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Criminal Enterprise or Legit Business? It Can Be Hard to Tell, Cisco Says
Published: July 20, 2009
by Alex Woodie
In its recently released mid-year security review, Cisco Systems makes the case that online criminals are using more sophisticated tools and methods of attack, and are increasingly using legitimate business techniques to mask their nefarious goals. A good example of this evolution was on display with Conficker, a worm that began circulating in late 2008 and that continues to infect computers to this day.
When Conficker surfaced late last year and blossomed into the biggest computer worm in more than five years, it took security experts a bit by surprise, according to Cisco, which documented the technology and techniques behind the Conficker outbreak in its mid-year security report.
Whereas many malware exploits of the past few years have concentrated "up the stack" on vulnerabilities in applications, the Conficker worm represented a shift "back to the future" by taking advantage of older vulnerabilities in Windows. Cisco said this "old school" approach worked well because most security professionals were concentrating up the stack on applications, particularly the popular new Web 2.0 apps.
Once infected with the Conficker worm, an afflicted PC becomes part of a "botnet" of infected computers that online criminals can use for their malicious purposes. In the case of Conficker, one of the ways the criminals made money was by renting the network of infected PCs to Waledcac, another botnet that utilized the processing and network power of Conficker's dirty work to spread "scamware." Scamware refers to a business model that relies on scared individuals to purchase software from the scammers in order to escape infection. This sharing of botnet resources represents a criminal adaptation of the software as a service (SaaS) model.
Conficker's hold on infected PCs started to crack when a group of more than 100 concerned organizations gathered together to create the Conficker Working Group. The group worked with computer security professionals (including those at Cisco) and the Internet domain naming organization ICANN to identify and root out domains that the Conficker botnet was using.
The collaborative approach to thwart Conficker worked and helped to "blunt the impact" of the worm, Cisco says. However, when the criminals behind Conficker realized their techniques had been discovered, they quickly shifted gears and tried different communication methods. While Conficker has been muted to some degree, it continues to spread. As of the end of June, there were still several million computer systems under its control, Cisco says, making Conficker the most prolific worm since the SQL Slammer attack of 2003.
The case of Conficker shows that vigilance must be maintained as computer criminals continue to adapt to changing circumstances. "We see many signs that criminals are mimicking the practices embraced by successful, legitimate businesses to reap revenue and grow their enterprises," says Tom Gillis, vice president and general manager of security products for Cisco.
Cisco also shared details of the inner-workings of a botnet. The company got a glimpse into the underworld phenomenon through conversations with a botnet-running criminal, which Cisco helped bring to justice. The criminal admitted to selling access to his botnet, which was created using instant messaging (IM) spam and associated malware, for 10 cents to 25 cents per infected node. That wasn't going to make the criminal (who claimed he needed the money to pay for antibiotics for a "sick child") very wealthy. The guys who made the really big bucks--up to $10,000 per week--were involved in phishing and identity theft scams.
Cisco asked the criminal why he chose of life of crime, and he responded that, due to his lack of a "decent education," he wasn't able to find an above-board job. "In this faltering economy," Cisco says, "one has to wonder if even well-educated IT experts with no criminal record will resort to illegal activities, since jobs are so scarce." (Cisco invites readers to a full-length report, Infiltrating a Botnet, at its Web site.)
Another example of the blending of the techniques of criminals and legitimate businessmen is the phenomenon known as "spamdexing." Just as legitimate companies will try to boost their search engine rankings through numerous techniques, such as adding a slew of keywords to the bottoms of their Web pages to get on more search indices, online ne'er-do-wells are also using these techniques to bolster their search results.
However, instead of getting legitimate Web pages or download when clicking through, the unsuspecting victims of spamdexing get a disk full of malware for their troubles. This approach is working because of the apparently innate human tendency to trust the top 10 results of a Google search more than the bottom 10 results.
While criminal outfits have been masquerading as legitimate groups since the dawn of time, use of the tactic is accelerating on the Internet, explains Patrick Peterson, Cisco fellow and chief security researcher.
"Securing the Internet has long been a moving target as criminals develop increasingly sophisticated ways to breach corporate networks and obtain valuable personal data," Peterson says. "What is striking in our latest findings is how, in addition to using their technical skills to cast a wide net and avoid detection, these criminals are also demonstrating some strong business acumen.
"They are collaborating with each other, preying on individuals' greatest fears and interests, and increasingly making use of legitimate Internet tools like search engines and the software-as-a-service model," Peterson continues. "Some also continue to succeed using well-documented methods that in recent years have been downplayed as threats given the preponderance of new tactics. With criminals being so quick to identify weaknesses both in online networks and in consumers' psyches, businesses need to adopt ever more advanced ways to fight cybercrime and remain vigilant across all attack vectors."
Other big areas of concern for security professionals are mobile devices. The rapidly growing popularity of mobile, network-connected devices is also proving irresistible to online criminals, Cisco reports. Since the start of the year, at least two or three new campaigns have surfaced every week targeting handheld mobile devices, says Cisco, which calls the 4.1 billion mobile phone subscriptions worldwide a "new frontier for fraud."
Disgruntled employees and malicious insiders are also taking their tolls on the health of the world's computer systems. Cisco detailed several examples of insider fraud this year, including an employee at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, who, along with his brother, used stolen identities to receive $73,000 in student loans. The brother also used stolen identities for a boat loan in New Jersey, Cisco says. Also occurring in April was the case of a former employee of New York's Department of Taxation and Finance, who allegedly spent more than $200,000 on credit cards obtained using stolen personal data.
All is not doom and gloom, however, and Cisco reports several bright spots in the ongoing fight against computer fraud. The company reports a collaborative approach helped to stop the Srizbi/Reactor Mailer botnet, which had been one of the world's biggest spammers. A coordinated campaign helped to identify the company behind the Srizbi/Reactor Mailer botnet, and it was shut down in November. When the organization resurfaced in Estonia and tried to rebuild its network, it was subsequently disabled by Microsoft and its Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT), which it updates every Patch Tuesday.
Security experts simply need to work harder if they're going to keep up with their criminal counterparts. That is a huge challenge, especially as the lines between legitimate businesses and criminal enterprises continue to blur and attacks become increasingly sophisticated. On top of that, security pros must keep in mind all of the old vulnerabilities that are still out there (like the one Conficker exploited), while keeping an eye on the ever-present insider threat and complying with the ever-growing number of regulations.
Yeah, it's a tough, unforgiving job, with the greatest achievement occurring when nothing happens. So go give your organization's security guy or gal a big hug, because they probably need it.
A PDF of Cisco's 32-page Midyear Security Report can be downloaded at cisco.com/web/about/security/intelligence/midyear_security_review09.pdf.
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OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that use of the Foley bulb plus vaginal misoprostol will result in shorter induction-to-delivery time compared with vaginal misoprostol alone.
METHODS: We randomized 123 women undergoing induction of labor with singleton pregnancies at 24 weeks of gestation or greater with an unfavorable cervix (Bishop score 6 or lower) to Foley bulb plus vaginal misoprostol (n=56) or vaginal misoprostol alone (n=61). Women with fetal malpresentation, multifetal gestation, spontaneous labor, contraindication to prostaglandins, nonreassuring fetal heart rate tracing, intrauterine growth restriction, anomalous fetus, fetal demise, or previous cesarean delivery or other significant uterine surgery were excluded. The primary outcome measure was induction-to-delivery time. Secondary outcomes were mode of delivery, tachysystole with fetal decelerations, terbutaline use, postpartum hemorrhage, chorioamnionitis, neonatal Apgar scores, and neonatal intensive care unit admission. Analysis followed the intention-to-treat principle.
RESULTS: The mean induction-to-delivery time was shorter with the combination of the Foley bulb and vaginal misoprostol when compared with vaginal misoprostol alone (15.3±6.5 compared with 18.3±8.7 hours, difference −3.1 hours, 95% confidence interval [CI] −5.9 to −0.30). The combination also resulted in shorter induction to complete cervical dilation time (13.7±5.9 compared with 17.1±8.7 hours, difference −3.5 hours, 95% CI −6.7 to −0.4). There were no differences in labor complications or adverse neonatal and maternal outcomes.
CONCLUSION: A combination of the Foley bulb and vaginal misoprostol resulted in a shorter induction-to-delivery time when compared with vaginal misoprostol alone without increasing labor complications.
CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, www.clinicaltrials.gov, NCT01279343.
The rate of induction of labor in the United States has more than doubled over the last 20 years. In 2009, 23.2% of all gravid women underwent induction of labor for various indications.1 The goal of induction of labor is to achieve vaginal delivery in a safe and timely manner. It is estimated that currently the rate of labor induction in the United States is even higher. There are many proposed methods for induction of labor including mechanical (supracervical Foley bulb, laminaria tents) and chemical methods (synthetic prostaglandins, oxytocin). These methods can be used alone but are most often used in combination with each other.
A number of randomized trials have compared the use of the Foley bulb, oxytocin, and misoprostol in different combinations for induction of labor and their results are contradictory with regard to induction to delivery time, successful vaginal delivery, and labor complications.2–5 Two randomized trials compared vaginal misoprostol with the Foley bulb compared with vaginal misoprostol plus the Foley bulb. Both trials found no difference in the induction-to-delivery time.6,7 Thus, although the best agent and method for induction of labor remains uncertain, it is biologically plausible that a combination of a mechanical device (Foley bulb) and chemical agent (synthetic prostaglandin) may have an additive or synergistic effect, resulting in a greater degree of cervical ripening and shorter induction-to-delivery time. The addition of a synthetic prostaglandin to the Foley bulb may also overcome the frequent observation of cervical dilation with the Foley bulb without significant effacement.
The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy of a combination of the Foley bulb and vaginal misoprostol with vaginal misoprostol alone for labor induction. We hypothesized that use of the Foley bulb plus vaginal misoprostol will result in shorter induction-to-delivery time.
This was a randomized clinical trial comparing the efficacy of vaginal misoprostol plus a Foley bulb with vaginal misoprostol alone for induction of labor. The study was approved by the Washington University Human Research Protection Office and was registered with the clinical trials registry (ClinicalTrials.gov #NCT01279343). Women with a singleton, viable gestation (24 weeks of gestation or greater), cephalic presenting fetus, intact membranes, and an unfavorable cervix (Bishop's score 6 or less) presenting to our labor and delivery unit for labor induction from January 6, 2011, to April 30, 2012, were evaluated for participation. Women were excluded if any of the following criteria were encountered: fetal malpresentation, multifetal gestation, spontaneous labor (regular uterine contractions with cervical change), more than five uterine contractions in 10 minutes, contraindication to prostaglandins, a Category II or greater fetal heart rate tracing, fetal growth restriction (defined as estimated fetal weight less than the 10th percentile for gestational age on the Hadlock growth standard), anomalous fetus, fetal demise, or previous cesarean delivery or other uterine surgery (myomectomy, cornual wedge resection). Eligible patients were approached by a research nurse or other members of the research team for consent to participate in the study if inclusion criteria had been met.
Randomization was achieved by computer-generated random sequences. On enrollment, an opaque envelope was opened containing the participant's enrollment number and assignment to either the Foley plus vaginal misoprostol or vaginal misoprostol alone. Women in the misoprostol-only group received 25 micrograms of misoprostol per vagina every 4 hours. Once the cervix became favorable (Bishop's score greater than 6) or the patient was in active labor, misoprostol administration was discontinued. Further management of labor was at the discretion of the labor team with expectant management, amniotomy, or intravenous (IV) oxytocin per protocol. If indicated, IV oxytocin was started per standard protocol after 4 hours from the last misoprostol dose. Oxytocin was administered per standard protocol starting at 2 milliunits/min increasing by 2 milliunits every 20 minutes until regular uterine contractions occur.
Women in the combination group received vaginal misoprostol per standard protocol at 25 micrograms every 4 hours. In addition, a Foley bulb was inserted digitally or by direct visualization with the aid of a sterile speculum. The Foley was inserted through the internal cervical os, filled with 60 mL of normal saline, and then pulled snugly against the internal os. The catheter of the Foley bulb was taped to the patient's inner thigh under gentle traction. If the Foley bulb was unable to be placed, the patient was examined every 4 hours and Foley bulb placement was reattempted if Bishop's score was still 6 or less. When the Foley bulb had fallen out, further management of labor was at the discretion of the labor team and included expectant management, amniotomy, or IV oxytocin. If indicated, IV oxytocin was started per standard protocol after 4 hours from the last misoprostol dose. Oxytocin was administered per standard protocol starting at 2 milliunits/min increasing by 2 milliunits every 20 minutes until regular uterine contractions occur. Other aspects of labor management were similar for both groups, including continuous electronic fetal monitoring with either external Doppler device or fetal scalp electrode. Uterine contraction assessment was performed with either an external tocodynamometer or an internal pressure catheter. Amniotomy was performed when feasible at the discretion of the health care provider.
Participant data including demographic characteristics, medical and pregnancy history, labor course, and outcomes were collected by a dedicated research nurse. Each indication for labor induction was documented. Postdate induction was defined as a pregnancy being induced for being past the estimated date of confinement (greater than 40 weeks of gestation). After each delivery, the fetal heart rate tracing was carefully reviewed for the presence of tachysystole (greater than five uterine contractions in 10 minutes) with subsequent decelerations requiring terbutaline or cessation of oxytocin infusion.
An independent three-member data safety and monitoring board conducted one planned interim analysis after half of the patients were enrolled with induction-to-delivery time as the primary outcome of interest. None of the investigators were involved in the interim analysis. The significance level for the interim analysis was calculated using the Haybittle-Peto stopping boundaries.8
The primary outcome measure was induction-to-delivery time. Secondary outcomes were mode of delivery, tachysystole (defined as greater than five uterine contractions in 5 minutes) with fetal heart rate decelerations requiring terbutaline use, postpartum hemorrhage (defined as estimated blood loss greater than 500 mL for vaginal delivery or greater than 1,000 mL for cesarean delivery), chorioamnionitis, neonatal Apgar scores, and neonatal intensive care unit admission.
The sample size was estimated a priori based on the primary outcome. We assumed a mean induction-to-delivery time of 17.0±7.8 hours with vaginal misoprostol based on previously published data.9 We estimated that 122 women would be needed for 80% to detect a 4-hour difference in mean induction-to-delivery time between the two groups using a two-tailed t test and α of 0.05.
Analysis was based on the intent-to-treat principle; participants were analyzed in the groups to which they were randomized whether or not they received the assigned intervention. Selected baseline characteristics and outcome measures were compared using the independent t test for continuous variables and the χ2 test or Fisher's exact test for categorical variables as appropriate. The mean induction-to-delivery times in the two groups were compared using the independent t test. Induction-to-delivery time was also analyzed using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. Survival functions of the two groups were compared using the log-rank test. Analyses were performed using STATA 10.0. Tests with P<.05 were considered significant.
A total of 123 women were enrolled from February 2011 to April 2012 (Fig. 1). Of these, 59 women were assigned to vaginal misoprostol plus Foley bulb, whereas 64 were assigned to the vaginal misoprostol-only group. Fifty-seven of the 59 assigned to the combination group received the allocated intervention, whereas two did not. Among the 64 patients assigned to vaginal misoprostol only, 58 received the allocated intervention, whereas six did not. Three women in each group were excluded after enrollment for meeting one or more exclusion criteria: four were excluded as a result of an indication for induction being fetal growth restriction and two were excluded as a result of Category III fetal heart rate tracings on admission. This yielded 56 patients in the combination group and 61 patients in the vaginal misoprostol-alone group for analysis.
The two groups were comparable with regard to baseline characteristics including indications for induction of labor (Table 1). Most of the women were at term, nulliparous, and of black race. The most common indication for induction of labor was postdate induction. The median Bishop's score was similar in the two groups (3 [range 0–6]).
Induction-to-delivery time was shorter by a mean of 3 hours among women induced with a combination of the Foley bulb plus misoprostol when compared with those induced with vaginal misoprostol alone (mean time 15.3±6.5 compared with 18.3±8.7 hours, mean difference −3.1 hours, 95% confidence interval [CI] −5.9 to −0.3). The time from induction to complete cervical dilation was also shorter in the combination group compared with the vaginal misoprostol-only group (mean time 13.7±5.9 compared with 17.1±8.7 hours, mean difference −3.5 hours, 95% CI −6.7 to −0.4). There was a higher rate of delivery within 24 hours in the combination group, but the difference was not statistically significant (49 [89.1%] compared with 46 [75.4%]), relative risk 1.18, 95% CI 1.00–1.40, P=.09). There were no differences in mode of delivery (Table 2). The Kaplan–Meier survival curve showed a more rapid decline in the Foley bulb plus misoprostol group of the proportion of patients remaining undelivered with time (log-rank P=.03) (Fig. 2).
