General Information

My dad sent me an article from the New York Times this morning and entitled the e-mail Read and Heed. If you send or upload photos from your cell phone, be sure to read the full article!

When Adam Savage, host of the popular science program “MythBusters,” posted a picture on Twitter of his automobile parked in front of his house, he let his fans know much more than that he drove a Toyota Land Cruiser. Adam Savage, host of the popular science program “Mythbusters,” posted a picture on Twitter of his automobile parked in front of his house that was geotagged. The ICanStalkU.com Web site provides step-by-step instructions for disabling geotagging on the iPhone. Instructions on how to disable the geotagging feature of an Android phone. Embedded in the image was a geotag, a bit of data providing the longitude and latitude of where the photo was taken. Hence, he revealed exactly where he lived. And since the accompanying text was “Now it’s off to work,” potential thieves knew he would not be at home. Security experts and privacy advocates have recently begun warning about the potential dangers of geotags, which are embedded in photos and videos taken with GPS-equipped smartphones and digital cameras. Because the location data is not visible to the casual viewer, the concern is that many people may not realize it is there; and they could be compromising their privacy, if not their safety, when they post geotagged media online. Mr. Savage said he knew about geotags. (He should, as host of a show popular with technology followers.) But he said he had neglected to disable the function on his iPhone before taking the picture and uploading it to Twitter. “I guess it was a lack of concern because I’m not nearly famous enough to be stalked,” he said, “and if I am, I want a raise.” Still, Mr. Savage has since turned off the geotag feature on his iPhone, and he isn’t worried about the archived photo on Twitter because he has moved to a new residence.

The article goes on to give more information about the this technology and gives a website that teaches people how to turn off the phone feature.

The Web site ICanStalkU.com provides step-by-step instructions for disabling the photo geotagging function on iPhone, BlackBerry, Android and Palm devices.

Gotta love technology! Read the full article here.

Seventeen Year-Olds

This has been a difficult last couple of days, and the number seventeen seems to the theme. First, seventeen year-old Steven Batt was killed in Owatonna on Tuesday. Then seventeen year-old Bubba Bye died on Wednesday. Even though I didn’t know either young man personally, I know people who have been touched by Bubba’s unexpected death.

This morning at 12:30 am, my daughter received a call from some teenaged friends who were in a car accident swerving to avoid a deer, not far from where Bubba’s accident occurred. We rushed there to see what we could do to help. While all three people were okay, the truck was crushed when it rolled and they all received some minor injuries.

I’m so thankful that they were okay, but I hope people, including my own children, learn to drive safely at ALL times.

Aaron Jacobson lost two friends when six people were killed in the Isanti accident back in April 2010. He was quoted as saying, “It only takes a millisecond for something to go wrong … You never know when something is going to go wrong driving a car. Stuff happens every day and its super unfortunate and it hurts down deep.”

One really sad part of this morning’s accident is that one of Bubba’s friends came over to stay the night with us for a reprieve from the sadness she had been feeling. I know that seeing the accident scene was very difficult for her.

Brianna

The irony of all of this for me is that today would have been the 17th birthday of my daughter Brianna, who died when she was nine years old back in 2002. She died in her sleep and not in an accident, but the emotions surrounding the events of her death, funeral and life afterwards remain very similar. The hours and days after her death are just a whirlwind in my mind. We had family and friends to help us with the funeral details, burial arrangements, food and cleaning, and emotional support. I received word of prayers being sent our way from around the country and even overseas. Friends helped care for my 8 other children so we could deal with everything we needed to. We had meals to eat for many days after the funeral. I found great comfort in the closeness of those around me and I was very grateful for their help and presence.

Time went on, and people went back to their own lives. The shock of her death dissipated and was replaced with deep sadness. The days went by very slowly. Then the anniversaries started. She died the day before Halloween, so Halloween is not my favorite holiday. The first Thanksgiving Day without her. First Christmas. First New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Easter, Memorial Day, Fourth of July. Especially hard was her first birthday after her death. We started a tradition of going to the cemetery for cake and a party each year.

