All Ears February 11, 2003February 22, 2017 BOSE VS SONY In an uncharacteristically loose moment last year I blew $350 on Bose noise-canceling headphones designed for use on airplanes. Air is rushing past at 600mph and people are chattering, but you are floating in your own private SurroundSound. Three problems. First, that same sum invested in just the right succession of stocks, compounding at 25% a year, grows to $2.6 million in 40 years – and the headphones surely won’t last half that long. Second, the headphones, in their leather case, take up half your carry-on bag. Indeed, you may have to check them as excess baggage. Third, if you manage somehow to get bumped up to business class on a long flight – the only kind of flight that would justify this elaborate audio enhancement in the first place – you will find that many airlines lend you their Bose headphones. But the real killer is that for $38 (when discounted) you can get SONY MDR-EX70LP earphones that fit so well, they do almost the same job. And they’re much more practical for jogging. You can still hear the bus before it runs you over, but unlike the typical earphones that come with a Walkman, they don’t fall out of your ears. A perfect accessory for your audible.com MP3 player. (My thanks to Walter Mossberg, whose Wall Street Journal techno column many of us swear by. He recommended these a few months ago, and he was right.) UPGRADING YOUR MEMORY And speaking of the MP3 player that I got with my Audible . . . I bought a tiny 256MB chip that fits brainlessly into a slot and quintuples my memory. Now, instead of one or two books I can store enough listening material for an entire summer’s vacation. TEMPO-NUMEROLOGY David Kelly: ‘It occurred to me that on March 3 of this year at 3:03:03 am (and pm), the date and time will be 03-03-03 03:03:03. This should happen progressively through the year 2012 (12-12-12 12:12:12).’ ☞ Not only should it; I would be highly concerned if it did not.
Iraq: Pro and Con February 10, 2003February 22, 2017 But first . . . Jerry Garrett: ‘I was surprised to see Tightwad, Missouri, missing from YOUR list of places. Population around 50, in Henry County. Back in the years before all the bank consolidations, the local bank had a disproportionate number of customers because people wanted their checks to show that they banked at the Bank of Tightwad.’ And now . . . ADLAI STEVENSON III’s CASE AGAINST WAR In case you missed this powerful piece in Friday’s New York Times, click here. MATT MILLER’S CASE FOR IT CAN FRANCE BE SERIOUS? By Matthew Miller Even though the French foreign minister’s response to Colin Powell was scripted in advance of Powell’s presentation at the United Nations on Wednesday, the divergence in worldviews and resolve couldn’t have been more striking. It’s hard not to think we’re at a seminal moment in which the world is dividing into those who would appease Saddam and those who would act. Call it a choice between decadence and determination. Powell, in his usual commanding fashion, inventoried the many ways in which Iraq is flouting its obligation to disarm. As it has for a dozen years As most people expected would be the case. But this process has been necessary and edifying. In the face of facts that no serious person can deny – that Hussein has no intent of disarming and is trying to string out the process in the same rope-a-dope that defectors have told us has allowed him to continue his deadly course for a decade – the French plan of ‘action’ was shocking. ‘Further strengthening of inspections,’ said France. ‘Decisive reinforcing of the means of inspection.’ Why, let’s really turn the screws, the French foreign minister said, and double, or even triple, the number of inspectors. France stands ready … to send observation aircraft. The French insist on a clear ‘timeframe’ and ‘regular follow-up.’ ‘Regular follow-up’? Saddam must laugh himself silly when he watches this on CNN. There is a serious case for waiting on war, and an unserious case. ‘Regular follow-up’ as a strategy for disarming Iraq is an unserious case. Opposing the use of force in all contexts – while a legitimate (if misguided) view for individuals to hold – is not, in my view, a serious case in a dangerous world. Neither is the related discomfort with and distrust of the exercise of American power, which accounts for a fair portion of domestic opposition to our current course. The fact that U.S. power has been misused before does not mean that it always is – or that in the world after 9/11 we should therefore shrink from acting. America is uniquely strong; we are, for all our flaws, a force for good in the world; and at this moment in history, there are times and causes where American leadership is indispensable. As fiercely as I oppose President Bush on domestic policy, I simply can’t understand Americans – and there seem to be millions of them – who sincerely believe that George Bush is a greater threat to the world than Saddam Hussein. I’ve asked this question and received this answer in conversation recently, and it surpasses what I hope are my reasonable efforts to empathize with my fellow man. These people aren’t living in the world I see after 9/11. The serious case for waiting on war is that there are always unintended consequences to military action and that war is a bloody, costly affair. But Iraq, like all such decisions, has always involved weighing the risks of action versus the risks of inaction. It is incumbent on all who criticize the president’s course to imagine themselves in the Oval Office after Sept. 11. Imagine that we try a renewed ‘containment’ approach with inspectors, the same scheme that let Saddam, we now know, amass myriad chemical and biological weapons and pursue his nuclear ambitions. Then imagine waking up one day a few years hence to Saddam announcing he has a nuclear weapon. The next day he invades Kuwait again and announces his plans to control the Saudi oil fields – and with them, 25 percent of the world’s energy supply. If you were in the Oval Office contemplating this scenario after 9/11, which side would you err on? The risks of action – or of inaction? It’s fair to slam President Bush for not leading a serious quest for alternative energy sources and oil independence. It’s also fair to slam him for not fully explaining – yet – the commitment America would need to make to reconstruct Iraq in the aftermath of invasion. But if you were our first post-9/11 president, would you feel you had done your duty to the nation by risking, through inaction, the scenario I described above? The kind of scenario that every serious analyst – including Bill Clinton and Al Gore – thinks will one day come to pass if we let Saddam stay in place? We know France is not serious. Soon enough we’ll know whether the United Nations is. Columnist Matt Miller is a senior fellow at Occidental College in Los Angeles and host of ‘Left, Right & Center’ on KCRW-FM in Los Angeles.
Dam – Toad Suck is a DAM! February 7, 2003February 22, 2017 Rob Bullock: ‘You missed one of my favorites – and not because it is in my home state – French Lick, IN 47432 (home of Larry Bird).’ K. Siembieda: ‘I can’t believe you missed central Pennsylvanians’ favorite – Intercourse, PA – in the midst of Amish country … go figure.’ Michael Roth: ‘You missed Hell, Michigan.’ Michael LeBoeuf: ‘Cut N Shoot, Texas.’ Larry Taylor: ‘Fifty-Six is in Arkansas, not Arizona, and does have a zip: 72533. (The zip for Forty-Four is 72535.) Toad Suck is not a place, it is a dam and a bridge and a former ferry. Also we seem to have a little of the Middle East in Arkansas: Damascus, AR 72039 Palestine, AR 72372 Jerusalem, AR 72080 Egypt, AR 72427 Jordan, AR 72548 Goshen, AR 72735 Zion, AR 72589 . . . and our most famous for this time of year, Romance, AR 72136.’ John Padavic: ‘I bought Tivo (the machine, not the stock) on your recommendation, and it’s amazing. It changes the way you live!’ ☞ Yes. I am certain about the machine; less certain about the stock. Dave Rockafellow (really? cool name if real) offers this link to some sober-sided Morgan Stanley economic analysis. I’d like to think it’s wrong, but my hunch is that we are headed for truly gargantuan deficits. We’ll muddle through, of course; but most of us will be the poorer for it. (Maybe not the five principal Wal-Mart heirs, who would save several hundred million dollars a year in taxes on their dividends, but most of us.)
Today Has Been Canceled February 6, 2003March 25, 2012 Do not be alarmed. It is the way we make February a shorter month.
