After moving from New York City to Chicago and getting married, Rachel Bertsche realized that her new life was missing one crucially important thing: a local best friend. So she decided to go on one friend date every week for a year, and she documented her quest on a WordPress.com blog atMWFseekingBFF.com.
But before Rachel even started the blog, the 27-year-old writer put together a book proposal based on her search for a local BFF, and successfully pitched it to agents, and then editors. She says, "After I sold the proposal, I decided to start a blog so that I could have a place to document my journey and some of the research I was finding. I also wanted to start building a community and to engage with readers."
It's now been over two years since Rachel first launchedMWFseekingBFF.com. So did she accomplish her blogging goals? "Absolutely!" Rachel says, "When my book, MWF Seeking BFF: My Yearlong Search for a New Best Friend, came out, I had a whole audience for the memoir that wouldn't have existed without my blog. And I made new friends through blogging -- I've met some of my readers, and other bloggers, in real life. My book ended up becoming a National Bestseller and hitting the NY Times Extended Bestseller List. I continue to update the blog because I enjoy it, and also I have a lot of loyal and wonderful readers who seem to enjoy it."
Rachel says that the discussions generated by her blog posts were a great aid to the book writing process. "Blogging also helped me uncover what issues surrounding friendship were most interesting to my readers, and brought me new ideas. Readers said things in the comments that would switch on a light bulb for me, or they often alerted me to new research on friendship. While my book is very different than my blog (it's not a compilation of blog posts by any means), writing my posts made me feel like I had a platform to bounce book ideas off of."
We asked Rachel to share her advice on how to grow your blog audience. Here's what she had to say:
Learn more about Rachel and her book at MWFseekingBFF.com
|
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Bestselling Author Shares 3 Tips for Building Your Blog Audience
اردو بلاگوں کے تھوڑے قارئین کی وجوہات
|
Posted: 24 Apr 2012 05:04 PM PDT
بسم اللہ الرحمن الرحیم
گذشتہ سے پیوستہ پچھلی تحریر ”اردو بلاگ کی ٹریفک کیسے بڑھائیں“ میں پہلی وجہ پر بات کی تھی اور ابھی دیگر وجوہات پر بات کرتے ہیں۔ میری نظر میں اردو بلاگوں پر ٹریفک کم ہونے کی دوسری بڑی وجہ کم مواد ہے۔ گو کہ اب انٹرنیٹ پر اچھی بھلی اردو نظر آنا شروع ہو گئی ہے لیکن ابھی تک اردو بلاگوں/ویب سائیٹوں پر اتنا مواد نہیں ہو سکا کہ تمام ضروری چیزوں کے بارے میں معلومات مل سکے۔ یار لوگ کہتے ہیں کہ فلاں بندہ بلاگنگ نہیں بلکہ کاپی پیسٹ کرتا ہے تو اس پر میرا خیال ہے کہ اس وقت ہمیں یہ چیز نہیں دیکھنی چاہئے کہ فلاں بلاگنگ کر رہا ہے یا نہیں فی الحال یہ دیکھنا چاہئے کہ کیا فلاں کا مواد انٹرنیٹ پر اردو کے حوالے سے بہتر اضافہ ہے یا نہیں۔ ویسے بھی بلاگنگ کی تعریف کرنے چلیں تو دو صورتیں سامنے آئیں گی۔ ایک صورت میں اپنی دیگر قسم کی ویب سائیٹوں کو بلاگ کہنے والے باہر نکل جائیں گے اور پیچھے دو چار لوگ رہ جائیں گے۔ ایسی صورت میں شاید آپ میرا بھی خروج لگا دیں، اور دوسری صورت میں زیادہ تر ویب سائیٹوں کا شمار بلاگوں میں ہونے لگے گا۔ خیر یہ ایک علیحدہ اور تفصیل و بحث طلب موضوع ہے۔ فی الحال ہمیں بھیڑ چال کی بجائے نئے سے نیا اور بہتر سے بہتر اردو مواد انٹرنیٹ پر ڈالنا چاہئے تاکہ جب لوگ اردو مواد تلاش کریں تو انہیں معقول مواد مل سکے۔ کافی عرصہ پہلے ”ایک بلاگر ایک کتاب“ کے نام سے مہم شروع ہوئی تھی اور چند ایک بلاگر ہی اس پر عمل کر سکے تھے۔ کاش پھر کوئی ایسی یا اس سے ملتی جلتی مہم شروع ہو اور ہم مل کر بہتر اردو مواد انٹرنیٹ پر لا سکیں۔ اردو بلاگوں پر ٹریفک کم ہونے کی تیسری وجہ گوکہ اتنی بڑی نہیں لیکن آج کل جس انداز میں ہم لوگ چل رہے ہیں، اس نے عجیب سی صورت حال بنا دی ہے۔ اردو بلاگران اور اردو پڑھنے کے خواہش مند چند افراد کا ایک گروہ وجود میں آچکا ہے۔ اردو کے حوالے سے تقریباً یہی لوگ آپ کو مختلف اردو فورمز پر ملیں گے، یہی لوگ اردو بلاگنگ میں نظر آئیں گے اور فیس بک پر بھی یہی لوگ ہوں گے جو اردو لکھ رہے ہوں گے یعنی اردو کے حوالے سے جہاں دیکھو یہی چند مٹھی بھر لوگ۔ ایک مسئلہ یہ بھی ہے کہ اس گروہ میں اضافہ بہت آہستہ سے ہو رہا ہے۔ چھوٹی سی بات یہ کہ مجھے لگتا ہے، جو کہ غلط بھی ہو سکتا ہے کہ اردو والے علیحدہ گروہ (Isolated Group) بنائے بیٹھے ہیں اور بہت ہی کم لوگ اس گروہ سے باہر دیکھتے ہیں اور جنہوں نے دیکھا ان کی اکثریت دنیا کی ”احساسِ کمتریوں“ سے متاثر ہو کر اردو سے دور ہو گئی۔ جبکہ ہونا تو ایسا چاہئے تھا کہ وہ باہر دیکھتے اور مزید لوگوں کو اپنی طرف قائل کرتے، مگر افسوس! وہ خود قائل ہو گئے۔ فیس بک پر اردو کے حوالے سے کئی مختلف گروپ بنا دیئے گئے ہیں لیکن جس گروپ میں دیکھو یہی مٹھی بھر لوگ ہیں اور تمام گروپ ایک ہی طرز پر چل رہے ہیں۔ وہی لوگ گروپ ”الف“ میں ہیں، وہی ”ب“ میں اور وہی ”ج“ میں۔ سونے پر سہاگہ یہ کہ ہم اپنی تحریر شیئر تو مختلف گروہوں میں کرتے ہیں مگر ان گروہوں میں موجود وہی مٹھی بھر لوگ ہیں۔ دیکھا جائے تو ان گروہوں کے لوگ تو ویسے ہی اردو سیارہ اور اردو کے سب رنگ وغیرہ دیکھتے ہیں اور تحریر تک پہنچ آتے ہیں۔ بے شک انہیں مخصوص گروہوں میں ایک ہی تحریر بار بار ایک دوسرے کے سامنے پیش کریں مگر ساتھ ساتھ ہمیں نئی تحاریر ادھر ادھر ایسے گروہوں میں اور ایسے لوگوں سے بھی شیئر کرنی چاہئے جو اردو مواد پڑھنا تو چاہتے ہیں لیکن آج تک اردو بلاگستان تک رسائی نہیں حاصل کر پائے۔ اگر آپ سوشل نیٹ ورکنگ ویب سائیٹوں پر کسی سیاسی، مذہبی یا ٹیکنالوجی وغیرہ کے متعلق پاکستانی گروپوں سے تعلق رکھتے ہیں تو وہاں پر موضوع سے متعلقہ اردو تحاریر بھی شیئر کیا کریں۔ یہ نہ سوچیں کہ باقی سب انگریزی تحریر شیئر کر رہے اور آپ اردو، بس یہ دیکھیں کہ جہاں آپ تحریر شیئر کر رہے ہیں وہاں پر موجود لوگ اردو پڑھنا جانتے ہیں یا نہیں اور شیئر کی جانی والی تحریر موضوع سے تعلق رکھتی ہے یا نہیں۔ مزید ہمیں ادھر ادھر ہر جگہ اردو لکھنی چاہئے، دیگر گروہوں کے ساتھ شامل ہو کر اردو میں بات چیت کرنی چاہئے اور زیادہ سے زیادہ لوگوں کو اس طرف لانا چاہئے۔ جیسا کہ پچھلی تحریر میں لکھا تھا کہ انٹرنیٹ پر اردو لکھنے اور پڑھنے کے خواہش مند افراد خاصی بڑی تعداد میں موجود ہیں مگر غلط انداز میں تلاش کرنے کی وجہ سے ان کی اردو مواد تک رسائی نہیں ہو پاتی۔ اردو کے چند مخصوص گروہوں سے باہر نکلیں اور زیادہ سے زیادہ لوگوں تک اردو بلاگستان، اردو لکھنے اور گوگل میں اردو میں تلاش کرنے کی آواز پہنچائیں۔ یوں خودبخود اردو بلاگوں کی ٹریفک بڑھ جائے گی۔چلتے چلتے بونگی نما خوش فہمی:- آپس کی بات ہے کشتی کنارے کے قریب ہے اور آخری منجدھار کشتی ڈبونے کی پوری کوشش کر رہی ہے۔ اب دیکھتے ہیں کہ کامیابی سے کنارے لگتی ہے یا ڈوب جاتی ہے۔ ویسے مزہ تو اسی میں ہے کہ جس کے سنگ چلے تھے اگر وہ ڈوبے تو اس کے ساتھ ہی ڈوب جائیں۔ بھیچ منجدھار میں ساتھ چھوڑنا تو بے وفائی عظیم ہے۔ پیوستہ رہ شجر سے امید بہار رکھ۔(جاری ہے) ضروری نوٹ:-اگلی تحریر اس سلسلہ کی تیسری اور آخری تحریر ہو گی۔ اس میں شعیب صفدر صاحب کے اردو بلاگر گروپ میں شروع کردہ سوالنامہ کے ایک ایک جواب کو دیکھتے ہیں، لیکن اس سے پہلے ٹیگ کا ایک سلسلہ شروع کرتے ہیں۔ جس میں لکھنا صرف یہ ہے کہ آپ کی نظر میں اردو بلاگوں کے قارئین/وزیٹر کم ہونے کی وجوہات کیا ہیں اور ان کا سدِباب کیسے کیا جا سکتا ہے؟ بہتر تو یہ ہے کہ آپ تھوڑی تفصیلی وضاحت کریں لیکن یہ نہ ہو کہ تفصیل میں جاتے جاتے کوئی بھی کچھ بھی نہ لکھے، اس لئے لازمی نہیں کہ آپ کوئی لمبی چوڑی تحاریر میں تجزیہ پیش کریں بلکہ بے شک چند سطور ہی لکھ دیں تو ہمیں ایک دوسرے سے کافی کچھ سیکھنے کو مل جائے گا۔ہاں تو میں اس سلسلہ میں ٹیگ کرتا ہوں پورے ”اردو بلاگستان“ کو۔۔۔ مزاح لکھنے والے مزاحیہ انداز میں اس مسئلہ کو بیان کریں، فلاسفر فلسفہ جھاڑیں، جن کو ہم جیسے نکمے دوستوں کی کمی ہے وہ اس مسئلہ کی وضاحت کرتے ہوئے نکمے لوگوں کی طرف دوستی کا ہاتھ بڑھائیں، جو اپنے دشمنوں سے تنگ ہے وہ حفاظتی تدابیر لکھیں اور جو یکسانیت و محدود سوچ سے بیزار ہیں وہ نئے ”آئیڈیاز“ دیں تاکہ بہتری کی طرف سفر کیا جا سکے۔ملتی جلتی تحاریر:- • اردو بلاگ کی ٹریفک کیسے بڑھائیں؟ • آپ کو پاک اردو انسٹالر کا کیا فائدہ؟ • بلاگ کیا ہے؟ |
اردو بلاگ کی ٹریفک کیسے بڑھائیں؟
بسم اللہ الرحمن الرحیم
پچھلے دنوں اردو بلاگستان میں ٹیگ و ٹیگ کھیلا جا رہا تھا۔ شروع میں مجھے کسی نے ٹیگ نہیں کیا تھا مگر کھیل کے آخری لمحات پر شعیب صفدر صاحب اور محمد یاسر علی صاحب نے ٹیگ کیا۔ مجھے ضرور جواب دینا چاہئے تھا مگر میری نالائقی کہ جواب نہ دے سکا، مگر شعیب صفدر صاحب کے ہی ایک سوالنامہ پر تفصیلی بات کرتے ہوئے کوشش کر رہا ہوں کہ ٹیگ والے کھیل کا کفارہ ادا کر سکوں۔ گو کہ یہ مختلف باتیں ہیں لیکن اپنی طرف سے اسے کفارہ ہی تصور کر رہا ہوں۔
اکثر سننے میں آیا ہے کہ اردو بلاگوں پر ٹریفک بہت کم بلکہ نہ ہونے کے برابر ہے۔ میرے خیال میں یہ بات سو فیصد درست ہے۔ اگر ایسا ہی ہے تو پھر اس کی وجہ کیا ہے؟ شاید یہی وجہ معلوم کرنے یا اندازہ لگانے کے لئے کچھ دن پہلے شعیب صفدر صاحب نے فیس بک پر ایک سوالنامہ شروع کیا۔ میں نے اس سوالنامہ میں تین جواب منتخب کئے۔ اس سوالنامہ پر تفصیلی بات کرنے سے پہلے ہم دیکھتے ہیں کہ کسی بلاگ کے قارئین کتنی اقسام کے ہوتے ہیں۔ میں عام طور پر قارئین کو دو اقسام میں تقسیم کرتا ہوں۔
دوست/مستقل قارئین
اجنبی/غیر مستقل قارئین
گو کہ ان دو قسموں کو میں مزید کئی اقسام میں تقسیم کرتا ہوں لیکن یہاں صرف سرسری جائزہ لیتے ہیں۔
کسی بلاگ کے دوست یا مستقل قارئین ایسے لوگ ہوتے ہیں جو ہر نئی تحریر کو مکمل پڑھیں یا نہ پڑھیں لیکن اس پر نظر ضرور رکھتے ہیں یا پھر کم از کم ان کو یہ علم ضرور ہوتا ہے کہ بلاگ پر کیا چل رہا ہے۔ ایسے قارئین زیادہ تر بلاگ ایگریگیٹر اور فیڈ ریڈر وغیرہ کے ذریعے بلاگ تک پہنچتے ہیں یا پھر ان قارئین میں ایسے لوگ بھی شامل ہوتے ہیں جو سوشل نیٹ ورکنگ ویب سائیٹ پر بلاگر کے دوست ہوتے ہیں۔ میرے خیال میں کسی بھی بلاگ کے دوست یا مستقل قارئین کی تعداد، بلاگ کے دیگر قارئین کے مقابلے میں آٹے میں نمک کے برابر ہونی چاہئے لیکن اردو بلاگوں کا حال یہ ہے کہ انہیں صرف یہی ”نمک“ ہی دستیاب ہے۔
قارئین کی دوسری قسم ہے اجنبی یا غیر مستقل۔ ایسے قارئین کی زیادہ تعداد سرچ انجن وغیرہ سے تلاش کرتے ہوئے بلاگ تک پہنچتی ہے۔ ایسے قارئین کو بلاگ کی شکل و صورت سے کوئی لینا دینا نہیں ہوتا اور نہ ہی وہ بلاگر کی شہرت سے کوئی لگاؤ رکھتے ہیں۔ ان کا مقصد صرف اپنی درکار معلومات کا حصول ہوتا ہے۔ بلاگ پر موجود معلومات ہی اصل سرمایہ ہے کیونکہ جب زیادہ اور معیاری معلومات بلاگ پر ہو گی تو پھر ہی لوگ سرچ انجن سے بلاگ پر پہنچ کر رکیں گے اور اسی نسبت سے ”مستقل قارئین“ کی تعداد میں بھی اضافہ ہوتا جائے گا یعنی جب کسی کو بلاگ کی معلومات اچھی لگے گی تو وہ اسے بک مارک وغیرہ کرے گا یا کسی دوسرے ذریعہ سے بلاگ کا مستقل قاری بن جائے گا۔
