The following is a press release issued by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine:

The U.S. Census Bureau’s ability to adjust its approaches and innovate enabled it to complete the 2020 census despite the difficulties raised by the COVID pandemic and other challenges, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The report reviews the 2020 census and the quality of data collected and makes recommendations for the 2030 census.  

“The 2020 census was completed under exceptionally difficult circumstances, and many of its innovations were successful, including self-response via the internet,” said Teresa Sullivan, chair of the panel that wrote the report, and university professor of sociology and president emerita of the University of Virginia.  

Other key innovations included the reengineering of field management and case handling systems, and minor use of administrative records data — such as data collected as part of government tax programs or from the previous census — to enumerate some nonresponding households.  

However, the report also identifies several problems, including a widening gap in census coverage and data quality between different racial and ethnic groups compared to the 2010 census. In the 2020 census, net overcounts increased for White and Asian people, while net undercounts increased substantially for Hispanic people, Black people, and American Indians on reservations. These differentials in counting have adverse implications for use of the census data to equitably allocate fixed resources, such as Congressional representation, funding, and services.  

The report examines “age heaping” — unusually high levels of reporting of ages ending in 0 or 5, as occurs when roughly estimating a person’s age — as a key indicator of data quality issues. The report concludes that this age heaping was particularly pronounced in 2020 relative to the 2010 census and was largely a function of proxy reporting of census information for nonresponding households, such as from a neighbor or landlord. 

The Census Bureau’s decision to use a new and untested approach to protecting the confidentiality of census data heightened concerns regarding data quality. In the very late stages of 2020 census planning, the Census Bureau decided to replace its methods for confidentiality protection with an entirely new approach that had not been tested, prototyped, or deployed in the population census context.  

While confidentiality protection is a critically important responsibility of a statistical agency, the report says, this decision was made without appropriate consideration regarding the utility of resulting census data products to fulfill the many important functions of census data. The new methods for confidentiality protection were not ready for use in 2020 census production and substantially degraded the value of the 2020 census data products in terms of timeliness and quality. 

Looking Forward to the 2030 Census

The report recommends that as the Census Bureau plans for the 2030 census, it should focus on a small and manageable number of major innovation areas and pursue a rigorous program of testing and systems development. The report suggests the following as priority goals for research and development: 

Goals and designs for the 2030 census should be developed in true partnership with census data users and the community of myriad stakeholders and state, local, tribal, and federal government partners, the report says.  

The study — undertaken by the Panel to Evaluate the Quality of the 2020 Census — was sponsored by the U.S. Census Bureau. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are private, nonprofit institutions that provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions related to science, engineering, and medicine. They operate under an 1863 congressional charter to the National Academy of Sciences, signed by President Lincoln.  

An article by Patty Taylor published in the beaumontenterprise web site contains lots of helpful hints for anyone planning to attend the RootsTech conference from February 29 through March 2. It includes hints for those planning to attend in-person as well as those attending remotely on-line.

Check it out at: https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/entertainment/article/everything-need-know-attending-rootstech-18412561.php.

A cache of mysterious Kodachrome slides found abandoned on a Mission District street corner are going to the San Francisco Public Library’s History Center — where they’ll join collections including Harvey Milk’s papers and the San Francisco Call-Bulletin photo morgue. 

More than 900 slides were found in 2020 by Donnie Weaver, a San Francisco artist and preschool teacher, who lent them to photo collector David Gallagher to scan. Gallagher began sleuthing to learn the identity of the photographer — contacting the Chronicle for help — before a story was published and the photographer’s family came forward. 

The photographer was identified as James Martin, a San Francisco Unified School District educator who took photos of San Francisco scenes as a hobby and used them for educational presentations. Martin died in 2019. The find made national news, including a story on NBC News with Lester Holt.

San Francisco History Center photo curator Christina Moretta said the gift was made jointly by Weaver, Gallagher and the Martin family, who want the images to be accessible to the public. 

Moretta said this collection is unique because it’s in color — most of the library’s 1960s images are black-and-white. 

