Jan Murphy
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packrat74.bsky.social
Jan Murphy
@packrat74.bsky.social
1.7K followers 1.8K following 8.6K posts
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.
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packrat74.bsky.social
#GPFigure #SkateAmerica Yeah, I heard it, too. If Johnny wanted to say that in a podcast, whatever, but it was out of line for him to say it on air. If you want to call someone out for having a lackluster programs, at least be professional about it.
I was watching the women’s FS replay this morning (I had to work yesterday but was able to catch snippets), and my jaw dropped when I thought I heard Johnny say he has had more fun watching people do puzzles on a park bench as Chayeon’s FS was concluding. When I tried to rewatch later to verify, the audio/comment was gone, and I thought I had hallucinated it. Did anyone else hear this?
November 18, 2025 at 11:20 PM
packrat74.bsky.social
On tonight's late news, they ended with listing His Holiness' four favorite films.

My husband and I (and probably many others):
"Wait, what? Where's The Blues Brothers (1980)?"
www.today.com/popculture/m...
His four favorite films are: Frank Capra’s 1964 classic “It’s a Wonderful Life" Robert Wise’s iconic 1965 musical “The Sound of Music” Robert Redford’s 1980 Oscar-winning drama “Ordinary People" Roberto Benigni’s 1997 Oscar-winning comedy-drama “Life Is Beautiful," which Pope Leo announced by its Italian name, "La Vita è Bella."
November 13, 2025 at 8:16 AM
packrat74.bsky.social
#OnePlaceWednesday FamilySearch Catalog Search Results (7) for Author: Great Britain. Principal Probate Registry
Search results at FamilySearch Author Great Britain. Principal Probate Registry Calendar of the grants of probate and letters of administration made in the Principal Registry : and in the several district registries of Her Majesty's Court of Probate Calendar of the grants of the probate and letters of administration made in the principal registry, and in the several district registries of Her Majesty's court of probate ... 1867 Indexes to divorce and matrimonial causes files from the Court for Divorce and Matrimonial causes and Supreme Court of Judicature, High Court of Justice, Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division, Principal Probate Registry, 1858-1958 Minor courts, distribution of original wills, admonitions and other probate records at Somerset House Record copy wills for the Principal Registry, 1858-1925 Record copy wills from the District Probate Registries, 1858-1899 Record copy wills from the District Probate Registries, 1900-1925
November 12, 2025 at 10:51 PM
packrat74.bsky.social
If anybody else "influentialish in AI ethics" who is still here on BlueSky sees this post, here's a tip:

If it's important to you to hear what other people have to say, STFU and listen to people instead of calling them Luddites.

(Note: I don't use mass block lists. I will block and mute.)
screenshot from MMitchell @mmitchell_ai I think what many Bsky users may be overlooking is that they're blocking people in positions of influence *who want to listen to them*. As someone influentialish in AI ethics, it's important for me to know what creators, critics, Luddites, etc., are thinking and seeing.
November 3, 2025 at 9:42 PM
packrat74.bsky.social
#GenHour My mistake, it's a Catholic Church.
Aunt Alberta, to save her dinner, plunged into an account of how a dog had bitten her recently. Uncle James, to back her up, asked where the dog had bitten her. “Just a little below the Catholic church,” said Aunt Alberta. At that point Valancy laughed. Nobody else laughed. What was there to laugh at? “Is that a vital part?” asked Valancy.
October 30, 2025 at 9:15 PM
packrat74.bsky.social
#GenHour I've seen so many queries where people say "I've looked everywhere!" "Oh, where did you look?" and their answer is:
MyHeritage Geni Ancestry Family Search JewishGen etc.
October 30, 2025 at 9:04 PM
packrat74.bsky.social
#GenHour In the footer, see the links for "search by culture".
This is the link to German-American newspapers.

www.genealogybank.com/static/ethni...
Search By Culture African American Hispanic American Irish American Native American German American Italian American Jewish American
October 30, 2025 at 8:46 PM
packrat74.bsky.social
#AncestryHour Slow month for news?
The Indianapolis Times
Dec 13 1930 • Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana, United States
BAD DRIVER STILL ALIEN Denied U. S. Citizenship Because of Traffic Court Record. By United Press DETROIT, Dec. 13. - Carl Zier, German immigrant, may secure naturalization papers five years hence if he drives his automobile with more care during that period than he has in the past. In federal court he was denied final papers when it was shown that his record in traffic court averaged one arrest a year for the last five. The judge told him to come back in five years.
October 28, 2025 at 7:43 PM
packrat74.bsky.social
#AncestryHour Interesting alert from the historical newspapers on MyHeritage. Might not be my person, but worth checking out.

