Karen Briscoe, Office Manager, a lady that was full of energy, always attentive to everything around her - R.I.P. 2011 December 06.
I remember the first time I met Karen, I had to get something out of the unit and she wouldn't let me in through the inner doors of the office, she was the "key keeper", I managed to get in via the back door to drop off what I had and when she saw me inside (knowing she didn't let me in) she gave me a lecture for "sneaking in" [2004]. Whenever I got involved dealing with a crime scene, she was the announcer to all in the office, that I was on the news; I took the time to speak and get to know her, a very interesting person, she always wonder how people could live from paycheck to paycheck. When we moved to the new location, my Jeep leaked oil and unknowingly to me, I always parked in her spot and she left me a note about it, which I laughed since I didn't have a cat to bring litter for the oil, but if you wanted history...she was the one to go to.
2011-12-07
2011-11-05
See Something, Say Something Campaign.
It has amazed me how society has changed throughout the years, before we were almost "care free" without a worry in our mind, living with a sense of "safety" in our own land/country with an occasional controversy within the government versus the people - the "Big Brother"; however, all that changed in one day, well, not really.
Our land [country] has been constantly changing, new laws, new rules, new this, new that, etc., many things the people had voiced their opinion on and many things just got changed and no one knew they did. The Constitution has been under attack for a long time now, just recently it seems like it has been more out in the front line since that special day - 2001 September 11. Yes, I called it a "special day" only because many things had happen then and after that day. We were comfortable in our own backyards, knowing that we can defend our property, the government wouldn't allowed someone to just "walk" into our country to disrupt our ways of life, we can travel about without having the hassle of going through "check-point-charlie" at the airports unless you were coming back in from an international flight and then you dealt with Customs, but things were changing. I can't remember the dates or years that it occurred, but we had our own terrorist attack on our land, the Oklahoma bombing of the Federal building, Ruby Ridge, and Waco; however, I'm sure there might have been some others that I may be too young to remember and that is not counting any of the other events that were mentioned briefly in the media dealing with U.S. citizens abroad in travel or cities with their own "civil war" like problems that were labeled as "riots".
Now as a freelance photographer, I can remember befriending several emergency personnel to gain access to scenes [behind the yellow line] to take photographs, felt free to take photographs of anything I wanted that caught my attention and I thought it was an interesting subject being an object or a person in a public place, and not have my motives questioned.
Recently, I was out and about doing just that! I was bored and took a drive late one evening and went cruising about the area, checking things out to see what can "catch my eye" to photograph. I knew I was limited as to what I would be photographing because I only took a limit amount of gear and was running out of day light hours quickly. I took a trip down an old road to see what I would see and it was not long I had several options. The stadium lit up by the sunset, an empty park, a park with parents setting up practice field for the little leagues of soccer, people jogging along the sidewalk, a wash, and many more things. However, none of these really "caught my eye" so I kept searching, I turned down another road and a construction site caught my attention. A new location for the wilderness park to open in 2012, of course before it became a "wilderness park", back in the late 90's it was just a recreational area where you can freely drive, walk, etc., unto it and set up your blind before day break to take photographs of wildlife as they stir with the first light of day. As I took photographs of the area, the new building, and the old location where they had their sign, a jogger happen to past me and the flash caught her attention. I chuckled to myself when I saw her stop and immediately grabbed her cell phone and started dialing and trying to get my license plate number (I made it easy for her I made sure she could see it), I took my time and continue with my task.
The thought of the campaign that the Homeland Security with local law enforcement that have been overly heard on radio broadcast and seen on television "See Something, Say Something.", came across my mind and the piece of paper that I have printed from the ACLU, "Know Your Rights: Photographers". For the first time in my life I thought to myself, that I should have made copies of that piece of paper and carry it inside my equipment bag(s) and in my vehicle(s) just in case some "citizen" that does not know the Constitution and/or have bought into this "watch your neighbor" syndrome from the 60's cause some delay, inconvenience improv conversation with local enforcement, just because they thought I was doing something wrong.
