United Neighbors Caring - October 25, 2011
From the United Neighbors Caring Newsletter Sent October 25, 2011
LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE DOG WALKER PATROL! In Mesa Verde A group of dog walkers know each other and often walk together. As they walk, they watch for suspicious activity. When there has been an attempted burglary or break-in, they note the address and spread the word the address is a “RED HOUSE.” Dog walkers walk by that address more frequently and watch to make sure there are no more problems. Do you have Dog Walker Patrols in your neighborhood who are informed watchers as they walk, keeping your neighborhood safer? You also have fun and make friends and, as a group, you are less vulnerable to a visiting coyote. IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD, OUR EMERGENCY DATABASE INCLUDES PET DESCRIPTIONS AND NAMES. This information is extra insurance for pet owners to help identify the pet that occasionally wanders. Since our database includes about 600 homes, we are asked about visiting pets on a fairly regular basis. Neighbor Dixie has been taking UNITED NEIGHBORS information with her when she walks her dog. When she finds a homeowner who is not yet receiving the UNITED NEIGHBORS newsletters, she gives them the information and tells them about the pet listings in our database. She uses her iPhone to record their data as they visit. When you walk, with or without your dog, you should always carry your cell phone for safety – your safety if you need to call for help and the neighborhood’s safety if you take a cell phone photo of suspicious activity or a license plate of a suspicious car. Don’t underestimate the value of always having a camera with you. Tuck a UNITED NEIGHBORS info flyer in your pocket as well and spread the word. WHAT DO YOU DO WITH ELDERLY NEIGHBORS WHO FEEL SO SAFE THEY NEVER HAVE LOCKED THEIR DOORS OR WINDOWS AND DON’T INTEND TO CHANGE NOW? We have heard of this happening. The neighbor does not have a computer and does not want to hear anything about increasing the security of their home. This is a good example of why it is important to know all your neighbors. If the “bad guys” discover the open house, they may think her neighbors’ homes (including yours) may be just as easy to get into. If the rest of you keep everything locked up and have motion lights around your homes, you and your unlocked neighbor will all be safer. AS YOU MEET YOUR NEIGHBORS, HELP THE PARENTS OF PRE-SCHOOL CHILDREN GET IN TOUCH WITH EACH OTHER. In our neighborhood Alecia would like to meet other parents of pre-schoolers. She has a 3 year old boy and a 9 month old girl. If you live in Halecrest/Hall of Fame and respond to this message, we will put you in touch. If you live in another neighborhood and would like to reach other parents of preschoolers in your neighborhood, reply to this newsletter with your contact info and the neighborhood you live in and I will put the message out in the next newsletter. LESSONS LEARNED FROM HARD DRIVE CRASHES When Paul’s hard drive crashed last March, we discovered the back-up program had not been set properly to back up the data and we were VERY GRATEFUL for a professional friend who could extricate critical data from the crashed disc. We were using Acronis and adjusted and monitored to be sure all was backing up as near as we could see. When my hard drive crashed last Sunday night, it was so badly damaged the data was not retrievable. My procedure has been to enter all contact info on my iPhone and then send it to the Outlook Address Book, so the systems are somewhat similar. This was a great blessing, for I was easily able to retrieve several dozen sets of contact info that disappeared in the crash even though the data was supposed to be completely backed up. None of the email groups survived, so I have spent about 3 days resetting them from the hard copy records I have. I am planning to save the Outlook Address book to a thumb drive, so we never have to do this again. We are also going to look for a different back up system, as Acronis no longer offers phone support and does not support a back-up version at all that is only a year old. Their lack of service is certainly negative PR. I focused on getting Outlook up, so communication can continue, but the rest of the system is not yet operational. If you have communicated with me in the last week, I receive messages on my iPhone, but acting on some of them may take another day or two. “Neighbors Helping Neighbors”Diane Hill: (714) 546-4252 Voice (714) 540-1288 FAXunitedneighbors@cmprepared.com