Neonatal outcomes are shown in Table 3. There were no differences in birth weight, Apgar scores, or neonatal intensive care unit admissions. Umbilical cord gases were not significantly different in the two groups. Labor characteristics and complications are shown in Table 4. There were no differences in oxytocin augmentation or epidural anesthesia use. The combination group used fewer doses of misoprostol when compared with the vaginal misoprostol-alone group. There were no differences in the incidence of tachysystole with decelerations, use of terbutaline, or meconium passage in the two groups. The risks of chorioamnionitis, endometritis, and postpartum hemorrhage were also not significantly different in the two groups.
We found that use of a combination of the Foley bulb and vaginal misoprostol for induction of labor shortened induction-to-delivery time by an average of 3 hours compared with vaginal misoprostol alone. No differences were observed in labor complications or adverse neonatal and maternal outcomes.
One randomized trial examining a combination of the Foley bulb plus vaginal misoprostol compared with vaginal misoprostol alone for induction of labor found no differences in the total induction-to-delivery time. The study was small and appears to be underpowered.10 The authors did not report a primary outcome or a priori power calculation. Two other randomized trials using three arms compared vaginal misoprostol alone with Foley bulb alone compared with the combination of Foley bulb plus vaginal misoprostol. Whereas Kashian et al found vaginal misoprostol alone to be faster than the combination of the Foley bulb and vaginal misoprostol, Chung et al reported no difference in induction-to-delivery time between the three groups.6,7 Contrary to our study, there was a statistically significant increase in tachysystole, terbutaline use, and chorioamnionitis with misoprostol alone when compared with the combination group. The differences between our results and these studies may be attributable to differences in study populations, doses of misoprostol used, and sample sizes.
Our study was a relatively large randomized clinical trial comparing the combination of Foley bulb with vaginal misoprostol with vaginal misoprostol alone for induction of labor. The major strength is in the randomized design. Randomization was effective, resulting in comparable groups with regard to known and presumably unknown confounders. We included both nulliparous and multiparous women, making our results more generalizable.
Despite the strengths, there are limitations that should be considered when interpreting our results. The nature of the intervention did not permit blinding of health care providers. The absence of blinding may have influenced how patients were managed. Six participants were dropped because they met exclusion criteria after enrollment. This number is small and balanced in the two groups. There were six participants in the misoprostol-alone group who did not receive their allocated intervention; each received a Foley bulb in addition to misoprostol. In addition, two participants in the Foley bulb plus misoprostol group did not receive misoprostol. However, this crossover would tend to bias our results toward the null hypothesis of no difference. Although we did not find any differences in mode of delivery, neonatal complications, or labor complications, our study was only sufficiently powered to assess the primary outcome.
In conclusion, results of this randomized trial show that use of the Foley bulb combined with vaginal misoprostol results in a shorter induction-to-delivery time compared with vaginal misoprostol alone. These results suggest that the combination may be used to achieve timely and safe delivery in the presence of an unfavorable cervix. Although not directly evaluated in this study, shortening of induction time by 3 hours would be significant for patients, health care providers, and hospitals. Future studies should be of sufficient power to assess significant labor complications and adverse neonatal and maternal complications. In addition, studies comparing a combination of the Foley bulb plus misoprostol with the Foley bulb alone will be informative as to whether the combination is superior to the Foley bulb alone.
© 2013 The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
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Colorado's Wind FarmsPosted on July 19th, 2007 43 comments
About 5 years ago wind farms started popping up in Colorado. They are easy to spot from the air and can be seen for many miles because the structures are so enormous. A modern wind turbine can reach well over 400 feet into the air.
Over a span of less than 3 decades wind turbines have increased from an average rotor size of 10 meters generating 25KW to a rotor size of 112 meters generating up to 6 MW per turbine. The 3+ MW turbines are generally installed in the ocean about 5-10 miles off shore where the wind is steady. Land based wind turbines are generally rated at less than 2 MW. Each 1 MW of wind energy is enough power for approximately 300 households based on an average U.S. household consumption rate of around 900 kWh per month. The average power available from wind turbines, also called their 'capacity factor', is about 1/3 of their rated generating capacity because the wind is not constant. They make their rated power in winds about 20-25 mph and will not generate any more than the rated power even when the wind increases above that speed because it would over stress the system. Above about 55-60 mph, the wind turbine will protect itself by locking its rotor so that the blades will not get damaged.
Here in Colorado there are many locations where the wind is nearly always blowing on the plains and there aren't any obstructions on the ground to slow it down. Other than the trees along the Platte river, there is virtually no vegetation taller than a cornstalk between here and Nebraska. And Wyoming has even higher wind and fewer trees than Colorado in the eastern side of the state.
I was out flying today and took a few photos of the Ponnequin Wind Farm up near the border of Wyoming to take a look at Colorado's first wind farm which was built about 6 years ago. You can see a photo of it below.
If you're curious about the Ponnequin wind farm you can read a little about it here at the American Wind Energy Association website. If you have Google Earth, you can get a satellite view of it here. Or here on Google Maps.
About 60 miles east of the Ponnequin Wind Farm, the largest wind farm in Colorado called Cedar Creek is currently under construction. During the past few months I've been monitoring the progress of it since it's not far from Greeley, at least not as the crow (or LongEZ) flies, and I'm astonished at how fast it's getting built. A few months ago, there were only a few towers standing and now they have more than 200+ towers erected. I timed how long it took me to fly from one end to the other and it was 5 minutes, flying at 160 miles an hour which means it stretches 13 miles from east to west. It's on land that previously didn't have much use due to sparse population and lack of water for irrigation. I did some quick calculations and realized that this wind farm will generate more than $80M/year in electricity from its 273 wind turbines, based on the average of around $.10/KWh currently paid in the U.S. by consumers. That's not a bad return since the fuel, a major cost for conventional power plants, is free in the case of wind power.
Looking down from above on these structures, it's hard to fathom how big they are. In the picture above, the closest wind turbine has a large truck parked near its base which is virtually invisible in the photo. That gives you an approximate idea of the scale of these structures. Go ahead and click on that image to get a higher resolution photo of it and a better idea of the relative size of the truck and the wind turbine.
One of the biggest logistical issues with constructing these wind farms is getting the materials to the site. The tower sections take up most of the highway when transported and are nearly 60 feet long per section. It takes 3 of them to make up the tower. Similarly, the rotor blades are enormous, over 100 feet in length. Can you imagine trying to get that to go around a corner?
Vestas Wind Systems of Denmark is currently building a turbine blade plant in Windsor, CO, just about 10 miles from where I live. This will better accommodate the delivery of large turbine blades to wind farm sites in the western U.S.
In talking with a rancher in Wyoming recently, it appears that a lot of site surveys have been underway over the years to construct wind farms there, turning what was very marginal land into a valuable resource to provide clean, renewable energy for future generations. Even though the Cedar Creek site seems expansive, and it is, there is so much land in eastern Colorado and Wyoming that would be ideal for wind farms that it's easy to imagine building them for the next 20 or 30 years. That's about the average life expectancy of the wind generating equipment, so after they've done that, they will get to do it over again.
43 responses to "Colorado's Wind Farms"
Lee, do you mind if I use your aerial photos for presentations and such? They are very cool.
Thank you,
Lee Devlin March 26th, 2008 at 23:03
Hi Matt,
Yes, you may use these images and thanks very much for asking for permission.
Hi Lee,
Thanks for the info and pictures of the turbines.
I linked to your blog to illustrate an article I wrote on radar observations of these turbines. Please see the article for more info.
Lee Devlin April 23rd, 2008 at 11:54
Hi Jim,
Thanks for the link to your article. I enjoyed reading about how you can see and hear wind turbines on your weather radar. Nice job!
Mitchie July 29th, 2008 at 19:56
A couple weeks ago I saw two of these blades being transported on I70. They were absolutely HUGE and I couldn't figure out what they were. Thanks to your pictures I now have my answer.
Lee,I'm a plumber looking to get out of the destruction field and into renewable energy. What would be the best way to get involved.
