Harding's Blog

The iPad

2010-01-27T13:14:00.001-05:00

Do I get any credit for mentioning the name iPad back in Aug 2009? :-)

Massachusetts Senatorial Election - What is happening?

2010-01-19T12:55:00.003-05:00

Needless to say, the entire country is focused on today's senatorial election. Out of no where the republican candidate has surged in the polls within the last two weeks and now its too close to predict who will win. How did this happen? How could it happen? This would be unimaginable months ago when Senator Kennedy passed away.

I see two significant factors. First, Martha Coakley, the democratic candidate lacks the X factor. She simply does not possess the dynamic personality usually required to win over people. I say usually because Representative Paul Tsongas certainly lack charisma and that didn't stop him from getting elected. However, it still can't be ignored that Ms. Coakley has not yet developed the necessary persona to convince the general public that this is the individual who will best represent them in Congress.

The second factor in Congress. Many say the factor for the negativity towards the democratic candidate is the Obama administration but I can't place the blame with them. I blame Congress. The House and Senate have democratic majority and have had the opportunity to show the country how their party can do what's right for America and yet their handling of health care shows the worst congressional behavior.

One of the founding principles of the Obama candidacy was transparency. Then comes the health care bill and leaders Representative Pelosi and Senator Reid. The House passes a bill that is over 1,000 pages in length and yet no one has had sufficient time to read and understand it. Then the Senate proceeds to draft its version of the bill. Except the drafting process is done behind closed doors. Republicans are not included in the process. The final straw is the negotiation to get Senator Ben Nelson's vote. Senator Nelson received a commitment from the federal government to fully fund his state's expanded Medicaid population. No other state would be fully funded. In my world this is called a bribe. The Senate then followed the House and passed a bill that was also over 1,000 pages in length before giving members of the Senate an opportunity to read the bill.

This congressional behavior demonstrates what is wrong with Congress. Pelosi and Reid had an opportunity to show the country the proper way to address the health care problem and instead they demonstrated the worse possible of traits of public office - secrecy and blind ambition. The voters clearly see that Congress did not step up and provide transparency or a proper opportunity for public debate of health care and all of its problems. The voters of Massachusetts are calling for a change. Whether or not the Scott Brown wins, a loud message has been sent to Washington. The wind of change is blowing towards Washington and the people will ultimately have their way - do what is right for this country or we will.

Can a tablet replace a laptop?

2010-01-12T17:13:00.003-05:00

I just read a piece in MacWorld asking the question, "Can a tablet replace a notebook?". According to the article the answer is no. I propose that the question is invalid. A tablet and a notebook have different functionality and are not substitutes for one another. In fact, I believe that it is this type of thinking, i.e., one replacing the other, is responsible for the failure of tablets in the past.

You use a laptop to act as you portable desktop. Anything you can do on your desktop machine you should be able to do on your laptop. I personally have taken this concept further and simply use a laptop for everything. The only concession I make is that when I'm working at a desk I use an external keyboard and mouse. In addition, I use an external monitor in my home office.

So what is the purpose of the tablet? First consider the functionality found it today's smartphones, e.g., the iPhone. It can do email, surf the the web, manage your contacts, manage your calendar, act as your iPod, take photos, take video, do texting, and provide maps. If that isn't enough then all you need to do is visit the App Store and browse through the 100,000 apps.

What doesn't the iPhone do well? Two things come to mind - typing and surfing the web. The virtual keyboard works well but I wouldn't want to write a multiple page document with it. Common sense dictates that a laptop would serve that function much better. However, the vitual keyboard on the iPhone is great for short emails, texting and taking quick notes. That takes us to surfing the web. Now I use my iPhone constantly and I surf the web with it. However, once again, this task is better suited for a laptop because screen real estate matters. Surfing the web with the phone is great for quick inquiries but you wouldn't want to surf and read for hours.

So why should I need a device to fill the space between a laptop and a phone? Answer - You Don't. Each device serves a separate purpose and they serve them well.

Then what would a tablet do? As I have stated previously, it will act as a media pad. You will access the internet, read ebooks, read newspapers, read periodicals, look at photos and view videos. Can you do this with a laptop or an iPhone? Yes, but the form factor is wrong when you think of portability and functionality. The laptop is too big and the iPhone is to small. Hence, enters the tablet.

Will it run productivity applications, ala, iWork? I believe yes but it will run them in a cloud computing environment. The focus will be on accessing documents and making minor changes. It will not serve as your primary typing platform.

The only question is what will you use for a keyboard? I believe you will have the choice of using a virtual keyboard or a bluetooth keyboard. However, if you need a bluetooth keyboard then you are probably using the wrong device. Heavy keyboard activity should occur on a laptop.

Replacing a laptop with a tablet is like replacing your oven with a microwave. They both cook but each is suited for a particular type of cooking.

Additional thoughts about Apple's tablet (The iPad?)

2009-10-21T12:32:00.003-04:00

Now that I have had a chance to think about the possible paradigm shift (see previous post) due to the upcoming Apple tablet, I believe the shift will go much further than ebooks. The shift will occur to the entire print media. Users will access all forms of print media, especially newspapers and magazines. iTunes would be expanded to have subscriptions to newspapers and magazines, much like podcasts. And while we are on the subject of podcasts, podcasts and video podcasts would also be accessible on the device.

What makes this device different from accessing the information on your Mac or iPhone? Simply put, form factor. All of us have read newspaper articles, etc. on our Macs and iPhones. But something was missing. Macs (OK, PCs for you non Mac people :-) ) are good for reading articles but they're not as portable as an iPhone. iPhones have great portability but the screens are small for reading articles and you are constantly flicking to the next page or resizing the screen.

Now imagine reading a magazine or newspaper on a portable device with a 10.7 inch screen. Its easy to hold, like a book or a small portfolio. The screen can easily hold a "page" worth of information - the newspaper page looks like a newspaper page, a magazine page looks like a magazine page. Its easy to use and easy on the eyes.

The big question is will it save the newspaper and magazine industry. Advertising revenue in printed media is dropping tremendously. Would the savings in physical printing and distribution costs make up for the loss of advertising revenue. Probably not for most publishers. I personally feel that the industry will downsize leaving a few major players but then will recover with new players entering the marketplace now that the entry cost would be so low.

Steve Jobs revolutionized the music industry. Can he do it again with printed media? Lets hope so.

Apple's next device? iPad?

2009-08-24T22:44:00.003-04:00

Today the Wall Street Journal has an article about Steve Jobs and his focus on the new tablet. Following the article was a link to a discussion group addressing the question, "Would you buy Apple's tablet device?" The following is my posted response to the question:

Yes I would, however, I would try to wait for second or third version. Apple has a history of creating new paradigms - Macintosh, iPods, iTunes, iPhone. The question I keep asking myself is what would be the new paradigm for a successful tablet? I can only speculate that it would be a wifi internet device that would use "cloud computing", i.e., internet based applications. An existing example would be Google Docs. The goal would be to move the storage of apps and data out to the cloud. The primary cloud destination would be Apple's MobileMe subscription service. The next question is whether or the device would access data via a cellular network. Perhaps it would connect via a tether to an iPhone thereby eliminating the need for a second data plan. I don't see the tablet having voice telephony. The keyboard would be a larger implementation of the virtual keyboard, however, hard core typists could purchase an external bluetooth keyboard. The real hook, however, is ebooks. This device would be a Kindle killer. The ebook market would be broken into four segments - fiction/non-fiction books; newspapers, textbooks (college and grad students); professional references such as a law library (court cases), an accounting library (GAAP), a tax library (IRS code and Regulations) and a complete medical library (PDR, etc.). The fiction/non-fiction segment obviously competes with Kindle. The newspaper segment would now have a media pad the could resemble a newspaper metaphor. The textbook segment would be a hit with today's high tech device savvy students who are more comfortable with a browser than a pen or pencil. Finally, you would have the professional segment would be more than happy to pay for a portable casebook/reference book metaphor. Once again, I'm just speculating, but doesn't it sound like the next paradigm change would be the printed page?

Squirrels of the world Unite!

2009-08-19T22:03:00.009-04:00

It began with a couple on vacation in Canada. They were taking a photo and a squirrel stopped by to participate. The photo was a hit on the internet and the couple was interviewed on the Today show. Next thing you know the little guy pops up during the broadcast.

Now, introducing The Squirrelizer...

Here's the handiwork -

Lack of Common Sense

2009-07-21T13:54:00.003-04:00

On July 16th Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. was arrested for disorderly conduct. Today the charges were dropped. However, more importantly, the charges could have been avoided if Mr. Gates used some common sense.

On July 16th the police receive a call that someone is trying get into a house. The police respond and find no one outside. Mr. Gates answers the door and the police then question Mr. Gates. who refuses to show identification. The incident then moves to the porch outside the front door where Mr. Gates started yelling at the police which led to the arrest.

Let's see, hmmm, if Mr. Gates had simply shown the officer his driver's license and kept his mouth shut none of the would have occurred.

Here's a word of advice to the general public and Mr. Gates. If a police officer asks you a question, answer it politely and then shut up.

Question - Is the Internet bad?

2009-05-28T13:43:00.003-04:00

Recently the CEO of Sony posted an article stating the Internet is bad - see commentary - Sony Pictures CEO: The Internet Is Still Bad. His point, in a nutshell, is that piracy of intellectual property is harming content providers, e.g., Sony distribution. Some have counter argued that society/business models have changed and content providers should welcome free distribution of content.

My initial reaction - The counter argument is made by those individuals who have not had their intellectual property stolen. Intellectual property laws are significantly comprehensive and exist internationally. There are state laws, federal laws and treaties addressing intellectual property. To simply dismiss these well established rules is a demonstration of one's lack of knowledge of the law and its reason for being. Content can take a great deal of time and money to create. Doesn't someone have to pay for it? How should today's content providers, e.g., newspaper, magazine, music and movie industries, earn money to pay for the creation of the content?

There's no such thing as a free lunch.

Red Sweater Software and MarsEdit visit BMAC

2009-05-14T11:25:00.002-04:00

Last night at the BMAC user group I had the privilege to listen to Daniel Jalkut, a software developer for the Mac and, in the near future, the iPhone. Dan’s company, Red Sweater Software, LLC is based in Massachusetts and currently has five Mac applications on the market:

Clarion – Music interval recognition
FastScripts – Keyboard shortcuts for applications, scripts and documents
FlexTime – Productivity tool
Black Ink – A truly great crossword puzzle application accessing free crossword puzzles on the web
MarsEdit – A blog publishing tool

Dan is very articulate and knowledgeable making his presentation and demo a joy to watch. The scene stealer of the night was MarsEdit. My personal blogging experience is limited to what you see hear. However, I could quickly see the benefits of using a Mac oriented blog publishing tool that would effortlessly sync with sites such as Blogger and WordPress. I plan on purchasing MarsEdit and encourage you to download the free 30 day trial version to learn more about the product.

VP Debate - Who Won?

2008-10-03T10:41:00.002-04:00

I watched the Biden Palin debate and was struck by the after debate commentary by the news pundits. One WSJ columnist said it was a big win for Palin. Others described it as a win win. One person described it as a win for Biden - that person was Andy Hiller, a local political commentary on Channel 7 in Boston.

Here are my brief observations:

1. Biden was calm, coll and collected. His oratory and debate experience showed.

2. Biden was well prepared. His answers were generally concise and to the point.

3. Palin spoke to the camera.

4. Palin was not at ease but she was well prepared.

5. Palin used her home spun, down to earth personality which differentiated her from the Washington types.

6. Many times Palin would redirect her answers away from the specific question and to her areas of expertise - energy and "executive" experience.

7. Biden successfully countered her home spun approach by referring to his own "small" town experiences and the loss of his wife and child.

Here's the big point - neither candidate made a news worthy blunder and that is what the media was watching for. Instead, both candidates came in well prepared and delivered.

So who won? The commentators were giving it to Palin since she handled the pressures of this national event. However, I agree with Andy Hiller. Overall, Biden was better poised, demonstrated his years of experience and foreign policy knowledge, and was presidential. Biden presented the "X" factor whereas Palin appeared as an out of towner who had not yet acquired presidential poise. Based upon the debate - Who would appear stronger in a situation that required the use of military force? Answer - Biden.

The iPhone 3G

2008-06-12T14:54:00.003-04:00

On Monday, Apple announced the iPhone 3G. Here are my thoughts:

1. Apple accomplished the two most important goals: Open the entire international market to the device and make it acceptable for the Fortune 1000. The G3 capability achieves significant acceptance in the international market, i.e., nations with vast 3G networks. Microsoft Exchange functionality and and a new price point of $199 makes it much easier to move into a corporate environment.

2. GPS - very nice enhancement, however, I don't see the immediate need. I would have preferred the next item.

3. Not increasing the memory size to 32GB or 64GB is a shame. I can only assume that this is due to the strong desire to lower the price point and the price of memory. 16GB is not enough to hold my music. I will still require two devices.

