Originally published at Vylar Kaftan. You can comment here or there.

I’ve found out what the octopus plans to do with Mr Potato Head!

Originally published at Vylar Kaftan. You can comment here or there.

From the news:

The octopus who loves his Mr Potato Head

Louis the octopus clearly thinks two heads are better than one when it comes
to toys.

The 1.8m-wide (6ft) creature is so attached to Mr Potato Head that he turns
aggressive when aquarium staff try to remove it from his tank.

The giant Pacific octopus was given the toy for Christmas and has even
learned to dig out food hidden in a secret box at the back of it.

‘He’s fascinated by it,’ said Matt Slater, of the Blue Reef Aquarium in
Newquay, Cornwall. ‘He attacks the net we use to fish the toy out every time
we try to take it away.’

Mr Slater added: ‘Octopuses are very intelligent and they like to be
stimulated and busy.’

The picture is great.

My God, that Mr Potato Head’s life is a living hell. I can see it now…

Day 386: Still in clutches of tentacled beast. It rummages through my backside daily looking for food. I fear it will never let me go. Curse this plastic body which cannot decompose fast enough!

Originally published at Vylar Kaftan. You can comment here or there.

My dad used to read to me almost every night. We worked our way through lots of classics, including the Laura Ingalls Wilder books, Winnie-the-Pooh, Little Women, Lord of the Rings, and Treasure Island.

I was a high energy kid, and sometimes I couldn’t sit still for the reading, so I jumped around the room and bounced on the bed. Dad would ask if I was listening, and I said yes (it was true), and he’d go on. Sometimes I’d curl up next to him and read the page myself as he read aloud. Somehow I couldn’t listen unless I was also doing something else, a trait which continues today. But I was definitely listening, and have fond memories of these books (except Treasure Island, which bored me).

Dad liked to do voices, and he read with great enthusiasm. But it was because he had a listener. When he retired, he tried recording books for the blind, and he said it just wasn’t the same.

1) Did your parents read to you when you were a kid? What did they read?
2) If you’re a parent today, do you read to your kids? What do you read?

Originally published at Vylar Kaftan. You can comment here or there.

I went into my Messages to manage things. I unchecked “tell me about virtual gifts” and a few other things. Somehow, I no longer am getting messages when people leave comments on my posts–but that option is still checked, and always has been. I unchecked/rechecked just in case, and no luck.

Anyone know how to fix this?

Originally published at Vylar Kaftan. You can comment here or there.

In Ohio this year, an autistic young man killed his mother in a fit of rage.

The article is sad but fascinating and quite detailed.  It covers a lot of things, from autism and its less-discussed dangers to the difficulties in finding placement for a child whose parent cannot handle him.

Originally published at Vylar Kaftan. You can comment here or there.

I’ve got a sampler of varietal chocolates from around the world. I think I’ll plan my World War III bombing campaigns based on how much I like each chocolates.

Papua New Guinea: you’re safe
Tanzania: I’ll crush you if I’m bored
Venezuela: DOOM to you!

Originally published at Vylar Kaftan. You can comment here or there.

Just signed contracts with Podcastle. You’ll be hearing Fulgurite (from Sybil’s Garage #6) and Something Wicked This Way Plumbs (from Shimmer) in 2010.

Originally published at Vylar Kaftan. You can comment here or there.

The Muppets sing Bohemian Rhapsody.  Completely awesome and work-safe.

Originally published at Vylar Kaftan. You can comment here or there.

Wow.

So here’s the followup on the San Jose Fairmont story.  It’s completely wild.  Long post, but please do read.

*

Lieutenant John Rose was great to talk with.  He thanked me for my concerns and for contacting him about the situation.  I said that I understood my facts might be incomplete, but that when I saw a distressed victim alone in the lobby, I had to say something.  He told me more facts about the case, and the situation was not what anyone thought.

There was no rape.

Turns out the woman was not a victim–but a suspect.  She and her friends had been running through the hotel all night, knocking on doors and yelling that she’d been raped and needed help.  In other words… a very tasteless “prank.”  And later that night, she apparently robbed a hotel guest with a weapon.  So the police were investigating her for armed robbery.  She was crying because she was in custody and possibly going to jail.  That’s why there were so many officers there, questioning tons of witnesses.  They verified that the claim of rape was just a game.

He also said that I did the right thing by contacting the police department to discuss my concerns.  They have 1,300 officers, and they want to know if individual officers mishandle a case.  He asked if the officers had been rude to me, and I said no, they’d been fine–now that I understood what was really happening.  Their conduct made a lot more sense.

I’m enraged by this young woman who yelled “rape” when there was none.  What a crime to commit against the victims of actual rape, who struggle to be believed!  Lt. Rose sympathized, and said he’d seen a lot of sexual assault cases in his time on the force and that he agreed that the woman’s conduct was frustrating.  He also said it was understandable that I thought the situation was a case of officers mistreating the victim, because that does happen in some jurisdictions.

