The Holy Scripturizer 1.8.3
Authors: Dean Peters, ported by Glen Davis, updated by Laurence O’Donnell (v1.5-1.7) & Peter V Cook (v1.8)
Plugin website: http://scripturizer.wordpress.com
Automatically converts Bible references into hyperlinks pointed to major online Bible sites. EXAMPLE: John 3:16-18.[1. This feature is operational as of the date of this post. I do not guaranty future events, so I can’t be sure The Holy Scripturizer will be installed if you read this note some time in the distant future]

Actually, The Holy Scripturizer 1.8.3 performs much the same task as WP-Bible 1.7.10, which I reviewed last week. That is, when installed, the plugin magically creates a hyperlink to an online version of the scriptures quoted in the post. You don’t have to insert any special code in the post. Once installed The Holy Scripturizer 1.8.3 automatically detects the presence of a Bible verse, and does the rest without any human intervention. It also, optionally displays the Bible verses in a box when you mouse-over the Bible reference. The Bible translation and mouse-over feature can be set or disabled on a system wide (NOT per individual post) basis.

As indicated in my review of WP-Bible 1.7.10, my minor criticism of that program was:

On my website, however, I found the program to be rather too much of a good thing. Specifically, I use a lot of Bible citations in the text of my posts. So as I navigate the page with my mouse, I tend to detonate those text boxes right and left. The result is rather cluttered.

The thing I personally prefer about The Holy Scripturizer 1.8.3, rather than WP-Bible 1.7.10, is that the mouse-over on The Holy Scripturizer closes the scripture box when you mouse-off the scripture. Therefore, you have the opportunity for one scripture box at a time. If you have a lot of Bible verses–which K_Line Christian Online does–the approach of The Holy Scripturizer is a lot less cluttered. Granted, this is a personal preference, and I’m sure that some people will prefer WP-Bible since the verse box stays open when you mouse-off the Bible verse. Both of these plugins are good programs.[2. I’ll mention one more item of note, which I can’t really hold against the program being reviewed. Specifically, one of the other plugins which I use, Post Snippets 1.5.1, does not work when The Holy Scripturizer 1.8.3 is installed and activated. To use Post Snippets 1.5.1, I have to first deactivate The Holy Scripturizer. I can then use Post Snippets without any problems. When I’m finished using Post Snippets, I simply reactivate The Holy Scripturizer 1.8.3. I can’t say which plugin (if either) is at fault. And this is only a minor inconvenience.]

Plugin Rating (out of 5 stars): ★★★★★

FOOTNOTES:

WP-Bible 1.7.10
Author: Matej Nastran
Plugin websiter: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-bible/
This plugin finds Bible references in your posts and pops up a box with the actual text from the Bible. You can choose any of 38 different translations in 14 languages that are available at BIBLIJA.net. This plugin performs exactly as advertised and works as if by magic. Most users of this plugin will be thrilled with it. On my website, however, I found the program to be rather too much of a good thing. Specifically, I use a lot of Bible citations in the text of my posts. So as I navigate the page with my mouse, I tend to detonate those text boxes right and left. The result is rather cluttered. I wish I had the option of clicking, rather than mousing over, the citation in order to pull up the Bible verses. Again, this shouldn’t seriously detract from a good plugin that performs amazingly the task for which it was designed.

My rating (out of 5 stars): ★★★★★

WordPress is blogging[1. “Blog” is short for “Web Log” — a sort of public diary or journal maintained by the blogger online] software designed to be flexible and expandable. K_Line Christian Online is an example of a WordPress blog.

