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

My new class doesn't start until next Monday. After last week's weird and wacky weather, things really started to look up today. In retrospect, even though it's only six o'clock, I cannot believe I spent so much time in front of this screen. I suppose I have to come to terms with the fact, I'm rather addicted to computers. As I'll be turning 49 years old in July, you'd think I would know myself well by now.

I guess it really wasn't a surprise to realize I am fascinated with PCs. I first spent hard-earned cash on a Radio Shack TRS-80 in 1980. The tasks I was able to do in those days weren't very inspiring by today's standards. I recall making a simple BASIC program that simply added one plus one and showed the result on the black and white screen. Then, it would add one more and print again. I let it run overnight and I couldn't believe the device had made it into the hundreds of thousands by morning.

Technology marches on. Today, I was playing with my computer, network, and PS3. I was using TVersity to make my PS3 into a media server. I downloaded video from the Internet through a BitTorrent. Moving around 600 megabyte files is probably something I wouldn't have thought possible when my Radio Shack had 16K of RAM. The fact most of these files were destined for a 16x9 format 42" LCD television screen, would've undoubtedly sounded like science fiction too.

Here's my belated tribute to the recently deceased futurist who lived his last fifty years in Sri Lanka:

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
-- Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008)
Profiles of The Future, 1961

This show is not a video file. It's a live program streamed through
the net from a Sri Lankan TV network to this aparment in
New Westminster, BC.

Labels: computers, Internet, PS3, Q1_2008, sci-fi, Sri Lanka, television

I'm sorry but last night I didn't turn out the lights for Earth Hour. I realize there are those who rightly commented that it was mostly a stunt to make people conscious of our effects on the planet. One thing is, in BC, the majority of the power we use is hydroelectricity, one of the most energy-friendly sources of power there is. I don't like the fact so many people will think they've now done their thing by an insignificant act and will go about living an unsustainable lifestyle.

Maybe this will help me prove my point. We stopped up at a Save-On-Foods at Edmonds, Burnaby this morning. We generally shop at a Canadian Superstore, so I was again impressed by the more upscale shopping experience. The prepared and specialty foods near the entrance are impressive. The area boasts the variety of products available at a food fair or farmer's market. Okay, so lets get back to thinking about our environmental footprint. I marvelled at the unsurpassed selection of European cheeses. The refrigeration required for the fourty linear feet of commercial cooler displays was enormous. This, plus the energy required to transport the Dutch or French cheese to this market, would be phenomenal.

People should consider the physics of life. It's ironic that more than a few of the folks are proud of turning off their living room compact fluorescent for one hour. Yet today, many caused the earth much more damage with that little piece of French brie in the plastic grocery bag which was thrown in the empty backseat of a gigantic SUV.

Labels: complaints, Q1_2008

I get excited by the potenital but frustrated by the implementation. Let's say I have a file I wish to share with the world. Imagine there are 100,000 people out there who may be interested in it. Rather than having those 100,000 come directly to download from me, I'd rather they all run some specialized software. Then, as soon as a few get the download or even a partial copy, the other 999,998 could start relying on them too. If, by chance, everyone wanted a copy at the same moment, then we could all both download and upload the missing bits simultaneously. Most assuredly some copies would be closer to another recipient than my original copy. In fact, a neighbour on the same ISP might push along the data to them at breakneck speeds. That's the theory, at least.

Even our public broadcaster is trying out distribution this way. At the beginning of the week, after broadcasting on air, the CBC released Canada's Next Great Prime Minister through a torrent. You'll see the BITTORRENT reference and link right on the page. It took a while to link up but right at the moment I'm hitting download rates which are averaging about 140 kB/s.

You'd think as the content would be primarily shared by people on the few broadband carriers in Canada, it'd be a breeze. Most probably Telus started 'shaping' my packets as soon it appeared I was running a torrent. I'm estimating that it'll take half again as long to get hold of the show than actually watch it. The promise of digital is that it be faster than analog. I commend CBC but this will never become a replacement for traditional distribution until we have much more bandwidth with no throttling by Internet providers.

Labels: Canada, Internet, Q1_2008, sharing, television

Today, I'll only add a couple of techie things that could nearly go without saying. They involve:

The Windows Vista SP1 Upgrade

My PlayStation 3 Upgrade to V2.2

I updated Vista to Service Pack 1 at least a week ago. I hadn't had a lick of trouble with Vista before the 440 megabyte download and have had none since. With a sufficiently capable hardware, I wouldn't fear advising anyone run the newest OS from Microsoft. The software's bad press may have more to do with people being politically correct (by being anit-MS) than any actual trouble with the code. My update was mostly a non-event except for one fact. After the 45 minutes of installation, the computer didn't start up with the built-in web server online. I do have to add that all the previous configuration data was there, I just needed to open the ISS and click start.



