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6.03.2009
They say you can't get something for nothing, but I guess you can get close. I've wanted a film scanner for years, but I could never justify the several hundred dollar expense on what's basically a fancy toy, especially now that I don't even shoot film anymore. Those problems flew out the window a few weekends ago, though, thanks to some luck in the form of a rummage sale. I happened to stop at this particular one on a Saturday morning, and just before leaving I noticed a small cardboard box on a table next to the cash box. Scrawled in black marker was "$10 Nikon slide scanner & SCSI card".

I quickly started looking in the box and found a Nikon Coolscan III complete with all the accessories. I then asked the guy there "does it work?" Apparently he had some issues with it randomly crashing, but other than that he said yeah, it worked. Half of the accessories were still in their original packaging, having never been opened. He even told me it was worth $800 or more originally. But $10 and a smile later it was mine.

And, with the exception of a few SCSI demons initially and a shipping screw still in place, it's been working great. I've already scanned a bunch of my negatives (I've found it's much better than the photo CDs I was getting from Wal-Mart at the end of my film days) and have been going through hundreds of my parents' old slides, scanning a few here and there.

I do like my toys.
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Vital stats:
DOB 2/16/79. I'm a web developer at the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. I like lots of old music, including The Who. I spend a lot of time working with computers. And my favorite TV show (when I actually decide to watch TV, that is), obviously, is The Simpsons.

Education:
In May 2002 I officially graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a BS in computer science. In 1997 (man that seems like a long time ago) I graduated from Washington Park HS. Yes, I know, that site isn't very impressive, and no, I haven't touched it for several years.

WFS:
One of the best experiences I have ever had was on a trip called Western Field Studies. This is a 33 day adventure throughout the western United States. Students travel on a school bus to national parks, monuments, forests, and places of historical interest and camp out (in tents or under the stars). I was a part of trip 25, which took place in the summer of 1996. A first for WFS was we took along a laptop computer and kept up a web site. That link will take you to the 1996 site, where there is a link to the current site.