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Birth, Death and Marriage Records

The foundation of genealogy or family history research is birth, death and marriage records. It is these vital records of life’s significant events that we turn to when we begin to seek out the knowledge of our ancestry. These public records and others such as the Social Security Death Index (SSDI), offer access to genealogical information that may not be available from any other source.

The Social Security Death Records constitute a data base of around 65/70 million names, most of which belong to the period from 1962 to 1988. This library of archived data is being constantly added to.

Using these family search tools you should be able to:

• Distinguish between people with the same name
• Identify your ancestors
• Establish birth, death and marriage data, such as dates and places
• Learn the occupation and place of residence of ancestors
• Prove/disprove the validity of other records
• Find subtle clues to assist your research

If family history (genealogical research) is something that you are just becoming interested in, then the best place to start is with yourself. Write your own name on a piece of paper with your birth date and place, and now add what you know about your parents and grandparents, and so on, until you have exhausted your immediate knowledge.

Next, if your parents are alive and you can meet with them face to face, take a piece of paper with you and have them exhaust their knowledge of names, dates and places. Repeat this with all living relatives. Write to those you cannot visit.

Leo Talbot is an experienced genealogist that enjoys helping others in their search for their ancestors.

Search vital records and social security death records to find your ancestors.

Even the most accomplished photographers who’ve moved into the digital age experienced an awkward first time, a dreaded beginner’s learning curve. You don’t have to face your digital future with fear and dread! Here are seven quick tips to make your new photographic venture quite painless:

1. Start Simply

Consider an inexpensive digital that will let you practice techniques using basic and automatic settings, including auto-flash and video display. You can easily move up to more complex models as you become more comfortable with the technology.

2. Step Into the Light!

One common characteristic of digital cameras is a small built-in flash that struggles in what you’d usually consider adequate lighting for decent pictures. Always automatically ask for the maximum amount of available light anytime you’re shooting inside.

3. Get Up-Front and Personal

Getting closer to your subject helps shed extra light on the subject, improves contrast and definition, and self-edits those sometimes bizarre background elements that can ruin a photo.

4. Study the Background

Poles rising from a politician’s head … telephone wires seeming to extend out of your loved one’s ears … a bicycle protruding from the bride’s backside … the potential disasters of background “noise” are endless. Always check before you click!

5. Digitals Hate the Night

Just believe it. You’ll want to use a tripod if you do a lot of night shots. Even with a “night” setting, which most basic digital cameras have, you’re apt to get blurred photos as the camera races against itself to manage the dim light.

6. Move Around

There’s no better time to experiment with perspective, light and color than when you’re starting out. Move around your subject to test your camera angles, your perspectives and to know both opportunities and limitations your digital presents.

7. Watch the Sun and Shadows

Even using an automatic flash adjuster, shooting into the sun on a blazing summer’s day or giving in to your subject’s natural move to shade his eyes or face, will likely give your digital photograph either so much light that all contrast is obscured, or else a zebra-like quality that detracts from the subject itself. Practice moving up close, keeping the sun behind you, or choose lightly shaded areas in which to shoot human subjects outdoors.

Kate Sheridan is a Michigan freelance writer, photographer and homesteader whose writings on the fun and foibles of country living may be found at http://www.gardenandhearth.com/RuralLiving.htm.

One of our investor students told us of an interesting probate deal or “adventure” they’re working on now and while it’s a good story, it also illustrates lots of the ins and out of probate or estate issues and purchases.

The Seller (we’ll call him Scott) co-owned this house with his mom, and he co-signed on the loan with mom. Mom has been deceased for 3 years now.

Scott says his sister lives there and is not making the payments, so the mortgage is behind 6 months in payments, and he’s ready to sell the house. He said Mom left no will for her estate, but there are 6 other siblings. If that’s not enough of an investing adventure for you yet—Scott then tells us that the bank is threatening foreclosure.

They’re not just threatening….we discover that the house is scheduled to go to the courthouse steps in 3 weeks. Why would anyone even try to purchase a mess like this with a short timeframe? Well, Scott owes $33,000 + $5000 in back payments on a cosmetic, light fix-up $10k rehab house that’s worth about $140,000 when it’s all fixed up. So let’s do a little math to see if there’s just a wee bit of profit in it.

ARV $140k minus Rehab $10k minus BuySellHold $21k minus Profit $25k equals MAO $84k

So the max we could afford to offer on this house is $84k, and he has to have $38k to cover the mortgage and the back payments, say another $35k so that each Scott and every other sibling/heir gets $5k profit too. That’s a total of $73k, still leaving $11k EXTRA profit for the investor!! There IS big money to be made if you understand issues like these!