Earlier this week, the other upgrade went without much fanfare as well. Back when I first talked about buying a PlayStation as a Blu-ray player, it was because none of the existing players for sale were ready for the implementation of profile 2.0. In the most recent update, my PS3 suddenly gained this as a new feature. Boy, I'm the first on the block for this one! That means it can access the addition of Internet features on a BD. Since the first release with any interactivity isn't due for another ten days, that's pretty much a moot point at the moment. One useful enhancement is that if one stops viewing a DVD or Blu-ray disc, the player remembers the exact location. Even if one removes the disc in the interim, it'll remember. That's useful, except I generally watch things straight through anyway.

Some people think that upgrading is a hassle. On the other hand, I tend to salute companies who make firmware improvements rather than attempting to sell a whole new piece of equipment for each baby-step forward.

Labels: PS3, Q1_2008, software, Windows

Jay got a free, stay-home-from-work pass from the doctor yesterday. We didn't go anyplace though as it was not the nicest day.

I was reading IMDb a while back and noted discussion about Brazil (1985). We were overseas at the time of its release and I didn't think I had seen it. Even if I had it would've been a fuzzy, pirated video-tape copy. I put the movie on the Zip list but found it when at the library yesterday. It was a three DVD set with the 142-minute director's cut being the primary one we watched.



I liked it but I don't know why it arouses such an emotional response from so many. The cinematography was artistic and conveyed several layers of meaning. For example, I liked the scene above where billboards line a highway, so a driver isn't subjected the wasteland beyond. I also spotted the sign which read 'Consumers for Christ' at the mall a not so subtle comment about the society at Christmas. There were lots of short little memorable sequences some of which may have slipped by unnoticed. The cut-for-television version with an alternate happy-ending was included in the box. More than a half hour of the movie was missing from that version but I just wanted to see how the end was spliced together differently.

Labels: movies, Q1_2008, sci-fi

We tend to make big deals about numbers that end with a lot of zeros, don't we? The photo above marks the one thousandth daily picture. It seemed like a big deal; therefore the reason for self applause. In actuality, it's in no way more special than 998 or 999. It was taken when I was uptown today.

Back on on the first day of July in 2005, decided that as digital photos don't cost anything, I was going to snap one every day. I figured it be a photo journal of sorts of at least one thing I'd seen or done that day. When I vow to do something, I always try to keep my word. I did so I have.

Labels: Daily Picture Parade, Flickr, flora and fauna, New Westminster, Q1_2008, Royal City Mall

I'm thinking about photos today, as I'll mark a special occasion tomorrow. I'll wait until tomorrow's entry to talk about that.

Generally, I love the idea of Flickr. If you are a regular reader here, then you undoubtedly know that already. I am not interested in owning any of the images from my camera. I don't expect to ever take a photo which will make me money. After all, I earn a living by other means. I am pleased to out them all. There's nothing sadder than having a photo languishing in an album in some dark cupboard. Even photos taken on a vacation deserve to run free on the Net.

When part of a Web 2.0 application, others can take my images and provide a new context for them. It happens. We spent around a month in Sri Lanka in both 2004 and 2006. Some of those images have made their way, with blessings into several editions of Travel Sri Lanka. Publishers find it even easier to connect Flickr photos to web applications. For example, today I found this site which has used a few of my images to help describe the history of an ancient Sri Lankan historical site.

Anuradhapura

Labels: Flickr, Q1_2008, Sri Lanka

From the time I was brought home from the hospital until the first year I went to college, I lived in the same house. Those eighteen years were the longest I was ever in one place.

After college, I went directly to work in various parts of the Middle East with a few educational breaks in the States. I stayed overseas from 1981 to 1996. During those fifteen years, I worked in five different countries and slept in at least 12 different apartments. After that, upon immigrating to Canada, I rented a place for two years.

It wasn't until 1998 that we bought an apartment in New Westminster, BC. It does indeed seem strange that come this summer, I'll have been in the same building for ten years. I can forsee no changes in where I'm living, unless we were to do something unusual like decide to take a year off and move to Halifax.


I live on the tenth floor of the taller tower to the left.

Labels: feelings, New Westminster, Q1_2008

This weekend I got a message from Bret. He's the premiere reason that another buddy, Joel, and I were able to run a summer arcade business in my hometown of Sunapee, New Hampshire. Those were the years right after we'd graduated from high school. Bret was recently asked to write up a story for a locally-published magazine. Of course, in 2008, the request was to record the significance of those activities in a historical perspective. By a strange twist of circumstance we have separately all ended up as residents a few hundred miles of each other but near the other ocean. Bret's email was to ask whether Joel or I had any quotes to offer.

