This is nothing--years ago I deployed PCs at Alaskan oilfield installations. Extreme cold makes everything brittle, kept having problems with things like cracked motherboards, just from setting the PC on a desk.
My kids are great at sports--AND they love to read. My oldest two have skipped a grade in school, they score off the charts on any standardized test. They are well liked and social leaders in their age group. They have their own computers (running two different flavors of Linux), but they'd just as soon go jump on a trampoline, go for a bike ride, go hiking, or kick butt in soccer. You want the real secret? Be a parent, enjoy these little people...we all know you enjoyed creating them;-) Anyway, treat them with dignity and respect, spend time with them, and wow, you'd be amazed how successful they can be at anything!
I grew up in Wasilla, AK. The moment we got our own local police force (instead of relying on the State Troopers), our crime rate skyrocketed--because now we had someone to report all the petty stuff to. So this makes perfect sense, if you've got a substation close, it's easy to walk in and report something. Otherwise you just might not bother with a small crime.
OK, I'm gonna weigh in on this. I'm amazed at all the people who assume that something is illegal, just because they think it's "wrong." And then there are those who spout false statements because they know that once in print, other clueless people will believe it even if it's false. Three points:
* The guy that did the "break-in" is an idiot, he should be fully prosecuted for breaking the law.
* Using a personal email account for state business is not automatically wrong or illegal.
* Palin is popular in Alaska, and very much trusted and loved by those who know her closely. While she will run you over if you stand in her way, she tries hard to do the right thing. That's what excites those with the same political leanings--she works hard for what she believes. Doesn't everyone want a politician who at least tries to act according to what they say?
Mind you, these opinions were not pulled out of thin air:
* I grew up in Wasilla, AK, and the Palins are family friends (20 years)
* I have known politicians and the political scene in Alaska for many years, and I am familiar with the laws and politics of the state I live in now
* I am now the systems and communications manager for the largest state agency in another state, including an email system with thousands of employees accounts
* I am very familiar with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, as well as multiple states' archival laws
* A governor's email with his/her aides is not necessarily public record and subject to archival/discovery rules. There is a specific test as to what constitutes "official business."
I am the system administrator for a large state government agency. Recently I was essentially forced to connect a Windows XP boiler control system for an electrical generation plant to the Internet, so that the vendor can do remote maintenance. If I hadn't found out about it, it would be connected directly without even a firewall... This system had no anti-virus software, and of course it has a popular remote-control software installed for the vendor's access. The only reason I can sleep at night is that the plant is far away from any populated area, and may be shut down due to other reasons soon. I will be sending this video to a number of people in an email today.
I have lived in Nevada for many years, and I see slot machines almost every day. The only mechanical slot machines left are maybe in Virginia City. Almost ALL gaming machines have been partially or fully electronic for at least as long as ATM's have been around. They've all been "networked" for at least a decade and a half. We're talking full blown LAN's and WAN's (how do you think Megabucks works?). Of course, no matter how lucky I've ever been, I always have better odds at the ATM. I agree with the chap from down under, most people who gamble seem to be complete morons.
I give my vote to the extortion charge. Let's compare to another similar website, that I know something about--the Nevada Department of Corrections. This site gets about 35,000 visitors a month (500,000 "hits"). Granted, I don't know what was "special" about the sheriff's site, but this one is a state correctional department. It hosts an online inmate search, and is used heavily by government staff and the public. And even with more traffic, gee, what does an unlimited Internet T1 cost? Last time I checked, less than $1500/month in any major metropolitan area. $9000/month to run a simple website? I'm in the wrong business...
I live in Nevada, and have done a lot of work with 802.11 in various locations around the state. The most interesting project I ever worked on was in Pahrump. We discovered that we could not create any working connections with a directional antenna pointed toward Area 51. I don't know if they use conventional jamming equipment, experimental wireless equipment or weapons, or who knows what. All I know is that it was a real pain in the butt, and required moving equipment around to avoid pointing anything that direction.
