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3 Things Burglars Don’t Want You to Know

Knowing how to stop break-ins isn’t hard and shouldn’t be an all-consuming mission either. Here are 3 things burglars don’t want you to know, including: knowing what to look for, revealing vacation plans and getting an alarm system.

Knowing What to Look For
Even a half-witted burglar knows to check medicine bottles for those diamond earrings, and scour through the sock and underwear drawer for more valuables. But he just might not bother going into the children’s bedrooms.
Even though the sun’s beginning to set, you insist on keeping your blinds up or curtains open to milk what little daylight is left to lighten up the room. Meanwhile, a savvy burglar is strolling about the neighborhood, catching glimpses through windows that he can see through because it’s dusk (let alone night time). This way he can pick easy looking targets or ones with visible valuables. Source:Huffingtonpost

Revealing Vacation Plans
Never reveal your vacation or business tip plans on your Facebook page. Don’t assume nobody could figure out your address just because it’s not on your page.
No errand is too short to leave the alarm system turned off. A burglar can invade your home and steal your valuables in a lot less time than it takes you to run the shortest errand. Products that you don’t have to arm, like the Schlage Touchscreen Deadbolt with a built-in alarm feature, can also help out when only stepping out for a short amount of time. Source: Robertsiciliano

Getting an Alarm System
I don’t want to be noticed. I want to walk in and out as quietly as possible. And to that point, Post the alarm security sign in your front yard. Save us both the time and trouble.
Keep valuables in a safe, and make sure that safe isn’t portable, or it’s coming with me. One of the first places I check is your sock drawer.
Lock doors and windows, even when you’re home. I can slip into an empty room any time. But not if I’m locked out. Source: Alarmrelay

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3 Extra Home Alarm Monitoring

Security systems are design to prevent crime and damage to property. Here are 3 extra home alarm monitoring that you might want to know, including: internet and phone usage, fire monitoring, heat and smoke detectors.

Internet and Phone Usage
Home alarm companies offer monthly monitoring via three types of connection: Internet (broadband/VOIP), phone line, or cellular service. Usually, Internet monitoring is the least expensive option, while cellular monitoring is the most expensive.

• Internet: Monitoring via Internet is inexpensive, but be aware that if you have an Internet outage (or a power outage that disables your modem), you will be cut off from monitoring.
• Phone line: Use your home phone line (landline) to connect with your monitoring company. Be aware that if a burglar cuts your phone line, your system will not work.
• Cellular: Monitoring via cell phone connection is the most expensive option, but also the most secure. Source: Consumeraffairs

Fire Monitoring
Round-the-clock monitoring is an important component of any home fire alarm system. After all, you’ll want to alert the local fire department the moment the alarm goes off. Additionally, some devices can also be modified to keep track of carbon monoxide levels inside your home. Some can even be operated using a smartphone or a tablet. Source: Alarmrelay

Heat and Smoke Detectors
Heat detectors are meant to assist smoke detectors, not replace them. Fires can be sensed by the rise of room temperature, and detecting this hazard before smoke has been formulated can give you some vital extra time to either put out the fire or evacuate the building. Smoke detectors, for added security for your home and family, we can also fit smoke detectors. Source: Everest

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3 Creative Places to Hide Your Home Security Cameras

Hiding your security cameras in unique and creative places may give you the extra protection needed to help protect your home and family from theft. Here are 3 creative places to hide your home security cameras.

 

In a Potted Plant
Get creative! Your camera will not be so easily spotted if you hide it inside a nondescript household object. Make sure to use something that you would usually keep in your room or office; an out-of-place object may arouse suspicion.
Consider hiding the camera in the leaves of a potted plant or deep in the recesses of a bookshelf–anywhere that someone will be unlikely to look closely. Make sure that the camera lens is pointing where you need it to point. Source: wikiHow

In a Bird Box
An ordinary bird nesting box can make a fantastic disguise for a camera. Choose a style that is completely enclosed, with just a small hole in the front for birds to enter and exit. The lens of a small bullet camera can sit just behind this hole, capturing everything that happens outside your property without being seen. If you are using a wired camera security system, then you will need to drill a hole in the rear of the box for the cables. A wireless security camera can simply be placed inside the box and connected wirelessly to the home security network. You can then mount the box on the side of your house or on a garden wall or fence. The advantage of using a bird box as a disguise, rather than a garden ornament or rock, is that you can use a high vantage point, which could give you a better view of intruders’ faces. Source: eBay

Under a Light Switch
We learned that it worked perfectly well with the iCam software and their tech support was familiar with this unit. It took all of 15 minutes to set it up via a web browser while being wired to our computer.
We made the square cut using an X-acto knife and got the power from our friendly AC outlet, snaked the wires through the opening and started working with the blank light switch plate template for the lens and status light’s openings.
This took a little bit of trial and error, but we finally found the perfect location. We used a regular hot glue gun to attach the camera (which we stripped from its pedestal base to minimize footprint) to the switch plate.  Source: ApartmentTherapy

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3 Benefits of Managing your Home Security System on your Mobile Device

Mobile alarm monitoring is an effective way of monitoring your home security system which provides wide variety of benefits, such as: easy access, control lights, locks, and thermostats and energy efficiency.

Below are 3 benefits of managing your home security system on mobile device:

Easy Access
If you’re like most people, you’ve got your smartphone or mobile device with you whenever you leave your house. You won’t need to carry another device or use a computer to access your home security system (unless you want to).

You’ll be able to do the following, anytime, anywhere:

• Remotely arm or disarm your system
• Check your security system history
• Never second guess whether you armed your system Source: Alarmrelay

Control Lights, Locks, and Thermostats
A centralized connection enables smart home equipment to talk to one another, so that it can work smoothly and cohesively together to meet your automation needs. For example, set your lights to automatically turn on when you unlock your front door, or adjust your thermostat to the perfect temperature when you open your garage. With a connected app, the combination possibilities are endless! Simplify your life by decreasing the amount of effort needed to manage your home.Source: Vectorsecurity

Energy Efficiency
Many home automation products, also known as “smart” products, help you manage your home’s energy consumption. For example, automate your thermostat to adjust settings throughout the day based around the times someone is home or the house is empty.
Some “smart” devices can be synced up to your appliances with real-time energy information. This helps your home appliances know the most cost-effective times to operate. For example, your dishwasher may run at 2am because this is the best time for the lowest price. Source: Adt.ca

Mobile alarm monitoring enables you to keep a check on your security system via phone, manage alarm settings, and get in touch with the monitoring company. If you want to know more about home security systems, contact us now or email us here.

