MRIC Newsletter Vol. II.4

MAGNOLIA ROAD INTERNET COOPERATIVE (MRIC) NEWS DIGEST Vol. II.4

"Fostering Community Through Connectivity"

Chickaree, or pine squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), is a noisy, territorial, bold little critter.  While they feed primarily on goodies they find in the woods, such as pine nuts, fungi, and berries, they may also visit your feeders and chase all
other squirrels away.  I had one such visitor, who launched himself repeatedly from great heights to terrorize Aberts, ground squirrels, and chipmunks!  He succeeded, and it kept me entertained for most of an afternoon!  They are responsible
for the "middens" you see in the woods, where they store green cones, and also the racket that assaults you as you stroll innocently through their property....
Contributor:  Jennifer Stewart

I. UPDATE FROM THE MRIC BOARD OF DIRECTORS - 7.18.2005

Happy Summer!

This season marks the 3rd anniversary of MRIC starting paid service.   Through word of mouth, MRIC has grown from those initial 20 subscribers to over 320 members now with a good probability of exceeding 350 by the fall potluck. Our volunteers are adding 20 or more new members each month and yet we have a backlog approaching 100. It seems that each day brings more than one new membership inquiry. Even with 15% of the membership involved in some aspect of operations (POP hosts, installers, support), MRIC is now a $150,000 per year business.

Since our last newsletter, MRIC has added one T1 at the new Begole Network Operations Center in Coal Creek Canyon (CCC). A second T1 is on order now and should be in place soon. The Lazy Z Frame Relay has been dropped due to reliability problems with the Lazy Z POP fed from either Begole or Thorodin-North repeaters. A POP is in the works for Loomis, in Coal Creek Canyon. Aside from the occasional P2P or heavy upload user, bandwidth availability is improving. As needed, MRIC will add additional T1s to any of our three NOCs needing relief. To improve reliability, more MRIC servers have been moved from the Pine Glade NOC to the Boulder co-location facility.

The MRIC's board highest priority is to improve the reliability and performance of the system. We have increased the hours of of having a Technical Support Coordinator to 40 hours each week. We have implemented the beginnings of a paid "truck roll" person to make necessary house calls. We have even visited a neighboring ISP to understand their best practices. We are training more volunteers to
troubleshoot a mix of network and subscriber equipment.

After the two new CCC POPs (Loomis and Thordin-West) and one lower Magnolia POPs have been installed this summer, MRIC will freeze POP expansion so we can add capacity to the existing POPs. Upgrading the backhaul radio links (that connect one POP to another) from 10 Mbps to 45 Mbps is the next major infrastructure improvement.

Please come to the September 10th potluck and membership meeting up at Eldora Ski Lodge (the same place we met 3 summers ago). If you want to run for one of three open MRIC board positions please submit your candidate statement to bod@mric.coop. Elections will be held during the business meeting portion of this potuck.

As usual, MRIC welcomes volunteers. Please contact volunteers@mric.coop if you'd like to help. Thank you.

MRIC Board of Directors

-Save the Date! -MRIC MEMBERS Potluck Meeting: September 10th at Eldora Ski Resort
                                       Directions: http://www.eldora.com/mountainInfo/gettingHere.cfm

       Here is the schedule for the Saturday, Sept. 10th potluck at Eldora:

                              11:00am Set-up
                              12:00 pm Potluck Social
                                                * We are asking all interested parties with a home-based business or community related org. to participate If interested contact: rsvp@mric.coop
                               12:45 pm Business meeting and BOD Elections
                                2:00 PM Tabletop Expo (including Prospective Member Q&A )
                                2:30 PM (20-minute Workshops willL Start every 30 minutes)
                                                New Member Orientation
                                                Spam, Security, and Spyware
                                                Mountain Community Firewatch
                                                Airplane Noise Monitoring
                                4:30 PM Tabletop Expo & Clean up
                                3:30-4:30pm Clean-Up

         All members should have received your evite to attend this event.    If you did not, please email: rsvp@mric.coop .   Be sure & include your member name & contact information. Also identify what you plan to bring to the potluck.    All rsvps need to be received by 9.5.2005.     -See you there!

We will have Uninterruptable Power Supply Battery Back Up systems (UPS) for sale for $34 (normally $50) for subscribers at the pot luck.

II. TECHNICAL TIPS
     II.1   Wireless News
           II.1.1   Article: Hong Kong Broadband Launches 1 Gbps Home Service for US$215/month
      http://www.convergedigest.com/Bandwidth/newnetworksarticle.asp?ID=14545 Contributor: Lynn Sturgeon

                   II.1.2 Article: Wi-Fi Cloaks a New Breed of Intruder, Alex Leary, St. Petersburg Times , published 7.4.2005
                              http://www.sptimes.com/2005/07/04/State/Wi_Fi_cloaks_a_new_br.shtml       Contributor: Lynn Sturgeon

                   II.1.3 Article: Congress Tunes in to WiFi, Robert MacMillan, Washingtonpost.com, 6.27.2005
                              http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/27/AR2005062700482_pf.html
                                           Contributor: Greg Ching

                   II.1.4 Article: For Surfers, a Roving Hot Spot That Shares, Johanna Jainchill, NY Times published 7.14.2005, Contributor: Greg Ching
                              When the Sunningdale Country Club in Scarsdale, N.Y., opened its gates last week to a location shoot for "The Sopranos," a new fixture was on display in the mobile dressing rooms - a roving Wi-Fi hot spot.

With a device called the Junxion Box, the production company can set up a mobile multiuser Internet connection anywhere it gets cellphone service. The box, about the size of a shoebox cover, uses a cellular modem card from a wireless phone carrier to create a Wi-Fi hot spot that lets dozens of people connect to the Internet.   The device acts as a portable Wi-Fi hot spot.

The staff members of "The Sopranos," squeezed into two trailer dressing rooms, needed only the Junxion Box and their laptops to exchange messages and documents with the production offices at Silvercup Studios in Queens.

"We used to fax everything," said Henry J. Bronchtein, the show's co-executive producer. "The paper would jam; it was messy. This is much more reliable."

Junxion Boxes have also been spotted on Google's commuter buses for employees and along Willie Nelson's latest tour. But what may be a boon for wandering Web surfers could quickly become a threat to wireless providers.

"The premise is one person buys an air card and one person uses the service, not an entire neighborhood," said Jeffrey Nelson, executive director for corporate communications at Verizon Wireless. "Giving things away for free doesn't work anymore. It never did."

Unlimited service on cellular modem cards for PC's costs about $80 a month. The carriers are clearly worried about a technology that could destroy that business, but they have not formed a united front against Junxion.

The makers of the Junxion Box, based in Seattle, seem eager to head off any battle by forming partnerships with the wireless companies.

"We're not trying to build a radar detector," said John Daly, 42, co-founder of Junxion Inc. and vice president for business development. "We believe we're creating an opportunity for the carriers. It may not be entirely comfortable for them right now, but we hope we can get to a point where we can collaborate with them."

The Junxion Box was created by Mr. Daly and two partners, David Hsiao, 38, the company's president, and Peter Polson, 31, vice president for product development. The commercial version of the box retails for $699. They plan a less expensive consumer version next year.

