EMS MAGAZINE.com

EMS MAGAZINE.com: "The Write Stuff: Telling EMS Stories
By Brent Braunworth
A review of Brent Braunworth's book, Blood, Guts and Tears: True Stories of Courage, appeared in the June 2001 issue of EMS Magazine. In the following article, Brent shares some tips on how to get published.
One of my reasons for becoming a firefighter/paramedic, aside from saving lives and property, and helping people, was because of the great stories that could be told. Let's face it, every one of us in our business has been at a party or some social gathering and had some regular Joe ask, 'Hey, were you on that call?' or, perhaps, 'Have you ever been on a call like that?' And when we answer, what happens? All eyes are on us, and all ears are turned in our direction. Total silence, just like E.F. Hutton.
I look at writing as simply putting a 'good story' down on paper. Now, if you already have a 'good story,' so much so that when you tell the story people listen and seem interested, then I figure that's 95% of the battle of writing. Ask any newspaper reporter, and he or she will tell you that getting the story is the hard part, not writing it.
So, if you have a good story, what's next? Transferring it to paper. This article is about how I started.
There's no doubt I had a need to write (I wrote my first, still unpublished novel at age 14), but that doesn't mean that everyone has to sit in a dark, locked room, typing away and poring over manuscripts all night, night after night, to be a writer. Maybe you're interested in trying a short type of story and don't know how to get started. What I did was get some adventure-style books and stories similar to what I thought I might like to write. Back then, I read a lot of Joseph Wambaugh, figuring the police genre was similar to a firefighter's. Af"

Hints to Turbocharge Your Manuscript

EMS MAGAZINE.com: "Hints to Turbocharge Your Manuscript
By Charles E. Stewart, MD, FACEP
1. Print it out and read it. (You can't get the flavor staring at the monitor.)
2. Read it out loud. This is a simple polishing tool for your manuscript.
3. Simplify…Simplify…Simplify.
4. Fine-tune your organization. Does the same subject show up in two or
three different places?
5. Add periods—make your sentences about 17–20 words long.
6. Cut the flab—anything that doesn't add to the ideas will take away from
your manuscript.
7. Advance the story. Every word should move you forward.
8. Be specific. You must use the right word for each concept—be ruthless!
9. Strengthen your verbs. Concrete nouns and verbs add action to your
writing.
10. Define your terms. Do you take for granted terms that your reader needs
to know?
11. Look for loose ends. Put yourself in the reader's shoes—poor planning
and organization will leave your reader hanging.
12. Convert negatives to positives.
13. Streamline sentences.
14. Eliminate expletives.
15. Scrutinize your paragraphs. Does each paragraph deal with one point or
idea?
16. Check your pronouns—does each noun agree with each pronoun?
17. Work your nouns and verbs—use the right noun so that you won't need
an adverb.
18. Check for parallel construction. Headings should be similar in
construction. Elements in a series should be alike.
19. Ferret out repetition. The same words should not be used too often or
too close together.
20. Go active. Passive voice will leave the reader bored.
21. Eliminate the prepositional phrase—use a separate sentence.
22. Delete clichés.
23. Get a second opinion. Have someone else"

"Chuck's Writing Checklist for Nonfiction

EMS MAGAZINE.com: "Chuck's Writing Checklist for Nonfiction
By Charles E. Stewart, MD, FACEP
Planning?
Why did I consider this topic?
Did I analyze my audience?
Did I analyze the targeted journal/magazine's usual publications (if appropriate)?
What is the deadline? (How much other work do I have to do?)
Is there a special consideration, format, length or word count?
Should I use a particular style manual for this manuscript?
Did I select a logical method of organization such as chronology, importance or spatial order?
Did I shape the writing by finding the best way to organize the material?
Did I group similar ideas?
Did I reject nonessential ideas?
Did I select the proper tone?
Did I order ideas in a logical way?
Did I outline key points?
Do I have an introduction, body and summary?
Did I draft by writing my ideas in sentences and paragraphs?
Did I revise my draft and rethink my ideas?
Did I remove anything that is illogical?
Did I cut unnecessary words, sentences and paragraphs?
Did I rewrite confusing passages?
Did I edit and proof my writing? (Really—you need to print it out and read it!)
Did I spell-check and physically reread for errors in spelling?
Did I check for grammatical errors?
Did I check for punctuation errors?
Did I check for capitalization errors?
Did I properly credit other peoples' thoughts and writing?
Did I have somebody else proofread my work?
Charles E. Stewart, MD, FACEP, is EMS Magazine's medical editorial consultant."