I have, on occasion, difficulty remembering what I had for dinner on the previous evening, so I am skeptical about how much I might be able to add to events of thirty years ago. I did a few searches on the Internet to see if I could locate any photos which would help to remind me of Sunapee Harbor in that bygone era. The only pictures, I could dig up were those which I'd contributed to the Internet myself. I modified this picture which Bret had once taken. It was originally in Kodacolor but all but the yellow dye had faded; therefore, I converted it to black and white.



It shows the most important part of what I can recall. The picture does show a young Joel and me. A significant aspect is that another classmate, Sherry Simms seems to be hard at work with maintenance too. She would not have been a paid employee but was among the others who simply wanted to hang out. During those summers of operation we offered such a place for many of the kids in town too. In those days the school system or town offered fewer programs to occupy youths' time. We were left to our own devices. Luckily, Bret saw the need as a business opportunity. I don't think it was as much about the money as a way provide a fun atmosphere for not only the three of us. We gave many Sunapee residents, who were under twenty, a reason to come up to the harbor.

Labels: Bret, Joel, Q1_2008, Sunapee, The Harbor Gameroom

I'm beginning to understand. It wasn't until I got an mp3 player that I discovered podcasting and how it shifts the whole paradigm of radio. Summarily, a few days ago, I downloaded free TVersity software and I'm beginning to understand the future of television and video.



TVersity allows media to be streamed to my Sony PlayStation 3 via the home network. I first thought it'd be useful as I could listen to any of 8000+ music files through my home theatre system. I'd need not load them via my computer anymore. Of course, also being able to read thousands of personal photo archives off my external drive and display them on the larger, living room Toshiba screen promised to be fun too.

I had never seriously considered video podcasting as promising technology. After all, I'd not want to watch the tiny screen of a portable device, I thought. Now, I realize how useful Internet delivery of broadcasting may eventually become. With a Canadian Internet provider, it's not possible to watch U.S. television over IP. The networks block access. I'm especially disappointed in not being able to participate in www.hulu.com. However, the Internet is going to be a major means of delivery sooner than some might believe. A dozen years ago it was best practice not to create a web page that had over 50K of photos and text. Then, when radio first started arriving by IP, I wondered if we'd ever have sufficient bandwidth for such an extravagance.

I find it a little ironic that I'm enamoured by high definition content via satellite or Blu-ray but that I'm still so willing to watch grainy video on the 42" LCD. This playing around seems so refreshingly pioneering though. Yesterday, being able to watch live television from Sri Lanka was magic, although the teledrama was little better than a slide show of blurry images on the big screen.

I had been very skeptical of those who dismiss the importance of new high-definition discs. These people have written that Blue-ray's lifetime will be limited as the last physical medium. Their proclamation about the immediate future being in downloads seemed so pie-in-the-sky. Haven't those pundits witnessed how much time it takes just to download a movie trailer? I do admit I felt more than a little thrilled when throwing video around the network though. Demand will guarantee broad enough broadband. I'm a reluctant convert.

Labels: Internet, podcasts, PS3, Q1_2008, technology, television

We don't go to the movies near as often as we once did. As today was a free day, we went to the Strawberry Hill Cinemas. Because that section of Surrey / Delta has a big Indo-Canadian population, a 12-screen Cineplex-Odeon always runs several, big-budget Bollywood Blockbusters there.

I can't think of a better way to spend a grey afternoon, than in front of a screen showing a bigger-than-life colourful Bollywood movie. This was a bit of an epic film called Jodhaa Akbar. It was set in the sixteenth century with Moghul emperors, a Rajput princess, and thousands on the battlefields.

This film was more historical than typically histrionic. Still, I wasn't disappointed that it had only several musical numbers. There was enough intrigue and drama to satisfy. And clocking in at 3 hours and 30 minutes, Jodhaa Akbar was surely worth the cost of a ticket.

Labels: India, movie musical, movies, Q1_2008

After I wrote yesterday's non-entry, I decided to add the tag, feelings. I really don't know what the difference is between feelings and opinions, but now they're separate. I don't use labels as a means to accurately represent the contents of every daily writing. I just like how I can construct brand-new pages from old information when using them.

