Julie Barrett is a freelance writer and photographer based in Plano, TX.

Friday!

Fresh when it gets here from Julie Barrett
Friday, April 20, 2007


The end (of the week!) is nigh!

First, a bit of an apology. The scans I posted yesterday aren't very good. I spent part of the day shopping online for a new scanner, comparing specs and the like and decided that whatever I got wouldn't be as good as my current scanner. Oh, I could get a direct replacement for my scanner, but it seems silly to buy what is essentially the same piece of hardware, which means I'd be spending $200 on Vista 64 drivers. I have better things to do with my money - especially after dropping bucks on hardware earlier in the week. (And the senior prom is tomorrow. Don't even get me started!)

I'd settled on one scanner that wasn't as good, but it's $40 after a rebate. It does pretty much what I want, but it's not as fast as my current scanner. Then I took one last look for a hack or something I could use to get the scanner to work in TWAIN mode. Amazingly, Epson has Vista drivers! Unfortunately, they're 32-bit drivers, but they claim to be working on 64-bit drivers. SilverFast is also working on a 64-bit version. I love their software, so I've decided to wait on one or both to come up with a solution. In the meantime, I'm going to see if I can perhaps hook the scanner up to my notebook. It's a pain, but at least I can do a better job on the pictures.

My scanner works in Windows Image Acquisition (WIA) mode, which provides very basic functions and doesn't even know about the transparency adapter. But at this point I'm willing to wait now that I know drivers are under development. I suspect that Epson heard some serious grumbling about lack of XP 64-bit drivers for that scanner. It's not the latest and greatest, but a lot of pro photographers use them for image, slide, and negative scanning. Thank you, Epson.

Chris and I went out to coffee this morning and then stopped at a flower shop to order a corsage for tomorrow. Yes, it is the senior prom. I'm glad he's going. He didn't have to be at school until 12:15 today because of TAKS testing. TAKS is the standardized test here in Texas, and high school students take the exit test for the first time in the 11th grade. If they pass, then they've made one of the requirements for graduation. If not, they have to keep taking the parts of the test they failed until they pass. Chris passed on the first try last year. The majority do. So for three days this week exempt students get the morning off. I'm glad there's some reward. I'd prefer that they got to take all three days off, but due to the way state funding works the school district can't afford it. That's about 3,000 kids they wouldn't be getting attendance money for. Ouch!

Usually Chris is home by now, but the odd schedule means he'll get out in about ten minutes from now. Still, I think he's glad to have a shorter school day - if even for three days.

Paul took today off to do a few things around the house. We had a nice relaxing lunch on the patio. Usually when he's home we go out somewhere, but this made for a refreshing change. He's off buying more home improvement items. I guess I need to go fold some laundry and finish the housework. I just had a little work to do today. That made for a nice change, but I don't get paid if I don't work. But dang it, sometimes I need the time off. I do work odd hours sometimes, so I suppose this helps make up for it.

Well, thanks as usual for dropping in and enjoy your weekend!

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Filed under: Life   Technology         

 

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