4. Didn't address the need for copy and paste. This surprised me.

5. No improvement in camera size or the addition of a second camera lens. The 2MB is too small. You should at least match the competition.

6. No access to camera settings.

Conclusion - Apple will sell a ton of 3G iPhones. The deficiencies mentioned will not deter the masses. I do, however, expect the above mentioned deficiencies to be addressed within the year.

Romney Endorses McCain

2008-02-14T16:34:00.003-05:00

A smart move. Per the Wall Street Journal, Romney has 280 delegates and McCain has 843 delegates. Romney is asking his delegates to support McCain. This would bring McCain's count to 1123, 68 short of the nomination. What does this do and why?

1. McCain no longer has to worry about Huckabee. He no longer has to spend money fighting Huckabee.

2. It sends a strong message to the party - I, Mitt Romney, the most conservative candidate, endorse McCain - It's time for the rhetoric to stop.

3. The vice presidency is Mitt's, if he wants it.

4. The party owes Mitt a favor.

5. This move positions Mitt Romney in a strong position to run again in the future.

John McCain Addresses CPAC

2008-02-07T17:52:00.000-05:00

This speaks for itself.

Remarks By John McCain to CPAC

ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign today released the following remarks by John McCain as prepared for delivery:

Thank you. Thank you for inviting me. It's been a little while since I've had the honor of addressing you, and I appreciate very much your courtesy to me today. We should do this more often. I hope you will pardon my absence last year, and understand that I intended no personal insult to any of you. I was merely pre-occupied with the business of trying to escape the distinction of pre-season frontrunner for the Republican nomination, which, I'm sure some of you observed, I managed to do in fairly short order. But, now, I again have the privilege of that distinction, and this time I would prefer to hold on to it for a while.

I know I have a responsibility, if I am, as I hope to be, the Republican nominee for President, to unite the party and prepare for the great contest in November. And I am acutely aware that I cannot succeed in that endeavor, nor can our party prevail over the challenge we will face from either Senator Clinton or Senator Obama, without the support of dedicated conservatives, whose convictions, creativity and energy have been indispensible to the success our party has had over the last quarter century. Many of you have disagreed strongly with some positions I have taken in recent years. I understand that. I might not agree with it, but I respect it for the principled position it is. And it is my sincere hope that even if you believe I have occasionally erred in my reasoning as a fellow conservative, you will still allow that I have, in many ways important to all of us, maintained the record of a conservative. Further, I hope you will grant that I have defended many positions we share just as ardently as I have made my case for positions that have provoked your opposition. If not, thank you for this opportunity to make my case today.

I am proud to be a conservative, and I make that claim because I share with you that most basic of conservative principles: that liberty is a right conferred by our Creator, not by governments, and that the proper object of justice and the rule of law in our country is not to aggregate power to the state but to protect the liberty and property of its citizens. And like you, I understand, as Edmund Burke observed, that "whenever a separation is made between liberty and justice, neither . . . is safe."

While I have long worked to help grow a public majority of support for Republican candidates and principles, I have also always believed, like you, in the wisdom of Ronald Reagan, who warned in an address to this conference in 1975, that "a political party cannot be all things to all people. It must represent certain fundamental beliefs which must not be compromised to political expediency or simply to swell its numbers."

I attended my first CPAC conference as the invited guest of Ronald Reagan, not long after I had returned from overseas, when I heard him deliver his "shining city upon a hill" speech. I was still a naval officer then, but his words inspired and helped form my own political views, just as Ronald Reagan's defense of America's cause in Vietnam and his evident concern for American prisoners of war in that conflict inspired and were a great comfort to those of us who, in my friend Jerry Denton's words, had the honor of serving "our country under difficult circumstances." I am proud, very proud, to have come to public office as a foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution. And if a few of my positions have raised your concern that I have forgotten my political heritage, I want to assure you that I have not, and I am as proud of that association today as I was then. My record in public office taken as a whole is the record of a mainstr eam conservative. I believe today, as I believed twenty-five years ago, in small government; fiscal discipline; low taxes; a strong defense, judges who enforce, and not make, our laws; the social values that are the true source of our strength; and, generally, the steadfast defense of our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, which I have defended my entire career as God-given to the born and unborn.

Those are my beliefs, and you need not examine only my past votes and speeches to assure yourselves that they are my genuine convictions. You can take added confidence from the positions I have defended during this campaign. I campaigned in Iowa in opposition to agriculture subsidies. I campaigned in New Hampshire against big government mandated health care and for a free market solution to the problem of unavailable and unaffordable health care. I campaigned in Michigan for the tax incentives and trade policies that will create new and better jobs in that economically troubled state. I campaigned in Florida against the national catastrophic insurance fund bill that passed the House of Representatives and defended my opposition to the prescription drug benefit bill that saddled Americans with yet another hugely expensive entitlement program. I have argued to make the Bush tax cuts permanent, to reduce the corporate tax rate and abolish the AMT. I have defended my position on protecting our Second Amendment rights, including my votes against waiting periods, bans on the so-called "assault weapons," and illegitimate lawsuits targeting gun manufacturers. I have proudly defended my twenty-four year pro-life record. Throughout this campaign, I have defended the President's brave decision to increase troop levels in Iraq to execute a long overdue counterinsurgency that has spared us the terrible calamity of losing that war. I held these positions because I believed they were in the best interests of my party and country."

Surely, I have held other positions that have not met with widespread agreement from conservatives. I won't pretend otherwise nor would you permit me to forget it. On the issue of illegal immigration, a position which provoked the outspoken opposition of many conservatives, I stood my ground aware that my position would imperil my campaign. I respect your opposition for I know that the vast majority of critics to the bill based their opposition in a principled defense of the rule of law. And while I and other Republican supporters of the bill were genuine in our intention to restore control of our borders, we failed, for various and understandable reasons, to convince Americans that we were. I accept that, and have pledged that it would be among my highest priorities to secure our borders first, and only after we achieved widespread consensus that our borders are secure, would we address other aspects of the problem in a wa y that defends the rule of law and does not encourage another wave of illegal immigration.

All I ask of any American, conservative, moderate, independent, or enlightened Democrat, is to judge my record as a whole, and accept that I am not in the habit of making promises to my country that I do not intend to keep. I hope I have proven that in my life even to my critics. Then vote for or against me based on that record, my qualifications for the office, and the direction where I plainly state I intend to lead our country. If I am so fortunate as to be the Republican nominee for President, I will offer Americans, in what will be a very challenging and spirited contest, a clearly conservative approach to governing. I will make my case to voters, no matter what state they reside in, in the same way. I will not obscure my positions from voters who I fear might not share them. I will stand on my convictions, my conservative convictions, and trust in the good sense of the voters, and in my confidence that conservative pr inciples still appeal to a majority of Americans, Republicans, Independents and Reagan Democrats.

Often elections in this country are fought within the margins of small differences. This one will not be. We are arguing about hugely consequential things. Whomever the Democrats nominate, they would govern this country in a way that will, in my opinion, take this country backward to the days when government felt empowered to take from us our freedom to decide for ourselves the course and quality of our lives; to substitute the muddled judgment of large and expanding federal bureaucracies for the common sense and values of the American people; to the timidity and wishful thinking of a time when we averted our eyes from terrible threats to our security that were so plainly gathering strength abroad. It is shameful and dangerous that Senate Democrats are blocking an extension of surveillance powers that enable our intelligence and law enforcement to defend our country against radical Islamic extremists. This election is going to be about big things, not small things. And I intend to fight as hard as I can to ensure that our principles prevail over theirs.

Senator Clinton and Senator Obama want to increase the size of the federal government.

I intend to reduce it. I will not sign a bill with earmarks in it, any earmarks in it. I will fight for the line item veto, and I will not permit any expansion whatsoever of the entitlement programs that are bankrupting us. On the contrary, I intend to reform those programs so that government is no longer in that habit of making promises to Americans it does not have the means to keep.

Senator Clinton and Senator Obama will raise your taxes.

I intend to cut them. I will start by making the Bush tax cuts permanent. I will cut corporate tax rates from 35 to 25% to keep industries and jobs in this country. I will end the Alternate Minimum Tax. And I won't let a Democratic Congress raise your taxes and choke the growth of our economy.

They will offer a big government solution to health care insurance coverage.

I intend to address the problem with free market solutions and with respect for the freedom of individuals to make important choices for themselves.

They will appoint to the federal bench judges who are intent on achieving political changes that the American people cannot be convinced to accept through the election of their representatives.

I intend to nominate judges who have proven themselves worthy of our trust that they take as their sole responsibility the enforcement of laws made by the people's elected representatives, judges of the character and quality of Justices Roberts and Alito, judges who can be relied upon to respect the values of the people whose rights, laws and property they are sworn to defend.

Senator Clinton and Senator Obama will withdraw our forces from Iraq based on an arbitrary timetable designed for the sake of political expediency, and which recklessly ignores the profound human calamity and dire threats to our security that would ensue.

I intend to win the war, and trust in the proven judgment of our commanders there and the courage and selflessness of the Americans they have the honor to command. I share the grief over the terrible losses we have suffered in its prosecution. There is no other candidate for this office who appreciates more than I do just how awful war is. But I know that the costs in lives and treasure we would incur should we fail in Iraq will be far greater than the heartbreaking losses we have suffered to date. And I will not allow that to happen.

They won't recognize and seriously address the threat posed by an Iran with nuclear ambitions to our ally, Israel, and the region.

I intend to make unmistakably clear to Iran we will not permit a government that espouses the destruction of the State of Israel as its fondest wish and pledges undying enmity to the United States to possess the weapons to advance their malevolent ambitions.

Senator Clinton and Senator Obama will concede to our critics that our own actions to defend against its threats are responsible for fomenting the terrible evil of radical Islamic extremism, and their resolve to combat it will be as flawed as their judgment.

I intend to defeat that threat by staying on offense and by marshaling every relevant agency of our government, and our allies, in the urgent necessity of defending the values, virtues and security of free people against those who despise all that is good about us.

These are but a few of the differences that will define this election. They are very significant differences, and I promise you, I intend to contest these issues on conservative grounds and fight as hard as I can to defend the principles and positions we share, and to keep this country safe, proud, prosperous and free.

We have had a few disagreements, and none of us will pretend that we won't continue to have a few. But even in disagreement, especially in disagreement, I will seek the counsel of my fellow conservatives. If I am convinced my judgment is in error, I will correct it. And if I stand by my position, even after benefit of your counsel, I hope you will not lose sight of the far more numerous occasions when we are in complete accord.

I began by assuring you that we share a conception of liberty that is the bedrock of our beliefs as conservatives. As you know, I was deprived of liberty for a time in my life, and while my love of liberty is no greater than yours, you can be confident that mine is the equal of any American's. It is a deep and unwavering love. My life experiences in service to our country inform my political judgments. They are at the core of my convictions. I am pro-life and an advocate for the Rights of Man everywhere in the world because of them, because I know that to be denied liberty is an offense to nature and nature's Creator. I will never waver in that conviction, I promise you. I know in this country our liberty will not be seized in a political revolution or by a totalitarian government. But, rather, as Burke warned, it can be "nibbled away, for expedience, and by parts." I am alert to that risk and will defend against it, and ta ke comfort from the knowledge that I will be encouraged in that defense by my fellow conservatives.

You have heard me say before that for all my reputation as a maverick, I have only found true happiness in serving a cause greater than my self-interest. For me, that cause has always been our country, and the ideals that have made us great. I have been her imperfect servant for many years, and I have made many mistakes. You can attest to that, but need not. For I know them well myself. But I love her deeply and I will never, never tire of the honor of serving her. I cannot do that without your counsel and support. And I am grateful, very grateful, that you have given me this opportunity to ask for it.

Thank you and God bless you.

Mitt Romney Suspends his Campaign

2008-02-07T12:46:00.000-05:00

Today Mitt Romney announced at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, D.C., that he is suspending his campaign.

Mr. Romney began his speech thanking the CPAC and acknowledging Senator McCain's success. Mr. Romney went on to express his concern over America losing its greatness as the World's Superpower unless the nation changes course. He then referred to the Iraq war and a statement made by Shamon Perez, former Israeli Prime Minister who had stated that the United States is the only nation that did not take land after winning a war. Romney concluded with, "The best ally peace has ever known, and will ever know, is a strong America!"

Mr. Romney expressed his concern on the attack on American culture. It is our culture that has made us strong and generates economic strength. We will be honored to stand on the principal of family values, and morality, and culture.

We face economic competition from China and Asia and must act so or else they will pass us by.

Government entitlements are out of control and now account for 60% of the federal budget.

Mitt Romney goes on and discusses the threat of violent, radical Jihad. "In one wing of the world of Islam, there is a conviction that all governments should be destroyed and replaced by a religious caliphate." We must rebuild our military to face this threat.

