Which Way's East?

I've mentioned here in the past how I am most comfortable when I know the compass directions for my location. For example, right now, I know that because I'm facing my monitor, I'm also facing almost directly west. Therefore, Washington State is to my left and Toronto behind my back. I seem to need to understand my physical orientation in comparison to the rest of the world. For all common places such as classrooms at BCIT, or the supermarket, I know my bearings.

Maybe this is why when learning a city on vacation, I could never just hop on a sightseeing bus to see the landmarks. I want to know where things are in relation to each other. I need to grasp the 'lay of the land'. Without walking and figuring out the transit system, a city would seem just a series of unconnected spots. I cannot think of anything more annoying than that.

So, whether Rome last fall, or Washington DC last week, I always return with a pretty good idea of the geography of the cities we visit.

A Batch from the Year 1988

Earlier this morning, I had to provide some information on my previous teaching experience. Our program is instituting a ranking of instructors in order to provide for equitable course loading.

Of course, this chore forced me to face up to the fact I've been teaching ESL for years. Let me be even more accurate here: I've been doing this for decades! I have spent so many hours in front of classrooms with so many different people. It's all a little scary when I stop to ponder the numbers.


Today's entry includes the photo above just to highlight the point. These were students of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces in Dammam. I taught a year at the Technical Institute of Naval Studies there. It was a very interesting time as the students came from all parts of the Kingdom. Their officers kept them tired most of the time so I am not sure how effective the English language training was. This picture is over twenty years old. Now, these young guys will have become old men. I am not sure how I've been able to remain exactly the same.

Places Visited While Blogging

I started my eJournal and images on Labor Day of 2003. Since that day, I have created daily blog entries. The audience and purpose of such an endeavor has never been exactly clear. I make the effort to sometimes express personal opinions. More often, I do it to document things that go on in my life. I've discovered how easily one's personal experiences and events can meld into a mass of vague memories over time.

Since the beginning of my blog, Jay and I have taken numerous vacations. As a general rule we try to spend several months a year exploring some other location. The inclusion of tags to help organize blog materials did not extend back to the initial years. However, I have slowly added them to help sift through this copious data. For example, I was able to identify a number of entries written during trips which were more than fours days in length. Sometimes, the tags include planning details or post vacation thoughts too.

( ** Updated links found at this location. ** )

To the NW by Northwest

The day's been long. Let's see, we got up at 5:15 am EDT and now it's 9:27 pm PDT. I should be able to sleep well tonight. My sister was waiting at Seatac Park when I picked up my truck from a week's stay. We went down to Kent, WA and found the Old Country Buffet. We talked and ate for two hours. The drive back up to New Westminster was easy in Saturday traffic. Did it rain the whole time that Jay and I were away? I've got peeling skin from the three brightest days in the cold, Washington DC sun. It's nice sitting at home with the gas fireplace burning, looking at a big monitor.

Good Evening, Baltimore!

Things went just as expected. We said goodbye to downtown Washington. We were at the Baltimore airport at around 11:15 am. The shuttle for Microtel came along after we called. We had eaten breakfast right in our other hotel. It wasn't that great and cost $10 but I did pack away enough not to be hungry for hours.

We went to the room, had coffee, and then caught the shuttle back to a light-rail stop near the airport. It cost $3.50 for a full day pass which can be used on all Baltimore transit options. It took about twenty minutes to get downtown.

I don't know what I expected from Baltimore. I don't really think I had any preconceived notion of what it'd be like. I was quite surprised by how much I liked it. We got off at the Convention Center station which is right by the Inner Harbor. We walked this way and that. Before long we were at the Mount Vernon area. We saw most of the things on our tourist brochure by walking although we did hop on the Metro subway as well. There's only one line. We got off after just a few stops at Lexington Market. How fun! I am pretty attuned to understanding variations of English, but there was a lot of black English being spoken which I really couldn't catch at all. We even rode up to the University of Baltimore area. Six hours of walking has made me tired but has given me a good overview of this city.

