TBWAIN - AKA Jeff Svare's Blog

On April 1st, 1940 the Census Bureau set out to enumerate the 132 million people that lived in the United States. That information would remain private for 72 years, until April 2nd, 2012. If you didn't know, the taking of the census is mandated by Article I, Section 2, of the Constitution of the United States. I've been helping to index this project since it started. It's been a lot of fun. I have tried to spend most of my time working on Minnesota and North Dakota, but I also had a goal to index at least one batch from all 48 states and the territories of Alaska and Hawaii. I made that goal within the first month of the project. Now North Dakota is completed, and Minnesota is 93% done. Unfortunately, I didn't get to index any places where I have family. That would have been really cool. The 1940 US Census. Who do you know that's in it?

My blogging has been lagging lately, but this was just took good to pass up.  I found this on new.familysearch.org.  No changes have been made to personal or place names.  This is just the way it is on the site. How many things can you find wrong with this? Child: Anna Marie Jensen ·          Born: 9 Aug 1863, Mormon Trail, Eastern Wyoming ·          Chr: 14 Sep 1860, Helligaands Kirke, Kobenhavn, Kobenhavn, Denmark ·          Died: 14 Feb 1930, Logan, Cache, UT ·          Bur: 18 Feb 1930, Newton, Cache, Utah, USA Father: Hans Jensen (KLJL-N1Y) ·          Born: 13 Apr 1818, Fasrevejle, Holbeck, Den ·          Chr: 21 Apr 1818, Faarevejle, Holbaek, Denmark ·          Died: ...

The Washington Post reported that Panetta said, "There is a strong likelihood that Israel will strike Iran in April, May or June." The Israelis are worried, and rightfully so I believe, that Iran can produce a nuclear weapon that could be used against Israel. Reuters has a good report on the story here . So why is Panetta apparently warning the Iranians about this? Is he trying to play "good cop" and make friends with the Iranian government? The same government that said there was no Holocaust, that Israel has no right to exist, and the September 11th attacks were an inside job. Of course, this prediction may be like saying it's a sure thing the Cubs will win the World Series this year. Then again, maybe he's leaking information. The ship of state is the only ship that leaks from the top after all. It makes me wonder what Panetta is trying to accomplish. And when you think about it, the Post doesn't know the difference between debt and deficit...

Hilda Solis, President Obama's Secretary of Labor, has elected to discontinue using the ubiquitous black limo, and has purchased a Chevy Equinox. At a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor she was asked why the switch to the SUV? What better example could I set if I encouraged my staff to go and purchase and seek how we could acquire a vehicle that would for me would send a signal that we're for supporting our American workers, American-made products, fuel efficient as well. Sounds good, right? There's only one problem. The Equinox is made in Canada. The country north of the United States. Also known as Canuckland, the Great White North, and What Sarah Palin Can See From Her Back Porch. When US News contacted the Secretary's office to clear up her misunderstanding, a spokesman replied, "Modern automobile manufacturing is a global industry and General Motors is a company whose reach extends far beyond the boundaries of the United States."...

At a press conference today, 15 July 2011, the President said he was, "turning 50 in a week, so I'm starting to think a little bit more about Medicare eligibility." You may want to reschedule that party, Barry. You birthday isn't July 22nd, it's August 4th. He also said, "Yeah, I'm going to get my AARP card soon, and the discounts." Yeah, like he needs them. As president, he earns $400,000 year, with a pension valued at $197,000. Last year, he and the First Lady reported their adjusted gross income as $1,728,096. They paid $453,770 in taxes, and donated $245,075 to charity. That still left them with 1.2 million dollars to scrimp by on. Filing status married, joint return, two dependent children. If you leave out the dog, that 1.2 million breaks out to be $257,312.75 per person in his household. And, if he portioned out that 257K as a weekly allowance to each of his girls, that would be $4,948.32 a week. Did I mention that he gets $500,000 per y...

