July 30, 2008
IN WITH THE OLD!
Welcome back to the OLD SITE. You can see that the last time anything was done was back in January of ‘03. None of us seems to have time to devote to keeping up a website, but some of us remember with fondness all the photos and stuff that we used to have on display.... Soooo.... I’ve popped everything back up.
Lots of this stuff is hopelessly out of date, and makes me chuckle, but you can click on the links to view old memories. Have fun! And if anyone actually checks this out, email me to let me know, ok? Ok. ... Mike
January 2, 2003
OUT WITH THE OLD!
The colour combination used the other day was really vomitous, so it’s gone.
Happy New Year!
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December 30, 2002
NEW LOOK?!
Hey, gang... check it out. The latest attempt at a cool-looking site. Is this disgusting, or what?
December 25, 2002
MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!
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Yes, ‘tis the day. And the day after, when throngs... nay, HORDES leave their castles and hit the malls, yearning to stand in a queue with their brethren for hours on end, to exchange something so important it couldn’t wait until next week. Ah, well. Enjoy, Rileys! We’re too smart for that, aren’t we... ?
cember 20, 2002
PHOTO ORGANIZER
There are many, many software tools available for organizing your digital photographs. So many, in fact, that this reporter has taken it upon himself to help you weed through the trash and into the sunlight. Some are free and good, some cost a lot and are hopeless. Today I’d like to introduce you to a freebie that works quite simply and looks good, too.
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Say hello to GAZO 9 DigiBook. Click on the picture to go to the Shareware page, where you can get more information on the program and how it might work for you. I like it because it has one of those interfaces that tries to keep the experience “natural”. But you can, in fact, change the look of the program from the bookshelf style you see at right to a small assortment of different “skins”. If you are collecting scans of your regular photos, or have taken the plunge into the sometimes cold, sometimes warm waters of digital photography, it won’t be long before you need a good tool to keep your pictures easily accessible. |
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December 20, 2002
FINE NEW MUSIC, MY FRIENDS
Gotta thank Chris for discovering this one. It is SO difficult to find good new music these days. But he’s done it, in the form of a new CD release by one Norah Jones.
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You owe it to yourself to give this one a listen. It’s true, her voice needs some growing, but you can hear the greatness in it already. And her selection of tunes (Cold Cold Heart by Hank Williams?) will leave you satisfied. Follow this link to her home page, where you can hear some examples using RealPlayer One.
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December 12, 2002
GEEZ, NOTHING NEW?
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At this time of year, you’d think there’d be lots to talk about. Guess you’d be wrong :-) There’s a new project in the works, though: BOOMSTICK.COM. The tech-toy geek who runs this site does a lot of net-surfing, and almost daily is in awe of the neat new stuff that keeps coming out. Like reinder with hula hoops. Since he has no one to talk to about it, he decided to start a website for it. You can check it out at http://members.rogers.com/emriley. It’s just getting started, so there are lots of holes, but hey: it’s time you got your first Christmas gift, right?
In future, you can just click on the Planet link at the top of the page, up there beside the main banner...
In other news, there’s a review of SOLARIS. And ICE AGE on DVD.
November 28, 2002
SCOTT & JENN & LIAM & ERIN ARE COMING TO OTTAWA!
Yippee! Not only do we get to see Scott and the kids, but it’s also a chance to meet Jenn, the beautiful lady pictured here. As Martha would say, “This is a Good thing.”
According to Lorne, dates are set at December 23 to 28 or thereabouts. Look for a huge Spaghetti Feed at Mike’s place; come one, come all. Date to be announced...
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November 25, 2002
CHRISTMAS GAME
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Check out Santa Balls 2. It’s another in a long line of recently-released “match 3 or more” games in the Shareware genre . But it’s a fun one, it’s got some humorous one-liners, and it’s easy to rack up points. Check it out now on the Shareware Page.
November 20, 2002
PICTURES!
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November 12, 2002
HOW’S KATHLEEN DOING?
