Being sick really sucks....
OK - I'm done whining now. I know there are people going through far more than I am and really, having a sore throat and a stuffy head will pass.
The part that disconcerts me the most is getting fuzzy-headed. I don't mind being sore, or out of sorts, but for me, they are usually accompanied by slower and fuzzier thinking. The practical upshot is that it takes me longer to do anything. Including formulating thoughts and answering questions.
That might not be a problem if I were quick to begin with, but I know plenty of people who are much quicker thinkers than I am at the best of times.
Since it's fall, I think today is going to be a lot of hot drinks today, and minimal progress on projects/to-do lists.
Wednesday, 19 October 2016
Tuesday, 18 October 2016
October 18, 2016 - Getting there!
So I've started my winter project - scanning photographs, slides and negatives - in an effort to cut down on clutter by finally organizing them and disposing of unwanted items.
While I haven't made any noticeable difference in the amount of material I have, I have been throwing out some things after they are scanned. And I feel good about that.
As the last surviving member of my immediate family, any sense of continuity more or less ends with me. I do have a nephew, and a few cousins - but my nephew has never met of heard of the majority of the people in the photographs, and I am relying on my cousins to help fill in the gaps in my knowledge as I sort and scan.
The work appeals to the archivist/documentary/historian in me - I think that may be a function of age. Nothing like thinking of your own mortality to make you realize that whatever unique knowledge you have disappears when you die!
I think if I had felt this way at a much younger age, I would have had far more opportunity to properly organize things. But when I was younger, we didn't have computers and the internet as we know it to do these things. But, as my grandfather used to say 'too soon old, too late smart.'
So far, I have been enjoying the trip down memory lane - remembering family member who have passed. It's not without a sense of melancholy, but I am blessed to have so many fond and happy memories of time spent with family that it is a worthwhile remembrance for me.
While I haven't made any noticeable difference in the amount of material I have, I have been throwing out some things after they are scanned. And I feel good about that.
As the last surviving member of my immediate family, any sense of continuity more or less ends with me. I do have a nephew, and a few cousins - but my nephew has never met of heard of the majority of the people in the photographs, and I am relying on my cousins to help fill in the gaps in my knowledge as I sort and scan.
The work appeals to the archivist/documentary/historian in me - I think that may be a function of age. Nothing like thinking of your own mortality to make you realize that whatever unique knowledge you have disappears when you die!
I think if I had felt this way at a much younger age, I would have had far more opportunity to properly organize things. But when I was younger, we didn't have computers and the internet as we know it to do these things. But, as my grandfather used to say 'too soon old, too late smart.'
So far, I have been enjoying the trip down memory lane - remembering family member who have passed. It's not without a sense of melancholy, but I am blessed to have so many fond and happy memories of time spent with family that it is a worthwhile remembrance for me.
Friday, 14 October 2016
October 14, 2016 - Song In My Head
I usually wake up with some random song playing in my head.
Not a big deal for me, I do work in radio so I suppose it is only expected that work events rattle around in my head while I sleep. It's certainly better than waking up dreading the day ahead.
But what I find interesting, is the songs aren't favorites (usually) or even something I've heard/played recently - although that happens as well. I can't even say they are guilty pleasures - just random songs.
For example, this morning I woke up with Martha and the Muffin's 'Song In My Head' playing in my mind, and I'm not even sure when I actually heard it last. So, I think I can eliminate it being a recent memory being processed/played back by my brain. Other songs/artists have included Michael Jackson (even though I've never bought any of his records) and Crosby Stills and Nash.
I don't find it annoying, in fact it's kind of fun to hear that first song of the day - a little like listening to oldies radio. The songs aren't unfamiliar, but they also aren't necessarily what I would choose to wake up to in the morning. That's what makes it interesting.
I suppose if it was the same song every day, or predictable, it wouldn't be as much fun - or as interesting. And honestly, it is a fun and interesting way to start the day before you open your eyes.
If I were more methodical, I would start a 'song journal' along the lines of a dream journal where you write your dreams down. Maybe I should start, it would be an interesting experiment to see if any songs repeat, and maybe I could make a mixtape out of the results.
Not a big deal for me, I do work in radio so I suppose it is only expected that work events rattle around in my head while I sleep. It's certainly better than waking up dreading the day ahead.
But what I find interesting, is the songs aren't favorites (usually) or even something I've heard/played recently - although that happens as well. I can't even say they are guilty pleasures - just random songs.
For example, this morning I woke up with Martha and the Muffin's 'Song In My Head' playing in my mind, and I'm not even sure when I actually heard it last. So, I think I can eliminate it being a recent memory being processed/played back by my brain. Other songs/artists have included Michael Jackson (even though I've never bought any of his records) and Crosby Stills and Nash.
