Friday, September 30, 2011

New Android Tablet - The Kindle Fire

Although Dick Eastman stated in a post today that: "The Amazon Kindle Fire does NOT run Android or iOS or any other established operating system. Instead, the entire operating system is developed by Amazon. That means there will be no genealogy applications available at launch. If the Kindle Fire becomes popular, I expect that genealogy apps and thousands of other apps will appear within a few months."


Snip from Eastman post on my RSS Feed
 From my reading of various technology blogs I am fairly sure that the Amazon Kindle Fire does run on an Android  system that has been adapted by Amazon.
http://techcrunch.com/2011/09/02/amazon-kindle-tablet/

The Amazon App store that provides apps for the Kindle Fire has some genealogy apps available. Unfortunately one of my favourites Family Bee is not there. There are genealogy apps available for Kindle Fire users at launch.
Additionally there are many non-genealogy apps in The Amazon App store that genealogists will find useful for a range of genealogy activities.
Postscript: Since I snipped the paragraph above from Dick's blog it has disappeared from his post. Thanks, Dick, for making the correction. 

Captain Thunderbolt & His Lady


I wouldn't miss an opportunity to hear Carol Baxter speak. Although her author talk at Hornsby Library this week was not strictly a genealogy talk I went along because, as well as being interested in Thunderbolt, I enjoy listening to Carol. As a lively speaker who engages her audience and keeps them awake she is one of a rare breed on the genealogy speaking circuit.

Carol spoke about her new book Captain Thunderbolt & his Lady the story of the Gentleman bushranger and his lady, the educated part aboriginal Mary Ann Bugg. This new book was recently launched at McCrossin's Mill Museum,  in Uralla, NSW the town around which Frederick Ward (Captain Thunderbolt) worked.  Carol told us the pre-publication history of the book, whetted our appetites by reading from the book and kept secret details of the events described in the book.

I was first in line before the talk to buy a copy of the book. As I was sitting near members of Carol's family I heard their hurried 'phone calls to someone relaying that all copies of the book had been sold prior to the talk. At the conclusion of the talk I saw that someone had delivered another carton of copies so all who wanted were able to buy and have a book signed by Carol.

 While Carol writes in a descriptive style her writing is based on sound research principles with heavy use of original source material. I have only read the first few pages of the book so far and it promises to be an easy read that tarts up dry old historical facts and makes historical non-fiction have appeal to people like me who do hot have the stomach for dry academic tomes..

Carol Baxter at Hornsby Library
When the lady beside me asked if I had heard Carol speak previously I gave a reply that painted Carol in a glowing light. Luckily I had because I was seated beside Carol's very proud mother who, with family members and friends was at the event which was the Sydney launch of the book.

On this occasion Carol appeared nervous and seemed to be delivering a prepared speech that she had committed to memory. In spite of this I enjoyed her talk immensely. It was pleasing to note that when she took questions from the audience the real Carol emerged.  Her engaging personality and passion for history and writing shone through  when she spoke "off the cuff".

Even though I didn't even avail myself of a glass of the plonk and the sandwiches offered after the talk I got great value for my $5. Thanks to Hornsby Library for hosting this event.

For those of us who sometimes forget...


...a sign spotted last weekend in a shop staffed by senior citizen volunteers.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Tag Queen

Tina Lyons in a comment on Google+ today indicated that she was tagging her photos. I commented asking what software she used and a conversation ensued. After I had written a very long comment I thought "wow - here is something I can share in a blog post with other genies"...... 


Tina indicated that "I'm using Adobe Lightroom. I needed something that would add the metadata to all my photos. It's easy to do batches and allows me to easily compare photos and delete doubles. Picasa is great for tagging people, but I needed something more robust for the metadata." Adobe Lightroom, is a product with a $AU136.40 pricetag. Now I am a cheapie and use free apps wherever I can. 


