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The internet leaves a trail, as you have left, you have left a trail with calling LEO....think planned and premediated....Lock your doors and go to bed, keep the gun in your room, or that is where I keep one, but don't let your dogs in front of it....JMO....
Yes, the internet is not as private as we would like to think.
This...although it could be illegal being used against people.
I would still install motion sensor lightning. It's cheap and makes a good deterrent. Also, check out Game Cameras. Hunters use them all the time for taking pictures of wild animals out in the field. Their not to high and you can conceal them in trees etc. You can find them in sporting good stores...I think Walmart as well.
The internet leaves a trail, as you have left, you have left a trail with calling LEO....think planned and premediated....Lock your doors and go to bed, keep the gun in your room, or that is where I keep one, but don't let your dogs in front of it....JMO....
Well, I am not sure I understand your post, but it's all for moot anyway.
I've been thinking more today after my comment that I almost wished I could take it back, so that's what I'm going to do. I guess I've decided I am not a gun person after all. Since I've never used it, it shouldn't be too much of an issue.
Long time ago I heard a saying: If you want to write you just write. Well, the truth is since I haven't used it once maybe I really don't want to pursue it. It's sort of like the piano I've had for 25 years I don't play - seemed like a good idea at the time. Or that pair of Reidel (sp) ice skates I just had to have as I was going to be a great figure skater. They're out in the shed. I tend to get on an idea and then go for it and then change my mind. The piano I can sell for cheap, since it's so old. The skates I can put on Ebay. I'll just return the gun and take up something like karate. I need to get in shape anyway and that is also a good way to build confidence.
Now, having said this, I am very pro 2nd amendment and respect anyone's wishes to make guns both just for self protection or for sport. I guess I've just read the posts and don't have the same spirit you all do. I'm not excited. I like to buy stuff I get excited over. Yeah, it sounded good on paper just like the piano and skates, but I have to realize I'm just not cut out for certain things.
I must say I do thank you all for educating me and helping me figure out that it's not my cup of tea. You have all been so patient with me and given me great tips, but if I were really interested I would have made the time. Simple as that. Also, I will never be the type to collect or go shooting for fun, so there is clearly a difference in my personality vs. most in this subforum. Pepper spray works good and isn't dangerous to have around. Nor are alarms. So I feel kind of stupid but what can I say...better to realize things sooner than later, or one lugs around a piano from state to state and never plays it.
Oh, and one more thing I want to add. I think my motives were right on for acquiring said purchase given all the lurking and strange goings on (and I no longer think it's just me in this neighborhood, as I saw something quite strange tonight but couldn't make out if it was an animal or human. Well, given the fact I've called the police so much, I did not want to goof up again). Guess I need better glasses. Ok, so there was a point here. Oh yeah, I think I was just motivated out of sheer panic. I spent five hours "surveilling" tonight to see if I could see who has been coming in my yard and nothin'. Yikes. I just want things to go back to the safe way it was before.
Last edited by mistygrl092; 09-18-2011 at 03:56 AM..
Reason: add thoughts
Well, I am not sure I understand your post, but it's all for moot anyway.
I've been thinking more today after my comment that I almost wished I could take it back, so that's what I'm going to do. I guess I've decided I am not a gun person after all. Since I've never used it, it shouldn't be too much of an issue.
Long time ago I heard a saying: If you want to write you just write. Well, the truth is since I haven't used it once maybe I really don't want to pursue it. It's sort of like the piano I've had for 25 years I don't play - seemed like a good idea at the time. Or that pair of Reidel (sp) ice skates I just had to have as I was going to be a great figure skater. They're out in the shed. I tend to get on an idea and then go for it and then change my mind. The piano I can sell for cheap, since it's so old. The skates I can put on Ebay. I'll just return the gun and take up something like karate. I need to get in shape anyway and that is also a good way to build confidence.
Now, having said this, I am very pro 2nd amendment and respect anyone's wishes to make guns both just for self protection or for sport. I guess I've just read the posts and don't have the same spirit you all do. I'm not excited. I like to buy stuff I get excited over. Yeah, it sounded good on paper just like the piano and skates, but I have to realize I'm just not cut out for certain things.
