All posts by cs

A Bit of Genealogy Mystery

June 2, 2025socialAncestrycs

Norman J Strombotne (1925-1975) was born at home. Grandmother Strom was assisted by a midwife something that is fairly uncommon in today’s world.

In 2021, midwives attended approximately 12% of all births in the United States, according to data from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). This figure reflects a growing trend in midwife-attended births in recent years, with the majority occurring in hospital settings, though some take place in homes or birth centers. For earlier context, a 2009 study noted that midwives delivered 8.1% of U.S. babies, with 12.1% of vaginal births attended by midwives. State variations are significant, with New Mexico reporting the highest rate in 2009 at 24% of all births.

Also unusual is Norman’s middle name with the initials J. A. S. — The above form field wasn’t long enough to spell it out.

Middle names were sometimes used to honor additional relatives. For example, a child might be named Jens Peter Hansen to honor both a grandfather (Jens) and another relative (Peter).

Might “J” stand for Johan (Johan Jacob Christophersen – paternal Grandfather) and “A” pay ohmage to Axel (Axel August Randrup – maternal Grandfather) I am at a loss for the letter “S” unless the recorder misunderstood and it was meant to be S as the first initial of the surname.

Compounding the perplexity is the following, an amended certificate in 1943.

Revision 2 (note the corrected spelling for Else)

Norman’s middle name is changed. Who chose it and why? As to the when, the timing coincided with WW II. Norman had become of age (18) and in the 2 months following this fresh document he readily signed up with the Army Air Force to fulfil his service to country. Had the Draft Board balked at the middle name – initials J.A.S.? Too unusual? Wouldn’t fit the government form?

Grandmother Strom by then living in Cheyenne, Wyoming must have gone through some degree of effort to effect this change considering that El Paso, Texas was long in the past and far away. Looks to me that the request came at Norman’s behest. She has highlighted the new middle name “Jay” with a by-hand bold underline as if to say here you go dear, done!

The Power of the Pen

May 5, 2025flyingcs

Deviation from the norm occurs for a variety of reasons. Occasionally, the trigger is a mechanical failure or some external happenstance but in many cases it’s human factors like mistakes made or error of judgement in which case your immediate supervisor may want an accounting of your level of participation and your actions. Usually there are controls in place to document the ~~screw up~~ off chance snafu.

Does anybody else know about it?

Most likely people do and thus the written report!

Best practices: Refrain from filling a report while you might be hot under the collar. It won’t read well with your superior and your demeanor will be of note. It’s okay to jot down details or make a draft while events are fresh in your mind but wait until the next day when you are cool calm and collected before submitting a final revision.

To reduce the chances of self incrimination provide the facts short and on point. A lengthy story might reveal too much. Keep it concise. An incident report main purpose typically is to satisfy some bureaucratic need for documentation. Don’t raise questions that might not be asked.

Your report should not place blame or cast dispersion unnecessarily. There may be repercussions if you throw somebody under the bus.

polite and civil …

Narrative Summary of Event: Nearing the RWY for departure we received an Ops ACARS msg that ramp reported an access panel left open. Ground control cleared us to leave the (long)line for T.O. and hold in the RWY runup block. Ramp personnel arrived via xxx passenger van and requested that we shut down engine #2. The ramper determined that the open access panel was too high to reach. This flight crew then realized that they were focused on the Outflow Valve Door, which is always open during ground operations. The confusion cleared up we rejoined the line and departed. As flight crew we appreciate that the ground crew is observant for potential safety issues but would ask that they review this particular normal configuration so as to avoid a repeat mistake. The loss of position in the sequence delayed our flight 30 minutes.

CYA …

 Narrative Summary of Event: Enroute, the FA reported a disruptive passenger (Seat 4C) to us via interphone. My read was that the passenger was upset over something was neither abusive nor threatening but had lost his temper. The FA did not consider this passenger to be a [TSA] threat level. We radioed ops to request a Customer Service Supervisor (who showed briefly with our code-25 release and then disappeared?!) be present during our arrival deplaning. The passenger requested a minute for a word with the flight crew at flights end and I was able to connect the individual with an Inflight Supervisor planeside. Witnesses from the flight offered that they thought that the disruptive passenger had been a "jerk" and attempted to console / re-assure our FA. My interest in this was to insure that there was no escalation. The inflight supervisor listened to his complaint and was able to placate and diffuse the situation.

sometimes it just can’t be …

Narrative Summary of Event: Informed by FA, Xxxx Xxxxxxxx, via interphone that a PCFA onboard our flight had misplaced their purse and that their weapon was carried in that purse. I instructed Xxxx to notify the other PCFA onboard of the situation. Xxxx called back less than 3-4 minutes later to inform me that the purse (and weapon) had been located and secured safely. Dispatch notified of the event enroute.