Alaska, Alberta, Amsterdam, analog, Bahrain, balcony, BBS, BC Ferries, BCIT, blogging, Bratislava, Bret, briefcase, British Columbia, Brussels, Budapest, camera, Canada, Canada Day, cars, Christmas, complaints, computer lab, Creative Zen, credit card, cruise, Daily Picture Parade, dentist, Don, driving, Dubai, errands, Eurotrip 2005, Eurotrip 2007, feelings, file archives, fireworks, Flickr, flora and fauna, flying, food, Fraser River, futurecast, games, glasses, Google, government, GPS, hard disk, hardware, Hawaii, Hayack, HDTV, Hollywood, Hong Kong, humour, India, Internet, Joel, Kuwait, labels, Laurie, library, lists, literature, London, Los Angeles, maintenance, Mediaplayer, Mexican cruise, Mexico, money, monkeys, mother, mountains, movies, Munich, music, musical, myBCIT, Nepal, New Hampshire, New Westminster, New York City, Niagara Falls, Okanagan, opinions, parade, Paris, passport, Persian, pets, pig, places, podcasts, Portland, Prague, PS3, PVR, Quay, Ranger, relaxing, review, Royal City Mall, Salzburg, San Francisco, Saudi Arabia, sci-fi, searching, Seattle, sharing, Singapore, SkyTrain, software, souvenirs, Sri Lanka 2004, Sri Lanka 2006, staff, Stanley Park, stars, students, Sunapee, Surrey, technology, telephone, television, temple, Thailand, The Harbor Gameroom, The Wizard of Oz, Tim, train, transit, travel planning, Turkey, Vancouver, Vancouver Island, Vienna, Walmart, Warner Bros, weather, weight loss, Windows, world, World Vision, YouTube, zip.ca, Zurich

At the present moment, these are the labels I'm using. The list will undoubtedly change over time. Some may come while others go. You will, however, always be able to find the current listing in my eJournal and image's archive vault. As of today, each one here should display a new page containing the stated content without regard to the date it was originally blogged.

Labels: blogging, Q1_2008

I don't feel like saying much this afternoon. This picture I just took somehow strangely represents my feelings at the moment. The day is sort of gray as only days around here can be. I feel neither joyous or sad. However, I am warm, dry, clean, and well-fed. My current class takes the final examination tomorrow. So, I'm rather satisfied with the progress made by so many. Yet, saying the final goodbye always involves mixed emotions. In the back of my mind I am aware that I won't have a new class starting until April 8th. That, if anything, should sort of help form upward turns at the corners of my mouth, right?

Labels: feelings, New Westminster, Q1_2008, transit

First, if you'd asked me when I was 20 years old, I would've probably made a guess. In my mind, the only possible meaning for the term fanboy, might have related to a visualization from some grainy, black and white movie I once saw on TV as a kid. The film was set in a bygone era in a far-away land. There was a young, male servant whose sole job was to continuously pull on a rope. This rope was attached to cloth and its movement created a cooling breeze. So that fanboy was essentially acting as air conditioner for a very wealthy king in a very opulent palace.

Okay, I'm an ESL teacher, so a more recent usage with which I've become familiar deals with language. Some of my students use an acronym to remember the coordinating conjunctions of the English language. You know, those are the little words that help things stick together: For, And, Neither, But, Or, Yet, and So. I've been teaching English to speakers of other languages for decades, but I still avoid talking about grammar as much as possible. When painted into a corner, I will default to a descriptive attempt. I simply abhor prescriptive grammarians though. Regardless, I learned the second type of FANBOYS from students who've obviously studied a lot of it.

Most recently, I've run across the term due to a new interest in gaming consoles. The term has probably been around for about 25 years although its widespread use is more recent and has broadened. I have witnessed the rantings and ravings of this type of fanboy on the Internet. Basically, true to the Wikipedia entry, they have been written by adolescent boys who defend a particular console brand or game. Perhaps because of the content they're used to seeing, they are ready to defend their opinions to near death! For example, look at the comments appearing under the story on this blorge.com page. I suppose I should be encouraged by all the flaming just because it's good to see that kids can get so worked-up about anything. You'll have to forgive me though. I bought a PlayStation 3 not because I'm a fanboy, but due to the fact I enjoy watching Blu-ray movies.

Labels: PS3, Q1_2008

So far, my cold has turned out less severe than I expected. I feel a tiny bit out of sorts but things are certainly manageable. So, you may have wondered why I didn't get a blog entry posted earlier in the afternoon. The answer is quite simple.

I've been going over some work that I needed to complete. I was checking a batch of Spoken English Assessment placement tests. The tests were given on computers and the evaulation must take place on one too. We, as educators at BCIT, adapt well to changes in technology. I really didn't give it a second thought when putting the CD ROM containing all the audio clips into the disc drive on my laptop. I simply open a Word document that links to the answers and launch the on-page player for each answer. After listening to each, I need to place it within a band which describes the fluency and completeness. It's really easy but it does take a long time. The really amazing part is how all markers end up with nearly the exact same scores at the end. As an instructor, I do love certain types of consistency.

