The NEOCAG <<>> SPECIAL 10th ANNIVERSARY EDITION A Summary of Events and Topics of Interest to Online Genealogists NORTHEAST OHIO COMPUTER-AIDED GENEALOGY society compiled by Luther Olson Vol. 10 No. 4, October 1, 2005 Cynthia Turk --president Marcy Milota -- editor NorthEast Ohio Computer-Aided Genealogy [NEOCAG] serves Eastern Cuyahoga, Lake, Geauga, Ashtabula, Portage & Summit Counties. Regular meetings 2nd Saturday of each month St. Bartholomew Episcopal Church 435 S.O.M. Road, Mayfield Village, OH. ======================================================== IN THIS ISSUE: >NEOCAG President Cynthia Turk-Our Special Heroine--BRAVO >NEOCAG 10th Anniversary Edition >Put Your Cell Phone On ICE >Google Earth Software and GPS Hardware-Tools For Genealogy >Three More Google Projects Influence Our Genealogy Efforts >Newsletters, Spam, And RSS: Get The Baby Out Of The Bath Water >A new, free RSS Newsreader for Windows ======================================================== >NEOCAG President Cynthia Turk-Our Special Heroine--BRAVO Dear Friends, This is just an advance warning on my status for the next couple of months. I am being reactivated as a Red Cross Nurse and will be finished with the training by Thursday evening. I will then be placed on the Active Available list for any health services that the Red Cross may require. At this time they are mostly in need of shelter nurses, which may mean going to Houston or Dallas, or any of hundreds elsewhere. It is also possible that by the end of the week there will be a shelter in Cleveland. (They are on notice for a wide-body jet of victims. It is not clear if that will happen, but contingency plans are in the works.) As of two days ago, it seemed Houston would be most likely, but things change on an hourly basis. I am hoping to be able to take my computer, because I will be able to e-mail. If there will be no safe place to leave it, it may not be such a hot idea. I would have Herb drain all it's information through that little blue hose into the basement into his computer to make a CD of it before I take it anywhere. So, if and when I leave for hurricane victim care, I am sure that the group will do very well under the capable leadership of Marilyn Williams. Thanks to everyone for your kind support. Genially, Cynthia ------------------------------ Hi, all. This is from Herb - Cyn didn't take her computer with her. (Oh, her pain!! Without e-mail for three whole weeks!) Cynthia left for Houston on Monday. When she got there, most of the unplaced Katrina evacuees were already moving out to Alabama and other, safer places. She ended up with refresher courses on Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday, she got her assignment. She was being sent out of town to work in a shelter for evacuees from the approaching hurricane, Rita. When I got her call early Thursday morning, she was at a shelter at a Methodist Church in Huntsville, Texas. This is about 100 miles from Galveston, as a sober crow flies, and 70 miles north and a little west of Houston on I-45, which puts her about 160 miles from downtown Dallas. She already has more than 50 clients as a (the?) nurse at this facility. The shelter is being staffed in large part by volunteers from the church, who do much of the everyday tasks, such as cooking and cleaning; I'm not sure how much else they do, as my conversation with Cynthia was brief. She did state, however, that the shelter was being set up in the church Sunday School, and that classrooms were being used as family units as much as possible. I'll keep you updated on Cynthia's progress every few days. Herb ------------------------------- Cynthia called last night. Since Rita passed so far east of Houston, the church is closing the shelter at 2 PM today. What with the Red Cross and National Guard pulling out, it's not feasible to continue it past then. Many of the evacuees don't want to go home, particularly since they don't have electricity yet. Can't blame them. They are caught between a rock and a hard place, since the government authorities don't want the return to begin before tomorrow. The brunt of the storm passed well east of her, but Cynthia was quite busy with her 70 or so clients. The major hangup seemed to be cots which didn't arrive. They had to determine who would get the few they had. There were also the seemingly unavoidable issue of volunteers who try to take over the process - there's one or two in every bunch. Other than that, things went well -- the Red Cross person who came out to see why reports weren't on time stayed to help write them when she saw the workload. What this shelter closure means for Cynthia's mission is uncertain. Whether she will be reassigned (to Louisiana, for example) or released home is unknown. I'll let you know. Herb --------------------------------------------- When we last left our hero, Cynthia was about to leave the shelter in Huntsville, TX ... Well, yes, but she stayed in Huntsville. The Red Cross convinced the EOC (local Emergency Organizing Committee?? - its all alphabet soup to me) to keep a couple of shelters open, so Cynthia moved from the Methodist Church to the Coliseum at the local university. Today, they needed volunteers to move back to Houston, so back Cynthia went again. She's about to