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

My Flickr membership runs until the end of next year. What a bargain it is! It costs me $5 a month to host this web site which allows 200 megabytes of storage, I think. Flickr costs out to a bit more than $2 per month for unlimited uploading. A single file from my Kodak can be as large as 4 megabytes. We're talking big numbers here.

Now I'm lazy though. So far I've put only ten photos from last week's cruise. In fact, I still have vacation photos from Zürich, Switzerland in the fall that I haven't gotten around to upload.

One really can take pictures of anything nowadays at near zero cost. I can compare this to when I was a kid and taking each photo had an associated price tag even when developing B&W film on the stairway. (When the door was closed it was nearly the darkest place in the house.) I took two photos from the balcony today and one yesterday. They're on Flickr now. I don't know at what point quantity becomes overload.

To see a slide show of pictures taken from the balcony over the years, click on this example picture.

Labels: balcony, Flickr, hard disk, New Westminster

Dreaming not required. Batteries not included.

Labels: balcony, Christmas, Fraser River, YouTube

I bought my first digital camera at the beginning of 2002 and used it for almost four years. It was an Olympus D-40 Zoom which sported 4 megapixels although, at the time, the average camera was only 2. At the end of 2005, I upgraded to an Olympus SP-350. While the prevailing resolution at the time was about 5, I jumped up to 8 MP. Now, I figure that I've gleaned enough value from my second camera too. It has captured least one picture every single day and often many more.

Today, while many best-selling cameras are still in the 7 to 8 MP range, some deals can be had at higher resolutions. In a flyer, I saw the Kodak Z1275 selling at Walmart for $218 although it's probably a few bucks cheaper in the US. The camera has been out since the fall but there weren't too many Internet reviews on the EasyShare camera.

Some reviewers suggested there's no need of having a 12 megapixel CCD. This may be true for those who only print 4x6 family photos from memory cards at the drug store. Yet the more information that can be captured from a scene, the more detail there is. This can be important when cropping the edges of an image. Believe me, there's no picture that cannot be improved through a little tweaking with image-editing software.

Others complained that the Z1275 is too big for a modern point and shoot, but it's smaller than my trusty Olympus. It lacks a traditional viewfinder; however, I seldom found myself holding a camera up to my face anymore. The camera is also larger than other models as the Z1275 uses two AA batteries. The ability to use standard batteries was an important criteria for me. I've already got a charger with plenty of Nickel-Metal Hydrides and in a crunch off-the-shelf AA's can be purchased anywhere. The 5X optical zoom probably takes up a bit more room than the, more normal, 3X. I also considered going bigger with a real SLR but I knew that I wouldn't want to carry something bulky with me all the time. A camera is of no value if it's sitting at home. Lastly, I feel an artist would be able to get great pics out of a 1970's Instamatic with a Magicube flash.

A few Net commenters also thought the camera's body was of flimsy plastic and it didn't feel well-made. My only reply would be that most every non-food purchase I made in 2007 has come from China, so I'm getting pretty used to shoddy manufacturing.

I was a little hesitant to switch brands as one becomes familiar with the on-board software of modern digital cameras. I know the Olympus well. After playing with the Kodak a bit in the store, I knew I could make it through the initial confusion of figuring out something different. Many online reviewers don't allow their new devices enough time to grow on 'em. It can take a while to warm up to something new. For example, getting used to a new computer can be a major headache. When we are forced to do something a little different, we initially rebel. People really are creatures of habit.

Anyway, I let the salesperson swipe my card yesterday afternoon. I haven't had much time to get out and really see if I made a good switch. After I put in the batteries I took a quick photo from the balcony in the evening. Choose a size.

500x368

1024x753

3857x2837

Labels: balcony, camera, review

It'd seem very strange to live in an unattached, single-family dwelling. We really are condo people. As mentioned here plenty of times, we're also resolute New Westminster residents. Apparently others agree as there are hundreds of new apartments being built within a kilometer.

I don't want to sound like one of those people who always comments that time flies, but it does. We've lived on the 10th floor in this building for nine years now. That has afforded many opportunities for me to snap pictures from the balcony. In fact my Daily Picture Parade probably has its share on those days I forgot to get a photo elsewhere.