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Carrot & Chickpea Tacos with Cilantro Yogurt

Vegetarian tacos with chickpeas, carrots and cilantro yogurt | Vegetarian, gluten-free

“I don’t miss meat. I just like eating really good food.” That’s Jack, from Jeanine and Jack of Love and Lemons, proving that if you needed any convincing, eating lots of veg is far from unsatisfying. What once was a far-fetched idea is becoming more and more accepted in this country. But here in the heart of the meat and potatoes Midwest, Alex and I still feel a little odd-ball championing the virtues of veggies.

We met Jeanine and Jack years ago through our mutual love of cooking mainly vegetables and posting photographs on the internet. Who knew that they’d go on to run a ragingly successful food blog and become author and photographer of the stunning Love and Lemons Cookbook (which just so happens to be released today)? OK, we knew, and these two not only hit it out of the park on veggie recipes and photos, but they are two of the most genuinely kind souls you’ve ever met. (And Jeanine helped us with design tips on our kitchen. To which we’ll be eternally grateful.)

These vegetarian tacos are from the Love and Lemons cookbook and an example of vegetable-based food at it’s finest — recipes where you don’t miss the meat. We love cooking this way, and if you’re reading this, likely you do too (or want to). In the recipe, chickpeas are broiled with garlic and cumin, carrots peeled into lovely ribbons, mango cubes thrown in for some sweetness, smothered in creamy cilantro yogurt sauce (and doused with sriacha for good measure). These disappeared very quickly in our house. 

And not only do we have this recipe, but we’ve got a little treat: Jeanine and Jack, in the flesh, on the A Couple Cooks Podcast!  You’ll get a little behind the scenes on their cookbook, as well as tips for how to improvise with vegetables. Plus, my favorite story about Jeanine’s cookbook nightmare — something about noodle hair? We hope you’ll enjoy it!

For More
Episode 15 — A Couple Cooks Podcast
Order The Love and Lemons Cookbook

Carrot Ribbon & Chickpea Tacos with Cilantro Yogurt

 

Print

by: a Couple Cooks

Serves: 4

What You Need

• 1½ cups cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• ½ garlic clove, minced
• ¼ teaspoon cumin
• 4 medium carrots
• 8 corn tortillas, grilled or warmed
• 1 mango, peeled and cubed
• 3 radishes, thinly sliced
• Few handfuls of cilantro leaves, stems reserved
• Sriracha, for serving
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 serrano pepper, thinly sliced (optional)

What To Do

1. Preheat the broiler of your oven, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Toss the chickpeas with a drizzle of olive oil, garlic, cumin, and pinches of salt and pepper. Broil for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the chickpeas are slightly golden brown.
3. Peel the carrots into ribbons (using a vegetable peeler) and set aside.
4. Make the cilantro-stem yogurt sauce (below).
5. Fill each tortilla with the yogurt sauce, chickpeas, mango, radishes, carrot ribbons, cilantro, and serrano pepper, if using. Serve with sriracha on the side.

Notes

Reprinted with permission from The Love and Lemons Cookbook by Jeanine Donofrio

3.5.3208

Cilantro-Stem Yogurt Sauce

 

Print

by: a Couple Cooks

What You Need

• 7 ounces Greek yogurt
• ⅔ cup reserved cilantro stems
• 2 scallions, chopped
• ½ garlic clove
• ½ teaspoon dried coriander
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon olive oil
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon honey

What To Do

1. In a food processor, pulse the yogurt, cilantro stems, scallions, garlic, coriander, lime juice, and pinches of salt and pepper. With the food processor running, drizzle in the olive oil.
2. Taste and adjust seasonings. If it's too tart, add a bit of honey if you'd like.
3. Chill until ready to use.

Notes

Reprinted with permission from The Love and Lemons Cookbook by Jeanine Donofrio

3.5.3208

 

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3 Steps for Leveraging Mobile Technology to Work and Live on the road

Cookies and Cups

I can’t stop eating these cookies. They’re Peanut Butter Cup-Filled Brownie Cookie Sandwiches from my sweet friend Shelly of Cookies and Cups. Her brand new cookbook (The Cookies and Cups Cookbook) is coming out April 12th and when I saw her recipe for these, I knew I had to try them first. I mean brownie cookies and melty peanut butter cups … I’m so there.

Plus, I like recipes where I have everything on hand. And in this case I just happened to have a bunch of Reese’s on the ready for Easter … they’re a staple in my house for just about any holiday, you know.

Melted chocolate and butter means we’re off to a delicious start.

I used a small cookie scoop for the brownie batter. As the batter rests, it thickens a bit to make it easier to scoop onto your baking sheet.

Cookies. And. Cups.

Sandwich them while they’re still warm and watch the middles melt… along with my heart.

Peanut Butter Cup-Filled Brownie Cookie Sandwiches
1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter
16 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
12 regular-size peanut butter cups

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and chocolate over low heat, stirring frequently until the ingredients are just melted. Remove from the heat and let the chocolate-butter mixture cool for about 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Then set aside.
• In another larger bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla. Add the chocolate and butter mixture to the egg mixture slowly, stirring as you go. Then stir in the flour mixture until combined.
• Scoop brownie mixture and place on baking sheet 2 inches apart. Bake for about 9 minutes until cookies are set in the middle.
• Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 3 minutes. Flip half the cookies over and carefully place a peanut butter cup on each flipped cookie. Place the remaining cookies on top while they are still warm. The heat from the cookies will melt the peanut butter cups enough to hold the sandwiches together when cooled completely.
• Makes 12 – 16 sandwich cookies.

I enjoyed every last bite of these babies! Hope you do, too. Just make sure to have a big glass of milk ready when you do.

Here’s a little peek at more of the yumminess from The Cookies & Cups Cookbook. Check it out, you can pre-order now! So proud for you Shelly!

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3 Reasons Why this Former NFL Player Loves HIIT Training

What Do We Lose By Measuring ‘Average’ In Education?

Excerpted from The End of Average: How We Succeed in a World That Values Sameness by Todd Rose. 