You can read more in an article by Peter Hartlaub published in the San Francisco Chronicle web site at: https://www.sfchronicle.com/vault/article/san-francisco-mystery-photos-library-18409395.php. 

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I think my copyright statement is a bit different from most others. Here is the brief version:

Take it. You are free to copy my words from any Standard Edition article to any non-commercial web site or message board or printed publication you wish. Don’t bother to ask permission, just do it.

There are a few caveats, however:

I do ask that you credit this newsletter as the source of the words. I think it would be nice if you mentioned both my name and the newsletter’s web site: http://www.eogn.com. Copying articles from any web site or printed publication without crediting the original author(s) might be illegal and always is in poor taste. Don’t do it.

Articles marked with a Plus Sign (+) in the title are not to be redistributed. Those articles are solely for the use of this newsletter’s Plus Edition subscribers.

You may not republish any articles containing words attributed to another person or organization until you obtain permission from that person or organization. While you do have permission to republish words written by Richard W. Eastman, you do not have automatic authority to republish words written by others, even if their words appear in this newsletter.

You may republish OCCASIONAL articles. Republishing two or three articles per month is acceptable. Wholesale copying and republishing of dozens of articles per month is never allowed for any purpose without advance permission.

If you want to use my articles on a commercial web site, including any web site that contains advertising, please ask in advance. I usually say “yes” but I do want to know where and how each article will be used on a commercial web site.

Anyone complying with the above does not need to ask permission in advance for non-commercial uses. Just do it.

Thank you for your cooperation.

 - Dick Eastman

The first virtual civil rights museum in Florida launched earlier this month. It features civil rights leaders from the early 1900s all the way into the early 60s.

Two Tallahassee natives, Jackie Perkins and Delaitre Hollinger, created the virtual museum. It tells the stories of what the founders call "pioneers" in both education and civil rights. Perkins says the museum includes individuals from all walks of life regardless of race, color or religion.

“It’s huge and it feels really good that were finally at this point," Perkins says. "Where other people are able to use this virtual platform to get information on individuals, especially our educational and civil rights pioneers who are local, those who are in the state of Florida, those who’s body of work, contribution, and bold courageous actions resulted in transformational change for a lot of people and not just black people.”

An exhibit called “They made a difference”features more than 30 people who led the charge for civil rights in Florida. 

You can visit it at this link: Home — Florida Civil Rights Museum, Inc.℠

Georgia Public Library Service has completed a two year-long project to digitize 214 city directories, which document 17 different Georgia communities across nearly 100 years. The directories, contributed by 12 public library systems, are now full-text searchable and freely available in the Digital Library of Georgia.

“Georgia Public Library Service is pleased to support digitizing primary source materials that document community history and culture like these city directories,” said Josh Kitchens, director of Archival Services and Digital Initiatives. “Digitization is important as it enables materials to be more widely accessible for everyone who wants to learn more about their family or community.”

City directories will prove invaluable sources of genealogical, cultural, and historical information for communities all over Georgia. In addition to basic location information, city directories frequently provide local governmental and civic information, street maps, church and cemetery information, and historical details about the city and surrounding areas. Information about individuals typically includes the resident’s name, title or salutation, home address, marital status and spouse’s name, race, occupation, and, if applicable, information about business ownership. When used in tandem with digitized Sanborn maps, city directories can mimic the experience of a stroll down Main Street to see the names of businesses and neighbors.

This digitization project is a partnership between Georgia Public Library Service, the Digital Library of Georgia, and public library systems across the state. The 17 communities included in this project are Moultrie, Swainsboro, Statesboro, Camilla, Brunswick, Austell, Mableton, Marietta, Acworth, Smyrna, Macon, Covington, Columbus, Bainbridge, Americus, Cordele, and Albany. Additional city directories digitized previously through GPLS include Albany (1922-1949), Athens(1889-1958), Atlanta (1867-1922), Columbus (1859-1912), Dalton (1940-1963), Griffin (1940-1963), and Macon (1860-1899).

Columbus, GA 1928

“We hope the digitization of these city directories encourages others to share their local and family histories, so that it can be celebrated for years to come,” said Catherine Vanstone, assistant director for management information systems at Southwest Georgia Regional Library.

