I Can’t Do 3G

I’m typing this on the Acer netbook today.  The reason isn’t because I’m out and about at the moment.  I did walk down Columbia Street a bit ago and found the weather excellent.  No, I’m back in the apartment although both balcony doors are wide open.  Rather, I have decided to re-familiarize myself with Windows Live Writer.  I generally write my blog directly in blogger.com.  That works well for me as I generally post on my own home network.

I am doing this in a different way today in anticipation of my six weeks away.  Three years ago, during our last big trip to Sri Lanka I spent a majority of my time far beyond a wireless connection.  I like using this free program as I can still maintain my daily writing habit.  I know that as soon as I get within range of a high-speed network all my words will automatically sync up with the blogger service.  The interface of this free Microsoft addon is actually quite sophisticated and allows formatting options not available through the blogger site itself.  I like the idea of publishing days and days worth of words all in one go ‘round. 

I realize the historical significance of doing things this way this year.  I will surely be online with a 3G phone in the near future.  Sri Lanka already has excellent advanced phone coverage even at present.  It’s me who hasn’t been keeping up with technological developments.  I wonder if I could rent one of those 3G USB sticks at the Bandaranaike International Airport upon arrival?  Perhaps no.   It might not be a good idea as this is supposed to be vacation.  Sometimes, it is both relaxing and necessary to be completely cut off from all the clutter of one’s e-life by choice.

Teaching an Old Dog

As a kid at our dinner table, my father would inevitably ask me what I'd learned in school. I don't know how I managed to be a fairly good student as I remember always answering, "Nothin'." Even though I was never forthcoming with an answer, it was not a silly question to be asked each day. In fact, on a daily basis, we should still probably ask ourselves to recount the new things we've learnt.

Getting new input should be a goal of life. It needn't be an erudite new concept or theory. For example, new the information might be discovering a supermarket isle where the birthday candles can be found. Or testing an alternative way of driving to a common destination may quality. Certainly, one's choice of television shows could educate as well as entertain.

I frequently do new things at my computer. Of course, I have been experimenting with these machines since personal computers came into existence. I love figuring out a new program. New hardware excites me. I love making things work. This type of problem-solving keeps one open to new ways of thinking and doing things. Entries in my eJournal and images are full of such details.

For example during the past few weeks, I've discovered Pandora Internet Radio, a way to buy a e-visa for Cambodia, and a method for saving Internet articles I've read on my Facebook wall. Also, I created my own version of crasher squirrel photo and began a real fascination with the volunteer micro-loan site called kiva.org.


Probably my most life-altering blog entry of recent days was yesterday's dealing with my reintroduction to Skype. We've had a fine day running around getting hold of gift items for the trip to Sri Lanka which begins on the 11th of next month. However, I started the day by answering a welcomed free call from Lynne who was at their place in the Weneas. I also put the contacts from my cell phone into Skype. Lastly, I talked a half an hour with my dad from my laptop. At less than 2.5 cents a minute, it's comparible to buying a calling card but much more convenient.

Call Me (Humming Blondie)

I think of myself as nearly the epitome connectedness. I like to put myself out there on the likes of Facebook, and Flickr. I've played with other types of social networking. Over the years, I've even toyed with ICQ and various other instant messaging programs.

So it is a bit of a shock, even to myself, to realize I have been totally avoiding modern telephony. I simply haven't spent much time on a phone since using a rotary one affixed to our kitchen wall in Wendell, NH in the 1970's. It had a cord that'd only go about eight feet. I grew up in a time when long-distance rates were set by Ma Bell. Later, I worked overseas right out of college in the 80's and quickly learned to adapt to letter writing as a way to stay in touch.

At the moment, I use my little pay-as-you-go cell mainly for student contact and in case of emergencies. I will probably pick up some sort of smartphone after we get back from Sri Lanka in the late fall. I do have to admit I'm more interested in having a data plan than being able to make or recieve calls.