work the night shift at the Brown Convention Center. They told her to take a sleeping bag -- if it was quiet there, she could catch some Z-Z-Z-s. At least she's at a distance from the take-charge people who were giving her conniptions. She has had a few MREs (Meals-Ready-to-Eat) in the past few days. The chicken fajita meal was pretty good, the ribs reminded her of McRibs (processed, shaped pork), and she thought the sloppy Joes were really good. I guess the Red Cross travels on its stomach, too. More later --------------------------------- Meanwhile, back in West Houston: Cynthia filled in for one night at the Brown Convention Center (Tuesday) and was given Wednesday off. Yesterday, Thursday, she started at a shelter at Saint Catherine of Siena Catholic Church; it's about 5 miles west of downtown Houston and 1.5 miles north of I-10. She's working half-days now (8am to 8pm), but today lasted longer. That's because her night replacement was fresh on the job, and needed a crash orientation program. At 11:45 pm CDT she called to talk to me, mentioning that she had to be up by 6:30 or so. As a result, our conversation was very brief. Cyn is planning to come back to Cleveland next Tuesday night, to be here for our NEOCAG celebration on the 8th. More later (Many thanks for Herb for this interesting and entertaining account of our heroines experiences during this past month. And certainly we all express our thanks and admiration to Cynthia for her efforts and what she has endured. BRAVO, dear Cynthia, BRAVO.) ========================================================= >NEOCAG 10th Anniversary Celebration October 8, 2005 9 a.m. -- noon St. Bartholomew Episcopal Church, SOM Center Rd, Mayfield Village We would all be most delighted if you would join us for this special event. It was on Saturday, September 9, 1995 at 9:15 a.m. that founders Don Karr and Russ Cooper opened our first meeting by explaining why there was a need for this group-and what the objectives should be. That first year the group enrolled 49 members--of which 23 are still active. We now have 105 members, which attests both to the need for the group and the quality of the presentations of our monthly meetings. During this past decade only 6 members are deceased-though with more bad backs, slower steps and a tad more forgetfulness, we are frequently reminded that the rest of us are 10 years older. The main presentation will be by Russ Cooper, NEOCAG's first president, speaking on the topic: REFLECTIONS ON A DECADE OF CHANGES IN COMPUTER-AIDED GENEALOGY- WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? The last decade has seen incredible interest in genealogy and in computers. Whether it be hardware, software, PDAs, digital imaging, the internet and genealogy databases, DNA, miniaturization--or a host of other developments, the changes that have taken place are breathtaking. Their development has been a major factor in creating an interest in genealogy that has become a global phenomenon. Who better to discuss this topic than our founder, Russ Cooper? In keeping with the thrust of Russ' presentation, this issue of THE QUARTERLY, contains only articles about some rather amazing future projects that may be used to make our genealogy searches easier and more productive. We would be especially pleased if representatives from the various Northeast Ohio genealogy groups, and other friends, would spend the morning with us. Luther ========================================================= >Put Your Cell Phone On ICE This article has nothing to do with genealogy, but when I came across this article I immediately thought of our membership. This is a great idea that is applicable to many of us who carry cell phones, especially since many of us are getting up in years. (Actually, I had heard of the idea once before but never realized a connection to either our family or our society. More and more of us carry our phones while we are away from home, and in times of need they can be of great help to emergency personnel. In the event of an accident or health problem where the victim is incapacitated, paramedics and emergency personnel often turn to a victim's cell phone for clues to that person's identity or someone to contact. You can make their job much easier with a simple idea that has been passed around the Internet recently. This idea is called ICE--which stands for IN CASE OF EMERGENCY. If you add an entry in the "contacts" list of your cell phone under ICE, with the name and phone number of the person that emergency services should call on your behalf, you can save them a lot of time and have your loved ones quickly contacted. As this practice grows, more emergency personnel will come to know the meaning of ICE and will begin to look for it immediately. If there is more than one person to contact, simply add an ICE 2 and an ICE 3 as needed. It only takes a few moments of your time to do this, and it can save emergency personnel much needed time and effort. Since my wife and I each carry our single phone when we are out alone, I decided that we would enter separately as ICE 1 and ICE 2, while our daughter is ICE 3. (Was this a good idea? I'm not sure, but can always change it.) With some thought, you would come up with the situation that best suites