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
My theory about bbq places:
The better the bread, the worse everything else is.
If you go to a bbq joint and the bread is fancy, brisket will suck, sauce will be too ketchup, sides will be stale.
If they throw a shitty slice of Wonder Bread at you from the counter, you are in for miracle meat.
The better the bread, the worse everything else is.
If you go to a bbq joint and the bread is fancy, brisket will suck, sauce will be too ketchup, sides will be stale.
If they throw a shitty slice of Wonder Bread at you from the counter, you are in for miracle meat.
June 8, 2025 at 3:33 PM
My theory about bbq places:
The better the bread, the worse everything else is.
If you go to a bbq joint and the bread is fancy, brisket will suck, sauce will be too ketchup, sides will be stale.
If they throw a shitty slice of Wonder Bread at you from the counter, you are in for miracle meat.
The better the bread, the worse everything else is.
If you go to a bbq joint and the bread is fancy, brisket will suck, sauce will be too ketchup, sides will be stale.
If they throw a shitty slice of Wonder Bread at you from the counter, you are in for miracle meat.
My hot take on this week's #FigureSkating news:
NBC Sports too cowardly to stand up to bullying
also breaking news:
water is wet
ice is slippery
NBC Sports too cowardly to stand up to bullying
also breaking news:
water is wet
ice is slippery
January 21, 2026 at 12:45 AM
My hot take on this week's #FigureSkating news:
NBC Sports too cowardly to stand up to bullying
also breaking news:
water is wet
ice is slippery
NBC Sports too cowardly to stand up to bullying
also breaking news:
water is wet
ice is slippery
Thanks #AncestryHour friends! I'll see you next week, or on Thursday for #GenHour.
January 20, 2026 at 8:03 PM
Thanks #AncestryHour friends! I'll see you next week, or on Thursday for #GenHour.
#AncestryHour Looking over my email, I see a lot of notifications from Newspapers-dot-com and NewspaperArchive and MyHeritage, so if I want something quick to do, I can always look at those. I tried American Ancestors' AncesTREES for a while because that system generates hints too. 🧵
January 20, 2026 at 7:31 PM
#AncestryHour Looking over my email, I see a lot of notifications from Newspapers-dot-com and NewspaperArchive and MyHeritage, so if I want something quick to do, I can always look at those. I tried American Ancestors' AncesTREES for a while because that system generates hints too. 🧵
While I was waiting for #AncestryHour to start, I wrote an answer to a recent question on Genealogy Stack Exchange.
#genealogy When you find a match in someone's online tree on Ancestry, do you work out your relationship to the tree owner before you message?
genealogy.stackexchange.com/q/20707/1006
genealogy.stackexchange.com/q/20707/1006
Finding relationship between person and home person in someone else's tree using Ancestry
Occasionally I find my family members in the trees of other people and I end up messaging them. It would be very handy to figure out how they are related to my family members before messaging them....
genealogy.stackexchange.com
January 20, 2026 at 7:26 PM
While I was waiting for #AncestryHour to start, I wrote an answer to a recent question on Genealogy Stack Exchange.
#AncestryHour the To Do list:
- Top priority: play with cat (non-maskable interrupt)
- resume hard drive cleanup
- watch webinar from J. Mark Lowe at Florida State Genealogical Society
- watch webinar from Michael John Neill on FamilySearch Full Text Search & read new guidebook
- Top priority: play with cat (non-maskable interrupt)
- resume hard drive cleanup
- watch webinar from J. Mark Lowe at Florida State Genealogical Society
- watch webinar from Michael John Neill on FamilySearch Full Text Search & read new guidebook
#AncestryHour New Year's plans recap.
- learn more & use FamilySearch's Full Text Search better
- use Ancestry's Pro Tools more
- source checklist project
- work on main #OnePlaceStudy and mini-place studies
- review prior #FamilyHistory work
- Clooz data entry
- resume hard drive reorg
- ???
- learn more & use FamilySearch's Full Text Search better
- use Ancestry's Pro Tools more
- source checklist project
- work on main #OnePlaceStudy and mini-place studies
- review prior #FamilyHistory work
- Clooz data entry
- resume hard drive reorg
- ???
January 20, 2026 at 7:07 PM
#AncestryHour the To Do list:
- Top priority: play with cat (non-maskable interrupt)
- resume hard drive cleanup
- watch webinar from J. Mark Lowe at Florida State Genealogical Society
- watch webinar from Michael John Neill on FamilySearch Full Text Search & read new guidebook
- Top priority: play with cat (non-maskable interrupt)
- resume hard drive cleanup
- watch webinar from J. Mark Lowe at Florida State Genealogical Society
- watch webinar from Michael John Neill on FamilySearch Full Text Search & read new guidebook
#AncestryHour Mood of the month: waiting
- waiting for wills to arrive (31 ordered, 10 received)
- waiting for Full Text Search beta to show up at Ancestry
- waiting for some new and exciting record set
- waiting for more FigureSkating to happen (4CC starts Wednesday)
- waiting for wills to arrive (31 ordered, 10 received)
- waiting for Full Text Search beta to show up at Ancestry
- waiting for some new and exciting record set
- waiting for more FigureSkating to happen (4CC starts Wednesday)
a black and white photo of a little boy sitting at a desk with the words `` still waiting '' written above him .
