The best way to turn your home into a fortress is to carefully and strategically consider all your options. First you need to make a layout of your property and look at an aerial diagram of your home. Then you will need an aerial of the neighborhood, you can go to Google maps for this. Aerials pictures can provide you with possible escape routes of burglars. Drainage ditches, side roads, school playgrounds and wooded areas. You can also get an idea of every possible way the burglars might try to park a moving van without being seen or without being noticed. Often burglars look for areas where they can park a van or pick-up undetected for hours while they load up your prize possessions.

Some people believe they are safer when there is more shrubbery and such, but in fact it could make things much worse. Having a wall or a gate is great but not if the bad guys have the gate code and know when you are away. A simple slip of the tongue to landscaper to an employee who tells a friend at the all-night bar and pool hall could mean disaster to your personal belongings. For instance the landscape owner tells his employees to skip the Johnson’s Residence for the next two-weeks so come in later on Wednesday this week and next week. Then the employee talking to friends on Tuesday night at the pool hall tells his friends he can stay out all night because he doesn’t work early on Wednesday. The Johnson’s are away and then he goes on to tell his buddies what an incredible house, yard and garage you have? He mentions the back gate, perhaps gives the code perhaps not? Then his buddies or acquaintance gets with some friends and has two-weeks to plan the break in and take all your stuff, load it up, undetected. You see the problem.

So how can you make your home into a fortress to protect your family while you are home and to protect your stuff when you are away? First you need a top-notch alarm system covering all obvious entries and a motion alarm for inside the house, which goes to an alarm company. Watch out some burglaries are inside jobs from the security company itself. Sometimes it is best to have two sets of alarms, think of triple redundancy? Resetting the gate codes when you are away is also smart. If your houses catches on fire the fire department will ram the gate, but no one will have free access to your property.

Big guns are nice too. We are not talking anything illegal but you should have a very powerful set of weapons to kill encroachers who might also be armed. Figure out where in advance the bad guys might seek refuge once they get close to the house and try to enter. Be sure to shoot to kill with each shot. Gun safety is using two-hands. Think on this.

Alarm System Window Screens- Window screens are the ultimate perimeter device. The windows in your home look as if they have normal screens on them, however the actual screen mesh is an alarm circuit. The frame also has a contact point in it, so the screen can’t be cut or removed without violating the system if it is armed. The window can be opened for ventilation and protected at the same time. Now that’s a great perimeter device!

(INSIDE SCOOP!) Have your screens put on a 24- hour zone. (always on even if the system is off) You will not be able to bypass your always on zones from your keypad. You will need to call in with your password when you remove them for cleaning.

Screens are very expensive, (often $125.00 to $200.00 each) for each opening, but you don’t have to do every window. You can do one on each side of the house or in the master bedroom only if you like the concept of ventilating the house with fresh air while your system is armed. More importantly think about putting one in your children’s rooms if you can afford it. The peace of mind you will get from having your most precious concern protected will be well worth the expense.

Some alarm companies will measure your windows and create a brand new screen. More often they will mark your existing screens as to which window they came from and bring them with them to be re-built. This assures a correct fit and saves a step so that you will save time and hopefully money. Screens come in different frame and mesh shades and colors so be sure to review this with your security consultant when you order them.

Screens take some time to have built. Alarm companies will often wait for them to be returned to them before scheduling your install. Be advised that the screens may slow your install start time down by a couple of weeks. If your alarm company is willing to install the rest of your system, and return at a later date with your screens I would do just that. Could you imagine how hard you would be on yourself if you were burglarized while you were waiting for your screens to be built and an alarm to be installed?

(INSIDE SCOOP!) Hold back a substantial portion of your screen money until the screens are installed. No matter how noble your alarm company’s practices are, nothing seems to put a spring in a for profit company’s step, like money.

When I think of protecting your window with a screen in the same room that is protected by a glass break detector, while a motion detector looks on at the whole thing, I think of an elderly gentleman who wears a belt along with his suspenders. It is not a bad idea to overlap your security layers, but you still want to be aware of where to draw the line. A cunning salesperson can run the register up in a New York minute if you’re not on the studious prowl for redundancies.