خیر اب آتے ہیں اردو بلاگوں کی ٹریفک کی طرف۔
اردو بلاگوں کے قارئین میں سب سے پہلے تو خود اردو ”بلاگران“ ہی ہیں اور فی الحال یہی سب سے بڑی تعداد ہے۔ اس کے بعد دوسری بڑی تعداد مختلف اردو فورمز کے ممبران کی ہے۔اس کے بعد اردو بلاگران کا اپنا حلقہ احباب اور پھر چند ایک ایسے فیس بکی لوگ ہیں جن تک غلطی سے کسی اردو بلاگ کا لنک پہنچ جاتا ہے۔ ان سب کے بعد نہایت ہی کم تعداد سرچ انجن سے آتی ہے۔
میری نظر میں اردو بلاگوں کی ٹریفک /وزیٹر/قارئین کم ہونے کی بڑی تین وجوہات ہیں اور یہی تین میں نے شعیب صفدر صاحب کے سوالنامہ میں منتخب کی تھیں بلکہ میری نظر میں جو سب سے بڑی وجہ ہے وہ سوالنامہ میں موجود ہی نہیں تھی اور پھر میں نے شامل کی۔
تین بڑی وجوہات یہ ہیں۔
1: سرچ انجن میں خاص اردو میں تلاش نہ کرنا۔
2: اردو بلاگوں پر کم مواد۔
3: اردو بلاگران کا اردو بلاگنگ کی دنیا سے باہر نہ دیکھنا۔
پہلی بات تو یہ ہے کہ ہمارے ہاں انٹرنیٹ صارفین کی بہت کم تعداد اس بات کا علم رکھتی ہے کہ کمپیوٹر پر انگریزی کی طرح براہ راست اردو بھی لکھی جا سکتی ہے۔ بلکہ کئی لوگ تو ابھی بھی اسے ”راکٹ سائنس“ سمجھتے ہیں، گو کہ راکٹ سائنس بھی اب کوئی راکٹ سائنس نہیں رہی (بقولغلام عباس)۔ اور تو اور پچھلے دنوں فیس بک کے ایک گروپ پاکستانی پروبلاگرز میں ایک صاحب اردو لکھنے والوں کو مخاطب کر کے فرمانے لگے کہ آپ لوگ دھونس جمانے کے لئے اردو لکھتے ہو۔ ان کا خیال تھا چونکہ اردو لکھنا مشکل ہے اس لئے یہ لوگ اردو لکھ کر یہ ثابت کرتے ہیں کہ ہم بڑی چیز ہیں جبکہ ان صاحب کو اصل علم ہی نہیں تھا۔ خیر یہی علم نہ ہونے کی وجہ سے اکثریتگوگل اور دیگر سرچ انجن میں خاص اردو میں تلاش نہیں کرتی۔ مزید جن کو اردو لکھنے کا علم ہے ان کی بھی بہت کم تعداد خاص اردو میں تلاش کرتی ہے۔ اگر آپ سمجھتے ہیں کہ لوگ اردو پڑھنا نہیں چاہتے تو میری نظر میں یہ غلط ہے کیونکہ گوگل کے اعدادوشمار دیکھیں تو پتہ چلتا ہے کہ پاکستانی انٹرنیٹ صارفین کی بہت بڑی تعداد اردو مواد پڑھنے کو ترجیح دیتی ہے لیکن وہ غلط انداز میں تلاش کرنے کی وجہ سے اصل اردو مواد تک نہیں پہنچ پاتی۔ اب جیسے لوگ مواد تو اردو میں چاہتے ہیں لیکن تلاش انگریزی میں کرتے ہیں اور کسی بھی کیوری کے ساتھ in Urdu جیسے الفاظ کا اضافہ کر دیتے ہیں یا پھر رومن اردو میں تلاش کرتے ہیں۔ پاکستان سے ایک مہینے میں گوگل پر تلاش ہونے والے چند کی ورڈز(Key Words) کو ایک گوشوارے کی صورت میں پیش کر رہا ہوں۔ اس پر غور کریں تو اندازہ ہوتا ہے کہ اصل مسئلہ کہاں ہے اور اردو بلاگوں کو سرچ انجن سے ٹریفک کیوں نہیں مل رہی۔
| خاص اردو لفظ | گوگل پر تلاش کیا گیا | متبادل انگریزی لفظ | گوگل پر تلاش کیا گیا |
| اردو | 14,800 | urdu | 6,120,000 |
| خبریں | 590 | urdu news | 368,000 |
| کتابیں | 720 | urdu books | 165,000 |
| شاعری | 3,600 | urdu poetry | 301,000 |
| ویب سائیٹ | 28 | urdu website | 22,200 |
| بلاگ | 480 | urdu blog | 4,400 |
| کرکٹ | 390 | cricket in urdu | 3,600 |
| پاکستان | 12,100 | pakistan in urdu | 90,500 |
| تاریخ پاکستان | 170 | history of pakistan in urdu | 2,900 |
| کمپیوٹر | 590 | computer in urdu | 18,100 |
یاد رہے یہ چند الفاظ پاکستان سے ایک مہینے میں تقریباً جتنی مرتبہ تلاش کئے گئے وہ مثال کے طور پر پیش کئے ہیں۔ اعدادوشمار کو دیکھتے ہوئے اب آپ خود اندازہ کر لیں کہ خاص اردو الفاظ کے ساتھ تلاش اگر زمین پر ہے تو اس کے متبادل انگریزی الفاظ کے ساتھ تلاش آسمان پر ہے۔ خاص اردو میں تلاش کئے گئے الفاظ والی ٹریفک ہی اردو ویب سائیٹوں اور بلاگوں کو ملے گی جبکہ دوسرے لوگ جو چاہتے تو اردو مواد ہیں لیکن ان کی غلط تلاش کی وجہ سے وہ ادھر ادھر بھٹک جاتے ہیں اور بہتر اردو مواد تک نہیں پہنچ پاتے۔ یوں لوگوں کو مواد نہیں ملتا اور اردو بلاگوں کو ٹریفک نہیں ملتی۔ موجودہ صورت حال میں اگر اردو بلاگوں کی ٹریفک دیکھی جائے اور اردو مواد پڑھنے کے خواہش مند افراد کی تعداد دیکھی جائے تو اس میں بہت فرق ہے۔ اس کی سیدھی سی وجہ یہ ہے کہ لوگ خاص اردو میں تلاش نہیں کرتے کیونکہ انہیں اردو لکھنی نہیں آتی یا اس کا علم ہی نہیں۔
کسی بھی ویب سائیٹ کی ٹریفک کا اصل دارومدار سرچ انجن پر ہی ہوتا ہے اور اردو بلاگوں کو یہی اصل ٹریفک نہ ہونے کے برابر مل رہی ہے۔ اگر آپ چاہتے ہیں کہ اردو بلاگوں پر ٹریفک بڑھے تو لوگوں کو صرف اردو فانٹ ہی نہیں بلکہ ساتھ ساتھ اردو لکھنے کی ترغیب بھی دیں۔ سرچ انجن میں خاص اردو میں تلاش کرنے کا کہیں اور اس کے متعلق تفصیلی فوائد سمجھائیں۔
ہو سکتا ہے آپ یہاں اس لئے آئے ہوں کہ چلو سرچ انجن کے ذریعے ٹریفک بڑھانے کی جدید تکنیک سیکھتے ہیں، لیکن یہاں ایسا کچھ نہ پا کر یقیناً آپ کو مایوسی ہوئی ہو گی، جس کے لئے میں معذرت چاہتا ہوں۔ باقی آپ خود غور کریں تو پتہ چلے گا کہ اس وقت اردو بلاگران کی یہ پریشانی نہیں کہ سرچ انجن میں ایک دوسرے سے زیادہ نمایا جگہ کیسے حاصل کی جائے بلکہ پریشانی تو یہ ہے کہ تمام اردو بلاگران پہلے سے سرچ انجن میں نمایا جگہوں پر بیٹھے ہیں لیکن کوئی تلاش کرنے والا ہی نہیں۔ کبھی خاص اردو الفاظ میں تلاش کر کے دیکھئے گا تو پتہ چل جائے گا کہ اردو بلاگران کتنی نمایا جگہ پر ہیں لیکن۔۔۔
ارے! ایک دفعہ لوگوں کو اردو میں تلاش تو کرنے دو پھر اگر زندگی نے وفا کی تو سرچ انجن میں نمایا جگہ حاصل کرنے پر بھی اپنے محدود علم کے مطابق لکھ دیں گے، بلکہ تب ہم خود آپ سے ضد لگا کر نئی سے نئی تکنیک استعمال کریں گے اور جگہ جگہ یہ کہتے پھریں گے کہ دیکھو ہمارا ”رینک“ کتنا بلند ہے۔ 
