The View From the Outback© 2000 Richard C. Rhodes
A great deal of what we read in newspapers, magazines, and books, and what we see in the movies and on TV is written and produced in New York City or Los Angeles. Much of the "political wisdom" comes from the PR machines of the White House, the Congress, and from the Washington media corps. In short, one might conclude that all knowledge, wisdom, and wit are confined to those who inhabit New York City, Washington DC, or Hollywood. I am now a senior citizen. My experience was gained in many cities in the U.S. and in about 30 foreign countries. That experience has included the U.S. Marines, law school, the ATF, the CIA, Fortune 500 executive, writer, public speaker, educator, editor, and publisher - for openers. For over 20 years, I have written articles off and on for various magazines and newspapers. I've had an enormous number of letters published in major national publications. The Outback is the rural area in Northeast Texas where I have lived for the past 13 years. Every couple of weeks I will attempt to post a new set of musings from the Outback. I finished most of my packing and can't work outside due to rain. So, I did the only thing I know to do. I wrote on a couple of subjects, which are posted below. Along with some topical things that come to the front from time to time. Click on a Topic to go directly to that topic. Whose idea was it to invade Iraq? And win the war? A fine mess you've gotten us into. Congratulations to the writers, producers, and actors on TV's "Frasier" for being non-politically correct. In one scene, Roz is complaining about not being able to fire her incompetent assistant at her new job. Her comment was along the lines that "she is some kind of three minorities in one." Later, Roz returns to her old production booth at the "Frasier Crane" show to find a lady in a wheelchair has taken over her old job. Roz wheels the lady down the hall at high speed, never to be seen again. Not that I am in favor of cruel behavior to those in wheelchairs, since I am about one false step from being in one. But, it was so refreshing to see the minority (aka affirmative action) and disability taboos broken. That is what you can do when it is your last season. Technology overload: I bought a recliner with a built-in vibrator. My new cell phone has a vibrating battery. I got my first vibrating cell-phone call while sitting in my recliner. I though my vibrating chair had shorted out and started looking for the control head. (One reason I don't write much anymore, is that I cannot seem to concentrate - with all that is happening in my life. In this paragraph I said "My new call phone." Only after reading this thing about five times after it was posted, did I find the error. It is probably one of about 20 errors. I just found three more, further down. It takes all the fun out of this little venture. What good is spell checking if it is a real word? I gotta start using the grammar checker. It is smarter.) Samsung, the giant electronics firm in South Korea, was in financial trouble about five years ago. One strategy employed was to reduce labor costs by making things, or parts of them, in China. First, we saw Japan begin to produce products "offshore" to reduce labor costs. Now, you are hard pressed to find an electronic gadget from a Japanese company that is fully made and assembled in Japan. Millions of American jobs in the textile, sneaker, electronics, automobile, and other industries have been lost due to moving production and/or assembly to other countries - where labor is cheap and environmental laws are lax. If the trend continues, and it will, in 50 years, foreign companies may seek out American companies to make their goods, as our labor rates will by then have become the lowest in the world. But, by then, we will say "Sorry, we don't do windows. We spend all of our time making computer stuff, shuffling information to and fro, making bombs, and tanks, and airplanes, and aircraft carriers and subs." Were it not for the needs of the military, the American labor force would be mostly out of work. Perhaps closer to the truth than hyperbole. I'm no economist. I just read the labels of the stuff I buy. And count the bombs and missiles we have exploded in the recent past. A day after I wrote the paragraph about Japan and S. Korea making electronics offshore to save on labor costs, I bought a 5.8GHz wireless phone from Panasonic, a revered Japanese firm. On the box is the following information: "Made in Malaysia, AC Adaptor Made in China, Battery Made in Indonesia." It is the new wave of wireless, battery phones that is touted not to interfere with your WiFi network, which older 2.4GHz and 900MHz phones can do. It is very high tech, with a speaker-phone function on both the base and on the handset, digital answering, mailboxes, caller ID screens on both the base and the handset. You can add several handsets, perhaps in distant parts of your warehouse or mansion, each with its own charging cradle. A "Privacy" button precludes others users on your 5.8GHz Panasonic extension phones from listening in on your conversation. Apparently, this feature was included by an