So there we have it.  I can’t believe anyone would think that was a good game.  I feel greatly taken in by her lies–yet at the same time, I stand behind what I did.  As I said at the time, I could only comment on what I saw.  I kept an open mind that maybe something else was happening that I didn’t know about.  And I’m glad I did.  If I had to do it all over again–I’d do the same things.

I will continue to believe people who say they were raped, unless there is strong evidence otherwise–which in this case, it sure looks like there was.  Lt. Rose agreed with me on this point.  He said a convoluted case like this one was far more common than I would think, especially on Halloween and prom nights.  He invited me to a ride-along and said it would be great to meet a writer.  I’ll likely take him up on that (once I get over this illness).

I asked Lt. Rose what he thought I should have done in that situation.  He said that if I (or any of you) see something similar, and are concerned about the way the police handled something, call the local department and ask for the supervisor in charge of that area.  If the officers mishandled something, they want to know about it–and if it’s a messy case like this, they might be able to explain certain details and ease concerns.

As for what happens in actual rape cases, Lt. Rose told me the following.  When the police are dealing with a sexual assault victim, they immediately take him/her to a center for handling this situation (I forgot the name, but he said it had nice couches). The victim only needs to do one interview, and they have a “vertical system” for handling things–the victim interacts with one officer from start to finish, rather than a series of different ones.  Also, there’s only one DA involved from start to finish.  This policy helps minimize trauma to the victim.  The officers would never leave a victim alone in a hotel lobby.  I’m sorry I can’t remember everything–we talked for a long time.  He described more details, and I was satisfied with what I heard.

*

So I will say this: The SJPD did a fine job handling this case, to the best of my knowledge.  I’m confident that the SJPD treats rape victims with great care and gives them good support.

I’d like to publicly thank Lt. Rose for talking with me.  I’m writing a followup to the Chief and the Mayor because I want to commend Lt. Rose for his openness, compassion, and forthrightness.  I’ve sent him the link to this post, in case I’ve misremembered anything, or left out something important–Lt. Rose, please do let me know if there’s more I should add here.

Thank you all for listening, and for your support and encouragement.  It moved me to see how many people cared–and now I’m relieved to know that the situation wasn’t what any of us thought.  It’s critical for citizens to keep an eye on their authority figures (consider the BART shooting incident, or any number of police officers who abuse their power).  But there are good officers too, who are trying their best to keep our community safe.  And so I’m glad I followed up on this, and I learned a lot from the whole experience.

Originally published at Vylar Kaftan. You can comment here or there.

Lionel Ritchie sings “Hello” on helium.

Originally published at Vylar Kaftan. You can comment here or there.

You may remember this letter about the rape victim in the Fairmont Hotel. I received an email from a supervisor at the San Jose Police Department:

My name is John Rose and I am the Day Shift Lieutenant in charge of the Central Division where the Fairmont Hotel is located. Chief Davis forwarded your concerns to me, and I have been assigned to investigate the incident in question which occurred on November 1st. There are so many factors involved when conducting an investigation of this sort that I will need more information than is presented in your letter. I would appreciate it if you could call me so that I could get some more details regarding that morning, and further discuss your concerns regarding this incident. Thank you for your letter and inquiry, and I look forward to discussing this case with you in order to determine what exactly took place. I work from 5:30 AM to 4:30 PM, but I always carry my phone with me and will try to be as available to you as I can.

We’ll be speaking today at 4 PM Pacific (90 minutes from now).

Now taking suggestions for things to mention or ask about, aside from telling him what I saw.

ETA: He’s been called to an arson case and can’t talk now, but we’re going to talk tomorrow. So feel free to post more comments.

Originally published at Vylar Kaftan. You can comment here or there.

Good grief. This cold has gotten some crazy infection going through me as well, and now I’m on antibiotics. But here’s what scares me–a friend told me there was some bug going around Santa Cruz that lasted FOUR WEEKS. I bet that’s what Shannon and I have, because we’re just not getting better. This is about two weeks now (with a brief lull where I thought I was okay).

It’s not swine flu and it’s not strep. It’s just a really horrific cold (which developed complications). And the worst part is, Shannon and I might spend a month being sick, and we don’t even get flu immunity out of it.

So this is me saying, watch out–there’s more than swine flu out there. Wash your hands, and stay home if you’re sick. We don’t want your germy lovin’ dammit!

At least I’m having fun painting miniatures. I’ll get some pictures up soon.

Originally published at Vylar Kaftan. You can comment here or there.

What’s your Myers-Briggs type?

I’m an ENFJ, sometimes called “the Mentor”, but I prefer “the Televangelist”.  Come on, you can see me leading a cult, can’t you?

Originally published at Vylar Kaftan. You can comment here or there.

