The Demise of Electronic Mail

Regular old email just doesn't cut it anymore. I still check it everyday, of course. In fact, a Gmail notification program icon on my task bar let's me know when there's anything new in my in-box. It's just that the messages received have changed over the past year or so.

It used to be that email was the main way of staying in touch with people. Except for a few clueless technophobe friends, many of the people with whom I want to stay in contact are on Facebook. It's a much more participatory way of staying in touch. The folks on my friends list are forever in my peripheral vision and a part of my everyday existence. Email as a method of communication seems like a jarring and unwanted intrusion. Thankfully, at least as far as I'm concerned, email as means of personal contact is rapidly going the way of the dinosaur. (You're headed for extinction: E&S, DR and others!)

I still open my email but the content is now quite different. I usually read through op-in mail from companies. It's not really spam as I like getting the information. These include marketing messages from businesses such as ticketmaster.ca, videomatica.ca, ncix.com, petcetera.ca, as well as various cruise ship and other travel companies. I also get status announcements for some online sites and although they could be eliminated, I prefer to keep them. For example if someone comments on any Flickr photo, I get a message. Even this type of correspondence may in the not too distant future disappear too, being replaced by RSS feeds and Twitter-type implementation. Electronic mail is the application that really kick-started the Internet but, in a relative short time, will be of little use at all.

For me, email is already, for the most part, just a way to communicate with people whom I do not know.

A Hole in One

Since its very inception my eJournal and images has always been all about me. Today it seems I'm putting in nothing more than a head shot. Is this taking it a bit too far? The reason for the picture is to show the tiny ball stud in my left earlobe. Perhaps as the age of 50 approaches, I'm going all 'wild and crazy'.

We happened to be walking around in Bellis Fair Mall in Bellingham, WA today after driving down for lunch. In the middle of the mall, a shop named, Piercing Pagoda was running a lot of specials. A mom was standing with a chubby little boy who was having one put in. When he didn't cry, I figured it must not be too painful. Gads, now it's my coolness that almost hurts.

Notebooks and Umbrellas

I am now teaching COMM 0004 at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. It is my favourite level in our program's courses, so I often request it. During the fourth week of class, without fail, I schedule a project that takes place in the BCIT Library on the Burnaby Campus. I've been doing it for years and years. We always meet in the library lobby at the start of class. Then, we spend an hour on tasks before walking across campus to our regular classroom. You have to remember that I've done this, quite literally, dozens of times.

It never ceases to amaze me that whichever day I choose, it rains. In fact the only record to the contrary is the picture above. This scene is looking north from the library steps. It was taken in July of 2006.

We are set to meet at the BCIT library at 1:00 pm today. It is raining.

Flights of Fancy

The only downside to having Expedia.ca so accessible is the ease at which one can check through a multitude of 'what-if' scenarios. At BCIT, I teach in 5-week segments. I know well ahead that between classes, I will have a one-week break. So, I can sit for a few hours and punch in alternate possibilities for flights and hotels during those weeks.

For example, I recently noticed some fairly good deals on Seattle-to-Washington DC flights during the last week of March. It's a tad before the Cherry Blossom Festival but the weather should be nice, right? I've discovered that the hotels seem expensive. Yet, it seems as though transit would work out well if we do traditional DC tourist venues. I'm almost annoyed at how extremely easy to check out travel-related websites. I keep wondering why people would ever need a travel agent nowadays.


Okay, that's enough! I simply must close my browser. I should be correcting assignments now!

Just Like a School Kid

Here I am ... hoping to hear the Burnaby campus of BCIT will close due to snow. It's coming down heavily now. Although things started off normally, I don't teach until 1:00 pm. I suppose evening classes could be called off and we'd happily follow suit.

There's only a forecast for between two and four inches of the white stuff today. Believe me, I feel as if we saw enough snow last month, although that is almost entirely gone. Still one has to remember that things get slick on the roads here. The area doesn't have enough snow removal equipment and hardly anyone has snow tires. Even if we do get some, rain is expected to return later in the week and it will wash it all away and, thankfully, we'll get back to our usual green grass.