I am only beginning, at my advanced age, to understand the background to the beginnings of the US. The war of 1812 had important effects here. This is where the national anthem's 'rockets red glare' took place. The British understood this was an important port. I can sort of see how the nation's capital ended up being made from swamp land not far from here. Live and learn. I'm so thankful to have nearly made it to fifty just because I've had a chance to get so damned smart!

We are off, heading back towards Minneapolis and then Seattle, at 8:30 tomorrow morning. Then, hopefully we'll meet up with my sister for lunch in Kent, Washington. I like knowing I will be in my own bed tomorrow night.

A Rainy Last Day

Okay, I am finally all 'museumed out'. It took a few days but after spending several hours this morning in the Smithsonian American History Museum and half the afternoon in the National Museum of the American Indian, I'm done. There are other free galleries, but I'm finished. It's just as well as this is our last full day in DC. Tomorrow after breakfast we'll check out and head back towards Baltimore, MD. Our weekly Metro passes will take us to Greenbelt and perhaps on the B30 bus to BWI.

I think we got our money's worth from the $29 weekly Metro passes. The subway system here does seem set up more for commuters than occasional tourists. Unlike some major cities, there aren't stations close to some places that visitors want to see. Also, the stations are all identical which is utilitarian, I guess. At first it seemed a bit odd. The system is also extremely dim. I guess it proves that in order to maintain safety and security, transit doesn't need to be lit up with the brightness of a supernova. I might be nice to be able to look out the windows and read the station signs however. Still the system seems efficient enough. Any city worth a visit should have an adequate rapid transit system. Washington certainly passes that criteria.

If we get back to the Baltimore airport and check into our hotel early enough tomorrow, we hope to spend the afternoon in that city's downtown. Our first flight back toward the west coast departs at 8:30 am on Saturday. We've visited quite a large number of North American cities since living in Canada. There are still so many places left. High on the must-do list is a summer visit to Chicago.

A Smithsonian Spree

I was in good spirits today after receiving rather good news from my work by email. We were ready to hit a bit more of the varied Smithsonian holdings. I like this schedule because by the time we get up, get ready, eat, and take transit we're right on the National Mall at the 10:00 am opening times.


We did start off at the National Air and Space Museum. I was looking at the unused duplicate of the Moon Lander thinking how very long ago forty years is. I was very excited about the exploration of space as a kid of 10. Science and technology seemed like modern day magic which would cure all earthly troubles. The last forty years have surely been filled with many miracles of modern technology but we really didn't do as much with space as I would have expected as that child.

It takes hours to rush though the exhibits. I wasn't 'museumed out' by the experiences by rapidly just taking in the overview. After that we walked across the patch of green, through the National Sculpture Gardens, to visit the National Archives. It's where the US Constitution and other famous documents are stored, so there were queues. They also provide interesting and informative exhibits from the archives. I think I would have easily enjoyed being an archivist. It seems like a profession as, if not more, noble than teaching. A 12-minute documentary film in their theatre nearly brought me to tears. I like records but that's rather obvious from a person who's become a daily blogger, isn't it?

After another Subway foot-long lunch, we hurried through the National Portrait Gallery. A few of the paintings of George Washington were very different than the traditional likeness on the dollar. I was only impressed by several paintings from the days of the Westward Expansion. You know the ones I mean which were painted to highlight the broad grandeur of the landscape. I'm thinking of Thomas Hill. Having seen plenty of the west, I know they aren't strictly capturing the scenery but rather highlight the emotions of an expansive, almost magical, environment.

Anyway, the hours just ticked by, so after a Dunkin' Donut and coffee we headed back early to the hotel at about four. It's resting time now. We can head out later, maybe, to 18th Street to find where all the ethnic restaurants are supposed to be.

