Ask MC – New Motor Advice

The other day I was whining opining about my lack of motivation to blog so I put out a question on Facebook trolling for some help from you, my readers.  Eric Scaresbrook came up with this:

If you could give ONE piece of advice to a rookie MC, what would it be?

My first reaction was one?!?  Dude, I know you’ve read the blog before.  You know I go on and on about all kinds of crap.  You want me to limit it to one?!?

If this was a democracy and the will of the people had spoken, I would solemnly hang my head and abide; however, that is not the case.  I run a ruthless dictatorship and make up the rules as I go.  Consequently, I’m sort of going to answer Eric’s question about ONE piece, but I’m totally going to bastardize it and cheat because I can.

So, you know…pthbthbthbthbthb. … Continue Reading

Music Monday – BBVD

This one takes me back to my college days.  I grew up listening to a slew of different kinds of music, but I was always partial to the Big Band Era.  Glen Miller, Cab Calloway, and the like.  When Jon Favreau’s epic Swingers premiered in 1996 and I saw Big Bad Voodoo Daddy featured prominently, I knew I had found something special.

I actually saw them play in a few different venues and met them through a friend of a friend.  Just a heads up, when the lead singer of a band sees you at the bar and says, “Hey (MC’s real name)!  Thanks for coming up for the show, man!” it goes a long way to impress the chick you were just throwing around the dance floor.

God bless Scotty Morris.

Sadly, The Derby (the movie and real life location BBVD played frequently) is now a freaking Citibank.  Pardon me whilst my twenty-something self dies a little inside.

Name Dropping

Here’s a little bit of advice from me to you:

When I stop you, at least be sure the person whose name you are about to drop still actually works there.

First off, I don’t care who you know.  Neither you nor they are above the law.  Simply knowing someone who happens to work at the same place I do means nothing to me and will not immediately guarantee you a warning.  As a matter of fact, it may encourage me in the opposite direction.  A direction I naturally lean anyway, by the way.  Do I always give a ticket to someone who knows a mutual friend/acquaintance?  No.  Do I always let them slide?  Nope.

You know what will more likely get you out of a ticket?  Brace yourself….

Honesty.

Feel free to take a moment to recover and then continue reading. … Continue Reading

Santa Maria PD Shooting

A while back, a reader asked my opinion on the Santa Maria PD shooting involving an on-duty officer who was also the suspect in a sex with a minor case.  The incident occurred at the end of January of this year.  For more specific details, check out policeone.com or lawofficer.com.

The gist of the incident is that Ofr. Covarrubias was suspected of having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old female who, perhaps not so coincidentally, was also in the Santa Maria PD Explorer program.  Both Covarrubias and the girl were assigned to a DUI enforcement night.

A lieutenant with Santa Maria PD was told the Explorer would be called away during the DUI enforcement to make a “pretext call”.  For some reason, the commanding officer of the enforcement night told all the officers present that she would be called away for an investigation.  Covarrubias was present. … Continue Reading

Music Monday – Thanks, Jon Acuff!

I’ve mentioned Acuff and number of times of the past couple of years for a variety of reasons.  I find him inspiring and hilarious, but I was never so grateful to read his blog until I hit his post about gusto.  For it was in that post that I was first introduced to my favorite band from last year, Mumford and Sons.

Absolute brilliance.  I bought the entire album based on “The Cave” and I was not disappointed.  Just about every track on this record speaks to me.

Who knew an upright bass, banjo, guitar, keyboard, and a kick drum could rock so damn hard?

Book Review: Burnout by James Vachowski

They say there’s a first time for everything.  Today, I’ll be writing about someone else’s writing.  I was contacted by James Vachowski via email.  He told me he was seeking law enforcement bloggers who would be interested in reviewing his first mystery novel, “Burnout”.

I am a voracious reader.  I am also cheap frugal.  I saw an opportunity here.  I responded to Mr. Vachowski that I would indeed be interested in reviewing his novel.  He sent me a .pdf file of “Burnout” and I got to reading.

Before I delve into the novel itself, allow me to make a few things clear.

1. I don’t know Mr. Vachowski from a hole in the wall.  Based on the fact that he wrote a book, however, I will assume he is not, in fact, an actual hole in a wall.

2. It seems fair that I add that I was not compensated (other than receiving a copy of the book gratis) for what follows which means I can be just as honest as I want because I owe him nothing.

3. If you’ve been around the blog long enough, you know I’m not a grammatical wunderkind, so I’ll leave that to others and just talk about the story.

4. I’m not a professional reviewer or editor, but Lord knows I have an opinion and I know a thing or two about police work, so there’s that.

Here’s a brief synopsis of the book from Mr. Vachowski’s website:

… Continue Reading

Fiction Friday – The Prologue

No writing prompt this week.  This week I’m going with something else I’m working on and I thought I’d give you a taste.

Like a dealer.

First taste is free.  You want more, you come ask and maybe we work something out.

What follows fell from my brain to my fingers one night in anticipation of grand designs and delusions of grandeur future success.  It is saved on my computer as simply “Prologue”.  I’ve quite a few ideas like this one packed away in the cluttered closet of my imagination and I’m nervous anxious to get them on paper and in someone else’s hands.

With that in mind, I sincerely hope you enjoy today’s Fiction Friday.  I give you “Prologue”. … Continue Reading