Qui Custodes

Alien abduction pack--more stuff

I feel pretty silly but what about Duct Tape?  forgot it. And eyeglasses if you wear them.  Other things that might go into the pack should be .... 

How about the external hard drive you back your entire business and personal life onto?  You mean you didn't?  Oops!

Seriously, if you have to evacuate your office or home RIGHT NOW and you may not be able to return, don't you want to have your computer records with you?  You should. 

Bushes & thorns

Beware high dense bushes blocking your view of anyone hiding near a window or door. They are a security risk because someone can hide behind them and either break in or attack you from hiding.  If you have them be sure to trim them down below 4 feet.

On the other hand, the right kind of thorny bush can be a wonderful deterrent.  Really strong, thorny bushes planted under windows and next too doors can prevent people from getting too close.  Check with a local arborist or garden center for the plants that will thrive in your area but be sure you get really thorny ones.  If you tell the garden center or arborist why you want these bushes (for security purposes) a good one will know what you need. 

BTW:  you can use these same plants in other ways and places too--like near gates in your fence or next to your garage door. 

Your Shredder ain't that good anymore

I was reading Slate magazine just recently and found this new article.  According to The Explainer there are now fairly inexpensive programs that allow you to scan the bits and pieces of shredded papers into a computer and then reassemble the original pages.  It's also worth noting that some shredders are better than others:  strip shredders aren't worth much, especially when they shred papers horizontally so whole lines are intact.  

Bottom line:  if you have confidential information like credit card #s, bank accounts etc, you need to upgrade your shredder. 

Use technology to help

If you have a breakin and things are stolen you will have to document your losses.  This can be difficult as insurance companies are not always the most cooperative. So one thing you can do in advance is to videotape your belongings. It does not take long to do:  just video each room pausing on the important stuff like the TV or art or computer games etc.  Then go and video the contents of your jewel case.  Put the video in a safe place (like a bank vault) and you are good to go.  If you do this about 1/year, you should have a good record of your possessions in case you have to file a claim.

Get free security advice before something happens

There's been a spate of problems and threats to lawyers and judges recently & I'm getting a lot of calls and other contacts requesting help.  Here's a simple one:  Get a free home and office security inspection by the police.  That's right.  Most (all the ones I know) police departments will send an officer to your home to make common-sense, low-cost, security suggestions.  Take advantage of this and then follow their suggestions. 

Many police departments and some insurance companies will do the same for you office.  Again, call to ask and follow their suggestions.

For additional tips, take a look at the earlier stuff I posted here about how to secure your home and office.  If I've got this set up propery, look under the categories for "home" and "office". 

stop being so shy

Here's a story to make my point:  I was out last night with my 17 year-old daughter. We were visiting friends & watching the fights (she loves the fights & is a fighter herself).  My friends had their sons with them. So it was me, 4 adult men, my daughter and about 9 teenage boys.  Most of the boys were fine but 1 of them wouldn't leave her alone.  He kept putting hands on her. Finally she leaned over & told me she would clock him if he kept it up. I told her "go ahead".  So she did.  An Elbow to the kidney.  Hard.  So he left her alone. 

Now, the moral, ladies, girls, boys and gents is actually simple:  you have the right to defend yourself and you don't have to be shy about it.  In fact, being shy about defending yourself is an invitation to being hassled. So, learn from this story.  If you are being bothered, touched, aggressed against, Do Something About It.  Stand up for yourselves.  Only YOU are entitled to decide what's too much. 

That's OUTRAGEOUS!

I'm not kidding either.  I don't usually use this blog to vent but this article in the Washington Post about animal protesters  recounts some absolutely outrageous behavior.  Some animal rights groups are deliberately terrorizing researchers. They are even targeting the wives and children of the scientists.  Now I don't care if you agree or disagree with what the scientists are doing. But to terrorize their wives and children?  This is abhorrent and disgusting.  What's even worse are the people supporting these domestic terrorists.  Jerry Vlasik is quoted in the article as saying "If killing them is the only way to stop them," he said in a telephone interview, "then I said killing them would certainly be justified."

WOW.

All I can say is that I'm glad I'm writing this blog.  I guess now scientists have the same worries as lawyers and counselors.  Who would have thought it?

A Really GOOD article to read

I almost never see good articles about what to do to protect your home.  Many of the articles I do see are filled with urban legends or unhelpful "stuff" mixed in with good advice.  But I found the most amazing article on Burglarproofing Your Home.  If you care about how to protect your house, you should definitely read this article.  It truly is very good. 

Weapons and stupid

I'[ve been reading two different stories about the same event in the Washington Post  and the New York Times.  The stories seem to agree somewhat but what a difference! This is going to be a long post so bear with me.

Apparently a group of young men in their souped up cars had an argument with another young man. So they decided to go to his home and challenge him to fight.  Great!  Like he's an idiot.  Like it's gonna be a fair fight?  Right.  So they get there and are shouting insults and challenges to the young man.  They are coming up the driveway to the front door.  So what happens?  Dad gets his gun and goes out to run them off.  (This may or may not have been smart on Dad's part (see below) but ...  WHAT WERE THESE KIDS THINKING?  THAT THEY COULD TERRORIZE THIS FAMILY WITHOUT CONSEQUENCES?  These kids are lucky Dad didn't just hole up and start shooting under the belief that he and his family were in imminent danger from this small mob.)

It's not clear what happened next because the witnesses' stories differ and so do the newspaper articles description of events.  But 1 kid lunged for Dad's weapon/slapped the weapon away and got killed when the weapon went off.  It's not clear if the shooting was accidental or deliberate.   I think this happened on Dad's property, in the driveway, because  the NY Times article indicates that the prosecutors said that's what happened.   (BTW:  if you have a long-distance weapon like a shotgun or pistol, why are you in arms-length distance from your target?  If you do that you give up your advantage.  Remember what I've said so many times before about how firearms are NOT a magic wand, even though TV makes them seem that way.)

The next thing that happened is that Dad is prosecuted for voluntary manslaughter in the 2nd degree.  Now I don't know exactly how NY defines this crime, but, in essence, Dad is being prosecuted (and was convicted) for protecting his family instead of calling the cops and waiting for them to show up and shoo theses little cherubs away.  If the little cherubs stuck around to be shoo'd. 

What would you have done?  One thing I wouldn't do is go outside.  Both legally & for personal security reasons I would not go out--I would make them come to me.  I would also call the cops.  But thank God I live in Virginia where you can protect yourself against a mob of cherubs in my driveway shouting and screaming threats against my family.

O, one more thing: Would it change your mind if you knew Dad was black and the little cherub he shot was white?  Dad swears up and down that they were using the "N" word in the threats too.  Does it matter?  Would it affect his fear level and state of mind?

Cold weather

With winter upon us (and especially the snow & ice storms) I thought it might be a good idea to post a few tips or material about cold weather survival.  First of all, the Centers for Disease Control has a very good site for how to cope with Extreme Cold.  You should read it to get a basic idea of what goes on and what you should do to protect yourself and your family.