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

They're low maintenance, cheap, and cute. An unfortunate thing about owning hamsters is their short lifespan. It seems like their 1000 days on the planet usually pass too quickly. We got another. Here's the newest one and he's the fifth. So, we can call him H5 if we cannot think of something more interesting.

Labels: pets

The note had been there for several days. A few minutes ago, I just crossed my fingers and let www.blogger.com update my eJournal and images to work with their new beta version. It reported that all fourteen hundred of my entries passed through the conversion process. I was emailed six times about the completion though!

I just had to type out something ... to see if it'll still publish to www.DennisSylvesterHurd.com. If you can read this, then something happened correctly.

Labels: blogging

Today I'm a bit late in getting anything posted. When I'm busy I've been known to prepare an entry the evening before its posting. That seems a bit too organized now that I'm on break for a month. Imagine! I won't have to go into a classroom until the second Monday in January.

I don't have any trips planned although I do notice I unconsciously scan the newspaper ads by www.flightcentre.ca. Jay's only accrued four days of vacation and I don't want to jet off anywhere alone at this time. So, I figured I've got about $500 to spend for fun just 'cause I'm not travelling anywhere.

I just got offline from www.bestbuy.ca. How quick! I've already been emailed that my order has gone through and I can pick up my purchase from the Queensborough branch. We'll probably go tomorrow. I will have to wait for an installer to bring necessary parts for the Bell ExpressVu high-definition satellite receiver with video recorder.

Labels: HDTV, PVR, television

I'm a bit like a crow for I love shiny objects. When I was up at the library DVD section, I picked up Auntie Mame (1957). I love most pre-60's early Technicolor movies because there was a conscious effort to place colour in each shot. Wardrobes didn't have to look natural they only had to look good together!

Anyway, it's more than cinematography that I enjoy in movies created before I was born. Back when American films were primarily for English-speaking audiences they had good screenwriters. Here's a little sample:

[Pouring Agnes a drink]
Mame: This will calm you down.
Agnes Gooch: Oh, no! Spirits do the most horrible thing to me. I'm not the same person!
Mame: What's wrong with that?
Agnes Gooch: Will it mix with Dr. Pepper?
Mame: He'll love it! Drink!

I saw Casino Royale (2006) this week. It was good. I enjoyed it and figure they kept it Bond-ish enough. Of course there was lots of action. The only dialog I can really recall is a bit of fun they had poking at the old martini quip.

James Bond: Vodka-martini.
Bartender: Shaken or stirred?
James Bond: Does it look like I give a damn?

I'd say it's too bad that worldwide box office receipts are such a driving force in movies nowadays. The less clever dialog there is, the less translation there has to be.

Labels: movies

From my first class at BCIT, I've used MS Excel spreadsheets to track marks. Right from the onset, I knew that making a few cell formulas would be easier than sitting with a calculator at the end of the term. This is because there are a number of marks to calculate. For example, here are the COMM 0004 components:

Weekly Writing Assignments 45%

Midterm Examination 15%

Oral Presentation 10%

Quizzes and myBCIT Message Board 5%

Final Examination 25%.

Although I started at the BC Institute of Technology in the autumn of 1997, the first .xls file I could quickly put my hands on is from September of 1998.

Chang, Chiao-Yun (Joey)
Chiang, Tai Hsien (Lisa)
Cho, Kyung Hoon (Kelvin)
Kang, Hyun Joo (Jeannie)
Kim, Tayleen
Kunitate, Ricaco (Rica)
Lai, Hung-Jui (Jim)
Lau, Pui (Elizabeth)
Lin Jiao (Vivian)
Lin, Yu-Wen (Tina)
Song, Hong Jin (Jin)
Tai, Fang Chi (Debbie)
Wan, Han Tsung (John)
Won, Sat Ching (Carol)
Wong, Tze Ming (Jasmine)
Wu, Yueh His (Brian)
Yen, Tsung Heng (Louis)

I could still check each of their grade components. I wonder where those students are today? I'll include them so if they Google themselves, they can drop me a line!

Labels: lists, myBCIT, software, students

The inconsistencies in this blog annoy me. At times, I post serious discussions. At other times, I simply find a bit of my own history to brag about. Then, there are times like today, where I simply mention what I'm doing.

I suppose in the general scheme of things, the diary-type postings are of a historical value. I wish I could look back at say, December 05, 1974, and see what I was doing. Maybe this is just an excuse for posting this photo.



Rather than waste time here, I should be correcting the final examinations I gave yesterday. Although I didn't promise to provide the results until tomorrow evening, it'd be nice to complete them. I'd then really feel free ... until my next class in January.

Labels: BCIT, blogging

If you do a search on the term final examination, you'll find that I've mentioned it at least 17 times in this blog. The search phrase final exam will even point to additional instances. Obviously, that's a lot of marking we're talking about, isn't it?

I'm typing this entry as my current group are working on their writings. I just finished correcting the listening comprehension section.

We were supposed to be finished last Friday, but last week's weather threw a wrench in our plans. Since all the BCIT campuses were closed on Monday due to snow, we pushed our schedule forward a day.

Labels: BCIT

Some days, there's nothing that I can say that describes the morning view. My words can instruct yet not inspire.


South from the balcony, the sun rises west of Mt. Baker in December.

Labels: balcony