Want a Great Genealogy Program for Free!

Do you want a wonderful free genealogy program that allows you to search through over 900 databases for relatives? I would recommend My Heritage Family Tree. I already really liked this site, but recently it merged with Gen Circles and Family Tree Legends and by doing so added new levels of access and research. I like and use all three sites for my research, and have found that the free family tree download from My Heritage to be superior to anything else I've tried.

After you've downloaded the tree you can either upload an already previously compiled family tree from Ancestry.com or you can begin by entering your own files. I know that My Heritage works well with uploads in the GEDCOM format. I already did extensive research on my Ancestry.com site and so I downloaded that GEDCOM file into My Heritage Family Tree Builder and than I was ready do some further research. My Heritage has some really great connections to other sites and their data bases and also to a number of totally free sites, like Roots Web. It also has links to some sites that offer a reasonable subscription rate.

As a result of using their software and the links that they provided I was able to expand my research for certain individuals quite a lot. After you download data and add in other data as you obtain it, the program saves your information into your tree and than offers you the option of "publishing" your tree to its website. If you decide to do that than you will be given a subscription choice which will include the basic free option and various paid plans. I started with the free plan and now am subscribed to their 2nd tier plan.

Another thing I really like is that My Heritage has adopted and improved the matching software used on the Gen Circles web site. This matching software is similar to matching software used by Ancestry.com but I believe that My Heritage has improved on the concept by allowing a review of all the matches from other family trees and the ability to compare those matches with your data. By doing this you can often tell if your data has any obvious problems.

Finally, I just totally love the programs many versatile features including the way that the family tree is displayed, the sidebar window with all of your ancestors listed (with an alphabetical sort option too!). After you download the program to your desktop (that's where I have mine located), you can put up several genealogy programs at one time and easily jump back and forth between them for easier fact checking.

The list of reports you can generate is pretty good and the variations of the charting view are impressive. I love the fact that when you move the cursor to one of the names on your list or on your chart, you can find out immediately if that person is related directly to you or to your wife. There's also plenty of room for adding in photos and various other enhancements to your ancestors view. There is also a

One last thing, I would recommend that you download the help manual for the program; it will probably make your life a bit easier. However, to be honest, I've had the program for months and just now got around to downloading the manual, so if you're familiar with windows you won't really need the manual to understand most of the options. Just like Ancestry.com, this program seems to be destined to become more and more popular.

I would rate the merger of the three companies as an AAA++++ improvement. So far the Gen Circle site and the Family Tree Legends continue to maintain their own sites. Hopefully the merger will benefit all three companies and we will see some more databases opened up to the general public for free.

The Amish are Prepared to Leave Michigan.

The Amish are prepared to leave the Michigan, if the federally mandated NAIS program is forced on them. This program mandates that all cattle be marked with RFID tags as a health control protection. The Amish believe that this technology is the "Mark of the Beast" and have stated that they will quit farming rather than submit to the mandates of this program. They also said they would leave the state. The article cites the passage below from the Bibles New Testament. This section called Revelation is the last book of the Bible and the passage refers to a mandate required by the Anti Christ.

"He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name."

-- Holy Bible

New International Version,

While I am not convinced that this RFID chip is the one spoken of by John in Revelation, it certainly is the precursor of it. As noted in my previous post China is requiring all 12.5 Million residents of the city of Shenzen to have RFID Cards for purposes of personal identification. This card will contain many personal details and it will eventually be used to pay for certain things. I don't know sounds like the Mark to me. Of course they haven't mandated that it be injected into your arm or forehead yet. I wonder how long before that's required?

Dangerous Threat to Privacy from RFID Chips.

Recently, the news has been full of stories about the RFID tracking chip. However I was surprised by a recent article in the New York Times. It seems that the application of this kind of technology is now speeding up. China announced that the 12.5 million citizens of the city of Shenzen, will be issued government ID cards which will contain an RFID chip. Data on the chip will include the citizen’s name and address, employment history,schooling, religious affiliation, ethnicity, police records, medical information and the landlord’s phone number. It will also carry information about the number of children in the family. Without this ID card the citizen will be unable to live in Shenzen. In order to live there though ones privacy must be forfeited. Is it worthwhile to sacrifice your privacy for considerations like economics, security or public assembly control?