I hope I have captured just how incredible a pilot Killer C is. But I would never be telling you this story if the U.S. Air Force still insisted that our pilots fit inside a cockpit designed for an average pilot: Colonel Kim N. Campbell, whose real call sign is Killer Chick, is five foot four and weighs 120 pounds—and she could not be any further from someone’s idea of an “average” pilot.

There is an important lesson here about the nature of opportunity. When the military adopted Lieutenant Gilbert Daniels’s radical idea of creating adjustable cockpits that fit any person’s body, nobody was talking about expanding the pool of pilot talent, let alone advocating for gender equity. They just wanted their existing pilots to perform better. The air force did not get Campbell because they designed a female-friendly plane, they got Campbell because they made a commitment to build planes designed to fit the jagged profile of individual pilots, whatever their jaggedness might be. “When I climb into the Warthog,” Campbell said to me, “the seat needs to go to its maximum height and the pedals go all the way back—but it fits.”

This is the lesson of Kim Campbell: fit creates opportunity. If the environment is a bad match with our individuality—if we cannot reach the controls in the cockpit—our performance will always be artificially impaired. If we do get a good fit with our environment—whether that environment is a cockpit, a classroom, or a corner office—we will have the opportunity to show what we are truly capable of. This means that if we want equal opportunity for everyone, if we want a society where each one of us has the same chance to live up to our full potential, then we must create professional, educational, and social institutions that are responsive to individuality.

This is not how we usually think about equal opportunity. During the Age of Average we have defined opportunity as “equal access”—as ensuring that everyone has access to the same experiences. Of course, equal access is undoubtedly preferable to older alternatives such as nepotism, cronyism, racism, misogyny, and classism. And there is no doubt that equal access has improved society immensely, creating a society that is more tolerant, respectful, and inclusive. But equal access suffers from one major shortcoming: it aims to maximize individual opportunity on average by ensuring that everyone has access to the same standardized system, whether or not that system actually fits.

Imagine if the Air Force had passed a policy to allow all men and women the opportunity to become fighter pilots if they had the “right stuff,” but continued to create cockpits designed for the average pilot. The Air Force would have rejected Kim Campbell, not because she lacked the talent to be a world-class pilot, but because she didn’t fit inside an average cockpit. It would be difficult to argue that this is equal opportunity.

Equal access is an averagarian solution to an averagarian problem. For generations, people have been discriminated against because of gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic class. Our response to such discrimination has been to try to balance the scales of opportunity—on average. If we see that the Average Man of one group is receiving different access to educational, professional, legal, and medical experiences than the Average Man of another group, then averagarian thinking suggests that the fair thing to do is to try to make those two Average Men as similar as possible. This was the right thing to do in the Age of Average—because it was the best we could do to address unfairness in a standardized world.

But now we know there is no such thing as an average person, and we can see the flaw in the equal access approach to opportunity: if there is no such thing as an average person, then there can never be equal opportunity on average. Only equal fit creates equal opportunity. Equal fit may seem like a novel idea, but it is ultimately the same view of opportunity expressed by Abraham Lincoln, when he declared that government’s “leading object is to elevate the condition of men—to lift artificial weights from all shoulders, to clear the paths of laudable pursuit for all, to afford all an unfettered start and a fair chance, in the race of life.”

Equal fit is an ideal that can bring our institutions into closer alignment with our values, and give each of us the chance to become the very best we can be, and to pursue a life of excellence, as we define it.

The good news is that we have it within our power, right now, to implement equal fit as a new foundation for equal opportunity in society. We no longer need to compel people to conform to the same inflexible standardized system, because we have the science and technology to build institutions that are responsive to individuality. But this transformation from an Age of Average to an Age of Individuals will not happen automatically. We must demand it.

If we are looking for the institution where implementing equal fit would have the biggest immediate impact on opportunity, the place to start is clear: public education. Despite the fact that “personalized learning” is the biggest buzzword in education today, and despite efforts of many organizations seeking change in the system, almost everything in traditional educational systems remains designed to ensure students receive the same exact standardized experience. Textbooks are designed to be “age appropriate,” which means they are targeted toward the average student of a given age. Many assessments (including many so-called high-stakes tests) are age or grade normed, which means they are based around the average student of that age or grade. We continue to enforce a curriculum that defines not only what students learn, but also how, when, at what pace, and in what order they learn it. In other words, whatever else we may say, traditional public education systems violate the principles of individuality.

Although it would not be easy, it’s not difficult to imagine how to introduce equal fit into education. For starters, we can require that textbooks be designed “to the edges” rather than to the average; we can require that curricular materials be adaptive to individual ability and pacing rather than fixed based on grade or age; we can require that educational assessments be built to measure individual learning and development rather than simply ranking students against one another. Finally, we can encourage local experimentation and sharing of successes and failures to accelerate discovery and adoption of cost-effective, scalable ways to implement student-driven, self-paced, multipathway educational experience.

We can also apply the principle of equal fit to social policies that influence the workplace, such as policies that influence hiring, firing, and pay. Imagine the talent that we can unleash by redesigning our schools and jobs to fit the individual, instead of fitting the averagarian system—even if that averagarian system is motivated by the best of intentions. We would unleash a society of Kim Campbells—a society of individual excellence.

Excerpted from The End of Average: How We Succeed in a World That Values Sameness by Todd Rose. Copyright ©2016 by L. Todd Rose, published by HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

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CARAMEL CHOCOLATE GANACHE TART with SUPERFOOD DRIZZLE

VERY DECADENT AND RICH! BUT ALSO REALLY GOOD FOR YA! This tart is full of healthy fats, fibre and probably a decent amount of protein too. We've got a crust made from dates, oats and almonds topped off with a date-based salted caramel and smooth chocolate layer. The finale is a deliciously tart, sweet drizzle made with Oh My Glow Superfood Beauty Blend: with ingredients from whole foods like berries, maca root, lucuma and chia seeds. I love adding it to smoothies but wanted to try something a bit more creative here. It blends perfectly with coconut oil and maple syrup into a luscious, deep red mixture that has a butterscotch-y consistency.


I like Oh My Glow because they don't try to sell their product as a weight-loss supplement, they instead advertise its abilities to make you FEEL GOOD and nourish your body. I dig it. There's health as every size and what's important is taking care of ourselves, not a number on a scale. Plus their superfood powder is DELICIOUS. It's mostly composed of berries (cranberry, strawberry, guarana berry, goji berry, maqui berry + acai berry) and also has tasty goodies like maca, lucuma and chia. The flavour is great and the colour is a cute reddish pink. I like tart things so I tend to add it to every smoothie I make these days. It boosts my nutritional intake for the day and tastes great.