John Kampfe, director of media and industry analyst relations for Cingular Wireless, said the Junxion Box was being evaluated and certified by Cingular and could eventually be sold in conjunction with Cingular's wireless service for wide-area networks.

"There is a whole pricing model that has to take place with the Junxion Box," Mr. Kampfe said.

So far Junxion has about 200 customers, many of whom are testing the product. The company went around the wireless companies by making Trio Teknologies, a wireless services reseller, its exclusive distributor.

Peter Schneider, a partner at Gotham Sound, the communications equipment company in New York that supplied Junxion Boxes to the sets of both "The Sopranos" and the rapper 50 Cent's upcoming movie, "Get Rich or Die Tryin'," said his customers would not be interested in wireless modem cards were it not for the possibility to share the connection through the Junxion Box.

"That's the exact appeal of it" for his customers, he said. "That you can rent it to a group. As word gets out, it will become part of the communication equipment they rent."

But for carriers like Verizon Wireless, which spent $1 billion on its broadband network, it is difficult to let users piggyback on that service. "We're not surprised that people are building services like this and trying to attach them to our network," Mr. Nelson of Verizon said. "It verifies how cool and how important our network is. We're going to protect that investment."

That may prove to be an uphill battle as new technologies like Junxion alter the wireless carriers' control over the use of their networks.

"That's just something they have got to live with because that's the technology now," said David Anderson, Willie Nelson's tour manager of 31 years. "Most people wouldn't or couldn't afford to have that many cards. They weren't going to get 22 customers, but now they got 6."

There are two Junxion Boxes in each of the two tour buses and each has three wireless modem cards so they can switch to the cellular provider network with the best local coverage. It allows Mr. Nelson, whom Mr. Anderson describes as a computer geek, to check his e-mail and surf the Web while on the road.

"The Junxion Box is good for going down the highway," Mr. Anderson said from Hillsboro, Tex., where Mr. Nelson was performing earlier this month. "It was frustrating in the older days. It's finally the way it should be."

                  II.1.5 Article:   Pulling the Plug on Local Internet, Steve Levy, Newsweek, 7.18.2005,
                                           http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8524609/site/newsweek/    Contributor: Greg Ching

   II.1.6 Article: A Web of Sensors, Taking Earth's Pulse, by William J. Broad, NY Times May 10, 2005, Contributor: Greg Ching
       In the wilds of the San Jacinto Mountains, along a steep canyon, scientists are turning 30 acres of pines and hardwoods in California into a futuristic vision of environmental study. They are linking up more than 100 tiny sensors, robots, cameras and computers, which are beginning to paint an unusually detailed portrait of this lush world, home to more than 30 rare and endangered species.

Much of the instrumentation is wireless. Devices the size of a deck of cards - known as motes, after dust motes - can measure light, wind speed, rainfall, temperature, humidity and barometric pressure, detecting the presence of a warm body or tracking the progress of a chill wind up the canyon.

"It's very cool to be out into the woods with a laptop and be connected to the Internet and see all these motes in action," said Dr. Eric A. Graham, a biologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, who is studying the forest, known as the James Reserve. "It's real-time visualization over a large area. It's new science."

And it is spreading, with more than $1 billion in networks of sensors planned not only for the land but places like the Hudson River and the deep Pacific. Ecology, historically a small science, is getting much bigger and at the same time much smaller.

The rapid miniaturization of technologies behind cameras, cellphones and wireless computers is allowing scientists to build innovative networks of small sensors that they say will produce a new era of ecological insight and, in time, help save the planet.

"It's tremendously important," said Dr. Deborah Estrin, director of the Center for Embedded Network Sensing at U.C.L.A. She said the gains could rival those from the introduction of instruments like microscopes. "Think about M.R.I. and CAT scans and their impact on medical science," Dr. Estrin said. "That's what we're trying to achieve."

The field is young. But experts say successful trials like the California forest study demonstrate the promise of networks of tiny, often wireless sensors, that cost little compared with instruments now in use that are tied together by wires and power lines. In the years and decades ahead, scientists want to deploy millions of these kinds of devices over large tracts for long periods, opening new windows on nature.

"The potential for environmental science is amazing," said Dr. Alexandra Isern, a program director at the National Science Foundation. "With this technology, we can start to understand what is an event and what is normal. We're recognizing more and more how different processes in the environment operate at different frequencies. To comprehend that, you need to take measurements all the time."

Scientists hope to learn more about soil contaminants, land changes, water flow, invasive species, ocean cycles, continent formation, the places atmospheric carbon are stored, the reasons that volcanoes erupt and the ways viruses and gene fragments move through the environment.

Motes have custom-designed computer chips and sensors and are wireless and powered by batteries or solar cells, allowing scientists to use them in remote places and to move them around. Networks of them, and their larger cousins, are envisioned as dotting swaths of North America and running through the waters of the West Coast from California to Canada.

Some sites are to be permanent, with networks recording data for long periods, unlike summer field studies or two-week ocean research voyages. Such continuity is considered vital for better understanding how humans are altering the planet.

"It's a sea change across a whole range of fields," said Dr. Robert S. Detrick, a senior scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on Cape Cod. "The objective is long-term investigation of temporal, climate or human impact. It's a big change."

Behind the new wave lies the miniaturization of electronics and the development of new materials that allow ever smaller radios, computers, sensors and batteries.

Another factor is the National Science Foundation, a federal agency that finances basic research at colleges and universities. In the past few years, officials and experts say, the science foundation has spent more than $100 million to foster planning and research on the new sensor networks, and it foresees more than $1 billion in large ecological pojects, mainly observatories.

"You've got a convergence in these very quickly advancing technical areas," said Dr. Filbert J. Bartoli, a program director at the science foundation. "That gives you an opportunity for really impressive advances in sensor systems."

The Defense Department is another factor. In the 1990's, its Advanced Research Projects Agency financed university scientists to shrink computerized modules for many kinds of sensors down to Lilliputian size - in one case smaller than a penny. The team named them motes and smart dust.

Demand for the devices grew so fast that in 2002 the leader of the group, Dr. Kris Pister of the University of California, Berkeley, helped found Dust Networks, of Hayward, Calif., which sells motes for many applications, including ecologic studies.

Rob Conant, a co-founder, described the units as highly energy efficient, automatically putting themselves to sleep most of the time and waking up periodically to check on sensors and to radio the results to other network nodes.

He said a mote the size of a cellphone could work for five years, transmitting up to 325 feet away. The nodes of the network automatically look for neighbors and compensate if some fail, Mr. Conant added. "It's like taking the wires out of a big chunk of the Internet," he said in an interview.

Environmental sensor networks can help fill an observational gap between microscopes and telescopes, he remarked. "It's been hard to get vast information about swamps," Mr. Conant said. "This kind of technology fits very well because it lets people collect on a human scale."

Industry giants are joining in. For instance, Intel works with the U.C.L.A. Center for Embedded Network Sensing on the forest project, which is in its third year.

The James Reserve, some 90 miles southeast of Los Angeles on a mountain flank that is home to 1,500 species of plants and animals, including the yellow-legged frog and willow flycatcher, now bristles with enough monitoring gear to make it one of the world's most advanced tests of ecologic networking.