The following photo was taken from the balcony during the Fraserfest fireworks display last night. To see fifty other photos from or of the balcony, look on Flickr.

Labels: balcony, Daily Picture Parade, fireworks, Flickr, New Westminster

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

Last week, I noticed Flickr had improved its slideshow component. The photos are now larger. While a photo is being shown, it's possible to click the center for additional information. These are positive improvements.

I thought I'd see if I could find a subject of which I might have multiple photos. If you click on the image above, you will load a set which currently holds 31 images. As I live in downtown New Westminster, the SkyTrain Bridge is a common visual element of my life. It is a transit-only span that crosses the Fraser River. It is next to the 70 year old Patullo bridge. These pictures were taken over a period of five years. Many were simply shot from my balcony.

Labels: balcony, Flickr, Fraser River, New Westminster, SkyTrain, transit

I took a panorama shot from my balcony in August of 2005 and it's been on Flickr since that time. Although downtown New Westminster is undergoing a lot of changes, the view's not much different from where I sit.


Click this to see an enlarged version of this photo. Depending
on your screen size, you may need to do quite a bit of scrolling to
see the entire image.

Labels: balcony, Flickr, New Westminster

I didn't get up until quarter past eight today. Well, that's what the clocks said although it's due to the early arrival of Daylight Savings Time. Sunrise was 7:35 and sunset will be at 7:10. I like the idea of the additional light in the evenings. I fear that today is going to be too overcast to be able to really tell the difference though.

There's a memorable Expedia TV commercial flogging their winter get-away packages. A woman looks up from her computer and out of a downtown office window. It shows the time is only after 4:15 pm but the city lights are on because it's as dark as midnight. Tears start to well up in her eyes and a pout forms on her face. Of course, then she can hardly contain her glee when she notices the great deals on Expedia.

Rather than feeling sorry for her, I'd say the bitch should be given a warning for her personal web-surfing at work.


This is a sunset from my balcony last week. This will now occur
an hour later due to the early adoption of Daylight Savings Time.

Labels: balcony, Fraser River, New Westminster

Some days, there's nothing that I can say that describes the morning view. My words can instruct yet not inspire.


South from the balcony, the sun rises west of Mt. Baker in December.

Labels: balcony

True to this morning's entry, I'm sitting on the balcony sipping a glass of red wine. Well, actually the glass is on the table and my computer is in my lap. It's now four o'clock in the afternoon. The wind is surprisingly nippy but I'm still quite comfortable in a t-shirt.

I've been watching the gulls a lot. The youngsters which I blogged about in the past, have now made it off the roof of the Met Hotel. Two flew down to the building on my left and one to the right. They are not very skilled at flight yet. Well, the flying is okay; it's just the landing that poses a bit of a problem. The offspring remain grey. The parents still spend a great deal of time on the building with the nest. They haven't stopped functioning as watchful protectors as was just witnessed as they screech and divebomb unwelcomed guests of both the bird and human variety.

The Fraser was open for salmon fishing yesterday, but it must've been a one-day event as no boats are to be seen today. I may have just witnessed the splash of a river otter though. They consider the runs as a prime time for a bit of easy-to-catch food.

The SkyTrain system is gearing up for rush hour with additional trains coming into service. Traffic on Columbia Street is picking up also. I do look forward to the spring when it'll have only two lanes of traffic rather than the current four.

I could go on and on .. . but then I'd miss the view. Although my notebook's wallpaper carries the exact same scene, it's nicer to see the real one. Oh, and my glass is empty ...

Labels: balcony

I love my balcony. I love sitting there. I love thinking about stuff while I watch the river.

Being on the balcony reminds me in a small way of the old, front porches on New England houses. When I was growing up, there were always people in the neighbourhood who'd just sit out on the porch and while away summer evenings. It's a whole attitude that is very unplugged. People weren't wearing iPods or answering email on laptops. People'd just sit and relax. It's a trait that seems many are missing nowadays. Whole segments of the population cannot turn off the cell phone, switch off their gadgets, and simply take it easy.

I feel sorry for people without balconies or front porches.

