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

Yeah, I'm pretty butch. Lately though, we've been watching a lot of Disney as they do put out impressive Blu-ray editions. Sure, I had heard about Enchanted but had no idea I'd like it so much. I am probably not in the prime demographic for its intended audience. Yet, I was amazed by the disc's bonus material on all the work that went into the Happy Working Song. Before putting the disc back into the zip.ca envelope, I just had to watch that section again.

Of course, it's not quite as impressive in the fuzzy little YouTube player. Why is it allowed on the site anyway? Apparently it's been posted as a marketing tool so it probably won't be pulled.

If you've seen the movie you'll want to remember the sequence and if you've not, then you'll want to discover it.

Labels: movies, YouTube

Sometimes, getting back into the groove gets me tired. After an afternoon with a new class, I barely have the energy to do the necessary errands, much less write an inspiring blog entry. Still having not skipped a day in so many years, I am obligated to post something.

As eventually I hope my eJournal and images will contain my complete history, I can use these times to include things from the past. I've done that a few times this week already but I can easily do it again. For example, on YouTube I have three, 1-minute clips from UAE days. I posted one here almost a year ago. This the last of the series. We were on a student-initiated outing to Ras Al-Khaimah on a weekend. We had already spent a fair part of the day at a camp. This was shot during four-wheeling time. We ran into this older guy up in the mountains. I would need a translation nowadays to recall many of the details but it's easy to see that they were getting him to introduce himself for the video camera of the early 1990's.

Labels: blogging, Dubai, YouTube

Last May, we went to Los Angeles for the first time. It was interesting and I'm glad we went, Yet if given the choice between spending a week in NYC or LA, I'd say we would opt for the former. Still, there are nice advantages to having the huge western neighbour just down the coast.



Rather than the glitz of Hollywood, we're using Long Beach as our jump-on point for next month's Mexican cruise. Contrary to popular wisdom, it is possible to get around the LA area on transit. In fact, as we're flying down plenty early, we plan on getting from LAX to the Long Beach Carnival terminal by transit. I am so thankful for Google Earth so we can nearly try it out in advance ... virtually.

Labels: Google, Los Angeles, travel planning, YouTube

Dreaming not required. Batteries not included.

Labels: balcony, Christmas, Fraser River, YouTube

In some world cities man-made structures have become synonymous with the location. Making a list would be relatively easy. In London it'd probably be Big Ben. Paris has the Eiffel Tower. What would Rome be without the Coliseum? New York boasts the Statue of Liberty as well as the Empire State Building.

What about Vienna, Austria? There's the Gloriette at Schönbrunn which was blogged in my eJournal and images. There's also this.



This video was taken in the Riesenrad, a Ferris wheel built in 1897. It's 200 feet in diameter and was damaged in World War II. It has become one of Vienna's most popular tourist attractions. We were in in Europe during October of this year.

Labels: Eurotrip 2007, Vienna, YouTube

In order to check out my new Intel Quad processor, I needed to find a CPU intensive task. Since I'm not a game player at all, I spent a little time working with video files. I burnt the video tape of our central European trip to DVD.

While in the folder on my external drive, I discovered a clip from an old analog tape from 1991. I was working in Bahrain at the time. I was a civilian contractor for General Dynamics and taught English to members of the Bahrain Defense Force. This was recorded during the first Gulf War. I now call it The Gulf War: Classic.

Labels: Bahrain, YouTube

It happens every time we're about to go on a vacation; that's the time we dust off the old Sony camcorder. It sits in the cupboard except for when we're going off of a journey. We always run around at the last minute asking whether there are any blank tapes.

Today was no exception, even though we're not leaving until Thursday for Germany. I guess that shows we're slightly more organized than usual. I'm not convinced though.

As it happens we don't have any blank tape, I wondered whether it'd be okay to shoot over old video. As long as I can verify that the original is safely on DVD, then it should be all right. I found a tape with a trip to NYC taken in the spring of 2005. All the footage is all on disk, so that's one tape that will be reused. Just so you'll know that I checked, here's a YouTube clip.