Time to sell stock in your long distance carrier!

This will put long distance carriers out of business. It won't help the local carriers either.

Boston.com / Business / Technology / Software turns phone into walkie-talkie: "Software turns phone into walkie-talkie
By Jason Straziuso, Associated Press Writer, 9/18/2003"

How To Be A Successful Expert Witness

Landings: Hangar-Talk: The Phil Kolczynski Law Forum:

See the link for a great how-to article

Busy Month

It has been a busy month, strategic planning and the start of school. The first fills the workday and the second fills the off-hours.

My son, a new high school freshman, has an early bird class that starts at 7:00 AM, so he has to be there well before that time. Therefore, I am getting to work early myself. Since our daughter is in 5th grade, I can expect eight years of this.

Freaky Friday

I just took my wife and 10 year old daughter to see the movine Freaky Friday. Surprisingly, it is a very good movie. Both my wife and I were in tears near the end. It is sort of a vanilla plot; an old chinese sorceress (who works in the family chinese restaurant) causes a mother and a 15-year old daughter to switch bodies (mother's consciousness in the daughter's body and vice versa). Jamie Lee Curtis is the mother. Some teenager is the daughter.

New Blog!

I have started a blog to describe my transition from work to retirement.

It is located here ==> http://www.retirementjournal.blogspot.com/

Take a look! Come back often!

Oswald Chambers: My Utmost for His Highest

This can be found at:

http://www.gospelcom.net/rbc/utmost/calendar/

Creed [Rules] or a Personal Relationship?

Discipleship means personal, passionate devotion to a Person—our Lord Jesus Christ. There is a vast difference between devotion to a person and devotion to principles or to a cause. Our Lord never proclaimed a cause—He proclaimed personal devotion to Himself.

Oswald Chambers "My Utmost for His Highest"

Questions:

I am generally pro-Bush, there being no slightly viable alternative, but this is good:

US Attorney General John Ashcroft was visiting an elementary school. After 15 minutes speaking he says, 'I will now answer any questions you have.' Bobby stands up and says: 'I have four questions':

1. How did Bush win the election with fewer votes than Gore?
2. Why haven't you caught Osama bin Laden?
3. Why are you using the American Patriot Act to limit civil liberties?
4. Where are the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq?

Just then the bell goes and all the kids rushed out to play. Upon returning, Mr Ashcroft said: "I am sorry we were interrupted. I will answer any questions you have.'

A little girl called Julie stands up and says: 'I have six questions':

1. How did Bush win the election with fewer votes than Gore?
2. Why haven't you caught Osama bin Laden?
3. Why are you using the American Patriot Act to limit civil liberties?
4. Where are the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq?
5. Why did the bell ring twenty minutes early?
6. Where's Bobby

Its Been Almost a Month!

Well, its summer. I took some vacation at home. Then went back to work. They had me document the processes that I have kept in my head for the last four years, in anticipation of my retiring some time in the near future. Now I am doing a worthless bottoms up analysis of a segment of the market that is not valid (which I explained in the above documentation.)

Why did those fools at the Powerball pull the wrong numbers?

Did You Know?

Chritianity is an Eastern religion with meditiation.

Focused Attention

This may be the wrong title.

While engaged in a snit with my spouse over who controls my agenda when I am home (see posting from 6/13), I would just sit in a chair without speaking or moving for long periods of time. [This was a pissy way of demonstrating that I could / would do nothing without her say-so. It drove the point home.]

