The First 48.

     It is an interesting show.  Tucson is one of the cities the homicide squad is followed in occasionally.  It is great for my writing for plot ideas and I am forced to think of scenarios.  My job troubleshooting helps to make me sharper in following what goes on.

     What makes detective novels interesting are the unique crimes.  On the First 48, in many cases, they have some idea where to follow the leads and the miscreants are not brilliant. 

     I am paraphrasing John Douglas, retired FBI profiler.  Most murders have the following motives:  Greed, Hate, Jealousy, Fear, Rage.  It is someone in their circle.  It is the Serial Murders that scare us, because the reason is strictly in the killers head.

The Ants Go Marching.

     Lately, troubleshooting gate operators in the South, many of the techs are finding ants in the equipment.  Face it, History Channel on its new series, Life after People, needs to do a show about this.  Who would want to watch it though, except those who think Armageddon is coming in 2012.  (The Cubs winning the World Series would make me a believer).  We aren’t going to be here.

Bad Cop, No Doughnut.

     This was the sign above the desk of Det. Jenny Luke of Cincinnati Homicide.  I am addicted to the First 48. 

     It would make a great silly story.  No, bad cop!  No coffee and doughnuts for you today!  Or, the next story the LAST doughnut!

     Can you imagine, Dunkin Donuts being held up at gunpoint?  Wouldn’t last long.  When my wife and I first met, down the street from us in Andrew Square in Boston, there was a Dunkin Donuts.  When she was in nursing school, her friends would meet there to carpool.  We figured if we needed a cop, why call Station 11.  Just call Dunkies.  “Dottie, we need a cop.”

Yerbie’s Lion Imitation.

     He stood on the bed, while I was getting dressed this morning.  It was silly.  He looked out across the bedroom like he was scanning the Serengeti looking for prey.

     The Sudanese guys think this is a riot.  Yerbie meeting a lion.  It would be a rather short acquaintenceship.

Billy Mays

In the United States, you have seen commercials on TV, with a black haired man with a beard named Billy Mays.

The advertisements always begin with “Hi, this is Billy Mays for (whatever product).  He seems to be successful, because he comes over as every man.

How would someone like this get his start though?  Can you imagine the grade school report in front of the class.  “Hi I’m Billy Mays and this is my term paper on…

We all gotta start someplace!

A Cat’s Looking for Attention.

Came home from work and had dinner.  Yerbie  was crying out just so we would know he was there.  Then after dinner, he sat between us as we watched the First 48.

A cat and his family, it’s a beautiful thing.

Yerbie and the Swamp Cooler.

I could not figure out what was wrong with the swamp cooler and had to stay home so Cummings could come.  I learned what was wrong and how if it happened again, I could work on it.  Cool air came out after four days of heat.

It was the first time I ever saw a cat do a happy dance.  He looked like Snoopy in Peanuts.  He tried to hug Ivan, the Cummings repair guy and was all over me for the rest of the afternoon.

Sometimes I swear my little buddy runs my life.

Yerbie Nearly Lost All His Lives.

A couple of days ago, Yerbie was running all over the house and knocked Elaine’s iced tea over.  It was funny trying to watch a cat make up to his enraged human mother.

I told him I would not be able to protect him if he kept this up much longer.  I’d miss him, lol!  For the most part, Yerbie is a cool cat.

Mia Farrow and Her Fast for Darfur.

     She was on Larry King Live Tuesday night.  She is conducting what she hopes will be a three week fast to bring attention to Darfur.

    No one questions the horror of Darfur.  As the President said though, he has two wars to run and heading off a pandemic.  It’s tough being President, and Darfur will have to be dealt with on a certain timetable. 

     What does Ms. Farrow hope to accomplish?  If you are going to do this sort of thing, plot it out first.  Is the hunger strike really going to sway our government’s foreign policy.  The President’s of Afghanistan and Pakistan are STANding in the White House now, looking for aid in a tough conflict.  Also, the President knows, Mia Farrow is ending the fast on a specific timetable. 

     This is another case of knowing how and when to play your cards.

Sun Tzu, The Art of War.

     This was on for two hours last Sunday on History Channel.  It was a great way to see the Art of War broken down and how it works.  The best war is the one not fought.  The show described war as playing chess vs, Go.  In Chess, it is attrition, the goal is killing the king.  In Go, it is taking the most territory with the fewest pieces.

The show gave examples.  In Vietnam, General Westmoreland was playing chess, General Giap Go.  The North Vietnamese were seizing territory.  The United States thought with the body count we were winning.  The Tet Offensive had heavy losses for the United States but it was the beginning of the end, for the country turned against the war.

The second example was Normandy.  A major allied mistake was not taking the tall, Norman hedgerows under account.  The invasion did catch the Germans off guard and of course the rest is history.

Gettysburg.  Lee’s big mistake was not withdrawing into Northern Maryland and force the Union to figure out whether he wanted Baltimore, Philadelphia or Washington. 

A new look through an old master.