Now, how do we work through the estate stuff. Well first we (or Scott) would have to negotiate this price with all the siblings to reach agreement on their share. Next they’d all have to verify that “mom didn’t leave a will”. If so, Scott could petition the probate court to appoint him as Administrator of the estate and he’d have to run a notification of the estate ad, and get all the siblings to sign document agreeing to his being made Administrator. Now Scott could sign the Purchase Contract as “Scott, Administrator of the Estate of Momma”.

If the siblings said “no, Mom DID have a will”….then we’d spank Scott for fibbing, and see who was appointed as Executor of the estate in her will. That person would then have the court probate the will, and run an ad. Then the Executor would have to sign the Purchase contract as “[Name], Executor of the Estate of Momma”, and sell the house and distribute the profit to the sibling/heirs as described in mom’s will.

In the meantime, don’t forget the upcoming foreclosure auction either. It’s a race between the probating and the foreclosure to see who will hit the ‘finish line’ first. So the investor (she can say she’s a friend of Scott, just helping out) will need to talk to the lender or their foreclosing attorney, in order to stall the auction.

She’ll need to get a ’statement of account’ to find out what the loan balance is, and also what the back payments, penalties and attorney fees add up to. These additional fees could be paid by the investor as preparation for a subject-to purchase. The risk is that if there is no will AND the sibling/heirs couldn’t reach a quick agreement on price, she’d have to keep making monthly payments to the lender to prevent foreclosure but she wouldn’t yet own it until (hopefully) the siblings reach agreement and appoint Scott as Administrator.

I can hear you saying “but the investor could try for a short sale purchase direct from the lender, and not worry about all these siblings and probate issues”….problem is she can’t get all the borrowers (momma’s deceased) to sign all the short sale paperwork, and she doesn’t yet have the property successfully probated to have a new legal Adminstrator/Executor that could sign either.

So no one can yet legally sell, nor sign short sale paperwork until either estate is probated or the lender forecloses and takes back ownership of the property….the clock is ticking…we shall see.

Best of success & abundance,

Lou Castillo

About The Author Lou Castillo FREE! Real Estate Investing Secrets To Earning $100,000 Your 1st Year! — 11 Overlooked Real Estate Statregies That Will Turn Your Investing Business upside Down And On The Fast Track TO Success…Guranteed! Plus A Bonus Track With A Secret So Successful It Can Double Your Investing Income Overnight! http://www.InvestorSuccessTactics.com

Far apart from the golden age of 1950’s America, 1950’s Britain was still on rations, and struggling to get over the devastation suffered in World War II. However, for the British youth a new dawn was rising. Thanks to full employment and hire purchase and a new found freedom from National Service, the British youth was on their own two feet with money in their pocket and they wanted everybody to know about. A new movement known as the “teddy boys” was emerging across the UK, influenced by American Rock ‘n’ Roll and as Bill Haley’s cult movie “Rock Around The Clock” premiered in the Trocadero in London’s Elephant and Castle followed by outrage from the British establishment and joyous riots from the youths, the Ted movement was now alive and kicking.

Ever eager for a scoop, the press did not fail to capitalise on this new front page fodder. Soon the violence, and imminent danger that the Teddy Boys posed to British society was all over the front pages. From the prime minister to the archbishop, the British establishment was in turmoil as they watched their once dutiful youths turn into unruly wild cats. Whether much of this was by natural progression or greatly fuelled by the press, the outcome was a rough, dangerous youth movement that was loving every minute in the limelight and indeed acting up to it.

The teddy boys were here and soon the music makers and fashion retailers caught on to a new and untapped market. Very soon, commercial Rock’n’Roll was being slopped out and Teddy Boy fashions were on the high street and every kid wanted a quiff and a flick-knife. Thus, almost as quick as they had come, they were burnt out by their own famed notoriety and at now at odds with themselves for becoming everything they despised, just another high street fad, the Teds were gone.

By late 1950’s the original teddy boys were no more, broken up into various sub cultures, most fell by the wayside but two major groups remained and grew from the ruins of what was once the Teddy Boys to become the “Ton Up Boys” and the “Coffee Bar Cats”…

The “Ton Up Boys”, were those teddies that had held the motorcycle and American Rock’n’Roll as their foundations and now wore leather, big boots and rode British machines to and from various road side cafés.

