Well, this sucks: A 27-year veteran Chicago police officer was shot in the head and killed by a woman who grabbed his gun during a struggle outside a police headquarters on the North Side early Wednesday, authorities said. Officers who responded to the scene at Belmont and Western Avenues around 2 a.m. then shot the woman several times, critically wounding her, they said. … [Read more...] about Officer Down
Why Software Testing Is Hard
Now that I'm experimenting with video for the blog, I'm learning how to use video editing software. Currently, I'm experimenting with Sony Vegas. I like it a lot, it seems intuitive and fairly powerful. One of the more interesting features of Vegas is a tool called Media Manager which helps you index and track your media. That's important because video files are huge---the … [Read more...] about Why Software Testing Is Hard
Wire Reporter Starts Story With Vague Lede
If you were a business writer for a news service, and you had the job of writing the daily stock market news article, and writing essentially the same story day after day was burning you out, maybe you'd do what AP writer Joe Bel Bruno just did and start the next article this way: Wall Street fluctuates on first day of 3rd quarter NEW YORK - Wall Street began the third … [Read more...] about Wire Reporter Starts Story With Vague Lede
A Ride Home In 2:51
I've been experimenting with my video camera some more. A friend loaned me a suction cup mount that allowed me to attach the camera to the inside of the car window. So a few days ago I took a drive with the camera attached. I downloaded it to my computer (3.8GB!), then I sped it way up and added music. Click here to see a larger version. Be sure to click the full-screen … [Read more...] about A Ride Home In 2:51
Safer Drunk Driving?
A few days ago I wrote a post about one of the uncomfortable truths about drunk driving: As with most things, the more times you do it, the better you get. The psychology professor who explained this to me said that a lot of the impairment of mild drunkenness comes not from drunkenness per se, but from the unfamiliarity of performing certain tasks while drunk. The first few … [Read more...] about Safer Drunk Driving?