Personal Safety & Safety Tips.

[Chris]

I always use a sleeping bag when I stay at motels and hotels, and yes I do agree with your tips about those places. I actually prefer to stay in suburbs of big cities, rather than that city, like Cochrane for Calgary or Spruce Grove for Edmonton etc.

[solvy]

Thanks friendly and Chris,  I never thought of taking along a sleeping bag for that, but have been forced into a cheap motel as every thing else was full.  slept in my clothes. not the best sleep I've had, but got enough rest to carry on.

Once in PG was staying in the usual motel ( always had been good til now)  when at 3:00 am a terrible racket pounding on the door, swearing etc.  called down to the office, but they never did answer.  finally the cops arrived. Next morning we left there was blood on the doors. What a mess.  I'll never stay there again for sure.

[Chris]

Gross I am glad I never stay in hotel rooms. Thanks for all the info about them this is good to know for anyone thinking about traveling.

never handle the remote control with your hands even in nice places.

[solvy]

Chris your starting to freak me out!   The remote, I never even thought of it!  yeeew!!!

[jellybean]

Bring Hand sanitizer. Or, lol,  bright yellow rubber gloves to use the remote and touch other surfaces??  Oh dear, what would Martha Stewart say?   Happy travels!!

Peace
Jb

[jobo]

hahahaha....I was thinking the same thing, solvy, about what Chris said. 
Of all the things I worry about, I never thought about the remote control in motel rooms....ewwww...I only thought about the dirty bedspreads.......hahahaha.

All I can say is that I/we have been in some pretty sad dumps (when desperate)...the kind where you have to leave your shoes and clothes on....lol

[Concerned]

OK...maybe you have seen this going around in the emails. Thought I would add it to our list of personal safety tips.

ANOTHER "CARJACKING  SCHEME" WARNING FROM  POLICE
THIS APPLIES TO WOMEN AND  MEN

BEWARE OF PAPER CUP, A BOX, OR WHATEVER ON THE TRUNK LID OR REAR WINDOW OF YOUR VEHICLE-- NEW WAY TO DO CARJACKING (NOT A JOKE)
Heads up everyone!  Please, keep this circulating. . ..  You walk across the parking lot, unlock your car and get inside. You start the engine and shift into Reverse.. When you look into the rearview mirror to back out of your parking space, you notice an object on your trunk or a paper on the rear window obstructing your vision.
So, you shift into Park, unlock your doors,  and jump out of your car to remove the object that is obstructing your view. When you reach the back of your car,  that is when the carjackers appear out of nowhere, jump into your car and take off. They practically mow you down as they speed off in your car.

And guess what, ladies? I bet your purse is still in the car. So now the carjacker has your car, YOUR CELL PHONE, your home address, your money, and your keys. Your home and your whole identity are now compromised!

[Baba Donya]

Okay the remote is really gross...Yuck and that is why I stay in higher end places..otherwise I stay in my vehicle.

Although, there are sometimes you may not have any alternative.

One time a motel between Valemont and Kamloops I had to stop, and even though I parked my vehicle in front of the motel, and so did the guests next to us. But, that night, and I did not hear a thing, someone came and tipped over their motorcycle (larger dual one) that had a trailer hitched to it, and damaged the back part of the motorcycle and the trailer.

Alot of times we could take all precautions, and still things happen.

With the sheets, when we had taken our children down to Disneyland, from one of the hotels we stayed at, my daughter got a type of contagious disease on her legs, from the sheets. It took two years for that to go away. Whatever it was layed eggs under her skin. The pediatricians and dematologists here, did not even have a clue what it was.  So the sheet thing is something I check, smell, etc. Just paranoid since then.

As for the dog thing. Teach your dog to be a vegetarian...LOL that may stop your dog from eating the burger! Although they are a great deterrent.

In our old neighbourhood, I was ill from work one day, and in our neighbourhood, everyone parked their vehicles in their garage, so you would never know if someone was home or not. Well, someone went and rang our doorbell, and as soon as my dog barked they took off, I looked and they were going down the block from house to house. Most of us had some kind of dog in our home.

Just a few days before that on the other side of our neighbourhood, a woman went to pick up her kids from school for lunch, and her home was invaded in that short period of time she was gone.  They even memorize your schedules, and it is important not to keep the same schedule.

[solvy]

Contagious disease from the sheets!! ewhhhh! and scary.   I am now carrying zip lock baggies for the remote in my luggage, and seriously thinking of not even using the bed.  You are right Baba sleep in the car if you can.

[Baba Donya]

Oh, Solvy, it was gross.

Another thing to remember...HOUSESLIPPERS...

You do not know who had a foot fungus, before you got to that room!

Bathtubs...rinsed out is not good enough for me...bring your own spray scrub to be sure...


I heard some staff even wipes out the glasses instead of bringing fresh ones...so, now I clean them too, or better yet, bring my own.

...oh I have a big list!

[Concerned]

Got an email on this one. Didn't verify it, but can't hurt to pass it around.

 
Call this the elderly (or child) shout out

Please pass on to all your girlfriends, wives, etc.  Just to be on the safe side. Please be aware and pass it on to anyone you think this will help.

Sunday afternoon around 5 PM I headed into the Target. It was still light outside and I parked fairly close to the entrance. As I got out of my car and began walking towards Target, an older lady shouted to me from the passenger seat of a car about 30 feet away from me.

"Ma'am you must help me, help me please, help me Ma'am!" I looked at her in the eyes and started to walk towards her when I remembered an email my Mom had sent me a week or two ago about rapists and abductions using elderly people to lure women in.