"I disagree with Senator McCain on a number of issues, as you know. But I agree with him on doing whatever it takes to be successful in Iraq, on finding and executing Osama bin Laden, and on eliminating Al Qaeda and terror. If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror."

And with that, Mitt Romney has suspended his campaign.

Mr. Romney - Thank you for running for President. Your strong conservative principles have been heard. If there is one wish I could be granted regarding the election, it is that you and John McCain come to terms with your differences and allow the greater good to erase the campaign trail animosities and come together to form a McCain Romney ticket.

Governor Romney’s Address to the Conservative Political Action Committee – February 7, 2008

I want to begin by saying thank you. It’s great to be with you again. And I look forward to joining with you many more times in the future.

Last year, CPAC gave me the sendoff I needed. I was in single digits in the polls and I was facing household Republican names. As of today, more than 4 million people have given me their vote for president, less than Senator McCain’s 4.7 million, but quite a statement nonetheless. 11 states have given me their nod, compared to his 13. Of course, because size does matter, he’s doing quite a bit better with his number of delegates.

To all of you, thank you for caring enough about the future of America to show up, stand up and speak up for conservative principles.

As I said to you last year, conservative principles are needed now more than ever. We face a new generation of challenges, challenges which threaten our prosperity, our security and our future. I am convinced that unless America changes course, we will become the France of the 21st century—still a great nation, but no longer the leader of the world, no longer the superpower. And to me, that is unthinkable. Simon Peres, in a visit to Boston, was asked what he thought about the war in Iraq. “First,” he said, “I must put something in context. America is unique in the history of the world. In the history of the world, whenever there has been conflict, the nation that wins takes land from the nation that loses. One nation in history, and this during the last century, laid down hundreds of thousands of lives and took no land. No land from Germany, no land from Japan, no land from Korea. America is unique in the sacrifice it has made for liberty, for itself and for freedom loving people around the world.” The best ally peace has ever known, and will ever know, is a strong America!

And that is why we must rise to the occasion, as we have always done before, to confront the challenges ahead. Perhaps the most fundamental of these is the attack on the American culture.

Over the years, my business has taken me to many countries. I have been struck by the enormous differences in the wealth and well-being of people of different nations. I have read a number of scholarly explanations for the disparities. I found the most convincing was that written by David Landes, a professor emeritus from Harvard University. I presume he’s a liberal–I guess that’s redundant. His work traces the coming and going of great civilizations throughout history. After hundreds of pages of analysis, he concludes with this:

If we learn anything from the history of economic development, it is that culture makes all the difference. Culture makes all the difference.

What is it about American culture that has led us to become the most powerful nation in the history of the world? We believe in hard work and education. We love opportunity: almost all of us are immigrants or descendants of immigrants who came here for opportunity—opportunity is in our DNA. Americans love God, and those who don’t have faith, typically believe in something greater than themselves—a “Purpose Driven Life.” And we sacrifice everything we have, even our lives, for our families, our freedoms and our country. The values and beliefs of the free American people are the source of our nation’s strength and they always will be!

The threat to our culture comes from within. The 1960’s welfare programs created a culture of poverty. Some think we won that battle when we reformed welfare, but the liberals haven’t given up. At every turn, they try to substitute government largesse for individual responsibility. They fight to strip work requirements from welfare, to put more people on Medicaid, and to remove more and more people from having to pay any income tax whatsoever. Dependency is death to initiative, risk-taking and opportunity. Dependency is a culture-killing drug—we have got to fight it like the poison it is!

The attack on faith and religion is no less relentless. And tolerance for pornography—even celebration of it—and sexual promiscuity, combined with the twisted incentives of government welfare programs have led to today’s grim realities: 68% of African American children are born out-of-wedlock, 45% of Hispanic children, and 25% of White children. How much harder it is for these children to succeed in school—and in life. A nation built on the principles of the fouonding fathers cannot long stand when its children are raised without fathers in the home.

The development of a child is enhanced by having a mother and father. Such a family is the ideal for the future of the child and for the strength of a nation. I wonder how it is that unelected judges, like some in my state of Massachusetts, are so unaware of this reality, so oblivious to the millennia of recorded history. It is time for the people of America to fortify marriage through constitutional amendment, so that liberal judges cannot continue to attack it!

Europe is facing a demographic disaster. That is the inevitable product of weakened faith in the Creator, failed families, disrespect for the sanctity of human life and eroded morality. Some reason that culture is merely an accessory to America’s vitality; we know that it is the source of our strength. And we are not dissuaded by the snickers and knowing glances when we stand up for family values, and morality, and culture. We will always be honored to stand on principle and to stand for principle.

The attack on our culture is not our sole challenge. We face economic competition unlike anything we have ever known before. China and Asia are emerging from centuries of poverty. Their people are plentiful, innovative, and ambitious. If we do not change course, Asia or China will pass us by as the economic superpower, just as we passed England and France during the last century. The prosperity and security of our children and grandchildren depend on us.

Our prosperity and security also depend on finally acting to become energy secure. Oil producing states like Russia and Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and Iran are siphoning over $400 billion per year from our economy—that’s almost what we spend annually for defense. It is past time for us to invest in energy technology, nuclear power, clean coal, liquid coal, renewable sources and energy efficiency. America must never be held hostage by the likes of Putin, Chavez, and Ahmendinejad.

And our economy is also burdened by the inexorable ramping of government spending. Don’t focus on the pork alone—even though it is indeed irritating and shameful. Look at the entitlements. `They make up 60% of federal spending today. By the end of the next President’s second term, they will total 70%. Any conservative plan for the future has to include entitlement reform that solves the problem, not just acknowledges it.

Most politicians don’t seem to understand the connection between our ability to compete and our national wealth, and the wealth of our families. They act as if money just happens–that it’s just there. But every dollar represents a good or service produced in the private sector. Depress the private sector and you depress the well-being of Americans.

That’s exactly what happens with high taxes, over-regulation, tort windfalls, mandates, and overfed, over-spending government. Did you see that today, government workers make more money than people who work in the private sector. Can you imagine what happens to an economy where the best opportunities are for bureaucrats?

It’s high time to lower taxes, including corporate taxes, to take a weed-whacker to government regulations, to reform entitlements, and to stand up to the increasingly voracious appetite of the unions in our government!

And finally, let’s consider the greatest challenge facing America—and facing the entire civilized world: the threat of violent, radical Jihad. In one wing of the world of Islam, there is a conviction that all governments should be destroyed and replaced by a religious caliphate. These Jihadists will battle any form of democracy—to them, democracy is blasphemous for it says that citizens, not God shape the law. They find the idea of human equality to be offensive. They hate everything we believe about freedom just as we hate everything they believe about radical Jihad.

To battle this threat, we have sent the most courageous and brave soldiers in the world. But their numbers have been depleted by the Clinton years when troops were reduced by 500,000, when 80 ships were retired from the Navy, and when our human intelligence was slashed by 25%. We were told that we were getting a peace dividend. We got the dividend, but we didn’t get the peace. In the face of evil in radical Jihad and given the inevitable military ambitions of China, we must act to rebuild our military might. Raise military spending to 4% of our GDP, purchase the most modern armament, re-shape our fighting forces for the asymmetric demands we now face, and give the veterans the care they deserve!

Soon, the face of liberalism in America will have a new name. Whether it is Barack or Hillary, the result would be the same if they were to win the Presidency. The opponents of American culture would push the throttle, devising new justifications for judges to depart from the constitution. Economic neophytes would layer heavier and heavier burdens on employers and families, slowing our economy and opening the way for foreign competition to further erode our lead.

Even though we face an uphill fight, I know that many in this room are fully behind my campaign.” You are with me all the way to the convention. Fight on, just like Ronald Reagan did in 1976. But there is an important difference from 1976: today… we are a nation at war.

And Barack and Hillary have made their intentions clear regarding Iraq and the war on terror. They would retreat and declare defeat. And the consequence of that would be devastating. It would mean attacks on America, launched from safe havens that make Afghanistan under the Taliban look like child’s play. About this, I have no doubt.

I disagree with Senator McCain on a number of issues, as you know. But I agree with him on doing whatever it takes to be successful in Iraq, on finding and executing Osama bin Laden, and on eliminating Al Qaeda and terror. If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror.

This is not an easy decision for me. I hate to lose. My family, my friends and our supporters… many of you right here in this room… have given a great deal to get me where I have a shot at becoming President. If this were only about me, I would go on. But I entered this race because I love America, and because I love America, I feel I must now stand aside, for our party and for our country.

I will continue to stand for conservative principles; I will fight alongside you for all the things we believe in. And one of those things is that we cannot allow the next President of the United States to retreat in the face evil extremism!!

It is the common task of each generation—and the burden of liberty—to preserve this country, expand its freedoms and renew its spirit so that its noble past is prologue to its glorious future.

To this task… accepting this burden… we are all dedicated, and I firmly believe, by the providence of the Almighty, that we will succeed beyond our fondest hope. America must remain, as it has always been, the hope of the earth.

Thank you, and God bless America.

In the wake of Super Tuesday, would you support a 50 state primary?

2008-02-06T14:10:00.000-05:00

Today the Wall Street Journal posed the above question on its Question of the Day Forum. I assumed the author meant a one day national primary. Here's my posting:

Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 12:07 pm Post subject: Re: In the wake of Super Tuesday, would you support a 50-state primary?

No. A 50 state primary means that the states with the high delegate counts would get all of the attention. I would rather see the primaries distributed throughout the calender giving more states a chance to meet the candidates. I find the current compressed schedule reducing the effectiveness of the process. Also, should some thought be given to the order of the states? Iowa now gets top priority even though it's a caucus and only a small percentage of the state participates. Is this a proper representation of things to come? Should this establish the the direction of the election? Can any state properly set the tone for the election? We are all used to New Hampshire being the first primary. I'm a new Englander so I'm a bit biased here. I'm comfortable with New Hampshire being first. However, imagine if the order of the states were different or random each election season? A two year election process is too long and the current primary calendar is detrimental to the process.

More Memory for iPhone and iTouch iPod

2008-02-05T13:12:00.000-05:00

Apple has just announced memory upgrades for the iPhone and the iPod Touch. the iPhone now comes with up to 16 GB of memory and the iPod Touch now comes with 32 GB of memory. A 3G version was NOT announced. AT&T said a 3G could be expected some time in 2008. Apple is waiting for the next generation of 3G chips that would consume less power.

And now the personal dilema. My current iPod is a 15 GB version and it's full. I've been holding out for a 30 to 60 GB iPhone to replace it. I would expect a 30GB iPhone version in 2009. So, do I buy a 32 GB iPod Touch and then buy a 30 GB iPhone in the future or simply wait for the 30 GB iPhone?

I was planning to spend a part of my tax refund on an Apple TV but now a an iPod Touch may be in my future. Maybe I'll get a tax refund next year and get the next version of the iPhone then...

Patriotcast is back

2008-02-04T07:09:00.000-05:00

On January 11th I produced the first new episode of Patriotcast since 2005. Patriotcast is a podcast that discusses current events and politics along with observations about life and all things Macintosh. As of this weekend there are now three new episodes. In the past two episodes I compare the candidates in each party on the following issues: immigration, terrorism, the Iraq war, energy policy, fiscal responsibility, economy and taxes, and healthcare. A pdf document is available showing this comparison. For details go to www.patriotcast.com.

Patriotcast is available via iTunes by searching for Patriotcast. You can also subscribe to a feed. I recommend clicking on the Feed powered by FeedBurner button found on Patriotcast web site and blog. You also can listen to any episode by simply clicking on the blog title on each blog entry on the Patriotcast blog.

I hope you'll take a moment and listen.

MacBook Air, Time Capule and iTune Movie Rentals

2008-01-15T16:06:00.000-05:00

Will the MacBook Air meet the pundits’ expectations? I heard two things that the pundits were predicting – an ultra small device that was half way between a Newton and a laptop. As Andy Inatko predicted, imagine a MacBook and cut the screen in half. And, of course there was the idea of a tablet Mac.

Me? I predicted to the BMAC User Group a small laptop that would allow the same touch screen technology as you see on the iPhone. Imagine flipping open the screen 180 degrees and using a MacBook size touch screen. How small a laptop? I always felt you needed to be able to touch type and read the screen with ease. And any decrease is weight is welcomed.

So what happened? The MacBook Air, an ultra thin laptop without sacrificing display or keyboard. I applaud the design and like to addition of gestures to the trackpad. I like everything but the price. So, will I get one? Not now. But I can hardly wait for a $1,000 version with 300GB flash drive.

Why not a tablet version? I suggest the tablet market is too small and too specialized. Tablet PCs have been out for years but they obviously don’t sell well or everyone would be hawking a tablet PC. However, I still believe that a multi-touch display Mac will be a reality. Imagine one set of gestures working on two difference platforms. And that’s exactly what Apple did with the touchpad. Now all they need to do is go one more step and have a multi-touch display display.

