Net Crimes & Misdemeanors

Saturday morning I had to drive north to Kents Hill to a private academy there. I was presenting with a Maine State Trooper, Roderick Charette (he was cute). Before this, though, I do my homework and searched on Myspace and Facebook to see how many students had too much info in their profiles. I also sent friend requests on Facebook to see how many students would add me as a friend without asking who I was. I had 22 add me, no questions asked. One student, a 16-year-old boy I'll call BT, decided to email me. This is the exchange over the course of three days before my presentation: BT: hey who this just wondering i will add u if u tell me about ur self not beign a bitch just asking who u are thats all ans how old are u ur pretty hottt lol Me: Thank you for the compliment, LOL. I work for the University of Maryland but live in southern Maine was looking for some folks in Maine to add as friends. BT: ohh kool how old are u maybe we could meeet up some time and we could idk w.e u want...

From the writer: Writer for national women's magazine is looking to speak with female victims cyberstalking or cyberbullying--preferably those in their late twenties and early thirties. Especially interested in online cases that eventually went offline into real life. If you're available to chat on the phone with this writer sometime before 9/27/08, please email Cara at cara_birnbaum@yahoo.com.

I get some weird emails at WHOA (my organization). I just had to post this: I'm going to tell him to return his keyboard for a new one. Sigh. Below is the result of your feedback form. It was submitted by Benjamin T. Wadkins on September 15th, 2007 at 11:15AM (EDT). realname: Benjamin T. Wadkins comments: In explaining how to send a Header t Yahoo.om Your Instructions First line say to veiw E-Mail & hit Foreward button----I Don't have a foreward button on my keyboard?

You can respond directly to her (just let me know if you do): I am working on an article which looks at online crimes people may be committing without realising it. Online bullying/harassment where people post nasty things about co-workers/ex-partners and bosses has come up as one these examples. Can I speak to someone who has had nasty comments, nude pictures or embarrassing videos posted online about him or her by co-workers or an ex-boyfriend or girlfriend? I would really appreciate speaking to this person anytime tomorrow or early on Friday. I can change his or her name if he or she wants me to. Thanks for your help Trudy Simpson Journalist The Voice Newspaper Northern and Shell Tower Selsdon Way, Docklands London E14 9GL Tel: 0 (44) 2075100383 Email:trudy.simpson@gvmedia.co.uk

I was checking my Myspace profile and today I have 911 friends on my list. Like I could ever forget what happened today in 2001. God Bless America.

Saturday was busy. Rob, my construction guy, arrived at 1130 am to do more work downstairs. He's been away for a couple of weeks. He broke up with his girlfriend and she's giving him a lot of grief. Plus he's working three jobs with his regular construction job. So he's stressed out big time and feels guilty he hasn't been able to work here. I told him to take his time. I'm not in a hurry to get it finished and besides, I like having him over. He's not hard on the eyes (ha ha). Seriously, he's a nice guy, a Marine like my husband was, he lived on Okinawa the same time we did, so we get along well and enjoy a beer or two when he's done working and just talk. I think he needs someone to talk to anyway. He did get a lot done - the walls of the bathroom downstairs are up, he stained some more of the doors and trim for the doorways and cleaned up a bit. He does very good work. I keep telling him he should just go off on his own and have his own business. ...

Yesterday would have been Chris' 41st birthday. A friend from Massachusetts spent the morning with me, then I drove to the cemetary alone. The sun had just broken through the clouds. I had a small Marine Corps flag that I put in the ground at the head of the veterans plaque on Chris' grave, told him, "Happy Birthday, Chris," then burst into tears. I sat in the car for a while. It was funny, in a weird way. Rob sent me a text message that he had picked up the door for the bathroom going in downstairs and asked when he could come by to finish up some things. He was a Marine, too. But he had no clue it was Chris' birthday. Weird timing. It made me cry more. I called V2. She was working and was worried about me being alone. My other friend, Robin, was home, so I called her and she said she'd be at my house by the time I got there. I got home, she arrived with some Smirnoff Ice and we talked for a while. V2 arrived an hour later and we all talked some more. I have ...

