Monday, December 5, 2011
Friday, November 4, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
Being generous
Being generous. It's insanely hard to do.
I don't know about you but I beat myself up every day for being so self-absorbed.
If I am mindful enough to STOP all of the chatter, I realize that this narcissism prevents me from SEEING the world anew and recognizing all of the things that ARE GOING WELL. It also leads me away from helping others.
How can I step outside of myself; how can I quiet my mind long enough to FOCUS on others?
There are simply more important things to pay attention to, including:
I can do better. You can do better. We can set aside our private, petty concerns and do something bigger in the world!
Maybe I won't lose 5 pounds. Maybe I'll never get to the bus stop on time. Maybe dinner will ALWAYS start out frozen!
Who cares?
We are SO MUCH MORE than our petty little minds would have us believe.
No one is waiting for me to be perfect. Everyone is hoping that I will show up, smile, pay attention and do the best that I can.
I don't know about you but I beat myself up every day for being so self-absorbed.
- Am I making the right decisions at work?
- Will I ever lose those five pounds?
- Why didn't I mail the bills on time?
- Why didn't my husband go grocery shopping on Sunday?
- How am I ever going to pick up my daughter from school on time and exercise as planned?
If I am mindful enough to STOP all of the chatter, I realize that this narcissism prevents me from SEEING the world anew and recognizing all of the things that ARE GOING WELL. It also leads me away from helping others.
How can I step outside of myself; how can I quiet my mind long enough to FOCUS on others?
There are simply more important things to pay attention to, including:
- The child who goes to sleep every night without food.
- The elderly woman who is dying a slow death without family near.
- The family that has no place to call home.
I can do better. You can do better. We can set aside our private, petty concerns and do something bigger in the world!
Maybe I won't lose 5 pounds. Maybe I'll never get to the bus stop on time. Maybe dinner will ALWAYS start out frozen!
Who cares?
We are SO MUCH MORE than our petty little minds would have us believe.
No one is waiting for me to be perfect. Everyone is hoping that I will show up, smile, pay attention and do the best that I can.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
The Google+ project
The Google+ project has been in field trial for just under 90 days, and in that time we’ve made 91 different improvements Google+ is still in its infancy, 
of course, but we’re more excited than ever to bring the nuance and richness of real-life sharing to software. Today we’re releasing nine more features that get us that much closer.
+Hangouts: more places, more people, more to do
Hangouts uses live video to bring people together, face-to-face-to-face. And from day one, the community has shaped and stretched the feature in amazing ways—from cooking classes to game shows to music concerts.
We're determined to keep this momentum going, and to keep providing new ways to communicate in-person, so we hope you enjoy this week’s round of Hangouts improvements.
92. Hangouts on your phone
In life we connect with others in all sorts of places, at all different times. And the connections you make unexpectedly are often the ones you remember the most. We think Hangouts should keep pace with how you socialize in the real-world, so today we’re launching it on the one device that's always by your side: your mobile phone. To get started, simply find an active hangout in the Stream, and tap “Join”:
Hangouts currently supports Android 2.3+ devices with front-facing cameras (and iOS support is coming soon). The new mobile app is rolling out to Android Market
today, so you can start hanging out at any time, from just about anywhere.
93. Hangouts On Air
Google+ users already use Hangouts to create intimate onscreen experiences— with family members, prayer groups, even people with certain medical conditions.
But sometimes you want to speak to a large audience, or alternatively, view as a spectator. In these cases a public broadcast is what’s needed, so today we’re introducing Hangouts On Air.
The setup is simple enough: just start a normal hangout, and you’ll have the option to broadcast and record your session. Once you’re “On Air,” up to nine others can join your hangout (as usual), and anyone can watch your live broadcast
We’re starting with a limited number of broadcasters, but any member of the Google+ community can tune in. In fact: we’ll be hosting our very first On Air hangout with will.i.am on Wednesday night, September 21. For more information visit will.i.am’s or my profile on Google+.
94, 95, 96, 97. Hangouts with extras
Spending time together goes hand in hand with actually doing things together. Dinner with family can easily turn into movie night at the local theater, for instance. And running into old friends can inspire anything from photo sharing to vacation planning. Hangouts has always included a basic set of in-room actions (like group chat and co-viewing of YouTube videos), but we want to make it easier to do a lot more. That’s why we’re previewing some extras, including:
• Screensharing: for when you want to show off your vacation photos, your high score, your lesson plan or whatever else is on your screen
• Sketchpad: for when you want to draw, doodle, or just scribble together
• Google Docs: for when you want to write, plan or present something with others
• Named Hangouts: for when you want to join or create a public hangout about a certain topic (like fashion or music or sports...)
