| Author |
Message |
Rissa
Member
03-19-2006
| Saturday, August 10, 2019 - 5:23 am 
Thought to add..... for those here who are also interested in genealogy and have done a DNA test. I have physically done the test for a variety of family members at either 23andme or ancestry but there are other sites out there that will let you download those results to compare to their database of members without cost, one of those is www.familytreedna.com another is www.myheritage.com and for those who want to help solve crimes while researching their family, there is www.gedmatch.com. I cannot form the life of me figure out gedmatch, very basic and confusing interface but I did download my results and click the box to allow police access because they have used that site to identify missing and murdered victims as well as perpetrators. If I have some distinct murdering cousin, I have no hesitation in helping identify them.
|
Kitt
Member
09-05-2000
| Saturday, August 10, 2019 - 1:20 pm
I can't work out GEDmatch either. It seems like it has more info but it's so badly arranged you can't get to it. It was interesting seeing I was a hunter gatherer or whatever though  .
|
Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-30-2000
| Saturday, September 07, 2019 - 2:42 pm
Never a dull moment here. This lovely lady kept trying to bite my dogs... so when I heard them barking at her today, I brought them in, screwed up every ounce of courage I had and went out to confront her. Then stood there for like 15 minutes unable to do anything but stand there .... LOL.
Finally I got a cat crate and an old plastic kid's lacrosse stick and went out and put the stick under her middle (did I mention she could snarl and hiss like a snake five times her size?) and swooped her up and put her in the cat crate.
And she was PISSED.
So then I put her in the rec room, and spent another 30 minutes trying to figure out what to do with her. I wanted to take her over to the reservoir about 1/2 mile away, but I KNEW I would be too terrified to open the door and let her out.
I decided I would just go over there and wait until I could find a fisherman who would help me... LOL.
I had to cover her with a towel, because every time I tried to pick up the crate she would hiss and carry on and I couldn't bring myself to pick her up. But once she couldn't see me, I was able to put her in the back of the pickup and take her to the reservoir.
And then waited until someone arrived to fish. When a younger man did, I asked him if he was afraid of snakes and he looked at me like I was nuts, and I thought.... hmm... maybe try this another way. So I explained and he laughed, and took the crate over to the woods and let her out for me.
Whew. Now I need a drink.
|
Treasure
Member
06-26-2002
| Saturday, September 07, 2019 - 2:51 pm
She is a beauty.
|
Naja
Member
06-28-2003
| Saturday, September 07, 2019 - 2:58 pm
Gorgeous. We had a bullsnake as a pet for awhile in the 80s. Well, it was my brother's.
|
Treasure
Member
06-26-2002
| Saturday, September 07, 2019 - 3:03 pm
Looks like she is a Gopher snake, also called a Bull snake. Non-venomous, and they are good for keeping rattlesnakes away. They are your friend, even if they do seem bad tempered when cornered. Of course, all snakes can bite and any bite can carry bacteria, so I wouldn't want to be bitten by this snake, either.
|
Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-30-2000
| Saturday, September 07, 2019 - 3:04 pm
I had a larger one living under my deck for a long time, but she was non-aggressive. If the dogs came out, she just ignored them and slithered back under the deck. This one stood her ground and dared them to come closer, rattling her little tail like she was a rattler, and hissing and snarling. I never heard a snake snarl like that before!
She was scary.
|
Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-30-2000
| Saturday, September 07, 2019 - 3:06 pm
LOL, I posted this on Facebook and said someone said "aw, how nice, you gave her water!" 
|
Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Saturday, September 07, 2019 - 5:07 pm
Beautiful š snake! Glad you relocated her alive.
|
Egbok
Member
07-13-2000
| Saturday, September 07, 2019 - 5:54 pm
I am laughing and giggling right now....over the FB comment . . .
"aw, how nice, you gave her water".
|
Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-30-2000
| Saturday, September 07, 2019 - 5:58 pm
It made me laugh too. 
|
Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Saturday, September 07, 2019 - 6:38 pm
She might have thought the same, seeing the bowl.
|
Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Saturday, September 07, 2019 - 8:16 pm
Free lodging with an above ground pool.
|
Roxip
Member
01-29-2004
| Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - 12:55 pm
I can't believe this day 19 years ago was the last day that we felt safe and invincible in our country. Who knew that on the next day our perceptions would change. The images of that day are still so clear in my thoughts and I remember exactly where I was when I first heard "a plane as hit the World Trade Center in New York."
|
Sadiesmom
Member
03-13-2002
| Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - 1:59 pm
I was standing in my den watching TV and saw the hit. and then the second one. I called my sister who did not want to turn on her TV. I insisted. funny how she always thinks she can ignore me. Then I had to take my car for repairs. I missed the drama in the office as many people had relatives in the towers and were desperately trying to contact them. One reached his sister and talked to her until the towers fell.
|
Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - 2:15 pm
I woke up here on the west coast, clueless.
When I brought up my e-mail I immediately saw postings from two online groups.. And started reading, turned on the tv and brought up tvch.
At some point I checked to see if my sister-in-law was flying anywhere that day.
Also looked for posts from people in NY, and in DC.
It certainly changed our world.