Judi reports that Mom and Baby and Daddy are doing well. Kathleen Alexa was all set to enter this world the wrong way around; thus the C-section. As of last Friday, she was learning to focus her dark eyes on those around her. Lorne and Judi spent a week or so visiting their new granddaughter.
NOVEMBER 6, 2002
Of course, the BIG news is that Lisa and Norm delivered (a little early) a healthy, bouncing baby girl: Delivered Tuesday November 5 at 8:22 pm.
Kathleen Alexa Riley, arrived by C-Section in the real world at 9 lb 7 1.4 oz. with lots of dark hair. Eight hours of labour for Lisa, probably the same for Norm :-)
As soon as we get some pictures of the happy family, we’ll post them here. Until then, you can call them up and congratulate them yourself! Or e-mail them @ lisa@rileyfamily.ca. C’mon... you can do it...
CONGRATULATIONS NORM AND LISA
AND BABY KATHLEEN
November 12, 2002
ERICA’S WHACKY PIX
Click here or Erica's nose to see Erica's Whacky Pics. |
November 9, 2002
A RILEY BIRTHDAY: SEAN HITS 19!
Click here to see SEAN in all his pristine splendor.
... and click here for a Birthday Card from DAD....
November 3, 2002
SPIFFLE
What’zat? Spiffle is just a word for stuff. Today our Reel Shorts page is graced with an unflattering review of Ghost Ship.
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October 13, 2002
BITS & PIECES
No, not the Dave Clark 5 song... just odds and ends of notes today.
- Push, Nevada (ABC), the wierdly wonderful mystery gameshow from Ben Affleck, got the axe this week. I guess people wanted more money clues and less Twin Peaks oddities. I enjoyed the show and the
extremely professional selection of
actors (especially Derek Cecil in the lead)... which of course was an instant kiss of death. Me enjoying the show, that it.
The website still shows upcoming episodes; I have no idea if they will run what’s left or just stop it dead.
- Red Dragon: Reel Short here.
- Gays: a new article by Riki.
- Shareware: come and get it! How about a very cool CD Ripper, for those folks who like to copy tunes from their CDs and burn ‘em as compilations onto homemade CDs? This software is fast and friendly. No more waiting to copy .cda (CD music) files in “real time”. Visit the ShareWare page for a looksee at 123 CD Ripper.
October 9, 2002
END OF THE NEW SEASON
Well, that heading is not completely true... but the “rush” of new shows is over. I enjoyed putting up the list of new shows every day; it helped me to remember, too. The remaining new shows are appearing at odd times and places, so I’ll leave you to your own devices to find out when. The link to the TV guide site will remain, to make it easier. By the way, only ONE of you actually sent in any reviews at all , and no one commented on whether they found the feature useful...
September 31, 2002
WHAT DID YOU FORGET THIS TIME...
NEW FREEWare
Today I want to tell you about the Evite Reminder service. It’s web-based, and sends you an e-mail to remind you of a birthday or any other event you’ve scheduled... like the next six post-dated cheques for your storage unit out in the boonies.
I did a real scour of the Web looking for something better than Evite (only because I temporarily “misplaced” the website address). I found a number of others. To me, none were as aesthetically pleasing as Evite. Some offered extras, but they were things I figured I’d never use.
Evite also offers an “invitation” service, again e-mail based, but with fancy designs and invitations that you can customize. Not being much of a social dog, I don’t use this service either. But I sure find it a handy reminder when it’s time to change the furnace filter.
Check it out on the ShareWare link....
September 25, 2002
MORE new TV season
NEW SWIMFAN Review
NEW Tonight on TV
Swimfan Review: Go here...
September 17, 2002
NEW TV SEASON
NEW Windows XP Update Available
NEW What’s New Tonight?
Windows XP Update Available
Last week Microsoft popped out their first Service Pack for XP. This is a file full of patches and repairs for users of
Windows XP Home and Pro. There have been tons and tons of fixes for problems, mostly security holes, posted on the
Windows Update site in the last few months. This Service Pack promises to bring them all together under one giant repair. If you haven't gotten it yet you can get it here:
http://www.microsoft.com/WindowsXP/pro/downloads/servicepacks/sp1/default.asp
Naturally, apart from fixing a bunch of problems, it has generated some problems of its own, which I discuss a little later in this article.