Lee Devlin November 5th, 2008 at 19:24
Hi Josh,
I see you're from Broomfield, CO. If you want to work on wind turbines, GE is always looking for techs out in the Peetz and Lamar areas in eastern CO. You can find the positions on the ge.com website.
Also, there are a number of solar installers in the area that are about to get very busy and will need people with installation skills. You might want to pick up some solar electric skills to augment your plumbing skills. Check out SEI for training. They are based out of Carbondale, CO but they also have on-line courses. FMI see:
Vestas is building another big wind blade/nacelle factory in Brighton and they are hiring too. Check with SOS staffing in Greeley.
And by all means, join CRES.org to network with like-minded folks around Colorado.
Hope that helps.
harryevan December 26th, 2008 at 18:16
I've got 40 acres about 15 miles south of the Ponnequin wind farm, 1 1/2 miles east of I-25 MP 283. I've been talking to my neighbors – who do we talk to about similar wind generators on our properties?
Lee Devlin December 27th, 2008 at 01:43
Hi Harry,
I have written an article about working with wind developers on another website which I recommend you take a look at. As for having 40 acres, I know that seems like a lot of land, but Ponnequin sits on nearly 1300 acres of land which is about two square miles and its 44 turbines are about 1/3 the size that are being installed today. So in the case of Ponnequin, the turbine spacing is about 1 turbine per 30 acres. The modern turbines, being about 3 times larger, require about 50 to 75 acres each.
The Ponnequin site is also on a bluff, which tends to provide more consistent wind and so like anything else, the best sites are always developed first. As wind becomes more popular, you'll see more activity and so I'm sure that if you wait a while, you may have someone approach you for wind rights on your property.
Anonymous December 30th, 2008 at 23:49
I'm not asking just for myself, but for my neighbors as well. Since there are 2 sets of major transmission lines within a quarter mile and a mile, and a large step-down transformer station within a mile, we might be in a good spot for a turbine each – if the powers-that-be are interested – I just don't know who they are or how to get in touch with them. I'll look at your paper and see what comes out of that.
Brett May 10th, 2009 at 12:41
is ther any welding involved with erecting the wind turbines. If so do you know the names of any of the contractors.
Frankie June 23rd, 2009 at 16:17
Hi. I have 369 acres N.E of Hartman, Colorado. I have been approached by a wind company called Air Stream. Do you happen to know anything about them, or about any projects going in in the Prowers / Kiowa county area? There was a huge energy substation and transmission line planned there, but I read somewhere that it was not on the table any more. Any advice or information would be most appreciated.
geoff newman July 14th, 2009 at 22:13
The wind farms in Lamar are now out of GE's hands and are operated by Iberdrola Renewables, and Shell Wind
Christopher Byrd September 7th, 2009 at 14:55
I'm the Coordinator for a National Science Foundation Grant in my district. I want to set-up a field experience for 27 math and science teachers to help them make connections to wind energy technology in their middle school and high school classrooms. Where do you suggest I take them?
Hi Christopher,
Since you're in the Denver area, I'd suggest taking them to NREL which is located just off of I-70 in Golden. They have a visitor's center that's open during week days. Outside the center, they have wind turbine blades and cross sections which are quite interesting. There are also some other wind exhibits inside as well as others related to renewable energy. Getting a tour of an actual wind farm is a challenge, because you have to arrange it with the utility company and travel pretty far. The closest one to Denver is Ponnequin and you must travel up to Wyoming to reach its entrance. Also, the utility company only does a small number of tours per year, usually during the warmer months.
I leased 960 acres to Iberdrola Renewable Energy about five years ago. It boarders Cedar Creek wind farm in weld county, CO. It looks like I went with the wrong company. I was wondering if you know any info about Iberdrola?
[...] Bear Creek. Each 2MW Gamesa turbine provides enough electricity for about 600 homes. I've written about wind turbines before in my blog because they started springing up in Colorado a few years ago and whenever I [...]
I'm interested in getting as close a look as possible to a wind farm, to see and hear and photgraph them. How might I find where there is one close to a publicly accessible place or road, here in or near CO.?
The closest wind farm to Northern Colorado is Ponnequin, but you can't get in there because it is on private land. The closest turbine is about 1 mile from Rte. 85 in Colorado, but to get into the farm, the access road is actually in Wyoming on a road that connects Rte 85 with I-25. However, it's gated and locked. I've never tried to get to the turbines north of Pawnee Buttes, although I've flown over them many times. They are also on private property, but I'm not sure if the roads are gated.
I will be graduating a specific training progrtam soon, and looking for wind farms in CO. Who is hiring?
BrandonButts May 26th, 2010 at 15:38
Lee, I am currently in central Texas and in August will be going to Sweetwater, Texas to TSTC West Texas to complete the Associates degree of Wind Technology. Do you have any advice for me on how to go about jobs after graduation? ANY information will be more than appriciated. Thanks a bunch! -Brandon
Hi Brandon, I'd suggest building up a file on companies that build and maintain these wind farms and then visit their websites frequently. I once stopped by a wind site and the engineer running it was very helpful in providing information on which companies are producing the turbines, which companies are being subcontracted to run them, etc.
You have to be willing to travel or live in places where there may not be a lot of other people around. The largest wind farms in Colorado are out on the plains and pretty far from any large cities, at least 1 to 2 hours drive. I suspect that will be true of many of the jobs in this field.
I have a background in construction and am currently working as a closet installer. I am a certified welder as well. I'm interested in getting involved in wind energy, possibly as a wind turbine technician. Any suggestions as to how I could get started in this field? Since I do not have electrical experience, it seems many job listings require an associates degree. Before I sign up for classes I was wondering if there was a better way to break into the field sooner (degree takes 2 years). I saw a similar post and reponse from 2 years ago, but I was not sure if things have changed. Any insight you can provide is greatly appreciated! Thanks!
Hi Josh,
Wind energy is fairly new and so training is rather limited. I noticed that just this term, our local community college (Aims in Greeley, CO) has started offering a wind energy class which is called WTG 100 – Here is its description: Introduction to Wind Industry
Introduces students to the wind power generation industry. Topics covered will include physics of wind energy, various sizes and types of wind turbines, reading wind maps for finding the best wind locations. Students will also engage in discussions of the impact of the wind industry on social, environmental, economic, and political issues. Three credits. However, it looks like there is only one person signed up for it and so it may get canceled. I am not sure where they advertise these wind technician jobs. I think that most of the maintenance at a wind site involves the mechanical parts which can wear out over time and need replacing. An understanding of electricity would be helpful too, of course, especially with respect to safety.
Vestas, a company that is one of the largest producers of wind turbines, has a series of tutorials on their website: http://www.vestas.com/en/jobs/career-development/internal-learning.aspx You should watch those because if you can get an interview, having some knowledge of how turbines work could certainly put you ahead of the pack.
What info on Two Buttes Wind Farm do you have?
Across US 287 in Prowers County, NW of Two Buttes.
Hi Mel, I have never been down to the Two Buttes facility near Lamar, CO. According to info I found by searching for it on the web, it was completed in 2003, making it one of the earlier wind farms in the state. There is another wind farm going up near Twin Buttes, CO north of New Raymer, CO which is in the northern part of the state. When I fly over that way, I'll take some pictures of it.
Thanks for the info! I'll definitely watch those Vestas tutorials.
FYI, a good place to see a wind turbine up close (besides NREL in Boulder) is just NW of Kimball NE maybe 1/2 mile out of town, roughly an hour east of Cheyenne WY north off I-80. There is a gravel mining operation adjacent and easy to get close enough to see and hear them.
I am interested in putting up a few windmills on my 200 acres that I have just outside of Colorado Springs. Do you know who I can contact for a project like this?
Hello Lee,
I live near the town of Kiowa, CO and just recently I noticed that wind turbines have been installed east, southeast of town, I'm going to guess ten miles away. Do you know anything about this farm? My main clue they were out there were many redlights flashing on and off in unison at night. Then one clear day a finally saw them out there on the horizon. I may have to take a drive out that way very soon.
Hi Sam, Sorry for the delay, I had to do some research. The American Wind Energy Association used to have a free database on their website that showed all wind projects under construction or complete in all 50 states but it is now a 'members only' feature :-(. I managed to find archives of records that had some useful information and it appears that the wind farm going in near you is called the Cedar Point Wind Farm. It appears to be on the borders of Elbert and Lincoln County and that lines up with your description of it being ESE from your location in Kiowa although it's further away than your 10 mile estimate.