I remember it felt frivolous, at first, to watch BB, live feeds and to do live feed reporting, as we did back then without flashback, or twitter.. But that it became a respite, but then it became personal, when we knew about Monica's cousin Tamitha.
|
Mack
Member
07-22-2002
| Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - 3:59 pm
My wife and I were at work......in the Pentagon. I was a branch chief and the senior manager in our office that morning. My division chief had been in early in the morning and back in those days the Pentagon fed the major TV news channels into chiefsā offices so he had turned in the news and then headed out of the building for a meeting. I mention that because one of my staff stuck his head in my office and said a plane just hit the World Trade Center and it was on the TV in the colonelās office.
Like most early on I thought it was a horrible accident and indeed early reports were even saying it might have been a small plane. I went back to work and ten or so minutes later another one of my staff said a plane just hit the World Trade Center. I said I knew I had seen it on TV. She said no that this was another plane and it hit the other tower. That was the first moment I knew it was some kind of terrorist attack.
My wife worked just next door to me in another division but for the same agency so I went and found her. She was in her bossā office watching the news in his TV. We talked for a short time and I went back to my bossā office to see the breaking news. As I left Sandy Taylor squeezed past me and said she was going back to her office to call her daughter who worked in New York a few blocks from the World Trade Center. That was the last time I saw Sandy alive. Little did I know what was going to happen 15 or so minutes later. Not once did it cross my mind that we were in any danger. There had been no warnings or alerts in at least our part of the Pentagon.
A friend asked me to take a break with him and we actually walked outside and as it turned out actually closer to the point of impact. Anyhow we were talking about the attacks and had just turned the discussion to him getting his car back from a collision repair shop after a hit and run accident when all hell broke lose. First we could hear but not see the plane approaching the building. The engines were literally screaming. Then this nanosecond of almost total silence. Then this loud booming explosion and towering fire ball rose above the building to our right and slightly behind us. I remember distinctly the feeling of heat on my face. I also remember debris flying around us. Amazingly of the seven of us standing outside 500 feet from the impact nobody was burnt or injured with the exception of one lady who suffered a minor scratch on her cheek from what we later thought was glass from the shattered windows above us.
I immediately returned to my office where I found my wife frantically looking for me. No one knew exactly what had happened other than a big explosion. I knew but in that moment I said there had been an explosion and ordered the staff who had not already left to evacuate. I didnāt want to start a panic. It was only when my wife and I were walking down the hallway to exit the building that I bent over and whispered in her ear that weād been hit by a plane.
Of the 124 killed in the Pentagon I knew or recognized dozens. Seven were close friends or co-workers including Sandy Taylor who I mentioned earlier. In our agency we had Sandy and our generalās secretary killed instantly as the plane hit 40 feet from their offices. In the next few weeks we went to more memorial and funeral services than I had been to before and since September 11, 2001.
We will never forget.
|
Texannie
Member
07-15-2001
| Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - 4:03 pm
Oh, Mack...I never knew. I am so, so sorry.
|
Jmm
Moderator
08-15-2002
| Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - 5:47 pm
Hugs Mack and Mrs. Mack, I hope you both make it through the next couple of days as stress-free as possible.
|
Heckagirl631
Member
09-08-2010
| Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - 6:01 pm
Ditto, Mack.
This might not be a good time to ask, but I need advice.
What do you use for cable and internet?
When we first moved here 20+ years ago, basic cable and internet were free, included with the rent. They have not been for a long time. The bill keeps going up and today found out it went up another $40. Getting beyond ridiculous at over $100 a month now. They always brag how they are the fastest, too. Not! I'm not sure how fast the connection is, but I do want to be able to stream Outlander online. Other than that, I just need basic stuff. Got to switch soon. I have my own modem that I own, and router. So, what do you have? Use?
|
Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - 8:14 pm
((((Mack)))) This is the first time you have told us this story, that I know of (I could have been out of the country when you told it before). I bet it was hard recounting it even now.
Peace be with you and your wife tomorrow.
|
Colordeagua
Member
10-24-2003
| Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - 8:16 pm
I've never had cable or satellite. TV is the old fashioned way -- rooftop antenna on a 5 story condo building. I'm 15 - 20 miles west of downtown Chicago. Reception is good.
Internet is fiber optics from AT&T, 17 Mbps. Currently $50 per month, but expect increase in November. Only choice is between AT&T and Comcast/Xfinity. I very rarely (knock on wood) have technical problems with connection. But God forbid you have to contact AT&T (or Comcast/Xfinity) for customer service re billing, etc., etc. Any of them are horror stories. I stream (and pay for) a number of apps, platforms, whatever you call 'em -- Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu, Showtime, HBO Now, CBS All Access, Acorn. I think that's all. That's enough. 
|
Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - 8:18 pm
Hecka, it seems like all of the internet/television companies do the same thing these days, just keep sneaking the rate up and up and up, until the customer finally explodes. Could be time to explode. Call or visit them and tell them they are pricing you beyond your ability to pay, and can they give you a break so you don't have to leave them. There is always some new deal they can work for you.
We have Comcast that comes with our condo, and we STILL pay over $100/month for the other stuff. I also have my own router and modem.
When you beg for relief, make sure you have examined every single item on your payment summary and ask what they are for.
|
Colordeagua
Member
10-24-2003
| Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - 8:31 pm
I have a true AT&T land line (not VOIP) which I like and prefer to using cell. Got my monthly bill for it today. Really look into it tomorrow. Seems like every / almost every month it's up $2 - $3. Contact AT&T customer service. HORRORS. Go to an AT&T store. Ha ha ha. They want to sell service, but definitely NOT help with any problems.
|
Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - 9:43 pm
Mack, ever since you first told that story here, I always think of you and Mrs Mack around the anniversary.
|
