(Some) Criminals are total idiots

 I don't know if I have ever said this before...

content warning!  I am going to talk about actual murders!  

Not graphically but I just wanted to say if that kind of thing is too upsetting, don't read further!

So I watched a bunch of episodes of a New Zealand show called Forensics, which is about murders in that country which were solved largely through scientific methods.

I find forensics interesting, and I also love New Zealand accents.

So anyway, I did find the episodes interesting, but it was depressing how incredibly stupid many of the criminals were.

Murder is wrong.  That is just...so so so obvious. You shouldn't murder anyone.  Being a soldier in war, or a policeman, or someone in authority is a different matter because I believe there can be justified killing but I'm not talking about that -- I am talking someone gets mad or wants to steal someone's else's stuff  and murders one or more people in the process.

Now if you are evil enough to plot to kill someone, then it seems obvious to me that you'd want to do it in a way which would keep you out of prison for most or all of the rest of your life. That just seems basic sense, right?

Of course murder is terrible.  I'm just saying, from a self preservation point of view, it would be sensible not to murder someone if it is almost certain that you will be caught.

Several of the murderers in question on this show (all were convicted) were stupid, but one of them was particularly idiotic.

He was the ex boyfriend of a woman and was mad that she had broken up, so he decided to murder her. (First degree -- it was planned.) So he snuck into her house, killed her, stole her phone, and started sending out bunch of messages supposedly from her claiming that she was afraid of a stalker at work.

Ok, yeah, that sounds kind of sneaky.  The idea, obviously, was it to look like she was sending messages about a stalker, and then when she was found dead, the police would go after the hypothetical stalker.

But.

He was not a strong speller and when he wrote the text messages, he included numerous spelling errors that the woman would never make.

He made a big deal about how she had told him about the stalker and that he was at her work place, but no one at work knew anything about a stalker.  Furthermore, she was very happy at work. Furthermore, her ex boyfriend HAD been stalking her and her coworkers knew that and told the police.  He had also sent her threatening messages.

So the police were all over that, of course -- they were like, ex boyfriend is probably the culprit.

And then they found a bloody fingerprint on her door, and it matched his fingerprint.

Like. Wow.

Like, dude you are so so so stupid!  You concoct this moderately elaborate plan to murder this innocent woman and LEAVE A BLOODY FINGERPRINT!

Sigh.

Of course I am very glad he was caught and convicted. Horrible man.

But it is kind, I don't know, scary -- yes, scary, that there are idiotic people out there who will commit crimes and apparently genuinely think they will get away with it in spite of all of modern technology pointing their way?

Maybe the smart criminals don't get caught. 

Thanksgiving!

 

We had the whole gang here for Thanksgiving, which was fun.  Naomi and Lydia are adults living their own lives and while we see them fairly often, it is rare they are both here at the same time. 

It was a wonderful meal and I am very thankful for many things: Jesus, salvation through his blood, my husband, my children, my house, my health...

We are blessed.

These weeks in pictures

I found a toad or a frog.  Toad, I think. Isn't he cute?

Sometimes, often, the sky is beautiful.

We had a couple of weeks of unseasonably warm weather and then it snowed some, which made the younger kids very happy!

Sarah had a birthday! This is a plushie that my parents bought her.  She loves it.

This is Opal, one of our "kittens".  I have been worried about her because she is super timid and nervous, especially because we have neighbor dogs who come over sometimes and terrorize our cats. She kept refusing to go on the porch which is where the food is. So anyway, she has moved in with Naomi and Lydia.

Kevin put in a new door in our sun room!  It was a BIG job but it is almost done now.

In other news, Isaac has now launched into that part of adulthood where he drives himself to his doctor and dental appointments.  It is awesome.  One of the challenges of my life has been hauling 9 kids to and from medical appointments. Now I only have to haul 6 kids.  It really is easier.

Also, Isaac is doing very well with school.  He is in engineering and that is hard work, but he is organized and diligent and managing well.  We are proud of him.

 

Highlights in my Hair

 

I went to a real life hairdresser place yesterday and a friend of mine gave me red highlights. This is a big deal for me as I just haven't bothered with such things in decades.  I had kids and I was busy and...

Anyway, I really like it.  I think it looks good.

Joint Interests with the Kids

 One of the oddball things about having SO many children is how they have different interests and I keep having fun when I connect with one of them about something.

The big boys are watching lots of movies now; they are 18 and 19 and mature enough for some heavier stuff.  So far they seem to like the same movies that I like, which is fun.  I am super picky about movies.  I am annoyingly picky about movies. I dislike 10 movies for every one I love. So yeah.