Merchants win, banks loose and so will debit card users, I'm afraid. If you didn't know, currently banks charge merchants an average of 44 cents for each transaction. The Federal Reserve has proposed limiting this to twelve cents. 44 cents per swipe doesn't sound like much, does it? On the surface it sounds like that old story, "if I were to give you a penny today, and double what I've given you every day for a month, would you rather have that or a million dollars now?" According to the Fed, the banks and credit card companies earn $16 billion per year on them. That sounds like real money to me. Richard Durbin (D-IL) said that taxpayers helped banks "in their darkest hour." And were repaid by them using the $700 billion bailout to pay huge bonuses to their executives who got them into trouble in the first place. In response, banks say the decision does not take into consideration overhead costs, so they will have to raise other fees to make up the...

Evidently, it's not worth even $50. The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) used to receive a fifty dollar stipend from the Federal Government to reimburse them for their services at military funerals. This would help pay for a flag for the survivors, bullets for the salute, gas to get to the cemetery, and clean their uniforms. Now that the government is running out of money, the Middle East is blowing up--and the President is going golfing on the weekend--this benefit has been discontinued. This is shameful, appalling, and offensive. I have attended military funerals before. This simple act, to honor the memory of a fallen comrade has provided comfort to many, many grieving families and provided them the reassurance the sacrifice of their loved one was not forgotten. This nation has repeatedly asked it's young men and women to put up their lives in its defense, with promises of education, training, a possible career, and the respect of a grateful nation. And now, we take their s...

It started with a phone call. You know the kind--one of those automated ones. The kind you usually hang up on as soon as you realize what it is. This particular one was from my insurance company's pharmacy provider. So I thought I'd listen to the message. "Your mail-order prescription has been processed. We must speak to you before it can be shipped. Please call us at 1-800, blah-blah-blah, blah-blah-blah-blah. Would you like me to repeat that number?" As soon as the message got to the "please call us" part, I was looking around for a pen and paper to write the number down. I couldn't find one, so I thought I'd try stalling for time. "Yes, please repeat the number." "Please call us at 1-800, blah-blah-blah, blah-blah-blah-blah. Would you like me to repeat that number?" No pencil in the drawers, no pencils in the pencil cup. I thought I'd better keep stalling for time. "Yeah, repeat the number!" "Please c...

On October 26th, one week before the mid-term elections, in a radio interview with Rev. Al Sharpton, the President said, "Anybody who is concerned about the direction of the country has to understand that this election is as important as 2008." Here's the part of the interview I really like: "At another point, Sharpton asked the president: 'So even though your name isn't on the ballot, this is about your agenda and about the progress we've seen you begin to make over the past 20-odd months?' 'Absolutely,' Obama said." So Barry's point is that this election is all about his agenda and the "progress" he's made. Evidently the American voters aren't all that crazy about his agenda and his "progress" thus far. After the elections, Barry said that frustrated voters dictated the Republican takeover. "As president I take responsibility." "I think people started looking at all this, and it felt as i...

In a radio interview with Eddie Sotelo, as reported on MSNBC , President Obama provided us with this BGO™ (Big Glimpse of the Obvious): "If the Latino community decides to sit out this election, there will be fewer votes." Duh, Barry. You could say the same thing if Americans with German ancestry didn't vote in this election. Which, according to Wikipedia , is about 51 million people. Yup, that would make for fewer votes.

But are we surprised? Today, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, said, "If we are going to get anything done, Republican cooperation, which has been all but non-existent recently, will be necessary." Really Harry? Why is that? You didn't need Republican cooperation to push the health-care reform and economic stimulus through. You just want a scapegoat in case this doesn't scheme work. Future headline: "Harry Reid Blames Republicans For Bad Economy" AP said that President Obama says "Republicans have opposed everything he has done to strengthen the economy." Yep, fer shure. It's the Republicans fault that unemployment continues to rise (remember how his plan was going to prevent the loss of jobs?), the housing market is still in the toilet, and consumer prices continue to rise. I'm not an economist, nor do I play one on tv, but my personal economic situation is the worst it's ever been. None of this administrations policie...

