Christine Negroni offers a credible theory about the disappearance of Malaysia Air 370 by folding in the fascinating and sobering details of at least Christine Negroni offers a credible theory about the disappearance of Malaysia Air 370 by folding in the fascinating and sobering details of at least a dozen other air disasters and near disasters that have occurred since the dawn of the age of flight. I regret not be able to see her speak when she visited our campus but at least my copy of "The Crash Detectives" is autographed by her. A quick and compelling read, I've made a gift of it to several friends. ...more
The details of Stoner's ArmaLite internal gas piston being distinctly different from direct gas impingement had never been clear to me before. The details of Stoner's ArmaLite internal gas piston being distinctly different from direct gas impingement had never been clear to me before. ...more
A gift from my undergrad college chum Tim, "Magnesium Overcast" by Dennis Jenkins celebrates our visit to the Pima Air Museum in November of 2014. TheA gift from my undergrad college chum Tim, "Magnesium Overcast" by Dennis Jenkins celebrates our visit to the Pima Air Museum in November of 2014. The B-36 was an awesome bird!...more
I feel their pain but I cannot commit to joining them where they are. This very special and challenging book was a gift from my dear friend David, whoI feel their pain but I cannot commit to joining them where they are. This very special and challenging book was a gift from my dear friend David, whose life much more closely adheres to the philosophy championed in this earnest volume. "Days of War, Nights of Love: Crimethink For Beginners" by CrimethInc is like reading about a different species; an uncannily familiar species we might admire despite its awkward alien-ness. Its angry anarchic, rejectionist, contrarian prose exhorts us to an garbage-grubbing interstitial life at the margins subsisting on the leftovers and leavings of modern, capitalist, industrial society. Were we all able to return to the egalitarian, communitarian, small group societies the authors aspire to we would find ourselves in a hunter-gatherer "economy" with no technology more sophisticated than "stone tools and bear skins." Call me bourgeois, but I kinda like the internet, iron, penicillin, and beverages extracted from coffee beans grown on other continents. Still, we should endeavor to understand and learn from the authors' pain, ennui, and weirdly compelling aspirations. They're not wrong exactly, they're just 10,000 years too late to put up or shut up. Damn you, agriculture, Bronze Age, and civilization!...more
There are very few experts on mass murder. Perhaps that's because - despite the 24 hour news media's urgent pronouncements to the contrary - it's rareThere are very few experts on mass murder. Perhaps that's because - despite the 24 hour news media's urgent pronouncements to the contrary - it's rare. Author, Grant Duwe, Ph.D., Director of Research at the Minnesota Department of Corrections, is one the experts on this highly specialized and frequently misunderstood topic. He's written on the issue for years and has been widely quoted in the aftermath of last week's mass murder in Aurora, Colorado. Duwe's 2007 book, Mass Murder in the United States: A History, is a fine piece of scholarship that draws upon his detailed examination of all mass murders committed in the USA during the 20th century. Duwe makes a compelling case that mass murder is not new, that the rate of mass murder is not on the rise, and that the severity of each incident is not, on average, increasing. His discussion of moral panics and the role the media plays in the social construction of concern on this and other issues is very helpful to those of us interested in understanding why hysteria seems to drive public discourse. If you would have an opinion on this topic you owe it to yourself, your clients, and your community to read this book....more
The Art of Investigative Interviewing: A Human Approach to Testimonial Evidence by Charles L. Yeschke is one of two texts for SM-403 Private InvestigaThe Art of Investigative Interviewing: A Human Approach to Testimonial Evidence by Charles L. Yeschke is one of two texts for SM-403 Private Investigation Principles, which I'm teaching at Saint Mary's this summer. It's written in a very accessible style and is surprisingly strong on the human element. That shouldn't be a surprise but some interrogations systems take an adversarial tone or proceed in a rather scientific fashion. Yeschke endeavors the would be interviewer to indulge his or her human side in the interest of collecting information, evidence, and eventually admissions and confessions in a ethical and effective manner....more
Introduction to Investigations by John S. Dempsey is one of two texts for the SM-403 Investigations class I'm teaching at Saint Mary's University of MIntroduction to Investigations by John S. Dempsey is one of two texts for the SM-403 Investigations class I'm teaching at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota this summer. It's written for the undergrad/tech school level, which is okay, but sometimes the author comes across as a Baby Boomer who's trying a little to hard to be hip with the youngsters....more
This is the text for the SM-402 course I'm leading this summer at Saint Mary's. It is a worthy and more accessible successor to the classic, "Risk AnaThis is the text for the SM-402 course I'm leading this summer at Saint Mary's. It is a worthy and more accessible successor to the classic, "Risk Analysis and the Security Survey," by James F. Broder....more
This is a well written book on a topic that is no fun to study. Understanding homicide doesn't make it better...This is a well written book on a topic that is no fun to study. Understanding homicide doesn't make it better......more
We found this book after we had developed a variety of computing security policies using ad hoc cross functional teams. The methods and considerationsWe found this book after we had developed a variety of computing security policies using ad hoc cross functional teams. The methods and considerations described tracked with ours....more