The other day, my mother, my father, and I took a trek to a place in a land far, far away. This place is also know as Ikea New Haven (Connecticut). We were in search for a new galaxy, a new basement. Our mission was successful.

Our basement flooded a little over a year ago, multiple times, and since then, we have been meaning to fix it up, so I can actually go down there. We found some great faux-slate tile, a nice rug, and a great couch setup, and I am very happy.

Here are some pictures: *Note- I just took them with the crappy iPhone built-in camera with a shaky hand, so they are not amazing, but you get the idea.*

Above are the new couches, packed up in my garage. We just got them delivered Saturday.

Up there is where I will paint the wall (to the right) chroma-key colors and make it a ‘green’ screen for photography and video work, and my new podcast (more info soon). Help me: should I make it green or blue? Please comment below!

Well, that’s all we have for today and this very abbreviated post, but here are some things you can look forward to from iRi, post-wise:

• VERY NEAR FUTURE: A short blogcast about my trip to California
• SOON: A very long blogcast on my church choir trip to the UK
• IN A FEW WEEKS: A post about the future. I will talk about what will come of iRi (what to expect), and about all my new ventures.
• AFTER: A follow up blogcast to this post, complete with “after” pictures!
• LATER: A tentative post about Martin Luther, Christianity (I hope I don’t have to link that one for ya’) and overall religion

Thanks for listening and/or reading iRi, and we hope to see you soon!

*This blogcast is dedicated to Don LaFontaine “The Voice,” one of my heroes who has passed away today. We will always remember him, even in lands “far, far, away.”*

Coming soon to a computer near you on iRi Blogcast: Tales from my summer trips. I went to California and England this summer, and cannot wait to tell you all about my journeys.

Also coming soon, I will talk about my new ventures and answer any questions you may have.

All of this and more in the next few days in audio and text on iRi Blogcast!

Sincerely,

Riley
Oh, and by the way, if you want to follow my travels up to the minute, follow me on twitter.

This past week, I have had the extreme pleasure of visiting my grandparents in York, Pennsylvania, self-noted as the “Factory Tour Capital of the World™” (yes, they have it trademarked). There, I did go to many factory tours. Let me tell you a little bit about them:

I first went to the Harley-Davidson Factory Tour. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Harleys, they make motorcycles like this one. The plant in York is the largest Harley-Davidson plant in the world–over 230 acres with 1.5 million square feet under roof and something like 3,600 employees. The tour was extremely interesting; much more high tech than one might expect. The thing that stood out to me the most was their presses. They can turn a sheet of metal into a fender of sorts, with 300 tons of pressure to help, that is. Another interesting tidbit: they can make the parts and assemble the actual bike in under two hours, but it takes them over 12 hours to paint the parts. They are also safety-freaks, a good thing, I guess. Overall, I liked the tour, but if we had not had such an informed tour guide, it would not have been nearly as good.

The next day, I went on the Perrydell Farm Dairy tour! It was self-guided and slightly lame, but I did learn a lot about cows. Such as the cannot digest their food after one chewing; they chew it, then regurgitate it and chew it again. Then they can eat it. Did I want to know that, no, but can it help me in life? Well, actually, no. Nonetheless, it was a good waste of time.

After Perrydell, I went to the Wolfgang Candy Factory Tour. Now that was the yummiest tour by far! I thought it was interesting how they could have moved out of North York, but wanted to keep it local. The tour guide was OK… not the best. In her defense, though, it was the biggest tour group that I had been with in my days in York, so she deserves some slack. Another factoid: they have 1 million pounds of milk chocolate pumped (yes, pumped) into their factory ever year from a third-party source. They said that they would make it themselves, but for it to be cost-effective, they would have to make 3-5 MILLION pounds of milk chocolate. Woah. They don’t have dark and white chocolate pumped in because they don’t use of much as it. They either get it in bar or some other form. That’s still a lot of chocolate! A very cool tour.

The last thing I did in PA was not really a factory tour. Nor was it really in York. It was the National Watch and Clock Museum (nice favicon, by the way). However, it was worth mentioning. It was so-so… deserted, but I didn’t find it very interesting. I guess a collector might, but I am not one. Luckily, I was there on the hour (1:00), so I heard all the bells and whistles go off at once, which was pretty cool, but not really worth admission.

Well, that was my trip to York. I hope I didn’t bore you to death, but it was really a fun trip. Thanks for reading and/or listening to iRi Blogcast!

But for real now. I went to a camp at Amherst College in Massachusetts called the Great Books Summer Program. This is my third year at Amherst College, 9th and 10th week. I have really bonded with the cafeteria, I mean “Dining Hall” staff over that time. Well, them and Freddy “The Bull” Custodian, but that is besides the point. (Sorry for all the inside jokes today.) However, I actually did have a really good time.

Yes, Great Books is a literature camp, but it is more fun than it seems. We read and discuss a lot of famous literature in a relaxed setting. It is extremely contemplative and they ask you a lot of questions, a very Socratic method.

