thanks to such dedicated professionals, black and white never looked so good! And this quote works so nicely today:

I'll admit I may have seen better days... but I'm still not to be had for the price of a cocktail, like a salted peanut.

--- Bette Davis
(Margo Channing), All About Eve 1950

Labels: movies

I love our summertime diet when so many local fruits and vegetables hit the market. Blog readers from from far-away places, may not know that British Columbia's Okanagan region is famous for the production of apples, cherries, apricots, plums, grapes, pears, and peaches. This in turn, has led to a burgeoning wine industry too.



I also wanted to take this opporunity to state I've made a slight improvement in the search feature on this blog. The search link has always listed the pages containing the search item. Now, however, when a link is followed, the page should advance to the first appearance of the word. In testing, I wished to see the frequency of some vocabulary and I picked fruit. The number indicated after the type of fruit shows the number of pages that contain that reference:

apple - 4
apricot - 0
banana - 1
blueberry - 0
cherry - 4
lemon - 0
orange - 1
peach - 1
strawberry - 1

Labels: driving, Okanagan, places, road trip

There seems to be no end of new product development.

Click to see ---> How can it handle the heat?

To: New West. Business Improvement Association

I am writing to advise you of a scam. The RAMADA PLAZA RESORTS vacation and cruise forms were available on Columbia Street during the Show and Shine in New Westminster on the weekend of July 10/11. The unmarked tickets appeared to be sanctioned by you.

I just got off the phone with a Ms. Kelly Hudson (from Ottawa), after being advised that I was a winner of a Ft. Lauderdale vacation and cruise. However, I was very skeptical when she advised that I would need to provide a credit card information before they would be able to send my the tickets.

Of course, this is a scam but I must admit the thrill of thinking one has won something can cloud one's judgment. After grilling her a bit, I figured out the scoop and kindly declined the win! A quick look on the Internet proved I made the right decision.

I wanted you to know that they were operating and are potentially hurting the reputation of the your annual event.

Labels: complaints

This week, I noted that Las Vegas has opened a monorail. It runs from the Sahara to the MGM Grande. That's seems like a good idea although I thought part of the Vegas experience meant getting sore feet walking up and down the Strip.

Apparently, Bombardier Transportation (the Canadian Ski-Doo people) built it. They are also responsible for producing our local SkyTrain which I frequently mention here. Finally, after a few false starts, they will also be building an Vancouver airport-to-downtown line that will be completed before the 2010 Winter Olympics.


The land, to the west of the New Westminster Station, was
recently okayed for development. Eventually, a few twenty-five
to thirty storey residential towers will sprout from the
grassy area.

Labels: New Westminster, transit

Last night, I thought it was weird that the vinyl blinds were rattling in the middle of the night, as the window was not open and wind could not have moved them. I wondered why I awoke at one o'clock. I muttered something about an earthquake and rolled over and immediately went back to sleep.

The news this morning confirmed there was one centered on the other side of Vancouver Island. It is often true that Vancouverites have more in common with those from San Francisco than Toronto!

Labels: Vancouver, Vancouver Island

In order to boost readership, I sometimes spam all my friends and relatives reminding them to stop here daily. Thankfully, they either love me, are able to put up with me, or simply block all messages from my address! Here is the most recent request:

"I am accepting contributions! I will post your material on my blog. Perhaps you have some creative writing, poetry, or a brilliant limerick! Would you like it to live happily on my server and become available in Internet searches?"

A friend, Tim Conklin, provided a writing on January 16th. Click the link below to see if it's still at the top of Google's listing six months later:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&safe=off&c2coff=1&q=tim+conklin+creative+writing

Labels: Google, Tim

I was pretty sure when I bought the Garmin etrex Legend last month. The reason for the $30 rebate was the fact they were coming out with a new model. They did and the new Garmin: eTrex Legend C does have some extra functions that'd be nice. However, I'm happy with my purchase as the new version will cost nearly twice as much as I paid.

I don't need the new model's color screen as I did get a cable that plugs the GPS into my old Compaq iPAQ. It'd be a bit much to carry on a hike but that's not really the goal as the cable allows both devices to plug into a single cigarette lighter.



That wire plus the pocket version of Microsoft Streets and Trips gives me color. I watched the little circle stay in the center of the map as I drove along major and back streets. It was a little magical and it was a lot dangerous as one cannot really watch a screen and out of the windshield at the same time!

Labels: GPS