I don't think I really need to explain much more about this recipe because caramel + chocolate ganache + tart + vegan = yes. BUT I would like to talk about eating vegan foods as more than just a health-conscious decision (although you don't have to eat healthy just cuz you're vegan... eat whatever the hell ya want!)

I know that a lot of folks look at vegan grub as bland or less-than, weird and rubbery in its imitations of animal flesh and plastic-y and synthetically-coloured with its fake cheeses. Sure, a lot of vegan cheeses on the market are kinda gross. And no, vegan meat is not EXACTLY like animal meat (though there are some brands that're getting close). But people who are vegan don't go vegan just to eat strangely-coloured, oil-based "cheese" or 'take back our health'. Many of us - if not most - go vegan for much more important reasons: reducing our greenhouse gas emissions and lessening our support of animal cruelty and abuse. Animal agriculture makes up between 18-51% of global greenhouse gas emissions while ALL transportation combined makes up 13%. So yeah, buying an electric car and getting LED lighting is terrific, but the most impact you can make is on your plate. It takes nearly 2,000 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef, compare that to the 46 gallons it takes to make a pound of sweet potatoes.

The other extremely significant reason many of us are vegan has to do with ethics. The cruelty, abuse and eventual slaughter farm animals endure is absolutely hell-ish and unacceptable. If you've ever seen any footage from factory farms, you know what I am talking about. And in case you think grass-fed, free-range meat is better; it's in fact far more energy-intensive (requiring more land and water usage than factory farms) and therefore not a sustainable or viable option for the future because if everyone ate it (which won't happen because of the high price point), there wouldn't be enough room or water for humans to live. And from the moral perspective: the animals may not be treated as deplorably but they are still always killed. Whether the cow - who has a personality, friendships, intelligence, feelings, likes and dislikes - is raised on a free-range farm or in a factory farm, they are still ultimately sent to their death. A pig, cow, lamb and chicken has the capacity to love and be loved just as your pets do. If we don't need to kill them, why would we?

I don't mean to shame non-vegans with this post. Of course eating vegan requires a hefty amount of privilege, and I have friends who have tried being vegan but their bodies didn't agree with it, so it's not for everyone. But for those of us who CAN be vegan: let's be vegan! It's no perfect solution to any problem (people are still mistreated in every industry and our phones, cars and clothing have greenhouse gas footprints), but it's an improvement in so many ways. That's my lil rant for the day. Wishing you well.

CARAMEL CHOCOLATE GANACHE TART with SUPERFOOD DRIZZLE
Makes one 9-inch tart, around 12 servings.

Crust:
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup almonds, preferably soaked for 4-8 hours then rinsed
1 1/2 cups pitted dates

Caramel:
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup coconut milk, or more as needed
1/4 teaspoon Himalayan salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder
1 cup cashews, preferably soaked for 4 hours then rinsed 
1 1/2 cups pitted dates
3 tablespoons maple syrup

Chocolate:
1/4 cup caramel
2 tablespoons coconut oil
2 tablespoons cacao powder

Drizzle:
1 heaping tablespoon coconut oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 heaping tablespoon Oh My Glow Superfood Beauty Blend

To make the crust: grind the oats and almonds into flour in a food processor, then add the dates and process until it becomes a crumbly mixture that holds its shape when pressed between two fingers. If needed you can add some water for moisture to help it stick together better. Press into the bottom of a lined 9-inch tart or cake pan and put in the freezer.

To make the caramel: in a blender, blend all ingredients until smooth. If it's too thick for your blender to handle, add a little more coconut milk. Set aside 1/4 cup of the caramel for the chocolate layer. Spread the remaining caramel over your crust and put back in the fridge.

To make the chocolate: melt the coconut oil and then stir in the rest of the ingredients until it's smooth. Spread on top of your caramel layer and put back in the freezer overnight. Optional: Sprinkle the tart the slivered almonds.

To make the drizzle: melt the coconut oil then stir in the rest of the ingredients and drizzle over your tart. Slice and enjoy! Store in the freezer for up to a week.

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This post was a collaboration project between Oh My Glow Superfood Detox and This Rawsome Vegan Life (that's me)! 

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Fitness Industry is broken? Then do something about it

The Benefits and Challenges of Student-Designed Learning

How Meaningful Feedback for Teachers and Students Improves Relationships

The 2014 National Teacher of the Year, Sean McComb, works at a pretty average-looking high school. Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts isn’t a school with extra funding or special dispensation to try something totally different.

Students sit at desks, they rotate through periods and, in many ways, the school hasn’t revolutionized what it looks like to attend school. But, even within this traditional-looking environment, McComb is continually trying new things in his classroom. This year he’s challenging himself to do a better job of letting students follow their own unique learning path by tailoring how he teaches to the individual.

In this Teaching Channel video, McComb leads a class period where he’s trying to give individual students feedback as they work and not only after they’ve turned in their assignments. He demonstrates how he tries to hold back from giving them the answers, instead guiding them with questions, making sure they are aware of and are using resources, and crucially allowing them the time and space to think through what he’s asking and arrive at a solution on their own.

McComb is doing a lot in this lesson. He’s helping a few students work on a specific skill they lack; he’s checking in on students working independently; he’s conferencing with students who are having individual problems; and he’s trying not to just give students the language that will improve their writing. McComb calls this practice a structure that’s flexible and allows for short cycles of work that give him an opportunity to address problems and give real-time feedback. He’s hoping this new approach to writing feedback will not only improve his students’ work, but will also help them to become more independent learners.

Teachers often focus on the feedback they give students and can even feel frustrated when students ignore carefully written comments on returned work. Less common is taking the time to get feedback from students on how they experience a teacher. As a way of fostering transparency, strong relationships and student voice, McComb asks his students for specific feedback about how he’s serving them as a teacher. To help students feel safe, he has asked student leaders to discuss with their peers and bring the information back to him.

“This strategy calls on me as the adult to have the courage to be vulnerable,” McComb says in the video. He also hopes giving students the opportunity to address their frustrations makes them feel that he cares about them and that together they are in a partnership for success. McComb notes he can’t change how students feel, but he can change how he reacts to their feedback. He plans to gather student feedback this way quarterly, rotating student leaders each time, and incorporate it into his work.

