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

MOST 'FAVORITED' - Members on Flickr can mark photos they've come across as favorites. This give easy access to them again which could be tricky considering there are millions of photos online. Each member can also see which of their shots has been most 'favorited' by others. These, of course, change over time. My picture of an Amsterdam canal has gathered the most votes on my list so far. (Click this photo to see it on Flickr.)

MOST VIEWED - Strangely, the list above doesn't seem to correlate to pictures most viewed by others. At present, my photos have been viewed over 2,500 times because I've got over 1000 pictures online. The images aren't equally viewed though. The hamster crowd has ensured that this one ranks as most viewed right now. This is probably because I dropped it into a Flickr group for hamster lovers. Groups can increase the number of views an image receives. (Just as above, you may see how this creature looks on the Flickr site by clicking the small image.)

Labels: Flickr, pets

I can't quite say why I'm up early today. I awoke before the SkyTrain was running. (If I concentrate, I can hear as the system runs at the foot this apartment building.) Rather than lie there I decided to get up. I've fed the fish and petted the hamster. I've made coffee. And for the last twenty minutes I have been plugging different destinations into www.expedia.ca.

My present class finishes up on December 2nd. That means I've more than a month off and although I'd be satisfied hanging near home, I feel obligated to, at minimum, check out what I could do for a week. I love testing different possibilities. I have a much longer attention span than any real-life travel agent. After all, they'd soon wonder if I were serious. Even the best of agents tire of customers who can't commit to a plan.

There are some amazing bargains from Seattle. How about a diagonal run to Orlando, FL for $200? Vegas or Reno hotels are cheap at $30 in the middle of December. This isn't the best time for Washington DC, is it? Domestic Canadian routes are not only frigid but too expensive. Whether it's the sunny US southwest, Mexico, or Central America, most Canuks end up heading south at the time of year.



This picture was taken during school break in 1983. As poor U of WA grad students, my roommate and I decided to hit the road. We had less than a $100 between us, I think. We were either really brave or extremely stupid. I remember sleeping right in the station wagon as it was parked on a steep San Franciscan street. Thankfully, the old beast didn't break down as we would've had to abandon it and hitchhike back up I-5.

Labels: cars, Seattle, travel planning

At some point, I know I'll get off this current Flickr kick. I can run through hobbies quickly. For example, I once went on and on for days about GPSing when I first got one of the little gadgets. I don't think I've switched mine on for months now!

Still, I find the combination of a scanner and Flickr very seductive. I realize that I'm building a database of personal pictures. The order of uploading doesn't matter because the beauty is all in the tags. I'll fly off into a tangent about how tags differ from a hierarchical system in some future blog.

In the evening yesterday, I reached into the photo suitcase for just three photos. I figure if I can manage a few per day, then over time, it will all add up. That is the type of thing that financial experts try to impress upon us. You know, if you didn't buy that Starbuck's Mocha Double Double and banked the money, over the course of fifteen years you would have saved enough for your child's Harvard education. Or something like that.



When I was working in Bahrain, I once travelled to the U.S. on Turkish Air. Jay travelled with me as far as Turkey. When I changed planes he stayed there and discovered Istanbul for the first time. When flying back, I stopped too. We spent a week in Istanbul and Ankara before going back to the tiny island in the Gulf.

I love old photos. This picture is of two guys who ran the guest house we stayed at near the St. Sophia. We were drinking apple-flavoured tea. Jay will remember who they were as he remembers everything! I'll have to ask him what their names were.

Labels: Flickr, scanned, Turkey

What I mean is my voice sounds a bit scratchy.

My classes are four hours and I must be talking too much. After all, these are pre-technical communication classes, so students do a fair amount of the discussion. It is a real pleasure to teach this afternoon course. Sixteen hours per week is perfect when spread over four days.

Of course, my throat may be acting up because of an approaching cold or flu. I'll keep my fingers crossed which would be quite difficult for a little horse!

Many visitors might not be following my recent, scanned uploads on Flicker, so I thought I'd take this one chance to post one photo I happen to like. These kids were taken when I worked in Taif, Saudi Arabia.

It reminds me that I should shoot fewer vistas and include more people. These two kids twenty years on have probably finished college by now.

Yesterday during my class at BCIT, some students asked me how old I was. I'd given them a modified copy of my resume and we discussed the fact, in North America people seldom directly include an age. Yet, it really isn't too hard to get out a calculator and figure it out. After all it's easy to guess by looking at education and job experience. I suppose one can actually guess by looking at the person's face too. (I've never been great at guessing peoples' ages though.) I would like to venture, however, that I have neckties older than some adults in my present class!

Labels: Saudi Arabia

Three posts in one day? Not only is Cher fine, but Millie Vanilli has joined the tank. I picked up another goldfish on the way home from work today.

This entry deals with the last topic. Cher appears back on her feet, so to speak. I can go into class this afternoon relieved.

I dutifully changed half the water twice a week. I had heard that goldfish are hearty; yet, I've already killed Sonny.

There was a bit of slime on the edge of the tank. I did my research on the Internet. I knew that a little algae is healthy as it balances pH. I also knew that the best way to deal with it is with the edge of a credit card. In my wisdom though I half emptied the tank and scrubbed with a new kitchen sponge. Within hours Sonny was dead. By the time I realized there must have been some chemicals in the sponge Cher was also sick. She lay near the bottom of the tank breathing heavily.

I changed half the water again. By morning she was the same, so I did the same. As the tank is at my computer in the living room, I've had to endure the agony of watching hers. By afternoon, I pulled apart the whole tank, washed everything, and put Cher back in. She's still not better.

At the time of this writing I'm not sure whether I'll have two deaths on my hands and conscience. Goldfish can last five years but through my negligence, Sonny and Cher may end up having lived here only a month!

Labels: pets

It's nearing the end of October but more than pumpkins are ready. I was flipping through channels and stopped at the Scream TV. Boy, are they happy this time of year!

There was classic Twilight Zone on. I immediately recognized the young John Lithgow. He's the passenger on an airplane when he notices out the rain-soaked window a gremlin is on the wing ripping pieces off the engine. I though I could remember this episode from my youth. After a little searching on the Internet, I discovered it was a 1983 re-make. Originally in 1962, William Shatner played the starring role in the Twilight Zone's "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet". Shatner is another one of those in the Hollywood set who originally hailed from Canada.

There's a nice write up at Wikipedia on the history of the concept of Gremlins being responsible for sabotaging aircraft.

Labels: flying, stars, television