As Time Goes By – Anniversaries to Reflect On

The year 2009 for me is a time of reflection. Recently I turned 60 years of age. Part of attaining that age for me has been reflecting on my life so far. For many years I’ve been a history buff and amateur genealogist. Because of this it’s natural for me to look back on life’s victories and defeats. Here are some of the significant anniversaries in my 60th year, 2009.

• 60 years of paradise on earth, May 1949 to 2009.
• 40 years in the full-time work world, June 1969 to 2009.
• 34 years since I married, for the first time, 1975 to 2009.
• 31 years of fatherhood, 1978 to 2009.
• 23 years since end of first marriage.
• 10 years with the love of my life, Cindy.

The victories have far outweighed the defeats. Life is good. Now if I can just hang around for another 30 or 40 years.

Pic of the Day – Memorial Day

This excellent photo by Carolyn Kaster of Associated Press says it all.

What About Those Old 35mm Slides

Color Film and Slide Scanner

My father took most of his photos in the 1950’s and 60’s as color slides. Now the slides are getting old, but still many interesting subjects on them  besides the usual family photos. The construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway in the mid to late 1950’s for example. Our family lived in Iroquois, Ontario right on the St. Lawrence River during those years.

Recently in an effort to preserve the photos and make them easier to work with and view I purchased a slide scanner. This tool is fantastic. Takes only about 3 seconds per slide and saves into a .JPG (JPEG) graphic file. You can then put them on CD-ROM or DVD or your computer to edit and view. A slide show can be created that you can view on the TV or computer. Film can also be scanned with the same unit.

Now I have no financial interest in the company that makes this unit, but if you are interested go to,

http://www.wolverinedata.com

For a writer like me this is a great tool. I can use a lot of my old slides and Dad’s to write articles and have photos available.

When Moose Fly!

Adult moose

“But officer really he fell out of the sky and landed right in front of me.” I can just see the look of consternation on the officer’s face as he was taking that report.

Sound farfetched?  No it really happened in Clinton, Maine southwest of Bangor along Interstate Highway 95.

Seems a 500 pound moose leapt the guardrail at the wrong place (an overpass of I-95) and fell 18 feet to the highway below. Did he get hit by a car or truck? Hell no, the fall killed him. A motorist was stopped under the overpass at the time and witnessed the moose’s demise. He immediately swore off drinking (just kidding).

Moral of the story for Bullwinkles (moose), look before you leap.