Using the XS to excess?

The answer to that question is definitely, "no."

Great, now that my internet connection is back up again, I can post some more photos.

Since I don't have Photoshop or anything like that that I know how to use, I've edited quite a few of my photos by simply using Window's Vista's built-in "fix" feature.  I've either just used auto adjust, or when I want to get a different effect, I've turned the contrast up and if the photo gets too bright, I turn the brightness down.  That stuff and cropping is all the photo editing I've done so far, but I think some of my shots turned out pretty well.

Oh, one more thing: from now on, I'm only going to put a few of my photos that I think are pretty good on here; more will be on Picasa that I'll link to.  There are just too many to put in a post.

I'm working on watermarking my photos right now, but for now you can see the unmarked photos.

Some might say my photos aren't good enough for anyone to take and claim that they shot and they might be right, but at least take a look before making any judgments.

Here's the link to my Picasa web albums: http://picasaweb.google.com/richter.max

Update: I'm experimenting with watermarks right now, so expect a variety of colors, if not fonts and other stuff.  Here's the website with the watermark program I'm using:

http://watermark-image.com/default.aspx

It's free for personal use, you can batch watermark multiple photos, and there aren't any nag screens or any other annoying stuff like that.

Lightning beams

Lightning and beam

Lightning

Lightning 2

Lightning 3

Lightning 4

The Eye

You can see the original photo here: http://picasaweb.google.com/richter.max/Watermarked2010_07_292#5501615162752006706

-Max out

Book, sheet music, etc. sale

In case you haven't heard of it before, Lulu.com is a self-publishing website (and one of the self-publishing websites I'm considering using for my book, if I ever finish it) that sells books and more.
Until August 1st, you can use the code, SANTA, to get 20% off of anything on the site.
I've gotten several piano songs (sheet music) by Steven Cravis (listen to his songs at http://www.stevencravis.com/ and on Rhapsody and anywhere else that has his music) from the site.  I'm not sure about other stuff, but the PDFs of his songs sell for $4, so 20% isn't a huge deal, but it's still something.  If you like contemporary instrumental solo piano music, you might like Steven Cravis' music.  Two of his songs I have, Through the Kaleidoscope and Reunion, sound pretty nice, but I've never gotten very far in Reunion and when I play Through the Kaleidoscope, it never sounds like Steven Cravis playing it.  Well, there are lots of pianists out there that are much better than I am; I'm not very good.  






-Max out

New camera

Today I just got a Canon EOS Rebel XS.  It's an entry-level SLR that doesn't take video, but it's still an SLR and ages better than my cellphone camera.  Here are some of my first photos with it:

I know these aren't the most impressive, but considering these are my first photos with my SLR, bear with me here; future photos should get better.  I suppose my cloud photos (taken with a 6 mp camcorder) would be even better had they been taken with my new camera.




-Max out

The Winslow Boy movie review

The other day, I watched the movie, The Winslow Boy, on VHS, so I had to hook up the old VCR.
Years ago, I watched the B&W 1948 version, but this movie was the one with color, made in 1999.


[Warning: contains plot spoilers]
The plot is centered around one event that changes one family's life and ends up affecting many others as well: that of the Winslow family's youngest son, Ronald (Ronnie), being expelled from a naval college after being accused of stealing.  Mr. Winslow does all in his power to fight the admiralty and prove his son's innocence, and he eventually gets Sir Robert Morton, a famous lawyer, to fight for their cause.
"Let right be done" is a phrase that is said at least twice in the film, and it explains many of the actions of both Ronnie's father, Sir Robert and others.  In fact, it's because of those words that Mr. Winslow and Kate willingly sacrifice of themselves (time and money, and for Kate, the chance to marry one she wants to)
The rest of their family has to make sacrifices as well, but although they do care about Ronnie, they don't have the same devotion to the case as the Ronnie's father does.
       


[Spoilers ended]


I recommend this movie for several reasons:
1) There are several good messages throughout the film, such as these:
A. Let right be done.
B. Some things are worth sacrificing for.
C. Standing up for your family is important.   
D. Some things are worth fighting for, regardless of what your chances of winning are; you've shown that your cause is important to you.


2) It doesn't really have any objectionable content...there might be mild language and something else, but nothing big.


3) The story has a good ending.  I don't like stories that have bad endings, so this movie was good on that point.


