I discovered yesterday through a FB Post that Emily and Stevie Wimmer were in town. After sending a message to them, I discovered they have moved to Las Vegas. This was a bit of a surprise but most welcome to have more family living here.
Yesterday we also purchased a set of four backyard lights and some drip line fittings at Home Depot and took a look at yard furniture at Lowes, Home Depot and the home store on Eastern.
Family Tree DNA recently updated their ethnicity report for individuals who have tested with them.
You may have overlooked the newest addition in My Heritage that manipulates old photographs and makes then move. It is called “Animate.” Some individuals may find it a bit creepy however it does help visualize what an ancestor may have looked like when they were alive.
I tried it on a photograph of my father (one person in a group photograph) taken about 1901 when he would be about 3 or 4 years old. The result was remarkable and it is certainly one way of looking at your ancestors that is quite unique.
My Heritage began by colorizing photographs and moved on to enhancing photographs. The latter certainly helps individuals who are unfamiliar with photo editing or enhancement techniques.
If you have not tried these options, you should at least try one photograph and see how it works for you, I think you will be surprised.
We had lunch at Peymons and their fries were good. I had a Lamb Burger and Anita a Gyro. The back of the Edge was full with four new rose bushes we had bought at Star Nursery.
Nicholas Pernell from the GE Repair company dropped by and picked up the Magnetron part that had been shipped to us in error.
During the morning, I did an extensive search for Elizabeth Johnson as I had received an email for her Grand Daughter Joanne Taylor with more family information.
We had a conference call with Sue and Phil at 11″00 a.m. this morning and then another with Juliet at 4:00 p.m. She and Ray are ready to move to Las Vegas on 17 April and will be renting their friends house at:
4730 Woodridge Road, Las Vegas, Las Vegas 89121
They will take our two couches so we will begin looking for replacements.
The leading global service for discovering your past and empowering your future, announced today that Francisco Partners, a leading global investment firm that specializes in partnering with technology businesses, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the company. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“Francisco Partners shares MyHeritage’s vision for growth as well as its intense commitment to ensuring the privacy of its users. The users’ personal data is an extremely important priority and we will work together with MyHeritage to expand its already strong privacy framework going forward.
Since 2003, MyHeritage has pioneered a new approach to discovering family history, making it easier and more accessible to millions of people around the world. Founder-led and fueled by a deep-seated passion for genealogy and a commitment to innovation, MyHeritage has built a successful, subscription-based global enterprise. Powered by unique and proprietary technologies, the MyHeritage platform is currently used by 62 million users worldwide and is available in 42 languages, which is a testament to the company’s international reach and diverse user base. MyHeritage users have collectively created more than 58 million family trees.
We have been at the boat for three full days. Sunday the weather was warm in the low 70’s and by Monday it was in the mid-70’s. Hilbre was washed and cleaned and the bird tape replaced. We had planned to take the boat out today but the Burgers we ate left me with an upset stomach so we did not go sailing.
I spent the morning trying to find 1/4 inch Teak and Holly Plywood only to discover that California Laws likely require special permits and licenses to even sell this type of product. As it is a niche product it make it difficult to make a profit so no one carries it.
I finished up calling Catalina (Lucas) and we are waiting to hear back from them. We will return home tomorrow morning as the weather is going to go downhill with Santa Anna’s starting up.
It was a miserable drive to San Pedro, 6.5 Hours due to construction south of the El Cajon pass on Route 15. Using route 215 to 91 to 22 was not better with more delays. We finally arrived in Sa Pedro at 4:50 p.m. The extra distance was only 21 miles.
The boat was fine and the two boats that went on fire were still in their slips. The 70′ Defever which has always been impeccably maintained was damaged extensively in the stern and upper deck. The boast which went on fire upwind of the Defever apparently has no insurance. Rumor has it that a space heater tipped over. Whatever the cause, I am sure there will be plenty of lawsuits due to the damage, especially if the boat causing the fire had no insurance.
We have the heat on as it is both windy and cool her.
Our new refrigerator arrived this morning and was quickly hooked up. The doors needed some serious adjusting and are still a little uneven. We are hoping they settle down and align after it has been sitting for a couple of days.
I also finished entering Anita’s medical records and will soon start on John Jnr’s records. This evening there is a large brush fire at the wetlands area.
We also received an email from the marina alerting us to the fact that two power boats on our dock caught fire last night and sustained mostly destroyed superstructure. There might have been some ash or embers blown onto our boat so we will plan on heading to Cabrillo Marina on Saturday.
Overnight we had a power outage lasting about 3-4 hours. The lights were back on at 6:00 a.m. I managed to digitize most of Anita’s medical records from 1999 and will begin to tackle the medical records for earlier dates tomorrow.
We are both feeling OK today, the fuzziness from Saturdays Covid shots has worn off.
The work to digitize my medical records was completed. We will now move on to Anita’s. We talked to Ken & Carol as it is their Wedding Anniversary. Otherwise it has been a quiet day due to our heads being a bit fuzzy after getting the second Covid-19 vaccination.
