The back part of this week was dominated by virtual commercial activity around here.
First, on impulse, I ordered Google Cardboard, a sort of virtual reality prototype that is very cheap. Dylan will probably help me assemble it later tonight.
Then, since his third birthday party is this Sunday, I ordered a size 3 soccer ball for Oliver. That arrived today.
I got a message from Julia that she would like a sweatshirt, maybe for Christmas. I ordered it today and she will get it next week, a few days after her 17th birthday.
Tonight, Dylan and I ordered Indian food from Spicy Bite, which arrived a bit ago and we have consumed about half of it.
As close as I have followed and covered the tech revolution, it still amazes me how much the Internet has changed our lifestyles. None of this would have been possible 21 years ago.
Now it is routine.
-30-
Friday, October 23, 2015
Monday, October 19, 2015
Monday Break
Came home at mid-day to drive my youngest son to Trader Joe's, where he dropped off a job application form. He gets very nervous about things like this and he thinks people can tell. But he didn't look nervous as he handed the application to a man behind the counter at the back of the store.
The man looked it over, said they are indeed hiring, and asked Dylan what his favorite TJ product is. He said a Mac & Cheese that it is easy to microwave and the guys smiled and said, "That *is* good."
They shook hands and I thought I could see a flicker of positive impression cross the man's expression. Dylan is such a good kid; he probably doesn't realize it yet but people can sense that about him. Honest, smart, funny, a bit shy in a good way.
I hope he gets a job soon for his sake. I think he finds job searching much more stressful than school. He told me this "gap year" has already made going back to school an attractive option.
-30-
The man looked it over, said they are indeed hiring, and asked Dylan what his favorite TJ product is. He said a Mac & Cheese that it is easy to microwave and the guys smiled and said, "That *is* good."
They shook hands and I thought I could see a flicker of positive impression cross the man's expression. Dylan is such a good kid; he probably doesn't realize it yet but people can sense that about him. Honest, smart, funny, a bit shy in a good way.
I hope he gets a job soon for his sake. I think he finds job searching much more stressful than school. He told me this "gap year" has already made going back to school an attractive option.
-30-
Saturday, October 17, 2015
Letter From England
The Wisharts and Wilsons are my Scottish ancestors. My maternal grandmother was Elsie Wishart, referenced in the first paragraph.
I've been recommended to get in touch with you by Lisa, who has a similar family tree on the Wisharts to yours, as she informs me you are related to Elsie Wishart (b. 1886). I'm researching Jessie Wishart (b. 1881) as part of a project I've been doing for a few years about famous swimmers of the 19th and early 20th century. Both the Wishart and Wilson families were famed in swimming circles in Scotland - I've made a brief note about them below:
William L Wishart (b. 1852) was a a noted prize swimmer - his position as Baths Superintendent etc. ran alongside his career as a cabinet maker, and this is why it has the appearance of career changes; in fact by 1878 he was Hon. Secretary of the West of Scotland Swimming Club, and organised swimming galas as well as donating trophies for competition. It was quite normal for a professional swimmer or swimming instructor to have another career, as the baths were generally closed for the winter months and income from swimming dwindled. A couple of leading English professional swimmers were pianoforte tuners, and one world champion ran his own painting and decorating business, for example. At various times, therefore, they would list their profession as either the swimming-related one, or the other one. But William was first and foremost a swimmer, however good a cabinet maker he was!
The whole family, indeed, appear to have been good at swimming - as one might expect given their parents' prowess. Catherine McKinnon Wishart was also a swimming teacher from the 1901 Census as you'll have noted. Glasgow's School Board also gave decent swimming tuition to its pupils during this period, which was not the case throughout Britain - some towns taking the matter of teaching its young to swim more seriously than others. So these things converged to make the Wishart children well-placed to shine at swimming.
William Lindsay Wishart junior (b. 1880) swam for Glasgow South Side S.C. and represented them in the 1898 Scottish Life-Saving Competition; he also swam for Glasgow Amateur S.C. in the 1908 Scottish Team Championship, and played water polo. In 1904 he was Hon. Secretary of the Scottish branch of the Life-Saving Society, so was also a prominent official. In 1900 he took part in the Scottish Graceful Swimming Championship - I suspect he took part in other Scottish championships I've yet to research - for he has not been my main focus.