I use the free Picasa software. I'm sure Picasa isn't as sophisticated as Lightroom but I'll share my story for other cheap amateurs like me who may be interested. One can add some metadata beyond names with Picasa, it also deals with duplicate images and allows for batch processing.


Picasa deals admirably with the 85,000+ images I have  stored on an external HDD. I had previously used Photoshop Elements for tagging but it crashed regularly. When my collection reached 30,000 I took the advice of photographer, Peter Simon, who was conducting a photography course on a Regent cruise and moved to Picasa. Eighteen months on I am pleased with that decision.


Picasa Tags attached to a Grave Marker
In Picasa I tag people, places (city, country, church, name of place), activity (dancing, swimming, etc), things (places of Worship, Museums,food, restaurants, ships, birds etc) and events by name and I add a year tag for those that are scanned images. All of this metadata appears to be available when I share photos or view them in other software. Basically I tag the who, what, where, and why for each photo. I have encouraged family members to use Picasa so that when photos are shared there is some descriptive information attached.

A word of warning - the facial recognition data doesn't seem to move with an image so I always add a tag with a person's name - these do transfer.

Picasa will also "find duplicate images". This is a very handy tool for someone with as many pics as I have.

Picasa allows "batch editing to make the same edits to multiple photos at the same time". This is a very easy process and saves a lot of time. I use the batch tag to add a couple of generic tags like "London", "Wiggles Concert" or "Rootsech 2011" when I download the photos, I then go through the photos at a later date individually to attach more specific tags.



That Picasa now integrates with Google+ has given me another reason to use this tool. 


We all have different needs, backgrounds and budgets. How do you organise your photos to fit your situation?

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Google +1 Button

Blue +1 Button
Have you noticed the +1 button at the bottom of posts on the genealogy blogs you read?  Do you have a Google Account?


Many bloggers have this button in the sharing options of their blog yet I see little evidence of the button's use on the posts I read. When I read and enjoy a blog post I click in the little box the the right of the blue +1 button. This tells the blogger that I have enjoyed their post and helps to push their post up higher in Google search results for the topic of the post.

In this busy, busy world we do not have time to comment on each and every post we enjoy. It takes less than a second to give a +1 to a post. To do this you will need a Google account and to be logged in to Google.

Blogging is supposed to be a collaborative activity. How about giving some positive reinforcement to the bloggers who write for you by hitting that +1 button.?

Monday, September 26, 2011

Fling it in the Folder - Progress

Blog Statistics tell me that my Fling it in the Folder-My Digital Filing System blog post is the most visited of my blog posts; it has also attracted a healthy number of comments.

My simple filing system has evolved and grown since I penned that original post  four months ago. I have been adding lots of resources so it has changed.  It is still a simple system with a flat structure, but will remain dynamic as my practices change and collection of resources grows.

I have renamed some folders, added a few more and appear to have lost one. Four months ago the folders on my external HDD looked like this:

May 20 2011

It now looks like this:
September 26, 2011
Where appropriate I have added subfolders to the folders listed above. The People and Places folders are where this was most needed.

Blog and website bits is a new folder in which I keep resources that I might use on my Geniaus blog or my websites. I made this folder after I changed the header image on my blog, wanted to reinstate it and couldn't find it. 

GeniMates is a new folder where I keep resources for my GeniMates blog.

KHS is the new folder in which I keep information relating to my membership of the Ku-ring-gai Historical Society, It's where I file the society newsletters that arrive by email.

People replaces my old Names folder. I renamed this because it is about individuals.

Rootstech is where I file everything to do with this conference. There are two sub-folders 2011 and 2012. My photos and the syllabus from 2011 are in that folder. For 2012 there are my proposal submissions, proposal acceptances copies of  the information I have sent to Rootstech relating to my Official Blogger role.

Scans to sort is a holding pen. It is the place where I keep scanned files until I have examined them and recorded details in my genealogy database. I then pop them in the folder that is the best fit for them. 

