John Beagle

People, Places and Things

23andme: 96.9% Northwestern European

The first 23andMe reports are coming in and I am finally finding out a bit about my heritage. According to 23andme I am mostly British, Irish, French and German.

23andMe, Inc. is the leading personal genetics company. Founded in 2006 by Linda Avey, Paul Cusenza, and Anne Wojcicki, the mission of the company is to help people access, understand and benefit from the human genome. 23andMe has more than one million customers worldwide, with over 80 percent consented to participate in research.

Here is the ancestry report that was generated from my DNA.

23andme
Click on image to enlarge.

This is the first step in finding out about who I am and where my heritage lies. I was adopted in 1959, born in 1957, my adopting family loved me and wasn’t interested in finding out about my birth parents. Now that I am getting older I have become interested in finding anything I can about my personal history. I tried to find out who my birth parents are however since I as born in New York, the records were sealed and are not available for me to see.

23andMe offers additional insights by collecting big data on its over 1 million participants. More than 80% have opted in. So far 23andMe claims to have collected 320 million survey responses they call ‘phenotypic data points.’

Here is information on my Haplogroup:

haplogroup

Maternal Haplogroup

Maternal haplogroups are families of mitochondrial DNA types that all trace back to a single mutation at a specific place and time. By looking at the geographic distribution of mtDNA types, we learn how our ancient female ancestors migrated throughout the world.

Haplogroup: H
Age: more than 40,000 years
Region: Europe, Near East, Central Asia

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Paternal Haplogroup

Paternal haplogroups are families of Y chromosomes that all trace back to a single mutation at a specific place and time. By looking at the geographic distribution of these related lineages, we learn how our ancient male ancestors migrated throughout the world.

R1b1b2a1a1 is a subgroup of R1b1b2, which branches from R1b.

Haplogroup: R1b1b2
Age: 17,000 years
Region: Europe

Other reports include Sleep Movement, Facial Features, Hair, Physical Characteristics, Physical Responses, Skin, Taste and Smell, Neanderthal Ancestry, Muscle Composition, genetic disorder results and much, much more. Very interesting and well worth the expense in my opinion.

6 Factors that determine the Computer Rental Price

Since I’m in the computer rental business, people often ask me ‘what does it cost to rent a computer?’ So before you ask, here is my best explanation.

The computer rental industry pool of computer hardware is not infinite. Just as any other good or service, computer rental equipment is subject to supply and demand pressures as well as many other factors that affect price.lt

First lets define what the industry defines as a ‘computer’.

The term ‘computer’ includes network servers, desktop, laptop, and mobile devices such as tablets and iPads and smartphones such as the iPhone, Windows Phone and Android Phones.

 

Below are the major factors that influence the computer rental price.

1. Lead Time
2. Specifications
3. Length of time
4. Quantity needed
5. Delivery location
6. Availability

Computer rental prices vary based on lead time, computer specifications, how long you need the equipment, quantity, where the equipment will be located, and availability. Let’s discuss each of these topics individually.

Lead Time

The price of a rental computer is the lowest when reserving the equipment many months in advance. As your event nears, the supply of equipment drops thus opening the door for a premium rate for the remaining inventory.

For example: You need 100 iPads in April of next year. The cost might be as little as $50 per unit today but as your event nears, the price increases slightly around three months out. At two months out the unit price may rise to $80. And during the month of the event the price could rise to $100 per unit or more.

 

Quantity

The price depends upon the number of units rented. For example a laptop might cost $100 if you only rent one, however as 5 units are rented a price break is often possible. Then as the number of units rented continues to increase the price break becomes greater making a $65 per unit price possible for the largest quantity rented.

 

Length of Time – Daily, Weekly, Monthly and Quarterly Rates

Computer rental rates are based on daily, weekly monthly and quarterly rates. If we look at the rate per day as a measurement, the longer you rent the lower daily rate you will pay. For example a unit might cost $100 for a one day rental, $50 per day for a 2 day rental, $21 per day for a week rental, $12.50 per day for a two week rental, $7 per day for a 30 day rental and as little as $5 per day for a quarterly rental.

