Week 39: Least Favorite Foods. What was your least favorite food from your childhood? Did your parents make you eat it anyway? Do you still dislike the same food today? How have your tastes changed since your youth?
Easy. Liver. Mom made it once, forced me to try it. She got it back. It's the only thing I ever ate that I disliked so hard I threw up. Mind, I've always been a picky eater, but I usually was stubborn enough that I resisted most foods that I didn't want. I don't remember why I actually knuckled under and tried the liver.
In my defense, that liver was bad enough my mom agreed, and she didn't eat it either!
This and all other articles on this blog are © copyright 2011 by Daniel G. Dillman
Friday, September 23, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History - Hobbies
Week #38 – Hobbies
Week 38: Hobbies. Did you have any hobbies as a child? Which ones?
This challenge runs from Saturday, September 17, 2011 through Friday, September 23, 2011.
I had several hobbies when I was a kid. I messed with electronics and chemistry sets. I tinkered with small engines. I liked model rockets and airplanes. I build a number of plastic model kits. I disassembled a number of things to see how they worked. Always old, unneeded things, like old TVs or lawn mowers.
I liked to read a lot. I read science books when I was younger, then in about 7th grade discovered science fiction and fantasy.
I did some photography, when I could wheedle the cost of film and processing out of my folks, or during summer school when it was part of the class I took. I even did some cinematography with 8mm and Super 8mm cameras, and some TV studio work (also through summer school).
Out of all of that and other things I've no doubt forgotten, I still read a lot, and I still do photography, though all digital still photographs now.
This and all other articles on this blog are © copyright 2011 by Daniel G. Dillman
Friday, September 16, 2011
Tech Savvy Genealogist Meme
As an IT professional, there's no way I could NOT participate in this meme...
The Tech Savvy Genealogists' Meme
The list should be annotated in the following manner:
Things you have already done or found: bold face type
Things you would like to do or find: italicize (colour optional)
Things you haven’t done or found and don’t care to: plain type
Feel free to add extra comments in brackets after each item
Which of these apply to you?
See not even IT pros have done it all, so if you feel like you're left way behind, don't! Just do what you can, and what appeals to you. Use the tools that will help you accomplish your goals. Some of these items just won't work for me, for instance scanning my hardcopy genealogy files. I've used a computer for genealogy since I started, so the only hardcopy stuff I have is materials I got from someone else! And as has been noted elsewhere, the list is skewed toward the needs and activities of the person(s) who originated it.
This and all other articles on this blog are © copyright 2011 by Daniel G. Dillman
The Tech Savvy Genealogists' Meme
The list should be annotated in the following manner:
Things you have already done or found: bold face type
Things you would like to do or find: italicize (colour optional)
Things you haven’t done or found and don’t care to: plain type
Feel free to add extra comments in brackets after each item
Which of these apply to you?
- Own an Android or Windows tablet or an iPad
- Use a tablet or iPad for genealogy related purposes
- Have used Skype to for genealogy purposes
- Have used a camera to capture images in a library/archives/ancestor's home
- Use a genealogy software program on your computer to manage your family tree
- Have a Twitter account
- Tweet daily
- Have a genealogy blog
- Have more then one genealogy blog
- Have lectured/presented to a genealogy group on a technology topic
- Currently an active member of Genealogy Wise
- Have a Facebook Account
- Have connected with genealogists via Facebook
- Maintain a genealogy related Facebook Page
- Maintain a blog or website for a genealogy society
- Have submitted text corrections online to Ancestry, Trove or a similar site
- Have registered a domain name
- Post regularly to Google+
- Have a blog listed on Geneabloggers
- Have transcribed/indexed records for FamilySearch or a similar project
- Own a Flip-Pal or hand-held scanner
- Can code a webpage in .html
- Own a smartphone
- Have a personal subscription to one or more paid genealogy databases
- Use a digital voice recorder to record genealogy lectures
- Have contributed to a genealogy blog carnival
- Use Chrome as a Browser
- Have participated in a genealogy webinar
- Have taken a DNA test for genealogy purposes
- Have a personal genealogy website
- Have found mention of an ancestor in an online newspaper archive
- Have tweeted during a genealogy lecture
