Security upgrade hasn't caught anyone yet

I’ve never been the most security-minded person. I guess I just always felt like locking stuff up was just telegraphing to thieves that you had something worth stealing.

A good portion of my life I’ve slept like a baby behind an unlocked door. Of course I’ve often had a loaded gun close to the bed over those years.

Keys have been hidden outside with neighbors and friends aware of how to get in if needed. Car and pickup keys, if they weren’t left in the ignition were cleverly hidden in the ashtray, above the visor or in the gas tank door.

Recently my sweet wife decided she wasn’t living with my lax security; we needed a burglar alarm, she decided. I guess watching all the violence and thievery on the nightly news in Albuquerque finally got to her.

I was not too crazy about doing a full-on alarm service with monthly service fees but anybody that watched the news this past Christmas season has to be aware that security cameras have become really affordable and really good. Every night a crook seemed to be posing on someone’s front porch swiping a package unaware they were being watched.

I began checking those systems out and finally landed on a doorbell camera with motion detection as the best option for us. I figure nearly every burglar is going to ring the doorbell first to see if we’re home before ripping us off. This way I can see who’s at my door and even talk to them if I want. I can even give solicitors the cold shoulder without getting up from my chair if I like.

My wife has a bad record for losing our dogs when someone comes to the front door. They don’t chew on the interloper, instead they duck past everyone when the door gets opened.

Long ago the mailman and UPS driver figured out this pattern and they would ring the bell and run so they didn’t have to feel guilty about being the cause of the lady losing her dogs.

These days I don’t even think delivery people have to ring. They just drop the package and leave. With the motion detection at least we know they’ve dropped something on the front porch and we can run home and get it or get someone else to stop by.

It works pretty good, maybe too good. When I was setting things up I ended up setting it super sensitive and the next day I got alerts with every car that passed during my morning meeting. After lunch I remembered that I didn’t have to wait until I got home to change it. I could reset it right there on my phone.

So far I’ve picked up one bird and a tumbleweed, but no person — except for me — has been caught on camera yet. I’m looking forward to surprising that tom cat who likes to spray my storm screen. I may even introduce myself to the UPS guy.

Karl Terry writes for Clovis Media Inc. Contact him at:

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