Metropolitan Police Radio Callsigns
Apr. 30th, 2026 08:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
inferiorwit posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
little_detailsHi, folks!
I'm currently writing crime fiction set in contemporary London, and I'm trying to figure out whether a police officer on the radio would be specifically identifiable to someone listening in.
Does the Met use radio callsigns that are unique to each officer? Or are callsigns assigned to specific beats, instead? Or a secret third thing?
Thanks!
Heroes In Crisis Issue #5: In Which We Pretend Privacy Violations Are Perfectly Fine!
Apr. 16th, 2026 06:54 pm
Catholic church question, early 1700s
Apr. 26th, 2026 01:06 pmdinogrrl posting in little_detailsI'm (still) writing a fantasy story set in early 18th century Venice, and there's several scenes of the main character and her family attending Mass or otherwise being inside their church. It's not a big cathedral, more like a well-attended neighborhood church.
My question is probably very stupid but where the heck do the men put their hats while attending Mass or whatever else they're in there for? Do they just like, put their hats beside themselves on their seats? Or just hold onto them on their laps or some other way? Or would your average 18th century Catholic church have a sort of coat room or somesuch? My google-fu is failing in finding a church layout from that time period or text explanation, though I did find a good article about priests wearing wigs...
My question is probably very stupid but where the heck do the men put their hats while attending Mass or whatever else they're in there for? Do they just like, put their hats beside themselves on their seats? Or just hold onto them on their laps or some other way? Or would your average 18th century Catholic church have a sort of coat room or somesuch? My google-fu is failing in finding a church layout from that time period or text explanation, though I did find a good article about priests wearing wigs...
LW does not have an inlaw problem, she has a husband problem
Apr. 25th, 2026 10:54 pmconuly posting in agonyauntDear Annie: I have been married for 12 years to a good man whom I love very much, but I dread nearly every holiday, birthday dinner and casual Sunday visit with his family. On the surface, my in-laws are charming, polished and the sort of people everyone else describes as "so nice." But behind that polished exterior is a steady drip of cutting remarks aimed almost entirely at me.
My mother-in-law has a talent for delivering insults with a smile. She will look at a meal I brought and say, "Well, that's certainly ... rustic," or ask whether I am "still doing that little job of yours," even though I work full time and do quite well. My father-in-law joins in with jokes about how their son "used to eat better before marriage" or how I have "modern ideas" whenever I disagree with them about anything from parenting to politics to how often we should visit.
The comments are always subtle enough that if I react, I look oversensitive. But after years of this, I feel like I am being pecked to death by very well-dressed chickens.
What hurts most is that my husband says, "That's just how they are," and urges me to ignore it to keep the peace. But there is no peace for me. I leave these gatherings replaying every jab in my head for days.
How do I tell my in-laws to stop without blowing up the family? And how do I get my husband to understand that "just ignore it" is not a strategy, it is surrender? -- Bruised by Politeness
( Read more... )
My mother-in-law has a talent for delivering insults with a smile. She will look at a meal I brought and say, "Well, that's certainly ... rustic," or ask whether I am "still doing that little job of yours," even though I work full time and do quite well. My father-in-law joins in with jokes about how their son "used to eat better before marriage" or how I have "modern ideas" whenever I disagree with them about anything from parenting to politics to how often we should visit.
The comments are always subtle enough that if I react, I look oversensitive. But after years of this, I feel like I am being pecked to death by very well-dressed chickens.
What hurts most is that my husband says, "That's just how they are," and urges me to ignore it to keep the peace. But there is no peace for me. I leave these gatherings replaying every jab in my head for days.
How do I tell my in-laws to stop without blowing up the family? And how do I get my husband to understand that "just ignore it" is not a strategy, it is surrender? -- Bruised by Politeness
( Read more... )
LW should've sent this one to Ask a Manager
Apr. 25th, 2026 10:48 pmconuly posting in agonyauntDEAR ABBY: I'm struggling with what to do about my first job out of college. I've been here for four months, and while I expected a learning curve, I didn't expect the environment to feel so hostile. My boss yells at me across the office for small, easily fixable mistakes. The latest incident involved her slamming her hands on the table several times and shouting, "What are you talking about?" while I was trying to clarify a question. I couldn't even get my words out.
I'm in the second round of interviews for another job with a different company, and I'm torn about what to do. My parents think I should stick it out to avoid being seen as a job hopper. But I feel anxious going into work every day. This environment is eroding my confidence.
Furthermore, I will be moving to a new town with my fiance next year, so I'm wondering if it's smarter to stay for another several months or take the new job (which will be remote, if I get it) even though I'm worried I might not like that one either.
Am I too sensitive? Should I leave a job this quickly, or push through until my move? How do I make the right decision when I feel guilty no matter what I choose? -- CONFLICTED IN NEBRASKA
( Read more... )
I'm in the second round of interviews for another job with a different company, and I'm torn about what to do. My parents think I should stick it out to avoid being seen as a job hopper. But I feel anxious going into work every day. This environment is eroding my confidence.
Furthermore, I will be moving to a new town with my fiance next year, so I'm wondering if it's smarter to stay for another several months or take the new job (which will be remote, if I get it) even though I'm worried I might not like that one either.
Am I too sensitive? Should I leave a job this quickly, or push through until my move? How do I make the right decision when I feel guilty no matter what I choose? -- CONFLICTED IN NEBRASKA
( Read more... )
1984 Library Research and Tech
Apr. 25th, 2026 12:58 pmcarodee posting in little_detailsSadly, my experience with libraries at that time was just wandering the stacks and taking out interesting books. I vaguely remember using a microfiche once, for example, and all I remember is you have to turn the knob the opposite direction of what you're viewing. Research is a foreign land to me.