Labels: balcony

In the picture below is a mother seagull and one of her chicks.



We watch a gull family as an annual summer event. It's easy to view the roof of the Met Hotel from the balcony. Yearly, parents raise young ones there. We see the entire process from readying the nest area, to keeping the eggs safe, through flying lessons. We watch 'em leave one by one until they're all out on their own.

It's a process that's plays out with regularity. There are three chicks this year. They have grown a great deal in the last week.

Labels: balcony, flying

Yesterday at work, I wanted to show a colleague where I lived and the view from my balcony. Flickr was, of course, the obvious solution. In the matter of a few seconds I was able to type in a tag to call up example photos including this large panorama shot. It dawned on my that I do so like my balcony. In fact it was probably a contributing factor to having chosen this apartment.

Yesterday evening when I preparing some of this text, I sat on the balcony with my laptop. Wireless reception is always good, but then it should be as the router is about five feet away! The tug boats were pulling vast quantities of lumber upriver. The breeze was a bit cool though. I noticed that even my Gateway's Windows background was a widescreen shot from the balcony. Since I apparently can't seem to get enough of the view, I took another:

Labels: balcony

It started yesterday. The annual spring festival always begins during the Victoria Day long weekend and runs through the end of the US Memorial Day weekend. It's a tradition in New Westminster.

Probably the most famous and popular event is the Hyack International parade with around 140 entries from around British Columbia, Washington state, and as far afield as California.

The history of the events spring from festivities around May Day. The city likes to boast that this it the longest-running celebration of its type in the Commonwealth. Another deeply-rooted part of the festival is the anvil firing. The anvil battery has fired a 21-gun salute to Queen Victoria since the late 1800's. The Hyack Voluntary Fire Brigade first used anvils because there was a shortage of guns. In colouful costumes, members continue the event tomorrow at noon. The modern version of the festival with its many scheduled, community events started in the early 1970's.

Fireworks were exploded from a barge on the Fraser River last night. Here's an example I photographed from the balcony of the apartment.

Labels: balcony, fireworks, Fraser River, Hayack, New Westminster

I discovered that my graphics software can stitch together separate photographs into one, large panorama shot. It was very easy to do. Rather ambitiously, I went to the balcony and took five shots. I needed to cover a one-hundred-and-seventy degree view.



Click to load the picture on flickr. This could be very convenient when it's not possible to get everything in the viewfinder. Just being able to take two side-by-side pictures and stitch them together may prove useful. Although I've owned the camera for three and a half years, I also found out that the same effect can be done 'inside' the camera. Live and learn!

Labels: balcony, Flickr, software

Yesterday evening I was finally able to sit on the balcony and enjoy the summer weather. For some reason, it seems as though it's taken a long time in coming this year. It becomes very hard to sympathize with the news of sweltering heat in other locations, when one still has a quilt on the bed. Here are a few thoughts that I wrote after a hard day of teaching and a glass of Canadian Club.

"I'm watching barges and pleasure craft running up and down the Fraser River. The top of Mr. Baker, in Washington State, looms over the horizon. People who are barbecuing dinner on various balconies are providing a wonderful aroma of burning sauces. There are quite a limited number of people at the New Westminster Quay considering how fine the weather is. Perhaps I'm just comparing the present numbers to those who were here for this weekend's Fraserfest firework shows.

After a wait, I must've felt the same technological contentment that my friend, Bret must've felt well over a year ago when we installed a wireless network in his house. At that time, he was able to do computer work while sitting near the fountain at the small oasis at the back of the house. Here it my balcony that matters.

I just returned an email to my sister whom I hear from on occasion. I am so pleased to have got to know her more in the last several years than the previous two decades. It's also nice knowing that Lynne and Joel will be up for a short visit from tomorrow. Although their visits are rare, it only takes a second before it feels like we've never been out of contact.

I'm also happy that Jay will return from work shortly."

Labels: balcony, Bret, Joel, New Westminster, Quay

A few people incorrectly assume that the entire county of Canada stays frozen from August until May. Of course, out on the west coast, Vancouver is affected by the same weather patterns as the US Pacific Northwest. In the Lower Mainland, most winters pass without snow on the ground. Actually, it rarely even freezies due to cloud cover and frequent pineapple expresses. Those are wet weather systems which originate near Hawaii and pump warm, wet weather to our coast.

