John - Currach

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May22

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The Secret of Kells

Posted in: Ireland, Media, Video

Another non-genealogy post, but after watching this with my son, I have to heartily recommend the stunningly animated movie – The Secret of Kells to all.

There are bits that are quite scary so I would recommend it for children around 9 and up, depending of course on their scare factor. My son is almost 9 and although he loves all types of crazy and spooky stories, when he seems to feel a real connection to the characters the scariness within the story affects him much more. While he loved this film, I could feel him getting near the edge and moving closer to me during the Viking attack scenes and those with Ouroboros.

But, the film is wonderful and all of the scenes fit into the story perfectly. View the trailer below, or you can watch the entire film over at Hulu for free.

For an added bonus, head on over to Comixology.com for a free Prequel comic that you can download to your PC, iPhone, iPad or Android devices. There is also a full 112 page complete story for sale there for $4.99 that I’m eyeing for my son’s birthday. (I hope he’ll let me read it.)
May10

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Ancestry Finder Data File Import

Posted in: 23andme, DNA, Technology
UPDATE (09 NOV 2015): 23andme is retiring Countries of Ancestry (the tool formerly known as Ancestry Finder) as of November 11, 2015. I’m leaving this blog post out here for posterity, mainly due to vanity and the amount of time I put into creating my Excel sheet. 😉

Update: I have made some changes to the Import tool – you can download the latest version at the original link listed below. See more info at the bottom of the post.

After creating and writing up my last post on the process to automate the download of 23andme Ancestry Finder data files for your matches, I could not resist working on a way to combine all of those data files into one.

I figured Microsoft Excel was the best common denominator to use for this process – there are any number of tools I could use to combine the files and work with them at the command line, but that would limit the number of people who could use it.

So, here’s the quick scoop: My Excel spreadsheet is designed for use with the .CSV data files you have already downloaded from 23andme’s Ancestry Finder. (Again, see my Ancestry Finder Download Tool post for more info on that process.)
- It will import ALL .CSV data files in a selected folder
- It will add a column with the name of the 23andme user the data file came from. (It uses the data file name for that, so don’t rename them after you download them!)
Then it will make you a sandwich. A nice juicy data sandwich.

Each data row will have the source person AND matching person’s name in it – otherwise you would have a list of a few hundred thousand matches without knowing whom they belonged to!

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May9

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Ancestry Finder Download Tool

Posted in: 23andme, DNA, Resources, Technology

UPDATE (09 NOV 2015): 23andme is retiring Countries of Ancestry, (the tool formerly known as Ancestry Finder) as of November 11, 2015. I’m leaving this blog post out here for posterity, mainly due to vanity and the amount of time I put into creating my Excel sheet. 😉

But, as mentioned in the previous update: you should be using the tools at DNAGedcom.com. Good luck to you!

UPDATE (11 July 2013): It has been more than a year since I created this tool and process, and the 23andme site has gone through some extensive changes. I have not had time to test if the process in this post nor the spreadsheet is still working properly with any possible data format changes.

Feel free to give it all a shot, but I recommend that you may first want to take a look at the DNAGedcom.com site, which has automated things in a much more user-friendly way!

If you are a 23andme customer, you may have noticed that they updated their Ancestry Finder (AF) tool to make it possible to see the matches of the people with whom you share genomes. You can also download this data in comma-separated-variable (.csv) format.

That. is. great. stuff.

I’m sure that people will soon come up with interesting new ways to triangulate their genetic matches and learn more about their ancestry. But, there is one problem: If you are sharing your results with a few hundred people and want to get all of their AF data files, it takes a drop-down selection, wait a few seconds for AF to reload, then a button click and a Save File As click FOR EACH PERSON IN YOUR LIST.

Holy carpal tunnel.

I suppose 23andme might make it possible within their system to get them all at once which will make this all moot. But, I thought there must be a better way to get all of these data files and I found a slightly clunky, yet completely workable method.

There may be more elegant ways to do this, but for now I created an Excel spreadsheet that will help you get you all the data with only a bit copying and pasting – along with some help from a Firefox add-on.

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May8

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Coast and Country Podcast

Posted in: Media, Podcast, Travel

I haven’t posted any podcasts links lately so thought I would post information on one of my favorites – The BBC’s Coast and Country Podcast has that great radio feel, where the discussion and description of the hosts and guests as they hike and visit sites make you feel as if you are along. (A wonderful thing on a daily commute.)

While this podcast does not have a genealogy focus, it does offer some historical discussion and people with a family history in the UK will certainly appreciate the locations they visit.

I enjoyed the 15 March 2012 episode with in particular. The last program of host Clare Balding’s series of ‘Inspirational Walks’ was a walk around the village of Stisted with the former poet laureate Sir Andew Motion. His musings on location, family, and inspiration were both interesting and somehow calming.

As of this writing you can find that episode in the BBC iPlayer here. If it falls off the iPlayer, you should be able to find it using the main podcast link below. Enjoy!

Coast and Country

Countryside magazine featuring people, walks and wildlife from rural Britain. Clare Balding’s ‘Ramblings’ and ‘Open Country’ with Matt Baker and Helen Mark join forces to bring you a weekly tour of the best of the British countryside. In ‘Ramblings’ Clare joins her guests on a country walk that’s been significant in their lives. ‘Open Country’ travels to a different corner of the British Isles every week, seeking out the wildlife, the landscapes and the controversies that excite the passions of local people.
May7

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Book Review: The Saturdays

Posted in: Books

The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

(While not a genealogy topic per se, it is a story of family and of a time in history and may appeal to genealogy folks.)

Elizabeth Enright’s Melendy Quartet of books are ostensibly children’s books, but they are much more than that.

I read The Saturdays with my son when he was about 6 years old and we enjoyed it very much. This last year I read it again with my 5 year old daughter and it has only gotten better on the second pass.

The story is of four children from the ages of 6 to 13 in 1930s New York City who have decided to pool their weekly allowance. Each week one then takes the pool to use the money to go on a day out wherever they wished – a concert, a museum and others.

I believe my kids loved the book a great deal because of the vicarious freedom they experience through the characters. But I believe the the book is much more than the value of that story line for both them and adults – Enright’s writing is beautiful at times and downright funny at others. It also captures the period very well.

There are a few moments in the books that may seem odd to children, now so far out of context of their original time period. (Rush cheerily calling Oliver “fatso” for example, or their wandering the city on their own.) But they are very minor in comparison to today’s daily fare and a small discussion about them can only help kids with their perspective.

Enright paints a wonderful picture of a time of innocence in the children’s lives and all of the characters have a wonderful warmth and reality about them.

Once we read this book my daughter couldn’t wait to keep reading – and I have to say that in her more pensive moments, Enright’s writing can even make you a little teary. I heartily recommend all four books in this series to both children and adults.

View all my reviews