Both Stuffed and Live

It was an amazingly tiring day. We started right out walking straight to the Jefferson Memorial from the Metro stop as we hadn't walked the Tidal Basin yet. We're about ten days early for the main cherry blossoms. I would think they might be a little late as the temperature this morning was below freezing at about 30F. Later in the day it rose to about 50F but I'm no longer used to cold weather. I brought along a medium coat but no gloves or tuque. I cannot believe I grew up on the East Coast as I've become quite a weather wimp over the years.


We went into the Smithsonian Castle just to see what it held. Then we crossed the Mall and spent a few hours in the Natural History Museum. I love old museums which have been upgraded as they're all touchy-feely. Many times when travelling in Europe we stopped off at this type of museum but seldom found any completely free.

Then, we headed for Dupont Square just to end up grabbing a Subway sandwich. A special offer means that all foot-longs are $5.00 and one did fine.

We got back on a Metro line to go to the Smithsonian Zoo over in Virginia. Until the end of this month the exhibitions all close at 4:30 and the premises at 5:00. Therefore, we ended up missing the "Big Cats" but saw most else. They are making a vast improvement for housing the Asian elephants. Again, it was a nice zoo considering it was also free. We got back to the hotel room after 6 o'clock.

We'll probably just get Chinese takeout and eat dinner in the room. Tomorrow, we've got to continue the streak at Air and Space Museum first off tomorrow. This is a slow paced vacation but it's fun seeing all the families and school groups out probably because they're on school break. I like being a tourist when others are doing the same.

Monday Blues

My face is very red. It might be the sun or perhaps the wind. Today, we walked all over. Just getting around the National Mall and park areas takes a lot of leg work. As well, we ended up walking around the Arlington National Cemetery too. That was followed by popping out of many Metro stations just to look around. Foggy Bottom, anyone?


It was very nice weather but only about 51F. It's going to be the same tomorrow, so we will continue with outdoor activities. The longer-range weather forecast shows it might get cloudier on Wednesday and Thursday. We need a lot of time to check out the Smithsonian museums.

The title was supposed to represent the sky today. I did receive some bad news from work though. I guess being connected has its negatives as well as advantages.

Capitol Ideas

I'm ignoring the little time shown down in the task bar. I know it's really not quarter to three. It's odd being on EDT. We were so exhausted from the 12 travelling hours it took to get to Baltimore, we had no trouble going to bed at 9:00 pm local time.

We got up to a traditional Microtel breakfast. The shuttle guy took us back to BWI to catch the B30 bus that runs directly to Greenbelt at the end of the Metro's Green Line. Our hotel, the Capitol Skyline, is within walking distance of the Navy Yards Station, right that line, on the other side of the Washington Mall.

It was too early to check in at 11:30. So, we left the bags in their room and walked towards the dome of the Capitol building. We're on I Street but it wasn't really very far. The sky was very blue. Where are presidents sworn in? The statue on the top of the Capitol doesn't face the Mall. We saw a tour group on Segways. After walking past the reflecting pool and nearly to the Washington Monument, it was time for lunch. We figured there might be cheap restaurants for lunch at Chinatown, so we ducked into the Smithsonian Metro. We ended up eating Indian food at a rather upscale restaurant there. They put on a fairly decent lunch buffet on weekends.


After eating we headed back to check into the hotel. The rooms are quite nice and better then the tattered outside would indicate. The area it is in has obviously recently been involved in a lot of renewal. There are tons of new condos which primarily don't look occupied yet.

We napped for an hour. Hopefully, we're caught up to a normal schedule. A trip across the country is far easier than trying to adjust to an overseas one. When going from British Columbia to Sri Lanka, for example, it takes a good week to sync up one's body to the time.

I don't exactly now what will be next tonight. We bought week-long Metro Rail passes, so we could head towards Dupont Circle. Or we could just see what the White House looks like at night. We've got the rest of the week to do exactly as we please.

