Sunday, April 6, 2014

BIG Y: Open letter to Bennett Greenspan



OK Bennett, you can release my BIG Y results now. When I saw my original release date of December 31, 2013, I was thrilled to know I would have something exciting to do on New Years Eve. After all I would have just finished the manuscript for NextGen Genealogy: The DNA Connection (see other post today) and I would be needing something to do.

Well, it turns out that you knew better than I did about what was best for me. You didn't want me to be conflicted between working on my book manuscript and interpreting my BIG Y results. That was thoughtful of you. The amended February 28th release date should have given me time to get the manuscript finished but it didn't. Well at least you released a 100 or so results then. Those guys must have been all caught up on their chores. But somehow you knew that NextGen Genealogy: The DNA Connection still needed my attention. Scary. 

Then the due date got moved to March 28th. Surely I would be ready now. You released the results for a non-biologically related Dowell in our project but again none for me, for my late father-in-law or for my 6th cousin George. How did you know it wasn't time to release mine?

Last week you released Herb McDaniel's results. Herb is an STR match for me up to and including 111 markers. We are getting closer or are we? 

Bennett I really need you to keep paying attention. You do remember don't you that I ordered this test on November 11, 2013 -- the first day you were taking orders and my current expected date is the 28th of last month.

The manuscript is almost finished and out the door. Tomorrow or Tuesday at the latest. Thank you for trying to simplify my life and genetic genealogy priorities but I think I can take it from here. 

Please Bennett, free my SNPs. I want my BIG Y results and I want them NOW! I'm really not throwing a temper tantrum -- at least not yet.
  

5 comments:

  1. Ann Turner tells me there may be another batch of results released today and that all of the not-problematic ones are now targeted for release by the 15th. She suggests we should hurry and get our taxes in so that Bennett will have no further excuses for protecting us from ourselves by delaying our results. ;-).

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  2. Actually the November 9, 2013 was the first date for accepting orders. I ordered that day.

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    1. Thanks Stan. I was unaware that orders were being accepted before Monday, November 11th. I stand corrected.

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  3. I find this "tongue-in-cheek" (your claim AFTER a response from Bennett) open letter to be rude regardless. This "letter" should have been sent privately, IMO.

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    1. Emily, I'm sorry some readers did not take this as "tongue-in-cheek." I'm really not paranoid enough to suspect that Bennett would deliberately hold back my results for whatever reason. I also did not expect that by writing it I would expedite its release.

      I realize that the BIG Y project is a MAJOR trail blazing effort with few guideposts and benchmarks. I also suspect that the number who ordered this test exceeded all expectations.

      Bennett is to be commended for borrowing another sequencer from Illumina to expedite the project and for his efforts to get all non-problematic results completed by this weekend. These last two facts I only learned in responses from Bennett after my post.

      I know I'll be amazed and confused for some time after I get my results. Thanks Bennett for taking it on.

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