The googling I've done tells me that this year was smack dab in the middle of converting to computer use from old style card catalogues, etc. but no information on how a person goes about doing research. I would love to have a helpful librarian character too.
This is for an exchange fic so I'm putting the rest under a cut. Please don't click if you requested a canon set in the 80s in a current exchange. Thank you. ( Read more... )
Any help in how this would work or a website that has this research finding information would be very appreciated.
Edited to Add: Thanks for the suggestions so far but I actually need to have my character do some research beyond phone books for the story to work. What I'm getting is libraries might still? be using card catalogues rather than early computers but how would magazines and trade journals be listed in the card catalogue so that a specific company could be researched? Thank you for any suggestions. They do spark my imagination for adding to the scene.
ETA2: Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. I have what I need now. This community is a great resource.
The googling I've done tells me that this year was smack dab in the middle of converting to computer use from old style card catalogues, etc. but no information on how a person goes about doing research. I would love to have a helpful librarian character too.
This is for an exchange fic so I'm putting the rest under a cut. Please don't click if you requested a canon set in the 80s in a current exchange. Thank you. ( Read more... )
Any help in how this would work or a website that has this research finding information would be very appreciated.
Edited to Add: Thanks for the suggestions so far but I actually need to have my character do some research beyond phone books for the story to work. What I'm getting is libraries might still? be using card catalogues rather than early computers but how would magazines and trade journals be listed in the card catalogue so that a specific company could be researched? Thank you for any suggestions. They do spark my imagination for adding to the scene.
ETA2: Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. I have what I need now. This community is a great resource.
(no subject)
Apr. 23rd, 2026 11:00 pmconuly posting in agonyauntDEAR ABBY: I have conflicting feelings regarding Valentine's Day. I believe it is a celebration for couples rather than co-workers. My husband's office staff (eight young women under the age of 30) insist on celebrating Valentine's Day with decorations on all office doors, complete with hearts and cupids. They have a catered lunch with specialty treats of chocolate-covered strawberries, fudge hearts and the customary heart candies that read "Be Mine," "I Love You", etc.
My husband has been with this company for 30 years, and we've been together for 15 of them, but this Valentine's Day celebration began only four years ago. I am 65 and have worked 20-plus years for a Fortune 500 corporate office and NEVER has Valentine's Day been celebrated in the office. Christmas, yes. Fourth of July, yes. But Valentine's Day? Am I just old and cranky? This has been a source of contention between my husband and me since it began. -- NOT LOVIN' THAT IN TEXAS
( Read more... )
My husband has been with this company for 30 years, and we've been together for 15 of them, but this Valentine's Day celebration began only four years ago. I am 65 and have worked 20-plus years for a Fortune 500 corporate office and NEVER has Valentine's Day been celebrated in the office. Christmas, yes. Fourth of July, yes. But Valentine's Day? Am I just old and cranky? This has been a source of contention between my husband and me since it began. -- NOT LOVIN' THAT IN TEXAS
( Read more... )
Search maintenance
Apr. 22nd, 2026 09:19 am![[staff profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user_staff.png){kind=small}
mark posting in ![[site community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/comm_staff.png){kind=small}
dw_maintenanceHappy Wednesday!
I'm taking search offline sometime today to upgrade the server to a new instance type. It should be down for a day or so -- sorry for the inconvenience. If you're curious, the existing search machine is over 10 years old and was starting to accumulate a decade of cruft...!
Also, apparently these older machines cost more than twice what the newer ones cost, on top of being slower. Trying to save a bit of maintenance and cost, and hopefully a Wednesday is okay!
Edited: The other cool thing is that this also means that the search index will be effectively realtime afterwards... no more waiting a few minutes for the indexer to catch new content.
Next book: Death in the Andamans
Apr. 22nd, 2026 10:39 amthemis1 posting in girlmeetstroubleHi all
The next book will be 'Death in the Andamans' by M M Kaye, which I am hosting.
I plan to start on May 19th (due to commitments earlier in the month). I'll post every Tuesday.
There are 24 chapters, so I'll do two at a time.
See you then!
The next book will be 'Death in the Andamans' by M M Kaye, which I am hosting.
I plan to start on May 19th (due to commitments earlier in the month). I'll post every Tuesday.
There are 24 chapters, so I'll do two at a time.
See you then!
This Rough Magic: chapters 20-22
Apr. 21st, 2026 07:28 amshewhostaples posting in girlmeetstroubleSo that's all over, bar the shouting? No! Three chapters is plenty of space for more trouble.
Lucy comes around at the opening of chapter 20 ( Read more... )
I feel that we can all agree with Phyl's assessment of Godfrey as a "stinking twerp".
Chapter 21, and there's nobody at the Castello. ( Read more... )
Chapter 22 takes the action all the way to the end. ( Read more... )
And that's the end! Thank you all for reading and commenting along. Comments are open for your thoughts on the last three chapters and/or the book as a whole.wychwood, what are we reading next?
Lucy comes around at the opening of chapter 20 ( Read more... )
I feel that we can all agree with Phyl's assessment of Godfrey as a "stinking twerp".
Chapter 21, and there's nobody at the Castello. ( Read more... )
Chapter 22 takes the action all the way to the end. ( Read more... )
And that's the end! Thank you all for reading and commenting along. Comments are open for your thoughts on the last three chapters and/or the book as a whole.
wychwood, what are we reading next?