XCam2 and ActiveHome...
One Mans Guardian Angels
The month of December is
busy for almost everyone. Theres the shopping, Christmas parties, visiting friends and
families, fighting traffic, and just a hundred other things that just seem to take up our time.
The most fun part about the holidays though, would be the parties. Everybody loves a party.
Theres the spirits, the food, the friends, and dont forget the music. And if you think
Christmas is busy for you, try being one of the individuals who provide the entertainment. Probably
nobody is busier than they are. And if youre looking for entertainment for your party, Dennis
Dallas is the one to call.
Dennis, in his own words, works "so many gigs, DJ-ing and Karaoke Christmas
shows that my fannys really dragging when I finally role into my driveway." Which,
according to Dennis is somewhere between the middle of the night, and early in the morning.
Because of the amount of equipment that Dennis has, he drives a van to carry it. And
Dennis has had his van broken into twice this past year, and in his own carport. "Fortunately
the vehicle had nothing of value in it on those occasions," Dennis says, "however I was
very concerned this month (December) with ten grand worth of equipment at risk."
The neat part of the story according to Dennis is that he has an XCam2 watching the carport area. "If an intruder enters the
area the camera records the event, and an ActiveHome Light
Control Module turns on a well-positioned light at the same time."
So does it work?
According to Dennis, "One evening after a particularly long show, I happened
to still be up around 1:30 am. I was soaking away some aches in my hot tub when suddenly I noticed
the lights go on in the carport. It thought my wife was up wondering where I was... so I stepped
out of the hot tub and walked toward the light. I noticed a fellow in the middle of my driveway...
walking briskly away from my house. He had obviously tripped the light and decided
rather quickly that he was at the wrong house."
And its a good thing too. All that equipment is very difficult to replace.
But Dennis added a P.S.
"I got in my van and drove around my neighborhood for about a half hour, looking
for the fellow we surprised. He was nowhere to be seen. Apparently he thought THIS was not a very
good neighborhood to be wandering around in during the wee hours of the morning."
And we quite concur. Thats why were here. So that we can say to that
"would-be" criminal "theres nothing to see here... Move along."
Send comments or feedback on this article to xzone@x10.com
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