Wireless motes, cameras and other sensors track the nesting habits of birds, the life cycles of moss and the carbon dioxide uptake of various soils. Robots move along wires strung from tree to tree, lowering sensors to take temperature, humidity and light-level readings at different levels.

Thousands of miles away, scientists are starting a similar effort - but wet. They are designing floating robots, wireless sensors and distributed computers in an effort to better understand and improve the water quality of the Hudson River.

The project, known as RiverNet, is to use roughly two dozen instruments in all. Financed by the science foundation, it seeks to track fertilizer runoff from farms, heat from power plants, growth of algae and pollutants like polychlorinated biphenyls.

"Let's say we have a contaminant spill," said Dr. Sandra A. Nierzwicki-Bauer, a RiverNet expert at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. "This allows us to immediately track that so you can respond much quicker and mitigate damage."

Beyond such demonstrations lies an emerging world of very large networks that combine motes and portable gear with larger technologies to improve the depth, duration and range of monitoring.

The $200 million EarthScope project of the science foundation is erecting 3,000 stations that are to track faint tremors, measure crustal deformation and make three-dimensional maps of the earth's interior from crust to core. Some 2,000 more instruments are to be mobile - wireless and sun- or wind-powered - and 400 devices are to move east in a wave from California across the nation over the course of a decade.

The goal is to uncover the secrets of how the continent formed and evolved, revolutionizing the study of volcanoes, fault systems, mineral deposits and earthquakes. Begun in 2003, EarthScope is to be completed by 2008 and run until 2023.

"It's the largest undertaking in the history of geoscience," said Dr. Gregory E. van der Vink, project director of EarthScope, which is based in Washington. "It's about instrumenting North America."

The biological world has its own megaproject - the National Ecological Observatory Network, or NEON. Its cost is estimated at $500 million. Experts say plans are still evolving, but coast-to-coast NEON could involve perhaps 15 circular areas 250 miles in diameter, each including urban, suburban, agricultural, managed and wild lands.

Each observatory would have radar for tracking birds and weather as well as many layers of motes and robots and sensors, including some on cranes in forest canopies. If NEON gets a green light, construction is expected to start in 2007 and last five years.

One goal is to track invasive species, which cause more than $100 billion in agricultural losses each year. Another is to forecast changes in the biosphere that may accompany climate shifts so planners and government officials can make better choices about land use and restoration.

"We have to be prepared for the kinds of changes that will happen in the next century," said Dr. Bruce P. Hayden, an environmental scientist at the University of Virginia and a NEON founder. "We have to know the dynamics of the living world."

Perhaps the most challenging project is Neptune. It is to run nearly 2,000 miles of cables dotted with sensors, cameras and tetherless robots through the inky depths of the Pacific from California to Canada. It would cross the Juan de Fuca Plate, the slab of crust that boils with seaquakes, undersea volcanoes, colonies of tube worms and exotic organisms that thrive in fiery rifts.

Neptune is to cost about $200 million, about a third from Canada and much of the rest from the science foundation. Its goal is to study the total ocean environment from below the seabed to the surface in an effort to answer fundamental questions and help people better care for what oceanographers call the planet's lifeblood.

"It's going to set the tone for how the human race interacts with the oceans," said Dr. John R. Delaney, a scientist at the University of Washington who has championed Neptune. "As goes the ocean, so goes the planet."

The Canadians have already begun work on their segment while the Americans expect the first construction financing in 2007 and the system to be finished by 2012. Neptune is to operate for three decades.

It remains to be seen how enthusiastically the Bush administration and Congress will finance the networks and their operations. Some observatories were planned in the early 2000's when the science foundation's budget was expected to double to nearly $10 billion. By contrast, this year's budget is $5.5 billion, and the White House is proposing a modest 2.4 percent increase for next year.

The scientists say the nation should press ahead because the opportunities are so great and the stakes so high.

"It's a paradigm shift," Dr. William J. Kaiser of the Center for Embedded Network Sensing said of innovative new ways of monitoring the environment. "It's going to change the way we think."

        II.1.7 Article: When Pigs Wi-Fi, Nicholas D.Kristof, NY Times 8.7.2005, Contributor: Greg Ching
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/07/opinion/07kristof.html?ex=1124769600&en=793e833fc99e9483&ei=5070&oref=login (Requires login to NY Times)

        II.1.8 Article: US Cities Go for Hotzones, Bob Brewin, Computerworld, in Tech World, 10.13.2004, Contributor: Greg Ching
                           http://www.techworld.com/mobility/features/index.cfm?FeatureID=911

        II.1.9 Article: WiMAX: The Savior of Rural Broadband? Sally Whittle, ZDnet UK, 4.5.2004, Contributor: Greg Ching
                             http://insight.zdnet.co.uk/communications/wireless/0,39020430,39150906,00.htm

        II.1.10 Article: Ten Must Read Tech Stories, David M. Ewalt, Forbes.com 6.24.2005   Contributor: Sharon Nichols
http://www.forbes.com/cionetwork/2005/06/24/blog-computers-internet-cx_de_0624digitaldownload.html?partner=yahootix&referrer=

         II.1.11 E-mail Tips, Contributor: Greg Ching

                     Do you worry about a hard disk crash wiping out your e-mail? Do you wish you could find old e-mails while traveling? Do you just have multiple computers that you use regularly? Do you want to review or compose e-mail while off-line? There are ways to accommodate all of these concerns.

As a MRIC member you are fortunate that you have choices beyond what most ISPs offer. Besides the common Post Office Protocol (POP) mail accounts provided, you can also read your MRIC e-mail via Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) or webmail. IMAP takes up more disk space so most ISPs discourage their members from using it; however, most corporations prefer IMAP because mail is seldom lost. You can use webmail in conjunction with both POP or IMAP though it works better with IMAP. Here's a short comparison chart.   http://www.helpdesk.umd.edu/topics/email/protocols/3577/

Webmail is handy. Having more than one webmail address can be helpful to minimize spam or reduce the odds of identity theft. On-line address books and calendars can also be very helpful while traveling.     http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/kimkomando/2005-08-28-email-tips_x.htm

To learn more about MRIC e-mail services review http://mric.coop/email/

Bring your laptop to the MRIC potluck on September 10th if you need help setting up your mail account settings. If you do want a MRIC e-mail account, do request this soon so you will have it before getting help at the membership meeting. Use mric.coop/ticket to create the service request.

    II.2 Hardware & Installs
        II.2.1 Article: Secrets to Good Hard-Drive Hygiene, Glenn Fleishman, NY Times, 7.21.2005, Contributor: Greg Ching
           My cousin Steven Cristol should enter the lottery: he's already beaten seemingly impossible odds by enduring "seven mechanical hard drive failures in five computers," as he describes it.

One drive failure is unsurprising, but usually after several years of use. Two failures are improbable. Seven puts us into an episode of "The Twilight Zone." Each brand-name drive failure set him back hours or weeks in his consulting work. His file backups were partial and infrequent.

An electrician could not help him. Banning the house cleaner from his home office - he found she was smashing her vacuum into his running computers - had no effect. The family suggested séances.

His woes ended three years ago with the installation of a belt-and-suspenders data backup system. Every bit written to his main drive is simultaneously copied, or mirrored, to a backup drive. He also regularly copies files to a magnetic tape system.