We did not just read all day. We had breakfast, two lectures, a 15 person discussion group then lunch. After that, we had free time, then a literature elective (I took a Socrates/Plato class the first week, and a memoir class the second). After that, we had an arts elective (I took creative writing first and improv theatre second). Next, to dinner, reading, free time, discussion and then a nightly fun activity. This ranged from a guest lecture to sword fighting to movie night. Free time was after that and then to bed. Lights out was at 10:30, but we really went to bed closer to 11:15ish. Very fun, plus I actually learned!

The biggest question I get from people is “Is it like school?!” My answer is no. It is totally different… it’s actually nurturing and, well, interesting. Now, Great Books isn’t for everyone, though. Some people might not like it–there is a lot of sitting and listening involved. In the end, I really liked it and didn’t want to go home. I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a good, slightly academic camp.

One more, totally unrelated thing. iPhone update! I am getting my new iPhone Saturday, the 12th of July, sometime in the afternoon. I wish I could be there Friday morning, but this is the best my scheduling can do.

Well, that is all for today. Thanks for reading and/or listening to iRi. Your comments are greatly appreciated… tell me what you think of my blogcast! Always feel free to comment below or email me individually, riley@iriblogcast.com. See you next time!

“I’m a right-clicka
I’m an iBook flippa
Macs and PCs - no fight gets bigga
Surf Safari or browse in I.E.
Better know what you rep[resent] - a Mac or PC!

USB 1-2.0, son, you don’t know
watch my data flow
From MS-DOS command line prompts
Black backgrounds, no special sauce
Well I’ve only been around since ‘84
But my ease of use has done so much more
From a Plus to a Classic to a II GS
To a PowerPC, my OS is the best
So clickable, design is lickable
My aqua interface makes XP dispicable
Quick I pull the RAM stick out the slot
Then I swap it with generic
cause the port is hot

If you see life through an LCD
Betta know your brand is it a Mac-or-PC?

Take a look at Vista
enjoy the view
I suggest Premium or the ultimate skew
cop a Dell with a graphics card - super fast
turn the arrow on and lick the glass
Tiger’s fast as hell
But Leopard’s got the boom
Time machine is mad mean
you’re absurd - what’s a zune?
Middle name: innovate
All features integrate
Now stay the hell out of my developers’ conferences!
Nonsenses - I’m networking
You’re not working
Stop staring at your built-in webcam
YouTube surfing
Ha! 1,000 views is pretty fresh
ComputerGal36 even says I’m the best

He is the best with his videos
And cuts them all on his Final Cut Pro

Mac, PC, and Me, At Last

When I run IT’S A iPOD!
Talk IT’S AN iPHONE!
Stuff I gotta have no matter what
It’s an iLOAN!
I want an Intel, plus CS3,
but for now I’m streamin keynotes in bed
Listenin to Steve
Uh! Compatibility
Everybody fits with me
All the applications wanna get with my virility
At any time
Yo, it might go off
And you can ride it
Til it’s Micro-Soft
Huh! Pay attention
I got a new invention
Steal your next idea
At the MacWorld Convention
But guess what
You’ll always be behind
Cuz Mac is a state of mind.”

Aah, I love that ending! It even has a website, MacOrPC.org. Wait. Dot org? Never mind. And, if you want, you can buy it on iTunes or see it on MySpace! To top it off, when you go to any of these pages, the song starts blaring! You gotta’ love it! On a more serious note, I have a question for you. This is kind of a general statement, but here it goes. The majority of people in the world want a Mac, yet most have a PC. Which would be the bandwagon? Answer by commenting below or emailing me.

By the way, this is an automated post. I wrote this way back in mid-June, but now, I am [hopefully] having loads of fun at camp until July 5. Expect a post sometime early that week. See you then!

How many times have you looked in National Geographic Magazine and said to yourself, “myself, how did they take such a beautiful picture?!” I know I have! With a nice little Google search and some good ol’ common sense, I think I have the answers for you.

• Good gear. This is probably the most important thing ever. I would say that my switch from the Canon PowerShot SD600 (point-and-shoot) to the Canon Rebel XTi (Digital SLR) made my photography 30 times better. (FYI, a point-and-shoot camera is one of those pocket-sized cameras, and a Digital SLR camera [A.K.A a DSLR] is one of those big professional black ones.) Now, it really helps to have some basic knowledge in simple DSLR stuff, but nothing you can’t learn from reading the manual (that’s what I did!). Or, I guess, you could just keep it on Full Auto mode, but why would you do that? Also, if you do go for a DSLR, the body doesn’t really make the difference, it is mostly the lens that does the work quality wise. I really don’t want to get too into it, but if you are seriously going to do the switch, consider reading this article. And my little hint of the day is that you can read hundreds and hundreds of online articles about which camera to buy, but no article is as good as just going into your LOCAL camera store and getting advice from someone there. Don’t just go the the Best Buy, please. They REALLY don’t have the best prices. If you live in the New York area or must shop online, I would go to B & H, probably my favorite place in the world.
• Don’t use the flash 100% of the time; you really don’t need to. Just try it. Also, it is really cool to take pictures of candles at night, for which you would under no circumstances use a flash.
• Use a plain, contrasting background. Who knows, you may want to Photoshop it later.
• Mix it up with levels. Sometimes go higher, sometimes go lower. Keep it interesting.
• Check your camera! Play around with the settings to maximize the awesomeness of your shot.
• Always think about the Rule of Thirds. A little hard to explain, best to read this article.
• Have fun with it! There are really no rules for photography… enjoy it!