En Route

No, I've not run out to buy a Net-enabled cell. I have a bad case of phone phobia, you see.

I simply set this to auto-publish at 9:00 am Vancouver time.

At this time, we should be making a final descent into Minneapolis, MN. With only 45 minutes to catch the connecting flight into Baltimore, I figured I wouldn't have time to blog an entry on my netbook should there be free wifi at MSP. It's possible I'll make a blogged note this evening. Or maybe I'll just update my Facebook status or Twitter instead.

A People-Person Techie

When I input data into BCIT's grade book, the students can follow their progress during the course though the myBCIT website. Early this morning, I finished correcting the final exams and turned in my final grades through my browser. For the first time ever, I also ran some Cognos reports from my living room. I was able to save them directly as PDF files and email to our program assistant.

It almost reminded me of the fun I got when sneaking into the computer science building at Keene State College. I would type letters to friends at UNH on some old VAX system which was connected through a leased line to the other side of the state. Sometimes I wonder how I managed to get a such a liberal-arts type of education when sporting such nerdy characteristics.

Luck of the Draw

We are half packed for a trip to Washington DC. On Saturday morning at about one o'clock we'll drive down to Seatac airport and park the truck there for a week. Neither the wait at the border nor the traffic will be bad in the middle of the night. It seems like quite a long ways to catch a flight but I couldn't find anything close to the $US220 tickets departing from Vancouver.

What about vacations of the past? I'm back to my goal of occasionally getting some old photos scanned. The job is far too large to actually attack systematically; therefore, I've decided to randomly draw a photo from the collection. By fishing something out of the box, I should ensure a fair variety.

Today, I ended up with something from a trip fifteen years back. Jay and I were heading on a safari in Kenya. It was quite a long trip from Nairobi. In this picture we were driving south by van. Apparently, this was a cigarette break. I don't think I have many photos with a butt in my hands although I smoked for about sixteen years.

The End of a Course

I've begun today's entry in an instructor's resource room in the NE1 building. I'm at the Burnaby campus. My students are using an extra fifteen minutes before break to complete course evaluations. This, in fact, proves that my present class will soon be coming to a screeching halt. Tomorrow afternoon, the students will write their final examinations.

I cannot help but compare this ebb and flow to some of types of jobs where the daily tasks remain annoyingly constant. I've talked about this concept previously here. Maybe, I've already discussed almost everything in my eJournal and images blog. Sometimes I fear this may be a risk in having blogged daily for so many years. I guess it doesn't really matter, does it? Repeating oneself isn't a crime.

Even tomorrow's examination is the same basic writing test I have used for several years now. As a young teacher I used to think I had to keep re-inventing the wheel every single time. Yet, if something works, there's no real need in changing it. I do update my tests. There is always something to tweak. For example, I have a question that includes a graph of gasoline prices. That's something which surely hasn't remained static during the last half decade.

To Know Me ...

I've discussed the idea of privacy rights before. You can click the tag at the footer of today's entry to see more. I still have a hard time understanding why so many people my age get hung up over the idea of having personal stuff on the Internet. Honestly, I think there's something wrong with people who assume there's danger in having information online. If I were in a human resources department and unable to come up with any Net material on an individual, I'd probably choose to avoid them like the plague. If I came up empty, I'd simply have to assume they had stuff to hide or were in a witness-protection program!

Of course, I keep Facebook's privacy settings fairly wide-open although it defaults to sharing information only with friends. I guess its the nature of the material I have online. I think of all my Internet materials as forming a large, continually-growing personal resume. Of course there are details online which would not make it to a one-page paper version. That brevity is due only to paper's small size and inflexibility.

I never willingly post things which I'd not freely share and discuss at a party with friends and strangers. Or perhaps my argument here is purely to hide the fact I wish I were famous and adored by the masses.