There are additional studies underway to increase the value of the chip by adding in credit history information and also by programming in the ability of the card holder to make small purchases such as subway fares etc. Along with these new ID cards the government is installing 20,000 street cameras for crime deterrence. These cameras will augment and sometimes work in tandem with the nearly 200,000 private company owned cameras that already exist there. The argument is that this security infrastructure is for crime deterrence, but many civil libertarians are speculating that it is the communist governments’ way of controlling political activity and thought. Privacy appears to be on the way out.

Where did this technology come from and where is it going? Apparently, the development of the RFID (radio frequency identifier) chip is based on research that’s an offshoot of radio broadcast and radar technology. The first research breakthroughs appear to have occurred in the late 1940’s. Research continued through the 1970’s. The technology was seriously tested in the 1980’s. Commercial development and usage came into the market place soon after the testing and was developed on through the 90’s. As the technology developed, so did the need for industry standards. By the year 2000, the RFID tag was becoming common and today it’s become quite a familiar and useful business tool used to track inventories. These tags are usually foil based and embedded into the first layer of the packaging on various items. Sometimes they appear to be simple printed sticker labels pasted onto an item or onto the package. These “spy chips” have also been adapted for certain marketing purposes so that companies can determine a unique consumers purchasing habits. Such expanded consumer targeted usage does in fact threaten our privacy. Adaptations of this sort of label are embedded into bracelets, pendants and watches too. There is of course the obvious usage of these tags in hospitals and other institutions for dealing with those whose judgments are impaired by age, immaturity or illness. None the less these simple chips are considered intrusive, but they probably are not yet a fatal threat to privacy.

It is the parallel development of sub dermal chips used to mark animals and humans that concerns civil libertarians the most. These chips can be injected directly into the body of an animal or a human. They are not easily removable, and they may even possibly migrate from the original insertion point due to muscle movement. Such RFID tags are already being used in several european night clubs to identify regular patrons, who have an account with the bar and the kitchen. By allowing these chips to be inserted, the patron can than pass through any check point or barrier in the club. The exclusivity appeals to the clubbers. Certainly it appears that the use of such ID chips will expand beyond our present level of comfort as time goes on.

There are many good reasons for RFID tags to be adapted for use on livestock and human beings. Digital Angel Corporation, a subsidiary of Applied Digital Solutions, first tested their chips in 2001. They were embedded in watches and pagers and given to volunteers for testing the readers. These devices were to be used for medical
emergencies and monitoring other activities as well. Apparently they succeeded in their trials because Digital Angel Corporation which has been selling a lot of sub dermal chips for pets world wide, is now producing similar chips for children and certain individuals with perilous medical conditions. While Digital Angel used sub dermal chips for the animals, for the human clients, they have so far chosen to use an adapted chip embedded into a pendent or a bracelet that could than be worn. Recently Digital Angel has entered into the asset location business. Their newest RFID chip has GPS capabilities, which works with satellite technology to help locate downed planes and lost soldiers. Recent sales to Oman, Sweden and the UK, indicate a strong international interest in such devices. These most recent devices are too bulky to be injected directly into a human, but with continuing developments in nanotechnology, I’m sure that a miniaturized version of their chip will soon be available. Just think your whereabouts will always be known to whoever is reading the information from the “reader”.

Another company, the Hitachi Corporation created useful super small RFID chips. The chips measure just 0.05 millimeter by 0.05 millimeter. This chip is nicknamed the powder chip and is expected to be available in 2009. Each of these tiny chips transmit a 38 digit ID number when stimulated by a reader. Because of the minute
dimensions of this particular chip, it would be possible to “mark” someone surreptitiously. Therefore, all privacy is lost. It is the recent accelerated pace of this technology development that concerns me. Why is there such a push to remove our anonymity? Who is behind this? In many cases it looks like the technology has caught the eyes of the military establishment. Of course it makes perfect sense because by having this technology available, makes it all about control and access. The existence of a device to both control the movements of individuals and prevent hostile incursions into certain high security areas has many implications for both the military and also for civil libertarians.