I don't find it annoying, in fact it's kind of fun to hear that first song of the day - a little like listening to oldies radio. The songs aren't unfamiliar, but they also aren't necessarily what I would choose to wake up to in the morning. That's what makes it interesting.
I suppose if it was the same song every day, or predictable, it wouldn't be as much fun - or as interesting. And honestly, it is a fun and interesting way to start the day before you open your eyes.
If I were more methodical, I would start a 'song journal' along the lines of a dream journal where you write your dreams down. Maybe I should start, it would be an interesting experiment to see if any songs repeat, and maybe I could make a mixtape out of the results.
Thursday, 13 October 2016
October 13, 2016 - Winter Project
So I have decided that my winter project is to sort, scan and trash a lot of stored photographs that have never been edited.
I'm off to a good start, the scanner is set up and I have already started scanning prints. I've decided to start with prints because they are the easiest to handle and sort. I also have some papers, newspaper clippings, slides and negatives to deal with.
In order to stay on track, I am trying to keep things manageable by scanning a few items at a time, then importing the scans into Lightroom, where I apply keywords.
My self-imposed rules for scanning, other than scanning everything, include scanning no more than a roll of film at a time, but so far, I've been sticking to about ten items scanned before importing into Lightroom. If the pictures have already been sorted into a rough theme or project, I will try to do them together so I can apply 'global' keywords to the batch of pictures imported, an then go back and apply individual keywords.
One small issue I need to stay aware of is to remember to check the backs of photographs as well, for any handwritten notes. I've decided that any picture that I need to scan both the front and back, will be keyworded with a unique number so I can search and find both scan with one unique keyword search. Alternately, when working with any individual photograph, seeing a numerical (not date) keyword, alerts me that there is another scan of the obverse side.
As with any project, I am amazed at how many decisions need to be made to keep things working smoothly. How many details need to be worked out before starting. And how decisions made early in the process set the tone for the entire project.
I hope I've made the right choices, so far!
I'm off to a good start, the scanner is set up and I have already started scanning prints. I've decided to start with prints because they are the easiest to handle and sort. I also have some papers, newspaper clippings, slides and negatives to deal with.
In order to stay on track, I am trying to keep things manageable by scanning a few items at a time, then importing the scans into Lightroom, where I apply keywords.
My self-imposed rules for scanning, other than scanning everything, include scanning no more than a roll of film at a time, but so far, I've been sticking to about ten items scanned before importing into Lightroom. If the pictures have already been sorted into a rough theme or project, I will try to do them together so I can apply 'global' keywords to the batch of pictures imported, an then go back and apply individual keywords.
One small issue I need to stay aware of is to remember to check the backs of photographs as well, for any handwritten notes. I've decided that any picture that I need to scan both the front and back, will be keyworded with a unique number so I can search and find both scan with one unique keyword search. Alternately, when working with any individual photograph, seeing a numerical (not date) keyword, alerts me that there is another scan of the obverse side.
As with any project, I am amazed at how many decisions need to be made to keep things working smoothly. How many details need to be worked out before starting. And how decisions made early in the process set the tone for the entire project.
I hope I've made the right choices, so far!
Monday, 10 October 2016
October 10, 2016 - Photographs
I am amazed at the number of photographs that I have - I shouldn't be, but I am.
It is a collection of family photos mostly, fueled by an interest in photography by my dad, brother and I. As well as my grandmother documenting things, and my great-grandfather who loved to take pictures.
Primarily, these photos exist as prints, with negatives appearing in little pockets, like ore deposits in the strata of history.
My goal is to scan them, document them as needed, dispose of the ones that have little or no use to me, and donate materials to whatever archive or museum will accept them. My reasons are partly altruistic, I would like to preserve the history in the photos; partly logistical, I don't want to carry all this material around until I die just to have someone throw it all away; and partly hubris, I would like to attain a small toehold in history.
But the real work is in the research. I have already found several things that I didn't know about my family. I have also discovered there is material relevant to my interests already i museum collections and archives. And I've discovered how fragile personal history is.
I have found photographs of family members in other archives by searching for local professional photographers of the past who had their own archives of material. Sadly, many of the photographs have been lost to the ravages of time and improper storage.
As a result, we don't even know what we have lost - pictures of local people and places that would have been a professional photographers stock in trade. Not to mention people who pass daily, and have family throw out all the old pictures that they find - with no effort to document or preserve them.
I'm trying to do my part.
