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

I last got eyeglasses near the end of 2004. I was shocked at the time, as I could not remember ever having had to spent over $500 for a pair. They were my first pair of progressives. Although it took a few days to initially get used to them, I'd find it hard going back to regular specs now.

Part of the cost was the special 'scratch-resistance' option. Now though, after a bit more than two years, they are indeed quite marred. When they're on, I cannot see the lines but it gives me sensation of having dirty lenses.

Fortunately, my insurance through work provides $200 every 24 months. That's barely enough to get half a pair at today's prices. I suppose I must be thankful for any assistance.

So, although I hadn't planned to, when we were uptown this afternoon we stopped into see an optician. I kept my old frames. I love the titanium ones that snap back into shape after being stretched and bent. I simply ordered replacement lenses after a quick eye examination.

Jay was with me too and he ended up walking out with a pair of Rayban sunglasses. He looks very cool.

Labels: glasses

Next month contains an anniversary, of sorts. I remember it as the month I quit smoking. For many years I was a pack-a-day smoker. Although, it was easy to recall starting the habit, I was looking all around on my PC to figure out when stopped. I did know that it was after moving into this apartment. One February day, I stepped out on to the balcony and took my last drag. I just couldn't seem to recollect which year that puff took place.

I searched.

MS Money didn't have records of my buying nicotine patches and Zyban. Even though the data from closed, old accounts is still available, it lacks a search feature. I gave up.

Then, I went through some photos. I found the following picture in a series of a dozen photos entitled SMOKE FREE DAY. It was with friends at Uncle Willy's Buffet at Lougheed in Burnaby. I know this was when I offered to take people out on the anniversary of quitting. The photo was dated February 4, 2002. Yet, I was unsure of which year it was in celebration.



Finally, when looking at myhistory.doc I found the answer. I keep single word processing file that contains information in point form. For example, a large purchase or a vacation might be listed. In that file under February 1999, a single listing states, 'Quit Smoking'. I have not bought a cigarette for eight years! What have I done with the extra $20,000.00?

Labels: food, Tim

I rather looked forward to writing something here today. It's now Thursday afternoon. I'm sitting at the teachers' workstation and my students are making use of the comfortable environment in our computer lab. Nevertheless, they are writing midterm examinations with pen and paper.

For at least a decade, I've been waiting for the day when a larger portion of my classes will be via a network. I started teaching Communication classes for ESL students at BCIT ten years ago. From those first classes, I received occasional student work in electronic form. I can remember using class sets of floppy discs. When was the last time I handled one of those? Nowadays, a much larger portion of classroom management occurs online because of myBCIT. They do assignments in specialized message board areas, write email, and share files.

Yet on those dreaded days of midterm and final exams, it all goes back to an exam booklet and a pencil. Will we still be stuck in their weird anachronism in 2017?


This fuzzy scan is one decade old and shows some students
from one of my first classes at BCIT in the autumn of 1997.

Labels: myBCIT, software, students

I am a number of hours later than normal adding an entry today. I was very busy this morning correcting students' writing assignments. I really wanted to get the papers back to them so they could study their errors tonight. Tomorrow, I will give the midterm exams which are worth 15% of the course marks.

So, I spent the morning making comments on the yesterday's assignments. Then, I had to hastily get ready to get to the campus. I was annoyed because I couldn't find my cell phone! As a last attempt, when running out the door, I called it on from the land line. Unfortunately, I had shut it off.

As I no longer wear a watch and use it to check the time, I missed it a lot during the class. I didn't know if I'd left it at school or if it was in the truck. Or perhaps I'd left it somewhere else.


After getting home, I found it hiding right on the kitchen table.

Labels: telephone

I'm generally not one of those bloggers who, in every other entry, complain about being too busy. Neither am I one of those who never stop the chatter about how boring their lives are and that they have nothing to blog about. I cannot follow suit as I'm extremely pleased with most everything in my life at the moment.

There are days such as today though. I really have nothing pressing to share. I know that I could be creative and write poetry or something but that's really not my forte. I could blather on about politics, but frankly, who'd care about my opinions. It'd even be possible for me to comment on the philosophy of life I've gained after four and a half decades; however, today I'm too lazy for that.

Just getting ready for my afternoon class will keep me occupied for the next hour. So, as I frequently do, I'll post a picture. You may have missed this January photo of the SkyTrain and Patullo Bridges from the New Westminster downtown parkade.

Labels: blogging

EFFICIENT USE OF TIME
It seems as if I just got stated with my present students. This Thursday, however, we will have the midterm exam. Then, on February 9th, we'll complete the final. I've said it before, I'm sure, but I'm very impressed with the students in our program. They can make a vast improvement in their writing skills in a mere 84 hours. Maybe all this progress shouldn't be so hard to believe. After all, I am their teacher!

SAME FLIGHTS, DIFFERENT WEBSITE
The free week which follows means Jay and I will have just enough time to scoot to New Hampshire. My father's stroke was three weeks ago and I am anxious to see how he's doing in person. Today, he is being moved to Manchester into a rehabilitation program. I've already bought air tickets on www.expedia.com. Interestingly, the prices, after taking the exchange rates into consideration, were about CA $90 more on the Canadian site for the same flights. I'd never run into this before, but I was able to quickly complete my transaction on the U.S. site.

The only online picture I have of Manchester NH, is an old, self-developed B&W image that accompanied a college report on New England textile mills in the 1880's. It shows company row housing.

AIRPORT ALPHABET SOUP
In order to give me time to correct the final exams and turn in the official marks, we will leave Vancouver (YVR) in the evening on Saturday, February 10th. The cheapest flights mean we get to see the airports in Seattle (SEA) and Washington, DC (IAD) before touching down at the regional airport in Manchester (MHT). A mere six nights later, we'll be heading back here but with just one stopover in Chicago (ORD).

Labels: flying, New Hampshire, travel planning

I've been a fan of NBC's [scrubs] for a while. Actually, I've been a bit of an on again/off again viewer. CTV airs the program rather irregularly and I didn't have it set to record on the old satellite recorder. Now, I'm picking it up from NBC directly. It really is clever and generally a joy to watch.



Last week's episode was especially hilarious. I even burnt myself a personal copy on a DVD. In order to find the name of the episode, I ran to the official website. This is the show's sixth season and last week was the sixth show of the season. It was entitled My Musical and here's what the site says:

'Sacred Heart is turned into a full scale Broadway stage when Patti (original "Avenue Q" cast member Stephanie D'Abruzzo) checks in complaining of hearing incessant music. While trying to determine the cause of this strange complaint the residents of Sacred Heart star in their own musical. Carla and Turk tango over her decision to be a stay at home mom or to return to work, while Elliot struggles with telling J.D. that she doesn't want to be roommates with him anymore -- both girls hope that the boy's "Guy Love" will help them through the rough patch. All the while the staff wonders if life would be happier if everyone was in constant harmony.'

Labels: musical, television