PHOTOS OF MY FAMILY

To view photos, click on the LINKS provided. (This scheme reduces page loading times.)

Photos last updated March 5, 2004.

Our House........Bob Primak........Bob at Computer........William (Dad)........John........Peg........

John with Peg........Peg's son........John........William at Computer........Bob and Bicycle........

Bob's new Bicycle........

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POSTINGS AND NEWS

The following news may be of interest to friends and family. (And some others, of course.)

I still have access to Worldnet dialup service, but with the SBC Yahoo DSL, I haven't needed to use it lately. Eudora has begun to be used again, but the Yahoo account I have does not support the use of a client. I also use the Hotspots and Public Computers at outside locations (libraries, mostly). I have established (in April, 2005) a Yahoo address under the screen name "bobprimak" (@yahoo.com, for e-mail). Please note my current personal e-mail addresses.

                rcprimak@worldnet.att.net
                bobprimak@yahoo.com

Website: My AT&T web site can be accessed by either of the following two addresses. (These are NOT "www."s)

                 rcprimak.home.att.net/index.html
                 home.att.net/~rcprimak/index.html

8:27 PM Mon., June 9, 2008 by RC Primak --

I've let this Web Site go stale, mostly because of Microsoft Updates and repartitioning difficulties. Then Acronis True Image Home 11 messed up on me, following me messing up with Norton PartitionMagic and/or Acronis Disk Director 9.

Well, everything seems to be back to normal now, except that my Linux Dual Boot Project is on hold again. Meanwhile, Dad continues to lose his eyesight, which means he needs help with driving, computer work, and printed materials. Partl due to the vision problems, but partly due to Dad's increasing balancing problems, there have also been some medical close calls lately, one of which resulted in an Emergency Room visit Friday night. But all things considered, even with my services expanding from yardwork into housework and some visual and transportation assistance, Dad is still holding up pretty well for a man of 91 years.

Yard work is behind schedule because this has been a cold, wet spring. Even the screen windows are not up yet, and it's nearly mid-June. With gas prices so high and Dad's recent accident, the lawn hasn't been mowed as often as in the past. And the exterior of the house and the garages hasn't been maintained at all in years. Why sign up with Angie's List if you aren't going to call anyone on the List, I keep asking. No answers, just more and more denials.

For more frequent updates, my Yahoo 360 blog should be referenced.(http://360.yahoo.com/bobprimak ) So there it is.

10:04 AM CST Fri., Jan. 18, 2008 by RC Primak --

1:21 PM 9/9/2007 SEPTEMBER UPDATE by rc primak --

It was mid-July when I last fired up the Laptop. Now it is early-September. August had some of the worst summer weather (hot and humid, with frequent heavy rains) I have seen in many years. This meant I spent most of my daytimes in the Libraries (several, since almost everyone has Internet Computers these days) doing my Endless Research Projects. Well, now the weather is finally calming down, and Woody Leonhardt's Windows Patch Watch is recommending applying the summer patches from Microsoft, among others. (Leonhardt was recommending not patching for two months.)

One of these projects is an ongoing feasibility study of possibly converting this laptop to kubuntu linux. I got a prize for submitting a good tip to Windows Secrets Newsletter, so I ordered the Ubuntu Bible reference. Later I found out that Ubuntu is undergoing a version upgrade later this year, so I may want to hold off and see what new features and improvements are in the new version. But installation looks pretty straightforward, except for the need to dual-boot with Windows XP Pro on this machine. I think I'll get a WD Passport External USB (Bus Powered) 120 or 160 Gb HD to dedicate for Linux data. Also, a new 2 Gb Flash Drive (SanDisk) might help. That would be about $120.00 at today's prices. Linux can read Flash Drives and FAT or FAT-32 Windows File Systems natively, but NTFS is a bit trickier. Linux does not always auto-mount drives, so this is also a complication.

For partition resizing and setting up the WD drive for Linux Ext-3, I will have to put down as much as $80.00 for Norton Partition Magic 8, which also includes Boot Magic for dual-booting. This seems safer than letting the Linux Grub Loader have its way. People have had to reinstall Windows after Grub mishaps, and I want to avoid that if possible. Partition Magic/Boot Magic should leave Windows available no matter what damage Grub does. Also, a complete current Acronis True Image Full Backup on an External USB HD should allow a complete restoration in the event of a disaster. Bart PE Recovery Environment is part of Acronis, and can be used right off the Acronis CD if necessary. A form of Fix MBR is also part of Bart PE. So I should be relatively safe if I do all of the repartitioning from within the Windows world. I think my F: partition (currently used for Acronis backups) can be sacrificed for Linux, along with parts of G: (XP Data). Neither partition is vital to my current data or system backup schedules. (But it is nice to have a place to write the first version of an Acronis backup on the internal drive -- saves time and works more reliably than going directly to an external drive, in my experience.) So, my full costs look like $200.00 - $250.00 at this time (since the Linux reference was free). Plus, this year (2008) I will probably renew with Norton, Zone Alarm and SpySweeper one last time. That is another $200.00 (more or less).  At least Linux software is mostly free. So is the OS Install Disk.