فی الحال ہمیں ”رینک“ وغیرہ سے کوئی لینا دینا نہیں اور جس سے لینا دینا ہے اس کی کافی وضاحت کر دی ہے۔
فی الحال ہمیں ”رینک“ وغیرہ سے کوئی لینا دینا نہیں اور جس سے لینا دینا ہے اس کی کافی وضاحت کر دی ہے۔
(جاری ہے)ملتی جلتی تحاریر:- • آپ کو پاک اردو انسٹالر کا کیا فائدہ؟ • موجودہ دور میں اردو زبان – جواب • اردو فارمیٹر – شامل پلگ ان – اردو انگریزی بلاگنگ ایک ساتھ • قوموں نے ترقی کس زبان میں کی؟ • اردو اور کمپیوٹر (مکمل کتابچہ)
میں نے انگلی سے زمین گھوما دی
|
Posted: 18 Apr 2012 03:59 PM PDT
میں نے انگلی سے پوری زمین گھوما دی۔ لگتا ہے آپ کو پتہ نہیں چلا۔ البتہ اس وقت کوئی آسمان کی طرف دیکھ رہا ہوتا تو شاید بادلوں سے پتہ چل جاتا مگر آسمان پر غور کرنا تو ویسے ہی بڑے عرصے سے ہم پر حرام کر دیا گیا ہے۔ باقی جہاں رات تھی وہاں تاروں کی وجہ سے پتہ چل جاتا لیکن آج کل تارے کون دیکھتا ہے؟ وہ زمانے گئے جب عاشق تارے گنتے ہوئے راتیں
|
Why Its So Hard to Write Off Your Home Office
|  |
Why Its So Hard to Write Off Your Home Office
(Bloomberg BusinessWeek) - Work from home sometimes? Of course you do. About half of all U.S. businesses are based at home, U.S. Census data show, and most professionals toil from their private domains at least some of the time. So it’s only right, then, that you should get a tax break for ceding part of your domicile over to your job. Right?
(Bloomberg BusinessWeek) - Work from home sometimes? Of course you do. About half of all U.S. businesses are based at home, U.S. Census data show, and most professionals toil from their private domains at least some of the time. So it’s only right, then, that you should get a tax break for ceding part of your domicile over to your job. Right?
ADVERTISEMENT
Share our news via Twitter and Facebook, on your personalized news page.
MORE HEADLINES
5 Ways to Deliver Value to a Customer
(WikiHow) - One of the most common reasons for the failure of a business, large or small, is the inability of the owners to deliver value to their customers. The concept of value is one of those things that is both simple and complex.
(WikiHow) - One of the most common reasons for the failure of a business, large or small, is the inability of the owners to deliver value to their customers. The concept of value is one of those things that is both simple and complex.
Need a Short-Term Loan? Try the IRS
(SmartMoney) - If you're self-employed, an investor or someone who lives off Social Security benefits, pension payments, retirement account withdrawals, and the like, you can apply for loan from the Internal Revenue Service. Better yet: To borrow from the IRS, you don't have to fill out any annoying applications, prove your income or fence with a balky loan officer. While this may sound too good to be true, it is true. Read on for the details.
(SmartMoney) - If you're self-employed, an investor or someone who lives off Social Security benefits, pension payments, retirement account withdrawals, and the like, you can apply for loan from the Internal Revenue Service. Better yet: To borrow from the IRS, you don't have to fill out any annoying applications, prove your income or fence with a balky loan officer. While this may sound too good to be true, it is true. Read on for the details.
Filmmaker Wins Case Against I.R.S.
(NY Times) - the tax collectors contended that Ms. Storey, who is a practicing lawyer when she is not making documentary films, was engaged in a hobby — not a business — because she enjoyed filmmaking and wasn’t turning a profit despite considerable efforts to do so.
(NY Times) - the tax collectors contended that Ms. Storey, who is a practicing lawyer when she is not making documentary films, was engaged in a hobby — not a business — because she enjoyed filmmaking and wasn’t turning a profit despite considerable efforts to do so.
Investing Basics: When You Receive an Inheritance
(Minyanville) - An inheritance can come in the form of a lump sum payment from an insurance company, or assets such as cash or securities. If you inherit a security and later sell it, you’ll need the cost basis -- the value of the security on the day the person willing it died -- to determine if you owe any taxes.
(Minyanville) - An inheritance can come in the form of a lump sum payment from an insurance company, or assets such as cash or securities. If you inherit a security and later sell it, you’ll need the cost basis -- the value of the security on the day the person willing it died -- to determine if you owe any taxes.
Did You Know?...
The Griffith Observatory Sky Report
The Griffith Observatory Sky Report
Click here for your Personalized State, Health, Travel,
Sports, Entertainment, Science and World News.
Sports, Entertainment, Science and World News.