Georgia Public Library Service’s Archival Services and Digital Initiatives has facilitated the addition of over 700,000 unique items to the Digital Library of Georgia allowing free, online access to primary sources on local history. This project is supported with federal Library Services and Technology Act funds administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services through GPLS.

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Georgia Public Library Service (GPLS) empowers libraries to improve the lives of all Georgians by encouraging reading, literacy, and education through the continuing support and improvement of public libraries. Our digitization initiative, Archival Services and Digital Initiatives, encourages public libraries and related institutions across Georgia to participate in The Digital Library of Georgia, which is an initiative of GALILEO. www.georgialibraries.org

Based at the University of Georgia Libraries, the Digital Library of Georgia http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/ is a GALILEO initiative that collaborates with Georgia’s libraries, archives, museums and other institutions of education and culture to provide access to key information resources on Georgia history, culture and life. This primary mission is accomplished through the ongoing development, maintenance, and preservation of digital collections and online digital library resources. DLG also serves as Georgia’s service hub for the Digital Public Library of America and as the home of the Georgia Newspaper Project, the state’s historic newspaper microfilming project.

This article is not about any of the "normal" topics of this newsletter: genealogy, history, current affairs, DNA, and related topics. However, I am offering it as information about new technology. In fact, it may be about new technology that you want to use. I am using it now and it works well.

A new buzzword is becoming popular in high tech. Well, it isn't really a new buzzWORD as much as it is a buzzABBREVIATION (if there is such a thing). 

According to Wikipedia's definition of IPFS: 

"The InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) is a protocol and peer-to-peer network for storing and sharing data in a distributed file system. IPFS uses content-addressing to uniquely identify each file in a global namespace connecting all computing devices."

While that explanation is technically correct, I think it deserves a bit more explanation. I prefer the explanation offered on IPFS.com:

"A peer-to-peer hypermedia protocol designed to preserve and grow humanity's knowledge by making the web upgradeable, resilient, and more open.""

Even that is a bit cryptic. I would prefer: 

"IPFS is the next iteration of cloud computing.'

Another simplistic explanation might be: "The InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) is a protocol and peer-to-peer network for storing and sharing data in a distributed file system."

Cloud computing has become one of the major advances in computing technology of the past decade or so. It provides both increased file space for storage of thousands of files as well as (optional) backup copies of files already stored locally in your own computer(s). Again, referring to Wikipedia:

"Large clouds often have functions distributed over multiple locations, each location being a data center. Cloud computing relies on sharing of resources to achieve coherence and typically using a 'pay-as-you-go' model which can help in reducing capital expenses but may also lead to unexpected operating expenses for unaware users."

IPFS deviates from that definition in that each location does NOT need to be in a data center.

In addition, IPFS typically offers lower prices for data that is stored off-site. In addition, IPFS offers encryption and other techniques to keep your data private, meaning that nobody else can view any of your data other than yourself (unless you explicitly give others permission to view your files). 

IPFS is an abbreviation for "Interplanetary File System" which should win some sort of award for the coolest product name in the industry. "Interplanetary?" Just what is that?

Traditional cloud storage is provided (usually) by large, multi-billion dollar corporations. While this size produces resources capable of handling billions of files saved by hundreds of thousands of users, such resources often include other, less desirable "strings" attached.

First is pricing. Large corporations demand to make profits and cloud computing does not have a reputation for being cheap. Sometimes it is cheaper to simply purchase another external hard drive, especially if the purchase price is spread over several years.

Perhaps even more important is the issue of privacy. Many, perhaps most, large corporations that provide cloud computing services (we're looking at you, Google) also "spy" on their customers' data. While the spying probably is not performed by paid human employees of the corporation, software is normally used to scan customers' stored data looking for certain "keywords" and other data of interest to the corporation. If you save a file that describes "widgets' in a cloud storage service, don't be surprised when you start receiving email advertisements for "widgets." You can thank a "corporate spy" for those email messages.

If you prefer video explanations, you can learn more about IPFS by starting at https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ipfs. However, it you prefer text-based explanations, read on.

