Over the last 2 months there have been a series of break-ins in our complex. Mostly computers and the occasional mp3 player being lifted. It’s been a major concern for the residents here and was definitely a concern for my wife and I as we were heading out of the country for 2+ weeks. My recent addiction to photography podcasts unexpectedly turned into the best theft-prevention device on the planet.
About 2 months ago I started going through Matt Brandon’s (The Digital Trekker) “Depth of Field” podcasts. Firstly, if you haven’t listened to them, you need to book it RIGHT NOW over to Peach Pit and take a listen to these excellent interviews (click here). What does this have to do with theft prevention? Read on.
Before leaving we did the normal “Leaving your House for Two weeks” precautions. Make sure all windows are locked, timers on the lights, asked a friend to check on it, and pulled the curtains. Neither of us were convinced that this would actually do much if someone really wanted to rob us – especially since our neighbors were robbed by people using a ladder through a window on the American equivalent of the third floor. What do you do though. Cross your fingers and hope for the best, right?
Like I mentioned, I had gotten into the habit of listening to Matt’s DOF interviews. I mostly listened to these in the evenings while finishing up some work. One evening I accidentally left an interview w/ Matt and David duChemin on repeat without knowing it. I woke up around 3:00 am to hear, what I thought at the time, were strangers having a conversation in my office. I quickly realized my mistake even though it actually did scared me. I realized it was Matt and David after Matt asked David if he wanted to keep a laugh/snort on the interview. I gave it a good laugh, but struggled to get back to bed for another hour due to adrenaline.
So if you haven’t guest by know, I let that interview run on repeat in our house for 15+ days. My iTunes counts that it played over 400 times. The woman that stopped by our apartment everyday to check on it said that it scared her multiple times. Perfect! That being said, next time you are out of town and have an empty house, consider playing one of Matt Brandon’s “Depth of Field” interviews on repeat. I’m sure the manly voices of Matt Brandon and David duChemin will make any would-be robber think twice before entering.
B
I don’t think I want to wake up again thinking David or Matt are in my house – unless they were there when I went to bed.
B
Ha, that made me laugh. I’m glad it worked. I’ll have to keep that in mind for whenever I might need to leave for awhile.
OK, I just about pee’d my paints reading this. Just after college, after my stint in radio, I worked as a Park Ranger. I mainly patrolled on horseback watching out for bad guys. So, this is what it has come to. I have come full circle. Forget photography, I am now a automated security guard!
Great post. Glad we could help. 😉
Brilliant! I can see how having David & Matt in one’s house might be frightening 😉 You just never know with those two 😉
Seriously though, this is actually a great idea. Thanks for sharing,
No problem Tim – I find that any interview “works”, but those guys just seem to have the scariest voices – and so it is…
Classic! I love the DOF podcast. Great idea for added security!
I love it! And I bet when any would be robber heard David saying “Gear is Good, but Vision is Better,” then he would think “aw there ain’t no expensive camera gear here. I’ll go to that house with the B&H Photo sticker on the window.”
haha – It’s even better since non of the robbers around her would ever speak english – they speak tibetan or chinese.
The fact that they have no clue what they are saying in a foreign language makes it all the better.
What a great idea!! I think it would work well, ESPECIALLY in a house full of girls, which is the situation I live in – or not – maybe the neighbors would think we had men over all the time… aiba!
Hilarious. And clever…
[…] laughed as much as I did last night reading this post in a long while. Read the full story HERE and enjoy. While there check out the other post. Brian is a talented photographer that loves China. […]