Everybody who visits New York City probably goes up the Empire State Building. Although its 102 floors are greater than the 101 of Taipei 101, the building isn't nearly as tall. All will be dwarfed by Burj Dubai's projected 162 floors slated for completion in 2009.

Of course the slightly-sickening, zooming and dodging camera work is Jay's responsibility . . .

Labels: New York City, travel planning, YouTube

We went to Turkey on several occasions. When living in Bahrain it was a close destination served by both Gulf Air and Turkish Airlines.

My video clip of a family making flat bread is on YouTube. It was taken from the back balcony of a little, family-owned guesthouse in the city of Pamukkale. That is not a place known for it bread-making. Rather, it is famous because of the limestone hot springs. Still being able to witness real people is as much of a reason for travel as the sites one visits, don't you think?

I held off mashing-up my first YouTube clip until earlier this spring, and I'm no less hesitant today. I like the idea of my eJournal and images being able to stand alone. I'm old enough to know that things come and go. Broken links to important material will be the scourge of future historians! Alas, most of the kids actually involved in Web 2.0 are probably young enough to still have that mistaken feeling of invincibility.

Labels: Turkey, world, YouTube

I really didn't know what to put here today. The day was brilliant and our day off pleasant. I spotted a new icon in the draft version of Blogger.com. I wanted to see what'd happen if I uploaded a video clip. I rather hastily put in a DVD disc from our Eurotrip in the fall of 2005. I cut a chunk and then pressed to upload the 44 MB clip. While the file is being transferred, I'm typing this text. Where's it going, he wonders? I clicked right past those warning things what one is supposed to read when working with software. You know what I mean don't you? I am talking about the agreements that one quickly scrolls to the bottom of, and then presses I AGREE button. Maybe those would've told me that it now belongs to Google Corp. I guess that's okay with me. They can have it, just as long as you can see it too. This is from a section of tape shot in Paris. It's only Montmartre during the day and a bit of the Champs Elysee at dusk.


After waiting half of forever, I decided that my file, although destined for Google Video, would never complete. Therefore, I mashed this up with YouTube.

Labels: blogging, Eurotrip 2005, Google, Paris, YouTube

Our city's Hyack Festival Parade was today. Now it's billed as The Largest International Parade in Western Canada.

There were something in the neighbourhood of 136 entries this year. That made it several hours long. As usual the 'Seafair Pirates' pulled up the rear exploding their cannon in shock waves that made poodles tremble in fear.

While the parade was en route though, I was thinking how people, similar to crows, like shiny objects. The local students did a fine job but there is certainly something 'showy' about the visitors. Many high school marching bands were up from the US. This video shows a group of Californian students.

With all the flash, I couldn't help but think of the music from the musical Chicago. Then, with a strange twist of fate, a few minutes ago, I watched the song mentioned in the title in HD. The 2002 movie version is on NBC tonight!

Labels: Hayack, HDTV, movies, musical, New Westminster, parade, YouTube

The fireworks were easy to watch from the balcony last night. It really doesn't feel like it this morning, but this weekend is considered the beginning of the summer season here. To celebrate, we are in the middle of a three-day weekend as tomorrow is Victoria Day.

In fact, both this and next weekend are a time of special events in our little city. New Westminster's Hyack Festival has begin and will continue through the end of next weekend which coincides with the Memorial Day weekend in the USA. In fact, a highlight, the International Parade, will take place on the 26th. In that event, many local and British Columbia high school marching bands as well as many from US states participate. The parade is on the local festival circuit. Floats and beauty queens arrive as representatives from summer events such as the Apple Blossom Parade in Wenatchee or the Puyallup parade in Washington State.

I certainly endorse the whole concept of summer! It is a nice feeling to see trees full of green leaves, people wearing fewer clothes, and dusk arriving well after eight at night!