 

Delivery Location

Office Building, Shipping Dock or Convention Center

A shipping dock is the easiest and least expensive way to have your equipment delivered. Other deliveries include the cost of setup and testing on site. Convention center deliveries are the most expensive because of additional fees, drayage and time required to setup and at the end of the event, pickup. Delivering to a business address is a middle cost. Often business addresses have close-in parking and easy access to the delivery/installation area, that can lower the cost to deliver, install and pickup.  All costs are ballpark figures and can vary based on exact location and equipment load.

delivery


Specification

Higher computer specifications cost more to rent. For example: if you require advanced graphic cards, more ram, a different operating system or software installed, computer rental prices will be higher.

Also Apple Macintosh Computers typically rent for more than Microsoft Windows-based computers. iPads and tablets generally rent for less per unit than laptops and desktop computers. The example below is based on a single laptop computer before discounts.

 

Availability (Supply)

Rental Equipment is a Commodity subject to wild price swings.  Supply and demand issues come into play in the computer rental business in a big way. Supply is affected by the number of suppliers and total computer rental units in a given market area at a specific time. During low demand times, supplies rise and costs are the lowest. During peak demand times units can become costly or unavailable in certain quantities.

There are many more factors that influence the cost of a computer rental. Keeping in mind the 6 factors outlined in this post can help you understand the logic in computer rental pricing.

Note: All prices used in this example are hypothetical.

Biking the Golden Gate Bridge

Recently I had the pleasure of the Golden Gate Bridge Bike Tour via the San Francisco Bay Trail, the Battery East Trail, Mill Valley Sausalito Path and numerous roads.

According to the American Society of Civil Engineers there are only 7 wonders of the Modern World, the Golden Gate Bridge is one of them. Other great wonders include the Chunnel (Channel Tunnel), the Empire State Building, the CN Tower, Itaipu Dam, Netherlands North Sea Protection Works and the Panama Canal.

Fort Mason
Photo: View of the Golden Gate bridge from first hill climb at Fort Mason.

There were 2 of us on the windy, 21 mile, spectacular view, bicycle ride. Our bikes were all carbon fibre road bikes made by Specialized.

The route was primarily paved and mixed use, people and bikes. However in Sausalito we did encounter mixed auto and bike path traffic. The hill climbs and the auto traffic in Sausalito is too challenging for the inexperienced and young children. The weather was beautiful, sunny yet windy with gusts up to 20+ mph.

Blazing Saddles

We rented our bikes from Blazing Saddles located in North Beach, they are located on the corner of Columbus Ave and Francisco St. This is their main hub for our high end road and mountain bikes (Tel. 415.202.8888. The bike mechanics adjusted seats, installed special pedals and made us take a test ride before we took off on our trip. I have to say the service was excellent and the shop was well equipped.

We started our trip at the bike shop and rode to the ‘official’ start point on the San Francisco Bay Trail, near Fort Mason, the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park and the Herbst Pavilion. It was at Fort Mason where we encountered a significant climb in elevation.

Battery St

Photo: Top of first hill climb at Battery St.

We rode along the shoreline for few miles along Crissy Field then by the University of San Francisco Presidio Campus. Continuing on to Fort Point, a Civil War era brick fort. It lies at the southern end of the bridge and is open for tours.

South Shorline view of the Golden Gate Bridge

Note: You are unable to bring your bike on the Fort Point Tour. We turned 360 degrees around from the fort to start the second significant uphill climb on Long Avenue and the Battery East Trail. Since it was a weekend, we were to take the west lane. Weekdays daylight to 3:30 you have to use the east lane. We rode first under and then up and on to the Golden Gate Bridge.

