Travel Break: People Ask...

Sometimes people ask me questions in the blog comments and I try to reply to them personally. (I try to reply personally when you comment, question or not!)

But many readers are "no-reply" bloggers, which means no email address. Others don't have a blog where I can go back and at least comment there. So, I don't know how to get an answer to them.

I've been collecting a few of these questions here, so I hope the questioners are reading!

What Kind of Scanner Do You Use?

In my post about organizing photos, I mentioned I was scanning lots of the old photos. I have a very good scanner, though it's getting a little old now. I've really put it through its paces, with hundreds of scans. It is a HP Scanjet  G4010. (There may be a new model number by now; mine is several years old.

 It's scanning bed can handle four 4x6 photos at a time or a typical document page and also has a way for scanning slides (that's that strip in the middle of the lid, below), which I've done but not often. So far, so good!

When you have Cork Poppers, do you follow a theme or does everyone just bring something?

It all depends! At our most recent Poppers, the theme was "Wines You  Would Enjoy After a Stroll." So, people brought a wide variety -- domestic, Spanish, Italian. But sometimes we will have a theme such as Wines of Northern Italy, Wines of France, Wines of South America.

Other times it may be "Wines in the Key of C" (Chablis, Cabernet, etc.) or Wines for a Summer Afternoon. The host picks the theme. Or, it may be a category (Nothing Boring About Bordeaux.)

You can find a post on how we plan a Cork Poppers event HERE and other ideas at the Cork Poppers tab on the menu bar or HERE. This is just how our group rolls but there are a million ways to do it and I hope you do!

What Kind of a Camera Do You Use?

I used to have big cameras. I don't have the life anymore. I want a real camera (not a phone camera) and I want it to fit in my purse or pocket. My current camera is a Canon SX730HS, with a 40x optical zoom (which means it can zoom to 160x). It was the next model after my SX710 with a 30x zoom.

What do I like? It's small and reasonably lightweight. It has various settings, including some goofy ones but many I like. It records relatively decent movies (the problems are generally operator error!) I love a zoom that can get reasonable shots from very far away. Like Harry the Heron.

What don't I like? The focus seems a little softer than the earlier model, though some of that (probably more than some) can be operator error. It can be shaky when the zoom is out. To be honest, I don't know that it gets movement as well as the earlier model. I look at some of the pix on the blog, especially long distance shots with no or minimal zoom and I see them as softer focus than the earlier model. Same with some of the more close-up photos. If you are zooming on a windy day, good luck. You have to hold relatively still and when I'm shooting casually, I don't always.

Verdict? When I replace it, I will look at other models and brands. I won't rule out another Canon, but I'll also look at other zoom models.

What do you do with the wine bottles after Cork Poppers? Do you have a bottle tree?

To be honest, most get pitched. I might save a couple of good ones for fun vases for a theme table, but by and large, they go. I SHOULD do a bottle tree. Thanks for the idea!

Why Does Your Email Say Jean but your blog is Jeanie? Which do you prefer?

Call me Jeanie. Please. My email program is through the university and it won't let me change my name! I've gone through all the hoops and could probably call HR but it's close enough!

Do You Keep a Journal While You Are Traveling?

I do, at least for longer trips. Even on short ones I'll keep bullet notes. I pick something light and fairly flexible. (I've done hard bound journals before but it's extra weight and I pack smarter now!). The one below is what I took on the England/Paris trip. It was from Michael's in a packet of two for about $5 or so (I bought them a long time ago.) It had about 60 pages and they were thick enough to take a micron pen (I took three with me). I figured I could write up to two full pages a day and I did pretty much that.

I also filled in with drawings every day -- even if it was just a banner or quick sketch. When I got home I added printouts of some favorite photos and in the back added some memorabilia with a binder clip.

It's helped me tremendously as I've posted, since specifics fade in time! I also enjoyed looking over my first England journal (1973) and my last Paris journal (2012). They're good reminders of who I was and am and things and places I loved.

Where Does One Go to Get Slides and Photos Digitized?

I suspect that depends on where you are and what local resource are available. I'm not sure what we have here but I figured I would use a scanner enough to make it worthwhile to have my own and have a slide/negative function on it.

Otherwise, just google "transfer slides photos to digital, your city state" When I do this for my city I get several camera stores and other sites that offer this service. Check with your volume desired for transfer and their costs versus a scanner that would allow you to do it yourself. (It does take time so factor that in. (Note: Blogger Marilyn said she has had very good experiences with Costco scanning slides at a very reasonable price. Check it out in your area.) 

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