The Geneaholic

Randy's Genealogy Day - 10 November 2009

2009-11-10T22:11:00.000-08:00

FWIW, Today was 11/10/09... a day of doctors and genealogy.

* After reading email, blogs, and Twitter, posted Lyle Was Driving for the Smile for the Camera carnival.

* Got cleaned up, left for the eye doctor at 8:30 a.m. Eyes tested OK, been 9 years since last checkup, ordered new glasses. Home by 10:30 a.m.

* Eyes dilated, everything's bright! Researched and wrote Family Tree Statistics from MyHeritage.com and posted it. Pretty good stuff. Checked other software and only RootsMagic has stats like this, but not in graphical format.

* Had lunch, left at 12:40 p.m. for dentist office for cleaning. Home by 2:15 p.m.

* Read everything, worked a bit in the database on Connecticut VRs. Researched and wrote Ancestry.com Has Military Collection FREE through 13 November and posted it. First one to post it? Emailed it to my CVGS mailing list.

* Went in at 5 p.m. to watch TV, read the paper, eat dinner, and then did the dishes.

* Back online at 7:30 p.m., looked for Paul Schaffner in Ancestry WWI draft cards, got frustrated by New Search failure to find anything in San Francisco. Researched and wrote AFL with "New Search" on Ancestry.com. Maybe they'll fix the problems. Checked Facebook.

* Searched 1874-1877 San Francisco City Directories on Footnote.com. Keeping a list for McKnew, Paul, Schaffner, Seaver and Whittle. Wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 8.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter/Facebook, 0.5 hour on MyHeritage, 1.0 hour on Footnote, 1.0 hour on Ancestry, 3.0 hours writing blog posts, 1.0 hour in database - sources for CT marriages.

Randy's Genealogy Day - 9 November 2009

2009-11-09T21:51:00.000-08:00

Really not much of a genealogy day - did what I had to do in and by the time I had to do it!

* Read email, blogs and Twitter, then wrote Square Pegs Into Round Holes about classifying or categorizing genealogy researchers. Not sure what I contributed, but it garnered some comments and, hopefully, provoked some thought.

* Got cleaned up, put OASIS material on two flash drives, gathered up the class material, and left by 9:15 for Mission Valley.

* Taught my 2nd session of the OASIS class, had lunch at McDonald's, stopped at the library to talk to the folks, and was home by 2 p.m.

* Looked through the ourFamily*ology research links for useful websites. Tried a few - mainly state archives sites.

* Finally blogged Calling San Diego Readers -- Dr. Spencer Wells at Natural History Museum on 11/11 which I got from email today. Then wrote 1940 U.S. Federal Census Information from email information from Joel Weintraub. Tired, went in to watch TV.

* Watched the news, read the paper, didn't get a nap, we ate dinner watching the football game.

* Back to the computer at 8:30 after the game, and read everything. Decided to write a Smile for the Camera Carnival post and set it for Tuesday morning. Then wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 8.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter and Facebook, 2.5 hours on OASIS class, 0.5 hour on CVGS visit, 1.0 hour on ourFamily*ology site, and 2.5 hours writing blog posts.

Randy's Genealogy Day - 8 November 2009

2009-11-08T21:59:00.000-08:00

Really not much of a genealogy day - posted BOGB, published CVGS newsletter, put OASIS notes together, and blogged more about ourFamily*ology family tree site.

* Read email, blogs and Twitter, then edited the Best of ... post, before going off to church by 9:30 a.m.

* Home by 11:30, checked CVGS newsletter printout one last time, and left at 12:10 for the UPS Store to print and mail copies. Virginia helped. Was home by 12:40 p.m., and Best of the Genea-Blogs - November 1-7, 2009 posted while I was away.

* Settled in to eat lunch and watch football. Charger-Giants game came on at 1:15, and was over by 4:30. Chargers won in last minute, 21-20, but were dominated on both sides of the ball for stretches. Watered the front plants to cool down.

* Watched highlights, took a nap, then more football before dinner, and watched the SNF game until halftime.

* Came in to modify the OASIS class handout and presentation - finding if I don't bold the text that I save on ink. Printed off copies for Monday's class. Put updated material on two flash drives.

* Back in to watch the end of Dallas-Philly game, and read my Connelly book. After the game, came in and read everything and then wrote Checking out ourFamily*ology - Post 3. I'm unimpressed by the functionality, although it looks nice. Checked in on Facebook, and wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 5.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter and Facebook, 1.0 hour writing blog posts, 1.0 hour on CVGS newsletter, and 1.5 hour on OASIS class material.

Randy's Genealogy Day - 7 November 2009

2009-11-07T22:10:00.001-08:00

This was a different genealogy day for me - actually got out of the Genealogy Cave and did something fun and useful in the outdoor world.

* Read email, blogs and Twitter before going off to the Men's Bible Study breakfast at 8 a.m. Surname Saturday - RICHMAN/RICHMOND posted while I was cleaning up.