Ships is a new folder. As all of our ancestors arrived in Australia by ship (there was no other way to get here) they play an important part in my family story. This folder has images of ships, copies of surgeons' journals from convict ships and recounts of voyages by my ancestors' fellow travellers.

Missing is my Research Log. I moved this from an Excel spreadsheet to a Google Doc Spreadsheet. Perhaps I should keep a copy on the Hard Drive.

At this point in time I am happy with the present iteration of Fling it in the Folder - My Digital Fling System. I wonder how my activities over the next few months will shape the next iteration.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Into the 21st Century with SAG

Thursday night, with Captain Heather Garnsey at the helm, I joined around 60 other members  of  SAG (The Society of Australian Genealogists) in SAG's first paid webinar for members. It is so good to see this organisation employing technology to reach out to members.

Thanks Heather for permission to post this image
Genealogists from a number of Australian States and rural and metropolitan areas in NSW joined Heather for the event. Instead of an hour's trip by car to get to SAG in the city I only had to spend a few minutes firing up the computer to get my fix of CGD. For members who live in rural areas getting to SAG for educational events is extremely difficult. Hopefully this initiative will snag a few new members for SAG.

I salute Heather on her competent management of the GoToWebinar software that is used for delivery. She did a great job drivng it while presenting her talk. As SAG are charging $10 for the webinar and, as they should be getting the software for a song (hope Aussie organisations get the great deals available to non-profit organisations in the US), perhaps they could afford to have another person online to support the presenter.

NSW Shipping Records Online was the topic for Heather's talk. Although introductory in nature I learnt a few new tricks from the talk that concentrated on online records at Ancestry.com.au and State Records of NSW.   Added to my todo list is to take a look at these records for the ancestors whose immigration details I found years ago - I should be able to find more details to flesh their profiles. After her formal presentation Heather responded to attendees questions.

Webinars are a wonderful way to present educational and information sessions via the web. I attend on average one per week, this week I have tuned into three. A list of webinars available to genealogists can be found at the Geneawebinars calendar. The SAG webinars are not listed on this site

Future SAG Webinars
It appears that SAG has at least one webinar a month scheduled for the future. Anyone is able to visit the SAG site to find details of these forthcoming educational offerings (scroll to bottom of page) but you will have to become a member to join in.



Thursday, September 22, 2011

From Mini to Bambino

As I sit here excitedly waiting for the car broker to deliver my new car  (how civilised!) I have been reminiscing again.

Dad under the bonnet of our first car
My dad took delivery of our first family car, an Austin Lancer, when we moved from the inner city to the suburbs. It was a big deal to move from being carless to having our own wheels. Dad loved tinkering with that car and spent many hours with his head under the bonnet.

When I first had a family the only four wheels I had were those on my big English pram. I wore out a lot of shoe leather pushing  my first two children up hill and down dale in that posh conveyance.

When we enrolled our first child at school, a few miles away, I needed something a bit faster and suitable for all weather. I opted for a zippy little car so, after a trip to all the caryards on Parramatta Road we settled on a brand new bright green Mini,. I loved HUI 090 and had great fun driving around and honking the horn. The only modifcation we made to that car was to replace the little beep, beep horn with one that was more suited to a Mack truck.Years later, in a fit of nostalgia, we bought another Mini just like HUI that the kids used when they were on their drivers training wheels.

The imminent arrival of child number three heralded the need for a new car. A succession of sensible Chryslers, Holdens and Toyotas lived in my garage for the next twenty years or so. These cars served their purpose in providing reliable transport for the family but none of them had the personality of that little Mini.

Finally in 2002 I got a fun car, a little Peugeot 206cc. After a hard day at work I loved driving along with the roof  down and the wind blowing through my hair. I enjoyed the chats I had with truckies and taxi drivers at the traffic lights who would say something like "Love your car, love" to this little white-haired lady behind the wheel of the convertible.

