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Just Close Enough
“It’s the robins taking the little pots, then?” “Blackbirds,” Thomas said. “The robins have opinions about the blackbirds taking the little pots.”
By Laura Janeabout 4 hours ago in Writers
Six Years Ago I said the UK owe Meghan Sussex an Apology
Six years ago, I wrote an article entitled “Why the UK Owes Meghan Markle an Apology.” It was the first story I published right here on Vocal Media.
By Tabbyabout 7 hours ago in Writers
Just A Few Thoughts On Writing And Publishing On Vocal
Introduction Since returning from holiday, and even on holiday, I have found it very difficult to write something that I feel is worth publishing. Writing and publishing affect me, as does interacting with other creators, which is often another positive for me.
By Mike Singleton 💜 Mikeydred about 17 hours ago in Writers
I Didn't Come This Far to Be Second Best
Some lines show up when you're not looking for them. This one showed up on a night I was tired of fighting. "I didn't come this far to be second best."
By Overdrive Recordsabout 23 hours ago in Writers
Nurse Ratched!
There were a lot of old comedy movies like the 'Three Stooges' who in their escapades and would get hurt somehow there was always a nurse who was always by the book and no nonsense about the work, but they would call her Nurse Ratched because of the way she (they (movie directors) made her look. What if there was a real Nurse Ratched? A nurse who just wanted to make a patient follow the rules to the letter so that the patients will be discharged from the hospital. At times believe it or not I was this nurse usually a mental health issue but would not do their physical therapy exercises that they were supposed to do several times a day.
By Mark Graham2 days ago in Writers
From Inspection Logs to Quality Intelligence
Abstract Work Inspection Requests (WIRs) sit at the interface between field verification, construction quality assurance, and controlled project information, yet their registers are commonly treated as administrative logs. This study asks how routine WIR metadata can be transformed into quality intelligence for workflow visibility and evidence-based closeout. A retrospective descriptive analysis was conducted on 1,364 anonymized WIR records from a major infrastructure project in the Philippines, covering 24 December 2025 to 4 November 2026. The analysis examined status, discipline, open-item aging, document-to-submission lag, revision behavior, monthly intake, and metadata integrity. Although 1,218 records (89.3%) were submitted on the document date or the following day, 1,015 (74.4%) remained open at the snapshot; 499 had aged at least 31 days and 241 at least 61 days. October intake reached 512 records, 81.6% above September, while civil works accounted for 88.4% of the register. Revised issues recorded materially longer lags than initial issues, and duplicate identifiers, missing status data, negative date intervals, and absent closure dates constrained traceability. The paper therefore distinguishes fast front-end capture from controlled end-to-end closure. Its principal contribution is an integrated WIR quality-intelligence framework that combines a multi-state workflow taxonomy, minimum metadata requirements, explicit accountability, evidence-linked closure, and actionable performance indicators. The framework extends construction quality management by treating document-control metadata as an operational assurance resource and offers a replicable, low-cost pathway from passive registers to auditable decision support.
By Domingo Añasco-Gaces Samontina, Jr.2 days ago in Writers
You'll Thank Me Later!. Top Story - November 2026.
I am late with my bi-monthly unofficial challenge again, but there's still almost three full weeks till the end of December, so I hope it's enough to come up with a short story.
By Lana V Lynx2 days ago in Writers
Before She Died
The argument ended badly with him pulling a carving knife from the kitchen drawer and stabbing his wife in the stomach, as she had attempted to reach for the telephone to call for help
By Jonathan Townend2 days ago in Writers
So, I Started Writing. Top Story - November 2026.
My name is Tina. I'm an Aquarius. I don't like piña coladas, but I do like getting caught in the rain. My love language is—oh, wait. So sorry. I write so many bios for dating apps that I got confused. Unless, of course, someone might be interested in me... Jesse? Jesse? No pressure, Jesse. (see Fab Five for reference)
By Tina D. Lopez2 days ago in Writers
The Check In - Unofficial Challenge
The map-like artwork for Ambient 1: Music for Airports is designed to evoke a calm, abstract sense of place and aerial perspective without anchoring the listener to a specific location . By heavily cropping and enlarging a cartographic image, Brian Eno stripped away traditional labels and borders to create a visual parallel to his ambient music It was designed by Brian Eno himself
By Mike Singleton 💜 Mikeydred 2 days ago in Writers
Self Portrait
Introduction When I joined Vocal I wrote this poem from a challenge, but did not know I had to actually enter the challenge, so like most of my challenge entries it did not make the cut:
By Mike Singleton 💜 Mikeydred 3 days ago in Writers
Comparative Analysis of Incoming and Outgoing Document Flows
Research design: Descriptive comparative case study Unit of analysis: Anonymized incoming and outgoing registry records
By Domingo Añasco-Gaces Samontina, Jr.3 days ago in Writers