This sampling took place 20 years ago with identification redacted for the privacy of the guilty or the innocent. You might notice the narratives highlight the ability of words to persuade, inform, or affect outcomes but mostly it’s just routine paperwork and nothing comes of it. In any case tone is set by the power of the pen.

No one’s career was harmed but as for the hapless PCFA, one can only imagine.

Digitization Exposing Obscurity

April 30, 2025socialAncestrycs

Amazingly, a small tidbit of fact revealed much. The information had been in print since 1935 but the hardcopy didn’t circulate because firstly one needs to know that it exists, knows where it is to be found and ultimately, cares to go to the effort to physically access it. The dusty old archive of interest is an inter-office directory that was recently unearthed digitally absolving the barriers of access problem.

Marcella (1915-1945) is family and a person of mystery. People that might have been close to her are long gone and there is no one to recollect. Trying to piece her life experience together is a tough ask. From casual genealogy investigation it is known that she was born in a very small town but not how she managed to strike out on her own.

Speaking to the exposed document; It is fortunate that the family surname happens to be unique and distinct. Being uncommon it is an unfiltered search. Even still, blanket browsing the Archive.org turns up 800+ hits mostly from family that were/are published. Ignoring the obvious exposed an office telephone directory of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) revised August 1, 1935 wherein Marcella’s name is listed. The entry field on page 90 shows a telephone extension and her office address. A sublevel peek was required to learn about the abbreviations from the snippet.

R. & B. Audit translates to: Rental and Benefit Audit Section Office of the Comptroller Division of Finance. In the context of her job description with the AAA, this role would involve auditing financial records and budget allocations, ensuring proper documentation and compliance with the agency’s subsidy programs and administrative expenditures.

AAA was a New Deal agency established in 1933 under the U.S. Department of Agriculture to address the agricultural crisis during the Great Depression. Its primary goal was to stabilize farm prices and incomes by reducing agricultural surpluses, which were driving down prices. The AAA paid farmers subsidies to reduce production of certain crops and livestock, aiming to balance supply and demand. It was part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s broader efforts to revive the economy. The agency faced legal challenges, notably being declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1936 (United States v. Butler), but its core ideas were rescued in later legislation like the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938.

O. P. O. from the descriptive line refers to Old Post Office building in Washington, DC

The Old Post Office building still stands today. Located at 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, it was constructed between 1892 and 1899 and served as the main post office for Washington, DC, until 1914. After that, it housed various federal offices, including those of the AAA in the 1930s. The building faced demolition threats in the 1970s but was preserved due to public outcry and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. It underwent renovations and was repurposed over the years, most recently operating as the Waldorf Astoria Washington DC hotel since 2022, though the clock tower remains accessible to the public and is managed by the National Park Service for visitors to enjoy views from its observation deck.

Marcella appears to be a Local Girl Makes Good story with a very solid career move. Revealing, but now creating more questions than answers. Imagine transplanting from small town life in Watertown, South Dakota to a Megalopolis. What facilitated the move? Did Marcella get on?

What happened next? To complete that picture, we will have to continue mining digital records like the one obscured in plain sight, having greater understanding along the way.

Going Back in Time

April 11, 2025computersretrospectcs

I managed to revisit a fun game for the PC that I had managed to hang on to for all of these years called MYST. Released in 1993, my original copy was dated 1994. Today, 30 years later I unboxed this classic puzzle solver.

The first puzzle was in physically installing the dusted off software. This was one of the first games to be released on CD ROM; cutting edge tech back then. Like so many formats now obsolete one might be hard pressed to find a PC that comes with an optical drive.

Hint: 5 1/4″ floppy, 3.5″ disk, CDs, DVDs, vinyl records, 8-track, compact cassette, BetaMax, VHS -mostly gone. External (portable USB) drives are still out there (for now)

With a USB optical drive on hand for such an eventuality; the 2nd puzzle: Windows 11 OS won’t read the media. Windows Explorer allowed me to view directory structure but these folders were seemingly empty. No files listed. How to load the game? It’s locked. Trapped in the Modern Age.

Hint – The game was created for Windows 3.1. Spoiler – software of the era was coded for 16- bit processors. This requires and emulator to run or a VM such as Scumm.

Barely into the gameplay and next puzzle; the graphics are pixelated. This was one of the first pre cinematic artful immersion experiences. At least the audio was working and true to form.

Cheat: Modern 4k display screen are overkill. CRT monitors (obsolete) used resolutions of 640×480 and 256 colors. For the impatient, the solution is to download the latest MYST release from Steam for no waiting. The game play is largely the same and the graphics are enhanced but $$. Spoiler: the latest and greatest has been re-coded to use the Unreal Engine which was well suited for first person shooters however you may find it off-putting. Motion sickness sets in after 30 minutes if you are susceptible.