In recent years our family has experienced a growth spurt and my little car could not accommodate many grandchildren. So I put on my sensible hat and traded up to a small 7 seater, it's a nice European car that is family friendly.

A couple of weeks ago we were discussing Mr Geniaus' imminent retirement  and options for cars as he will have to return his work vehicle. Recognising that we do not need two big cars he suggested that he take the people mover and  we purchase a new little car for me. I was overly excited at this suggestion and agreed immediately.

So car shopping has been on my agenda. Although Mr Geniaus does not agree with my methods and criteria for car selection he sat back and observed my deliberations. He wanted me to buy a little new model Citroen, the D something or other, I looked on the internet and decided that it was ugly. I knocked out a few other contenders because they were too ugly, expensive, didn't have a USB connection or were too long for a small parking spot. Meanwhile Mr G visited dealerships, talked to salesman and pondered the specs in the printed brochures.

When I found another car that I liked I headed off to Parramatta to take a look. On setting foot in the showroom I spied a cute little Fiat 500, it was love at first sight. Dismissing the car I had come to inspect I sat in the Fiat; it was tiny, easy to access, I could see out the window and it came with a GPS, USB, electric roof and parking sensors. I didn't need a test drive as the car ticked all the boxes.
The Bambino

As soon as I got home I called Mr G to tell him I had found my car. "Did you take it for a test drive?" he replied. I said I didn't need to because surely a new car would be driveable. After studying the specs in the brochure I proffered he took a trip to look at the car and, no doubt, prepare a list of  reasons as to why the car was unsuitable.

Immediately on his return he phoned and admitted that the car was cute and would be fun to drive. Would I like him to talk to the broker to get a good deal. Of course I would (understanding that his haste was fuelled by the worry that I might change my mind and fall in love with a more expensive car).

So here I am sitting like an expectant mother waiting for my Bambino to arrive. I am just as excited as when I took delivery of that Mini 35 years ago.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Top 100 .... thanks to the meme

I can't remember when I last visited the Technorati site. I had a look today because I noticed that I had a couple of visits to this blog via that site.

To my surprise I found that the Geniaus blog was in their top 100 Infotech Blogs list. Seems I've moved up 43 places.

Technorati -  21 September 2011

I reckon that it's because of The Tech Savvy Genealogists' meme. A number of people have linked to Geniaus from their meme posts which have included a lot of techie vocabulary and I guess these have been picked up by Technorati who have put me in the company of geeks.

So that's my theory.

I realise that this is a momentary blip so I am recording this piece of family history before I slide back into oblivion.  

10-20-30 with Guy

Going through the items I had starred in Google Reader I just found a link to this Guy Kawasaki video that had been shared by Mr Byrne on Free Technology for Teachers.

Having recently sat through a presentation in which the presenter read a paper and did not look at the audience I was reminded of those presentations done by my former students who just read out their research assignments instead of  talking about their topic with  pertinent slides as an aide-memoire.

Although this video is not pitched at genealogy speakers it poses some valid points.

Of course for a genealogy audience the rule might be 10-20-40 (watch the video to see why).

Monday, September 19, 2011

The Museum I call Home

Kerry on the Cluewagon blog recently wrote on "How to incorporate your family history into your home decor" and gave some great tips and examples of economical decorating. I reflected on my home while reading this post and thought that I didn't have many such items around my house....but then I did a mental walkaround and I was surprised at how many things we actually had. Thanks, Kerry, I now have fodder for more blog posts.

Following is a summary of what I have found today, as time goes by I will blog about some of these items and their stories.

Standing in the corner of our entrance foyer is a longcase clock made  in the 1840s by Scotsman, James Gowans, my husband's ancestor. I have previously blogged about our eight year search for the clock, its purchase and journey to Australia (No photo - it's at the restorers). On the walls are some historic photos of the Waverley Council area in Sydney, they are reminders of our courtship as Mr Geniaus and I met while working for Waverley Council. Shoved in the coat cupboard is my great-great-grandfather's shillelagh, I don't quite now how to display Denis's stick.