your needs. Perhaps at some future meeting we can check to find out if any of you find it worthwhile. LO ========================================================= >Google Earth Software and GPS Hardware-Tools For Genealogy A few weeks ago the Plain Dealer carried a small article on the bottom of page 1, telling about a new software from Google (and others including Yahoo, MS, and now I'll even add NASA) which gives a complete view of the earth using satellite photos. Immediately it came to mind how I could use these photos as an addition to the notes in my genealogy software, making it possible to show visually what I was describing in my text. To my surprise, the PD's recommendation that Google was the best of the group was not only correct, one could easily say that it is the only one to even consider-at this point. So easy to use that no instruction of any kind is needed. If you have been watching the TV news or weather reports during the past month, you most surely have seen this software used, usually with a Google credit over on the right side of the screen as the camera zooms into a city, coast-line or some other feature. While the commercial versions cost our TV stations over $600, the one we can download is free. Though with no charge, there is nothing missing that makes it more a demo than a real software (like we see so often.) However-and this is where I move into a second topic, the photos you see always give you the coordinates, so if you use GPS and would like to include the ability to insert your GPS readings into Google Earth, you can purchase that version for only $20. Taking this a step further, the Langalist Newsletter dated 9/15 included a wonderful article informing us how the price of these units has come down in the past few months. NEOCAG has had two wonderful recent presentations on the use of GPS to locate and record exact locations of interest to us, such as grave sites, old buildings, churches, farms, etc. Being able to pin point an exact location with a overhead photo of the object is terribly exciting to me, and I'm sure to many of our readers. The following information is from the newsletter mentioned above. GPS hardware has undergone an almost unbelievably rapid evolution, adding more and more features into smaller and more power-efficient packages. As of this writing, the Lowrance 11248 may be the best value in basic GPS technology; it sells for around $65; about 30% less than last year's lowest-priced basic GPS unit. Although the Lowrance 11248 can't automatically plot turn-by-turn directions for you, it will show you where you are and what's nearby with an accuracy roughly equal to that of the Garmin GPS V, which cost $500-over seven times as much--just three years ago. The Lowrance unit is an incredible piece of technology at an amazingly low price. Perhaps we would find a GPS from the middle ground better-- neither bare-bone minimal nor top-of-the-line. The choices there abound, including the unit barely larger than a deck of cards, yet with a full-color, sunlight-readable screen, synthetic voice prompting (so the unit speaks directions to you), built-in rechargeable batteries good for 20 hours of operation, and more. It's incredible how far GPS tech has come, and how fast! Hardware advances like this have happened a couple of times before, and they were momentous events: For example, it happened in the 1980s when computers went from being exotic toys to routine fixtures in businesses and homes: Now, almost everyone has a PC. We saw it again in the 1990s, when cell phones went from being expensive executive accessories to an essential tool for everyday communication: Now, almost everyone has a cell phone. We've seen it in other devices, too, and now we're seeing it with GPS. This once-exotic technology is now within the reach of almost everyone. The basic benefits of GPS haven't changed: It helps you get where you want to be with a minimum of fuss and bother. But the new gear is so affordable and so powerful, you really shouldn't be without it. Just as PCs and cell phones did in earlier years, GPS has come of age. If you haven't added GPS to your arsenal of tech tools, it's time! With information and opinions from The LangaList, 2005-09-15 (PS Before telling your sweetie that this would make a great stocking stuffer, be sure to do a good internet search. Prices can vary an unbelievable amount. I just purchased an item for $69.99 with no shipping or handling charge. Many other sites sold it for as much as $115 plus shipping and handling of up to $12.) LO ========================================================= >Three More Google Projects Influence Our Genealogy Efforts Under the heading "Google Releases Free Software for Organizing Digital Photos," news releases a few months ago introduced us to an entirely new way of organizing our digital photos which are stored on our hard drives. Google bought out Picasa Inc,. and put it out under the same name and called it Picasa 2. If you haven't tried it yet-and you deal with lots of digital photos of grandchildren and pets, go to your computer right now and download it before it slips your mind. What's the big deal? After all, there are lots of excellent graphic softwares that have been around for years and work without