On a Past Wise Guys...

While
Dan Adams is out of town, Mix 100 FM's Dee James joins us for
another fun and exciting Wise Guys show this week.

On the show, we'll have Phil Parks, author of "Beat
the Car Dealer, Beat the Car Game".  He'll tell us how to find out if a
used car had its oil changed regularly, or whether there's Bondo under the
paint.

Jeff Green with Click's Cyber Bar & Grill, the Des Moines metro's
newest Wi-Fi cyber-cafe, will be here at noon.

The Helpline, as usual, is at 1pm.

Got any show ideas?  Send 'em in:
Danny@RadioWiseGuys.com.  Got
a Mac question?  Ask Dan, the Mac Man:
Dan@RadioWiseGuys.com.

See ya Saturday!

Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement's Marijuana Eradication Project

On the next Wise Guys, we'll have Office of Drug Control Policy Director, Marv Van Haaften, DNE Director, Ken Carter and Ms. Janet Zwick with the Iowa Department of Health, who will educate us on the negative effects of pot on our society.  We'll
extol the virtues of our drug laws and the state's efforts to clean the scum off the streets.

I don't do drugs. Well, not the illegal kind anyway. I've been known to crack open a Bud Light while barbecuing on the deck, but there's no law against that and I don't abuse it. Come to think of it, if pot were legal, who's to say I wouldn't light up once in a while -- and not abuse it either.

Hence comes NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws). This national lobby says there's nothing
fundamentally wrong with occasional and responsible marijuana use by adults and for medicinal purposes -- and they don't believe those particular kinds of uses should be against the law.

I'll ask some tough questions about whether pot is really a "gateway drug" and why statistics seem to focus on the worst of the worst in society, and never really appear to conclude that marijuana use is such a big killer and must be stopped. In fact, out of all the research materials I've read, I can only positively conclude that marijuana is illegal and that it, if abused, might harm you.

Nevertheless, our job is to serve the community and educate you about things that you should know. Pot is illegal and if you grow it, consume it, sell it or use it, state law enforcement official will come after you. Pot is also very dangerous. It stifles learning. If abused, pot can cause a number of health problems. And if you drive while under its influence, you are
dramatically less able to control your vehicle, meaning, you might kill someone. In reality, marijuana use is nothing to take lightly and public education about its use and abuse is needed. That's where begin our discussion Saturday, July 26 at 11 AM on Newsradio 1040 WHO!

Nine-eleven and Iraq: It's Left vs Right

Everywhere we look, there's hostility on the airwaves and in the newspapers and on the net. The left blast the Whitehouse for hastily assembling a case for war against the former Iraqi regime and the right squabash 'dems' for their apparent distrust. In my view, both sides are full of hot air.

I think citizens are, for the most part, very careful to measure the sensational words they hear and read, and are willing to drill down to the literal meaning of these contrasting statements. For instance, one story cited that a majority of Germans think the US staged the September 11 attacks. But when you get to the exact verbage, you learn that a few Germans believe it's "possible" that Americans "could have" been behind the assault on our soil. When you put it that way, you would have to either be naive or have full faith that no one in our country could possibly benefit from such action. The truth is that people everywhere do bad and nasty things. And everything that happens will benefit someone somewhere. So sure, it is conceivable, while improbable.

I do think that the Whitehouse carefully crafted its campaign to bring force to bear in Iraq. I think the left plays on public feelings that war is bad. Both sides exhibiting over-zealous and presumptious behavior. None of the talking heads speak for me, or against me. No one, to date, has hit the nail on the head in reflecting how I, as an American citizen, really feel about all this.

I think trusting the government -- any government -- is afundamentally bad policy for all people. I reserve my faith for God, and I generally only trust good friends. If you're a politician and you want my support and my vote, you'd better prove every day that you're up to the task of making the right choices on my behalf. I will not leave you unchecked and I will hold your feet to the fire if you deceive me.

I think it's a cheap shot to suggest anti-war protestors don't support our troops. I was a soldier. Yes, I was willing to fight and die for America. I still believe in the prinicples of our founding fathers and the rights of people to live free and not to have those liberties our men of war died to protect taken from them. So I support our troops. However, soldiers follow orders given to them, ultimately by the government -- that entity no one should trust. Realizing this truth means you sometimes oppose what soldiers do, but you do so without personally blaming them. Why is it so tough for our outspoken members of society to refelect this dynamic in their rhetoric? Perhaps they truly do not have faith in peoples' reasoning abilities.

Along with many of the values we have lost over the last generation, we have lost the ability and skill to debate. We now argue and accuse. We fight like playground bullies. And we do so in front of the children, which ultimately defines who they become. I hope the silent majority still believe they can make a difference, and will vote with their feet at every corner. I hope the thoughtful of our society keep speaking out and objecting to the sophomoric bickering.

We are one country and many peoples. But we get to define who we are by the words and actions we choose. I hope the hostility and in-fighting will subside very soon.

Proposed legislation to make file sharing a felony

In response to this crazy news story.

This is goofy gubment at work again (see H.R 2517).  This kind of action will have a dramatic chilling effect on technology innovation.

In my humble opinion, file sharing is a fascinating innovation and might otherwise become an important collaboration tool of our hi-tech world. 
I want to be able to share my discoveries and developments with my peers so all can benefit. 
Copyright laws need to fairly serve the public first, and the producers second. 
Studios, networks, artists and their support organizations need to be in step with progress through technology and innovation -- and not suppress it!

But this is
obviously NOT about the artists. It's much more about the money-hungry associations, licensing companies, networks and studios. 
The actual artists, whom 'they' claim to serve, get almost nothing for their
trouble, winding up with a very small chunk of what the consumers pay for the materials. I'd like to see
artists getting more of the pie, even if it means pushing out the big guys, like the RIAA.

And it's too bad that Napster didn't build in a nominal fee to get
those artists paid, as they should.  I want to help artists and encourage them through my payments. 
But alas, Napster didn't want to do that, so we all have to pay for it.  Legislators ought to take note that people like me want to pay, and in fact would spend more on P2P file sharing than would normally spend on CDs. 
But not $1 a song. More like $3/mo or $100/yr.  At a buck a song, I'd have gone broke! 
And what I want is older music, the stuff that doesn't make money any more. 
60s, 70s and 80s music.  And I'd gladly pay for it -- if there was a way to
do so!

Making criminals of good people here is taking the easy way out.  I suggest to RIAA and others, get creative, do your homework and embrace technology, not thwart it.

-- Danny

Call for all area Wireless Internet Service Providers

The Wise Guys want to know! Who in central Iowa provides wireless access to the Internet? If you are a provider, please email us and let us know. We'll publish your contact information here. Please give us consumer pricing including setup fees. We will also take WiFi Hotspot providers and locations for use on another list.

Users: How do you get your Internet? We also want to know how our listeners are getting connected to the Internet, whether you use a cable modem, DSL, ISDN, T1, dialup, wireless, or whether you only get online at work.

Our "Legal Eagle" weighs in...

Richard writes:

"My Dad had a stroke about two months ago and he has no short time memory. He is able to do what has to be done to live. But he owns cattle and they need to be sold. Is there anyway his wife can get anything on paper that will let here to do this or is she able to do that now. I worry about it because I have two greedy sisters, one of them takes care of cattle. I think they [might] take advantage of dad's problem and sell them for their own profit. Whatever you can tell me would be great."

WHO Radio's own George Davison is an attorney and he has this general advice for our
listeners in a similar situation:

• A conservatorship can be established to take care of the assets of the individual.
  
  


• The individual could grant a power of attorney to someone he trusts to act for him.
  
  


• A trust could be created by the individual to own and to manage his assets. The trustee would be a person named by the individual.
  
  


• This is a situation in which both husband and wife need to
  consult with an attorney to prepare the appropriate plan to deal with the situation in which the husband becomes incapacitated.
  
  


• It is very important that all of the facts of the situation be
  discussed with the attorney and that options and alternatives be weighed.
  
  


• This is a situation which can be ripe with complications,
  unintended consequences, and conflicts. This situation emphasizes the need for planning and addressing problems and situations that can arise.
  
  


• At this point, Richard needs to be very careful about his role
  and involvement. There is a potential allegation, if he arranges for the mother and father to see the lawyer, and especially if he accompanies the mother and father to the lawyer and participates in the conference, that he unduly influenced his father's actions.
  
