Origins and Home Created 14 years ago2010-04-13 12:12:28 UTC by kdunivan

Alrighty then....

I am interested in knowing where all you people are from. You could add a little about your heritage if you want--this is optional. Where do u live?

My last name is Dunivan and I am Irish. I was born in Virginia, USA. Lived in the Washington DC area for about 15 years. Moved to Tennessee, USA about ten years ago and this is where I currently reside. Plans are to move to Europe soon, possibly Amsterdam but no definite plans are made as of yet.

Last name is Bernier - It's french, but i also have Irish and Germain roots.
My first name is Scottish, Brett, Meaning "From Great Britain"
Born and raised in the middle of CT, USA my whole life. I plan to just go wherever life takes me - meaning - wherever there is a job.

Last name is Moilanen, which is Finnish. My grandfather fled from Finland to Sweden during WW2 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnish_war_children) along with 70k other children. He ended up in G?vle where he later married my grandmother. My whole family lives in or near G?vle, and I've lived here all my life except for 2 years during which I lived in Stockholm.

Last name is Boyle, which is Irish. My first name is Thomas, which apparently means twin. I have Irish, English and Scottish ancestry. I was born in England, moved to Australia when I was three and then moved to Ireland when I was ten.

Last name is Fredericks - Apparently, it's roots lie in Germany. I don't know all that much about my ancestry. I've lived in Queensland, Australia all my life (and as far as I know, so has the rest of my close family).

My family hails from Germany and Scotland, mostly.
I've lived in the same house in Ontario, Canada for my entire life.

I was born in Perth, Western Autralia, but we moved frequently so I never really hailed from anywhere. Never left the country though.

The first 16 years of my life I lived in a small village in south-west Sweden with a population of a little less than a thousand people. It was an alright place to live (it has an ice cream factory!). I then moved a few kilometers north to where I live now, in Falkenberg. Everyone in my family is Swedish, AFAIK.

My name is Andrew Morris. Andrew means 'Manly'. Morris, in England and Scotland the name can be derived from the Old French personal name Maurice which was introduced to Britain by the Normans.

I am half Scottish, half English and I have spent my entire life living in Shropshire in the Midlands.

I see most of the principal users and leadership here has opted out of my little survey. What's the matter guys? Scared to have a real conversation?

Thanks to all of you who actually responded. I see we have a mixed bag of people here and that is awesome.

If I had lots of money I would put you all on a worldwide development team.

Let's pray that I hit the lottery....(hold on--I have to play first) LOL

If i hit the lotto, like big time, i'd pay for airfare and hotel expenses for a TWHL-fest

My name is Brent Morris. Brent as I understand doesn't exactly mean anything as it is quite new as far as names go.. As for Morris, I guess ill just steal Urby's definition above.

I'm not exactly sure what Ancestry I should be considered because my family went through a redneck/white trash stint. They moved from California to Texas at some point and they didn't care to remember or pass down any history at all <3

From what I can tell though.. I've got a bit of German/Dutch in me as far as ancestry goes.

I've lived in the north/northeast Texas area my entire life otherwise.

Happy, kdunivan?

Also... If I ever won the lottery, I would do like Tetsu0 with the TWHL get-together. That would be awesome

Where would the place be?

I was merely saying that there is more than enough talent here to create an awesome software development team. I don't think alot would come from just getting together--a big ass party! ok, I'm in.

And I don't know striker???? maybe a nice neutral European country?

grin

Oh, forgot the actual topic...

So, my name is Hidden(we put family names first around here). Hidden is a generic name in Romania(family name), and in traditional language it actually means "priest". Hidden... well, it's an ancient roman name. Hidden also comes from a roman word meaning "olives".
I know my grand-grandfather fought against Germany in the WW2. I don't know much about my family past, but from the locations my parents are coming I may have Russian and Hungarian roots. But I'm just saying that based on my parents childhood locations, I don't know that. I may just be Romanian.
I live in a small village in the northern part of Romania. We have beautiful climate here, and the nature that surrounds us is also pleasant. I lived here for my entire life, but things will change once I'll have to go to college.

These discussions about "what your name means" remind me of a scene in Pulp Fiction.

My name is Luke.

My name is Sean Goolsby. Apparently my first name is the Irish spelling, but as far as I know it was an arbitrary name given by my grandmother. Though, since the American southern accent has roots in Irish and Scottish immigrants, it sort of makes sense.
I've lived in the southern US (North Carolina) for the vast majority of my life, but spent 3 years in the midwest (California). After college, I'm moving out of the country and will be the first in my extended family to do so. That also means that I'll be starting a completely new branch in my family tree.