Atlanta Constitution
Dec 13 1930 • Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia, United States
TRAFFIC VIOLATOR DENIED CITIZENSHIP DETROIT, Dec. 12.- (AP) -Federal Judge Arthur J. Tuttle today refused to grant Carl Zier, a German, citizenship papers on the grounds that Zier is a habitual traffic law violator. Officers who had investigated Zier's record testified yesterday in federal district court here that the applicant had been arrested at least once a year during the past five years for serious violations of the traffic code. Zier had appealed from the ruling of naturalization officers that he could not show a good moral character during the five - year period.
October 28, 2025 at 7:38 PM
packrat74.bsky.social
#AncestryHour As always with Ancestry, be on the lookout for place authority errors. My test search for Holyoke, Massachusetts is returning loads of results for Holyoke, Colorado and both towns show on the search results.

The registree was born and resided in Holyoke, Colorado.
close-up of search result from fold3 for a Draft Registration card: Holyoke, Colorado, United States of America Holyoke, Massachusetts, United States of America Holyoke, Colo, Colorado Holyoke, Colo. Thumbnail for Miller, Gerald Lavern Multi-image File Miller, Gerald Lavern United States ᭼ 1948-1959 2 pages
October 28, 2025 at 6:33 PM
packrat74.bsky.social
#GenChat Cool, you can use the Scrivener Extended Trial even if you've already used up your 30 days from the regular trial version. And it's available to download now. Check it out.
We’re offering a special Scrivener trial version that will last you all the way from mid-October through to early December, even if you’ve tried Scrivener before. The trial and template can be downloaded from the link below by all November writers, whether you’re a Novel November participant or have chosen to go it alone / write with another group. Extended Trial Scrivener’s trial normally runs for thirty days of use, but so that you can start using Scrivener while you prep without worrying about the trial expiring part-way through November, our special November trial will run all the way up until December 7th. So you can download the app, get used to its features, use it for your plotting and planning—and if you like it you can buy Scrivener after the event at a discounted price using one of our special offers. Note – the extended trial will work even if you’ve downloaded and used up Scrivener’s 30-day trial beforehand.
October 25, 2025 at 3:14 AM
packrat74.bsky.social
#GenChat Correction: Goldberg was having a discussion with a friend. From Chapter 1 of Wild Mind.
A friend, teasing me, said, “You act as if they are the rules to live by, as though they apply to everything.” I smiled. “Okay, let’s try it. Do they apply to sex?” I stuck up my thumb for rule number one. “Keep your hand moving.” I nodded yes. Index finger, rule number two. “Be specific.” I let out a yelp of glee. It was working. Finger number three. “Lose control.” It was clear that sex and writing were the same thing. Then, number four. “Don’t think,” I said. Yes, for sex, too, I nodded. I proved my point. My friend and I laughed.
October 25, 2025 at 2:54 AM
packrat74.bsky.social
Reposting with alt-text.
Screenshot 4. The law might have tolerated government conduct of this sort a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. But in the here and now, the First Amendment bars government officials from shutting down peaceful protests, and the Fourth Amendment (along with the District's prohibition on false arrest) bars groundless seizures.
October 23, 2025 at 8:29 PM
packrat74.bsky.social
#GenChat *red alert klaxon*
Timothy Pinnick is one of my favorite presenters! For anyone lucky enough to be near Fort Wayne IN and who is doing African-American research, don't miss this! (no disrespect to Janis Minor Forté, whom I haven't been lucky enough to see).
acpl.libnet.info/event/14574461
Hybrid: Making the Records Talk – with - Timothy Pinnick & Janis Forte Saturday, October 18: 9:00am - 5:00pm Main Library Genealogy Center Age group: Adults event type: Family History & Genealogy Join us for a FREE, IN-PERSON program on Saturday, October 18th from 9 AM to 5 PM in the Discovery Center!
October 11, 2025 at 3:12 AM
packrat74.bsky.social
#GenChat A4: Don't overlook the user-contributed resources! You might get a lucky dip.
free databases (general resources) Family Bible Records The Family Bible Records section features transcriptions and images from family bibles donated to The Genealogy Center. Details include births, marriages, and deaths as well as information from items inserted in the Bibles, such as newspaper clippings, photographs, and funeral cards. Family Resources The Family Resources section features unique family histories and family files submitted by researchers who have granted permission for their material to be hosted on The Genealogy Center site. Contributions of additional data are most welcome.
October 11, 2025 at 2:51 AM
packrat74.bsky.social
#GenChat One of my favorite website features -
You can create your own custom event brochure from the Events page.
acpl.libnet.info/events?n=30&...
close-up of detail on website buttons for pdf icon create brochure rss icon rss calendar icon add to calendar
October 11, 2025 at 2:31 AM
packrat74.bsky.social
#genealogy #Archives #History 🗃️
If access to records is important to you, please let your Representative in Congress and your Senators know.