This picture is more typical of what I should see today. This was taken last year during the last week of January. It was taken outside our building. The lawn belongs to the church next door. This is looking towards the Church Street entrance of the Columbia SkyTrain Station.

Work to Live

HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR to those who celebrate it. I certainly wish everyone the best. Just to counter the day's emphasis on the accumulation of wealth though, I'd like to discuss other important things in life.

I talked to my father on the phone yesterday. I must remember to stick to some kind of schedule for these calls or weeks can go by without a conversation. He now relies entirely on me to initiate them. We talked for only about twenty minutes. I know where some of those idea espoused in yesterday's entry came from. Although loath to admit it for many years, I share a lot of ideas about life with my dad.

He never really 'bought into' the whole unsustainable myth of consumerism that often dominates economic life in North America. He still believes in official employment simply as a means to provide for one's needs. My father never flew much but always considered continent-wide road trips as useful. "Just to see how others live, he would say. My mother died when he was a relatively young man, but he still retired at 55. He is somewhat proud that he hasn't punched a time clock in nearing a quarter century.

As I begin approaching that initial age, I love him for that. I still refuse to acknowledge that I have adopted any of his beliefs. I'd rather think I was late in noticing what a very smart man he is too.

Get Out and Learn Something

It’s not a middle-age-crisis thing. Really. I just often feel as if I’ve not enough time left in my life to visit the places I want to see. For quite some time, we’ve been doing all the travelling we can. Last year, for example, we had a Mexican cruise, a road trip in Arizona, three weeks exploring Italy, and a quick trip to Vegas.

I just don’t see why some people wait. There’s nothing sadder than seeing an elderly tour group on a European vacation having members too frail to climb a mountain or cathedral tower. Life has a way of creeping up on one. Get out now! The years can slip by with the best of intentions. I vowed when in my 20’s never to wait to travel. My partner and I have managed to live up to that promise. I’d rather stay in a cheap hotel than wait to save up money. I’d rather own a tiny apartment than a mansion, but frequently visit other places on this planet.

Granted not everyone has a desire to venture far from their nest. We know folks who’ve immigrated to North American and have never seen another city. We also know locals who take their annual vacation at home. I simply cannot relate at all.

I guess what I’m thinking at the moment is if you have a desire to travel don’t keep putting it off. Worrying about the cost seems rather silly. In the end, you exit earth with nothing. It’s not reasonable to think that material possessions will do much for one after death. Memories might fade and, in fact, a disease such as alzheimer's may steal most all of one. Still, the time spent walking across the globe, has a far better chance of being with one on the death bed, than a new car bought in a previous decade.

After a safari in Kenya, we took a train to Mombasa in Feb. 1994.

King Kasyapa (477 – 495 AD)

Many Europeans travel to Sri Lanka primarily for the tropical beaches, but I more enjoy the hill country and inland locations. One of the premier inland tourist destinations is the ancient fort of Sigiriya. The Wikipedia entry for Sigiriya does a good job of explaining it.

I wanted to see a satellite view. First, I zoomed to the location in Google Earth and saved in Google Maps for easy navigation. You can see the result here. Unfortunately, it hardly does it justice. I'd rather see the photos taken in 2004. Below is one photo of about twenty I have on Flickr.


Yesterday, I Facebooked a newly-discovered link for Sri Pada or Adam's Peak in Sri Lanka. Although we saw a great deal of the island on trips in 2004 and 2006, it is one famous site we missed. Should we travel there this autumn, it will be on the itinerary.

Click, Save, Post, and Remember

Humans have some sort of strange fascination with numbers containing zeros. That's why the millennium thing was such a big deal nine years ago. It can also manifest itself in things such as birthdays. There are special cards printed for those special 'oh' years. An oh preceded by the dreaded five is now stalking and will be ready to pounce on me this July.

The only reason to include the photo below is because it was NUMBER 1,300. I took it on Tuesday and it just shows a pile of midterm exams that I had just photocopied for my BCIT COMM 0004 course.


