Tactile Sensations

I bet you've been wondering where I've been the last couple of months. Yeah, I'll just bet you're wondering. Right. Well, if you must know, I went out in late October for a sandwich. The next thing I knew, I found myself involved in sensitive negotiations between one S. Claus, and Local 1 of the AF of Elves, concerning overtime payments. As anyone who got Christmas presents can certify, those talks ended successfully. After purchasing and enjoying my meal [ham and provolone, on wheat bread], I safely returned to this locale, and bent to the keyboard...


As any human can communicate, some things are just better when the sense of touch is involved. Anyone who has ever kissed or caressed another human knows the joy and beauty that touch brings to such an activity. Manufacturers of touch-screen devices are constantly trying to improve the simulation of pressing a letter key or button on their machines, going so far as to add the sound of a "click" when someone inputs on the device [of course, this has its limits; PC Magazine's Sascha Segan registers his complaints in this column].

This love of the tactile frequently shows up in future-based fiction, most notably in the world of Star Trek. In the world of the 22nd or 23rd century [I always forget which one it's set in], virtually everything we currently find in hard copy print today would be available on computer screen, portable device, or whatever technology the inventors of future days can come up. But in the world of Trek, old books are highly prized gifts; Spock presents Captain Kirk with a book [and reading glasses!] in one of the movies, while Captain Picard, among others, receives a book on a special occasion. Certainly part of the attraction is the item's antiquity: I personally would be surprised to find actual printing being done anywhere in the developed world by the end of this current century. But there is also a tactile component to a book or magazine - the heft of the piece of print, the sensation of turning pages, even the odors that sometime are associated with a particular hard copy item [can any of us of a certain age say they truly have forgotten the aroma of freshly-mimeographed pages?]



This all comes up, of course, for a reason: the announcement that the current issue of PC Magazine {January 2009} will be the last printed one. Future copies will be available only in digital, with full text being available to those who subscribe. Given the current economic crisis, I can understand the decision, After all, it reduces costs to make only digital versions [as well as reducing the price to subscribers; an ad at PCMag.com touts the digital price per issue at 62 US Cents. Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I will miss the feel of a copy of PC Magazine, the aroma of its glossy page stock. I understand the logic behind the decision, but the realities of it are still disappointing.

Speaking of the new economic realities, bloggers should take to heart the Assassin's Creed; namely, BE PREPARED ! If your blog

host were suddenly to go "belly up", would you be able to move it to a new host site? Have you backed-up your previous posts [given the circumstances, more than one site may be advisable: who knows where bankruptcy may strike?]? (By the way, finding free hosts for your archives isn't difficult; a quick online search, followed by checking the pros and cons of each location, should do the trick) I'm really not trying to be a fear monger, but, watching the imminent collapse of up to one-quarter of US chain stores, and remembering when the "dot com" boom went boom in the 90's, a little preparation seems in order.

But, in the spirit of the season, let's hope [and pray, if appropriate for you] for fiscal recovery in the New Year. I also hope you have much happiness, love, and more than a little fun...

-Mike Riley

New Tools For The Holidays

I've been subscribing to PC Magazine for about two years now, on and off. One of my favorite issues each year [and I've had the good luck to get them both, despite my less-than-perfect subscription record] is the "Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites/ Top 100 Classic Web Sites". The Classics, as you'd assume, are the Usual Suspects [in fact, PC Magazine considered them so standard, they didn't even bother printing them in the magazine; they are available for quick-n-easy download at the web site], but the undiscovered sites included a few useful apps in the rough. In no particular order, here's what I liked:

Jott - Free speech-to-text service that allows you to update your blog, Twitter feed, or to-do list, from any phone. PC Mag said the conversions were "surprisingly accurate".

Oddee - Ya know those weird photos some bloggers seem to be able to lay their hands on? They probably found them here.

Damn Interesting - Slow day for posts? You may just find a launching-pad in this collection of, well, damn interesting factoids.

NationMaster - A storehouse for world data, set up to allow multi-national comparison based on customizable criteria. Who leads the world in chocolate consumption? NationMaster knows...

Searchme and Viewzi - two new ways to search. Searchme uses Apple's Cover Flow interface to present search pages as a series of horizontally-presented previews. You can also create "stacks" for later research. Viewzi combines visual search results from the standard sources, then lets you decide how to present them.

WhatTheFont - See a font you like on someone else's blog or web site? Upload a scan [or submit the site's URL], and WhatTheFont will e-mail you the font's name.

PicApp - A free stock - image service. Type in a topic or name [yes, they do celebrities, too], and it'll provide images for your blog [suggestion: be specific in your topic. I used "tools", and got several shots of a little girl at the beach, with a toy shovel [yes, it's a tool, but...] before coming up with some hand tools. Also, I had difficulties with downloading the photos [that could be some Blogger issue, or the network this computer is connected to. Just be aware of it].