Even though Windows has a free utility for reading Linux Ext-2 and Ext-3 File Systems, I will keep a policy of not using Linux data in Windows. The reason is that Windows Malware is not flagged by Linux security programs, and when XP no longer gets security updates, the risk is obvious. But going from Windows to Linux, if the "ntfs-g3" utility works (It is also undergoing a few improvements.) any Windows files will be transferable into my new Linux data partitions for use by Linux. Linux does continue to update its security features, so any malware will be flagged. Besides, there simply isn't very much malware being directed at Linux these days (although there are a few rootkits out there and one or two Trojan Horse families). So that's my thinking about Linux on this computer at this time.

Well, now I need to get on with the Spetember Updates to my Windows programs. This could get very messy! 

-- rc_primak Sunday,  September 9, 2007 1:50 PM -- 

Well, a summer's worth of updates have been accomplished in less than a week. That is why it's half-past three in the morning now, and I'm still working. Eudora, my favorite e-mail program, has been cut loose as Open Source, under the guidance of the Mozilla Foundation (the Firefox folks). Old Eudora mailboxes import just fine, and the whole thing works kind of like Yahoo Web Mail, only faster. I still refuse to install SBC/ATT/Yahoo, so my Yahoo account remains POP-free. But Worldnet (AT&T dialup) may be retrievable via POP-3. If so, I may not have to log in there anymore, which might simplify life a bit. There may also be a way to forward all of my Yahoo Mail to a G-Mail Account, if I really want to avoid Web Mail entirely. But to send mail through Eudora, a G-Mail account may be necessary. In any event, I will not have to extract my older Social Security e-mail archives. That's a relief. But older financial files still will need conversions and corrections if they are ever to see the light of day again. DOS WordStar documents may be a total loss. I may get enough time someday, so that all of this can be sorted out and my old Floppy Archives (if they are still readable) can be migrated to CDs, where the data may be safer for awhile longer. For now, this year's finances need to be assembled, and that will be a very lengthy project as well. No Linux Install CDs yet, so that project is on hold.
-- rc_primak Sunday, September 16, 2007 3:35 AM -- 

Further updates and backups are now completed. I received the Ubuntu Linux Install CD in the mail this week, but I have no time now or in the near future to start that project. I'll also need Norton Partition Magic (and Boot Magic), as well as a WD PassPort (USB Bus-powered) Hard Drive (120-160 Gb) to do the job safely. (The whole thing should cost around $200, if ordered through New Egg, to accomplish.)  Meanwhile, around here the summer weather lingers on, and there is yard work to do. I finally got tired of my stored things getting wet in the garage, and I patched the roof my own way. Betcha Dad never notices! Due to a change in Village policy, all leaves will have to be bagged this year, so I got a leaf blower/vac/mulcher to reduce the leaf volume. We shall see soon how well that scheme works. (Depending on the weather, it could be a lot less work.) 

-- rc_primak Thursday, September 20, 2007 1:25 PM -- 

I've spent most of today gtetting to know The GIMP and the new NVu KompoZer programs. There's still a lot to learn, but I think I've gotten enough skill to use on my Web Pages. This Page was edited with KompoZer and its background photo was edited with The  GIMP. 
-- rc_primak Thursday, September 20, 2007 3:15 PM -- 

1:26 AM June 24, 2007 -- rcprimak reports:

About the time of my last entry on this Page, Dad came down with Shingles, which leads in some cases to a chronic neuralgia. Lets just say that he's been having good days, bad days, and sometimes days when he gets nothing done whatsoever. I have to drive any long distances (over about five miles) Dad needs to go, except when he has a good day. Getting dad through the Drivers License renewal process (He's 90 years old now!) also has not gone smoothly. Needless to say, I'm doing the yard work around here, plus changing the screen and storm windows twice each year. Getting some of the storm windows up requires an extension ladder (HEAVY!!) which does not make life any easier for me. Other windows are easier to hoist up and down with pulleys, since they don't stick when going onto or off of their retaining hooks. And now I've had to cut back the shrubbery around the yard, for the second time in two years. We have buckthorn, which grows amazingly fast, and is very tough to cut. So I keep very busy, and computer tasks get pushed back.

