Jan Murphy
@packrat74.bsky.social
Enthusiastic family historian since 2006; moderator pro tempore at Genealogy & Family History Stack Exchange. http://genealogy.stackexchange.com Fan of F&SF, figure skating, baseball, equestrian sports, cycling. Former bookseller; book junkie.
Pinned
Jan Murphy
@packrat74.bsky.social
· Dec 5
Tour
Q&A for expert genealogists and people interested in genealogy or family history
genealogy.stackexchange.com
Need a #genealogy help desk? Go beyond the query, and focus on the problem you are trying to solve.
Ask specific, answerable research questions. If you have answers, share your expertise!
The tour shows how #Genealogy and #FamilyHistory Stack Exchange works: genealogy.stackexchange.com/tour
Ask specific, answerable research questions. If you have answers, share your expertise!
The tour shows how #Genealogy and #FamilyHistory Stack Exchange works: genealogy.stackexchange.com/tour
Reposted by Jan Murphy
That time of year again!
December 26, 2025 at 8:09 PM
That time of year again!
Reposted by Jan Murphy
No literary agent who is going to get you a deal is going to charge you upfront. They make a percentage. That is how it works.
If someone says otherwise or tries to "upsell" you, they are scammers.
If someone says otherwise or tries to "upsell" you, they are scammers.
Ok, since this has come up four times in the last three days:
REPUTABLE LITERARY AGENTS WILL NOT CHARGE YOU MONEY.
IF A LITERARY AGENT WANTS TO CHARGE YOU FOR AN "EXPEDITED ACCESS PACKAGE" THIS IS A SCAM.
REPUTABLE LITERARY AGENTS WILL NOT CHARGE YOU MONEY.
IF A LITERARY AGENT WANTS TO CHARGE YOU FOR AN "EXPEDITED ACCESS PACKAGE" THIS IS A SCAM.
December 26, 2025 at 5:06 PM
No literary agent who is going to get you a deal is going to charge you upfront. They make a percentage. That is how it works.
If someone says otherwise or tries to "upsell" you, they are scammers.
If someone says otherwise or tries to "upsell" you, they are scammers.
"We'll just strip professional photographers of the gigs people pay them for, but that doesn't mean that photographers will disappear!" 🙄
this is demonic. sorry to say but if you do this you should be shipped to a desert island away from the rest of us who still have human souls
![All Things Motherhood Jasmen Powell • 6d • S
Hot take, but an honest one.
I think Al is going to replace a big part of traditional photography, especially when it comes to fa... See more
[ugly AI family photo]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:awzzrtrcrvpnxi3ph2sbhxwv/bafkreihowb4dqnatcls7ownxqvmctzo7y75g2ofcrcwlumxvtaovgju4om@jpeg)
December 26, 2025 at 9:17 PM
"We'll just strip professional photographers of the gigs people pay them for, but that doesn't mean that photographers will disappear!" 🙄
Watched Heated Rivalry and you're looking for other hockey romances? It's Stuff Your Kindle Day! Control or command-F and search for 'hockey' and 'NHL' to find books by Canadian authors Amy Aislin and Kim Findlay and others.
www.bookbub.com/blog/stuff-y...
www.bookbub.com/blog/stuff-y...
Stuff Your Kindle Day 2025: What You Need to Know
Mark these dates on your calendar!
www.bookbub.com
December 26, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Watched Heated Rivalry and you're looking for other hockey romances? It's Stuff Your Kindle Day! Control or command-F and search for 'hockey' and 'NHL' to find books by Canadian authors Amy Aislin and Kim Findlay and others.
www.bookbub.com/blog/stuff-y...
www.bookbub.com/blog/stuff-y...
Happy Boxing Day to all of my UK #genealogy friends!
December 26, 2025 at 1:45 AM
Happy Boxing Day to all of my UK #genealogy friends!
Reposted by Jan Murphy
I mean, that’s his job.
December 25, 2025 at 8:31 PM
I mean, that’s his job.
Reposted by Jan Murphy
Republicans want to kill the post office and the media is there for it, which is why you have never seen a news story about how the police department has never turned a profit and is a waste
December 25, 2025 at 1:14 AM
Republicans want to kill the post office and the media is there for it, which is why you have never seen a news story about how the police department has never turned a profit and is a waste
I hope there is a hell, and the techbros who unleased this GenAI crap on all of us are stuck behind a counter where they have to deal with customer requests for books that don't exist for the rest of eternity. With a mediocre guitarist nearby, playing a loop of six Christmas carols.
#4 sounds like a lovely book but I didn't write it. Have had whānau up and down the country send me clippings lol
Whoever put together this list that has been circulated to regional papers, didn't fact check.
Whoever put together this list that has been circulated to regional papers, didn't fact check.
December 26, 2025 at 12:35 AM
I hope there is a hell, and the techbros who unleased this GenAI crap on all of us are stuck behind a counter where they have to deal with customer requests for books that don't exist for the rest of eternity. With a mediocre guitarist nearby, playing a loop of six Christmas carols.