- Have scanned your hardcopy genealogy files
- Use an RSS Reader to follow genealogy news and blogs
- Have uploaded a gedcom file to a site like Geni, MyHeritage or Ancestry
- Own a netbook
- Use a computer/tablet/smartphone to take genealogy lecture notes
- Have a profile on LinkedIn that mentions your genealogy habit
- Have developed a genealogy software program, app or widget
- Have listened to a genealogy podcast online
- Have downloaded genealogy podcasts for later listening
- Backup your files to a portable hard drive
- Have a copy of your genealogy files stored offsite
- Know about Rootstech
- Have listened to a Blogtalk radio session about genealogy
- Use Dropbox, SugarSync or other service to save documents in the cloud
- Schedule regular email backups
- Have contriibuted to the Familysearch Wiki
- Have scanned and tagged your genealogy photographs
- Have published a genealogy book in an online/digital format
See not even IT pros have done it all, so if you feel like you're left way behind, don't! Just do what you can, and what appeals to you. Use the tools that will help you accomplish your goals. Some of these items just won't work for me, for instance scanning my hardcopy genealogy files. I've used a computer for genealogy since I started, so the only hardcopy stuff I have is materials I got from someone else! And as has been noted elsewhere, the list is skewed toward the needs and activities of the person(s) who originated it.
This and all other articles on this blog are © copyright 2011 by Daniel G. Dillman
Thursday, September 15, 2011
52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History - Road Trips
Week 36: Road Trips. Describe a family road trip from your childhood. Where did you go and why? Who was in the car? How did you pass the time?
I remember in particular one road trip. My parents took us to Mount Rushmore near Rapid City, South Dakota. At that time, I was about 12, and my youngest brother had not yet been born, so there were just two of us kids. We stayed at a campground on the hillside overlooking Rapid City.
We spent most of our time on the trip swimming in the pool at the campground. I remember looking at the city lights at night.. I don't remember how many days we stayed there. We did visit Mount Rushmore, though I don't think we walked the trails or visited the exhibits. One other stop we made on that trip was the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota. I remember thinking it was over-hyped, a feeling I still hold about it.
I remember this trip in particular, and a few years ago, made a similar trip with my own kids. We visited Mount Rushmore, walked the trails and looked at the exhibits, and even watched the night show there. We also visited Reptile Gardens at Rapid City, and made side trips to a gold mine where we panned for gold, and the Mammoth digs at Hot Springs, South Dakota. We drove the Needles Highway through the mountains, and rode the 1880 Train to Keystone. It was a busy week! There were other stops and activities between home and Rapid City, too.
I hope one day my kids will take their kids on a similar trip.
This and all other articles on this blog are © copyright 2011 by Daniel G. Dillman
I remember in particular one road trip. My parents took us to Mount Rushmore near Rapid City, South Dakota. At that time, I was about 12, and my youngest brother had not yet been born, so there were just two of us kids. We stayed at a campground on the hillside overlooking Rapid City.
We spent most of our time on the trip swimming in the pool at the campground. I remember looking at the city lights at night.. I don't remember how many days we stayed there. We did visit Mount Rushmore, though I don't think we walked the trails or visited the exhibits. One other stop we made on that trip was the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota. I remember thinking it was over-hyped, a feeling I still hold about it.
I remember this trip in particular, and a few years ago, made a similar trip with my own kids. We visited Mount Rushmore, walked the trails and looked at the exhibits, and even watched the night show there. We also visited Reptile Gardens at Rapid City, and made side trips to a gold mine where we panned for gold, and the Mammoth digs at Hot Springs, South Dakota. We drove the Needles Highway through the mountains, and rode the 1880 Train to Keystone. It was a busy week! There were other stops and activities between home and Rapid City, too.
I hope one day my kids will take their kids on a similar trip.
This and all other articles on this blog are © copyright 2011 by Daniel G. Dillman
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History - Earliest Memory
Week 37: Earliest Memory. What is your earliest memory?
This challenge runs from Saturday, September 10, 2011 through Friday, September 16, 2011.
