And the winner of my Rootstech competiton is....

...Fran Kitto aka TravelGenee from Australia.

Fran who is active on Google+, Twitter and in the geneablogging world submitted her post Preparation for RootsTech for a First Timer  as her entry in the competition and it was the lucky one to jump out of GeniAus' hat. 

Congratulations, Fran, you will now have a few extra dollars to buy some of the geneatreasures on sale at Rootstech this year.

I hope you have time to sahre your Rootstech excitement via social media.

Happy Birthday Mum - 91 years young

A special girl in our family is celebrating her birthday today. When I got home from lunch with Mum and some of the family I dipped into the family photo archive to see what I could find.

Elsie (right) and her sister Eileen

Elsie and Allan

Wedding Day

And then there were three: Elsie, Allan and Me.

How much is enough?

I look after a Facebook page for my local historical society.   From that account I have liked several repositories, organisations and societies. I select a few of the posts that appear in the stream to share on our society Facebook page but this task was becoming rather difficult.

Today I unliked Sydney Living Museums not because I don't like them but because of the number of posts they make on their Facebook page, these posts represented more than 50% of the items appearing in our society stream pushing more meaty posts from other organisations further down the stream and perhaps causing me to miss some gems. I have liked organisations like the National Library of Australia and State Records and find that they may post just a few items per day. If all of the places I like on our society page posted as much as Sydney Living Museums then the task of keeping up with news would be impossible.

How much is enough?

I would suggest that repositories, organisations and societies take a look at their posting policies and consider how many posts per day will get them maximum impact. I'm all for responsible posting.

Perhaps I am just turning into a cranky old bag or do you think there is a limit to how many posts an organisation should post per day?

Take your Laptop with you.

I note in Pauleen Cass's blog post today that she is bringing her laptop on the Unlock the Past Genealogy Cruise - now she is one smart cookie. The following points indicate why I believe that is so.

Some of these points apply equally to those heading to Rootstech.

Why bring a laptop?

* Firstly you will have plenty of spare hard disk space for backing up all those photos you take during
the conference or cruise.

* It is easier to type up your notes using a laptop keyboard than using a tablet or smartphone. (You should be able to rest your laptop on a table in the Research Help Zone on the ship)

* Some presenters may make copies of their presentations available if you bring along a USB drive. You can then copy and back them up quickly on your laptop.

* You will need to have all your notes and genealogy database available when you ask for help in the Research Help Zone.

* If you want help with your genealogy software (or any software package for that matter) in the Research Help Zone then you will need to have your laptop with you.

* You will want to write lengthy blog posts about the great experiences you are having.

* Most importantly if you intend going to any of the sessions about software it is useful to have the software preloaded on your laptop so you can practise in your spare time when the learning is fresh. If things haven't been clear in a presentation then you can seek clarification in the Research Help Zone.

If you are coming to my Evernote session then sign up and download Evernote onto your laptop. If you are going to Jane Taubman's sessions on the sensational genealogy package Family Historian you could download and install a free 30 day trial of the software before you leave home.

In fact I have done such a good job convincing myself that I might just take two!