Nice People Thread No. 15, a Cyber Summer

michaels

PasturesNew wrote: »

Facebook does have its uses.... I just glued together some random statements from just one comment left on FB.



I had a story I was looking into ... and I'd had to wander far from my initial 'enquiry/interest' to get the bigger picture and see if there were any clues.

I had a list of people - and two people had the same first/last names; both had a peculiar middle name. I knew one was the son of the Dr. I knew that X's best friend was the son of the Dr. But which one was the son of the Dr? One of the most common surnames ever... it looked hopeless. You can't google for that Dr's surname alone .... it'd be like googling for "Dr Smith", and then finding/following every Dr Smith that ever lived to try to find out if he had a son called Rob!

Then, there it was, buried deep in some comments on one facebook post (comment #400 or so, but I was determined to see what the comments yielded) ... and somebody'd posted (badly/in caps, the sort of stuff you can't fathom out, nor care to ...) the fact that the Dr had left the area and the Dr's full name. And, instantly, I could tie up the Dr's middle name as the middle name of one of the two people with the same first/last name. I also got his wife's full name - and date of death - and from that I got her maiden name and address 45 years ago ... all because "she was a bit posh and in the antiquarian society and somebody produced a book of their members and somebody else scanned it and it's online". I also got the names of 3 siblings of the person I was 'after' and then the name of one of their wives. Gotta LOVE the Internet

Did get stuck on the Dr's wife's obit as it's archived on legacy and you have to pay to see that, £2.50, so that won't happen, ever. I've got more info than I ever thought I'd get on that strand though!

Phew. Thought I'd never crack that bit!

PN I can't help thinking your skills should be supporting a private investigation company, the police or gchq rather than just your curiosity

Pyxis

michaels wrote: »

PN I can't help thinking your skills should be supporting a private investigation company, the police or gchq rather than just your curiosity

Or even one of those intestate companies!



Or a genealogy firm, you know, that will look up all your ancestors for you, etc.

PasturesNew

michaels wrote: »

PN I can't help thinking your skills should be supporting a private investigation company, the police or gchq rather than just your curiosity

Yes... but, I don't have any 'experience' nor a degree ... and I'd never be "chosen" for those two reasons as starters

You don't just "get a job because people on the Internet would think you'd be good at it"

Not having ready access to loads of online resources and original documents etc etc has enabled me to really "think outside the box" in hunting down "the disappeared". And my OCD tenacity then carries me through.... I've lists, cross-lists and comments etc.

I am trying to trace virtually a whole village for the past 50 years right now

"What happened next...?" where did they all go, who's dead, who's not....

Pyxis

PasturesNew wrote: »

Yes... but, I don't have any 'experience' nor a degree ... and I'd never be "chosen" for those two reasons as starters

You don't just "get a job because people on the Internet would think you'd be good at it"

Not having ready access to loads of online resources and original documents etc etc has enabled me to really "think outside the box" in hunting down "the disappeared". And my OCD tenacity then carries me through.... I've lists, cross-lists and comments etc.

I am trying to trace virtually a whole village for the past 50 years right now

"What happened next...?" where did they all go, who's dead, who's not....

And you say you've no experience?

PasturesNew

Just call me "Piggy Two Dinners"

I'd bought a pack of two roasted chicken breasts .... and put them in the fridge. And then I realised they were use by today, so I tossed the pack into the freezer and then thought "No, you'll never fancy it once it's been frozen/defrosted because you're weird like that..." and so I got them out again and made some mash with (very spongey and sprouting) potatoes ... nuked mixed veg and stuffing ... instant gravy.

Then ate the lot. But, to be fair, it was really "two dinners" worth of food. Stuffed now!

At least it used up those spuds.

Yorkie1

ukmaggie45 wrote: »

Monday at 5pm.

Hope it was all routine, Maggie

Spirit wrote: »

DD and I did 5k race for life this morning.

Well done! :T

Pyxis

Just wondering how the G-man is!

ivyleaf

Pyxis Likewise. I hope we'll be able to find out.

michaels

The Spice Girls sensationally break up as all five band mates resign:

Ginger (Evans)
Posh (Cameron)
Sporty (Hodgeson)
Baby (BoJo)
Scary (Farage)

Pyxis

:T:T:T





(Baby Bojo! :rotfl:
Scary Farage! :rotfl:)



Watch this space for the next instalment of "Spot the Resigner" (aka "Spot Who Gets Kicked Out Next"!)