Wish you all a Merry Christmas. Stay safe and don't forget to check the weather before you head out. weather.gov.
December 25, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Reposted by Jan Murphy
On Christmas Eve 1968, in Lunar orbit, the Apollo 8 crew took this photo: “Earthrise."
I'll never forget how inspiring the Apollo missions were to my brother and me as kids. They showed us what our country and humanity can accomplish when we work together toward a common goal.
I'll never forget how inspiring the Apollo missions were to my brother and me as kids. They showed us what our country and humanity can accomplish when we work together toward a common goal.
December 24, 2025 at 10:22 PM
On Christmas Eve 1968, in Lunar orbit, the Apollo 8 crew took this photo: “Earthrise."
I'll never forget how inspiring the Apollo missions were to my brother and me as kids. They showed us what our country and humanity can accomplish when we work together toward a common goal.
I'll never forget how inspiring the Apollo missions were to my brother and me as kids. They showed us what our country and humanity can accomplish when we work together toward a common goal.
Reposted by Jan Murphy
Also: NO PUTTING KNIVES LOOSE IN THE SINK, especially a sink full of soapy water.
You *will* find them in the worst possible way.
You *will* find them in the worst possible way.
As many of us begin Christmas meal prep, allow me to share the advice that my ER nurse sister puts in the chat every year:
A dropped knife has no handle. Jump away. Let it fall. You can pick it up and wash it.
A dropped knife has no handle. Jump away. Let it fall. You can pick it up and wash it.
December 25, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Also: NO PUTTING KNIVES LOOSE IN THE SINK, especially a sink full of soapy water.
You *will* find them in the worst possible way.
You *will* find them in the worst possible way.
I am *far* from an expert on this, but I do collect things. Most of the art that I do not have on view is because I don't have enough wall space to display it. And even if I did, displaying it makes it *fade*. There are reasons things can't all be on display at once. This guy failed museums 101.
Mechanical engineer uses AI to “conserve” paintings. Fails to understand “conservation” or frankly “art”. Slapping a digital
fill onto a canvas. Unclear why he didn’t just suggest using a digital replica if the goal is disappointing the viewer.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
fill onto a canvas. Unclear why he didn’t just suggest using a digital replica if the goal is disappointing the viewer.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Meet the MIT engineer who invented an AI-powered way to restore art
The new method could be 70 times faster than repairing painting by hand.
www.nature.com
December 25, 2025 at 2:12 AM
I am *far* from an expert on this, but I do collect things. Most of the art that I do not have on view is because I don't have enough wall space to display it. And even if I did, displaying it makes it *fade*. There are reasons things can't all be on display at once. This guy failed museums 101.
Cuttng up old county geological survey maps?
/screams in genealogist
/screams in genealogist
A fun thing about using old county geological survey maps for wrapping paper is you can be cutting along what you think is a straight section line and oh, whoops, not straight - bent to account for the curvature of the earth.
December 25, 2025 at 2:04 AM
Cuttng up old county geological survey maps?
/screams in genealogist
/screams in genealogist
Seen in an email today, from an author's newsletter, written in haste:
"You can find out that this year I liked the movie Sinners, books by T. Kingfisher, and the TV show Heated Rivalry next time I send a newsletter."
#WibbleyWobbleyTimeyWimey newsletters! 🤣
"You can find out that this year I liked the movie Sinners, books by T. Kingfisher, and the TV show Heated Rivalry next time I send a newsletter."
#WibbleyWobbleyTimeyWimey newsletters! 🤣
December 25, 2025 at 2:01 AM
Seen in an email today, from an author's newsletter, written in haste:
"You can find out that this year I liked the movie Sinners, books by T. Kingfisher, and the TV show Heated Rivalry next time I send a newsletter."
#WibbleyWobbleyTimeyWimey newsletters! 🤣
"You can find out that this year I liked the movie Sinners, books by T. Kingfisher, and the TV show Heated Rivalry next time I send a newsletter."
#WibbleyWobbleyTimeyWimey newsletters! 🤣
Reposted by Jan Murphy
low stakes posting today reminds me that 1) Facebook is for talking to people you know IRL but don’t like and 2) microblogging sites are for talking to people you don’t know but do like.
we forget these things at our peril
we forget these things at our peril
December 24, 2025 at 9:11 PM
low stakes posting today reminds me that 1) Facebook is for talking to people you know IRL but don’t like and 2) microblogging sites are for talking to people you don’t know but do like.
we forget these things at our peril
we forget these things at our peril
If you're looking for more MM hockey romance to read because you've finished binging all of Rachel Reid's stuff because of Heated Rivalry --
Tal Bauer's new book "The Fall"
Forget the five-star scale. That book is turned up to 11.
Tal Bauer's new book "The Fall"
Forget the five-star scale. That book is turned up to 11.
December 24, 2025 at 4:47 AM
If you're looking for more MM hockey romance to read because you've finished binging all of Rachel Reid's stuff because of Heated Rivalry --
Tal Bauer's new book "The Fall"
Forget the five-star scale. That book is turned up to 11.
