Doorbell "button"

How about something that looks exactly like the old-fashioned doorbell, plus a sigh that reads "WARNING! Do NOT press!". Proper possible actions 1) rotate, 2) grab and pull. If button is pressed, one of those mechanical joke hand "buzzers" rattles user's cage.

Personally get old one arm bandit, say they must get 2 cherries (not say which 2).

Also mark out the front step/porch to look like it is a trap door.

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I don't think that would "confound". There's no "cost" to pulling the arm (as there is no cost to pushing N buttons, etc.). Unlike the coin slot that requires the visitor to "make an investment" to see *if* the slot does what he *thinks* it does.

Wouldn't be believable on a ceramic tile porch (at grade level).

OTOH, a (empty?) water bucket perched overhead...

Make it a real bucket of "clear slime" and place a clear lexan plate under it, so they can see it coming before it hits the plate.

Have the doorbell illuminate a sign that says "Look up!"

Four buttons :

One classical labelled "Friends" One classical labelled "Customers" One classical labelled "Deliveries" One all metal shinny labelled "Others"

Gerardus

I can't believe all these threads running on this single subject..

All that just for a "Dingaling"

Jamie :)

Well, we decided that the HAL9000 is the best compromise.

- (new visitors) won't really notice it until they are *at* that location.

- it lets me place the camera in a more opportune position

- it lets me place the *microphone* closer to the visitor (instead of requiring a high gain, highly directional microphone to minimize background noise that might confound the recognizer)

- likewise puts the loudspeaker in a location where it doesn't have to *blare* to be heard (think of HAL's "dulcet" voice)

- it doesn't intentionally annoy visitors to provoke retaliation

- low risk/temptation for vandalism (i.e., no *coins* to be gained by smashing the "doorbell")

- it's programmable (it doesn't have to even acknowledge your presence -- *or*, give feedback that your actions have been noticed)

- and, best of all, it doesn't add anything to *my* list of things to do (beyond research) as I can tap friends for the various bits that will need to be fab'ed!

Preliminary searches turned up:

And, as I'm not trying to "fool a collector" but, rather, "present a convincing facsimile", I'm sure I can fudge a wee bit on style, dimensions and materials! Likewise, as I only need to make *one*, I don't have to target *specific* dimensions for reproducibility!

I'll drag out the movie and watch it tonight with an eye towards identifying scenes where it is prominent. I figure the biggest issue will be sorting out how high off the ground to mount it for "aesthetic appeal" as well as efficacy of the multimedia devices housed within!

Thanks for the comments! It was entertaining. Also, interesting to see how complex a "simple" problem can be!

[Though I *still* need to find an oddball use for the coin mech and bill validator :-/ ]

Cover the door surface with a mosaic of coarse grinding material so knocking will very obviously be painful. Get C's artist friends to design something pretty. Encode a clue in the mosaic image to the location of a disguised doorbell.

Rig a tilt table under the porch tiles and (time delayed for those in the know) rock the floor until they step off, fall on their ass or press the hidden doorbell.

George

Yeah, lacerate the hands and break the legs of those nasty cookie-peddling Girl Scouts.

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They can take it. Then they can sue.

Locking the gate seems like a cheaper, equally effective, alternative! I don't want to *harm*, just *confound*.

"Crap! Gate is locked. No way to *get* to the door -- even to leave a leaflet!"

I'm going to see if I can "tap" one of them to help me with the "lens" for the HAL9000 approach. I'd love to try making it myself but hear that glass blowing is hard on your lungs. Not sure if that is a reflection on the effort required *or* the exposure to the hot gasses (and, I think they put heavy metals in some of the glassworks?).

How about "Go Away!" in multicolored letters? Too subtle?

We could start gathering up the mountain lions, coyotes, bears, etc. that frequent the neighborhood and place them in a *pen* near the door...

I have a doormat that says that. Although it's not really multi-colored. If it's not this one, it's darn close:

(ho)&ref=DF4rcI_udU6GfakKSQwtHg&kpid=3044526

You're a softie.

Long ago when I had a boat, there was a series of break-ins in the marina. Since we had shore power, I rigged the cabin door and the top hatch with a live wire connected to a model train transformer. One day I found a screwdriver jammed under the top hatch ... but whoever it was never made it inside. 8-)

That might scare JWs but girl scouts are tougher. Need to put the coyote on the porch.

Speaking of coyotes ... I haven't seen any of mine since the first snowfall.

George

In most places in the US, someone who is on your property without invitation and without otherwise being permitted by law (police, fire, mail carriers, delivery people) or prior agreement (condo personnel, lawn care, etc.) has no standing to sue for injuries received on your property.

The vast majority of "I slipped on your sidewalk" type lawsuits are

*illegal* nuisance suits that *should* result in judicial fines for the person who sues and for their lawyer (if any) who should have known better than to file the suit in the first place.

Unfortunately you need a judge willing to sanction the nuisance (and most are not). The majority of nuisance suits are dismissed without prejudice, which means that the people who file them have no record and so are free to do it again.

George

We have a neighbor who is a bigot, "old farte", racist, etc. (well, of course *he* doesn't think so -- but, of all the neighbors, he is the only one who "doesn't think so". Go figure...).

Decades ago, he recounted how he found flourescent lamps (tubes) in his swimming pool and large (fist sized) stones lying on the bottom of the pool. I.e., obviously, someone tossed the lamps over the fence along the side of his yard targeting the pool; then tried to shatter them with the stones. Locating shards of broken glass in your must be a difficult task (drain the pool?).

It never occurred to him to wonder why this happend to *his* pool and none of the others in the neighborhood... I'm sure whatever provoked the incident (i.e., some aspect of his behavior) wasn't something that

*he* would have considered "objectionable", "insulting", "provactive", etc.

I don't think any came through the neighborhood, this year. Typically see them camped out in front of department stores, etc.

Rarely *see* them, here. Though hear them make a kill every couple of nights, nearby. No doubt wandering the washes through the area. No idea what C has seen hiking. At least, no tales of mountain lion encounters, recently! (though ecstatic to finally get a chance to see the baby heffalump at the zoo)

Ha! Wouldn't be effective, here. (else I imagine everyone would have one!)

That simply not true, at least in practice. "Attractive nuisance" is a broad class that certainly does give one standing. Hell, people breaking into stores have sued because they were injured falling through ceiling tiles. ...and then there are the suits against land owners for traps.

Oh, good grief. They are *NOT* in any way illegal. You may wish they were but you lose.

You just contradicted what you said above.

I want the one that says "We do *NOT* call 911".

Maybe this one?

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

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