I don't know how such an unimportant milestone slipped by without comment. If you follow my eJournal and images on the dedicated site, you may have already seen that the top row of almost every page contains five photos. There's always one from each of the most recent five days. They are posted on Flickr with around another 4,000 other images at present.

I started the Daily Picture Parade project on July 1, 2005. Since that date, I have not failed to take at least one photograph each day. They're not all worthy of prizes as the example above shows. Yet, collectively they add up to much of what I've been doing for the past three and a half years.

Personal Data Hoarding

I like knowing that Facebook will receive a copy of this, as soon as I re-publish my eJournal and images. I enjoy seeing my blog post mingle with all the other Facebook wall activities of the day. An RSS feed prompts Facebook to automatically create a new note.

I want to tell you why I will never give up on having a separate, personal blog and simply default to keeping everything at Facebook. First, I cannot trust any web application to remain online indefinitely. Things in this life come and go and companies are no exception. Having my data on my own, specialized server and a backup on my hard disc seems comforting. I cannot bear the thought of having the pages and pages of information completely in anyone else's hands. In addition, Facebook at present provides no way to search through its notes. I've been blogging for five and a half years. That's a lot of data but I can provide different ways to access it, including tags or a brute-force search. Lastly and perhaps most importantly, only people designated as friends can actually look at my Facebook notes. That's not to say they actually will, mind you. Regardless, by providing duplicate data on a standard web server, I get visitors from the general public. Due to search engine traffic, between 150 and 250 people visit my 'real' blog site each day.

Dwight was in Office

It's early on January 21st, so I'm still feeling the impact of 'inauguration fever'. I don't want to appear to be critical but the celebratory atmosphere seemed a bit over the top. The only time I remember being more uncomfortable by media overexposure occurred those days after Princess Diana died. I'm not a stick in the mud, honestly. I simply hope the next few months don't feel like a hard-to-cure hangover.


The whole process got me to thinking about my age, a little. I had to run to Wikipedia to find out that I was born when Dwight D. Eisenhower was president. When I was a tot in New Hampshire, he was the thirty-fourth. Barack Obama is now the forty-fourth. I've been around during eleven different US presidencies which doesn't really bother me much. Yet, the new guy in office is the first who is actually younger than I am. That feels a little scary.

The Elephant Next Door

Today's note in my eJournal and images is unusually short:

I'm sure the blogosphere is nearly blindsided by all the excitement as well as a sense of relief at the inauguration of the new US president. The interest from the rest of the world shows that whatever happens in the US is still utmost in global importance. I cannot help but hope, like so many others who live outside the United States, that there's a strong return. We hope to see fairer, and more intelligent policies with an emphasis on democracy and diplomacy. The United States needed this important change, but the rest of the world needs it just as much.

Micro-Blogging in 140 Characters

I sometimes think Twitter gets more press than Facebook. I had to see what all the kerfuffle was about. Being a veteran blogger, I took to the latter quickly and started convincing everybody I know they should join. The concept of Facebook is readily understandable to people who can handle a mouse. Well, I shouldn't be so quick to say that for I've had a rather nasty encounter with a former colleague who simply cannot 'get' it. In fact, a large number of folks from my life with whom I'd most like to maintain contact are not on Facebook. Damn 'em.

I will not try to get anyone to try Twitter, although after a few hours I am most intrigued. The reasons for using Twitter are less obvious and if one doesn't jump in and try, then its usefulness will go unrecognized. It is a powerful platform in search of useful tasks. It must first appear as if it's simply a place to bore others with the news that one has brushed one's teeth. It's much more. I have given up on ever 'following' many people I know. My age works against me here. My career doesn't allow me to rub elbows with techie enough colleagues. I'll probably end up utilizing it in a way similar to RSS feeds. I do have to add that I like the feeling of brushing up against the brute force of the tweeting masses.

