Judy Holtzer (Knopf)

Larry: 

"Reuning in 2021" . I love it!!!

I could barely believe my ears when an Israeli vet at the veterinary hospital treating my very sick 16 year old dog used - and pronounced - correctly the word "exacerbate". I must say that I was impressed at this from a vet. I would have been impressed to hear this from an M.D. here in Israel, even though most speak an acceptable English. 

Do you (with pets) think you would hear the word exacerbate from your vet? Just curious, George. 

Stephen Collett

Does anyone have experience in getting a DNA profile? Like sending in your stuff and getting a history of your DNA? Any advice appreciated.

Jerry Ochs

Jeff Daum

Hi Stephen, while I have not used any of the 'DNA profile' kits, my wife did the 23 & Me one about a three years ago.  Her interest were basically in verifying heritage and in the data on predisposition to certain illnesses.  The predisposition element is one that many individuals apparently do not want to know, from what I understand.  At any rate, she found the heritage basically confirming what she knew, and continues to get information from them as they increase their data base on predisposition issues.

This year she just completed the Ancestery DNA kit, because she is interested in finding any additional/closer relatives.  Her logic is that most people only do one or the other (they are the two largest services currently), and hence, may find a relative on one that is not on the other.

Bottom line, she has been satified with the reports and level of details.

Dale Gieringer

Steve -  I took a 23 and Me DNA test and am glad I did.  Though it didn’t identify any peculiar genetic conditions of medical concern, which was a relief, and merely confirmed my Northern European ethnic  origins, which I was already quite aware of, it put me in contact with a number of second cousins and other distant relatives of whom I had lost track or never been aware.  My wife even discovered that she had a half-cousin by a previously unknown illegitimate child of her grandfather or maybe great uncle.  Great fun for genealogy and family history buffs like me.

Barbara Kahn (Tepper)

My sister has been doing geneaology researxh on her husband's family as well as ours so I asked her if she wanted the Ancestry kit for Christmas. She was excited and asked me to do it too. We are waiting for our results now.  

Bonnie Altman (Templeton)

ATo those of you who are interested in DNA testing:  once you give your DNA, it becomes part of the public record  It is not private 

Chuck Cole

Public DNA databases have been in the news because they helped to solve serious unsolved crimes.  Neither 23 and me, nor Ancestry.com shares any data with the public databases.  I'm not sure where the public databases get their data, although there are some where you can agree to have your data added to it.  And in some public databases, the data is there but not linked to individual's identities.  Of course, just because the company says it will keep your data private doesn't mean that someone couldn't hack the site and steal the data.  

This is what 23 and me has to say about this:

23andMe will not sell, lease, or rent your individual-level information to any third party or to a third party for research purposes without your explicit consent. We do not share customer data with any public databases. We will not provide any person's data (genetic or non-genetic) to an insurance company or employer.

Stephen (Steve) Dixon

I am enjoying the grammar discussion. It is nice to feel less like a lone wolf, howling in the night. (Full disclosure: I went back and edited out a split infinitive there.)

On another note, check this out from The Onion.

https://www.theonion.com/report-students-who-take-latin-have-better-chance-of-s-1829686631?utm_campaign=SF&utm_medium=SocialMarketing&utm_content=Main&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR1RZboGiFZj-h19v74Jh1A-d25cUx9egMKhO-OxMku6gv9VKVR9DtpITsw

Stephen (Steve) Dixon

To Steve Collett:

I sent my DNA sample to one of those services. Partly out of mild curiosity but also in the vague hope of finding some heretofore unknown link to a Native American, or a Pacific Islander. Something other than the tree full of Scots, Irish and English in family data compiled by an extremely sharp great aunt back in the 1950's & 60's.

But, alas, it was not to be. A bit of Scandinavian (no doubt an adventurous Viking), a German here or there. Otherwise, all British Isles with a major in Scotland and a minor in Ireland. Still, it was pretty interesting to see the data all beautifully organized and presented with geographical illustrations. And I did discover a few new limbs and branches.

Moreover, I made a connection with some folks pretty closely-related who had done some nice work and had pictures to share of people whose names I knew but had never seen a likeness of.

Philip Spiess

All of this DNA meterial reminds me of an old joke (as what does not?):

How do you tell a male chromosome from a female chromosome?  Pull down their genes!

Ann Shepard (Rueve)

I'm very late to the most recent discussions but would like to contribute a few thoughts:

1.  My grammar pet peeve is the forgotten use of the gerund and modifiers.  Many media anchors and hosts thank their listeners or viewers by saying, " I appreciate you listening to our show today" rather than, " I appreciate your listening to our show today".  UGH!!

2. My late husband was born and raised in Louisville, a graduate of St. X High School, and SPEED School of Engineering at U of L. He regularly complimented me on my preparation of one of his favorite dishes, Kentucky Hot Brown, created at the Brown Hotel.

3.  Judy, I'm so glad your 16 year old puppy is hanging in there.  I volunteer with an amazing group of people, angels on this earth, who help to provide care for ill or elderly pets.  Angel's Paws, was modeled after human hospice, and provides 24/7 in home care and treatment.  In 2018, Angel's Paws helped over 1100 pets improve the quality of their remaining time and provided support services for the humans who love them.  