THE ACCOUNTANT 4-1-1
Taxation
| ? | TEST YOUR TAX & ACCOUNTING KNOWLEDGE Retirement exclusion - NYS - Click here to answer
Have a question?
Let experts and peers help you. |
Technology
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Description of Death 9 (Step By Step)
Posted: 23 Apr 2012 10:54 AM PDT
It is of utmost importance that man should hold death dear and consider it an opportunity of meeting with his Almighty, and not hate it and consider it as evil, but should take lessons from it. He should ask forgiveness from Almighty for his sins and tame the rebellious self (Nafs). When the call of his Lord comes, he should welcome it with open arms accepting it to be a blessing from Almighty. He should be contented with the decree (Qadr) of Almighty. He should also rejoice that shortly he would be taken to the presence of Ahlul Bait [Household of Prophet] (pbut) and meet his deceased companions and other believer brothers. He should also not be disheartened by the delay in death but should consider it as an opportunity afforded by Almighty to him to repent. This delay would give him a chance to gather provisions useful for his journey to the other world, for the journey is tiresome and full of dangerous valleys and difficult paths.
In fact a believer always remembers death, since his or her main goal is to reach the Almighty God. Hazrat Qasim (pbuh), the son of Imam Hasan Al-Mujtaba (pbuh), when asked concerning death at Karbala, answered: "death to me is sweeter than honey." Therefore true believers, those who are sincerely devoted to the Almighty God, anticipate death since to them it signifies the long-awaited meeting with their creator.
During imprisonment, Imam Ali An-Naqi, Al-Hadi (pbuh) had a grave dug up ready by the side of his prayer mat. Some visitors expressed concern or surprise. The Imam explained, "In order to remember my end I keep the grave before my eyes."
Before a believer approaches the final moment of his/her life and death overtakes him, it is necessary that he wakes up from the state of negligence and prepares for the final everlasting place. This way he will be able to avoid bewilderment and the fear of the so-called untimely death.
At the time of leaving this world, as attested to by the Holy Qur'an, a person will be in one of two states - either he will be of the Companions of the Right, or the Companions of the Left (Refer Holy Qur'an 56:7-56). If he is counted amongst the Companions of the Right, he will be in a good, final state, but if he is one of the Companions of the Left, he will be of those who have suffered a great loss. For more details on Death: An Islamic Perspective, Death in Islam, Death and Islam, Death in Holy Qur'an, Death: A Beautiful Gift For A Believer, Preparation for Death and etc.,
In fact a believer always remembers death, since his or her main goal is to reach the Almighty God. Hazrat Qasim (pbuh), the son of Imam Hasan Al-Mujtaba (pbuh), when asked concerning death at Karbala, answered: "death to me is sweeter than honey." Therefore true believers, those who are sincerely devoted to the Almighty God, anticipate death since to them it signifies the long-awaited meeting with their creator.
During imprisonment, Imam Ali An-Naqi, Al-Hadi (pbuh) had a grave dug up ready by the side of his prayer mat. Some visitors expressed concern or surprise. The Imam explained, "In order to remember my end I keep the grave before my eyes."
Before a believer approaches the final moment of his/her life and death overtakes him, it is necessary that he wakes up from the state of negligence and prepares for the final everlasting place. This way he will be able to avoid bewilderment and the fear of the so-called untimely death.
At the time of leaving this world, as attested to by the Holy Qur'an, a person will be in one of two states - either he will be of the Companions of the Right, or the Companions of the Left (Refer Holy Qur'an 56:7-56). If he is counted amongst the Companions of the Right, he will be in a good, final state, but if he is one of the Companions of the Left, he will be of those who have suffered a great loss. For more details on Death: An Islamic Perspective, Death in Islam, Death and Islam, Death in Holy Qur'an, Death: A Beautiful Gift For A Believer, Preparation for Death and etc.,
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
| |
| Mindset is one of those rare audio books that can help you make positive changes in your life and at the same time see the world in a new way.... | |
 THE MINDSETSAs a young researcher, just starting out, something happened that changed my life. I was obsessed with understanding how people cope with failures, and I decided to study it by watching how students grapple with hard problems. So I brought children one at a time to a room in their school, made them comfortable, and then gave them a series of puzzles to solve. The first ones were fairly easy, but the next ones were hard. As the students grunted, perspired, and toiled, I watched their strategies and probed what they were thinking and feeling. I expected differences among children in how they coped with the difficulty, but I saw something I never expected. Confronted with the hard puzzles, one ten-year-old boy pulled up his chair, rubbed his hands together, smacked his lips, and cried out, “I love a challenge!” Another, sweating away on these puzzles, looked up with a pleased expression and said with authority, “You know, I was hoping this would be informative!” What’s wrong with them? I wondered. I always thought you coped with failure or you didn’t cope with failure. I never thought anyone loved failure. Were these alien children or were they on to something? Everyone has a role model, someone who pointed the way at a critical moment in their lives. These children were my role models. They obviously knew something I didn’t and I was determined to figure it out—to understand the kind of mindset that could turn a failure into a gift. What did they know? They knew that human qualities, such as intellectual skills, could be cultivated through effort. And that’s what they were doing—getting smarter. Not only weren’t they discouraged by failure, they didn’t even think they were failing. They thought they were learning. I, on the other hand, thought human qualities were carved in stone. You were smart or you weren’t, and failure meant you weren’t. It was that simple. If you could arrange successes and avoid failures (at all costs), you could stay smart. Struggles, mistakes, perseverance were just not part of this picture. Whether human qualities are things that can be cultivated or things that are carved in stone is an old issue. What these beliefs mean for you is a new one: What are the consequences of thinking that your intelligence or personality is something you can develop, as opposed to something that is a fixed, deep-seated trait? Let’s first look in on the age-old, fiercely waged debate about human nature and then return to the question of what these beliefs mean for you. WHY DO PEOPLE DIFFER? Since the dawn of time, people have thought differently, acted differently, and fared differently from each other. It was guaranteed that someone would ask the question of why people differed—why some people are smarter or more moral—and whether there was something that made them permanently different. Experts lined up on both sides. Some claimed that there was a strong physical basis for these differences, making them unavoidable and unalterable. Through the ages, these alleged physical differences have included bumps on the skull (phrenology), the size and shape of the skull (craniology), and, today, genes. Others pointed to the strong differences in people’s backgrounds, experiences, training, or ways of learning. It may surprise you to know that a big champion of this view was Alfred Binet, the inventor of the IQ test. Wasn’t the IQ test meant to summarize children’s unchangeable intelligence? In fact, no. Binet, a Frenchman working in Paris in the early twentieth century, designed this test to identify children who were not profiting from the Paris public schools, so that new educational programs could be designed to get them back on track. Without denying individual differences in children’s intellects, he believed that education and practice could bring about fundamental changes in intelligence. Here is a quote from one of his major books, Modern Ideas About Children, in which he summarizes his work with hundreds of children with learning difficulties: A few modern philosophers . . . assert that an individual’s intelligence is a fixed quantity, a quantity which cannot be increased. We must protest and react against this brutal pessimism. . . . With practice, training, and above all, method, we manage to increase our attention, our memory, our judgment and literally to become more intelligent than we were before. Who’s right? Today most experts agree that it’s not either–or. It’s not nature or nurture, genes or environment. From conception on, there’s a constant give and take between the two. In fact, as Gilbert Gottlieb, an eminent neuroscientist, put it, not only do genes and environment cooperate as we develop, but genes require input from the environment