Life insurance is typically taken out to offer valuable financial protection for your family in the event of your death, upon which a payment is made to your financial beneficiaries, heirs or family members. The extent of this payment will depend on your insured sum and earnings. Life insurance and life assurance may be interlinked in advertisements, though bear in mind the two policies are different. Life assurance is a form of financial protection which is also an investment, as you should always get a pay-out at the end of the term of the policy. Life insurance on the other hand is simply financial protection for your family, avoiding the issue of debt in the event of your death.

According to an article by the Fair Investment Company, the British life insurance industry shrank to almost half the size of the pensions industry last year and according to the Association of British Insurers, less than 50% of UK households hold a life insurance policy.

In their most recent newsletter about this issue, the Association of British Insurers found that 25% of mortgage holders had insufficient life insurance to cover their debt. The ratio of new life insurance policies to new mortgage loans was apparently 68% in 1994, but by 2004 this had dropped by half to 33%.

The absence of mortgage life coverage poses a serious risk for the dependants of homeowners. If banks were to embark on wide scale repossessions as a result of this absence of life insurance, this would impose a risk on their loan books and reputations. The Association of British Insurers also state that one of the main reasons behind the increased gap between mortgage loans and insurance is the emergence of people remortgaging their property to take advantage of equity release through a rise in value, without insuring their borrowing. In their report it was stated that around 63% of new mortgage loans were remortgages or further advances, compared to 34% in 1994. Egg reported at around the same time, that three out of four of these new loan homeowners had no intention of insuring this additional debt. This is particularly worrying if couples are remortgaging their property later in life – towards retirement, given that should anything happen to the breadwinner, the partner would be left with significant debts without the capability of paying the loan back.

Reasons for the downward trend in life insurance take-up include:

* Relaxation in lending policy – increased competition in the mortgage market means that lenders are not forcing life insurance policies on their customers

* High house prices have stretched homebuyers, in particular first time home-buyers, in terms of their mortgage repayments, that the additional costs of a life insurance policy are deemed too expensive

* There are more households with no dependents

If you’re interested in researching a life insurance policy, make sure you shop around. UK websites such as moneynet ( life insurance ) provide life insurance and life assurance information guides, as well as providing price comparison research for the different products. In the states, the website LowerMyBills.com also offers a similar service.

Because of the various factors listed above, people have also become less familiar with the term life insurance and without the awareness there is little recognition of the importance of this type of insurance. However as speculation increases that UK households are not coping with their debt, so should the awareness of life insurance as an essential product in the personal finance portfolio.

Personal safety begins with you. It is widely accepted that a wide-ranging personal safety strategy must incorporate prevention, deterrence and defiance.

PREVENTION: Is the first and most important element of any personal safety strategy. Prevention includes all those things that can be done to avoid dangerous situation. The most obvious and critical of those things is maintaining a keen awareness of your surroundings at all times.

DETERRENCE: Being aware of potential danger is only one step in your personal safety strategy. Deterrence includes a wide variety of tactics to help tip the odds in your favor. Such tactics might include body language, verbal aggression, screaming or using a sound device – any actions - which put you back in control. Send the message loud and clear – that you are an assertive person that can deter many potential attackers who are looking for easy victims.

HOW SOUND WORKS AS DETERRENT: Crime prevention experts view SOUND as a highly effective and powerful tool in the fight of personal security. Sound is assertive. Making sound notifies the attacker that you are not willing to be a victim. Sound increases the attacker’s fear of being caught. Sound can startle and disorient and attacker who is not expecting it. Sound calls attention to the scene of the attack (or potential attack). Others can help or call for the Police, and attackers never want witnesses.

WIRELESS ALARM SYSTEM REMOTES

These remotes are also known as “key fobs” or “4 button key chains”. They are wonderful to have in addition to your keypad as you can turn your alarm on or off without going to the keypad. You still need a keypad to perform most of the other operations of your system such as seeing what zone is opened or has been violated after an alarm. The typical programming for a 4 button key chain would be as follows.

1 System Armed. (On)
2 System Disarmed (Off)
3 System Armed –Stay (Motion detectors bypassed)
4 Police Panic (Siren sounds)
 

Your buttons on your key fob can be programmed to do other functions. For example grandma can have one that calls for medical help if she presses her button.