NARA can't function without funding. fundnara.com
Digitizing of files for surnames beginning with the letter “W” began in September but is now halted due to the federal government shutdown. If War of 1812 pension records – or other records at NARA – are important to you, please contact your Representative in Congress and your Senators to let them know how important these records are to you, personally. Please ask for full funding for NARA and request that they end the government shutdown so that federal employees can get back to doing work that you personally care about.
October 8, 2025 at 11:11 PM
packrat74.bsky.social
/taps the transcript of the speech
www.rice.edu/jfk-speech
Excerpt from speech: We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.
October 2, 2025 at 8:33 PM
packrat74.bsky.social
#GenChat Before we go, a reminder.

If you haven't made an account at the Internet Archive yet, do that before you search! Then you can star (favorite) items that you want to keep track of.
Drop-down menu at the Internet Archive My uploade My loans My favorites My lists My collections My web archives Account settings Get help Log out
September 13, 2025 at 3:04 AM
packrat74.bsky.social
Don't miss the end of the article. It is *chef's kiss*.
Screenshot from the bottom of the article linked in the quoted post. Last week, Reuters reported that Pulte’s own father and stepmother had declared two homes in two different states as their primary residence, prompting a town in Michigan to remove a tax exemption for their home there and charge the couple for back taxes. Pulte and his parents didn’t respond to requests for comment about the matter.
September 12, 2025 at 10:22 PM
packrat74.bsky.social
Another ridiculous review from Kobo. This one comes from a book published by Princeton University Press.

The answer to the question "AITA for leaving a two-star review for a book I'm not in the target market for and shouldn't have purchased for myself?" is almost always

Yes YTA
Two star review Heavy going This is a long & technical account. If I had known that I would not have bought it.
September 6, 2025 at 7:52 PM
packrat74.bsky.social
I don't have a good photo of my own cat to share, but here's a screenshot of one of my favorite Internet stars.

Captured from the video
Maru rolls forward in the slim plastic case.

Video by mugumogu:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQD9...
Still fron a video. Maru, a tabby-patterned Scottish fold cat with white feet is squishing himself upside down into a narrow plastic storage box with a scooped front. His head is at the bottom in the short end of the box. His tail and one back foot are sticking up from the tall end.
September 6, 2025 at 6:07 AM
packrat74.bsky.social
Post something you like to do on social media that isn't just agreeing with someone who already agrees with you.
screenshot of headline: The Left-wing social media site that's become a digital insane asylum Nothing good comes from talking to a mirror. Humans need to argue
September 3, 2025 at 10:04 PM
packrat74.bsky.social
This is a real "tell me you've never worked for a small business without telling me you've never worked for a small business" post.

Businesses outside the USA don't know what the tariff costs will be from one moment to the next.
I believe that ALL Businesses should be required to provide detailed information about all additional Tariff costs on all their merchandise. Ordering products from another country and upon receipt, getting nailed with Tariff costs, is unacceptable.
August 30, 2025 at 6:56 PM
packrat74.bsky.social
Reposting with alt-text.
Cartoon Rebrand of the week On the left: blue and white logo for the CDC text: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention an arrow points to another logo on the right A yellow shape like a barrel, resembling the abandoned new logo for the Cracker Barrel restaurant chain, with black capital letters CD text underneath: Center for Disease in the lower right corner, the artist's signature: Goris
August 30, 2025 at 2:02 AM