I heard that call earlier and my first though as a 911 calltaker? GET TO THE POINT. Don't talk about going to McDonalds...8 seconds into that call and if I didn't already know the backstory I would be about to dismiss him as a non-emergency call. Took 20 seconds to get to the actual emergency.

Helpful hint: when you call 911, lead with the emergency: "There's a lady here just busted out of a house says she been kidnapped" Boom, there's the emergency. No wonder the calltaker sounded bored out of his skull at first, the lead in was like 90% of drunk or overexcited callers complaining about ordinance infractions. We get jaded really quickly.

eta: backstory about 911 processing: 20 seconds to get to the emergency is seriously irritating to type A speed-typers. I can have fire/ems calls set up and sent to dispatch in 20 seconds when a caller leads with the emergency and a location. Last week I had a residential fire sent to dispatch in 19 seconds because the caller started with "I'm at [address] and my neighbor's front porch is on fire." BOOM! Fire trucks on the way. We want that basic info RAW.

He does get bonus points for getting the full, correct address out before being prompted. That was impressive. It's shocking how many people forget their addresses when in crisis mode.

The guy is a talker though. I have seen 3 interviews with him, (a couple of the interviews more than once) and he is the type who just starts with a story. Some 911 operators I have spoken to in the past, say: "what's the emergency" if you don't get to it quick enough.

I am usually clear and get to the point really quick when I'm on the line, but I call 911 like once every 2 years or so. Mostly over shit that I observe while driving on the freeway.

And apologies if I made that sound like you need be on top of the situation before calling 911, that's so not true. If there's any kind of emergency of course just call and it's the calltaker's job to get pertinent information out of you (tho it really does help to know where the emergency is happening...)

My mini rant was more about what it's like to field those calls. Yeah, it's stressful but it's also a job that we do 40 (often more) hrs per week and in some way it's filling out a mask on a computer in order as quickly as possible (backtabbing through all those fields is not fun). Since we're human with prejudices about "what kind of call this is going to be" we aren't always as sympathetic and caring sounding as would be ideal.

oh, I didn't take it that way. Sounds to me like Cleveland does have some problems from a police response perspective and dispatch.

Thanks for the informed perspective, erin. The operator did seem to be taking a while to get to the meat, and a bit exasperated, but I don't know what operators sound like period.

There was some hullabaloo on my dash about this "babblr" which is supposed to be a chat client for Tumblr. It went live tonight, and now the word is "hack!" or worse yet, the app deleting your blog. I have no actual facts other than Tumblr support didn't know who this company was a couple months ago, despite them being the guys with the game changer.

We'll see. But don't accept any wooden nickels in the meantime.

And apologies if I made that sound like you need be on top of the situation before calling 911, that's so not true. If there's any kind of emergency of course just call and it's the calltaker's job to get pertinent information out of you (tho it really does help to know where the emergency is happening...)

You didn't sound like that to me at all.

I've called 911 for a bunch of different reasons and the times that they had to get the information out of me when I was really upset have totally made up for the times they don't realize I am calling calmly and can rattle off the needed information as quick as they can type. Because I've called really upset and needed to be told what information to give in each breath. But I've also called calmly and had them almost testing me out to see if I was really that call. That works. Err on the side of that.

Thanks for the informed perspective, erin.

What ita ! said.

Vortex, criminal defense for driving with lapsed insurance.

Julie, am I correct in that this is your 2nd lawyer, after #1 fucked you over with incompetence?

I would demand a pre-court consult (NOT in the hallway before court!), lay out what SNAFU Lawyer #1 did,and ask the lawyer to tell you what s/he knows, then go back an add any details and provides COPIES of paperwork, not the originals.

Lawyers are busy, but they are YOUR employees. Go in organized, unapologetic about the FUBAR and be succinct but thorough. (But be apologetic in front of the judge, and be horrified and shocked that Lawyer #1 was such a wanker. Politely.)

I am not a lawyer; I just sat in on a zillion court cases as a DV court liaison. I defer, of course, to actual Buffista lawyer advice.

But also, I imagine the more you talk to the lawyer, the more you pay the lawyer, so.

I walked out of my parents' house just after hearing the guy on the radio say that showers should start around midday...into a heavy rain shower! Luckily, I had time to go back by my house and re-dry my hair.

Re: Charles Ramsey [link] I think it's interesting that I just heard him on the radio, and only thought that he was great radio and an amazing storyteller. Looking at him does give a different perspective.