That’s all I have for today. If you think I missed something, feel free to email me or comment below. Just a side note, I will be at camp from June 22 to July 5 with very limited computer access. I will hopefully post an episode during that time, but if you don’t hear from me, you will know why!

I am really kind of sorry about this post. If you are anything like me, you have already read a billion and a half blog posts about Apple and WWDC. I would not even consider myself a total Apple fanatic and fanboy, I just like their product and way of life. I just really could not resist with all the announcements at WWDC the other day. In hope not to bore you to death, I will try to make this blogcast as fun as possible. Let’s give FAQ format a try.

Q: Did I watch the live blog?
A: Yes, Mac Rumors Live.

Q: Am I going to get a new 3G iPhone?
A: Yes, for my birthday (June 21). I am planning to wait in line on July 11.

Q: Did I listen to that live audio stream on UStream?
A: No, I was not able.

Q: 1) Do I use .Mac, and 2) Am I going to use MobileMe?
A: I do have a .Mac account. Have I ever used it, no. I have not even used it for spam mail. Will I get MobileMe? Undecided. Comment to tell me what you think, if you have a opinion.

Q: Do I think that Apple’s keynote was a touch boring after the first 20ish minutes?
A: Yes, way too many 3rd-party applications. I mean, I like how there are going to be many, but did they really have to announce that many at the keynote. A little boring perhaps…

Q. Exactly how many Apple WWDC-related blog posts have I read in the last few days?
A: Countless, from Mac News Weekly to Mahalo Daily to View from a Farley to FryBlog to Chris Pirillo (never mind :D), just to name a few. Then there are the spoofs, not as many but twice as satisfying. Here is my second favorite. However, this is my favorite by far. You MUST WATCH IT (only less than a minute long).

You know, I use it for the same reason! What a cawinkidink!

Q: What will happen to Apple in 10 years?
A: I am not sure, tell me what you think by commenting below!

Thanks for reading and/or listening to iRi. If you want to support us, all you need to do is buy some quality iRi Merchandise from the store! I am still working out what to do for the RSS feed; thanks for being patient.

So the other day while I was creating my lovely iRi Merchandise from CaféPress, I realized just how important a good company logo really is. You see the logo, think of the brand, and buy their stuff. It is almost as simple as that! Some examples:

• Vineyard Vines’ Whale. I think about it even when I am at Carvel!
• The Nike Swoosh
• The Apple logo

So it’s the trigger that gets you, but the logo, symbol, is only good for the brand if the consumer has prior exposure to it. This can be from anyone, models, friends, family, television, anything. Take away the exposure, and the brand’s got nothing. Say you were an alien from the planet Vulcan (sorry, I really couldn’t resist quoting Star Trek). The little whale would have no meaning to you; you wouldn’t think: Oh, Vineyard Vines! Here is my equation of the day:

ADVERTISING + COMPANY LOGO = SUCCESS

I really hate to sound like an infomercial, but it is true. While I am on this topic, I have a question: When you wear a Nike T-Shirt with a huge swoosh on it, wouldn’t that be advertising that you pay for? Think about it.

By the way, I have been using the acronym of apparel a lot today, but it can really be anything.

That is really all for today. Thanks for listening to iRi and tell everyone about it!

Disclaimer: I am selling stuff with my logo on it. I am not trying to trick you or anything, I just want money to better iRi for you, the listener. Thank you.

60 pins later, I am talking to you now. I have pins from everywhere–major sporting events, vacations, clubs, anything you can imagine.

Here is my actual pin collection. I have 60 so far!

How does Riley get the pins? on might ask. Well, the answer to that would be that I get them from anyone–my dad, my friends, and some I even buy for myself.

The best place from where to get pins, for me, has always been the airport. With new TSA rules and regulations, many airport gift shops cannot sell pins anymore. This is good and bad. It means less new pins for me, but more value of the pins that I have!

Now, veering to a totally different topic, I went to a NY Mets game the other day (by the way, they lost). In the Shea Stadium/Mets gift shop, there was a really cool thing they liked to call a “Pin Trading Center.” There, you could “Take a pin [and] leave a pin” (similar with pennies). I think it is a great idea (even though it is only for MLB pins). I just think that this is a cool idea.

Pin Trading Center

Hey, while you’re at it, why don’t ya’ Go RISE Up?

That is the cool tidbit of the day. Now for advertisements:

-Buy iRi Merchandise and support iRi. The stuff is still pre-markup, so buy it while it’s good and cheap!

-Watch our UStream show, iRi Live, where you can watch as Riley produces an episode on iRi. For more information, visit the “Live” section at the top of the page.

-We are still working out problems with iTunes and PodPress, but you can still bookmark us and subscribe to our feed (see the top right sidebar).

-Finally, just tell EVERYONE about iRi!

Listen to cast below, if you wish. (3:14)