The extras are still under construction, but we wanted to preview these features and get your feedback sooner versus later. So start a hangout, click “Try Hangouts with extras” in the green room, and let us know what you think.
98. Hangouts APIs
If field trial has taught us anything about Hangouts, it’s that the community is overflowing with creative individuals. So in the wake of last week’s Google+ API launch, we’re also releasing a basic set of Hangouts APIs. If you're a developer who wants to build new kinds of apps and games (and who-knows-what-else), then you can find more details on the Google+ platform blog.
+Search: find the people and posts you care about
99. Search in Google+
You’ve been asking for it, and we’ve been busy building it, so today we’re bringing Google’s search expertise to Google+. Just type what you’re looking for into the Google+ search box, and we’ll return relevant people and posts, as well as popular content from around the web.
If you’re into photography, for example, then you’ll see other enthusiasts and lots of great pictures. If you care more about cooking, then you’ll see other chefs and food from around the globe. In all cases, Google+ search results include items that only you can see, so family updates are just as easy to find as international news.
With more than 1 billion items shared and received every day, we’re excited to see how search will connect people through their posts on Google+.
+Everyone
100. Anyone can sign up for Google+—no invitation required.
For the past 12 weeks we’ve been in field trial, and during that time we’ve listened and learned a great deal. We’re nowhere near done, but with the improvements we’ve made so far we’re ready to move from field trial to beta, and introduce our 100th feature: open signups. This way anyone can visit google.com/+, join the project and connect with the people they care about.
Over the next day we'll be rolling out all of these features globally. In the meantime, you can check out what's next in Google+.
of course, but we’re more excited than ever to bring the nuance and richness of real-life sharing to software. Today we’re releasing nine more features that get us that much closer.
+Hangouts: more places, more people, more to do
Hangouts uses live video to bring people together, face-to-face-to-face. And from day one, the community has shaped and stretched the feature in amazing ways—from cooking classes to game shows to music concerts.
We're determined to keep this momentum going, and to keep providing new ways to communicate in-person, so we hope you enjoy this week’s round of Hangouts improvements.
92. Hangouts on your phone
In life we connect with others in all sorts of places, at all different times. And the connections you make unexpectedly are often the ones you remember the most. We think Hangouts should keep pace with how you socialize in the real-world, so today we’re launching it on the one device that's always by your side: your mobile phone. To get started, simply find an active hangout in the Stream, and tap “Join”:
Hangouts currently supports Android 2.3+ devices with front-facing cameras (and iOS support is coming soon). The new mobile app is rolling out to Android Market
today, so you can start hanging out at any time, from just about anywhere.
93. Hangouts On Air
Google+ users already use Hangouts to create intimate onscreen experiences— with family members, prayer groups, even people with certain medical conditions.
But sometimes you want to speak to a large audience, or alternatively, view as a spectator. In these cases a public broadcast is what’s needed, so today we’re introducing Hangouts On Air.
The setup is simple enough: just start a normal hangout, and you’ll have the option to broadcast and record your session. Once you’re “On Air,” up to nine others can join your hangout (as usual), and anyone can watch your live broadcast
We’re starting with a limited number of broadcasters, but any member of the Google+ community can tune in. In fact: we’ll be hosting our very first On Air hangout with will.i.am on Wednesday night, September 21. For more information visit will.i.am’s or my profile on Google+.
94, 95, 96, 97. Hangouts with extras
Spending time together goes hand in hand with actually doing things together. Dinner with family can easily turn into movie night at the local theater, for instance. And running into old friends can inspire anything from photo sharing to vacation planning. Hangouts has always included a basic set of in-room actions (like group chat and co-viewing of YouTube videos), but we want to make it easier to do a lot more. That’s why we’re previewing some extras, including:
• Screensharing: for when you want to show off your vacation photos, your high score, your lesson plan or whatever else is on your screen
• Sketchpad: for when you want to draw, doodle, or just scribble together
• Google Docs: for when you want to write, plan or present something with others
• Named Hangouts: for when you want to join or create a public hangout about a certain topic (like fashion or music or sports...)