A New Life for Old Photos

Like so many things in life, I hardly ever think about my scanner except for when I need it. I've often waxed philosophical about the ability to turn aging paper into permanent, computer files. It still seems rather magic as once it's liberated from the single four by six sheet, it can roam around freely on the Internet, showing up on monitors all over.
That's exactly why this photo is here. Jay asked me to scan some old photos, so he could work on building some albums at his facebook account. I happily obliged. I don't scan often, but I feel a sense of accomplishment taking a tattered old image and making it better. Pictures that have been sitting shuffled together for years get both dirty and faded. When removed and handled, they get scratched. Most of our photos, from going on twenty-five years back, were taken with cheap little cameras. So, when I'm able to get something that approaches passable color off a yellowing, nearly-monochrome scrap of paper, it makes me happy.
Above, Jay has a backdrop of real camels, not the ordinary zoo type. These beasts were the real deal roaming around the desert near Taif, Saudi Arabia back in 1986. Having an visual cue, as a reminder to a far away place of long ago, is nice. I love my scanner.

More Passwords to Remember

I suppose I should no longer be surprised as more and more of life moves onto the Internet. The things I can do online would have been unimaginable a decade ago. Within the last month, I've filed my taxes, booked flights and hotel stays, entered BCIT grades, facebooked with friends globally, and triggered a prescription refill at my pharmacy.


So, it should come as no shock that New Westminster, BC is now making my tax and electricity bills accessible though a new city portal. The advantages of going online means that past, as well as current, information become available. I can review records from previous years. In some cases, these systems do not deal with legacy transactions. For example, at the British Columbia Institute of Technology, I can only review personal contract data back through 2004. Old printed copies are really not nearly as convenient. Although there have been years of prognostication, paper is truly beginning to become passé.

The End of Solitude

I find it a little ironic I mentioned in yesterday's blog entry that I now always pop in earplugs as I drive to and from the BCIT campus. I mentioned how the drive in seemed like a waste of time without my favourite podcasts. There's a rub and it's a big one.

I couldn't agree more with the discussion about the 'End of Solitude' on the CBC technology podcast called Spark - Eposide 68. In it there's talk about having alone time for introspection. I've ranted about the inane conversations I hear on transit or out in public. Most of the banter seems to be focused on finding out where the other party is at that given moment. I had always commented that it'd be better to shut the damned things off and for the people to just sit and THINK. So, it's not without a little irony that I want to share this episode with you which I first heard when I could have well been unplugged and alone with my thoughts.

I've quoted a passage by Walt Witman here in the past. It goes something like this:

Do I contradict myself? Very well, then, I contradict myself. (I am large, I contain multitudes.)

In Your Ear

Old dogs can learn new tricks. Well, maybe they can re-learn old ones.

I was primarily going to discuss how I use Google Reader to collect daily podcasts. On the drive to BCIT, I feel naked if I've forgotten my mp3 player. The trips seems like a total waste of time, if I cannot learn something new a long the way. As I only have about 35-40 minutes of total commute time, I don't have many minutes for programming. Yet, there is a tremendously-wide selection of podcast materials out there. I suppose in a way, one is what one listens to. I find I focus mainly on the BBC's Global News, and a culled selection of science and technology programs.

One doesn't really need a functioning mp3 player if one's at a PC during much of the day. I find I seldom listen when online though. It'd be easy to do so, as I manage my RSS feed of podcast programs using Google Reader. Just downloading several shows before I head out the door takes very little time. Sharing the collection is easy and you can most probably hear what's recently been in my ear buds by clicking on the tiny image of the screen capture. These automatically show up on my facebook wall as well.

Why is this simply relearning old tricks? Although much different in nature and practice, I will never forget my cool, aluminum-cased Sony Walkman of the early 1980's. I may well have bought it when working in Kuwait. It allowed me to first listen alone to audio cassettes through stereo headphones.

Not Exactly a Muscle Car

I've commented here in the past that I didn't have a single picture of my first car. I mean .. cough .. Ford Pinto. As a very young kid, I used to enjoy taking photos but for some reason I didn't during my high school or college years. I have no graphic record of so many things.