The Goolsby side (father's side) of my family traces back as far as the United States itself and have pretty much all stayed in the southern US, again as far as I know. My distance ancestors were slave owners in the Confederacy, and there's a branch of black Goolsbys somewhere because the slaves took on the Goolsby name after they were freed.
Before the US, I have no idea from where we hailed. I vaguely remember someone saying something about Sweden, but I really don't know.

I don't know about my mother's side (the Sizemore family). My mother's father was a WWII vet who served in Japan, though. He had a lot of memorabilia from his time in service, but he's been dead for almost 12 years now and I didn't even know about it until a few years after he died.

Both of my parents hail from farming families.

I am half-way through watching "The Lives of Others".

It's a political film about the Stasi (German Secret Police) monitoring prominent Germans in East Germany in the 1970's. Obviously, this was prior to the reunification of Germany and the fall of the Berlin Wall, and it gives a glimpse into the oppression of every citizen under the communist government.

It's a real eye-opener for anyone who has never lived under such circumstances.

I grew up in Taiwan. Back then, Taiwan was still under one-party rule. The Nationalist Party ruled Taiwan under Marshall Law for more than thirty years. Similar oppression and government surveillance was in place, but as a student, I was only vaguely aware of such intense monitoring.

Only now do I think back and realize what it meant to be in such political climate.

Most Americans take freedom for granted. Freedom is all too often used as a punch line or to make a situation more poetic. But it's something very real and tangible, especially for those who have experienced life without freedom.

My name is Luke.

Luke is sometimes too informative. He's generous.

Most Americans take freedom for granted. Freedom is all too often used as a punch line or to make a situation more poetic. But it's something very real and tangible, especially for those who have experienced life without freedom.

I hope you didn't think that I wash bashing the US.

Not at all. I bash America all the time.

Great countries need citizens to bash them to keep them from getting too arrogant.

Only weak nations cannot tolerate citizens dissenting.

I was born in Taiwan. Taiwan has a complicated political history. It's technically part of China, but it's entirely independent politically. Unlike China, it is not communistic, and the economy ranks among the top in the world. For an island country that is smaller than most states in the US, the national treasury boasts the fifth largest foreign reserve in the world. This means that the country is more wealthy than most European countries.

And most of the parts in your computer right now are probably manufactured in Taiwan (ASUS, Gigabyte, G.Skill, Realtek, Thermaltake, Acer are all Taiwanese companies).

I immigrated to the US with my family in 1985. I was thirteen years old at the time, and didn't speak a word of English. It took me about two years to master the language. By the time I was in high school, I was integrated into the regular school system (ESL before that).

My parents were both born in China, and my dad still has many relatives living in Taiwan. The last time I was back in Taiwan was March of 2009.

My wife is Chinese also, but she was born in the United States. That makes my son 100% Chinese.

But he looks so cute.

What do you mean "but"?

If I wasn't born in the US, I might not have been given the choice to leave

Edit: Bleh, that just comes off as all kinds of negative.

I bash America all the time. It's really not all it's cracked up to be. And yes, I love my freedom but I can't stand what this country is turning into. And no, I am not going to get into the what--everyone knows what.

I didn't know you were so close soup. I used to live in North Carolina for a bit and I will be there in a couple of weeks for my beach trip. Got a house in Kitty Hawk (outer banks) and will be visiting some relatives in Maiden afterwards before returning home.

You guys have given alot of insight into yourselves. Is technology in small europeon countries the same? I guess it is or you wouldn't be able to map or get on the net. That is my only worry about moving to europe. I know amsterdam is a little freaky with cell phones. From what I read you literally have to get a temporary sim card for your phone while there and basically pay a single service for cell phone use. This is just what I read--could have changed since it was written.

Can you just buy windows 7 in a store in europe or do you have to order it?

I know...I am a dumb american....humor me.

Yes you are.

Believe it or not, America isn't 10 years ahead of Europe like so many of you seem to think.

Wait, I thought America is about a decade behind Europe.

Having re-elected George W. Bush is enough reason to doubt any advancement Americans made in the past century.

I only intended to read the evolving argument, but I can't but wonder how do you see Europe. It's not all Bruges and Neuschwanstein you know. Even eastern Europe has changed from whatever you might have been shown in pre-1990 films.

I forgot to mention I'm half English half Australian and I really hate Australians, which means I hate half of myself. I would really like to move to England, I can become a citizen because my grandmother, grandfather and father are all English.

oh good grief--you people can't do anything without wanting to lynch someone. You take EVERYTHING out of context...

Let me back peddle a little bit ok. I have never been to europe!

Socially, Europe is 20 years ahead of everyone else. I think what I was asking was is europe set-up for convenience like the united states. I know a few of you said that you were in more rural areas. In my town I know I can go down the street to any one of three stores and pick up a copy of windows 7. This is why all americans are spoiled because we have SO many choices. Can you just go to a freaking local store, in europe, and buy computer parts or DO YOU HAVE TO ORDER THEM?--because, perhaps...it is easier. Are the services the same? Like I said, I have never been to europe.

