Monday, March 24, 2008

Scanfest and Spring Break Scan-a-thon are Coming!

Hear ye! Hear ye! A couple of announcements to my readers regarding March's Scanfest event and the all new Spring Break Scan-a-thon!

First off: March's Scanfest will be held on Sunday, March 30th, from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM, PDT.

Secondly, I will be on Spring Break from Saturday, March 29th through Sunday, April 6th. Several of you have expressed a desire to join me for Scanfest, but due to church or family activities, Sunday afternoon has not been a good time for you. I wanted to let you know that I plan to set aside Tuesday and Thursday afternoon (evening for you back east) of that week from 3:00 - 6:00 PM, PDT to do some extra scanning...AND, I also plan to do as much scanning during the week as my family will allow me, and promise to be on Windows Live Messenger whenever I am doing so in order for other Scanfesters to drop on in to join me for some scanning and chatting fun!

SO, be sure to set aside the following times to join me and the other Scanfesters:

Sunday, March 30th, 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM, PDT
Tuesday, April 1, 3:00 - 6:00 PM, PDT
Thursday, April 3, 3:00 - 6:00 PM, PDT

And be looking for me whenever you get on the Internet at any time between Saturday, March 29th and Sunday, April 6th to "catch me if you can" and chat with me while I scan (hopefully, you'll be scanning, too!).

For those of you who have never heard of Scanfest, it is a time that those of us who are wanting to preserve our family documents, photos, and other scanable items choose to meet online via Windows Live Messenger. We usually meet the last Sunday of each month, except in November and December, due to the holiday season. Here's how you can join us:

To join us, you'll need a Hotmail or Gmail account, and Windows Live Messenger downloaded to your computer (Mac users go here to download Microsoft Messenger for Mac). Although WLM states that it is compatible with Yahoo! e-mail accounts, we have had difficulty adding Yahoo! users to our chat conversation. If you don't have a Hotmail or Gmail account, it's very easy (and free) to set one up. Just go to the links in the first sentence of this paragraph. Once you have gotten set up, send me an e-mail (my address is found on this page) and I'll add you to our chat list. You'll receive an invitation message from me at my Hotmail address, which will be sent to the e-mail account that you've set up for Messenger (Hotmail or Gmail), and then you will need to verify that I can add you as a contact.

The second thing you need to do to prepare for scanning is go to Sally's website here and sign up for her free e-mail newsletter. This will then allow you to download her helpful information called 8 Blunders People Make When They Scan Photographs...and How You Can Avoid Them All. Then you will know how to set your scanner correctly to enable you to scan your items without damaging the originals or compromising the digital images you create.

I hope you can join us!

2 comments:

Elizabeth O'Neal said...

Hi Miriam - I won't be able to make the "regular" Scanfest on March 30, but I'll try to join in during the other times.

You kids behave yourselves while I'm gone, you hear?

Thomas MacEntee said...

I can't wait!

Elizabeth - explain the exact meaning of behave . . .