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

I can never tell. Sometimes the silliest pictures I upload to Flickr become popular. As I shoot something every day, there are surely examples of both the strange and mundane. On the other hand, there are shots that I sort of like that do poorly as far as visitor views. I've decided that I can never accurately guess what an image's popularity will be.


We took the Seabus across the harbour. July 1st had beautiful
weather for Canada Day.

Labels: Canada Day, Flickr, Quay

Can you name a hobby where one never actually completes anything? Even if a hobby is simply a way to spend time enjoyably, there's usually an end result. For example, a final piece fits into the jigsaw puzzle and one can see the completed picture. We can easily assume reading a novel is completed when the words on the last page end. I suppose even knitting concludes when both pair of mittens are complete.

There is no point at which a social networking website is completed. Making virtual buddies is one end result, I guess. It's a permanent, ongoing process somewhat akin to having penpals. It's more immediate and gratifying as it's much faster than dealing with international mail. It's cheaper too as long as one's already paying for Net access.

In the end though, the only thing that one can demonstrate is the increasing number of people in the social network. That, assuredly, is directly proportional to the amount of time one devotes to the process.

Lest you think I'm voicing a distaste for social networking, I'm not. It's no more of a waste of time than any other diversion and potentially, it could introduce one to places and people one might have no other way of knowing.

We must be getting old. There was a time that we'd travel to any point on the globe with nothing but traveller's cheques and a smile. We'd just pop off the plane or out of a train and hunt for a place to sleep. In fact, we found it rather amusing that some people found it necessary to make reservations for accommodations.

Yesterday, I just received an email from Hong Kong. We're staying there for a week and already have confirmation of where we'll stay. The thing is ... we'll not be ready to sleep there until October 1st. We'll be spending time on a stopover when returning to Vancouver. That is a complete two months into the future! This appears to be a complete turn around in our old, laissez-faire travel style.

Well, there may be unique circumstances and cause for our seeming change in modus operandi. Perhaps we were scared into advance planning. Some we've talked to say Hong Kong is expensive, so it's best to do a little homework before going. Others said the eighth lunar month has lots of festivals that bring people into the city and the hotels get full quickly. What is it they say about rather being safe than sorry?

A boon to pre-trip planning surely is the Internet. It's not only official tourist boards that provide what I want to see. Sites where individual travellers add the data are important. For example, I found photos of the nearest MRT station stop in the neighbourhood of Kowloon where we're staying.

That's just an initial example. I challenge you to try to find a photo of a famous tourist attraction that's not already on Flickr. Let me know if you can. I believe that every inch of earth's surface, where tourists roam, has been photographed and uploaded to my favourite photo-sharing site.

Labels: Flickr, travel planning

I go and meet someone at a bank once a year. It only happens then because one of my banks requires face-to-face interaction in order that I coax the best GIC rate. Other than that brief encounter I do everything online.

Likewise, the majority of my recent flights have been with e-tickets. That's how people zip around North America. Yet, I did pick up this yesterday:

THE TICKET.

Labels: flying, money

I noticed that I did this stunt last August to show off the beginning of 'My Daily Picture Parade' . I thought it merited another attempt. Now I've been photo streaming every day for over thirteen months.

Labels: Daily Picture Parade

I read an old, unpublished, personal diary once that included the weather for each entry. Perhaps it was due to the fact the owner lived on a farm. Now it's my turn.

We had our spell of hot weather last week. Last night, however, a big blanket had to go back on the bed. The weather reports, of places where the heat is soaring, are interesting reading. Still, I'd rather be here. It's easier to warm up with additional clothing than to try to keep cool.

THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948)


"Badges? We ain't got no badges! We don't need no
badges! I don't have to show you any stinking badges!"

Labels: movies

I think it's knowing tickets will be ready today that prompted me to scan a few more photos. We've bought tickets to Sri Lanka leaving September 2nd. We stay until the end of the month. We've also got a stopover in Hong Kong for the first week of October.

I recalled that my first trip to Sri Lanka was for two weeks in February of 1986. I was silly enough to rent a car and we ventured out on the wrong side of the roads. That means my initial visit was more than twenty years ago! Then, I was at Jay's home during September of 1987 after quitting my job in Taif, Saudi Arabia. During April of 1988, the third trip was for a month and included the Maldives too. Additionally, in March of 1991, Jay and I stopped on the island when travelling from Bahrain to Thailand. It seemed easy getting there from the Gulf.



Strangely, there was a thirteen year absence in my visits. I resumed when we travelled there in the fall of 2004 for several months. So, the 2006 trip will make the sixth time, I've set foot on the isle south of India. That's more times that I've ever visited any other destination but I don't see this as the last journey to Sri Lanka.

Labels: Sri Lanka 2004, Sri Lanka 2006, travel planning

As even on a workday, there's no need to get up early. I think I've forgotten what an awful sound the alarm clock makes. Surprisingly, this morning there was a Sunday wake up call from mother nature. A huge clap of thunder sounded early; it must have been before six, I think.

The weather has been quite dry and the sky bright over the past few weeks. I don't mind a bit that things look quite gloomy outside the window at the moment. Anything that stays completely constant seems boring. (Is it really a wonder why people on long-term treatment with Paxil get suicidal?) Unlike most other places, even if the temperature gets up to 30C (85F) degrees during the day, it's generally around 18C (65F) at night in the Lower Mainland.

Labels: weather