to work properly. At the same time, scientists are learning that people have more capacity for lifelong learning and brain development than they ever thought. Of course, each person has a unique genetic endowment. People may start with different temperaments and different aptitudes, but it is clear that experience, training, and personal effort take them the rest of the way. Robert Sternberg, the present-day guru of intelligence, writes that the major factor in whether people achieve expertise “is not some fixed prior ability, but purposeful engagement.” Or, as his forerunner Binet recognized, it’s not always the people who start out the smartest who end up the smartest. WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN FOR YOU? THE TWO MINDSETS It’s one thing to have pundits spouting their opinions about scientific issues. It’s another thing to understand how these views apply to you. For twenty years, my research has shown that the view you adopt for yourself profoundly affects the way you lead your life. It can determine whether you become the person you want to be and whether you accomplish the things you value. How does this happen? How can a simple belief have the power to transform your psychology and, as a result, your life? Believing that your qualities are carved in stone—the fixed mindset—creates an urgency to prove yourself over and over. If you have only a certain amount of intelligence, a certain personality, and a certain moral character—well, then you’d better prove that you have a healthy dose of them. It simply wouldn’t do to look or feel deficient in these most basic characteristics. Some of us are trained in this mindset from an early age. Even as a child, I was focused on being smart, but the fixed mindset was really stamped in by Mrs. Wilson, my sixth-grade teacher. Unlike Alfred Binet, she believed that people’s IQ scores told the whole story of who they were. We were seated around the room in IQ order, and only the highest-IQ students could be trusted to carry the flag, clap the erasers, or take a note to the principal. Aside from the daily stomachaches she provoked with her judgmental stance, she was creating a mindset in which everyone in the class had one consuming goal—look smart, don’t look dumb. Who cared about or enjoyed learning when our whole being was at stake every time she gave us a test or called on us in class? I’ve seen so many people with this one consuming goal of proving themselves—in the classroom, in their careers, and in their relationships. Every situation calls for a confirmation of their intelligence, personality, or character. Every situation is evaluated: Will I succeed or fail? Will I look smart or dumb? Will I be accepted or rejected? Will I feel like a winner or a loser? But doesn’t our society value intelligence, personality, and character? Isn’t it normal to want these traits? Yes, but . . . There’s another mindset in which these traits are not simply a hand you’re dealt and have to live with, always trying to convince yourself and others that you have a royal flush when you’re secretly worried it’s a pair of tens. In this mindset, the hand you’re dealt is just the starting point for development. This growth mindset is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts. Although people may differ in every which way—in their initial talents and aptitudes, interests, or temperaments—everyone can change and grow through application and experience. Do people with this mindset believe that anyone can be anything, that anyone with proper motivation or education can become Einstein or Beethoven? No, but they believe that a person’s true potential is unknown (and unknowable); that it’s impossible to foresee what can be accomplished with years of passion, toil, and training. Did you know that Darwin and Tolstoy were considered ordinary children? That Ben Hogan, one of the greatest golfers of all time, was completely uncoordinated and graceless as a child? That the photographer Cindy Sherman, who has been on virtually every list of the most important artists of the twentieth century, failed her first photography course? That Geraldine Page, one of our greatest actresses, was advised to give it up for lack of talent? You can see how the belief that cherished qualities can be developed creates a passion for learning. Why waste time proving over and over how great you are, when you could be getting better? Why hide deficiencies instead of overcoming them? Why look for friends or partners who will just shore up your self-esteem instead of ones who will also challenge you to grow? And why seek out the tried and true, instead of experiences that will stretch you? The passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even (or especially) when it’s not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset. This is the mindset that allows people to thrive during some of the most challenging times in their lives. A VIEW FROM THE TWO MINDSETS To give you a better sense of how the two mindsets work, imagine—as vividly as you can—that you are a young adult having a really bad day: One day, you go to a class that is really important to you and that you like a lot. The professor returns the midterm papers to the class. You got a C+. You’re very disappointed. That evening on the way back to your home, you find that you’ve gotten a parking ticket. Being really frustrated, you call your best friend to share your experience but are sort of brushed off. What would you think? What would you feel? What would you do? When I asked people with the fixed mindset, this is what they said: “I’d feel like a reject.” “I’m a total failure.” “I’m an idiot.” “I’m a loser.” “I’d feel worthless and dumb—everyone’s better than me.” “I’m slime.” In other words, they’d see what happened as a direct measure of their competence and worth. This is what they’d think about their lives: “My life is pitiful.” “I have no life.” “Somebody upstairs doesn’t like me.” “The world is out to get me.” “Someone is out to destroy me.” “Nobody loves me, everybody hates me.” “Life is unfair and all efforts are useless.” “Life stinks. I’m stupid. Nothing good ever happens to me.” “I’m the most unlucky person on this earth.” Excuse me, was there death and destruction, or just a grade, a ticket, and a bad phone call? Are these just people with low self-esteem? Or card-carrying pessimists? No. When they aren’t coping with failure, they feel just as worthy and optimistic—and bright and attractive—as people with the growth mindset. So how would they cope? “I wouldn’t bother to put so much time and effort into doing well in anything.” (In other words, don’t let anyone measure you again.) “Do nothing.” “Stay in bed.” “Get drunk.” “Eat.” “Yell at someone if I get a chance to.” “Eat chocolate.” “Listen to music and pout.” “Go into my closet and sit there.” “Pick a fight with somebody.” “Cry.” “Break something.” “What is there to do?” What is there to do! You know, when I wrote the vignette, I intentionally made the grade a C+, not an F. It was a midterm rather than a final. It was a parking ticket, not a car wreck. They were “sort of brushed off,” not rejected outright. Nothing catastrophic or irreversible happened. Yet from this raw material the fixed mindset created the feeling of utter failure and paralysis. When I gave people with the growth mindset the same vignette, here’s what they said. They’d think: “I need to try harder in class, be more careful when parking the car, and wonder if my friend had a bad day.” “The C+ would tell me that I’d have to work a lot harder in the class, but I have the rest of the semester to pull up my grade.” There were many, many more like this, but I think you get the idea. Now, how would they cope? Directly. “I’d start thinking about studying harder (or studying in a different way) for my next test in that class, I’d pay the ticket, and I’d work things out with my best friend the next time we speak.” “I’d look at what was wrong on my exam, resolve to do better, pay my parking ticket, and call my friend to tell her I was upset the day before.” “Work hard on my next paper, speak to the teacher, be more careful where I park or contest the ticket, and find out what’s wrong with my friend.” You don’t have to have one mindset or the other to be upset. Who wouldn’t be? Things like a poor grade or a rebuff from a friend or loved one—these are not fun events. No one was smacking their lips with relish. Yet those people with the growth mindset were not labeling themselves and throwing up their hands. Even though they felt distressed, they were ready to take the risks, confront the challenges, and keep working at them. SO, WHAT’S NEW? Is this such a novel idea? We have lots of sayings that stress the importance of risk and the power of persistence, such as “Nothing ventured, nothing gained” and “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” or “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” (By the way, I was delighted to learn that the Italians have the same expression.) What is truly amazing is that people with the fixed mindset would not agree. For them, it’s “Nothing ventured, nothing lost.” “If at first you don’t succeed, you probably don’t have the ability.” “If Rome wasn’t built in a day, maybe it wasn’t meant to be.” In other words, risk and effort are two things that might reveal your inadequacies and show that you were not up to the task. In fact, it’s startling to see the degree to which people with the fixed mindset do not believe in effort. From the Hardcover edition. (Continues...) |