  


• Again, facts are very important to the decisions which need to
  be made and the potential solutions. This is why an in-person conference with a lawyer of mother and father's selection is critical. The selection of the lawyer must be made by mother and father to meet their needs and their situation.
  
  


• The observations that I have made are based upon the
  information that I have and are an attempt to provide basic information.
  The solution to this family's issue must be addressed only after all of the facts have been ascertained and options, based upon those facts, analyzed.

George F. Davison, Jr.,
Board Certified Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy

Live on the bridge

The WHO Radio Wise Guys returned to Taste of Des Moines with a live broadcast
from the Court Avenue Bridge from 11:00 AM until 2:00 PM Saturday.  Recipe
Lady Diane Roupe and Chris Lockergnome's Chris Pirillo joined us fr some fun
chat about food and technology.

Recipe Lady Returns

Food expert and author of "The Blue Ribbon Country Cookbook, The New Standard of Ameican Cooking" will return to The Wise Guys live from the Court Avenue Bridge this Saturday at 11:00 AM. It's your chance to meet her in person -- or if you can't make it to Taste of Des Moines, to listen to her on the radio.

Diane Roupe (ROOP) is a tradition in the Ag Building during the Iowa State Fair, and continues to be an official judge there. We'll talk about her upcoming cookbook, which will feature meals in an hour (the working title is secret for now); USDA standards for safe canning; and midwest cooking in general.

Diane reported record book sales at the fair last year, following her appearances on our show. For information about the Blue Ribbon Country Cookbook, contact Diane by mail: The Blue Ribbon Country Cookbook, 904 12th St., West Des Moines, IA 50265. Call (515) 267-1188.

Google search

Scary new web site...

I can't wait for October!:

Ames Haunted Forest

New ways to spam you

Microsoft's operating systems allow people to send you pop-up network messages, exploiting a little known network administrator's tool called Windows Messenger Service (which is not related to MSN's instant messaging) -- if you are exposed to the Internet directly. If you're behind a firewall or on a local subnet, such as in the case of the gateway/router, you're probably safe from these annoying little popups.

CIAC (Computer Incident Advisory Capability) writes:

Sites that have a firewall that blocks the Windows networking ports (135, 137-139, and 445) are already protected from this spam. This particular spam engine starts with a connection to port 135 rather than the NetBIOS ports (137-139 and 445) and then connects to a port above 1024 but future spam engines could use the NetBIOS ports as well. The Messenger service generally should not be disabled or shut down because different programs use it to pass messages to a user. System managers also use it to warn of impending network actions such as server shutdowns.

It is possible to use the IP Filtering feature of Windows to block the incoming connections at the machine but the filter’s options are “Permit All” or “Permit Only ”. To make the filter work, you must use the “Permit Only ” option and supply the list of all allowed open ports. TCP Filtering is part of the Advanced Properties of the TCP/IP Protocol in the Networking control panel. Note also that blocking incoming connections to ports (TCP and UDP) 135, 137-139, and 445 at a machine may prevent that machine from participating in Windows Networking. We have seen one company (www.coffeecup.com) that is offering a filter for these ports that keeps the ports open for network communications but blocks the spam messages. More....

CIAC write about spamming using Windows Messenger Service.

Coffee Cup's Popup Blocker can eliminate these ads.

Listener Question

Judy writes:

"Having problems ghost with a Dell GX270s desktop PC. I have downloaded the most current drivers for the nic card and I created a new ghost boot disk with those drives. I boot up the PC with the boot disk and it finds the NIC card and then it says loading ..... and the screen never comes up were it will say Ghost ... Click 'OK'. Do you have any recommendations that would solve this problem?"

Our own Jeff Hansen, Clear Channel IT Dept., weighs in:

Sounds like the machine cannot find ghost.exe and pretty much stops at that point.

Reasons would be numerous.

Check to make sure your network layer is really ready to go. Using tcp/ip? Does the machine have an IP address? If not, why? DHCP issues? Static address entered improperly?

How about the network share you are trying to get logged into. Is it mapped and ready to go? Are permissions set properly on the share? Maybe you don't have rights.

Etc

Etc

Etc