We received our second Covid Shots this morning; in and out in under a half-hour. Very efficient even though Anita was not on the list, it was quickly corrected.
I finally purchased a document scanner. It is an Epson ES-400 II Document scanner which work very nicely. This acquisition is intended to make digitizing many data records to empty the pendaflex files which are, in some cases way to ‘fat’.
We will begin with my medical records. I did test the evaluation copy of the Epson financial software but found it lacking in functionality and therefore will not use it. Otherwise everything mostly works OK except for the fact that you cannot rename individual scans before posting to the digital archive. I consider this a major flaw.
I also took the Ford Edge to the dealer for its 35,000 mile service.
Nothing much happened today. I did start writing a document that describes the process for building a DNA Worksheet. This morning I also implemented personal icons for this site removing the default WordPress icon.
Today started the Senate trial of Donald Trump. I also called the service person for our new GE combo oven.
Bit of a mixed day. We got a call from Jeff Blodgett to let us know that his Mum Carol Blodgett (Larson) died this morning in Hospice. She will be buried with her first husband. While the cause is probably listed as Covid-19, she also had Kidney issues, mild amnesia and it is thought she also had a small stroke as she could not swallow very easily.
At noon we had a conference call with Juliet to celebrate her 40th Birthday. John and Marie were on the call. Juliet is celebrating as best she can given Covid-19 restrictions. John has taken a job at a Brazilian Restaurant for the time being. Marie had her interview with the Braille Library in Seattle.
Our weather has warmed up and today it managed 70 degrees.
After dropping some letters off at the Post Office we went to do our Taxes. We will get a refund this year, the first time in a number of years. We then headed over to the Bank and cashed in the Economic Impact Visa card we received from the Government.
Then it was home to add photographs to the Blog from La Cruz to Cabo San Lucas. Nothing much in email this morning.
Another DNA testing company makes changes. After Ancestry.com changing hands some moths back, and then FamilyTreeDNA merging, we have another DNA testing company merging and going public.
I helped Anita with her Jigsaw Puzzle. The 2020 Taxes were updated and we will get them done tomorrow morning.
John Larson sent Anita and email this morning to let her know he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. We called him later to talk with him about it.
The GE Repair man came and took a look at our new Combo oven as the Microwave had stopped working. He decided it was the Magnetron and would order the part.
Anita started a Jigsaw Puzzle, the one from Derek Roberts. I competed the Sail Blog from La Cruz to Mazatlán.
Today we watched the funeral of Carol Larson, Anita’s first cousin. Due to COVID the family were only able to do a small Family Graveside Service. It was held today at 11:00 a.m. PST at the Los Gatos Memorial Park. Carol was laid to rest with her husband Bill Blodgett and next to her parents Irvin and Rose Larson.
For lunch we decided to have some New York Steak. I made a Béarnaise sauce for the steak and when Anita went to use the Microwave for the Brussel Sprouts she discovered they had not cooked.
After a few checks we decided the Microwave had failed. We planned on calling Ge on Monday to summon a service call.
The steak and sauce with potato’s and Sprouts were fine.
Evidence – Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian – Elizabeth Shaw Mills.
Written in an easy and readable format, it covers most topics related to developing and using Citations for the records uncovered by your Genealogy research. (Hardcover)
Genealogy Standards – Board for Certification of Genealogists.
Covers the standards for most areas of Genealogy as defined by the Board for Certification of Genealogists. (Softcover)
The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy – Blaine T. Bettinger
Probably the most useful book for obtaining a basic understanding of DNA. (Softcover)
Genetic Genealogy-The Basics and Beyond – Emily D. Aulicino
My first book on DNA, an easy ‘Read’ providing a good summary of DNA. (Softcover)
Your DNA guide the book – Diahan Southard.
Published in 2020, this book provides a step-by-step approach to finding your lost relatives. (Softcover)
The Genealogists Guide to Y-DNA Testing for Genetic Genealogy – David Vance
A comprehensive guide to Y-DNA testing and how to interpret and use the results. (Softcover)
The Stranger in My Genes – Bill Griffeth
Surprised by his DNT test results, he describes his quest to discover his real origin. (Softcover)
A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived – Adam Rutherford.
Describes the ‘Out of Africa’ theory and human migrations using genetics. (Softcover)
Cased Images & Tintypes – Gary W. Clark
Useful for evaluating early photographs up to 1900. Provides comprehensive examples for the many photographic processes, how photographs were mounted and various fashion trends for the period. (Softcover)
19th. Century Card Photographs – Gary W. Clark
Expands upon the book, ‘Cased Images & Tintypes’ by providing more details of the border styles used for Cartes de Visite and Cabinet Cards. (Softcover)
20th. Century Photographs – Gary W. Clark
Covers studio, formal portraits, and the early years of ‘Snapshot’ photography. It includes the style and trends in photography from 1900 -1950. (Softcover)
Family Photo Detective – Maureen Taylor
General book for use in identifying old photographs. (Softcover)
Uncovering your ancestry through family photographs – Family chronicle
The book consists of over 650 photographic reproductions with a known date. (Softcover)
There is a second book called ‘More dating of old photographs’ which adds more albums and photographs from the 1840’s to the 1920’s
Organize your genealogy – Drew Smith.