engineer who was cheating on his wife, or had a teenage daughter who saw the early plans and insisted, "Dad, I need my privacy when I am talking." The first report on the quality of the speaker phone in the handset, talking about a foot away, was good. The quality of the canned outgoing message is about the best digitally-generated audio I have ever heard. I walked about 200 yards down the road from the house and still got a dial tone. (KX-TG5100M www.panasonic.com) The president's Commission on the U.S. Postal Service Reform (or whatever it is called) has issued it report. One stunning example. There are about 180,000 ongoing disputes between management and labor at the USPS. Yet, there is a huge waiting list for employment at the Post Office. Must be a bunch of masochists. Or is it the lure of an almost guaranteed lifetime job no matter how you perform? Or relatively high salaries for work that cannot be described as rocket science? In a comparably-sized corporation, the number of disputes might reach 8,000. Labor accounts for 76% of the cost of running the USPS. The sorting, bar-coding, and other automated equipment is among the best in the world, although there is room for improvement. But, it does not take a genius to see where to start. Management, dead-wood and dead-beat employees, and the mish-mash of labor unions that confuse and obfuscate labor/management issues. Good luck. Just like Bush (and others before him) was going to reduce the size of government. And has anybody ever decided to mail a letter or package as the result of the millions spent on TV to sponsor Lance Armstrong and the bike races? Ridiculous. Stunningly, the co-chair of the commission said it might take one to two decades for the American public to really embrace online bill paying and receipt of bills online. Who did this guy talk to? Does he own a computer? Even I, who distrust the security of the Internet more than most, pay most of my bills online. I now write about 7-10 checks a month - mostly to companies in the Outback who have not figured out how to get on the Internet. Duh! Many days, my post-office box is empty or has a couple of pieces of junk mail. By the way, first-class mail is the mainstay of the USPS, and the commission suggests sticking to "the core business." That would be letters and packages. Years ago, I stopped answering phone calls unless I could see from the caller ID that it was somebody I knew. I set the rings for 7 (which discourages many autodialers - and they hang up) and let the machine pick up for me. Then, I got on the Texas do-not-call list. Now, I hardly ever get a call from a stranger - and if I do, I don't answer it. Bored to tears one day, I got a call from "Out of Area." I decided to play some mind games with the apparent telemarketer. "Hello, is the head of the household there?" "Who is this?" I asked. "Texas Polls." "What do you do?" "We take opinion polls ...." "Oh, I'm terribly sorry," I said in a sympathetic voice. "I just don't have any opinions on anything." And I hung up. Mr. technical wizard got a lesson in humility recently. My phone line had been very noisy and my Internet had been performing dismally. I unplugged every device in the house except my very expensive Nortel Meridian 9516, which when it came out was the ultimate phone for a home user. The phone man, whom I knew pretty well, said that I had something off-hook in the house. No way, I said. On a hunch he pulled the cord on my fabulous Meridian 9516. It had a short in it. The noise went away and my Internet logon speed was back to normal. I paid $369, or so, for that phone when it first came out. I guess I was not willing to even put it on the "suspect" list. Searching on the Internet to find a replacement, and I still can't figure out from all the misleading ads if it is still in production (most likely not - the word "refurbished" appeared a lot), I had one Google hit that really got my goat. It was from a guy who had written a highly laudatory article about the Meridian 9516 in an Internet column called "The View From the Outback." You guessed it. It was my own article from years ago taunting me. Google never ceases to amaze me. Well, the 9516 worked flawlessly for many years, and through some horrific lightning storms. It served me well. Not only did I have to buy a new phone, but the phone company will charge me $30 for finding that the problem was inside my house. I love deregulation. It has been such a blessing to the consumer. Tell me again exactly how that blessing part works? You are perhaps too young to remember when a phone man came into your house, did some troubleshooting, and if your phone was bad, he gave you a new one. What a stupid system. No wonder they did away with it. I am not a fan of celebrities and don't read about them at any of the usual sources. More than once, I have referred to David Letterman's mystery girlfriend. Now, an article notes that he and long-time live-in girlfriend, REGINA LASKO, are going to have a baby. A Google search for Ms. Lasko turned up so many hits that I am tired of reading them. So far, I found only one photo, a shot published in the GLOBE in 1996, ostensibly of Dave and Regina walking on the beach in swim wear. I mention all of this only in connection with the continuing mystery of why the "Will-it-float" model, the blonde Nadine, left the show. Now, I finally can put to rest any wild thought that she might be Dave's girlfriend. I still like my theory that Regina said that Nadine had to go, as she was too chummy with Dave. Someday I will find out why Nadine left, but it is not as high a priority as finding Saddam and Usama. On Nov. 10, 2001, the Outback contained an article entitled "Enviro-Terrorists Operate With Near Impunity - But Not For Long?" Recently, enviro-terrorists set fire to SUVs in California, in one case causing $1 million in damages. "ELF" was scrawled at some of the fires (read my piece, which refers to the Earth Liberation Front). Now, they have arrested a man and charged him with the $1 million fire at a Hummer dealership. Why can't we bypass the normal judicial system and try this guy in a "terrorist court." The punishment: being strapped into a Hummer, doused with gas, and set on fire. Damn, why must we live in such a civilized society where an "eye-for-an-eye" cannot be enforced? The MSBLASTER and SoBig.F viruses (worms) caused tremendous turmoil on the Internet
and with e-mail. There is little excuse for being a victim of this type attack. Computer users have
a mind set somewhat like Americans did before 9/11 - it won't happen to me. Just like there is a
global war on terrorism, we must join the global war on those who would disrupt and corrupt the
Internet. Let the state and federal authorities track down the perpetrators. But, protect your own
computer with the available tools. I heard of computer stores charging $60 to clean out the mess from Sobig.F or MSBLASTER. Sad, there were free cleaning tools available at Symantec.com (and others) that you could carry around on a floppy. My ISP finally made the files available on a floppy for $1 if you would come by their office. There was little excuse for anybody not to have downloaded the Microsoft update fix that
would have prevented the MSBLASTER from getting into your computer. It was on their update
site long before the MSBLASTER outbreak. So, rule one is set your Windows software for
"automatic updates." In XP, Open Control Panel, then double-click on System. Click on Automatic Updates. Put a check in the box that says: "Keep my computer up to date." Most people will be best served by checking the box that begins with: "Notify me before downloading any updates ...". Otherwise, you may find your work interrupted by a 30 minute to 1 hour automatic download if you are on a dialup modem connection. By being "notified," (with an icon on your system tray and a message) you can at your leisure take a look at the available updates and install only those you need. Use an Internet Firewall (not the one embedded in Windows XP) and get an anti-virus
program. I have used Zone Alarm Pro, Sygate, and Norton's Firewall. I prefer Norton Internet
Security 2003. You get the Internet Firewall, the latest virus protection, including virus scanning
of incoming and outgoing e-mail, ad blocking, blocking of pop-up windows, privacy controls,
spam alert, and parental control. If you have Norton System Works, the Internet Security
selection shows up on the same screen menu, and all System Works elements and Internet
Security are updated by one click on Live Update. Set the Anti-virus LiveUpdate on automatic, but again you may wish to check the box that
says "Notify me when updates are available." A little flashing icon will show up on your system
tray when there is an update and you are connected to the Internet. Norton usually updates their
virus and firewall protection on Wednesdays, but sometimes they do it several times a week.
Run your anti-virus program in the background, so that it is constantly scanning transactions
on your computer. In Norton, this is called Auto-protect. Once a week run a full anti-virus scan.
You can schedule it for a time you would not normally be working at your computer. Make sure you have checked "Scan Incoming E-mail" and "Scan Outgoing E-mail." During
the recent SoBig.F outbreak, Norton caught the e-mails with the virus and my ISP filtered out
their share. One of the most common virus attacks is one that searches your address book and
other folders for e-mail addresses. Then, the program sends the virus on to every e-mail address
on your computer. Scanning Incoming e-mail should catch most viruses. But one might slip through, due to you not updating your virus protection or a very new virus not yet protected against. If you later update your anti-virus definitions, and if you scan Outgoing e-mail, these malicious virus-laden outgoing e-mails should be caught. If everybody kept their anti-virus definitions up to date and scanned Incoming and Outgoing e-mails, most of the attacks on your Outlook Express address book, etc. would be nipped in the bud. The Internet Firewall does many things. Most have similar features. In Norton, only a very
few ports are allowed to pass traffic. The rest of the ports are invisible to "probes" of your
computer, which are looking for a soft spot to load a Trojan Horse or Worm into your computer.
