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

If you'd asked me a couple of months ago about audio on the Internet, I would've only been able to talk about streaming. That's been going on for more than a dozen years. I can remember trying to get adequate RealPLayer connections from my desktop at Dubai Men's College when the Internet first arrived in the UAE. Now, streaming is pretty old hat although I seldom spent much time listening. I've even offered the following .ra files from my website for at least a decade. [Editor's Note: These have now been converted to mp3 but suffer from poor quality of the original and coversion processes.]

MP3 AUDIO

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Radio Archive 1994 - Dubai FM, United Arab Emirates
Educationally Yours.  The HCT BBS: Mike Friganiotis, Moh'd Al-Shamsi, and of course, me (30:06 minutes)

Radio Archive 1995 - Dubai FM, United Arab Emirates
Educationally Yours.  The Internet: Mike Friganiotis, Tonia Huculak, and me (25:39 minutes)

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Things have changed though. I've only gotten interested in the concept of podcasting since buying my little 4GB Creative Zen Plus. (Incidentally, my RMA'd original unit really was dead and Creative is in the midst of shipping back a replacement by UPS. Meanwhile, I'm listening to a 2GB Zen Stone Plus.)



Podcasting is so cool. I like being able to walk out of the house with hours of radio which I've chosen to take along. I never use the FM tuner in the Zen. People may not know how easy it can be with aggregator software. Most of my friends probably know nothing about RSS feeds. It's simply a universal method to automate new Internet content so that it can be easily shared.

The image above is software that I use to collect my audio postcast episodes. Rather than getting involved in Apple's iTunes, I simply enter the rss feed into the ZENcast Organizer. It automatically updates all programs I've selected for download. Some programs might be daily while others weekly or monthly. It doesn't matter because as soon as a new show is released, it is waiting for me on my computer. I can listen on the PC or simply press a button to have the files copied to my Creative Zen.

It might take some looking around on the net to FIND the feeds but as soon as they're subscribed to, it becomes effortless. There are things from literally all over the globe. I favour technology over the news, and podcasting allows me to chose exactly what goes into my ears.

Labels: BBS, Creative Zen, Dubai, file archives, Internet, Mediaplayer, podcasts

If you recognize this image, then you already know my latest viewing addiction. British soap, Coronation Street, is now in its 48th season. I only started watching last week so I really don't think there's much chance of me catching up on the previous episodes. It was first broadcast when I was a year and a half old.

Actually it'd be impossible to really get up-to-date. I am recording the half-hour show on the CBC. I get the wide-screen, HD feed from Toronto. There's a bit of a lag though. For instance, yesterday's episode was originally broadcast in Britain last November 31st. That means I guess I can begin to look forward to the Christmas season.

The plots seem just as zany as on American soaps, but the actors wear much less makeup and have had less dental work and plastic surgery. The characters are less likely to be jet-setters and most of them spend way too much time in the pub. How could one not appreciate all that?

Labels: HDTV, television

Why do I listen to US National Public Radio nowadays? It could well be my age but I don't think that's the reason. I believe it has more to do with the organization's quick adoption of new technology.

The people at NPR have rapidly made use of podcasting as a way of sharing their extensive resources. The shear number of programs is quite overwhelming.

This sort of reverses the trends of the last 60 years. In North America, radio became quite isolated and independent as early radio networks morphed into being television broadcasters. Commercial radio moved to music formats with primarily local news and information.

Now, with the rising popularity of podcasts, public radio broadcasters have the unique advantage of making use of their relatively large collection of resources. Here, I'm also thinking of organizations like BBC and CBC. All of these offer an amazing amount of podcast material.

Take a look at the npr.org site. In fact, I challenge you to look through NPR's listing by clicking on the image of screen capture. If you cannot find something that interests you, leave me a comment. Actually, if you do find something that interests you, then leave me a comment too! (In order to do this, simply click the word 'comments' as found in the 'posted by' row below.)

Contrast this enormous collection of iPod and mp3-player material to most commercial, terrestrial radio stations where you'll probably not find a single podcast.