Labels: BCIT, Q1_2008

It's been a long time since I blogged about blogging. I thought I might use today's entry just to mention visitor statistics. Although, the numbers are piddling by real site standards, I have seen steady daily growth. Whereas a few years ago, I was lucky to get a more than a dozen or so visitors, nowadays I average more than sixty. I chalk most of this up to expanding Google image searches rather than increased viewing habits by my friends and acquaintances.

Labels: blogging, Q1_2008

I thought I'd made it through the winter without a cold. After all, the colourful cherry trees are just about to put on their annual show.



Yet, right now, I feel on the edge of being sick. I knew when I woke up last night and felt achy and hot that something was up. I have quaffed juice and a few Extra Strength Tylenol Flu capsules. I hope they do their usual magic.

The Metro-Vancouver cherry trees seem to explode into pinkness at different times in different neighbourhoods. They're not native to this area but they do help to herald a triumphant parade into spring.

Labels: flora and fauna, Q1_2008

For a living I teach practical English. All courses taught in my department are grounded in functionality. Each class activity is designed to enhance English skills for use in the fields of business and technology. Nary a figurative nor rhetorical device shall be seen. I guess I do define myself by this role.

Please don't lump me into the same category as others called teachers of English. I feel no absolutely no affinity with those who must impart the intricacies of English as literature as part of their teaching duties. How utterly impractical for all but a precious few!

There are, however, literary parts of me. There are, of course, past parts which help to define me. My knowledge of Robert Frost is due to growing up as a New Englander. My background is a major component as to why I understand the following poem. I'd be hard pressed to find an old stone wall running through a forest around these parts. Yet when I close my eyes, I assuredly picture any back road as a corridor between rocks placed carefully into position decades ago.

Labels: literature, New Hampshire, Q1_2008

I should keep better track. Maybe this is the time of the year when work sometimes gets to me. It's my second intensive course of the year and the week in between the midterm and final. We had an assignment in the BCIT library today, and then we went back to the classroom for another three hours. As well, I volunteered to administer a computerized speaking evaulation this evening. I just got home a little while ago.

I think I used to be less stressed even when I had more on my plate. It's time to step back and appreciate the opportunities I have and circumstances I'm in. For example, this is the view from SW3 4725. It can be rather pleasing.

Labels: BCIT, feelings, Q1_2008

For how many years have we now had email? It hasn't been all that many but the impact can certainly still be strong.

I'm not so much thinking of work-related messages, but those that come in from the Internet from people who were from former aspects one's life. Once in a while, along with those automated reminders that my credit card statement is online or other official-type business, I get real email. Again, most of the crap received from my sister wouldn't count as it contains no new information. Hers tend to be those pass-it-along messages of a supposedly profound nature.



I am trying to highlight the times when a real message comes that provides interesting information from a friend or acquaintance. I got one just this morning from a school pal. Candy, on the left in the photo, started schooling with me when we were in elementary grades. We continued right through high school and eventually both received teaching certificates from the same college. I hadn't heard from her for years but it was easy to catch up. How interesting to hear about the family and their goings on. How great to hear about recent vacations too. Here's a quote that might not be too common in any messages you received today.

"A 100 x 25 foot barn addition of ours collapsed under the heavy snows and ice. Four cows were trapped, but with help managed to escape and are now healing."

I'd not mind getting more messages from others. Even if they're sent out in bulk and have the type of information that yearly Christmas newsletters used to contain. Go ahead, drop me a line.

Labels: Class of 1977, email, Internet, Q1_2008, Sunapee

I run some of Microsoft's Home Productivity software. I was really hooked on their Digital Image products but they pulled the rug out from under me and have completely dropped that product line. I cannot quite understand why it's not profitable to keep publishing newer versions. I learned to love the software's interface and still find it extremely intuitive for most of my needs. This fall I ran out to get Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 and have tried to make the transition. More often than not, however, I simply open up the now defunct Microsoft program.

Apparently the same is happening with the localized version of MS Money. I am still using the 2006 copy and as it's a tax write-off would surely upgrade if given the opportunity. Unfortunately, the only offering in Canada is for a base option that cannot open files created in previous versions.

Rather than the normal rants against Microsoft for what they're doing, I'd like to go on record for being disappointed by what they're not doing. Namely, I'd like updates to my favourite, old MS Home software.

Labels: complaints, money, Q1_2008, software

I kept dying. My Playstation 3 came bundled with one game. It was fun racing around MotorStorm's dirt track but I have to be honest; I didn't take much time to really put the game through its paces. I found it disheartening when involved in a serious enough accident to cause death. The screen slows down and one's flying body bounces around pitifully. It doesn't really hurt though. There's not much to prevent one from racing around rather foolishly and recklessly.