The extras are still under construction, but we wanted to preview these features and get your feedback sooner versus later. So start a hangout, click “Try Hangouts with extras” in the green room, and let us know what you think.
98. Hangouts APIs
If field trial has taught us anything about Hangouts, it’s that the community is overflowing with creative individuals. So in the wake of last week’s Google+ API launch, we’re also releasing a basic set of Hangouts APIs. If you're a developer who wants to build new kinds of apps and games (and who-knows-what-else), then you can find more details on the Google+ platform blog.
+Search: find the people and posts you care about
99. Search in Google+
You’ve been asking for it, and we’ve been busy building it, so today we’re bringing Google’s search expertise to Google+. Just type what you’re looking for into the Google+ search box, and we’ll return relevant people and posts, as well as popular content from around the web.
If you’re into photography, for example, then you’ll see other enthusiasts and lots of great pictures. If you care more about cooking, then you’ll see other chefs and food from around the globe. In all cases, Google+ search results include items that only you can see, so family updates are just as easy to find as international news.
With more than 1 billion items shared and received every day, we’re excited to see how search will connect people through their posts on Google+.
+Everyone
100. Anyone can sign up for Google+—no invitation required.
For the past 12 weeks we’ve been in field trial, and during that time we’ve listened and learned a great deal. We’re nowhere near done, but with the improvements we’ve made so far we’re ready to move from field trial to beta, and introduce our 100th feature: open signups. This way anyone can visit google.com/+, join the project and connect with the people they care about.
Over the next day we'll be rolling out all of these features globally. In the meantime, you can check out what's next in Google+.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
San Antonio Siamese Twins Have Unlike Finger Prints, 1927
When Violet and Daisy Hilton, pretty little nineteen-year-old twins, left New York to begin their tour of the world, they were not sure whether they were one girl or two girls.
To be sure, they bought a single railroad ticket and the conductor accepted it without a word of protest.
They had a lot of trouble securing an insurance policy, being finally insured in the Lloyds of London, and by the terms of the policy they were two persons, for Violet and Daisy are welded together by the strangest tie that ever bound two mortals in irrevocable oneness. They call themselves the "San Antonio Siamese Twins."
Both are charming, lovely and intelligent girls, but at the extreme portion of their backs their spinal cords are interwoven so closely as to form a single backbone. This means that the same blood flows through both of their bodies. But would this make one person, or would two sets of organs, limbs and features make them individuals?
Violet and Daisy decided to settle the matter once for all.
Accordingly they visited the Richmond Police Department, where they were taken to the Bureau of Identification in charge of Sergt. Wm. A. Toler and explained their problem to him.
"We want to know whether we are a person—or persons," they said.
"That's easy," replied Sergt. Toler, making ready his finger print apparatus. "No two persons in the world have the same finger prints. If you are one girl your prints will be copies of each other; if you are two girls they will show a difference."
After impressions had been taken of their fingers and compared, Sergt. Toler announced that there was no similarity between the two prints. There was a marked difference in the index finger of both girls. The index finger on both Daisy and Violet shows the difference more pronouncedly than the other fingers. The thumbs show a slight difference, and upon close examination the other fingers reveal a difference.
"And yet," declared the twins, when they talked it over later, "the railroads don't agree with science, for when we travel we buy one railroad ticket and one Pullman reservation. And although we sometimes have to stand up in front of our seats to show the conductor that we really are fastened together, we are never asked for another ticket, and we have but one ticket for theatres.
"And even Lloyds only partially decided that we are two persons. You see we wanted to take out life insurance. They said we would have to take out two policies, one for Daisy and the other for Violet. Then if one of us died or if both died only one premium could be collected. And even then the rate was so high that we just couldn't be insured."
Daisy and Violet were born in England. Since their father died, they have grown up under the watchful attention of their uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. Myer Myers, who have brought them up into fine physical specimens of young womanhood, wholesome, attractive and talented.
Under the instruction of tutors they have mastered five languages. They are expert seamstresses and clever at embroidering and fancy work. Violet plays the saxophone like a professional, while Daisy is becoming a skilled violinist. Their ambition is to have musical careers and to achieve this end, they practice five hours daily.
They do not want to be separated and they never experience loneliness. If one wants to turn over in bed she is obliged to waken her sister and they must get up and rearrange themselves. They do not feel the aches and pains of the other.
They prefer different types of young men and are very fond of their company.