Hey Lee can i borrow some info cause I'm doing a project due on Wednesday. So may I borrow some info for the project? I'll keep the website in my conclusion to thank you about.
Yes, you can and thanks for asking.
Skyler May 31st, 2012 at 20:28
Hey Lee
Would you be able to tell me who runs the Two Buttes Wind Farm.
It appears that it is run by Iberdrola Renewables: http://www.iberdrolarenewables.us/cs_twinbuttes.html
jan holzman August 22nd, 2012 at 08:33
I recently flew from denver to chicago and was able to see some very obvious wind turbines with the 3 blades turning clearly even tho the pilot had just announced that we had reached our cuising altitude and we were very high up. i was surprised that they were so obvious from so far up. I would think that we were somewhere over eastern CO or western Ne. Do you have any info or comments ?
Hi Jan, The turbines you saw could have been the Peetz Table Wind Farm which goes on for about 10 miles and would have been close to your route if you flew from Denver to Chicago. It runs along a ridge in NE Colorado near the Nebraska border. There are actually 3 wind farms in that vicinity that comprise 744 turbines. The first called Cedar Creek starts near the border of CO-WY-NE and continues along the CO-WY border where it meets up with a second wind farm called the Cedar Creek II. Together those two wind farms have 397 turbines. The last of the bunch is the Peetz Table Wind Farm which has 347 turbines and is considered the largest wind farm in the state of CO.
Hi, Great site, very informative. Here in Vermont we are upset that they come in with their federal tax incentives, lease mountain ridges, clearcut, blast the ridges flat, and install 20 or so in their "farm". The noise bothers neighbors in the valleys, the wildlife is driven away, but the politicians are happy we are "green". It sounds like our great western states are the places for wind farms, especially as your wind blows pretty constant (ours doesn't). Thanks again for a great site and good Q & A's.
Found this site by accident. Pretty cool information. I'm graduating from Northwest Renewable Energy Institute in Vancouver Wa next month. It would be cool to work on a wind farm in Colorado. Any information about farms there would be awesome. Your pictures are amazing.
Connie Dreitz April 26th, 2013 at 11:21
Hi Lee. Do you do field trips for elementary and middle school students? If not, do you know of any wind farm owners who do? Connie
Hi Connie, When I arranged a group trip to Ponnequin wind farm a few years ago, I called Xcel's PR department and they put it together for us. They do a number of them per year and so you should be able to call and get an appointment.
Darlene Roberts March 8th, 2015 at 10:49
I realize the last comment was nearly 2 years ago. I have a couple or so of questions and a comment or two. I've been reading articles about renewable energy; do you consider wind farms more habitat and environmental friendly? The proposed solar installations outside of Mojave National Preserve would take up an awful lot of land. I was there last summer and frankly can see the eyesore that would create. Are wind towers and turbines a safer alternative to birds and endangered species? I can see a bird flying into one of the blades, especially if it's on the run from another bird, but the blades move so slowly, I would think any bird can get past it without going through the rotation. Also is it safe for grazing wildlife, horses and cattle. It would be a great alternate income for the BLM if environmental impact studies come back in the positive. That the BLM has voted no to the solar facility south an west of Baker is just the first step, but there are other studies that could blow the BLM out of the running. I live in Greeley, Colorado and see the towers and blades coming down the highway from time to time. There was a Vestas plant in Ft. Lupton. There's one now in Windsor, as mentioned in your article. I've seen wind farms in eastern New Mexico and acres and acres of them in western Texas. They look a bit alien. Most towns have lots of ordnances property owners have to jump through to get a wind turbine by their house. When you look around at all the trees and poles and lines, it doesn't look good logistically. I've seen the ones in southern Wyoming at Medicine Bow, even camped under a couple of them. Very quiet. Cattle were grazing without upset, and it's wide open space, I think BLM land. And can be pretty windy on the eastern 2/3 of Wyoming What is your opinion on the environmental impact on land and wildlife? I like the idea of wind farms on open space rather than solar installations taking up a lot of open space.
Hi Darlene, I am a proponent of wind power as well as solar power but recognize they are not a replacement for conventional sources, just a way to reduce the rate at which conventional fossil fuels are depleted. Wind power is only practical in areas have good average wind speed and where they can be arranged in a way that they can utilize common infrastructure. This is whey they are generally arranged in large groups. I don't mind their appearance, but I understand that some people feel they are an eyesore. They can only be a part of the power grid, since wind power is not persistent and so when they are generating, fuel-based generation systems can be conserved, but when no wind is blowing they have to be backed up by fuel-based sources.
Wind turbines are not a serious threat to bird populations. Windows, cars, and cats kill more than a thousand times more birds per year than wind turbines.
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Sheikh Muhammad , Farhan (2011) Low power and Area Efficient Architecture Design for Moderate Rate Digital systems. PhD thesis, University of Engineering & Technology, Taxila .
Recent advancements in semiconductor technology have sparked a struggle among researchers and manufacturers to best utilize the modern technology trends in designing state of the art digital systems.Devices with small form factors, offering high throughput and low power consumption are very much in demand.These factors have actuated active research in the field of area efficient, low power high speed digital system design.This research is an effort to contribute in this active research area by adding a new dimension to digital design methodology.In addition to this, the research also makes use of established digital design methodologies augmented with the research studies outcome to produce novel designs around few exemplary applications. The prime focus of this study is to explore Trace Scheduling Methodology and extracts novel algorithm-to-hardware mapping features for efficient hardware design. Trace scheduling is a topic under compiler design theory and is efficiently used to design compliers for VLIW machines.The research, inspired by trace scheduling, introduces the concept of efficient hardware design through identification of traces in the algorithm and their mapping for optimal hardware affinity.The research work first investigates this concept on a relatively simpler design such as an FIR filter in order to establish a link between the two technology domains which are compiler theory and digital system design. Later, the devised methodology is applied on applications from machine vision and cryptography to design area efficient, low power, moderate data rate architectures.The research presents novel hardware mapping of Peak Sorter and Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) algorithm for moderately high data rate applications.The designs offer a best area performance tradeoff.The utility of the technique developed in this research can be found in mapping complex algorithms in Very Large Scale Integrated (VLSI) circuits and digital design compilers.
|Item Type:
|Thesis (PhD)
|Uncontrolled Keywords:
|Semiconductor, Systems, Technology, Power, Efficiently, Area, Architecture, Digital, Hardware, Algorithms, Low, Domains, Moderate, Machines, Rate
|Engineering & Technology (e)
|ID Code:
|Deposited By:
|Mr. Javed Memon
|Deposited On:
|12 Nov 2012 10:59
|Last Modified:
|12 Nov 2012 10:59
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In the beginning of July I reported on a bicycle accident that happened less than 8 miles from my house. A woman had been hit while training for a local triathlon on a very popular road for cyclist. One thing that I failed to update everyone was a woman (on the same triathlon course pre-riding) was cut off, by a car trying to park, going through our small college town. She received trauma to the head and road rash.
It Happened Again
This past Thursday, on the same triathlon course (AGAIN) a gentleman named Bill Doherty was cut off by a large box truck and pulled 50-75 feet under the truck.
This is how it was described to me by the witness. Billy was keeping pace with traffic at the time, so he was probably doing 30+ mph. His Garmin showed the last recording at 28.7, but that was as he was being pulled under the truck. The truck drive partially passed Billy and then swung into the road with no indication etc, that is about 200 yards before the creek on Rocky River road just outside of River Run. Bill left a black tire mark about 5 yards before impact, so that alone shows how close he was. He was dragged for about 40-70 yds under the truck, and while under the truck he was grabbing onto anything for dear life, including the drive shaft. The driver only stopped because the witness was making him stop by his horn I think. The driver of the truck was about to reverse over Billy's head, and the witness stepped in again and stopped that. So the real hero for this is the witness. His name is Don ***** from Michael Waltrip racing. Very humble man who has contacted me numerous times since last night to see how Billy is. Billy lost consciousness for about 1-3 minutes under the truck I believe as well.
The main premise in all this is driver didn't even clear Billy when he turned. – CharlotteVelo.com
What Do We Do?
The local cycling community is cursing, loudly, and rightfully so. We've had more accidents in the past 6 months than the 5 years that I've lived in the area. Does anyone have experience with setting up a local advocacy group, or how to properly educate and maintain the bridge between cyclist and automobiles?


