Forensic Science: Time to get some insider knowledge.

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Followers of my Twitter and Facebook feeds will know that I've been writing a crime thriller novel. Delving into the minds of psychopathic killers is actually quite liberating, but I'm also a huge fan of creating realism in my stories. It's not good enough to write about crime if you get everything about police procedures or forensic investigations wrong. So, out comes the massive amounts of research on the internet. However, sometimes, it's actually better to just talk to an expert.

Justin Kinney is no stranger to KLRNRadio, often a guest on Jessie's POV. However, when I found out that he also has a Masters in Forensic Science, I insisted that he make an appearance on Conversations in Science. Take a listen. You might be surprise about how far forensics have come.

ConvoScience Forensics with Justin Kinney
(First aired on KLRNRadio, Monday, May 7, 2017)

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Dementia and… No, I’m not being forgetful!

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I might have a PhD, but I'm not an expert in all fields of science. Far from it. Sometimes, even I need to call in someone to help me understand. This month's new topic for Conversations in Science was no different.

Jessie and I spoke with Dr Anne Lipton, a neurologist, about Dementia, Alzheimer's and all things related.

ConvoScience Understanding Dementia and Alzheimers
(First aired on KLRNRadio, Tuesday, April 24, 2018)

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It’s not Zuckerberg’s fault that Google+ sucks.

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Like so many, I've been watching what is going on with Zuckerberg's Congressional Hearings. Let's face it, here is a man who had a brilliant idea to take advantage of the internet and the way things were changing to help people connect with others all around the world. In the last month, a few sticky wheels got oiled in a big way, and Zuckerberg got massive amounts of poo thrown at him for breaches in privacy, security issues and general business practices. I like, everyone else, wants to know what is going to happen with the popular social media platform. And we also want to know what Zuckerberg has to say about all of this mess.

Do I think he deserves to be summoned before Congress? Well, that's not for me to say either way, but I do believe that some heads need to roll over this massive privacy breach that hit mainstream media in recent weeks. Do I think he need to go to jail, like some are suggesting? Hell, no!

I want to say that you can't blame the guy for making this up as he goes along, but that really isn't an excuse. He's been at this for fourteen years. He should know the rules by now. But I don't think he should lose everything that he's worked for either.

Facebook might appear to be a monopoly, but it's not Zuckerberg's fault that Google+ sucks.

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Confused Mother

Homework is to play computer games?

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It must be the dream of every boy who is so obsessed with computer games — to be told that their homework is to play computer games. Meanwhile, I’m far from impressed.

My son is currently in Year 12 (a Junior in high school). He’s one smart kid — a scientific mind that is heading down the road of engineering, just like his parents. One of his subjects this year is Digital Technologies, specializing in programming. Seems like a reasonable course to take in today’s environment.

Well, his big project for the year is to program a video game. It forms majority of his mark. He needs to fully document everything that he’s done. It’s this one redeeming factor that makes it okay in my mind. He’s a gamer and struggles with his addiction, but we’re working on it. However, his first homework assignment…

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Wording matters. People do take things literally.

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I have written before about the importance of wording choices, when I examined the legislation that California had brought in to help improve situations with how the LBGT community are treated in convalescent care. In that post, I looked at how just a simple phrasing could be interpreted one way, which totally negates the spirit of the legislation.

The spirit of the law and the actual law are two entirely different things. This is why it is vital that legislation and policies need to be carefully scrutinized by those well versed in legalese. In a way, it’s a lawyer’s job to find those loopholes in the way things are worded.

However, when you are not talking about legislation, many are willing to forego the importance of wording choices, and just paraphrase things. At times, this is perfectly okay. There are other times this is not.

Emails sent as a public statement in response to a court case verdict is not the time to be paraphrasing and forgetting about the importance of wording choices. As much as you might hate the idea, people do take things literally. Wording matters.

Let me set the stage.
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