This is nothing--years ago I deployed PCs at Alaskan oilfield installations. Extreme cold makes everything brittle, kept having problems with things like cracked motherboards, just from setting the PC on a desk.
My kids are great at sports--AND they love to read. My oldest two have skipped a grade in school, they score off the charts on any standardized test. They are well liked and social leaders in their age group. They have their own computers (running two different flavors of Linux), but they'd just as soon go jump on a trampoline, go for a bike ride, go hiking, or kick butt in soccer. You want the real secret? Be a parent, enjoy these little people...we all know you enjoyed creating them ;-) Anyway, treat them with dignity and respect, spend time with them, and wow, you'd be amazed how successful they can be at anything!
I'll do you one better--I work tech support for a prison. It's loads of fun when the warden threatens to not let you out till you fix his email.
I grew up in Wasilla, AK. The moment we got our own local police force (instead of relying on the State Troopers), our crime rate skyrocketed--because now we had someone to report all the petty stuff to. So this makes perfect sense, if you've got a substation close, it's easy to walk in and report something. Otherwise you just might not bother with a small crime.
OK, I'm gonna weigh in on this. I'm amazed at all the people who assume that something is illegal, just because they think it's "wrong." And then there are those who spout false statements because they know that once in print, other clueless people will believe it even if it's false. Three points: * The guy that did the "break-in" is an idiot, he should be fully prosecuted for breaking the law. * Using a personal email account for state business is not automatically wrong or illegal. * Palin is popular in Alaska, and very much trusted and loved by those who know her closely. While she will run you over if you stand in her way, she tries hard to do the right thing. That's what excites those with the same political leanings--she works hard for what she believes. Doesn't everyone want a politician who at least tries to act according to what they say? Mind you, these opinions were not pulled out of thin air: * I grew up in Wasilla, AK, and the Palins are family friends (20 years) * I have known politicians and the political scene in Alaska for many years, and I am familiar with the laws and politics of the state I live in now * I am now the systems and communications manager for the largest state agency in another state, including an email system with thousands of employees accounts * I am very familiar with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, as well as multiple states' archival laws * A governor's email with his/her aides is not necessarily public record and subject to archival/discovery rules. There is a specific test as to what constitutes "official business."
I am the system administrator for a large state government agency. Recently I was essentially forced to connect a Windows XP boiler control system for an electrical generation plant to the Internet, so that the vendor can do remote maintenance. If I hadn't found out about it, it would be connected directly without even a firewall... This system had no anti-virus software, and of course it has a popular remote-control software installed for the vendor's access. The only reason I can sleep at night is that the plant is far away from any populated area, and may be shut down due to other reasons soon. I will be sending this video to a number of people in an email today.
I have lived in Nevada for many years, and I see slot machines almost every day. The only mechanical slot machines left are maybe in Virginia City. Almost ALL gaming machines have been partially or fully electronic for at least as long as ATM's have been around. They've all been "networked" for at least a decade and a half. We're talking full blown LAN's and WAN's (how do you think Megabucks works?). Of course, no matter how lucky I've ever been, I always have better odds at the ATM. I agree with the chap from down under, most people who gamble seem to be complete morons.
I give my vote to the extortion charge. Let's compare to another similar website, that I know something about--the Nevada Department of Corrections. This site gets about 35,000 visitors a month (500,000 "hits"). Granted, I don't know what was "special" about the sheriff's site, but this one is a state correctional department. It hosts an online inmate search, and is used heavily by government staff and the public. And even with more traffic, gee, what does an unlimited Internet T1 cost? Last time I checked, less than $1500/month in any major metropolitan area. $9000/month to run a simple website? I'm in the wrong business...
I live in Nevada, and have done a lot of work with 802.11 in various locations around the state. The most interesting project I ever worked on was in Pahrump. We discovered that we could not create any working connections with a directional antenna pointed toward Area 51. I don't know if they use conventional jamming equipment, experimental wireless equipment or weapons, or who knows what. All I know is that it was a real pain in the butt, and required moving equipment around to avoid pointing anything that direction.