Thanks to Cold War-era initiatives, the STEM fields tend to soak up all the money and glory these days. Or at least the money and the glory not foisted onto professional athletes and blank-eyed, fuzzy-brained reality stars, anyway. Though as far back as history remembers, writers especially earn very little for their wordsmithing, and competition to see stories land in papers and on the shelves always proves slightly more difficult than anyone other than MacGyver cracking open a bank safe with a safety pin. Authors of all types have had to channel their talents into jobs that pay the bills rather than nurse their artistic visions, and many eventually penned some lasting masterpieces based on their experiences. Here, we’ll explore some of the interesting and often surprising jobs held by some of our most famous and favorite writers.

• Marjane Satrapi: Drug Dealer:

  As readers of Persepolis — easily amongst the most beloved graphic memoirs of all time — know, writer and illustrator Marjane Satrapi coped with the humiliation of her expatriate experience partly by drug dealing. As a teen living in Vienna after escaping a war-ravaged Iran, her boyfriend Markus’ heavy involvement with illicit substances drove her to both use and sell, eventually driving her out of school and into two months of homelessness and severe bronchitis. Reeling from receipt by the city’s racists and treated as if a pet by so-called “progressives,” the punkish Satrapi sank into a major depressive episode and eventually returned to her parents (and the militant new theocratic regime) back home.

• Ernest Hemingway: Ambulance Driver:

  During World War I, the legendary author of The Old Man and the Sea, A Moveable Feast, and For Whom the Bell Tolls (among plenty of other well-received classics) could not serve in the U.S. Army owing to poor eyesight. Still wanting to take part, he left his journalism position at a Kansas City paper to drive ambulances in the Italian army instead. He wound up wounded with shrapnel in his leg, earning a heavy amount of decoration and recognition for the sacrifice. Following several stints in European hospitals, a recovered Hemingway eventually went back to reporting before moving on to the short stories and novels most readers remember today.

• Maya Angelou: Streetcar Conductor:

  One of America’s most beloved Renaissance women mostly receives attention for her poetry and, to a lesser extent, acting and dancing. Maya Angelou’s stunning autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, details her time as San Francisco’s very first African-American female to conduct a streetcar. At age 14, no less! She later kept up with the position while pregnant with her first child, struggling with never knowing whether or not “[she] would have to jump off the streetcar one step ahead of the warm sea of nausea that threatened to sweep [her] away.” So, basically, Angelou’s famous strength, drive, and character blossomed long before her writing career ever did.

• Kurt Vonnegut: Public Relations for GE:

  Writers gonna write, obviously, but it’s hard to picture the iconoclastic wit of Kurt Vonnegut wiling away his time writing press releases at General Electric of all places. Especially considering how he so staunchly sympathized with socialist causes! But even revolutionaries have to feed their wives and kids, and the author’s time having to navigate the world of advertising and public relations eventually inspired many of his later works. As he mentioned in the intro to the short story collection Bagombo Snuff Box, debut novel Player Piano relentlessly satirized the corporation, which funny enough also employed Ronald Reagan at the time. Following its publication, he took on a position managing a Saab dealership to ensure his family remained properly cared for.

• Chuck Palahniuk: Diesel Mechanic:

  Although he had already racked up education and experience in the journalism field, the incendiary author of such contemporary masterpieces as Fight Club and Invisible Monsters eventually took on a diesel mechanic job at Freightliner for better pay. While there, he simultaneously compiled together concepts and pulled inspiration from the position and into his fictional writings, which he eked out on the side. Chuck Palahniuk was also required to pen technical manuals for the company along with making sure trucks ran smoothly, safely, and efficiently. His future involvement with public pranksters, the Cacophony Society, eventually led the group to enjoy fictional immortality as Project Mayhem.

• Harper Lee: Airline Ticket Agent:

  Humble, unassuming, and media-shy Harper Lee of To Kill a Mockingbird grandeur fiscally struggled between quitting college and launching her literary career. Both Eastern Airlines and the British Overseas Air Corp kept her employed as a ticket agent while she resided in New York City, spending her free time with childhood friend Truman Capote, Broadway lyricist and composer Martin Brown, and Joy Brown, his wife. The trio adored her writerly gifts and encouraged her to nurture them, to the point the Browns left Lee with a touchingly beautiful gift as enticement to get her works out where audiences could love them too. Famously, they offered to pay all her living expenses for a year if she agreed to quit ticket-taking and start getting her novel on instead.

• Franz Kafka: Chief Legal Secretary at Workmen’s Accident Insurance Institute:

  Known today as one of Europe’s most provocative existentialist writers, Franz Kafka actually held down a day job as a well-regarded litigator and, eventually, served as the Chief Legal Secretary at Workman’s Accident Insurance Institute. This position often inspired both fiction and nonfiction writings and even drawings, though most classes and scholars tend to focus almost exclusively on the former, The Metamorphosis in particular. Lately, though, surviving scribblings from his lauded legal career, which involved a fair amount of crucial insurance reform policies, have started garnering more interest, adding another dimension to a broader understanding of this essential author’s life.

• Ian Fleming: Badass

  It probably shouldn’t come as much of a shock to anyone that James Bond’s creator knew a thing or two about intelligence, covert ops, and espionage. The true surprise lay in the fact that he may have actually been even more of an ass-kicker than his iconic superspy! During World War II, Ian Fleming held a position as the assistant to the Royal Navy’s Director of Naval Intelligence, John Godfrey, and, eventually, as a commander in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. Although much of what he dealt with largely remains classified, he certainly played a prominent role in Nazi-killin’, which is actually way cooler than campy super-villains in some ways.