Tal Bauer's new book "The Fall"
Forget the five-star scale. That book is turned up to 11.
Reposted by Jan Murphy
Thing is: this should have been obvious BEFORE regulators greenlit Waymo.
Having business be the tail that wags the dog of government--as neoliberal ideology would have it--simply privatizes gains and sticks ordinary people with the costs of being corporate guinea pigs.
Having business be the tail that wags the dog of government--as neoliberal ideology would have it--simply privatizes gains and sticks ordinary people with the costs of being corporate guinea pigs.
Autonomous vehicles that are unable to adapt to emergencies present a risk to our public safety. With such vehicles being considered for deployment in the East Bay, more must first be done to ensure they will operate safely when the unexpected happens.
Waymo halts service in SF as cars stall at intersections
A spokesperson confirmed Waymo has suspended service.
www.sfgate.com
December 23, 2025 at 10:49 PM
Thing is: this should have been obvious BEFORE regulators greenlit Waymo.
Having business be the tail that wags the dog of government--as neoliberal ideology would have it--simply privatizes gains and sticks ordinary people with the costs of being corporate guinea pigs.
Having business be the tail that wags the dog of government--as neoliberal ideology would have it--simply privatizes gains and sticks ordinary people with the costs of being corporate guinea pigs.
Reposted by Jan Murphy
Sale news: The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles is on sale for $1.99. If you fancy some queer romance involving smugglers and noblemen this holiday season, I highly recommend it.
amzn.to/4jb5IMN
amzn.to/4jb5IMN
The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen (The Doomsday Books Book 1)
The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen (The Doomsday Books Book 1) - Kindle edition by Charles, KJ. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen (The Doomsday Books Book 1).
amzn.to
December 23, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Sale news: The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles is on sale for $1.99. If you fancy some queer romance involving smugglers and noblemen this holiday season, I highly recommend it.
amzn.to/4jb5IMN
amzn.to/4jb5IMN
Never forget that the GenerativeAI people are trying to make money by selling the idea that your own work is not good enough.
Some of you have forgotten that only three years ago you were perfectly capable of writing a text, writing an email, telling a bedtime story to a child, and it should worry you that powerful companies have convinced us we can’t do things we’ve been doing since the dawn of time.
December 24, 2025 at 12:21 AM
Never forget that the GenerativeAI people are trying to make money by selling the idea that your own work is not good enough.
8 days to go on this Humble Bundle, supporting Cancer Research UK. 💙📚
www.humblebundle.com/books/adrian...
www.humblebundle.com/books/adrian...
Humble Book Bundle: Adrian Tchaikovsky's Epic Fantasy by Macmillan
Fantasy fans won’t want to miss this Adrian Tchaikovsky bundle, featuring the Shadows of the Apt series and more! Every purchase supports Cancer Research UK!
www.humblebundle.com
December 23, 2025 at 10:45 PM
8 days to go on this Humble Bundle, supporting Cancer Research UK. 💙📚
www.humblebundle.com/books/adrian...
www.humblebundle.com/books/adrian...
#genealogy friends who use Gmail -
You may want to set up a reminder to check your Spam on a regular basis. I've been finding a lot of my real mail is ending up in Spam. If your e-mail volume seems to have lessened, that may be why. #AncestryHour #GenHour #GenChat #OnePlaceStudies #LocalHistory
You may want to set up a reminder to check your Spam on a regular basis. I've been finding a lot of my real mail is ending up in Spam. If your e-mail volume seems to have lessened, that may be why. #AncestryHour #GenHour #GenChat #OnePlaceStudies #LocalHistory
December 23, 2025 at 8:04 PM
#genealogy friends who use Gmail -
You may want to set up a reminder to check your Spam on a regular basis. I've been finding a lot of my real mail is ending up in Spam. If your e-mail volume seems to have lessened, that may be why. #AncestryHour #GenHour #GenChat #OnePlaceStudies #LocalHistory
You may want to set up a reminder to check your Spam on a regular basis. I've been finding a lot of my real mail is ending up in Spam. If your e-mail volume seems to have lessened, that may be why. #AncestryHour #GenHour #GenChat #OnePlaceStudies #LocalHistory
#AncestryHour Hashtag search is still showing the same "Latest" result as it was an hour ago, and the same Top result as two days ago. (I am re-running the search, not just refreshing or swapping between Top and Latest.)
Maybe we'll have better luck for #GenHour on Thursday. See you then, I hope.
Maybe we'll have better luck for #GenHour on Thursday. See you then, I hope.
December 23, 2025 at 8:01 PM
#AncestryHour Hashtag search is still showing the same "Latest" result as it was an hour ago, and the same Top result as two days ago. (I am re-running the search, not just refreshing or swapping between Top and Latest.)
Maybe we'll have better luck for #GenHour on Thursday. See you then, I hope.
Maybe we'll have better luck for #GenHour on Thursday. See you then, I hope.
Reposted by Jan Murphy
Christmas on Ellis Island. 🗽🎄
December 23, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Christmas on Ellis Island. 🗽🎄