-Max

My Life According to Hayley Westenra

Goodness, I've gotten tagged by Ëarwen/Mirriam.  I guess I'll write another rather pointless, non-intellectual post...but after all, if everything I wrote on my blog was relevant and intellectually stimulating, wouldn't it be something like "Many Things of Importance"?
I decided to use Hayley Westenra for this one, although some songs feature both Hayley and at least one other singer.


Rules:Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. You can’t use the band I used. Try not to repeat a song title. It’s a lot harder than you think! Re-post as “My life according to (band name).” 


Are you a male or female?
A Boy Like That
Describe yourself: 

What You Never Know Won't Hurt You
How do you feel:
The first one that came to mind for this one was "I Feel Pretty", but that would clearly be a bad choice.
So: Melancholy Interlude; (but not at the moment); 
I Say Grace
Describe where you currently live:
Over the Rainbow (sometimes)
If you could go anywhere, where would you go:
Across the Universe of Time (hm, I guess that depends);
River of Dreams (where's that?);
Scarborough Fair (?);
Shenandoah (once again, it depends)
Your favorite form of transportation: 
Sleigh Ride (not usually, but it's probably a lot better than a Summer Fly, Sonny, Danny Boy, and a bunch of other things)
Your best friend is:
Here Beside Me (nope, he/she/it isn't; I just checked);
The Last Rose of Summer  (maybe, but I'd have to think about that one);

What’s the weather like:
Summer Rain (it certainly is)

Favorite time of day:
Dark Waltz (at times dark is...);

If your life was a TV show, what would it be called: 
Different Voices (ok, any suggestions?)
What is life to you: 
A River
Your favorite color is:
Who Painted the Moon Black
Your fear: )

Heaven (Waiting There for Me) 

(well, yes, if that means one of my friends has died) 

Your relationship: My Heart Belongs to You (just kidding, girls; guys, don't get freaked out here);

She Moves Through the Fair (if "Vanity Fair" is life, and moving through the fair is moving through life, then maybe...)

What is the best advice you have to give: 
Peace Shall Come
Thought for the Day: 
Listen to the Wind
How I would like to die: 
Let Me Lie (perhaps, if that means I won't die a painful death after being tortured)
My soul’s present condition: 
Amazing Grace; I Say Grace
My motto: 
Never Say Goodbye (to the fight for what's right)

-To be continued

More music

For all those music lovers like me out there, here's another site I've found that has free, legal music downloads, and it's also a good way to discover new artists.


https://www.noisetrade.com/

-Max out

Stupidity

You can go and look at the Darwin Awards to read about things stupid people have done (even though its premise about evolution is incorrect, the various stories can be pretty funny), but you've probably had some experiences with less-than-intelligent persons yourself.
Once, when I was with my family at an AT&T store, my mom was talking to the store owner and mentioned "my brother" and "my husband" multiple times not too far apart, and the owner asked, "You're brother's your husband?"  I think at least some of us looked at him rather incredulously.
Have you had anything like that happen before?


-Max out

Funny Signs

Here's a website I just discovered...it has user-submitted photos of funny signs from around the world.
I've seen some funny signs in various places, from "Resume Legal Speed" to "? -->" (a question mark above an arrow).  I submitted my Harris Teeter sign photo, but I'm not sure if it's been accepted. 
Sign Spotting: Funny Signs from Around the World 




Update: My photo has been accepted.  Here's a link to it: http://www.signspotting.com/no-loitering-when-2/
I'm not sure how it got to be in the "Accidentally R-rated" category...an obvious error, but I thought I'd only checked the "Ironic" category.  Oh, well. 


-Max out

Origin

Here's a question: Where did the term, "helpmeet", originate?
In the KJV, the verse in Genesis says, "I will make him an help meet for him." (i.e. a help fit for him)
So I'm not sure how "help meet" became one word...
I could go on about "common usage errors" such as "she imagined herself walking down the aisle" (the center row in a church, etc. is called the nave), but that's rather pointless, so I'll just finish this post here.


-Max out

Look Into the Mirror

When you look at your life and deep within your heart, are you happy with what you see? 
Do you see the evil in your heart that might have been vanquished but still rises to the surface in an effort to bring you down time and time again?  Every day, the fight begins anew; will you fall or will you be victorious?   


These questions are some of many I need to ask myself constantly...
Look into the mirror; tear off the mask and see yourself for who you really are; bare of any facade, stripped of the image others see, and see if you're pleased with what you find?
If not, what are you going to do about it?


Simply put, we were put here on this earth for a purpose: to live for God's glory and advance His kingdom.
Are you making a difference and showing that Christ lives in you to those around you - your family, friends, those in your church, and others?  
I know I haven't been doing a good job of it, but I'm praying God will give me the strength and the determination to live my life for Him each day.
As Christians, to have a fire burning inside of us, to show the world that there is something that makes us different, something that sets us apart from the many people with nothing but the present to live for...isn't that our calling?   Being a Christian isn't about hiding in a monastery; it's about being in the world but not of it; about being a beacon of Truth, a light in the darkness for all to see...




-Maximillian has written

Luxury/performance vehicles

Here's yet another car post (well, I haven't done too many about cars recently, so bear with me here).
Maybe one of these will become your favorite car; not that it matters, but this is one of the "non-intellectual" posts I'm writing before I get back to more serious stuff.  So here are a few luxury vehicles in the roughly $40 - 60k-range.


1) Cadillac CTS-V sedan and coupe
This American car's supercharged LSA V8 is a detuned version of the Corvette ZR-1's LS9.
It produces 556 hp (as opposed to the LS9's 638).  The CTS-V can accelerate from 0-60 in 3.9 seconds with the automatic. 

2) BMW M3 sedan and coupe
The M3 is the favorite car of many people, and its reputation as a strong-performing luxury/sports car is well-established.  The latest model comes in coupe, sedan, and convertible forms, and it has a 414 hp V8 (the next generation model will probably be a 6-cylinder) that can propel it to 60 in the low 4-second range.
I think the coupe and convertible are vastly better-looking than the sedan.
Here's the coupe.

-To be continued

What is wrong in these photos?

Here are some funny things I've seen that I'll use as a kind of puzzle (kind of cheesy, I know).
These two "puzzles" (which aren't really puzzles) are of two things, so in the first set (as well as in the second), the thing you're looking for is the same in each photo - there's not something different in each one.
The answers are at the bottom of this post.

If you guessed the "Black Series" emblem, you're correct.  There is a CLK 63 AMG Black Series, SLK 55 AMG Black Series, and SL65 AMG Black Series, but no E 63 Black Series.

 "Open 24 Hours" and "No Loitering After Store Hours"?!
In fact, I 've seen this sign at multiple Harris Teeter stores.


-Max out

World Speed Record Insanity

If you've recently kept up with either the automotive world, the Guiness World Records, or both, you might know that the title of "fastest production car" was famously held by the Bugatti Veyron.  You may or may not know that an American company, SSC (Shelby SuperCars), beat the Veyron's record by a little bit, although the SSC team believes the Ultimate Aero has the capacity to go faster.
The record run for the Aero was done on a 2 ½-mile road; having a longer road would probably make a difference.  Regardless, the latest iteration of the Bugatti Veyron, the Veyron SuperSport, recently surpassed both the previous Veyron's record and that of the Ultimate Aero, so it now holds the world record for highest top speed for a street-legal car.  Some people like to say the Barabus TKR is the world's fastest road car, but as none of its claims have been verified, that's just speculation.
However, the title quite likely might soon return to America, as an insanely powerful supercar called the Dagger GT.  Its 9.4 liter engine produces 2000 (yes, that's two thousand) horsepower and 2000 ft-lbs. of torque on racing fuel, giving it an estimated power-to-weight ration of about 1.5:1.  By the way, I do like the way it looks better than the Ultimate Aero.
Here are some of the calculated performance numbers for the car:(using wind tunnel, etc.) 
0-60: Under 1.5 seconds (calculated)
Top speed: 314 mph (calculated)
¼-mile: 6.6 seconds (calculated)


Here's the car's website:
http://www.gtr-xs.com/index.html 


Impressed?

-Max out

Knives

In case you are wondering, this post is not going to be an advertisement for anything; I do not get paid to tell about products I like.  Then again, even if I don't get paid for it, I like telling other people about products I've found that I like.


By the way, I don't often have much brand loyalty.  If there's one product made by a company I particularly like, then I like the product but not necessarily the company as a whole.  If a company makes multiple products I like, I will like the company, but I don't necessarily have to like everything made by the company.
For instance, if I had to choose one car company as my favorite, it would be Ferrari, but while I like many Ferraris, from the '60s and '70s to the present, there are some that I don't really like (especially the 208 GTB and early model Mondial, which probably nobody liked, as they were horrible).
  But if one of the company's competitor's makes a better product, I may consider that instead.  Many people who have a particular loyalty to a brand can't stand any criticism of it.
For instance, as one car magazine said about cars that reach "fanboy" status, the "fanboys" will continue to insist their favorite car is better than all others, protest results of tests and reviews in which it's not the winner, etc.
Although I might be like that, I severely doubt it.


As you probably know if you know me fairly well, Cold Steel is my favorite knife company and the company whose knives I usually buy.  However, although I believe Cold Steel is a good company that makes some excellent products, all of its knives aren't perfect all of the time, as I'll explain later.
Here are some thoughts on knives (including buying Cold Steel knives):


1) Unless Cold Steel has a very good sale or incentive (such as their seconds and closeouts or knife fighting DVDs for free with the purchase of a certain knife), look for their knives on Amazon.com, Keenzo.com, eBay, or elsewhere, as I've seen many items much cheaper on some of those places before.  If the prices are the same on Cold Steel's Special Projects website and on the other one you've looked at, make your pick.
Cold Steel still has seconds and closeouts you may be interested in, such as some of their machetes for around $10 each, here:
http://www.ltspecpro.com/secl.html 
Those of you who got a chance to handle my 12" spear point machete (more of a long knife than a machete) might be interested.  I may have already said this previously, but shipping is $9, so you may want to buy multiple items at once, like I did, to save on shipping costs. 


2) Cold Steel's folding knives come with a variety of styles of locks: liner, leaf spring, rocker, Ultra Lock, and Tri-Ad, to name the major ones.  I've gotten both a black Scimitar with a VG-1 blade and a blue anodized Ti-Lite with a Titanium handle and a VG-1 blade.  Both have liner locks, and on both knives, the blade now can wiggle back and forth.  While these might be the odd ones out, I am not going to get any folding knives with a liner lock in the future.  What I am going to do is get a CS knife with the company's new Tri-Ad lock, which on one impressive folder (mainly because of its size), the Extra Large Espada, held 600 lbs.
My Scimitar's blade stays pretty sharp, but for some reason, my Ti-Lite can  kind of get sharp with some effort, but seems to dull immediately.  That might be an anomaly, particularly since both its blade and the one on my Scimitar are made with VG-1 steel...anyway, I'm particularly disappointed with my Ti-Lite right now, since it only really serves to look pretty.


3) In response to this post, a friend asked me, "What about Benchmade?"
While I don't have any knives made by Benchmade, my dad has a Benchmade switchblade that's pretty cool, and I'd kind of like one, but I don't really want one, especially since they're not legal, and I really don't want to get.  Also, some of Microtech's out-the-front automatic knives are very cool, but they're highly illegal for civilians - you can get them only for military of law enforcement use.  Those are some knives I would like, as well as Altair's retractable stealth blade (from the video game, Assassin's Creed), but both are illegal and the retractable wrist blades I've seen for sale come unsharpened and I'm unsure of their quality.


4) Right now I'm fairly displeased (actually, quite angry) with the current knife and gun laws, and the whole encroachment on our freedoms by the federal government.  Thomas Jefferson would go crazy if he could see the state of America today...reading an Uncle Eric book about government makes it clearer.
I'd better not continue, or I'll just be ranting about the government's increasing control and the stupidity of these laws.
Well, here are lists of knife laws, as well as an article written about these oppressive knife laws.
State knife laws:
http://home.netcom.com/~brlevine/sta-law.htm


http://www.donath.org/Rants/StateKnifeLaws/

Oppressive knife laws article:
http://knife-expert.com/st-opp.txt


5) Since "carrying knives concealed in case of attack" (paraphrased) is specifically inexcusable in some places, I may have to carry a knife for self-defense openly, like on my belt, but not only does a knife usually get in the way there, in many places, a "dirk or dagger" is illegal even to open carry.  
It looks like I may have to get an Extra Large Espada some day.










Thoughts?


-Max out

Two Sweepstakes

Updated: Team Sig sweepstakes for August.


These two sweepstakes are probably my favorites that I've entered into recently.
1) The Paramore Honda Civic Tour sweepstakes, in which you can win a customized Honda Civic Si and a bicycle.
Although I don't consider myself a fan of Paramore, this car would be pretty cool...although I might sell it soon after buying it, since I need the money.


2) Sig Sauer's Team Sig sweepstakes, which has a Sig Sauer P229 E² Enhanced Ergonomics 9mm handgun that you can win.
As I've said before, I highly prefer removable handgun grips over one-piece polymer grips, so I can remove the factory ones and put on Hogue rubber grips.  However, since this gun is supposed to be "super-ergonomic", maybe I wouldn't be really bothered by this P229's polymer grips.