Nanna's Dining Table and Chairs
In our front room/parlor/room we don't use/sitting room is my grandmother's dining room suite that my Dad purchased from the estate after her death in 1977. The acquisition of this setting started our obsession with collecting early 20th century reproduction Jacobean furniture. Jesus watches over this from his place on the wall in a tapestry made by Hannah Steward in 1853. China cabinets and sideboards in this room house some family treasures. Sadly we do not know the stories behind these cups, crystal and curiosities. Over in the corner is a collection of framed items waiting to be rehung after last year's paint job on the walls. This includes some mugshots of the ancestors plus prize certificates for wins at The Royal Easter Show by my husband's grandfather, Ernest Gillespie.

Scots College painting by Tony Crago
There are more treasures in our family/casual living room. My husband's grandparents' sideboard takes pride of place. Above the fireplace is a painting of The Scots' College by Tony Crago that I won in a school raffle; as my boys were educated at this school this painting evokes many memories for us.

Mr Geniaus' study is chock full of memorabilia as is mine. We need to get in and catalogue some of this: more photos and accompanying stories are needed so that, when we drop off our perches, our children understand the significance and value of some of these items. There are also postcards, letters, invitations, thankyou notes, should I digitise then pitch these?

Hiding in the corner of one of our guestrooms is a quaint little corner wardrobe that  belonged to my mother-in-law as a girl. Her collection of clothes must have been sparse to be accommodated in that little cupboard. The remainder of the bedrooms and all of the bathrooms are not in the museum zone.

Daughter's sampler
Catching dust and wearing cobwebs on top of my kitchen cupboards is a collection of kitchen gear that previously belonged to earlier generations. There are scales from a grocery store, an original mixmaster, a soda siphon and some weird looking implements. A newer heirloom hanging on the wall is a sampler worked by my daughter when she was at school.

On the bookshelves are family bibles and books written by or carrying mentions of family members as well as books on ancestral cities, towns and churches and 100+ family photo albums.

Having done this rough inventory of our exhibits I am wondering if I should charge admission.




Friday, September 16, 2011

The Tech Savvy Genies

Thankfully I've had some responses to my latest meme, The Tech Savvy Genealogists’ Meme. These have come in the form of comments and blog posts.


James Tanner from Genealogy's Star was the first to comment on my original blog post and his comment has been followed by others that can be accessed here. The first submission came in very smartly from Shauna Hicks of SHHE Genie Rambles


I will continue to add to this list of meme responses as other genies join the fun. Please let me know of any omissions from the list.

1 Ancestry 2 Little Time
Adventures in Genealogy - Deb Ruth
Adventures in Genealogy Education - Angela McGhie 
Anglers Rest - Julie Goucher (John's version)
Are you my Cousin - Lisa Lisson
The Armchair Genealogist -  Lynn Palermo (John's version)
Australian Genealogy Journeys - Aillin O'Brien
Chasing Rainbows - Paula Jeffery
Cheryl Bailey
Destination Austin Family - Thomas MacEntee
Documenting the Details - Linda McCauley
Donna Peterson has posted her response on Google+
Family History Across the Seas - Pauleen Cass
Family History Fun - Susan Donaldson
From Helen V Smith's keyboard - Helen V Smith
Gathering Stories - Nancy Shively
Genea-Musings - Randy Seaver
Genealogy Leftovers - Judy Webster
Geniaus Blog - Jill Ball
The Ginger Jewish Genealogist - Banai Feldstein
Indiana Dillmans - Daniel G Dillman
Just Folks - Genealady
Karen about Genealogy - Karen LeSueur Packard Rhodes
Kinnexions - Becky
Leaves of Heritage - Angela Kraft-Leaves
Linecum Lineage
Little Bytes of Life - Elizabeth O'Neal
Lone Tester Genealogy News - Alona Tester
Long Lost Relatives - Susan Petersen
Louis Kessler's Behold Blog (John's version)
Luxegen Genealogy and Family History - Joan Miller
Minnesota Family Historian - MNFamilyHistorian (John's version)
(Mis)Adventures of a Genealogist - Cinamon Collins
Nutfield Genealogy  - Heather Wilkinson Rojo
Olive Tree Genealogy Blog - Lorine McGinnis Schulze
Roots and Rambles - Marian Pierre-Louis
Ruth's Genealogy
Scott Jangro's Genealogy Blog
SHHE Genie Rambles - Shauna Hicks
Slowly being driven mad by the Ancestors - Carole Davies
Stardust 'n' Roots - Bart Brenner
Tracking down the Family - Jennifer Jones
Tracy Bruce
Transylvanian Dutch - John Newmark (edited the meme and added 30 new items)
The Tree of Me - Sharon Brennan  (John's version)
Twigs of Yore - Shelley (John's version)
The Wandering Genealogist - John Gasson
West in New England - Bill West (John's version)

