It has been a while since I mixed mathematics and genealogy. It feels like time to do that again. Genealogy is all about information. We gather information and use it to figure out information about ancestors and relatives. There is a branch of engineering and mathematics that is actually called information theory. It describes many […]
A Surprised Genealogist in Mathmagic Land Read More »
This will be a short and belated post. A few days ago, my ancestors became corrupt. I didn’t find them in prison or court records. I found that they were imprisoned on my computer’s hard drive. Presumably they were doing hard time. When I would normally have been writing something genealogical, I was instead erasing
Corrupt Ancestors (and Other Hard Drive Problems) Read More »
When I lived in Sweden, people would often joke about how a particular quirk in their thinking was a “work related injury.” It can happen to anyone. Some things become so deeply ingrained that they affect the way with think and it comes out in some odd ways. So how does genealogy affect they way
Genealogy Related Injuries Read More »
A few years ago I proposed that the pushmi-pullyu should be the official mascot of genealogy. There is something that happens to me over and over again, and I’m pretty sure I’m not alone. In its honor, I’ve delayed this post until night has fallen. It has also made me realize that genealogy also needs
This is year two of this story. If you didn’t read last year’s or if by some chance you’ve forgotten it, you should read the original Genealogists Halloween first. Ring! Ring! (Actually a “Monster Mash” ringtone is heard) “Hi Jenny, Are you almost ready?” “Yep, I’ll be over in a minute. I just need to
A Genealogist’s Halloween II Read More »
In light of David Letterman’s impending retirement, here are the- Top ten reasons to give up genealogy 10 Tired of the search result “Buy Ichabod Whittleby products on Amazon.com!” 9 Thought people were kidding about the 1890 census. 8 Upset by DNA match to Justin Bieber. 7 Discovered that someone has copied your idea to
Ding Dong! (latch clicks, door opens) “Trick or Treat!” “Oh, aren’t you cute! A broken microfilm reader! And what are the rest of you?” “I’m really inaccurate search results!” “Oh, yes I see! And look, you’re a gedcom file that includes King Arthur and Hercules. Wow, now that is scary!” “Who else do we have
A Genealogist’s Halloween Read More »
“Hmm…I wonder if this the right family. It could be. Better check these new names and see if they clarify things…I’ll start with Reginald, that’s an unusual name.” “Oh, what’s this? Ronald…Could that be Reginald? Better check that!” “Wait, which window did I have that first document in? Ok, found it.” “Here is a Donald
This week I’m taking a break from seriousness and posting something just for fun. I’ve always loved writing parodies and when this popped into my head on December 22nd, I decided that I had a blog post. So with apologies to Clement Clarke Moore here we go— Twas the night before Christmas and all through
Twas a Genealogist’s Night Before Christmas Read More »