I must say I do thank you all for educating me and helping me figure out that it's not my cup of tea. You have all been so patient with me and given me great tips, but if I were really interested I would have made the time. Simple as that. Also, I will never be the type to collect or go shooting for fun, so there is clearly a difference in my personality vs. most in this subforum. Pepper spray works good and isn't dangerous to have around. Nor are alarms. So I feel kind of stupid but what can I say...better to realize things sooner than later, or one lugs around a piano from state to state and never plays it.
Oh, and one more thing I want to add. I think my motives were right on for acquiring said purchase given all the lurking and strange goings on (and I no longer think it's just me in this neighborhood, as I saw something quite strange tonight but couldn't make out if it was an animal or human. Well, given the fact I've called the police so much, I did not want to goof up again). Guess I need better glasses. Ok, so there was a point here. Oh yeah, I think I was just motivated out of sheer panic. I spent five hours "surveilling" tonight to see if I could see who has been coming in my yard and nothin'. Yikes. I just want things to go back to the safe way it was before.
Sorry to hear you are giving up on gun ownership. I thought we were going to turn you into a world class shooter (after a few lessons). I was already to sign you up for some sporting clay instruction. Don’t give up so quick - take at least one trip to a range with a qualified instructor.
We have many weapons that we come into contact with everyday. Cars kill more people in the US than any other weapon. All of us have knives in our kitchens. For the most part; we are careful not to cut ourselves on our knives. Most of the time we do not even worry about cutting ourselves - since we handle knives everyday. That is how guns are to people that have been trained and are around them all the time. You respect them, know their limitations and you don’t take chances. Knowing the law also helps.
I'd describe owning a firearm as like owning a fire extinguisher. It gives you peace of mind knowing you have it but at the same time you never want to use it( excluding those for hunting or target shooting ), if you're normal. Or like having car insurance, homeowners insurance or life insurance or a first aid kit or a spare tire in the trunk.
Its there if you need it. Hopefully its someplace secure.
I live in a nearly no risk area but still make it a point to keep the doors locked and the windows secure. A dog is the best security, though.
I started feeling really happy and secure the day 4 punks in a convertible chased me down on a 4-lane highway, screaming and yelling, trying to force me off of the road - and I pulled out my brannew .38 and pointed it at them.
They tore up the median in the fastest u-turn in history.
Or the night I was sound asleep in my motel room (I traveled a lot on business) and there was a pounding at my door; several men screaming and shouting and trying to kick and beat in the outside door. I got out of bed, grabbed my .38, and poked her nose out from behind the curtain over the window next to the door. They ran.
I keep my loaded pistol within grabbing distance at all times; the bedstead I inherited from my father has a built-in hidey-hole, easily accessible from a lying-down position. Most of the time I don't even think about it being there; but I have heard noises and gotten up immediately, gun in hand, to investigate, barely even aware that I've grabbed it. Yet family members have spent the night in that bed unaware that it was even there.
It is a tool. I don't get excited or aroused when I practice with it, load it, clean it, or slide it back into it's freshly-oiled leather, any more than I get excited when I clean off the garden tractor or tiller and put them away. But like that garden tractor and tiller, having it makes my life easier, makes me feel more comfortable and secure, knowing that when and if I need it, it will be there.
Sorry to hear you are giving up on gun ownership. I thought we were going to turn you into a world class shooter (after a few lessons). I was already to sign you up for some sporting clay instruction. Don’t give up so quick - take at least one trip to a range with a qualified instructor.
Well, that is nice of you to say. I think I'd best return the gun though before too much time elapses. Then, I can always just go for one time and rent one with a qualified instructor. I still don't feel the enthusiasm I think I should, but I am willing to give it a try before giving up completely.
Quote:
We have many weapons that we come into contact with everyday. Cars kill more people in the US than any other weapon. All of us have knives in our kitchens. For the most part; we are careful not to cut ourselves on our knives. Most of the time we do not even worry about cutting ourselves - since we handle knives everyday. That is how guns are to people that have been trained and are around them all the time. You respect them, know their limitations and you don’t take chances. Knowing the law also helps.
