Values

Melva's African Violet - photo by Mr. Dickie

All we do and say should reflect our personal standards and beliefs - the values that affirm God's own life within us and within all other people and creatures; and that lead to the common good.
(The Christophers, Three Minutes A Day, Vol., 44, 8 May)

******

I was outside for a while today helping Melva clear the spreading grass from the large circular garden in front of the house. Lots of digging and pulling is needed to remove the long roots from the dirt. Melva shutdown the project when  about 2/3rds of the circle was complete.  The remaining part isn't so overgrown.  Another hour of work should complete the work.

A Conger researcher claims that Abigail Adelia Grant, who married Charles Curtis Conger was the niece of Ulysses S. Grant.  There was no source citation.  I couldn't find any information on the Internet to indicate that either of the brothers of U.S. Grant had children.  I wrote a post about the challenge for my genealogy blog.

Dick Henthorn

9 September 2014

This Is What I Do Want

Elise Smithmyer of By & By singing lead

Photo By Mr. Dickie

It's OK to notice what you don't want, because it gives you contrast to say, "This is what I do want." But the fact is, the more you talk about what you don't want, or talk about how bad it is, read about that all the time, and then say how terrible it is - well, you're creating more of that.
(Jack Canfield in The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, p. 144)

******

Yesterday I finished searching all of the Notes in my Conger genealogy file for people named Conger who had the data tag "AKA:".  This is part of a project to put Nicknames into the Nickname field in RootsMagic.

I also remembered to download my "free" music from the county library Freegal service.  The weekly allotment of five songs is reset on Monday.  I selected some songs from The Essential Mary Chapin Carpenter album.

A few times lately I've been preparing my blog posts the night before I want them to post. Then I don't feel so pressured in the mornings to type something to post.

Dick Henthorn

8 September 2014

Good Books

Little Free Library at University Park, MD

Photo by Mr. Dickie

Good books are as friends, willing to give to us if we are willing to make a little effort.
(Gordon B. Hinckley, Stand A Little Taller, 16 January)

******

I'm working on a project to extract Nicknames from the Notes of my Conger genealogy file.  RootsMagic defines a Nickname field. It's a slow process.

Mr. Dickie

6 September 2014

Choices

Today I will witness the choices I make in each moment.  And in the mere witnessing of these choices, I will bring them to my conscious awareness. (Deepak Chopra, The Seven Spiritual Laws Of Success, p. 46)

******

Learning doesn't seem to get any easier.  The new computer allows me to explore many things I wasn't able to investigate when I was using the old computer with its severe limitations.  Now I always feel like I am playing catch-up.  This week I've worked on several projects:

• WordPress
• BookCrossing
• YouTube Playlists
• Posting links on Mr. Dickie's Blog to:
• WordPress
• Google Docs
• BookCrossing

I'm using WordPress to create a private blog where I can do some journaling with the computer.  For the last several years I have been putting my daily journal entries on yellow legal-size paper.  I usually do most of this writing in the morning.  I plan to continue this practice.  After I bought a used book about WordPress I started thinking about how I could learn about the application.  That's when the thought came to me that a good project might be to create a private blog. My friend in Illinois, Job Conger, has been using WordPress for his public blog Honey and Quinine for a long time.

Mr. Dickie

18 February 2012

Relevant Listening

I am not so much concerned with the right of everyone to say anything he pleases as I am about our need as a self-governing people to hear everything relevant. (John F. Kennedy, in The Book of Choices by Mike Magee, M.D., p. 98)

******

Yesterday I worked on a snail mail letter I'm planning to send to a friend who doesn't have a computer. The letter will accompany some Conger genealogy I printed out to share with him.

I also worked on adding some Manning information to my Conger / FitzRandolph data.

Mr. Dickie
5/Feb/2011 9:05

Which Are You?

