You're doing it wrong

A word to bank robbers: Always be sure to arrange your getaway in advance. If you go around after the robbery, offering strangers $1,000 for a ride to the next town, it looks suspicious.

Police say a robber in Capitola, CA, did just that. Worse, he got away with it, at least for now.

Full story here.

Everyone needs an editor

Editors help you watch out for unintended double entendres, such as the one I spotted yesterday painted (twice!) in giant letters on the windows of a uniform store in Redding, CA. Here's what it said:

DICKIE

SCRUBS

35 % OFF!

What a bargain!

You're doing it wrongest

OK, all you wanted sex offenders, where's the last place you should take a bath? Come on, think hard. What's that? The restroom at the police department? Hah, good one! No one would be so stupid --

Wait, what?

Oh, my. It seems a wanted sex offender in my new hometown of Santa Cruz, CA, did not get the memo about no-bathing-at-the-cop-shop. Police say a visitor to headquarters took his kids into the restroom and found Darrick Burch, 53, fully naked and washing in the sink. The visitor fetched a cop, who found Burch still naked and merrily bathing.

Police arrested Burch on an outstanding warrant for failing to register properly as a sex offender.

Full story here.

You're doing it wrong

How many times do we have to say it? If you're going to commit a felony, be sure you have gas in your getaway car.

A trio of idiots in Albuquerque, NM, ran out of gas one block from the motel they'd just robbed, police say. No question it was the right car, since the robbers had parked directly outside the motel office, giving the clerks a clear view of their license plate.

Worse yet, police say the robbery was the second motel that the trio had tried to knock over that night. At the first one, the clerk refused to answer the locked door until the robbers gave up and went away.

The complete story, if you can stomach it, is here.

They fired all the copy editors

Assorted goofs in today's local paper reminded me that I haven't done a typo roundup lately. I didn't have to look far.

--On KOAT/Albuquerque's website today, we find this headline: "Woman, 65, Dragged by Purse Through Parking Lot."

Man, that's one angry purse.

--On redding.com today, we learn that City Council candidates want to "reign in spending."

Not unless "Spending" is a kingdom I never heard of before.

--I love the fishing report at the San Jose Mercury-News, and the pains taken not to be repetitive. The result is daily profundity like this: "Striped bass are all over San Pablo Bay."

There goes the neighborhood!

Back from B'con

Wow, what a great time at Bouchercon, the World Mystery Convention, in San Francisco. The organizers put on a great conference for 1,400 of our best pals.

The conference was in the Hyatt on the Embarcadero, and our room looked out at the Bay Bridge. Sailboats, the Ferry Building, lots of great restaurants within walking distance, etc.

Kelly and I each moderated panels at the conference, and our author panelists did splendid jobs.

Most fun for me, as always, were the after-hours poker games. The authors who sit around those poker tables may well be the funniest people in the world.

Crazy busy

Weeks between posts here, but it's been such a busy month that I'm looking forward to Bouchercon this week as a place to wind down.

Bouchercon, the world mystery convention, is in San Francisco this year, and my wife Kelly and I are moderating panels on Friday. My 4:30 p.m. panel focuses on sex in mysteries. The panelists: Heather Graham, Lauren Henderson, Harley Jane Kozak, Rita Lakin and F. Paul Wilson. It don't get better than that, folks. Y'all come.

Here at home, we're still prepping for our move to Santa Cruz, CA. We found a 1930s bungalow within sight of Sunny Cove Beach. As Kel likes to say, here's our new front yard:


More later. I've got to go pack some stuff.