a hitch. But Picasa 2 is different. Instead of creating folders and subfolders and more subfolders which you name to try to keep track of all those files (read photos), Picasa 2 turns the process around and automatically creates groups of photos as they come in from your grandson's soccer game, and separates them by year. You can then drag and drop them to rearrange them any way you like to suit your particular preferences. Such as, you may like to create folders of photos that are ready to print, or folders that are now printed and ready to go back to their original folder. It doesn't matter whether those photos came via Email, or downloads from your camera or the internet-Picasa 2 will detect them and arrange them before you have time to even open the software. Given one provision, this is probably the easiest software to use. I must admit I still have a small problem with it because I'm a bit of a "control" person, and find it difficult to accept that my computer is doing something quicker and easier without me. Now, why should that be a problem? Isn't that what our computers all about? The business section of the PD, Oct. 2, carries the stunning news that the Silicon Valley's latest rumor is that Google is considering a free wireless Internet network that will cover the entire nation. A Google web page discussing the product makes reference to it by calling it the "Google Wi-Fi." (To which I reply-"Why just national? Why not the entire earth? Think carefully, dear readers. Is that just a facetious question? After all, it was just a few days ago that we read about a Google project for free Wi-Fi for San Francisco. LO) The article points out that Google has been branching out in different directions, including an instant messenger with an internet telephone service. Actually, this is nothing new. My hearing impaired daughter and her husband have had for a couple of years pocket sized phones that have this feature-along with a camera and Email. What is new, however, is that Google--with it's recent receipt of gazillions of dollars from going public--is thinking really big. If you ask how this relates to genealogy, I have said for some time that we have never had the real benefit of our laptops that we should because of their limitations when we are out where they would be of greatest value. At our desk in the den we don't need them, we have our PC, but when we go out to other locations we loose the thing we need most, that is the ability to connect to the internet. A connection like this would mean that you could sit by an ancestors grave stone on a remote windy hilltop in West Virginia, or in a genealogy room in a small library in southeast Ohio, and still have the entire internet there with you. Now, hold on to your hat. This ability is not a small issue, when one considers another major project that Google (and others) have now actually initiated. An article back in mid-December informed us of a project in which all the books, in all the world's libraries, would eventually be scanned and digitized so that they would be instantly available to all-twenty four hours a day--in any location including that West Virginia hilltop. Google has already contracted with Harvard, the U. of Michigan, Stanford and the New York Public Library to scan tens of thousands of pages a day of books, scholarly papers and special collections. And now, with a national Wi-Fi in place, one could be tramping through cemeteries in the most remote part of Appalachia, and still be connected and able to search the world to verify information-and then call our wife to let her know we won't be home for supper. The thought has often been expressed, the more we attempt to keep up with the rapid technical inventions of the last few years, the more we get behind. We don't know whether to be excited, or to become more and more frustrated, and if the truth be told, I suppose for most of us we are often a bit of each. Isn't it wonderful? Luther ======================================================== >Newsletters, Spam, And RSS: Get The Baby Out Of The Bath Water What are the two biggest problems facing email users today? Ironically they are: spam and spam filters. Unsolicited email, or spam, is flooding our in-boxes. Unfortunately, while trying to fix the spam problem, spam filters are often creating worse problems: frequently they are actually blocking some of the mail we want to receive, even (gasp!) this newsletter. It's a classic case of throwing the baby out with the bath water. All sorts of things are being deleted from your in-box. Deletion happens more often on the Plus Edition newsletter because it is longer and is more likely to "trip" some of the spam filters' triggers. However, even the Eastman Standard Edition newsletter gets deleted occasionally. The worst part is that when wanted mail is deleted from your in-box, nobody tells you about it. You don't know what is missing if you don't see it. So what's an email publisher to do? Rescue the baby, of course! To this end, many newsletters, newspapers, stock market reports, weather reports, and other publishers of periodic information are turning to a new delivery system: RSS. The Washington Post provides 138 RSS news feeds in different 15 categories. The New York Times offers