* Article by www.onlinephdprograms.com

* Wikipedia Commons photo

*Interesting note from The Graveyard Shift – The 2012 WPA had hoped to present local author Maya Angelo with an award for her outstanding achievements, but had to change plans because Ms. Angelo’s manager/publicist demanded a $50,000 fee for her to attend the banquet and accept the honor. There would have been very little travel involved since she resides within mere minutes of the WPA banquet location, a residence that’s also within the jurisdiction of the police, fire, and EMS services that so wholeheartedly support the WPA and all its writers/recruits. 

Had Ms. Angelou accepted our invitation, and had she accepted the award, and had she then uttered only two words—thank you—she’d have earned $25,000 per word. How many authors today earn that sort of not-so-hard-earned cash for their work? I’d say she’s come a long way from operating a street car. Still, demanding $50,000 from someone so they can tell you how great you are…geesh… Yeah, I withdrew the offer.

By the way, my comments are in no way associated with the above article or photograph, nor do they reflect the views of anyone other than, well, me.

I sat down to write an article containing information about twenty three years of having The Mayberry Deputy be a major part of my life, but as I begin to write, an overriding urge to mention Andy Griffith continues to consume my thoughts.

Andy Griffith, Danny Thomas, and Sheldon Leonard created what some would say is the consummate situation comedy back in 1960, The Andy Griffith Show. It bore his name and he was the leader of the band; however, when you think of this particular show, do you always think of Andy Taylor? I want to dwell on what that show has done for so many, beyond the hallowed studios of CBS television, from 1960 to 1968. Here it is 2012 and, in rerun’s, the show is even more popular today than it ever was. With cable television, dvd’s, and the simple act of quoting from the show by all sorts of people every day at work, school, church, and just about anywhere, the show has wound its way into the fabric of America.

Andy passed away a few days ago and while his passing marks a difficult period for those who not only love Mayberry but those who enjoyed Matlock or any number of great films this wonderful actor performed in over the years. Andy Griffith, not his movies, wound his way into the fabric of our hearts almost to the point of having to be perfect in everyone’s eyes and not a normal human being like the rest of us. It must be a tremendous burden to carry for so many years as Andy did. I think of sudden celebrities who gain great popularity overnight and it almost ruins their lives, and then I think of Andy who lived with it for over sixty years if you take into account his great acclaim for “No Time For Sergeants” on Broadway and then in the film of the same name, until later in life when he was very special in The Waitress and the great country music video, Waitin’ On a Woman. When you saw Andy on screen it was like seeing an old friend whether he was saying “I ‘preciate it” or “Good crackuh” for Ritz.

I remember them all because I was just a boy growing up in Southwest Virginia when Mayberry came into our consciousness in 1960. That whistle at the beginning and little Opie tossing a rock into Myers Lake became indelibly ingrained in my mind and the minds of many thousands when we turned on the old black and white and sat with our parents and dreamed that our town, wherever it was, was just like Mayberry.

How could I have thought back then that I would someday be traveling the country bringing my own brand of Mayberry to people? How could I, as a child, dream of being the opening act for a comedic actor on the level of Don Knotts who so perfectly played the role of Deputy Barney Fife? And how could I imagine that somewhere in my years of growing I would gain the experiences needed to perform before live audiences that, on occasion, would number in the thousands? I couldn’t dream of it then but I can reflect on it now.

I began to perform as an actor/entertainer when I was 19 years old. I was not a prodigy I was a person who discovered an ability given from “somewhere’s else” as Barney would say, and it fit me to a tee. I walk on stage and there is a comfort that surrounds me that I can’t describe. Some people feel shut down by the on stage experience but in my case I am opened up by it. I have chased my dream ever since the first time I walked on stage. I have worked steadily in community theatre, television commercials, comedy routines, directing stage plays and now, for the last eighteen years I have performed as the Mayberry Deputy. As the Deputy I have had the opportunity to speak for groups all over the United States and Canada. Law enforcement, safety; corporate and personal, churches, farm bureaus and countless other have filled my calendar through the years and the one overriding factor in all my presentations is the fact that when we look at the human being, flawed as it is, through the eyes of Mayberry, we find a more gentle and forgiving character, in ourselves and in others.

It is incredibly daunting to step in front of an audience to portray a character that most of us feel we know personally. The character of Barney Fife stands perfectly in the minds of those who know and love The Andy Griffith Show so well. I have always called the character that I perform, The Mayberry Deputy, simply because, as a fan of TAGS, I also view Don Knotts portrayal as singular and masterful.

I first performed my character at the request of a friend who had hired The Darling Boys (The Dillards) for a bluegrass show in Blountville, TN around 1989 and I believed it would be a one and done show, but I was far from right. You see, I viewed the character as a historical character, of which I had done a few, including Abraham Lincoln and Ebenezer Scrooge from Dicken’s Christmas Carol, so I was convinced I was just doing another character, and what makes it so unbelievable to me is the fact that I would have preferred to make a living creating new characters from original works of drama, but that was not in the greater plan so neither was the one and done theory.

On stage

Becoming Lincoln

The Mayberry Deputy began to take a major position in my life and the life of my family and then, in 1991, I met Don Knotts at a Mayberry Reunion in Nashville, TN where Mr. Knotts said two very important things to me. One; that he would like for me to consider being his opening act if he came back east, and two; he encouraged me to “get out there” and do the character.

It is the experiences that we are made up of that prepare each of us for the great gift that is awaiting us in life, and I know this because I have lived it. With wide eyed interest I have always looked upon each new venture as a learning experience whether it be accepting a role on stage or the role of husband and father. Life is a laboratory, designed to let each of us create the formula that will work for us, by taking our experiences and adding a little divine intervention we, each of us, can pursue and reach our wildest dreams. It might be making a lot of money, being a champion in sports, a great singer, a preacher or so many other things, but whatever our hearts desire we can grasp it if we believe in it strongly enough and do the things that prepare us.