One company, CityWatcher.com is a government contractor that sells surveillance equipment to municipalities. Last year, they implanted two employees with RFIDs, which are microchips that are toothpick-thin and as long as two grains of rice. These chips provided access to certain secure areas and the company stated that these employees were volunteers and that it was all about security. Of course now that this technology is unleashed, the future chances for exploitation and abuse have most certainly increased. Verichip, a sister company to Digital Angel, and also owned by Applied Digital Solutions, is injecting chips into alzheimer patients in
Florida. Certainly, controlling the movements of the medically disabled seems to be a noble use for these new chips. Applied Digital Solutions owns both of these companies. They both produce a very similar product, so why are there two companies? And where will the line finally be drawn? Or will the line ever be drawn?

In the first paragraph of this article I refer to Shenzen, China. Their approach to civil population control is to use ID cards with chips. No, they are not yet injecting these chips, but won’t that happen soon enough? People will lose their cards, they will be stolen, the cards will be sold, they could be copied in some way. Arguably these problems may occur enough so that the next step will be similar to Digital Angels “mark of the beast” rfid chip, whereby people are permanently tagged like livestock.

An innovative new company, called Somark Innovations, has produced a rfid mark that can be applied directly to the skin like a tattoo. The mark can be “read” from a fair distance because it was created with frightened and milling animals in mind. Domestic animals behave in a somewhat erratic manner in their pens. They are not
cooperative candidates for someone trying to “scan them”. This new mark by Somark seems to address that problem. Such a permanent tattoo would make civil rights demonstrations and other politcal actions, dangerous for those who were so marked since the tag could be read from a distance. Is there a hidden agenda in all of this?

I wonder.

One last item that just came across my desk. Verichip has changed the name of it’s health care tracking products. Verichip is now called Xmark. Hmm.... is that like we say Xmas instead of Christmas? I mean what is that all about? I noticed that the small icon that now appears by the web links to many sites, appears in Xmarks case to be a christian cross. If you access the link let me know what you think. It appears to be an attempt to divert concerns about this technology away from the Biblical references to the “Mark of the Beast” in the New Testament chapter called Revelation.


We are living in perilous times my friends, indeed perilous times. I know most of us value our privacy and are concerned about the continuing erosion of this right. I will continue to report on these matters as new information reaches me. Thank You.

The EU and Peanutopia attack parping problems.

As a result of the tidal wave of wrath and indignation being mounted by human environmentalists against cattle parping in the European Union, Peter Pan Parker, Imperial Potentate of the Kingdom of Peanutopia, announced today that the WCN, (World Council of Noble Gases), has banned peanut parping in the Kingdom, for the foreseeable future.

In a statement released to the press he said:
"Due to the extraordinary amount of combustible methane gas being released into the already unstable atmosphere, there are some serious concerns here in the Kingdom, for the continued health of our valued politicians during their sometimes heated debates!"

He also outlined the rather severe penalties for those who persist in unrepentant parping.

"Those who persist in parping will be cauterized, and than both the perpetrators and their families including any parping children will be shipped to the Southern Comfort Peanut Butter Factory in Plaines, GA"

When confronted by the press about the severity of the penalties being considered.. Potentate Parker said he was, misquoted "I never said cauterized," he said "No, I said Carterized" (For those who haven't heard this term, it means being forced to listen to an endless looped tape of Jimmy Carters recent speeches...) . Apparently the hope is that the criminally unrepentant parpers will change their tune when the words of the great human “tooter” finally penetrate their obdurate antisocial shell!

What Being a Salesperson is All About.

Todays Selling Tip:



If you want to be a good sales person, you have to understand something. You can't afford to have an agnostics’ attitude towards your products. Insincerity shows. You must be a true believer to sell things! On the other hand you must have a secretly pessimistic attitude with regard to whatever your client says. It's not that clients lie maliciously necessarily; it's that people have built up an intense sales resistance and in order to extricate themselves from a situation they will often defer all purchasing decisions. I recommend that you follow up on all your clients’ within 24 to 48 hrs. If you don't do this, your client will lose track. As it is you'll have to re-present your products several times until all objections are met.