What Would You Do Differently?

***WARNING: VIDEO DEPICTS ACT OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE!!!***

   Aside from who made the video, or even the depicted situation. I want to focus on the act itself and not the act along with the familiarity or reason the film maker had for making this film. 

Here are my questions:

1. What would happen if a complete stranger began banging on your door?

2.What if they forced their way in?

3. How do you react?

4. What precautions can you take to prevent this from happening?

5. Is your action different if it were a woman?

6. And Most Importantly... What would you have done differently? (No, John Quinones from, ABC's What Would You Do?, is not going to come out from behind your computer or phone.)

Please leave your answer in the comment section below. I am hoping that through discussion and sharing our thoughts, we can become better prepared if we are ever placed in a similar situation.

Seeing is Believing (GRAPHIC NSFW)

It is important to watch the video first, then read text below.
It's short but you will catch it.

Watch The Video BEFORE You Read the Story! Pay Attention!


This video is of actual Detectives attempting to stop a CRIMINAL in Chicago.
This Video was taken by a Police Officer Videographer who, was also in harm's way.
WATCH the Video First... Two or Three Times if You Want...
(and) THEN Read TheText Below...
DON'T READ UNTIL YOU WATCH THE VIDEO!
You may need to watch this one several times.
Please remember these cops acted in real time....
THIS PERSON DOES GET SHOT BY THE DETECTIVES.
THIS IS FOR REAL. DO NOT scroll down and read until you see this 8 sec. video.

WHAT DID YOU SEE???? Officers ordered the suspect to put the rifle down, and that is what he is doing, Right? It appears he is complying and then they shoot him!!!

OMG, he is shot! Is that what you saw? 

Watch the video again... Watch the suspect's right hand while he places the rifle down with his left hand. What you don't see by facing this Criminal face to face, but the Officer behind the suspect does see, is the suspect pulling a hidden handgun from the rear of his pants, with his right hand. {back-up yells "Gun" before firing}

Watch as the bad guy goes down..... the handgun is still in his right hand. This is a reminder... What you think you see does not always tell the truth.

Know The Opposing Offense, Sliding Door Edition

There is a saying that one of my coaches growing up had, “A good defense knows what the offense is about to do.” While this saying is true in sports, it can also be applied to many facets of life in general. For this entry, I want to apply it to home defense. Since we, the home dwellers, are the defense; it is natural that those trying to do us and our property harm are the offense (aka: Offenders). So, how do we begin to think like an offender? We look at what is around us to determine what can be used as a tool in their crafty villainous ways. Now we can all agree that the most obvious things are weapons, hammers, screwdrivers, and similar tools. But what about things we may not think about, like suction cup shower handles? 

The handles similar to the one on the left can be found at any hardware store for under $20. The way they are used is to latch on to a sliding glass door and pull the whole door off the track to be removed or just opened up. Many times the extra tool is not needed if you are able to get a good grip of the window. Just think of it as a jammed window. It may take a while but keep working at it and you will get that window open. The video below shows just how easy entrance through these types of doors may be.

 

 The good thing about knowing what the offense is thinking is that we are able to prepare a defense to prevent them from "scoring". Ensure that all doors are locked and secure, take measures to reinforce the weak spots in your home. Try to think like a criminal, be creative. I hope this helps in thinking outside the box when it comes to home security/defense. BTW, below is the next video on what this person did to secure his sliding glass door.

True Story of Home Invasion

Amazing Story from The Truth About Guns

By Regina Slater

I’ve never really been a big “gun enthusiast,” never really thought I needed a gun to protect myself. I stay away from “could be disastrous” situations, I’m very situationally aware of my surroundings and I’d like to think that my lifestyle keeps me off the criminal target list. All of that took a swift 180 degree turn on a cool summer night while I sat watching a less-than-exciting movie with my lazy but loyal dogs . . .

It was like any ordinary night, I had been home from work for only about 3-4 hours and my stomach begged me to ravage the fridge. I turned on the kitchen light and from my kitchen window I can see the rest of the neighborhood is sound asleep, or so it seemed. I barely opened my fridge when there was a stern knock at my front door. The dogs went crazy and as I walked closer to the door I heard from the other side “Las Vegas Police, Open the door!”

Surprised, confused and suddenly terrified, the first thing that popped into my head was that something had happened to my husband who was obviously not at home with me, but was supposed to be at work at the time. I yelled out “I’m putting the dogs away” and in reply I received “Ma’am put the dogs away and open the door, NOW!” Now I’ve had my traffic run-ins with the police but never had a bad experience with them and surely if something horrible had happened they wouldn’t be so rude and demanding.

