Thanksgiving

All our kids were home for Thanksgiving this year.    Jon surprised his Mom (the rest of us were in on it) by flying in from LA for the holiday.    He always makes it for Chriatmas but not for Thanksgiving recently.    Jim drives down from Boston for Thanksgiving each year but usually misses Christmas.    The girls are close enough to show up for everything.

Everyone cooks all the other stuff -and I cook and carve the turkey -The dogs just wait for things to drop -Twelve of us gathered this year, missing a grandson in school in Florida -Plenty of food for all -and good times -and pie -
Thanks.

P.S. - Additional photos at jonberrydesign blog.             POSTED AT 2:29 AM

FTDNA Holiday sale

The products that will be offered at special prices are:
This offer is good until December 31st, 2008 for kits ordered and paid for by that time.

The (apparently unfavored) YDNA-25 test is still $124.

Early Thanksgiving

Walter, #6, has been a member of the Project since September of 2003.    Five years with nary a Berry match.   . . . . until now.    Now we have a new Participant, #135, Jerry Dean Berry, sponsored through GeneTree by his niece, Terry Freek, and Jerry matches Walter 24/25.    Not conclusive but pretty good considering a similar paper trail.

Actually, Walter did have matches.    He had so many Phillips matches that I considered suggesting that he upgrade to 37 markers just to see if those matches held up.    Probably not a bad idea, even now.    It could help confirm the match with Jerry.

The Almondbury Berry Family

Persistence and hard work have finally paid off for Brian, #49, resulting in the Almondbury Berry Family.    You may recall that Brian had sponsored two others before and kits had been sent to them before they got cold feet.    Too bad.

But Brian, #132, is a 59/60 (so far - his YDNA60-67 panel hasn't been reported yet) match with Brian, #49.    Congratulations Brians!

Ben, again!

If each of our families had a person as enthusiastic as Ben Henderson we'd have 200 participants in the Project!    As it is we now have 143 with the introduction of George Wesley Berry, #134, whom I would assume that Ben expects to be an Orange Co., NC Berry.    George has ordered a Y-DNA37 test.

G1G1 2008

Some of you may remember this program from last year.    Founded by MIT professor Nicholas Negroponte as a vehicle to promote global education by tapping into children's innate capacities to learn, share, and create on their own, its aim is to provide them a tool with which children in even the most remote regions of the globe will be given the opportunity to tap into their own potential, to be exposed to a whole world of ideas, and to contribute to a more productive and saner world community.

Try it.    You'll be glad you did.

Click this line to see this year's program.

If you can handle Flash, you'll be able to see this:


P.S. - Here's mine from last year.             POSTED AT 1:15 PM

Compared with my MacBook -
So you can see their screens -
This is the XO screen -

Short Story

When I was a kid visiting my Grandmother in La Grande, Oregon, I used to go downtown to buy a toy soldier -- I don't remember now whether Grandma took me or if I was old enough to go by myself,   this would be early WWII,   but -- one of the highlights of each trip was a ride in the elevator at the Sacajawea Hotel.    This wasn't an automatic elevator (probably no such thing at that time) but one with an actual elevator operator.    Probably a good thing so that I couldn't just 'go wild' and stay the afternoon.

On my recent trip to Oregon I went by the Sacajawea Hotel (now demoted to the 'Sac Annex'   -   annex to what I couldn't tell) to see that elevator.    The door has a security lock so I could only see the elevator through the entryway.

Here's the 'Sacajawea Hotel' -
and here's the elevator -
I also recall that I rebelled when the price of a soldier went up to 15¢.    I apparently decided that "no tin soldier is worth 15¢".

Streusel

It's official.    The balance of Edgar's, #125, Y-DNA37 order arrived yesterday and he matches five of the Augusta/Washington Co. Berrys 37/37.

Here's his yAncestry.

We now have 17 Augusta/Washington Co. Berrys who have tested to 37 markers that I could do a cladogram of if I could remember how to move data into a Parallels window and out.    I used to be able to do that but haven't seemed to be able to manage it for the past several months.    [In case you've wondered why I haven't been posting any cladograms.]    I'll keep working at it.

Streusel?    Just couldn't come up with anything clever to call this post.

Teaser

Edgar's, #125, Y-DNA1-12 marker panel of his Y-DNA37 order arrived yesterday.    As a rule, as you know, we don't get excited about 12 marker results.    Except Edgar expected to be an Augusta/Washington Co. Berry and   -   so far, so good!

Veteran's Day

Since we invaded Iraq on March 20, 2003:

      4,193 U.S. service members killed.

     30,634 U.S. service members wounded.

     - Iraqi civilian deaths estimated at between  88,947 and 97,084

          in "W"'s War.

                            "When a man don’t use good judgment it’s the innocent who pays"

                                                                                                                             -- Echo Mountain

Enhanced Google™ genealogy search site

'extra' alleles

Spartanburg Co., SC Berry John Berry, #126, received his Y-DNA13-25 marker panel yesterday, completing his Y-DNA37 order.

No particular surprises as far as the Spartanburg Co., SC Berry family is concerned but individually, John has extra alleles at DYS# 464 and DYS# CDY a/b.    John has DYS# 464 values of 15,15,15,15,16,17 and DYS# CDY a/b values of 39,40,40.

Interesting  -  but also confusing and puzzling.

If anyone understands the significance or ramifications of these results I'd appreciate your help.

Catherine, at FTDNA, explains, "Multiple Alleles can be helpful in confirming recently related individuals (two men with the same surname and with multiple alleles who match each other, and other males with the same surname, but who do not have multiple alleles, are more recently related to each other than to the others with the same surname and same marker values who do not have the multiple allele values)."

The World's Candidate

Somewhere along the road to the White House, Obama became the world's candidate—a reminder that for all the talk of America's decline, for all the visceral hatred of Bush, the rest of the world still looks upon the United States as a land of hope and opportunity. . . .

                                                                                          - Newsweek

Be a part of history

Vote Now!
Here's another reason why -

42 hours, 42 minutes . . .

. . . till the polls close.

Trick or Treat?

We have a new transfer from the Genographic Project, Bryan Donald Berry, who has tested 12 markers and is a one marker distance from several of our members.    As you know, this is not particularly significant unless there is some paper trail indication of a relationship.    I've requested Bryan's yAncestry and as soon as I receive it I'll let you know.

In addition, in looking at Bryan's FTDNA matches I discovered a 12/12 match between him and Dennis Edward Barry who is not a member of our Project.    I've also written Dennis asking him to join us.    I'll also let you know how that goes.

I'm still at fiddle camp but I'll try to get Bryan's information posted as soon as I can.