Why not a smaller footprint? Easy – two factors – screen size and full size keyboard. Who wants a tiny screen and hard to use keyboard? If I need a smaller form factor then I’ll simply use my iPhone. Does that mean I’ll be typing extensively on my iPhone? No, that’s what the laptop is for. The iPhone is for phone calls, email, contact info and browsing. OK, I don’t have an iPhone yet but I will. I just keep waiting for flash memory to drop in price so I can get a 30 or 60GB iPhone. I really don’t want to carry around an iPod and iPhone when one product should meet both needs.

What else did Apple announce? Time Capsule. Blend together an Airport Extreme, a hard drive and Time Machine and you get Time Capsule. Smart idea. I should have seen it coming. Instead, I purchased a 500GB hard drive a few weeks ago from Micro Center. Oh well.

iTune movie rentals! I have been waiting for this forever. Let’s face it. There really wasn’t a strong reason to buy an Apple TV without the rental capability. Think about it. Compare the number of movies that you own versus the number of movies that you rent. I will definitely be getting an Apple TV within the next 12 months. Now, if it could only record from my cable box. Another thing I find interesting is that video rental stores seem to do great even though you can access movies via On Demand from your cable service? I see it a perception issue. Ever hear of anyone who loves their cable company? Lousy service and high pricing means opportunity. Now add to that the reputation of Apple. That equals Apple TV and iTunes movie rentals and a huge opportunity for success

The joys of upgrading, aka, sometimes thing go bad

2007-12-17T17:21:00.000-05:00

Today I posted this on BMAC's Q&A listserv regarding my experience upgrading to Leopard, 10.5.

This saga needs a title like, "The trials and tribulations of your everyday user..."

The first thing I did was brilliant - I did not upgrade until I finished my tax course at Bentley College. I kept all my notes and wrote my paper using Word 2007 (Bentley standard) running in VMWare Fusion. I finished the course on Tuesday and on Thursday started upgrading.

The upgrade worked great and I immediately ran the software update and got the system to 10.5.1. I then tried to install bootcamp. Bootcamp could not make a partition. The error message said to backup the hard drive, reformat it and restore.

OK, except I don't have a spare hard drive for the backup. I had been using a 120GB drive for backups and it has my only pre-Leopard backup. I currently have a 160 GB drive in my MacBook and I've used almost 120GB. I've been planning to use Time machine so off I go to Micro Center and buy a new 500GB external drive for approximately $180.

I go home and start to work. First I take an old firewire 20GB drive and reformat and install Leopard so it will be a bootable OS in case of emergency. Second, I partition the 500GB drive so I have one 20GB partition and the rest as a second partition. I take the 20GB partition and also make is a bootable OS - you know, in case of emergency. I test each drive to make sure I can boot from each drive, i.e., change the startup disk and restart. Everything is working great. Then I use one of my favorite apps - Super Duper. I copied my internal Leopard drive to the external 500GB drive, reformat the internal drive and restore.

After the restore nothing works. I get a gray Apple startup screen with a gray spinner...and that's it. It doesn't see the external drives. It's as blind as a bat.

Why? Because I didn't follow the damn directions like I should have. Earlier in the week I knew that Super Duper was not yet Leopard compatible and when it came time to do a copy and restore I forgot and used Super Duper. Now let's be clear - I love Super Duper and this was my fault, Super Duper was innocent.

Hmmm, what to do? Off I go and call Jon Duke...again. We had already chatted about the 500GB drive purchase. We chat and come up with one or two strategies. I didn't tell Jon about using an incompatible version of Super Duper because I hadn't yet realized my boo-boo. I attempt to use Diskwarrior to save the day. Oh wait, I have version 3.0 and you need 4.0 for Intel based Macs. Ok, I'll go online and upgrade. Oops, you can't upgrade online. You can only receive an upgrade via US mail. Fine. I go online and purchase a new full version. I didn't want to go borrow a copy because it’s Sunday and it's snowing and I remember what Thursday's commute from hell was like.

So now I have Diskwarrior almost installed on my G3. First I make a backup of Diskwarrior 3.0 to CD and delete it from the G3. Now I unzip Diskwarrior 4.0. Oh wait. Per the instructions you need to be logged in as an administrator to run it. OK. I go into administrator mode and of course I don't see Diskwarrior any more because it's on another user's desktop. OK, breathe Gary. I struggle and resolve that. Then I startup the Macbook in target disk mode and at least that works. I run Diskwarrior and it almost works. Asking Diskwarrior to attack a 160GB drive from a G3 with a max'd out ram of approximately 640MB is just too much. It tries but comes to a screaming halt. OK, it didn't scream but that's because all the resources were max'd out and the G3 was busy spinning a beachball.

What? I know the Pats game is on. I'll be there in a minute or two. Just as soon as I....Hmmm, what should I do next? OK, let's go with Archive and Install. I visited the Apple store on Saturday and that's what they suggested. It was also strategy number 2 that Jon and I worked out. I run Archive and Install and the Mac likes me again. But I'm not so sure about the archive. As a matter of fact it seems to want to hurt me. I look around and try to compare the new system and what's in the previous system folder. It’s not making sense. Of course I forgot that I was logged in as administrator versus my normal login and so things are going to look different. But I didn't realize that. Instead I attempt to move things around. Another bad idea. Luckily I soon realize that I'm merely going to shoot myself in the foot a few more times if I continue moving stuff around. OK, Gary, try to relax. Have a beer. You better make that at least two.

I decide to fail back to my old pre-Leopard backup. I reformat the internal hard drive...again. I open the sparseimage (Thank you Super Duper) and drag it to the newly reformatted drive. I run Diskwarrior to check things out and clean up any problems. I then upgrade to Leopard for the nth time (I've lost count). Leopard seems happy.

Apparently all my user accounts didn't come over. I set up each user account. Now here's a question - do you remember the short name you gave to each account? You're gonna need it. Luckily I remember and each account is matched up with its home folder. Oh wait. I did this under my normal login name. My normal login name should be a standard account but it's now an administrator account. So now I need to log in and change account settings. OK, that's done.

However, my data is now a few weeks old. I go to the 500GB external drive that has a copy of the original (first) Leopard upgrade that also has my current data. I search through my home folder and take a stab at what's missing and drag in from the external hard drive. What do you mean invalid privileges? Don't you know who I am?! I own you! Breathe Gary. Maybe another beer is in order. Let's see, do a “get info” on each folder and add the appropriate user to the Permissions. Damn, forgot to apply to enclosed items.

OK, let's take a look and if we got everything. Looks alright, but since I'm not sure where everything is stored I really don't know what I've got. Time to jump into the deep end of the pool. I'm going to activate Time Machine and save what I have. The cost? The data on the 500GB drive is the only current backup I have of my data and I'm going to blow it away. I still have the old backup on another drive but it is a few weeks old. Here we go, bye-bye data. I work through the complicated Time Machine settings (read humor) - that's one button to assign the drive and another to turn on Time Machine.

Time to stop. It's now 11:30 PM Sunday. The journey began Thursday night.

The outcome so far:

1. The Mac is basically happy again.

2. Time Machine is working.

3. Email works but I can't delete things. Some kind of IMAP voodoo.

4. iWeb - most of it came back except of the last page that I posted. The page exists on the web but it isn't in iWeb. I'll figure it out.

5. Parallels and VMware Fusion are toast. I'll attempt to uninstall Parallels and re-install Fusion.

6. I now get a bunch of dialog boxes when I restart saying I have a bunch of system extensions improperly installed. Apparently I'm suppose to upgrade the offending product or reinstall it. Unfortunately it doesn't tell me the name of the offfending app. I'll figure it out...somehow.

And by the way, I haven't yet tried to implement bootcamp for the second time. Hostages sound like a good idea.

But before I do that, where's Jon Duke's number....

I hope you enjoyed the saga.

Gary Harding

How can you be wrong if you do everything right?

2007-12-05T14:17:00.000-05:00

You do the right thing and what happens? Well, if you're running for president you're still found to be wrong.

Last year the Boston Globe reported that illegal immigrants were working at Mitt Romney's house in Belmont, MA. The company Romney hired to provide landscaping services had hired illegal immigrants. As reported in today's Boston Globe, Romney discussed the situation with the owner of the landscaping company, "After this same issue arose last year, I gave the company a second chance with very specific conditions," Romney said in the statement. "They were instructed to make sure people working for the company were of legal status. We personally met with the company in order to inform them about the importance of this matter. The owner of the company guaranteed us, in very certain terms, that the company would be in total compliance with the law going forward.

"The company's failure to comply with the law is disappointing and inexcusable, and I believe it is important I take this action," Romney said.

Romney's account differs from that of landscape company owner Ricardo Saenz, who said that Romney didn't press the issue of whether his workers were in the country illegally".

I must admit I find Ricardo Saenz's statement hard to believe.

Were Romney's actions wrong? For example, should he or a member of his campaign staff asked for and examined the documents of the workers? NO! Imagine the headlines, "As in the days of Nazi Germany, Romney asks workers for papers". It is the responsibility of the employer to execute the I-9 form and examine the documents. Should Romney have asked to see the I-9 forms? NO! The I-9 contains personal information, namely, a social security number and that is confidential information belonging to the employer.

Got to www.uscis.gov for the rules regarding the I-9.

Should Romney have terminated the landscaping service immediately back in December 2006? NO! Again, imagine the uproar about how he should have given the firm a second chance to take the appropriate corrective action.

The Globe article states that one of the illegal immigrants told the employer that he was illegal. The worker then later provided the employer with forged documents. As per the I-9 rules, it is not the responsibility of the employer to verify the authenticity of the documents.

So what should have been done?

First, everything was done correctly, unless the employees provided documents that obviously appeared to be fakes. At that point the employees must be suspended until proper documentation can be provided. The employer is at fault if the employer knew that the documents were fake and continued to employ the illegal immigrants.

Second, nothing else should have been done in the past and terminating the landscaper today is the proper action.

The political pundits may have a field day with this. And Romney will suffer for doing everything right.

Is Steve Jobs Finally Targeting Businesses?

2007-10-23T11:39:00.000-04:00

Today, the above question appeared in the Business Technology blog of the Wall Street Journal. I posted the following response:

Is Apple ready for the corporate market? Large corporations want immediate service and flexibility. The more seamless the solution, the better. Apple Stores are fun and successful but they don’t reflect the needs of big business. Instead, they address the needs of the individual consumer.

I worked in Technical Operations for a billion dollar corporation and I would say that Apple would require an internal mind shift to service the Fortune 1000 world. The idea of a separate division or group would be a requirement.

How will Apple enter the corporate market? Through the back door. Simply put, more and more users are switching to Apple devices and it’s only a matter of time before they enter the corporate mainstream.

Is IT an issue? Absolutely. Why should the department learn to support two platforms when one is already the standard? It ts the grassroots movement of the Mac users that will gradually require the IT departments and data centers to to add the platform to their repertoire.

I’ve been a PC user and a Mac user for decades. The introduction of the iPod and iPhone has exposed literally millions to the quality and innovation of Apple. Add to that the ability to run Windows on a Mac and it’s simply a matter of time before the Mac will finally gain a permanent and growing foothold in the corporate marketplace.

Portland ME school board goes too far

2007-10-19T10:11:00.000-04:00

This week the Portland, ME school board approved the distribution of birth control pills in it's middle school where the student ages range from 11 to 13.

This was a hot topic on the Boston airwaves and I sent the following email to Michael Graham at WTKK-FM, 96.9.

I found the decision by the Portland school board very disappointing. According to reports, 5 out of 134 students told the nurse they were sexually active - that's 3.7%.

Yourself and a significant number of callers stated that birth control should NOT be given out without parental consent. I can't agree more. Unfortunately, in the case of Portland, ME, the parents already gave their consent. Children cannot go the school clinic without first obtaining parental consent. I would be very interested in knowing the rules regarding parental access to their child's school medical records.

The real issue is does the school health official have the right to step in and act as the parent when either the parent failed to manage their child's behavior or the child, regardless of the parents efforts, decides to be defiant and proceed to have under age sex. The school nurse is NOT a substitute parent. And even though general parental consent was given to use the clinic, birth control pills should NOT be provided to students in middle school.

I'm not even sure if I would agree with giving birth control pills to students under the age of 15. A quick internet search (http://www.cga.ct.gov/2003/olrdata/jud/rpt/2003-R-0149.htm) indicated that in Maine statutory rape occurs with someone under the age of 14. If you provide 11 to 13 year olds birth control, aren't you enabling and or encouraging them to have sex and break the law? Of course the rebuttal is that the school is merely trying to avoid unwanted pregnancies and not trying to encourage this behavior.

