‘San Francisco in the Year 2000’ photo project — twenty years Later
The data privacy threat lurking on your family tree
If you keep your genealogy research online, you’ve probably got a data problem. But unlike banking sites or Facebook, simply changing your password or deleting your account won’t solve the issue. That’s because the world’s largest for-profit genealogy services (the vast majority of sites exist to make money) are using your family-tree and… Read more“The data privacy threat lurking on your family tree”
Fernald Byrne’s deadly roller coaster ride
Families are chock full of colorful characters, legends and tragedies. In our family, we have a famous science fiction writer, a skyjacker, Mayflower passengers, Revolutionary and Civil War soldiers, the founder of Brooklyn and many others. Genealogy research has its quotient of humble-bragging, and famous relatives and/or salacious tales are simply grist for the… Read more“Fernald Byrne’s deadly roller coaster ride”
Simpler times and pleasures in my mother’s letters
I was a chubby kid. Borderline fat. From around age 3 until puberty, when I shed baby fat like a discarded chrysalis, my annual visits to the pediatrician recorded height in the 50th percentile, while weight rarely dipped much below the 75th percentile. These stats are stated with great certainty, for my mother… Read more“Simpler times and pleasures in my mother’s letters”
Broom handles and traitorous china
My 10th gr-grandmother measured penises with broom handle. In the 1630s. It’s on Wikipedia, so it must be true, right? But this one’s been well-documented by other historians, so I tend to believe it’s not a complete fabrication. Genealogy reveals some strange things about what constitutes fame. When people find out it’s my… Read more“Broom handles and traitorous china”
Visualizing my family’s migration
Genealogy applications and software have gotten a little boring lately. With all the fascinating technologies surrounding data visualization, machine learning, and otherwise, most people choose the path of least resistance and hand their data over to Ancestry.com. And while Ancestry has some interesting visualizations for family trees and relationships, the closed-platform nature of… Read more“Visualizing my family’s migration”
Welcome visitors (who aren’t trying to hack this site)
Reviewing the traffic stats for this site is like taking a trip around the world. From Iran to Russia, and all over Asia, visitors flow in from around the globe. What are they looking for? A review of security logs indicates roughly 99% are looking for holes to hack and take control of… Read more“Welcome visitors (who aren’t trying to hack this site)”
Was my gr-gr-grandfather George Austin legitimate?
Every family has secrets. Lots of them. Entire lifetimes can be colored by efforts to keep criminal records a secret, hide out of wedlock births, or bury marriages that ended unhappily. And in some cases, those secrets are maintained by subsequent generations, with only the occasional whisper between those in the know, until… Read more“Was my gr-gr-grandfather George Austin legitimate?”
Why to avoid shortcuts with sources
Ah, the siren song of shortcuts. Who can argue with wanting a faster way to get from Point A to Point B? Shortcuts shave effort, improve efficiency, and enable us to get more done in less time. They make life so much easier. Until they don’t. Recently I’ve been haunted by the shortcuts… Read more“Why to avoid shortcuts with sources”
A photograph of my ancestors (and me)
I’ve been spending more time with a camera this past year, and less time doing genealogy research and website additions. This wasn’t a conscious decision, more a byproduct my professional time in 2013 and 2014 being consumed by development of a new website and CMS for my firm, GreenBiz, making ByrneFamily site additions… Read more“A photograph of my ancestors (and me)”