Alt: animated black and white gif of Sparky from the Little Rascals TV show. He is sitting at a desk, with his chin propped in one hand. He is tapping the fingers of his other hand on the surface of the desk. A caption reads "still waiting"
media.tenor.com
January 20, 2026 at 7:02 PM
#AncestryHour Mood of the month: waiting
- waiting for wills to arrive (31 ordered, 10 received)
- waiting for Full Text Search beta to show up at Ancestry
- waiting for some new and exciting record set
- waiting for more FigureSkating to happen (4CC starts Wednesday)
- waiting for wills to arrive (31 ordered, 10 received)
- waiting for Full Text Search beta to show up at Ancestry
- waiting for some new and exciting record set
- waiting for more FigureSkating to happen (4CC starts Wednesday)
#genealogy When you find a match in someone's online tree on Ancestry, do you work out your relationship to the tree owner before you message?
genealogy.stackexchange.com/q/20707/1006
genealogy.stackexchange.com/q/20707/1006
Finding relationship between person and home person in someone else's tree using Ancestry
Occasionally I find my family members in the trees of other people and I end up messaging them. It would be very handy to figure out how they are related to my family members before messaging them....
genealogy.stackexchange.com
January 20, 2026 at 6:30 PM
#genealogy When you find a match in someone's online tree on Ancestry, do you work out your relationship to the tree owner before you message?
genealogy.stackexchange.com/q/20707/1006
genealogy.stackexchange.com/q/20707/1006
Still catching up on #EuroFigure streams I couldn't watch live.
Does anyone know the size of the rink in Sheffield? So many of the singles skaters have been coming to grief because of jumping too close to the boards. Which is something Dick Button used to complain about *all the time*. 🧵
Does anyone know the size of the rink in Sheffield? So many of the singles skaters have been coming to grief because of jumping too close to the boards. Which is something Dick Button used to complain about *all the time*. 🧵
January 19, 2026 at 5:39 AM
Still catching up on #EuroFigure streams I couldn't watch live.
Does anyone know the size of the rink in Sheffield? So many of the singles skaters have been coming to grief because of jumping too close to the boards. Which is something Dick Button used to complain about *all the time*. 🧵
Does anyone know the size of the rink in Sheffield? So many of the singles skaters have been coming to grief because of jumping too close to the boards. Which is something Dick Button used to complain about *all the time*. 🧵
Reposted by Jan Murphy
Step 1: Create street violence
Step 2: Blame enemy group for street violence
Step 3: Brutally oppress enemy group in the name of ending street violence
Step 4: Tell goons to provoke less violence for a sec
Step 5: "You have to give us more power so we can prevent street violence in the future."
Step 2: Blame enemy group for street violence
Step 3: Brutally oppress enemy group in the name of ending street violence
Step 4: Tell goons to provoke less violence for a sec
Step 5: "You have to give us more power so we can prevent street violence in the future."
Repressive regimes always create the very conditions of instability & unrest that they claim to "solve."
January 16, 2026 at 11:19 PM
Step 1: Create street violence
Step 2: Blame enemy group for street violence
Step 3: Brutally oppress enemy group in the name of ending street violence
Step 4: Tell goons to provoke less violence for a sec
Step 5: "You have to give us more power so we can prevent street violence in the future."
Step 2: Blame enemy group for street violence
Step 3: Brutally oppress enemy group in the name of ending street violence
Step 4: Tell goons to provoke less violence for a sec
Step 5: "You have to give us more power so we can prevent street violence in the future."
In case you missed it:
Everybody who speaks or signs has an accent.
Bullying people because you don't like someone's accent?
It's bullying. Don't be that person.
Everybody who speaks or signs has an accent.
Bullying people because you don't like someone's accent?
It's bullying. Don't be that person.
January 17, 2026 at 10:43 PM
In case you missed it:
Everybody who speaks or signs has an accent.
Bullying people because you don't like someone's accent?
It's bullying. Don't be that person.
Everybody who speaks or signs has an accent.
Bullying people because you don't like someone's accent?
It's bullying. Don't be that person.
#EuroFigure Back to catching up with the replays. See you all tomorrow for the gala!
January 17, 2026 at 10:22 PM
#EuroFigure Back to catching up with the replays. See you all tomorrow for the gala!