It is a collection of family photos mostly, fueled by an interest in photography by my dad, brother and I. As well as my grandmother documenting things, and my great-grandfather who loved to take pictures.
Primarily, these photos exist as prints, with negatives appearing in little pockets, like ore deposits in the strata of history.
My goal is to scan them, document them as needed, dispose of the ones that have little or no use to me, and donate materials to whatever archive or museum will accept them. My reasons are partly altruistic, I would like to preserve the history in the photos; partly logistical, I don't want to carry all this material around until I die just to have someone throw it all away; and partly hubris, I would like to attain a small toehold in history.
But the real work is in the research. I have already found several things that I didn't know about my family. I have also discovered there is material relevant to my interests already i museum collections and archives. And I've discovered how fragile personal history is.
I have found photographs of family members in other archives by searching for local professional photographers of the past who had their own archives of material. Sadly, many of the photographs have been lost to the ravages of time and improper storage.
As a result, we don't even know what we have lost - pictures of local people and places that would have been a professional photographers stock in trade. Not to mention people who pass daily, and have family throw out all the old pictures that they find - with no effort to document or preserve them.
I'm trying to do my part.
Friday, 7 October 2016
October 7, 2016 - One More Time
I have a lot of photographs that have stored in plastic bins. Photos that were mine, my brother's, parents, and grandparents. I think the last time I counted I have about ten hanging file containers full.
I had started scanning them onto a usb drive about seven years ago, with the intent of just scanning some copies for my brother to have. After his death, I went back and started scanning more with the intent of organizing them better than I had.
After that, I moved, and as part of the packing process, things got rearranged, and unscanned items were mixed in with scanned items, and I lost the papers that I was writing things down on.
So now, I am ready to start again - but hopefully better prepared, with better equipment/software and a better plan of how I want to do it.
So, everything gets scanned again - this time including slides and negatives that I never touched in the previous attempts. All scans will got directly onto a usb drive, which will be mirrored in a folder on the computer. Then things get imported into Lightroom where they will be organized. I think one of LR's greatest strengths is the ability to organize and catalog photographs.
As part of this final attempt, I intend in purging some of the material. I see no value in keeping high school pictures of people I haven't seen since high school. I will scan them, but after that saving the physical copy serves no purpose to me, other than to take up space. Some of the materials, such as photographs of places that no longer exist, I would like to donate to local museums and historical societies for their archives. Which serves two purposes for me: one being I no longer have to store/care for them; and the material can be properly documented and stored for the use of everyone.
Wish me luck!
I had started scanning them onto a usb drive about seven years ago, with the intent of just scanning some copies for my brother to have. After his death, I went back and started scanning more with the intent of organizing them better than I had.
After that, I moved, and as part of the packing process, things got rearranged, and unscanned items were mixed in with scanned items, and I lost the papers that I was writing things down on.
So now, I am ready to start again - but hopefully better prepared, with better equipment/software and a better plan of how I want to do it.
So, everything gets scanned again - this time including slides and negatives that I never touched in the previous attempts. All scans will got directly onto a usb drive, which will be mirrored in a folder on the computer. Then things get imported into Lightroom where they will be organized. I think one of LR's greatest strengths is the ability to organize and catalog photographs.
As part of this final attempt, I intend in purging some of the material. I see no value in keeping high school pictures of people I haven't seen since high school. I will scan them, but after that saving the physical copy serves no purpose to me, other than to take up space. Some of the materials, such as photographs of places that no longer exist, I would like to donate to local museums and historical societies for their archives. Which serves two purposes for me: one being I no longer have to store/care for them; and the material can be properly documented and stored for the use of everyone.
Wish me luck!
Thursday, 6 October 2016
October 6, 2016 - Time to make lists
It's amazing how jobs pile up at this time of year - as the weather turns things you thought you had plenty of time to accomplish become more urgent. And there is always the fall chores that need doing to prepare for winter, if the weather cooperates.
My solution is to make lists of things that need doing - actual physical lists instead of the mental lists I usually work from. It helps to have more than one - I group things I can doing according to the weather, so basically I have an indoor and outdoor list.
The indoor list is probably the longest because it contains a lot of things that don't necessarily have to be done quickly, but as the weather changes. So any indoor painting that didn't happen during the summer, clean up and toss out projects, and the like get mixed in with more time sensitive projects like insulating suspected drafts and repair weatherstripping.
The outdoor list, is of course, the priority. The weather can be variable so there is a limited time frame as well as limited days of acceptable weather - you can't rake leaves on a windy day, they usually just blow somewhere else to be raked up. So the list gets divided into nice and not-so-nice days. And of course the days are also shorter - both in the absolute sense of available daylight hours and things like not being able to mow early in the day because of dew conditions.