Advice My Parents Gave Me: and Other Lessons I Learned From My Mistakes
| |
|
Follow the Money: An SJPD Novel
| |
 CHAPTER 1Rex pulled the gold Chevy Impala to the curb of South Seventh Street and parked. He looked up the street and could see a dark green Plymouth Voyager van pulling in to the curb. That would be Five-O and his partner from the U. S. Postal Inspectors. Rex picked up the mike and keyed it. “Mitch, you up?” “We’re in the back and set.” “Five-O, you ready?” “Roger that.” Rex reached down and switched the radio to another channel. “5 King 10, 24-0-2.” “Go ahead to 5 King 10.” “24-0-2, we’re in position and starting our surveillance.” “10-4. All units have been told to stay away from your op.” “Thank you. We’ll be back on channel 9.” Rex turned to Kat as he put the mike down. “Go ahead and call the grandson.” Kat picked up her cell phone and punched in a number. When the caller answered she spoke to him briefly and then disconnected. Five minutes later, her phone rang. She spoke briefly and disconnected. “The grandson says that she’s on her way. She told him she would be here in five minutes. Rex picked up his handpac and hit the transmit button. “Heads up everybody, she’s on her way.” They were staking out an old Victorian house on South Seventh Street just south of San Jose State University. Back in the 1920’s and 1930’s, when these houses were first built they were the homes of San Jose’s upper middle class. Now they were converted into one-bedroom apartments for college students, single-room apartments for pensioners on Social Security, and half way houses. Still, the neighborhood was pleasant. The streets were lined with mature trees that had grown tall and stately. Some of San Jose’s new rich had bought the houses and were restoring them to their original splendor. It was a quiet neighborhood, but not dead. People were walking on the street or sitting on their front porches. Today they were hoping to collar the Black Widow. She was the suspect in a case that Kat was working with the US Postal. They had dubbed her the black widow because she was preying on old men. She would befriend them, offer them sex, and then get them to sign over their social security checks. Just then, Rex heard Kat swear, “Damn, can you believe this? Look at the Postal van.” A meter maid had just pulled up behind the undercover Postal van in her Cushman and was getting out with her ticker book. She walked up to the front of the van and looked at the windshield. “What the hell is she doing?” asked Rex. “Look at the sign,” Kat said pointing to a street sign they were parked in front of that said you could not park on this street without a permit. Rex keyed his handpac, “Five-O, just flash your badge and she’ll go away.” There was no response, but a couple of seconds later Rex and Kat saw the Meter Maid do a double take and quickly get in her Cushman and drive off. As they watched the Meter Maid drive away, Kat spotted their suspect walking up the street towards the old house. “There she is, across the street walking up to the house.” Rex keyed his handpac, “Suspect approaching from the South, standby.” The suspect walked past the driveway and up onto the front porch where she stopped and talked to two elderly men who were sitting out there. Rex keyed his handpac again, “Suspect on the front porch, standby, wait until she goes in.” The suspect spent a couple of minutes talking to the two older men then turned and walked into the house. Rex keyed his handpac, “She’s in the house, Five-O move in.” Rex and Kat got out of their car and started toward the house. There was still no movement from the Postal van. Then Five-O and his partner jumped out of their van and ran for the house. They hit the steps just in front of Rex and Kat and continued through the front door. The two old men just sat and watched. First two people with guns drawn had run past them. Next came Kat and Rex in dark blue raid jackets that said police with their guns’ drawn. Rex winked at one of the old men and gave him thumbs up as he hurried past. The old men just stared back with that look that only old people can give, that look that says I have seen it all and nothing surprises me anymore. Rex and Kat cleared the front door, they heard Five-O shouting “Federal Agent, stop.” They heard a sharp cry and some thumping sounds. Kat was down the stairs first. Rex hit the bottom of the stairs. He saw Agent Cunningham wrestling in the cramped hallway with the suspect. The suspect screamed and yelled, “Get off me you fucking bitch.” Cunningham and the suspect were sprawled in the middle of the hallway. The suspect had a knife in her right hand, and Cunningham was desperately trying to keep the suspect from stabbing her. Cunningham had both of her hands around the suspect’s right wrist, and she was smashing the back of the suspect’s hand against the wall. Meanwhile, the suspect was trying to claw Cunningham’s face with her left hand. Cunningham was on top of the suspect and in the narrow hallway, there was no way to take a shot. Out of the corner of his eye, Rex saw Kat holster her weapon, move up, grab the suspect’s left hand and arm and twist it up behind her back forcing the suspect face down on the floor. The suspect yelped in pain, the knife fell to the floor, and she said, “All right, all right, I give up. You don’t have to break my fucking arm.” Kat pulled the suspect’s right arm behind her back and cuffed her. Then she picked up the knife. “Honey, don’t you know you don’t bring a knife to a gun fight? You’re lucky you didn’t get shot.” As Kat and Agent Cunningham searched the suspect, Rex thought back as to how this morning had begun. He was sitting in the Financial Crimes Unit at his desk. * * * “Good Morning Kat,” Rex called out as his partner walked in and dumped her briefcase at her adjacent desk. “Good morning Cowboy. Did you get the Op Order done?” “Yeah, I got it done last night before I left.” Rex handed her a copy of the Operation Order for their Surveillance/Arrest Operation that was going down this morning. “Sorry I couldn’t stay and help you with it last night, but I had to pick up the kid from school,” Kat said. “No big deal. It was a simple thing to write up and besides, family comes first. I got a call from Postal just before you walked in. Five-O said he’d be here in about fifteen minutes.” Kat looked around the still empty office. “Are we going to have a supervisor to go with us?” “Yeah,” Rex said, “The Burglary Sergeant, Pike. He’s in his cube waiting for everybody to get here so we can brief. Since your Sergeant decided to take the morning off the L. T. assigned him to us. I already gave him a copy of the Op Order.” Kat made a face. “Can’t we get somebody else besides Edward the Lump? I’d almost have Sergeant Alvarez over him.” “Nope, he’s the only supervisor in this morning and we have to take a supervisor with us.” “Well, hopefully he will stay out of our way,” Kat said. This was such a basic operation that neither Rex nor Kat saw any reason to bring along a Sergeant. They were seasoned senior officers entrusted to investigate cases involving millions of dollars. In the old days, you just grabbed up some people, went out, and did your thing. However, in this new era of hand wringing, ever since Robbery shot a suspect down in Salinas, you could not do a thing without a Sergeant. It had gotten so rediculous that the Chief of Detectives had made it an order. You were not even supposed to leave the city to interview a witness without notifying your Sergeant, who then notified the Lieutenant, who then notified the Captain, who in turn told the Chief of D’s that a couple of his Detectives were “out of town.” Rex and Kat ignored this rule on a regular basis. Crooks did not pay any attention to city limits especially in financial crimes. Their investigations would start in San Jose, but often took them all over the Bay Area. If they were out in the field doing follow up investigation on a case and it took them out of town, they were not about to stop and call in to the office to find a supervisor to ask permission to go out of town. Five-O walked into the office. He was a senior US Postal Inspector in the San Jose office. His real name was Harry Ho, but he was affectionately known as “Five-O” after the TV cop show because he was from Hawaii and usually wore Hawaiian shirts to work. Today he was dressed in tactical 5-11 pants and shirt, and a black raid vest that said Federal Agent on the front and back in gold letters. His nine-mil pistol was strapped to his right leg in a tactical holster. Kat flashed him a smile and said, “Five-O, welcome to the party. I see you dressed for the occasion. Who’s your friend?” Behind Five-O was another Postal Inspector also dressed in tactical gear. “Kat, Cowboy, I’d like you to met Susan Cunningham, she just transferred to the San Jose office from El Paso. Thought I’d bring