Just yesterday, Bret stepped up to the plate. High school buddy and former business partner in our summer arcade during college, he recently uploaded a batch of photos to facebook. And in among them, was this yellowish wonder.


By the looks, this was taken after high school. I can only surmise this because of the condition of the car. As a senior in high school, a group of friends and I flipped it over a stonewall and into the woods one night. My father, as punishment, wouldn't let me fix and run it during part of my first year in college. I have no comments about the windshield-sized glasses I was wearing, the foolish grin, nor the t-shirt that'd probably only fit around my left arm nowadays.

New City Property

We like how the small city of New Westminster sits smack dab in the middle of the Metro-Vancouver area. We had faith in the future of downtown New West. as soon as we learned our way around. After arriving in Canada, we rented for nearly two years and then opted to purchase in a condo tower here. There were far fewer choices back in 1998. Over the boom years of the recent decade, the downtown has begun to flourish. New buildings aside, it is now a safer location with few boarded up businesses and a less rough feeling.


Still we're a bit cut off from the river. The mighty old Fraser is the reason for this community but there's a truck route, railroad tracks, and an ugly municipal parkade between our building and the river.

Yet, there's now a new glimmer of hope on the horizon. In recent weeks the city has announced it has repurchased land sold in the 1950's. In a prior era, fish canneries were on the site. It has been an abandoned area closed off to the public since our arrival. In fact, zoning once called for the creation of megatowers there. So, it's with a sign of relief that we learned it will become vital parkland for the city. I'm hoping the area, shown in a photo snapped this morning, will eventually be a pleasant place for a stroll. After all it's one of the areas seen from our balcony.

Chomping at the Byte

I finished correcting my students' midterm exams this morning. I followed this by entering all the marks into the online BCIT grade book. Of course this left me a bit tired and so I really couldn't think of what to include for today's entry in my eJournal and images blog.

Then suddenly came to me. It actually arrived in the form of an email from an ex-student in the United Arab Emirates. He's one of those people who always sends around emails containing photos and whatnot which he finds interesting. Although I'd prefer he get a facebook page and do it on his own wall, the mail is generally quite useful.

Today, he brought back a lot of memories by including images of the various incarnations of computer screens I've stared at over the years. The screenshots were lovely and large. However, I'm hosting my own images for this blog, so I editting them down in size.

Yes, I did once run Windows 2. I think it was a special version designed for the hot new chip called a 286! If I remember V3.1 was much more robust than straight version 3 because it included rudimentary network support. Windows 95 came next for me and I was suckered into the ME version although not much had changed. XP is something of a staple and although quite long in the tooth, it's still running on my new netbook. I have used Windows Vista since it's launch and have never experienced a lick of trouble. I tried running beta 7 on my old laptop and was impressed. I'm quite excited and looking forward to its eventual release. As soon as Windows 7 hits the shelf, a copy will be running on my home PC.

Weathering the Storm

Hey, I'm no financial expert. But wait a minute; if those in the know had truly sound financial advice, the world wouldn't have witnessed the mess it has during the past year.

I do take it as a near personal slight when the Canadian dollar drops in value against its US counterpart. There are those who say the situation helps to boost exports. In my mind having to resort to a continual fire sale cannot be good for a country. I guess a main problem with the world financial markets are their sheer size and scope. Yes, Canadian fundamentals have, up to now, been in much better shape than most of the G7. We are still perceived to be a commodity-currency though. When it comes to exchange rates that hurts.


As most world prices are still set against the greenback, the fall in the Canadian value from last summer's 1.10 to the current .77 is a substantial drop. Now when I run out to do world shopping I feel much poorer. If the US economy is in such dire straights then why does its greenback end up being able to attract the flight of risk funds. If I'd been smarter I would have hedged a quarter of my savings into US currency eight months ago. If only ...