Note: For the Paramore Honda Civic Tour Sweepstakes, you must be 18 or older to enter (or your parents will have to take care of the details if you're a minor), and you've got to be 21, fill out some paperwork and get a background check done, etc. to enter in the Team Sig sweepstakes.  


I entered my mom into the latter one for me, because it seems that you can own a handgun at 18 if you fill out the appropriate paperwork and only carry it on your property.  If not, I can wait three years.


The Civic Tour sweepstakes ends in October, but the Team Sig sweepstakes is until August 31, after which there will be another Team Sig sweepstakes.


Team Sig Sweepstakes:
http://www.sigsauer.com/TeamSig/Sweepstakes.aspx
Paramore Honda Civic Tour Sweepstakes:
http://civictour.honda.com/sweepstakes/


Of course, there are also random drawing sweepstakes like various ones on Reader's Digest's website, and Road &; Track's and Car & Driver's, which have multiple cash prizes (and a grand prize of $45,000), although the total value of the prizes from the Paramore sweepstakes would be more than $45,000. 
Road & Track:
http://www.neodata.com/hfmus/road/sweeps/

Car and Driver:
https://www.neodata.com/hfmus/cdri/sweeps/


Considering the fact that you can only enter once in the first two sweepstakes once and you don't have to enter any of them, you really don't have anything to lose.


 
-Max out

Cow Appreciation Day (7/9/10)

Yesterday was Chick-Fil-A's annual Cow Appreciation Day.
For those who are unfamiliar with the event, it's where you dress up like a cow and get free food at Chick-Fil-A.
If you wear either something on your head or the rest of your body (like cow spots), you'll get a free entrée; if you do both, you get a combo meal.  The cow with the firefighter's costume was great this year; his official job was to have his picture taken with people, but he also posed for pictures for my brother (who's been using every chance he has to use the new Canon EOS Rebel T1i he got for his birthday), stuck his head next to people and startled them when they saw him, and some other stuff.  He managed to fit in a booth, across the table from a girl who was waiting for her friends to get back; she apparently thought that was hilarious.  
Perhaps the best act of all was when we were leaving: the cow grabbed several straws and handed them to us.  I was slightly puzzled by that, until he showed what they were for, and started dueling with the "swords."
He "died" several times and fell on the floor, but he was just "sort of dead" (if you remember, there's "sort of dead", "mostly dead", and "all dead"), so he just revived, dusted himself off, and inflicted several casualties himself.  The whole thing was pretty funny.
Before he became an actor, one job Brad Pitt had was as a giant chicken in front of El Pollo Loco.
I thought it would be great fun to get a giant chicken costume and go into Chick-Fil-A to duke it out with the cow.


Moooo.
-Max owt    ;-)    






   

Home Invasion

Here's the post I mentioned I'd write in my "Self-defense, etc." post.


If someone with less-than-friendly intentions breaks into your house, are you prepared to handle the situation?
Many are not.
Here are some tips (not necessarily in order of importance) to prepare yourself for the possibility of a home invasion.
You may or may not choose to use them, but even if not, they might give you something to think about.
In fact, it may be a good idea to pick and choose which steps you'll take for your own situation.
This post has served its purpose if even if you don't use any of the tips written here, you think about how to become more prepared and think up your own home defense rules and measures.


1) Awareness and preparedness
As always, be aware of your surroundings and any possible threats.
Many home invasions happen when the intruder has a chance to observe the habits of a homeowner; this is often done relatively easily by a neighbor or someone in your neighborhood who can watch when you leave to go to work or church, etc.


Have a "safe room" where your family can go to in case of a home invasion so they have have a (relatively) safe place to call 911 from.  


2) If you have sliding doors or windows, put dowel rods in the tracks, so if an intruder manages to jimmy the lock, he will be unable to slide the door open and will have to break the window (causes noise) or search for another point of entry.