But the big news about the update, for some people, is that it in part answers the Department of Justice's demands for
MicroSoft to stop being so monopolistic with their software. Certain parts of the system are installed on your PC
whether you want them or not, like Internet Expolorer, Windows Media Player, and MSN Messenger. Whether you like
or use these programs isn't at issue; your choice is. Personally, I have no problem with these instllations: IE is the best
browser anyway, Windows Media Player is free, and MSN is the best messenger (next to Trillium, which actually
handles seven different messengers at once so you only have to have one running even if all your chatty friends use
something different... click here). You don't have to use them, anymore than you have to watch that porn channel that
comes on late at night. It's your choice, and there are lots of other programs out there that do the same things as these programs do.
Perhaps it's more a question of the way the general public thinks: if it's already installed, and like Mom you are not really
interested in PCs beyond their e-mail ability, you probably will use whatever comes with the PC, and may never even
know about competitors. I can see these arguments holding water right now, but with every kid in North America
practically born with a cell phone and a PC grafted on their hands, soon there won't be any excuse for not understanding
computers just as much as shoppiing for groceries. Wait, did I say that?! I forgot about foods labelled "Free" and "Lite";
I forgot about Red Dye #5; I forgot that cookies have fat but it doesn't say that on the front of the package; I forgot that
peanuts cause reactions in many people but they are still widely used as a base for everything from ice cream to skin cream.
OK, let's make that analogy one of PCs vs. beds and mattresses. Everyone knows that they need a mattress to sleep on,
and so we are all experts at shopping for bedding, because we do spend 1/3 or more of our lives on the thing. Wait, did
I say that?! Right, of course I know the difference between Standard, Firm, and Plush. Sure, I know why one mattress
that is "firm" costs $2,000 more than the one right beside it that is also marked "firm". Sure, I know that it's not important
that a bowling ball go to bed with me to prove how comfortable I am.
Okay, then, let's try computers vs. car buying. We all know that buying a car is easy, right? You just go in, get lied to, try
to push your manliness around, then after you get ripped off spend the next two months trying to justify the monthly cost.... hmmm....
Computers and politicians? Microsoft's promises vs. Jean Chretien's Red Book promises? What's this about proposing
that the GST be pushed to 10% from 7%? Wait, didn't Microsoft say corporations would have to "subscribe" to MS
Office from now on, or be forced to pay almost double every year? Is it possible to vote Bill Gates out?
Anyway...
Once installed, you get a new entry under Programs in your Start button : "Set Program Access and Defaults". This is
also placed into your "Add/Remove Programs" applet that sits in the Control Panel. this is supposed to let you "turn off'
the afore-mentioned MS products, and replace them with programs of your own choosing. This is a real boon for people
like my friend Don, who absolutely hates having that MSN window pop up in the lower right corner of his screen all the
time (especially since he never even wanted the thing. Not to mention the fact that is is like have a permanent
advertisement glued to your PC. Not to mention that even though I have scoured the universe, I haven't yet found a
reliable way to actually remove MSN from a PC). The problem is that it doesn't work. There are no other programs listed for you to choose, and there is no way to get at them.
MS says it's because the other companies have to write plug-ins that will hook into the MS software before it can
actually work. Why they didn't let these other companies know in advance of this release is beyond me... unless of
course they are still trying to delay the inevitable as long as possible. Hmmmm... . So, for now, you will just have to manually start up your preferred programs.