The “Coffee Bar Cats” aspired to a more Latin look, and their neo Italian style appreciated modern jazz, ventless thin lapelled box suit jackets and they chose Italian scooters as the superior mode of transport for such well dressed Cats…

It’s not hard to figure how these late 50’s early 60’s sub culture’s and indeed underground fashions grew into the Mods and Rockers of the mid 60’s.

The Coffee Bar Cats felt they were the modern movement and the Ton Up Boys represented all that was gone and should remain buried in a pile of dirty bikes and dirty leathers. Hence as they grew and needed to encompass all their new members, they eventually termed themselves the Modernists and the Mods were born.

The “Ton Up Boys”, enjoying the same growth in numbers and being known for their love of Rock ‘n Roll found themselves becoming the Rockers.

Unsurprisingly the Rockers did not agree with the Modernist view of themselves as outdated and somehow lower class. They saw the Mods with their dandy dress, penchant for wearing eyeliner and popping pills at every opportunity as an insult to all that is British and macho.

The Rockers did not like the Mods and the Mods did not like the Rockers.
The lines were drawn…..

Copyright 2006 www.fishtailparkas.com

Europe’s only specialist collector and seller of genuine vintage and classic US army M1951 and M1965 issue fishtail parkas. If you want a friendly, genuine service and authentic items please see http://www.fishtailparkas.com

Many who enter the field of voiceover do so because they believe
it to be a snap! Get the script, sit down… and read it. Not so
fast! Even the most talented, experienced and professional
voiceover talent goes through a process with each script,
albeit, that process varies depending upon one’s approach, style
and (yes) indiosyncracies.

Regardless, and I’m sure you’ve heard this before, voiceover
sure beats “digging ditches”. No question. But, trust me… it’s
not as easy as the pros make it seem.

What separates the men from the boys (or, in the interest of
P.C. - the women from the girls), isn’t so much the talent, the
experience, etc. It’s the daily routine of operating a real
business. You may love doing voiceovers, but absolutely abhor
the process of making a business out of it. You need to develop
a contact list, THEN keep up with it. You need to build and
maintain a studio (or something resembling a place in which to
work). You need a website to display your abilities and
experience. You need a plan! Let me repeat that one… you need
a PLAN! How will you make yourself stand head and shoulders
above your competition?

Once you’ve deciphered the answers to those critical elements of
beginning a business, you need to market, market, market, then -
market some more. This is the only creative outlet in your
arsenal. If you’re going to spend the time - and you’ll have to
in order to succeed - make it fun! Nobody knows you better than
you do. Take some liberty - expose yourself. Now, pull your
pants back up, smartass!

Marketing is what separates the wannabes from the true pros.
Maybe you have tons of dough to drop on expert outside
marketers, SEO gurus, webmasters, producers and the like. More
power to you (if you want someone else handling your business
affairs).

If you can’t get excited about telling people who you are and
what you can do for them (and the internet opens you up to the
entire world), then you may as well hang up your headset now. On
the other hand, if the mere idea of touting your benefits to a
potential client coupled with the understanding that rejection
is a major part of our world gets your juices flowing, welcome
to the ranks!

Competition is stiff! But, there’s room for us all. Now, back to
work.

“Testing… testing, 1, 2, 3…”

Some of the best sales people I have ever met, were able to meet
all of their sales goals without ever selling a thing. They
simply recommended their products to their customers.

They were able to do this because they spent years building
their book of business.

Whenever a current customer walked into their office, or called
them on the telephone, the sales person would recommend to them
a new product or promotion that they had going on at the time.

A few things come into play here. The sales person had built a
relationship with this customer over the years. A business
relationship, like all relationships, is built on trust. These
customers trusted the sales person, so they usually went with
what was recommended.

Another thing is, the sales person knew the customer’s needs.
The sales person did not recommend something to the customer
that they did not need. He knew his customer well enough to
recommend something that was going to make their life a little
easier, or save them some money.

One last thing, whenever the customer approaches the sales
person, it is a perfect opportunity to recommend your products.
It is not as though the sales person called the customer and
started pushing his products. Just the fact that the customers
are comfortable approaching you or calling you, is a plus. It
doesn’t get any easier than that.

Keep in mind, things like this just don’t happen over night, a
lot of work was involved. These sales people have spent years
building relationships through networking channels, and being
loyal to their customers. Their customers have returned that
loyalty by sending referrals their way.

Each time you speak with a person by phone or in person, it is
an opportunity to strengthen the relationship you have with your
customer. Get to know them, find out their needs, than,
recommend the products you have that would fit their needs.

