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

Yesterday, I was simultaneously working on the PC and my notebook. That is the only true way of multi-tasking! I was in the middle of creating another DVD for use at BCIT. It contains 14 four-to-seven-minute stories from the Daily Planet. The science and technology segments are fast-paced and the variety of the topics is wonderfully broad. I cannot think of a more appropriate format for use in a pre-technical communications course. I'm doubly thankful the folks at the Discovery Channel have made the show copyright free for use by educators.

While my main computer was labouring to convert the mpgs, I checked yesterday's paycheck information online. I no longer receive paper pay slips as things are continuing to head paperless at BCIT. That's okay, as it is easier to copy from that screen directly into MS Money.

Then, after seeing how large my bank account had grown, I opened up the website of my usual computer store. Their Easter Sale was on. Generally, I gravitate towards a few specific areas of interest. Yesterday, however, I couldn't get past a Seagate special offer.

Playing with video files takes space and I'd been thinking about installing a new hard drive. I had intended to wait for Windows Vista so I could start from scratch. I don't want to just add a drive, I wish to replace my C: drive. With Monday off, I guess I can devote an entire day to getting up to speed on the new 300 gigabytes. I haven't done a fresh install for years and years.

If you don't hear from me here next week, you'll now know why.

Labels: Hardware

Today's the first, real Canadian holiday since the start of the year. It's a long stretch from New Year's to Good Friday. Yet there's more good news because I work at a public institution. This means Easter Monday is free too.

I usually only teach Mondays to Thursdays anyway, so, next week, we'll put in the same hours by having class from Tuesday through Friday. Even though over the two weeks, I'll put in as many hours as usual, it still feels great being on holiday! It's a mood that's hard to describe but easy to sense.

Apparently, the weather's not about to cooperate for the break. By what I've heard we're in for days of rain and showers. Rather than doing something constructive such as painting the bedroom, I'll probably lie around, snack on goodies, and chill out. I'll be perfectly happy doing nothing special.



On the holiday theme, here's a picture from a non-holiday. The only time we've carved pumpkins was our second year in Canada back in the Agnes Street apartment. This was taken in 1997.

Labels: relaxing

I've never really tried the BLOG THIS button on the Flickr website. I don't feel like coming up with anything clever or witty today. So, here's a photo taken in Coquitlam. The Millenium Line SkyTrain stations are quite an improvement over those on the original Expo Line. You should be able to click on the photo.

I haven't tried the EMAIL TO BLOG feature either. Imagine, I've been a member since last summer and there are still new things to try. Isn't software grand? Isn't it strange to refer to an Internet app as software?

Labels: transit

After work yesterday, I needed to stop by my doctor's office. I knew that it'd not be open but I wanted to write down the telephone number.

My doctor moved to a new clinic at the beginning of the year. I went there once but had misplaced the phone number. I want to make an appointment to go over the results for the blood test I had last week.

I thought it was rather ironic that although I teach writing, I had no pen on me. There were probably a few dozen in my briefcase but I was annoyed that I'd already walked around to the front of the building.

Then I remembered my camera was in my pocket. Not only was I able to read the image, but by uploading it, I'll have it anywhere there is Internet access.

Labels: camera

I just completed a quick search of a document called myhistory.doc. It's that one where I try to add something I do each month just to keep long-term track of times that we take vacations, or other events.

Today, I was looking for something to post from a historical perspective. I just wanted to find something from a prior April. I discovered that we once travelled to Nainamo, BC with friends, Tim and Jiwan. Nainamo is over on the island. We spent a night there and a second in Victoria before coming back over. That was the year 2000. I find it hard to believe it was six years ago! Where does the time go?

Labels: British Columbia, Tim, Vancouver Island

In Canada, all food packages are written in English and French. I noted that Cole Slaw was labeled in French as Salade de Chou. That made be curious as to the origin of the English version. Thankfully, the Net is always open although yesterday, the municipal library closed at 5:00 pm. Here's some information I copied from www.foodtimeline.org.

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We know from Apicius that Ancient Roman cooks prepared shredded cabbage dressed with vinegar, eggs and spices. Food historians generally agree the term "cole slaw" is of Dutch origin, implying perhaps that the true progenitor of modern coleslaw is most likely a Medieval creation with Roman roots. Mayonnaise is an 18th century invention, meaning the recipe (as we know it today) is only about 200 years old. The origin of the term "cole slaw' holds much interest for food historians. Notes here:

"Coleslaw means literally cabbage salad'. English borrowed and adapted the word from Dutch koolsla at the end of the eighteenth century, probably from Dutch settlers in the USA, and the first printed example of it shows its outlandishness tamed to cold slaw--a folk-etymological modification often repeated in later years. English does however have its own equivalent to Dutch kool, cabbage', namely cole. Like kool, this comes ultimately from Latin caulis, cabbage', whose underlying etymological meaning is hollow stem'."

---An A to Z or Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p. 85)

About cole slaw in America

"Coleslaw. Also, "cabbage salad," Shredded cabbage, mayonnaise, and seasonings, usually served cold as a side dish. The words are from Dutch koolsla, a combination of kool, "cabbage," and sla, "salad" a dish that was known in America in print by 1785. Because it is usually served cold, some call the dish "cold slaw" in contrast to "hot slaw," but there is no relation to the temperature in the etymology."

---The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 92)

"The earliest European settlers on North America's eastern shores brought cabbage seeds with them, and cabbage was a general favorite throughout the colonies. The Dutch who founded New Netherland (New York State)...grew cabbage extensively along the Hudson River. They served it in their old-country ways, often as koolsla (shredded cabbage salad). This dish became popular throughout the colonies and survives as coleslaw...By the 1880s, cabbage and its cousins had fallen from favor with the upper class because of the strong sulfurous odors these vegetables give off when cooking...But this sturdy and versatile vegetable never disappeared from middle-class kitchens."

---Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith [Oxford University Press:New York] 2004, Volume 1 (p. 147)

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Labels: food

At the end of last month, I waxed my truck. I try to do it every spring. This year calculates out to the ninth time. I took the picture right after throwing away the dirty rags and empty bottle of Turtle Wax. It looked nice for a few days; however, I park at BCIT next to a gravel parking lot. Every time cars drive by, they kick up a miniature dust storm. My Ranger is already covered with grime.

Labels: maintenance, Ranger