So, now, as I reflect on those people, probably in the late 1950’s, sitting in a room conceiving the format for a rural comedy television show, I am more than grateful. I believe that, without knowing it, they created something that has helped someone in a desperate situation, or someone having to deal with a child or an adult behaving like a child, and in those situations we often find a rule or passage from TAGS that fits perfectly and helps to ease the situation. They gave us something that endures, not unlike the memories of lost loved ones or friends from long past, and so, continues to comfort us. So, thank you, Andy, Danny, Sheldon, Don, Jim, George, Ron, Francis, Betty, Anita, Hal, Howard, Howie and the hundreds of others who brought us the town of Mayberry. May it forever own a place in our hearts.

I close each of my performances with this poem and I wish to share it with you today:

PATHWAYS

NOW, WHEN THE EVENIN’ SHADES HAS FALLEN

AT THE END OF THE DAY

AN I’M JES SITTEN AROUND

PASSIN’ THE TIME AWAY

THERE’S A THOUGHT THAT COMES TO CHEER ME

IF I’M FEELIN’ KINDA BLUE

SORTA LITTLE PRAYER OF GRATITUDE

FOR CROSSIN PATHS WITH YOU

 

NOW, I NEVER HAD THE HABIT

OF SPILLIN A LOT O’ BLUFF

OR INDULGIN IN MUSHINESS

AN SENTIMENTAL STUFF

BUT IF I LIKE FOLKS, I TELL ‘EM

UP AN TELL ‘EM NOW INSTEAD

OF WRITEN FUNNY EPITAPHS

ABOUT ‘EM WHEN THERE DEAD

 

SO I’M SENDIN YOU THIS MESSAGE

JUST BECAUSE I WANT TO SAY

THAT, I’M GLAD THE LORD ARRAINGED IT

SO THAT YOU COULD PASS MY WAY

JES TO SEE YOUR FACE AND HEAR YOU

MADE MY SKY A SHADE MORE BLUE

AN’ I’M JES A BIT MORE BLESSED

SINCE CROSSIN’ PATHS WITH YOU

……ANONYMOUS

David Browning as himself, and family

* Those of you who attended the first Writers’ Police Academy held in N.C. will remember Checkpoint Chickie (The Mayberry Deputy) announcing, via video, the name of winner of the novel contest.

Thanks, Deputy, for your support and all that you do to keep Mayberry alive in our hearts!

http://davidbrowningproductions.com/

Patti Phillips is a mystery writer/photographer/reviewer whose best investigative days are spent writing, cooking, traveling for research, and playing golf. Her time on the golf course was murderously valuable while creating the perfect alibi for the chief villain in Patti’s novel, “One Sweet Motion.” Did you know that there are spots on the golf course that can’t be accessed by listening devices? Of course, it helps to avoid suspicion if you work on lowering your handicap while plotting the dirty deeds.

Patti Phillips writes the online detective blog, www.kerriansnotebook.com. (Detective Kerrian chats about life as a detective as well as the central case in “One Sweet Motion.”) Patti’s book reviews of mysteries and thrillers can be found on the Facebook, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble sites. Her own review site, ‘Nightstand Book Reviews’ is coming soon.

Patti is a transplanted metropolitan New Yorker/north Texan, now living in the piney state of North Carolina.

Day #1: Sirchie, Evidence Collection Class (July 2012)

Conferences are a blast for the mystery/thriller writing crowd these days. And not just because of the workshops improving our craft and technique provided by the many writing organizations. I appreciate those, I do, but for all out, slam dunk fun, I attend the Writers’ Police Academy held in September – this will be the 3^rd  year at the Guilford County, NC location. It’s a three-day, hands-on, mind-blowing experience that demonstrates the nuts and bolts of police and fire and EMS procedure – taught by professionals and experts actively working in the field. All with the purpose of getting writers to improve their technical knowledge so that they can get it right on the page.

Along with several other strands of study, the 2011 WPA conference provided classes in bloodstain patterns, fingerprinting, and alternate light sources (ALS) conducted by Sirchie instructors. Because of the standing room only enthusiasm for these classes, Sirchie offered a five-day Evidence Collection training session for  writers at their own complex in North Carolina. Sirchie makes hundreds of products for the law enforcement community and I felt this would be a great opportunity for Detective Kerrian (my protagonist) to learn more about the latest and best gadgets being used to catch the crooks.

I happily sent in my application and plunked down my credit card to hold my space in the class – ten months ahead of time.

On the first day of classes, our instructor, Robert Skiff (Training Manager/Technical Training Specialist at Sirchie) discussed the ‘CSI Effect’ – the pressure placed by the popular TV shows on real life crime investigation. (By the way, TV labs and real life investigations bear little resemblance to each other – not in time, or equipment, or budgets.) Then we got to work, using the powders and brushes needed to process a crime scene and used by actual techs in the lab.

Fingerprint powders, brushes and magnifier

There is no such thing as a perfect crime, but the jails are filled with crooks that swear they have been framed. Common excuses: “I was at my girlfriend’s house at the time of the crime,” “Somebody planted that shoe print,” etc. It’s up to the investigators and examiners to prove the case against the perps, using proper evidence collection techniques and tools, because trace evidence is ALWAYS left behind by even the most careful criminal.

Fingerprints found at the scene are still the favored piece of evidence tying the suspect to the crime. These days, using a combination of ingenuity and newly developed chemicals and powders, a crime scene investigator can lift (and/or photograph) prints from many previously challenging surfaces.