GG Bridge from South Shore
Photo: View of bridge from southern shore near Ft. Point.

After going across the bridge we went uphill and then a large downhill ride where we had to share the road with cars. This was on Alexander Ave to Sausalito. A city of just over 7000 people, Sausalito is known for its houseboat homes, it’s wealthy and it’s artistic people. We continued on along Richardson Bay, through Bothin Marsh Preserve on the Mill Valley Sausalito Path. We crossed east to a bridge that took us over Pickleweed Inlet to Hauke Park. From there we took Hamilton Drive under RT 101 Redwood Highway. We traveled on a side road parallel to the highway to Strawberry neighborhood and then on to Tiburon Blvd to our final destination, Tiburon. From there we took the ferry back across the bay to our start point.

The riding portion of the trip took about 2 hours and took us 21 miles. I’d rate this  4.5 Stars.

There are lots of options for biking in San Francisco including Mountain Biking and other off road options as well as miles and miles of paved bike/walking paths.

If you like to bike, I would recommend biking the Golden Gate Bridge! Here is the official San Francisco Bike Map: http://www.sfbike.org/download/map.pdf

 

The 13th Man Creed

Me at the 12th Hole on Friday at the 2012 Rider Cup.

I am the 13th Man.

I support, with pride, my Ryder Cup team.
I value sportsmanship over partisanship.
I do not cheer failure.
At the Ryder Cup, putts are holed, arms go up, dreams are claimed.
Men become legends.
And we, the witnesses,
take home memories we’ll share forever.
I’ll be watching. I’ll be cheering.


I am the 13th Man.

No one followed the Thirteenth Man Creed. Ha

Ryder Cup Etiquette

First of all you need to know a little about the Ryder Cup. This is a different kind of golf tournament. It’s a team sport, the United States vs Europe, its match play instead of the usual stroke play and it’s not an individual match until the last day. The Ryder Cup takes on a special meaning with tradition of sportsmanship, honesty and integrity since 1927. Originally played between the UK and the US, its currently US vs Europe. However, golfers still need to enhance their individual skills and that’s why they utilize the best golf simulators.


On days one and two, in the morning (home captain Davis Love III decided) 8 foursome matches will be played. A foursome requires each team player to take alternate shots throughout the match.

Then in the afternoon 8 fourball matches will be played. Fourball allows players to play the better ball.

On the third day, there will be 12 singles matches. With a total of 28 points available, 14½ points are required to win the Cup, and 14 points are required for the defending champion to retain the Cup. All matches are played to a maximum of 18 holes.

The Ryder Cup is truely a special event. That’s why it the Captains of this years event found it important to make this statement:

While partisanship is natural, it is important to remember that the Ryder Cup is intended to be a friendly competition between the best golfers on two continents. The sportsmanship of the spectators plays a vital role in the continuing spirit and success of the Ryder Cup.

In order to preserve this grand tradition, we hope that there will be no excessive partisanship displayed by the gallery. while all good shot making should be applauded, the prospective misfortunes of an opposing player should not be celebrated — nor should comments of any kind be made while a player prepares to hit his shot.

Golf unites the world. The Ryder Cup is one of the many important events that helps unite the US and Europe. I applaud the captains of the 2012 Ryder Cup Teams! Good Luck to all.

Opening Up for the Buckeyes: The TBDBITL

The Ohio State Marching Band is called TBDBITL for a reason. Because they are the best damn band in the land. Yesterday I went to the opening of the Buckeye football season. The band is all-brass and percussion, unique among all larger universities.

The band was originally formed to provide music for the cadets to march to. Ohio State had a large military school component.

Competition is Strong
Today, the band consists of 225 instrumentalists. 192 of these create the block band that is seen at every home game. The other 33 members are called alternates. These are members of the band who challenge the regular members every week for a spot in the 192-piece block. So every home game is a chance for the alternates to on the field. This ensures that only the best in the land get to play.

