A friend of mine sent me his post about what to do if your identify is stolen. I thought the idea of a credit freeze is very interesting. If you are having a problem with this, you should go back in time to my entry from March 2, 2006, on ID Theft. There are a number of other steps you can and should take to protect yourself, not just this credit freeze. You should also visit the U.S. Gov't's website to help people whose identity has been stolen. It's full of useful tips.
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.
OK. It's official. Bullying is wrong! And the Boy Scouts are doing something about it. The problem is what. Check out this story about the latest revisions to the Boy Scouts Manual. AP has characterized the Boy Scouts' advice this way: "Shaken down for your lunch money? Tell the bully how it hurts. Called a crater face? The 2008 Boy Scout Handbook recommends this comeback: "So what if I have a face full of zits. What's it to you?". What a bunch of nonsense.
I've just been to a bunch of different websites about how to stop bullying. Their advice to the kid seems to be 4 fold: tell an adult, ignore it, run away, or give the bully what they want because it's dangerous to fight back. And above all else: Don't Fight Back! Great! The kid is already being abused, beaten or stolen from and you tell them it's dangerous to fight back? He!! it's dangerous not to fight back too.
The advice to parents/schools is equally inane: gather the facts, separate the children, tell the bully you won't tolerate her behavior and ask the bully how they would feel if this were done to them. Like any of that is really going to help.
OK loyal readers: What suggestions do you have to stop bullying? Let's talk about this.
They seem to show up in bunches. But they can do a lot of damage. Fortunately, some have bad luck, like this guy who pulled over a real cop. If you aren't a cop though, you could be in real trouble with people like this. Now, 2 years ago (in November 2005) I wrote about what to do if you suspect you are being pulled over by a fake cop: use your cell phone and dial "911" and ask the operator for help. Be sure to stress that you are scared and have the operator either confirm that it's a real cop following you or send the real cops asap.
Even from sources you don't expect. You really must read Brian Schneier's blog on Sears' new program on Jan. 3rd. Apparently if you join Sears' "My SHC Community" and install their software Sears can monitor all internet traffic, including a lot of secure information.
I join with Brian in describing this level of monitoring as scary as he!!. And I've got to wonder if Sears' lawyers knew what they were doing. Seems to me it's a big problem.
Back in October I posted about why I'm not a fan of "rape whistles". Someone pointed out to me that you don't have to carry the whistle on your key chain. You could carry it on a necklace or bracelet for example. Well, you still have the problem of getting the whistle to your lips and having the ability to blow the whistle while being threatened or attacked. Carrying the whistle on a necklace wouldn't work for me. In cold weather it would be under your coat so you couldn't get it. In warm weather it would be accessible, but you still would have to get it into your hand, etc. etc.
I suppose you could carry the whistle on a bracelet/in your hand as you walked the street but then you would have 1 hand for your purse and/or briefcase, one hand to open doors etc. and 1 hand for the whistle. Exactly how many free hands do you have? OK. Wear the whistle on your wrist as a bracelet. That solves part of the problem. How are you going to solve the other problems? I don't have a solution.
Don't get me wrong though: A rape whistle is better than nothing but I don't think much of them.
Another thought about traveling by bus or subway: Try and sit near the driver. S/he may not help you but they can call for help or at least be a witness.
I didn't think I would ever have to write this particular post but I guess I was wrong. Recent news articles in DC and NYC have compelled me to say people, please! Just because you are on a subway or bus or in a subway or bus station does not mean that you should lose your common sense and totally ignore all precautions. Stay aware of your circumstances, don't sit or stand where you are concealed from general observation--you are setting yourself up to be attacked and there will be no witnesses to come help. Come on now!
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?
17. candles & matches
18. whistle
19. compass
20. map.