After the dogs were securely locked downstairs, I slowly opened the door, fearing what kind of news would await me on the other side. To my surprise there was no cop standing in my front doorway but a mid 20-something-year-old wearing shorts and a washed out T-shirt. Before I could blink he grabbed my arm and tried pulling me out of my house. Luckily for my quick reaction time I pulled my arm back and tried pushing the door closed. But before I could close the door all the way, a tip of a tennis shoe popped into sight. I put all my force on the door, hoping that his tiny foot wouldn’t be able to handle the pressure, but I’m only 120-something pounds and you can guess that’s not going to have a lot of force.

It felt like an eternity that I was standing there pushing on the front door while from the other side, the force of a mid-20-year-old pushed back. I couldn’t stand there all night so I had one of two choices; 1) Somehow get the front door closed, which didn’t seem that likely since I was already getting tired, or 2) Make a run for the bedroom where my husband kept his Smith & Wesson M&P Shield 9mm and hopefully reach it in time to protect myself before this young, up-and-coming criminal could catch up with me. I made the move and rushed up the stairs like I was going for the winning touchdown of a Super Bowl game, reaching the bedroom and locking the door behind me just as I heard footsteps at my bedroom door.

Now I’m not completely unknowing of how to handle a gun. My husband had me take a couple shooting classes just so I could get myself familiarized with the guns he kept in our home and also had me memorize the lock code to our safe, just in case anything happened. I payed attention and humored him, but in the back of my mind I always thought that this information would never come into play.

I was wrong and at the very moment that I retrieved the gun from the safe, my bedroom door came flying open. I turned around and to the surprise of this young buck who clearly had ill intentions from the beginning, instead of being face to face with a scared women who was home alone, he was staring into the barrel of a 9mm. With a little more courage and a hell of a lot more power backing me, I gave him a clear warning, “Take one more step and I’ll shoot.”

Luckily this young man was no idiot and at that moment probably valued his life more then he ever has and took to the stairs quicker than I could blink. With a sigh of relief, I picked up the phone and dialed 9-1-1 and relayed the events that had just occured and then phoned my husband. As I filled out the police report and waited for my husband to come home, the police officer told me that another officer had caught the man just a few blocks away trying to hop a wall and that I could now rest easy knowing he will be behind bars.
Needless to say, that event changed my life for the better. I educated myself on all the guns my husband has in our home, regularly go to the range and practice with each and every one, and am even in the process of obtaining my CCW. I watch and listen to the news all the time, hearing about break-ins, robberies and all the horrible things people do to each other. In the back of my mind I can’t help but think how some of those situations could have ended differently if that person had a gun and could have protected themselves and or family.

I’ve come to realize that guns aren’t all bad. Not only can they protect you but can save a life, like it did mine. I would never want to go through what I went through again, but I know if it does…I will be ready.

Suicide: My View (Part 2 - Unforgivable Sin)

   In part one, I spoke on an actual incident of suicide and how I feel along with a quick opinion on mental health. For this post, part 2,  I want to focus on my personal experience and a belief that is very important to me.
   I am not sure where this started, but I remember growing up and hearing that, "those that commit suicide will not go to Heaven!" So, naturally I believed it until I had someone close actually commit suicide. My world fell apart because like I had always heard, they could not go to Heaven. I was both heartbroken and mortified to be young and wrestle with this belief. Well, again, this statement came up as I read comments posted to Facebook about this students suicide. Once I read that, all this emotion came rushing back. The difference is now I know that statement is untrue. How do I know this? Because the ones that say that people who commit suicide don't go to Heaven have no biblical proof to back them up. Heaven is a biblical and spiritual place that a lot who are called followers of Christ believe they will end up. So why do they believe is someone takes their own life, that the person will not end up in Heaven? The answer I have received is that "Suicide is an unforgivable sin." To which I say, "I have to disagree, and here is why."

- How are we to know what happens once we die? Sure, the belief that we go before our creator who sits in a judgment seat is backed by scripture. But have any of us ever been there before? The account that John gives in the Book of Revelation is astounding (Here).

- Jesus himself spoke of only one eternal sin. Mark 3:28-29 says, "I tell you the truth, all sins that people do and all the things people say against God can be forgiven.  But anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of a sin that continues forever.” No where in this passage does it include suicide.