Creating perfect duplicates of his data allowed my cousin the peace of mind to know that even in a catastrophic failure, he could turn to the mirrored drive or critical files on it and be back to work minutes after a failure.

Ever-increasing quantities of private and family data are kept on home computers. But until the last two years, there was a gap between the ever larger hard-disk drives that came with home computers and affordable methods to archive the gigabytes of documents, e-mail messages, home movies and MP3's. That gap has closed as consumer backup software has added features to write archives directly to external hard drives and higher-capacity DVD burners.

Which Files?

All mainstream operating systems comprise a mix of kinds of files. Some are needed by the system itself to manage its hardware and software tasks. Others are programs and their help files and plug-ins, documents you create with those programs and settings for how those programs work. Documents can vary greatly in size from a 500-byte e-mail message to a 10-gigabyte movie you transferred from a digital camcorder.

The most comprehensive way to duplicate a computer's data is to use software that can handle every kind of file, and store the state of those systems as a snapshot in time.

This is a trickier task than it sounds, as some files are hidden or have odd properties. Just dragging a hard-disk icon on the desktop onto a similar hard drive's icon won't work because of these arcane files and obscure aspects of how a hard disk and an operating system talk to each other. (Mac OS, up to version 9, had the unique ability to just copy a drive; it was lost with Apple's switch to Unix underpinnings.)

Picking and choosing which files to back up, like manually copying your document folder to a CD or DVD, allows you to preserve your most critical files - spreadsheets, photos and word-processing documents, perhaps.

If you use the pick-and-choose method and suffer a complete drive failure, you would have to reinstall your operating system and any applications you had separately installed, as well as all upgrades released since the time you purchased the system and software.

Which Hardware?

For businesses, streaming magnetic digital tape ruled the backup roost through the 1990's, while consumers were stuck with slow and occasionally unreliable diskettes and, later, Zip and Jaz cartridges.

Tape drives are expensive, and tapes run from start to finish: special software is necessary to fast-forward through up to 750 feet of tape to reach a particular file. A modern tape drive with the capacity of a home hard drive can cost several hundred dollars. Tapes that hold 25 to 100 gigabytes of data cost $25 to $50 each.

That's why external hard drives have emerged as the backup medium of choice: their current low price, high speed and high capacity pairs them neatly with a computer's internal hard drive.

Many users now purchase drives much larger than their internal disk in order to create cumulative archives of files as they change. Backup software creates snapshots so you can choose which version of a file to retrieve, or retrieve the entire data state of your computer at a given point in time.

A 200-gigabyte drive for Mac or Windows is $199 from LaCie USA (www.lacie.com); a terabyte drive (approximately a trillion bytes, or 1,000 gigabytes) costs $949.

Both CD and DVD burners are reliable and cost-effective choices for backup, with blank media costs plummeting. A CD burner can write about 700 megabytes to a single disc. DVD burners can put about 5 gigabytes on one disk, but newer dual-layer recorders can write up to 9 gigabytes. An external dual-layer DVD burner is as little as $119 from LaCie.

Some companies offer even simpler hard-drive backups, bundling software and hardware into a single one-button backup option. Install the software, attach the drive and hit a button on devices from Mirra, Seagate, Maxtor and others, and a backup is made with no intervention.

Software Options

The way to good data hygiene is to establish a routine and stick to it. Backup software makes it possible to schedule your archives - preferably at a time you are not also trying to use the computer.

Consumer backup software can write to hard drives and optical media, and often to any kind of media that can be mounted on the desktop.

Software from Microsoft (included in Windows XP) and Apple (included for .Mac online service subscribers) backs up and restores files on a schedule. More sophisticated software from EMC Dantz (Retrospect Desktop, $129, www.dantz.com) and Symantec's Norton division (Norton Ghost, $69.95, www.symantec.com/sabu/ghost/ghost_personal) offers full disk backup and restore; both packages include CD's that can be used to start up a computer with a failed operating system but a working hard drive to restore from a backup.

The best packages allow you to archive files as well as back them up; that is, to store multiple versions of the same file over time as it changes. But you can choose to store only the latest version of each file, too.

Restoring Data

There's often a paradox to restoring data: you need the backup software to restore your backed up files, but it's stored on your dead or damaged drive.

Unlike software you might purchase and download online, it's best to buy physical copies of backup software so that you are sure to have the factory-stamped CD's and other material handy in the event of catastrophe. Don't forget to have that serial number, too, for reinstallation or phone support. (Phone support is quite expensive, while slower e-mail or online support may be free.)

Backup software creates a file that is a catalog or index of the files it has written and when. It is prudent to store the catalog file or similar data on a separate hard drive or on removable media, or by setting up a backup script within your software to copy the catalog separately as a plain file after your main backup has completed.

To recover single files, you typically run the backup software or insert the media that you have used for storing your files and select the ones to retrieve - exercising care to not overwrite folders or directories that you do not want to change.

As with many things, the best time to make a backup is before you experience a crisis. My cousin learned his lesson, and since his dual regime was put into effect, he hasn't had to use archived files. The computers knew they were beaten.

      * Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company

       II.2.2 CNET.com Q&A:
        Question: Help, please! I did a clean install of Windows XP home (an upgrade from Windows 98) about four months ago, and up until now, my PC has been problem free. But I recently found that it is impossible to boot into Safe Mode even though I select Safe Mode and hit Enter. After I hit Enter, it goes through the normal boot display but then goes to the option screen once more. Where has Safe Mode gone, and how do I get it back? Thanks.     --Submitted by: Peter A.

                   Response:   Peter, it is hard to determine exactly what the problem is. Windows does have a tendency to play truant when it pleases(and that’s an understatement). I shall name a few possible causes of your problem, and offer a few suggestions to fix it.

You say your computer gives you the option of entering Safe Mode. I assume you get this option screen by hitting F8 (or some other function key) as your computer starts up. You choose to enter Safe Mode, but Safe Mode doesn’t load. This leads me to believe the problem isn’t with getting to Safe Mode, but with Safe Mode itself. However let’s try a couple of other ways of entering Safe Mode since we’re at it anyway.

Start the computer in normal mode. Choose Run from the Start menu, and type in “msconfig” (without the quotes). The system configuration utility will open. Under the “General” tab, the option “Normal startup – load all device drivers and services” will be selected by default. Leave it that way. Go to the “BOOT.INI” tab. In the Boot Options choose “/SAFEBOOT” and any one of the safeboot options. Hit Apply. If you go back to the General tab, you will notice that the option selected is no longer “Normal startup” but “Selected Startup”.

That’s fine. Hit Ok. You will be prompted to restart your computer. Do so. If you’re lucky, Windows will restart in Safe Mode.

Another way to try to force a Safe Mode boot is to power-off your computer while it’s starting up, before Windows loads completely. Very often Windows will detect that it was not started up completely during the last boot, and will prompt you to enter safe mode. This is probably the same option screen you access by hitting F8 anyway, but give it one last shot. Note that this method is not recommended under normal circumstances, as you may end up corrupting some Windows files.

If these don’t work, we move on to our next option. A Windows XP system file might be corrupt. To fix this, you need to run the Windows XP Windows File Checker. This program scans all protected system files and replaces incorrect versions with correct ones.

