(Cross posted to Working Stiffs)



Let me begin this second installment by mentioning one of the cool things I learned. The Pittsburgh police vehicles’ unit numbers have meaning. For instance, we were unit 3125. The “3” stand for police. The fire department would have a different number. The “1” was for Zone 1. Oddly, cars with the “2” as the next number indicate a single officer on patrol. Cars with a “1” such as 3111, indicates two… Continue

Sixteen days until I leave for Baltimore, Maryland and Bouchercon.



Not that I’m counting or anything.



I spent one night away from home this weekend as my friend Lisa Curry and I drove to Rustic (with a capital “R”) Brookville, PA for a Pennwriters Board of Directors Meeting. We make this trip once a year. This will likely be Lisa’s last since she is stepping down from her role as treasurer soon. The motel in Brookville is even more Rustic than the town. But Pennwriters… Continue

The first thing you must have if you are planning on becoming a writer is at least one alternate source of income. And health insurance. The second thing you must have is a thick skin with regards to rejection.



The reason for both of these requirements is the same. You get published very little compared to your submissions. And when you do get published, it doesn’t necessarily pay much or anything.



The third job requirement is a love of writing. If you don’t love it, you… Continue

(Cross posted at Working Stiffs) When I graduated from Citizens’ Police Academy back in June, I would have shed tears except for the promise that it wasn’t over yet. We still had our (drum roll, please) ride-alongs coming up.



Mine was scheduled for Friday at noon. Or at nine. Depends on whether you’re going by the email I received or the schedule at the police station. Either I was three hours… Continue

(Cross posted on Working Stiffs)



Back in June, I blogged about the mental illness from which I suffer. The one where I volunteer for things in the belief that if they’re far enough in the future, I’ll be less busy by then and will have the time to breeze through the tasks required.



To be specific, I volunteered in 2007 to be the 2009… Continue