Of course, there are many more sites included in the November '08 issue. Go and do research...

-Mike Riley

Economics 101

A confession: I know very little about any theories of economics. I know it when I have to deal with it at the supermarket or at bill-paying time, but, generally speaking, I know about as much about economics as your doorstop [maybe a bit less; the doorstop usually reads your paper before you bring it in]. That said, I suspect the above Calvin and Hobbes cartoon is as good a starting point as any for our discussion.

As to the current US financial crisis, I've got no solutions, or even suggestions. For a quick read on how the whole mess started, I recommend this article; it's one that even I could understand [then again, when your barn is on fire, do you really need to know what knocked over the lantern?]. As for sensible opinions on the whole thing, many of my fellow bloggers are taking it up; something tells me you can't swing a cat on the Blogosphere right now without hitting one. I'd have no idea whose site to visit: read around and find an opinion that makes sense to you.

Speaking of economies, the Entrecard system is frequently referred to as "an economy". But since, for most participants, no money changes hands, I think that's just people making themselves feel good about taking part in the activity. Truthfully, I think of at least the advertising element of the system as "fantasy football"; as a participant, you have 'X' number of credits to work with. You use your credits to advertise your blog on those sites which you believe will bring you the most visitors, as a team manager in FF uses his "payroll" to acquire the best players available. The principal difference is that, in FF, all participants have the same payroll to start with, while EC allows the more ambitious to acquire a larger bankroll.

Of course, those who work hard within the rules should be allowed to prosper. But every successful economy throughout history has had one common element: the existence of a strong and secure middle class. Pick any EC category at random. You'll notice a few sites [based, one assumes, on the merit of the blog represented] trading for two thousand EC credits or more, a small group available for hundreds of credits, and a large group of sites selling ads for 128 credits or less. (I recently read a post on one site, celebrating the fact that the blog had reached the top advertising rate in its category. Legitimate congratulations are in order for that blogger. But, and an important "but" at that, if your product is priced too high for the average participant to buy, these large blocks of credits will pass from hand to hand within the "plutocrat" community.)

To be fair, Entrecard has admitted that the problem exists [go here for a recent EC Forum discussion on the matter]. I'm a little sceptical of the "luxury goods" option; anyone competent in PhotoShop or Gimp can make an EC ad look enough like the "golden ticket" sites to make the distinction meaningless. But 10 out of ten for at least considering the issue. As in the real world, there are no simple solutions. Then again, in an artificial economy, no one is hurt when the wrong manipulations are made.

-Mike Riley

When He's Right, He's Right...

This will be a very brief post. It's on a topic that somehow didn't make it into the "Pet Peeves" that started this blog, but certainly bothers more than a few bloggers: those bloggers who use automatically starting music on their blogs. More and more I'm running into such blogs, as well as posts complaining about the issue. Well, Nate Balcom or, as he chooses to call himself, NatBal, is addressing the issue in a graphic way. In this post, he explains why the practice is so annoying, and offers free buttons and links for your use [one of which starts this presentation].

Now, I like music. And I think it's great when someone wants to introduce me to something new, or share an old favorite. But JEEZ LOUISE, CAN'T YOU LET ME CHOOSE IF I''M IN THE MOOD THAT DAY? Sorry [For some reasons, Nate's buttons don't "play well" with my sites. But if I can get them to work, I'll add them. Oh, yeah...].

That's really all I wanted to bother you with right now. Hope things are well with you, and sorry again for that shouting in the last paragraph...

-Mike Riley

Not A Bad Place To Start

First of all, my obvious apologies to those of you who are vegetarian/vegan. I don't
mean to be sliding my meat into your computer [and an apology to those made uncomfortable by sexual innuendo], but it's surprisingly difficult to find an image to illustrate the concept, "Back to basics". My first thought was to use an album cover. But whose? There seems to be an unwritten law that any performer who's worked for more than a few years put out an album under that title. Artists as varied as Anvil, Christina Aguilara, Billy Bragg, the Manhattans, and Olivia Newton-John have all released "B2B" collections. And there are probably hundreds more out there! This was as good a compromise as any, using the meat grinder and what I hope is fresh beef [an apology in advance to anyone contracting the dreaded e'coli bacteria from spoiled meat that may appear on this page].

Anyway, the point to all this is to cite "C & D", artisan crafters [those aren't synonyms, I hope. I'm sorry if they are] from Montreal, PQ, Canada. In their blog ["Catherinette Rings"], there's a post on "5 Basic Blogging Tips". The suggestions are great advice for anyone out there [especially your newby friends who want info from you] and summarised in an easily remembered manner. There's also info on how to add widgets in Blogger, and a long list of sources for widgets, advertising options, etc. Like any collection [including a "Back to Basics" CD], you may not enjoy all of the links, but it's a pretty good starting point [along with our own "Access To Tools"; scroll down the right-hand side, you'll find it]. For what it's worth, their rings look pretty good as well [I'm sorry I'm not a bigger expert on what's hot out there, but they use the word "Steampunk" in one of their flyers, so they must be hip].