Labels: balcony, fireworks, Hayack, New Westminster, YouTube

Although this top photo is fourteen years old, it has existed in scanned form for a year and a half. It has been quietly sitting on Flickr.

In the photo Jay is talking with a monk when we climbed Swayambhu.

We only spent a short, winter vacation in Nepal; however, this blog already boasts a fair number of references to the trip. We, of course, flew into Kathmandu. After spending some time there we took an express bus about 200 kilometers to the city Pokhara. After that, we visited the birthplace of the Buddha near Bhairahawa.

This media content comes right from the Kathmandu valley though. Initially, I was determined not to get carried away inserting YouTube clips here. Yet, as I've been converting old 8mm camcorder video, I keep wanting to reference some of the recently uploaded clips. This reminds me of the days I first became enamoured with Flickr's photo-sharing site. I'm a little late to the YouTube party, but at least they let me in!

I think a little background is needed for this photo and clip. It comes from www.multinepal.com, a site which mentions the whole valley is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

"Swayambhunath, one of the most important cultural and historical place of Kingdom of Nepal and listed as one of the World Heritage Sites from 1978, is located about 2 km. to the West of Kathmandu. The vehicular access is available up to the saddle between Swayambhu and Manjushri hills. Stone steps lead to Swayambhu and Manjushri hill tops. the Swayambhu hill top is known for massive Buddhist stupa, Haratimata temple and a number of other temples and monastries. The Manjushri hill contains well known Manjushri Gumba and the image of Saraswati goddess. A peripheral road exists at the base of the hill."

Labels: Nepal, temple, world, YouTube

Today's weather looks as if it should have occurred at the end of February even though it's two months past that. I don't mind. I have today off and the dark wet day is perfect for sitting inside. I am in the process of copying more old 8mm camcorder tapes to DVD.

Changing the media is important if I want to make it accessible. If video is on a jumble of 2-hour tapes sitting in a drawer they are seldom, if ever, viewed. After getting them on a disc that can be easily dropped into the DVD player, I'm more likely to show visitors. Additionally, it's much better to have data in file format for the following reasons:

One need not get out the aging camcorder with the hassles of setting up in order to share the footage. The DVD player is always ready.

On DVD it's possible to record in 10-minute chapters which, along with FF and REV, allows for quick scanning for specific material.

Portability is ensured as just about everybody has a DVD player and the lightweight discs ship easily through the post.

The files are also easy to edit on an ordinary computer.

It's the last reason that is most appealing to me today. Just as the scanner allowed me to showcase photos from my past on this blog, digital video files now allow me to do the same with both movement and sound. For example, I will let you look at a fifty-second clip from more than sixteen years ago.

These were students from my first teaching year in the United Arab Emirates. I taught at the Higher Colleges of Technology and these nationals were in the Foundations program that year. They arranged for a class trip. I believe it was to a hobby family farm in southern Sharjah. We spent a whole day some of which we 4-wheeled through the mountains and wadis.

Labels: Dubai, YouTube

There can be a blush of excitement after scanning an old photo. One realizes that the actual paper artifact has been granted an entirely new digital life. It cannot fade further. Multiple copies can exist. It can even be easily passed around via email or a web page. I most recently added a blog entry along these lines a month ago.

Similarly, after languishing on 8mm video tape in a drawer for sixteen years, I helped this video capture from Thailand make its escape. That country was a common vacation destination for colleagues in the Gulf. In fact, we went up to visit another teacher, Mr. Don Richardson. This particular clip was made in old Chaing Mai. We were on break when living in Bahrain. Later that summer, I finished my work there and took up teaching duties in Dubai.

This grainy, 2 1/2-minute clip does not accurately show the environment. It does, however, show personal events that until recently were difficult to access and impossible to share.

Labels: Bahrain, Don, Thailand, world, YouTube

At the beginning of the month, I publicly admitted my fear of mashing up with YouTube. Yet after a few short days, I have added a link to my YouTube channel. It's now on every page of my eJournal and images!

Call me fickle.