Start Windows in Normal Mode. Choose Run from the Start menu. Type “sfc /scannow” (without quotes) and hit Ok. Notice there is a space after the word sfc. If you don’t put it there you will get a file not found error. Alternatively you can type “cmd” and go to the command prompt, and then type “sfc/scannow” with or without the space. The Windows File Protection will start up, and scan your system files for any inconsistencies. Have your Windows XP cd handy. It will be required to correct any problems, if found.

You might also want to scan/clean the Windows registry. Errors in the registry lead to all sorts of problems with the operating system. You will find trial versions of many registry scan and fix softwares at CNET's www.download.com

If these methods doesn’t work, maybe the problem lies with your software. Maybe you have a CD burning software called Nero InCD installed on your computer. InCD has been known to cause quite a few problems, including Safe Mode disappearing. I believe the versions of InCD that caused this specific problem were 4.3.0.0 and 4.3.0.3. On uninstalling the software, Safe Mode reappears.

It might be worthwhile to determine which softwares you’ve installed since your Windows installation 4 months ago, that are relatively new to you, and might have caused the problem. Uninstalling them one by one, and checking for results, would help find the culprit if there is one.

Another possible cause is a Virus/Trojan or Spyware. Although I don’t know of any virus documented to specifically target and remove the Safe Mode, this does occur sometimes, maybe as a result of the viral activity. The SDBOT virus (W32/Sdbot.worm.32768) is known to modify the registry so that it also operates in safe mode. Some computers with a major spyware problem show similar symptoms of the Safe Mode being inaccessible. The Safe Mode is the best platform for removing viruses and cleaning out spyware so it would make a good target.

You should run a thorough scan with an antivirus software as well as a anti-spyware program. This may yield some results.
Moving on to more complex scenarios, the problem may lie with the BIOS. Enter the BIOS while starting up your computer by hitting the appropriate function key (F5 on my computer). The settings you see are the CMOS settings that tell your computer the properties of the hardware installed on your computer. Make sure they’re all correct. The computer’s manual should tell you what some of the values should be. However if you’re not very knowledgeable about computer hardware, and nothing you see here makes any sense, its better to leave these settings alone, since a wrong move in the BIOS can disable some of your other hardware. If you’re comfortable, keep looking. Some types of memory (RAM) are quite sensitive to their CMOS setting and fail to function properly if these are wrong. This can lead to all sorts of problems, like preventing safe mode from running, so make sure this is not the case.

Also look out for IRQ conflicts. This can be done in Control Panel > System > Hardware tab > Device Manager. IRQs (interrupt requests) are numbers given to different hardware devices that identify them when they communicate with the processor. Generally each hardware device has a unique IRQ number. If more than one device is assigned an IRQ number there may be a conflict. However if you don't understand this topic, its not safe to mess with it, so just move on to the next paragraph.

Another related problem might be the use of a wireless keyboard. If you have a wireless keyboard, and your BIOS doesn’t natively support it, then the device drivers for the keyboard need to load for it to function. And since starting a computer in Safe Mode prevents many drivers from loading (the ones the computer deems unnecessary), you are unable to enter into it since you don’t appear to have a keyboard. If this is the case, try using a PS/2 keyboard ie. A keyboard with a cable that plugs into the back of your PC.

Finally, the problem may lie with your motherboard or the processor. On a forum, which can be viewed at http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=34&threadid=1627220&enterthread=y, there's an interesting (and maybe perplexing) article: The gentleman, who’s computer freezes at a certain point on entering safe mode, switches his processor with the one in his wife’s computer. And Safe Mode is back on his computer. And her computer works fine too. Now although your computer doesn’t freeze up at a particular spot (which would point toward the faulty hardware), you might have some incompatibility issues. Since you’re out of other options, you might want to try what he did. Who knows? It might work.

I’ve assumed all through that you’re using Windows XP. I am aware of a problem with Windows Longhorn version LH4074 where the safe mode seems to be missing on some computers. However I doubt this is the case with you.

If, at the end, you’re still not able to get into safe mode, there’s only one thing left to do. Use the Windows XP disc to Repair or Reinstall Windows. I personally go for Reinstalls since they don’t take too much longer than a Repair, and I have the satisfaction of knowing everything is working like new. But that’s a personal choice. Since you are able to start your computer normally, you can easily back up your files.

Once you repair/reinstall windows, set a System Restore Point. Go to Start>Accessories>System Tools>System Restore. Choose “Create a restore point”. The wizard will guide you through the rest of the process. This way you have a record of the fully working Windows, and if a similar problem occurs in future, you can easily revert to a problem free system by returning to this point.

Hope this helps.    -Submitted by: Gary P. of Atlanta, GA (USA)

    II.3 Security Corner
           II.3.1 Article: Spyware Problems Strike Tens of Millions of Computer Users, Digital Home Canada, 7.7.2005 Contributor:   Greg Ching
                             http://digitalhomecanada.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=482&Itemid=51


           II.3.2 Article: Be Vigilant About Using Anti-Virus Software on EVERY PC You Connect to MRIC! Contributor: John Hearty
                                    I joined the MRIC network a few months ago. Before then, I had a closed network in my home with several PCs attached. Since it was a closed network, I didn't concern myself much with virus prevention measures. We did however on occasion dial up to the Internet. My home network also included some second hand PCs, which are typically turned off.

When I joined the MRIC network, I updated the two PCs we used frequently with anti-virus software as well as all applicable Windows updates. I considered myself very cautions about what I clicked on during dial-up sessions on my PC, and did not find any viruses when I installed the anti-virus software before connecting it to MRIC. My young daughter's PC unfortunately was riddled with infections and spy-ware, which I cleaned out before re-connecting her PC to the network.

Unfortunately in haste, I only made Windows updates to the second hand PCs and did not install anti-virus software. Since I rarely turned these machines on or needed Internet connectivity for them, I didn't consider it important. I would come to regret this inaction.

I turned one of these second hand PCs on to copy some files across my home network. Though I didn't need to, I left the PC on and forgot about it. As it turns out, when I purchased the PC second hand, it apparently came with several infected files and spy-ware unbeknownst to me.

These malicious programs did not apparently affect the operation of any PCs in my old, closed network. However, when they recognized a high speed connection to the public Internet, they sprang to life and began using up huge amounts of bandwidth and attacking other computers in the public Internet. This had gone on all night before MRIC personnel identified the excessive bandwidth usage in addition to one of the target Internet Service Provider network operators filing an abuse complaint with MRIC. These kinds of reports are a black eye for the cooperative.

This experience goes to show how important it is to ensure EVERY computer each of us connects to the Internet is checked for viruses and spy-ware BEFORE it is connected to the Internet. Here are some guidelines members should make every effort to follow to avoid MRIC being forced to disable their Internet connection if a virus problem is discovered, not to mention potential personal data loss and various other problems viruses create:

                         1. New members should have anti-virus software installed and running on every computer before their MRIC service is installed.

                          2. Existing members should have anti-virus software installed and running on every computer at all times.

                          3. If existing members obtain new or used computers they wish to connect to their MRIC service, these should first have anti-virus software installed and running.

                          4. Anti-virus software should include the ability to automatically download and use updates to virus definition or pattern files to be sure you are protected from the latest identified threats.

                          5. Anti-virus software should be setup to "immunize" your computer so clicks on known malicious web links are disabled and/or newly downloaded files are automatically scanned.