This brings us to this computer, which has never made it out of the house yet. There are constant clamorings from Microsoft or other vendors to update this, apgrade that, and each program change messes up other programs. Then there are the notorious Trojan Horses (I've had four in the past year that I know of, despite having six or seven security programs from well-reviewed vendors.) and the resulting crashes and cleanups. (I even lost four months of backups because they were suspected of being contaminated.) I seem not to be alone, if the Kim Komando Message Boards, Ask Woody (Leonhardt), and numerous User Support Forums are to be believed. The solution? ABSOLUTE AUTHENTICATION of EVERYONE and EVERYTHING on the Internet! No joke -- even InfoWorld's Roger Grimes (Security Watch) has come to the sad realization that only if we can trace all Internet traffic to its originating computer (and User, through Biometric Logons) can we ever hope to have a safer Internet. Those who need (or desire) anonymity while surfing are welcome to use the current Net. For the rest of us, who are tired of all this Malware nonsense, secure hardware and secure networking and biometric authentications are not just paranoid rantings anymore. A sad realization indeed! (Somewhere in there, there was some mention of watermarking code or scripts, but that deeply techie stuff is way over my head.)

But in general, I'm liking this computer, although I cannot trust the "security" of any of our local networks. Even at Home, I won't say why, but I have every reason to doubt how secure our network is. So time flies by when you have over a dozen programs, nearly half of them security related, to maintain. Vista won't run on this laptop, so if XP goes out of style, I guess I'll have to learn how to live with and lock down Linux.(Oh yeah, Microsoft says they own THAT, too!) Well, lets hope SOME OS will still run on limited hardware for a few years, or until the LCD of this computer fails. (Hard Drives can be replaced -- RAM, too. Motherboard problems would be the end of this laptop, though.)

Enough ranting and reporting for now -- it's very late and I have other things to do before going to bed. All things considered, I'd rather be out riding my bike (in the daytime).    

-- r.c. primak -- 1:54 AM 6/24/2007 --

August 21, 2006 -- rcprimak reports:

I haven't been making entries on this page as frequently as I would have liked lately. This resulted from some Medicare and Social Security paperwork, for the most part. There was all that Medicare Part D stuff to sort through, and my Medicare Supplement Insurance changed its coverage. This laptop computer has had some major updates and upgrades, many of them resulting from Security issues, especially on line security and privacy issues. All of which adds to the maintenance schedule, and so it goes...

All of that having been said, this new computer does everything I bought it for, and then some. But there may soon be some changes in how and where I can get on line, since our DSL contract is ending in September. Yard work continues, but Dad has gotten"busy", and he has had some health issues, so that exterior manitenance and repairs have all but ceased around here. Inside the house, the utilities and appliances have been holding up, so there is only the problem of how can I, without any help from Dad, change some of the Screen Windows for Storm Windows in the Fall. Two of the Storm Windows will be very tricky to put into place without help.

Since it is summer, TV schedules are mostly on hiatus or in reruns, which leaves me with plenty of time to keep up with the news of our sadly deluded National Government and its endlessly wasteful War On Everything That Is Not U.S. (Note carefully the punctuation there!) I would be just as happy not to know about those things, but reality (and $3.50 a gallon gas) simply cannot be ignored. After all, I am on a limited budget and a fixed income!

If DSL is no longer available around here, I will have to become truly mobile, connecting at Libraries for the most part, and lugging a backpack full of computer and accessories around two counties. The worst part of that prospect (other than more Spyware and Virus problems) is packing everything up and putting it safely away (or taking it with me) every time I need to use a washroom. And if any on line downloads, or security updates, or software patches, fail to work, or take a long time to complete, I may have only limited times when I can repair the damages and finish my on line activities. Not the most desirable situation, but probably livable. Off line activities (including cleanups and sweeps and defragging) can be done at Home, of course. I will not use dial-up services, due to Security concerns (auto-dialing bots and Trojans).

I still have not installed my Web Cam, and its software probably will need an upgrade as soon as I install it. But that is the icing on the cake as far as computer upgrades go. Next Tech Topic will likely be the upcoming conversion to HDTV, and how do you time-shift that stuff, anyway??

-- rc_primak August 21, 2006 --

2003 -- 2006: Previous Updates, by rcprimak: 

October 17, 2003 -- rcprimak reports:
(This section was only valid until December 28, 2005.)

