#90 YOU OUGHTA BE IN PICTURES: SHARING PHOTOS

I was amazed by the number of photosharing websites. I have used Flickr, but really liked the review and features of Photobucket. I think I will definitely be a Photobucket convert and will be looking into that a lot more than I ever did with Flickr. My biggest concern with photosharing is privacy. I like to control who sees my photos. Copyright options also interest me as I have several pictures for which I would like to be solely credited. Photobucket has the most features offered, and the ones it does not include don't interest me that much although I do wish it had photo licensing. That is the only downside I see for my using Photobucket. Features I prefer would be safe filter, batch photo uploading, printing services and copyright options.

#89 YOU OUGHTA BE IN PICTURES: BASIC PHOTO EDITING

After trying Picnik, Photoshop and Fotoflexer, I found that I really didn't like Photoshop all that well. It was not nearly as user friendly or intuitive. For practical purposes, I prefer Picnik, and for more whimsical photos, Fotoflex. I really enjoyed dressing Beau's picture up with the flower frame. We lost her to cancer at the tender age of 4, and this is one of my favorite photos of her. I sharpened the image, further sharpened up her face and then blurred out the rest of her. I cropped this from a picture where I removed the view of a cluttered desk and computer screen.

The editing feaures that I would use for the most part are the practical ones...cropping, auto-fix and resizing though it is nice to know that there are so many more options out there than I knew about. I really, really like what I was able to do with this photo of Beau.

THE FUTURE 0F MEDIA:#80: MOVIES

I looked at Seven Years in Tibet on Hulu. I really don't care to watch movies online as I prefer a bigger screen.....that is why I bought a big screen tv! I think it would probably be good entertainment for someone with an iphone so that they could pass the time while waiting at the airport, doctors office, etc. It just isn't my style.


I think that the trailer sites would be helpful. I already go to the movie site each week to see what new movies I would like to see. I then add them to my Netflix cue. I might use them. I liked IMDB better. I have used that site before for movie reviews, however, did not notice that they had trailers as well or full length films.

I definiately like fee-based movies. We use Netflix as I previously mentioned. It really makes it easy to obtain movies that we really want to see rather than watching whatever happens to be on television at any given time. The convenience of not having any set return period is a bonus as well. We usually watch and return right away, but because we had a terminal health issue come up with one of our cats, we were delayed two weeks in returning it. No problem! No late fees! We also use the Roku streaming device with it, and that keeps us supplied with plenty to watch while we wait for our next movie to arrive through the mail. They also have interesting documentaries as well. I just watched one the other night on the making of a Kentucky Derby winner and am currently watching one about the audition process for selecting dancers for A Chorus Line. Additionally, they also offer foreign films as well. Their website makes it easy to make my selections, and they have a system in place that offers suggestions based on my preferences. We are saving a ton of $$ by not going to the movie theatre as often. I will definiately use movie trailers to help me add selections each week now that I know about them.

GENEALOGY POST #70

I thought that the Look-a-Like Meter and the Celeb Meter were a lot of fun. It turns out that I split even between my mom and dad and didn't look more like one or the other. The same thing happened when I tried myself with my husband and one of my daughters. We have always said that no one in the family looks related to anyone else in the family so I guess that confirms it! The Celeb Meter was funny. I resembled Angela Lansbury. It was hilarious when I tried a picture of my 83-year-old mother. It came up with Larry King! (I didn't tell her!)

Footnote was interesting; however, the member comments were so wide and varied. I may try a subscription for a year along with my ancestry.com subscription to see just how helpful it might be. Definitely looked worth a try.

Genealogy #69

I tried going on to Heritage Quest Persi and looked up "Kercheval" to see what I could turn up. I have a great-great uncle who wrote the History of the Valley of Virginia. I did find a listing for him! He was listed in the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography V. 67 Issue 3 in July of 1959. I think I'm going to have to order a copy of that one!

Genealogy Post #68

I became interested in oral histories when it was too late to do much about it. Most of the relatives that I would have liked to get an oral history from were no longer alive when I started doing research. I definitely would consider it is I had anyone to go to. The only living relative I have is my mother so I will probably pursue that before it is too late as she is now almost 84. I am most interested in her mother's family; however, my grandmother did not want to talk about her family so I have hit a deadend there.

The cemetery I looked at is in the Barnes Community Cemetery in Indiana where my paternal grandparents are burried. The oldest grave belonged to Thomas Stonehouse. The date of death was illegible except for 19, 1841 ; however, since the stone stated "months 18 days."

Genealogy #67

I have been doing genealogy for a number of years off and on. When I first started, there was one particular person that I was looking for who was our family's "black sheep." I was determined that I would find him no matter what it took. I looked high and low for that scoundrel for several years and decided to give it a rest. I worked on other family trees for several years before I decided to try again. The two things I learned in all of this that I would like to pass on is

#1 Don't give up! When I decided to take a break, my search had met dead ends in many states and places and was beginning to appear to be an impossible task. Ultimately when I returned to searching I met with success.....at last!

#2 What kept me from being successful in my pursuit was that I kept trying to find him as a head of household. The sad truth is that he was hiding in plain sight....or pretty close. Once I got it out of my head to pursue males as heads of households and I tried his sister, Lucy. Low and behold....there he was! He left his family and moved in with his sister across town while they lived under a cliff. Nice guy! The interesting thing in all this is that as I progressed in my search I found out that his uncle had written The History of the Valley of Virginia. Both his father and uncle were well respected lawyers. I have a family member who corresponded with Abe Lincoln and one with letters from Thomas Jefferson that are actually in three genealogy libraries! Didn't see that coming from the family of this guy that was a scoundrel! Just goes to show that genealogy can be a really interesting hobby that is full of turns and twist.