, to provide several services which is of
benefit to both insulator collectors and bottle collectors.For you folks who don't have access to the Internet, perhaps it's time you got it.
Because we (Dave Hinson & myself) are working with our friend and insulator collector,
Bill Meier
, to provide several services which is of
benefit to both insulator collectors and bottle collectors.
So here's what we're up to. Antique Bottle & Glass Collector and Bottles & Extras, as a service to bottle collectors, print a monthly calendar of upcoming bottle shows. For the same reason, Crown Jewels of the Wire and The Rainbow Riders Trading Post, both magazines for insulator collectors, prints a calendar of upcoming insulator shows.
We maintain a bottle related Internet page, and Bill Meier maintains an insulator Internet page. On both pages, we maintain on-line show calendars. So. . .it seemed logical that we combine forces to offer a single repository of show information.
Before you get too excited, here's what you will be seeing. From the insulator collector page if you choose to see a calendar of upcoming shows, you will have the option to see insulator shows, bottle shows, or both. And of course, from the bottle page, when you choose to see upcoming shows, you will have the same option.
The reason, of course, is because both of our Internet pages will be pointing to a common show calendar program!
Sound simple? Yes & no. But this isn't anything like you've seen before, because Bill Meier has written programming routines which lets you point at a map of the U.S.A, click on your location, and get a listing of shows sorted from closest to furthest (with an approximate calculation of mileage to the show displayed as well). In addition to that, on the map there is a dot representing each of the upcoming shows.
Or if you prefer, you can view the shows in date order, regardless of location. Your choice. Just point and click.
When will this happen? As a matter of fact, this is already up and running on the Internet for your viewing pleasure! But I'm also maintaining the old show calendar as well, until we're sure that everything is working perfectly.
So what�s next? How about a combined show calendar printed in Bottles & Extras, with both bottle & insulator shows? We've been printing some insulator shows when we knew about them, but now we're planning on printing them all. Of course, we'll clearly mark those shows which are insulators for only, so that there isn't any confusion.
Then what? We're going to combine our on-line collector club listing by the same method we're using for the shows. So no matter whether you're coming from the insulator Internet page or the bottle collector page, you'll be able to see a listing of clubs;either insulator, bottles, or both. Talk about one stop shopping!
Now if you want to check out these great new inventions, please see the Federation
homepage at http://www.fohbc.org
(where you can choose to see the show calendar); the Insulator homepage at
http://www.insulators.info;
and the Insulator show page at http://www.insulators.info/shows/.
See you there.
Kevin Sives
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Written Thursday, December 12, 1996