Be Ready Utah ...

The state of Utah has a great web site dedicated to Emergency Preparedness, called BeReadyUtah. A message from the Lt. Governor states:

"This site is designed to be a toolbox to ready you and your family for unforeseen events such as earthquakes, fires, floods, and even personal financial disasters. Be Ready Utah provides valuable information for individuals and families, public safety professionals, business and civic leaders, school administrators and volunteer managers."

Everyone can benefit from spending a few minutes browsing through the site:

http://www.beready.utah.gov/

Google Reader ...

Several people have asked me recently about Google Reader. Reader is one of the best ways to keep up-to-date on web sites you are interested in, including blogs, without actually going directly to the site. Reader constantly monitors the sites you follow and notifies you when there is a change or update. It uses something called RSS, or Real Simple Syndication. Don't worry about that ... just click on the following link for a tour and then login. By-the-way, if you already have a Gmail account - and if you don't, you should - you already have a Reader account!

http://www.google.com/intl/en/googlereader/tour.html

Reader will keep you up-to-date and help simplify your life!

Electricity Costs ...

I saw these numbers recently and thought I would pass them along. You can draw your own conclusions. The costs are monthly averages based on the national average price of electricity:

• TV/DVD ... $8.21
• Lighting ... $10.95
• Refrigerator ... $20.59
• Central Air Conditioning ... $44.35

In general, the hotter something gets, or the larger the motors is, the more electricity is used.

New Family History Blog ...

I have started a new Family History blog that you may want to checkout and bookmark. There is not much there yet, but I have a long list of items that will start to appear. Let me know what you think. Here is the link: www.onlyFH.blogspot.com

Urine Test ...

I got this from a friend and agree completely. What do you think?

I have to pass a urine test for my job. Like a lot of us in Utah, I have a job. I work, they pay me. I pay my taxes and the government distributes my taxes as it sees fit. In order to get that paycheck, I am required to pass a random urine test with which I have no problem. What I do have a problem with is the distribution of my taxes to people who don't have to pass a urine test. Shouldn't one have to pass a urine test to get a welfare check because I have to pass one to earn it for them? Please understand, I have no problem with helping people get back on their feet. I do, on the other hand, have a problem with helping someone sitting on their butt, doing drugs, while I work. Can you imagine how much money the state would save if people had to pass a urine test to get a public assistance check?

Free Conference Call Service ...

The next time you need to get your family or other large group together to discuss an upcoming event or issue, take a look at a new free conference call service call Rondee. It looks attractive, since you can schedule the call via the Internet and even record the call. Signing up for an account is a breeze.

Genealogy Without Sources is Mythology ...

How can you tell if the information posted by individuals on Internet genealogy sites is valid? Some sites have sources, others don't. How do you know what, and when, to believe something you find online?

A good rule of thumb is ... Don't trust anything you find on the 'net (or elsewhere) if it doesn't have sources.

Without sources you can't verify it, and you don't know whether the information came from a reliable source or whether it came from Great Aunt Martha who may have some of it right, but may have mixed up a lot too. Or, maybe the info came from a book written by someone 100 years ago who didn't have access to sources we have now, or who just plain got it wrong.

Perhaps the information was transcribed for a web page from a book source. That book source was transcribed from a microfilm record which was itself transcribed from the original. The chance of human error is greatly increased with each succeeding transcription. Even if the information has a source, you should double-check it personally, either from the original source or from an independent source. VERIFY, VERIFY, VERIFY!

When in doubt, remember ... Genealogy Without Sources is Mythology.