Source" "San Antonio Siamese Twins Have Unlike Finger Prints", Finger Print and Identification Magazine
To be sure, they bought a single railroad ticket and the conductor accepted it without a word of protest.
They had a lot of trouble securing an insurance policy, being finally insured in the Lloyds of London, and by the terms of the policy they were two persons, for Violet and Daisy are welded together by the strangest tie that ever bound two mortals in irrevocable oneness. They call themselves the "San Antonio Siamese Twins."
Both are charming, lovely and intelligent girls, but at the extreme portion of their backs their spinal cords are interwoven so closely as to form a single backbone. This means that the same blood flows through both of their bodies. But would this make one person, or would two sets of organs, limbs and features make them individuals?
Violet and Daisy decided to settle the matter once for all.
Accordingly they visited the Richmond Police Department, where they were taken to the Bureau of Identification in charge of Sergt. Wm. A. Toler and explained their problem to him.
"We want to know whether we are a person—or persons," they said.
"That's easy," replied Sergt. Toler, making ready his finger print apparatus. "No two persons in the world have the same finger prints. If you are one girl your prints will be copies of each other; if you are two girls they will show a difference."
After impressions had been taken of their fingers and compared, Sergt. Toler announced that there was no similarity between the two prints. There was a marked difference in the index finger of both girls. The index finger on both Daisy and Violet shows the difference more pronouncedly than the other fingers. The thumbs show a slight difference, and upon close examination the other fingers reveal a difference.
"And yet," declared the twins, when they talked it over later, "the railroads don't agree with science, for when we travel we buy one railroad ticket and one Pullman reservation. And although we sometimes have to stand up in front of our seats to show the conductor that we really are fastened together, we are never asked for another ticket, and we have but one ticket for theatres.
"And even Lloyds only partially decided that we are two persons. You see we wanted to take out life insurance. They said we would have to take out two policies, one for Daisy and the other for Violet. Then if one of us died or if both died only one premium could be collected. And even then the rate was so high that we just couldn't be insured."
Daisy and Violet were born in England. Since their father died, they have grown up under the watchful attention of their uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. Myer Myers, who have brought them up into fine physical specimens of young womanhood, wholesome, attractive and talented.
Under the instruction of tutors they have mastered five languages. They are expert seamstresses and clever at embroidering and fancy work. Violet plays the saxophone like a professional, while Daisy is becoming a skilled violinist. Their ambition is to have musical careers and to achieve this end, they practice five hours daily.
They do not want to be separated and they never experience loneliness. If one wants to turn over in bed she is obliged to waken her sister and they must get up and rearrange themselves. They do not feel the aches and pains of the other.
They prefer different types of young men and are very fond of their company.
Source" "San Antonio Siamese Twins Have Unlike Finger Prints", Finger Print and Identification Magazine
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
New Web Service Provides Database of Genealogy Resources and Researchers
Geneapro.com has launched a new website designed to bring together experienced genealogy researchers with people looking for accurate historical ancestral records and information.
Historically, it has been very difficult to find records from previous centuries and remote locations. While the internet has made this task much easier for those who know where to look, the general population is generally at a loss as to where to even start. Finding resource sites can be a challenge and many of those sites are costly and yet can lead to dead ends. Geneapro.com experts have many years of experience working with a large number of resources and have the knowledge to provide quick and timely results. Membership is free both for experts and those seeking lookups.
Geneapro.com founder Lisa Kenefick started the website to change the process of searching for ancestors and the costs associated with it. "Many years ago I happened upon the LDS Family Search website after years of searching subscription-only websites for my ancestors. It was a revelation; as a beginner I did not know it existed. The information is out there already, these records were not created specifically for the websites that charge membership."
As a former Investigative Genealogist Ancestry.com Expert, Kenefick found herself relying on direct resources; the new website is designed to put together a large index of these resources that are easy to access. Genealogists, historical societies, and genealogical societies, in addition to individual genealogists, can join geneapro.com and make their services available to the general public. There is no charge to join geneapro.com either for those providing or seeking information.
Records that are not digitally archived can also be found by posting a "Lookup" on Geneapro. Professional genealogist listings, lookup service providers and thousands of direct links to digitized archives and published databases are free. Ms. Kenefick's mission is to build one of the world's largest directory of genealogical resources and providers.