Labels: YouTube

There are some places on earth that are considered a must for seasoned travellers. There simply have to be the obligatory photos taken while standing and smiling in front of some important sites. For example, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the harbour in Hong Kong, and the Acropolis in Greece probably make the list.

After a quick blog search, I discovered I have only once mentioned staring at India's Taj Mahal, and even that reference in October of 2003 was a fair time ago. So, I just cut this one minute and twenty second clip to post here. The quality might not be stunning from a 1994 Sony camcorder, but it does show we were there.

Labels: India, world, YouTube

On September 3rd of last year, Jay and I were in Sri Lanka on vacation. We'd done lots of island-wide travelling in 2004 but still found there were places we wanted to see during this one-month stay. One such place is near the town of Maho.

You may read about that day right here in this blog.

After last Sunday's successful inclusion of a video clip in my eJournal and images, I've thrown all caution to the wind and have decided to try a real mash-up. First, I had to figure out how to export a clip from a previously-created vacation DVD. Choosing a clip which can be under 100 megabytes is as tough as finding a virgin working in a whorehouse. I successfully exported a clip using my copy of Movie Factory. Then, I uploaded the file to YouTube. Finally, I've linked it to the viewer below, so you can take a peek.


Although it was family outing by van, only Jay, his younger sister,
and I saw the view from the very top. Why is it that inspiring places
so often require a lot of hard work to get to?

Labels: YouTube

The theory is excellent. If one could reuse and combine Internet data from various sources in one place, the results could be efficient and effective. Yet, I must've lived too long to be so trusting. What if a repository site went out of business? Just because it works at the moment, doesn't mean it'll last. Unfortunately, I take perverse enjoyment in the idea that data contained in this blog will be available down the road. It is clearly the archivist in me that keeps me adding an entry a day.

Net things surely come and go. The original form of GeoCities wasn't as permanent as initial users might have expected. Flickr has supplanted Webshots as my place for storing images. For heaven's sakes, I once had an @home.net email address. So although web velocity has slowed, I have a hard time thinking of anything as very permanent. A mash-up is no good if a part ends up falling by the wayside.

This may be why I've been slow to get all giddy about YouTube. If I want to spend my time watching video, I'd prefer it be created professionally. I really can't imagine getting all excited over someone's dog doing something stupid. I doubt anyone could create two minutes of anything that I'd kill for. Most importantly, until today, for the reason above, I've avoided mashing up their vids here.

I generally 30-second-skip past television commercials because of the PRV. Yet, somehow, particular TV ads become such favorites that I may want to showcase one. For example, I loved the Stella Artois pig commercial so much, I copied it and tried to tie it to my eJournal and images. That was a lot of work and took a lot of space. More recently, I saw a PBS promo advertisement that I thought was very cool. Of course it is on YouTube, so here goes something new:

Labels: Flickr, YouTube

This fall, it'll already be time to renew my passport. Happily, I don't have to start the process at the moment. Beginning from Tuesday, the rules for air travel into the United States will require a passport, and this means the Canadian offices are hopping. In a year it will be required even for travel by road. This sort of puts an end to the long-held belief about having the longest undefended border in the world, eh?

I remember being able to do a large part of the application process online in 2002. So, I looked around government sites and rediscovered epass Canada. If one takes the time to fill out everything on your computer, the completed application form can be printed on a local printer. Then, one just drops off or sends in the form and supporting documents at the nearest passport office.

I also found out that the epass can be used for services on the Canada Revenue Agency. There is further security as they needed to send me an additional code for their site. It allows residents to check on previous tax returns as well make changes to some personal data.

Labels: Canada, government, passport, YouTube

This Windows Media Video clip should've been added here earlier in the week but I had to re-attach the wires to my computer. It was a fairly simple process. I long for the day when I'll say, "Computer. Capture that one-minute, CTV clip of the apartment fire in our building and add it as an entry in my blog." Someday.

Labels: Hardware, New Westminster, YouTube