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Hey, I'm Lady! I'm about 2 years old and a Pit/Lab mix. I love playing with kids and I get along with other dogs, too. You can adopt Lady at Unleashed Pet Rescue & Adption in Mission. Call 913-381-PETS or visit www.unleashedrescue.com.
Adopt Lady at
Unleashed Pet Rescue and Adoption
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text: - ZERO STARS!!!!! STAY AWAY !!!!! WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE BY THE OWNER !!!! Ok ... If you like to ask questions and pride yourself on being a smart knowledgeable consumer stay away from this shop. However, If you want to experience the worst service EVER please make sure to meet with the creature/optician/man who calls himself the OWNER. If you're afraid to ask questions and God forbid inquire about their pricing scheme, you might find this alternative universe a blessing. As for the staff, they clearly lack the strength and courage to speak up for fear they may ignite the creature's anger. Henry Miller Opticians


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How to Make Chocolate Chip cookies
Learn how to make the most classic cookie of all: the chocolate chip cookie. This delicious recipe is a staple and is one you will keep coming back to.
-Hi, everyone. I'm Judith. Well today, we'll be making everyone's favorite, Chocolate Chip Cookies. So, the ingredients you'll need is 1/2 cup of shortening; 1/2 cup of butter; 1 cup of packed brown sugar; 1/2 cup of granulated sugar; 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda; 2 eggs; 1 teaspoon of vanilla; 2-1/2 cups of all-purpose flour; 1 (12 ounce) package or 2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate pieces; and, 1-1/2 cups of chopped walnut, pecans or hazelnuts are optional too if you want a little more crunch in your cookie. All right, so it's actually a pretty easy recipe to do, the chocolate chip cookies. And, this is how we're going to do it. So, into our large mixing bowl, we're going to add in our butter and our shortening. Shortening, of course, is fat which is solid at room temperature. All right, now we're just going to whisk this up for about 30 seconds. Lovely, nice, soft and smooth there. So, into that, we're going to add in our brown sugar, our granulated sugar and our baking powder. And, we're going to beat that up. And, if you need to take anything from the sides, go ahead and scrape it in. Okay, very good. Now, it's time to add in our eggs and vanilla. So, in they go. Let's add vanilla is just going to do-- give a lovely flavor to our cookies and we're going to beat it-- beat again. All right, so now it's time for the flour. And, we're going to beat as much flour as we can using our mixer. So, we'll just go in batches first of all. Okay, we are done. That is now a nice consistency for our cookies. So, we'll set that aside. Stir that all in. So, last but not the least, of course, we're going to add in our chocolate pieces. And, if you have nuts here that you want to add in, you can put that in too. So, in they go. Oh, look at that. It's just beautiful. Stir those in. All right, so we've folded in all those chocolate chips into our mixture. Looking good. Now, let's get our cookie sheet. We get an ungreased cookie sheet there and we're just going to get 1 full teaspoon of this mixture and we'll put it down on to the sheet like that. And, keep about 1-inch apart from each of the cookie-- the cookies. You're just going to drop them. So, we'll do the same with our remaining mixture. So, these are going to go now into the oven at 375-degrees for about 8-10 minutes or until the sides are lightly browned. So, our chocolate chip cookies are out of the oven. They were in there for about 10 minutes. Lovely golden brown. We let them rest for a little while and now they are ready to serve up. Serve that with some of your favorite vanilla ice cream or a nice glass of cold milk. And, that is the perfect afternoon snack. There you go. That is how you make Chocolate Chip Cookies.


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To wet wade or not to wet wade...that is the question?
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Don Kirk
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 198
Wet Wading Perils
For years we wet waded year round, but then moved to wet wading if we could stand the cold and the water, as moving upstream and casting while jogging is tough in waders. That was a long time ago...
Last year I fell on my left knee wet wading the Hiwassee. I wound up with a staff infection, and did three trips to the hospital for a total of 20 days and two surgeries. Mrs. Kirk says that I am no longer allowed to wet wade anywhere except in the hot tub on the back where I still have skinny dipping privileges when the kids are gone.
Year before last Kevin Howell over at Davidson River Outfitters had the same thing happen to him in the Tusk. He also had a friend who got infected from a puncture. They no longer wet wade. None of these incidents occurred in the GSMNP where one would presume there is less danger from things like fecal bacteria. I never liked wearing waders if they could be avoided, but when the doctors tell you that you may loose your leg, waders are a reasonable compromise. Thats my two cents worth on wet wading.
Don Kirk
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ARMAGOST Genealogy in All Regions
Search criteria: All Regions, Surname ARMAGOST
What can you do here?
Search online databases for your ancestors:*
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September 16, 2009
The Management of the National Nuclear Security Administration's Classified Enterprise Secure Network Project
In June 2000, recently enacted legislation directed the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to "perform planning, analysis, testing and evaluation necessary to develop the highest value alternatives for improving cyber security throughout the Nuclear Weapons Complex." In response, NNSA began the Integrated Cyber Security Initiative. Through the initiative, NNSA's Enterprise Secure Network (ESN) was developed. ESN was intended to be the primary network for sharing classified information within NNSA by: ensuring the protection of nuclear weapon and other national security information; supporting the NNSA mission; and, replacing NNSA's existing classified network, SecureNet.
Topic: Management and Administration


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The national conversation about lessons learned from the vile deeds of the Sandy Hook Elementary School murderer has begun. I was hoping this discussion might wait until the victims were properly memorialized and all the facts learned, but the usual anti-gun voices have elected to launch the gun-control debate without delay.
It is widely accepted that each of us has the right to live and to defend ourselves from harm. We also have a moral imperative to defend ourselves and our families.
My sense is that educators and staff at schools feel the same obligation toward our children, and what have we done to assist them in fulfilling this duty? We have rendered them defenseless. We know schools have been targets of violence throughout time. Yet we deny educators and staff the tools to confront that threat. I think this is immoral.
Gun-control measures prevent people from providing for their own safety. If society renders them incapable of defending themselves, then society must assume the responsibility to protect them. But it hasn't done so.
People such as the Newtown, Conn., murderer expect to die once they've perpetrated their crime. In many mass-shooting cases, the shooter takes his own life at the last possible moment before he is confronted by deadly force. So that confrontation needs to occur as soon as possible. Police response time, even in a small, wealthy community like Newtown, is far from instantaneous. Therefore, the victims must have the ability to confront the violence with deadly force in the first moments. The staff at Sandy Hook demonstrated that they are ready to bear that burden, but we denied them the tools they needed.
An excellent piece of research on the question of whether armed citizen intervention is more desirable than waiting for police was assembled by Davi Barker. See http://bit.ly/Tatg3d. Barker studied about 100 mass shootings and found that that the average death toll when an active shooter is stopped by an armed civilian is 2.33. The average death toll when the police stop the shooting is 14.29. This is not because of police ineptitude; it is simply a function of how much time it takes to confront the shooter with deadly force.
I don't know what motivates advocates of gun bans, gun control or "reasonable restrictions" on gun ownership, but I know it is not logic. Connecticut is highly praised by the Brady Campaign Against Gun Violence. It describes the state as having "strong gun laws."
Connecticut is surrounded by other states highly rated by the Brady Campaign. In the eyes of the Brady campaign, this means that these states have satisfied virtually every method of gun control the gun banners can dream up. The tragic results can be seen in Newtown.
Legal coordinator, Ohioans for Concealed Carry


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Stalking and Cyberstalking
Stalking, as defined by the criminal justice system, refers to acts such as following, viewing, communicating with, or moving in a threatening or menacing manner toward someone without that person's consent. It entails a pattern of harassing behaviors intended to frighten, intimidate, terrorize, or injure another person.
Cyber stalking is a variety of behaviors that involve (a) repeated threats and/or harassment (b) by the use of electronic mail or other computer-based communication (c) that would make a reasonable person afraid or concerned for their safety (Fisher, Cullen, & Turner, 2000). Cyber stalking can include repeated emails or instant messages, flooding victim's e-mail box, sending viruses, using victim's email to subscribe to unwanted listservs; sending misinformation to chat rooms; and sending victim's information and photos to sexually-oriented sites.
