Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Alarm monitoring without the central station

My county’s police force is tired of responding to false alarms. They now require a $50 per year registration fee and will fine the homeowner $100 for each false alarm. How they determine a false alarm is highly dubious. Imagine a burglar attempts to gain entry though a door or window in your backyard but gets scared away from your alarm’s siren. The cops get called to the home by the central monitoring agency, but there’s no demonstrable evidence of a break-in like broken glass or a damaged door jam. “It must have been a false alarm,” the police will surmise. Ding! Pay $100. Actual break-in attempts are rare, so I can no longer allow my alarm monitoring service to automatically dispatch the police. What’s the point of even having central monitoring if I’m too afraid to have the police sent to my home? Quite frankly, the monitoring service is an anachronism. Most people carry cell phones pretty much anywhere they go. A simple text message or e-mail sent from the alarm system would obviate the need for central monitoring altogether. Alas, my alarm system is an older model that does not have that capability. Fortunately, I’ve come up with an inexpensive way to add it.

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Low Carb Scotchy Scotch Scotch Ice Cream

The inspiration for this flavor was thanks to a limited edition Ben & Jerry’s ice cream by the same name. It’s butterscotch ice cream with a swirl of butterscotch variegate. Sounds delicious, but it’s certainly not low carb. No worries, Ron. I can fix that for you.

Ron Burgundy