For those photographers that may be interested in knowing what the ACLU might have to say... Check out American Civil Liberties Union - Know Your Rights: Photographers.
The funniest thing of it, when I down loaded my images unto the computer, I had no photograph of people, not even that jogger even though she did looked like a celebrity.
Our land [country] has been constantly changing, new laws, new rules, new this, new that, etc., many things the people had voiced their opinion on and many things just got changed and no one knew they did. The Constitution has been under attack for a long time now, just recently it seems like it has been more out in the front line since that special day - 2001 September 11. Yes, I called it a "special day" only because many things had happen then and after that day. We were comfortable in our own backyards, knowing that we can defend our property, the government wouldn't allowed someone to just "walk" into our country to disrupt our ways of life, we can travel about without having the hassle of going through "check-point-charlie" at the airports unless you were coming back in from an international flight and then you dealt with Customs, but things were changing. I can't remember the dates or years that it occurred, but we had our own terrorist attack on our land, the Oklahoma bombing of the Federal building, Ruby Ridge, and Waco; however, I'm sure there might have been some others that I may be too young to remember and that is not counting any of the other events that were mentioned briefly in the media dealing with U.S. citizens abroad in travel or cities with their own "civil war" like problems that were labeled as "riots".
Now as a freelance photographer, I can remember befriending several emergency personnel to gain access to scenes [behind the yellow line] to take photographs, felt free to take photographs of anything I wanted that caught my attention and I thought it was an interesting subject being an object or a person in a public place, and not have my motives questioned.
Recently, I was out and about doing just that! I was bored and took a drive late one evening and went cruising about the area, checking things out to see what can "catch my eye" to photograph. I knew I was limited as to what I would be photographing because I only took a limit amount of gear and was running out of day light hours quickly. I took a trip down an old road to see what I would see and it was not long I had several options. The stadium lit up by the sunset, an empty park, a park with parents setting up practice field for the little leagues of soccer, people jogging along the sidewalk, a wash, and many more things. However, none of these really "caught my eye" so I kept searching, I turned down another road and a construction site caught my attention. A new location for the wilderness park to open in 2012, of course before it became a "wilderness park", back in the late 90's it was just a recreational area where you can freely drive, walk, etc., unto it and set up your blind before day break to take photographs of wildlife as they stir with the first light of day. As I took photographs of the area, the new building, and the old location where they had their sign, a jogger happen to past me and the flash caught her attention. I chuckled to myself when I saw her stop and immediately grabbed her cell phone and started dialing and trying to get my license plate number (I made it easy for her I made sure she could see it), I took my time and continue with my task.
The thought of the campaign that the Homeland Security with local law enforcement that have been overly heard on radio broadcast and seen on television "See Something, Say Something.", came across my mind and the piece of paper that I have printed from the ACLU, "Know Your Rights: Photographers". For the first time in my life I thought to myself, that I should have made copies of that piece of paper and carry it inside my equipment bag(s) and in my vehicle(s) just in case some "citizen" that does not know the Constitution and/or have bought into this "watch your neighbor" syndrome from the 60's cause some delay, inconvenience improv conversation with local enforcement, just because they thought I was doing something wrong.
For those photographers that may be interested in knowing what the ACLU might have to say... Check out American Civil Liberties Union - Know Your Rights: Photographers.
The funniest thing of it, when I down loaded my images unto the computer, I had no photograph of people, not even that jogger even though she did looked like a celebrity.
2009-09-24
Cool History Lesson
This History Lesson is brought to you from a friend of mine that was bored one day and did some research, which he felt compelled to share with others. So have I.
Back in the 1500's
They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot and then once a day it was taken and sold to the tannery......if you had to do this to survive you were "Piss Poor."
But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn't afford to buy a pot...they "didn't have a pot to piss in" and were the lowest of the low. The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about the 1500s:
Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and they still smelled pretty good by June... However, since they were starting to smell, brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom of today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.
Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children, last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the [Bath] water!"
Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying, "It's raining cats and dogs."
There was nothing to stog things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice "clean[?]" bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.