Background

Ad hoc and hack: Before blogging software, I designed my websites the old fashioned way. Each page was created by hand, using various programs to assist in writing the HTML code. The result was crude. Adequate in it’s day, but laughable by today’s standards. Occasionally you still run across a web site of this ilk. Not pretty! The problem with adding content in this kind of system, is that there is no system. Each change to the website necessitates jamming something new in the mix. It’s not easy to sort or organize. The more content you have, the messier the whole site tends to get.

pMachine: I used pMachine for a few years. PMachine is now obsolete and replaced by ExpressionEngine blogging software. I haven’t used ExpressionEngine, so I can’t comment on it. My old blog, back when I was Mayor of Davie, Florida was Davie.TV. That website was built on pMachine. It is still online, but no longer active. PMachine was a good program, and worked well for me. In order to change the look and feel, I experimented and hacked. I was was happy with the result. I could easily write content and post it online. At one time I was adding about 4 or 5 entries a week.[3. On my “to do” list is to migrate all of that old content from my old pMachine blog to this website.] Actually, I loved this blogging system. I probably would still be using it, but since it was discontinued, I had to try alternatives to set up my more recent sites. In retrospect, I liked pMachine so much, because I didn’t realize what other programs, such as WordPress, were capable of.

b2evolution. I briefly used b2evolution blogging software when I created my website for my last reelection campaign. That campaign site, is still online, and is also inactive. Frankly, I never had the time to get to know this software. I built and used the website as a mostly static site. It was easy to upgrade and add new content, though I did not really use it as a blog.

Drupal: I also briefly experimented with Drupal. Though not exclusively blogging software, it does have that capability. I found it pretty complex, with an apparent steep leaning curve. I understand it is an outstanding system to use if you have the ability and time to learn it. If I’d had more free time, I probably would have put more time into the system. Plus, no matter what you think of the software, you have to like that logo. However, I was looking for something with power, but not so difficult to use, so I kept looking.

Other blogging software

Blogger: billed as a simple, easy to set up, one stop blogging solution. It is owned and operated by Google at blogger.com. I never used it and don’t know much about it. In general, Google products are free, easy to use, and work well for the intended task. I suspect blogger is no exception. It’s my understanding that if you want to get online in a hurry, and have absolutely no budget at all (not even for domain hosting), blogger is an easy way to go.

WordPress Reviewed (finally)

Two things that distinguish WordPress are the many themes and plugins available to bloggers. The themes control the appearance–look and feel–of the website. The plugins expand the functions of the website. First, lets talk about the themes. There are thousands of them. Most of them for free. Without much effort, you will probably identify a few dozen that have the look you want. If you are a programmer, or proficient hacker you write your own or modify one that you almost like. I have several WordPress sites, each with a generally different look and feel. My business website, www.TruexLaw.COM, is a mostly static site which is intended as an online brochure. This site (K_Line Christian Online) is my most active current site. I post a lot of material, including weekly discussion notes for the Christian men’s group I attend; as well as reviews, recipes, etc. I like the fact that there are so many choices of themes. You can easily pick a look that suits your subject and then tweak it a bit. Likewise there are thousands of plugins from which to choose. The plugins expand the already ample feature set of WordPress. A list of plugins used on K_Line Christian Online is available in my Tech Section.

With both themes and plugins, the challenge is not so much to find what you want, as it is to avoid the temptation to try out everything. The themes and plugins are for the most part written by volunteers who just enjoy contributing to the community. As you might expect, the quality varies. However, if you obtain themes and plugins through the official website, WordPress.ORG, contributions have to conform to submission standards. Also, plugins are rated by users, so you have an idea of the quality you are getting. Finally, since plugins are general free and as easy to remove as they are to install, using a standard interface, it’s hard to go wrong. If you try a plugin and it’s not what you wanted, or doesn’t work, just remove it. The only cost is a few minutes of your time.

Overall, I can’t say enough nice things about WordPress. It is a fantastic program with lots of expandable features and many different possible looks. If you really need more than what is offered for free, there are companies that can design exactly what you do want, for a fee. I have used a lot of computer software products since the mid 1980’s. WordPress is one of the very best of those products. And it’s free! Can’t beat that combination.

My rating (out of 5 stars): ★★★★★

NOTES: