I just worked the coolest case...

Part of my plan when I created this blog was to write about my work. Thing is, when I actually sat down to do it, I realized I can't talk about most of my work, except in generalities. If you're sitting in one of my classes (I teach PIs at Central Training Academy in Chantilly, VA), you may hear a few more details, but there's no way I'm putting it in writing for all the world to see. And the generalities, while interesting, are more of a tease than anything else. Sorry. But if anyone has questions about being a PI, I'm happy to answer.

Anyway, since I wrote last, I graduated from the Stonecoast MFA program. Maine was too hot, but I had a blast spending time with people I've come to be good friends with over the last two years. For more on Stonecoast, check Patrick Bagley's blog. Graduating seems rather anti-climactic, on the whole. But I've come away with more than just a small piece of paper in a blue folder. I learned a great deal about writing, and my work has improved by it. Now, if only I could get off my ass and publish some of it...(Most of my work went into two novels, neither of which are quite finished yet.)

I'm also very involved with my state PI and security association, PISA. I'm working on some legislative issues this year. One of them is a law that would make the penalties for assaulting or killing a security officer more severe. I'm basing my work on a new law recently passed in Florida, where they know, along with Louisiana, the value of private security--more so than the rest of the country. (Lucky us!) What the law actually does is make the penalties the same as for assaulting or killing a police officer. Some folks think the police will be opposed to this, but emergency medical personnel, for example, are also currently included in the law. We'll see how that goes.

Most states have PI associations, and I expect many of them are as open and welcoming as PISA is. We have members who are novelists, and guests are welcome at any meeting as well. Meetings often have really interesting speakers. A month ago, we had a bomb detector dog and handler team. A month before that, a bail bondsman spoke about his work. I learned a ton from both of them. (And had a great time talking to Mayhem, the bomb detector dog.) It was interesting to hear about how they train detector dogs. With drug detection, the dog may shove his nose into a bag, bark, jump up and down, etc. But with bomb detection, movement can trigger an explosion. Dogs are taught to stop and sit, usually, when they smell something. And their senses of smell are quite amazing--they still do a better job than the machines that can do a certain amount of bomb detection. If you'd like more info about bomb detector dogs, check out these articles.

Unfortunately, though, there are apparently some dogs working that haven't been trained properly, or handlers who aren't working correctly with the dogs. There are new regulations coming, both in VA and at the federal level, to try to fix that.

OK, back to work.
Meriah...