* After breakfast, headed to San Diego Public Library downtown to finish off a CVGS query about tattoo parlors in San Diego. Found it, copied it, then talked to genealogy librarian Susan for awhile - she knows so much San Diego area history!

* Took off for Mission Hills and Pioneer Park where they dug up all of the gravestones, threw them in a gully at Mount Hope, and then replanted some of them in an area of Pioneer Park. Took pictures of quite a few for SSDCGYRabbit blog. Then went by the 30th Street neighborhood and took pictures of the Carringer houses.

* Home by 12 noon, read everything, and saw the Public Profiler site on Al's blog, so used it for Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Surname Distributions! Yep, on a whim. That's how I usually choose - I believe in Just-in-Time SNGF!

* Went in to watch SDSU/TCU game, read the paper, took a short nap, and came back after halftime (SDSU down 31-6) to mess around online in Twitter and Facebook. Aztecs lost 55-12.

* Linda left after 4 p.m. to help our neighbors in the rest home, so read new FORUM mag online, then ate dinner, watched more football, and then the news.

* Back online at 6:30 p.m. - decided I'd better finish up the CVGS Newsletter. Got it done, printed off for copying, saved as a PDF for emailing, and printed off the address list. Ready to publish tomorrow!

* Wrote most of the Best of the Genea-blogs post tonight because tomorrow is church, CVGS publishing at 12 noon, and the Chargers Game. Then wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 8.5 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter/Facebook, 2.0 hours writing blog posts, 1.0 hour at SDPL, 1.5 hour at cemetery and 30th Street, 2.5 hours doing CVGS newsletter.

Randy's Genealogy Day - 6 November 2009

2009-11-06T22:34:00.000-08:00

I've had this terrible feeling all day that I've forgotten to do something. Where's my to-do list? Buried in a pile, I fear.

* Read email, blogs and Twitter, then read the new monthly Shades digital magazine that footnoteMaven has created. Awesome! Wrote Follow Friday - Shades of the Departed - WOW!!.

* Got cleaned up, then wrote Three APG/PMC Presentations Available to View and scheduled it for early afternoon.

* Worked in my database for awhile replacing shorthand sources with real sources.

* Had lunch at home, left at 11:45 a.m. to pick up George for our walk on the Bayfront. Cool today - only mid-60's with some clouds. Was home by 1 p.m.

* Answered some emails, scanned some papers, then researched and wrote Checking out ourFamily*ology - Post 2. Pretty slow, difficult to navigate.

* Went in at 5 p.m. to read paper, watch TV, eat dinner, and read my book while Linda worked on computer.

* Back online at 7:30 - read everything, checked Facebook, worked on the CVGS Newsletter. Still need about half a page from somewhere. Will use my blog articles if necessary.

* Wrote Surname Saturday post for Saturday morning, thought about SNGF without a decision, then wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 10.0 hours - 1.0 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter/Facebook, 0.5 hour reading Shades, 1.0 hour working in ourFamily*ology, 3.0 hours writing blog posts, 1.5 hours in the database, 2.0 hours doing CVGS newsletter.

Randy's Genealogy Day - 5 November 2009

2009-11-05T21:58:00.000-08:00

Started out as a genealogy day, and finished like one, but in the middle was ... granddaughters! A great family history day!

* Read email, blogs and Twitter, then wrote Are census records reliable for genealogy research?

* Did more San Francisco research on Joseph Whittle, and wrote More San Francisco Treats, and scheduled it for the afternoon.

* Left at 11 a.m. for the pharmacy to pick up my drugs, back home by 11:45 a.m.

* Got started on CVGS Newsletter - got everything in that I have - need several articles and other info from board members.

* Went in at 2 p.m. to take a nap, expecting the girls to be delivered by 3 p.m. or so, and they would stay two days/nights before Tami comes to pick them up. Then Tami called and said she needed to take them home tonight. She got here at 3:30, the girls came at 4:15, and we left for dinner at Rubio's in the valley at 5:15. Linda and I were home by 7 p.m. Tami and the girls headed home. It was fun seeing them and getting hugs, kisses, and smiles from them.

* Read everything, had to install the new Windows Live Messenger, read the ProGen chapter, checked Facebook, and at 8 p.m. started the ProGen chat with my group colleagues. We were done by 9 p.m.

* Watched Elissa Powell's presentation on the APG web site - excellent presentation. There are two others to watch, too. Then wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 8.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter and Facebook, 2.0 hours researching and writing blog posts, 2.0 hours on the CVGS newsletter, 1.5 hours on ProGen group, and 1.0 hour watching APG video.

Randy's Genealogy Day - 4 November 2009

2009-11-04T21:51:00.000-08:00

Not much of a genealogy day - too much else needed to be done.

* Read email, blogs and Twitter, then posted More on Footnote.com Databases and Pages. Wrote (Not So) Wordless Wednesday - Family Photographs: Post 78 - Sons and Proud Fathers and Take a look at Dick Eastman's GenQueries site and scheduled them for later in the day while I was busy.