I have a vague memory of climbing onto the wing of a small plane. The plane was white, but there was a strip of black non-skid on the wing next to the fuselage. The only time this could have happened was at age 2.5, when my mother took me for a sightseeing plane ride in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It was well over a decade later before I flew in a small plane again. I don't know what kind of plane it was, but it would have been something like a Piper Cherokee, and not a Cessna. The Cessnas have the overhead wings. I don't think we were the only passengers on the flight. Unfortunately, my mother doesn't remember any details from that day to corroborate what I remember.
I have some other brief snippets of memories from age three through five or so, after which I have much more recall.
Why is it, then, that I can't remember why I came into the living room?
This and all other articles on this blog are © copyright 2011 by Daniel G. Dillman
Mobile Blogging
If you use Blogger to blog as I do, and you have an Android device, you might want to check out the Blogger application for Android. You can use it to blog on the run! I do admit that typing on a virtual keyboard is not conducive to long posts, but a brief note is very feasible. This gives you the ability to use a short break to post a quick note from virtually anywhere, at any time.
It's available for download from the usual places for free.
Friday, September 9, 2011
5000 Views
As I look at the stats for Indiana Dillmans this morning, the page view count sits at 4,999. Sometime early today it will click over 5,000 page views. Thank you readers for continuing to follow me! If you've been following from the beginning, you've read over 210 posts here. I know I've slowed down a bit over the summer, but I'm working on more posts to come. I'd like to do more technology articles at some point. If you have suggestions about things you would like me to cover, please let me know in the comments below.
This and all other articles on this blog are © copyright 2011 by Daniel G. Dillman
This and all other articles on this blog are © copyright 2011 by Daniel G. Dillman
Thursday, September 8, 2011
52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History - Grandparents' House
52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History by Amy Coffin is a series of weekly blogging prompts (one for each week of 2011) that invite genealogists and others to record memories and insights about their own lives for future descendants. You do not have to be a blogger to participate. If you do not have a genealogy blog, write down your memories on your computer, or simply record them on paper and keep them with your files.
My grandparents Estel and Alta Dillman lived at 1603 Pearl Street in Yankton, Yankton County, South Dakota for several decades. It was a small pink house with two bedrooms on the main floor. It had an eat-in kitchen with a door to the driveway. The living room was also on the main floor, and there was one bathroom. The living room had a large picture window that looked out to the street, and a door to the sidewalk, but no one used that door, they all came to the kitchen door on the side. The major items in the living room were the console television and an old upright piano. The basement was open with concrete block walls. It had two beds, a dresser and an armoir in one corner for a makeshift bedroom, which was where my brother and I slept when we visited. My parents had one of the main floor bedrooms. The laundry was also in the basement, and some storage space.
There was a single-car detached garage. The garage and driveway were adjacent to the neighbors' driveway and garage, making for a pretty big space to be cleared after snowstorms. The yard wasn't huge, but was decent. There were several trees in the back yard, and my grandmother always grew flowers, most notably tulips, in several areas around the house. She took after her mother in that.
This and all other articles on this blog are © copyright 2011 by Daniel G. Dillman
- Week 31: Grandparents’ House. Describe your grandparents’ house. Was it big or small? How long did they live there? If you do not know this information, feel free to describe the house of another family member you remember from your childhood.
My grandparents Estel and Alta Dillman lived at 1603 Pearl Street in Yankton, Yankton County, South Dakota for several decades. It was a small pink house with two bedrooms on the main floor. It had an eat-in kitchen with a door to the driveway. The living room was also on the main floor, and there was one bathroom. The living room had a large picture window that looked out to the street, and a door to the sidewalk, but no one used that door, they all came to the kitchen door on the side. The major items in the living room were the console television and an old upright piano. The basement was open with concrete block walls. It had two beds, a dresser and an armoir in one corner for a makeshift bedroom, which was where my brother and I slept when we visited. My parents had one of the main floor bedrooms. The laundry was also in the basement, and some storage space.
There was a single-car detached garage. The garage and driveway were adjacent to the neighbors' driveway and garage, making for a pretty big space to be cleared after snowstorms. The yard wasn't huge, but was decent. There were several trees in the back yard, and my grandmother always grew flowers, most notably tulips, in several areas around the house. She took after her mother in that.
