All of us here at Cruzio are excited to announce something we've been working on for quite a while —we've acquired Gatespeed Broadband, a leader in wireless Internet in the Bay Area.

Why'd you do that?
There are a couple of reasons. First, the AT&T fiber cut in early 2009 showed that there needs to be multiple bandwidth connections into Santa Cruz County,

 Spooky and pumpkin-y photos for Halloween:

 

Jack'o'lanterns: Photo by Chris Frost 

 

Pumpkin patch on Mission Street, Santa Cruz: Photo by Peggy Dolgenos 

 

Sugar skulls in the Museum of Art and History, Santa Cruz: Photo by Peggy Dolgenos

Pumpkins and wheat, Santa Cruz: Photo by Peggy Dolgenos

 Most people in Santa Cruz County know the Cruzio logo is a kitty.

But before there was a kitty, back in 1989, there was a butterfly:

 

 

Then in 1990, local cartoonist Nina Paley drew us the kitty. We loved it right away — so goofy, so good-looking, so computer-friendly.

Next we had the Cheshire Kitty (watch out, Tim Burton):

 

 

But the kitty is long and

 

Cruzio staff turned out in force for fun and games at our staff picnic.

We were at Harvey West Park

 

Mark with vintage Cruzio baseball cap and cool shades

 

Nikkie, indispensible party organizer

 

Sean with modern-art masterpiece, small Jessi and the rapidly moving Carly

C2, also with hat and sunglasses, plus bonus kooky expression, with Anais (there should be

Monterey Bay, near Santa Cruz. Photo by Peggy Dolgenos

 

Sea lions at Lighthouse Point, Santa Cruz. Photo by Peggy Dolgenos

 

Dog in window, Santa Cruz. Photo by Peggy Dolgenos

 

Farmers Market, Santa Cruz. Photo by Peggy Dolgenos

 

Banana Slug, Bonny Doon. Photo by Peggy Dolgenos 

 

 

Kids running at Its Beach, Santa Cruz: Photo by Peggy Dolgenos

Trees in Waddell Creek: Photo by Nikkie Lanctot 

Cormorant, Santa Cruz: Photo by Peggy Dolgenos

 

Surfer at Steamer Lane: Photo by Peggy Dolgenos

Swanton's Berry Farm, Davenport: Photo by Peggy

 

In "Destiny Disrupted," San Fran author Tamim Ansary applies his considerable intellect to puzzling out why the West doesn't get along with the Islamic world ....and vice versa.

          At 7:30 p.m. Monday, Ansary will be at the Capitola Book Cafe to discuss the issues in his book, subtitled "A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes."

          You

 

 

Boogie boarding at Its Beach

 

Cyclists at UCSC

 

Sculpture in Capitola

 

Wildflowers and a bee in Santa Cruz

 

Cliffs above Highway 1 

 

Above photos by Peggy Dolgenos

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed closing 220 of 279 state parks, including all of those located in Santa Cruz County.

Let the Governor know what you think. The Santa Cruz County Conference and Visitors Council recommend the following:

1. Send a Message to the Governor & Legislature - visit California State Parks Foundation and follow

Hello Cruzio members. How do you commute? Let us know: take the poll in the sidebar to the right.

In case you're curious, some Cruzio staffers drive a car to work, but we also have cyclists, skateboarders, pedestrians, and a Vespa rider. Some of us do a little telecommuting, too.

Got another creative commuting solution? Tell us in the comments.

Looking for

We Editors wanted to get people blogging about their moms. Staffer Jessi Hance contributed these thoughts:

---

For the upcoming Mother's Day, I'd like to appreciate some of the many gifts my mother has given me.

heart music, a photo by David Drexler

Gift #1: My mother told me very young that every person on earth matters and is just as important as everyone

The Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce has selected Cruzio's own Peggy Dolgenos, CEO and Co-founder, to launch their new Women in Business small-meeting networking series, Caffeineighted, this Thursday, May 7, 8:00 a.m. at Café Limelight, 1016 Cedar Street .

If you haven't had the opportunity to meet Peggy in person, this is your chance to hear how Peggy and

Cruzio Engineering has noticed a large increase of spam targeting Cruzio members, which appears consistent with reports that spam levels are up 33% worldwide.

We think about spam. A lot. If you're getting too much spam, here are some quick tips to get your inbox under control. Read more about our filters.

Prevention

Spam not a big problem for you

 

Waterfall at Big Basin State Park    Photo credit: Nikkie Lanctot 

 

Deer at UCSC    Photo credit: Peggy Dolgenos  

 

Natural bridge, Westcliff Drive    Photo credit: Peggy Dolgenos

 

Longboard surfer, Steamer Lane    Photo credit: Peggy Dolgenos 

Juggler at Lighthouse Point    Photo credit: Peggy Dolgenos

As you're doubtless already aware, an apparent act of vandalism to AT&T equipment knocked out Santa Cruz County's Internet, cell phones, ATM & credit card machines yesterday, April 9th. AT&T is now offering a $250,000 reward for info leading to the arrest of the vandals.

 

How Cruzio was affected
Cruzio DSL, Dialup, and Classic Web Hosting

There was a big hubbub on Westcliff drive this morning as the City of Santa Cruz used auto-towing equipment to pull a dead yearling whale from the base of the rocky cliffs.

 

People were guessing the size of the whale at about 25 feet long, and maybe 7,000 or 8,000 pounds. Not huge for a whale, but enormous to the rest of us. So far it seems that the cause of

1. It's All About the New Cruzio Mail...
2.    Features: Bigger (5GB), Bolder, Better
3.    Yes, That's 30 GB Total
4.    What Cruzio Members Are Saying
5.    Customizing Your Email
6.    What's It Like to Upgrade 15,000 Mailboxes?
7.    Why Do I Have to Sign In Twice?
8. Visit Cruzio's New Wifi Hotspots
9. Second Harvest Food Bank
10. Upcoming Classes in April, May

 

Don't know if the record for an Afro Wig Photo Shoot was successfully broken Saturday in Santa Cruz, but many folks were wigging out:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cruzio members voted in a Best Picture poll over the last few weeks.

Of course, we totally rocked it, predicting the Academy Award outcome well in advance. And our second place movie earned Sean Penn the Best Actor award, so there you go.

Next year, no need to watch the Oscars on TV — you'll know it all beforehand.

 

Kayaker at Cowell's Beach, Santa Cruz: Photo by Peggy Dolgenos

Furled flower: Photo by Nikkie Lanctot

Watsonville from Mt Madonna (Eva's View): Photo by Peggy Dolgenos

West Cliff Sunset, Santa Cruz: Photo by Peggy Dolgenos

Salsa Dancers at Ideal Bar and Grill, Santa Cruz: Photo by Peggy Dolgenos