I do not believe that the action of 5 or 10 students justifies this change in policy. It merely indicates the continuing need to have both parents and educators teach children about adult sexual behavior and the ramifications of that behavior. Will this stop every child from having underage sex? Of course not. But isn't it better than opening the flood gates to enabling underage sexual behavior to all who have obtained permission to use the clinic?

The Last Lecture

2007-09-21T07:35:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I read an article in the Wall Street Journal (A Beloved Professor Delivers The Lecture of a Lifetime, September 20, 2007; Page D1) about a trend on college campuses - "Last Lecture Series". Top professors are given an opportunity to present what truly matters to them and give a hypothetical final talk.

The article is from Moving On, a column by Jeff Zaslow. A copy of the article appears below. Please take a moment and read it.

Randy Pausch, a Carnegie Mellon University computer-science professor, was about to give a lecture Tuesday afternoon, but before he said a word, he received a standing ovation from 400 students and colleagues.

He motioned to them to sit down. "Make me earn it," he said.

They had come to see him give what was billed as his "last lecture." This is a common title for talks on college campuses today. Schools such as Stanford and the University of Alabama have mounted "Last Lecture Series," in which top professors are asked to think deeply about what matters to them and to give hypothetical final talks. For the audience, the question to be mulled is this: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance?
It can be an intriguing hour, watching healthy professors consider their demise and ruminate over subjects dear to them. At the University of Northern Iowa, instructor Penny O'Connor recently titled her lecture "Get Over Yourself." At Cornell, Ellis Hanson, who teaches a course titled "Desire," spoke about sex and technology.

At Carnegie Mellon, however, Dr. Pausch's speech was more than just an academic exercise. The 46-year-old father of three has pancreatic cancer and expects to live for just a few months. His lecture, using images on a giant screen, turned out to be a rollicking and riveting journey through the lessons of his life.

He began by showing his CT scans, revealing 10 tumors on his liver. But after that, he talked about living. If anyone expected him to be morose, he said, "I'm sorry to disappoint you." He then dropped to the floor and did one-handed pushups.

Clicking through photos of himself as a boy, he talked about his childhood dreams: to win giant stuffed animals at carnivals, to walk in zero gravity, to design Disney rides, to write a World Book entry. By adulthood, he had achieved each goal. As proof, he had students carry out all the huge stuffed animals he'd won in his life, which he gave to audience members. After all, he doesn't need them anymore.

He paid tribute to his techie background. "I've experienced a deathbed conversion," he said, smiling. "I just bought a Macintosh." Flashing his rejection letters on the screen, he talked about setbacks in his career, repeating: "Brick walls are there for a reason. They let us prove how badly we want things." He encouraged us to be patient with others. "Wait long enough, and people will surprise and impress you." After showing photos of his childhood bedroom, decorated with mathematical notations he'd drawn on the walls, he said: "If your kids want to paint their bedrooms, as a favor to me, let 'em do it."

While displaying photos of his bosses and students over the years, he said that helping others fulfill their dreams is even more fun than achieving your own. He talked of requiring his students to create videogames without sex and violence. "You'd be surprised how many 19-year-old boys run out of ideas when you take those possibilities away," he said, but they all rose to the challenge.

He also saluted his parents, who let him make his childhood bedroom his domain, even if his wall etchings hurt the home's resale value. He knew his mom was proud of him when he got his Ph.D, he said, despite how she'd introduce him: "This is my son. He's a doctor, but not the kind who helps people."

He then spoke about his legacy. Considered one of the nation's foremost teachers of videogame and virtual-reality technology, he helped develop "Alice," a Carnegie Mellon software project that allows people to easily create 3-D animations. It had one million downloads in the past year, and usage is expected to soar.

"Like Moses, I get to see the Promised Land, but I don't get to step foot in it," Dr. Pausch said. "That's OK. I will live on in Alice."

Many people have given last speeches without realizing it. The day before he was killed, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke prophetically: "Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place." He talked of how he had seen the Promised Land, even though "I may not get there with you."

Dr. Pausch's lecture, in the same way, became a call to his colleagues and students to go on without him and do great things. But he was also addressing those closer to his heart.
Near the end of his talk, he had a cake brought out for his wife, whose birthday was the day before. As she cried and they embraced on stage, the audience sang "Happy Birthday," many wiping away their own tears.

Dr. Pausch's speech was taped so his children, ages 5, 2 and 1, can watch it when they're older. His last words in his last lecture were simple: "This was for my kids." Then those of us in the audience rose for one last standing ovation.

Nothing is cooler than the iPhone!

2007-07-02T14:53:00.000-04:00

The date of this post is 7/2/07 which means that the iPhone was released last Friday. On Sunday I visited the Apple Store at the Burlington Mall in Burlington, MA and got to play with one. The first thing to hit me was the size. I have a 15GB iPod. the iPhone appears a little longer, not as wide and about 1/3 thinner! And it's light. The screen is amazing - vivid color. The interface is very intuitive, however, I kept looking for a close or back button. It appears that you simply hit the home button to leave an application. I was able to send an email and make a telephone call. The keyboard is a little awkward at first. I assume my fingers would easily get used to it. The pop-up nature of the keyboard letters does help with typing. Surfing on the web is incredible. It's amazing to see full web pages and then just tap and zoom. Surfing is a bit slow but very usable. I would expect this to improve as data services improve. As I said before, I'm waiting for the second generation of this device. In the meantime, I strongly urge you to go to an Apple Store and take the iPhone for a test drive. You won't be disappointed.

I'm Back!

2007-07-02T14:41:00.000-04:00

Greetings! Well the last post was at the start of tax season and it's now July 2nd. Needless to say, I was too busy during tax season to post anything. I have many things to report. Patti and I have scheduled a number of concerts. We already attended the Martina McBride concert and the Brad Paisley concert. I'll comment on those in a later post. We'll vacation in Newport, RI for a week and then we will be attending the following summer concerts: Kenny G, Kenny Chesney and Jimmy Buffett. In the fall we be attending Phil Vassar and Lonestar.

In other news, I'll be returning the Bentley College in the fall to attend the Graduate Certificate in Taxation program. It's a four course program with the option of continuing on for 6 courses and obtaining a Masters in Taxation.

In May I purchased a Nikon S50 Coolpix digital camera. I have been spending a great deal of time testing it out and preparing a section in my web site demonstrating the functionality. I hope to have the website section up soon and I'll be posting a review on this blog.

In the interim, I got a look at the iPhone. My comments about it are the next post...

iPhone - Cooler than the Newton

2007-01-09T17:48:00.000-05:00

I predict another winner. What makes this product so cool? Why is it better than a Blackberry or a Treo? The interface. It's designed to do many things elegantly but not do all things.

Notice the one thing they left out - handwriting recognition. It's not a note taking device. Instead, they make it highly efficient in the areas where it was intended - phone, web, and mail.

What about music? It does have iPod functionality however, it's not big enough. I use a old 15 GB iPod and I have filled it. I want most of my music collection with me, not just the top x%. I plan on replacing my iPod with a 60 or 80 GB version. I would love the iPhone if it didn't have music, however, when they come out with a 60 or 80 GB version I'll be in heaven.

Will I get one? Absolutely. The question is will I be patient enough to wait for version 2 . I hate being a pioneer.

One more thing, 1 billion downloads on iTunes? Am I the only person left who still buys CDs?

95% of Americans Have Premarital Sex

2006-12-21T18:19:00.000-05:00

A poll released December 20th stated that 75% of Americans have had premarital sex by the age of 20 and 95% by the age of 44.

Hmmm, that must mean the other 5% are really ugly. :-)

Wall Street Journal Informal Poll - Who would be the Strongest Republican Candidate in 2008?

2006-11-30T14:08:00.000-05:00

Today the Wall Street Journal had as its question of the day, "Who would be the strongest candidate for Republicans in the 2008 presidential election?

Here are the choices and the results when I voted this afternoon:

Sam Brownback - 2%

Newt Gingrich - 10%

Rudy Giuliani - 31%

John McCain - 34%

Mitt Romney - 12%

Someone Else - 11%

I posted the following in the WSJ Forum:

I must admit I was surprised to see Giuliani score so high.

Sam Brownback - An unknown to me and I consider myself a bit of a political wonk. Doesn't have the name recognition.

Newt Gingrich - I was a big Newt fan when he was the speaker of the house. He's intelligent and very well spoken. However, I don't believe he has done enough during the last 18 months to rebuild his name recognition and reputation.

Rudy Giuliani - Loved by all. However, I don't see Giuliani possessing the "X" factor - that unexplanable factor that causes people to say " He's Presidential". He also hasn't been very visible on the political landscape. I believe Barack Obama possesses the "X" factor and that makes him a strong democratic candidate even though he hugely lacks legislative, executive and foreign affairs experience.

John McCain - He's ruffled some feathers in Congress and with the political pundits but he comes accross loud and clear to voting public. The question is whether he can get past South Carolina during the primaries. The difference this time is McCain has the experience of having run for president and has had several years to gain recognition and build allies. I believe all the work he has done since running against Bush will payoff big time. He is the strongest candidate, but watch out for #2 - see below.

Mitt Romney - Watch out! I'm from Massachusetts and I can tell you Mitt has the intelligence (MBA and JD from Harvard) and the "X" factor. He now has executive experience (Governor of Mass) and is a proven problem solver, e.g., fixing the Winter Olympics in Utah. The question is whether he has enough national exposure to win over the voters. He's doing his homework and is building a very strong foundation, e.g., meeting the right people and putting together a team. I expect Mitt Romney will win the presidential election in either 2008 or during the next Republican opportunity. In worse case, the 2008 election will simply build his character and provide him with the necessary experience to win a national election.

The Cost of Loyalty

2006-11-08T14:20:00.000-05:00

Today it was announced that Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld is resigning after the Republican party lost the House and is likely to lose the Senate.

Bush '41 was a man who believed in loyalty and passed that trait onto his son, Bush '43. Bush '41 demonstrated it when there was pressure to get rid of the Vice President Dan Quayle. Unfortunately, this lesson doesn't carry over well into the Bush '41 administration when applied to the current situation. Loyalty is always respected but corrective action, even when it negatively affects those closest to you, is respected even more when it's done for the good of the country.

Would things be different now if Rumsfeld had been removed from office 12 months ago? It would be hard to imagine them worse. The cost of delaying this decision? The control of Congress, the greater risk of terrorism and a more challenging task to achieve democracy in Iraq.

What about the lives of our military? Unfortunately, I don't believe there would be a reduction in loss. What corrective action should be taken in Iraq and when would we feel the positive effects of that change? No one knows. However, I anticipate change would be slow and the benefits will not be seen for months.

I can only see two possibilities at this moment. Pull out or step up. I absolutely believe that we should not pull out. I believe in the Powell doctrine which was fully demonstrated during the first Gulf War - fight with overwhelming force. Unfortunately, during the second Gulf War we fought with overwhelming technology and did not have enough boots of the ground to provide proper policing action after the Iraq government was toppled.

We also failed in another way. In past victories we destroyed the armed forces of our enemy and took total control. We even demonstrated this in the first Gulf War when we destroyed the Iraqi military on route from Kuwait back to Iraq.

In the second Gulf War we minimized our interaction with the Iraqi forces and allowed them to return to the general population without proper screening and transition. This allowed new forces to organize. Add to this the lack of boots on the ground to secure the borders and police the country and you create an environment ripe for insurgency.

The cost to fix this error will be great. I believe that we must dramatically increase the number of military in Iraq and take complete control of the country until it has time to heal. Do you have enough personnel in the military to achieve this? I honestly don't know. If we don't, then the concept of a draft must be considered for the good of the country. Take control and destroy the insurgency with the aid of the Iraqi people in order to avoid a significant terrorist attack from those trained, funded and supported by insurgency and its mutual associates.

Thank You U.K. Authorities

2006-08-10T08:44:00.000-04:00

As you have heard, U.K. authorities discovered and interrupted a terrorist plot to smuggle, assemble and explode a bomb simultaneously on several international flights from London to the U.S. This investigation has resulted in the arrest of 21 people in the U.K.

It has not yet been definitively determined that this is the work of al Qaeda. However, in 1995 al Qaeda plotted to explode 11 U.S. flights over the Pacific. The similarities clearly point in the direction of al Qaeda.

Suppose this story broke a week or two ago. Would it have affected Senator LiebermanÂs primacy loss? I believe so. It would have sent a loud reminder to all that the war of terrorism is not over and is an on-going battle that we must win.

Collin Raye at Indian Ranch

2006-08-01T10:29:00.000-04:00

Yup - Another concert. This time Patti and I saw Collin Raye at Indian Ranch in Webster, MA. Indian Ranch is a great intimate outdoor venue for a concert. We sat in the third row for $40 a ticket. Parking was free and it took us literally 5 minutes to get out of the parking lot.

As always, the show was great. Collin Raye is one of my favorite singers. I suggest you check out his greatest hits CD if you have never heard of him. He is the master of strong emotional ballads. This time he brought out his daughter Brittany who accompanied him for one or two songs. Additonal photos (limited quality - cell phone photos) are at www.garrettharding.com.