So, it's best to not have a hard cast-in-stone agenda for the day but rather a bigger list of smaller jobs to pick from. It may not be as efficient as a do-it-in-order list, but it makes it much easier to check things off and to stay motivated.
Next for me, another cup of coffee.
My solution is to make lists of things that need doing - actual physical lists instead of the mental lists I usually work from. It helps to have more than one - I group things I can doing according to the weather, so basically I have an indoor and outdoor list.
The indoor list is probably the longest because it contains a lot of things that don't necessarily have to be done quickly, but as the weather changes. So any indoor painting that didn't happen during the summer, clean up and toss out projects, and the like get mixed in with more time sensitive projects like insulating suspected drafts and repair weatherstripping.
The outdoor list, is of course, the priority. The weather can be variable so there is a limited time frame as well as limited days of acceptable weather - you can't rake leaves on a windy day, they usually just blow somewhere else to be raked up. So the list gets divided into nice and not-so-nice days. And of course the days are also shorter - both in the absolute sense of available daylight hours and things like not being able to mow early in the day because of dew conditions.
So, it's best to not have a hard cast-in-stone agenda for the day but rather a bigger list of smaller jobs to pick from. It may not be as efficient as a do-it-in-order list, but it makes it much easier to check things off and to stay motivated.
Next for me, another cup of coffee.
Tuesday, 4 October 2016
October4, 2016 - Vacation's Over
There is always a period after a vacation, after getting home and before the bills arrive, that you want to keep going. Especially if you have had a good, or better, vacation.
That was the kind of break I had.
Not to say there weren't any hiccups, there were, but the good bits far outnumbered the bad bits. And even by calling them bad bits, I may be overstating the case. Nothing bad actually happened, mostly in the realm of delays but we always managed to get where we were going.
The most notable glitch was when the GPS stopped talking to us and we ended up driving through a major city three times. To be fair, it was getting late and maybe the GPS lady went to bed early. Anyway, it was missing a turnoff before reaching the city, which we went past before realizing that we were no longer receiving instructions. Turn around and head back, again without receiving instructions, turning around again and driving into the city to find a place to park and regroup. Which we did successfully. After changing phones and GPS ladies, we were on our way once again. This time, a nice English lady directed us to where we were going. All in all, only a ninety minute delay.
High point for me, were meeting a guy who runs a popcorn store selling fifty kinds of popcorn. As it turned out, he was ex-navy and my dad had served as well, both out of the same port. So a great chat with him. And there was a brewpub we found on a little trip from home base - in a word amazing! I love micro-brewies and pub food and I was not disappointed. Tried a wonderful brew called Rad Dog and had a burger. I always like to try the basics and simpler fare to see how well a kitchen does food, feeling that if they can nail the basics then the rest of the menu must also be good. I had a very tasty burger with just the right amount of real (not frozen, but fresh cut) french fries. I don't like the trend of having so many fries that they are falling off you plate just to make the meal look bigger, so having just the right amount was a real treat for me.
I can't wait to go back!
That was the kind of break I had.
Not to say there weren't any hiccups, there were, but the good bits far outnumbered the bad bits. And even by calling them bad bits, I may be overstating the case. Nothing bad actually happened, mostly in the realm of delays but we always managed to get where we were going.
The most notable glitch was when the GPS stopped talking to us and we ended up driving through a major city three times. To be fair, it was getting late and maybe the GPS lady went to bed early. Anyway, it was missing a turnoff before reaching the city, which we went past before realizing that we were no longer receiving instructions. Turn around and head back, again without receiving instructions, turning around again and driving into the city to find a place to park and regroup. Which we did successfully. After changing phones and GPS ladies, we were on our way once again. This time, a nice English lady directed us to where we were going. All in all, only a ninety minute delay.
High point for me, were meeting a guy who runs a popcorn store selling fifty kinds of popcorn. As it turned out, he was ex-navy and my dad had served as well, both out of the same port. So a great chat with him. And there was a brewpub we found on a little trip from home base - in a word amazing! I love micro-brewies and pub food and I was not disappointed. Tried a wonderful brew called Rad Dog and had a burger. I always like to try the basics and simpler fare to see how well a kitchen does food, feeling that if they can nail the basics then the rest of the menu must also be good. I had a very tasty burger with just the right amount of real (not frozen, but fresh cut) french fries. I don't like the trend of having so many fries that they are falling off you plate just to make the meal look bigger, so having just the right amount was a real treat for me.
I can't wait to go back!
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