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Ask Slashdot: A Cheap, DIY Home Security and Surveillance System?
scubamage writes "Six weeks ago, my home was broken into while my fiance and I were at work. Two laptops were stolen, an iPad, a power brick, a safe (complete with several years worth of taxes, my birth certificate, and old copies of my driver's license), a digital SLR, and several other costly items. We are now dealing with an attorney because the homeowner's insurance is fighting us on a number of items and we're not backing down. It has been a nightmare. However, we've now noticed that someone has been visiting our house during the day. There has been garbage left sitting on our back porch table, so its unlikely to have blown there. We've also seen footprints in our garden that are not there in the morning. Our neighborhood is essentially empty during the day, and we want to know who is on our property while we're not. If we're really lucky, reporting it to the police could recover some of our property. My fiance has asked me to assemble a home security system that is motion activated, and both notifies us of an entry, as well as records video or rapid HD stillframes when sensing motion. The goal is to do this cheaply and more effectively than going with a private security company like ADT (who, consequently, our police department told us to ignore due to the incredibly high rate of false alarms). We've already gotten the dog and the gun, so we have those bases covered. What suggestions do you have on setting up home security systems, and what have you done to build one in the past?"
Assuming you live in Florida, start by chasing down passers-by with your car and shooting them with your gun. Given TV interviews afterwards in which you claim that you were simply defending yourself.
Steal someones 'secured by' signs from their front yard
Maybe you can tack the sign up on your wrought-irony porch railing.
Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.
Since you have the gun already, landmines for the garden are the obvious next step
All the surveillance you can take.... Oh wait, you said "cheap".... never mind...
You have the gun, and you have the dog. All you really need now is a reputation.
No, no, no ... get rid of the gun and get another dog.
You need a big scary dog to frighten off the burglars and a small yappy dog to bark and wake up the big dog.
I've always perferred using a Resuce Panther.
So you have a gmail account full of pictures of you whackin it?
That's gross dude!