These key chains and pendants are wonderful for many reasons. You are most importantly attached to you alarm if you are within the specified range from your system, (anywhere from 250 to 1000 feet) based on the quality of the transmitter and receiver. If you get out of your car in your driveway and are approached, you can call for help and sound your sirens with the press of a button. An employee leaving work can call for help from the parking lot.

You can also use your Key fob at night to turn your alarm on and keep your keys on your night- stand, so that you have a panic button at the ready if needed. Your key chain also allows you to arm your main floor motion detector at night. If you need to go into the protected area for a late night glass of milk or something, just press a button to disarm and rearm upon your return. (Make sure there are no other occupants that will roam the house before using this feature)

If you have groceries and or children to carry, you can turn your alarm off without going to the keypad. If your garage has a motion detector in it you can turn your alarm off before opening the overhead door.

If you have a hardwired system you need a wireless receiver to add any wireless device such as a remote key fob to your system. Once you have a receiver it will take and process signals from multiple devices, this gives you the flexibility to add equipment later without the expense of additional receivers.

This years fire season has already started and so far the score is showing the fire fighters in the lead with several large fires under their belts in California, Nevada and Arizona. So far in 2005 we have not had any huge or “Mega Fires” yet, cross your fingers that our luck continues. If you are worried about your community after the very wet season of Winter 2005 and the tremendous growth you may want to consider starting an Arson Watch Program. If you decide to go for it and set up a team of volunteers to watch out for arson there are a few things you should know about. I have written a free online 21-page E-Book, which you are welcome to read if you are thinking of starting such a group. It is available:

http://www.lancewinslow.org/arsonwatch.pdf

The most important thing when setting up a community arson watch program is to involve the local agencies such as the fire department, police and any nearby Federal Agencies for instance the USDA Forest Service and/or BLM; bureau of land management. Here are some quick pointers to assist you.

FIRE DEPARTMENTS

The Local Fire department will provide a Community Relations person to explain to participants the need to report arsonists and simple things you can do to minimize the potential exponential and aggressive natures of small containable fires until the fire department arrives with the proper tools to fight the fire. They will explain how to set up roadblocks and secure easy access for fire vehicles to arrive. When to get out of there and which direction to go. They will also explain what the reality of your limits are based on the type of equipment in your vehicle.

USDA FORESTRY SERVICE

The USDAFS will explain what is being done, why the importance, water tables, this years potential exposure. They will provide handouts and safety tips and what to do, where to go and where to tune in; Prevention, communication and nature. Every year the USDAFS does extensive research in prevention and data collection. This is information everyone should know who lives near forested areas, parks and mountainous area. The can provide the education that may help save the lives of you and your family.

POLICE DEPARTMENT

The Police department will provide a Community Relations person to explain to participants the need to report crimes and what is actually a crime. Arson is a crime, one of the worst possible crimes. The police can explain how to detect suspicious behavior from a potential arsonist. They will explain that if someone cuts you off on the Highway it is an unfortunate situation but not a crime and to limit phone calls to important things. Most importantly, they will explain that the participants are the eyes and ears of the Police, not vigilantes. The Police will also ask participants to have the police departments phone number programmed into their cellular phones and to only use the 911 feature only for accidents involving arson activity, accident injuries and very serious things. The Police department will also give the certificates to participants once they have completed the seminar, which will be signed by police chief or local Community Relations Officer.

CITY HALL

City Council members will very likely endorse the project at a city council meeting and give a proclamation to the President of The Chamber of Commerce for the Chambers and local businesses service to community. Most cities or towns can allot at least $2,500.00 towards the project for the signage. Donations for the remained can often be obtained large companies in the area. By announcing it at a city council meeting the program will receive the publicity it needs to get quality participants.

Please think on these things and see what you decide. You may find setting up a Community Arson Watch Program to be a lot easier than you think and rather than living in fear of the “Big One” fire you can be proactive and prevent it instead.

