For anyone who's curious, my "avatar" is a plaid brooch from the Order of Scottish Clans -- a now-defunct fraternal organization founded by my maternal great-great grandfather back in the late 1800s. The brooch itself is sadly not a family heirloom, but I couldn't pass it up when I found it online at a reasonable price.
Tim,

You may be interested in this article I wrote:

http://scottishtartans.org/BOSC.htm

Aw'ra best,

Todd