One more reason why, The Ohio State Marching Band the Best Damn Band in the Land.

Captain Buffalo


Charter Photo: Jerry Zsigo, Steve Gerding, Rich Horn, Captain Buffalo, Gary Gerding


At 6am we met Captain Don “Buffalo” Lowther.

With that beard,  and that smile I can see how he got his nickname. He said he maintains his beard using the manscaping grooming kit.

Captain Don “Buffalo” Lowther is a native of Port Clinton area and lives there year round. His full time profession is running charters. He starts running in late March and fishes through the beginning of November. The boat was a 2008 Island Hopper with a 12 1/2′ beam equipped with two VHF radios, three GPS mapping receivers, and three fish finders. His charter was $540 for the 5 of us.  More on Buffalo’s Charter (Buffalo was named 2012 Charter Boat Captain of the Year).

We did a little fishing with our best fly fishing rods but mostly we were casting for walleye. I’m glad we bought some new equipment for the trip, we’re constantly getting new gear and we’re constantly in the lookout for discounts, like those at https://www.raise.com/coupons/bass-pro-shops.

Captain Buffalo did everything possible to give us a good fishing day, so we got the best beginner fishing rod and reel for this. He was on the radio with his buddies getting fishing reports. Then running us to his favorite spots.

We caught 8 good sized walleye but Buffalo wasn’t happy. He said the waters were so calm that trolling was working best that day. Capt Buffalo doesn’t have his boat setup for trolling so we continued to jig and cast.

All in all it was a delightful experience. I will book with the Buffalo again next year.

Slideshow of our Charter with Captain Don Buffalo

Ghinggis Khaan is on my Wall


People ask me about the Ghinggis Khaan banner on my office wall.

That banner is a gift from Ankhaa and Dembee two little 16 year old boys who stayed in our home while they were performing at Middfest International, an annual festivity celebrating various countries in the world. Ankhaa and Dembee are from Mongolia and their talent was the Horsehead Fiddle.

Bike Travels on My YouTube Channel

Visit “Bike Travels“, my YouTube Channel.

I’ve taken some amazing bike trips such as my trip to Skagway, Alaska where I biked down White Pass Summit!


Our trip started with a two hour train ride on the White Pass – Yukon Route into the Yukon Territory in Canada. We boarded in Skagway and traveled north to a summit elevation of 2865 feet at the White Pass summit.

There we got our bikes and started down on our 15 mile bike trip.

or Visit “Politics“, My YouTube Channel on Monroe Politics

My company Rentacomputer.com has started a YouTube channel.

33 second sketch commercial for Rentacomputer.com, your Tech Travel Agent.

Adoption Kept These Famous Hearts Beating

Now I’m not famous, but I was adopted like millions of others. And proud of it too!

Abortion wasn’t always used in the past as frequently as today. Adoption kept many important hearts beating. And I might add… to the benefit of society.

Here is a partial list of people who share a common adoption thread with me:
Art Linkletter

Art Linkletter – Linkletter was born Gordon Arthur Kelly in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. In his autobiography, Confessions of a Happy Man (1960), he revealed that he had no contact with his natural parents or his sister or two brothers since he was abandoned when only a few weeks old. He was adopted by Mary (née Metzler) and Fulton John Linkletter, an evangelical preacher.

Dave Thomas
Dave Thomas – Dave Thomas was born on July 2, 1932 in Atlantic City, New Jersey to a young unmarried woman he never knew. He was adopted at 6 weeks by Rex and Auleva Thomas, and as an adult would become a well-known advocate for adoption, founding the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.


Debbie Harry – Harry was born in Miami, Florida and adopted by Catherine Harry and Richard Smith, gift shop proprietors in Hawthorne, New Jersey.

Faith Hill – Hill was born in Ridgeland, Mississippi, north of Jackson, Mississippi. She was adopted as an infant, and named Audrey Faith Perry. She was raised in the nearby town of Star, 25 miles outside of Jackson, Mississippi. Her adoptive parents raised their two biological sons along with Hill in a devout Christian environment.