I have decided to get serious about Skype though. I've dusted off an old account and plan to run it all the time on my living room computer. After all, it sits there minding its business 24/7, so it may as well be a conduit for talk. Add me as dennissylvesterhurd59. I like the idea of number portability and wonder just how long before I get off my butt and cancel the regular old landline. When we get back from our trip at the end of October, I'll probably call up Telus and see what type of package they can put together: satellite TV, ADSL, and a smartphone and data plan.

Just as cell phones erroded the landline busniess, telcos will have to adapt to VOIP from 3G data plans and even wifi. No single company is the only game in town anymore. Sweet!

Potentially, Kids Could Get Smart

I was thinking about Internet privacy earlier in the day. Although a noble concept it never really existed but in theory for many. I grew up in a town of 2,000 people. Some teachers in school had taught my mother. When I checked out a book from the town library, the one librarian knew exactly what I'd been reading (or not reading). If I dropped into the local market for food, then half the town knew what we'd be having for dinner.

Maybe it's just that I don't mind leaving a trail online. In most instances, I don't mind letting the whole world see about me. For example, when I use my Facebook pages, I try to conduct myself with the same civility as I would at a cocktail party. I don't add things that I wouldn't mind putting on a resume. Anyway, that's neither here nor there.

My reference to the town library in an earlier paragraph demonstrates how hard it used to be to get new information. I lived three miles from the Abbott Library. Now kids can sit anywhere, practically, and find anything, practically. I found a little clip of several minutes on Angkor Wat. We're going to Cambodia expressly to see it. The complex should be classed as one of the great wonders of the world, yet many people I know have never heard of it. Don't let the childlike interface of National Geographic fool you, you may learn something if you click the image.

The Details Have Been Altered

I just wanted to you to be able to see a little concrete evidence of expediency. Last night, I visited the website of the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation. The site mfaic.gov.kh offers electronic visas for tourists. I was a little surprised at how quickly the whole process went. We filled in some basic information and uploaded personal photos on the first page. The second step involved receiving preliminary approval. Then, we added more details including passport numbers. After all the information was instantaneously verified, a final step involved paying by credit card. Within a few hours, we got back our visas as an email attachment. We will need to print off two copies to take with us.

Compared to the stories we read about trying to obtain visas in Thailand or at the border, the process was a breeze. The ease was most definitely worth the $5 online processing fee. The only way it could've been simpler would have been if no visas had been required at all.


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Must Pack Some Extra Cash

I guess I'm getting myself in the mood for the upcoming trip to Sri Lanka, although we don't leave for another two and a half weeks. I was again thinking of how nice it would be to own an apartment there in anticipation of a very early retirement. You know, a six-months-there, and a-half-year-here scenario.

Earlier in the year, I was keenly interested in a particular apartment development near Negombo. I was even in regular email correspondance but the location lost its luster. There are a ton of different places to choose from all over the island but basically we're urban folks. Being far away from Colombo wouldn't be very satisfying during a long-term stay. And although I thoroughly enjoy the mountains of the up-country, they could be visited while having a home-base by the beach.

So, I looked on Internet real estate sites first to find places near Dehiwala / Mt. Lavinia. Many luxury places are far out of reach of our budget. I don't know why prices are so expensive when compared to similar dwellings in other places in the world. However, something like this would be fine.


Then, in order to get a perspective of its location and distance to other places, I dropped into Google Earth. Zooming around the area and checking out nearby services in Google Maps makes pre-investigation easy.


We probably won't even look around or inquire when in Sri Lanka from mid-September to mid-October. Still, I can always enjoy wasting a little time thinking about such things.

Thailand: Which Years?

I'm not nearly as organized as I sometimes imagine. For example this morning, I posted a 2.5 minute YouTube link about Angkor Wat on my Facebook wall. I mentioned that after our month in Sri Lanka, we'll be stopping in Bangkok and then making our way into Cambodia for about a week. One friend commented on how nice Thais are. I replied that we'd visited there starting back in the 1980's.