The most difficult first was the one year anniversary of her death, but I was so relieved that we were finally finished with those “Firsts.” Along the way I had many people send cards and emails letting me know that they remembered us and Brianna.

My Thoughts on How to Help Bubba’s Family and Others Who Suffer Loss

I have learned a lot about Zimmerman and the surrounding Sherburne Area in the two years I’ve lived here. I’ve met many wonderful residents, law enforcement and government officials, educators, business people, volunteer workers and religious leaders. People rally together in a crisis – they are willing to provide assistance. I’ve seen much unselfishness and charity. We see the newsworthy events that make the headlines and television broadcasts, but we don’t usually see the small things people do behind the scenes. However, I can attest that those things are much appreciated.

The Bye family, Bubba’s friends, teachers, coaches, and the community will say their goodbyes on Monday. But keep these people in your thoughts and prayers in the days, weeks, and months to come. Remember them on the special anniversaries and on just ordinary days.

Sometimes just a nod, a kind word, a pat on the back or comforting hug, can make all of the difference. Trust your feelings, your gut instincts. If one of Bubba’s loved ones comes to your mind out of the blue, give them a call and check on them. I believe that we receive divine guidance to direct us to others who may need our help.

Have you ever said, “Something told me to do that, but I didn’t listen?” Be sure to listen – don’t miss an opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life!

Today

I have every assurance that we will see Brianna again one day, and on special days like today, we are blessed to feel her near us. Yet two of my daughters still had tears in their eyes this evening as we remembered Brianna and celebrated her birthday with a cake together as a family.

I received a lovely email from one of my sisters today, letting me know that she was thinking of us. She does not know how much that means to me. The pain does lessen over time, but kind words from family and friends are very important to me, even eight years later.

Thank you so much to those who still remember our little Brianna – she is still an important part of our life!

Hi Everyone!

The holiday season is upon us and it’s time to start thinking about festivities. I have been putting together a new Christmas site called Christmas Ways.

As I am getting older, I find that the Norwegian and Swedish Christmas traditions of my family are becoming more important to me and I want to be able to share these things with my children and grandchildren. The website has been created to provide visitors information on all aspects of Christmas, including the following categories:

• Christmas Around the World
• Christmas Books
• Christmas Crafts
• Christmas Decorations
• Christmas Food
• Christmas Gifts
• Christmas Health
• Christmas Memories
• Christmas Music
• Christmas Nativities
• Christmas Parties
• Christmas Traditions
• Christmas Trees

Come take a look – it’s still in it’s beginning stages, but I am adding a few articles each day.

Please feel free to contact us with suggestions or if you would like to submit an idea or article to the new site.

You can find it at: http://www.christmasways.com

Merry Christmas!!

Well, it appears that everyone has gotten over their bouts with the Swine Flu.

Unfortunately, while I am improving, I am still frequently coughing and tired all of the time.

I am trying to complete my projects but I am behind in my Sherburne blogging.

I hope you all stay healthy!

I have the first of my four children home from school today:

• 102.7 temperature
• Headache
• Sore throat
• Chills
• Coughing
• Stuffy nose
• Achy muscles

Any guesses as to what she has? Classic influenza symptoms, wouldn’t you say?

I called the school to let them know. I also asked the nurse what the percentage of children out sick is. She told me that she wasn’t sure that she was allowed to give me that information and she forwarded me to the district nurse, who was not at her desk.

I would like to get an idea of how prevalent the disease is in the schools my children attend. I personally wish the school districts would post their numbers on their websites.

I would prefer that we were given more details about the local area and our current pandemic situation. The hospitals do not even test unless the patient is hospitalized, so we have know clue what the real numbers of affected people are. I know that there was a student in my son’s class who was hospitalized for Swine flu and another on the children’s bus that was.