Janie Wishart (b. 1884), as she was known when swimming, also swam for Glasgow's South-Side S.C., and in 1910 swam 3rd in a handicap race in which her sister, Annie, took part. Elsie also swam in such competitions - the handicaps in Glasgow were generally over 50yds (typically two lengths of the baths).
Ina Wishart (Catherine b. 1888) was entered for the 1907 Scottish Ladies' Championship - I'm not yet sure if she in fact swam in the event, but she wasn't placed in the first three if she did so. I'll keep looking for more info on this event.
Annie (b. 1893) swam second to her sister, Janie, in a 1910 handicap; and in 1908 at Whitevale Baths, Glasgow, she won a 50yds handicap race, receiving an 8sec start from the reigning Scottish lady champion.
But the star swimmer in the family was Jessie Wishart (b. 1881) - she was the Scottish champion (the race was over 200yds) in 1901 and 1902, and 200yds Scottish record holder in the latter year, and was one of the first great Scottish lady swimmers.
The family's fame doesn't end there, however. Catherine's brothers were also famous: Robert Wilson was Scotland's half-mile champion 1876, 79, and '80 (when his brother, William officiated as starter for the race), winning the trophy outright for his third win, and simultaneously finishing the championship until it was revived in the 1890s. He was in charge at Glasgow's Townhead Baths in 1878.
William Wilson, Scottish Graceful Swimming Champion, was in charge of the Victoria Baths, Glasgow, in 1878, and clearly both the Wilsons and Wisharts would have known each other well. His wife taught the girls' of Glasgow to swim and was herself well-known. William is in the International Swimming Hall of Fame as the man who originated water polo, wrote seminal books on swimming, and invented the Life-Saving Society drills which were practised around the world - by this he must have saved thousands of lives - and has his own Wiki page!
I'll keep trying to find out what happened to Jessie, and hopefully one day get a photo of her for my project. I've researched hundreds of prominent swimmers of the period, and contacted many families, so I probably have as good an idea as anyone about the life and times of the Victorian and Edwardian swimmer - if you have anything you feel you'd like to ask, please feel free. I have quite a bit of info about the Wilson and Wisharts swimming I can share but am out of space here.
I'm based in Epsom, Surrey, England...
Regards,
Kevin McCarthy"
I've been recommended to get in touch with you by Lisa, who has a similar family tree on the Wisharts to yours, as she informs me you are related to Elsie Wishart (b. 1886). I'm researching Jessie Wishart (b. 1881) as part of a project I've been doing for a few years about famous swimmers of the 19th and early 20th century. Both the Wishart and Wilson families were famed in swimming circles in Scotland - I've made a brief note about them below:
William L Wishart (b. 1852) was a a noted prize swimmer - his position as Baths Superintendent etc. ran alongside his career as a cabinet maker, and this is why it has the appearance of career changes; in fact by 1878 he was Hon. Secretary of the West of Scotland Swimming Club, and organised swimming galas as well as donating trophies for competition. It was quite normal for a professional swimmer or swimming instructor to have another career, as the baths were generally closed for the winter months and income from swimming dwindled. A couple of leading English professional swimmers were pianoforte tuners, and one world champion ran his own painting and decorating business, for example. At various times, therefore, they would list their profession as either the swimming-related one, or the other one. But William was first and foremost a swimmer, however good a cabinet maker he was!
The whole family, indeed, appear to have been good at swimming - as one might expect given their parents' prowess. Catherine McKinnon Wishart was also a swimming teacher from the 1901 Census as you'll have noted. Glasgow's School Board also gave decent swimming tuition to its pupils during this period, which was not the case throughout Britain - some towns taking the matter of teaching its young to swim more seriously than others. So these things converged to make the Wishart children well-placed to shine at swimming.
William Lindsay Wishart junior (b. 1880) swam for Glasgow South Side S.C. and represented them in the 1898 Scottish Life-Saving Competition; he also swam for Glasgow Amateur S.C. in the 1908 Scottish Team Championship, and played water polo. In 1904 he was Hon. Secretary of the Scottish branch of the Life-Saving Society, so was also a prominent official. In 1900 he took part in the Scottish Graceful Swimming Championship - I suspect he took part in other Scottish championships I've yet to research - for he has not been my main focus.
