MEET RONALD ARNEAU, COMPUTER SPECIALIST FOR SPECIAL #CRIMES TEAM

Interviewer: Mr. Arneau, thank you for coming to this #interview.

Ronald Arneau: (grins) Just call me Ronald. Everyone except the Special Crimes Team does.

Interviewer: Why don’t they call you Ronald?

Ronald Arneau: (shrugs) Everyone’s too uptight right now.

Interviewer: Why’s that?

Ronald Arneau: (frowns) This case we’re working on…(shakes head) It’s, well, it’s really difficult, but that’s all I can say about it or Lieutenant Williams will skin me.

Interviewer: (smiles) Okay, I won’t ask anything else about the case. I don’t want to get you skinned. May I ask why you wound up on the Special #Crimes Team?

Ronald Arneau: (presses lips together for a moment before answering) Well, the governor wanted me on it. That’s really all I’m allowed to say. I don’t need to piss the governor off. (murmurs very softly: again)

Interviewer: (steeples fingertips together) All right. I don’t want to tick off the governor, either, so we’ll leave that line of questions. Tell me, Ronald, what do you do on the Special Crimes Team? You’re not a #cop, are you?

Ronald Arneau: (Big grin) Not a cop. Don’t want to be a #cop.

I do whatever they need done that involves a #computer. Like the first thing Lieutenant Williams wanted me to do, even before we had our first official team meeting, was to set up everyone’s #laptop and create a Team Room where everything about the case can be posted.

Interviewer: Hmmm… Don’t laptops come pre-installed these days?

Ronald Arneau: (sits up straight and leans toward interviewer. Eyes are sparkling with enthusiasm) Most laptops that the general public would purchase come with a basic operating system and whatever application you order. The laptops for our team require additional software that only the police department has access to, as well as additional security software.

Interviewer: (cocks a brow at Arneau) Hmmm, I get the feeling you are telling me much less than the whole truth with that answer. What is a Team Room?

Ronald Arneau: You can think of a Team Room as a big library where we can securely store all kinds of information about active cases, and even have an archive for closed cases. This allows the team members to share information more easily.

Interviewer: (purses lips, gives a little whistle) Wow, that sounds darn complicated. I’m a technosaur, myself. What else will you be doing once everything is set up?

Ronald Arneau: Well, if they need research, I’ll do that; post #crime scene photos in the Team Room, examine computers or storage devices recovered in raids to extract evidence, trace IP addresses to find where communications or postings originated. If any of the team members have a problem with their laptop I can trouble shoot and help resolve those issues. Like I said before, anything related to a computer is my job.

Interviewer: (widens eyes and rolls them)  Wow! I’m impressed! That’s a brain fry; maybe we can move on to something that I’ll actually understand.

Ronald Arneau: (chuckles)

Interviewer: Do you live in #Seattle?

Ronald Arneau: (face settles into serious look) Yes. I wanted to get my own place, but I’ve kind of put that off for a little while. My dad’s sick.

Interviewer: I’m sorry to hear that. Sounds like you’ve lived here for a while. What are some of your favorite things about Seattle?

Ronald Arneau: I grew up in Seattle. I guess the thing I like most about Seattle is the #Pacific #Science #Center. My parents started taking me there when I was a kid.

Interviewer: What do you like about the Pacific Science Center?

Ronald Arneau: (big grin) I love Science on a Sphere. They use computers and video projectors to display these radical images of the atmosphere, oceans and land on an illuminated sphere about six feet in diameter. And the images are dynamic. There’s datasets that let the system explain complex environmental processes. That exhibit just opened in 2010.

Then there’s the Laser Dome….Man, that is so awesome. These laser artists do live laser art set to music. Really slammin’.

The IMAX Theater is really great, too. The Hunger Games is going to be shown there soon.

But I guess one of the things I’ve loved about the Center for years is the Tropical Butterfly House. You walk into this tropical jungle set up and there’s all these different types of live butterflies, just hanging on the plants and walls, and flying around, and sometimes they even land on you. There’s even a chrysalis viewing window where you can watch a new butterfly emerging.

Interviewer: I’ve gone to the Pacific Science Center years ago, but now I’m going to have to make time to visit it again. I’d forgotten about the Butterfly House, and the Laser Dome.

Well, Ronald, I’m afraid we’re out of time, already. It has been a pleasure talking with you.

For those who would like to know more about the Pacific Science Center:

http://www.pacificsciencecenter.org

To learn more about Ronald Arneau, read Sketch of a Murder, Book 1, Special Crimes Team   http://www.amazon.com/Sketch-Murder-Special-Crimes-Team-ebook/dp/B00KU6AIPQ