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

There's nothing new in today's entry except a photo. I have mentioned here in the past how life in the Persian Gulf was. I stated that it was great coming to Canada for the change of seasons. Okay, this winter has been a bit much but at least it's been different. I think variety and change are helpful in keeping a stable mental outlook. A rut mistakenly looks good only from its trough.

To highlight the beauty of change, I'll include a frozen shot of Tipperary Park, New Westminster. I captured this image yesterday. This park is a couple of blocks from the apartment. It's not really natural as it was built after a hurricane blew original trees down in 1962. Still managed nature can be pleasant enough.

Labels: flora and fauna, New Westminster, Q1_2007, Tipperary Park

The media has decided that Canadians are now keenly interested in the environment. Because of this new-found focus, a minority are now shouting for immediate political action. Well, at least on the news, they are. Putting politicians names on an international protocol won't do anything for the environment .

A change in personal habits is what's required. I see those shouting the loudest harbouring much more vehicle than needed in their own driveways. The simple act of turning down the thermostat in your place of residence will have more impact than all the hot air in Ottawa.

It seems like the basic premise is to force government to do things, so we don't have to. Canadians need to take on more personal responsibility rather than demanding government cure all evils. Waste, as well as charity, begins at home.

Labels: government, Q1_2007

Getting home yesterday evening was a challenge. My class usually runs until 5:00 pm. Yesterday, however, I was looking out the window and the snow was really coming down. Thinking that evening classes may have been canceled, we didn't have access to the Internet in the classroom. I chose to cut things short by a half hour.

I didn't save much time in getting home though. After leaving BCIT at 4:30 pm, progress was extremely slow. I thought after getting up Royal Oak, it'd be smooth sailing. In fact it seemed to take forever. Finally, I parked on Columbia Street, in front of the SkyTrain station in the new parallel, back-in spaces. Although nearly home, it would've been impossible to get up Church Street and into this building.



Yes, I grew up in New England and back at a time when it had winters. Doing wheelies on the frozen lake in a Pinto taught me more about winter driving than all the driver's manuals on earth could have. Yet, there are a number of reasons why I was very stressed out last night:

The Vancouver area barely gets enough snow to merit an adequate number of road ploughs. So, when it does fall and the highway department crews are going full bore, they simply cannot keep up.

Nobody puts on snow tires, much less carries chains!

The majority of drivers have little experience on slippery roads.

Many streets and highways here have substantial inclines.

I drive a rear-wheel drive pick up truck but there's nothing in the back right now.

My commute to New Westminster was nearly two hours for the trip that generally takes twenty minutes. After an hour, some food, and a change of clothes, I returned to the Columbia Street and my truck. Then, I spun and slid my way up Church Street and into the building. My truck was finally safely housed downstairs at about 7:30 pm.

Labels: BCIT, cars, Q1_2007, weather

When a new course starts up, the writings in my eJournal and images tend to be a little more abbreviated. When I have lots of extra paperwork to do, I have a bit less time to devote to this blog. I also might be a little more myopic than usual but this, of course, is open for discussion.



At the start of every term, I again find new appreciation in how the web has made class organization and administration easier. I'm sure if you search, over the past few years I've mentioned myBCIT here a number of times.

I truly appreciate my colleagues, yet I cannot understand why none make use of this wonderful resource. It makes things easier! I can pester students with facts, documents, and assignments at any time of the day or night. Over the years, I have come to realize I really am a very special breed. Generally social people keep away from technology like the plague and nerdy folks play only with machines. I'm a rare combination as ...

I have extraordinary talent with both!

Labels: blogging, feelings, myBCIT, Net apps, Q1_2007, technology

I go in for the second afternoon of class at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) today. It's nice being back on this schedule, although it's extremely dark driving home at 5:00 pm. I am teaching COMM 0004 and the new class seems pleasant.

Interestingly, I'm back on the Royal Oak side of the Burnaby campus although my office is on an opposite corner. This means it takes a bit of time to drive to SE42 after preparation and photocopying.