About a month before class started, we got a letter in the mail telling us NOT to wear good clothes to class. Hmmm… My thought was that we were going to be doing some messy evidence collections outdoors or in the mud, etc. Nope. Black fingerprint powder gets all over everything when newbies are handling it for the first time. We must have used 50 wet wipes each during the morning alone.

After dusting prints with black fingerprint powder, (caption)

they were lifted from various smooth surfaces using (in forefront) a gel lifter, a hinge lifter and (in background) tape. (caption)

We had to be careful not to contaminate the powders and jars or smear the samples themselves before looking at the prints under the magnifier. By the end of the day, most of us had black eyes and streaks on our hands and faces. It looks much easier on TV.

Our prints were photographed and then viewed under an Optical Comparator. This machine can be hooked up to a laptop, and the image sent off to AFIS for identification purposes. No crooks in our crowd, so we omitted that step.

At the end of the first day we left happy, tired, and still wiping powder off our hands and faces. A tip from an investigator taking the class with us: add a cup of vinegar to the wash load to get those powder stains out. J

Did I mention that we had loads of fun?

Up next: processing documents with chemicals.

Patti Phillips writes Detective Kerrian’s blog at www.kerriansnotebook.com

 

*     *     *

ATTENTION!

Our good friend, Steve Brown, has been an extremely valuable asset to writers over the years, sharing his expertise as a former FBI agent and as a private investigator. He’s never failed to help anyone who asked, and there have been many, including me. Well, now Steve desperately needs our help during his battle with leukemia.

Steve has recently undergone a bone marrow transplant and has no medical insurance to help with the $500,000 medical bill that has accumulated to date. So, a group of his writer friends have joined together today to “Sell Books For Steve.” Here’s a word from Neil Plakey describing how you can help.

“Steve Brown, author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Private Investigating, and a member of MWA’s Florida chapter, is fighting leukemia with a bone marrow transplant. To help him with his escalating medical bills, a group of fifteen fellow authors have banded together with a “Sell Books for Steve” day.

On Monday, July 16, we’ve promised to donate all or part of our e-book royalties to Steve. The authors & books & links, as well as info on Steve, can be found at http://handcuffedtotheocean.com/

The books include mysteries, romances and thrillers. It’s a way for all of us to help Steve– as well as to introduce our work to new audiences. I hope you’ll stop by on Monday to check out the promotion– and perhaps find a book or two that interest you.”

Neil Plakcy

*If you’d prefer to donate directly to the Help Steve fund, visit http://handcuffedtotheocean.com/ to use the Paypal link at the left of the screen.

Please join us in helping Steve.

Every single dollar donated and each book purchase is greatly appreciated.

Thank you all!

Lee Lofland

Google is so much more than a search engine. It’s a reference book, calculator, even a weather forecaster. Using these tricks, you can find helpful information quickly, plus get to the right links faster.

1. Feel lucky: Access the page that Google thinks is the most relevant for your search with the “I’m Feeling Lucky” feature. Chances are, you’ll find a great resource without having to look any further.
2. Find public data: Google offers stores of public data, right in search results. For population and employment rates, just search for “population” or “unemployment rate” plus the state or county.
3. Find your web history: Find websites you’ve visited and even search your own online history with Google’s Web History.
4. Search within a site: Found a site that’s full of great stuff? Narrow down your results within the site by searching for (search query) site:(domain).
5. Search for exact phrases Put quotation marks around “any word” to find an exact phrase more efficiently.
6. Shorten your search phrases: Chances are, you don’t need to type a whole lot to find what you’re looking for. Try shortening your searches to just a few words.
7. Check the weather in a flash: Need to know if rain is going to hold you up on the way to class? Just type “weather” plus the city or zip code, and Google will pop up a forecast for you.
8. Be descriptive: Instead of searching for “celebrity sounds,” which could be a variety of different sounds, look for “celebrity ringtones,” which is much more specific.
9. Find the file type you’re looking for: Search for PDF, doc, even Power Point files by adding a filetype:pdf modifier to your search string.
10. Forget about cases: Google’s search isn’t case sensitive, so search for new york times if you’re looking for The New York Times.
11. Don’t worry about punctuation, either: Search doesn’t pay attention to punctuation and special characters, so don’t bother using them.
12. Turn Google into a calculator:  Did you know that Google has a built-in calculator function? Just enter a calculation into the search box, and you’ll get the answer!
13. Google is a dictionary and thesaurus, too: Get definitions by entering “define” before your search term, and discover synonyms by adding a tilde (~), as in, ~cats.
14. Quickly discover movies and movie showtimes: To find movie reviews, showings, and theaters before you head out with friends, just type “movies” plus your zip code for the best results.
15. Check the time around the world: Chatting with your video penpal in Japan? Find out what time it is by searching for “time Japan.”
16. Get rid of the stuff you don’t want: If you keep getting irrelevant results for a certain term, you can exclude words just by placing a minus sign in front of them. So if you want to know about wombats but not necessarily blind wombats, you’d search for wombats -”blind wombat.”
17. Search with Goggles: Use your mobile phone’s camera to search for an item instead of typing words.
18. Search by voice, too: Search the web with speech by tapping the microphone button on your Google search box.
19. Discover what you don’t know: Google can help you fill in the blank with a simple asterisk (*). You can search for “Isaac Newton discovered *,” and Google will complete your sentence.
20. Check your spelling: If you’re not sure how to spell a word, just type your best guess into Google. If you’re wrong, Google will pop up with an alternative, asking, “Did you mean: (correct spelling)?”
21. Keep finding great sources: If you like what you see on a particular website, and would like to find more, just do a related search on Google. For example, “related:www.cnn.com” will direct you to more news sites like CNN.
22. Discover people: Thanks to Google Plus, Google offers people profiles for a surprising amount of individuals. Get the quick low-down on your classmates, professors, and even important public figures by simply Googling a person’s name.
23. Check out patents: If you need to research a patent for school (or your latest invention), just plug in the number, plus the word “patent” into Google to get information about it.
24. Research health conditions, medications, and even save a life: Type any common symptom or disease into Google, and you’ll find an expert summary. Same thing for most generic and brand name prescriptions. Search for “poison control,” “suicide prevention,” and “flu,” and you’ll be directed to the appropriate phone number or even nearby locations that can help.
25. Find food, stores, and more fast: Find local businesses, like restaurants, quickly just by entering what you’re looking for plus your zip code. For example, you can find pizza joints in the Beverly Hills area by searching for “pizza 90210.”
26. Quit stalking the FedEx guy: You can track packages from USPS, FedEx, and UPS just by typing your tracking number directly into Google.
27. Convert units of measure: Calculate temperature, weight, and more just by using Google Search.
28. Search by timeline: With “view:timeline” you can get a timeline for any topic you’re researching.
29. Use Google’s cache to get around blocked sites: Just by using “cache:website address,” you can get around most blocked sites.
30. Take advantage of image search: Find an image for your search with Google’s Image Search.
31. Find results on a specific kind of site: To find results only from authoritative sites like .edu, .gov, or .org, add “site:edu” to your search term.
32. Check the time: Find out the local time just by entering “what time is it” into Google.
33. Search within a url: Discover topics, years, and more within a url just by using “inurl:.”
34. Refine your search with options rill down to what you’re really looking for with Show Options.
35. Find a face: Find only images with faces by using “&imgtype=face” in your search query.