Remember–cough in your sleeve and wash your hands!

I can’t wait to see which child is next.

Addendum:

Nadynne Dzuira, the District Nurse returned my call. She was very helpful in explaining the procedures the schools go by. She said that there are definitely H1N1 cases in our schools as well as in all of the surrounding areas, but they have been told by the epidemiologists that they do not recommend closing schools as a disease-preventing measure. Schools should function if they can, but close if there are too many students and faculty out sick.

The schools are asking parents to keep their children home until they have been symptom-free, not just fever-free, for at least 24 hours.

We have seen news stories over the past week concerning an 8.0 earthquake in Samoa and 2 major earthquakes in Western Indonesia, in addition to a major typhoon in the Philippines. I have friends who know personally of people suffering in those areas. If you would like to donate money to help them, see this site:

http://purecompassion.org/

Charity is the pure love of Christ and God blesses us as we bless others. If you aren’t in a position to donate money, I am sure your prayers will be well-received!

Annika and I both had our birthdays today. My mom and Dave’s mom came up for a family party. Dave prepared a delicious lasagna dinner with all of my favorite trimmings.

Just as we were about to sit down to eat, one of the children came running in and calling us to look outside. All of sudden we saw our beloved trampoline fly out of the backyard, roll through the neighbor’s yard,  and kitty-corner across our street into another neighbors patch of tall pine trees.

Jared and Gregg tried to retrieve it, but it was stuck pretty well and they were more interested in dinner. After we finished eating, they were able to bring it back home. By then, the winds had slowed down, which made carrying it much easier. (Think “really huge umbrella!)

Here’s a picture:

Dave and I went to Tennessee to pick up the children. They spend seven weeks each summer with their father. I was able to see all four of the grandchildren, which was very cool. I would have liked to make our way home leisurely, but my 15 year-old daughter has a boyfriend that she was DYING to get home to see.

I love to make the lives of the children as miserable as possible, just to get even with them, so Dave told them that we were going to stop in Nebraska to see the World’s Largest Ball of Aluminum Foil. Annika was devastated, but we insisted that we were going to do one thing we wanted as part of our trip. Dave and I kept talking about directions, and making up details as we went. Every time, I could see Annika furiously texting away to some “unknown” person.

For those of you who don’t know, I love being creative in Photoshop. After we got home, I used my mad skills to make one of my masterpieces. Since there isn’t really any World’s Largest Ball of Aluminum Foil in Nebraska, this one is really good! I didn’t want to take the extra time to make it look really real, but you get the idea!

The best part was convincing the younger girls that we actually went and got pictures of them even though they were so tired that they don’t even remember getting out of the car. Life does have its great moments – and sometime’s you just have to make them up!

(Click to see the larger version)

I sent my Dell laptop into the Geek Squad on June 2, 2009. It is now six weeks later. My laptop has been to Louisville, Kentucky twice and is now sitting on some Geek’s work station in Chicago. It was supposed to be overnighted for the third trip on June 29, but somehow it wasn’t received in Chicago until July 6. They tried to tell us that it was because of the Fourth of July holiday. Hmmm, something is not adding up properly here.

Of course, the Geek Squad is only the middleman between us and Dell, so they cannot do anything they are not authorized to do or they won’t get paid. They did offer us a very generous opportunity to purchase a brand-new computer, set it up and use it until my laptop comes back, and then they will take it back with no restocking fee. I’m thinking that buying another computer from them is NOT the answer.

According to a local Geek, it has now been sent over for “Extended Testing.” I guess that means that whatever they are doing is not working. Surprise!

Nevertheless, if you’ve noticed the blog has been pretty sparse, don’t ask!

This is a clip of my daughter, Annika, signing “God Bless the USA” in 2004 at a political victory party.

I hope you have a wonderful Independence Day–remember why we celebrate it!

Please go to YouTube and rate the video!