Slamming Spam in Knockemstiff, Ohio February 5, 2003February 22, 2017 From the estimable Less Antman: ‘Having to be available to clients and students has forced me to adopt a high profile with my e-mail address and subjected me to 300 spam messages per day. I couldn’t risk using a traditional spam program, which often throws away legitimate messages. But I no longer get any spam messages. ‘I use a program called ChoiceMail that intercepts my mail, checks it against an approved sender list, and asks others to fill out a simple registration form listing their name and reason for e-mailing me (which I then approve 99% of the time). Spammers, of course, never fill it out, so I never receive their messages, but unlike other spam programs, it doesn’t discard messages that might be legitimate. You can preview the messages in ChoiceMail that have been stopped and approve them yourself without waiting for the person to fill out the registration . . . or simply assume that anyone who had a legitimate purpose for contacting you wouldn’t have a problem filling in the simple form one time. You can also have the program scan your address book and develop a good guy list to begin, or add other senders automatically. One option adds to your good guy list anyone that you e-mail. ‘I went from 300 spams per day to none, and haven’t had any problems with legitimate correspondence. The program is cheap ($40) and, like all e-mail programs of quality, doesn’t work with AOL’s proprietary e-mail program (sorry, Andy). But I know AOL users who use it successfully, because they use Outlook Express to read their mail instead of AOL’s reader.’ YOU’VE BEEN TO PARIS – BUT PARIS, MAINE? These are real places: 1) Toad Suck, AR 2) Hot Coffee, MS 39428 3) Spread Eagle, WI 4) Frankenstein, MO 65016 5) Chicken, AK 99732 6) Fifty-Six, AZ 7) Knockemstiff, OH 8) Rabbit Hash, KY 41005 9) Happy Jack, AZ 86024 10) Truth or Consequences, NM 87901 You may have seen this list going round the Internet. But only here will you find the zip codes. (Well, for those that have zip codes.) Ours is not only a family web site, it is a value-added web site.
Conglomeration February 4, 2003February 22, 2017 RUEFUL . . . AND EVEN A BIT TRUEFUL This Saturday Night Live skit takes a long time to load if you’re on a dial-up modem, but on my machine eventually did load and began playing. MEDIA CONCENTRATION Can we rely on the media conglomerates to make media conglomeration the important topic of discussion it should be? Click here. TAX-FREE DIVIDENDS Dave Neal: ‘Do you know how the current bush plan to eliminate tax on dividends would affect CIRA/401k accounts? It would seem that ‘tax-free’ dividends would still be be taxed when withdrawn. This would actually penalize retirement accounts!’ ☞ True. But Citigroup CEO Sandy Weill would save $6 million a year (to take just one example), so it all evens out.
Cell Hotels.com, Buy Jet Blue And Maybe a Little PCG? February 3, 2003February 22, 2017 CELL PHONES FOR THE STONE AGE Imagine cell phones in the days before electricity. They must have worked with a hand crank. And now they do again! Click here for a $26 pocket-sized hand-crank cell phone recharger. (I haven’t tried it myself, but will.) HOTELS.COM I’ve written several times about how great Priceline.com is for getting cheap 4-star hotel rooms. Well, for a variety of reasons I decided to try Hotel.com for a recent three-day visit to Los Angeles (mainly: a friend is involved with Hotels.com). It suggested the Elan Hotel, a relatively new 50-room boutique hotel. It had only three stars, but was featured as a special, value. I clicked through to the hotel’s web site, and it looked fine. I decided it had been awarded just three stars because, as a ’boutique,’ it lacked restaurants and room service and all that – which was fine. (Do you know what hotels charge? Brunch for three at the Beverly Hills Hotel this morning on my way to Jet Blue was elegant and delicious and cost more than the flight from LA to New York. Literally.) Hotels.com offered three nights at the Elan for $456, total, and I was all set to click when I realized that Elan itself was offering the same thing for $477. Hotels.com was not exactly saving me a fortune. I decided to book direct with the Elan. It just looked so nice, I figured I’d go all out. And it is nice, in its cozy, thin-walled, motel-ish funky way. Certainly the staff works hard to do a great job. But upon checking in, I logged on to Priceline and, for about $50 a night less – $86 a night – moved to the Bel Age a few blocks away, at Sunset and San Vicente, which is 20 times nicer. For hotel rooms, Priceline.com rules. (As I’ve suggested before, the only two times not to use them are if you need to be in the same hotel as the rest of your conventioneers, say; or if you think you might have to change or cancel the trip. Once purchased, the rooms are not refundable.) JET BLUE Long Beach airport is so easy! You just keep going south on the 405 past crowded, scary LAX and, maybe 20 miles later, get off at Long Beach Airport . . . drop off your rent-a-car across the street from the terminal . . . and hop on Jet Blue to New York for less than the cost of brunch. For travel to or from the New York area, at low cost and with minimum restrictions and penalties for changing your plans, check out Jet Blue. PCG A value investor I know, who really does his homework, thinks that PG&E (symbol: PCG), now $13.80, could be $22 in a couple of years. Not without risk! But if he turns out to be right, as he often does, it wouldn’t be half bad. I bought some.