I wanted to see something else and have been interested in graphic adventure games since King's Quest I on the PC. Although amazing in 1986, Sir Graham appeared as a little stick figure on the CGA cards of the day. Last week, I stopped by the Canadian Superstore as they had a newer adventure game on sale. I wanted it.



I picked up Uncharted - Drake's Fortune. There was about a half hour over the weekend when I had some extra time. I began the game and so far it has more than met my expectations. In fact, the graphics I saw would have to be categorized as stunning. I've only been on the island for a little while but the lush vegetation is very impressive in high definition 720P. A waterfall was pretty enough, so that I simply had to walk up the river and take a better look. The storyline was engrossing and has made me want to get further involved.

I can hardly wait to take occasional extra minutes to explore more.

Labels: games, PS3, Q1_2008

The morning news is on and it's showing the aftermath of the snow storm back east. Cars were all over the road and people were busy digging out. They've had quite a bad winter, I guess. We had a fair amount of snow this winter but generally it's been quite nice. British Columbians from the Metro-Vancouver area like to brag about our mild winters. Nothing sticks on the ground in the long term. I have no golfing photo to include but I did find an image in My Daily Picture Parade. It was taken on March 10, 2006 the day after snow flurries occurred here exactly two years ago.

Labels: Flickr, Q1_2008, weather

I've always thought, that generally, things are coming up roses. Now I guess, I have family to thank. I used to just hold them responsible for bad vision, high cholestrol, and ugly toes.


Original Link

Labels: feelings, Q1_2008

A week ago I spent over $500 a Sony PS3 essentially for its capability to play Blu-ray high-defintion movies. I also checked what it costs to rent a movie at a Rogers Video store nowadays. I'd not been inside the New Westminster branch for years due to joining zip.ca. It is an online movie rental company similiar to a Canadian version of Netflix. A cheerful, Rogers counter clerk said renting a single movie cost $6 something. Then, he added that all Blu-ray disks are only one-day rentals. "I see. I'll wait to get my Blu-ray movies through Zip," I said. I left.

I was willing to wait as we pay about $2.50 per disc and there's no late fees when renting by post. I will probably never enter that Rogers again. Is there any irony in my spending a half K on a player but then refusing to cough up $7 for a rental? Nah, I didn't think so, either.

If you've ever been involved in online movie rental, you know that one creates a list of movies desired. The company then sends off the next available disc as soon as the previously returned movie has reached them. At any particular moment we may have fifty or sixty movies in the queue. So, last weekend, I modified our existing list so titles available in borth formats would ship on Blu-ray.

Of the dozen or so Blu-ray discs on the Zip list, just one arrived in the mail box today. It's a bit embarrassing to admit that the first-ever Blu-ray title that'll be viewed on our TV is Disney's High School Musical 2 (2007). That certainly doesn't sound very butch. Perhaps it's a good way to break in the PlayStation 3 though. Also, it's okay, as 3:10 to Yuma (2007), Rescue Dawn (2006), Saw IV(2007), and Resident Evil: Extinction (2007) are also on their eventual Blu-ray way.

Labels: HDTV, movie musical, movies, PS3, Q1_2008, zip.ca

I always plug my Zen into the computer before driving into work. Doing so allows it sync the latest .mp3 copy of Global News from the BBC. The situation works well as it generally takes about twenty minutes for me to drive to the Burnaby campus from New Westminster. Of course the amount of traffic and how I hit the lights can affect the length of the drive. The round-up of news takes just about the same amount of time, so I don't feel as if I'm wasting any during my trip to class.

As an instructor, I'm aware of individual learning styles. I used to think I was a strong visual learner. I always thought I best learned through reading and graphics. Perhaps listening skills are a forte too as I may do well with auditory stimulus. I certainly feel as though I learn a lot during my morning commutes.

Learning about the world through radio was never much of an option. During my youth radio was simply for music. And to be honest, North American broadcast news in general spends a lot of time navel gazing. Both American and Canadian radio and television spend inordinate resources rehashing purely domestic issues. Some of the most advanced communication potential on the planet is often wasted pursuing the likes of Paris Hilton.

At least the BBC has reporters out there on foreign soil. In my daily podcasts from the BBC World Service I get a chance to hear voices of real people talking about the conditions affecting them. I hate to sound discouraged, but I suppose much of the general public here would probably have a hard time even locating these countries on a globe.