her along so she could see how we operated.” They shook hands all around. US Postal and the SJPD worked closely together, primarily on financial and identity theft crimes. Rex and Kat liked working with Postal. With Postal, everybody was equal. The FBI always acted as if they were better than the locals were and did not share anything. Secret Service was good, but they were constantly being pulled off cases to work some protection detail, so you could not count on them. However, Postal was always there, especially Five-O. They had worked several joint investigations together. Mitch and Terry walked over and joined the group. They were two Burglary Detectives that were going to help today. “O.K.,” said Rex, “Looks like we’ve got everybody, let me get the Sergeant and then we can have our briefing.” A couple of minutes later Rex walked back to the group with Sergeant Pike in tow. “This is short and sweet, so we can brief right here.” Everybody grabbed a chair or parked it on the edge of a desk. “Kat, this is your case so why don’t you bring us up to speed,” Rex said to Kat. Kat took over. “Five-O and I have developed a joint suspect. She’s a little crankster who hustles elder single men living in low-income apartments for their social security money. She also gets them to take out life insurance policies where she is named as the sole beneficiary. One of our victims is in the hospital, but our suspect has continued to try and reach him. His grandson is cooperating with us. The suspect has mail coming to the victim’s apartment, and she is anxious to retrieve it. This morning the grandson will lay in a call to the suspect telling her she can come over to his grandfather’s apartment and get her mail. We’ll be waiting for her with arrest warrant in hand.” Rex took over. “Five-O, since you and your partner are dressed for the occasion; you guys will be our arrest team. Take a position just north of the target house. Follow our suspect in and take her down. We’ve got an arrest warrant for her, so we don’t need her to do anything else, just take her as soon as you can. “The house is an old Victorian that’s been carved up into a bunch of one-room apartments. The victim’s room is down a hallway on the left of the entrance hall that goes down a short flight of steps. “Mitch and Terry, you take the back of the house. There is a wide driveway and parking area back there that gives you a place to park where you can eyeball the back door. If our suspect comes out the back, take her. “Kat and I will set up out front to the south. We’ll follow Postal through the front door. The Patrol District Sergeant has been notified and will keep his marked units out of the area. Radio channel 9 has been reserved for us.” When Rex had finished the briefing, he asked if there were any questions. Nobody had any. It was quiet for a minute while they all looked at Sergeant Pike who sat looking at the Op Plan. Finally, Rex leaned over and said to Sergeant Pike, “I think this is the point where you’re suppose to say, ‘O.K., if nobody has any questions, let’s go.’” Sergeant Pike looked startled, gave Rex that deer-in-the-headlights look and then said, “O.K., let’s go, see you out there.” He got up, turned, and walked out of the room. Rex just shook his head. “Right, I’ll go ahead and call radio and log everybody on. You guys can head on out there. Kat will call our victim’s grandson as soon as we are set and have him lay in the duped phone call. Hopefully our suspect will take the bait.” * * * Kat and Agent Cunningham helped the suspect to her feet and marched her down the hallway towards the front door. Rex followed along smiling at Kat. Kat looked over at Rex and asked, “What?” Rex, still smiling, said, “I guess that Grab My Crotch stuff paid off.” Kat made a face, “It’s called Krav Maga, a form of Israeli street fighting, and you should try it.” Rex said, “No thanks, I’m too old fashioned. I just prefer ramming the dirt bag’s head into the nearest wall or car fender.” Kat just shook her head and continued outside with the suspect. Cunningham and Kat walked the suspect over to the detective’s car and sat her in the front passenger seat, putting her seatbelt on to secure her in the car. While the girls were taking care of this, Rex pulled out his cell phone. He punched one of the speed dial numbers. “Dawn Summers, KTVU Channel 2 News,” she answered after two rings. “Hi Dawn, this is Rex, perp walk picture show in ten minutes,” he said and then hung up. Dawn Summers was a television reporter for the local Fox affiliate, KTVU Channel 2. A while back, she had done a real favorable story on Kat and Rex’s investigation of a con artist couple that preyed on the elderly. Cops usually did not like reporters because they were trying to make the cops look bad, especially in San Jose. It was said of the local newspaper, the Mercury News,that their editor only believed in two kinds of police stories, police corruption, and police brutality. That was why the cops called it the “Murky News.” The cops usually felt that the Murky News slanted their stories and tried to put the cops in a bad light. Still, the news media were useful, if you knew how to use them. Getting the story of an investigation or an arrest out could help you find additional victims or witnesses. Rex and Kat were old hands at using the news media. You had to understand that the media had different deadlines they were up against. If you gave them enough information with enough lead-time to get their story into the next day’s paper, or on the five o’clock news, they could be your friend. If you were prepared before you talked to the press, knew exactly what you were going to say, and how many facts you were going to give out, it went a lot easier and the press did not make you look like a fool. Because Dawn was an honest reporter that had not tried to screw them yet, Kat and Rex had developed an unofficial relationship with her. It also helped that she worked for the local Fox News affiliate, which was known for its fair and balanced reporting. By Department policy, all news stories were supposed to go through the Public Information Officer, the PIO. This usually meant that the story did not get to press for a couple of days unless it was some significant event. Television reporters did not like doing old stories; they wanted the news that was happening now. If a TV reporter could include film of something that was happening now, that usually meant that the story got on the evening news. Rex genuinely liked the “Perp Walk.” This was the shot of the suspect being taken out of the police car and lead in handcuffs into the police station. It was tremendously popular with TV news people too. Rex was not above getting a little positive publicity for him and his partner and the department. He just had to be a little cagey in how he did it. He had Dawn’s cell phone on his speed dial, and whenever they were bringing in some criminal they had just arrested, Rex would make that cryptic call to her cell phone. It told her that if she could get her cameraman in place on West Mission Street, in front of the police department, he could get a telephoto shot of the suspect being taken from the back seat of the police car and marched into the San Jose PD Pre-Processing Center, San Jose’s mini jail. This let Dawn know that she needed to get a hold of the Public Information Office and ask about any recent arrests. The deal was that Dawn would not burn Rex. In return she got live footage of the arrestee. She had an action shot that would almost guarantee the story would be on the evening news. After the suspect was secured in the detectives’ car with Agent Cunningham and Kat guarding her, Rex asked Five-O what happened. Five-O handed Rex his handpac and said, “Our radio quit working. I thought that was her but I wasn’t sure until you guys jumped out of your car. When Susan and I caught up with her in the hallway, I yelled for her to stop and she started to run. Susan was faster and took her down with a flying tackle and the fight was on.” “Great,” Rex said sarcastically. “SJPD, the finest police department in the universe and we don’t even have radios that work. Well, at least none of our people got hurt. We’ll take her to Pre-Processing if you want to follow us down.” He turned to Mitch, “Thanks for the help guys.” Rex got behind the wheel of their car and Kat got in the backseat behind the suspect. Kat asked, “Where’s Sergeant Pike?” “I don’t know,” said Rex. “Think you better tell him it’s over?” Rex tried to raise Sergeant Pike on his handpac, but there was no response so he tried the car radio. “24-20, 24-0-2, you copy?” “24-20, go ahead.” “Did you copy any of the last traffic?” “Negative.” “I guess your handpac also died. We’re Code 4, 10-15 with one and on our way to PPC.” “10-4, need me for anything?” “Negative, we got it handled.” Rex looked at Kat, “Well, you got your wish; he stayed out of our way." Excerpted from “Follow the Money: An SJPD Novel” by Bob DeGeorge. Copyright © by Bob DeGeorge. Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Excerpts are provided by Bob DeGeorge solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site. |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)