So what's next? Jimmy Buffett at the Tweeter Center in Mansfield, MA. Unfortunately no third row seats for Buffett. I bought the tickets the moment they went on sale and I'm in section 11 - the boonies.

3rd Annual New England Country Music Festival

2006-07-17T08:42:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Patti and I attended the Country Music Festival at Gillette Stadium. The line up consisted of Carrie Underwood, Dierks Bentley, Big & Rich, Gretchen Wilson and Kenny Chesney. Tickets were $85.50 each plus $9.80 convenience charge.

The show started at 3:30 and we attempted to arrive at 2:30. At 2:30 we hit a heavy backup at the exit ramp off of 495. We arrived outside the stadium after a long walk from lot 9 (parking - $35) and Carrie Underwood was performing. We then had to locate the floor seating entrance which was mobbed because everyone had to obtain a wristband.

Our seats were on the floor, section B1, row 27. It was very hot in the sun. The sun went behind the stadium from our perspective at about 5:30. Thank god.

The show was excellent. We went to the same festival two years. At that time we also saw Big & Rich and Gretchen Wilson. Both acts had more elaborate shows this year.

Kenny Chesney’s show was excellent. The surprise was the opening. He rose from a small platform in the center of the floor seats just behind the sound booth. We were 50 feet to the right at that point.

At the end it took 1 hour and 50 minutes to get out of the parking lot.

Was it worth it? Yes, because of the number and quality of the acts.

Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett Interview

2006-07-12T23:39:00.000-04:00

I'm watching an incredible interview - Charlie Rose is interviewing Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett. This show is the third of a three part series on Warren Buffett. The series will be available on Google Video.

Apple #4 on BusinessWeek Top 100 Info Tech Companies

2006-06-24T15:05:00.000-04:00

Not only is Apple #4, it is the highest ranking US corporation on the list. Click here to see the list. Take careful note of how BusinessWeek determined the ranking.

Garrett R. Harding, CPA

2006-06-22T08:43:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I received a letter from the Division of Professional Licensure of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. On June 15th the State Board of Public Accountancy granted me my Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license.

This little journey began in 1980 - 26 years ago. In the fall of 1980 I was a senior at Bentley College. While I had no strong intention of going into public accounting, I decided to take advantage of the newly acquired knowledge and sit for the uniform CPA exam in May 1981. Therefore in the fall of 1980 I started attending a CPA review course with several fellow Bentley students. I passed two parts of the CPA exam in May 1980 and passed the remaining two parts in November 1980. The rules at the time required that I obtain 2 or 3 years of public accounting experience. During college I worked part-time for Jim Mills, CPA. Unfortunately the part-time experience did not meet the experience requirement and I never entered public accounting on a full-time basis.

Earlier this year someone mentioned that they could obtain a CPA license with simply a master's degree. This provoked my curiosity and I investigated the current rules. I discovered that on October 13, 2000 the rules were changed. It was now possible to obtain a CPA license if you pass the CPA exam, have a bachelor's of science degree in accountancy and a master's degree, such as a MBA (the exact requirements are available from your state board of public accountancy). I met the revised qualifications. The license does come with a "non-reporting" restriction. This means that I cannot issue reports on financial statements in my practice of public accounting. I am authorized to use the CPA designation and practice all other aspects of public accounting, namely management advisory services and taxation. This meets my particular needs. The restriction can be removed by obtaining the necessary experience or CPE hours.

I must admit that at times I felt like a second class accountant even though I was a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and had the privilege of being a full-time faculty member of the Accountancy department at Bentley College. Now, after 26 years, I can now proudly say that I'm a CPA.

No deadline for Iraq

2006-06-22T07:06:00.000-04:00

Congress is debating two democratic proposals to establish a pull out date for Iraq. In my opinion there are two basic views. First, a pull out date pressures the Iraqi military to step up recruiting and training so that the Iraqi military and government will be ready to assume control. The second, opposite viewpoint is to get the job done without a pull out date.

In the world of project management, deadlines are crucial and provide motivation to get the job done. I recognize and support that methodology in a business environment. However, in the world of warfare, you never give your enemy an advantage and a pull out date would do exactly that. A pull out date would encourage the enemy to sit back and give the appearance that the insurgency had been defeated. Then, once the superior training, technology and firepower of the U.S. military had left the area, the insurgency would reappear and provide a challenge that may be too great for the newly formed Iraqi military and government.

Ending the Iraqi war has nothing to do with whether or not you believe in the decision to go to war. (I will state for the record that I supported going to war.) As stated by former secretary of state Colin Powell, gift store rules apply - we broke it, we own it. What does this mean? A necessary result of the Iraqi war was the removal of Saddam Hussein and the dismantling of the previous Iraqi government. We now must support the creation of a new government and associated infrastructure. Afghanistan provides us with a model of what can happen when a governmental void exists. In Afghanistan, the U.S. did not support the redevelopment of a government structure after the Soviet Union's military left the area. That void was filled with the Taliban. We cannot allow the formation of a Iraqi government to fail. Such a void would allow a terrorist environment to thrive. Are terrorists already in Iraqi? Of course they are and that provides the fundamental reason why we must prevail. How long will it take to destroy the terrorists in Iraq, put down the insurgency, stabilize the political environment to remove the threat of civil war and establish a fully functional Iraqi military and government? Simply put - a very long time and pull out date cannot be arbitrarily assigned. Our goal should be get the job done right, not get the job done by a particular date. We take on this task because it is the right thing to do, regardless of difficulty of the challenge or the amount of time and resources required. There is nothing more expensive or worthwhile than freedom.

Welcome FeedBlitz

2006-06-14T08:37:00.000-04:00

Today I registered with a new blog email subcription service called FeedBlitz. My prior service was Bloglet. Bloglet's developer started the service as a hobby and never had any intention to take it beyond the hobby stage. Bloglet was the true pioneer in this particular service and the success of the concept demanded support beyond the original intention of its developer. Unfortunately this may have translated into email notifications not going out. In spite of that, I would like to thank Bloglet for being the pioneer and welcome aboard FeedBlitz.

Dr. Joseph Chamie, Demographer

2006-06-13T22:25:00.000-04:00

On June 2nd Guy Kawasaki posted a great interview he had with Dr. Joseph Chamie, a demographer. Dr Chamie is the director of research at the Center for Migration Studies (CMS) and editor of the International Migration Review. Prior to this position, he was the director of the United Nations Population Division. I found his answer to question #7 interesting. Here's the text:

Question: Based on historical lessons, what should America’s public policy be regarding immigration?

Answer: To begin with, it should not be what we have today. America’s current immigration policies and programs are ineffective, inconsistent, unfair, divisive, and harmful.

Should legal immigration be stopped? Of course not. The government needs to consider and decide regularly on the appropriate levels and types of legal immigration that are in the best interests of the country.
Should illegal immigration be stopped?

Of course it should—or at least limited to the lowest level possible. The country needs to get control of illegal immigration. And what about the proposed temporary guest worker program? The bipartisan U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform, which reported to the U.S, Congress and President in 1997, advised in the strongest language against the kind of temporary worker programs that are currently again being promoted by various advocates and politicians, including President George W. Bush.

Such programs, the U.S. Commission wrote, would be ’a grievous mistake.” They concluded that temporary worker programs for lesser-skilled and unskilled workers exert particularly harmful effects on the US. Such programs, for example, have depressed the wages and working conditions of US workers. Foreign guest workers are also more exploitable than lawful US workers, particularly when an employer threatens deportation if workers complain about wages or working conditions. Moreover, the Commission stressed that guest worker programs fail to reduce unauthorized migration and often the guest workers themselves remain permanently and illegally in the country.

As I have stated before, I strongly believe that illegal immigration must be stopped and that begins with securing our borders. After that we need to address how to resolve the millions of illegal immigrants that are already in the U.S.

Dr. Chamie's answers to other questions at can be found at http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2006/06/ten_questions_w_1.html and http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2006/06/addendum_to_ten.html.

ZoomClouds

2006-06-10T16:41:00.000-04:00

Here's a neat little API to add to your blog - Zoomcloud. ZoomCloud scans your rss file and creates an interactive graphic comprised of tags. When you click on a tag you are taken to the corresponding posting. The tags vary in size based upon relevance/popularity. The tags are automatically generated by a content analysis tool. Check out ZoomCloud.

Guy Kawasaki - The Legend Continues...

2006-06-09T16:06:00.000-04:00

If you're a Mac fan then you should know the name. Guy was the ultimate Macintosh evangelist. If you cut him with a knife he would bleed the colors of the Apple logo.

For two years (1988-89) I was a product manager for Layered, Inc., developer of the Insight accounting package for the Mac. The software was an award winner and the Mac industry was an exciting place to be. At the same time Guy was (and still is) a phenomenon in the marketing world. His book, The Macintosh Way was the bible for Macintosh marketing. I've read three of his books - The Macintosh Way, Selling the Dream and How to Drive your Competition Crazy and have had the privilege to see Guy speak more than once. The books and the presentations were enjoyable and, more importantly, made you think.

Now Guy has gotten into blogging. You absolutely must check out Signum sine tinnitu--by Guy Kawasaki. Ok, the title doesn't roll off the tongue but the content is excellent.

As for the Mac fans out there, check out the post entitled The Top Ten Lies of Guy Kawasaki. You will find number ten interesting. At least he believed it at the time. Hats off to Guy's openness and honesty.

To Guy - thanks for joining the blogosphere.

Congratulations to U.S. Special Forces

2006-06-08T08:42:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to the U.S. Military for an outstanding job in killing Abu Musab Al-Zaqawi.

This clearly demonstrates the dedication and hard work of many individuals. One bad guy down, many still left. Go get 'em.

www.GarrettHarding.com is operational

2006-05-25T08:04:00.000-04:00

It is with great pleasure that I announce that www.GarrettHarding.com is operational. One thing you might find of interest is my reading list detailing the books that I have read for the last 10 years. I look forward to updating and expanding the content of the site. I hope will you find it enjoyable.

The DaVinci Code

2006-05-25T07:55:00.000-04:00

Hopefully you have read the book. However, if not, I suggest you first read Dan Brown's book Angels & Demons and then read The DaVinci Code. The depth of research is amazing and both are truly enjoyable thrillers. In fact, I would rank these two books as two of the best pieces of fiction I have ever read.

With regards to the movie and book and the concern expressed by some as to the historical accuracy, I simply say IT'S FICTION! Get over it.

Go Ahead and Review My Phone Records

2006-05-12T15:35:00.000-04:00

As reported in the Washington Post, the National Security Agency has been purchasing telephone call records (logs)as part of the war on terrorism.

Does this bother me? No. First, the records were purchased from the telephone companies. They were not acquired via spying. Second, I'm not a terrorist.

Privacy is a serious issue and I believe in protecting that right. However, the terrorist organizations that are targeting the United States are very sophisticated organizations with substantial financial and human resources, and most importantly, an undying motivation to cause us harm.

If review of our call logs will help in this battle, then I support it. I will also admit that I will complain loudly if I get wrongly subjected to federal investigation because of the examination of call records.

It's OK as long as it's the other guy.

Cambridge MA announces that it is a sanctuary city for illegal immigrates

2006-05-10T06:58:00.000-04:00

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. May 7, 2006 (AP) - Associated Press reports that Cambridge Massachusetts welcomes illegal immigrants.

The Cambridge City Council is set to vote Monday to reaffirm its sanctuary status, which instructs police and other agencies not to inquire about a person's immigration status when providing government services. The proposal would establish an immigrant rights and citizenship commission to "ensure the equal status of immigrants in education, employment, health care, housing, political, social and legal spheres.

I strongly believe that all LEGAL residents should have equal status under the law. That said, illegal immigrants are just that, illegal, and therefore are not entitled to any public services. As a resident and tax payer of Massachusetts, I am absolutely against the position the Cambridge City Council is adopting. I have no desire to have my tax dollars going towards services for illegal immigrants.

So what is my solution? I believe strong action must be taken to stop illegal entry. This includes physical walls, additional border guards and any other action necessary to protect our borders. The volume of illegal immigrants that have entered the United States is in the millions and I simply do not believe that other countries would allow that volume of illegal immigrants accross their own borders. I also support an adjustment to our immigration policies to allow more LEGAL immigrants into this country if it is beneficial to the United States. The most difficult part of the solution is how to handle the millions of illegal immigrants that current reside in the U.S. There are no easy solutions. However, all parties need to come to together to resolve this issue.

I support the issuance of a national ID card to today's illegal immigrants. The card would require a very significant anti-forgery design. Individuals that do not possess proper ID and are not in a national registry would be required to appear before government officials who would determine whether or not the person should be deported. The national ID card would be issued to only today's illegal immigrants. Those who enter the country illegally after a specific date will be deported.

