Mystery Writers Forum
General Discussion and News => Chat => Topic started by: Janet Koch on January 29, 2008, 02:23:51 PM
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Has everyone see Lee's new blog? "The Graveyard Shift: Lee Lofland's guide to all things cops and robbers."
http://www.leelofland.com/wordpress/
Very nice, Lee!
Janet
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Yes! It's excellent!
Peg H ;D
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Thanks, Janet and Peg. I hope to see all the MWF folks over there. It'll be fun.
Again, the address is http://www.leelofland.com/wordpress/
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I think in time you'll have to arrange your archives by topics so people can look up information. Will you have a comment section? If you do, your blog offering should include a question or some other encouraging opening.
What you have is excellent, though. It will become much richer with questions and answers.
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Very nice indeed, Lee. I especially like the photos -- great idea.
Kathy W.
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Great advice, Ingrid. Everything you mentioned is in the works. I'm going to see if there's a positive response to the blog before I make a lot of permanent changes. If the feedback is good I'll definitely make the site researcher friendly.
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Ingrid, it just dawned me. You asked about a comment section on the blog. Yes, there is a place for comments. Click on the comments tab at the bottom of the post and you'll be taken there.
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Great blog, Lee - you have another fan - I've put it on my bookmark bar where I'll be sure to keep up with it.
Officers once had to cuff one of my probation "clients" in front - he was a huge, but short, avid do it yourself body builder and there was no force on the planet that could convince his hands to get close enough for cuffiing in back. Fortunately, the same bulk kept him from having much mobility with the front cuffs - he could barely walk with his hands cuffed in front of him :D
Elena
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I have also bookmarked your blog, Lee. I'm sure it's going to be helpful in my writing. This morning I was working on a section of my WIP where my sheriff was getting dressed. Today's post was really helpful. I think you have a "hit" on your hands.
Lynette
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Thanks guys.
Elena - I've seen guys that we had to use two pairs of cuffs to secure their hands behind their backs. We've also used leg irons on ham-size wrists.
Lynette - The act of putting on a police uniform can be time-consuming. First you have to iron the shirt and pants and then apply all the badges, pins, medals, etc. Next comes the undergarmets. There's actually a mesh-type undershirt that's worn to allow the skin to breath beneath dense bullet-resistant vest. The vest is next followed by the shirt and pants. But you're not done yet; the gunbelt (AKA - utility belt or Sam Brown belt) is then strapped on and fastened to the regular belt with belt keepers. These handy little straps prevent the gunbelt from falling down around your ankles. Then, if you can still bend over you can put on your shoes and waddle out to your police car.
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Note to all
Don't forget the average weight of the fully loaded gunbelt is around 18 lbs. Oh, yeah and those vests aren't exactly light weight either (add another 3 or 4 lbs). Now, leap out of the patrol car and chase someone... ;D
Peg H
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So true, Peg. It's like strapping on a couple of bowling balls before heading off to work.
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Bowling balls?! ;D
It's a great site, Lee. I really liked the photos you used to illustrate your articles. You can tell from many of the mystery books you read that a lot of people have never seen what they're writing about.
As usual, an excellent job!
Linda
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I was hoping the pictures would be a plus.
If you guys have a particular topic you'd like addressed please let me know and I'll do my best to make it the topic of the day.
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How about a post on police vocabulary? I realize there must be differences between states, departments, etc., but are there some terms that are universal? (Don't know how you'd use a picture for this one :) )
Thanks for starting such a great blog, Lee. Very informative!
Janet
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Maybe a picture of a dispatcher?
;D Peg H
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Everyone should check out http://juliabuckley.blogspot.com/ (http://juliabuckley.blogspot.com/)
Great interview, Lee!
Peg H ;D
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I love your site, Lee!
Penny
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Thanks, Penny.
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Lee, it looks very nice.
You might look into using the Tag Cloud widget. Take a look at my blog (http://bob.ravensbeak.com) to see what I'm talking about. If you're using a current version of Wordpress, tags should be available to you as a text box under your main post box. Then add the tag cloud widget (assuming your theme supports widgets), and you'll get that nifty little thing I've got on the left sidebar.
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Thanks, Bob. You know, I can barely manage to figure out how to make my daily posts. My webbsite people set this thing up for me. I'm learning, and getting braver with trying new things, but I'm scared I'll delete the entire thing if I try to more than I'm already doing. By the way, your blog is cool.
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Hi Lee,
I'm sorry I've been remiss in letting you know how much I'm learning from Graveyard Shift. In my new series I have a county sheriff as one of the main characters and you have answered a lot of questions for me already. I have a an appointment to meet with our local sheriff and now I won't sem like such an idiot when I get there. Thanks for all the help you so freely give to the mystry writing community. (Enjoyed your guest article too.)
Lynette
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Lynette - I'm pleased that you've found the site helpful. I'm also pleased at the guest blogger list. Starting next month you'll see author/experts, such as Robin Burcell (detective and forensic artist) Emmy Award winner Hank Phillippi Ryan (2008 Agatha nominee), and cop/author extrordinaire Jim Born.
Also, I'm very pleased that we'll be joined by Lt. Dave Swords, Gwen Haugen (world renowned forensic anthropologist who worked at Ground Zero after the collapse of the towers and in Irag) and the very famous Gloria Louise Nusse. Gloria is one of the leading forensic facial reconstruction expert/artists in the world. She's been featured on television shows, such as 48 Hours. She's also been called on by the Smithsonian Institute and the Phaeno Museum in Wolfburg, Germany. Law and Fiction author/attorney Leslie Budewitz has also offered her expertise. It's a stellar line up!
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Lee, I love it too!
Timing was right for me to look at it as I logged on and there was the list of signs of a liar. Just when we're having troubles with our teen son. I recognize a few signs. Now I have a list and can compare your list to what I notice in our confront- er, conversations with him.
Have it book marked to look at more in depth SOON.
Thanks for taking the time to do it!