Technology. It adds so much to our lives, including the weight of the things we take along with us. I am writing this as I sit at a research table on the second floor of the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In the last 12 months I have been here three times. I thought I knew pretty much what was here but my usual self-guided tour, browsing through the online catalog, microtext catalog, shelves of books, and microtext cabinets added several things to my research list. I did come armed with some important tools to help with the research process.

• Digital camera, battery charger, cable to transfer images to my computer, and SLIK compact tripod
• Computer with CoolPad to keep the air circulating under it
• Canon flatbed scanner that connects with a USB cable, no power cord needed
• Zune and earbuds to listen to my favorite women’s radio station or music stored on the computer. I can listen to the radio station as a live stream online.
• Copy card for the ACPL
• Cell phone and charger (of course the phone is always on silent or vibrate)
• SimpleTech portable, pocket-size hard drive for backup with USB cable to connect directly to my computer.
• 2 flash drives for storage and sharing documents
• Special wipes to clean the computer and scanner screens
• Power strip with a heavy duty surge protector that has extra outlets for the various equipment
• Vital to all this: acetaminophen for the aching back and shoulders and a briefcase on wheels to carry all of it.

April showers bring May flowers. The flowers should be amazing this year. The rain in the central third of the U.S. has been beyond believable.

I left home to drive to St. Louis to speak at the St. Louis Genealogical Society Conference this Saturday. What did I leave behind in Minnesota? My residence in Zimmerman will get about 10 inches of snow Friday and Saturday. Duluth (where my daughter lives) will get snow amounting to close to two (2!) feet.

As I drove through Iowa today, I didn’t have snow to contend with, but I did have heavy rain, strong winds, and was dodging tornadoes. I spent quite a bit of time in stores once I heard the tornado warnings. Thank goodness for books on CD — that makes the driving time seem to pass quickly.

After the conference, I will be doing some research and then will be in Cincinnati next Friday and Saturday for the Ohio Genealogical Society Conference. One of my talks there is on researching people who lived and worked on or near Midwestern rivers. I am spending some of my driving time along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers so that I am immersed in the topic (not immersed in the river!).

1. So many interesting people to talk with
2. So many interesting people to just watch
3. Teaching genealogists in a relaxed setting and then sitting around talking genealogy at lunch (even better watching the people who hear the word genealogy and want to join the group — but, it’s too late, you have to be a part of our special group)
4. Visiting white sand beaches and wading in the clean, bright blue water and then sitting on the beach talking about genealogy brick walls
5. Shopping on ship and in the ports of call (such bargains!)
6. Walking around the ship listening to neat music on my headset
7. Taking historic and nature tours in the ports of call
8. Doing nothing except sitting in a deck chair sipping a cool drink and reading a book
9. Singing in the piano bar at night
10. Having a late night snack with new genealogy friends and just laughing
11. Teaching genealogists in a relaxed setting and then sitting around at an umbrella table talking genealogy at lunch with a pool and the ocean in the background
12. Having breakfast on a beautiful morning as I look out at the ocean and the blue sky
13. Winning an exquisite tennis bracelet (I really did win one on a cruise)
14. Attending a free Broadway style stage show one night, a movie the next day, and playing miniature golf in-between
15. Not using the rock-climbing wall but instead having a glorious massage

And talking with someone you never met before who says that the genealogy groups seem to have a better time on the cruise than some of the other groups! I know why — we are quite passionate about what we do, we enjoy life, we want to help each other, and we understand that people and networking are vital to our passion. To join the entertaining and educational fall 2008 Genealogy Cruise check out this website.

The post immediately below this one about the U.S. National Archives and the restored hours being cut again is thankfully not correct. I relied on the posting on the National Coalition for History’s site and on information from another reliable source, but did not double check the “facts.” I was just going to pull the posting I did, but thought it would serve us all as a reminder to double check. The loss of hours would have been another research blow and I thought it was important to post immediately. I am guessing that the word had spread already as I saw the same item posted on Dick Eastman’s blog and some electronic mailing lists at about the same time I did. It just shows that U.S. citizens are truly interested in the archives that is supposed to be protecting our nation’s history and allowing “ready access.”

Check here for the correction.