Gosh, all of these puzzles and I haven’t gotten into the game yet! Thank goodness for hints, spoilers, and walkthroughs. Wanting the original experience (and because $$) I stuck it out with the 1993 puzzle. Obstacles and hurdles solved it was an authentic trip to the linking books of MYST Ages — and like going back home again.

Job Done, Two Decades Delay

April 1, 2025socialDIYcs

The builder went to the effort of wiring up the panel for a generator backup that included a safety interlock for the circuit breaker. Almost there but not quite, for some reason the Romex wire terminated at a wall outlet box in the garage and sans plug socket. No way to connect anything. The unconnected cable lay inside the box behind a blanking plate — unused.

Switching OFF the main breaker to the grid before powering the household with a genset is an actionable item. Leaving the grid connected would be fatal. The interlock is necessary by code and it prevents the main breaker and backup CB from both being on at the same time. That way you don’t have the undesired state of back feeding the grid or current to your backup when the power comes back on. Idiot proof.

Part: NEMA L14-30P shore plug. Tools: hand tools, drill bit and a hole cutter.

ready to drill the mounting holes. 3 #10 machine screws w/ nuts

Insure that the wires are attached as per spec. There are (2) 120- V wires that are interchangeable, a Neutral wire and a grounding wire. Note: this plug is rated for 30 A, hardly enough to run everything. Limit yourself to essentials such as the refrigerator/freezer, lights, TV, Internet but not the Dryer or Heat Pump(s).

Result!

A Genset was mentioned but the astute will recognize that the source for energy seen in the video is an EV. Gas powered generators while worthy, have added considerations. The garage is not a suitable space for a genset although it might help to mitigate the noise or prevent theft. Exhaust fumes and gasoline must be kept on the outside. A very long extension cord would be required. Shown is a prefab 10′ cord with a NEMA 14-50 plug for the truck and NEMA L14-30R on the other end. Caution – do not use a Suicide Cord

I suspect that the builder had difficulty sourcing a socket plug and gave it up. Most socket plugs come mounted in an enclosure for outdoor use with the generator. In my case I’m glad he hit the dead end. The indoor location is ideal for my purpose but did require the DIY fabrication of a mounting point and now 23 years after the original job was begun, it’s finished.

Folly or folie

March 5, 2025placescs

Folie from French speaking means “delight” or “favorite abode”

The name origin for the river that borders my community is a point of debate. It is depicted on an early Carolina regional map from 1671 ordered by the Lords of Proprietors. The name “Lockwood Folly” appears, making it one of the oldest named rivers in North Carolina.

Lockwood, the name of a settler possibly from Barbados, tried to establish a colony along the river’s banks in the 1660s. This aligns with the era’s colonial ventures at the Cape Fear. Around 1663, Puritans from New England briefly settled there under William Hilton (think Hilton Head), only to abandon it quickly. Soon after, Barbadians, led by figures like the Yeamans and Vassall families, attempted another settlement, bringing enslaved Africans aiming to supply Barbados with raw goods. Lookwood evidently broke ranks and moved Southwest of the Cape Fear to this river, his namesake, finding it beautiful and lovely.

The Lockwood Folly River is described by many as North Carolina’s second-most picturesque (after the Waccamaw). It is a 25 mile long waterway flowing through central and southern Brunswick County before emptying into the inlet near Sunset Harbor. Its watershed spans about 150 square miles, supporting pinelands, wetlands, blackwater creeks, and estuaries— habitats that sustain wildlife like alligators, deer, oysters, and countless bird species.

So much for the poetic side and now drama where “Folly” adds a twist that’s spawned several tales and yarns. Ebenezer Hazard’s 1778 travel journal, suggests Nicholas Lockwood a ship’s captain mistook the inlet for the deeper Cape Fear Inlet, wrecking his ship and naming the spot after his error. Perhaps the most popular modern day spin is that Lockwood built a ship too large so that when launched could not traverse the inlet shallows. Thus the alternate definition of folly — failure.

A year 1734 account, cited by historian James Sprunt is that Lockwood was a tyrant, mean, and who mistreated the local Indians so poorly that he was forced to abandon his home settlement on the river when they destroyed it — driven out.

Lockwood Folly River has carried its quirky title through centuries, from those rough early days. Its history reflects the Cape Fear’s fits-and-starts settlement—a “what-if” tale of a colony that might’ve rivaled Virginia or South Carolina if it hadn’t faltered. Instead, it left us a river with a name that is as much a puzzle as it is a landmark.

Runway Incursion at Midway

February 26, 2025flyingcs

Fun fact I leaarned that Juan Browne’s channel. blancolirio was actually his [Spanish] wife’s youtube channel which he borrowed when he began citizen journalist reporting of the Oroville Dam catastrophe. Popularity ensued and it became kind of difficult to jump after that.