 

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Women Shouldn’t Lift Because They Will get too ‘Bulky’

What Will Digital Portfolios Mean for College-Bound Students?

Sometime during the first few weeks of school at Montgomery Bell Academy, an independent, all-boys college preparatory school in Nashville, Tennessee, college counselor Ginny Maddux gathers all the ninth-graders in the auditorium to talk about college. The freshmen are each given a piece of paper and asked to make a list of every college and university they can think of; once finished, they make it into a paper airplane. Maddux then asks the boys to stand up, count to five and try their best to fly their paper airplanes all the way to the auditorium’s stage.

She tells them to keep in mind that some of the airplanes may not make it on the first try, and will need a little help to get all the way to the stage. In this way, she tells them, flying your paper airplane to the stage is a lot like getting into college: “For some of you, it sailed right down here and it seemed a bit seamless. Some of you needed help on how to make an airplane, some of you needed help getting your plane down here, but you all chipped in and different people helped you make that happen.”

Maddux, who has been in the business of college admissions, either at the university or high school level, for 25 years, said that at Montgomery Bell, that’s about as far as they go with beginning to prepare freshmen for college. She even goes so far as to say they encourage most students [and subsequently, their parents] to purposefully not begin obsessing about college too much until the beginning of the junior year, when they ramp up the process with college visits and forming lists of possible candidates.

But, Maddux points out, this delay comes with an implicit understanding that parents, in sending their child to an exclusive private school, already assume their kids are going to college. In that way, it gives them some room to breathe: They can concentrate on learning what high school is all about, and have a little time to mature and grow before entering what Maddux (and others) call “the arms race” of college admissions.

Not all students have this luxury, however, which in part is what prompted the Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success’s new free online application and digital locker. The digital application platform, which will be available beginning in April of this year,  allows all high schoolers, even freshmen and sophomores, to begin storing their projects, papers and even video footage for possible inclusion in future college applications through a “digital locker,” or storage, available in the app.

THE NINTH GRADE

The earlier that kids begin planning their college application, the better, and that’s the reason the digital locker can be used as early as ninth grade, according to University of Chicago Deputy Dean of Admissions Veronica Hauad, speaking for the coalition, which is made up of more than 80 top public and private universities and colleges (including the Ivies and distinguished research universities).

She said that even if nothing from the first couple of years of high school is actually ever used in final college applications, the practice of putting quality work into digital storage “gets them thinking critically” about college.

“I hate to say it, because I know there will be people who disagree, but I think it’s never too early,” she said. “The kids just a few blocks from us [at University of Chicago] have never seen what a college looks like, they don’t know what college means. I’m sorry, I think for underrepresented students, it’s never too early to build college-going culture and have exposure to the process. It actually reduces stress if, little by little, you learn [how to build your college resume], rather than waiting until the last couple of weeks to learn how to do everything. I think it’s a great thing.”

To that end, part of the coalitions’s mission is to “level the playing field” for underserved students who may not have thought they had a shot at a big-name expensive school like the University of Chicago. Hauad hopes the coalition will help to change all that: With the free, easy application, free digital storage and collaboration platform that allows mentors or parents to help with the application, they hope to attract students who, for one reason or another, may have been too intimidated to apply before.

“It’s not the polish — that’s great if you’ve had the privilege to produce something with that level of polish, a paper or a video, you’ve got great test scores,” she said. “But we’re not just looking for polish. We’re looking for really interesting, hard-working kids. And that comes with any level of sophistication. And I think that will be easy to tell, whether it’s through a coalition application or any application platform.”

Students can already create profiles using Google Drive or LinkedIn, but startups are also hoping to help students present their whole self — not just their grades and test scores — to admissions officers digitally. Silicon Valley startup ZeeMee has created a free app that provides a way for students to create a positive online identity to share with colleges, promising to “bring their story to life.” The ZeeMee profile page, which includes details like a student’s interests, passions, family background and a video, can then be added to the Common App or embedded in a university’s application.

Co-founders Adam Metcalf and Juan Jaysingh said ZeeMee is being used in more than 10,000 high schools in 100 countries, and has partnered with more than 200 colleges and universities that will embed ZeeMee into their applications beginning this fall.

“It doesn’t matter where they come from — private school, public school, charter school, underserved communities — we know they [students] all have a story. But more importantly, they have a smartphone,” said Jaysingh.

Photo and video provide a more complete version of a person, and students feel they’re “more than a piece of paper.” He thinks that ZeeMee will help level the playing field for students by allowing admissions officers to get a more complete understanding of an applicant by seeing her face, and hearing about her likes and dislikes, passions and her goals directly, instead of through an essay or SAT score.

Metcalf and Jaysingh agree that today’s high schoolers, who have grown up with Instagram and Facebook, are comfortable with making videos of themselves, and are probably much less likely to be camera-shy or not know how to present themselves well. Videos range from well-curated montages of sports and dance concerts put to music to a teen simply talking straight to the camera in his basement.

“There are kids who are very sophisticated or speak really well on camera,” said Jaysingh. “Then there are kids who are literally — one kid was sitting in his basement with a hood on and said, ‘Hey, I’m Joe, I’m here because I need to do my ZeeMee,’ and the admissions people actually liked it, because he was being himself.”  Videos can show students engaging in their favorite activity, highlighting performances in sports or music or theater, or just talking straight to the camera about their lives, interests and goals.

Metcalf and Jaysingh don’t see ZeeMee as contributing to self-curation or “selfie culture,” but as a way for a student to stand out to admissions officers in a crowded field of applicants. They’ve also built a K-12 curriculum for teachers and counselors, a mini-course that shows high schoolers the importance of leaving a positive and real online identity not just for college counselors, but also future employers.

“The people who are in admissions, they do this for a living, and they can read students,” said Jaysingh. “And a kid who is real comes across clearly to them. Is this a perfect solution?  No. But at least it pushes the needle toward leveling the playing field.”

RETHINKING DIGITAL PORTFOLIOS

But what if adults need to take a harder look at how online portfolios will be used in order to extract their maximum benefit? MIT education technology researcher Justin Reich said that the way to make the digital locker most useful is to first ask some hard questions. “I think it’s a terrific idea, but I think there are some good questions about ownership and data control that comes up, like, who owns the locker? Who has control over it, how much autonomy will students have? If the system goes bankrupt, who owns the stuff? How do we get it out if we want to put it into other systems?”

