I found a file on WorldConnect that ties directly into my database. Lots of cousins I wouldn’t likely find another way. Lots of well-documented census research already done. So far, so good.
Then the trouble started. Question marks and AKA’s in the name fields. Social Security numbers, cemeteries, occupations and zip codes in the Master Location list. Social Security numbers and burials in the Event description and place fields. Forty-five counties that don’t exist for the right time period. Twenty-five locations that don’t seem to exist at all. Burials listed as baptisms. Sources that don’t fit with my own hard-earned system that all have to be rewritten.
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If my computer was an ocean I could accurately say I am swimming in photographs.
If you are still using Windows Explorer to view and work with your photos, there are better ways.
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Online backup solutions seem to be everywhere these days.
If you’re a WinZip user you’ve probably received an email offering a trial of Carbonite, a very user-friendly online backup service. If not, here’s the news. They are offering unlimited backup space for a full year for $49.95.
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From Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter:
Footnote, Inc. made a big splash in the genealogy community a few days ago when the company announced an agreement with the National Archives and Records Administration to place digital images of millions of original documents online. Four and a half million images are already available at www.footnote.com, and that number is growing fast. Footnote CEO Russell Wilding stated, “We will continue to add millions of original documents and images monthly.”
Continue reading here.
I once imported a gedcom with at least 75 cemetery names in the Master Location List, as well as innumerable place names in multiple formats. I’m sure this gedcom did not come from a Legacy Family Tree user because Legacy has a ream of quick tools for keeping the location lists tidy and we all use them, of course. What took some time was outside Legacy tracking down the cemeteries in an area with an inordinate number of similarly-named churches and graveyards within a few blocks of each other.
If you’re interested in this sort of thing, and haven’t been there for awhile, (or ever) here’s a checklist of some simple things to do.
I have heard that Gold CD’s and DVD’s have been making a comeback. These are gold-layered discs, (important) not just gold-colored. They use a different technology in the production which gives them a much longer life-span, 100-300 years, instead of the usual 1-5. You can read about the whys and wherefores at Skana Imaging Solutions.
The better known brands are Kodak and Mitsui. They’re $2-3 each, less if you buy in bulk. The DVD’s are about the same price as the CD’s so obviously a better bargain if you have DVD-capability.
Here are a few links. The prices are changing as I write. You might also find them in earthly stores if you’re not living in the backwoods like me.
Delkin 25PK DVD $58.35
Verbatim UltraLife Gold Archival Grade DVD-R 4.7GB 8X, 50 pack $78.90
Memorex 4.7 GB Pro Gold Archival DVD-R (5-Pack) $21.46
PictureLine Mitsui 700MB Gold CD-R 100 pack $130
DataMediaStore Kodak Preservation Gold DVD-R 8X 25 Pack Spindle $53.75
If you’re still using Internet Explorer you may have seen, down the Favorites list, a default folder called Links. It’s part of the XP operating system and can be used with any browser without opening IE at all. I know not 100% of you are using XP and I apologize but it’s all I can talk about because it’s all I know. If you’re still using Fortran IV & V I might be able to dredge it up. (That’s a joke.)
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Cousin1 (my third cousin) went to visit Cousin2 (my first cousin). Cousin2 allowed Cousin1 to borrow the photographs that live with him at the old homestead (the one that was built in 1830) so she could take them home (far away) to scan. Most of these pictures are of people who died eons before Cousin2 was even born and Cousin2 is quite old now. In less than a week Cousin2 was on the phone to Cousin1 asking, “When are you sending those photos back?”
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I thank everyone who sent Christmas wishes and uplifting comments on the new blog. Back again. And welcome to the new and simpler page design. Hopefully, simple enough to keep the web browsers happy.
I may have given the impression that I like Firefox, and maybe don’t like Internet Explorer so much. I feel compelled to explain. Some people have devoted entire websites to their problems with Internet Explorer. But I’ll just give you my little piece of the story.
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