Google Specifically for Education

With tools like Google Earth, Scholar, News, and iGoogle, there are lots of great ways to learn more and save time with Google.

36. Google Scholar: Use Google Scholar to get hooked up with scholarly literature, including results from academic publishers, journals, and peer-reviewed papers.
37. Check out the sky: Get a lesson in meteorology with Google Earth’s Sky feature.
38. Set up an iGoogle page: Keep everything handy and easy to access with an iGoogle page full of your most relevant news stories, calendar, and Google Reader blogs.
39. Google News: Find news sources around the world in Google’s incredible news resource.
40. Make your own search engine: Using the Google Custom Search Engine, you can create a search engine that specifically caters to your research needs.
41. Set up a study group in Google Groups: Communicate and collaborate with classmates and more in Google Groups, or better yet, start your own G+ Hangout.
42. Google Code University: Learn more about computer science by checking out Creative Commons-licensed content in this Google site.
43. Study the oceans: In Google Earth, you can view not just the sky, but the ocean floor’s surface and even 3D shipwrecks.
44. Check out Knol for expert input: Explore Knol to find expert knowledge on a variety of different topics.

Google Plus

A great new service for students to take advantage of, Google Plus has plenty of ways to get connected and save time.

45. Create Hangouts to chat with study buddies: Collaborate with group project members and study groups by setting up a video chat Google+ Hangout.
46. Do a university search: Find information within your university, thanks to Google Plus’ feature that collects university affiliation.
47. Get a constantly updated research stream with Sparks: Set up Sparks for a search engine that automatically finds information about the stuff you’re interested in.

Google Docs

We’re big fans of Google Docs’ ability to streamline word processing, spreadsheets, and more. Here are plenty of ways to take things to the next level and save time.

48. Set up repeated text: If you frequently write the same phrase over and over again, set up automatic substitution in your Google Docs preferences.
49. Store your documents in the cloud: With Google Docs, it’s easy to keep your documents in the cloud and access them wherever you are: your dorm, mom and dad’s house, even the school library.
50. Save Gmail attachments to Docs: Keep Gmail attachments organized in the cloud by saving them to your Google Docs account.
51. Spell check in bulk: Google Docs checks your spelling as you type, but if you prefer to do it all at once, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl-; to go to the next misspelling, and Ctrl-[ to back up.
52. Create your own templates: If you have a document that you’d like to use over and over again, just make your own template in Google Docs.
53. Take advantage of templates: Find templates for your resume, budget, chores, study schedule, and more in Google Docs templates.
54. Open things up a bit: Compact your Google Docs controls to get more writing real estate by pressing Ctrl-Shift-F inside a document, reducing the menu bar size.
55. Set up simple forms, surveys, or polls: Need a survey for a research project? Set one up in Google Docs to gather info.
56. Collaborate and get alerted to changes: Google Docs is great for collaboration with classmates, and it’s also useful for setting up notifications to find out when they’ve made changes.
57. But remember that you can turn off notifications: Getting alerts is great, but one too many can become distracting. Change your notification settings if it’s driving you nuts.
58. Translate documents with Google Docs: If you’ve downloaded a foreign language journal article, get it translated into another language with Google Docs.
59. Organize into collections: Use Google Docs enough, and you’ll have quite a collection of documents to go through. Put them into neat categories by setting up collections, and move documents to the appropriate folder.
60. Add video to your presentation: Give your Google Docs a multimedia boost by adding video.
61. Add a school year calendar: Follow these instructions to create a simple school year calendar in Google Docs.
62. Use spreadsheets to make graphs: Enter data into a spreadsheet, and then use that data to create a pie, bar, line, or scatter graph.
63. Open a new document lightning fast: Use simple shortcuts to open up new documents quickly.
64. Save as you go: Use the right click to save-as option, and you can quickly save a document in Google Docs.
65. Send invitations in Google Docs: Whether it’s for a party or a study group, you can send invitations using Google Docs.

Gmail

The ubiquitous Gmail has lots of great tricks and options that student time-savers can take advantage of.