Labels: BCIT, Q1_2007

Yesterday, the microwave oven bit the dust. When pressing start, there was a weird buzzing sound that lasted for only a second and then the panel went dark. That microwave was one of the first purchases we made in Canada. I think the oven was being used before the shipment of junk arrived from Dubai. So, I wasn't upset because it had lasted over a decade.

Luckily, it died when we were getting ready for lunch. That made picking up a replacement easy in the afternoon. When walking into the Queensborough Wal-mart, I mistook the place for a cattle auction. Rather, I learned it's always a zoo on Sundays. It was shocking nevertheless as I was reminded how the uptown Zeller's used to always be completely devoid of shoppers. Well, let's acknowledge they are no longer is business.

Speaking of such things, the replacement Hamilton Beach microwave was only $54. That is Canadian $54.00 and the numbers could be reversed for a quote in US dollars. Okay, I know that it was assembled by workers in China living on subsistence wages. Still, if one ran into a Radio Shack, he'd find that a power cord alone would cost a quarter of that.

I suppose I shouldn't be upset by an object that costs less than I think it's worth. In many much-poorer economies though, these devices are priced much higher. I do feel a bit of discomfort in the strange pricing patterns of a global economy.

Labels: errands, Q1_2007, technology, Walmart

Combine years of owning computers with librarian-type tendencies, and you've got me figured out. Of course, I've been thinking lots about my father lately. I had him involved in email at the beginning of the millennium but then the hotmail interface changed and he sort of got lost.

During the majority of my years abroad, there was no Internet. In order to send words, we struggled by post. At the present time that era seems a bit romantic. If the mail had no disruptions, it'd take more than two weeks to get to North America from the Middle East. The response time was similar; therefore, there was at least a month turn-around time. Because phone calls could be prohibitively expensive, I was forced to get into the habit of corresponding by letter. Here's a note I sent to my father just about twenty years ago. I found it saved on an old CD entitled, 'Archives'.

---

January 21, 1987
Taif, Saudi Arabia

Dear Dad,

Greetings! As you may be able to tell, I am now using a different word processor. So much of what makes this program great can't be seen on the typed page. It allows you to look through a whole disk worth of files to match an exact word. If I want to know the first letter that I mentioned "AUCTION" in, then all I do is type that word, and it'll search through all 70 odd letters I've got on my correspondence disk! It's really amazing!

As you might be able to tell, I am practicing as much with this letter, as sending useful or important information. You might even say you're my first guinea pig!

Oh, before I forget, I wanted to tell you that you won't be getting anymore bills from Keene State College. I have written and had my address changed so my student loan statements come here. I have to plan so that it'll be paid off by this summer. I might as well send the check from here. Speaking about student loans, you haven't been getting any statements from Sugar River Savings bank, have you? My payments are forwarded there automatically by my Seattle Bank. However, I've told the Newport bank that I want monthly statements SENT HERE. They screwed up my account several months ago and I haven't heard anything since. Give 'em hell, if need be.

I just got your letter today explaining that you are "really getting it" as far as snow is concerned. Great! Wish I were there to play in it.

Things here are O.K. Today ended another hectic week at school. Today some classes had their "student day". So, all the teachers were off, except me. Oh, I work soooo hard!

How is everything in Wendell? It sure is a shame to hear that you're back to work with no chance for vacation for a while. (If you could see me, I'd be frowning.)

I've got my vacation time all planned. In March I do go to Rome from the 19th to the 27th. I might also see Venice with all the canals and such. Anyway, around May 26th, I will be flying back to New York. I get a ticket from the company to Seattle (my point of hire). But I want to spend two weeks with you. Get ready to stock up the refrigerator: I eat like a horse! I'll have to be back at work here at the end of June.

Oops, I'm running out of room. So that's all for now. Take care and be good, etc. I love you.

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Labels: file archives, Q1_2007, Saudi Arabia