Norton also lets you enter parts of your sensitive information in its Privacy module, such as the
last 5 digits of your online bank password. If that information is about to be transmitted to the
Internet, you will get an on-screen notice. So Worms and Trojan Horses that try to suck out your
personal information are stopped dead. If you have a cable modem or other "always on" Internet connection, click on "Block Traffic" when you are not surfing or checking e-mail to stop all communications with the Internet. Norton is very good about offering updates to the list of
attacks that might be coming in over your computer while you are online (and blocking them). I
don't recall Zone Alarm being so current. There are many who argue for AVG, the free anti-virus software, for McAfee, for Trend
Micro, etc. I have used them all. But, I have never had a virus make it into my computer while
using Norton, and I have never had an intrusion via a port that was left unprotected by the Norton
Firewall. Plus, their firewall, anti-virus, ad blocking, and privacy filter all are seamless and updated
with one click of the mouse. Unlike some programs, Norton checks your files to see what
updates you need and sends you only those, not some stupid 1MB file with the entire backlog of
information. Microsoft Windows Update also scans your computer and offers you only the
update files you need. And as far as anyone knows, neither Norton or Microsoft collects any
personal data during the update process. And for the hundredth time, stop using the number one virus target in the world, Outlook,
and get Eudora Pro 5.2 for e-mail (now in release 6.0), and add the fully-integrated Spamnix program. Although Eudora 6.0 paid version comes with an auto-spam filtering system that sounds remarkably like the technology of Spamnix. I don't know for sure, since I changed my e-mail address, I no longer get spam. There are several other fine alternatives to using Outlook for mail. www.eudora.com and www.spamnix.com. Also consider using Netscape 7.1 (a new version) instead of Internet Explorer. Netscape is less likely to be attacked, and the system of opening Tab Folders is terrific when viewing several pages on the same site. It also has a very good Cookie filtering system. Netscape now has Print Preview and other good stuff. Netscape 7.1 is, of course, a free download. You can order the CD for less than 5 bucks. If you read the Netscape download site carefully you will find where you can download the entire program (for offline installation), so that you can burn your own CD and install Netscape on all your computers, or those of your friends. I also have SystemSuite 4.0 from V-Communications. They bought the fix-it utilities from
Ontrack (along with my beloved PowerDesk 5.0 file manager plus). The suite also has the Sygate
firewall and Trend Micro anti-virus. The suite has several problems, which I might comment on
later. Version 5.0 is now out, along with a separate version of Fix-It Utilities 5.0 (comparable to
Norton System Works). If V-Com and I can end our feud over my request for a free or low-priced
upgrade, since I just bought 4.0, I will be reporting on 5.0. This might seem like overkill to most of you. I run two desktop computers. One I use only for e-mail, Web surfing, FTP to my Web page, and downloading files. I back up my e-mail and downloads each day (often several times a day, with a one-click batch file) to an external USB 2.0 40GB hard drive, which I turn off after I do my backup. If by some misadventure, I get a new virus, it cannot attack my data on the external USB drive, because it is turned off! So, if I go get whacked by a virus, it probably won't cause me too much grief, other than maybe having to reinstall Windows XP and a few programs. On my other computer, I do my writing, finances, database work, camera and photo work, scanning, color printing, etc. I use a Bitronics Data Switch to switch my HP Laserjet 6P from one computer to the other. You can buy a computer for use on just e-mail and Internet for a few hundred dollars. Something to think about. It gives you real peace of mind. I do not network the two computers. I transfer files from one to the other with a LEXAR USB 2.0 256MB solid-state flash drive or a floppy disk. Once a month or so, I back up all data files on both computers to CD-R and store them in a home safe. And I keep all my e-mail files for the last several years, my homepage files, and a few others, on that flash drive and carry it with me. Me paranoid? In over 20 years, I cannot remember losing a significant file to a virus, an accidental erasure, a hard-drive failure, or a computer failure. Paranoia has its virtues. Cookies do two basic things. They tell a web site when you have visited and what you looked
at. Sometimes that information is used to target ads at you. Cookies also contain logons and
passwords for sites you visit and want to be remembered, such as Amazon.com, or your online
bank. There are all kinds of clever tricks that advertisers use with cookies, so a long time ago I
purchased Cookie Pal (www.kburra.com). You can now manage cookies reasonably well in Internet Explorer. But Cookie Pal is simple,
intuitive and foolproof. You can let it set a cookie for just the session, never, or always - on any
given site. You can add or delete sites and you can view all the cookies currently on your
computer. The only ones I allow to be set are for my bank, credit cards, two or three online
merchants I deal with regularly, and a very few newspaper and news sites (see next paragraph). Sometimes I look at the online summary of rejected cookies and see that one site may have tried to set 40 or more cookies at one session. Ridiculous. Norton Internet Security also has cookie management, but I stick with Cookie Pal which has never let me
