Return Home to Monroe
18 Nov 2007: In September 2007, I purchased a newer, faster computer so I could work more efficiently with my digital photos. Of course, it was obligatory that the new computer came with Windows Vista operating system (Home Premium edition). It's a shame that most of the genealogy programs and accessories run on the Windows platform, because I believe other platforms, such as MacIntosh, would have fewer glitches. The new Windows OS is definitely not ready for prime time. Many software programs which ran under previous versions of Windows are not "Vista Ready" and may never be. I tried to load my favorite Web page creator, Netscape Composer, from an archived CD, but it would not load in Vista. So, I brought the program through the back door by copy/pasting the Netscape.exe program from my old computer to an external storage drive and then to my new computer. Netscape Composer seemed to start up OK in Vista, within which I am now composing this HTML paragraph. I hope I can transfer the updated file to the Earthlink.com server. If it doesn't, I will have to learn to compose web pages in an entirely new web page creator and redo my already posted web pages as well. Microsoft's Front Page? I am sure that is what Microsoft is hoping for.
Hey, it worked. I uploaded this entry to the earthlink server. I'm back in business- at least until another Windows program replaces Vista.
I just thought you would like to know what goes on behind the scenes of an amateur web site manager at work.
28 July 2007: I deleted the link to my "My Garden Photos". Before today, I occasionally posted images taken of my garden. But it became too occasional; so, I decided to post my pictures to a gallery at Picasa.com. Earlier this year, I created a public blog at Google which uses the Picasa program as a photo tool. Picasa has some very good features, such as 1 GB of storage; the ability to announce your album by email; and then share it publicly or privately; and the ability to upload pictures remotely by camera/ cell phones and add captions. In short, I believe I will be able to share more photos more frequently and keep them organized at Picasa.
22 July 2007: Uploaded two photo albums in pdf format, created in Adobe Photoshop Elements. Scroll to bottom of Home page. This is an experiment; I did not know if I could link to a pdf file. I will probably delete the albums from this web site and post them in some form to my genealogy web sites. The Gailliot photo album pertains to my Mother's Branch; the Hohnke ("Family Research Trip"), to my Father's branch. UPDATE: The "Family Research Trip" pdf file was deleted Sep 2007.
20 Jun 2007: Just returned from a family history gathering trip to PA and MD. I posted some of my findings in a public blog which I initiated at Google in May. Also in May, I had my cell phone stolen, and I replaced it with a sooper dooper cell phone from which I can send a text or picture message to my blog. Wow, high tech! Actually, I started a trial blog at Yahoo in Jan 2007. Since I was just testing the waters of blogging, I chose to keep my Yahoo blog private. I tend to be more open and personal in my private blog. I will keep both blogs going until I my interest in one or the other fades. I believe a blog is a great way to begin an autobiography. That was my original intention when I began collecting my family history about 15 years ago. Also, since family history is an ongoing project, I believe blogging my progress will preserve it and perhaps interest other family and friends in our genealogy.
31 Oct 2006: (Halloween). I added links to my THREE (3) Internet photo albums. I have two sets of albums at Yahoo!, one for each of my accounts. This summer I created an account at PhotoSite. A nice feature of this photo album is that one can view images which nearly fill the monitor. Like Yahoo, captions can be added, and photos can be emailed to the album from the road. However, unlike the free Yahoo albums, PhotoSite charges a subscription after 100 images have been uploaded. By the way, Yahoo bought Flickr (another Internet Photo album site). I once had an account at Flickr but did not like the requirement and hassle that viewers had to register and set up an account before accessing my pictures. UPDATE: The photo album feature at Yahoo was closed at the end of Sep, 2007. Also, PhotoSite closed their web page at the same time- the ephemeral nature of the Internet. So I had to find a new home for my photos. I moved most of them to either Kodak Easy Share or Yahoo's partner, Flickr. However, we are back at the requirement for visitors to register a user name and password. I believe Picasa is the only site remaining which does not require a visitor to register.
6 Feb 2004: Today, I created and posted a new web page, entitled, "The Next Chapter in Monroe". That is, Monroe, Union County, North Carolina, which is a few miles east of Charlotte, NC. In the summer of 2003, I moved to Monroe from Floyd Co, Virginia. It was a big change, going from a 15 acre homestead in the mountainous, rural countryside of Floyd to a house within the city limits of Monroe. I had to change Internet Service Providers since my old Server was owned by the Floyd Telephone Company. My new server at Earthlink comes through a cable modem at my new home- one advantage of moving to the city. So I had to move my previous web page to my new server without losing all my old contacts. And hey man, that wasn't the only change; it's been a whole NEW CHAPTER.