#EuroFigure So why hasn't the host broadcaster been showing us Mark Hanretty on stage the whole time instead of only letting us see people on the Jumbotron? Just asking.
January 17, 2026 at 10:04 PM
#EuroFigure So why hasn't the host broadcaster been showing us Mark Hanretty on stage the whole time instead of only letting us see people on the Jumbotron? Just asking.
#EuroFigure I thought wearing earrings was bad enough but WTF why would you wear rings on the ice?
January 17, 2026 at 9:54 PM
#EuroFigure I thought wearing earrings was bad enough but WTF why would you wear rings on the ice?
#EuroFigure 💯👇
Chris Lila and Lewis do not generate speed they've never generated speed they got thrown off with their twizzles cuz Lila was very nervous I could see that from my TV
#EuroFigure ⛸️
#EuroFigure ⛸️
January 17, 2026 at 9:51 PM
#EuroFigure 💯👇
#EuroFigure Sitting here thinking:
"Don't cheer so loud, your team can't hear their music, you big numpties!"
"Don't cheer so loud, your team can't hear their music, you big numpties!"
January 17, 2026 at 9:49 PM
#EuroFigure Sitting here thinking:
"Don't cheer so loud, your team can't hear their music, you big numpties!"
"Don't cheer so loud, your team can't hear their music, you big numpties!"
#EuroFigure The twizzles, big yikes!
January 17, 2026 at 9:45 PM
#EuroFigure The twizzles, big yikes!
#EuroFigure TFW a couple you like is coached by a coach you love to boo.
January 17, 2026 at 9:35 PM
#EuroFigure TFW a couple you like is coached by a coach you love to boo.
January 17, 2026 at 9:17 PM
#EuroFigure Argentine tango is made for the ice.
DWTS pro: "You have to get down into your knees"
Skaters: "sure, no prob"
DWTS pro: "You have to get down into your knees"
Skaters: "sure, no prob"
January 17, 2026 at 9:00 PM
#EuroFigure Argentine tango is made for the ice.
DWTS pro: "You have to get down into your knees"
Skaters: "sure, no prob"
DWTS pro: "You have to get down into your knees"
Skaters: "sure, no prob"
January 17, 2026 at 8:49 PM
#EuroFigure Give the ISU permission to do anything with my phone? Oh HELL no.
January 17, 2026 at 5:07 AM
#EuroFigure Give the ISU permission to do anything with my phone? Oh HELL no.
Finally catching up with the early segments of #EuroFigure before the replays roll off of Peacock. It is painful to watch the other early skaters after seeing Josefin Taljegård.
*Especially* if you're going to skate to Peter Gabriel's The Feeling Begins, you better bring it. Be bold or go home.
*Especially* if you're going to skate to Peter Gabriel's The Feeling Begins, you better bring it. Be bold or go home.
January 16, 2026 at 8:46 PM
Finally catching up with the early segments of #EuroFigure before the replays roll off of Peacock. It is painful to watch the other early skaters after seeing Josefin Taljegård.
*Especially* if you're going to skate to Peter Gabriel's The Feeling Begins, you better bring it. Be bold or go home.
*Especially* if you're going to skate to Peter Gabriel's The Feeling Begins, you better bring it. Be bold or go home.
Reposted by Jan Murphy
RT if you've never had a tab of ChatGPT open 'just to do quick research'
![You’ve got super fans pausing and zooming in on individuals frames of your documentary. One allegedly shows one of the Duffers with a ChatGPT tab open on their computer. In your presence, what did they use ChatGPT for?
I mean, are we even sure they had ChatGPT open?
I’m personally not, but the internet seems sure.
Well, there’s a lot of chatter where [social media users] are like, “We don’t really know, but we’re assuming.” But to me it’s like, doesn’t everybody have it open, to just do quick research?
I do.
How can you possibly write a storyline with 19 characters and use ChatGPT, I don’t even understand.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:7t2urmt3i33jl6tjgiolio6g/bafkreidw2tmcr2ayq74oqmjm5pn2tdox6hlxnpqevhuqqj6oa7nsslx3oi@jpeg)
January 13, 2026 at 8:45 PM
RT if you've never had a tab of ChatGPT open 'just to do quick research'
ICYMI: Connor Storrie on skating lessons and Russian lessons for #HeatedRivalry (minor plot spoilers)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lsmt...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lsmt...
Connor Storrie Fooled a Russian Heated Rivalry Extra into Thinking He Was Fluent
YouTube video by Late Night with Seth Meyers
www.youtube.com
January 16, 2026 at 7:41 AM
ICYMI: Connor Storrie on skating lessons and Russian lessons for #HeatedRivalry (minor plot spoilers)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lsmt...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lsmt...