I thought I'd quickly find and post an old scanned photo. You see, almost 350 of more than 5,800 of my images on Flickr are old scanned ones. Surely, some from Thailand would've made it into the mix. Yet, when I typed in a search, nothing came up. What?

Perhaps I could spare an hour to scan and upload a few to better represent various parts of my life. I found some in the big photo box. I scanned and tweaked them. Old photos often require a substantial amount of editing to get 'em up to speed. I have added ten or eleven to my Flickr collection.


The next problem came though when I went to date them. There were several of those tiny albums that used to hold one roll only. There were no dates on the back of any of them. I went back to my 'master document' that often contains specific references of events going back to graduation from college. I could only find one reference to Thailand. That was the five week trip that Jay and I took while I was working in Bahrain. I know I've been at least two more times than that and Jay went additional times during vacations and in transit on long trips. Alas, I'm at a loss. I marked all the photos as being taken in March of 1991 only because I cannot figure out when the other times would've occurred. (Also, by the size of the camcorder in the photo above, it had to be the early 1990's.) I need to wait until Jay gets home from work to ask him. He remembers everything!

Where the Land's Not Uniform

In a Facebook note last week I restated one reason I like the west coast so much. Of course there are many others. In particular, I was commenting on the varied geography within close proximity. In BC one can travel from Pacific Coast rain forests with damp hanging moss, over rugged peaks, to the starkness of near-desert in just a half day. On the east coast, a drive of five hours brings one mostly more of the same. When travelling there, one might only notice a variety in small rolling mountains or a slight change in vegetation.

I'm not sure if it is due to my years in the Middle East, but I do so enjoy visiting the desert. Going down over the weekend to Lynne and Joel's home near Yakima, WA rekindled my love of the dry land that's a bit eastward. Perhaps, I associate it with Las Vegas or something as well. Anyway, it's absolutely amazing what a mountain range's rain shadow can do.

I have put together a few dozen photos from Friday, Saturday, and yesterday into a little slide show. You may have seen some of them online already.


Flickr slide show of this past weekend.

With Age Comes Wisdom

Why does a weekend, even if made into a three-day one, go so quickly?

We had to head back to New Westminster, BC. We weren't in a big rush but needed to get moving before 10:30 am. We had an appointment at 1:45 in Seattle. Of course that is directly where we switch from I-90 west to I-5 North.

We zoomed out of the Wenas on a dirt road rather than going around the longer way up the South Canyon Road. There were three cars heading in that direction. One of the Thomas's vehicles had to be dropped off at their place at Snoqualmie Pass and my Ranger is really not big enough for passengers other than Jay and me.

One main reason for our trip south was that we'd be able to stop in on Sunday afternoon for a surprise party for Bret. Lynne's parents, she, Joel, and Ben were going too. Bret will soon be 50 years old. He will finally catch up to me age-wise next month. His wife and daughter organized a great surprise party for him. Bret was almost at a loss for words; something that probably doesn't often happen.

We left at around 4:15 and got home a little after 7 o'clock.

A Day of Leisure

It was hard to pick one photo for the entire day. Just waking up fairly early in the bedroom next to the pool was better than most every hotel room in which we've ever stayed. When the sky's so blue and the temperature so perfect, it's easy to jump right in before breakfast. Of course when that follows, it's right outside as well.


A main event of the day was when everybody jumped into Joel's truck and we made our way up the western ridge. From the back yard one can look up and swear it were close but I guess even by line of sight it is over five miles away. When at times 4-wheeling up the roads, of course, it was more. This picture was taken up by a communications tower. Later, we went down the other side of the ridge and looped south through towards Naches to return.

Rest, eat, swim. What a life!

Wenas or Bust!

If one looks on a map the fastest way from Vancouver, BC to Ellensburg, WA looks like plain ole' 99 / I-5, 405, and then I-90. That's just what we did. We were on the road by about 8:30 which isn't bad.

