Darkness invades the Federation

May 18, 2013

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star-trek-into-darkness-enterpriseI just got home from seeing the latest Star Trek movie, Star Trek Into Darkness.  I don’t know where to begin on this one, it’s all over the place.

It’s a huge, bright, fast, funny, dramatic, incredibly well done technical marvel of a movie.  There were some incredibly unbelievable ball-drops as well, however!  Some things where I get the feeling somebody high-up decided they didn’t have to solve that problem, or have things make sense, because 80% of the audience they’re shooting for wouldn’t know the difference anyway!

I watched it in 3D, and it was very impressive.  The depth and realism had me at points startling at things suddenly in my face.  The more than 2 hours flew by, and I’ll be going to see it again.

If you haven’t seen it yet, and [SPOILERS!] want to avoid knowing plot points in advance [SPOILERS!], stop here, and go see the movie.  Then come back later and tell me what you thought of it.

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9-1-1: “Just the facts, Sir.”

May 8, 2013

Jim Reeves 9-1-1, commentary , , , , , , , 3 Comments

Should 9-1-1 operators kiss your ass, or save it?

IMG_2363Recent news coverage of the escape of three women from a decade long imprisonment, after their kidnappings as teens, has many people commenting on a perceived lack of empathy or concern for the victims on the part of the 9-1-1 operators in Cleveland, Ohio.  Most of the criticism is unwarranted.

Amanda Berry, the woman who escaped from the house, can be heard calling 9-1-1, here. The call by the man who assisted her, Charles Ramsey, can be heard here.  Go listen, then come back and let me give you my take on the calls.

Ok, back?  Before we begin, a reminder:  I’m a 9-1-1 dispatcher.  I’ve been employed in this position by a county Sheriff’s Department in Central California since July of 1994.  Which county is not germain, as this commentary is my personal opinion, and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of that agency.

That said, now it’s time to decide – should the 9-1-1 operator kiss your ass, or save it?

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Will I be left out?

May 5, 2013

Jim Reeves commentary, geek, Humor , , , , , , Leave a comment

Screen Shot 2013-05-05 at 7.56.51 PM

I get a blast out of following Wil Wheaton on Twitter.

“It’s the end of the world!! Again!!”

April 27, 2013

Jim Reeves commentary , , , , , , 1 Comment

Bar-CodeIn the 40’s, it was the Nazis.  In the 50’s, it was the Communists.  In the 60’s, it was the hippies.  In the 70’s, it was the Nixon administration.  Something is always just about to come over the hill, or around the corner, and destroy “THE AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE!!” (trademark, copyright 1776)

We’ve had an endless onslaught of nonsense from the doomsayers for more than 70 years.  (truth be told, for a lot longer than that)  The past 5 years have been incredibly dense with “Chicken Littles”, however.  We’ve had the ‘death panels’.  Birth certificates.  The power of a father seen only a few times in a lifetime over the mind of a man elected President.  “He’s a socialist!” “He’s a communist!”  “He’s gay, and gay married!”  “IT’S THE END OF OUR WAY OF LIFE!!!!”

Facebook is now seeing the latest round of nonsense, that combines more hysteria and the fear of “big government!”.  (No, not the big government that wants to tell you what to do with your body, or who you can marry, the OTHER big government.)  Today’s breathless end-of-our-lives-as-we-have-known-them claims?  Chips!

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“You did WHAT with your 2 year old???”

April 12, 2013

Jim Reeves 9-1-1, commentary, Personal , , , , 4 Comments

kindergarten_cop
I don’t often order people around on 9-1-1 calls.  It’s not my place to tell them what to do, or how to behave.  My job is simply to gather information, and dispatch the appropriate equipment and people to deal with their emergency.  This morning a 9-1-1 call came in that tossed all my training right out the window.  I had to use my “cop voice”, and order someone (and it took several times) to do something.  I really don’t recall the last time I’ve done that.

This morning’s call, however, had me in full “get your ass back home right now!” mode.

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The Case of the Rooster on the lam

April 6, 2013

Jim Reeves 9-1-1, commentary, Humor , , , 2 Comments

chicken“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?” (just before midnight)

“My  chicken got loose and it’s in my neighbor’s back yard. Can I go back there and get it?  Nobody’s answering the door.”

I convinced him it would be a bad idea to go into his neighbor’s back yard at midnight, trying to capture his chicken.  He claimed it was his livelihood, but I’m figuring it’s not some remarkable stud animal.  I told him I’d send a deputy to speak to him about his options (I was glad I wouldn’t be the one actually dispatching the call….  “see the man about a chicken”), but he declined, as he said he’d been drinking a fair amount, and didn’t want to speak to a cop.

A few minutes later, the neighbor calls 9-1-1, reporting a strange man beating on his front door, looking for a chicken!

By the time we did dispatch a deputy to check the area, the man out looking for his unleashed cock had gone home, the neighbor went back to bed, and I have no idea what happened to the bird.

Another night in the life of a 9-1-1 dispatch center in the heart of ag country.

“9-1-1, what’s YOUR emergency?? “

Movie Review – The Call

March 25, 2013

Jim Reeves 9-1-1, commentary , , , , Leave a comment

The Call 93291(SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t seen this movie, and you want to be surprised, you may not want to read any further.)

(Oh, what the hell.  Read it anyway.  If you can’t enjoy a movie even though you know a bit about it, then you really don’t belong in a movie theater to begin with.  Their business model is predicated on repeat viewings.)

The first thing you should know about the portrayal of 9-1-1 dispatchers in this movie is that it’s exactly spot on.  The movie makers could not have gotten it better if they were 9-1-1 dispatchers themselves, and writing a movie to show precisely what happens in the dispatch center.  From the spacious dispatch floor, the modern, well laid out and controlled computer equipment, to the big screen televisions and the comfortable “quiet room”, nobody should doubt how well 9-1-1 dispatchers have it at work.

The most important thing to remember,  however, is this:  If you piss off, or otherwise get a dispatcher wound up, we will hunt you down.  What ‘Jordan’ (Halle Berry) does to the protagonist (i.e. – the bad guy, AKA the perp, politely – the ‘suspect’) is nothing compared to what a *REAL* 9-1-1 dispatcher will do to you!

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What the hell is that??

March 21, 2013

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Get me out of here!

The new Pope, Francis, sits in the Vatican under some kind of incredible monstrosity of a…  what? Mural? Statue? Something.  I don’t know what it’s supposed to represent, but it looks grotesque.  Not something I would think appropriate to inspire confidence and spirituality.  I’d be running from that thing!

My new family crest?

March 14, 2013

Jim Reeves commentary, Humor, Personal , , , , Leave a comment

family_crest_warped_chesire_cat

They finally made a movie about a dispatcher. This could be bad.

March 8, 2013

Jim Reeves 9-1-1, commentary , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Screen Shot 2013-03-08 at 1.44.23 AM

So I’ve seen the promos at the theater.  A lot of the background looks realistic, the situation has happened before.  What I’m not to sure about is the idea that she gets involved in a call.  “This one made it personal”.  I’m hoping for the best.  It is Hollywood, so there’s no telling what will happen.  Just remember, it’s only a movie!  (unless it’s really, really good.  Then it’s exactly like our center, and we’re all heroes like Halle Berry.)

Want the picture with YOUR jurisdiction in the map background? Here.

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