Date: Sat, 6 Aug 2005 18:22:21 +1200
Reply-To: Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Subject: Re: serious vanagon security issues
In-Reply-To: <1ea.422f7ea4.3025354f@aol.com>
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>I'm not down on America, so it's not that.
It's not just the US... it's the entire developed world. A car is
stolen every second in Australia, which has a small population, and
is pretty bad here in NZ... and in the country's lowest-crime city of
Dunedin, every now & then I see the results of joyriders... a car
parked by the roadside with its windows lying in fragments around
it...
>That Lo Jack that is linked to a phone system that calls you if your car is
>moved at 4am or whatever--that's gotta give you piece of mind if nothing else.
> Also I've seen police recoveries of Lo Jack equipped cars within hours. And
>while the Lo Jack may not necessarily be a deterrent, again it may help you
>sleep. (I think it's not a deterrent because I think LoJack cars do not say
>"Lo Jack installed" on the windows to keep criminal from deactivating the
>system.)
Thois is the best option (you can have an obvious alarm as well), but
can you afford it?
>Our one weapon--or one of them--is time. The more time you charge a criminal
>the less attractive your goods are to him. To deactivate an alarm, to shut
>down lights, to remove the club--all these take time. Therefore less
>protected
>areas or goods are more attractive. Becasue they're gonna steal something,
>but lets not make it yours.
Indeed... but an alarm won't stop a professional car thief, who is
likely to carry earmuffs and just drive off with it squealing.
>As long as we honor criminals rights over the victims
I really HATE the lawmakers and the judicial system. Because as you
say, they uphold the rights of someone who deserves NO rights, and
tread with hobnailed boots (sharpened nails!) over the victims.
>And while we're on it carry pepper spray.
I wish pepper spray headn't been outlawed here in NZ... but muggers
and burglers can use it too...
>i drove a jeep wrangler soft top when i lived in new orleans. my
>apartment was in the irish channel, which some may recognize as a fairly
>"dodgy" uptown neighborhood. i had no garage, and parked on the street.
>i had a motion-sensor alarm, so if the top was down and you stuck your
hand in it, it would go off.
Wouldn't the soft-top move in wind and set the alarm off? Motion
sensors are notoriouos for falksing... usually at #:00AM.
>I have a solution to both Andree's & Donald's problem. Hire the local
>homeless guy to watch your van. If you let him'her sleep inside, you'd even
>help alleviate the homeless problem.
Better have a bus with a shower...
> I have several Vanagons parked in various places in San Francisco Bay Area.
>So far none has been broken into. It probably helped that I didn't have any
fancy sound equipment in the dash.
WHEN (?) I get my van back on the road (yeah, yeah) I will be hiding
the stereo components. Nothing will be visible. Speakers can be
hidden under/behind upholstery. headunits can be fitted inside
consoles with unobtrusive doors (thinking of using a computer
CD-drive as a powered door). I have an alarm for it too...
--
Andrew Grebneff
Dunedin
New Zealand
Fossil preparator
<andrew.grebneff@stonebow.otago.ac.nz>
Seashell, Macintosh, VW/Toyota van nut
HUMANITY: THE ULTIMATE VON NEUMANN MACHINE
DEMOCRACY: RULE BY THE LOWEST COMMON DENOMINATOR