and here's a video response from Caitie

Bound for South Australia

I am a Genealogy Junkie. I've got it bad. I spend every spare moment and more engaged in genealogy activities.


I thought Mr Geniaus would cringe when, yesterday, I broached a trip to South Australia in March next year less than two weeks after we return form a visit to the US for the Rootstech Conference. He asked would "we" fly or drive I said drive, then I agreed that we could drive home via Broken Hill and the deal was done. 


A number of my Australian GeniMates have indicated that they are going to The 13th Australasian Congress on Genealogy and Heraldry in Adelaide in March 2012 and recommend it as the premier event on the Australian Genealogy Calendar.  Unfortunately I cannot link to the Conference site as the rules on their fromt page state "Other sites may only link to the site with the Society's prior written permission. " I'm not writing for permission to make a harmless link.


Although there are only 66 presentations over the 4 days of the conference a perusal of the program indicates that I will find many topics to suit my appetite. I look forward to hearing from the overseas speakers, especially those from the lands of my ancestors in the UK like Roger Kershaw from The National Archives. I cannot pass up the opportunity of seeing so many eminent speakers in one location.


I hope to meet many Australian genealogists at the Congress. Are you Bound for South Australia?

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Measuring up - The Tech Savvy Genealogists' Meme

My contribution to my new meme has made me realise that the criteria are skewed towards things I do.
C'es la vie!


The Tech Savvy Genealogists' Meme

The list should be annotated in the following manner:
Things you have already done or found: bold face type
Things you would like to do or find: italicize (colour optional)
Things you haven’t done or found and don’t care to: plain type

Feel free to add extra comments in brackets after each item 

Which of these apply to you?