* Got cleaned up, and went off to my doctor's appointment at 10:50 a.m. Routine stuff, needed prescription renewal, and got weight lecture and an appointment for that sigmoid-thingy...then went to the lab for blood test. Ate lunch in the car - the oreo cookie fillings melted in the sun...what a gooey, yummy mess!

* Got to the library after 12 noon for the CVGS board meeting. Was home by 2:30 p.m.

* Read everything, pondered what to post, and didn't ... gathered up the financial stuff and we left at 3:30 for the financial advisor.

* Had a 2.5 hour meeting to sort out insurance policies, investment accounts and the like. Decided to come home and eat leftovers and watch the World Series.

* Game over at 9 p.m. - came in and read everything, checked Facebook, and wrote this post. Ned to read my ProGen assignment now.

Genealogy today was 5.5 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter and Facebook, 2.0 hours writing blog posts, and 2.0 hours in CVGS meeting.

Randy's Genealogy Day - 3 November 2009

2009-11-03T21:47:00.001-08:00

Finally a full day of genealogy! Yes!!! Felt OK after a good night's sleep too, but back got sore tonight after hunching over my smoking keyboard all day.

* Read email, blogs and Twitter, then wrote San Francisco Funeral Home Records.

* Found the Ohio Death Records on the FamilySearch Record Search list and started in on the Seaver surname folks. Got two pages done by lunch time - only 30 names, and not all were in my database, but transcribed and sourced the ones that were. Filled in lots of birth and death dates and places, plus some spouses names. Have 62 more pages - over 800 more items, to do.

* Almost missed lunch having so much fun! Wrote Lemon Grove Researchers Group Brick Wall Ancestors. Added more Seaver Ohio Death Records to database.

* Signed up for the ourFamily*ology site and uploaded GEDCOM file. Saved some screens. Works well, but slow...and then it times out. FAIL for now. Wrote Checking out OurFamily*ology about experiences.

* Went in at 5 p.m. to watch TV, read the paper, eat dinner, water the front plants, and didn't take a nap.

* Back online at 7 p.m. - checked out Dick's GenQueries site, then worked in the database resolving my shorthand sources into real sources for one branch of my Seaver database.

* Read everything, checked in on Facebook, then wrote post for Wednesday morning, then wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 11.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter and Facebook, 0.5 hour looking at GenQueries, 3.0 hours writing blog posts, 3.5 hours in Ohio Deaths, 1.0 hours on ourFamily*ology site, and 1.5 hours working on Seaver sources.

Randy's Genealogy Day - 2 November 2009

2009-11-02T21:51:00.000-08:00

Today is the 118th anniversary of my grandfather's birth in 1891. How I wish I had talked more with him about his family life. He would be proud of me, I think. I hope so!

* Read my email, blogs and Twitter and the Finding Potential Y-DNA Matches - Post 1: GeneTree blog posted. Wrote the Using Quick Links to Navigate Ancestry.com and Reduce AFL post and scheduled it for the early afternoon.

* Got cleaned up, left at 9:10 a.m. for the OASIS class in Mission Valley. Had 6 signed up, only 5 showed up, but it was a pretty good class. Left at 12:30, ate at McDonalds, stopped at the library to do a query lookup and was home by 1:45 p.m.

* Read everything, but exhausted. Messed around, finally figured that I needed a nap, so went in and watched TV and took the nap.

* Came back at 3:15 and worked a bit on two of the Lemon Grove group queries posted on their blog. Still felt exhausted.

* Went in at 5 p.m. to watch the World Series, we ate dinner, and I switched between baseball and football all evening. Still feel cruddy - took my Tylenol 4-in-one stuff to kill the headache and achy feeling, but then had upset stomach too. Drat. Don't have time to be sick. Sure don't feel like doing anything constructive!

* Came in at 9:30 to read everything and write this post. Going to bed early!

* Backed up the genealogy files last night to the external hard drive. Need to sync files with the laptop soon.

Genealogy today was 7.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter and Facebook, 1.0 hour writing blog posts, 3.0 hours at OASIS Class, 0.5 hour working on query at library, and 1.0 hour writing comments on the Lemon Grove queries.

Randy's Genealogy Day - 1 November 2009

2009-11-01T22:15:00.000-08:00

Not much of a genealogy day due to church, football and baseball. Still did some blogging.

* Read email, blogs and Twitter before finishing the Best of the Genea-Blogs - October 25-31, 2009 post before going to church at 9:30. Scheduled it for noon time.

* Glad I did that, because we didn't get home until 12 noon. Read everything, tweeted the BOGB post, and went in to watch football.

* Chargers played the Raiders, and it was a pretty good game. The good guys won 24-16, but it was close. Still not sold on the Chargers - think they're probably an 8-8 or 9-7 team this year.

* At 4 p.m., came in to read, worked on my OASIS class handout and presentation, saw that SDGS has started a blog, so posted San Diego Genealogical Society has a Blog! Back to watch the World Series.