The arrival of the new year has ... not changed anything. (The Upper Room Disciplines - 2008, 4 January)

Some people watch things happen, while others make things happen. Which are you? (after Warren W. Wiersbe, Chapter-By-Chapter Bible Commentary, p. 169)

A large part of many people's lives is consumed by an obsessive preoccupation with things. (Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth, p. 37)

******

Looking out the window this morning watching more snow fall. while posting to Facebook and creating my two daily Google blog posts.

I'm listening to Bluegrass County from WAMU PBS via the computer (http://www.bluegrasscounty.org)
The noontime program is from Australia

I continue to work on my Conger genealogy file edit project. I trying to look at the Note of ever Conger record in my file. I'm also adding some obituaries from the Internet.

Mr. Dickie
28/Jan/2011 12:01

Winter Weather

Evil leaders could never succeed were it not for weak people who obey their orders. (Warren W. Wiersbe, Chapter-By-Chapter Bible Commentary, p. 209)

******

More winter weather arrived this morning. Schools in our country are closed for the day. I was able to make my taxi run to the subway without incident, followed by a stop at the postoffice to mail a letter. There's another band of winter weather behind this one. Let's hope we don't receive a one-two punch that knocks us out for a few days.

I'm continuing to work on my Conger genealogy file edits. Yesterday I added several obituaries and the information I could glean from them. I also continued the "note" field edit project. I'm now looking at Conger records for people whose first names begin with the letter "J". I'm also working on adding records for people in the ancestor tree of a very famous person in the Conger family.

I'm now Facebook friends with Jim Stevens. Jim was the boss of two of my bosses while we worked at The Library of Congress. I worked for him first at The Navy Yard and later on Capitol Hill.

Mr. Dickie
26/Jan/2011 8:07

Pastor Keith Marston

I will apply what I learn to my everyday life. (One Day At A Time in Al-Anon, 4 January)

******

Yesterday morning I went to Silver Spring, MD to hear Pastor Keith Marston preach for the first time. We have known Keith since he was born. He grew up living in the house next door to us. He is assistant pastor at a storefront church located on Fenton Street in downtown Silver Spring.

I'm working on some edits to my Conger file. I added Copyright notices to the records that could potentially be the first person in reports I plan to produce from my RootsMagic file. I notice that some records still needed work on the notes to correct a word wrap issue. I thought I'd eliminated this problem.

Mr. Dickie
17/Jan/2011 9:08

What you are trying to be - not what you were - is all that counts ...
(As Bill Sees It, p. 234)

******

I continued to upload more genealogy reports to my Box account. I also extended access invitations to more friends. I was surprised when I tallied the number of pages of Conger information in the Conger folder. There are just over 540.

Most of the PDF files I'm uploading to my Box are coming from a PDF folder on my computer. It will probably take a couple more days to finish the review and uploads. There were 104 files.

Mr. Dickie
1/Sep/2010 7:31

Detachment

Detachment is one of life's great lessons for those on the path of enlightenment. (Dr. Wayne Dyer, Staying On The Path, p. 175)

******

Yesterday I backed up a copy of the RootsMagic Conger file on my hard drive and a copy of the GEDCOM that created the RootsMagic file to a Zip disk. I'm still finding "notes" that need the word wrap edits. One way to spot them is to create a modified register report and then visually examine the report. I'm now into the second month of my GEDCOM edit project. I'm hopeful that I will be able to sustain my interest in the project until it's complete. At this point I could share information if someone makes a request.

Mr. Dickie

Sharing

The more you let go of people and things, the fewer obstacles you will have on your life's journey. (Dr. Wayne Dyer, Staying On The Path, p. 105)

******

I'm enjoying the project to share some of my Conger data with my friend, Gene, in Iowa. It's also frustrating because it points out the many issues I have with my computers and with my genealogy files.. It points out the importance of sharing with others.