Labels: Creative Zen, podcasts, Q1_2008

I had to record a movie a few nights ago as it contained Lili Von Shtupp, played by Madeline Kahn. Blazing Saddles (1974) was on HDNet and so it was waiting on the hard disk in the PRV. I'd not seen the movie in a couple of years and it wasn't really like fine wine; it'd gotten no better. Yet, I'd never seen a better-looking copy than the high definition version. I do have to admit I am a fan of Mel Brooks. His type of off-the-wall humour is sorely lacking in today's media. In the last ten years I'd be hard put to come up with any movies that even remotely fit into the same genre.

In the 1990's several of the Scary Movie series had a bit of irreverent humour. Rather than containing any satire on society though, they could be more closely identified as teen comedies. More recently, movies like Blades of Glory (2007) are much too self-interested to be very funny. They seldom have any references to the world beyond the movie.

Perhaps modern audiences are simply too stupid for satire. Or maybe there are few points of common reference nowadays as modern cinema has to be make money in every market around the globe.

Damn, we need more Jim Abrahams-type films that'd comfortably fit next to Airplane! (1980)

Labels: HDTV, humour, movies, Q1_2008, stars

This entry is late today. Since I'm no longer teaching in the afternoons, I don't have loads of time in the mornings to correct papers and exams. Also, as I have a class that is actually larger than the usual maximum, it seems to take me forever!

I just wanted to add a little photo anyway. It is the growing clothes pile that's sitting in the bedroom. I am finding it necessary to weed out my attire. Clothes shopping has never been something I've enjoyed but I'm finding it necessary. All my favourite shirts were over size 17 or marked as XL but now I'm not. Unfortunately, one negative point about having lost some weight is I'm finding many of my clothes are too big. I don't feel any smaller but I have had to move a few holes tighter on the belt. As I plan to continue shrinking, I have no need for anything in the pile.

At least it'll soon be time to get out the short-sleeved shirts. Oh, maybe that's not so great afterall. Many of those will have to be added to my pile as well.

Labels: Q1_2008, weight loss

THE FUTURE: 1950 STYLE
Eventually, automated homes such as those described by Ray Bradbury will exist. As of today, I am one step closer to the part where the house plays music. Let's forget about the exact scenario of the short story from The Martian Chronicles as I'd rather leave the fear of nuclear devastation for another blog entry. Also it's important to note that he wrote this short story fifty-eight years ago. Smart houses are assuredly taking longer to come to fruition than my childish notions would've predicted.

SERVING MEDIA
I'm thinking about There Will Come Soft Rains, as I have thousands of .mp3 and .wma files on an external hard drive near my computer. I use it for the collection and backing up important info. from my main drive. As discovered on Saturday the new Playstation 3 will play these networked songs through the built-in media server in Microsoft's MediaPlayer 11. My PS3 lacks a direct DTS output for stereo files, unlike my computer's sound card. However, there's something quite simple and satisfying about making a selection on the large TV screen. It just feels right to pick music with the same remote I use when watching a DVD.

GETTING IT TOGETHER
Many people already have some sort of home network today. Most are wireless and used just to get the Internet on a notebook computer without a plug. This could be a wonderful basis for a smart house. The problem is that most of our consumer electronics products do not get along. Most of the devices are not designed for interoperability. In order to make any of them work together one must work too damned hard.

TO KNOW ME IS TO LOVE ME
I envision a day when, as one walks into the house, all gadgets will ask permission to connect to the home's network. For example, I should be able to listen to a podcast on a visitor's iPod. If the system were clever enough, a graphic representing the temporary device would automatically appear on a screen showing the current technology environment. As well as the calling-card information previously entered by the visitor, the system would recognize the unprotected media on the device. I'd simply be able to direct the system to play the podcast.

FIGHTING IN A FUTURE
This is a little more complex than Ray Bradbury's circuits and tapes in the walls. However, I can easily think of a good topic for a new, short story. Let's assume that all the system devices on our imaginary network have a priority on the system. What if various devices started fighting for supremacy in the heirarchy? Every iPod Nano lusts for power, you know. Somehow, that'd make for an interesting read.

Labels: computers, futurecast, Mediaplayer, podcasts, PS3, Q1_2008, sci-fi, technology

Although it was more than two weeks ago when we were in Puerto Vallarta, it's still possible to try to check in via this web cam image below. This picture should be less than ten seconds old. I found access to it at www.puertovallarta.net. The cam's image, of course, will not show much if you check this page during hours that don't match up well to Central Time in the Americas. If you tune in too late, I shall include a smaller, static example to the right.



In the late 1990's I had one set up on the balcony with an old Sony camcorder. It used to look down the Fraser River towards the New Westminster Quay and the Alex Fraser Bridge.

Labels: Internet, Mexico, Q1_2008, webcam

A Sony Playstation 3 can use its local network in order to play files shared under Windows MediaPlayer. Who knew?

