First, they came for Asimov's...

...and then they took down Analog...

I used to post frequently on both the Analog and Asimov's fora, back when I had the crazy idea of becoming a writer. A troll posting child porn has taken down both. These are the days that try men's souls...

Which way did she go? Which way did she go?

Saturday was our on-foot surveillance exercise; the class was broken into 3-man teams, given the description of the target, a recent photo, and the location the surveillance was to start from. Follow the target for two hours, record their movements, and report back for debriefing. Get a photo for extra credit. Sounds simple, doesn't it?

I picked up my target the moment she arrived-- she was wearing a maroon sweater that stood out rather well. Arrived at the CambridgeSide Galleria Foodcourt at 13:02hrs, three year-old daughter in tow, and proceeded to sit down to eat lunch. At 13:20hrs, she and her daughter left the food court and entered the H&M department store on the first floor. At 13:25hrs, the target left H&M, and proceeded towards the escalator bank; I waited for them to round the corner, then moved to follow...

...and promptly lost them. They were out of sight no more than 10 seconds, and *poof*!--Gone.

The next two hours was a fun-filled thrill ride of locating the target, losing the target, re-acquiring the target, and worrying that my ham-handed actions had gotten me burned.

I don't care what Hollywood says--this shadowing/surveillance stuff is &^%$#@! hard!