66. Better Gmail: Speed through your Gmail inbox by using this add-on that fixes some of the problems that can slow you down in Gmail, like customizing your inbox count display, messages, sidebar, and more.
67. Gmail Manager: Get updated on multiple Gmail accounts at once with this add-on that lets you check all of your Gmail accounts.
68. Turn on keyboard shortcuts: Gmail offers keyboard shortcuts like letter navigation, single-stroke actions, and more that can shave time off each action you do in Gmail.
69. Undo Send: If you accidentally sent a message a bit too fast, undo your send, and go back to fix a goof or add an attachment without having to send a brand new email.
70. Add gadgets to Gmail: You can add Calendar and Docs to your Gmail sidebar, helping you get quick access to your schedule and documents.
71. Use stars to note special messages: Mark messages with stars and superstars to remember that they are important.
72. Mute messages: Use Google Smart Mute to turn off messages that you’ve been added to on CC.
73. Use advanced search operators: Narrow down who you’re finding emails from with “from:” and “to:,” search by “subject:,” “has:attachment,” and more with advanced search operators.
74. Filter email with personalized email addresses: Add a plus sign, periods, and other characters to create variations of your email address, and filter your inbox based on these addresses.
75. Get connected faster with SMS in Chat: Send a quick SMS text to your contacts through Gmail’s Chat if you really need to get connected instantly.
76. Use Drafts as notes: Keep handy notes in your Gmail Drafts folder by composing a new message and saving it as a draft.
77. Organize with labels: Get your email organized with labels to quickly scan your inbox for what you’re looking for, and move messages to them to clean up your inbox.
78. Identify which messages were sent just to you: Find out if an email was directly addressed to you by looking for personal level indicator arrows.
79. Set up reminder keywords: If you know you’ll need to access an important email later, but might not remember how to find it, forward it to yourself, adding a memorable keyword to the message that you can search for later.
80. Send one-liners with (EOM): For messages where the subject is the entire message, Gmail will usually pop up and ask you if you want to ask body text. Bypass this message by adding (EOM) to the end of your subject.
81. Search your mail: Instead of keeping your mail super organized, just use the Gmail search function.
82. Archive your messages: Keep your inbox tidy, and old important emails still accessible by search by archiving messages.
83. Sign out remotely: Oops! Left Gmail on at the computer lab? Sign out remotely by clicking on Details at the bottom of your Inbox.
84. Sort email accounts: If you use Gmail to receive messages from both your personal account and school account, separate them into Multiple Inboxes to keep everything clear.
85. Report spam vigilantly: Rid your inbox, and the world, of spam by reporting emails as spam.
86. Keep important files handy in Gmail: Always have quick access to key files by emailing them to yourself in Gmail.
87. Turn emails into tasks: Got an emailed assignment from your professor? Convert emails into tasks, and even access them on your mobile phone.
88. Set up filters: Control the flow of incoming mail by setting up filters that will automatically label, archive, delete, forward, and more.
89. Preview attachments: If you’re not ready to download an attachment yet, just preview the attached document to see what it’s all about.
90. Always remember to attach files: Sign up for Labs to use the Forgotten Attachment Detector, and get notified when you mention attachments in the body of your message, but don’t actually have anything attached.
91. Add multiple attachments at once: Use Control, Shift, or Cmd to select more than one file to attach to your message.
92. Use https: Protect your Gmail with https, even when you’re using Gmail in public places like a coffee shop or the school library.
93. Add Calendar and Docs: Make Calendar and Docs a part of your Gmail page by adding them as boxes.
94. Set up a “waiting for response” label: Never lose emails that need following up by setting up a label for messages that you’re waiting on a response for.
95. Set up Canned Responses: With Canned Responses, you can save email templates for common replies that you use over and over.

Google Calendar

Using Google Calendar is the first step to saving time and staying on-task. Here are many more ways that you can keep the productivity train rolling with Calendar.

96. Take advantage of hotkeys: Navigate your keyboard by using hotkeys, like t to jump to today’s date, or q for a quick add.
97. Sync your calendar: Make sure that your calendar is the same on Outlook, your iPhone and Google Calendar on the web by using Google Calendar Sync.
98. Create mini calendars: Set up multiple calendars with custom colors to manage different calendars for different purposes, like homework vs. your social life.
99. Set up notifications: Get a daily agenda mailed to you, as well as reminders and updates, so you can manage your calendar right from your email.
100. Add your Remember the Milk tasks: Use RTM’s add-on to add your tasks to Google Calendar.
101. Add appointments quickly: Be specific, adding the time and date when you type in new appointments, and Google Calendar will automatically populate the fields you specify in its appointment form.
102. Get texts from your calendar: Set up access to Google Calendar on your mobile phone, and get your day’s agenda by texting “day” to 48368.
103. Get Synced in iCal and Sunbird: Sync your calendar with Apple iCal or Mozilla Sunbird.
104. Customize your reminders: Choose which reminders work best for you: email, SMS, or pop-up.
105. Set up weekly repeats: Repeat events for M/W/F or T/Th classes and other events to block out the time on your calendar each week.
106. Add events in Gmail: Click “add to calendar” to add events to your Google Calendar right from Gmail.
107. Invite others to an event: Just add email addresses under Guests within any event to remind others of an appointment.

Google Mobile

With these tricks, you can fit education in anywhere.

