Mike Ellsworth's Comments

Listeners' Lounge™ - I Heart the Seventies Edition by Auntie Smedley

Jul 19, 2006 | rating: 10 | comments: 157

Mike Ellsworth Jul 20, 2006, 12:32pm EDT

Auntie, I had a hard time selecting a Rod Stewart song, and so gave up. Pretty much everything Rod did in the early '70s was fantastic.

I like Maggie May, but probably, if forced to pick one Rodder, it'd probably be Every Picture Tells a Story, although in contention would be the deep cut Cut Across Shorty, Street Fightin' Man, and Ol' Man River from Jeff Beck Group's Truth album (although technically not a '70s album, I sure listened to it a lot during the '70s.)

You're Hit! What Next? . . . A Slight Return by Mike Ellsworth

Apr 27, 2006 | rating: 10 | comments: 3

Mike Ellsworth Jul 19, 2006, 7:36pm EDT

Yeah, there are way too many Mikes in the world. Luckily, it's no longer the number one boy name. In 20 years, we'll be awash in Jacobs.

VoIP Security Is Horrible by Mike Ellsworth

Mar 8, 2006 | rating: 10 | comments: 3

Mike Ellsworth Jul 19, 2006, 7:34pm EDT

Yeah, spoofed called ID is a problem that could affect all of us, even if we've never even heard of VoIP.

And unauthorized access to live calls because of a poorly designed protocol is even scarier than legitimate businesses recording your voice.

Net Switzerland in Danger by Mike Ellsworth

Jun 22, 2006 | rating: 10 | comments: 3

Mike Ellsworth Jul 19, 2006, 7:32pm EDT

Please do!

Listeners' Lounge™ - I Heart the Seventies Edition by Auntie Smedley

Jul 19, 2006 | rating: 10 | comments: 157

Mike Ellsworth Jul 19, 2006, 7:17pm EDT

Say, I just thought. Perhaps this bunch would get into my Third Obscure Reference Contest from my newsletter. Actually, we just got a winner yesterday, but this was a particular 'nad buster, and it requires encyclopedic knowledge of '70s music ephemera. Check it out at the bottom of this page:

http://www.stratvantage.com/news/071206.htm

Anyone with the right answer gets honorable mention in the next newsletter.

Listeners' Lounge™ - I Heart the Seventies Edition by Auntie Smedley

Jul 19, 2006 | rating: 10 | comments: 157

Mike Ellsworth Jul 19, 2006, 7:08pm EDT

Fave 70s songs:

Freddie's Dead
Respect Yourself
Shaft
Starship Trooper (Yes)
Won't Get Fooled Again
Stairway to Heaven (yeah, it was fresh once)
Eighteen - Alice Cooper
Imagine
The Thrill is Gone
Alison - Elvis Costello
Ventura Highway (yes, I know)
Radar Love (oh, c'mon, you know you love phonetic English!)
Video Killed the Radio Star - The Buggles
Solsbury Hill
Your Song
Cinnamon Girl
Brown Sugar
anything Joe Cocker did
Love Her Madly
Walk on the Wild Side
Black Magic Woman
Big Yellow Taxi
Sultans of Swing
Roadhouse Blues
Born to Run
Breakdown
Roxanne
My Sharona (such a nasty smile on that guy)
Rocky Mountain Way (stolen from Sly)
Welcome to the Machine
Werewolves of London
Reeling in the Years
Moondance
Bang A Gong (Get it On) - love that hubcap diamond star halo
Papa Was a Rollin' Stone
You've Got a Friend
China Grove
Brick House
Rhiannon
Lola (the Coca Cola version)
Superstar - the Leon Russell version
What's Goin' On
Truckin'
Old Time Rock and Roll
Hotel California
War - Edwin Starr (good gawd, y'all!)
Money
Live and Let Die
Mudshark
The Joker
Reggae Woman
Frankenstein
Higher Ground
Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands - Richie Havens
Hold Your Head Up
Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting
Spill the Wine
The Cover of "Rolling Stone"
Just My Imagination
American Pie - what's it all mean, Mr. Natural?
Let's Stay Together
Pick Up The Pieces
I Will Survive

Say, this sounds like a good mix CD . . .

The Imperial Presidency, Run Amok by Dean LeBaron

Jul 14, 2006 | rating: 9.6 | comments: 36

Mike Ellsworth Jul 19, 2006, 6:20pm EDT

Con,

Thanks for the clarification. So, Bush's use of signing statements could be used as precedence in broadening the authority of the executive, since that's how powers not specifically granted by the Constitution come into being, right?

The Imperial Presidency, Run Amok by Dean LeBaron

Jul 14, 2006 | rating: 9.6 | comments: 36

Mike Ellsworth Jul 19, 2006, 12:16pm EDT

Con Chapman, who obviously knows law better than this layman, said above:

"Presidential powers include necessary and appropriate incidental powers, including the power to issue formal interpretations by executive orders, not just powers expressly stated in the Constitution. For an example from a Democratic administration, consider Clinton's decision not to enforce federal court decisions affecting compulsory collection of union dues from government employees."