4. Several weeks ago, a twice removed first cousin contacted me.  She had taken an Ancestry DNA test a couple of years ago.  She said a young man, identified by the test as her 3rd cousin, had contacted her.  He wanted to know if she was familiar with the name of a man whom he believed to be the father he had been trying to find for 48 years. 

I contacted my brother, who was a career Air Force and stationed all over the world from 1960 to 1984.  Long story short , he vaguely remembered brief dalliance with and older (married) woman when he was briefly stationed in San Antonio, Texas prior to being stationed in the Philippines in 1970.  After the initial shock, not only did my brother contact  the young man, Mike, he welcomed him.  My brother's other five children also embraced him and have been in constant contact since shortly before Christmas.  My brother's eldest son, Buddy, age 52,  told Mike that even though he has a new brother, he still holds the title of "first born". 

My brother and I have taken our Ancestry tests now and waiting for results.  We have a maternal first cousin who had done an extensive genealogy search on our maternal side, finding our grandfather's father and our grandmother's parents, into the 1700s, during slavery.  We even have roots in Ireland, Scotland, and England. We have little information on our paternal side, as our father was an orphan.  It will be interesting to see what information we will be able to gather. 

Jerry Ochs

More language abuse:  Our sons attended an international school (K-12) and the teachers were from many different countries.  Some of the young teachers from the U.S.A. used "myself" in place of "me" in such sentences as, "If you have any questions, please contact the headmaster or myself".  They also too often used "that" in place of "who". 
 

Jerry Ochs

TIL about MIMAL, the elf formed by the outlines of five states on the west bank of the Mississippi River.

Philip Spiess

Jerry:  Your map just shows how language gets muddled over time:  Originally, it was not the Gulf of Mexico, it was the Elf of Mexico.  Some scholars insist it was the Gandulf of Mexico, which got contracted over time to Gulf, as has happened to so many words and phrases in our language, for instance, "By Golly, you mean -- ?" which has been contracted to "By Gum!"  (The word "Golly!" itself is, no doubt, a contraction of "Gollum.")  I forget who signed the actual contract.

Judy Holtzer (Knopf)

Dear Ann - You are an amazing person. I was so pleased to hear of Angel's Paws, a most fitting venue for your talent and passion for pets. It is a wonderful idea. Could I write to you privately sometime?

Dale Gieringer

Steve -   My family all sent DNA samples to 23andMe.   We didn't learn much about our family origins - I already knew I'm German/British Northern European, though it was interesting to learn that I had a touch of ancient Neanderthal.  Neither did we discover any genetic predispositions to one horrible disease or another, thank goodness.  However, I did make contact with a number of DNA relatives, including some second and third cousins whom I'd forgotten about or was unaware of.   Great fun for genealogy buffs like myself.  Also, my wife discovered that she had a half-cousin  through  a previously unknown  illegitimate liaison involving  her grandfather or great-uncle.   An intriguing family mystery to explore. 

David Buchholz

I sent in my DNA and discovered pretty much what I already suspected—that my ancestors were mostly from Western Europe.  My American born Chinese wife discovered that she was Chinese, (duh) 98% Han Chinese in fact, but was surprised 26 years ago when we stepped off our plane in Beijing that by looking at her face the customs inspector told her exactly what part of China she had come from.  Two more episodes of people sending in their DNA.  Vanity Fair recounted a story of a woman who discovered that the surprises in her DNA led her to investigate further, discovering in her research that her grandfather and another person had been switched as babies in a maternity ward.  These services do warn you that you might find a surprise or two.  The second episode is closer to home.  My wife's cousin and his wife are both forensic scientists.  Mary Hong, the cousin's wife, put two and two together last year and discovered through one of the DNA databases that the DNA of Joseph DeAngelo, who is better known in California as the "Golden State Killer", a 73 year old man accused of more than thirteen murders and fifty rapes, was living peacefully in Sacramento, having given up his life of crime many years ago.  The DNA had been saved from the thirteen murders and was one and the same.  When DeAngelo was identified detectives picked out a cup from his garbage and matched it to the DNA from the murders.  Perfect match.  They returned and took something else from his garbage.  Again, a perfect match.  When they arrested him last year he told the arresting officers, "There's a roast in the oven."  Love that.  And as a footnote, my son is a Sacramento Public Defender.  His supervisor is DeAngelo's attorney.

Paul Simons

I don't have any DNA info but I do have a gripe about current arbitrary, unnecessary contortions forced onto our language. When did "Ask" become a noun? I hear politicians saying things like "This is a one-time ask and it will be used to promote peace, love, and nutritous breakfasts for our brave First Responders". And why did ask get replaced by axe in a large swath of our population as in "I didn't axe him why he committed the axe murder but if you can meet my axe of $20.00 I will axe him in the next debate"? What the heck is going on?

Philip Spiess

You axe me no questions, I'll fell you no lies (and an axe of $20 for an axe is -- the world, by the way, turns on an axe is -- no doubt, cut-rate).

Paul Simons

Paul Simons

David Buchholz

To echo Paul and add my own...let's get rid of "epic", "viral", "awesome", and all wait staff should be dismissed if they respond "Perfect!" when I order my burger medium-rare.

Steven Levinson

And don't forget, Paul, the current vogue regarding the nominalization of "ask," as in "My ask to you is . . . ."

Paul Simons

Steve - I did get that one - it's a few posts back. Just scroll up - it's with the George Booth "New Yorker" cartoon.

Dave - OMG!! Excellent choices, bro!