Historically, it has been very difficult to find records from previous centuries and remote locations. While the internet has made this task much easier for those who know where to look, the general population is generally at a loss as to where to even start. Finding resource sites can be a challenge and many of those sites are costly and yet can lead to dead ends. Geneapro.com experts have many years of experience working with a large number of resources and have the knowledge to provide quick and timely results. Membership is free both for experts and those seeking lookups.
Geneapro.com founder Lisa Kenefick started the website to change the process of searching for ancestors and the costs associated with it. "Many years ago I happened upon the LDS Family Search website after years of searching subscription-only websites for my ancestors. It was a revelation; as a beginner I did not know it existed. The information is out there already, these records were not created specifically for the websites that charge membership."
As a former Investigative Genealogist Ancestry.com Expert, Kenefick found herself relying on direct resources; the new website is designed to put together a large index of these resources that are easy to access. Genealogists, historical societies, and genealogical societies, in addition to individual genealogists, can join geneapro.com and make their services available to the general public. There is no charge to join geneapro.com either for those providing or seeking information.
Records that are not digitally archived can also be found by posting a "Lookup" on Geneapro. Professional genealogist listings, lookup service providers and thousands of direct links to digitized archives and published databases are free. Ms. Kenefick's mission is to build one of the world's largest directory of genealogical resources and providers.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Unfortunate Situation
My 94 year old Grandfather passed away last week which prompted an impromptu family reunion.
My Grandparents,Eugene Foss & Rae Stephens Jones had 6 children including my dad who then had 61 Grandchildren and us grandchildren have now had 178 Great Grandchildren with 1 in the oven and I am sure many many more to come as some marriages are still very new and there are many children yet to be born.
We also just had the first marriage of one of those 178 Great Grandchildren. If each of them has 3 kids that will be 534 Great Great Grandchildren but as we are LDS the average number may be much higher than 3 per family.
I guess I don't really have a point to all this other than my grandparents were so very excited about all their children, grandchildren and great grand children and so we tried really hard to get all of them to come to the funeral yesterday. Not everyone made it - but I would guess that about 90% of us did - it was a huge happy event and a lot of work for those of us that had anything to do with its planning. Because my Grandpa's daughters who get left with the job of sharing heirlooms with the entire family do not live locally this event also included going through the house and making sure everyone has a little treasure by which to remember our grandparents. (Grandma passed away in 2007 - meaning the house is now empty and needs to be sold etc.)
It was amazing to Discover Your Family History
it was fabulous and a great miracle that we all remain close friends.
We are all a bit worried that now that the grandparents are gone it will be easy to start to lose contact with one another so we are discussing future events already and simple things such as social media and Google Plus (hangouts) to keep in close contact.
We certainly live in a wonderful era when with the click of the mouse we can instantly be in front of each other again. I don't think we have any good excuse to not keep close contact with each other when it is so easy through modern day technology.
Perhaps in the near future part of each family reunion will be a virtual connection for those of us who can't make the trip.......only time will tell.
My Grandparents,Eugene Foss & Rae Stephens Jones had 6 children including my dad who then had 61 Grandchildren and us grandchildren have now had 178 Great Grandchildren with 1 in the oven and I am sure many many more to come as some marriages are still very new and there are many children yet to be born.
We also just had the first marriage of one of those 178 Great Grandchildren. If each of them has 3 kids that will be 534 Great Great Grandchildren but as we are LDS the average number may be much higher than 3 per family.
I guess I don't really have a point to all this other than my grandparents were so very excited about all their children, grandchildren and great grand children and so we tried really hard to get all of them to come to the funeral yesterday. Not everyone made it - but I would guess that about 90% of us did - it was a huge happy event and a lot of work for those of us that had anything to do with its planning. Because my Grandpa's daughters who get left with the job of sharing heirlooms with the entire family do not live locally this event also included going through the house and making sure everyone has a little treasure by which to remember our grandparents. (Grandma passed away in 2007 - meaning the house is now empty and needs to be sold etc.)
It was amazing to Discover Your Family History
We are all a bit worried that now that the grandparents are gone it will be easy to start to lose contact with one another so we are discussing future events already and simple things such as social media and Google Plus (hangouts) to keep in close contact.
We certainly live in a wonderful era when with the click of the mouse we can instantly be in front of each other again. I don't think we have any good excuse to not keep close contact with each other when it is so easy through modern day technology.
Perhaps in the near future part of each family reunion will be a virtual connection for those of us who can't make the trip.......only time will tell.
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