Friends and I are debating whether this letter is real or not.  I’m leaning towards yes, it’s real.  It’s just bizarre enough to be true, if that makes sense.

Quick, weigh the potatoes on a postage meter to make sure they’re right!

Originally published at Vylar Kaftan. You can comment here or there.

I wonder if succubus parents sometimes yell at their daughters on school mornings. “Young lady, you are NOT leaving this house until you’re dressed like a slut!”

Originally published at Vylar Kaftan. You can comment here or there.

Shannon and I both had a cold last week that hit us hard. Lots of sleeping and tea seemed to fix it; he got it worse than I did. It seemed like I got it first and gave it to him, given the timing of things.

Now we’re sick AGAIN. With a different cold. He got this one yesterday and passed it to me. So we’re both home, totally sick. I dragged myself to the store for chicken soup. Once again, he’s got it worse than I do. Definitely a very different cold, and this one is even nastier.

Man, this sucks. At least it’s not swine flu.

Originally published at Vylar Kaftan. You can comment here or there.

A friend pointed me to this set of photos from the war in Afghanistan.

Truly amazing.  Many of these are brilliant, but I think the most striking one shows all the soldiers sleeping in their fighting-holes… but it looks like they’re lying in graves.  The children playing in terrible conditions–prison, refugee camps, wherever they were–also stayed with me for a long time.

For people like me who’ve never seen combat, these pics drove home to me how ugly battle really is and how dangerous the conditions are.  I can’t even imagine myself in battle; I just don’t think I could handle it.  I’m curious what those of you with military experience think of these pictures.

Originally published at Vylar Kaftan. You can comment here or there.

Today’s Google logo makes me very happy.

Originally published at Vylar Kaftan. You can comment here or there.

Over the weekend, a young woman was raped either in or near the San Jose Fairmont Hotel. I’m fairly certain she wasn’t associated with the con.

I saw the police officers handling the case, and I felt they treated the victim poorly. I wrote a letter to the police department and the mayor’s office, and here’s what I said. If they write back, I will post a follow-up.

*****

Dear Chief Davis and Mayor Reed:

I’m a Bay Area resident who visited San Jose last weekend. I’m writing because I was appalled by a police/victim interaction I witnessed in your city.

On the morning of November 1, 2009, I was attending a convention in the Fairmont Hotel. When I entered the lobby around 8:15 AM, I noticed several police officers, all male. Nearby sat a young woman who looked upset. An officer reassured me that everything was okay, and at that point I went to talk to a friend standing nearby. My friend and I chatted at length, attempting to give the woman some privacy. During this time, the woman started sobbing. I noticed she was alone; the officers mostly stayed away from her. A few people stopped to see what was wrong, but the officers told them to leave. At this point, my friend mentioned that he’d overheard the woman say she’d been raped. I couldn’t believe that they’d left a rape victim sitting in a busy lobby– for probably half an hour or so.

I approached the woman and asked if there was anything I could do. An officer told me that I couldn’t talk to her because he was conducting an investigation. I asked the officer if I could give the woman some Kleenex, which he allowed. Then I told the officers that I understood they needed to investigate, but they really needed to take the woman somewhere private, where passersby wouldn’t stare at her and add to her suffering.

I’m writing this letter because the officers’ handling of the incident was unacceptable. Here’s why:

1) As a random passerby, I shouldn’t have seen anything except perhaps an officer or two. The victim should have been treated with dignity and taken somewhere private. I’m not sure how long she was in the lobby, but it had to be around half an hour. The officers only took her somewhere else after I suggested it. So this poor young woman, feeling violated and terrified, had to sit in a high-traffic public place and try to pull herself together, which added more trauma to her experience.

2) A female officer should have been on the scene immediately, preferably one trained in rape counseling. The victim was traumatized and isolated. After a rape, it can be hard for a victim to trust men or feel comfortable with them. She needed mental and emotional support–yet she was denied this. I had to ask permission to give her Kleenex, which felt absurd. If the officers needed to question her, I understand that–but they should have provided her professional support or at least a female officer to sit with her. Failing to do so will have repercussions for her recovery and her mental health.

That’s why I found the handling of the situation unacceptable. In short, officers need to be trained to respect rape victims and to ease post-rape trauma.

I’m copying this letter to the Chief of Police, the Mayor’s office, and posting it to my website. A number of people have agreed with my concerns, and want to know what you’ll say. I look forward to your response, and will post it to my website as a follow-up. Thanks for your time.

Sincerely,

Vylar Kaftan

Originally published at Vylar Kaftan. You can comment here or there.

I found out what happened with the dead guy in the carport.

One of the tenants actually knew him; he was their best friend’s brother. Possibly he was at one of the many parties which happen in this complex at strange times. As I’d guessed, he died of an overdose — a combination of prescription drugs and alcohol.

He was 23 years old.