Allegany County, Maryland Tombstones

Allegany County, Maryland Tombstones

Useful online generators

Here's a link to some useful online generators. Pretty good tools for those who have a website.

Website to check for broken links on your website

I found this useful link to find broken links on your website.

http://validator.w3.org/checklink/

It's a free service from the Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C).

Camp Potomac (Oldtown, MD)

Name: Camp Potomac

Council: Potomac Council

Location: Oldtown, Maryland (Allegany County)

Website: http://www.bsa757.org/

Note: This is the camp where I was on staff as a teenager - Quartermaster and Camp Store.

Patches Available to Purchase: No, part of my personal collection.

Fort Coombe Area looking toward Sideling Hill Cut

This picture was taken in Maryland just south of the Mason-Dixon line about 1/2 mile from Fort Coombe. The picture is of the Sideling Hill Cut (recent man-made to allow I-68 to go through the mountain).

I posted this to show how close Fort Coombe is to Allegany County, Maryland. Sideling Hill Creek divides Washington County, MD from Allegany County, MD.

Little Tonoloway Creek Area - Hancock, MD

Fort Coombe Area

Tonoloways Marker - Wider View

Tonoloway's Marker - Fort Coombe

EBAY Selling Tip - auction duration tip

It is fairly commonly known that you should always try to end your auction around 9PM Eastern time (if possible). That gives the majority of people in all US time zones enough time to bid on the item.

It is also preferrable that you end your auction on weekend night - Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Auction durations are generally 3, 5, or 7 days, and you must list your item with one of these durations or pay additional fees.

The tip is what duration of auction to list your item with, based upon the day of the week. Of course, Saturday night is the day/time you should shoot for, and the longer the item is listed, the more potential you have that a bidder will see your auction and bid on your item.

Monday - List for 5 days, ending auction on Saturday.
Tuesday - List for 3 or 5 days, ending auction on either Friday or Sunday.
Wednesday - List auction for 3 days, ending auction on Saturday.
Thursday - List auction for 3 days, ending auction on Sunday.
Friday - List auction for 7 days, ending on Friday.
Saturday - List auction for 7 days, ending on Saturday.
Sunday - List auction for 5 or 7 days, ending on either Friday or Sunday.

Bing Search Engine for Genealogy Research

I did a little bit of testing of the Bing search engine yesterday. I tried some of my genealogy searches to see what it would give me back as results. I found out that there were some things that I can do with Google, that I cannot do with Bing. They are:

1. Bing does not have a Book Search capability. A lot of great genealogy information is found in the books that Google has available for searching.
2. Bing does not have a date range search. For example if I want to find an ancestor in the census from 1900 to 1920, I can add the date range search 1900..1920 using Google. It searches within the date range specified. Very useful.
3. Bing does not have a similar word search. For example, if I want to find death records, I can add a tilda to the front of the word ~death using Google. It will give me words that are synonyms for the word in the results.
4. Bing doesn't appear to find results when searching for surnames with foreign letters. For example, KÜRSCHNER returns correct results. Bing doesn't understand the Ü.

See also:

http://blog.dearmyrtle.com/2009/06/bing-vs-google.html

http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2009/07/bing-versus-google.html

C&O Canal - Canal Boat Replica

Matt and Melissa in front of the Canal Boat Replica. This boat used to be further down the canal, but they moved it here when they re-did the terminus area (very nicely I might add). The buiding to the rear is what remains of the Footer Dye works - once the largest and most prestigious dry-cleaners in the world. The building under construction to the right is a new Marriott brand hotel.

C&O Canal - Milemarker 184.5

This is the beginning or the end of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, depending on your perspective. Milemarker 184.5 is in Cumberland, Maryland. The canal begins (or ends) in Georgetown, Washington, DC. When I was younger I rode the entire length of the canal on my bike with my scout troop. We did it in 3 long weekends. It was quite an adventure. I learned a lot during that trip. It was the first time that I ever had cheesecake - I bought it in Georgetown.

After finishing the trip, our scoutmaster Ernie Fauss took us to spend the night at Andrews AFB outside DC. We ate and slept on base. Ernie even took the whole troop out for bowling.

C&O Canal - Irish Laborers Monument

C&O Canal Visit - Cumberland Maryland

Awkward Family Photos - Link

Here's a link to a very funny website. People have submitted copies of their awkward family photos. We all have them. Enjoy!

Awkward Family Photos

Surname Substitutions Tables - Genealogy

The FamilySearch.org website has an interesting item they call "Spelling Substitution Tables for the United States and Canada".

This page is broken down into the "Commonly Misread Letters Table" and the "Phonetic Substitutes Table". Both are very useful.

The "Commonly Misread Letters Table" is useful when reviewing transcribed documents or indexes. It is very easy to misread the written letters.

The "Phonetic Substitutes Table" is useful when the original transcriber mis-heard what the person said.

The tables can be found at: http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/rg/frameset_rg.asp?Dest=G1&Guide=US_BMD_RefDoc_Spelling_Errors.asp|phonetic_substitutes_table

Guitar Hero Drums vs. Rock Band Drums

Here's a photo of both Guitar Hero Drums and Rock Band Drums side by side. I like the fact that the Guitar Hero drums have the cymbals up top, more realistically representing a real set of drums. Your mileage may vary.

Pool Chemicals - Chlorinating Tabs Suggestion

If you have a pool, you need to make sure it is free from bacteria and algae. What I use is Chlorinating Tabs. I try to keep 1 1/2 tablets in a floating dispenser. Mine is a large yellow duck. I have cut out all of the holes in the dispenser to allow maximum water flow over the tabs. When one tablet gets down to 1/2, I add another one. My pool is 18 foot round by 52 inches high. Your number of tablets required may vary based on the size of your pool.

I highly recommend getting a chlorine tablet which contains COPPER. The copper sulfate in the tablet is what keeps the algae from forming. It does wonders to keep the algae from growing in your pool. I use HTH Pace Dual Action 3 inch Chlorinating Tabs - Part number 76531 and Item number 41204. After switching to these tablets I have had no algae.

I also shock periodically - every two weeks or so. Use a shock which contains COPPER as well.

Hope this helps.

Most Popular Surnames

Here are some links to the most popular surnames of Canada, Spain, and the UK.

Canada

Spain (website is in Spanish of course)

UK