* Watched ball game, read the paper, ate dinner, came in during breaks to print out my OASIS Handouts.

* After game, came in and read, then wrote a post for Monday morning about my Y-DNA test. Wrote this post and I'm done!

Genealogy today was 4.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 1.5 hours writing blog posts, 1.0 hour on OASIS class, and 0.5 hour on Twitter and Facebook.

Randy's Genealogy Day - 31 October 2009

2009-10-31T22:28:00.000-07:00

October is done..daylight savings time is over, the heat comes on in the morning, and I'm sure that I have hardly dented my 2009 New Years Goals and Objectives. Too late now?

* Read email before going off to the 7 a.m. Dolphin club breakfast at Carrows. Was home by 8:45 a.m.

* Finished email, read blogs, and Twitter, noting that the Hallowe'en Names had posted while I was enjoying my morning repast.

* Worked in the database resolving my sources - changing from shorthand to real source citations in FTM 16. Stayed mainly in the Seaver surname data because that's where a lot of it is. Probably fixed 200 to 300 of them - many more to do! This is so boring, but has to be done.

* Had lunch, and noted that Saturday Night Genealogy Fun --Tricks and Treats posted while I was enjoying my hostess cupcakes. Also changed my blog colors for awhile...do you like? Didn't even notice, probably.

* Back in the database - decided to "flesh out" my Massachusetts Vital Records book sources - find full title, author, publisher, etc. and add them to the Master Sources. Probably did 20 or 30 of them - many are on Google Books, so I put several in my Google Books library. Then went through database randomly looking for errors - trying to give widows their maiden names back and add the first husbands to their data, then added lots of Vaux christenings and burials as births and deaths in the database.

* Decided to research and write Surname Saturday: CARRINGER and scheduled it for the evening, while I was watching the World Series (and enjoying my ice cream bar).

* After the game, read everything, checked in on Facebook, and then started on the Best of the Genea-Blogs post and wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 10.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 2.0 hours writing blog posts, and 7.0 hours working in the FTM 16 family tree database.

Randy's Genealogy Day - 30 October 2009

2009-10-30T22:02:00.001-07:00

This was a pretty fun day - some blogging, some research, some database work. Where did the time go?

* Read email, blogs and Twitter before writing Follow Friday - "GeneaBloggers". Wrote Obtaining my 43-Marker Y-DNA Test Results and scheduled it for late in the morning.

* Tried to find the books I can't find, and found them! Then tried to find the extra FTM 2010 package and it is still hiding from me. Tried to organize some of my piles...put like things together but the piles are just a bit neater now.

* Got cleaned up, went to lunch at Costco, then walked on the bayfront with George. Got home by 1 p.m.

* Decided to work on the San Francisco families of my wife - Schaffner, Paul, Whittle, and McKnew. Went through the SFGenealogy.com site pretty carefully, then found lots of obituaries in the SF Chronicle on Footnote.com. Saved some, transcribed some into my database, plus the death dates found. Wrote a summary in San Francisco Afternoon Delights.

* Went in at 5 p.m. to watch TV, read the paper, take a nap and eat dinner.

* Back online at 6:30 p.m., researched and wrote two posts for Saturday.

* Started working through the San Francisco City Directories on Footnote.com for the SF surnames, plus Seaver. Found a pretty easy way to do it - will have to describe it in a post soon. Got through 1861 to 1873.

* Read everything, checked Facebook, wrote this post, and ready to read my Koontz novel for awhile.

Genealogy today was 10.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter and Facebook, 3.0 hours writing blog posts, 3.5 hours in SF Chronicle obituaries, and 2.0 hours in SF City Directories.

Randy's Genealogy Day - 29 October 2009

2009-10-29T21:48:00.000-07:00

A different genealogy day ... no deadlines, clean up some loose ends, have some research fun, grabbed opportunity for Y-DNA test.

* Read email, blogs and Twitter. The post BIG Footnote.com Announcement - US Census Records was scheduled for early morning so that my commentary was first on the block.

* Wrote CVGS Program on "Genealogy Vacations" and scheduled it for late morning. Posted it on the Chula Vista Genealogy Cafe blog too.

* Worked for awhile on my Marketing Plan for the ProGen study group. Finished an outline, worked on business cards, thinking about a flyer, checked out potential website names - fun work! Had lunch, I think.

* Wrote Follow-up to Footnote.com Announcement and posted it.

* Accepted the offer of SMGF and GeneTree to have 43-marker Y-DNA results analyzed - paid $19.50 for the results. Input them to DNA Ancestry and YSearch also. Several Seaver people on GeneTree, none on DNA Ancestry or YSearch. Checked Family Tree DNA Sevier group too - no matches. Captured screens for another Y-DNA series.

* Read everything, got email from Footnote answering my questions in first post. Edited the BIG Footnote.com Announcement - US Census Records post.

* Went in at 5 p.m. to watch World Series, took a short cat nap, had dinner, bored by baseball, came back at 6:30 for some census work.

