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

Question: What do the following have in common?

Buckingham Palace in London

A bookstore in Portland, Oregon

The Friday market in a Sri Lankan village

Zebras on the Kenyan savannah

The Brooklyn Bridge

Two seagulls on a BC Ferry

Answer: They were a random selection of my personal photos which appeared on a newly-created web page.

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I've often discussed the advantages of having an e-collection of photographs. Old paper photos are always stuck in particular album next to others shot at the same time. Online photos, on the other hand, can be searched for and combined in a myriad of ways. On the page below you'll find six entirely random photos from a collection which is currently approaching 1,900. In real life it'd be most analogous to throwing several thousand photos into a pile in the middle of the floor and fishing out just six.

The fun only starts when you 'refresh' and a new, random selection appears. I just might have given you a way to waste the next five minutes of your life. Click the screenshot to load the page in a new window. Then, bookmark it.

Labels: Flickr, lists

I am positive that spring cleaning is more than just a term. I think it may be an actual drive which stems from an internal human mechanism.

I got into a throw-out mood a while back. I'm sure you know how easy it is to collect junk. If you haven't used something in the last year then chances are pretty good that you really don't require it. It was greatly cathartic to drop off boxes at the Salvation Army Thrift Store. I feel there is something wonderfully refreshing about not being surrounded by so many things. Some take comfort from their old belongings; I find keeping possessions an unnecessary burden.

Still, clearing away some previously-collected debris allows me to think more clearly about buying more. Is wanting a motorcycle just another spring thing?

I got an email from a former colleague this week. It was good to hear from him. I met Don when he first came to work in Bahrain in 1990. He still teaches there. I value his friendship but he does suffer from a few delusions. One point is how he feels he is managing to beat the ravages of time. Maybe the honest and accurate view in the mirror is being clouded by failing vision. Another point involves the calculation of the same subject ... time. Although he is sixty he still maintains he's middle aged. For gads sake, how many of us are still on this earth at the age of one hundred and twenty?

This segues into another look at the topic of time. This afternoon my class will have a midterm exam. This is the fourth one I've given in 2006. In my nearly nine years of teaching at BCIT, I've never taught as many intensive classes back-to-back. During previous years, I've generally taught a few classes in the BCIT International program too. Those courses have fewer hours per week spread out over a much longer period of time. I'd say there are advantages and disadvantages to each schedule.

Labels: Bahrain, Don

I think it's important for me to have a presence on the Internet. As well as letting me maintain some resume information, I can express thoughts that I'd never do if it weren't for a blog. One other important benefit of being online is that it allows long-lost acquaintances to find me.

I got a nice message from a former BCIT student yesterday. It included these paragraphs and went on to express personal information and more about the recent difficulties in Indonesia.

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Hi Dennis, how are you doin? It's been almost 3 years since you taught me.. My name is Guntur Herianto, hopefully you can still remember me.. well if not then maybe you should check your 2003 summer student pics...

I already went back to Indonesia 2 years ago.. here nobody speaks in English, very little people write in English.. That is so sad, in fact I've lost 80% of my capability in speaking and writing skills. I'm working as a Radio DJ at my home town now. The radio called ISTARA FM. You could check the website though if you feel interested.

Well, the reason why I contacted you is simply I miss Canada, I miss Vancouver, I miss Burnaby, I miss BCIT and most of all I miss friends and you...

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I feel extremely lucky to have my teaching job. Often it's easy to merely focus on one's current situation. I need to remember the big picture. Being able to positively affect people is a frighteningly-powerful gift.

Labels: BCIT, Internet, students

The month of May seems as if it has already been quite long but we've still got tomorrow remaining. I added a few entries to my myhistory.doc file. That's the place where I write a single line of actions for each month. I started this word processing document as an aid to help me remember specific occasions of my life. It's been sitting on a hard drive for years and years. The file continues all the way back to 1981, the year I graduated from college. Here are Mays for the past few years:

2006 - SD to Van Cruise (3 htl-5 night ship) Afternoon BCIT (#30), New Sofa.
2005 - One night at Lynne & Joel’s, New York City 7 nights, Weekend BCIT (#24).
2004 - Visited Bret/Joel in Seattle, Bought DV camcorder. BCIT (#22).
2003 - Nothing listed.
2002 - Trip to Tofino, Island, & Sunshine Coast, BCIT Class (#15).
2001 - Took Alaskan Cruise.

Labels: lists

An old sofa is a lot like a good friend. Now matter how ratty either gets, you find it extremely difficult to part ways.

I remember hauling this one when moving from the first apartment. It seemed to weigh a ton. While on its end, the bed mechanism kept trying to pop open in the elevator. This morning, we'll be trying to get it back down to the ground floor. First, the old flat pillows, blankets and pieces of foam will have to be removed from under the cushions for it sagged a bit! It'll then go back to New Westminster's Salvation Army Thrift Store.

After seeing Mission Impossible 3 yesterday, we dropped by Sears a half hour before it was closing. We spotted a new green sofa bed for a good price. The Burnaby outlet was also having an extra furniture discount which was equivalent to the federal GST. Caution was thrown to the wind.

I'm not really sure if we'll ever need the new built-in double mattress as anybody who stays here seems willing to sleep on an air mattress on the floor. Also, the dark green colour probably won't match anything. Surely, it would've been wiser to buy a love-seat considering the size of the apartment. Yet, we'll be driving to Sears this morning. Hopefully, the new one will fit between the truck's back and the metal canopy with a little coaxing.

Labels: maintenance

I'm very satisfied with life. There are a wide range of reasons but an important one involves finances. I take being comfortable for granted.

There is truth in the English idiom that says, "A penny saved is a penny earned." The trick to having enough money is not making a lot; rather, it's not spending a lot. The habit of putting aside some money from each paycheck ensures that spending doesn't surpass income. Debt is dangerous too. Paying interest on borrowed money is money lost. College loans were the only time I paid a bank for the privilege of using money I didn't have.

For some people, I'm sure the practicing restraint sounds easier than actually doing it. (After all people say something similar about losing weight. Yet, I must find it harder to keep calories burned higher than calories consumed because I weigh far too much.)

In a word, part of life's satisfaction is knowing there'd be no tragic consequences if I found it impossible to work anymore. Still, without a trickle of income I couldn't continue to dream about buying a widescreen TV to replace a tube that's more than a dozen years old!

Labels: money, opinions