Oh, you needn't explain to me the actual processes and reasons for these changes. I will let you speak to my HSBC adviser whom I ignored. She was suggesting I aggressively stash my cash in a money market that's now off by more than fifty percent.

Could You Take Our Picture?

Instead of actually keeping a journal and relaying what's currently going on, I tend to talk about the past or future. That's probably for the best unless you really care to know I mixed kamut into the oatmeal for breakfast this morning. Okay, it's not such a secret that daily blogging can become somewhat boring. On a weekend, I often just scrape the barrel for a picture to include. It's easy to create a few lines of text around it.

I am happy to be in planning mode for a trip to Washington, DC. We leave on March 21st from Seatac airport. We'll arrive back after a week.


So, why'd I put a picture taken in Holland? It's because I like the whole concept of how tourists need to snap a picture taken standing in front of world-famous sites. Who are we to argue? Many trips which I take with Jay have had those must-have photos. I should make a collage. For example, in Paris there was the Eiffel Tower. In London, stood Big Ben and us. During last fall's trip to Rome, the Colosseum is a photo backdrop. The Bank of China in Hong Kong, looked stunning as our background from the Kowloon side. We've still got some grainy photos standing youthfully in front of the Taj Mahal in India. I guess I'm happy to know the list will never stop no matter how long we're around.

We'll next be in front of the Washington Monument or the White House in a few weeks time.

Save a Prayer

It seems as if I've been recently doing a fair amount of blogging about Sri Lanka. This might be because that's again the location of this year's big vacation in the fall. If you'd like to review the two most recent trips since I started blogging you can check: Sri Lanka 2004 or Sri Lanka 2006.

Over the past few weeks I've also blogged about my first visit in 1986, and even in exploring the possibilities of buying retirement vacation property there for our rainy winter months.

There was one thing I'd forgotten though and that was the musical group, Duran Duran, got there before I ever set foot in Sri Lanka. They filmed 'Save a Prayer' entirely on the island in 1982. As well as beach scenes, there are glimpses of the fortress area atop Sigiriya Rock and ancient ruins in Polonnaruwa. The song is haunting but easily identifiable as music from the 1980's. Nobody else ever quite managed to sound like Duran Duran.

Networking

He was one of the first students I ever taught. Although, I now have a hard time remembering the names of BCIT students I had last term, I will never forget the students in my original class. As a freshly certified teacher, I went to Kuwait the September after graduating from college. I taught Grade 2.

The bright and mischievous have always been the ones for which I felt immediate affinity. Jihad was my very first favourite troublemaker in 1981. Long ago, I concluded those times were just a part of my past. I held no hope I'd ever hear from any of them again. After all, that was not only decades and a great distance but also a few Gulf Wars ago.

The world really is a smaller place nowadays. After prompting, yesterday afternoon I joined a facebook group for former Al-Bayan school students and teachers. A former student had added photos which I'd once scanned and uploaded to flickr. She had marked many other students in it using facebook tags. (To see the whole class photograph, click the cropped image above. It's also available without a facebook account here.) Jad had left a comment under it. He tried to excuse his toothy grimace as being the result of my kung-fu grip. I added a message that implied he most probably deserved it. Last night, I got a direct message from him.

Facebook changes things. Who knows, maybe we can meet again someday. It would be very interesting as neither of us are kids anymore.

Using Tools in the Real World

Of course, I'm proud. I do teach at BCIT, after all. Its very mandate is to be up-to-date and relevant. So, I cannot help but mention 3 blog nights. Like society's general demographics, we have our fair share of boomers on staff. Yet like me, most faculty, staff, and students tend to be early adopters of technology. We constantly strive for ways to supplement old methods and procedures with new tools.


I think I learned about the new informational campaign through twitter. My department is not taking part in this specific push, but it's interesting to see how new media is being used to promote the British Columbia Institute of Technology. I cannot think of an organization for which I'd rather work.