* Searched for census records for Linda's Brocke family - found several generations in 1860 to 1930 census records. Used Michael Neill's Ancestry census links - much easier than clicking back through Ancestry.

* Went in at 8:30 to watch end of game, and back at 9:15 to read everything and write this post.

Genealogy today was 10.5 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 1.5 hours writing blog posts, 3.0 hours working on ProGen study group, 3.0 hours working through Y-DNA markers and databases, 2.0 hours working on Ancestry.com census records and the database.

Randy's Genealogy Day - 28 October 2009

2009-10-28T22:11:00.000-07:00

Ah, October is finally over as far as the To-Do list is concerned. Er, except for the ProGen things I've put off...

* Read email, blogs and Twitter and perused the photo files for a decent photograph for Wordless Wednesday. Settled on the 1913 photo in Not So Wordless Wednesday - Family Photographs: Post 77 - Della's Relatives in 1913.

* Edited "Genealogy Vacations" one last time, saved it, copied to two flash drives and the laptop, and packed the bag for the CVGS meeting. Wrote Make an Ancestral Map and posted it.

* Got cleaned up and had lunch. Left at 11:20 a.m. for the library. Got set up before noon, and set off my "Genealogy is Fun" presentation for the attendees to laugh at as they straggled into the auditorium. The darn thing still won't advance on the timer for some reason - maybe I need to upgrade my OpenOffice software.

* CVGS Program meeting started at 12:20, was introduced and started "Genealogy Vacations" around 12:45. 81 slides and 70 minutes later - whew. They seemed to like it. Enough humor, vacation pictures and research stories to offset the deadly boring word slides.

* Was home by 2:30, read everything, and wrote Eight More Days of Voting for Best Genealogy Blogs and voted myself (again, forgot to do this for the last three weeks).

* Checked Twitter and Facebook, checked new databases on Ancestry and Footnote, and answered email.

* Went in at 5 p.m. to watch the World Series, took a nap, had dinner, read the paper, and started my Dean Koontz novel.

* Back online at 9:15 p.m., read everything, wrote two blog posts for Thursday, and then this post.

Genealogy today was 8.5 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blog posts, 3.0 hours writing blog posts, 3.5 hours on CVGS presentation and meeting, 0.5 hour on Twitter and Facebook, and 0.5 hour checking websites.

Randy's Genealogy Day - 27 October 2009

2009-10-27T22:34:00.000-07:00

Read, blog, edit, research, data entry, blog, nap, tilt - dinner and a play out tonight.

* Read my email, blogs and Twitter before researching and writing Online Historical Directories. I really like Miriam's website!

* Worked more on the Vacations presentation, and practiced it once. 81 slides, about an hour. That works!

* Got into Google Books and found some San Diego historical data, then looked for Seaver data I didn't have. Found several vanity books, and entered biographical data for 8 persons into my database. Wrote it up in Mining Google Books for Seaver Data.

* Linda needed the computer at 3:30, so went in and took a short nap, then we got ready to leave at 4 p.m.

* Went to downtown San Diego to get tickets for Lion King at 7 p.m. at Civic Theater, then to Horton Plaza for dinner at the Great Steak Escape place, checked out the bookstore, and then to the theater. We were home by 10:15 p.m.

* Read everything, checked Facebook, wrote this post, and I'm done.

Genealogy today was 6.5 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 1.5 hours writing blog posts, 1.5 hours working on presentation, 2.5 hours in Google Books and adding info to the database.

Randy's Genealogy Day - 26 October 2009

2009-10-26T22:25:00.000-07:00

Blogging, class, blogging, downloading, fixing, napping, eating and checking.

* Read email, blogs and Twitter, then posted FamilySearch Community Trees - A First Look.

* Had to leave at 9:15 a.m. for my OASIS class, got there at 9:45, class over at 12:15, stopped at McDonalds for lunch, then the library, home by 1:30 p.m.

* Copied CVGS Program on 28 October - "Genealogy Vacations" post for Genea-Musings and tweeted it.

* Downloaded some of the FS trees as GEDCOM files to build a medieval database. Combined them all into one tree. Lots of duplications. Drat.

* Went in at 4:45 to watch TV, read paper, nap a bit, watch football, eat dinner, etc.

* Back online at 6:30 p.m., read everything, worked on Genealogy Vacations for awhile - pretty much done!

* Worked on medieval database for awhile - wasted too much time. Checked Miriam's City Directories pages for San Diego County - a really nice job! A blog post for Tuesday! Wrote this post.

* Found out that my spam folder on Cox Webmail snags Miriam's email and several others so I don't see them. Wonder how to fix that?

Genealogy today was 9.5 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blog posts, 1.5 hour researching and writing blog posts, 2.5 hours at OASIS, 0.5 hour for CVGS, 2.0 hours in databases, 1.0 hour on presentation, 0.5 hour on Facebook and 0.5 hour on SD city directories.

Randy's Genealogy Day - 26 October 2009

2009-10-25T21:59:00.000-07:00

Blogging, football, chatting, editing, presentationing, baseball, blogging. The day always seems to come full circle!