Lifting

We've been blanketed by thick fog for a week. A temperature inversion has kept all but the high peaks under cover. Finally, this morning, it is lifting. Here is the top of the SkyTrain bridge which connects my city with Surrey, BC. I took this picture from my balcony.


For the past seven days I've been relying on my vitamin D pills more than usual. Doctors suggest supplements for those who live along Canada's west coast during our grey winters. We often don't get enough sun to synthesize it naturally.

Stop Overs and Side Trips

I can completely understand why the average Joe has a fairly poor grasp of geography. It's easiest learning about direct influences. I mean without a possibility to actually travel to a far-away location, there's little incentive to study it. People learn best about ideas which directly impact them. Sadly, as far as I'm concerned, this means some people will never have the good fortune to know much about the world beyond their own little neighbourhood.

There may be differences in inherent curiosity that I'm not taking into account though. I've always been interested in the world of maps. One of my most prized toys as a small child was a real globe. I guess, in fact, I was interested in geography even before ever getting on an airplane. My parents, for their part, did a fair job of imparting a love of journeying too. For example, I was a few days late starting first grade as my mother and father drove from New Hampshire to Alaska and back in a modest, old Volkswagen bus.

Nowadays, I am so thankful for the advent of Internet for travel planning. I don't think the little town library where I grew up had much in the way of travel guides. Even now through inter-library loan, it'd be pretty hard to do spontaneous research. For example, as were considering a trip back to Sri Lanka this autumn, I cannot help but consider possible stop-overs on either the way there or back. From Vancouver it is almost equal distance and price to go east through Europe, or west through Asia.


I took the picture above near the house of Jay's family. What really struck my fancy last night was the possibility of taking an extra side trip to travel around Kerela for a week. It's tropical too and amazingly close by. We did spend one summer seeing a great number of cities in India but sort of missed the far south. By all accounts the geography of Kerala sounds immensely interesting.

Another Auditory Experiment

Today, I'm revisiting whether I will further explore the world of audio books. I have not even considered them in about a year and a half. On the other hand, I am aware how greatly my 'must-hear' news and technology podcasts affect my life. I have always known I'm something of an auditory learner.

I was prompted to return to my city library's page after listening to This Week in Tech. One of the guests talked about how very nice it is to be read to. It may invoke nostalgia for those whose parents or teachers read to them. Or it may hearken back to the more primitive human aspects of storytelling around a fire.

It seems that British Columbia Libraries maintain a centralized website for e-books and audio books. I just loaded some proprietary software and entered my library card number. I checked out a book and downloaded it to my laptop. From there, I was able to easily copy it to my Creative Zen Stone.

Sunrise Alley
Edition: Unabridged
Author: Catherine Asaro
Read by: Hillary Huber

Whereas many of my podcasts are about twenty minutes, this book will take over eleven hours to complete. I'd better get crackin' because it's only checked out until the 30th of the month. After that, the files self-destruct, hopefully not in Mission Impossible style.

Some Weather We're Having, Eh?

The little photo was taken a half hour ago. Right now, when I look outside I would not be able to see my own nose.

Yikes, it appears as if I'm talking about the weather again. That may be a nice 'ice-breaker' for conversations with strangers on a bus, but I sometimes default to this topic when I've got nothing better to get off my chest. So, what's the crime in talking about the weather, he wonders? It's bound to happen in a place where the climate changes from season to season and the weather from day to day. After all, this is blog entry number 2195 in my eJournal and images.

Anyway, I sort of want to go on record for saying I enjoy winter fog. When arriving to live here more than a dozen years ago, it didn't seem to be a common winter phenomenon. I've heard that it really is a return to former times though. We get a bit more here in downtown New Westminster due to the proximity to the Fraser River. Still, today seems like one of those days when it's not going to lift at all. I like days such as this. Being enveloped in the mist seems comforting.

Subscription is Free

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This is a repeat graphic which I used in a blog entry before 2009 had arrived. The screen shot showed a few audio files I had shared via Google Reader. I am continuing to provide samples of some of the programs to which I subscribe. This web page provides a good representation of the audio files which are part of my weekly schedule. As mentioned a fair number of times, I listen to podcasts during my commute or when I am out walking for the exercise. Rather than keep a every single episode on the list, I will remove older episodes unless I found the content particularly engaging.