Here are links to FREE anti-virus and anti-spyware software which I have personally found quite effective. I use both. You may choose to use these and/or your favorite anti-virus/anti-spyware software.

                           * ClamWin Free Antivirus for Microsoft Windows 98/Me/2000/XP/2003   http://clamwin.com/download

                           * Spybot Search&Destroy Free Anti-spyware http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/

                           Spybot overview: http://www.safer-networking.org/en/spybotsd/spybotsd_overview.html

Spybot - Search & Destroy can detect and remove spyware of different kinds from your computer. Spyware is a relatively new kind of threat that common anti-virus applications do not yet cover. If you see new toolbars in your Internet Explorer that you didn't intentionally install, if your browser crashes, or if you browser start page has changed without your knowing, you most probably have spyware. But even if you don't see anything, you may be infected, because more and more spyware is emerging that is silently tracking your surfing behaviour to create a marketing profile of you that will be sold to advertisement companies. Spybot-S&D is free, so there's no harm in trying to see if something snooped into your computer, too :) -Safe and happy surfing!

            II.3.3 CNET.com Q&A:   Is it OK to Run More Than One Antivirus Utility?
                    Question:   I am running--and paying for--Norton AntiVirus on my PC at home; the computer is about a year old. I've heard some good things about free antivirus software that is equal to if not better than Norton. I'd like to try some out while I still have Norton. Is it OK to run more than one antivirus application at the same time? Which are the best of the free applications and where can I get them? Thanks in advance.      -Submitted by: Jon C. of Athens, Georgia

                     Response: You've asked two questions here, Jon. Let's answer them in turn.

1. Is it OK to run more than one antivirus application at the same time?

It is generally not recommended to run more than one antivirus software on a PC. To understand why, you must understand how they work. Antivirus software runs in the background from the moment you start your computer or from the moment Windows loads, depending on the software. Every time you run a program or open a file, it is scanned by the antivirus app before it is loaded into the memory. You may have noticed that after you installed Norton on your computer, it started to run slower. This is because the antivirus software uses large amounts of memory and resources.

Now if you run more than one antivirus at the same time, the following may result:

a) The two (or more) antiviruses will consume tremendous resources slowing your computer down to snail's pace and maybe causing it to hang/freeze frequently, sometimes even at startup itself.

b) The two antivirus softwares may detect each other's activity, and consider their behavior virus-like. This may result in one or both of the softwares trying to neutralize one another (maybe by quarantining or deleting each others core files). This may corrupt the softwares, or render them useless, and probably even cause a computer crash to boot (pun intended).

c) If two antivirus softwares try to scan a file at the same time, there may be a conflict that will corrupt the file or prevent it from opening/running normally.

That should be reason enough for you to think twice before installing more than one antivirus software at once..

However there are certain instances, where it might be okay to install multiple antivirus softwares. This may not relevant to your particular case as a home PC user, but its an interesting point. If you ran a computer network, you might want extra protection for the main servers such as the email gateway server, a port of entry for many viruses. Here you might be willing to sacrifice some computer resources for added security on the server PC. Some commercial network protection softwares like GFI MailSecurity actually install multiple antivirus softwares on the mail server. The reasoning behind this being that one antivirus vendor may create an update for a virus before their competitor does, and thus you make sure you get the update from whoever's first, reducing your exposure time to a new virus. Also antiviruses seem to have their specialities eg Kaspersky is better at object scanning and neutralizing new viruses while McAfee is good at detecting non virus attacks like Active X ones. So a well thought out combination would produce all round protection.

Keep in mind that this level of security (and paranoia) is not required for a home PC user like you. If however you prefer that argument and insist on running two antivirus softwares, you need to do it correctly and in an informed manner. During installation, some antivirus softwares will not install unless you uninstall the one that's already on your system. In that case install the second one first and the first one second. Secondly, make sure only one of them runs at a time. The other must be totally disabled. Only use the other if you want to scan a file or folder with both. Do not keep both running in the background at the same time for reasons 1,2, and 3.

A software that will help you manage two antivirus softwares together is HandyBits VirusScan Integrator that is available as freeware from http://www.handybits.com/vsi.htm

2. Which are the best of the free (antivirus) applications and where can I get them?

One of my favorites is AVG Anti-Virus by Grisoft. Their website is www.grisoft.com. As a noncommercial home user, you can download the free version which can be found in AVG Products>>AVG Free Edition. The following link should take you directly to the website of the free version: Free grisoft

I have used AVG numerous times since it was released about 6 yrs ago and it works great. It's detected and prevented (or fixed) a number of virus and Trojan infections on my computer. Another one I like is Avast antivirus. The site is www.avast.com. Once again there is a free noncommercial version, known as the Home Edition. I have used this software twice over the last 4 years and was fully protected by it. The latest version comes with P2P and IM shields which are important if you file share (usually illegal) and/or chat on instant messengers.

I would also recommend AntiVir Personal Edition which again is free. You should find it at Free AntiVir . I've used this one twice too over the last 4 years and it worked great.

You might find other newer free ones by running a search on Yahoo or Google, but the 3 I've named above have been around for 4-5 years and have done a great job for me.

A good way to test if an antivirus software is working is to do the Eicar Test. Go to http://www.eicar.org/anti_virus_test_file.htm to learn more. Read the instructions before trying it.

Good luck with your antivirus quest. You might want to look into personal firewalls as well as spyware protection while you're at it.   -Submitted by: Gary P. of Atlanta, Georgia

Note:       Contributor: Greg Ching
MRIC suggests these four good free anti-virus, anti-spyware tool links for PC owners. It's recommended you run all 4 (seperately) in addition to any commercial packages you own. Linux and Macintosh owners don't have problems like PCs when it comes to viruses or spyware.

                                     Webroot audit (doesn't fix it but tells you if a problem)   http://www.webroot.com/services/spyaudit_03.htm
                                       Lavasoft Ad-Aware     http://www.download.com/3000-2144-10045910.html?part=69274&subj=dlpage&tag=button
                                       Spybot Search and Destroy    http://www.download.com/3000-2144-10122137.html?part=104443&subj=dlpage&tag=button
                                       AVG's Suite    http://www.download.com/AVG-Anti-Virus-Free-Edition/3000-2239_4-10342876.html

                II.3.4   Article: How to Report Online Fraud, Brian Krebs, Washingtonpost.com, Security Fix, 5.25.2005, Contributor: Sharon Nichols
http://blogs.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2005/05/reporting_fraud.html?referrer=email

                II.3.5 Article: Protecting Your Home Computer or Laptop, Brian Krebs, Washingtonpost.com, Security Fix, Spring 2005   Contributor: Sharon Nichols
                              http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/technology/interactives/upgradesp05/security_2005.html

           II.3.6 Article: The Fix is In: Eight New Security Updates for Windows, Brian Krebs, Washingtonpost.com, Security Fix, 4.12,2005 Contributor: Sharon Nichols
                              http://blogs.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2005/04/the_fix_is_in_e.html?referrer=email

