Book final draft update....

Well, I've finally finished adding the notes and references from the trip to Seattle and have generated the final draft of the book and it ends up only 1,400 pages compared to the earlier draft of 1,300 pages. Still not sure if will do one volume or two (what happens in a two volume set when you lose one of them? Do I put the index in both of them, adding about 300 pages? Questions, we've got questions.) Probably take well into the summer before finished but who knows....

I've done the rough edit and in the process of adding index entries, which I've never done before and is easy enough but more time consuming than I'd imagined. I mistakenly set a "timothy" entry to "index all" and now removing those, where I see them. Will have to see if I can automatically remove them without removing the "timothy whidden/whidden, timothy" entries.

Lots of fun.

The current file is about 15 MB so have broken it into three smaller files to more easily manage the intermediate work and then combine them before creating the final index. I've decided to include several other trees that I have in the appendix, like Eaton, Newcomb, Hart, Freeman/ Jarvinen, maybe Smith if it's not too big, and several others; there won't be much in the way of notes in them, so just descendants lists in modified register format.

I've decided to only include a few photos as the cost of color pages is in the $1.00/page range so will include a CD-ROM with the contents of the Seattle scans and the photos I've collected over the past 10 years.

Have discovered if I register with the Post Office, get a cheaper rate so will definitely do that. Thanks to Eddie Whidden of Kelowna, BC for that tip.

Have just discovered a "dead media" article by John Dvorak of PC Magazine fame and will read that when I get home. It's going to substantiate my fear that electronic media is ok for compiling the data but acid-free paper is the best media for long term data storage. At the same time, have discovered a company offering to emboss data on metal foil:

Preserving information

Babylonian clay tablets, Mayan hieroglyphs and Etruscan tombstones all have survived thousands of years. Yet our own civilization’s records last mere decades, victims of ephemeral formats, "throw-away" media or perishable technology. In contrast, metal foil, embossed with simple, human-readable text, will last forever when stored with minimum care. It will resist:

• Mold, Mildew & Insects
• Moisture
• Heat & Sunlight
• Cold
• Atomic or Electromagnetic Radiation
• Technology obsolescence
• Deterioration of ink or paper

Web page at: http://www.enduringfuture.com/index.html

Interesting idea but their cheapest price is $1.00/page from a top price of $2.50/page so only good for one of a kind. (so why do they shorten this to "one off"?)

Cheers, Ray