If your tastes are similar to mine, you can click the screen shot, visit the page, and bookmark it. If you'd rather listen to other types of information in the great big world of podcast audio, you might want to set up your own Google Reader page. You can have the audio tracked by creating an RSS subscription. You don't even need an iPod to begin your journey into on-demand audio. Music is a fine diversion, but perhaps you could use your ears to learn something new!

First Looks at the Win 7.0 Beta

This is just a quick update to yesterday's remarks about my Windows 7 installation. I'm writing today's entry on the laptop, so obviously the task came to fruition. I had to download some old drivers from Gateway as the new beta did not provide updates to them. That wasn't much of a chore. I think we can all safely look forward to this year's release of the new Microsoft operating system. Of course, I have been running Vista trouble-free since it was released. I never had a lick of trouble despite the bad press. I did do a fresh installation on fairly new equipment though.

I think Windows 7 is going to zip right along. My Gateway notebook was dreadfully slow when running XP Pro. It was to the point where it was nearly unusable. I had even made use of Google's Chrome just to boost the browser experience at bit. Yet, this install has breathed a bit of new life into this old gal. The IE 8 beta which is included seems pretty snappy and, at least, allows for add-ons unlike Chrome.

If Windows 7 can make this old clunker seem fast, I cannot wait to get the release version on my quad-core regular computer. A quick computer seems nice although I'll probably not accomplish any more actual work.

Are We Having Fun, Yet?

Why am I such a geek? My ancient, heavy Gateway laptop keeps on working. Notice how the word 'ancient' is used for portable technology which is four years old. It serves a useful purpose but I still quietly wish it'd die, so I could justify buying a new, little netbook. I expect that in 2009, one will be produced which matches my desire for a trade off between power and price.

Anyway, back to being geeky. I use my laptop when I'm teaching. Every corner of the BCIT campus has a strong wifi signal. I am only in the computer lab with my class one day per week; however, I'm in regular classrooms for the other three. I like having access to my online course materials while I'm teaching. So, I still use the tired, old Gateway often.

Today, on a lark, I decided to download and install the beta of Windows 7. Why do I enjoy goofing around with things such as this? As there's nothing of much importance on the laptop, I assumed it'd make an excellent testbed.

Installation went swimmingly, whereas the machine's configuration prevented me from ever being able to load Microsoft Visa on it. The only problem at the moment is Windows 7 couldn't find drivers for the wireless controller. I'm going to have to search around to see if I can find something which will work. If not, then the usefulness of the installation will be nil. I think the beta will expire in August anyway. This isn't really fun, is it?

Deciding on Diversions

It is easy for one's attention to wander nowadays. I didn't use that phrase in the traditional sense. I was trying to think of another way to express the improving 'virtual-ness' world in which we live. I can comment by writing something here, have it automatically written to my Facebook wall, and get comments from geographically dispersed readers the very same day. Something like that occurred earlier this week.

The term 'virtually' was coined too early and now has lost its initial impact. I think it may even have a slightly negative connotation now. It feels like the second best choice when compared to the real world. My mind, however, can be occupied on an increasing number of things, some of which my be physically far away. Books have always been a way to escape from the current surroundings. Reading, in general, can be classed as a mental task capable of keeping one involved in some other place or even time. Likewise, I'm sure everyone has stumbled out of a movie theatre and had that jarring sensation of coming back to a present reality.

Technology just keeps on making it easier. The variety of diversions continue to multiply. Jay was talking by phone with his sister in Sri Lanka about an 'American Idol' type show on television there. As the PS3 is connected to my router, I can stream Internet sites directly to the television. This morning, we watched the recent finale of Dream Star on the big 42" screen. At such compressed data rates it couldn't be considered even standard definition. Action appeared pixel-ated and all rapid camera panning was unclear. It amazed me anyway. Perhaps it's because I could only watch over-the-air, black-and-white television from stations 100 miles away when I was a kid.