Janie Wishart (b. 1884), as she was known when swimming, also swam for Glasgow's South-Side S.C., and in 1910 swam 3rd in a handicap race in which her sister, Annie, took part. Elsie also swam in such competitions - the handicaps in Glasgow were generally over 50yds (typically two lengths of the baths).
Ina Wishart (Catherine b. 1888) was entered for the 1907 Scottish Ladies' Championship - I'm not yet sure if she in fact swam in the event, but she wasn't placed in the first three if she did so. I'll keep looking for more info on this event.
Annie (b. 1893) swam second to her sister, Janie, in a 1910 handicap; and in 1908 at Whitevale Baths, Glasgow, she won a 50yds handicap race, receiving an 8sec start from the reigning Scottish lady champion.
But the star swimmer in the family was Jessie Wishart (b. 1881) - she was the Scottish champion (the race was over 200yds) in 1901 and 1902, and 200yds Scottish record holder in the latter year, and was one of the first great Scottish lady swimmers.
The family's fame doesn't end there, however. Catherine's brothers were also famous: Robert Wilson was Scotland's half-mile champion 1876, 79, and '80 (when his brother, William officiated as starter for the race), winning the trophy outright for his third win, and simultaneously finishing the championship until it was revived in the 1890s. He was in charge at Glasgow's Townhead Baths in 1878.
William Wilson, Scottish Graceful Swimming Champion, was in charge of the Victoria Baths, Glasgow, in 1878, and clearly both the Wilsons and Wisharts would have known each other well. His wife taught the girls' of Glasgow to swim and was herself well-known. William is in the International Swimming Hall of Fame as the man who originated water polo, wrote seminal books on swimming, and invented the Life-Saving Society drills which were practised around the world - by this he must have saved thousands of lives - and has his own Wiki page!
I'll keep trying to find out what happened to Jessie, and hopefully one day get a photo of her for my project. I've researched hundreds of prominent swimmers of the period, and contacted many families, so I probably have as good an idea as anyone about the life and times of the Victorian and Edwardian swimmer - if you have anything you feel you'd like to ask, please feel free. I have quite a bit of info about the Wilson and Wisharts swimming I can share but am out of space here.
I'm based in Epsom, Surrey, England...
Regards,
Kevin McCarthy"
Friday, October 16, 2015
Weekending Happily
So Aidan found a car with the help of his friend who knows about cars and his girlfriend. He bought it, and he got an insurance policy. This feels like one of those growing up moments for him. Cars are definitely cheaper in Missoula than out here.
Dylan's still searching for a job; no luck so far. he is reading tons of books, including Faulkner's Light in August, which has always been among my favorite American novels. It can be a tough read, but captures much of what life was like in the South 83 years ago.
Julia turns 17 soon. We are planning a family dinner or lunch up in Napa to celebrate. She seems to be loving her life up there, texting me today that she was going out for coffee with a friend.
At work, the online news group I supervise is thriving. Traffic is strong and many of the stories we produce are significant in the sense that most other media outlets around here don't cover them.
It's the weekend -- a time for me to breathe and sleep in a bit. Irony is I usually wake up early on days I don't have to. I wonder why that is?
At this hour, the boys are playing video games via their xboxes here and there. I'm watching baseball, even though my team is out of it. The final four teams in the race for the World Series include one in New York (the Mets), Toronto (the Blue Jays), Chicago (the Cubs!), and New York (the Mets!)
-30-
Dylan's still searching for a job; no luck so far. he is reading tons of books, including Faulkner's Light in August, which has always been among my favorite American novels. It can be a tough read, but captures much of what life was like in the South 83 years ago.
Julia turns 17 soon. We are planning a family dinner or lunch up in Napa to celebrate. She seems to be loving her life up there, texting me today that she was going out for coffee with a friend.
At work, the online news group I supervise is thriving. Traffic is strong and many of the stories we produce are significant in the sense that most other media outlets around here don't cover them.
It's the weekend -- a time for me to breathe and sleep in a bit. Irony is I usually wake up early on days I don't have to. I wonder why that is?