3) Have pepper spray both on you and hidden but easily accessible in every room.
I highly recommend carrying pepper spray with you at all times for self-defense, for a variety of reasons.
First, it's highly effective in stopping an attacker (just watch some of the demonstration videos).
It's also easy to use (point and spray), unlike a gun, which requires quite a bit of practice to become proficient in its use.  Furthermore, a small canister of pepper spray is inexpensive.
Yet another very important reason is the fact that pepper spray is non-lethal.  This is good if you want to defend yourself but don't want to kill anyone, and won't leave you with any of the unfortunate legal issues that shooting someone might, since the effects of pepper spray are temporary.
What I recommend you do if you're able to (and want to) do is this:
Carry at least a handgun and pepper spray.  
That way, you can use pepper spray in a situation where either lethal force is unnecessary, or where the attacker/s are in close range.
For instance, thugs breaking in the front door.  In fact, I think that would be a perfect opportunity to use pepper spray, since only one intruder will be able to fit in the doorway at a time, allowing you to spray them one at a time.  Preferably, they all rush in the doorway simultaneously (although this may be unlikely, since most criminals aren't stupid - most of the stupid ones are dead or in jail), which would allow you to incapacitate them all by just turning the spray from one attacker to another.  In situations where you have pepper spray and are confronted by multiple attackers who are, unhelpfully, not standing right next to each other, you should probably get your back to a corner, wall or doorway, so nobody can sneak up behind you.
Of course, that leaves the question of what to do if you've got your back to a wall or something and you run out of pepper spray while you're still under attack...
Then you'll obviously have to switch weapons, resort to unarmed combat, or cower in fear and see if help will somehow arrive.  Note: I highly discourage resorting to the latter method.
Anyway, what I plan to do eventually is to carry at least one handgun, canister of pepper spray, and fixed blade knife on my person, so I can use pepper spray if I am able to do so, the pistol otherwise, and the knife/knives as backup in case my gun fails and pepper spray is empty...or anything like that.   
Here's a link to Cold Steel's Inferno Pepper Spray page:
http://www.ltspecpro.com/inpesp.html


4) Have a dog such as a German Shepherd.
Although I've heard quite a few people say a dog is very helpful as an "early warning" security measure, as well as a good line of defense in its own right, I don't particularly want a dog because of all the things its care entails...but that's just my preference.


5) Have a fence around your house.
Fences can also be a good security measure, in some instances, but I don't think they're other than a slight obstacle to an intruder unless topped with barbed wire, glass, nails, or other sharp objects, electrified, etc., any of which may be illegal in many places.  And besides, not only does having barbed wire on top of your fence make your house rather aesthetically displeasing, having your house/yard looking so obviously like a fortress may make the neighbors rather nervous.  


6) Get a camera and alarm security system.

A security system with cameras and alarms is also a good idea, but can be fairly expensive.

One man said he has panic buttons in every room of his house, so wherever someone is, if they see or hear something suspicious, they can easily push the button and sound the alarm.  This is also useful for households with children, since you wouldn't want kids getting hold of a gun or even pepper spray, but not only is this safe for them, there's a possibility a child may be alone in a room and notice a prowler outside or an intruder breaking in through a window, and be able to give the alarm via the panic system, even if you were unaware of the threat (for instance, if you're in bed upstairs and the intruder is trying to enter the house through a child's bedroom window downstairs).  

It's a good idea to not have trees, bushes, or other cover for a certain radius around your house.
It's good to have a clear line of sight with no places of concealment in the immediate vicinity of your house.


7) Other home defenses
One good defense measure that most homeowners are unlikely to consider because of the visual appearance, weight, etc. is a bullet-resistant door (not "bulletproof", since nothing is completely bulletproof).
This is not a defense measure I'd put particularly high on this list, but since people have gotten shot and killed by bullets that went through the door, I think this deserves mentioning.


I thought about having a log (like a battering ram) or wrecking ball suspended from the ceiling, in case someone (or better yet, multiple people) tried to break in through the front door, but the main difficulty with that is the structural support you'd have to have for such a device, and it would be slightly impractical.
However, I may have thought of a better idea.
If you create a large trapdoor on your front porch with a large hole beneath - or maybe a room like a dungeon, if you want to go sophisticated - you'll be able to drop any intruders to the hole below.
I haven't quite figured out the best way to handle the situation after the drop into the hole just yet, and if the attackers are still holding on to their weapons after their fall, there could be a problem, so I'm still thinking...
Like the battering ram/wrecking ball, the trapdoor plan should also be effective against multiple invaders, including intruders wearing bulletproof armor.


As far as I know, lethal booby traps are highly illegal, not to mention highly dangerous to anyone who sets them off - friend, foe, or anybody else, so I'm not going to talk about them here.


Always remember, no matter how sophisticated your home defenses are, given enough time to plan, a highly skilled and determined person can always find a way in; I don't believe there is no such thing as    












-To be continued