OT: Be very careful out there this season...
Ok, this is not tech related, but I think it is worth keeping in mind.
Earleir this week, a female family member of one of my coworkers was abducted. Witnesses say they saw her beign forced into a van. Today, we got word at briefing that a female body was found. We dont know if it is her, but our co-worker has not been at work, so we have more information.
I bring this terrible news up as a reminder to all here (as well as your friends and family) to be aware of surroundings, and situations that may seem out of place (or just make the hairs on the back of your neck stick up). It is even more important during tis time of season, as we tend to have our attention on other things.
1. park in well lit areas, preferably as close to your destination as possible; the higher the people-traffic, the better. Be wary of vans, suvs, or large cars parked right next to your vehicle, or close enough that someone could quickly get out of the vehicle to attack you. Try to get someone you trust to walk with you to your car if you feel uncomfortable; offering a ride is even better.
2. Lay off ipods or the "headphone silence" for a lil while: you want to be able to hear whats going on around you; you may be targeted for a robbery, or worse. Keep your eyes open and continue scanning your area for anything that makes you squirrely (especially on trains)
3. do not engage offers of "help": many years ago, a friend of mine that also djs was walking to his car from a gig he had just done. Someone called to him, stating he dropped some money. Well, my boy turns around to retreive the money, and gets a face full of fist. Luckily for him, he was able to defend himself, and the mugger left with nothing. But it could have been much worse.
4. dont buy "cheap perfumes or colognes from some random dude on the street: this is not a new scam, but some may not know about it. Some guy (or gal) comes up to you offering some perfume for cheap, tries to spray some on you to smell, or hands you a bottel to smell. The fragrance will make you sick, dizzy, and while you are disoriented, you get robbed or assaulted.
5. dont accept drinks handed to you by a stranger: similar to the perfume scam, you may be getting date rape drug, or some other shit that will mess your head up, all the while your pockets are being fleeced.
6. keep your texting to a minimum, and if you cant, avoid leaving sensitive information on your phone. Time was only hackers could access you personal information on cell phones, even after you delete it. Now there are products on the market that can be used by the regular moe. Imagine what could happen if your phone gets stolen and some chodeball finds out personal stuff you dont want out there.
If you do get attacked? Fight back, resist, escape: Bite, with the intent to remove something, scratch the shit out of them, scream "Fire" at the top of you lungs (oddly, folks dont seem to respond to "rape", or, "help, im being mugged"). Keys can also be effective in a pinch as stabbing tools; use them. If a perp demands money, or is trying to grab you to rob you, take out the money, and throw it on the floor, and then run like hell in the opposite direction. The goal is to get that creep away from you as quickly and painlessly as possible. But if that is not an option, promise yourself, that no matter what happens, your attacker will lose an eye, a finger, the ability to fuck for the rest of their lives, or something. This may seem harder than said, but remember, if you resist, you have a chance to get away. If you dont resist, you have no chance to get away.
Have a safe holiday season, everyone.
