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

Bell ExpressVu is running extra HD channels of Olympic coverage. As well as CBC, there's an NBC feed for the venues in Beijing. I can't imagine watching the colour and motion in anything less than full high definition.

Of course, I've all sorts of feelings about China's big coming out party. The Olympics surely involve politics as do most all things in life even if we don't care to admit it. That being said, it is still a gift to see countries such as Iran and Iraq march one after another during the Opening Ceremonies. The same goes for the Czechs and Slovaks. It really is humbling to see representatives of most of humanity under one roof. Although competitive by nature, the scene looked like one gigantic, Cirque de Soleil-inspired love-in.

That's not what I wanted to discuss today, however. Perhaps I can expand on those themes later. I was just trying to give background of how I caught a glimpse of GM's television advertisements for the Chevy Volt. It's a last gasp attempt by the behemoth to remain relevant in today's automobile industry.



The Internet is such a bargain. In the old days I would've had to purchase Popular Mechanics to learn specific information about a concept car. Now, there's hardly a thing I can think of which isn't explained at Wikipedia.

I didn't know that GM's big push isn't really a hybrid, per se. It's electric only as far as the powertrain goes. The engine can be considered a plug-in which only runs a generator to charge the batteries. The initial, gasoline internal combustion engine in subsequent production runs could use bio-fuels, or diesel. The on-board charging may eventually occur by fuel cell.

It's all an interesting study in giving car buyers an option for the future. People can only purchase something on offer. Still, although I will need a replacement vehicle by 2011, it's really sad to consider I'll probably not be buying an E-flex vehicle. Not getting one has nothing to do with a lack of interest. It definitely would be cool, perhaps even geeky! I bet there will be one thing holding me back. I fear that the lowest price tag is going to be about $40K. To me, paying that kind of money for something to drive is ridiculous. From a financial and purely ecological perspective it'll be hard to beat a tiny, old-technology, sub-compact vehicle. I've seen dealers advertising new, fully-loaded Pontiac Vibes for under $13,000.

It is the American way to think big and spend even bigger, isn't it? As if I weren't already sure, here's more proof I'm definitely not average.

Labels: cars, feelings, opinions, Q3_2008

I discovered there's an important limit to the software I use for blogging. As I publish to my own domain, I'm restricted to 100 entries on pages automatically compiled through the use of my label tags. At first, I tried scouring the help groups for a work around. Since then, I've come to accept this limitation. Because I make liberal use of photos in my eJournal and images, it really doesn't make sense to have pages which are longer; they'd take eons to load.

In less than a month, I'll have been blogging for five years. Things which are tagged under a hundred times will show all the way back to the blog's inception. There are, at present, just four categories which occur more frequently. These tags deal with my work and city. They also include references to my photo sharing site and an interest in movies.

So for these four topics, I've broken my tags into two section. In the initial category, I'll keep the 90 most recent entries and the rest will show up under the designation of (Page 1). As I reach the limit, I'll shift older entries to the alternate pages. To see the results, click any of these links:

BCIT,

BCIT (Page 1)

New Westminster,

New Westminster (Page 1)

Flickr,

Flickr (Page 1)

movies,

movies (Page 1)

Or visit my vault to see all of the special-interest pages containing matching label tags.

Labels: blogging, Q3_2008

I had forgotten how much work it is to wax a vehicle. My truck, as if trying to remind me it'd been nearly a year and a half, presented a real struggle. It seemed I had to rub all the surfaces extra hard today. Applying the goop was surely easier than getting it off. To get the roof, I had to stand hanging onto the doors as if some sort of circus acrobat. When a quarter of the way through, I really felt as if the whole process were a ridiculous waste of time.

Why did I feel as though I needed a glossy shine on something that's a dozen years old? It was never much to look at even back in 1996!

Fortunately, I am free today and the weather is nearly perfect. So, in retrospect, I kind of, actually, enjoyed the chore. Still I think that tomorrow I may have sore arms.

