Connecting With Relatives

Genealogy research has become so much easier with the internet. My Great Uncle Valdi once hired a lawyer to help research the Barnes family lines decades ago, way before I was even born! Wouldn't those researchers who have gone before us be amazed at the resources before us today! I now have e-mail conversations with relatives across the United States, Norway and Sweden! We even received help from internet friends in Sweden, connecting us with relatives there and had a mini reunion in Sweden in 2001. Now with my blog, facebook and having written A West Ender's Scrapbook of my home area, I've met more relatives and have shared and exchanged ancestry with even more people! If you connect to my ancestry, I'd love to hear from you.

Researching family in the Ljung, Stjärnorp, ... areas of Östergötland, Sweden; Strada, Molde, Møre og Romsdal, Norway; Odessa, South Russia; Kulm Bessarabia, South Russia; Brandenburg, Germany; Efteløt\Sandsvær, Buskerud, Norway; Vaage/ Vågå, Opland, Norway; Pittsford, Rutland Co., VT; Randolph Co., IN; and locations in IA, SD, OH, VA, NJ, NH, NY, CT, NC, MD, PA, and England. My ancestors did get around didn't they!

Tech Support!!!

I wish I understood the inter-working of the internet and setting up my computer within the control utilities/settings, etc. Today, I switched over my current phone provider to a new one where I can get free local and long distance calls 24-7. Good choice I thought... Little did I know my completely seperate internet provider had their business linked to my former phone provider so now I am left without internet access at home for a few days.
My morning was spent with a service man at my house from phone provider #2 (he came twice in fact) support with #2 on the phone, support with internet provider #1 - one guy who knew nothing and a return call from the guy in the know who laughed... "I wish you would have talked to me before you switched" Ok, who talkes to their internet provider when they're switching phone providers who are completely seperate busineses? Maybe I'm the one confused, I'm sure you are trying to follow me, I'm almost done venting. Then I talked to three different people when trying to set up the new internet provider, I kept on getting cut off when the first two put me on hold...
I'm up at school now checking e-mail and getting a few notes out that all is well here and what my situation is. So in other words I'll be going through e-mail, internet, and facebook withdrawal in the next few days at home awaiting the next service call to install my new internet system. Keep your fingers crossed all works well with the new system or I may be climbing the walls with my withdrawal symptoms.
Photo courtesy of my school photos. We made masks of the kids faces, most of them love the experience and opportunity to make them. I thought it appropriate for my situation... I can still breathe but I'm not seeing things too well right now. :-)

Getting Connected On Line

I'm dedicated to connecting with people via my computer. E-mail, Blogger, facebook, Iowapages, genealogy sites,... I'm a techie with enough training to make life interesting on-line.
I became administrator of my high school Class of 76 website, back in 2005, while we prepared for our 30th class reunion. It's been great to renew old friendships and build new connections.
My genealogy research has found me searching for ancestors and recently a cousin in Norway connected me with another cousin in Norway on another line, so I'm busy using Google translate to eavesdrop on their posts on facebook and websites they have. The Google link can translate words, paragraphs or entire web pages quickly and narrows the divide of languages and different countries.
For the past few years my family has had video conferencing via our computers. My iMac has a built in camera and the rest of my family have cameras mounted on the top of their computer screens. It was great to communicate with my brother Steve when he moved to California and my parents and other brother, sister and I continue to talk face to face via the internet. Here's a still shot glimpse of my mom and what we see via our video talks with each other.
I also have 3 blogs I work on, so communicate with students and friends that way and was also required to have a teacher/class web page for our school district. That makes five, count em, FIVE web pages I work on. Am I nuts? maybe a little. :-)
Ever since I got connected to the Internet, back in 1998, here at home, I've had the same e-mail and have resisted changing or updating my e-mail due to all the connections I've made. It has become a necessity in my life and I struggle when I can't e-mail, connect or have access to my internet connections. Don't you feel the same way? Hello to all my on-line friends out there!

Discover Your Visual DNA

A friend sent me this link to an on-line quiz to discover your Visual DNA. There are a series of photos you have to choose one in each group that appeals to you in response to a topic. Click on the link, click the photo for you and move on, until the end where you will get a profile of yourself. a Visual DNA
I can't say all of my profile was right on, but some was. It was fun and interesting to do.