Dumb things that have happened to me on this trip. The flight from SLC was delayed because the plane had mechanical problems in Baltimore. The flight from Atlanta was delayed because the air conditioning wasn't working. When I printed my boarding passes it also printed out an emergency contact form for me to complete. In Salt Lake they told me they would take it when I boarded in Atlanta. In Atlanta they said they didn't know what it was and didn't want it. When I asked about an upgrade at the gate to Business class, I was told I needed to do it on line 48 hours in advance. So they lost the sale of at least one of the three open seats they had. It was OK thought, there was no one in the seat next to me, so I had plenty of room. When I checked in on line for my flight from Copenhagen to Stockholm, I couldn't have access to a printer for my boarding pass, The website said I could print it at the airport. When I got to the airport I found I couldn't print my boa...

Today it was 93 degrees Fahrenheit (34 Celsius) in Salt Lake City. And they were starting to put the Christmas lights up on the trees. I see it happen every year, and every year I think it can't be happening yet. But it is. "And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath." Acts 2:19

From the Associated Press - "Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says it would be 'deeply irresponsible' for the Obama administration to support a wholesale extension of the Bush era tax cuts, including breaks for the wealthy." When was the last time you heard a politican say that it would be "deeply irresponsible" to raise the national debt to over 13 trillion dollars? Yeah, that's what I thought.

Sounds cool, doesn't it? Who couldn't imagine themselves wailing away with David Gilmour on Comfortably Numb ? You could make it a reality. You can vote for Pink Floyd, Queen, Led Zeppelin, or U2 at this site set up by Harmonix. Vote now! Vote often! Vote Pink Floyd! Oh, yeah, I'd buy this.

I could start this with a lame Star Trek fanboy lead-in, "Jean-Luc Picard gets a Knighthood!" But I won't, 'cuz it would be lame. The 2010 Honours List is out, and the classically-trained (and just bloody amazing) actor, Patrick Stewart is on it . He has been made an OBE for services to drama. He will now be properly addressed as Sir Patrick, but Trek fans across the world will still call him, "Jean-Luc!" Make it so.

Owing to the many news reports circulating regarding the end of the first decade of the 21st century, let me say this: This isn't it. The current millennium began 1 January 2001. The first decade of this millennium will end on 31 December 2010. That's 364 days from now. Take a look here for more information on when this millennium began.

Don't hold me to any of these. In an attempt to get "member non-enthusiasts" stoked to use new.Familysearch.org developers will create a Wii interface that will go online in Q2. "Just 500 more points and you can add another ancestor!" A major player in the online genealogy community will try to open up a new market by reserving a new domain, then fill it with US census records, passenger lists, and city directories, stating, "It's new content tailored for people in (insert country name here)." There may be more.

I think Dickens said it well: "Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did NOT die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world. Some people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them laugh, and little heeded them; for he was wise enough to know that nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter in the outset; and knowing that such as these would be blind anyway, he thought it quite as well that they should wrinkle up their eyes in grins, as have the malady in less attractive forms. His own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him." Merry Christmas.

A few years back, I would get together with a bunch of friends during lunch and play strategy games. I've been waxing nostalgic for those get-togethers and have even scripted some new scenarios that we could use. The dice, sheet protectors and grease pencils made for some great fun, but I've thought about what could be done to make it a little more high tech. I was momentarily bored today, so I figured out how to create a function that would allow you to use an Excel function in place of dice. The function RAND will generate a random number between 0 and 1. =RAND() If you want to specify a min-max range, for example if you were using a twelve-sided die, multiply the result times the largest possible number less the smallest and add 1. =RAND()*(12-1)+1 If you want to round up the number so you don’t get any decimal places, add the ROUND function and specify zero decimals. =ROUND((RAND()*(12-1)+1),0) If you wanted to, you could put this function into multiple cells, specifying a ...