Feral BOO!macker 🦇
@waybackgen.bsky.social
Certified Genealogist, children's television writer, and owner of We Go Way Back®. Love the Cubs, native plants/gardening, and books.
Pinned
My top #genealogy gift-giving tip this holiday season:
PLEASE DO NOT GIVE DNA TESTS AS PRESENTS.
Here's why. 🧵
PLEASE DO NOT GIVE DNA TESTS AS PRESENTS.
Here's why. 🧵
Reposted by Feral BOO!macker 🦇
TL;DR: maybe this is not the best moment in history to be saying law enforcement should have greater access to people's data.
November 12, 2025 at 4:44 PM
TL;DR: maybe this is not the best moment in history to be saying law enforcement should have greater access to people's data.
We are living in dangerous times and the US is using surveillance to conduct atrocities effectively unchecked by the courts or Congress. Forbidding law enforcement and LE-adjacent users--who have ignored the ToS in the past--from accessing Ancestry protects user privacy with actual teeth. #genealogy
For all of my #genealogy and #ancestryhour peeps - you should know that recently Ancestry has changed its ToS to prevent searching of public records hosted on the Ancestry site to keep investigative genetic genealogy (IGG) practitioners and forensic genealogists (FGs) OUT. (Please read the whole 🧵)
November 12, 2025 at 4:43 PM
We are living in dangerous times and the US is using surveillance to conduct atrocities effectively unchecked by the courts or Congress. Forbidding law enforcement and LE-adjacent users--who have ignored the ToS in the past--from accessing Ancestry protects user privacy with actual teeth. #genealogy
Reposted by Feral BOO!macker 🦇
look I know being an engaged citizen IS the work of democracy but it is also the work of elected officials not to create situations where everyone has to be mobilized all the time to prevent them from allowing some kind of Dickensian horror on a Sunday night while you're in between loads of laundry
November 9, 2025 at 11:37 PM
look I know being an engaged citizen IS the work of democracy but it is also the work of elected officials not to create situations where everyone has to be mobilized all the time to prevent them from allowing some kind of Dickensian horror on a Sunday night while you're in between loads of laundry
Reposted by Feral BOO!macker 🦇
This is not a drill. Call your senators NOW. (Email only if you can't get through.)
Democrats just had an incredible election night and a protest attended by millions. There is no reason to cave on something as popular and essential as healthcare.
No shutdown vote without ACA funding!
Democrats just had an incredible election night and a protest attended by millions. There is no reason to cave on something as popular and essential as healthcare.
No shutdown vote without ACA funding!
Okay, Ezra is confirming that he's hearing D senators are actually plotting to cave to Trump and end the shutdown WITHOUT any extension of the ACA, just a promise of a vote later down the line.
Call your senators, friends, NOW, and tell them NO DEAL without ACA funding!
Find them here: reps.fyi
Call your senators, friends, NOW, and tell them NO DEAL without ACA funding!
Find them here: reps.fyi
yep
November 10, 2025 at 12:48 AM
This is not a drill. Call your senators NOW. (Email only if you can't get through.)
Democrats just had an incredible election night and a protest attended by millions. There is no reason to cave on something as popular and essential as healthcare.
No shutdown vote without ACA funding!
Democrats just had an incredible election night and a protest attended by millions. There is no reason to cave on something as popular and essential as healthcare.
No shutdown vote without ACA funding!
Normally I try to keep Negative Book Takes to a minimum, but if anyone wants to wallow in disappointment over The Rose Field (aka the last book in the Book of Dust/His Dark Materials series) I am all ears. Rants welcome.
November 9, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Normally I try to keep Negative Book Takes to a minimum, but if anyone wants to wallow in disappointment over The Rose Field (aka the last book in the Book of Dust/His Dark Materials series) I am all ears. Rants welcome.
Reposted by Feral BOO!macker 🦇
my Japanese maple woke up this morning and decided to flex
November 8, 2025 at 9:21 PM
my Japanese maple woke up this morning and decided to flex
Reposted by Feral BOO!macker 🦇
Reposted by Feral BOO!macker 🦇
The thing about all of these sociopaths, narcissists and abusive personality types and powerful millionaires and billionaires etc, they are frequently the thinnest skinned, most deluded, tiresome people in the world, & nobody owes them a single iota of their time or energy! They hate this! Too bad!!
a man in a plaid jacket and tie is talking to another man in an elevator .