Reich also said that in order to truly change college admissions, more work will need to be done by teachers and schools to think in advance about what the goals of the digital locker are, and how to change current work–assignments, curriculum, and grades, for example–to meet the new challenges of an online portfolio. “For an idea like this to really take off, there needs to be some kind of coherent conversation between departments, between grade level teams, academies and schools, to say, how do we as adults help think about what we want? How do we help students create this representation of themselves and their work?” he said. “They would have to be thinking differently about assignments, submissions, thinking differently about grades and how they curate and reflect upon their work. If there’s not some sort of pedagogical and curricular change that’s going along with the technology, it’s pretty unlikely that merely the existence of a startup or a nonprofit, or a new thing in and of itself is going to make a whole lot of difference for student learning outcomes, or college chances.”

Carter Maggipinto, a high school senior at public Hillsboro High School in Nashville, started seriously thinking about college during his junior year. Since he knew he wanted to study film production and cinematography, and knew that he wanted to go to the best possible place his family could afford, he applied to four schools: School of Visual Arts, Brooklyn College, Pratt Institute and Middle Tennessee State University. Since three of the four schools required a portfolio for art majors, Maggipinto spent the first part of his senior year scrambling to gather footage of the films he’d made and art projects he’d finished to send along with his application.

A digital locker to store it all at the beginning of high school, he admitted, would have been much easier. “I would love the digital locker,” he said, “because it’s also able to show the progression of your artistic ability over four years.”

Maggipinto admits that he’s not sure how many kids he knows who would have been thinking about their portfolios or college applications at age 14 or 15, but he was. If he’d had a digital locker choice available to him — especially if he had someone to remind him to place his videos and artwork in it from time to time — he would have used it.

KNOWING SELF-WORTH

Digital portfolios are a great idea, said teacher Jessica Lahey, author of “The Gift of Failure,” when they’re used in the right way — to create meaningful work, ideas and creations.

“As with all things educational, the tool is not in and of itself dangerous or valuable,” she said via email. “Teachers who encourage kids to collect and build on ideas over time, because it’s fun to watch books or pictures or film projects or paintings develop and improve with practice, have the potential to boost creativity and learning. Teachers who encourage kids to build a portfolio solely for college admissions risk cultivating myopia and narcissism, as well as a kid who is overly focused on other people’s assessment of his or her self-worth.”

College counselor Ginny Maddux, who has seen thousands of students go to college over her two decades of experience, said she sometimes worries that technologies like the digital locker may raise the stakes for admissions unnecessarily. Some students may feel pressured to contribute flawless finished products at a time when they were still largely exploring who they are.

“If we’re fully formed at 18, then who are we going to be when we’re 26? I appreciate the schools where they care about the kids, and they’re not looking for fully formed human beings at the age of 18. Because none of us are fully formed at the age of 18, no matter where you go.”

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The Making of a Real-Life Pinterest Kitchen

An old friend recently wrote to us and said she stumbled upon our blog after a Google search on “real-life Pinterest kitchens”. Which got me thinking, does this mean we have a real-life Pinterest kitchen?! Since we used Pinterest heavily in the design of our space, it’s not surprising, but I must admit I hadn’t thought of it that way until I read that email from her.

So if we do live in a real-life Pinterest kitchen, what’s it like? Friends, I hate to admit this, but it’s just like…normal life. It still gets dirty, and there are tumbleweeds of Luna’s dog hair in the corners. The occasional bug, sometimes. A few months ago, a mouse was living in our pantry, going to town on our almonds and leaving little presents of its own behind (our house was built in the 1920’s, so there are lots of open grates for easy mouse access). Don’t get me wrong: we feel incredibly fortunate to have designed and live in our very own Pinterest kitchen. But it’s easy to look at those pristine online photos and think, if only I had a Pinterest kitchen, my life would be a dream. Even I find myself doing that. Then I have to shake myself and remember, having a Pinterest kitchen doesn’t mean your food always tastes delicious and your kids always behave and you’re stuck in a perpetual good hair day. Actually, having a Pinterest kitchen is a lot like…well, not having a Pinterest kitchen.

But I digress. If you’re reading this, you’re at least mildly interested in what it takes to achieve a real life Pinterest kitchen because let’s face it — as a nation, we’re spending more and more time in our kitchens (hooray!). And, who wants to be stuck in a dark, depressing closet while they prepare food for their friends and family? Modern day families want open, bright, airy and cheerful spaces for making and consuming food — and that makes us excited since it shows people are putting a good deal of intention into quality time eating food together.

Now I wish I could tell you that our reno project was painlessly easy, and since we had an unlimited budget it was a breeze to pick out the ideal finishes of our dreams. Again — that’s Pinterest life. In real life, it was the two of us, Alex and me, trying to make a myriad of decisions on a tight timeline with a very real budget number in mind, constantly making tradeoffs to satisfy both budget and aesthetic. However somehow, we ended up with a kitchen on budget and very close to the Pinterest kitchen of our dreams. Here are a few of our tips on how to create a Pinterest kitchen, while staying married and (a little bit) sane.