III.   MEMBERS AREA
       III.1 MRIC Topology Map (as of 7.10.2005)

                                                                                                                                      Contributor: Steve Dickson
III.3 Mountain Community Firewatch

        Embedded in these URLs is a reference to hobbyists taking some of the new rental as they aren't truly meant to be disposable cameras as inexpensive webcams. It seems like these Pure Digital cameras are being hacked into by hobbyists so they can be reusable digital cameras.  Could be a very inexpensive way of populating the area with cheap webcams.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/11/AR2005061100169.html

        http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1826521,00.asp

                For more information on MCF and setting up your own webcam, visit the website: http://mtncf.org/


          III.4 Article: A World Without Bosses?   Traci Hukill, Common Ground, posted 7.2.2005, Contributor: Lynn Sturgeon
                        http://www.alternet.org/story/23201/

          III.5   MRIC in the News......     http://www.newwest.net/index.php/main/article/community_through_connectivity/   Contributor: Greg Ching

          III.6 Article: Tips to Keep Your Children Reading http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/showarticle/co/232   Contributor: Sharon Nichols

       III.7   Poll:   What Current Limited Dialup Do You Recommend and Why?      Contributor: Gary Walters
                  Please advise your choice of low cost dialup service, list any specific requriements and provide reasons wny you chose it.   We'll include a list of the responses in the next newsletter.  Email your response to:   editor@mric.coop ; RE: Low Cost DialUp Servey by September 16th.   -Many thanks!

IV. MRIC Volunteers

IV.1 Volunteer Spotlight: Richard Pineau
Richard And Jenny Pineau have lived in CCC since 1978 - just before they were married. Their two boys grew up on Hilltop Rd and were able to walk to the smallest school in Jeffco -Coal Creek Elementary. In 1989 they moved to NADM acres where they are today. Richard's wife, Jenny, is a hair stylist and has worked at various shops including Pennys and Great Clips.
She now has the full time job of taking care of Richard! He has worked at Coors for 29 years in various job and at different plants including the Can manufacturing plant, the Glass Bottle manufacturing plant and now at the Brewery. He started as an electrician and progressed to electrical controls, instrumentation, and now computer-base factory control equipment. He does signal tests and installs in the CCC area for MRIC.
Richard would just like to say thanks to all the public servents and volunteers in the Canyon who make our life enjoyable and safe-Firemen, Policemen, and MRIC folks who give a lot of hours to us! -Thanks!

IV.2 HELP WANTED
IV.2.1 MRIC volunteer positions that are currently available: http://magnoliaroad.net/volunteer/volunteer.html
Please note: as MRIC grows, volunteer positions may turn into paid positions and whomever has been volunteering will have the advantage. All volunteers must fill out the Independent Contractor Agreement (if they want free service if over 8 hours each month, workman's compensation insurance, or real $$ later) or the volunteer liability waiver. This form was sent out earlier to the installs and support aliases but it really should be available for download at the above link.

** MRIC does not discriminate based upon age, gender, race, religion, or sexual orientation. **

IV.2.2 MRIC's Electronic Ski Patrol
When you call 720.210.1969 or e-mail help@mric.coop a service ticket is created that you can view at http://mric.coop/ticket to track its progress. But who actually listens to your digitized request for help?
At this writing there are under 30 volunteers out of about 350 households who monitor the support@mric.coop alias. This is no longer the primary way to get help or request an account change. About half of those volunteers actually monitor the MRIC service ticket system (WREQ) mentioned above.
MRIC is looking for more support volunteers to join our electronic ski patrol. The only requirement is that you be courteous, patient, and know how to use a browser. Of course, you should have some expertise before responding to a specific type of problem. We can train you.
At least 40 hours each week, a Technical Support Coordinator (currently just Sue Rodriguez-Pastor) will usually be the first person to respond. MRIC's goal is to have shifts of volunteers and contractors monitor this queue 7 days a week. Typically, the requester will get a call or e-mail back well within a 24 hour period. The actual time is a best effort...it could be within minutes or occasionally over 24 hours if everyone is away. Over time, MRIC plans to have someone monitoring the system 7 day, 24 hours for service tickets. Right now, the electronic ski patrol is unscheduled.
Volunteer training takes place every month at the CCCIA Hall on Highway 72 (just east of Wondervu). This is open to everyone whether or not you are certain you want to be a technical volunteer. Over trainings which are videotaping for on-line streaming tutorials, MRIC will teach you new skills. As a support volunteer you do *not* need to go on house calls, climb on roofs, or stay up late unless you want to. You will get free service if you can help out at least 8 hours (your choice of schedule) each month. Please contact MRIC's Volunteer Coordinator Barbara Thomas to get invited to the trainings. -So many of us wouldn't be doing this unless we thought it was fun!

Tree Antenna.... Steve Dickson (on R) -Contributor: Mark Lindberg

IV.2.3 Become an Install Volunteer for MRIC!
The Install group generally works on signal tests and installs as teams so one can be of help while learning how to do each part of a signal test or installation. The group is flexible with
scheduling; your availability is the first consideration. Each install is a bit different so there is endless variety - a great learning experience!

Benefits for Install volunteers:
* Provide a valuable and much appreciated service to others in your community.
* Get to know others in your community.
* Explore the back roads in our beautiful mountain area.
* Learn more about wireless, networking, and bridges/access points/routers.
* Free internet service in exchange for 8 hours per month of volunteering time (after 3 months).
* Mileage reimbursement.
* Prioritized signaltest/install. MRIC tries to give volunteers a priority on the list of those waiting for service.

How to become involved with volunteering to help on installs for MRIC:

1. Send an email to HYPERLINK "mailto:installs@mric.coop"installs@mric.coop indicating your interest and desire to be part of
HYPERLINK "mailto:installs@mric.coop"installs@mric.coop mailing list.
2. Join the weekly installs conference call:
* Mondays at 7:00pm
* 720/210-1969 dial 2002 then when prompted 2002#
* Agenda:
- Install materials
- Signal test/Install schedule
- Installer availability
3. Attend the free monthly training sessions. This has typically been a 3 hour session held monthly on a Saturday morning at the CCCIA Hall in Coal Creek Canyon.

Topics have included:

* Signal testing
* Install Tools (project management, IP assignment, etc)
* Configuration of radios, bridges, routers
* RF basics
* Subscriber Troubleshooting
* Mail Server Maintenance
* Bandwidth Management
* Network Operations

Thank you for your interest; you make the coop work! Contributor: Mark Lindberg

IV.2.4 New Volunteer Positions:

Job title: New Member Mentor
Number of openings: (2+)
Schedule: Flexible, after a new member joins
Job description: Mentors provide a human link to the co-op after the successful installation. Like a Welcome Wagon, the MRIC Mentor would follow up with a phone call and e-mail a few
days after the dotProject completion. The Mentor would advise the new member about the service ticket system (both the web and e-mail). New members should know how to set up their
e-mail, pay their MRIC bill electronically, find the past MRIC newsletters, and basic troubleshooting. The mentor would not be responsible for teaching all these details (unless s/he knew how
and had the time) but refer the new member to on-line help and remind them of the next new member training (usually at the next MRIC potluck). There might be special projects - we might
want to survey the entire membership which we've not done...several people might be needed to call over 300 households. A successful candidate would be outgoing, positive, have a good
phone presence, be familiar with MRIC's processes (including having attended a potluck workshop), and dependable. Mentors would report to the Membership Coordinator.
To apply: E-mail volunteer@mric.coop describing your background, why you are interested in this position and include the job title.