I was not in any way trying to insult ANYONE that lives in europe. I don't think the rest of the world needs to be like the united states anymore than we should be like anyone else. Being different is ok. We are the screwed up ones--most of the rest of the world has it figured out already.

You take EVERYTHING out of context...

Who is taking what out of context? Quote the post and explain exactly why you feel the post is taking something out of context.

Socially, Europe is 20 years ahead of everyone else.

Cite this with real information. I want you to prove to me that the entirety of Europe is "socially ahead" of the US. Define the context in which you use the word "socially" as well.

europe

united states

Capitalize your proper nouns.

americans

Nationalities are also proper nouns.

Can you just go to a freaking local store, in europe, and buy computer parts or DO YOU HAVE TO ORDER THEM?

Europe is an entire continent comprised of many, many countries. Why would you ever doubt that there are no computer stores in any of the European countries? On what basis do you make this assumption?
See, you really are calling America "ahead" by not actively acknowledging that countries like France or Germany or England have local computer stores.

Or Latvia.

And I didn't interpret your post as an insult to Europeans, only as vast ignorance of whatever goes on there and no creativity to make a good guess.

I wonder if there are any other countries that will have similar unjustified assumptions. But I won't say any names...

grabs popcorn

Europe is huge; there are countries with no computer stores at all and there are countries like the one I live in, with computers stores in every town.

"There's only two things I hate in this world. People who are intolerant of other people's cultures... and the Dutch."

Seriously though, what Stu's second paragraph said.

i think u r confused

I think each one of us has a non-shirkable obligation to figure out the world on our own as best we can. The way we behave as a result of that investigation
is our real and practiced way of life.

Going back to the origin of my name. . .

Leslie was given to me by my father's friend in Switzerland. Leslie was my father's friend's best friend in school, and he was a doctor. Funny how I ended up becoming a doctor as well.

Leslie is mostly a feminine name in the United States, but it's mostly a masculine name in Europe. I was named after an European.

My last name, Young, means "willow" in Chinese. It's the tenth most popular family name in China.

My home town in China was in the Henan province. It's an ancient city. My grandfather was a wealthy landlord who ultimately became an air force pilot for the first Chinese air force. He flew one of those cool biplanes.

All of my grandfather's sons became pilots except for my dad, who worked for the post office in Taiwan before he retired.

I am the first physician in my family.

There are many slightly varied meanings for my name Hayden.

Grassy slope, hedged valley, you get the idea.

My last name Walker, is supposedly from an area north of England and south of Scotland. Apparently, I'm decended from a large tribe who lived in that area, surrounded by bogs. One of the most vicious tribes, the romans had great difficulty conquering the area because the tribe would trick them, and trap them in the bogs and slaughter them. I don't know how long this went on for, i don't know much more than that but I'd assume the Romans eventually got the better of them.

My last name, Young, means "willow" in Chinese.

Is that "yuhng" as in uh, or "yohng" as in yo with a rounded O?

let me sit back and think about my response for a minute. I can't stay long cause my power supply fan is chunked and my power supply will be red hot here in a few minutes. yeah, I am going to replace it today with parts right down the street--lol.

And soupy...you are getting on my last fucking nerve dude....you have a huge freaking ego don't you? If you were to actually read some of your messages you would realize it is you that pick on every little detail. Who care's about a proper pronoun? I will write any way I want. Don't read it.

As far as europe goes I guess I am just digging a big hole. Sorry if everyone thinks this is an insensitive thread. I was just asking how easy it was to get goods and services. I am aware that europe is a big place and I am aware that most of it isn't as barbaric as they world would think. I have never been there so I just wanted to know if America was just overblown about the whole goods and services thing. We have a huge overabundance of everything here. Moving somewhere else is going to be culture shock anyways so I guess I will just deal with it as it comes. I won't bother you good people with my stupid questions.

And it's not like you have been there either soup so keep you comments to yourself. Just because you graduated college doesn't give you a degree on europe or world history. You really don't know anymore than myself.

I would like to get back to the thread now.....

And soupy...you are getting on my last fucking nerve dude....you have a huge freaking ego don't you?

Picking on every little detail is what you need to do to form a sound argument.
It's hard to take someone seriously when they are a native English speaker but refuse to follow simple grammatical rules like capitalization because they insist on "writing how they want".

You're right, I haven't been anywhere in Europe. But there's this fantastic new tool called the internet, and with it people can look up all the information they want. It doesn't take a degree in world history to check a Wikipedia page on Austria, after all. You can minimize culture shock by doing your homework before you commit to going somewhere, as I've been doing for the past 2 years.

