SlideScan

Last month we had a 1990 VHS tape transferred to digital format. I was going to take in some old slides to have cleaned and also transferred to digital format. But before I did I checked the internet to see if I could do this at home. I found the SlideScan app that had pretty good reviews. We used to have “home slide night” when we were kids. My dad was in to photography and I wish I had saved his 35mm camera. Over time I found a variety of gadgets to view the slides and also had several hard copy prints made of my favorites. But now everything is digital and I wanted to have the last sixty or so images stored on my iPad and in the cloud. So I purchased the one month $9.99 option and went to work. You basically hold the slide up to a backlight on the iPad, then use the app while holding the photo button for three seconds. It then scans the image and better defines it. A face enhancer can also be applied. The results are actually quite good depending on the original slide and quality of the image. One interesting option is to create a video out of the image - and I tried that with my dad’s photo. It actually comes to life with head movement and blinking eyes. You only get one chance and then it’s $4.99 for additional images. I’m just sorry I didn’t keep all of the slides of our family history. When my mom passed away three years ago we went through all of these things. My brother and sister kept some of the albums. I took photos of a lot of the pictures. At least I still have some of these treasures including birthday parties, proms, Christmas, the first step on the moon tv broadcast, family trips - including Washington DC and the World’s fair, my grandpa, our old house in New England… my parents did everything they could to provide for us and gave us a comfortable home. It’s really obvious when you look at these pictures. 

Toms Slides House Shoes

Yes, I have big feet. I wear a size eleven. Growing up back in the day was torture trying to find shoes to fit. It wasn’t a matter of going to a shoe store and asking for a pair I liked; rather, it was “what do you have in my size?” I oftentimes had to squeeze in to a size ten which wasn’t a great idea except if it was a sandal.  Since I have a tendency to bang my toes on things around the house - especially when we lived in a very small space on Capitol Hill - I always wear an enclosed shoe. A slipper doesn’t work because they are too soft and the soles are flimsy. But trying to find a “house” slide is near to impossible. The shoes I have been wearing have seen much better times. The seams are falling apart but they fit so nice. I actually wore them when we traveled to Iran in 1996! I didn’t wear them much after that and then found them again for house shoes. Now finding foot wear in my size is less difficult, but it took forever to come across something that fit the bill - covered ties, no plastic material, not Birkenstock or Crocs, flat, no back, no “lip” on the heel. I came across a pair of Toms that looked promising. They arrived this week. After wearing them for three days they just aren’t comfortable and they make my feet look even longer. I’ll give them another week or so. They just don’t bend and the inside isn’t soft. There is a story behind Toms that I am not familiar with. Since I got these shoes on sale I’m not heartbroken. Just looking for shoes is - and always was - a real pain. I have even less interest in it now. I saved my old shoes just in case.