108. Sync your calendar: Sync your Google Calendar, Gmail, and more to your phone so that you can stay productive on the go.
109. Check email on the go: Use Gmail for mobile to stay connected with your phone.
110. Read your blog subscriptions: Access Google Reader on your phone to stay on top of your blog subscriptions.
111. Consolidate your phone numbers, even your cell phone: With Google Voice, you can consolidate your dorm, apartment, and cell phone numbers into one.
112. Find your friends: Discover where your friends are hanging out with Google Latitudes.
113. Get answers from Google SMS: Find a great place to eat, translate words, and more just by texting Google (466453).
114. Check in with iGoogle: Get a mobile-optimized version of iGoogle on your phone.
115. Access your Google Docs, too: Read all of your Google Docs items on your phone.
116. Keep a to-do list with Google Tasks: Google Tasks makes it easy to keep and access a to-do list right on your phone.
117. Always know where you are: With Google Maps, you can take advantage of GPS and more to be sure that you never get lost.
118. Find out anything, anywhere: Use Google Search on your mobile phone to find out information wherever you are.
119. Read books on your phone: Access Google Books on your phone to read on the go.
120. Post to Blogger: Use your mobile phone to update any Blogger blog.

Google Chrome Tips and Extensions

With this awesome Google browser, you can maximize your time using tricks, extensions, and really cool ideas.

121. Snippy: You can snip out web content and save it for later in Google Docs thanks to Snippy.
122. Set your startup pages: If you rush to Gmail, Facebook, and specific research sites on startup, change your settings to open them up automatically each time you start Chrome.
123. Stay Focusd: Use this extension to help curb your Facebook addiction, blocking out websites that you tend to waste time on.
124. Note Anywhere: Use Note Anywhere to scribble notes anywhere online, even Wikipedia.
125. Web2PDFConverter :PDFs are so prevalent in higher education, so keep this converter handy in case you need to save and distribute a web page as a PDF.
126. Read Later Fast: Save research links and check them out later with the Read Later Fast Chrome extension.
127. RemindMe: Stay on task with RemindMe, a great app for getting reminders, tasks, and more.
128. GradeGuru Citation Manager: Organize your references and citation online using GradeGuru’s Chrome extension.
129. Session Manager: Save a certain group of tabs open only for specific tasks, and keep them all handy and separate with the Session Manager extension for Google Chrome.
130. myHomework: Using this Chrome extension, your can organize projects, classes, and homework so that you remember all of your important assignments.
131. Session Boddy: Keep your session safe, no matter where you access Google Chrome with Session Buddy, an extension that saves your tabs to export and use later.
132. Put your favorite sites on your desktop: Create a shortcut on your desktop to see an icon for your favorite website.
133. Auto Copy: Make copying text just a tiny bit faster with this extension that automatically copies text to the clipboard when you select a block of it.
134. Cacoo: With Cacoo, you can create diagrams collaboratively, right in your Google Chrome browser.
135. Google Mail Checker: Keep an eye on your Gmail without having to manually check in throughout the day by using Google Mail Checker, an extension that will show your unread Gmail messages on Chrome.
136. Split Screen: This extension is especially helpful when you’re researching over a variety of different websites.
137. Use Chrome’s Omnibox as a calculator: Just like you can use Google Search as a calculator, you can do calculations in Chrome’s Omnibox.
138. Desmos Graphing Calculator: Make Google Chrome’s calculator even better with this graphing calculator extension.
139. Copy Without Formatting: Copy plain text using this Chrome extension, and you can avoid messing up your documents with pre-determined formatting.
140. DayHiker: Check your schedule, tasks, and even set an alarm clock with this calendar extension for Google Chrome.
141. Set up AutoFill: If you’re sick of typing your name, address, and phone number over and over again, set up your AutoFill option to fill it in for you.
142. Brizzly: If you’re going to check Facebook and Twitter when you’re supposed to be studying, at least keep things simple. Use Brizzly, a reader extension that streamlines your browsing and updating.
143. Create a favicon bookmark bar: Set up links on your bookmarks bar, and delete their names so that Chrome will simply display them by favicon, saving room and leaving more space for even more links.
144. FastestChrome: Supercharge your Chrome experience by installing FastestChrome, an extension that adds Wikipedia articles to your browser, finds definitions instantly, and makes searching more convenient.
145. Sync your Chrome settings: If you use Chrome on multiple computers, like the library, computer lab, and your dorm, you can keep your settings by syncing them to your Google account.
146. TooManyTabs: If you’re prone to opening way too many tabs in Chrome, use this app to organize them all into a manageable format.
147. Control multiple tabs with Pin Tab: Using a Pin Tab, you can minimize tabs into a small icon.
148. Use Paste and Search and Paste and Go: Use these features to save steps when searching and navigating.
149. Reopen closed tabs: Whoops! Fix an accidentally closed tab by pressing Ctrl+Shift+T.
150. Keep things private: Use incognito mode to operate without any history or cookies on your browser.
151. Make use of the bookmarks manager: Use Chrome’s built-in bookmarks manager to organize, rearrange, find, and add folders for your bookmarks.
152. ChromePass: Use ChromePass, and you can list all of your stored Chrome password information.
153. Chrome Mailer: With ChromeMailer, you can get support for the mailto: function on Google Chrome.
154. Google Chrome Backup: Back it up! Keep all of your bookmarks and personal data safe and secure with this tool.

Google Books

Access school books online, do your research, and save a trip to the library with these tricks and more.

155. Save books as a PDF: Take books that would normally be online-only and save them as a PDF so that you can read them anytime, anywhere.
156. Find author and book information: If you need quick info, like the author of a certain book, or when it was published, do a Google Books search to find detailed into on authors and titles.
157. Read public domain books: Search for classic books, then select “Books” in the left panel of your search results to find free copies of public domain books.
158. Search the full text of books: On Google Books, you can search the full text of thousands of books.
159. Make your own library: Add books to your shared library on Google Books to keep them organized for your classes or projects.
160. Find books at your own library: Check out links on Google Books that allow you to check the availability of titles in real life libraries.
161. Check out Advanced Book Search: Take things to the next level with detailed book search options.
162. Find textbooks online: Thanks to Google Books, you can even access selected textbooks online.
163. Find magazine content: In Advanced Book Search, you can find information in magazines, too.
164. Check out the blog: Find out the latest in the Google Books world with the Inside Google Books blog.
165. Find supplements for your assigned texts: Go to the next level, and find books in the subjects you’re studying in school.