Problems with XP Service Pack 1
There will probably be numerous issues, but here are a couple of immediate problems. Note that I've been using the
upgrade for a week or so now, on two PCs, and I don't think i've notice any problems myself. The installation went
smoothly; afterwards, I noticed no visible difference. The info below comes courtesy of www.lockergnome.com:
"Generally, the SP1 upgrade was flawless... unless you happen to be one of the poor souls using Norton Internet
Security 2002 and IE6. The JPGs and GIFs would get iffy about loading. You ended up with a lot of the red X
placekeepers on Web pages while browsing. Microsoft's KB insisted you needed to check the "Show pictures" box in
Tools | Internet Options | Advanced | Multimedia. And, of course, that WAS checked. I now use a router so don't need
the Norton's Firewall. Dumping that cleared the problem for me. A forum contributor indicated that dumping Internet
Security, installing SP1, and then reinstalling it had worked for them. Another contributor indicated that turning off the
firewall from the configuration menu and then turning it back on worked for them. Regardless, the original challenge was
connecting the loss of graphics to running Norton Internet Security at the time of the SP1 upgrade. Amazing how dumb pages look with buttons and slick graphics replaced with red Xs."
"Question: I use different identities for my family members in Outlook Express. Normally I can go to File then Switch
Identity but since I installed Windows XP Service Pack 1, that doesn't work any more. Now all that opens is the main identity, is there a way to fix this?
Answer: I'm sorry to say that there is not a fix for this issue but Microsoft does acknowledge it as a problem. Don't stop
reading yet though, I won't leave you high and dry as there might not be a fix but there is a workaround to your Outlook
Express identity problem. What you need to do is go to File|Identities|Manage Identities. Once you are in the Manage
Identities window, you need to clear the check box next to "Use this identity when starting a program" and then close
Outlook Express. From now on whenever you open Outlook Express it will prompt you for an identity and this will
allow you to switch identities. According to Microsoft you can use the Switch Identity option now but it will prompt you
to switch identities twice. I guess you can say this is alternative therapy for Outlook Express' identity crisis! "
Here is a webpage with comments from other users: http://www.winxpnews.com/?id=43
Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1
There is also a Service Pack for Internet Explorer 6 available here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/evaluation/ie6sp1.asp
This patch fixes a lot of security issues, too. And it works no matter which version of Windows you might have. I haven't
really noticed any physical differences or extra buttons or anything, since installing it on two different computers. But it seems to work fine.
What’s New Tonight?
Every fall, it’s the same thing: I pray that there will be at least a few good new shows on the toob, worthy of advanced intellect. Or my ability to stay awake, which is about the same thing these d
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September 3, 2002
MOVIE REVIEW: STAR WARS: ATTACK OF THE FREEKIN’ CLONES!
A Reel Short review of one of the OLDEST movies in town. Plus:
A Reel Short review of the Ving Rhames/Wesley Snipes prison boxing movie.
September 3, 2002
MOVIE REVIEW: BIG FAT FREEKIN’ GREEKIN’ WEDDIN’
A Reel Short review of one of the hottest movies intown. Plus:
THE NEW TV SEASON: LET’S RATE IT!!
In the next coupla weeks, I’m going to post a grid of the new programs starting up soon. As usual, there are a lot interesting sounding concepts (I love Back to the Future type stuff), and a lot of others that make you scratch your head.. . as in yet another stupid comedy about another stupid black family, or white family, or... you get the idea.
Anyway, I will list the new shows, and I would like you guys to send me your thumbs up or thumbs down whenever you watch something new. Just email me a short note (mike@rileyfamily.ca), and I’ll add it to the count. Since we don’t have a B-I-G family, the totals may not prove overwhelming or all-knowing, but what the heck... maybe it will be fun.
September 3, 2002
COMPUTING NEWS ADDED
Yes, for all you really bored people. Click on the NEWS button just to the left. All computing news, all the time. And... it scrolls! Wow. Just like the real thing. Unfortunately, I haven’t found anything interesting on it yet...
When you get bored coming here, click to the the new NEWS page. A world of technical information at your fingertips, culled from the hottest news websites every day.
Augsut 22, 2002
LORD OF THE RINGS ON DVD
PLUTO NASH at the movies
Chris Riley puts in his two cents on the new release of LOTR to DVD. Today, in Reel Short.
Augsut 21, 2002
THE X-FILES COMES HOME
The X-Files on DVD: Love it or hate it, I still love it. Today, in Reel Short.
MOVIES TIMES
IN OTTAWA
FREE Technical Support for any of your PC problems!
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