Good points, but we need cars (most of us) to get anywhere (well, if you live where I do at least). Even still, would you believe I have a 2002 car with around 66K miles on it? I guess my point is I don't like to drive all that much either (and prefer public transportation if it's a train) as I am well aware of your stats. I won't drive on certain freeways and I won't drive at certain times of the day (2 a.m. comes to mind) so I guess I do practice extra caution there. And we need knives on a daily basis to cook. But I get your points and duly noted. The one thing that neither of these require (and that I guess clued me in to "hey, maybe I really don't want to do this") is that the need for practice and all that goes with it far exceeds a car or knife.
Hey, thanks very much. I'll check out the links. It sure beats the prices that I've been quoted like 2 or 3 thousand dollars. I'm still ticked off that I had everything set up perfect and even an escape hatch plan last night and whoever or whomevers did not show. I really need those pics but now I appreciate that a PI's life must not be all that glamorous like they depict on TV. Just a lot of waiting and watching.
I really had a great plan, had put my purse in the car, made sure all doors to car were unlocked (dogs) had all the steps planned out and I even bought one of those portable alarms (which, btw, are really nifty for $20. They are very loud and flash a strobe light and certainly do draw attention). I thought I'd just jump in the car, turn the panic button on to the car, throw the portable alarm on the front yard, and leave the alarm going off in my house. Now, if the perp or perps went berserk and started smashing in glass or shooting handles off doors, that could have thrown a wrench into my plan. But even still I had planned on calling 911 and saying the camera is in the trunk of my car, locking the car, and then getting rid of all the keys if things went south. No way could a perp find the evidence in such a short amount of time. So it is possible to set up plans in advance for a lot of scenarios if you have the steps planned out in your mind. Of course, this doesn't work for those random break-ins when you're sound asleep or attacks on the street, but like you said (or I'll say) every time we get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle we are taking a gamble it might be our last.
Would a gun make all this easier? Probably yes but not always. It depends on if the bad guy or guys have guns too. Too, and I'm just throwing this out there, maybe with a gun a person isn't forced to think through all the steps like I did last night. So while I'll say in general those with a gun fare better than those without (provided those that have the guns know how to use them), nothing is foolproof including my plan. We don't always know what we're going to be up against. Well, just my musings on a Sunday morning.
I'd describe owning a firearm as like owning a fire extinguisher. It gives you peace of mind knowing you have it but at the same time you never want to use it( excluding those for hunting or target shooting ), if you're normal. Or like having car insurance, homeowners insurance or life insurance or a first aid kit or a spare tire in the trunk.
Its there if you need it. Hopefully its someplace secure.
I live in a nearly no risk area but still make it a point to keep the doors locked and the windows secure. A dog is the best security, though.
Not if you've got two small foofy dogs. Then it becomes about not only how do I save me, but them too?
I'm with you on owning a gun is like an insurance policy though. You know you need it but those premiums sure hurt (or those range fees sure hurt). I wouldn't go so far as to say "if you're normal," though. I think that guns are a hobby for many normal people too. Now, anyone who is a collector (myself included regarding costume jewelry) can go overboard, and I'd say that is not quite normal behavior (anyone watch Hoarders?). But I guess that goes with the territory when one is a collector. I got to the point where I was lying to the mailman when he'd carry up a crate of costume jewelry boxes to my door and told him I was starting my own small business. So clearly in my case I was an outlier on the spectrum of what is normal.
Install motion detector lighting. If someone is coming onto your property, they will refrain from doing so when a spotlight hits them in the face. You can also get night-vision (infrared) security cameras at Radio Shack. Hook it up to a DVD player (it must be able to record as well). If someone is coming onto your property, you will get it on DVD and you can show the police. And also, the flash on a camera will not capture something past a certain (short) distance.
Last edited by didee; 09-18-2011 at 10:24 AM..
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So clearly in my case I was an outlier on the spectrum of what is normal.