If a president's powers don't stem from the Constitution, isn't that a problem? Sure, his (or maybe someday, her) job is to execute. And although it makes me uncomfortable, I guess failure to enforce a law might be considered justifiable in some cases. But, really, the president should not have the power to change law. Can we at least agree on that?

Not being a constitutional scholar, though, I'd like to know where the president's powers come from if not the Constitution. Sure there's a tradition, but if a particular power of the executive is challenged, and it is found not to flow from the Constitution, how can it be upheld?

I agree that finding an injured party for a test case seems unlikely, so perhaps we'll never know.

The Imperial Presidency, Run Amok by Dean LeBaron

Jul 14, 2006 | rating: 9.6 | comments: 36

Mike Ellsworth Jul 14, 2006, 8:44pm EDT

Ben, I think you miss the point of the article. Signing statements should not be used to change law, or legal interpretations of law. That usurps the power of the legislative branch.

And don't try that, "other branches have usurped powers, so why can't the executive?" argument. That didn't work against my Mom, and it shouldn't work in government either.

Ken Lay's Legacy by Dean LeBaron

Jul 7, 2006 | rating: 9.8 | comments: 15

Mike Ellsworth Jul 7, 2006, 2:42pm EDT

Isn't it ironic that Lay's legacy will be sanitized because his conviction will be set aside. The reason: Being dead, he had no opportunity to appeal. When did a conviction stop bringing finality and start being just a waypoint along the way of appeal?

Lay was in massive denial, it's true, and his sins were more sins of omission than commission, but to have the record of his conviction expunged seems like a real disservice to the honest CEOs of the world.

Leadership at the National Level by Ben Simonton

Jun 24, 2006 | rating: 1 | comments: 21

Mike Ellsworth Jun 26, 2006, 5:58pm EDT

Oh, and Ben? I have three small businesses and I'm a centrist Democrat. I know many other small business owners who are not conservatives. There's nothing un-Democratic about making money.

Leadership at the National Level by Ben Simonton

Jun 24, 2006 | rating: 1 | comments: 21

Mike Ellsworth Jun 26, 2006, 5:55pm EDT

Regarding old chemical weapons materials found in Iraq, please remember, we knew Saddam USED TO have a program. Certainly we can expect some to remain.

Show me evidence of an active program in WMD before going off half-cocked. Better yet, show me hard evidence that the White House used to make the decision to go to war.

Ben, unless you can post some articles you're reading that are critical of Republicans, I'm beginning to doubt you're an independent.

Democrats want to get out of Iraq because it's a quagmire that Rumsfeld said could last up to 12 years. Let's not abandon Iraq, but let's at least have a plan for getting out before 12 years.

And, yes, it's perfectly consistent for a leader to say, "I'm proud I voted to authorize the President to use force as a last resort, but I'm dismayed that a) force appears to have been used based on faulty intelligence and b) force was used without a coherent plan." That's not what I would call a flip-flop. That's a rational adjustment to reality.

Leadership at the National Level by Ben Simonton

Jun 24, 2006 | rating: 1 | comments: 21

Mike Ellsworth Jun 26, 2006, 5:47pm EDT

True leaders don't mischaracterize those who oppose them. Gore never claimed to have invented the Internet but rather that he was instrumental in the legistation that created it. And that's true.

As far as Gore declining to help Lieberman, I think he's in the tough position of not wanting to attack his former running mate. Unfortunately, this requires him to come up with some reason why, politics being what they are these days.

IBD:

Being smitten by Internet politics would come naturally to Gore, who took credit for inventing the information superhighway during his 2000 presidential campaign. Two years ago, when Howard Dean showed some prowess at Internet fundraising, Gore backed the one-time Vermont governor's losing bid for the presidency.

So now, explaining why he won't help Lieberman, Gore said: "I typically do not get involved in Democratic primaries." Would you listen to this guy on any issue?

True, a better leader might have found some other way to put it, but I'm sure if you look at Gore's entire career, I'd bet you'd find that he doesn't typically get into endorsing candidates in primaries.

Leadership at the National Level by Ben Simonton

Jun 24, 2006 | rating: 1 | comments: 21

Mike Ellsworth Jun 26, 2006, 5:42pm EDT

From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Kerry

On April 18, 1985, a few months after taking his Senate seat, Kerry and Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa traveled to Nicaragua and met the country's president, Daniel Ortega. Though Ortega was democratically elected, the trip was criticized because Ortega and his leftist Sandinista government had strong ties to Cuba and the USSR. The Sandinista government was opposed by the right-wing CIA-backed rebels known as the Contras. While in Nicaragua, Kerry and Harkin talked to people on both sides of the conflict. Through the senators, Ortega offered a cease-fire agreement in exchange for the US dropping support of the Contras. The offer was denounced by the Reagan administration as a "propaganda initiative" designed to influence a House vote on a $14 million Contra aid package, but Kerry said "I am willing...to take the risk in the effort to put to test the good faith of the Sandinistas." The House voted down the Contra aid, but Ortega flew to Moscow to accept a $200 million loan the next day, an act which in part prompted the House to pass a larger $27 million aid package six weeks later.[1]

I personally don't expect my leaders to be always right and to never change their minds about an issue. Who would want somebody like that? Situations change and politicians must change as well.