* Read email, blogs and Twitter before posting "Every Life Has a Story" Seminar Summary and adding several late posts to the Best of the Genea-Blogs post.

* Time for football! Stayed home from church to watch the Chargers game in hopes that they would finally play to their potential. I'm not sure that the 37-7 romp over the Chiefs reflects good Chargers play, or poor Chiefs play, but it was more enjoyable than the Denver game. No stress. Enjoyed my popcorn in the second half.

* Looked in briefly at halftime on the Scanfest chat hosted by Miriam Midkiff on the Ancestories blog, then went back to the game.

* After the game, came back for an hour on the Scanfest chat. didn't scan anything, though. Enjoyed chatting with my blogging friends.

* Did a final edit for the handout and presentation for the OASIS class on Monday. Printed off the handouts, and copied all to the flash drive.

* Worked on the Genealogy Vacations presentation a bit - polished things up, added some content, hope I can get through all of it. I need a nice fun ending.

* At 5 p.m., went in to watch the ALCS game, read the NGSQ and Family Tree Magazine, and eat dinner. Finally over at 9 p.m. Yankees won, 5-2, as expected.

* Back online to read everything, check Facebook, write two blog posts on the Chula Vista Genealogy Cafe blog, and then this post.

Genealogy today was 6.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 2.0 hours writing blog posts, 1.0 hours on Scanfest, 1.0 hour on OASIS class, and 1.0 hour on presentation.

Randy's Genealogy Journal - 24 October 2009

2009-10-24T22:09:00.000-07:00

Spent almost the whole day doing genealogy work, and play! No baseball game tonight allowed me to work on my presentation and I'm feeling better about having it done by Wednesday.

* Read email, blogs and Twitter this morning, and watched Blogger publish Surname Saturday - SEAVER, which I wrote last night. Checked out the FamilySearch Community thing before packing up and leaving at 9:30 a.m.

* To Fredericka Manor for the CVGS Seminar on Every Life Has a Story, presented by Susan Walter, and followed by lunch in the Fredericka dining room. We had about 70 in attendance, including quite a few people not in CVGS or residing in Fredericka. Was home by 1:45 p.m.

* Read everything, and tweeted about Saturday Night Genealogy Fun which posted in the early afternoon.

* Scanned in about 30 photos from 1990-1999 vacations for use in my presentation. The new scanner works well, but the image quality isn't any better, I fear.

* Went in at 3:45 p.m. to watch the end of the SDSU/CSU football game, then more football, and we had dinner too.

* Back on the computer at 6 p.m., worked on the Vacations presentation. Got text and pictures in for most of it - just have more introductory stuff, one more vacation, and a summary to finish up.

* Started the Best of the Genea-Blogs post for Sunday, since Chargers game is at 10 a.m. here. Won't do Scanfest either. Wrote this blog post.

Genealogy today was 11.5 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blog posts, 0.5 hour on Twitter and Facebook, 3.5 hours at CVGS seminar, 2.0 hours scanning photos, 3.0 hours working on presentation, and 1.5 hours writing blog posts.

Randy's Genealogy Journal - 23 October 2009

2009-10-23T22:16:00.000-07:00

My grandsons sang Happy Birthday to me tonight - "Happy Birthday to you, You live in a zoo, you look like a monkey, you smell like one too." They laughed and laughed about their old grandpa tonight. I said: "well, do you want to come to Grandpa Camp next year?" and they both answered "Yes." Then I said "You better be nice to your old grandpa..."

I missed my report for Thursday, but I did nothing genealogy oriented. Of course, it was all family history oriented! We went to Disneyland with Audrey and Lolo, with their parents joining us there for the day. We had fun in both Disneyland and California Adventure, ate dinner in Downtown Disney and left after 6:30 p.m. We stayed in a cheap motel with no Fox TV for the Yankees/Angels game. Oh well.

On Friday (my birthday):

* We went back to Disneyland for the morning so I could get the $72 gift card they give to birthday people, but you have to spend it at the park. We rode Jungle Cruise, Indiana Jones, and Pirates of the Caribbean before shopping. We left at 11:30 and stopped at Ruby's Diner in San Juan Capistrano for lunch. We were home by 2:30 p.m.

* Linda checked her email, and I finally got online at 3:30. Had over 200 emails to read and over 300 blogs to read. We left at 5:15 p.m. for dinner at the Butcher Shop, and were home by 7 p.m.

* Finished reading, checked in on Facebook and Twitter, wrote Follow Friday - "Genealogy's Star" and then posts for tomorrow too, since I'll be at the CVGS Seminar from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. Wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 4.5 hours - 1.0 hour doing email, 1.0 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter and Facebook, and 2.0 hours writing blog posts.

Still have the presentation for next Wednesday to do - more charts, scan some photos and put them all together in some coherent. I'll be glad when next week is over - can get back to ProGen work and working in my database for awhile. Um, that's right, have Christmas coming up too.