Mr. Dickie
1/Jul/2010 9:29

Conger Week

Meditation is something which can always be further developed. ... it is essentially an individual adventure which each one of us works out in his own way. (Daily Reflections, 8 November)

I strive for balance in my life by finding peace in my own company as well as in the presence of others. (Susan Smith-Jones, Choose to Live Each Day Fully, Day 323)

I am the only one who can decide which great things I will begin today. (Sefra Kobrin Pitzele, One More Day, 6 November)

******

Saturday I completed two weeks of posting information about members of the Conger family to my Google genealogy "News" blog. When I started I thought I only had enough articles for one week, so I dubbed the project, CongerWeek. I have no idea whether any members of the Conger family have found the blog.

The fifteen day test period for a program I was testing, ClikView, ended yesterday. I liked the program. Now I need to decide whether I like it enough to spend $35.00 on it. I own several other programs that are much more useful which didn't cost that much including my genealogy program, RootsMagic.

Mr. Dickie

Driving Myself Crazy

I remember those happy days and often wish I could speak into the ears of the dead the gratitude which was due to them in life and so ill-returned. (Gwyn Thomas in One More Day by Sefra Kobrin Pitzele, 5 November)

Our parents ... provide the buffer between life and death. (Suzanne Somers, 365 Ways to Change Your Life, Day 333)

******

I downloaded and installed another copy of Ancestral Author. I was able to get it running. There are many program settings. Of course I've forgotten what most of them do and how I had them set on the other computer.

I spent time on the phone talking to a lady in Utah about Conger genealogy. Afterwards I tried to extract some information for her from a Conger file I have on a Zip disk. There must be something wrong with the file. I'm not sure I will be able to do what I wanted to do.

As part of my program to "drive myself crazy" I straightened up the 3x5 cards and other notes laying on the table beside the computer. Then, later in the day, I realized that the notes I need to finish my CongerWeek project disappeared. I looked through all of the papers several times and didn't find the note. Just before I turned out the lights in the computer room I looked at the 3x5 cards one more time. This time I looked at both sides of each card. I wonder why I didn't think about doing this before. I found the note I needed to do my posting today.

Mr. Dickie

Difficult Times

Photo: Mr. Dickie (San Blas Indian Mola - Panama)

If you have difficult times, if you suffer from the loss of loved ones or from fears about the future, remember that life exists only in the present and direct all your thoughts and memories to this present. All your anguish about the past and your worries about the future will disappear, and you will feel freedom and happiness. (Anonymous, in A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy, 17 November)

******

I found a Zip disk with Conger genealogy files in Personal Ancestral File (PAF) format. The computer I'm using now has a copy of PAF installed. I was able to read the file and use copy and paste to extract the "notes" for: John Belconger, Job Conger and David Conger. Yesterday I posted the notes for David Conger to my genealogy "news" blog thus extending my CongerWeek. Today I'll post the other two notes.

Melva is trying to get one of her sewing machines fixed. We found another repair shop in the shopping center where the double thrift store is located on New Hampshire Avenue. We will need to make two trips to the shop because we didn't take all of the accessories. The shop owner suggested that throatplate "A" works better.

Mr. Dickie

Be What You Want To Be

... when you depend on others to validate and acknowledge your experience, you can only be "what they think" you are worth being. (Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today!, 21 October)

******

I found a way to quickly extract some of my notes from one of my Conger files. This evening I posted the notes of David Conger to my genealogy "news" blog. I also prepared two more pieces for posting tomorrow. I'll continue my CongerWeek for a while longer.

I bought a copy of Marc Anthony's CD - Mended at the thrift store. We didn't have any of his albums. Most of the songs are in English.

I made this posting after supper because I accidentally made two posts to my Arrow Prayers today. I decided I didn't want to fix the problem.

Mr. Dickie

Conger Week

It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth -- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up -- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had. (Elizabeth Kubler-Ross in 365 Ways to Change Your Life by Suzanne Somers, Day 342-43)

******

Today is day seven of CongerWeek on my genealogy "news" blog. I posted two or more articles each day of the week. Because I still have several more that I can post I'll probably extend CongerWeek until I've posted everything I found in my GenRepts folder.

It's been raining or misting off and on for about three days. This is coming from tropical storm, Ida. It hasn't been too bad at our location.

