It’s time to revive ellen Living because I am still alive and kicking.  I have started some new blogs, Simple Tech Today and Simply iPhone Now but lately I have had writer’s block because I have so many ideas of what to write going through my head that when I go to write I can’t get the ideas out.  So, my blogs have been suffering.  I can come to ellen Living and write about my writer’s block because it is an appropriate forum.  Plus, I have decided to really start using this blog to show you who I am and what I have to offer.

I spend a great deal of time each day on the Internet, browsing blogs and news feeds about technology, web applications, shopping and lately iPhone and Apple blogs because I have an iPhone and a MacBook Pro.  My other two blogs cover technology and the iPhone so I don’t need to write about them here all that much.  I can share though daily deals, contests and what is popular each day on the web.

I’m also a big television watcher.  I am thankful for the two DVR cable boxes I have so I can record shows and watch them at a later time.  My favorite show is House and I also watch all the Law & Order shows, Criminal Minds, Lost, Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Mercy, NCIS, Fringe, Bones, Burn Notice, The Real Housewives of current city, Project Runway and America’s Next Top Model.  I watch a lot of television!

So, watch for new posts and changes to the design of ellen Living.  And, I always include my cat Jack will make his appearance from time to time.

I had some fun this morning creating a playlist of all the videos I’ve taken of my cat Jack from a site called Embedr.  You can create any kind of playlist using videos from Atom Films, Blip.TV” href=”http://blip.tv/” target=”_blank”>Blip.TV, College Humor, Dailymotion, Metacafe, TeacherTube, MySpace Video, Veoh, Vimeo, YouTube.

More sites will be added in the future.  All you have to do is put in the url or embedded code for each video to create your playlist.  I might create a playlist of my favorite music from 2008.  But for now, here’s Jack!

Whenever I hear this song I think of a love from years ago.  I want to pick up the phone and call him but it wouldn’t be good for either of us at this time in our lives.  Oh well.

Are you looking for a way to bring your family together and create a family tree that they can contribute memories, photos and videos?  Well, there is a simple solution with the web application Geni. There are plenty of sites out there where you can publish your family tree for public consumption but for some family members they don’t want their information floating around in internet space for the world to see.  Geni, on the other hand, is a private family tree where members are invited through their email addresses.  Best of all it is free!

Geni describes itself as follows.

Geni lets you create a family tree through our fun simple interface. You can expand your tree by adding relatives’ email addresses. They will be invited to join your tree and can add other relatives. Your tree will continue to grow as relatives invite other relatives.

Each family member has a profile which can be viewed by clicking their name in the tree. This helps family members learn more about each other and stay in touch. Family members can also share photos and work together to build profiles for common ancestors.

Geni is private. Only the people in your family tree can log in to your tree and your profile. Geni will not share your personal information with third parties. We will not sell your email address or spam you. Users control which communications they would like to receive from us.

Creating Family Tree & GEDCOM Import

I started using Geni about 6 months ago with a tree consisting of immediate family and first cousins.  I sent out invitations and family members joined the site but we really weren’t using it to full capacity.  Basically we were all getting email announcements of family birthdays.

To start a family tree all you need to do is join, put in your information and then add family members.  For living family members you can invite them by putting in their email address.  They can then add more family members and invite them to join. Here’s a brief tutorial that shows you how easy it is.

Last week though I found out that I could import a GEDCOM file which I created from the family tree I had put together a few years ago with Family Tree Maker.  I was ecstatic!  My family tree went from close family to ancestors to now going back to my 8th great grandfather on my mother’s side and over 700 family members.  Wow!  To learn how to import your GEDCOM file into an existing tree see this forum post, HOW TO: Merge your GEDCOM file(s) into your EXISTING tree.  It sounds complicated but it actually was pretty easy. 

Or, if you are creating a new tree the process is this simple:

Importing your GEDCOM is easy:

1. Go to the GEDCOM Import page.
2. Fill out the form and upload your GEDCOM file.
3. Indicate who you are in your file.
4. You’re done!

Features

• Privacy.  I think this is the most important feature in Geni.  Each family member has the ability to control who sees their profile from immediate family only to distant relatives.
• Unlimited space to upload photos and videos.  This is great, especially since the site is free.
• Tag photos and videos identifying family members.  With photos you can choose a face and assign it to a specific family member.  Neat!
• Populated Home Page.  Upon signing in the user is brought to a home page that shows Family News, Family Stats and Recently Online.  The Family News section is great showing birthdays, anniversaries, recent photo and video additions, discussion topics and comments left by family members.
• Discussion Board.  Start discussions with family members from highlighting upcoming events to questions about heritage. 
• Inbox. Family members can send you messages that you will receive in your online inbox.
• Tree or List View.  Browse family members either in tree or list view.
• Look up ancestors either by searching for specific ancestors or through an index.

In my opinion Geni is great!  Not only does it help you build a family tree it also promotes bringing family together through photos, videos, events and discussions.  Over the last week I have generated a lot of interest from family members by adding photos and videos as well as inviting cousins who then are adding husbands and children to our tree.  It’s very exciting.

Are you using an online genealogical tool?  Do you have concerns about privacy?  Is Geni the web application for you?

Peek-a-boo Jack

A little game of peek-a-boo with Jack the cat.

MobyPicture.com

Jack’s morning
MobyPicture.com

My brother Ed put together this map showing the address we grew up at in Natick and the proximity and our activity around the Natick Laboratories, a superfund site.

According to an article, Natick’s Superfund Site, the following has been found.

• Over the years a substantial amount of dry cleaning fluid (also called perchloroethylene or PCE), trichloroethylene (TCE), benzene, pesticides, polynuclear aromatic compounds, and mercury has escaped into the local environment.
• The Natick Labs also operates a medical waste incinerator. The incinerator is used to destroy about 1500 pounds of pathological wastes each year. The US EPA has identified these incinerators as America’s third largest source of dioxins. Medical waste incinerators produce more dioxins than all paper mill boilers, industrial furnaces and boilers, cars and trucks, hazardous waste incinerators, and coal and oil burning power plants combined.
• The sediments surrounding the Army labs’ T-25 stormwater outfall near Lakewood Avenue are heavily contaminated with DDT, other pesticides, arsenic, PAHs, toxic metals, and possibly dioxins.
• The Natick Labs have released toxic air pollutants from open pit test burns, burning of wastes, including burning of clothing contaminated with small amounts of chemical weapons like Mustard (HD or di(chloroethyl) sulfide). Solvents have contaminated town drinking water wells (which are usually treated before use), and can be found in lake water at low levels. Residents are exposed to contaminants by eating lake fish or ingesting lake water containing stirred-up sediments from the T-25 outfall area.

The scary thing is that we went swimming and fishing in the water around the Natick Labs. Our house was downwind from the incinerator exposing us to dioxins in the air. I come from a large family and there are a few of us that have idiopathic-type illnesses that may be caused by our close proximity to this superfund site. I have fibromyalgia and one of my sisters and my brother Ed have it as well. Another sister has an autoimmune disorder that could be caused by environmental factors. My brother Ed as well as my mother have/had neurological problems and my mother died from ALS which again could be caused by exposure to dioxins or other environmental contaiminants.

All of this is supposition, nothing can be proved or disproved. Is it coincidental that half my family has illnesses that were not present in previous generations? Are we reading too much into this? Do you have any experience living near a superfund or brownfield site where there is a higher incidence of cancer or other environmental illnesses?