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

You know how it's a good idea to keep an inventory of serial numbers for all the junk one accumulates? This list could be used if the items were ever lost or stolen. I have a spreadsheet of this data and every once in a blue moon, I update it.

This time, it dawned on me that I should be able to include a photo of each item too. It doesn't cost anything to take a digital photos; I don't know why I hadn't thought of it before. I ran around and snapped a low-res picture of each item on the list. Then, I created a single zip file which included the .xls file and all the photos. I was able to fit everything on a floppy disk. (Like, what else can do with one of those nowadays?) I can easily keep copies of these documents in multiple locations. Ouch, I'm getting sore from patting myself on the back so often!

If you'd like a picture of my alarm clock, just send an email.

Labels: camera

I've been using Gmail for three months now. It is only after this amount of time, with over 250 saved messages, that the usefulness of search becomes obvious. I have to constantly remind myself to keep everything as it will prove easy to locate an exact message when needed.

I enjoy the Gmail ads as they are often helpful and unobtrusive. They are usually right on target too. For example, in a return message to Bret I wrote the following:

"Did you use Windows Movie Maker to compress 'your dog going postal' for Internet email? I cannot remember if I had you download the encoder ... or Movie Maker. You will find the latter on your hard drive already. You can choose output and probably even burn to a CD after splicing 'em together."

The ads to the right were a pretty good match for our discussion. I'm often interested enough in the bots' suggestions to research the links provided. They're especially good at recommending commercial links but I've seen accurate, current-event links to newspapers. I've seen occasional 'public-service' type links as well.

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Yesterday, however, I couldn't quite figure out why Gmail assumed I needed the specific links in this section. I had written to my boss about printing up a course outline in advance. Here's our exchange:

"I'm really impressed by your forward planning!! Do you need the outline signed before August 28? let me know so I can take it in - I'm not going to the campus regularly otherwise."

"No, no. Please don't go in. I would not be photocopying it until I get back. It's just things, such as signing this, are better done at leisure ... than waiting until the very last minute."

Oh, and just so you'll know, the email subject line read:

CRN 67046 Outline (2 months early)

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Labels: Bret, software

I got out old video tapes in order to convert them to digital format. Next month, I want to bring along video taken in Sri Lanka in 1991. Jay's family will enjoy seeing how we all used to look. It is rather interesting to see motion and sound personally captured years ago. I swear that first camcorder must've weighed in at about 8 lbs. And speaking of weight ...


In order to blog something from that era, I scanned this photo
to include. Yikes ... that shirt wouldn't make it half way around
me now! Perhaps I've been a bit in error in my aversion to all
things Aktins!

Labels: weight loss, world

Exciting vintages of Chateau de Hurd cannot be found on supermarket or liquor-store shelves.

It may have been nearly a year since I blogged about bottling wine, but this doesn't mean that the process has been, at all, suspended. In fact, just yesterday, I bottled a batch of Chianti. This was a bit unusual as I most always make a Barolo or Shiraz. What is it they say about variety being the spice of life?

Lest you think I have a special brewing area set up in this small apartment, I should mention that we have business establishments in British Columbia that take care of all the fuss and muss. The U-Brew companies let customers start off a batch and then return when the liquid is ready to be poured into bottles. In the interim, they do all the work.

My typical batches are about thirty bottles. I might add that the bottles are continuously recycled so my habit is fairly kind to the environment. In addition, I know the quality and content of the ingredients which is something one cannot say about most store-bought products.

My doctor suggested I drink a glass of red wine every day, and I'm hardly one to argue with professional advice. Salute!

Labels: food

In many places the weather is the same for miles around; however, around Vancouver a few kilometers can make a lot of difference. It sometimes rains on one side of a hill whereas it's as dry as a bone on the other. There are effects from the mountains and the sea. Most importantly, in this part of downtown New Westminster, we're affected by the Fraser River. We can be completely socked in with fog, while uptown basks in sunshine.


A harbinger of autumn: This photo shows the first fog I've noticed
for a long time. I snapped it from the balcony just seconds ago.

Labels: balcony, Fraser River, New Westminster

When Service Pack 2 for XP did not automatically show up on my computer yesterday, I could wait no longer and took the process into my own hands. The 272 megabyte file took about twenty minutes to download. Then, it took more than fourty-five minutes to install and longer if you count the disk defrag with which I finished up the installation. All went smoothly and I watched as thousands of system files were replaced.

I couldn't help but think back to my first IBM compatible purchased in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia about 19 years ago! It sported 640K of RAM, two 360K floppy disks (rather than a hard disk), and the 8088 cooked along at 4.77 MHz. The real point for today's entry though is that it ran good old MS-DOS 2.1. In those days, only command.com (17,792 bytes) plus two hidden files were required in order to boot up. My goodness, Bill, we've come a long ways.

Labels: computers, Hardware, Saudi Arabia, Windows

A new blogging friend said,
" ... my last teaching session, my kids made a CD using PowerPoint. It showcased their accomplishments for the whole year. They even learned about copywrited music and wrote to the author for permission. It wasn't an easy task but it was fun. I got chewed out for attempting it. These kids were basically written off because they were special ed. I hate when people put people in a box. But I did enjoy rubbing administration nose in dirt ;-) sort-a-speak when I presented each one with a copy. They didn't give me time of day but you could see it their faces. I was so proud of my kids, when I get down I pull up the files and play them. I had a rough year there and didn't return. I was told I care too much. Hmmmm, what's this world coming to?"

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I responded,
"Very few people in administration understand how computers in education SHOULD work. It's all delegated to the 'official computer' instructor rather than just being a part of the general curriculum. Some great classroom teachers are allergic to them and I cannot see why. It seems just as natural as life to use computer labs for any subject and implement tasks exploiting a computer's strengths. Lab empahsis should switch from drill and instruction to using the devices as a creative and research tool. I should think this would be especially obvious to English instructors, but alas, by what I've witnessed ...

I've no 'documented training' in computers but seem much more proficient in making use of them in a learning environment then some of those who boast an extensive list of qualifications ....

... oh Lordie, aren't I just the cat's meow, or what?"

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Labels: computer lab

This morning, the fan is running and the blinds are slightly closed due to the excessively-bright sun. Dee Daniels is robustly singing, That's Life. I'm correcting final exams so that I can get the marks in promptly.

One benefit of this blog is that a search for materials sometimes prompts me to find old photos to scan. If there was no need to fill an entry, they'd surely sit forever in my photo suitcase in the closet.

Right now, I'm not wearing a shirt because it's so hot. This year, Vancouver has had a very warm summer with lots of sunshine. Furthermore, in a couple of weeks, we're off to Sri Lanka and Singapore for several months. The temperatures in countries near the equator don't vary greatly. In Colombo, it seems to be exactly 32C (89F) every day!

Because this photo is such a contrast to the discussion of heat, I've included it. Here is Jay the first winter after arriving in Canada. We went down to the Lynne and Joel's house at the Pass for Christmas. There was a major blizzard, the Interstate highway was closed for three days, and we were stranded. However, we had fun zooming around on snowmobiles. Jay had seen and walked in snow when we once travelled to Turkey from the Middle East, but he'd never seen this much!

Labels: Christmas, Joel