At this hour, the boys are playing video games via their xboxes here and there. I'm watching baseball, even though my team is out of it. The final four teams in the race for the World Series include one in New York (the Mets), Toronto (the Blue Jays), Chicago (the Cubs!), and New York (the Mets!)
-30-
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Political Question
Hillary Clinton won tonight's debate, hands down. Carly Fiorina won the recent GOP debate. Could we be facing the first election where a woman will definitely be elected President net year?
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Sunday Matters
Long conference call with my 21-year-old and his mother today as we try to help him navigate the treacherous waters of incurring debt while at college. I've worked with him the past few years to try and prepare him to handle these matters on his own.
Sometimes, for all parents, it feels like the deck is stacked against our kids. The loan system itself is extremely opaque. You cannot easily tell which loan is for which kid, how much the interest rate is, and when what is due.
In other words, it is a racket. Of that I am sure.
But we are slowly and methodically figuring it all out. The basic point here is he, and all of our kids, will need these skills going forward.
He also is trying to buy his first car. Out there in Missoula, that would improve his lifestyle immensely. So we talked about Consumer Reports and Kelly Blue Book. But his greatest asset locally may be his friend Johnny, who knows about cars.
He is also talking about moving into an apartment next semester with his girlfriend. It would be university-based housing.
Ah...You know, when it comes to your kids as they reach these ages and stages, all you can do is sit back and hope for the best.
-30-
Sometimes, for all parents, it feels like the deck is stacked against our kids. The loan system itself is extremely opaque. You cannot easily tell which loan is for which kid, how much the interest rate is, and when what is due.
In other words, it is a racket. Of that I am sure.
But we are slowly and methodically figuring it all out. The basic point here is he, and all of our kids, will need these skills going forward.
He also is trying to buy his first car. Out there in Missoula, that would improve his lifestyle immensely. So we talked about Consumer Reports and Kelly Blue Book. But his greatest asset locally may be his friend Johnny, who knows about cars.
He is also talking about moving into an apartment next semester with his girlfriend. It would be university-based housing.
Ah...You know, when it comes to your kids as they reach these ages and stages, all you can do is sit back and hope for the best.
-30-
Friday, October 09, 2015
My Week
Dylan has been here most of the week; he is looking for work and playing video games with Aidan in Missoula. I stayed home of Wednesday, mainly to spend time with him. Technology helps them keep their relationship strong. I love that.
He and have gotten food from Mexican and Chinese restaurants, plus I have cooked spaghetti twice, including tonight.
Like most older people I had a health scare this week. I do not think very many young people understand what it is like to be in your late 60s, but my staffers seem to be able to, mainly because I have been open with them.
I went to my doctor yesterday and it appears things are okay for now. The tests came back mainly positive with a few indications of concern. But for now I seem to be okay.
Up in Napa, Julia and I have talked about a company called JustFab that she bought some shoes from 18 months ago. Ever since then, it turns out, they have been billing my credit card $39.95/month. I am sorry to say I have so many charges to that card that it took me until Wednesday to figure this out.
Since she was a minor when she made her (one) purchase 18 months ago, and they have been ripping us off ever since, the offered to refund me twleve of those payments. The rest they offered as purchases.
We accepted their offer. So Julia has $160 in clothes on the way; I am not sure what kind of mixed message this is sending her...
He and have gotten food from Mexican and Chinese restaurants, plus I have cooked spaghetti twice, including tonight.
Like most older people I had a health scare this week. I do not think very many young people understand what it is like to be in your late 60s, but my staffers seem to be able to, mainly because I have been open with them.
I went to my doctor yesterday and it appears things are okay for now. The tests came back mainly positive with a few indications of concern. But for now I seem to be okay.
Up in Napa, Julia and I have talked about a company called JustFab that she bought some shoes from 18 months ago. Ever since then, it turns out, they have been billing my credit card $39.95/month. I am sorry to say I have so many charges to that card that it took me until Wednesday to figure this out.
Since she was a minor when she made her (one) purchase 18 months ago, and they have been ripping us off ever since, the offered to refund me twleve of those payments. The rest they offered as purchases.
We accepted their offer. So Julia has $160 in clothes on the way; I am not sure what kind of mixed message this is sending her...
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