Labels: Mediaplayer, PS3, Q1_2008

Cool .. another toy. Being that a "Leap Day" only occurs every four years I thought I'd make it special. My new Sony Playstation 3 is downloading a movie trailer through the same Internet connection as I'm using here.

Being in the over 40 camp, I'm the demographic with enough cash to actually afford one of Sony's little, overpriced boxes. It certainly wouldn't have made sense for me to get one had it not contained a Blu-ray drive. Sorry Microsoft, I used to be a fanboy but times change.

I snapped up one of the few remaining old 80 GB bundles with game, MotorStorm. I can't imagine myself ever getting interested in First Person Shooters. Some of the adventure titles might be okay.

I had to put the slick, stylish box through some paces by seeing if it could play my monster collection of old +R and +RW DVD discs. It seems to handle even the old copies. Still, I'm contemplating walking down to a video store just to rent something on Blu-ray for a test run. In fact, I'll end now .. and do just that.

Labels: movies, PS3, Q1_2008, technology

There are a large number of Chinese students in my class so they often end up falling back into their own language during break time. I was correcting some worksheets today. Mahmoud is a student in my class. I was chatting with him in English during the class break today too. I learned he was born in Saudi Arabia. There are no other Arabic speakers in my present group.

This prompted me to consider my time in the Middle East. I am in this picture taken in Saudi. Out in the desert, we ran across this camel which had obviously seen better days. It was dried and baked to a crisp so I have no idea how long the carcass had been there. This picture was taken well before Mahmoud was born!

Labels: flora and fauna, Q1_2008, Saudi Arabia

This week, I decided to organize a junk drawer. It's in a tacky, living room cabinet that contains the souvenir shelves. I'd buy a real glass, curiosity cabinet but then I'd loose the five or six cubic feet of hidden space to keep stationary, tools, and assorted junk.



While getting together most of the tax receipts, I found these lottery tickets that made it back from Sri Lanka a year and a half ago. They were not winning ones but somehow got stuck with other paperwork and exist here now. Before tossing, I decided to scan them.

A physical item may not be at all valuable, but sometimes I like the memory it provides. I'd be very willing to throw away most old paperwork as long as I could keep a digital copy. Dumping stray files onto a hard disk is easy and useful especially if a blog entry can narrate the resulting tale.

Labels: blogging, Q1_2008, scanned, Sri Lanka

I grew up in a working-class home but we had all we needed and much more. It was back in the days when one income was enough and my mother was a stay-at-home mom. Wasn't the term, housewife? It's a little sad that's a choice no longer possible for most families today.

The inspiration for today's entry occurred when we were flying back from California earlier in the month. The Alaska Air plane was packed with every seat occupied. Jay and I sat across the isle as the two seats closer to the 737's windows were filled to each side of us. A mom and dad sat next to Jay. I sat near the kids who obviously wanted to sit near the windows (and away from their folks). There was a boy who I'd estimate being about 13 and his sister was younger by a year or two. The family was obviously returning from a trip that included Disneyland as they were wearing the clothes and carrying the swag.

I also saw Mickey, the rather scary walk-around one, on the screens of both their digital cameras. These youngsters were gadgeted up with devices galore. As well as the means to take photos, they also each had iPods. The boy was playing with a PSP and the girl some other sort of specific electronic game. I'm sure all these toys plug into their own computers at home. There's certainly a whole lot more than simply buying clothes and paying the dental bills for these parents.

I have been following Sony Playstation 3 news on the Internet. I'm trying to figure out when the time is right to buy into the product lineup. Apparently, there is no new, upgraded version due out in the next few months. It was announced today that the 80 GB model bundle will seemingly be replaced with a different game and replacement controllers but the price will remain at $499. I've seen that the average prices for new games for the device are in the neighbourhood of $50 to $60. It seems like providing what's necessary for children in this day and age must break the bank.

It must cost a lot to raise kids. When I was small in the 60's, there were far fewer products to own. No wonder why moms have to work nowadays!

Labels: flying, opinions, PS3, Q1_2008, technology

Last year, I mentioned the fact we'd be viewing the Academy Award ceremony in high definition. As we haven't been going out to the movies as frequently, the Oscars generally go to films we've not yet watched. I didn't say we were watching fewer movies; it's just they're generally on DVD now. In the previously-mentioned entry, I also complained about the HD disc format war. At least that's something that has changed. Perhaps, by the time we get around to seeing most of this year's winners, we'll be watching 'em on Blu-ray.



One other difference between watching last night's awards and previous ones is we've now been inside the Kodak Theater in Hollywood.

Labels: HDTV,