I also haven't graduated college yet, you would know that if you actually read my comments in this thread.

Edit: It's really bad for you to assume that I've never been to Europe when I gave no implications that I hadn't, by the way. For all you know, I may have taken a vacation to Ireland some time in the past.

Edit Edit:

I am aware that most of it isn't as barbaric as they world would think.

Why do you think the rest of the world thinks Europe is barbaric?

Europeans talking smack about the U.S. are just jealous. We bailed you out of WW2! God bless America.

See, you really are calling America "ahead" by not actively acknowledging that countries like France or Germany or England have local computer stores.

@_@. Here in Romania, for example, we have a truckload of computer stores. And a few quite popular ones that are mostly only online stores( but also having showrooms in big cities). Example, EMAG, online store for computer parts that has the most sales. This site also delivers for free(no transport taxes) since september 2009.

What's very sad(mostly for me), is that the electronics stores are not really developed. I mean, yes, there are stores and this kind of stuff, but most of them are oriented on old-stuff electronics. I really like these online stores in USA like "RadioShack" and all kind of projects that you can do from the popular "Make-Magazine". We don't have this kind of magazines in Romania(although we have IT magazines...). Since 2008 some resellers began to appear, this makes me optimistic. Know the "Arduino"? That's the kind of stuff that I like. There are already 2 resselers that I know of selling Arduino Duemilanoves(for 41$, kinda expensive for such a thing\for my money).

Also, guys who think that America is ahead in all domains, they really do a mistake(or are just too proud of themselves). USA is a great military force and an economic one too, but that's just one point of view. Europe is ahead of it with its history, culture, science research, monuments, and all kinds of other things.
But I'd really like to live in USA... it's a land of opportunity, and it'd be really great for my hobbies.

This pretty much says it all:

http://www.msxnet.org/humour/world-according-to-america.png

That always made me laugh. And it might even have some accuracy

And kdunivan, what's discussed here is that you're generalising Europe as if it were a single country. It's like asking, are there computer stores in Asia? Depends on what part of it you look in. Perhaps you should look closer, and ask a more specific question: Are there computer stores in Moscow? I'm sure there are thousands of them. Are there computer stores in Iraq? What do I know, even if there were it's likely there aren't many still standing. It's all about the scope.

So basically, you should be concerned about the place you're moving to in Europe, and not just Europe.

see, there were a few very informative answers...thanks guys....

Striker has put a little light to what I had already thought. Good and services are somewhat different in some places in Europe. I capitalized that one for ya soup so you won't have to pop that blood vessel.

And I don't really think I am generalizing Europe. I am generalizing the goods and services--let's stick to the subject. I am sure the whole of Asia is somewhat different as well when it comes to their goods and services. I don't know about that one either because I have never been out of the country.

My daughter has been to Africa three times and trust me the goods and services are quite different--almost non-existent. We, here in America have many many choices--almost too many for most people in my opinion. I know in my own little town of only 20,000 people there are over 150 used car lots and over 200 churches. That's alot of choices! If I want a new computer I could easy go to OfficeMax or even Wal-Mart which is 5 minutes away. I say the choices narrow quite a bit when you go anywhere in Europe cause there aren't 200 churches in a small town or 15 burger joints all in a line. Even Striker somewhat hinted that it was easier to order.

And really Soup...no hard feelings....you just know how to pick...

I think I capitalized everything for you sir so no need to correct my post. I think you get a little too correct sometimes but it's all good.

Ok then, If I wanted to move to lovely Sweden...what would it be like for me there. I know they have plenty of stores but I still wouldn't know about the services. Online research only gives you so much.

Again, where in Africa? What country? What city? You can't compare some village in Kenya with Johannesburg. It's too different.

Now I'm being the bad guy. I may give you that the U.S. is "too much" of everything, but you can be sure that you'll still find most of that pretty much anywhere else too.

Ok then, If I wanted to move to lovely Sweden...what would it be like for me there. I know they have plenty of stores but I still wouldn't know about the services. Online research only gives you so much.

Any big cities in any European country is fairly similar to any big city in America. I think the big difference lies between rural and metropolitan areas, not between continents. In big cities, you'll always find fast food joints, an abundance of stores, public transportation, etc. etc. The differences are quite minor, whether you're looking at New York, Paris, London or Amsterdam. Of course there are differences, but they're mostly cosmetic: instead of shopping at Wal-Mart you'll buy your stuff at IKEA.

As for computer stuffs in Stockholm there are plenty of stores, both physical and virtual. One isn't really easier than the other.

Really, metropolitan areas are fairly similar no matter where in the world you are. It's the sad truth of globalisation.