FamilySearchIndexing - I signed up for Family Search Indexing, and have transcribed indexes for a few pages of the 1900 censuses of Missouri and North Carolina, as well as a parish register from France. The system is well thought-out, with built-in shortcuts. Although the specifications call for a high-speed Internet connection, I was able to do indexing with a slow dial-up connection. Downloading the indexing software took nearly 4 hours, but downloading the page images took just a few minutes each, and uploading my transcription took just seconds. If I don't have time to finish indexing an image, I can save my work and come back to it later. To sign up, go to www.familysearchindexing.org High Speed Wireless Internet Access - Friday, the installers will arrive to install high-speed wireless if they detect the signal. Since the service is line-of-sight and the tower is at Ross Haven, the results are uncertain.

Last week at the Family History Center, scanning microfilms took most of my time. Unfortunately, the Minolta and Dell equipment seemed to be working at cross purposes. After about 30 scans the computer would need to be rebooted. This happened three times, while I had a line-up of people waiting to have their microfilms scanned. I think their patience was starting to wear thin towards the end. Today again, I had trouble with the film scanner. It has been exciting to see the new partnerships announced by FamilySearch.org It should attract additional people to the Family History Centers. It has been as busy week. The townhouse next door to Evelyn and Ed caught fire, and their unit received extensive smoke damage. They hope to be able to move into a different unit this weekend. Rob's car needed engine work, so yesterday I drove to his house (about an hour and a half away), and helped him to return the rental car and pick up his car. Earlier in the day Judy and I planted our potatoes.

This has been an interesting past few days. I may have a special service opportunity that requires high-speed internet. My dial-up can take half an hour to connect, then disconnects periodically for no apparent reason. So I have been thinking of switching any way. I found two companies provide high-speed internet my rural area. It was suggested to me that wireless may work when the trees are bare, but stop working when the leaves come out. Two-way satellite wouldn't have that problem, because I have good line-of-sight to the south, but it is much more expensive to set-up and much slower. I will decide as soon as the trees are in leaf, probably in June. Yesterday I had two telephone calls, Bruce Taylor is a half-cousin of Judy's. She descends from Fanny Watson's first marriage and Bruce descends from her second marriage. Then in the afternoon I had a telephone call from Phyllis Peterson in Arizona regarding my connection to the Coulters. I need to write to her. She is in her 80s and doesn't use the internet. Craig Peterson contacted me about Buchanan genealogy. Robert Watson emailed me some photos of the Nate Watson family. Arlene Eakle expressed her appreciation for putting her report into PDF format. Yesterday, Don Holmes sent me an obit of Charles Buchanan that I had never seen before. I passed it along to the relatives. Barry Snider asked about Ann Jane Buchanan, who is omitted from the obit, so I sent a full report to the relatives. I adjusted the handlebars on Javan's bicycle, and Laurel told me that Evelyn had bad news about Aaron's speaking and comprehension evaluation. We hope and pray that he is able to progress better with excellent help.