The keypad is the device you and your loved ones will interface with daily. It is typically placed at one or more of the following locations:

* House to garage door hall.
* Front door
* Master bedroom
* Inside garage

You need at least one keypad to communicate with the control panel. If you elect to have only one keypad you should have it installed as close to the door you use most often as possible. Even if you or others sometimes use a different door, you can put it on its own delay zone and have a longer entry time to get to the keypad from that door.

There are different levels of keypads available for each model of control panel. The one that the dealer uses as their basic model varies by company. The choice of keypads is usually made for you as sales persons tend to stay away from technical discussions even if they do know the difference. If you know that you have a choice and find out what your options are you can make sure that you get the keypad that will work best for you. Following is a general list of the main differences:

* LED- (light emitting diode) This keypad has many lights to tell you what is happening such as a green light for ready to arm, a red light for armed, a yellow light next to a zone number to show you which zone is open if it is not ready.

* LCD- (liquid crystal display) This keypad uses a display window to tell you what is happening such as “System armed”, “Zone 4 open”

* ALPHA(alpha-numeric readout) This Keypad can be programmed to give you descriptive readout of what is happening with your system such as “Tommy’s window is open”, “Alarm violation, Basement Motion”

* Large display area is important so that you don’t have to squint to read it.

* Some windows are not back –lighted so you have to turn a light on to see what’s happening. Make sure your window and number keys have lights built in.

* One touch arming lets you turn the alarm on the way you want without entering a code such as Away, Stay (bypass motion detectors), Instant (Make delay doors instant) etc.

* Exit buttons on some keypads allow you to open a door for 30 seconds if the alarm is on. This is handy for letting your pets out and back in without having to disarm the system. This is also a great feature if someone in the house has to exit in the middle of the night.

* Panic buttons for Police, Fire and Ambulance are on most keypads. Make sure you don’t have to contort your fingers into strange configurations to use them. The better-designed keypads are the easiest to use.

* Your keypad should have the ability for the alarm owner to program in a code for each user. Some people use one general code for the whole family and have a different one for the real estate agent, builder, maintenance companies, boy or girlfriends that they don’t expect to be around that long, baby sitters and so on. You can easily remove a code at will, and the more sophisticated systems have a timer on how many times a particular code can be used before it erases itself if desired. Having different codes for employees at your business is important for obvious reasons and many high-end systems can track what time a code user entered and exited. Some like this feature at home to track what time the cleaning service or their teenagers entered and exited. (you would need an alpha keypad to read such information) Some systems can hold up to 40 different code users.

* A “distress code” should be able to be programmed into your system. This is a code that will be easy to remember for the whole family. When the system is turned on or off with this code it simulates normal function while notifying your monitoring company that you are in a hostage situation. Almost all systems have the ability to have this programmed in and it amazes me how many people I have consulted that didn’t know they had a distress code. Make sure this is discussed when you are choosing an alarm, as it is one of your systems greatest features.

(HOT TIP!)
Write your distress code on the inside of your keypad cover door with a marker so that it is there as a reminder for you at possibly the worst time of your life. If a burglar breaks in and sees this code they will think to themselves “look how stupid these people are to write their code down” and they will turn your system off. A dispatch will promptly be made to your local authorities as a hostage situation or holdup in progress. This is the highest priority response you can get. Who’s stupid now?

Lets take a look at how easy it would be to use your keypad by reviewing some common every day scenarios. The flexibility and complexity of how your keypad can be programmed often scares people into thinking that an alarm would be hard for them to operate. It is important to remember that once your alarm system is set up to your specifications by your installer, it is quite easy to use. Most of the keypads on the market are designed for use by anyone who is older than 7 years old. The systems will even have your bypass requirements for motion detectors and interior traps pre-programmed so you can make several things happen with the push of a well- defined button.

When I think about how many pages of paper it would take me to create scenarios for every keypad on the market, I envision an empty forest somewhere with no wildlife in it. In an effort to show you how easy your alarm is to use I will give you a general set of situations that would pertain to my system of choice. The slight differences you might see if you used a different keypad are often subtle things like having to press two buttons instead of one. So in the interest of me doing my part for earth conservation today, I will limit myself to a general use mode.