Excellent book on organizing your approach to Genealogy. Has suggestions about applications that might be useful for helping structure your genealogy searches. (Softcover)
By: Rebecca Burnett
RESTON, Va. (WDVM) — Nearly 30 years ago, 24800 Old Hundred Road was home to Sugarloaf Mountain Market, a convenience store in Montgomery County, Md. In 1992, a customer walked into the store and found a 57-year-old man suffering from stab wounds. He later died and the case went cold.
That is, until 2020 when Parabon NanoLabs stepped in. Using a DNA sample left at the crime scene, its analysis team drew up this sketch, leading to an arrest.
“We do both DNA phenotyping, which is predicting the appearance; so we predict someone’s eye color, hair color, face shape, ancestry,” said Dr. Ellen Greytak, Parabon’s Director of Bioinformatics and its Snapshot division team lead. “We also have kinship testing and genetic genealogy. Genetic genealogy is about building family trees and trying to figure out who that person could’ve been based on who their relatives are.”
In 2020, the Reston-based company generated a total of 50 leads, nationwide. Two were from our area: in Montgomery County and in Arlington. In January of 1991, a woman was walking home from the East Falls Church Metro station when she was attacked. Last year, the serial rapist was positively identified and arrested on four separate charges.
Greytak says it’s important to remember that Parabon’s work is in lead generation, not crime-solving. “Even if that lead is used to get DNA from so-and-so, it’s still just a lead and the detectives are the ones that are closing those cases, finding that person, getting proper cause to get their DNA and match it back to that crime scene sample, so we’re just helping them get there.”
Ancestry has announced that it will end its 15 month-long product Ancestry Health which was launched in October 2019. They are discontinuing the product so they can focus on their core business. It appears that DNA testing has hit a plateau with the loss of jobs at both Ancestry and 23andMe.
It is unclear if the acquisition of Ancestry by the Blackstone Group Inc. for $4.7 Billion which was completed last month has anything to do with the change in ending Ancestry Health.
Family Tree DNA and its parent company Gene by Gene has been merged into myDNA. myDNA is an Australian company founded in 2007 by Les Sheffield to revolutionize “the field of pharmacogenomics, making truly personalized medicine a reality, before expanding into nutrigenomics to deliver actionable, personalized nutrition, fitness and skincare recommendations.”
“Gene by Gene and FamilyTreeDNA will continue acting in the field of Genetic Genealogy, their original business, keeping intact their privacy rules and all terms of service.”
Time will tell what this may mean for the thousands of volunteer-run DNA projects.
We drove John & Juliet to see Nelson, Nevada. It is always an interesting place and there are more items on show than when we were last there a couple of years ago. We followed the visit by driving to the River and then to Lake Mead.
We had planned to have lunch at Lake Mead however the restaurant was closed for a supposedly deep cleaning. After trying to get a table at Milos how were only working with reservations we ended up buying take-out ay China Go-Go and eating at home.
In the evening we took Juliet and Ray to the Airport for their flight home to Denver.
In the meantime John & Marie had made it to Susanville in California on their trip to Tacoma.
Today I took Juliet & Ray to the Valley of fire for a hike. I was astounded by the growth of tourism in the area, what was once a quiet backwater has become a target for individuals and most trails were crowded by walkers. The parking areas were mainly full with idiots parking off road and getting stuck in soft sand. The park entry fee is now $10.00
We walked the Domes trail so they could see what a slot canyon looks like. The trail has been well worn since I was last there so it can be more slippery in those spots. I wonder how long it will be before they limit access as they have done with Red Rock Canyon.
Following the Valley of fire, we continued north driving through Overton and Logandale before joining 15 for a short time. We turned off at Glendale and got some fuel before continuing on up Route 168 to the Warm Springs area. The Warm Springs is now run by the church of LDS for their events and I doubt it is open and available to the public.
It was closed during our visit, which was expected as it is mainly a summer time place and once allowed individuals and groups to run star parties there in the mid 1990’s, but no more.
We spent the morning catching up on news. Juliet & Ray went off the get Burgers at In-N-Out burger while picking up three 20″ florescent tubes for me.
I completed my Christmas shopping this morning as well as wrapping the presents. The stores were somewhat quiet and so I was home again by 2:00 p.m.
Juliet & Ray arrived about 9:30 p.m. I only had to wait about 10 minutes for them to get to the luggage carousel. The airport was almost empty and the baggage arrived 5 minutes before the passengers. All of the slot machines were closed off and shut down. I have never seen McCarran Airport so quiet.
The installers arrived about 1:00 p.m. and by 3:00 p.m. both items were installed. The installers were clean, quick and efficient and I was pleased with their work. It is a pleasure watching people who know what they are doing.