I couldn't make this up if I tried. . .And someone actually paid $114,00 for a pair of these Austrian designs luxury lederhosen line http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070824/ap_on_fe_st/odd_luxury_lederhosen;_ylt=At7LQzEhBi8mRHunM9SXNLgsQE4F An Austrian designer is taking orders for personalized luxury lederhosen and recently sold a diamond-studded pair for $114,000. Christian Wohlmuther, who owns a clothing business that sells traditional Austrian attire based in Bad Mitterndorf, Styria, said Friday the cost of his creations varies depending on the decoration. Those interested can choose from an array of stones, including garnets, rubies, emeralds and diamonds, that are then mounted on buttons made either of sterling silver, gold or platinum. "We generally focus on the client's budget and then show him what's possible," Wohlmuther said. Wohlmuther, who works with a local jeweler in the Styrian town of Liezen, said his first pair of luxury lederhosen ­ decorated with 1...

School starts soon for students and they need to be aware of the dangers of cyberbullies and what to do about it. I am available to speak at middle, high schools, colleges and universities to students, school personnel and parents about cyberbullying, online social networking sites and much more. Just email me at netcrimes@netcrimes.net for more information about this. WHAT TO DO ABOUT CYBERBULLIES There are several avenues for action, depending upon who the cyberbully is and what the cyberbully has done. Victims do have recourse, and cyberbullies can be stopped, and sometimes even prosecuted for criminal or civil offenses. ACT IMMEDIATELY! The longer you wait, the harder it is to successfully identify the cyberbully. IF YOU ARE RECEIVING DEATH THREATS or believe yourself or your family to be in immediate physical danger, dial 9-1-1 IMMEDIATELY. RESPOND ONCE to the cyberbully with a simple "Please stop contacting me." You do not have to explain yourself. After that, DO NOT...

Got this in my email - please pass the word on: It was just brought to my attention that the following link that was on our "Favorite Links" page no longer belongs to Survivors of Stalking...and now has porn links on it. Please forward this information to everyone on your mailing list...so they can remove the link asap. http://www.soshelp.org/ Take care, Cheryl Darisse Founder and President "Be Strong, Be Safe and Be Heard!"SM www.FeelSafeAgain.org

So. Something very unexpected happened on Wednesday night. I can't go into details just yet, but a big change has been made in my life - for the better. I am one happy puppy. On Thursday, I had a private reading with the radio show psychic, Michael Gogger . He knew from the start that something big had happened the night before and nailed it. He is as spooky accurate as the tarot card reader I'd seen the week before. And he said pretty much all the same things she predicted/said. It was very eerie. He said he saw me going overseas, traveling a lot through the USA for work and probably relocating. He said he saw me as a broadcaster or hosting my own show (which would be way cool), that I needed to pay attention to my dreams, my health would be good, and that my mom was very happy with what happened the night before. And she was. She told me, "It's about time." He also said that something completely out of the blue, a surprise project, would be coming to me soon and...

Did the radio show on Sunday with the psychic. He did a short reading of me at the end and the two things he said matched the tarot card psychic EXACTLY. One was that I needed to pay attention to my dreams, the other I don't want to post just yet. If it comes true, I am going to be floored. Yesterday so many things happened: I was interviewed for an article about GPS stalking for a NJ newspaper. The Chief of Staff of the NJ General Assembly sent me a letter asking for help with a law they were introducing. I called him, we talked, I emailed some of the cyberstalking laws I've helped pass and they are going to try to get me to NJ to testify in person in November, when the legislature is back in session. A victim wants me to be an expert witness for her case. Which means either a video deposition or actually traveling to where the court case is heard. I'm going to be teaching, four, count 'em, four classes for a local Internet cafe. One about buying/selling on eBay, on ab...

I did keep my hair appointment on Thursday and was glad I did. It was relaxing. I then had an appointment at my lawyer's office to sign some paperwork, then it was home again, ice pack on nose, pain pill in mouth. V2 came over and took me out for dinner at our favorite restaurant, Panda Sakura, at York Beach. We know the owners, the wait staff and the sushi chef, Jeff (not his real name, which is Chinese and too hard to remember). We sat at the sushi bar and told Jeff some bad jokes. Yes, I told the grasshopper one, but he didn't get it. He then told us a Chinese joke, which translated well: Three men are stranded on an island. A bottle washes up and a genie appears. He tells the men he will give them one wish each. The first man says, "I want to become a fish so that I can swim home." Poof! He's a fish and swims away. The second man says, "I want to become a bird so that I can fly home." Poof! He's a bird and flies away. The third man looks around a...