I spent a good hour or so watching segments of the final episode although I don't speak the language. Our choices for using time virtually will undoubtedly increase in the near and long-term future.

Home is Where You Hang Your Hat

I don't really have one. A hat, that is. Maybe it was due to yesterday's comment about high school, but I was itching to see if I could post something old. I figured I have a lot of pictures which I've not included here or on my Flickr account.

I was looking for anything 'scan-able' which included Sunapee, New Hampshire. I know I had several high school yearbooks. One was included with junk I used to store at friends'. I'm sure, that it was lost in the fire which totally destroyed Joel and Lynne's house. Yet, I thought I had another one hanging around. I wanted to add a photo from 1977 of Frank Hammond included in the book. Actually, someone should have the whole document turned into a large PDF file. Who's up for that?

I spent my entire youth living in Sunapee. I think, more than most towns or cities, it elicited a sense of belonging. It's pretty rare to run across any new acquaintances who graduated from such a small school. Some people believe their high school was small until I mention that I graduated with a class of 33. (Or was it 34? I don't think I was ever sure whether Brenda Laurie actually made it.) The small size might be why I was very attached to the town when growing up. It's now obvious to me that I didn't take many pictures though. I'm hoping that Bret Wirta will come to my rescue as he used to quite good at organizing albums full of photographs.


Now I seldom if ever get back there. I returned in the summer of 2002 when we had a 25th reunion. I also travelled there with Jay in February of 2007 when my father had a stroke. It just seems there are so few reasons nowadays for a trip to New Hampshire but so much of the world left to explore.

Life-Long Learning

Okay, I'm not average. I consider myself much above. I am not saying that most of the human population on the planet could use an IQ transplant, but it's only political correctness that's preventing me from doing so.

Today I'm revisiting a common my eJournal and images theme; namely, I am constantly amazed. Perhaps a better word would be shocked. I'm often shocked by how little of the vast potential of their computers that many folks manage to utilize. A personal computer when tethered to an Internet connection becomes the human race's most potent and powerful educational tool. I just don't understand how so many people can remain so ignorant of that power. Things that were pure science fiction a few years ago occur with ease now. For example, I'm streaming a podcast of the Euro Top 40 of 2008 from Radio Netherlands as I type. I can find current news from every single corner of the earth. I can read, watch, hear an abundance of information previously unfathomable.

The Net is more than just information; it's also a method of contact and sharing. I cannot convince some friends whom I consider quite intelligent to sign up for Facebook. I can also complain about fellow educators who cannot get their act together even when they're involved in teaching communication skills. I simply cannot understand why adults wouldn't try something. If they were to join and then later decided to abandon its use, then okay. Yet to not even try is a sin. I vow never to become so old as to not, at least, 'play around' with new things. I do not feel anger at their refusal to keep up-to-date but I cannot help but feel pity at their plight.

It's not an age thing either. Frank Hammond was a Sunapee High School teacher who quite affected my cognitive development. Now, thirty-five years on, I can see why. He provided an excellent quote just this week on my Facebook wall.

"After years of wrestling with educational issues and commitments on the part of the educator, I have come to the simple but very final conclusion that the job of the school is to 'teach kids to learn how to learn and like it while they're doing it.' In my view, that's it in a nut shell. Having become a senior simpleton, I'm perfectly happy with this obvious outcome."

Although well into his seventh decade, he is open and willing to experiment with new technological developments. He has gathered a far greater number of Facebook contacts than I've managed to garner.

Bridge Figure or Xenophile?

I wrote yesterday's blog entry in the morning. In it, I seemed to be promoting India. Later in the day, on my commute to campus, I listened to a downloaded podcast of the most recent episode of CBC's radio program called Spark. I thought it was strange that there seemed to be a connection. The section about those who connect cultures starts at approximately the 14-minute point.