Labels: opinions, podcasts, technology

There's no place like home. Google seldom stops developing and refining!

Labels: Google, Internet, New Westminster

How can it already be the 22nd of the month? I finished up teaching my classes three weeks ago. I've really needed this time to decompress, I guess. I spent the first week of break in a rather manic state. I tried to busy myself with errands and tasks. The second week, I felt a little depressed as I had no pressing engagements and wondered what I should do with all my extra time. It wasn't until last week that I had glimpses of relaxation.

Now, I'm pretty much back to my normal, old self now. I can appreciate a day that has no itinerary. In fact, I've started to enjoy that type of day again.

Luckily, I've still got another three weeks off BEFORE MY VACATION STARTS. We don't fly to Munich until September 13th. In case I've not been clear about my copious free time: I have also had three or four prior weeks off between classes earlier in the year. During one we went back to see my father in hospital in New Hampshire and we went to explore Los Angeles on another.



I'm blogging about this topic as some misguided souls feel sorry for me when I say I work part-time and have for the last decade. I want to loudly proclaim that I have my personal priorities correctly set. Furthermore, I love the situation that I've created for myself.

Labels: Los Angeles, places, relaxing, travel planning

My online photo collection increases daily. Many are just simple snaps but others are historical. One reason they're there is because it's a very accessible backup method. Another reason for using Flickr involves the ability to share, not only for friends but with random folks as well.

I like seeing how many of the photos are viewed by visitors. For example, I uploaded about 50 old, scans from Kuwait in the early 80's. They've been quite popular with folks who live there now. The little kid above was also in that set. I was just walking about the neighbourhood and snapped this kid who was accompanied by some family members.

For some reason, I think the one above does deserve to be in the top 200 listing. To me, it looks a bit like something out of a National Geographic magazine.

Labels: camera, Flickr, Kuwait, world

I'm sitting here this morning trying to decide on a topic for today's entry. Once in a while it seems like a burden to put something on this page. On the other hand, I'm often awed by the fact I have a space to share whatever I wish. I can add a photo, an audio clip, or text. I've said it before and realize there's little chance in hell of it happening; however, I could begin writing poetry or a scholarly thesis right here.

I don't think the average person is going to get smarter because of the Internet but that possibility exists, doesn't it? In a fewer than 15 years, global connectivity has gone from near public obscurity to being considered boringly familiar.

If one has a desire to broaden one's horizons, then an avenue is available. Today, as a society and individuals we need to learn how to ask more questions. As I was poking around finding resources for yesterday's entry, I discovered new things. I was looking up references to a particular style of Sri Lankan music and found that the Sri Lankan Broadcasting Corporation now streams several feeds. I did not expect to learn that radio was first broadcast in Asia from Colombo. Without access to the Internet I'd never have read of a Mr. Edward Harper, especially as it was a weekend. Information is now not locked in a specific location accessible to a few at specific times. It's easy to find voices from the opposite side of the earth.

Labels: Internet, opinions

The first time I went to Sri Lanka, I didn't know a thing about its music. When there, I heard a particular type of song called, Baila. I wondered why it sounded a little bit Spanish to me. Now I'm wiser.

Wikipedia has an entry briefly describing the emergence of Baila. Many people tend to erroneously believe that cultural exchange is a new phenomenon resulting from immigration. Actually, the whole sweep of civilization is pretty much defined by trade and the influence of human exchange. For example last night, I happened upon a TV program describing the discovery of an ancient crypt of a Roman girl who was buried wearing silk. That proved a rather suprisingly strong connection between the Roman Empire and the Far East.

Regardless, I wanted to let you hear this type of music but have had a little trouble picking one. I decided on a rather over developed recording of Ojayee by the Gypsies. You can also read about the group on Wikipedia.

I've included the song as today's topCast.

There are some references and even words from the aboriginal peoples of Sri Lanka as mentioned in yesterday's podcast and shown here in my eJournal and images in 2004.

Labels: music, opinions, world