Leaving the house- If all the devices on your system are ready to be turned on meaning doors are closed, windows are closed, nobody is walking around in front of a motion detector etc. Your system will display “Ready”. If any thing is not ready on your system your keypad will display its location so that you can know where to go to make it ready. The keypad would say “Zone 2 open” or “Back door open” if you have an Alpha keypad. If multiple areas are not ready it will scroll through all of them.

Press “AWAY”- This will tell the control that you are leaving the house and want all devices including the motion detectors armed. The keypad will begin to emit a beep at 1-second intervals. This is your systems way of saying to you “Have a great day, goodbye!” The exit counter is usually set for approximately 60 seconds but can be longer if your lifestyle requires a longer exit time. Once the exit time has expired your system is “ARMED” and is protecting your house or business.

Returning home- When you come home you will enter through a door that has been pre-assigned as a delay door. As you open the door the keypad emits a steady welcome home tone. This entry delay time is usually set for approximately 30-seconds but once again can be tailored to your lifestyle. The system needs you to enter your complete code (3 to 8 digits) to turn off your system so it will not go into an alarm condition.

If you entered through a delay door first the system will let you walk in front of a motion detector if needed to get to the keypad, for the complete entry delay period.

Turning your system on for the evening- When you are staying at home you will want to turn on your perimeter system but not your interior devices such as motion detectors on the main floors.

Press “STAY”- This will let the system know that there will be activity inside the home so it will turn off the assigned motion detectors and any other interior traps you may have. It will arm the perimeter doors, windows, glass break detectors and any other perimeter devices you may have.

In the STAY mode the system knows nobody is leaving so it does not emit a goodbye countdown from the keypad. If nobody leaves through the doors within 60 seconds or so, the system will remove the entry delay time from your usual delay doors. This means that if someone opens even a delay door while you are armed in the stay mode the alarm will sound instantly. If someone does leave within 60 seconds or so, the system will activate the entry delay so they will get a welcome home tone and time to disarm upon their return.

Disarm in the morning- When you are ready to turn your alarm off simply enter your code. The red armed light turns off.

Returning home to a violated system- If your system was violated while you were away the siren will sound for a pre-programmed period of time. After this alarm time expires the systems will re-arm preparing for a second attempt. When you return home the keypad will be emitting a high pitch and rapidly beeping tone. The keypad will also tell you where the security breach occurred in the order of violation. If you hear such a tone on your return you should LEAVE IMMEDIATELY! as the burglars may still be in the house. Go to a neighbor’s house and make sure the authorities clear your home as safe to enter before re-entering. When it is safe to return just enter your code to reset the violation alert.

This is yet another way that your system protects people as well as property. This feature coupled with the distress code is for me the best reasons to have a system. When you are thinking about what is irreplaceable in your home I hope you are placing your loved ones and yourself at the top of that list.

On the lighter side there is the opportunity to eliminate another future worry from your life. There is nothing better than returning home and knowing as you unlock your door that nobody has been or still is in your house. If you open the door and hear a normal welcome home tone, all is well. If your keypad was removed forcefully by an uninvited quest, you will not hear your tone and you will still suspect that something is wrong.

The scenarios I have just gone over with you will pretty much cover your daily use of your security system. As you can see the system is not complicated for you to use. The Percentage, by which you decrease your likelihood of being a victim, far exceeds the inconvenience of having to learn something new.

Home security is more important today than ever. You may have even considered Kevlar Sheets for your home or car. They are available and there are some companies who specialize in these things. The military uses them in Humvees and other vehicles. In the Vietnam War the spotter planes and helicopter pilots would put bullet-proof vests on the floor boards since the AK-47 rounds would come up thru the aluminum and kill pilots. Without getting too dramatic you might wish to employ the same strategy in your home.

