Carol the Dabbler

Yeah, I use Google maps quite often, because they have features that a printed map generally does not -- like the place where I need to turn is just past a McDonald's. Very good for landmarks when I'm in a strange area.

Thanks, guys! My phone appears to be different from even that Motorola (I believe mine is Gen 4), but I can search the internet for my model. And if all else fails, thanks for the advice on choosing an app.

Are you saying we'd better keep an eye on you?

Hi, Brad -- welcome to Sherlock Forum! In addition to this thread, why don't you set up a First-Time Readers thread in The Casebooks section of the forum? A lot of us here are primarily fans of the BBC television program Sherlock, but watching the show has prompted us to read the originals, so we're first-timers as well.

For those who are into Official, here's a link to the snore (as Artemis called it -- I actually liked it just fine). Can't help thinking they're setting up for more sequels, based on Rey and Finn.

It's called a GPS (global positioning system). And they're only as accurate as their files, which need to be updated now and then. Alex and I have a Garmin GPS (which we call Carmen Garmin) that we sometimes use on long trips. She's very handy for finding a gas station or a place to eat. Or for finding just about anything (such as our hotel) in areas that we don't have detailed maps for. She still thinks our road ends at the neighbor's house, though. The end of a trip goes like this (including her quaint pronunciation): "Navigay ting off-road. Arriving a tome." Do you remember back when gas stations offered free road maps? *sigh* Your best bet for finding detailed local maps (free or otherwise) these days is generally a town visitor's bureau or chamber of commerce. And the AAA has decent state maps (though not as good as the old gas-company maps).

Aw, what a sweet smile!

Hmm, d'you suppose the Moftisses have a casting farm too? Maybe in conjunction with Peter Jackson?

Ooh, VBS -- I *love* those little things in your hidden photo! I keep thinking I want to do things like that. Maybe one of these days?

All in character, I assume?

I've heard that one's fellow jurors can put pressure on one to conform. I don't believe the jury I was in behaved in that way -- we just all tried to convince each other (and generally failed). But there wasn't any lone holdout in our midst. We pretty much all disagreed on one point or another.

I've checked the apps that came with the phone (at least I assume that's what that menu is -- the one accessed by tapping the icon that looks like the top of a salt shaker), and there's nothing that sounds like it would be a flashlight. If by "home menu" you mean the first page that comes up, I don't see anything like a flashlight there either, just phone, camera, etc., and some games. Not sure what you mean by "slide the top part"? I have a Motorola Android, if that's any help.

Speaking of restaurants -- I was having trouble reading the menu in a rather dimly-lit restaurant tonight. It occurred to me that I've heard of a cellphone app that temporarily turns the phone into a flashlight. Can anyone tell me where to find that app, what it's called, etc.? Or if there's more than one, what are the good and bad points of the ones you're familiar with? Thanks!

Hi, Jamie -- welcome to Sherlock Forum! That's a good question, but unfortunately the answer (so far) is "not exactly." Moffit and Gatiss have said they do not intend to authorize any novelizations of episodes. The closest you'll get to that would be the shooting scripts, most of which are available online (see links here). (And of course there are also Ariane DeVere's unofficial transcripts of everything.) Nor are there any professionally published novels or story collections based on the show -- but there are loads of fan-written stories online, some of which are really good (see links to suggestions here). Just be aware that many of the authors have made creative interpretations of the basic premise, everything from Sherlock and John's romance to something involving tentacles. There have been at least two authorized books, but they're not stories. They're presented as further information about the characters, etc., mostly done "in-universe" (i.e., treating the episodes as factual). Here's one of them. I know we've discussed the other one as well -- hopefully someone else will be able to provide the link that's eluding me at the moment!

I've been called up for jury duty several times, but actually served only once. It was an interesting and rather convoluted case, but the final discussion amongst the jurors was maddeningly frustrating. The defendant, an officer at the county jail, was accused of, among other things, taking a bribe from a prisoner. Now the prisoner had told a totally different story at first, but then he accused this officer, and specified that he'd bribed him with money from his wallet, where it had been hidden behind the credit cards. The officer denied everything (we saw the videotape), even after being told that he'd failed a lie detector test -- until the "technician" (a state policeman who'd had a couple months training on lie detectors) threatened that if he didn't confess to this one, he'd pin a few other similar cases on him. At this point the guy said, oh whatever, all right, whatever you say, I did it! (If the cop had threatened to frame me for all those crimes, I'd have confessed to killing my own grandmother at that point!) Then the cop demanded details, asked him where the prisoner had gotten the money from, and the jailer said oh, out of his wallet, from behind the credit cards. One juror said she'd believed the jailer was innocent until he said the money had been behind the credit cards, precisely as the prisoner had said. I tried to point out that (as we'd been told) all known cash had been removed from the prisoner's wallet when he was booked into the jail, so a bribe could not have come from the billfold section of his wallet. Therefore where else *could* it have come from, except from behind the credit cards? But she just kept reiterating that the jailer had admitted to precisely the same detail the prisoner had mentioned, so she was now convinced he was guilty as sin. We ended up with a hung jury. (It wasn't just her and me; other people disagreed on other points.) We were, however, unanimous that one of the charges did not apply to the case as presented by the prosecution, so at least we found him not guilty on that one charge. Admittedly a lot of people won't value your traits unless they share them. But if those aren't naturally your traits, and as long as your own natural traits are reasonably harmless, I don't see the point of faking it. You probably wouldn't do a very good job of it anyhow -- at least I never could.