Last night was clear and cool. It was a degree or so below freezing. I just had to run to the balcony this morning and snap this picture which shows frost!

Labels: balcony, Hawaii

When I was growing up, I loved the 'closed in feeling' of a good snowstorm. Then, years later, when in the Persian Gulf, a good sandstorm offered the same emotional effect. Now, the most similar situation occurs during November. Along the river in New Westminster, we get a unique micro-climate at this time of year. If you search through the blog for balcony shots, you'll see my usual view. You can compare one of those to the picture below. It shows a foggy day. This shot was taken a few minutes before 11:00 am today.

Labels: balcony, New Westminster

In many places the weather is the same for miles around; however, around Vancouver a few kilometers can make a lot of difference. It sometimes rains on one side of a hill whereas it's as dry as a bone on the other. There are effects from the mountains and the sea. Most importantly, in this part of downtown New Westminster, we're affected by the Fraser River. We can be completely socked in with fog, while uptown basks in sunshine.


A harbinger of autumn: This photo shows the first fog I've noticed
for a long time. I snapped it from the balcony just seconds ago.

Labels: balcony, Fraser River, New Westminster

I cannot argue with the superb weather. I'm just sitting on the balcony. Even though it's 8:30 pm, it's bright and sunny and still in the mid 20's Celsius. What a perfect day to watch the barges, nesting gulls chasing a bald eagle, and the snow on top of Mt. Baker reflecting a pinkish hue. Oh, I nearly forgot to mention; there's pleasure in sipping an extremely cold Labatt's Wildcat.

Labels: balcony

I had put various seeds in an empty glass on the microwave. They sat
long enough to dry out well, so I put several pumpkin seeds into a tiny
little pot and put it on the balcony. These are false blossoms but I really
don't want to be a farmer anyway.

Labels: balcony, flora and fauna

Okay, the title's a bit of a hyperbole. If I am not inspired to write a journal entry, I can always step on to the balcony with a camera as I did again yesterday evening at 8:45 pm. We're looking up the Fraser River. Note the mountains on the left-hand side of the building.


See a shot from a similar position that was posted here on September 16, 2003.

Labels: balcony, camera, Fraser River

Even if you've switched over to digital photography, you can probably still remember putting a new film in your old camera. You used to take a couple of shots just to get the roll lined up for the first picture.

Yesterday, I knew I was going to take my digital camera to BCIT for a class photograph. I still had this useless need to click a shot from the balcony before I left for Burnaby. What for? (It's an old habit, I guess, and a little like when we insist on dialing a phone number, although we've actually been pushing buttons for decades.)

Fraser River & SkyTrain Bridge

Labels: balcony, BCIT, camera, transit

I sometimes sit on the balcony and watch the river go by. The Fraser is a working river so logs, crushed cars, and barges often pass. Yet, I ran for the camera the other day when I saw this. I guess it could be termed a houseboat.

Labels: balcony, camera, Fraser River

Earlier in the week I caught this rainbow from the balcony. It's not uncommon to see them around sunset during this part of the year.



It's good that we had rain over the past several weeks and things are back to normal. The grass is green again and should stay that way throughout the winter.

Labels: balcony

From a balcony picture earlier in the month (September 8th), one could see the New Westminster Quay. Parked near the market is a casino riverboat which seldom leaves the dock nowadays.

Labels: balcony, Quay

Labels: balcony, New Westminster

Laurie, you should recognize this scene. Doesn't it seem a long time ago that you were visiting?

This apartment is on the tenth floor overlooking the Fraser River in New Westminster. There is still some industry up river, so barges with logs and working tugs regularly pass by. The apartment faces south, but for this picture, I was looking down river. Can you see the river-boat casino that's parked at the New Westminster Quay? Behind that, you should be able to see the Alex Fraser Bridge. The river splits into a north and south branch almost within view. The Fraser's waters enter the Strait of Georgia about 18 kilometers from here.

I took the picture just seconds ago:

Labels: balcony, Fraser River, Laurie, Quay