I discovered, however, that sitting still and doing nothing really, really focuses my attention. I guess when my brain cells aren't being used for voluntary motion they are readily available for other tasks…mental tasks. Focused attention. Focused meditation.

Wonderful!

Annual Physical

I just completed my annual physical.

I had lost 20 lbs in the 18 months since the last one [I actually gained 10 and lost 30.] The PSA score was 0.4, which is excellent. My blood pressure went down, but they have also lowered the boundary between moderate and high, so I am still high. My LDL cholesterol was up (due to Atkins diet), but the HDL was up higher (due to weight loss, despite no exercise).

No problems. Doc said I should take a baby aspirin every day, exercise, avoid animal tissue, and live for another 45 years (past 100).

Vacation---Pre-retirement Practice

Just spent a week on vacation around the house. Tried to spend time working the stock market, but the wife gets real upset if she cannot set my agenda if I am around. She doesn't give a hoot if I am at work, but just let me be around the house doing my own thing and she gets in a snit. I can see that I will need to have an outside "office" when I retire.

This weekend

Just got back from a road trip to Branson for my niece's wedding. About 10-11 hours on the road each way. It was a good trip though. Got to see lots of family that we haven't seen in a long time. Ate way too much. Drank too much. Did not go see a show, even though two of my nephews are perform in them.

Daughter just came in to announce that the jacuzzi is leaking again. The last time this happened (the last time they used it) the plumber was unable to find the problem. He said, "Just don't over fill the tub. If there really is a leak, we will have to pull the whole thing out and replace it." This is a nearly impossible task. Maybe we could turn it into a giant floral display in the bathroom. It is under a skylight.

Two of the most useless things in the world: skylights and jacuzzis.

Ghost Stories

The following stories are true, from my own experience.

Ghost Story Number One

One summer night, I was sleeping in a sleeping bag in the front (west) yard of the farm near Cable. It was a bright, moon-lit night, with little or no breeze. I woke up during the night and saw a 8 to 10 large objects in the south yard. The objects looked like sheets hanging on the clotheslines fixed between the trees and the house, EXCEPT they were luminous (glowing of there own accord, not reflected moonlight) and they were moving in a very slow circle, as though dancing.

I watched them, without moving a muscle for what seemed like 10 minutes, but was probably 30 seconds. I finally got up the nerve to make a dash into the house through the front door. I immediately went to my bedroom, which was on the second floor overlooking the south yard. Due to the slope of the yard, the second floor window was as high as a third floor. I looked out the window and could see that the glowing objects were still there, moving slowly in a circle. I went to bed with my head under the covers.

I was the first one to get up the next morning. I immediately checked the south yard to see if anything was there. Nothing was on the clothesline and there was no other sign of the night's activity. I asked my mother if she had left anything on the clothes line the night before and she said that she had not.

Ghost Story Number Two

Our family had six kids and two adults, so there was never a moment when the activity/noise level ever reached zero. One time, when I was 14, the rest of the family went camping in Arkansas for a week. I was elected to stay home to feed the farm animals.

About the second evening, I became aware that the noise level had still not dropped to zero. I could hear voices throughout the house, but I could not quite hear what they were saying. I could hear traffic on the stairs, going up and down one step at time. Not knowing any better at the time, this only raised my anxiety level slightly. I just went on eating kipper snacks. This went on for the entire week (noises and kipper snacks).

There are many strange things about that house. During the 17 years that I lived there, we often returned to the house to find that lights were on, which we were sure had been turned off when we left. Since we had a large family and rarely locked the doors, there could have been lots of ways for this to occur. Later, after we sold the house, I understand that the new owner was unable to keep renters for very long and that the police came several times to find out who the intruders were. They never did.

Ghost Story Number Three

One evening, in about 1960, Oog, Denny Frye, and I were playing in the barnyard of the farm near Cable. It was after dark and each of us had a .22 rifle, looking for targets of opportunity. The old barn, which may have once been a church, sat at the opposite end of the barnyard. We decided to go inside the barn, up to the haymow on the second floor, to shoot pigeons, which liked to roost in the peak of the roof.