ALT: a man in a plaid jacket and tie is talking to another man in an elevator .
media.tenor.com
November 7, 2025 at 11:54 PM
The thing about all of these sociopaths, narcissists and abusive personality types and powerful millionaires and billionaires etc, they are frequently the thinnest skinned, most deluded, tiresome people in the world, & nobody owes them a single iota of their time or energy! They hate this! Too bad!!
Reposted by Feral BOO!macker 🦇
Today and tomorrow! www.eventbrite.com/e/book-sale-...
Book Sale at the Municipal Archives and Library
On November 7th and 8th, the Municipal Archives and Library will hold a book sale of unique items removed from the collections.
www.eventbrite.com
November 7, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Today and tomorrow! www.eventbrite.com/e/book-sale-...
Reposted by Feral BOO!macker 🦇
Wife: What’s Shiv Roy’s poor husband’s name?
Me: Fitzwilliam Darcy. Miserable he may be, but poor he most certainly is not. 10,000 pounds a year and he owns half of Derbyshire.
Wife: Babe. Please. It’s for work.
Me: Ugh blah fine, Tom Wambsgans.
Me: Fitzwilliam Darcy. Miserable he may be, but poor he most certainly is not. 10,000 pounds a year and he owns half of Derbyshire.
Wife: Babe. Please. It’s for work.
Me: Ugh blah fine, Tom Wambsgans.
November 7, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Wife: What’s Shiv Roy’s poor husband’s name?
Me: Fitzwilliam Darcy. Miserable he may be, but poor he most certainly is not. 10,000 pounds a year and he owns half of Derbyshire.
Wife: Babe. Please. It’s for work.
Me: Ugh blah fine, Tom Wambsgans.
Me: Fitzwilliam Darcy. Miserable he may be, but poor he most certainly is not. 10,000 pounds a year and he owns half of Derbyshire.
Wife: Babe. Please. It’s for work.
Me: Ugh blah fine, Tom Wambsgans.
Reposted by Feral BOO!macker 🦇
This is really interesting because #genealogy had been overwhelmingly pro-AI (despite its inherent conflicts with genealogy standards, but that's another story). Curious to see if any LDS genealogy orgs will start to pull back at all.
Interesting to see the Latter-day Saints position on AI:
>"We are teaching church members that we will not grow spiritually if we allow AI to write our sacrament talks or do our seminary homework. AI cannot replace our individual effort and spiritual preparation as we prepare lessons, prayers...”
>"We are teaching church members that we will not grow spiritually if we allow AI to write our sacrament talks or do our seminary homework. AI cannot replace our individual effort and spiritual preparation as we prepare lessons, prayers...”
Church won’t use AI to create images of Jesus Christ or to prepare conference talks, apostle says
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints uses AI, but general conference talks are divinely inspired, not artificial, Elder Gong says.
www.deseret.com
November 6, 2025 at 11:25 PM
This is really interesting because #genealogy had been overwhelmingly pro-AI (despite its inherent conflicts with genealogy standards, but that's another story). Curious to see if any LDS genealogy orgs will start to pull back at all.
This is really interesting because #genealogy had been overwhelmingly pro-AI (despite its inherent conflicts with genealogy standards, but that's another story). Curious to see if any LDS genealogy orgs will start to pull back at all.
Interesting to see the Latter-day Saints position on AI:
>"We are teaching church members that we will not grow spiritually if we allow AI to write our sacrament talks or do our seminary homework. AI cannot replace our individual effort and spiritual preparation as we prepare lessons, prayers...”
>"We are teaching church members that we will not grow spiritually if we allow AI to write our sacrament talks or do our seminary homework. AI cannot replace our individual effort and spiritual preparation as we prepare lessons, prayers...”
Church won’t use AI to create images of Jesus Christ or to prepare conference talks, apostle says
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints uses AI, but general conference talks are divinely inspired, not artificial, Elder Gong says.
www.deseret.com
November 6, 2025 at 11:25 PM
This is really interesting because #genealogy had been overwhelmingly pro-AI (despite its inherent conflicts with genealogy standards, but that's another story). Curious to see if any LDS genealogy orgs will start to pull back at all.
Reposted by Feral BOO!macker 🦇
candle in the wind
November 6, 2025 at 8:45 PM
candle in the wind
Reposted by Feral BOO!macker 🦇
Ellis: Federal agents described a number of protestors as "professional agitators" based on their use of whistles, in part.
"Describing neighborhood moms and rapid response groups as professional agitators shows just how out of touch these agents are and how incredible their statements are."