Randy's Genealogy Journal - 21 October 2009

2009-10-21T21:31:00.000-07:00

Another genealogy day, and now I'm off for two days or so. Tami's birthday on Thursday, mine on Friday, we're off to Disneyland!

* Tried to read email, blogs and Twitter before Lolo got up - failed! But Tami and Audrey didn't get up until almost 9 a.m., so I got it done.

* Google Alert told me about the Calvary Cemetery article, so I wrote San Diego's Pioneer Park - not what it seems. Then wrote Not So Wordless Wednesday - Family Photographs:: Post 76: Something Different and scheduled it for later in the morning.

* Worked awhile on the presentation - added several charts but haven't started the scanning chore yet. Had lunch at home, gathered up stuff and went to the library.

* Attended the CVGS Computer Group meeting. Found a death record on the SF Funeral Home database on FamilySearch. Home by 2 p.m.

* Researched and wrote New "Living Tree" on FamilyLink then wrote Calvary Cemetery in San Diego on the SSDC Graveyard Rabbit blog. Put class handouts and presentations as PDFs on website.

* Went in at 3:45 to read paper, watch TV and take a nap. Failed at the nap, because we had to leave at 4:30 to pick up the girls at Michelle's, then took them and Abigail to dinner at Rubio's in Otay Ranch. Audrey ate beans and rice and quesadilla. They all chased bubbles for awhile too. We were home by 6:30, got the girls bathed and PJed, and Audrey down by 7:30. Lolo is still awake at 9:40 as I write this.

* Wrote several posts for the next two days as we are off to Disneyland early in the morning on Thursday with two excited little girls. Wrote this post too.

Genealogy today was 8.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter and Facebook, 3.0 hours writing blog posts, 2.0 hours at CVGS meeting, 1.0 hour on presentation, 0.5 hour on class.

Randy's Genealogy Journal - 20 October 2009

2009-10-20T21:33:00.000-07:00

Seven days and counting...until the CVGS presentation that I've barely started. I hate pressure! But I do good work under pressure.

* Read email, blogs and Twitter, then researched and wrote Sharing Ancestry.com images on Facebook, Twitter and Email. Works well for me!

* Worked on the presentation - got the Google Maps made for our 1990, 1993, 1994, 1999, 2004, 2008 and 2009 vacations. Now need the pictures to go with them. They're all in the scrapbooks before 1999...in my computer files after that.

* Was thinking about patents, and searched for "genealogy" which led to the post Genealogy and Family Tree Patents which took awhile to research and write. Had lunch during this marathon event.

* Answered some email and burned down my email list a bit, made a reservation for Thursday night at Disneyland, then Tami brought the girls at 2:20 p.m. and all genealogy stopped for awhile.

* Linda, Lolo and Tami slept while I had Audrey to keep me awake. What a cute little 18 month old girl. She's stolen grandpa's heart, again. Busy, never still, up, down, chase, tease, play, make a mess, hug, tickle, laugh, stumble, eat, drink, get everything out...typical second year. Lots of verbalizing, getting many words, she mimics her sister a lot.

* At 4:30, we left for Plaza Bonita and the Pumpkin Patch. The girls played for awhile - rode the train, Audrey rode the 25 cent horsies and cooed at the chickens, Lolo jumped in the Pumpkin jump house and went down the big air slides. Had dinner at the food court - Linda and Lolo had Subway sandwiches, Audrey and I had Panda Express. Then shopping at Target really dragged.

* Home by 7:10, got girls bathed and dressed, had ice cream, Audrey begged to go to bed. Tami came home and she and Linda worked with Lolo for awhile. I rocked Lolo and she went to bed at 9 p.m.

* Back online finally - read everything, checked Facebook and wrote this post.

Genelaogy today was 5.5 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 2.0 hours researching and writing blogs, 2.0 hours on presentation making google maps, and 0.5 hour on Twitter and Facebook.

Randy's Journal - 19 October 2009

2009-10-19T21:58:00.001-07:00

Yikes! Only 9 more days until my CVGS presentation on Vacations and I've barely started.

* Read email, blogs and Twitter and posted "Best Strategies for Searching Ancestry.com" Webinar available after watching most of it. Learned a few things, too.

* Got my stuff together and left at 9:15 a.m. for the OASIS class, got set up and greeted students at 10 a.m., started at 10:15 after last one straggled in - on time, but... Done at 12:15 p.m. Stopped at McDonalds for lunch, the library to get a book and say hi to CVGS folks, and home by 1:30.

* Read everything and posted World Genealogy Web Sites after questions at the class. Found a neat map of descendants of Noah too!

* Watched Angels/Yankees, napped a bit, read the paper, watched news, then Chargers game came on, and watched to the dreadful end. Rats... offensive line can't protect or block, defensive line can't rush passer or sack. Bad combo - looks like an 8-8 season again. Glad I haven't expended energy or time predicting outcomes like previous years.

* Back online at 9:30 p.m., read everything, checked Twitter and Facebook, wrote this post, and that's probably it for the night.