down. My list of "banned sites" is as long as your arm. If you shop online, consider obtaining a free Web-based e-mail address in your true name, which you can always dump if it gets too much into the public domain - and you start getting spam. Regarding registering at sites that are information only: First, try to use a phony name and a bogus e-mail address - one so outlandish that it could not possibly be the address of a real person. I go to the trouble to check online phone books to make sure that I am not using the name of someone who lives in the city of the bogus address I select. That is easier to do with a city of 1000,000 or less. It also helps to have a big city phone book to ponder oddball variations on the spelling of last names. I go to considerable trouble to ensure that I am not invading the privacy of - or misusing the name of - a real person in that city. If the site insists on e-mailing you a password or confirmation, sign up for one of the free Web-based e-mails, and find one where you can register with a phony name and with no request for your "current" e-mail address - or any indication that they will send confirmation, etc. to your "current" e-mail address. Then, when you find a newspaper or some site that insists that you register, and indicates that they will send you a password or confirmation, use the Web-based e-mail that you applied for with the phony name, etc. Put in there that you were born in 1892 and your annual income is $350,000. Who cares what you put? Drive 'em nuts. They nag you to death. Cheap bastards. If they don't want to share the news with you free, then they should not put it on the Web. Don't they make enough from print sales and ads and online ads? Without selling your personal data to everyone in the Universe? My one exception, I pay for an online subscription to The Wall Street Journal - in true name and with my "real" information. At one major newspaper that insists on a long registration, I am registered under an alias, at a non-existent address, and with a fictitious e-mail account - which is so long and complicated it could not possibly be someone else's e-mail address. I will guarantee you that I do not get any spam from that registration. You should guard your identity and your e-mail address with every strategy you can think of. There is no law that you have to answer your phone when the caller ID says "Out of Area," etc. We (not me) do it out of habit and some strange social convention that you must answer your phone. Although you may be a moral person, there is no law that you have to fill out forms on the Internet truthfully. Read some of the "privacy policies" at popular Web sites. You will astounded at how widely many sites admit they will disseminate your personal information. When you can, give them garbage to disseminate. Unless you are forced to do so, such as when you buy online by credit card, never, ever fill in your phone number on a form. Some sites with whom you do not do business still insist on your phone number when you register. Try your area code, and 555-XXXX e.g., 214-555-9856. As I recall, about the only valid 555 number is 555-1212 for information. Note that all phone numbers, shown in the course of TV shows, other than for ads, are 555-XXXX. That's the reason. Nobody will answer. In a search of the Web for variations on XXX 555-1212, I was astounded at how many sample forms used their area code followed by 555-1212. Use a little imagination folks, that call will cost somebody. As a test, I dialed 1-202-555-9856 (Washington DC) and heard "your call cannot be completed as dialed." Gee, I was hoping it was a secret number for NSA and I could have some fun. If the site's software is smart enough to reject a 555 number, then pick someone you have a beef with, like Dan Rather's extension at CBS, or the California Department of Motor Vehicles, or the ACLU, or PETA, or Senator Schumer, and use their number. Forgive me - for I have no control over my thoughts. It is a residual from my work in the "dirty tricks division" of CIA. I am forever contaminated with thoughts of devious schemes.
A hint: if you read the huge variety of news available at Yahoo, with no registration, and read the Associated Press (if you search links to AP from major newspapers, you can find a way to put a bookmark directly to AP), you can spare yourself the liberal diatribes and slanted reporting of many of the major dailies. Of course, there are many other free, no registration-required sites for authentic news, many of which I visit daily. On a couple, they ask only for your Zip code, and true to form, I don't even give my correct Zip code. I am simply tired of all this prying and collecting of information. Another source of news is the public library, where you can read papers from all over the world without registering - or even giving your name. How long before libraries will not be allowed to subscribe to newspapers and magazines? Look at all that lost revenue. In fact, many people are inspired to subscribe to various publications that they first read free at the library. Even I (Mr. cheap) did that recently. Just don't check out any books on bomb-making, Islam, chemistry, nuclear science, microbiology, et al., or the FBI may be checking your library records. (Well, this paragraph ought to make it into the files at the FBI as it scans the Web. Another example of how one can collect too much useless information. Hi guys and gals. Read my bio and delete this from your list of "suspicious content.") There is no free lunch, so the saying goes. I seldom download a free program, especially ones
I have heard about as containing spyware, such as weather alerts, etc. Spyware tags along with
many free downloads on the Internet and tracks your Internet browsing and sends messages back
to a web site. That web site is often a mass advertiser, who then can collect information on your
viewing habits and among other things target ads to you as you surf. Being a privacy freak, I hate
spyware. Some sites will note that spyware (not called that) is part of the download, if you read
far enough. Some are slipped in under the radar. I run Ad-Aware 6.181 (www.lavasoft.com) once in a while to ferret out spyware and kill it.
Ad-aware is an anomaly. It is free, but does not contain spyware. Updates to the spyware
database are posted free from time to time. Just click on Updates and it's all automatic. They
have a paid version with a background check for spyware as you download files from the
Internet. I bought it once, but never found it useful. Many programs are billed as ad-supported freeware. A lot of them contain spyware. Buy the
full version and avoid the hassles. Ad-aware always tells me that Eudora Pro has a "spyware
folder." Since I have the paid version and that folder is empty, I now exempt it from the Ad-
aware search. There are many anti-spyware programs (see: www.spychecker.com). SpyBot
Search and Destroy is another popular free anti-spyware program, which many claim is better
than Ad-aware. I just ran SpyBot S&D 1.2 and it found a couple of things that Ad-aware did not.