"Describing neighborhood moms and rapid response groups as professional agitators shows just how out of touch these agents are and how incredible their statements are."
November 6, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Ellis: Federal agents described a number of protestors as "professional agitators" based on their use of whistles, in part.
"Describing neighborhood moms and rapid response groups as professional agitators shows just how out of touch these agents are and how incredible their statements are."
"Describing neighborhood moms and rapid response groups as professional agitators shows just how out of touch these agents are and how incredible their statements are."
Reposted by Feral BOO!macker 🦇
Ellis: "The government would have people believe, instead, that the Chicagoland area is in a vice hold of violence, ransacked by rioters and attacked by agitators. That simply is untrue. And the government's own evidence in this case belies that assertion."
November 6, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Ellis: "The government would have people believe, instead, that the Chicagoland area is in a vice hold of violence, ransacked by rioters and attacked by agitators. That simply is untrue. And the government's own evidence in this case belies that assertion."
If you are in the mood to cry before noon (complimentary) read this thread of Judge Ellis's ruling (scroll up for the poetry).
Ellis: "This is the Chicagoland I see. From Aurora to Cicero, and Chicago to Evanston to Waukegan. This is a vibrant place, brimming with vitality and hope. Striving to move forward from its complicated history."
November 6, 2025 at 4:21 PM
If you are in the mood to cry before noon (complimentary) read this thread of Judge Ellis's ruling (scroll up for the poetry).
I am writing this using voice-to-text because my eyes have fully rolled all the way back into my skull.
Hewson is now talking about what happened in Little Village on Oct. 23. He says they were driving east on 26th street when a vehicle blocked their path, and the people inside were "throwing out LK [Latin King] gang signs."
November 5, 2025 at 10:34 PM
I am writing this using voice-to-text because my eyes have fully rolled all the way back into my skull.
My "I have arrested many people of all skin colors" shirt is raising a lot of questions already answered by my shirt.
Plaintiff's attorney Jon Loevy is trying to ask Hewson how Operation Midway Blitz works, "in practice?"
Loevy: "You're looking for people with brown skin?"
Feds object.
Hewson: "No. I have arrested many people of all skin colors."
Loevy: "You're looking for people with brown skin?"
Feds object.
Hewson: "No. I have arrested many people of all skin colors."
November 5, 2025 at 9:33 PM
My "I have arrested many people of all skin colors" shirt is raising a lot of questions already answered by my shirt.
Reposted by Feral BOO!macker 🦇
Congrats to NYC on starting down the road to a unified streets map. Took only 125+ yrs after consolidation 😉
Scanning each borough’s paper maps will be (mostly) easy, actually digitizing all the metadata would be really really hard. Here’s a close-up of what one of these paper maps looks like.
Scanning each borough’s paper maps will be (mostly) easy, actually digitizing all the metadata would be really really hard. Here’s a close-up of what one of these paper maps looks like.
November 5, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Congrats to NYC on starting down the road to a unified streets map. Took only 125+ yrs after consolidation 😉
Scanning each borough’s paper maps will be (mostly) easy, actually digitizing all the metadata would be really really hard. Here’s a close-up of what one of these paper maps looks like.
Scanning each borough’s paper maps will be (mostly) easy, actually digitizing all the metadata would be really really hard. Here’s a close-up of what one of these paper maps looks like.
Reposted by Feral BOO!macker 🦇
ushering in an era of bold socialist leaders who support trans rights and make really great font choices
November 5, 2025 at 8:30 AM
ushering in an era of bold socialist leaders who support trans rights and make really great font choices
Reposted by Feral BOO!macker 🦇
Hot girl summer is over, it’s aloof wife autumn
November 4, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Hot girl summer is over, it’s aloof wife autumn
Reposted by Feral BOO!macker 🦇
Watching Mamdani's victory speech, I'm struck by his—and his campaign's—unabashed vision of the US as an immigrant society, a culture built from the ground up from diversity. It is a complete rejection and reversal of the search for a white-washed homogeneity that the political right projects.
November 5, 2025 at 4:47 AM
Watching Mamdani's victory speech, I'm struck by his—and his campaign's—unabashed vision of the US as an immigrant society, a culture built from the ground up from diversity. It is a complete rejection and reversal of the search for a white-washed homogeneity that the political right projects.
SCREAMING
November 5, 2025 at 2:45 AM
SCREAMING
Reposted by Feral BOO!macker 🦇
i can’t believe a good thing happened we should do this more often
November 5, 2025 at 2:26 AM
i can’t believe a good thing happened we should do this more often