Genealogy today was 5.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter and Facebook, 1.0 hour researching and writing blog posts, and 2.5 hours on OASIS class.

Need to turn up the burner on Tuesday for next presentation...scan a bunch of photos, make some Google maps and somehow package it in a presentable and humorous format.

Randy's Genealogy Journal - 18 October 2009

2009-10-18T21:16:00.000-07:00

Not much of a genealogy day, although the baseball game was so bad that I did more than I thought I would!

* Read email, blogs and Twitter before church, left at 9:35 a.m. Good to see Jay back from Norway trip and John from Midwest vacation.

* Home from church at 11:35, finished up the Best of the Genea-Blogs post and had lunch, watched football games, read the paper, had a nap.

* Back at 2:30 p.m., posted CVGS October 2009 Newsletter is Online and New or Updated Genealogy Databases - October 2009 on Chula Vista Genealogy Cafe blog. Sent email to CVGS list about next Saturday's seminar at John's request.

* Printed off my OASIS class handouts, modified presentation and copied all to the flash drives.

* Back to watch end of football game, had another nap, watched baseball game, ate dinner, gave up game in 4th inning.

* Back online at 6:30 p.m., worked more on the Genealogy Vacations presentation. Need to scan lots of pictures and make some Google maps.

* Worked in my FTM 16 master database - deleting duplicate people (from when I merged five databases into one) and adding source notes to some. Added cousin Laura's line also. Tried to find SSDI entries for some distant cousins. Wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 6.5 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter and Facebook, 1.5 hours writing blog posts, 1.0 hour on OASIS class stuff, 1.5 hours on presentation, and 1.0 hour on genealogy database.

Genealogy Journal - 17 October 2009

2009-10-17T22:41:00.000-07:00

A hectic genealogy morning - then a lazy afternoon and evening.

* Up early, read email, blogs and Twitter, and posted Please Take Elyse's Genealogy Survey. No sooner did it post and Elyse's survey was taken offline. She got it back up and I revised my post in the evening.

* Left at 8:10 a.m. for UCSD in La Jolla - got to the CGSSD meeting at 8:45 a.m. Gary got me hooked to the projector and to the Internet, and I was ready to roll at 9 a.m. sharp. My "Exploring Footnote.com" presentation went well with about 50 in attendance - and finished by 9:55 a.m. (I was worried about that!). There were refreshments after that, then I attended Ellen Barbieri's talk on sorting out Italian and Polish ancestors in two different segments. Was home by 12:15 p.m.

* Read everything, and posted Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - A Family's Increase. Took some time to sort out my own list of descendants. Hope people enjoy doing the work and realizing that they need to find and stay in contact with those second and third cousins.

* Putzed around for awhile looking for vacation pictures in my albums showing genealogy pursuits - need them for the next talk to CVGS on 10/28. Reviewed articles on Ancestry.com about vacations too.

* At 2:30, went in to watch football game, took a nap, read the paper, then watched the SDSU-BYU game, then the Yankees-Angels came came on at 5. We ate dinner before the TV flipping between football and baseball. Cleaned out the pantry to get rid of bugs, and watered the front plants.

* Got out the laptop and read things while watching baseball game - finally over at 10:15 p.m. Put it away, came in to read email and blogs, start the Best of the Genea-blogs post, and then this post.

Genealogy today was 7.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter and Facebook, 1.0 hour writing blog posts, 3.0 hours at CGSSD meeting, and 1.5 hours looking for vacation pictures and articles.

Genealogy Journal - 16 October 2009

2009-10-16T22:19:00.000-07:00

I spent the day blogging, finalizing my Footnote.com presentation, and getting the laptop ready for Saturday while watching the baseball game.

* Read email, blogs and Twitter and posted The ProGen Group Monster Mash and Should Your Society Have a Blog? (Of course it should, one of my three local societies have one - the one I write!). Wrote CVGS Research Group Summary - 14 October and scheduled it for noon time.

* Worked on my Footnote.com presentation - did another timing practice run and I think I can do 75 slides in 50 minutes (that's the time I have!) - mostly screen shots with annotations.

* Went off to the bank and the library and returned to eat lunch at home.

* Read everything, and wrote Genealogy Source Citations Quick Reference Guide before going into Footnote.com to gather info for Using Wild Cards for Footnote.com Searches which was scheduled for late afternoon.

* Went in to watch baseball game, came back and read stuff at 4:15, then we went out to Oggi's for dinner at 5 and got back at 7 in time to watch the end of the Angels/Yankees game.

* Got the laptop out and did some housecleaning, then copied the Footnote.com presentation files to the laptop using the flash drive, and checked Facebook.

* After the game, came in and wrote two posts for Saturday, since I'll be gone from 8:15 a.m. to almost 1 p.m. So, with this post, that makes 8 blog posts for the day! Whew.

Genealogy today was 7.5 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter and Facebook, 4.5 hours researching and writing blog posts, and 1.5 hours on Footnote presentation.