I thought I saw something like this at NEAF this past April. I’ll see if I still have the brochures…

1990s Plymouth Caravan

Well, some places found that scanning the originals and providing them online not only saved money storing them, but also improved access. For other places, it’s a matter of going to the town clerk (or equivalent), filling out some forms, and waiting - sometimes months.

I’ve been doing genealogy for my family and friends for a few years. Can I ask what part of the world your ancestors lived in? I find there is almost always some online documentation for any given person (after 1800 or so - depending on the location), but finding it is a complex acquired skillset that can take quite a while to learn. It seems likely you have the opposite of beginners luck - aka a steep curve. Of course, some more rural parts of the world can lag in documentation, and language issues are always a problem. You may really have invisible ancestors. Without more info, it’s hard to give more advice.

Also, there is a significant difference between paid and free accounts on Ancestry. FamilySearch can be hard to use. WikiTree has no research tools, but does have a large tree and a supportive user community. There are a lot of sites, some completely free, and some with tiered membership. Finally, a DNA test (not 23&Me) can be a huge boost to what you are able to find.

Recently, I have been contemplating going pro and charging folks. If you are interested, I can look into yours for free, to see if (1) I’m good enough, and (2) I’m not just lucky in that I’ve only had easy challenges up to now. Assuming that this is a place where the documentation would be in English. So far my experience is US, Canada, UK, and some Italy. Drop me a PM. I work in financial IT - confidentiality has been critical my whole life.

• Dragonslayer
• Excalibur
• Time Bandits

My current job.

Many SQL servers use scripts that run as domain administrator. With the password hard coded in.

Several of the various servers are very old. W2K, 2003, 2008. SQL server, too.

Several of the users run reports via rdp to the SQL server - logging in as domain admin.

Codebase is a mashup of various dev tools: .net, asp, Java, etc.

Fax server software vendor has been out of business for a decade. Server hardware is 20 years old. Telecom for fax is a channelized PRI carrying POTS - and multiport modem cards.

About a 3rd of the ethernet runs in the office have failed.

Office pcs are static IP. Boss says that’s more secure.

We process money to/from the Fed.

My wife and i went to Tortola in '99. Everything went wrong, and we still had a good time. If things had gone right, we might have never left.

That said, the off-trail areas of the state parks of north NY, NJ, PA, up to Canada and into Vermont) are where I feel most at peace. A quiet cabin on a lake ten miles from a small town would be a perfect place to retire to.

These guys claim to want a degree, but really will take a warm body:

https://careers-tierpoint.icims.com/jobs/2572/operations-technician-i/job

The pay is still peanuts, though.

Hurin Thalion. Excellent choice. I like you.

The Dispossessed, The Lathe of Heaven, and The Left Hand of Darkness - by LeGuinn

The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion

Dune

The Screwtape Letters - C.S. Lewis

Stranger in a Strange Land

I have two.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1981_Brink’s_robbery Summary: an armored car was robbed by desperate “most-wanted” types. Bug national new.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilchrest_Road,_New_York,_crossing_accident Summary: school bus full of kids hit by a train. The reason why “this vehicle stops at all rr crossings” is a thing.

If you can find a new one. They are $45+ on ebay used. None of the usual US sellers has any.

It’s been working great for me.