Friday, July 25, 2014

Mutt or Mutation

Whenever I was asked about my heritage, I would respond - "I am a mutt" (since our ancestors go back seven generations to the American Revolution).  However my recent project in documenting the family tree and taking the audio Genetics course caused me to submit the DNA Ancestry.com tests for myself, Dad and Mom.

Mom and Dad's "spit test" results from DNA Ancestry.com just arrived.  So I decided to see how the genealogy ethnicity test correlated. See below:

Ancestry.com  DNA Ethnicity

The context of the word mutation is usually considered negative in our vocabulary.  However in Genetics mutation is beautiful and necessary for survival.  Clearly from the estimate of Ancestry.com

(60% Britain; 11% Ireland; 9% Finland/Northwest Russia; 8% Iberain Peninsula; 5% West Europe)

PLUS
(59% Europe West; 19% Great Britain; 9% Ireland)

EQUALS
(44% Great Britain; 17% Ireland; 13% Europe West; 11% Italy/Greece; 8% Finland/Northwest Russia

Hmmmmm...   where did that Italian/Greek streak come from?

Maybe I'm not a Mutt ......   I'm a mutation   :)

Thursday, July 24, 2014

To Labor or not

Susan's gynecologist had one of the best quotes about labor pains when Susan was explaining to him her pain tolerance.  When he asked if she intended to deliver naturally, she responded "Of Course!,  I don't even take novacaine at the dentist for cavities".  The doctor paused and then asked "Have you ever had every tooth drilled simultaneously?"

P.G. told me about a humorous youtube about two "tough" guys that decide to prove male tolerance to pain by simulating labor pains.

Watch and enjoy:


State your own conclusions :)

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Surrender

Does surrender mean defeat?  The first two definitions refer to war, conflict or giving up control because of force.  However the third definition states:  give something out of courtesy.

So the context of surrender is critical to it's definition.  Maybe the better definition is from the quote: "Surrender is the intersection between acceptance and change."

Surrender is not about giving up ...... it is about giving in.  There is power in giving - both in and out.





Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Life Marches On

In my latest interest in Ancestry.com and tracking the roots of my ancestors, I happened upon an interesting feature of the site - maps of birth locations.



Here is just the U.S. map of seven generations of the 122 ancestors I have attached to my family tree. 

Many of the exact locations are not precise enough to identify the city (e.g. State or County only), but the migration from Orange County New York to the west in Oklahoma and Kansas is evident. 

It would be fascinating to visualize the movement by generation (probably a future enhancement to the software) from birth to death.  What it shows is how much mobility occurs as time marches on.  In biblical times there was also significant movement (i.e. famine, slavery, refuge, etc.). 

What it proves? - Life marches on.  The human explorer.  The young and the restless.

Monday, July 21, 2014

Sing Along

It was a great weekend with the Cincinnati Pops Summer Riverbend  sing along.  The family brought blankets and KFC chicken meal and enjoyed the lazy summer evening together. 

I remember so well the free Concerts in the Park with the Cincinnati Pops that Susan and I would attend.  Cincinnati Pops has national recognition (like the Boston Pops) primarily because of Erich Kunzel (and now John Morris Russell). 

The songs were all the popular Broadway hits - Sound of Music, Oklahoma, Les Miserables and some more recent shows (Jersey Boys, Beauty and the Beast etc.). 

Singing joins laughter as the ingredients of joy in life.

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Coincidence

"Coincidence is God's way of winking at you"  Frank Gaad (From the TV Series The Americans)

That feeling of uncanny connection, or deja vu, or even just heightened intellectual awareness comes upon us more often than would seem possible statistically.  Yet as a statistician, the mathematics of many examples of coincidence can be explained logically.  Take the small world example - you happen upon someone you know while traveling in Europe.  Well - it just so happens a large percentage of your socio demographic network does similar things at similar times in the calendar.  The probabilities are high that there might be a chance meeting during one or more of these trips overseas. 

It is human nature to connect events - to associate cause and effect.  We want to place logical meaning to people, events, and things and connect them to our purpose in life. 

So when we do make a connection - maybe God does smile and wink thinking "Their understanding it afterall".

Friday, July 18, 2014

You First

The "problem" with covenants, is determining who goes first - I said this morning in FMBS.

In computer logic the "if/then" statement precisely defines the first movement. 

If you do 'X' then I will do 'Y'.           OR
If I do 'Y' then you do 'X'. 

Notice the difference in these two statements?

So how do YOU write your life's "if/then" covenants?

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Good Enough

At a SVP Cincinnati (Social Venture Partner) meeting with our Investee FNC (Family Nurturing Center), I misquoted an expression by saying that "Perfect is the enemy of Good Enough".  It was my way of saying it was time for action - taking the risk of doing something and making a mistake would get us closer (and quicker) to our objective than more planning and preparation.

Actually the quote was: "Le mieux est l'ennemi du bien"  Voltaire  - translated:  The Best is the Enemy of Good.

This came up last night in my discussion with Jenna about some of her life decisions - career, home, and financial management.  We all struggle with what consequences a decision today will make in our lives in the future (see blog entry 2/24/11 Alternate Paths). 

Yet, not making a decision today is by default choosing a path.  As a partner at Accenture once advised me - What further information do you further need to make the decision now?  Instead of spinning in scenarios, work on obtaining that information. 

No decision you make will ever be perfect (there is no such thing in this world as perfect).  So all you are trying to achieve is "Good Enough".

Think about it .....   Is where you are - today -   in your life ......  Good Enough?