Try both of them. During the height of the SoBig.F onslaught, I got several virus-laden e-mails a day! My ISP
caught a lot of them and stripped the attachment. Norton caught the rest. But, I discovered that
there is a program for Eudora Pro called Spamnix. It uses an artificial-intelligence type scan to
spot "earmarks" of Spam. You set Spamnix to trigger on all messages with a cumulative total of
more than 5 points (the threshold is adjustable). Points are assigned for bogus-looking return addresses, words like FREE, too many !!!, and on an on. It sends all suspect messages to a mailbox folder
called Spamnix, and boldfaces the folder name when it sends new files there. What is really neat
is that at the end of each trapped message is a summary of why the e-mail was flagged as Spam.
It is about 95% accurate and only ads from my usual vendors that get a little hyperbolic and
use too many FREE!!! and Order Now!!!!! - and such - get shunted into the Spamnix folder. The program is based on Spam Assassin. Take a look at: http://usaeast.spamassassin.org An ISP could use a program like this and provide you with two In boxes (with different
logons). You would get the good mail with your normal log on and from time to time you could
check the Spam In-Box to see if any legitimate mail got trapped.
Finally, I even got tired of getting all the diverted Spam, most of which contained a virus. I
changed my e-mail address. My old one RCR@NETO.COM had been around a long time and it
was also associated with "The View From the Outback." Also, it drove me nuts when I would get
an e-mail from somebody and they had my e-mail in a long list of CC: (in the open, not in BCC:).
The multiplier effect of your address being listed in a long list of other e-mails in the open is hard to calculate. It is certainly bad news as spiders and bots and viruses prowl IN boxes and address books. My new e-mail is a combination of letters and numbers, which will be nearly impossible for a standard logon "cracker" to discover. Also, I have established a "throw-a-way" e-mail at my ISP which even then I only cite by spelling it
out, so that e-mail bots that cruise the net will not be able to catalog it (so far as I know). For
example, if your e-mail is samspade@spook.org, never use a mailto: html setting. Say: Contact
me at: samspade at spook dot org. If people are too lazy to type in your address, you probably
don't want to hear from them anyway. I sent change of e-mail addresses to the vendors and people I am in regular contact with. And
not as a CC:, or a BCC: but individually. That's the good news. The bad news. I practically never
get an e-mail anymore. I miss all those penis-enlargement ads and Nigerian scams. Yeah, sure. Once while I was operating a ham-radio station in Costa Rica an American ham asked me
which direction he should point his directional antenna. We Americans know precious little
about the rest of the world, especially Central and South America. It struck me that it had been a long time since I had seen a news story about South America,
except for the obligatory shots of "Carnival" in Rio de Janeiro (for those of you in Yorba Linda,
that's in Brazil) and the problems with the president in Venezuela. Why are we so disinterested
in such a large land mass that is connected to us by land? And is such a huge trading partner, and
has the potential for even more trade growth. Yes, you can drive from Minneapolis to the
southernmost part of South America, although I wouldn't recommend it. One Web site documents a motor trip from San Francisco to Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of S. America, with a total of 31,000 miles. There's a vacation you need to rest up from. Some facts and figures. There are 12 countries in South America. How many can you name?
About three, if you're lucky. I have spoken with hams in all 12 countries and have been on the
ground in several, so I can name most of them off the top of my head. South America accounts
for 12 % of the earth's land mass. The population of South America is about 349,510,000. Do they have any big cities? Do they have paved streets? (People actually asked me those
things when we moved to Frankfurt, Germany about 35 years ago.) Sao Paulo, Brazil, has a
population of about 18,000,000! You gotta be kiddin'? That's a typo. Nope. Some reports cite Sao Paulo as having a population of 33,000,000 - presumably including what Americans call the "suburbs." The population of
Buenos Aires, Argentina is 12,500,000. And we thump our chests about the size of New York
City, Chicago, LA, Dallas and Houston. Santiago, Chile has 5,940,000 inhabitants. Bogota,
Colombia has 6,920,000. Lima, Peru has 7, 989,000 folks. My favorite city, for reasons I will
mention later, Montevideo, Uruguay, has a modest 1,381,000 population. By no stretch am I widely traveled in South America. My first trip out of the U.S., other than
to Tijuana while in the Marines, was to Montevideo, Uruguay ("Monty"). On the way we stopped
in Panama City, Lima, and Buenos Aries. In the Lima airport, I bought a silver Zippo lighter with
a hand-pounded case and a raised Llama on it. I treasured that Zippo for years and then quit
smoking my pipe about 25 years ago. I hope I find it some day in a box. The lighter, not the pipe.