a similar wide variety of RSS news feeds, as does CNN, the BBC, Time Magazine, and dozens of other major news publishers. They have all learned that RSS is much more reliable than e-mail. Smaller publications have learned the same lesson. I, too, have realized that e-mail delivery is not reliable. As a result, this newsletter is now available in three formats: on the web, in email, and in RSS. The web and RSS are both far more reliable than e-mail. You can read this newsletter on the web at http://www.eogn.com. You can obtain an e-mail subscription to the Plus Edition or to the Standard Edition at the same web address if you click on the subscription links found there. This newsletter is also available in RSS. For those already familiar with RSS and who already have an RSS newsreader, here is the direct URL to use in your newsreader: http://eogn.typepad.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/index.rdf By using an RSS newsreader, you will never need to be concerned about spam filters again. Every newsletter article will appear in your newsreader shortly after it becomes available, seven days a week. You do not need to wait for the once-a-week e-mail delivery. Please note that this is a full-content news feed with every word of every Standard Edition article. It is not just a list of headlines and links like you will find on some other news sites. For details about RSS, including an answer to the question "What is RSS?" and a short list of recommended RSS newsreaders, read the details at http://www.eogn.com/rss-newsreaders.htm. The preceding article is from Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter and is copyright July 13, 2005 by Richard W. Eastman. It is re-published here with the permission of the author. Information about the newsletter is available at http://www.eogn.com. ======================================================== >A new, free RSS Newsreader for Windows I have written a number of times about the joys of using RSS newsreaders compared to standard web browsers. When it comes to viewing information that is available in RSS format, RSS newsreaders offer numerous advantages over a standard web browser. For one thing, most RSS newsreaders automatically poll the web sites you wish to monitor so that you do not have to spend time visiting each site. This is often called "pre- fetching." All the information is periodically stored on your local hard drive and is available instantly whenever you want it. You do not need to wait for the various delays you encounter when using Internet Explorer or other web browsers. In fact, dial-up users need an RSS reader even more than those who use broadband. You can even read all the information later when you are offline. That feature alone can save a lot of money for those who use long- distance connections or cell phones to connect to the Internet. RSS newsreaders can be used to view this newsletter, thousands of other newsletters, blogs, and material from numerous news sources, including the New York Times, CNN, BBC News, and hundreds more commercial services. You can also read the latest weather forecasts for your hometown as well as current stock market quotes. The data is transferred as a background task whenever your computer is connected to the Internet and your RSS newsreader is in operation. You simply view the information whenever you wish. In addition, there is no spam, spyware or other, unwanted material in RSS newsfeeds. You control what information is transferred to your computer. If you find that you no longer wish to receive material from a particular newsfeed, you click a couple of times with the mouse, and the feed is deleted permanently from your newsreader. Finally, reading RSS feeds is much more reliable than reading articles sent via e-mail. There are no spam filters involved, so you know that you always receive 100% of material that you want. I have written about several RSS newsreaders in the past, but this week I found a new one that I like even better than my previous favorite. Blog Navigator is a freeware RSS reader for Windows that has a lot of features found typically in commercial-only RSS readers. It supports things like podcasting, dynamic blog feed creation via searching, blog grouping, off-line reading, and a bunch of other stuff. And, again, it's free. Actually, there is a "Pro version" of Blog Navigator that costs money, but its added features will appeal only to those who write blogs. If you only read newsletters and blogs, you will have no need of the Pro version. I believe the free version will suffice for 99% of the readers of this newsletter. Blog Navigator has numerous features not commonly found in free RSS newsreaders: Users can create automated searches using Feedstar and other search engines and put together the results. In other words, you can put together your own equivalent of a blog, based upon keywords that you specify. Tabbed Browsing: Blog Navigator can open up multiple blog windows in its own Internet Explorer-compatible browser. Alternatively, different blogs can be displayed as tiled windows. Blog Baskets: Users can drag and drop articles of interest into blog baskets for safekeeping to reference later. Export articles: Users can export articles or entire blogs to disk