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I nearly contemplated running out to buy a new, 120GB Microsoft Zune. How nice to carry around all my music in one place, I thought. However, I might be less inclinded to actually carry the device as it's bigger. My tiny Zen Stone slips into any pocket. The price was so cheap that if I lose it, I'll be annoyed but not angry. I don't really listen to music "on the road" anyways. I want to hear music through my home computer's DTS audio card and from my 5.1 channel HTS.

I only use a portable device to keep up with my favourite podcasts. It works out perfectly, as my drive into work is around 20 minutes. That is a common length of time for a news or technology podcast.

Being Ready to Learn

As an educator, I often consider the best methods for fostering skills and sharing information. Of course there are various levels of understanding. In middle school I remember having to memorize all the countries on the continent of Africa. Unfortunately, that did little to help me understand it. I might mention that much of that information is also now obsolete. Yet, I do recall taking part in a model UN group. The class was divided into groups where we had to 'take on' the role as spokespersons from particular African countries. That gave additional incentive to research thoroughly. Still, I can hardly compare those experiences to the time our plane actually touched down on the continent in Kenya. Assuredly, actual personal contact allows the most dynamic means of learning.

There's a completely different aspect of learning that I confront during every class I teach; namely, it's the readiness of a learner. The exposure to the same stimulus will provide differing results depending on the previous exposure to similar topics. We have to be 'ready' for the things we are about to learn.

All this introduction is just to express my delight in a series of programs airing on PBS. The Story of India is divided into six parts and so far we've seen just two. The programs started at the dawn of civilization explaining the migration out of Africa. The two episodes we've seen were filled with beautiful cinematography in striking high definition. It was great at showcasing 'the big picture' of the ebb and flow of time. It seemed as if the programs were tailored specifically for me. They provided much insight into complex global relationships. Of course, it might be my personal experience and visits to many parts of the world which piqued my interest. I'm not sure whether you'd be able to get so much out of it. You may click on the graphic to visit the PBS website.

They Pay Me for This?

It's exciting to have a classroom full of new students. Actually, due to a scheduling snafu, I am not exactly sure where we'll meet this afternoon. Yet, I'm sure it will be relatively easy to find a free classroom for my apparently eager men and women.

I am so glad I have avoided sliding into educational management. That's often what happens to the best teachers. I have little taste for the politics of an office. The skill set required for administrative work is not my cup of tea. I know exactly what I'm doing in front of a class of ESL learners. I get great pleasure from the process.

Also, I'm constantly amazed at how different each group turns out to be. Even when I take the same level and have individuals from similar language backgrounds, things on a daily basis never go exactly the same way twice. Simply beginning and ending with a number of different classes each year seems to keep things fresh. I can only imagine how boring it might be to have a job with the same tedious tasks to do day in and day out.

Sharing Exact Locations

As a test, I added several 'Google Maps' links to my Facebook wall the other day. In the past, I had wondered about the best method for sharing views from Google Earth. It's possible to pinpoint marks which are then saved in a proprietary file format. If one of these files is emailed to a friend, then the program will open to the exact same screen. The problem is some people may not have loaded that program.

I can't imagine a valid reason not to load Google Earth. I love the ability to fly to various places we've walked on the earth. I use it to plan trips before going and to see where we were after returning home. I knew there was a program option to view the exact same Google Earth screen in 'Google Maps'. I discovered that provides an easy way to send off a link to others.


For example, you can click the screen shot above to show an old section of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico often refereed to as the Romantic Zone. After it appears, you may zoom and move the satellite image. We only had a one-day stop over in that city on a Mexican cruise last February. I am sure I've got more than one Flickr picture online taken from that jetty seen near the top of the captured image above.

Puerto Vallarta might be a great place for a vacation week next month.

On the Other Side of the Globe

We've been thinking about a return trip to Sri Lanka this year. Our most recent trips there took place in 2004 and 2006.

I'm not quite so sure why I'm thinking about this so early in the year. It could well be the weather that's prompting this train of thought. The weather forecast is suggesting that our beloved rain will return tonight and wash away any remnants of snow. Still, having to put up with so many weeks with white stuff on the ground has been unusual and could have been responsible for the visions of coconut trees in my head.

