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

You don't have to use Flickr, to have seen a few my 4,300 images found there. For example, if you're gay and read French, you can find nine of them in the current issue of PREF mag.



I wondered what that large-format magazine was. It was in the mail today but it had French postage. Then, I remembered the editors had emailed for permission to use some of the Flickr photos about Vancouver. Sure, why not? As well as pictures from the Vancouver Pride Parade, there were some from the area as well. I have to admit almost anything looks good on glossy paper in a magazine!

I gave permission in the past and have also had a few of my photos published in various issues of Travel Sri Lanka. They are always kind enough to send me a copy through the post. I don't care about cash; I make my money in other ways. I'm just appreciative seeing my images published anywhere.

Labels: Flickr, Vancouver

It's getting a little late and I've still not decided on the topic for today's entry. A million little ideas occur to me during the day, but when I sit to jot out one, I'm sometimes stumped.

I think I have to write a a little paragraph about how unfair clothing prices are. First, I'm often shocked to see how relatively cheap things made of cloth are. I guess we have to thank the labour force in far-away places such as in China, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. I'm thinking of this as I just walked back across the street from the Army & Navy Department Store. I noticed that at $17.99, real Wrangler jeans, due to the sweat of Mexican garment workers, are as cheap as when I was a child.

Still, most prices seem so arbitrary. I know a lot of different factors must enter into the equation. For example, the tenders for specific contracts must have an enormous affect. Even the time of the year makes a difference as retailers don't want stock sitting around. Yet today I noticed that a spring jacket is selling for $11.90 but some thin shorts were going for $24.99. I can't help but contrast the amount of material in the $19.95 queen-sized bed comforters and the $19.95 non-brand name necktie.

Ah, it doesn't really matter does it? I just needed to pick up some bathing trucks to bring to Arizona for next week. I'm going to look so cool!

Labels: opinions

Come back to this entry on the 11th of the month. In just five short days, we should be looking into the abyss firsthand but hopefully not head first. If we see the webcam, we'll wave ...



Here's a tiny, saved example, in case you venture here when it's night.

Labels: Desert Southwest, travel planning, webcam

Thankfully, the automated system sent another notification. I had sort of assumed my credit card information was on file. Yet, I did have to log on to my website service provider and renew my yearly domain registration fee. For the first few years, I believe it was included with the hosting. Now, I pay the annual fee that comes to less than $1 per month including taxes. What a bargain, eh?

I would have to go do a check to find out when I first set up DennisSylvesterHurd.com. It has been a while, I know. In a way similar to an old movie star, if a domain simply exists for a long enough time, then it receives respect and traffic.

This is related to a topic I wanted to mention. The folks have added an important feature to the software at blogger.com. We can now write an entry and save it with a specific time for publication. The system automatically adds the entry to one's blog when that date and hour occur. This will be important during my vacation. I want to keep a little activity at the blog even if I'm saving my entries for later posting.

The search engines value change over quality when picking how often to return for updates. If the information at any website appears dormant, the little googlebots and their ilk, decide not to stop by nearly as often. That's something I simply cannot allow.

Labels: blogging, Google, Internet

I never make a big purchases without due diligence. I always do lots of homework and never succumb to spur of the moment buying. For example, I've known that I want to move to a high-definition camcorder for quite a few months now. I have that keen sense of timing knowing when to pay a little more for state of the art without breaking the bank. If a consumer buys too early, as well as spending too much money, one ends up with electronics goods that are quickly outdated. As well, I generally have a maximum amount which I'm willing to pay for a particular object. It is somewhat related to the amount of joy I think I'll derive from it.



I think the time is right for getting a moderately expensive new camcorder. I know that I want to go with one that only uses flash memory. It must be true 1080P though. I am fairly sure the Panasonic HDC-SD9 is my choice. The images above were from actual screen captures today. These are the same device as found on the websites of BestBuy US and BestBuy Canada. Why do Canadians always seem to get soaked?

Labels: complaints, Hardware

Labels: food

Unlike most days, I was struggling a little trying to think of what to blog about today. I thought I might mention something about the fact some friends are coming for dinner tomorrow. I thought it'd be easy to look for old digital photos of a former, similar engagement. I quickly found some taken exactly six years ago to the month. We walked around some of New Westminster that day. The photo above was taken on May 11, 2002 when we walked in Queen's Park. It sports a children's petting zoo each summer. The photo above was take there. I don't know who the child was, but he sure looks as if he enjoyed seeing the llama.

Labels: flora and fauna, New Westminster