1. Think creatively: open up, or close off. The kitchen we started with was poorly configured, with a peninsula cutting off most of the room and almost no counter space to speak of (see above). Our contractor had the genius idea of closing off a second door into our kitchen to create a generous amount of new counter space, and we’re immensely glad we did. We also opened a small doorway from our kitchen into the dining room, conjoining the two spaces and making the kitchen much larger and more community focused.
2. Get on Pinterest and marinade. We started a Pinterest board of kitchen ideas, which was literally a lifesaver as it allowed us to see 1,000,001 ideas and started to give us a sense of our own style. If you’re not a Pinterest pro, a great way to find similar ideas is to find a photograph that you like, then scroll down to the “Related Pins” section below that image. You’ll get into crazy rabbit holes finding and pinning related images. Once your pinboard starts to come together, notice the common elements: do you tend toward light cabinets? Brass drawer pulls? White subway tiles with dark grout? You can even create a mood board by cutting and pasting elements from images you enjoy: cabinets from one photograph, floor treatment from another.
3. Contrast is key. As is the current trend, we fell in love with light cabinets, but were worried about the starkness of a fully white kitchen. We decided on a dark brown island for some contrast and are so glad we did; the contrast makes the room feel grounded.
4. Listen to your heart. One of the biggest risks we took in our kitchen was open shelving, again an idea from our Pinterest digging. We heard lots of arguments for upper cabinets, but in the end took the plunge with open shelves and love the airy feel they give the space. Our everyday dishes are kept on the lowest shelf and they’re used so much they never get dusty; lesser used items are reserved for the top shelves. I love seeing the changing patterns of our blue ball jars and coffee mugs as they rotate in and out of the dishwasher as part of everyday life. Somehow, we’ve managed to keep these shelves in fairly good order. As a compromise, we also created an enclosed glass-front upper shelf to mimic an old-fashioned hutch. It’s made out of stock cabinets but is designed to look custom, which gives us another space for dishes that’s more enclosed.
5. Budget doesn’t always equal cheap; cheap isn’t always quality. One of the hardest constraints in this project was budget, and in retrospect it seems as if we were always making cost-based decisions. We did luck out in a few places – for example, our counter tops. Our perimeter counter tops are butcherblock counters from IKEA, one of the most cost-effective surfaces around. We love this surface and it’s held up quite nicely; its also easy to care for (see this post on butcher block counter top care). In the reverse, we decided to spring for some cabinets from a local cabinet dealer instead of IKEA-brand; cabinets are insanely expensive, but it was worth the extra dough to have a more customized setup.
6. Find good help. If you’re like us, you’re just handy enough to get yourself in trouble. Kitchen renos are a big job, so we decided that after doing our own design work, we’d find a contractor to do the dirty work. Our contractor did a fantastic job, and let us be as involved as possible in the overall design and choosing finishes. Were it a smaller job we might have handled it ourselves, but this one was for the professionals, and we’re so glad we had them.
7. Give yourself grace. This might sound silly, but you are under a lot of stress during a reno. The physical manifestation of your mental sanity is covered in construction dust, you’re trying to carry on a normal-ish existence only to be kept up at night with burning questions like whether to go with 1/4″ or 3/8″ grout, and oh-my-gosh-did-we-forget-to-order-light-fixtures? Your tendency might be, like mine was, to judge yourself: why is it that when people are starving, my mind is fixating on tile colors? Take a deep breath, and remember to be grateful for the opportunity to design the kitchen of your dreams. Then remind yourself there are no perfect decisions. Choose with your heart, and remember that this phase will, undeniably, be over. Someday.
8. Have fun. It’s a true honor to be able to design a space that you’ll be able to live in and cook meals. So if you can, enjoy yourself! Take a night off, and order takeout with your spouse. Talk about something other than paint colors, and get some perspective on your project.
9. Add final touches. As a perusal of Pinterest will show, kitchens need some homey final touches to make the space seem lived in. For us, much of our final touches were our dishes on the open shelving, but we’ve also used open glass canisters, a mortar and pestle, and some green plants to add some life to our space.

After almost 3 years of our real-life Pinterest kitchen, we love it as much today as the day we moved in. There are some marks on the butcher clock counters and some wear and tear on the stovetop, but it’s held up to the beating of our everyday cooking. Below are a few of our finishes if you’re interested — and we’d love to hear, are you attempting a kitchen reno? What specific reno-related questions do you have?

Cabinets — Aristokraft Benton in a White Finish
Floors — Stark Tortora from The Tile Shop
Island Countertop — Caeserstone London Grey
Outside Countertops — IKEA Beech Butcher Block
Open Shelves — IKEA Ekby Mossby
Pendant Lights — Pottery Barn Classic Pendant
Stools — Tabouret Stools from Overstock

More of Our House

Our Kitchen: Before and After
Our Office: Reveal
Our Living Room: Reveal
Our Attic: Reveal

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3 Helpful Tips When You’re Locked Out of Your House

These short post will cover some helpful tips when you’re locked out of your house, including: finding an open window, taking off the door knob and calling a locksmith.

Image Source: Flickr

Below are 3 helpful tips when you’re locked out of your house:

Finding an Open Window

Find an open window that you might be able to get through. If it’s on the second floor — start getting creative. Is there a fire escape you could climb? A trellis? A tree?
However, this article does not advocate risking your life. If there’s even a question as to whether you would break your neck, don’t do it.
If you have a tiled roof and a ladder, you may be able to climb onto the roof. Remove tiles and see what’s underneath. If there’s anything that’s not completely stationary, do a little bending and twisting. Or, use the roof to get to a window that’s too far away from the ground level to utilize. But if it’s not going anywhere, don’t force it. Otherwise you’ll get wet every time it rains. Source: wikiHow

Taking Off the Door Knob

Another way to get into a place in an emergency is flat out destroying the doorknob like some sort of maniac. If your doors are older and they’re not deadbolted shut, you can take a hammer and deliver a firm downward blow to the knob, and then remove the rest of the mechanism, freeing the door to swing open unimpeded. Opening a door this way will necessitate replacement of the door knob, and if you remove the knob you won’t be able to close the door again unless you dead bolt it from the inside, so this is something that should only be done in emergencies. Plus, if you do this, everyone will think that you are robbing someone and they may call the police. It looks suspicious as hell. Finally, if you’re terribly desperate, you can try removing the door by the hinges but only do this if there’s a baby in there or something. Source: Jezebel

Calling a locksmith

When all options have been exhausted, it may be time to call a local locksmith. Start by getting some quotes on how much they will charge to unlock your house. Many shops charge a visit fee on top of the actual service fee, so call around to get the best deal.
Set yourself up for success.
Once you’ve gained entrance to your home take steps to prepare for the next time you inevitably find yourself on the wrong side of a locked door.

• Give a spare key or two to a close friend or neighbor for easy access
  • If you aren’t close with your neighbors, consider buying and stashing a “hide-a-key”. Look for a realistically designed one made to blend in with natural surroundings, like a rock or a log (Amazon). But be aware that thieves know of this time-honored hiding spot and choose a location that is unnoticeable and out of the way.
  • Get into the habit of reciting the following mantra as you leave the house: “Keys, wallet, phone. Keys, wallet, phone. Keys, wallet, phone.” Source: Safewise

Contact:
Mr. Pro Lock
555 W. Hastings St
L21A
Vancouver BC V6B 4N4
Canada

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Beyond Data: Building Empathy in Adults Through Student Shadow Days

3 Common Types of Home Surveillance Systems

There’s a wide range of security system cameras, which you can mix and match to build a surveillance system to suit the specific security needs of your home and lifestyle. Here are 3 of the most common types of home surveillance systems, including: indoor home surveillance, outdoor home surveillance and motion detector cameras.