- But suicide is the ultimate act of defiance against God! True. To waste the life that God gave you is a HUGE act of defiance and selfishness. But let me ask you this. Did you ever defy your parents? What would have been a HUGE example of defiance to our parents? Would they still love us even though they may have been very hurt or disappointed? Now multiply that level of love by infinity and you have the love of God and his forgiveness. 1John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

   So, can someone who commits suicide enter into Heaven? I would like to think so. I believe that once we see the greatness of God on that throne. We lose ourselves in his awesomeness and have no choice but feel the full weight of our mistakes. At that point we cannot deny that this is our last choice. I would like to think that Jesus loves us enough to give us that one last chance before we choose to go north or south. But I implore you not to wait until you are at deaths door. Make a choice now to take the road that leads to our eternal life with our divine creator.

   No matter what you have done in the past, you have a spotless future. Do all you can to keep your present and future as clean as possible. Believe it or not, in all of our mistakes God has been there watching us. Are you dead now? Nope, that's because God has plans for you. Don't waste this time that we have.

  Oh, and if you are worried that you have sinned the unforgivable sin. Let me tell you, that if you ARE worried about it, you haven't.
  “Fear that one has done so is probably a good sign that one hasn’t, for full-fledged apostasy is a defiant rejection of everything Christian and lacks the tender conscience that would be worried about such an action.” - Apologetics Study Bible

One final link "What is the Unforgivable Sin?"

Suicide: My View (Part 1)

   Yesterday a tragic story unfolded in what we now know as the courtyard of Lanier High School (not shown) during lunch. A student took his own life while many students looked on in horror. These students had no idea what they were in for when they left for school that morning. Nor will their lives ever be the same now that they have witnessed such a horrible event.
   Let me say this in before I go further. No matter what your age, situation, problem, gender, orientation, religion, color, ethnicity, or any other identifying factor. There are always people willing to help. Ending your life is not the answer. The lasting effects on people you leave behind are far greater than you can imagine. You may feel like you have no one, but believe me, everyone has someone. A family member, a friend, a co-worker, a neighbor. Even people you would never guess thought of you still think highly of you. So again, there is help. Please seek it out.
   First topic I want to tackle is on of the most common media covered ways that people commit suicide, by firearm. Now, anyone who knows me knows my thoughts on firearms. But I don't want to get into that discussion at this point. The avenue that I want to explore is the actual taking of ones own life by firearm. I have heard many people say, "it is the quickest way to go. BANG! done." Unfortunately, that is not the case. A while back I saw a Law Enforcement training video of a detective that did not properly pat down his suspect that he brought into the interrogation room. The man that was about to be interrogated pulled a handgun from his waistband when the detective left the room and shot himself in the head. Contrary to popular belief, it take a lot longer for the body to die even from a traumatic experience like that. As I watched, I saw his body convulse in what had to be excruciating pain before finally becoming completely still. Now I can't say I am any better off now that I have seen that. But it does give me a whole new perspective on the adage that suicide is "the easy way out". In this instance, and probably every instance, I do not see the decision being easy. There has to be some deep deep emotional hurt and pain to even consider this ultimate option. This pain leads me to my next point; mental health.
   Mental health in this time that we live in seems to either be a bigger issue than before, or we are just seeing the issue more because of the light that can be cast upon it through lightning fast media outlets like facebook and twitter. Whichever one it is, we have a problem. From what I see, the students of today have an insurmountable amount of pressure to both be unique yet fit into the status quo socially. With cyber-bullying becoming more rampant, the outcomes are becoming more and more disturbing as we learn more as to why these kids do what they do. Do we blame video games? The media? Parents? I don't see one direction that we can point our fingers. Maybe we need to begin with who Michael Jackson called "The man in the mirror".

    Please read part 2 of this blog post. It deals with a subject very close to my heart.

Continuous flow intersections at Oak Hill Y under construction

This was taken directly from the Austin Mobility E-mail I received this morning.

The new design of the intersection at the Y in Oak Hill is expected to improve traffic flow and travel times by 30 to 50 percent, according to the TxDOT. The agency broke ground on the redesign last month, and it is the second of two projects that are intended to improve area mobility and travel time through the intersection. The City of Austin seeded the funding for the redesign projects with 2010 bond monies.

The innovative design features continuous flow intersections between SH 71 and Joe Tanner Lane that will keep cars moving longer, and stopped at lights less. When complete, the intersection will be the first of its kind in Texas.  

In addition to the construction, work on new turn lanes on US 290 began earlier this year. These improvements will include pedestrian-accessible crossings and bicycle through-lanes at the intersections. Both projects are expected to be completed in 2015, said TxDOT.

TxDOT and the City continue to work together to identify potential long-term improvements for the intersection.

See the continuous flow intersection animation here.