This and all other articles on this blog are © copyright 2011 by Daniel G. Dillman
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History - Smells
Week 34: Smells. Describe any smells that take you back to childhood. These could be from meals, fragrant gardens, musty basements, or something entirely different.
This and all other articles on this blog are © copyright 2011 by Daniel G. Dillman
Well, there are smells that will take me right back, and smells I remember even though you can't smell them anymore.
For instance on the latter, I remember liking the smell of regular gasoline exhaust. Regular gas has been gone for decades, so you can't smell that anymore, and unleaded gas exhaust smells different.
A smell I remember, and which I still come across on occasion is the Church Kitchen. Usually there's a mix of overdone coffee, several types of casserole, and so forth. There can be some variation, but it's instantly recognizable when you smell it. Must be from the church potluck dinners when I was young.
For instance on the latter, I remember liking the smell of regular gasoline exhaust. Regular gas has been gone for decades, so you can't smell that anymore, and unleaded gas exhaust smells different.
A smell I remember, and which I still come across on occasion is the Church Kitchen. Usually there's a mix of overdone coffee, several types of casserole, and so forth. There can be some variation, but it's instantly recognizable when you smell it. Must be from the church potluck dinners when I was young.
This and all other articles on this blog are © copyright 2011 by Daniel G. Dillman
Monday, September 5, 2011
Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Ahnentafel Roulette
Okay, so it's no longer Saturday. I was camping and out of contact with my records, so I'll participate late. Better late than never, right?
1) Which great-grandfather? I'll choose the one I actually met when I was very young, Clyde J. Wyman Day. He was born 19 Jul 1880, so if he were alive today, he would be 131 years old. Dividing by four, I get 32.75, rounded up makes my ahnentafel number 33.
2) My #33 person is Cynthia (Batman) Dillman.
3) A) She was born on 20 Feb 1809 in Harrison County, Indiana, and died on 16 Jan 1878 in Crawford County, Indiana.
B) She married Michael Dillman, my paternal great-great-great grandfather, on 08 Oct 1831 in Harrison County, Indiana. Their marriage is documented in the collection Indiana Marriages 1811-1859.
C) Cynthia was buried in Dillman Cemetery near Curby, Crawford County, Indiana. I have visited and photographed her gravesite several times.
4) You're reading my blog post.
5) N/A
This and all other articles on this blog are © copyright 2011 by Daniel G. Dillman
Hey there, genea-lovers, it's Saturday Night - time for more Genealogy Fun!!
Your mission, if you decide to accept it, is to (cue the Mission Impossible music, please!):
1) How old is your great-grandfather now, or how old would he be if he had lived? Divide this number by 4 and round the number off to a whole number. This is your "roulette number."
2) Use your pedigree charts or your family tree genealogy software program to find the person with that number in your ahnentafel (ancestor name list). Who is that person?
3) Tell us three facts about that person with the "roulette number."
4) Write about it in a blog post on your own blog, in a Facebook or Google Plus note or comment, or as a comment on this blog post.
5) If you do not have a person's name for your "roulette number" then spin the wheel again - pick a grandparent, a parent, a favorite aunt or cousin, or even your children!
1) Which great-grandfather? I'll choose the one I actually met when I was very young, Clyde J. Wyman Day. He was born 19 Jul 1880, so if he were alive today, he would be 131 years old. Dividing by four, I get 32.75, rounded up makes my ahnentafel number 33.
2) My #33 person is Cynthia (Batman) Dillman.
3) A) She was born on 20 Feb 1809 in Harrison County, Indiana, and died on 16 Jan 1878 in Crawford County, Indiana.
B) She married Michael Dillman, my paternal great-great-great grandfather, on 08 Oct 1831 in Harrison County, Indiana. Their marriage is documented in the collection Indiana Marriages 1811-1859.
C) Cynthia was buried in Dillman Cemetery near Curby, Crawford County, Indiana. I have visited and photographed her gravesite several times.
4) You're reading my blog post.
5) N/A
This and all other articles on this blog are © copyright 2011 by Daniel G. Dillman
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