In Buenos Aires, I went only from one airport to another in a cab. I was on serious
government intelligence business and did not have time to play tourist - until later. All I can
remember was the cab driver saying to me, " Muy caliente." And my response of "Si, muy
caliente." I had been studying the Spanish book in the pocket of my airline seat on the very long
flight. I had just said my first three Spanish words. It was December, and when we left DC they
had to de-ice the wings. But seasons are reversed down south and a couple of days later we were
strolling along a warm beach in "Monty." We stayed in Monty about 6 weeks, but never got to do the job we were assigned. There was
a problem of access to a building. So, we sat at sidewalk cafes, drank gin and tonic, and nibbled
on chunks of ham an on peanuts during the day. After a couple of weeks, someone suggested that
maybe we ought to end our "vacation" and fly back to DC. But, someone pointed out that the
plane ticket - and coming back when we were again needed - would be much more expensive
that staying in Monty, where a steak dinner was about 3 bucks, as I recall. One night we went to a cafe, and after downing a bottle of wine, I summoned the courage to
approach the leader of the small jazz band that was playing. I got across that I was a drummer
and wanted to sit in with the band. To my surprise, they let me. At one point they took a pause so
that I could do a little solo. Well, I was no Gene Krupa (anybody remember back that far?) but I
had used his books for study guides. I got hearty applause and the band leader said in heavily
accented English, "Gin Krupa!" Amazing. Little did he know that Krupa was my idol - well
other than the funny-smelling clouds of smoke that came from backstage during breaks at a dance
gig I attended. Bored with gin, ham, and peanuts, we decided to play golf one day. The only clubs they had
for me were ladies clubs which belonged to one of the families at the U.S. Embassy. Add to that
the fact that I had played golf only once in while. On one tee shot I slammed a screeching shot
into the adjoining fairway, narrowly missing a British diplomat's wife. My local caddy looked at
me and said dryly, "Muy suave." Very smooth. Okay, I'll take that, and try to do better. I may
have been another Gene Krupa, but I was no Arnold Palmer. (How do I remember exact quotes
in another language from nearly 40 years ago? My long-term memory is simply a gift. And there
are some things you never forget. Just don't ask me where my cell phone is right now.) There was a leather shop downtown that featured purses and jackets. I bought a gray suede
jacket which I wore for many, many years. When the owner discovered that I was an American
she asked if I would carry a small box back home and mail it to a customer of the store. It was a
handbag. Since I could see the Customs agent opening the luggage of a returning CIA agent and
finding drugs sewn into the lining of the purse, I was hesitant. "Why not mail it?" I asked. The
lady store owner told me in Uruguay the postal service was lousy and corrupt. She said that on a
sunny day a postman might dump his load of mail in a dumpster and go to the beach. Reluctantly,
I agreed to be the "mule" for the purse. The deal was legit and I mailed it to a lady in New Jersey,
as I recall. My other memorable connection to South America came when I was a Federal agent in
Philadelphia. The man from Lima, Peru, who was the equivalent of the IRS Commissioner, was
in Philadelphia learning about our tax-collection system. Since ATF was then part of the
Treasury and I had a gun, they assigned me to "look after" our honored guest. Well, as always
with me and foreigners, we became new best friends. I would let him play with my gun and he
gave me a fancy pocket knife. His only complaint was that I had not "fixed him up" with any
women. I said jokingly that I was a Federal agent, not a pimp, but I understood his
complaint. In his country, he said, I would be treated to fine food, good wine - and a woman, or women.
When do I leave? He gave me his business card and said to call if I ever came to Lima. I learned
later that he was from a very famous family. Well, years later I got to Lima, but only in the airport (where I
bought the Zippo), and I was then with the CIA on a very sensitive mission. I pulled my friend's
card from my wallet but decided I could not give a good enough explanation of why I was just
passing through and could not take the time for a visit. I still have his card. Always the romantic -
that someday I will again be in Lima and take him up on his offer. They have some good
wines. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. It's the wine I crave. Years later, it was suggested that I might be posted with the CIA to Santiago, Chile. I looked
forward to that with great anticipation. Instead, I was sent to Laos at the height of the Vietnam
war - not as punishment, but after being told that I was the only one who could handle the job in
Laos. Horse manure. My life and that of my family was never the same after that episode. So, there are real people in South America. They do have big cities, and paved streets, and
cell phones, and skyscrapers. And you will be hard pressed to find a more hospitable and
charming people than those who live in that big land mass to our south. You would never know it