I listened to his ATC audio of the Midway runway incursion this morning and have some observations. The Flex crew did right by getting clarification on initial taxi clearance before they even started moving at the FBO. Contributing to their initial confusion: the taxi instruction began with a new departure frequency. This is not unusual but the controller should have waited for a readback on the new freq and THEN proceeded with the taxi clearance. Contributing to the fluster, the controller asked them what taxiway they were going to exit the ramp to. The pilots weren’t prepared for that question to give an immediate answer. So train of thought disrupted they got their first set of taxi instructions jumbled. Off on the wrong foot so to speak. When they got the clearance the SIC misspoke reading back 13 instead of 31 which the controller caught and correctly restated so that it was crystal clear.

Dyslexia with runway numbers happens more frequently than one might think — symptomatic of not enough sleep or caffeine.

The SIC however, read that final clearance back abbreviated saying “cross 31L and hold short“. Technically he should have read back the name of the rwy he was to hold short of but the controller let that go. This speaks to a busy ATC system.

I can address how we were trained to handle taxi instructions. It begins with a briefing before calling ground control. The briefing is a deliberate part of a before engine start flow. The SIC gets the ATIS and ATC route clearance and loads the [FMS] box. During the subsequent briefing this info is exchanged and discussed. Besides local Wx, the ATIS provides the landing and departing rwys. So you can see that before the pax show up the crew can pre-brief their location relative to their departure rwy and pre-view possible taxi routes. That way when the real taxi clearance does come it’s not out of the blue. Finally, when it’s time for the SIC to call ground he would have pen and paper at hand too transcribe the taxi clearance as it is verbalized to him. At the end of the transmission the SIC reads the clearance back to the controller from what he wrote down. Before the PIC starts movement both pilots can be heads down as necessary to confirm what they both heard. They both can briefly look at the chart and make sure the clearance makes sense and is clear. While taxiing, the PIC is “eyes outside” and navigating and it’s upon him not to deviate. The SIC should be monitoring and maintaining situational awareness.

A good PIC will actually parrot a revised taxi instruction to the SIC so that the SIC has confidence that the PIC (who is steering) is in the loop. ATC does revise clearances on the fly so if at any point the PIC is unsure of himself, and the SIC isn’t sure, he stops the aircraft until resolution with ATC. In a busy environment this may just irritate ATC, but the pilots know that once they’ve acknowledged a clearance, they own it and deviating from it is a bust.

When crossing ANY runway, active and inactive, both pilots are to look out their respective side windows and SEE that nobody is coming.

It would be of interest to know where the sun was in relation to the SWA and the eyes of the SIC. It’s possible for that time of day for the SWA to be coming out of the sun. Answer: https://grok.com/share/bGVnYWN5_acce359e-a637-4377-bcff-2d5136c20b4e

This too is verbalized with SIC saying “clear right” and the PIC “clear left – clear to cross”. (Exact phrases are monumented in company procedures verbatim) Additionally, all external lights are switched on prior to the crossing and then reconfigured after crossing. I don’t know if Flex has procedures or if they were followed but they worked fairly well for us. Statistical data shows runway incursion as a common human error point and all of these routines have been put in place to mitigate.

The Go-Around

Quite the impressive quick reaction and execution by the SWA crew! Analyzing the event Juan Browne claimed that the SWA crew initiated the Go-around on their own and that part is true. ATC did not issue that directive per se. Looking at the timing in the replay from the security camera, the SWA was definitely spring loaded. But it couldn’t have been certain what Flex was about to do…

The part we didn’t get to hear (nor did the Flex crew) was ATC keying up on ground frequency last instant, to tell Flex to STOP! Since a 3rd aircraft was concurrently transmitting on ground, (VHF radio is Simplex) that crucial last effort call to stave Flex was blocked. You can tell somebody walked on the transmission because to the receiving aircraft the sound is garbled.

But simultaneously, ATC also transmitted “Flexjet STOP!” (or words to that effect) on the tower frequency which was clear channel and that’s all that SWA needed to hear. Off they flew and good on them. SWA was faultless in this obviously and ATC can’t be blamed as they were mostly by the book. Pilots and controllers both are tying to expedite commerce in limited airspace that is too busy. Human errors are to be expected but within a task saturated outmoded legacy system trouble comes.

Proceed at a Professional Pace

Category II	ASCE/SEI 7-22
	Wind Speed
10-year MRI	80 Vmph
25-year MRI	96 Vmph
50-year MRI	108 Vmph
100-year MRI	119 Vmph
300-year MRI	136 Vmph

Strombotne Blog (since 2002)

Strombotne is an Historic Norwegian Farm