Also, the war is in the news again. The civil trouble started in 1983 and my first visit occurred in February of 1986. The country could be even more of a paradise were it not for wasted lives and resources. I cannot believe it ever got to the point where rebels actually controlled sections of the country. Thankfully, in recent years, the US and Europe finally got around to banning the LTTE. I might suggest that truly understanding terrorism comes when it hits close to home. Without the vast infusion of overseas money, arms shipments to the rebels were curtailed. The terrorist organization bought not only munitions but ships and aircraft! Right now Sri Lankan government forces have, again, taken control of vast stretches of former rebel-held areas. It's not merely an ethnic problem when certain groups and individuals benefit from continued warring. Let's hope these recent changes will lead to a lasting peace and fighting will occur in the political arena. Sri Lanka has a historic and functioning democracy unlike so many other trouble-spots around the globe.


In the photo above we took advantage of a short-lived peace treaty in 2004 to travel through rebel held areas to the city of Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka. Along the road, we had to get special paperwork from the LTTE. I look forward to the time when that road is free for all to traverse. You can read about my thoughts at the time, right in the blog entries from that time.

I got a bit carried away in the details today, I guess. I was going to talk about how I enjoy life on the island. The geography is stunning and the people warm and welcoming. Returning every few years allows Jay to visit family and us to get out to explore more of the country formerly known as Ceylon. There is a vast amount of diversity packed into a relatively small area. Perhaps it will be an excellent place to retire for six months a year. If only the air tickets weren't going for $2000 nowadays ...

Knowing When to Call it Quits

We watch a lot of film. We spend nearly as much time with foreign and niche DVD's as with well-known Hollywood movies. In Canada, we do not have access to Netflix. The nearest thing would have to be www.zip.ca, one of the few nation-wide online DVD rental services.

We started our current subscription with Zip in October of 2005. We were delighted with the great variety of titles at first. Since that time, we have watched 460 DVD and Blu-ray discs. Coping with dramatic company growth hasn't been easy for customers though. Last year, there were times when their website was practically unusable due to slowness. Still, at one time, we received the discs the way they were ordered and shipping was quick and efficient. When the distribution centre opened in Vancouver our deliveries were almost stellar.

Not anymore! Since the end of the summer, things have apparently fallen apart. For example, this week we were sent a title from Ottawa that was #63 on our list. It's hard to find any explanations or hard facts on their site. We don't know whether the company is being dishonest or is simply inept. But after five months of dissatisfaction we have decided to call it quits.

Let this act as a warning for potential customers in Western Canada: Zip is not your best choice for variety, quality of service, or speed. It's a shame that a company with such great potential can fail so miserably. Goodbye, Zip. Your company used to be a great value but now it sucks!

The bright side of this situation is that we've discovered a more local company called Videomatica.ca. They seem to specialize and stock normal and hard-to-find films. The website is quick and efficient and within hours of signing up, we've already been sent the top requested titles in order. What a surprise when one of those titles had been languishing on our ziplist for months.

Patting My Own Back

I decided against blogging any New Year's resolutions this year. Writing down goals might be a handy thing to do. Setting broad and specific goals is quite important or life can slip by aimlessly. I think I have pretty much sized up what I want to get out of 2009 though. Even if not on paper or articulated, there are a number of things we will accomplish in these twelve months.


On the more immediate front, I've got a five-week course to teach starting on Monday. I went to campus today to do a course outline and some photocopying. I used to pride myself on being able to wing it in the classroom. I still can, but I have developed an excellent skill set for planning activities. If one has things clearly set out, then it's unlikely there'll be much wasted time. At BCIT we don't like to waste time.

I wish everybody, including those with whom I work, were as organized as I am.

Two Thousand and Nine

I'm wishing you a Happy New Year for the sixth time in my eJournal and images. The 120th Tournament of Roses Parade from Pasadena looked smart in HD but give me more coffee!