I hope for their sake they aren't quite as picky, but it is fun saying, Hey, how about THAT movie and they watch it and like it.  That has been happening a lot.

A week ago or so Miriam told me she was watching a youtube episode about a scientist who tried to fake finding a high atomic number element. I thought that sounded interesting so, with her help, looked it up and watched it all.  The man making the program calls himself BobbyBroccoli for some reason.

It. Was. Awesome!

https://scontent.fosu2-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/315192508_6006143696103425_3742779650931083566_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_p160x160&_nc_cat=110&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=dbeb18&_nc_ohc=JNjjXsKnSx8AX-LwFTa&_nc_ht=scontent.fosu2-2.fna&oh=00_AfDYQCErXJdBGf3tboAvtFWoaEgbvv_tdq9dcQYgFQmK1A&oe=63701EA8

That's the link, if you care.  It was sciency, but it was also psychological, and historical and WOW!  So so so cool!

BobbyBroccoli also made an elaborate program about a man named Schon who almost won a Nobel Prize on totally faked research!!!!!!!!

Like, recently!  20 years ago!!  WOW!!!!!!!

BobbiBroccoli has a great narrator voice and his images explaining the science are awesome.

It was so fun geeking out, and especially geeking out with Miriam!  I learned quite a bit about nuclear reactions. You would think I would know all that but honestly, I don't; as a materials scientist, I know more than most about the nucleus of atoms, but I know a LOT about electrons and bonding. That's my jam.

Anyway, I have lots in common with the kids, and lots of differences.  I am not an artist, unlike the six girls, but they can, at least, talk to each other!

I can talk about introversion and cats with Naomi, kids and cats and hair dye with Lydia, movies with the boys, and so on and so forth.

It is a blessing!

IM MISLBL

 

We have had yet another illness, which is so so so tedious, and Rose has been, by far, the sickest.

For a few days she was hacking and coughing so badly that she couldn't really talk.  She is now reading and writing (a little) so she took to writing phonetic spelled messages.

Which frankly I think is both brilliant and adorable.

Yesterday she stopped coughing so much and started throwing up.  Joy.  Poor darling; you know she is not feeling well when she lies, half asleep, in a miserable heap on the couch with a bowl in case she throws up again.

Last night she slept pretty well and this morning, while she hasn't been very hungry, she is far livelier and her stomach has settled. She had been drinking a lot so isn't dehydrated. She isn't coughing as much. So I think the worst is over, thankfully!!

Others of us got a little sick but not nearly as badly.  I did test for COVID and it was negative. One would HOPE that after having it a month ago, we wouldn't get it again, but I just wanted to be sure.

So we are on the mend.

This Week

 Last Friday night, I took our four girls still at home to a Women's Event at church.  Monday night, I took the younger six kids to church to participate in our church's Trick or Treat event.  The younger three enjoyed getting candy and playing games, and Joseph, Miriam, Angela, and I handed out candy. This was all happening in our big fellowship hall and it was a big hit in the community, especially because the night was rainy so trick or treating outside was not as fun as it could have been.

Miriam has been working at Burger King for a couple of months now. She really likes it. She doesn't drive yet so I have to drop her off and pick her up. Not a big deal at all, but it does mean the days she works (usually four days a week for 4 hours a day) I have to make a couple of round trips to Burger King.

All of this is to say I've been running around quite a bit. I find it very fatiguing to be away from home a lot.  Many people thrive on being away from home.  It is a personality thing, for sure!

I also find that as I age, I dislike driving at night more and more.  My eyesight is good but my night vision has deteriorated somewhat.  I am still an entirely safe driver, but I just don't enjoy night driving.

So all this is to say that I am a little tired now.  Yesterday I mostly stayed home though I did take the three youngest ones to the library.  Did you see how I called them "the youngest ones"?  I used to call them "the three little ones" but Sarah is no longer little.  She is, in fact, over 5 ft 6 inches tall.  She is not yet 12 years old!  I think she'll be my tallest daughter unless Rose sprouts a lot in a few years!

Our new book, "The Peacocks of Pemberley" is doing very well on Amazon. It is my longest book yet which means we make more money per book when people read it using Kindle Unlimited.  We get paid by page reads, you see.  It has been well received which is always a relief. By the time I am done with a story, I am totally sick of it and inclined to view it with weary irritation, so it is a relief that it IS a good book and people like it!