Carbon Kevlar sheeting can be placed in walls in certain safe rooms to protect you and your family. You can put them in the ceiling so when Cinco de Mayo comes around and everyone is firing guns into the air no stray bullets will come thru your roof and kill you while you sleep; like you can sleep anyway with a bunch of drunken, mariachi playing, pinata cracking, loud yelling folks are having an all-night party anyway? Don’t laugh you know what I am saying here. If you have a two-story you might wish to put them in the floor boards in kids rooms; perhaps in the walls of the master bedroom. You can purchase these sheets on the Internet; here is one company we found:

http://www.geminicomposites.com/products/kevlarsheet.html

Another major important thing to have is a good alarm system, one which you can rely on to give you those precious moments you need to get the family into a safe protected room and for you to lock and load and go hunt yourself down some soon to be dead burglars. Think about home safety, alarms, Kevlar and a good weapon to take out the evil do’ers who have invaded your family’s domain.

Is your family ready for the big one? If not you should be and do not for a second believe that Earthquakes only happen in California. There are seismic faults all over the world and in some places you might not even think of. You might be surprised how close you live to one and realize with a big Earthquake damage can occur up to a 100 miles away and that’s only from the shaking, not even thinking of Tsunami wave action. One thing you must remember is simply because there has been a large quake does not mean there will not be many aftershocks which follow. The bigger the quake the larger the aftershocks and the longer they can continue. After the Indonesia Quake the aftershocks continued for nearly a year.

After an Earthquake, check to make sure there are no leaks, if you smell gas, shut it off.

You need to have some sort of plan for your family, workplace and household. It is always wise to have a family member or contact point out of state that you can call and check in with to communicate messages to your local family. It is smart to have shoes, extra set of clothes and a jacket in your car in case you can’t get into your house or find yourself with glass all around. Battery operated flash lights are important as well as transistor radio. Make sure to have a small medical kit for cuts and burns, which are common minor injuries, which do occur in Earthquakes.

Do not eat all your food supplies the first day, ration out your supply it could be days until you can get to a store and looting can get you hurt or shot. Also be sure to have spare food for your pets. After you see your family is okay fill up your bathtub with water, as there maybe water lines broken this could be your last chance. Do not fill it completely to the top as after shocks could spill it.

You should have enough food on hand for 5-7 days and do not expect the government to come give you food, you have to look out for yourself. Also if you take medicine always have two weeks worth. Don’t assume you can go on a free shopping spree, when people start looting the store shelves empty in less than a couple of hours. A Wal-Mart maybe a day, but food will go fast, do not counting on joining the looters. If you run out of water there is usually 40 or so gallons in the average hot water heater and you can drain it out, assume you will need 1 gallon a day per family member for drinking water to keep you alive.

I hope this helps get you thinking of the types of things you might need. There are some valuable resources online as well as government websites with more information, which can assist you in setting up your family disaster plan. The purpose of this article is to get you to think, do some research and not procrastinate; you never know when an Earthquake will happen.

It is a known fact that advertising is made to attract our eyes. Marketers work very hard to plant visual memories in your mind. They use anomaly phrases, rhetorical questions, sexy images and ironic text. There are many reasons why this is done but the biggest reason is that it works. Our eyes are often caught and our brains captured for a moment while we digest the advertisement. Since the advertising world has done such a good job in making us look and think there is a slight hesitation in our gaze and direction of sight. This of course is the world’s best time to snap a shot or grab an image of a human on a surveillance camera.

One of the best methods of insuring that images are captured is to place them behind power advertising promotional signs. So often surveillance cameras are put up on corners of buildings or on ceilings. We saw after the 7-7 London Transit Bombings images of perpetrators used by police investigators to track down the other links of suspects and perhaps even prevent future attacks. As we study the human eye gaze innate characteristics and the time of visual recognition we see that some images take the mind-eye visual registration a second extra. This is enough time to catch a really good image of each passer by for use in face recognition software to use for searching databases of “Watch List” humans who are most apt to be problematic to our civilization.

Often if a person of ill intentions is casing a location, doing a dry run or preparing for an evil act, they will avoid cameras when they see them. One concept is to put up cameras in plain view, which are dummy cameras or decoy cameras. When someone avoid them they will look away causing an anomaly or someone who has something to hide. Then as they look away we would be wise to hide a hidden camera in a somewhat shocking advertisement, behind a glass or plastic encased ad. As the person looks away he or she is hooked on for a second longer on the image. Bingo, we got the image even if they attempted to avoid every camera in the place. This would work in Stadiums, Shopping Malls, Board Walks and Airports. Think on this.