Author: Andrew Perry
Creation vs Evolution – Introduction
[Posted on: 27 March 2024]
Belief in the Big Bang Theory and the Theory of Evolution has become the norm in contemporary society. As a result, the Biblical account of Creation, Adam & Eve and the Flood tends now to be written off as mere myth and fairy tales. Sadly there are even professing Christians who would claim that these stories are allegorical rather than literal.
What is perhaps often not realised is that behind the scenes, many educated and qualified scientists who are also committed Christians, have been researching the subject of creation versus evolution for many years. (more…)
DVD Order
[Posted on: 07 April 2022]
DVDs are now basically sorted alphabetically according to title. Each record is indexed by a sequence group (normally the initial letter of the title) and a sequence number, so that the sequencing is of the sort A1,A2,A3…,B1,B2,B3… etc. The following points need to be noted:-
- Each item has what is known as the ‘alpha title’ in addition to the main title, and this is what is used to sort the records. By default it is set to the main title with any leading articles (i.e. ‘the’, ‘a’ or ‘an’) stripped off, but can be manually amended if required.
- If there is a series of DVDs (e.g. James Bond) where the order is not naturally definable by the title, then a custom sequence group can be allocated and the sequence number used to order them correctly. If the order is naturally definable by the title (e.g. a TV series with season numbers) then the DVDs just go into the main sorting order.
- It is possible assign one or more tags (e.g. Christmas) to a given DVD. These do not affect the main indexing but can assist in selecting the DVDs of a given category for placing together on the shelves. The list of available tags exists as a table with each tag designated ‘normal’ or ‘special’. The only difference is that those designated ‘special’ will create a listing at the end of the printable document.
- The group ID from the old version of the database has been retained for reference purposes only.
Importing from GEDCOM – Part 2
[Posted on: 16 December 2021]
Running the GEDCOM Merge
On selecting this action, you are presented with the following three options:-
- Do not overwrite existing database records.
- Overwrite all database records without the import lock set (default).
- Overwrite all database records regardless. (more…)
Importing from GEDCOM – Part 1
[Posted on: 15 December 2021]
Main Tables
- gedcom_imports – List of import ID, GEDCOM filename and key person.
- imported_people – People records extracted from GEDCOM file ready for merge/import into main database. Indexed by Import ID and GEDCOM ID.
- imported_families – As above but for families.
- imported_notes – As above but for notes.
- import_matches – Result of last match operation. Each GEDCOM ID is cross referenced to either an existing main database ID or a proposed new record ID. (more…)
Custom Rewrite Rules in WordPress
[Posted on: 07 August 2021]
I was trying for quite a while to get a custom rewrite rule to work on one of my WordPress sites but to no avail. I found quite a number of pages online explaining how to do it and yet they all seemed to lose me part way through. Eventually I got there largely with the help of the WordPress Codex itself. Here is a brief account of what I was trying to achieve and how I eventually did it.
I have published my family tree on my own personal web site. There is a page for each individual person on the tree, and the URL for such a page is:- (more…)
Custom Monitor Stand
[Posted on: 23 July 2021]
I was recently given a 29 inch monitor, which I thought would make a good replacement for my 24 inch monitor. The only problem was that the amount of verical space available was limited as there are overhead wall cupboards above my desk. The monitor on its native stand would not fit.
Fortunately it is quite easy to build a custom stand. Most monitors have four bolt holes in the back for attachment to a wall mounting bracket. These are arranged in a square, spaced by an exact amount – typically 100mm though in this case it was 75mm. They take a standard size bolt, which generally seems to be M4, but you would need to check to make sure.
(more…)Switching from Windows to Linux
[Posted on: 15 May 2018]
In my earlier article I made reference to the potential benefits of using open source software as an alternative to normal commercial software. I have had an interest in Linux systems for a few years now and have always used Linux as the preferred platform for servers, but it has taken some time to take the plunge and try using Linux as a serious alternative to Windows in the desktop environment. Until recently had I played around with Linux desktop systems a few times but had gone no further. A couple of months ago a major change took place. (more…)
Virtual Reality and a Greater Reality
[Posted on: 15 May 2018]
You may be reading this article because you have followed the link at the end of my article about switching from Windows to Linux. I am now writing this to give testimony to what has recently happened in my life and to use an illustration comparing spiritual truths to the mundane things of the world.
If I were to be honest with myself, I would have to say that basically I had a very unhappy childhood. This is in spite of the fact that I came from what had the appearance of a good and stable home, but there are many complex factors involved and too much to go into right now. It has taken a long time over many years to come to the point of acknowledging this as a basic fact, but to do so has started to have a great healing effect in my life. (more…)
Open Source Software
[Posted on: 14 May 2018]
Have you ever been to an amateur concert or theatre performance and come away thinking that it was every bit as good as a professional performance? Quite possibly you have and the reason is probably quite simple, namely that the people were doing it for the sheer love of what they were doing rather than just as a job. If you are wondering why I ask this question, I will come back to it a little later. (more…)
Free Can Be Best
[Posted on: 14 May 2018]
You may be reading this article because you have followed the link from my article about the potential benefits of using free open source software. I had the inspiration to write this as a result of watching the Christian movie “The Encounter” at around the same time as I was changing my main computer over from Windows to Linux and taking greater advantage of open source software. For me there was a clear illustration of spiritual truth in the mundane things of everyday life. (more…)