Indoor Home Surveillance
Indoor video security is useful for many reasons. Cameras can be used to keep an eye on babysitters, house sitters, construction workers, and anyone else that might be in your home when you are away. Consumers can monitor multiple rooms, or just one area. Indoor cameras generally produce a high quality picture. Source: eBay

Outdoor Home Surveillance
Outdoor security cameras, or a multi-camera surveillance system, monitor any outdoor area you choose. Common placements are entrances, walkways and driveways, but every property is unique, as is every homeowner’s needs, so placement is dependent on several variables. The result may be as minimal as a front entry camera or highly comprehensive, monitoring every part, or “zone” of your yard and outdoor property. Source: SafeSoundFamily

Motion Detector Cameras
Motion detector cameras combine a motion detector with a camera, delivering a camera that waits for activity before it begins transmitting or recording. This not only saves you countless hours of DVR storage space, but also adds an additional level of protection by alerting you when it senses suspicious activity. Source: SafeWise

For more information on home surveillance systems for your home, call us now or email us here.

Contact:
Mr. Locksmith Abbotsford
3275 Boundary Road
Abbotsford, British Columbia V3G 2T7
Canada
Phone: (604) 200-8622

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3 Tips for Keeping Your Garage Protected

When considering home security, garage is often overlooked. Fortunately, there are some simple and effective ways for you to keep your family and property safe. Here are 3 tips for keeping your garage protected:

Keep the Garage Door Closed
Leaving the garage door open is practically an invitation to burglars, not to mention that you’re really presenting a storefront window display of your possessions to anyone driving by. But if you’re like a lot of other people and tend to forget to close the door, or have kids who forget, there’s an easy solution. Install a device that signals your garage door opener to close the door after a predetermined amount of time. You can set the amount of time that elapses before the door closes, or override the control if you want the door to remain open. It takes about an hour to install the sensors on the garage door track and the keypad that connects to the opener control. One more point: When you’re leaving for work, don’t just hit the remote button to close the door and then drive away. Wait until it closes to make sure it doesn’t reopen. Source: Familyhandyman

Don’t Keep your Remote Opener in Your Car
Instead of leaving your remote door opener on the visor of your car where it can easily be stolen, consider switching to the type that attaches to your key ring. This way you’ll know your opener is with you at all times. Source: AckerManSecurity

Install a Motion Detector Lights
Exterior lighting is crucial for home security. Eliminating pockets of darkness that burglars may hide in heavily discourages them from attempting to enter your home or garage. The garage driveway is also just an important area to have well-lit so that your can safely drive into the garage at night. Motion detector lights serve all of these purposes very well, since they’ll turn on when your car pulls up, lighting the way, and they’ll also startle burglars who dare to approach your property. Source:ProtectAmerica

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3 Things Your Kids Must Know about Home Security

When it comes to protecting your kids, we know you will want to have all your bases covered.  Luckily, these short post will cover 3 important things your kids must know about home security, including: security passwords, fire prevention and security alarm basics.

Security Passwords
Explain to your kids that you are the only person who should know their passwords. Remind them that giving out their passwords to others (even to friends) can have major ramifications, like someone taking over their social media or email accounts. Source:  SafeWise.com

Fire Prevention
This is one of the most important things you can teach your kids. Teach them about fire prevention and how easily a lit flame can start a house fire. Keep them away from lighters and matches at all times. Make sure your child knows that they shouldn’t cook or use the stove or oven unless you’re right there with them. Tell them how easily grease fires can start a house fire. Teach kids to avoid electrical outlets and plugs and tuck away cords as much as possible. Make sure you have a home fire plan which includes dropping to the floor, holding a cloth over the mouth to avoid inhalation and avoiding hot door knobs and exits when this happens. For older kids, you can also teach them how to use an extinguisher. Source: BestHomeSecurityCompanys

Security Alarm Basics
If your home isn’t already equipped with a home security alarm system, it’s advised that you get one as soon as possible. This is especially critical if there are times when your children are unsupervised at home. At this point, there are a number of alarm systems available that are packed with features, even options that make it easier for children to use them. If you plan to purchase an alarm system, hire a certified and fully trained locksmith to install it. Once installed, it’s your job to teach your children exactly how the home alarm system works and how to use it. Source:Technofaq

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3 Benefits of Home Security Systems

Worrying about the safety of your family and valuable possessions? It’s always a great choice to keep our family and home safe. This article will cover some benefits of home security system can offer you and your family, including: protecting valuables, providing peace of mind and increasing home resale value.

Below are 3 benefits of home security systems:

Protecting Valuables
This is, of course, the benefit most people immediately think of. We likely all know someone who has lost electronics, jewelry, or other high-value items due to a home invasion. The tragedy is compounded when the item is an irreplaceable family heirloom. A home security system has an alarm that scares off many would-be burglars and can notify the local authorities if someone does attempt a break-in. Source: SafeWise.com

Providing a Peace of Mind
The presence of a home security system provides many families with a peace of mind knowing that their home is protected from a variety of devastating scenarios. When home owners are elderly, incapacitated in some way or frequently left home alone, this peace of mind is invaluable. For the elderly who may be unable to get out of a home with the speed required in many dangerous situations, home security systems dispatch authorities that are capable of assisting. For those who are incapacitated and unable to leave the home, home security systems not only monitor all areas of the home, but again, they dispatch authorities when needed. Some home security systems also provide medical alert pendants for users to wear that are designed to call for help for specific medical situations. Finally, home alarm systems are beneficial for families that often leave family members home alone. Whether it is children of working parents being left alone, or whether it is spouses of the military who are frequently left alone for extended periods, home security systems provide peace of mind. Source: ASecureLife.com

Increasing Home’s Resale Value
Along with presenting a clean home; there are many improvements that can be made to a property that will increase its resale value. Adding on a garage, finishing a basement, and remodeling a kitchen, while all good ideas, can be rather costly endeavors. Landscaping a yard for security, installing a home security alarm, and putting in outdoor lighting are much less expensive projects. Despite the lower initial cost, prospective buyers still look upon these kinds of home improvements as important additions to the property they are viewing. Source: HomeAdvisor.com

 

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