Book 'em, Dano.

I've still not reserved a hotel room for 6 of the 7 days we'll be in the Washington, DC area. I'm waiting to see what'll turn up on hotwire.com. I don't know why this is bothering me.

We're fairly used to traveling without bookings. In fact we generally spend a month or longer per year on vacations without any. Hardly any of our annual trips require planned hotel reservations. Perhaps, this is why I find travelling in Europe or Asia more spontaneous. To me, that equals fun. We're always assured of finding accommodation near a train station in most countries. I like knowing there are people in every city willing to rent me a bed. Simply showing up and asking for a room seems easy and normal.

So, I'm not sure why I think hotel rooms have to be made months ahead when travelling in the States. It does seem that Washington, DC doesn't have many inexpensive stays. So, I'll wait for a while more but will probably pounce on my mouse at least a week before we arrive in the District of Columbia on the evening of March 21st.

Not for Speculation Sake

One week ago, I got all keen on exploring retirement real-estate possibilities in Sri Lanka. It seems like the right time to start thinking about a 'snowbird haven' for those six months of rain we get during dreary West Coast winters. Unfortunately, I don't think the global real-estate bubble has quite yet burst on the Indian-Ocean island. There was mad speculation and construction of enormous projects over the past half decade. Unbelievably, the prices for average homes are more moderately priced in many US markets right now. It's too bad I'm not interested in buying real estate in one of the suburbs of Phoenix Arizona, as many can be had for a song right now.

I was able to confirm the exact location of the the apartment building construction which I blogged about last week. The location is conveniently close to the International airport and thus not far from the Negombo beaches. Unfortunately, if one zooms out on the map below, it is easy to note it's also quite close to the new airport-to-Colombo toll road. I'm sure the view of the lagoon is nice but I'd rather not while away my days counting traffic on such an idyllic island.


View Larger Map
We'll be heading to Sri Lanka for a month this autumn. Maybe we can use that time to look around. I suppose no right-minded person would get too excited by property seen on the Internet. One just cannot get the feel of a place from a picture or two.

A Moment for Respect

Today is the start of the third week of classes with my present BCIT group. This means we'll have a midterm examination on Thursday. I love the intensive courses for the immediate impact I witness in their writing abilities. Yet, it comes with a cost. Meeting for 16 hours a week can be emotionally tiring. I feel as though I have to work twice as hard simply because of the short five-week courses. Then, after a week off, I am all set to do it all over again. Time on task is one of the most important indicators in predicting student outcomes.


The group above was one from a previous summer. In general, all of my groups do admirably well. In fact, I cannot help but look at them with an immense respect which they deserve. Many are new immigrants highly skilled in their own fields. They arrive in Canada and many are forced to start over. How daunting a task it must be to gain proficiency in another language as an adult learner! Many have family and work obligations to juggle as well. My hats off to them for their effort and abilities. They are working hard not only to better themselves but to improve their adopted country as well.

At Least It's Florence!

This is the second day without so much as a blogged mention of what's currently going on. It could be because little --- is --- going on. I almost skipped having an entry today. Imagine breaking such an enormous streak of consistent daily posts! Heaven forbid!

The weather is a little blah today. Unlike what I see in the news and on the net in other places, it's 50 degrees here. Yet, it's cloudy and threatening to rain later, so we don't even want to get out of the apartment. Maybe we'll just do a quick trip later to the Queensborough Walmart as I need to buy some goldfish food.

This lethargy extends right to today's blog entry too. Rather than think up something emotionally grand or philosophically deep, I'll just add more pictures. I know. I know. Yesterday all I managed was to post an old photograph. Today, I'll do a smidgen better.

My Images from Florence
Last fall we spent about three weeks running all over the country. Wait, I still think I have dozens of photos of the end of that trip which still haven't been uploaded to flickr! Too bad I'm in no mood to tackle anything like that today . . .