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

I feel as though I've had some thought-provoking entries this week.

At this point in time, it goes without saying, there will be something new posted each day; however, I've never vouched for the quality of the results. After a couple of years of not missing a single day, I'm surely not going to start now. Doing something so awful would be tantamount to going back to smoking cigarettes. (Can you believe that I have no clue as to the date, or even the year, I quit that nasty habit?)

Anyway, I've been recently dogged with what professional authors might claim is writers' block. To solve this, I must step back and look at the taunting, blank entry window for its amazing potential. It could hold a fresh new idea, it might contain a well-organized insight, or it may even become stunning poetry.

Or, I could simply write all about not being able to write about much of anything.

Labels: blogging

There's not a single toll booth between here and Tijuana.

US Interstate 5 is a very important chunk of asphalt. Although it's probably not environmentally-correct to admit, I love being able to roar through Seattle during non-peak hours. It reminds me of a video game.


This photo was taken on our way back from a summer trip to Portland, OR.

Labels: Portland, Seattle

I'm not sure if information will ever be completely free, but it certainly has become more accessible nowadays. I've ranted and raved about my workplace's web portal many times in this blog. At BCIT, I use the automatically-generated course page extensively. I just revel in the fact I can pester students both day and night with messages, bulletins, and file attachments.

The portal also brings together information from different systems at the Institute. For example, last evening at nearly 9:00 pm, I was able to enter scheduling to see if my usual computer lab was available earlier in the afternoon today. I wanted to re-schedule as I'm giving the midterm exam! I could've checked any room on campus on any particular day in the future. This information used to be harder to obtain and would have required requests sent to special staff. I certainly wouldn't have been able to get hold of that data after work hours.

The value of knowing room timetabling hasn't diminished; however, access is certainly convenient and less expensive to provide at present. Technology is making things much easier and I have no respect for, nor patience with, technophobes.

Labels: BCIT, computer lab

Occasionally, I find it hard to tell if I'm a fully-functioning adult.

Initially, children do not have any real concept of history. They cannot distinguish between yesterday and eons ago. Everything that isn't right now becomes compartmentalized as past. At this stage, last evening's dinner occupies the same cognitive niche as last summer's time at the beach.

Later, as kids learn about things that may have happened before their own birth, there's not much separation between those things that happened last year and those which occurred during the last millennium. Supposedly, we get a handle on these time things as adults. Yet, I'm not sure my mental timeline is fully developed.

I am including a scanned image from 1994. It's a bit difficult for me to place this correctly in my own history. Let's see, it was well before I came to live in Canada; however, it was well after Michael Jackson's Thriller album. It was after the first Gulf War, but before most people had experienced the Internet. I'm not quite sure how it relates to development of European power or the advent of agriculture.

I guess I still have growing up to do.

Labels: India

Each day, a few dozen people 'arrive' here at this blog, not to see my daily wit but because of doing a Google image search. These are the winners hands down:

The Brady Bunch

Rain on Street

Pumpkin Flowers

Old Cell Phone

Psycho Bates Motel

These are, indeed, images found on this blog, but Google's not the best place to look for a specific pictures. For one thing, they update images very slowly and I'd venture that Google has indexed only about 5% of my domain's images. People should go, instead, to the opening page of Flickr! and type nearly anything into the search box there.

Labels: Flickr, lists

Posted by: Dennis S Hurd / 9:02 AM 0 comments

One third of a century ago, I couldn't have known I'd someday be able to digitize the slide-film image I was taking. I don't think the possibility that everyone would have a small, computer appliance had crossed my mind. The fact, this very image can be viewed the world over because of a digital information network, may now seem unremarkable. Yet, this would've been a stretch of most everyone's imagination in 1972.



Captain Kirk, although in charge of an immense and powerful ship, couldn't have done this sort of thing. Still, our cell phones do now look a lot like his communicator.

Labels: New Hampshire, scanned

Next weekend are our local elections. National politics probably comprises most people's daily intake of news. Yet in most cases, contrary to conventional wisdom, people are not more engaged in local elections. I have definite views on the candidates for mayor of our little city. You'd think I would have been actively listening to the 23 candidates for New Westminster City council but I admit to being more than a little apathetic. And trustees for the school board, frankly, who cares?

I am of the opinion, that generally, candidates are self-aggrandising. The concept of serving the community through public office sounds a bit trite to my ears. Yet, I really should support this way of letting those with ambition affect the system. Anyone can try to make a statement. After all, the main alternative method would throwing Molotov cocktails. Politics at its most vile is more civilized that.

I spent 15 years in the Persian Gulf. The lack of experience in democratic institutions is part of the reason it will take generations to get the Middle East straightened out. Imagine that a majority in the region live under regimes where they have zero say and no alternatives.

Labels: New Westminster, opinions