The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying "Dirt poor."
The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entranceway. Hence: a threshold.
(Getting quite an education, aren't you?)
In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme: "Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold, pease porridge in the pot nine days old."
Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could "bring home the bacon." They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and "chew the fat."
Those with money and plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.
Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guest go the top, or the "upper crust."
Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometime knock the imbibers out for couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of "holding a wake."
England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell, Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be, "saved by the bell" or was considered a "dead ringer."
And that's the truth....Now, whoever said History was boring!!!
"I was taught to respect my elders, but I find it keeps getting harder to find anone elder (LOL)."
Firearm Refresher Course...
This Firearm Refresher Course was Emailed to me and have been seen throughout the professional sites among us instructors and/or LE sites. A lesson that all should adhere to...
Firearm Refresher Course:
Firearm Refresher Course:
- "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." ~ Thomas Jefferson.
- "Those who trade liberty for security have neither." ~ John Adams.
- Free men do not ask permission to bear arms.
- An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject.
- Only a government that is afraid of its citizens tries to control them.
- Gun control is not about guns; it's about control.
- You only have the rights you are willing to fight for.
- Know guns; know peace; know safety. No guns, no peace, no safety.
- You don't shoot to kill; you shoot to stay alive.
- Assault is a behaviour, not a device.
- 64,999,987 firearms owners killed no one yesterday.
- The United States Constitution © 1781. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
- The Second Amendment is in place in case the politicians ignore the others.
- What part of 'shall not be infringed' do you NOT understand?
- Guns have only two enemies; rust and politicians.
- When you remove the people's right to bear arms, you create slaves.
- The American Revolution would never happened with gun control.
- "All men are created equal." ~ Samuel Adams.
2009-08-06
Well...DUH!!!
Re-typed from an Email.
John Smith started the day early having set his alarm
clock (MADE IN JAPAN) for 6 am.
While his coffeepot (MADE IN CHINA) was perking,
he shaved with his electric razor (MADE IN HONG KONG).
He put on a dress shirt (MADE IN SRI LANKA),
designer jeans (MADE IN SINGAPORE) and
tennis shoes (MADE IN KOREA).
After cooking his breakfast in his new electric skillet (MADE IN INDIA)
he sat down with his calculator (MADE IN MEXICO)
to see how much he could spend today.
After setting his watch (MADE IN TAIWAN)
to the radio (MADE IN INDIA)
he got in his car (MADE IN GERMANY)
filled it with GAS (from Saudi Arabia) and
continued his search for a good paying AMERICAN JOB.
At the end of yet another discouraging and fruitless day
checking his computer (MADE IN MALAYSIA),
John decided to relax for a while.
He put on his sandals (MADE IN BRAZIL),
poured himself a glass of wine (MADE IN FRANCE) and
turned on his TV (MADE IN INDONESIA), and
then wondered why he can't find a good paying job in AMERICA
AND NOW HE'S HOPING HE CAN GET HELP FROM A PRESIDENT MADE IN KENYA!
2009-07-23
The Economy
Well, I've been on vacation and been back for about two weeks. I was shocked to see a State that when you buy food at the grocery store the screen and the receipt will show the item you are buying, i.e., corn, and next to it will show "N" for NO TAX. Now that is normal, anywhere you go that is what you are going to see, food does not get taxed unless of course it is prepared. The shocker came when at the end of the tally there was a TAX!!! Yes, you read correctly the receipt showed "Corn 12 @ 0.20 $4.00 N" and at the end you it showed the total, and a second total which they were collecting that involved a Tax of .11, when asked about and they stated it's the State Tax, knowing they are not suppose to charge tax on food and the receipt shows it, they still do...oh the State in question ILLINOIS. As I read a post that has nothing to do with the economy, but the final quote should be applied here... U.S. should pull out of Washington, the crooks are in the big house now.