  1. Own an Android or Windows tablet or an iPad
  2. Use a tablet or iPad for genealogy related purposes
  3. Have used Skype to for genealogy purposes
  4. Have used a camera to capture images in a library/archives/ancestor's home
  5. Use a genealogy software program on your computer to manage your family tree
  6. Have a Twitter account
  7. Tweet daily
  8. Have a genealogy blog
  9. Have more then one genealogy blog
  10. Have lectured/presented to a genealogy group on a technology topic
  11. Currently an active member of Genealogy Wise
  12. Have a Facebook Account
  13. Have connected with genealogists via Facebook (I'd rather see them on Google+)
  14. Maintain a genealogy related Facebook Page (GeniMates)
  15. Maintain a blog or website for a genealogy society (would love to assist)
  16. Have submitted text corrections online to Ancestry, Trove or a similar site b(Trying to do my bit for Trove)
  17. Have registered a domain name (www.geniaus.net)
  18. Post regularly to Google+
  19. Have a blog listed on Geneabloggers
  20. Have transcribed/indexed records for FamilySearch or a similar project (Feel guilty about this)
  21. Own a Flip-Pal or hand-held scanner (Think my camera does a good enough job)
  22. Can code a webpage in .html (I have noe desire to do this at all)
  23. Own a smartphone
  24. Have a personal subscription to one or more paid genealogy databases (Don't tell Mr Geniaus how many)
  25. Use a digital voice recorder to record genealogy lectures (Too frightened to ask presenters for permission)
  26. Have contributed to a genealogy blog carnival
  27. Use Chrome as a Browser
  28. Have participated in a genealogy webinar
  29. Have taken a DNA test for genealogy purposes (Kits in bedroom - keep forgetting to swab the cheeks)
  30. Have a personal genealogy website (www.geniaus.net)
  31. Have found mention of an ancestor in an online newspaper archive (Times in London and heaps on Trove)
  32. Have tweeted during a genealogy lecture (keeps me on task)
  33. Have scanned your hardcopy genealogy files (not all yet - still lots to go)
  34. Use an RSS Reader to follow genealogy news and blogs (Read in bed each morning with coffee)
  35. Have uploaded a gedcom file to a site like Geni, MyHeritage or Ancestry (No way, I'll take care of my own data thanks)
  36. Own a netbook
  37. Use a computer/tablet/smartphone to take genealogy lecture notes (usually a tablet - the lsptop and netbook slip off my lap)
  38. Have a profile on LinkedIn that mentions your genealogy habit
  39. Have developed a genealogy software program, app or widget (I'm not that savvy)
  40. Have listened to a genealogy podcast online
  41. Have downloaded genealogy podcasts for later listening 
  42. Backup your files to a portable hard drive
  43. Have a copy of your genealogy files stored offsite (Only remember when I go on holidays)
  44. Know about Rootstech
  45. Have listened to a Blogtalk radio session about genealogy
  46. Use Dropbox, SugarSync or other service to save documents in the cloud (Have accounts but too much data for a free plan)
  47. Schedule regular email backups (The Gmail accounts)
  48. Have contriibuted to the Familysearch Wiki
  49. Have scanned and tagged your genealogy photographs
  50. Have published a genealogy book in an online/digital format (Don't thhink I am patient enough to write a whole book)

So you think you're a Tech Savvy Genealogist...

A couple of positive comments about my recent 99 Things Genealogy Meme - Aussie Style got me thinking and creating. Positive reinforcement is a great motivator. 


As a result of a personal brainstorming session this afternoon I have drawn up a list of 50 criteria that might indicate that one is a Tech Savvy Genealogist. If I spent longer at this or did it on another day I might come up with a different or better list.


I invite anyone with an interest in genealogy to participate. If you don't have a blog and wish to participate you can send your responses to me in an email and I will pop them into a blog post on the GeniMates blog. Please let me know about your response by a comment on this post or by email and I'll put together a list of links.


The Tech Savvy Genealogists' Meme


The list should be annotated in the following manner:
Things you have already done or found: bold face type
Things you would like to do or find: italicize (colour optional)
Things you haven’t done or found and don’t care to: plain type