The more time you spend with a customer the better, this gives
you and the customer an opportunity to build a business
relationship.

Customers truly appreciate this kind of interaction. They want
their lives to be more convenient. They want to save money. So
get to know them, ask questions about their work and their
family, people love to talk about themselves.

Take the extra time required to build relationships. People
don’t want to be treated as statistics, so use their name
frequently when speaking with them. Don’t close the sale and
hurry them out the door.

These are the habits of successful sales people, so learn from
them, and meeting your sales goals will seem a lot easier. Good
luck.

This article may be reproduced by anyone at any time, as long as
the authors name and reference links are kept in tact.

Since Starbucks first went International in the early 1990s,
espresso has been the number-one item on the minds of those who
need a quick pick-me-up to get their day started. It started out
as a fad, but with the onslaught of Friends on NBC in 1994 and
Starbucks reproducing like rabbits throughout the last decade of
the 20th Century, it has morphed into a worldwide phenomenon.

But what is espresso exactly. To put it in the simplest terms,
espresso is coffee’s more aggressive and strong willed little
brother. Espresso is caffeine’s answer to a shot of whisky. Just
as addictive in some cases, but will not get you thrown in jail.

Espresso is made by filtering 1.5 to 2 ounces of water through
tightly ground, espresso coffee, roughly the caffeine equivalent
of four cups of coffee. If everything goes according to plan,
what you get is 2 ounces of compressed caffeine with a small
layer of foam on the top. The resulting concoction looks like a
dark German beer with a head…only a lot smaller.

But how do you make espresso? Is it as easy as Starbucks would
have you believe? In a word…yes. So where do you start? Again,
the answer is simple…right here. There are five basic types of
espresso machines. Let’s take a quick look:

Don’t panic if your doctor tells you that your newborn baby has jaundice. Jaundice in a newborn baby is a common condition.

Most newborns have normal physiological jaundice and in very rare cases is the jaundice due to serious liver disorders.

Why my baby?

The blood cells in your baby’s body are broken up into a yellow pigment called bilirubin. The level of bilirubin needs to be kept normal by the liver and kidneys by excreting it in the baby’s poop. But the liver of a newborn baby is not very mature. So bilirubin levels rise in the blood causing yellow pigmentation of the skin.

More than 90% of newborn babies are affected by normal physiological jaundice. So relax. This type of jaundice is seen usually on second or third day of the baby’s life and disappears by the 7th or 10th day.

How to tell if your baby has jaundice

Yellow discoloration of the skin and the white of the eye is the key symptom of jaundice. Your baby may also be sleepier than usual. This could be normal physiological jaundice especially when it appears 3-4 days after birth.

Monitor your baby after 1 or 2 days of his birth. You can diagnose jaundice in the newborn baby by doing a very simple test. Press your fingertip against your baby’s forehead or nose tip. If it appears white, you have nothing to worry about. If a yellowish color appears, it is time to call your doctor. A blood test might be needed to confirm that there are no specific causes for the jaundice.

More on jaundice in the newborn

Normal physiological jaundice does not affect baby’s general health.

Breast milk can also produce jaundice in a few babies. However, the pros of breastfeeding outweigh the condition and you will probably be advised continue breastfeeding.

Premature babies are more prone to developing jaundice. Blood group incompatibility between you and your child can also produce jaundice.

When jaundice is a cause for alarm

If jaundice appears within 24 hours of birth and persists for more than 14 days, it could be pathological jaundice due to a liver condition. Other pointers include baby’s refusal to feed, dark yellow urine, pale or clay colored poop and a weak and irritable baby. Call your doctor immediately if you detect any of these warning signs.

How your baby will be treated

Normal physiological jaundice in your newborn does not require any special treatment. Adequate fluid intake is essential. Breast feed your baby at least 8-12 times a day.

A mini sunbath might be recommended. You may be asked to put your baby’s crib near the window that gets the maximum sunlight. Make sure you protect baby’s eyes and limit exposure to direct sunlight. Follow the instructions from your caregiver.

In case of severe jaundice, phototherapy or bililight therapy will be used. Your baby will be exposed to artificial light, which can decrease the bilirubin levels.

Most newborn babies have jaundice. In some, it so mild that it goes unnoticed and in some babies it may worsen to produce symptoms.

Detecting the symptoms early does help. So do keep a close watch on baby (as if you need telling). If your newborn is diagnosed with jaundice, you now know what to do.

* About the author *

This article has been provided by ParentingSurvivalGuide.com.

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Copyright 2005 ParentingSurvivalGuide.com, all rights reserved.

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