Job title: Training Coordinator
Number of openings: (1 - 2)
Schedule: Flexible
Job description: MRIC has been amassing materials that could be turned into on-line training materials. Besides helping with training new volunteers, it will help fulfill one of MRIC's mission
goals which is to document information for other rural communities. The successful candidate would have teaching or corporate training experience, know how to transfer and manipulate
digital video files, and have web design experience. The Training Coordinator would report to a designated MRIC Board Member (for now).
To apply: E-mail volunteer@mric.coop describing your background and why you are interested in this position.

Job title: Historian
Number of openings: (1)
Schedule: Flexible
Job description: MRIC is asked regularly by other rural communities how we began. After three years (paid service began July 1, 2002), we are forgetting. The MRIC Historian would need
to interview key members who had a role in creating MRIC and it's predecessor SL.net. Putting this material (pictures and other documents) together in one location on-line would be an
on-going research project. The successful candidate should be curious, patient, have good listening and writing skills. S/he would be strong enough to avoid pressure to rewrite history.
The goal here is to capture both the spirit and the "how to" in creating the Magnolia Road Internet Cooperative. The Historian would report to a designated MRIC Board Member (for now).
To apply: E-mail volunteer@mric.coop describing your background and why you are interested in this position.

Job title: Service Ticket Analyst
Number of openings: (1)
Schedule: Flexible
Job description: MRIC has been accumulating data via closed service tickets since late January 2005. The MRIC Board would like trend analysis on failures, locations, and response times.
The successful candidate would be analytic, web comfortable, and a good writer. Ideally, s/he has watched the install process closely, and can detect trends through all the data. Familiarity
with statistical methods is a definite plus. The Service Ticket Analyst would report to the Technical Support Coordinator.
To apply: E-mail volunteer@mric.coop describing your background and why you are interested in this position.

IV.2.5 Volunteer Training

Class from 4.9.2005 Contributor: George Lehmkuhl Instructor from 4.9.2005 - Greg Ching Contributor: George Lehmkuhl

V. COMMUNITY CORNER
Bat Views...

Bat on Tree (looking down) Contributor: Greg Ching Bat on Tree (side view) Contributor: Greg Ching
V.2 Upcoming Nederland Events
http://www.puma-net.org/pbay/

V.2.2 Letter to Sugarloaf Residents:

For the past few years a group of concerned residents, parents and recreationists have addressed increased hunting pressures in neighborhoods on Sugar Loaf. On small, fragmented Forest Service tracts which are next to homes, highly recreated trails and school bus stops, hunters fire high-powered rifles whose bullets have a trajectory rate of 1.5 miles! As a result, there has been an escalation of heated confrontations between residents and hunters. We are asking for your assistance to close hunting on these tiny Forest Service tracts only (hunting will continue to be allowed on private lands) to ensure safety and deescalate this potentially volatile and dangerous situation.

There are Forest Service laws (36 CFR 261.10 and 261.58) that makes hunting on these small tracts illegal. So far, the Forest Service has refused to close our area or enforce this law (but did close an area to hunting due to safety concerns for their employees on the Western Slope). Exacerbating this problem is the fact that Forest Service maps available to hunters are 20+ years out of date. Therefore, hunters clearly cannot determine what is private vs. public land.

The Forest Service has stated we need to petition the DOW to close hunting in our area. Therefore, we have drafted and submitted to the DOW a proposal to close hunting as a 5-year study program (again, on Forest Service small tracts only) in an eight square mile area. This is approximately from mile marker 1.1 to 5.5 and 1 mile on either side of Sugar Loaf Road. This represents the most popular hunting spots and the areas where serious safety concerns are the greatest.

We will be traveling to Lamar, Colorado in September to argue the merits of this groundbreaking idea. We have hired Tom Lamm, the brother of our former governor Dick Lamm, to represent us at the meeting. He is a brilliant and articulate lawyer, and has a long history of dealing with the DOW and hunting issues. We have opened an account at the Pearl Street Wells Fargo Bank (please make your check out to Sugar Loaf Citizens for Safety) where you can send donations to help defray the cost of this effort. Please be generous if you believe that our cause is important.

Also, we will attach a petition to our letter. Please notify your neighbors that support this cause, and contact Art Gneiser at 1704 Old Townsite Rd. Boulder 80302 for more information.

Lastly, the DOW expunged all the emails residents sent in last year in support of this issue! Please email your support to end hunting on Sugar Loaf to the Wildlife Commissioners (please cc Art Gneiser so we have a copy in case they delete them again): wildlife.comm@state.co.us and art-nancy@earthlink.net This is critical as the Commissioners need to see a lot of community support!

Time is of the essence. If you have any questions please call Art Gneiser at 303-494-4673.

Please understand that this is not anti-hunting. Indeed, we have the full support of several hunters that reside within the area in question. We wish to be proactive, not reactive, to a serious safety concern. Thank you in advance for your support.

LINK: How Safe is Hunting? <http://www.all-creatures.org/cash/accident-center.html#sh2004> Contributor: Greg Ching

                   Little Robber -Contributor, Jennifer Stewart
                       
                  This lactating female is actually dark brown. As you can see, she is not hampered by her many bosoms.  I would be. -Could you do this?
     
      V.3 Upcoming Boulder Area Events & Info 
           Literary Events:  http://www.getboulder.com/things_todo/todo_books.html
           Calendar of Events:  http://www.bouldercoloradousa.com/eventscal.html 
           Autumn Gold:   http://www.estesnet.com/events/autumngold.htm
           Upcoming Forums & Lectures:  http://www.getboulder.com/things_todo/todo_talks.html 
           Fiske Planetarium:  http://www.colorado.edu/fiske/ 
           Sommers-Bausch Observatory:  http://lyra.colorado.edu/sbo/public/openhouse.html 
           Outdoor Cinema:  http://www.getboulder.com/things_todo/film/05_boc_movie_poster.pdf 
           Lyons Sculpture Trail:  http://www.sculpturetrail.com/ 
           CU at Boulder Nontraditional Student Scholarship:  http://www.colorado.edu/ContinuingEducation/scholarshipdetail.htm
           Job Center:  http://www.co.boulder.co.us/jobs/ 
           Employment Link:   http://www.emplink.org/
           Mineral Contents - Gold Hill District:  http://www.mindat.org/loc-24840.html  
                             
             FOR RENT
              
              MRIC member Greg Hine has 1,900 sq' of office space for lease in downtown Boulder.  More information can be found at:  www.1317spruce.com.

        V.4 Upcoming Coal Creek Canyon Area Events & Info
        Canyon News: http://www.coalcreek.com/
               Noxious Weeds in Jeffco:    http://www.co.jefferson.co.us/ext/dpt/comm_res/openspac/weed/nox/wfaq.htm
               Bear Sightings:   http://69.88.83.22/coalcreek/teg/teg-projectinfo.htm#bear
               Next Slash Days:   September 10 & 11th (towards bottom of page) http://69.88.83.22/coalcreek/teg/teg-projectinfo.htm#bear

        V.5 Upcoming Gilpin County Area Events & Info
              Events: http://www.co.gilpin.co.us/Events/UpcomingEvents.htm
            Regional Events: http://www.topix.net/events/rollinsville-co