Feel free to add extra comments in brackets after each item


Which of these apply to you?
  1. Own an Android or Windows tablet or an iPad
  2. Use a tablet or iPad for genealogy related purposes
  3. Have used Skype to for genealogy purposes
  4. Have used a camera to capture images in a library/archives/ancestor's home
  5. Use a genealogy software program on your computer to manage your family tree
  6. Have a Twitter account
  7. Tweet daily
  8. Have a genealogy blog
  9. Have more then one genealogy blog
  10. Have lectured/presented to a genealogy group on a technology topic
  11. Currently an active member of Genealogy Wise
  12. Have a Facebook Account
  13. Have connected with genealogists via Facebook
  14. Maintain a genealogy related Facebook Page
  15. Maintain a blog or website for a genealogy society
  16. Have submitted text corrections online to Ancestry, Trove or a similar site
  17. Have registered a domain name
  18. Post regularly to Google+
  19. Have a blog listed on Geneabloggers
  20. Have transcribed/indexed records for FamilySearch or a similar project
  21. Own a Flip-Pal or hand-held scanner
  22. Can code a webpage in .html
  23. Own a smartphone
  24. Have a personal subscription to one or more paid genealogy databases
  25. Use a digital voice recorder to record genealogy lectures
  26. Have contributed to a genealogy blog carnival
  27. Use Chrome as a Browser
  28. Have participated in a genealogy webinar
  29. Have taken a DNA test for genealogy purposes
  30. Have a personal genealogy website
  31. Have found mention of an ancestor in an online newspaper archive
  32. Have tweeted during a genealogy lecture
  33. Have scanned your hardcopy genealogy files
  34. Use an RSS Reader to follow genealogy news and blogs
  35. Have uploaded a gedcom file to a site like Geni, MyHeritage or Ancestry
  36. Own a netbook
  37. Use a computer/tablet/smartphone to take genealogy lecture notes
  38. Have a profile on LinkedIn that mentions your genealogy habit
  39. Have developed a genealogy software program, app or widget
  40. Have listened to a genealogy podcast online
  41. Have downloaded genealogy podcasts for later listening
  42. Backup your files to a portable hard drive
  43. Have a copy of your genealogy files stored offsite
  44. Know about Rootstech
  45. Have listened to a Blogtalk radio session about genealogy
  46. Use Dropbox, SugarSync or other service to save documents in the cloud
  47. Schedule regular email backups
  48. Have contriibuted to the Familysearch Wiki
  49. Have scanned and tagged your genealogy photographs
  50. Have published a genealogy book in an online/digital format


Distraction Buster

Thanks to a tweet from Teacher-Librarian @marita_t for the link to this "How to Focus"mindmap from http://www.mindmapart.com/how-to-focus-mind-map-jane-genovese/.

I don't print many things out but will be doing so with this funky diagram that will remind me how to avoid distractions.

Click here for larger view

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Wordless Wednesday - Kew Kapers

Some holiday snaps from my recent visit to The National Archives in Kew - It's somewhere near heaven


Ready for action
Locker Room
The Reading Room
My workspace for three days
Camera stands

Public cameras


Sustenance available
Bookshop temptation

A Boring and Unbalanced Diet

To recognise the "EAT History" theme of last week's NSW History Week Michelle Nichols chose a food related topic for her lecture at The Hawkesbury Family History Group meeting today.

In her well researched paper "Dining in the 19th Century" Michelle discussed the food eaten at various times during  the century. In the early part of the century the food was scarce, the diet boring and unbalanced and the people malnourished, she gave examples of the rations given to convicts, women and children in the early days of the colony. The main activities at this time were milling, baking, brewing and salting. As the colony grew local crops and herds of stock were developed and diets improved..

Michelle described the development of kitchens and food technology through the century using historic images on her slides. She shared some recipes, some of which like roasted and preserved emu sounded quite unappetising. Michelle used Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management, the 1864 Colonial Cookbook and recipes published in early newspapers to give us an idea of what would be in a mid to late19th century menu.

I learnt a lot from Michelle's talk. Most importantly it caused me to reflect on the challenges my earliest convict ancestors would have faced and added to my knowledge of the conditions under which they lived.




Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Mary Tierney

My genealogy program tells me today that born in Dungog, NSW, 166 years ago on 13th September, 1845 was my 2x Great Aunt, Mary Tierney. Mary married a Samuel Thompson and was living in Bourke, NSW at the time of her father's death in 1894.

Beyond that I have no information on Mary. It is quite a while since I have given any thought to Mary and her family so I will see what I can find to add to her story.

The Dates and Anniversaries page on my genealogy software program is something I forget to use, I must remember to consult it more often. Ancestors' anniversaries  provide an opportunity to highlight them in blog posts.

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