I was still muddling through with the same old Pentium computer. In recent years, Microsoft has discontinued Windows 98 and Internet Explorer 5.5, but I could not upgrade to anything more recent. The Internet had become an unsafe place for an unprotected computer, and modern antivirus and anti-spyware programs simply could not be run with the limited system resources of my old Pentium Computer. My e-mail and Internet activities were becoming more and more limited, and in May, 2005, I disconnected my Pentium Computer from the Internet for the last time. From May through December, 2005, all of my Internet activities were done at Public Library workstations, using several USB Flash Drives to transport files and e-mail back and forth. This was tedious and error-proned, and a collossal waste of time!

Then things changed.

February 14, 2006 -- rcprimak reports:

In the last week of December, 2005, I got a new laptop computer with modern capabilities nearly comparable with many Desktops. (I got a laptop partly because I want to be able to go to places where there is air conditioning in summer, so I can work more comfortably.) I also got the latest security and browser software, along with Photoshop and Premiere Elements. There is also backup and utility software, as well as an external USB Hard Drive for short-term archiving of Image Backups and Data Archives. For long-term archiving, I burn DVDs using Roxio Media Creator. So I should be pretty well prepared if anything messes up the laptop's Hard Drive. An all-in-one printer came along with the computer buy. The Photoshop/Premiere bundle is for the Web Cam I bought, just for fun. For serious productivity tasks, I'm using Star Office, because I can't see paying for Microsoft Office for personal correspondence and household finances.

On March 1, 2006, as I was preparing to send a defective laptop battery back to the manufacturer for a replacement (Don't ask for the whole story!) I fell off my bicycle. I thought nothing of it at the time, but the next day I could hardly move my left leg, and I was in great pain. So, it seems that I pulled something in or near the hip. As of June, 2006, my leg was pretty much back to normal, and the new laptop battery was working just fine.

Dad got SBC Yahoo DSL in late-2005, so I found out that I can use that DSL line without the SBC software, just as "raw" DSL. There is also at least one unprotected network in our neighborhood, which I try to avoid getting connected to. But wireless laptops sometimes auto-detect networks, so those neighbors really should install some sort of access controls. AT&T, SBC, and most other DSL providers ship their modems already privacy-enabled, so my guess is that the Comcast Cable Modem installations do not include any safeguards as they are typically installed. Be that as it may, I have full broadband access to the Internet at Home, or at any other wireless hotspot I can find. I did not get an upgrade to my Yahoo account, because I do not use the SBC software. So, I have no e-mail client access, and no extra features. My Worldnet Personal Website remains my only other Web presence.

-- rc_primak February 14, 2006 --

2003 -- 2005: Previous Updates, by rcprimak:

August 1, 2004 --
Postings Updated, by rcprimak: 

Some bathroom plumbing was changed during the early summer, so that the tub faucet can be turned off with only a little leakage.

Our local Library offers Internet Computers, so at least I could do some work over there, and then transport (with a USB Flash Drive) and convert the results for use on The Old PC. This arrangement also makes it less scary that This Old Hard Drive and This Old Windows Software (old computer), are not backed up anywhere. Note that as of January, 2006, I have backup software which may be able to back up the old computer.

I was in the process (as of Winter, 2005) of putting together a Yahoo e-mail setup, for use only at Public computers. This protected my AT&T account from unnecessary internet threats. To that end, I sequestered all of my Public files onto two small Flash Drives, and bought two extension cables to allow access to "hidden" USB-2 ports on Public computers.

-- rc_primak August 1, 2004 --

(Previous Postings Updated) --
rcprimak writes: 

In the spring of 2003, my long-time bicycle finally became nearly impossible to maintain and repair. So I looked at cheap department store mountain bikes, and I decided they were not suitable for more serious riding. (To me a bicycle is transportation, not merely a weekend toy.) The alternative was buying a real bicycle from the local bike shop, and adding old and new accessories as needed. (See new pictures.)

Then, the next summer (2004), the old Mesa Runner bicycle got stolen (along with a pocket calendar and a small notebook) amidst a local outbreak of bike thefts, so my classic "Bob and Bicycle" photo is now out of date. (I bought a cheap department store bicycle for emergency backup, and yes, I registered my "good" bicycle with the Hinsdale Police Department, at the time of the old bike theft.)

In 2003, our sewer waste line had become so clogged with tree roots that a portion of it was dug up and replaced. The old clay tiles became PVC plastic. But inside the cellar, tree roots still come back (on all three waste lines) from time to time. Dad eventuallly bought an electric drain rodder to deal with the inside roots.

Please note that my account at MyRealBox.com was destroyed on December 18, 2004, due to password issues.

-- rc_primak August 1, 2004 --

This entire Page was last edited and updated Thursday, September 20, 2007, by rc_primak. (4:35 PM)

-- Robert C. Primak --
-- Hinsdale, Illinois --
  (September 20, 2007.)  

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