I manage to see my acquaintance the day before, but left when they got off work. Of course I did not spend all day at their job, the day before I was running some errands after picking up the Jeep and attended the Neighborhood Watch meeting. The chick that caught my eyes at the first meeting, well, she’s not bad looking but she seems to be out there trying to get the “community” to get together and get to know each other (something of twenty plus years ago) and trying to do too much too soon. Hopefully it would be a good turn out, I know I have to be there since I was elected as one of the “block captain” in the community. I did volunteered to help setup and breakdown the event, but she wants everyone to bring something – pot-luck style – to me that sounds dangerous, not everyone cooks and with the economy now its hard to buy beyond your budget, I still do not know what I’ll be bringing to the event.
SPEAKING ABOUT THE ECONOMY, it is sad to find out that the legislature have joined the idiots of EPA and their affiliates to add more hardship unto the citizens by voting and allowing the stores to charge for the plastic groceries bags above and beyond the cost of food, and to my understanding there is no alternative unless you carry your own bags to be packed. Congress managed to pass a bill with a hidden law from the citizens nicknamed “The Hate Crime”, which if I recall failed on its own the first time. People wake up! Congress is suppose to be OUR VOICE, “…for the people, by the people…” Congress IS NOT supposes to operate on their opinion or “special” interest groups. Speaking to a gentleman and seeing the hurt in his eyes as he spoke about his country that was beautiful and free – yes, I used the word WAS – he explained to me about the things that people had and how the people let the GOVERNMENT TAKE OVER and they LOST their FREEDOM, and became COMMUNISM…. this country is Cuba. You might sit there and say to yourself, “This won’t happen to us.”, how many of the Cubans back in the days said that to themselves, obviously many did as I can see the hurt in the man’s eye as he spoke about it…and when he pulled out a faded letter that is still readable, he was a political refugee because he was part of the government of Cuba and defected to the United States of America for FREEDOM and now he sees this country doing the same thing that Cuba did. Now folks, I don’t know about you, but if a foreigner can see signs of trouble because they have already gone through it – now that is some scary stuff.
Experience comes after you had dealt with the problem, not before.
I manage to see my acquaintance the day before, but left when they got off work. Of course I did not spend all day at their job, the day before I was running some errands after picking up the Jeep and attended the Neighborhood Watch meeting. The chick that caught my eyes at the first meeting, well, she’s not bad looking but she seems to be out there trying to get the “community” to get together and get to know each other (something of twenty plus years ago) and trying to do too much too soon. Hopefully it would be a good turn out, I know I have to be there since I was elected as one of the “block captain” in the community. I did volunteered to help setup and breakdown the event, but she wants everyone to bring something – pot-luck style – to me that sounds dangerous, not everyone cooks and with the economy now its hard to buy beyond your budget, I still do not know what I’ll be bringing to the event.
SPEAKING ABOUT THE ECONOMY, it is sad to find out that the legislature have joined the idiots of EPA and their affiliates to add more hardship unto the citizens by voting and allowing the stores to charge for the plastic groceries bags above and beyond the cost of food, and to my understanding there is no alternative unless you carry your own bags to be packed. Congress managed to pass a bill with a hidden law from the citizens nicknamed “The Hate Crime”, which if I recall failed on its own the first time. People wake up! Congress is suppose to be OUR VOICE, “…for the people, by the people…” Congress IS NOT supposes to operate on their opinion or “special” interest groups. Speaking to a gentleman and seeing the hurt in his eyes as he spoke about his country that was beautiful and free – yes, I used the word WAS – he explained to me about the things that people had and how the people let the GOVERNMENT TAKE OVER and they LOST their FREEDOM, and became COMMUNISM…. this country is Cuba. You might sit there and say to yourself, “This won’t happen to us.”, how many of the Cubans back in the days said that to themselves, obviously many did as I can see the hurt in the man’s eye as he spoke about it…and when he pulled out a faded letter that is still readable, he was a political refugee because he was part of the government of Cuba and defected to the United States of America for FREEDOM and now he sees this country doing the same thing that Cuba did. Now folks, I don’t know about you, but if a foreigner can see signs of trouble because they have already gone through it – now that is some scary stuff.
Experience comes after you had dealt with the problem, not before.
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