Mr. Dickie

We Can Choose to Do Without

At some point, we chose everything in our lives. If we wish, we can choose to do without .... When we feel suffocated by our possessions and obligations, it's good to clear our minds and think about what we really want. Many of us don't think about our values consciously until they become a source of pain. (The Promise of a New Day, 17 September)

Don't make the mistake of thinking you have no choice. (Kay Arthur, Search My Heart, O God, 28 August)

I will spend more time with myself in this lifetime than with anyone else. (Courage to Change, 3 October)

******

Yesterday I continued to work in the yard. I dug up another azalea from the flowerbed by the front porch. We haven't decided where we are going to put it. I also removed the spreading grass from around three azaleas near the kitchen door. While clearing the grass I was reminded that at one time I placed marble chips on the ground near the side flowerbed. Now I regret doing that because it is going to be difficult to remove them. I've long since forgotten why I put them there in the first place.

Yesterday I had a very nice surprise when I received an Email from Gene Conger of Cincinnati, Iowa. We hadn't been in touch for a long time. He wanted to know what happened to my AOL website which was taken off the Internet at the end of October 2008. And he told me that he had moved his family website to Tripod.com. It took me quite a while to find his homepage. I actually didn't find it the first time I looked. I think I spent at least a half-hour searching for it. I never did understand why I had so much trouble finding it. I posted the URL to my "News" blog and to my Delicious. Maybe this will make it easier to find.

While searching for Gene's website I discovered a nice biography for Sarah Jane (Pike) Conger who was married to Edwin Conger who served as a U.S. Ambassador. I posted that URL to the "News" and Delicious.

Jim came for an evening visit. He told me an interesting story about what happened when his laptop screen went "white." Blank screens are gut wrenching.

This morning I woke up at 5:00 a.m. I didn't try to go back to sleep. I put the new Concierto de Aranjuez CD in the player and listened to it with my head phones while I did my daily reading. I'm almost caught up. I'm seven days behind in reading from "Until Today!" a book that I recommend highly.

Mr. Dickie

Maintaining and Expanding Contacts

Most people act, not according to their meditations, and not according to their feelings, but as if hypnotized, based on some senseless repetition of patterns. (Anonymous in A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy, 28 September)

Sometimes you have chosen to overlook certain behaviors for so long that you will be unable to see how negative they are. (Ric Engram, Pace Yourself, 27 September)

******

I had a good weekend expanding and maintaining my contacts. On Sunday I enjoyed two nice phone calls, one with my cousin Fran and the other with my genealogy friend, Bob. It was also a good weekend for adding Facebook friends. My Conger family friend, Job, and I established a Facebook friendship. I also made friends with cousins, Jean and Julie. And I sent friendship requests to cousins, Jodie and Kristyna. And, I'll probably send another request to cousin, Melanie. I had a nice Facebook chat with our niece, Samantha, in Panama. I posted the URL of the website of John, our artist friend in Panama, to Mr. Dickie's Blog and to my Delicious.

I see I repeated myself. I guess that's because I want you to know what I'm excited about.

Mr. Dickie

Conger Collection

Melva and Mr. Dickie on Melva's birthday in January 2008.

Photo: Cyndi Henthorn

Self-mastery and self-discipline are the foundation of good relationships with others. (Daily Reflections For Highly Effective People, 13 Jun)

Say you are well, and all is well with you and God will hear your words and make them true. (James Russell Lowe in Family Feelings by Vanceburg and Silverman, 18 Jan)

Today I finished a project to consolidate various articles about members of the Conger family into one PDF document that I posted on my genealogy website. Friend, Robert Guilinger, and I gathered these articles during the years when we were working on Conger genealogy together. I titled the collection, A Collection of Documents About Members of The Conger Family. I posted to my Henthorn Website News blog to let folks know that this new 53-page document is now available. The Internet is a great tool for anyone interested in cheap or free ways to publish genealogy and family history information.

Mr. Dickie