George Washington Carver
George Washington Carver – Carver was born into slavery in Diamond Grove, Newton County, near Crystal Place, now known as Diamond, Missouri, possibly in 1864 or 1865, though the exact date is not known. His master, Moses Carver, was a German American immigrant who had purchased George’s parents, Mary and Giles, from William P. McGinnis on October 9, 1855, for $700.

Jesus Christ Birth
Jesus – Adopted by Joseph the carpenter, Jesus was miraculously conceived in his mother’s womb by the Holy Spirit, when his mother Mary was still a virgin.


Michael Reagan – He was born in Los Angeles, California, to Irene Flaugher, an unwed woman from Kentucky who became pregnant through an affair with an army corporal named John Bourgholtzer. He was adopted by Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman shortly after his birth.

Moses
Moses – in the Exodus account, the birth of Moses occurred at a time when an unnamed Egyptian Pharaoh had commanded that all male Hebrew children born be killed by drowning in the river Nile. Jochebed, the wife of the Levite Amram, bore a son and kept him concealed for three months. When she could keep him hidden no longer, rather than deliver him to be killed, she set him adrift on the Nile River in a small craft of bulrushes coated in pitch. Moses’ sister Miriam observed the progress of the tiny boat until it reached a place where Pharaoh’s daughter was bathing with her handmaidens. It is said that she spotted the baby in the basket and had her handmaiden fetch it for her. Miriam came forward and asked Pharaoh’s daughter if she would like a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby. Thereafter, Jochebed was employed as the child’s nurse. He grew up and was brought to Pharaoh’s daughter and became her son and a younger brother to the future Pharaoh of Egypt.

Nancy Reagan
Nancy Reagan – Anne Frances Robbins was born on July 6, 1921 as the only child of car salesman Kenneth Seymour Robbins and his actress wife, Edith Luckett. In 1929, her mother married Loyal Davis, a prominent, politically conservative neurosurgeon who moved the family to Chicago. Nancy and her stepfather got along very well; she would later write that he was “a man of great integrity who exemplified old-fashioned values”. He formally adopted her in 1935, and she would always refer to him as her father.

Gerald Ford
President Gerald Ford – Dorothy married Grand Rapids businessman Gerald Rudolff Ford on February 1, 1917. They then called her first son Gerald Rudolff Ford, Jr., although he was not formally adopted by Ford. Gerald Ford, Jr. formally changed his name in 1935, in honor of his stepfather, the only father he really had. Ford’s mother and stepfather did not tell him of his biological father until shortly before he turned fifteen in 1928. Ford described his biological father as “a carefree, well-to-do man who didn’t really give a damn about the hopes and dreams of his firstborn son”.

Bill Clinton
President William Jefferson Clinton – Bill Clinton was born William Jefferson Blythe, III. His father, William Jefferson Blythe, Jr., was a traveling salesman who died in an automobile accident three months before Bill was born. His mother Virginia Dell Cassidy traveled to New Orleans to study nursing soon after he was born. She left Bill in Hope with grandparents Eldridge and Edith Cassidy, who owned and ran a small grocery store. In 1950, Bill’s mother returned from nursing school and married Roger Clinton, Sr., who owned an automobile dealership in Hot Springs, Arkansas with his brother.


Steve Jobs – Steven Paul Jobs was born in San Francisco on 24 February 1955, to two university students, Joanne Carole Schieble and Syrian born Abdulfattah “John” Jandali (Arabic: عبدالفتاح جندلي‎), who were both unmarried at the time. He was adopted at birth by Paul Reinhold Jobs and Clara Jobs. When asked about his “adoptive parents,” Jobs replied emphatically that Paul and Clara Jobs “were my parents.” He later stated in his authorized biography that they “were my parents 1,000%.