The better part of the day was spent at speeds of 50 mph or more. We stopped just several times at rest stops and for a sandwich in North Bend. For the last few miles we took the scenic S. Canyon Road from Ellensburg down to Selah. That is where the picture was taken.


After plying a much less travelled road we finally arrived at the Thomas's at a bit after three. Although the trip was the main part of the day, the destination was the memorable part of it. Lynne, Joel, a cat, and two dogs greeted us. A bit later, Lynne's parents return from a short shopping trip too. We used the pool in the afternoon. We had a great barbecued salmon dinner. After we took a walk up on desert land up behind the house. Nice day.

You Are What You Browse!

I probably spend a majority of my computer time in a browser nowadays. I expect this may have become the norm. An increasing percentage of work on the PC is done on the Internet. I have been reading and writing email wholly in Gmail for ages. I haven't yet jumped the ship on traditional word processing but that doesn't mean I spend much time in MS Word nowadays. Also, I have moved to calculating grades directly in BCIT's web portal rather than firing up Excel. This list continues.

As well as computer work, more and more of my reading takes place on screen too. We still get a major Vancouver newspaper as well as several community rags. I do find myself spending much more time reading online articles though.

If one is what one reads, then seeing the sources and materials might offer a suitable picture of someone. To assist in this goal, I set up a feed though Social RSS on my Facebook wall. This will help show the variety of my online reading habits. I re-activated an old delicious.com account just so I can pull its RSS feed onto my wall. When I remember to bookmark, clicking through that listing can give you a good idea of me. It's certainly more worthy than most of the idiotic apps on Facebook.

Ugly Signboards on Columbia Street

Earlier this year, my city of New Westminster did some work on Columbia Street. It is a main route for commuters and suffers from very high traffic volumes. The work did decrease the number of lanes and added dedicated bicycle lanes. Back-in parking was added. More importantly, larger curbs were installed. I wish, however, the Engineering Department had shown a little creativity and made an effort to 'green' the area rather than just adding so much white concrete. The Hyack Square renovation suffers from the same over application of cement. I realize brick or cobblestone walkways may be an impediment for the handicapped, yet large expanses of boring cement are both unattractive and heat-trapping. Traffic has been calmed but the aesthetic value of downtown has not been much improved. Anyway, that is water beneath the bridge. I will probably not live long enough to witness the next round of downtown revitalization. I have found something else to complain about though.


Now these ugly signboards sit on the south-west corner of Sixth and Columbia. It's nice that we spent a lot of tax dollars to make larger curb areas. It's not so nice that they only provide more space for ugly advertising. Last night, I emailed the photo above to the Paul Daminato, the City Administrator to complain. I already got a response this morning that he'd have staff look into the matter.

Helping Out in Small Ways: kiva.org

On occasion something so good comes along, one wonders how come they didn't already know about it. I feel this way about Kiva, a group helping in the lives of poor individuals in different parts of the world. They do not offer aid, Kiva offers small-business loans. Through it's members, it rewards entrepreneurs who can demonstrate a need and desire to move ahead.


For at least a decade I had been aware of the benefits of micro-finance. Being able to make small loans to improve the quality of poor peoples' lives is important but not something at which traditional banks are very good. In fact, in the current global financial climate, helping the nearly invisible on a small individual basis is probably even more crucial.

Unfortunately many fine charitable organizations have created a situation where their own survival depends on continued poverty. If they were to solve a problem then they would eliminate the need for themselves. Most organizations, like individuals, do whatever they can to continue to exist.

I see the vast need for groups behind kiva. The transparency is amazingly refreshing. The website superbly implemented with links into social networking sites like Facebook. I just loaned $25 to individuals in four different countries. I will be able to track the repayment process. When my money has been repaid, I can decide to re-invest, donate, or get it back.

Why don't you skip that latte, stop bitching about the poor state of the economy, and put at least $25 to good work today?