According to Bernier (2008):
- 81% of victims stalked by an intimate partner reported that they had been previously assaulted
- 60% of male victims are stalked by men
- 87% of female victims are stalked by men
- 62% of cyber-stalking victims are female, primarily ages 18-24
Dynamics of Stalking
- Common stalking behaviors include spying, sending notes or gifts, surveillance, threats, unannounced visits or calls, psychological aggression and coercion, attempting to scare or harass the person being stalked, and even physical and verbal attacks (Davis & Frieze, 2002; Sinclair & Frieze, 2005).
- The primary motives for stalking include power, control, and possession.
- The majority of stalkers have been in a prior relationship with the victim, although some stalkers have only an imaginary relationship with their victims. Offenders often refuse to accept the end of the relationship and to give up their hold over the victim.
- There are some gender differences in stalking. Although historically women have been most likely to be victims of stalking, some recent studies have shown that women are just as likely as men to stalk and even be violent. Men tend to underreport stalking by women because they do not see women's pursuit tactics as threatening. Male stalkers are more likely to ignore rejection and exaggerate signs of acceptance by the victim.
- Early dating behaviors such as persistence, intimidation, and mild violence may foreshadow potentially violent and aggressively persistent behaviors as the relationship progresses (Williams & Frieze, 2005)
- Stalking is rooted in a culture in which romance is associated with the pursuit of a reluctant female by a persistent male (Lee, 1998). The stalking behavior may be seen by the stalker as romantic rather than intimidating, but the fear experienced by the victim is a more reliable indicator of stalking than the intention of the perpetrator.
- The internet can increase stalking by promoting a false sense of intimacy and a misunderstanding of intentions. Also, the relative anonymity and the propensity for disinhibited behavior can promote greater risk-taking and asocial behavior by a greater number of people (Finn, 2004).
Effects on Victim(s)
Victims should be reminded that they did not ask for this behavior, nor deserve it. Although some people might downplay the effects of being stalked, it can have serious ramifications for the victim. Some effects include: anxiety, mental anguish, physical harm, stress, and fear. Many times stalking forces victims to make changes in their lives such as moving from their homes, changing jobs, or being becoming hyper vigilant.
What you Can Do to Address Stalking
- End all communication with the person who is stalking you. You might need to write a letter stating that such contact is unwelcome and you will contact law enforcement if the behavior continues. Do not further react, argue, scream, or pay further attention for that is often what the stalker wants.
- Document the stalking, writing down times, places, and detailed summaries of each event.
- Contact law enforcement officials. Only police should confront the stalker, not friends or family members.
- Consider obtaining a restraining order, but evaluate the pros and cons of doing so. Sometimes it can escalate the violence.
- Change your routine.
- Don't answer the phone or door if you don't know who it is.
- Let family, friends, and your employer know you are being stalked.
What you Can Do to Address Cyber Stalking
- Don't share personal information in online public places
- Select a user name that is age and gender neutral
- Create separate email accounts for chat room use
- Save all copies of communication from a cyber stalker
- Send a clear message to a cyber stalker than you do not want further communication and will contact authorities if messages continue
- Use filters and blockers to block unwanted emails
- It is strongly recommended not to meet people in person that you meet on the internet
Off-Campus Resources
In an emergency, call the police at 911
|National Domestic Violence Hotline
|Houston Area Women's Center
|(713) 528-2121
|Halt Abuse: Online Resource for Cyberstalking
|Texas Council of Family Violence
|National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
University of Houston Campus Resources
|UH Police
|Emergency: 911
Information: (713) 743-0600 or (713) 743-333
|Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)
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I just found out a new website that is meant to be a collection of Vista Gadgets: GadgetsDownload.com
For the moment there are only 5 gadgets (it has been announced a few days ago), and I just uploaded my CC.NET Monitor gadget.
The website is really good looking: I hope it will start receiving lot of submissions soon.
Technorati tags: Vista, Gadget
Tomorrow evening I'm going to do a presentation about Developing Gadgets for the Vista Sidebar at the XeDotNET user group in Venice. What are Sidebar Gadgets Why developing Sidebar Gadgets Structure of a Gadget How to develop a Gadget (with 6 demos) Tips&Tricks And since my laptop cannot run Vista, I'll do the presentation using my wife's MacBook, running Vista inside Parallels. If you are interested in coming, you can register here: the presentation is in Mestre, on Friday September 16th starting from 7:30pm. Next week I'll upload the slides (in Italian) and the demos. Technorati tags: sidebar, gadget, vista
One of the new cool features of the new Orcas TFS is the Team Build Job, which adds a kind of Continuous Integration to Team Foundation Server. Jim Lamb, PM of this new feature, just released a Vista Sidebar Gadget that lets you monitor the builds happening on one server. The screenshot at the right looks pretty familiar to me. This gadget doesn't have an undocked view with more details about all the projects, but uses the flyout to show more details of a specific project then you click on the project name. You can look at a preview of...
Another weekend, another release: today is the turn of my CC.NET Monitor for Vista Sidebar, which hits version number 0.9.5. This new version is very close to what I've planned for the final 1.0: a lightweight replacement of CCTray that runs on the Vista Sidebar. The main feature introduced with this version is the autoscrolling of the projects when in docked mode: if you enable this new feature, the list of all the projects you are monitoring will automatically scroll and loop through all the projects. I also added some improvements in the usability and error reporting: Don't prompt users for project already...
In the last days I've been working on my Vista Sidebar Gadget with the intent to make it v1.0 before going back to Italy at the beginning of August. I'd like to make version 1 of my gadget a replacement for the CCTray application that ships with CruiseControl.NET: last month I silently released version 0.9 with the possibility to force a build on the server and now I'm trying to add the possibility to play a sound when a build breaks or, even better, launch a batch file. I'm also adding small enhancements to the UI, like the ones requested by...
UPDATE: the latest version of the CC.NET Monitor Gadget for Vista Sidebar is v0.9.5: read more about it in 0.9.5 release notes.
Since many people asked for it, I just released a new version of the CruiseControl.NET Monitoring Gadget for Vista Sidebar adding the most requested feature: the Force Build button.
Now, in the undocked view, you can see a nice orange button on the right. Push that button to force a build for the project and the button will turn gray, meaning that the project is checking for updated or is already building.
This the list of changes:
This weekend I decided to try Camtasia to record a screencast to show you how my CC.NET monitoring gadget looks like before you decide to install it on your Vista computer. But also to show people that don't have Vista what they are missing. The screencast shows how to add the gadget to the sidebar, how to configure it to monitor 2 different build servers choosing only the projects you are interested in and how it looks like both in the docked and undocked view. This is my first screencast, and also the first time I record my voice, so,...
UPDATE: The latest version of CC.NET Monitor for Vista Sidebar is v0.9.5: read more about it on the CC.NET Monitor for Vista Sidebar v0.9.5 release notes.
A few days ago I announced the beta phase for version 0.8 of my CC.NET Monitoring gadget, and now I think it's ready for the release.
Project opensourced on Google Code
I also created to host the project on Google Code, so now I've a central repository to store the source code, the files released, the documentation and also a small issue tracking system.
I already added 2 pages on the project wiki:
CC.NET Monitor Features
UPDATE: version 0.8 released: read more on CruiseControl.NET Monitoring Gadget for Vista Sidebar 0.8
Two weeks ago I released the first version of my CC.NET Monitor Gadget for Vista Sidebar, and I received a lot of feedbacks on what I should put into the next version of the gadget: the possibility to choose which projects to display, an automatic scrolling of the list of projects, a button to force the build on the server, a global indicator to be able to see at a glance if any of the projects are failing.
So during the last weeks I worked on these feature...
UPDATE: the latest version of that gadget is now 0.9.5. Read more on the 0.9.5 release notes.
I just released the new version of my CC.NET Monitor for Vista Sidebar (why is everybody giving such long names to software?): version number 0.7
This version adds the most requested feature: the ability to specify which project to display.
Now in the settings page you can specify the "Display Mode":
All projects
Only failing projects
Only specified projects
All but the specified projects
and then there is a text...
I just went through the process of submitting my CC.NET Monitor for Vista Sidebar to the Windows Live Gallery.
Here is the link to the CC.NET Monitor page.
Technorati tags: microsoft live, ccnet monitor, gadget, vista, sidebar
The CruiseControl.NET Monitor for Vista Sidebar is the first "real" Vista Sidebar gadget I developed, so I want to share 2 of the problems I encountered during the development.
The first problem was that the XmlHttpRequest always returned "undefined" (which is the null in javascript) for its responseXML property. I was reading an xml file, why did I receive a null instead of the XML Document contained into the response?