The Interplanetary File System (which I will abbreviate as "IPFS" ) prevents spying from happening. First of all, each file  is encrypted by using keyword(s) known only to the creator of a file. Nobody can read (or decrypt) a file without knowing the keyword(s) used by the file creator to encrypt it. The encryption is applied automatically by the user's computer when a file is saved in IPFS. 

Next, and perhaps even more important, each file is broken up into small segments (I'll call them "chunks") and each chunk is stored in a different cloud-based storage location. These locations typically are distributed all over the world. Part of your file might be stored in Poughkeepsie, another chunk might be stored in Singapore, a third chunk might be in Mozambique, and a fourth chunk might be in Rio de Janeiro. Medium and larger-sized chunks may have these bits and pieces of files stored in dozens or even hundreds of different locations distributed all around the world.

Even more important, many duplicate copies of the chunks are also created and are stored in even more locations. 

The end user has no control over the locations where the various file "chunks" are stored. Likewise, a would-be hacker also has no method of discovering where these chunks are stored, which obviously adds to the security and privacy. 

Should a hacker manage to access and decrypt a file chunk (which is almost impossible), he or she will only gain access to a very small percentage of the file and even that is encrypted so that it cannot be read by anyone who does not possess the encryption keywords.

In other words, your files stored in IPFS are much more safe from prying eyes than any files stored in most traditional cloud-based large file storage services. (Again, I'm looking at you Google.)

The various "chunks" are stored in all sorts of locations. Some of these locations may actually be large data centers similar to those used by Google Drive, Dropbox, and other traditional cloud-based file storage services. However, probably the majority of chunks are stored by individuals who are "renting out" some suplus storage space they have available, often located in their own personal computers.

NOTE #1: This makes IPFS sound like the Uber or Lyft equivalent in the computer world. That comparison is not accidental.

NOTE #2: IPFS is not free. While it is cheaper than many of the cloud-based file storage services, some money (or crypto currency) does exchange hands. Individuals and corporations who share their excess file storage space by hosting IPFS files can earn money (or crypto currency) by doing so.

To be sure, IPFS is not the only method of securing stored files. Services such as FileCoin, Sia, Storj and Swarm all use somewhat similar technology to store your files in a safe and secure manner. The files typically are encrypted, then broken into small "chunks" with each "chunk" stored in distributed locations. Pricing will vary from one such service to the next.

I am writing about IPFS simply because (1.) its name is easy to remember, (2.) it is one of the more popular distributed file storage methods, and (3.) I have been using IPFS for several months and am pleased with the service. Is IPFS "the best" method? I have no idea simply because I have not yet tried any of the competitive distributed file storage services. In fact, I am not motivated to try the others as long as IPFS continues to work well for me.

This is a brief explanation of IPFS. I have skipped over the compensation for sharing file storage space, the methods of making sure that file space remains available even if one or more storage locations go offline, and the method of making sure the file you retrieve is indeed the one you want (not a different file of the same name). A full explanation would fill many, many pages for this article. Instead, I can refer you to the explanations at https://IPFS.IO, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/InterPlanetary_File_System, or simply go to your preferred search engine and enter:

   IPFS

Is IPFS the wave of the future? Some people believe that to be true. I will simply offer that, in my opinion, IPFS is simply one more tool to be added to the toolbox of computer users to make sure that their files remain safe, secure, and available at any time.

Here is a list of all of this week's articles, all of them available here at https://eogn.com:                                    

From Jonathan Greig writes via The Record:

A researcher approached Recorded Future News after examining the leaked database and found that much of it looked real. [...] The researcher downloaded two files from the BreachForums post and found that one had information on 1 million 23andMe users of Ashkenazi heritage. The other file included data on more than 300,000 users of Chinese heritage. The data included profile and account ID numbers, names, gender, birth year, maternal and paternal genetic markers, ancestral heritage results, and data on whether or not each user has opted into 23andme's health data. The researcher added that he discovered another issue where someone could enter a 23andme profile ID, like the ones included in the leaked data set, into their URL and see someone's profile. The data available through this only includes profile photos, names, birth years and location but does not include test results.