Kennedy Entering Rehab

2006-05-05T15:44:00.000-04:00

MSNBC Breaking News: AP: Rep. Kennedy to enter rehab for prescription drug addiction.

I hate to be pessimistic, but I have trouble believing it's for prescription drug addiction and not alcohol addiction.

Regardless, I sincerely wish Rep. Patrick Kennedy a successful recovery.

Blogs - The Influence Continues to Grow

2006-05-05T09:53:00.000-04:00

I just finished reading Blog! by David Kline and Dan Burstein. Throughout the book one constant message is presented - Blogs have allowed millions to express their views and main stream media is listening and reacting. Of course, if you're reading this then you most likely already konw this fact.

Last night NBC nightly news presented a report on the very subject. We are seeing blogs on the major news outlets and on the "talking head" shows.

Question - Just exactly when am I going to find the time to read all of these blogs and respond appropriately?

Key word - appropriately. You see I try to know a little something about the topic before I post about it. This requires research and research requires time. Anyone can present a knee jerk reaction to a comment or event and there are places and times when this is acceptable. However, how can I comment on things in this warp speed media when I first need to do my homework? Unfortunately, to date this has translated into a limited number of postings. Hopefully quality will win out over quantity.

I shake my head in amazement

2006-05-04T21:06:00.000-04:00

The late night comics and radio talk shows just got a big gift with a bow on it. Today it was reported by Associated Press that Rep. Patrick Kennedy crashed his car near the Capitol early Thursday, and a police official said he appeared intoxicated. Kennedy said he had had no alcohol before the accident.

"I was involved in a traffic accident last night at First and C Street SE near the U.S. Capitol," Kennedy said in a written statement released by his office. "I consumed no alcohol prior to the incident. I will fully cooperate with the Capitol Police in whatever investigation they choose to undertake. A letter written by a Capitol Police officer to Acting Chief Christopher McGaffin said Kennedy appeared to be staggering when he left the vehicle after the crash about 3 a.m. The letter was first reported by Roll Call, a Capitol Hill newspaper.

You just can’t make this stuff up.

Boot Camp – Windows comes to the Intel Mac

2006-04-06T18:54:00.000-04:00

Apple surprised a lot of folks yesterday with the public beta release of Boot Camp – a software app that allows the Intel Mac to boot and run Windows XP natively. Yes, you heard correct – boot and run Windows XP natively. So now you can choose at startup which OS you would like to work in.

I applaud Apple for taking this first step, though others on www.macintouch.com state that this is the end of Apple. I find that hard to believe for one very simple point. Mac users run Macs because they love the Mac UI and OS X. I’m your standard white-collar guy who does most of his work in MS Office and a browser so I can easily work on either platform. I choose to work on the Mac. Why? Because when I work on the Mac I don’t think about the OS. It just simply works. Apple’s fundamental approach is to take the complexity and worry out of computing. Apple places the burden on the developer, not the user.

Is a dual bootable Mac the ideal solution? No. I would prefer to work in both environments simultaneously, e.g., run Windows XP as an app in OS X.

What I really want is what Ian Blanton of Tech Superpowers suggested at a BMAC meeting – Have Windows applications run natively on the Mac without the need for the Windows environment. Now that would be great.

As I previously mentioned, there are those nay sayers that state that this is the end of Apple. The fear is that application developers will now only write for the Windows platform. This would depend on the cost of developing for both platforms. Simply put, the easier it is to port to the Mac, the better. I am not a developer so I can’t comment further on this but would love to from those who are.

I know I would benefit from a dual OS Mac. I work in the field of accounting and virtually no one uses Mac accounting software. Yes, I know, there are a few of you out there but it’s not enough. A significant percentage of small businesses run QuickBooks for Windows and QuickBooks for the Mac is not the same. Most notably, it is not multi-user.

I have been looking forward to using Windows apps on a Mac and plan to take advantage of it when I buy my next Mac in about a year. I don’t see it as a threat and believe it will make my job easier.

Get it right the first time

2006-03-18T11:53:00.000-05:00

Let’s make a list of notable corporations with accounting issues: Tyco, Enron, World Com, and Adelphia. And then there’s the countless number of corporations that have had to restate the financial statements for less significant accounting errors. Today I read that GM has had to restate its financial statements. Obviously GM’s restatement should not be considered in the same degree of significance of the previously mentioned firms. However, I find a restatement by such a stalwart firm disturbing.

Let’s make something clear – restatement of financial statements due to a correction is a bad thing. Years ago when I was an accounting student, restatement of financial statements for an accounting correction was a rare event. And so it should be. The fundamental concept is that financial statements are to be issued in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Translation – get in right the first time!

I deeply believe that the fundamental approach to full and proper disclosure should be to properly classify all transactions, regardless of effect on the income statement. You do not allow your judgment of the treatment of an accounting transaction to be affected by its ability to satisfy some performance goal or quarterly performance. In a single word – ethics.

The accounting professional is always ultimately accountable to society. This can range from externally published financial statements to the preparation of internal financial statements that are used to prepare the organization’s tax return. Ultimately society relies on the full and proper disclosure of financial information.

Mac Mini Intel Core Solo and Mac Mini Intel Core Duo

2006-03-02T23:50:00.000-05:00

Well, they did it and it looks like a great deal. You can buy a new Mac Mini 1.5 GHz Intel Core Solo for $599 and a new Mac Mini 1.65 GHz Intel Core Duo for $799. They come with 60GB and 80GB hard drives, respectively. They also come with Combo Drive and Super Drive, respectively. Both come with built-in Airport Extreme, Bluetooth 2.0, 512MB RAM, Front Row, Apple Remote, iLife ’06, integrated Intel GMA950 graphics processor with 64MB of shared DDR2 SDRAM, 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet, four external USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 400 port, optical digital and analog audio in/out, built-in mono speaker and Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger.

The optical digital out makes this the missing component to your media center.

iPod Hi-Fi

2006-03-02T23:24:00.000-05:00

Apple has announced a shelve style external speaker system for the iPod. It’s primarily designed to sit on shelve, however, it can run on D cell batteries. As you would expect it charges your iPod while in the dock on the top of the unit. And it comes with an Apple Remote.

I wonder why Apple would enter this market. There are already numerous solutions in place. Apple’s expertise is in digital technology, not sound technology.

That being said, I will consider this product. I love having my iPod in the office connected to a decent set of speakers. I’m currently using a set up is a MegaWorks 3 speaker system from Cambridge SoundWorks and I love it. This thoroughly enhances my iPod experience. However, it’s not portable and it lacks a remote. I’ll definitely look at this product when I start my next job.

Dubai Ports World - Security is a government issue

2006-03-02T22:38:00.000-05:00

Dubai Ports World – A business perspective

I believe that Congress is significantly over reacting to the Dubai Ports World deal.

Security is the responsibility of various government organizations, most notably, the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Customs. The deal was reviewed and signed off by several U.S. government departments including the Department of Homeland Security.

Port management, namely, movement of the cargo is the responsibility of the port management company and the company does not have authority to open the containers nor does the firm have knowledge of what is in the containers. That knowledge falls in the hands of U.S. Customs.

The problem with port security is the lack of government resources to thoroughly inspect every container. Keep in mind the throughput volume that occurs at ports. It can be upwards of a million containers a year in a single port. This volume prohibits inspectors from removing and examining the contents of every container. Therefore, other inspection techniques must be used including modern and highly effective uses of technology. Based on a recent television reports, U.S. port security does not possess sufficient technological and personnel resources to provide adequate security.

Port security is independent from the ownership of the firm responsible for the movement of the sealed cargo containers. Longshoremen are responsible for container movement. Longshoremen aid security by recognizing and reporting suspicious containers.

True port security begins with cargo inspection and container security at the point of origination. What real difference would it make if a WMD is released when the container is still on the docked ship versus in the container yard?

Congress is overreacting and has made this a politic issue that is damaging our relations with middle-eastern businesses.

Hey! What's been going on?

2006-03-01T21:05:00.000-05:00

Hi folks! I’ve been absent for a while. So what have I been doing? Well, I left the firm I had been working back at the end of August. With the free time on my hands I’ve been involved in four things, two of which you already know about, namely blogging and podcasting. The other two items are conducting a job search and working for HR Block.

The job search – My dream job is to be a Powerball winner. Unfortunately I haven’t obtained that yet I need to take a more conventional route. Ideally I would like to obtain a controllership position will a small or medium sized company. Keep me in mind if you know of any opportunities in eastern Massachusetts.

HR Block – I first got this idea from a colleague when I was working as a financial planner. My colleague was a CPA and wanted to start a part time tax practice but lacked the hands-on experience. He compensated by taking the HR Block income tax course.

I took the course this fall. The cost was $150 – a real steal. I’m a Bentley College grad and took Income Tax as a senior. The HR Block course is competitive with the Bentley course. I was very impressed. To be come a Tax Professional for HR Block you need to score an 80 or higher on the final. My score was in the 90s. The next step was to go through 30 hours of training on the tax software and then start as a tax preparer. As you may imagine, studying for taxes, working at HR Block, working as a bartender on Friday nights and attempting to conduct a job search has kept me away from blogging.

And Now For a Little Personal News...

2005-12-18T18:54:00.000-05:00

So, what did you do over the Thanksgiving break?

I'm so glad you asked. Well, on Saturday, November 26th Patti and I got engaged.

Check out http://www.patriotcast.com/PhotosNov262005.html for two family photos and photos of the event.

The Unfortunate Need for Word Verification

2005-11-22T07:37:00.000-05:00

Hi folks! Hopefully I'll get caught up on some postings during the Thanksgiving break. This blog keeps getting hit with spam postings so I've decided to turn on word verification.

New iPod – Say Hello to video

2005-10-14T16:32:00.000-04:00

Hey, wait a minute. Didn’t Apple just announce a new iPod about 6 weeks ago? Yes they did and they did it again! The large iPod has been replaced with a new model that emulates the appearance of the new Nano. The new large iPod is 2.4” x 4.1”. Both the 30GB and the 60GB are thinner, coming in at 0.43” and 0.55” in thickness. Both have a 2.5” color screen. No change has been made to the click wheel, which, in my opinion, is the best physical implementation, especially when compared to earlier generations. Battery life is up to 20 hours.

So, what can a 60GB iPod hold? It can hold 15,000 songs with full-color album art and up to 25,000 photos. Oh, and then there’s the potential to hold 150 hours of video! OK, so how do you get the video to your iPod? Simply go to the iTunes Music Store (using the new iTunes version 6.0) where you can download music videos, video podcasts, short films from Pixar and television shows! As of today there are 6 shows available, including LOST and Desperate Housewifes. The cost is $1.99 a show and each show will be available the next day following the broadcast. Good-bye VCR and Tivo and Hello iPod.

OK, what about quality? Glad you asked – H.264 video, up to 768 Kbps with 320 x240 resolution at 30 frames per second. It can also handle MPEG-4 video up to 2.5 mbps with 480 x 480 resolution. And you connect the iPod to a TV via an optional s-video cable. Going to the neighbor’s house for dinner? Just stick your iPod and s-video cable in your pocket and share your vacation pictures and video via their TV. Now the only question is which will make them more jealous – the vacation or the iPod?

Sir Paul

2005-10-02T14:59:00.000-04:00

I need to share an incredible experience last Monday, September 26th. Patti and I attended the Paul McCartney Concert. For me it ranks as the best concert I've ever seen. The opening act was a bit disappointing. It consisted of a DJ spinning Techno samplings from Paul McCartney's hits. It wasn't my cup of tea. Then a slide show appeared with Paul during the narrative. It consisted of his early days. What I always find appealing is his modesty. Here you have the wealthiest, most successful musician on the planet and he comes across like your friend down the street.

Paul began playing at 8:30 and continued without a stop until approximately 11:15. His vocals are still strong and only show the sign of aging in a few spots. The special effects were great. The effects weren't over done. They had loud bangs followed by five big balls of flame at the back of the stage. This appeared during Live and Let Die. There were also sparkler effects and colored flames at other points in the show. The colored flames appeared at the side and front corners of the stage. The colors were solid red and then solid green. I don't know how they did this but the colors were quite vivid.

Paul sang virtually every hit you could think of except When I'm 64. I assume he's saving that one. And, of course, he sang Yesterday.

Now a word about cost. I purchased the tickets from Ticketmaster minutes after they went on sale. The final cost was $140 per ticket. I bought two. Parking was $25. Food at the new Garden in Boston was $13 and 5 beers cost $30. Three shirts cost $112. Total - $460. I don;t know about you but I think this is outrageous. That kind of expense limits me to one large concert a year, maybe. Don't these people know that I would go to more concerts if they cost less?!

Now I have to admit that I'm spoiled. On the weekends I work as a bartender at the Sit N' Bull Pub in Maynard, MA. I see live music by decent bands in a small casual night club. The cover is $5 to $35 depending upon the band, with the average in the $7 to $10 range. Local bands include The Love Dogs, The Fools, Fat City, Peter Wolf, Bruce Marshall Band and BeatleJuice. It's a great deal.

