Up and out early this morning to lay trail for Monday’s Hash. My co-Hare’s, Pubic Head and Blow My Pipe, picked the trail. I merely carried the powder and marked the path the Hashers will hopefully follow without getting lost. I know what I like to see on trail and that’s what I tried to provide. We shall see how it works out.
It’s a relatively easy hike of 6K with only one real climb. The only thing I don’t like is that we have to be trucked out to the starting point in the Hashmobile. I am a little worried that the number of Hashers present on Monday could exceed the capacity of our vehicle. Oh well, nothing I can do about that.
Speaking of the house, I’ve taken measures to further secure the place from break-ins. One of the weak points was my open-air downstairs bathroom. There was a gap between the ceiling and the wall large enough for someone to climb through.
Anyway, the upstairs windows have also been secured with wood blocks in the window tracks. No one is getting in that way without breaking glass. I have a new neighbor moving in catercorner from me in a house that has been vacant for years. Not to be an ass about it, but if my house is a tougher nut to crack I’ll be a less inviting target. Just saying. And of course, once they are here I’ll give them a heads up about what I’ve learned the hard way.
That’s the news from here. Oh wait, I’ve been meaning to get around to this:
Kevin Kim had recently posted on the Dunning-Kruger effect, or as the accompanying YouTube video put it “why stupid people think they are smart.” Now, Mr. Yglesias is a very educated man. I’d argue his biases and arrogance makes him stupid about many things though, especially politics. And his grammar and comma usage? Oh my!
But who am I to talk?
You’re a follower of Instapundit, so you know that Yglesias gets a non-stop ribbing there, where he is mockingly referred to as a “notorious robophobe” and is otherwise not taken seriously.
Good luck with the changes to your house. Question: if you were to get burgled a third time, would you…
• consider moving, say, to a gated community?
• finally tell your landlord that the security guards suck?
• buy a bigger, more aggressive dog?
• just consider this the “new normal”?
• leave the PI for greener, more peaceful pastures?
Have you done any research on crime stats in the PI, specifically in your region? I’ve gotten so curious about this question that I might engage in such research!
The closest thing to a gated community here would be on the old Navy base. I looked there prior to moving, nice houses but isolated. I’d need a car if I lived there. There is another vacant house in Alta Vista within eyesight of the guard shack. I looked at it before but it doesn’t have a nice view like I have here.
I honestly don’t think the guards suck. They do what there are supposed to do–regular patrols on motorbikes throughout the subdivision, checking vehicles as they enter, etc. I’m not sure what else they can do. Maybe hire more guards…
Someone actually offered to give me their German Shepherd after the first break-in, but I declined. And I love German Shepherds. If I had a fenced yard and good keep a big dog outside I’d consider it.
Well, I don’t accept this as the “new normal”, but I live comparatively rich surrounded by poor people so it might be normal that I’d be a target for the thieves among them. Making my house more difficult to breach I think is the appropriate response. I’m confident no one is getting in here now without breaking glass.
Maybe if I were the victim of a violent crime I’d be more inclined to consider leaving, but really, where in the world is one truly safe these days?
I’ll need to take a look at some crime stats. I know there is less crime here in Olongapo than there is in Manila, for whatever that’s worth.