Google Voice

Google Voice makes it easy to streamline your phone experience, and even eliminate a few pesky distractions.

166. Use Google Voice as your phone number: Avoid pesky solicitor phone calls and use voicemail transcription to take the time suck out of using your phone.
167. Put voicemails in a special label: Set up a label for all emails that come from voice-noreply@google.com.
168. Set up a “do not disturb” time: Determine a time when you really need to get things done, set up “do not disturb” on Google Voice, and all your calls will go to voicemail.
169. Block nuisance calls: Kill productivity-busting sales calls by blocking them. Google Voice will set up a disconnection message for callers that you’ve blocked.
170. Record calls: If you’re doing research interviews, this is a really handy time saver. Use Google Voice to record calls, and you can go back to them later.

Handy Google Services and Apps

Here you’ll find even more ways to save time with Google, using services like Google SketchUp, Talk, and Translate.

171. Install a search box on your browser: Using Google Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Internet Explorer, you can add a search box for Google onto your browser.
172. Google Alerts: Stay on top of news stories and research projects with Google Alerts, a service that will send you emails with new search results for your terms.
173. Google SketchUp: Draw 3D figures for free online using Google’s SketchUp service.
174. Google Talk: Chat with family, friends, classmates, and professors on your desktop and more with this service.
175. Google Images: With Google’s Image search, you can find loads of high-quality images.
176. Google Translate: Using Google Translate, you can get foreign words translated lightning fast.
177. Google Finance: Use Google Finance to stay on top of markets, news, and more.
178. Google Toolbar: With the Google Toolbar, you can get easy access to all sorts of Google tools right in your browser.
179. Picasa: Manage, edit, and share your photos online with this Google photo manager.
180. Google Fusion Tables: With Google’s Fusion Tables, you can share and discuss your data online.
181. Blogger: Using Blogger, you can create a project blog, share your experiences, and keep up with family and friends.

*Today’s article by the staff writers at www.onlinecolleges.net

I’ve been bragging for three years about the instructors at the Writers’ Police Academy, with good reason. Simply put, they’re second to none. And top-quality teachers produce top-quality students, right?

During the WPA, we only see the instructors in their various roles, teaching writers how to “get it right.” However, that’s only one weekend out of many. These dedicated educators spend the rest of the year in classrooms and out in the field teaching classes to criminal justice and crime scene investigation students, certifying and re-certifying police officers, and training EMS personnel and firefighters.

It’s a hectic and strenuous year, teaching first responders. Every detail has to be just right. No mistakes. None. Because the skills learned by these unique students are the skills they use to save lives.

In recent years, education budgets have been cut to the point where administrations all across the country worry about keeping the lights on and who gets laid off next. Needless to say, extra activities are totally slashed.

Well, thanks to the Writers’ Police Academy (that’s everyone who’s attended, and each of our generous sponsors, contributors, instructors, and volunteers) there’s a bit of light at the end of the tunnel for criminal justice students at Guilford Technical Community College (GTCC). Each year, WPA profits are donated to the criminal justice foundation at GTCC, and the funds are earmarked specifically for training and educating students enrolled in various criminal justice programs/curriculum. In the past two years alone we’ve donated a whopping $18,000!

This year, a group of criminal justice students had the opportunity to show of some of their hard-earned knowledge and skills, and I’m going to let GTCC Associate Professor Andy Russell (criminal justice) tell us about it. Those of you who’ve attended the WPA will recognize Andy from your FATS and pepperspray training.

Andy Russell

Hi everyone. I wanted to drop you a note about the Skills USA Competition that the Writers Academy donation funds are helping sponsor.

On April 24. 2012, GTCC students James Ziglar, Amanda Orndorff, and Kyle Szuts took First Place in the Crime Scene Investigation competition; they will be competing at the national level on June 26^th, in Kansas City, Missouri.

Amber Kellam took First Place in the Criminal Justice Competition; she too will be competing at the national level on June 26^th.

In the CJ Competition, the students handle a series of “routine” calls for service, which can vary from simple “assist a citizen” calls to the initial response to a death scene. We do not know the types of calls they will confront until the competition. The students undergo the test for about an hour. Then they face a mock oral board.

The CSI team processes a crime scene, documents it, produces a scale drawing, collects all evidence and packages it, all within 30 minutes.

The idea is to demonstrate the skills learned in their respective technical programs in high school and technical programs at community/technical colleges.

This will be our second year competing; we took first in the state in both competition last year as well (also funded with WPA donations). At the Nationals we took 4^th place in the CSI completion and 9^th in the CJ competition. We have a great team this year and with the experience we gained from last year we hope to be in the top three this year.

Again, I wanted to drop you a note and say thanks for the help (money).

We hope to see you guys this fall at the next Writers’ Police Academy.

I will let you know how we do at nationals. Here is a link to SkillsUSA, if you want to check out what it is all about!

Thanks,

Andy

2012 Conference – SkillsUSA

2012 Conference. SkillsUSA returns to Kansas City June 23-27, 2012 for the 48th annual National Leadership and Skills Conference (NLSC), a showcase of …

www.skillsusa.org/events/nlsc12.shtml

James Ziglar, Amanda Orndorff and Kyle Szuts took First Place in the Crime Scene Investigation competition

Amber Kellam took First Place in the Criminal Justice Competition

*By the way, Andy Russell is the person who started this whole ball rolling. It was he who arranged the first meeting between the WPA and GTCC. So a special thanks to Andy Russell for all his hard work.