We climbed up the ladder to the hole in the floor of the haymow on the south end. The haymow was filled with unstacked bales on the south half and a huge pile of very old loose hay on the north half. It was totally dark, except for a large number of tiny holes in the roof (probably the result of prior hunting trips) which allowed the moonlight to shine through the roof. We carefully moved to the north half and climbed the stack of hay, so as to be very near the peak of the roof.

Suddenly, we stopped. About three feet from us, were a pair of cat-like eyes staring at us, about a foot above the floor. The eyes were 12 to 18 inches apart, just staring. We actually discussed this for a moment. We tried to scare it away by yelling...no response. We waived our hands to see if they were just caused by the moonlight through holes in the roof...nope. Finally, I aimed my .22 between the eyes and fired.

One eye winked.

You never saw three boys move so fast, even though the haymow was totally dark and full of loose hay. We did not even touch the ladder on the way down. We finally stopped under the yard light, about 25 yards from the barn. We then aimed our rifles at the barn and pulled the triggers.

Nothing...the bullets were duds. We cycled through the entire box of .22’s. None fired.

We went in the house, said nothing to anyone, and went to bed.

Early the next morning, we went to the barnyard and retrieved the dud bullets. We could see where the firing pin had struck the rims of each of them in the proper location. We loaded our guns with the duds and tested them. They all fired.

We told no one and did not discuss the incident again. About 25 years later, I asked Oog and Denny, separately, if they remembered that night. They each did, and they each remembered the story exactly as I have told it here.

Probability and Risk

I have had several discussions in the last few days on the subject of probability and risk. One's view of the subject is a clear indication of maturity. Why? Things happen. Doo Doo Occurs.

Risk is a combination of probability of occurance and the impact of that occurance when it does occur. Some event or outcome that is a low probability but high impact can be a high risk (nuclear war).

Probability is usually used to find the most likely occurance or range of occurances. But a mature person looks at the "tails" of the curve. The tails never go all the way to zero (in a normal curve). There is still a finite probability that the really extreme outcome will occur. That means it WILL occur, eventually. Regardless of how many "normal" (middle of the curve) events have occurred.

Example 1: The Space Shuttle o-rings experienced blow-by on several launches. Middle of the curve. Don't worry about it! It finally had a blow-by that was aimed in the wrong direction. Tail of the curve...One shuttle down and seven dead astonauts.

Example 2: The Space Shuttle had between 30 and 70 insulation events. Middle of the curve. Don't worry about it! Finally had an insulation loss at just the right amount, at the right phase of flight, hitting tiles at just the right angle...One shuttle down and seven dead astonauts.

Example 3: Kennedy High School Electric Car Project gives demonstrations at Middle Schools to drum up enthusiam for the program. Lets kids who have learner permits drive the car around a parking lot. Lots of kids drive the car with no problems. Middle of the curve. Some decide to "hot rod it" at 20 Miles per hour. A little less middle of the curve, but the small accidents have no damage or injuries. Low impact. One girl decides to hot rod it, has a small accident, but there is a guard rail at head height. Tail of the curve...Dead on Impact.

This could go on...and on...and on! Maturity is displayed by an understanding that Doo Doo Occurs! The immature have not had enough tail-of-the-curve experiences to have a proper view of probability. They may understand the impact, but that is only half the risk.

e-Pay

e-Pay is wonderfull!

I don't mean any specific service. Ever since the Post Office raised their rates to 37 cents, it has been more cost effective to pay bills by mail. All but a couple of my monthly bills are now on a "send me an e-mail invoice and I'll authorize payment of a certain amount on a certain date" basis. Bills that are fixed amounts, like mortgage, car loan, life insurance, bank service charges are set on an automatic basis. All others require the process listed above. I also get my salary, IRS refund, Iowa State refund by direct deposit. I always make brokerage transactions by wire transfer. It great!

This saves on stamps, paper, time, etc. I highly recommend it!