-Mike Riley

"the lab" is back in session...

Yeah, Summer is over [for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, anyway]. I took an unannounced vaca for the end of August [saw Joan Jett in a free concert, among other things. Pretty cool], and now, we begin anew the pursuit of Better Blogging Through Science. Hope you had a little rest as well.

Regular visitors to the lab have noticed that I almost never mention WordPress. There's a simple reason for this; I don't know anything about it [Any WordPress users who'd like to contribute an article or two on the subject are welcome to write their insights as Guest posts; I still offer 500 EC credits for any published submissions. Contact me here if you're interested]. Anyway, I have found another site with a variety of WordPress themes; namely, WebFrap. It's well laid out, and has an attractive selection of themes for your consideration, and download. If you use WP, check it out.

Similarly, I'm not into customizing my site [I'll be honest; I'm trying to teach myself the necessary programming language. Let me tell you, French was much easier]. So far, I've learned how to use widgets, add a photo or two, and, just recently, how to use those damn hyperlinks in my copy [see above and below. It's so easy on Blogger, you'd think I'd gotten it before now. Well, no]. The Woman I Love laid much abuse on me before I picked up this amazingly easy trick [especially as I'm running a site dedicated to blogging tips]. But, despite the embarrassment of loving a man who couldn't hyperlink, she was patient, and I have now risen in her esteem to
"Average". Ah, romance...

Where was I? Oh, yeah, customization. One way many bloggers give their sites a distinctive look is through the use of non-standard icons. A great source for ready-made icon packages is IconzWorld. The site offers a wide variety of icon packages to download and use in your blogs. Visit and use.

Finally, a belated tip of the tam o'shanter to Jordan McClements. He's making a generous offer, that addresses a common need of many bloggers; royalty-free illustrations for postings. Most of the time, bloggers wishing to use photos on their sites just download them from their website of choice [yeah, I've done this. I'm not proud of myself, but there you are]. Given the number of blogs x cost of pursuing legal redress against a violator, the odds may well be in your favor. But consider your annoyance if one of your posts was lifted by someone. Anyway, Mr. McClements is very generously offering the use of over one thousand photos from his collection, for non-commercial blogs, as well as MySpace users. The collection in question can be found here [while the vast majority of the photos are Irish rural scenes, there are also photos from elsewhere in Europe, the United States and Canada.. And, just as Toronto has played cities around the world in the movies, a night sky over Belfast might "do' for your moonlight needs. Take a look]. Jordan has also helpfully provided instructions on how to upload his photos for use; find that info here [Blogger users who lift photos through their browser, then add them to their blogs should caption the photo "Photo courtesy of IrishViews.com"].

Hope your Fall [or Spring, below the Equator] finds you well. As always, more to come.

-Mike Riley.

Bagpipes And Bargains

At the last Celtic Festival The Woman I Love and I attended [a birthday gift from The Woman], a member of one of the pipe and drum corps in attendance opined that I was actually Scotch-Irish, instead of Irish, as I had always believed [his theory had something to do with the way my last name is spelled, and need not be repeated here. For that matter, my family has lived in America for at least a century-and-a-half, so why my ancestry is entering into all this is beyond me. Oh wait, now I remember. It's setting up an explanation in the next line or two]. Anyway, his opinion made me think. I don't consider myself "tight" by any means, but if I can get something useful for nothing, I'm certainly not against that. If you're like that also, this article may be for you.

Microsoft Office(R), in its various versions, has become known as the "standard" in office software [of course, just about anyone can use word processing, spreadsheets, and drawing programs, as well as other nifty features. But Office (R) is pricey. What to do? Well, the most popular answer nowadays, and one that puts absolutely no drain on the bank account is Open Office.Org. Its URL is [you guessed it]: http://www.openoffice.org/. Its story is intriguing.

Back at the turn of the century, a company known as Sun Microsystems bought a software package called StarOffice from a German company. No huge news, right? Wrong. StarOffice was developed in open-code, meaning it could be used by most operating systems with small modifications. Sun was using a lot of open-source programs [still does], and their operating platform of choice was Unix, also open-source. In an attempt to stem the tidal wave that was Office(R), Sun put StarOffice on the market. For free. Ever since, they've shaped the open-source community's development of Open Office . org [hereafter, at least occasionally, OO.o. Neat abbreviation, huh?].

Open Office.org calls them by different names, but matches Office (R) feature for feature. Indeed, if work computers use Office (R), you can almost always assimilate those documents into OO.o [At the moment, the only fly in the ointment seems to be the Mac's OS/X; OO.o 'doesn't play well" with it, although improvements along this line are said to be imminent. Stay tuned...]

Next time, some more freebies to help you use your computer like a pro for less [free, actually, but who's telling? Not me...].

-Mike Riley