I paused, memorized the license plate and immediately headed into Target to get a manager to come help this lady, just in case something was up.  While the woman manager headed out there, I kept a close watch just because I was curious what was wrong with the lady and wanted to be sure nothing happened.

As the Target lady walked up towards the car and got very close to the old woman in order to help her, the back door of the car flies open and a large man with a stocking cap on, jumps out and sticks a gun to the lady's stomach as he shoves her into the back of the car.

I yelled out "call 911" several times and just as I was saying that, a policeman who happened to be on the other side of the parking lot and who,luckily had seen the entire thing happen, raced over to the car.


He was able to stop the car and arrest the male as well as the old lady, who was involved in the scheme.
By God's grace everyone was all right, including myself, although I think we were both shaken up.

Like many of you, I would not in a million years have left an elderly person who was yelling for help if it weren't for the e-mail I had read last week. So, I wanted to pass this along so you all can be aware and remember that you really can't trust anyone these days.

You just never know when something like this could happen. I would have never dreamed it to happen to me especially on a Sunday afternoon at a Target in a safe area!

It definitely was not a coincidence that my Mom sent that email just a few days before this all happened. Please, be careful and always be aware of your surroundings.

Just because you individually don't go over to help someone doesn't mean you have to leave them in trouble, but don't go ALONE, you really don't know what might be going on.

they also use children to lure the victim!

[jellybean]

http://www.edmontonsun.com/news/canada/2011/04/03/17858076.html
Dad livid after son nearly killed over cell
By Katie Schneider, QMI Agency

Last Updated: April 3, 2011 7:15am

CALGARY -- As his severely injured son recovers in hospital, a city father is outraged his boy was dragged seven metres by a car and left for dead -- all over a cellphone.

Matt Roberts, 18, was on his way home from his girlfriend's house Wednesday about 9 p.m., and had just stepped off the train when his night turned into a nightmare.

He was about to go into Tim Hortons to buy a hot chocolate when a four-door silver car pulled up with four men inside claiming to need to borrow a phone, said his dad Wayne Roberts.

"A passenger got out of the car and said they were having trouble with their vehicle and asked for assistance and asked if he had a phone," Wayne said.

"He loaned them his BlackBerry."

After the passenger got back in the car and pretended to make a call, the driver backed up, prompting Matt to realize he was being robbed.

"Matt tried to reach in and get his phone back and the driver floored it," Wayne said.

"He lost his balance and grabbed hold of the side of the car to save his own life."

His son was dragged seven metres until he fell off and hit his head, landing helplessly in a puddle.

"They left him for dead," he said.

A passerby saw him and called for help.

He is now recovering in the hospital trauma unit with six broken ribs, a broken sternum, shoulder blade and fingers, a spine fracture, head injuries, and a mangled ear among other injuries.

"He is in a lot of pain," Wayne said, adding he will likely be in the hospital for three to four more weeks.

Wayne said he is livid with the crime that nearly killed his son.

"It was absolutely intentional -- they lured him to the car to steal the phone," he said.

"I am extremely angry. He could have been killed."

katie.schneider@sunmedia.ca

ONE MORE THING TO WARN YOUR LOVED ONES ABOUT.

[amIam]

The victim should consider himself very lucky he is still alive.  There are those who have been killed for far less.   Doesn't make it right but it is fact.

[jellybean]

Women, especially young women, always walk in pairs in the evening. Never walk home alone from a nite of pubbing. Take a cab.

JB

[Concerned]

Tis the season.... Seems like very good advice to me!

This gives us something to think about with all our new electronic technology..

GPS
A friend had their car broken into while they were at a football game.  Their car was parked on the green which was adjacent to the football stadium and specially allotted to football fans.  Things stolen from the car included a garage door remote control, some money and a GPS which had been
Prominently mounted on the dashboard.
When the victims got home, they found that their house had been ransacked and just about everything worth anything had been stolen..
The thieves had used the GPS to guide them to the house.  They then used the garage remote control to open the garage door and gain entry to the house.  The thieves knew the owners were at the football game, they knew what time the game was scheduled to finish and so they knew how much time they had to clean out the house.  It appeared that they had brought a truck to empty the house of its contents.
Something to consider if you have a GPS - don't put your home address in it.  Put a nearby address (like a store or gas station) so you can still find your way home if you need to, but no one else would know where you live if your GPS were stolen.
 
 
MOBILE PHONES -- I would never have thought of this.......
This lady has now changed her habit of how she lists her names on her mobile phone after her handbag was stolen.  Her handbag, which contained her cell phone, credit card, wallet... Etc... Was stolen.
20 minutes later when she called her hubby, from a pay phone telling him what had happened, hubby says 'I received your text asking about our Pin number and I've replied a little while ago...'
When they rushed down to the bank, the bank staff told them all the money was already withdrawn.  The thief had actually used the stolen cell phone to text 'hubby' in the contact list and got hold of the pin number.  Within 20 minutes he had withdrawn all the money from their bank account.
 
Moral
Do not disclose the relationship between you and the people in your contact list.
Avoid using names like Home, Honey, Hubby, Sweetheart, Dad, Mom, etc....
And very importantly, when sensitive info is being asked through texts, CONFIRM by calling back.

Also, when you're being text by friends or family to meet them somewhere, be sure to call back to confirm that the message came from them.  If you don't reach them, be very careful about going places to meet 'family and friends' who text you.