My grandfather just passed away last week, and with him a lot of history. Lucky for us, he left a lot of family history as well as a family tree. I intend to put this information into a system like Family Tree Maker, but in researching it, I came across a really neat web site: Geni. Not unlike MySpace, it allows members of your family to join your family tree and enter whatever details they know about other family members.

I just signed up for the service today, and entered in 14 of my direct relatives. I sent an invitation to my wife, and she's entered 36 family members. I also sent my brother an invitation, and we already have 40 members of his fiancé's family in the family tree. By allowing so many people to contribute to the tree, we'll get far more information than I could possibly collect myself.

Geni is a free service at http://www.geni.com/

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What is your real name?
Laura Martlock

Where are you located?
The Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Our property is bordered on three sides by National Forest, and we live about halfway up the second highest peak in Virginia. The only downside to where we live is I can only get a VERY slow dial-up connection!

When did you join TSG, and how did you find us?
I joined in March of 2004. I was having several problems with my computer, and was searching the internet for a way to resolve them. I had visited several tech forums, and moved on, pretty much intimidated by them; I really didn't know much about computers. When I visited TSG, though, I immediately felt comfortable. I read for a while, and didn't find answers to my problems, so decided to post about it. The first person who posted not only helped solve my problem, but also wished me a Happy Birthday.........it was my birthday, of course, buy it totally astounded me that in all that sea of posters, not only did someone notice the little icon, but that they took time to tell me Happy Birthday. I haven't left since!

How much time do you spend on TSG?
Way too much! Nearly as much time as I do on my own forum........and I contribute the continuing success and maintenance of my own forum to all that I've learned about computers in general here on TSG and from Mike. I doubt I would even HAVE my website still if not for TSG and meeting Mike through TSG.

Have you met any TSG users in real life?
Recently I had the pleasure of meeting Mike Cermak (TechGuy) and his wife Heather, when they made a trip to West Virginia. Their route took them very near me so we met up to have a bite to eat at a local restaurant.

What is your favorite thing about TSG?
The atmosphere. Friendly, inviting, and truly caring, yet very professional and knowledgeable. A very tough combination to pull off, and I think TSG does it.

What other web sites do you visit frequently?
The Mane Street, an equestrian site that I own, and The Women's Place, a website for women that I admin on.

Do you have a family, pets, etc?
I have a wonderful husband and two lovely children (Kaylen-11 yrs and Shawn- 5 yrs). We have two enormous dogs, a wolf/husky cross (100 lbs) and an SPCA adopted dog that is only a year old and already 110 lbs, we think he is a Golden Retriever/New Foundland cross.......two horses, two cats, and three chickens.

Do you enjoy any hobbies or sports?
I have have owned and ridden horses for most of my life. I've competed in western speed events, as well as jumping and dressage and did some endurance races. Nowadays, I mostly train and teach riding in those disciplines and spend my free time trail riding and camping in the mountains.

The last couple of years, I also have been building a website for people interested in horses and it's gotten quite large and fairly popular now (feel free to visit at www.themanestreet.com!). Mike helps me with the things that are beyond my ability (thanks Mike!) and I hope to grow it into a business that will make at least a small bit of money for us.

Something most people don't know about you?
While horseback riding when I was in my late teens, I was caught in a sudden summer thunderstorm and was hit by lightning.

Any famous last words?
When riding a horse in a thunderstorm, get off the horse.

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