from the media coverage. That is, you would never know that 349,510,000 people live there. My apologies to those who have traveled extensively in South America and know it well, and to those who own Encarta World Atlas or the DVD of the Encyclopedia Britannica and study it. You are in a very elite minority. I guarantee you that if Jay Leno was doing a "Jaywalking" episode and the question was: "In which direction from LA is South America?" - many would ask, "Can you give me a hint?" Update Sept. 13, 2003: I got an e-mail from a delightful fellow named Chris in Australia (delightful because he complimented the Outback, even though he does not always agree). He said that there is a TV program in Australia called CNNN - a spoof of well you know what. They go out onto the streets each week and interview Americans (in the USA). This week they showed people a world map with the Australian mainland labeled "North Korea" and Tasmania "South Korea". It took only 7 'hits' to get 5 clips along the lines of "Gee, I never knew North Korea was so big - no wonder South Korea is so afraid." Chris, I am heartened by one development. I asked a grocery check-out clerk in the nearby town of 1700 population, "Which direction is South America?" Without hesitation she pointed to the south wall of the store. But, as to your question about the lack of a world view by Americans, it is a complicated question which I will ponder at some length, since I have had the chance to travel a good bit and have spoken by ham-radio with folks in over 200 countries. And for those in Yorba Linda, who think Tasmania is actually S. Korea; Tasmania is the island(s) south of Australia and is Australia's only island state. It has about 26,000 sq. miles of land, and accounts for only 1 % of Australia's land mass. In 2000, it had a population of about 460,400, with the largest number near the capital of Hobart. One famous (infamous) landmark is the Port Arthur penal settlement, which was restored in 1979. Some Australians tell me that it is sometimes regarded as a badge of honor if one can go to Port Arthur and find the name a relative among the prisoners kept there in the period of about 1830 to 1870. My kinda people. Family pride. The "Tasmanian Devil," which most have heard about, is a carnivorous and scavenging marsupial now restricted to Tasmania. It used to be found in Australia as well. But, because farmers believed that it killed large numbers of livestock and poultry, it was exterminated there. Although I have never been to Tasmania, I have spoken with ham-radio operators there for over 20 years and have many commemorative "QSL cards" from hams in Tasmania. But, to my credit, I do know that Tasmania is not South Korea. Nero Fiddles While CD-Rs BurnFor a long time I used Easy CD Creator 4 and then version 5 by Roxio to burn CDs. Then, while trying to load it and a subsequent update on my new Pentium 4 XP machine I built a few months back, I had a ton of problems even trying to get it installed. With my patience exhausted after more than 20 years of software that does not work, I downloaded the NERO 5.5 full-function demo. It was obvious that Nero was a superior CD-burning program. An hour later, I paid my fee online. It was only a short while later that Nero 6 came out, and I was able to slip under the deadline for a free upgrade. Since then, there have been a couple of updates, and all updates within version 6 are free. I really had no problems, so the updates actually addressed problems I was unaware of, or added functions that I did not know I needed - such as support for brand-new CD burners. I am happy with my TDK 32X burner and see no reason to upgrade. My second CD drive is a Lite-On CD-ROM/DVD reader 48X-16X, which makes it a breeze to copy CDs. In 2004, I will no doubt add a DVD burner. Suffice it to say, Nero stays on top of things. Nero 6.0 will burn CD-R, CD-RW, DVDs and has several other modules that can turn you into a professional CD shop. Mostly I make copies of music CDs for the truck and back up data files. My labeling is with a felt pen from TDK. Someday, I must make a professional label. I might get hooked. The program has idiot-proof wizards, including a reminder to put in a blank CD-R if you forget, or you can tinker with the settings. I prefer to tinker. There is a built-in file manager, so that you can drag and drop folders and files you want to copy. As you drag a folder or file, a cumulative total of megabytes required shows up at the bottom of the screen. If you are not sure if you have enough room left for a certain folder, drag it over and take a look at the total. If it breaks the bank, you simply delete it from your list of files to burn on that CD. The menu allows for 12 different kinds of burns for data, music, mixed, DVD, etc. There are audio editors, even a backup program that is remarkable. Of course, there is cover design. Burn proof is there, too, with progress bars of how much data is in various buffers. And when the whole thing is over, it will sound a clarion trumpet call to bring you back from the TV to remove your CD. One of the utilities is Nero Info Tool, which sniffs out every parameter of all your CD drives and provides the most complete set of information on CD-ROM, CD-R, and so on that I have ever seen. The .PDF manuals are almost more than you want to know about burning CDs. But, well worth the time to read carefully. Simply too many goodies to fully comment on. Go to www.nero.com and be amazed. Around here, Roxio Easy CD Creator is ancient history - even if it is free. If you try Nero 6.0, you will probably agree. NERO is produced by Ahead Software, with headquarters in Germany and a subsidiary in California. NERO is available in a boxed CD version from your favorite vendor. COPYRIGHT 2000 Richard C. Rhodes You are welcome to quote sections from this page - or the whole page, as long as the source URL is included. Of course, I would be flattered if anyone linked to this page. It is very hard to be the writer, editor, fact checker, copy editor, and publisher of anything. So, I beg your forgiveness for the many mistakes that creep in. Suggested Reading From Past Columns Click Here for Suggested Reading List Archive of Back Issues Media List of Addresses and e-mails Postal Service State Abbreviations, etc. Richard C. Rhodes End |