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

I normally skip through TV commercials on the PVR. For some reason, in the middle of CSI, I caught a glimpse of something that made me re-wind. I thought this was striking enough to merit saving for my eJournal and images. I don't think it's breaking copyright to 'rebroadcast' an advertisement. The folks at Stella Artois would probably be grateful that someone took the time and effort.

Labels: pig, television

My grandmother was a determined 'clipper'. I found a small stash of newspaper shreds containing things that she must've guessed would be of interest to me. I'm not exactly sure how the faded documents got to Vancouver. I must've carried them in an envelope that included a few personal papers.

I remember visiting this old guy as a pre-teen youth. He was a relative in some way or another. Interestingly, he was the namesake for my middle name! The following photo was scanned from a yellowed newspaper clipping. The weekly Argus-Champion was printed in Newport, New Hampshire. I know the article was printed in the 1960's but, unfortunately, the exact year is unknown. My nana did not clip that portion of the page. It must have been an important event due to the fact that fewer folks became centurians in that decade. The photo is credited to Whitney Studio and the caption reads:

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"SHARP-EYED SYLVESTER KIGGINS grins at his friends as he prepared to blow out the candles at his 100th birthday party at his home, 110 North Main St., Monday afternoon. Highlight of his birthday was a congratulatory message from President Johnson."






LBJ congratulates Kiggins on his 100th

Vesty Kiggins made it.

He started his 101st year Monday.

Meanwhile he was the star of his own celebration, outshining Congressmen, Mayors, Senators, Selectmen, and other dignitaries.

He was the star, not only because he completed his first 100 years, but because he entertained his guests with some rare humor.

The celebration began Friday night when the Knights of Pythias arranged a star-studded party at their club rooms on Belknap Ave.

Carl Bugbee had arranged it, and when Mrs. Bugbee played stirring martial piano music and Sylvester Kiggins marched down the aisle to take his seat of honor on the platform, every one in the hall rose in applause.

The dignitaries brought him honor. Mayor Quinn of Concord, Mr. Kiggins' birthplace came all the way from Concord over icy highways to present a scroll.

Sen Harry Spanos brought greetings from Gov. John W. King, and himself noted that Mr. Kiggins had been born during the administration of President Johnson and here he was celebrating his 100th birthday in the administration of President Johnson.

CONGRESSMAN James C. Cleveland congratulated Mr. Kiggins and presented him an illustrated book depicting the historical attractions of Washington.

Selectmen James Maley recalled with humor, some of Mr. Kiggins adventures in his 80s and 90;s and wished him well on behalf of the town.

He received a life membership pin in the Knights of Pythias.

Then came Louis Willett, who read telegrams and messages from Sen. Tom McIntyre, Sen. Norris Cotton, and Congressman Louis Wyman.

WITH APPROPRIATE dramatic pause, he then lifted a message and read it. It contained greetings from President Lyndon Baines Johnson.

Surrounded by close friends and dignitaries from far and wide, Mr. Kiggins, proudly grasping his gold-headed Boston Post cane, stood up and regaled the crowd with his recitation of the "Deacon Slocum" and the off-ox. He piled on recitation upon another, each time winning more applause.

There were more gifts. Then Mr. Willett brought in a large birthday cake with candles outlining the figures "100". And he lit all of them.

Mr. Kiggins came down from his place on the platform, took a deep breath, and blew. When he had finished all but three of the candles were out.

GUESTS AT a 'family' party for Mr. Kiggins Monday afternoon in his home at 110 No. Main St. were Gilbert Farmer, Clarence Colson, Fred Fraser, Curtis Olney, Leonard Sargent, Mrs. Harold Aiken, Mrs. Ellen ...

(Continued on Page 12)

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I have nothing further.

Labels: grandmothers, New Hampshire

It's cool and it's edgy. It's a bit racy. It's also made in Vancouver. (Click the image to visit the official website.)

Godiva's is a television program produced for Bravo Canada. The storyline takes place in a restaurant in Yaletown. The show contains oodles of local images and references. As well, Godiva's is full of stereotypical characters; however, even these are local ones. For example, there's the Chinese immigrant doctor who's not qualified to practice medicine in Canada. He washes dishes in the restaurant.

I guess the only reason it's clichéd is because we're here. Consequently, the fact we can relate, is probably what makes it so damned addicting. I'm so happy they keep creating and putting together shows that I don't want to miss.

Labels: television

... other local-area photographs contained on this blog.

Google Search: new westminster blog

Labels: Google, New Westminster (Page 1)

Except for tomorrows's final examination, we've completed the course.

Labels: BCIT (Page 1), students

System stats for my eJournal and images.
Data from September 2003 to the present.

Labels: blogging

Thanks for dinner. Getting together last evening was fun. You served us enough food to make us feel full. Although I neglected to bring along my camera, I found this previously-taken photo of the neighbourhood. It was taken about the same time of year. So, when's the next dinner scheduled?

Labels: digital camera, Tim, Vancouver

In retrospect, the present term at BCIT has seemed to go quickly. In reality, however, I started with my present class in January, so actually 14 weeks have passed. The final examination will take place this Friday.

Whenever I teach an International COMM0004, I have the students do a writing assignment for the Internet. Considering I first did this in 1997, it's now occurred enough times to be considered a tradition. Although I've found it useful, there'd simply not be time in the shorter, Intensive classes which I also teach.

The original reason for posting the writings was so students could show family and friends. I also assumed that perhaps they'd take a bit more care knowing that it was going to be available for world-wide review. I can't say that latter aspect has always worked! At least, it's an excellent way for me to remember hundreds of students.

The present assignments are not due until Wednesday; however, I thought you might like to look at the batch from last August by clicking on the screenshot. If you want to go back further you can visit:

www.DennisSylvesterHurd.com/students/.

Labels: BCIT (Page 1), Internet

A French language teacher was explaining to her class that, unlike in English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine. For example, 'la maison' (house) is feminine but 'le crayon' (pencil) is masculine.

A student asked, "What gender is ... computer?" Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups - women and men - and asked them to decide for themselves whether the word computer should be a masculine or feminine noun. Each group was asked to give four reasons for their recommendation.

The women's group decided that the object should be masculine because ...

In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;

They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves;

They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they --- themselves ARE the problem and

As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model.

The men's group, however, concluded that the word should definitely be of the feminine gender because ...

No one but their creator can understand their internal logic;

The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;

Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long-term memory for possible later review; and

As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half of your salary on accessories for it.

(btw/ l'ordinateur is masculine.)

Labels: Hardware, humour

Because Google is considered the search king, it's the target for those involved in site manipulation. Of course, there are advantages to being at the top of a search list. Keeping the bad guys at bay has Google constantly running to modify their algorithms.

I think they've got some serious trouble if my little site is any indication. As of this morning, I now get just 91 results for my eJournal and images on Google, but Yahoo returns a whopping 880. I think the gold is wearing thin on the king's crown.

Google / Yahoo Comparison: Results for This Blog

Labels: Google