Leadership at the National Level by Ben Simonton

Jun 24, 2006 | rating: 1 | comments: 21

Mike Ellsworth Jun 26, 2006, 5:37pm EDT

Ben,

Assuming you're truly independent, you should research claims by BOTH sides. For example:

http://www.unspun.us/archives/000434.html

[T]he picture was taken when Kerry was part of a delegation of veterans' groups visiting Vietnam partly to find out what happened to soldiers still listed as "missing in action[.]" Rick Horowitz, Hanoi War Crimes Museum, Unspun™, ¶ 4, (August 21, 2004).

ClipQuote of the Day, June 23: "Don't wait for your ship to come in . . ." by New Work City

Jun 23, 2006 | rating: 10 | comments: 1

Mike Ellsworth Jun 23, 2006, 1:02pm EDT

Donna,

Cool service. I'm a quote collector as well, and just put up a rotating quote banner on my Website featuring an almost 400 item database of personally collected quotes:

http://www.stratvantage.com/services.htm

I'm amazed that you can do a graphic treatment of a quote a day! Good on ya!

REAL Pen Computing by Mike Ellsworth

Feb 14, 2006 | comments: 3

Mike Ellsworth Feb 18, 2006, 4:50pm EST

Good comments, Adam. But keep in mind that the proper position for keyboard is not with your wrist "arched" but rather with your hands dangling, as it were, from your wrists. In fact, ergonomic experts prefer that your keyboard slant away from you, rather than toward you. See Cornell's recommendations: "In the ideal typing posture both static and dynamic muscle loads are minimized. This posture is achieved when the keyboard is below seated elbow height and the keyboard base is gently sloped away from the user so that the key tops are accessible to the hands in a neutral posture."

Thus, a keyboard projected on a flat, horizontal surface is actually no worse, and possibly better, than a standard keyboard. Of course, there's no give to the surface, and no tactile feedback, so the experience is unlikely to be better than typing on a real keyboard.

Replace Your Boat Anchor by Mike Ellsworth

Jan 11, 2006 | rating: 9 | comments: 2

Mike Ellsworth Jan 30, 2006, 10:45am EST

Kate, On January 6, Google announced Google Video store, Google Pack beta, a free collection of safe, useful software from Google and other companies, and Google on Motorola handsets. Needless to say, these announcements aren't quite what we were expecting.

Why Do We Have Personal Computers? by Mike Ellsworth

Oct 17, 2005 | rating: 7.7 | comments: 4

Mike Ellsworth Jan 30, 2006, 10:15am EST

Benjamin, I agree about the morphing of other devices into more general computing appliances, and certainly game consoles are a prime candidate. You can already watch DVDs on them and even hook up to the Internet via Wi-Fi. Next is email and other basic functions to connect you to other gamers, and then who knows beyond that?

The TV itself definitely becomes a computing device once HDTV becomes ubiquitous, and IP phones are already thin clients. I've written before about how computers will fade into the environment, much like the electric motor did in the early part of last century. I fully expect this, and the moment in which we no longer buy a computer since computing is all around us.

PJ, I agree the thin client will have persistent storage, perhaps in the form of silicon rather than a hard driver. And, yes, these devices won't be '80s style dumb terminals, but neither will they be stand-alone computing platforms. I also agree with the points you made in your blog about Web 2.0 being about thinner computing. AJAX is the leading edge of an effort to remake software and computing into a kinder, gentler thing. And about time, too! I just struggled all weekend to revive my son's aging Dell laptop and fought every step of the way with Windows 2000's inflexibility.

Finally, I think the most important trend on the horizon is something IBM has been touting for years: self-healing systems. These systems will diagnose and fix themselves, making lost weekends like I just had a thing of the past. I can't wait!

Nobel's Legacy: Can We Alter it? by Bill K.

Jul 25, 2005 | rating: 8.1 | comments: 6

Mike Ellsworth Oct 7, 2005, 6:50pm EDT

There are all kinds of ways to make explosives - think propane or natural gas or hydrogen - so enabling tracers or neutralizing one will only make Evil Doers turn to another. The real solution is to prevent the creation of Evil Doers by a sane foreign policy and foreign aid aimed at supporting poor and desperate people so their minds can't be colonized by hate.

Oh, and planned parenthood might help, too. To bad our administration is not addressing the root causes that will create the terrorists of two decades from now.