The XmlStatusReport.aspx file that contains the report for the build server doesn't have an xml content-type (not text/xml, application/xml or with a .xml extension) but has, as any other html page, a text/html content-type....
UPDATE: The latest version of CC.NET Monitor for Vista Sidebar is v0.9.5: read more about it on the CC.NET Monitor for Vista Sidebar v0.9.5 release notes.
Yesterday I released the first version (number 0.5) of my CC.NET Monitor for Vista Sidebar.
But I forgot some debugging stuff in the release. So, in order to avoid confusion, I bumped up the version number to 0.6.
Here is the new version:
CC.NET Monitor for Vista Sidebar 0.6
Release notes:
Removed an hard-coded url I used for debugging
Removed the double cycle I used to test the scrolling of the gadget with more project
Thank you to Thomas and Steve for reporting...
UPDATE: The latest version of CC.NET Monitor for Vista Sidebar is v0.9.5: read more about it on the CC.NET Monitor for Vista Sidebar v0.9.5 release notes.
I'm using CruiseControl.NET both at work and for Subtext, and since I'm using Vista I wanted to look at my servers states inside the Vista Sidebar.
Last October Ruslan Trifonov built a Vista Sidebar Gadget for Cruise Control.NET, but I didn't like it mainly because it connects to a custom web service he built on purpose, instead of using the REST-like API provided inside CC.NET.
So I decided to give the Vista Sidebar Gadget development a try, and I built...
This is the blog of Simone Chiaretta, an Italian .NET developer, architect, ex-Microsoft MVP, ASPInsider, Subtext core member, ASP.NET MVC lover with a passion for triathlon.
Want to know more? Keep reading...
I also wrote a few books about ASP.NET MVC.
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Psy's 'Gentleman' Breaks First-Day Viewing Record On YouTube
PSY has done it again. The South Korean pop star is breaking records with his catchy new song "Gentleman."
The music video features the singer in his trademark suit and glasses, doing all sorts of ungentlemanly things - pulling chairs out from underneath women, scanning his face on copy machines, and stealing soccer balls from small children. The chorus is: "Gonna make you sweat, gonna make you wet."
Since its release on Saturday, the video has surpassed 70 million views on YouTube. It broke the website's first-day records for a music promo with 19 million views on April 13. Nicki Minaj and Justin Bieber were the previous record holders with their "Beauty and the Beat" video, which had 10.6 million first-day views in October.
PSY's "Gentleman" is a follow-up to the massively popular "Gangam Style," which was YouTube's first video to ever reach 1 billion views. Time will tell whether his new tune will be as popular as his first, unexpected hit.


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That integral is really strange. Wolfram Integrator's giving me weird functions as answers. Take a look
Could you just check if there are any typos in the integral?
If its right, dont worry, I dont really trust that software gives the neatest answers, so somebody here might come up with a good trick.
And meanwhile you can read this thread, A useful tip for posting questions


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MONROE -- The city of Monroe is among a website's rankings of the most dangerous cities in 2014.
The research comes from www.neighborhoodscout.com.
Monroe ranked 92, behind Houston, Texas.
Baton Rouge ranks at number 65.
And Alexandria, Louisiana ranks 16.
The website says the research is based U.S. cities with 25,000 or more people and is based on the number of violent crimes per thousand residents.
Violent crimes include murder, rape, armed robbery, and aggravated assault.
Copyright 2016 Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


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Thursday, November 1, 2012 - 1 AM
recommended by 9/10 dentists
Runtime: 04:09:20.311
DJ Comment: Cool lo-fi motorik 12" from Spacin'
Empty Mind
Deep Thuds
Released in 2012 by Richie Records
Northwest Artist!
Hall of Mirrors
Released in 2012 by Sub Pop
Northwest Artist!
...air break...3:48 AM
DJ Comment: French producer Jerome Ettinger teamed up with veteran Egyptian musicians for this lively affair
Anta Ana
Ya Amar
Released in 2012 by Six Degrees
Northwest Artist!
DJ Comment: Guitar virtuoso from Portugal, spent much of the '50s and '60s imprisoned by the country's ruling dictatorship; this album originally came out in 1971
Danças Portuguesas Nº 2
Movimento Perpétuo
Released in 2011
Northwest Artist!
DJ Comment: If I could pull it off, I would definitely sport a K-Records patch on a denim jacket (but I can't, obvs)
My Best Friend
Released in 1996 by K Records
Northwest Artist!
DJ Comment: LIVE on KEXP - Monday, December 17th at 1:30! (playing that night at the Showbox Market)
Amy AKA Spent Gladiator 1
Transcendental Youth
Released in 2012 by Merge
Northwest Artist!
...air break...3:30 AM
DJ Comment: Fronted by Robert Wratten, previously of The Field Mice (!) and Northern Picture Library. Swooooooon
ABBA on the Jukebox
Her Handwriting
Released in 1996 by Shinkansen
Northwest Artist!
DJ Comment: Big Star's amazing I Am the Cosmos didn't see the light of day for 15 years until its release in 1992
You and Your Sister
I Am the Cosmos
Released in 1992 by Rykodisc
Northwest Artist!
...air break...3:08 AM
DJ Comment: Came out in 2005, awesome reissued in 2010 by boutique, weird electronic "library music" label Ghost Box
Mind How You Go Now
Mind How You Go
Released in 2005 by Ghost Box
Northwest Artist!


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78-Key Ultra-Slim Portable Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard (2*AAA)
I practically have my Ipad attached at the waist! I really take it everywhere and at home I find that it replaces my workstation most of the time. However for all its usefulness it can be inconvenient to use when it is necessary to type a work project or a few long emails. I needed a solution but I also need to stay mobile. This ultra-slim keyboard with Bluetooth connectivity is the perfect answer. Itos small enough to throw in a backpack or take travelling yet big enough to handle any amount of typing. This has made my tablet far more useful to me. The 78 key design has everything you will need including some specialty media keys and the installation is plug and play no software needed. Best of all the keystroke action on this keyboard is fast and smooth just what you need to get your work done fast. You will also appreciate the clean lines and simple style of this unit complementing your other devices.- Color: White
- Compact and ultra-slim designed
- Features 78-Key
- Bluetooth connection technology
- Key function: multimedia optical media eject volume brightness expose
- Plug and play - No software installation required
- Powered by 2* AAA batteries (not included)
- Notes: Bluetooth receiver dongle is NOT included
Weight: 11.04 oz (313 g)
Each approved Image / Video Review will get you 5 / 10 points. Why not write one?
Each approved Image / Video Review will get you 5 / 10 points. Why not write one?
Each approved Text Review will get you 2 points. Why not write one?
Why not write one?


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Stupid Crap I'd Like to Buy
There was a long-range (450 ft, longer than the 300ft remote weather station I use successfully in the chicken coop) video baby monitor on sale as Amazon's deal of the day today. Is it wrong that I briefly coveted one for the barn?
(And by "briefly," I mean that I am still coveting it, but know that I should be appalled with myself.)
One Response to "Stupid Crap I'd Like to Buy"
February 13th, 2011 at 8:37 am
Hum, if it makes you feel any better I want one too :-)


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Member Owned & Member Managed
A Not-For-Profit Owner's Association
Visit one of the Perennial Vacation Club Resorts
Our mission,
accomplished through teamwork,
is to create vacations
that enrich our members' lives.
Perennial Vacation Club is a registered trademark. All other products mentioned are registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective companies
Questions or problems regarding this website should be directed to the webmaster


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Barrel: PL Secplter
Bore size(s): don't know, whatever the stock bore is
Condition: Like new
Color and finish: gloss back sliver tip
Barrel/tip length: 14"
Threads: Autococker
One or Two Piece: two
Known Problems: None
Asking Price: 40
Shipping Options: USPS
Trades of interest: none
Location of item: Florence KY
What is Included: Case 3 incerts .692,.688 .690
PL Secplter Barrel Kit
Started by pbninja413, Dec 14 2012 05:10 PM
1 reply to this topic
Posted 14 December 2012 - 05:10 PM
Posted 16 December 2012 - 04:47 PM
You gas up the marker, strap on the mask, and walk onto the field... It doesn't matter that you failed a test, that your girlfriend broke up with you last nite, all that matters is your in your world next 2 hours. Live it. Love it. Paintball <3
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