Labels: maintenance, Q3_2008, Ranger

I love buying stuff online. The gratification for the purchase is so instantaneous. Type in the numbers, confirm the order, and click. You are now the proud owner of some product or service.

I just ordered two Italy Saverpass rail passes. They should show up in the post by early next week. As we are only going to be visiting the country for three weeks, we assumed eight days of second-class train travel would be sufficient.

(Click the graphic to the right to load an interactive Italian train map.)

Although there have been guide books lying around the house for a while, we've really just started talking about an itinerary. We don't leave for another five weeks. We'll explore Rome right off the bat (or plane). I think we'll go up to Florence first then head to Venice. Then, we'll probably head over to Milan or Genoa. We can slide back down the west coast stopping at Cinque Terra and Piza. From there perhaps we can go south to Naples spending a few days on the Amalfi Coast. Of course we fly out of Rome.

Can we squeeze all those kilometers into eight days on the trains? I think so.

Labels: Internet, Italy 2008, Q3_2008, train

I had finished up correcting the final exams by 9:00am. It was so easy to add them to the online grade book and then push the final mark results for approval. There was a time when this procedure would've meant printing off a spreadsheet, filling in a triplicate form, and driving into campus to hand the resulting paperwork to an administrative assistant.

I'm happy when technology makes things easier. In fact, I refuse to accept new procedures that make things harder or which are more intrusive. For example, at work I don't even know how to stop my telephone message indicator from blinking. To me voicemail is a tremendous hassle and so I refuse to participate. I find it much simpler to maintain a cell phone that's primarily for work related issues. It offers me the chance to accept calls at my convenience. It allows students to make better and more useful contact. If a student is stuck in traffic, I will expect a short call before class. At BCIT attendance and punctuality are as important as they are in the workplace.

So, I had all work out of the way relatively early today. Phew, it's a scorcher. Yes, I do tend toward hyperbole. It's probably about 28C (82F) which is a lot for this area! It was a rather nice day to do a few uptown errands. I even picked up a can of Turtle Wax car polish as I have not yet waxed the truck this year. I do it annually.

Labels: BCIT, errands, New Westminster, Q3_2008, relaxing, technology

Sometimes it's sinfully easy to forget how close we are to wilderness. When one gets wrapped up in work and errands, one can lose sight of a primary reason it's great to live in British Columbia. The city of Vancouver always comes out near the top of international livability rankings. This is, at least, partially due to the proximity to nature and its accompanying recreational potential.



Today was BC Day. Now isn't this a great part of the year to have a three-day weekend? The civic holiday falls on the first Monday in August. It has a pretty good record of good weather. This year it's even more of a celebration as it marks the province's 150th year.

We drove up to Lynne Canyon Park. It took us less than a half hour but it's considerably closer for those who live in downtown Vancouver. The suspension bridge there is free as it's in a municipal park of North Vancouver. A bit further up the road is the Lynn Headwaters Regional Park. Parking was tight as it seemed everybody decided to get out today to grab a slice of the warm sunny day.

Labels: British Columbia, Q3_2008, Vancouver

It's a weekend when going several times to downtown Vancouver is normal. Last night we watched the finale of the HSBC Celebration of Light. Teams from Canada, China, and the US were in the fireworks competition this year. Tens of thousands packed the downtown last night.



This morning we'll travel downtown for the 30th annual Vancouver Pride Parade. Crowds of more than 400,000 are anticipated this year. For 2008, there are three grand marshals: First, Gilbert Baker is the originator of the gay flag. Jane Rule, a BC writer was also posthumously awarded the honor for her work in free speech and gay rights. Lastly, is Sahran Abeysundara. He is a founding member of Equal Ground, a non-profit organization seeking rights for lesbians and gays in Sri Lanka. From the comfort of Canada and the city of Vancouver it's far too easy to forget the discrimination, hate, and even violence which is still propagated in many societies.

Labels: Canada, fireworks, Q3_2008, Sri Lanka, Vancouver