to read later or send to others. Auto RSS feed detection: Most RSS readers require users to explicitly type in the RSS feed URL. Blog Navigator can detect the RSS feed from the actual blog site that has properly supported the RSS protocol (i.e. http://www.eogn.com) so that you don't have to hunt around for the RSS feed. I downloaded Blog Navigator, double-clicked on the newly- downloaded file, and answered a couple of questions that appeared on my screen, and then Blog Navigator installed itself quickly. I was ready to use it within a few seconds after downloading. I like it and find it is easier to use and has more features than the previous RSS newsreader I was using. I have now switched. You should note that Blog Navigator is designed for Windows XP or Windows 2000. It probably will not work properly on earlier versions, such as Windows 98 or ME. All in all, Blog Navigator is an easy-to-use RSS newsreader with great features and a very attractive price: free. For more information, or to directly download Blog Navigator for Windows, go to http://www.stardock.com/products/blognavigator The preceding article is from Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter and is copyright June 29, 2005 by Richard W. Eastman. It is re-published here with the permission of the author. Information about the newsletter is available at http://www.eogn.com. ========================================================= CONTRIBUTIONS: When you come across something you think would be of interest to others who are involved in genealogy, whether it be about genealogy, software, or hardware, please send it to our editor, Marcy Milota at < milota@jcu.edu>. Please include your name and all credits of author and publication. Information from online genealogy newsletters can be used with these credits. EASTMAN NEWSLETTERS You are hereby granted rights, unless otherwise specified, to re-distribute articles from this newsletter to other parties provided you do so strictly for non-commercial purposes. Please include the following: The following article is from Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter and is copyright 2005 by Richard W. Eastman. It is re-published here with the permission of the author. Information about the newsletter is available at http://www.eogn.com. FAMILY TREE MAGAZINE Reprinted with permission from Family Tree Magazine Email Update, copyright 2003 F+W Publications Inc. To subscribe to this free weekly e-mail newsletter, go to http://www.familytreemagazine.com/newsletter.asp. For a free sample copy of the print Family Tree Magazine, America's #1 family history magazine, go to http://www.familytreemagazine.com/specialoffers.asp?FAMfree issue ROOTSWEB REVIEW Permission to reprint articles from RootsWeb Review is granted unless specifically stated otherwise, provided: (1) the reprint is used for non-commercial, educational purposes; and (2) the following notice appears at the end of the article: Previously published in RootsWeb Review: Vol. 5, No. 40, 2 October 2002. LANGALIST STANDARD EDITION The Langalist Standard Edition is a free email newsletter from Fred Langa that helps you get more from your hardware, software, and time online. Plus! Subscribers have access to over 100,000 additional Words in special features, extra content and private links, All on a private web site? All that, plus 30% more content In every issue, for just a dollar a month! Full Plus! Edition info: http://www.langa.com/plus.htm ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY'S HISTORICAL GENEALOGY DEPARTMENT This electronic newsletter is published with the intent to enlighten readers about genealogical research methods, as well as inform them about the vast resources of the Allen County Public Library. We welcome the wide distribution of this newsletter and encourage readers to forward it to their friends and societies. UPFRONT--NGS Each issue of UpFront is under copyright of the National Genealogical Society. Permission is granted to share the news and events portions of UpFront provided you include the following statement: "Originally published in UpFront with NGS, The Online Newsletter of the National Genealogical Society. http://www.NGSgenealogy.org/upfront.htm" ANCESTRY DAILY NEWS We encourage the circulation of the "Ancestry Daily News" via non-profit newsletters and lists providing that you credit the author, include any copyright information (Copyright 1998-2005, MyFamily.com, Inc. and its subsidiaries.), and cite the "Ancestry Daily News" (http://www.ancestry.com/dailynews ) as the source, so that others can learn about our free newsletter as well. ========================================================== TELL A FRIEND -- SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION: Others interested in genealogy are welcome to receive these updates; if you know of anyone else interested, tell him or her to send us an E-mail To subscribe or unsubscribe to this publication, send an Email to Luther Olson: ============================================= Past issues of this Newsletter are available at: http://neocag.net/calendar.html ============================================= * * * * NORTHEAST OHIO COMPUTER-AIDED GENEALOGY Society * * * * NEOCAG Mail List Server: * * * * Visit our web site at * * * *