I was a nervous wreck yesterday morning. I went on the treadmill for almost an hour to try to burn off the nervousness. Had a few more phone calls from people (one was a huge surprise, but I was glad I got the call), then Robin came to pick me up to take me to the hospital. She works for the post office and they get a 2-hour lunch break, but work from 8 am - 530 pm, so it's a long day for her. We went to her house first to let her dogs out and talk about what's going on in her life, my life, etc. She dropped me off at the hospital promptly at 130 pm. I had two magazines and a book with me. I'm glad I brought them. I had an EKG done; my previous blood work, which was done in late April for my life insurance, was accepted, so I didn't have to have blood drawn. I was weighed and it turns out I've lost over 40 pounds since Chris died. Wow. Was asked to change into hospital jammies and put into my own room in the "Short Stay" (outpatient) area. Many nurses in ...

Well. I went to the nose doctor yesterday and had to wait almost an hour before seeing him. Turns out he's a sweetheart, funny and very nice. He took one look at my nose and said I had definitely broken it and it needed to be reset, or in doctorese, "Closed reduction nasal fracture." Which means the hospital. He was able to get me in today. So at 1 pm, one of my friends, Robin, is driving me to the hospital to drop me off. I need to have an EKG done and some blood work. I'm scheduled for the operation at 330 pm, but if the doc is ahead of schedule, he'll do mine earlier. Once I'm awake and have eaten something, they'll discharge me. The doc thinks by 5 or 5:30 I should be good to go. Either Robin or V2 or someone else will bring me home. At least I'll be out like a light. The doc promises I won't feel a thing. I was dreading having my nose reset. People kept telling me they do it without painkillers. I was a nervous wreck when I went to the doctor...

I did something sooooo stupid last week. It was late afternoon, I walked by Bandit's bed and stopped. He looked so damned cute in it. I knelt down to lean over and kiss the top of his furry little head, lost my balance and slammed the bridge of my nose in a table behind his bed. I had moved furniture around and wasn't sure I liked that table where it was at the time. Believe me, it isn't there anymore. V2 happened to be over, put me on my back on the floor while I was bleeding like crazy, bandaged me up, put an ice pack on me and gave me some wine to drink to calm me down. I was a mess. The next morning I went to my chiropractor's office to buy some Traumeel cream for the swelling. They are a husband and wife team. Nancy took one look at me, said "Holy shit" and made me sit down. This guy who was (I think) a paramedic or something said I'd broken my nose. John, the husband came out, agreed, put some gloves on and gently inspected it. Nancy called the hosp...

It's funny how quickly life can change. Something has recently happened to me that I want to see where it goes before posting. But so far, it's wonderful. I got home from Connecticut in record time, V2 came over and my mom and I had a wonderful BBQ with her - chicken and turkey tips marinated in sauces, roasted potatoes and grilled corn on the cob. V2 and I got silly and drank wine. We played Ninento Wii and my mom couldn't make heads or tails out of it, but it was a blast. Got up on Monday morning with a headache. I am so glad I don't have too many nights like that. Took my mom to Robert's for lunch, then took her to my sister's to drop her off there. Got home and was exhausted from all the driving. Went to bed early. Got up Tuesday, caught up with email, unpacked, did laundry and other things, then went to V2's for dinner. Rob was doing work on the house when I left. When I came back home at 8:30 pm, he was still here, so I sat on the stairs and we talked ...

Wednesday picked up my mom to dogsit. By the time we got to my house, it was almost time for me to leave to be on an author panel at Lucius Beebe library. Kate Flora was on the panel with me, as well as Mary-Ann Tirone Smith, author of Girls of Tender Age . We had a really good crowd, about 50 people, and new friend Jane (from the Hard Rock Cafe in Orlando in May) showed up. It was a blast, sold a few books. Got home, crashed, then got up Thursday morning to take mom grocery shopping, packed and headed down to Norwich, CT. It was raining, but the drive went well. I listened to The Good Guy by Dean Koontz. A great book, BTW. Checked into the Comfort Suites, checked email, then went to the Saxton B. Little Library . Rain was coming down in buckets. I didn't know until I got to the library that there had been a tornado warning in effect while I was driving. About 10 people showed up, plus a reporter and photographer from The Chronicle , a local paper. Guess it was a slow news day, ...

Remember you are not at home and are in a hotel room when you have to get up to go pee in the middle of night. Or you'll hit the coffee table next to the bed and get two lovely bruises on your knees. No shorts for a while. Ouch.

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