Setting Expectations

2005-09-22T11:05:00.000-04:00

As I recently said in my podcast (patriotcast), It is always important to set expectations. I will now attempt to set expectations with the hurricane Rita.

Seaside structures will be destroyed. If the storm hits Galveston, it will be wiped out. Road access to Galveston will be destroyed and anyone who stayed in Galveston will be stranded for 3 to 10 days, assuming they weren’t killed in the storm.

The petrochemical industry will be severely impacted. Any oil refinery in the greater Houston area will be damaged and offline for weeks, perhaps months. The reduction in refining capacity will drive gas prices up to $4 to $6 a gallon. Refining capacity was already at max’d out prior to this disruption.

There will be flooding along the Houston Ship Channel.

Houston will be severely damaged.

Power will be out for 2 to 6 weeks. Sewer treatment plants will be offline. Water will be disrupted for days.

Basic services – police, fire and hospitals will be disrupted for 1 to 2 weeks.

Unlike Katrina, you will see a far greater use of military assets in the initial rescue and recovery effort.

However, there are no levees to fail. The water will recede within hours since the area is above sea level.

It will be ugly.

Please, get out now!

To All of You in the Path of hurricane Rita

2005-09-22T09:07:00.000-04:00

I hope you have a safe journey as you evacuate away from the coast. Please get out of the way of this storm. If at all possible, please lend a hand to neighbors, friends, etc. and help them evacuate. Most importantly, please leave NOW.

To anyone staying behind – please don’t. The force of this storm will be devastating. Structures will be destroyed.

Best of luck to everyone who will be affected.

Thank You MacWorld Boston, You Will Be Missed

2005-09-18T23:30:00.000-04:00

On Friday, September 16th IDG World Expo announced that MacWorld Expo Boston has been cancelled. It is a sad day in the Mac community.

I began attending MacWorld in Boston in 1987. Unfortunately I have not been able to attend MacWorld Expo San Francisco. I know I’m truly missing a grand event in San Francisco and perhaps fate will allow me to attend some time in the future.

I consider myself very fortunate to experience the Boston shows. We all remember the hot, humid August days, the traffic, and the commuting between the two Expo sites - the World Trade Center (Boston) and Bayside Expo. I remember people bungee jumping from a crane. A friend of mine said it was the scariest thing he had ever done. I also remember the keynotes, especially when Steve Jobs returned and Bill Gates joined the keynote via teleconference. The announcements of the new partnership between the two organizations made headlines in papers around the country in 1997. Ironically, that was the last Boston MacWorld until 2004.

I thoroughly enjoyed the return of MacWorld Boston in 2004. The new convention center was enormous. Unfortunately, the number of vendors was limited, however, there were meetings galore. I was able to attend the keynote, “The Macintosh at 20 – The Celebration of 20 Years of Innovation. The keynote was hosted by the always-entertaining David Pogue. The original Mac development team appeared on stage and told tales of the early days. I bought a DVD of keynote and will hold on to it forever.

Bmac, Boston Macintosh User Group, was able to participate in the user group booth. It was refreshing to see so many people interested in a local user group. On Tuesday night in 2004 Bmac held its July monthly user group meeting at MIT and received a great turnout. The speaker for the evening was an Apple Engineer who was on vacation. This was quite a coup since Apple was not at the show.

The 2005 MacWorld Boston was another memorable event. I attended the MAC IT conferences and significantly participated in Bmac user group booth. While the show was small, spirits were high and I was able to meet and speak to numerous industry pundits, e.g., Chris Breen, Bob LeVitus, Andy Itnotko, Jason Snell and Adam Engst. This year Bmac was able to obtain meeting space at the show so Bmac held its July meeting at the show. The speaker was Adam Engst of TidBITs fame and again, we had a great turn out.

I would like to take a moment to thank everyone involved with MacWorld, especially Sarah Hindmarsh of IDG Expo, who’s hard work and support of Bmac will always be appreciated. I would also like to thank all of the speakers and vendors for their contributions. And finally, I would like to thank all of the MacWorld Boston attendees throughout the years for your continuous support and love of the Macintosh community.

Thank you MacWorld Boston, I’ll miss you.

Motorola ROKR (aka the iTunes Phone) - A necessary move

2005-09-09T13:09:00.000-04:00

Motorola ROKR (aka the iTunes Phone) – Another good move by Apple. It is crucial that Apple take some sort of action in this direction. Partnering is definitely the way to go. OK, so why an iTunes Phone? One word – teenagers. Wouldn’t a teenager love having the phone and iPod all in one neat little package? Yes, 20 and 30 something’s would want it too but that group would be more concerned with service and feature set. A teenager simply needs cellular service around their hometown.

Mobile virtual network operator – As was mentioned in the Wall Street Journal article on September 8th, one possibility is for Apple to enter the wireless service arena. To do so, Apple would buy wireless service wholesale and resell it. This could be the third rail of the iTunes Phone. I would not attach the Apple name to any wireless service. As all cellular users know, we all are disappointed with the reception and coverage, no matter who we use as a provider. Wireless service does not match Apple’s image of a high quality product and service. Step aside and let someone else take the blame for inadequate service.

The iPod Nano - another winner from Apple

2005-09-09T12:00:00.000-04:00

The iPod Nano – This product has every appearance of a winner. Apple has capitalized of the simple and universally recognized design of today’s larger iPod. As people say, size matters and in this case the smaller, the better; the larger the capacity, the better. And then there’s price point, getting the best bang of for your buck. Apple has achieved all three with the iPod Nano. The only issue I have is the name, why Nano? However, my concern about the name is pushed aside by the sleak appearance combined with the full functionality of its larger cousin.

What will this product do for Apple? Once again, the teenager and 20 something market is critical to capture. The goal – create a fan base for life. Every company in the world would love to have the loyal following that Mac owners continuously demonstrate. And Apple has repeated the process with the iPod. Innovation and quality are everything. Every MP3 developer is trying to design the iPod killer. Apple needs to do everything possible to prevent this – constantly improve the product, create a price range to meet everyone’s needs from the teenager to the high-end audiophile, and reduce physical size while maintaining the best interface in the industry. The iPod Nano addresses all of these issues and proves that Apple is still the leader of pack and will remain so as it continues to be sensitive to these factors.

Why does it take so long to provide relief?

2005-09-02T08:03:00.000-04:00

I, like everyone else, am frustrated at the length of time required to provide relief. I have extensive experience in business operations and therefore understand that some delay is to be expected, however, this seems to be taking too long. Let me explain. Recovery forces must be self-sufficient. This means they bring their own food, water, fuel, sanitary facilities and transportation. If you bring in 5,000 workers, you need to have physical space to “shelter” (read support) these people. Tent cities would need to be created. And this is just for the workers. Why do you need to do this? These workers will be on site for several days or weeks.

Obviously, you could disburse workers into the area while having others set up the necessary support facilities. Now let’s work on the timeline. Step 1 – Notify workers to move to centers to prepare to be mobilized. Step 2 – Load supplies and workers onto transportation. Step 3 – Transport workers. Step 4 – Disburse workers and supplies while creating “shelter” for workers. Step 5 – Prepare outside facilities to receive refugees. Step 6 – Transport refugees to outside facilities.

Step 1 – Place workers on alert – 12 to 24 hours
Step 2 – Load supplies – 12 hours
Step 3 – Transport workers – 12 to 48 hours
Step 4 – Disburse workers – 12 hours
Step 5 – Prepare outside facilities 24 to 48 hours
Step 6 – Transport Refugees 12 to 48 hours

Total time – 3.5 to 8 days

OK, so where do you put the refugees? And let’s keep in mind we’re talking about big numbers – over 100,000 people. An outside facility needs to be able to provide shelter, sanitary facilities and kitchens. Two possibilities come to mind – schools and hotels. I would allocate every school to this function. Classrooms become sleeping areas. All schools have sanitary and cafeteria facilities. I would move people north, east and west outside of the disaster area. This would affect a significant number of states. The start of school would be delayed.

Let’s assume an average school has 10 classrooms and you can put 12 cots in each classroom. That means a school could house 120 people. You would need 833 schools to house 100,000 people. Sounds doable to me.

Katrina

2005-09-01T08:49:00.000-04:00

To all of those effected by this event - The thoughts of the nation are with you. I realize at this moment the situation is absolutely unbearable, however, I truly believe that state and federal authorities are moving as quickly as possible. A rescue and recovery operation of this size unfortunately takes time to help those in need. My thoughts are with everyone effected and to the rescue and recovery personnel.

ER•6 Isolator Earphones – My ears are now spoiled

2005-08-21T18:28:00.000-04:00

As I stated in a previous post, I attended MacWorld Boston this summer a bought a few things. One of my show floor stops was at the Etymotic Research, Inc. (www.etymotic.com) booth.

Great Sales Technique - These folks sell basically one thing and they do it right. Numerous friendly representatives were offering you an opportunity to listen to the earphones. A representative placed the earphone in my ears – proper fit in vital to the sound quality. There were numerous iPods to listen to but had my iPod with me and was able to listen to my music. I was allowed to listen as long as I want and tested both the ER•6s and the ER•4s. These products sell themselves. I chose the ER•6s because they met my price point ($100).

Sound - The sound is simply great. I swear I hear things I’ve never noticed before in the music. As the sales reps and the literature explains, it is very important to get the ear phone deep in your ear canal otherwise you will not experience a proper bass response. I suggest you try both the plastic and foam ear tips.

Fit – Fit has always been an issue with me but the ER•6s fit great. The ER•6s come with both plastic and foam ear tips. The plastic ear tips did a better job blocking out external noise but I found them uncomfortable and I couldn’t get them deep enough into my ear canal. I was about to return the earphones and then I tried the form ear tips – outstanding! I rolled the form tips with my fingers thus temporarily compressing the ear tips. I then immediately inserted them into my ears and the foam expanded to a comfortable fit and great sound.

Customer Service – The representative gave me extra plastic tips when I purchased the ER•6s. I returned to the booth I mentioned that the foam tips worked great. They immediately gave me extra foam tips.

A great company and a great product. Make sure to stop by their booth if you see Etymotic Research at MacWorld.

The Invisible Shield for your iPod - Great Product

2005-08-19T14:45:00.000-04:00

I attended MacWorld this past summer and, as always, bought a few things. One of the items was called "Invisibleshield" by Protective Solutions, Inc. (www.theinvisibleshield.com). The product is a very thin protective film that you attach to your iPod. The stuff is incredible. At the show they had a sample of the film and asked you to poke a ballpoint pen through it. It was extremely hard to do. You then took a look at the models on display and it was hard to believe the film was actually on the product. The show price was approximately $16. While at the booth they offered to buff my iPod to remove some of the scratches. The gentleman spent about 5 minutes buffing my iPod and it looked significantly better. I carry my iPod in a case most of the time and the case actually scratches the iPod. Now it would have taken an hour or more of buffing to remove every mark, but I must tell you, my iPod looked much, much better.

I have a third gen model so they shipped me the film. In the package they request you go to the web site for directions. Initially the directions look a little overwhelming. However, in a nutshell they tell you to wet the sticky side of the film with soapy water and use a credit card to squeegee out the air bubbles. You are also assured that you can remove the film.

The application turned out to be easier than expected and the iPod looks fantastic. The film actually seems to reduce the remaining scratches. I don't recommend many products but this one is a winner. And yes, they have the Invisibleshield for PDAs, cell phones and other products.

The First Post

2005-08-15T20:49:00.000-04:00

Welcome! I hope you find my various posts entertaining, informative and stimulating.

Rule #1 - I will not hide behind my keyboard. I will attempt to communicate to you as though you and I were speaking in person, face to face. I will make every attempt to treat my readers with respect. I will not force my opinions upon you. Instead, I welcome constructive rebuttals and replies and will respond in kind.

Topics - Life, Macintosh, Current Events, Politics, Business, etc.

Macs - Love 'em. I help run a mac user group - BMAC, Boston's Macintosh User Group.

Current Events - I try to be thoughtful and not reactionary. In other words, listen and gather data instead of voicing an uneducated opinion. Immediate commentary on "breaking news" will hopefully demonstrate respectful restraint.

Politics - moderate conservative. I wish I was more knowledgeable. I try to watch Meet the Press on Sundays and read an occasional piece of political non-fiction, e.g., The Secret Man by Bob Woodward. I try to understand both sides of the issue.

Business - Expertise - a generalist, accountant by training. I have a BS in Accountancy from Bentley College and a MBA from Babson College. I take immense pride in my alma maters. I'm also a Certified management Accountant. Experienced in accounting, IT, academia and operations.

That's enough for now.

My next step is to develop a better understanding of Blogger and then start posting some items.

Stay tuned.

Gary