Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Protect Yourself, Before You Wreck Yourself

So, Adam was watching or reading this story about a woman who was raped and murdered after a guy broke into her house (or rather, walked in, as she didn't have the door locked). Of course Adam gets all paranoid and asks me what kind of device I would like to have around to keep myself and Asher safe (we do keep our doors locked, by the way). A gun, a taser, mace, etc. I know that we should have something...right now our weapon is a large wooden sword (used for ninjutsu practice) that is kept under the bed. It could really put the hurt on, but I doubt that I would be able to effectively use it against someone much larger and stronger than me. A gun sounds like a good idea, but then I kind of wonder if, in a situation like that, I would have the time or mental awareness to get the gun, unlock it, load it, and fire it. It would probably be very intimidating to an intruder just to see me holding it, but Adam isn't exactly comfortable having a gun in the house with kids because he had a friend in high school who killed another friend on accident while playing around with a loaded gun. Apparently there really are people stupid enough to do that. Anyway, a taser or mace also sound like a good idea. I don't really know though. What do you guys think?

In other news, this morning sickness is killing me. Asher watched about 2 hours of PBS this morning while I was lying on the couch trying not to throw up. Poor neglected child.

Oh and a question...the place where our names are listed on the left side, why do they keep changing places? And why are some bold and some not? Does this indicate when another person is signed in, or who posted last, or what?

7 comments:

Carynanne said...

Ryan is doggone positive we need a gun, and stories of children killing each other don't change his mind. The only reason we don't have one is because I haven't given him the financial go-ahead. I would much rather have a taser (in fact, I never thought about it before, but I think I really WANT a taser!!That would be AWESOME) and some mace than the other, lethal forms of self defense. And you know, we have swords too. I should bring that up to Ryan. Who needs a gun?:)

Sorry you're sick. But it means the baby's healthy!!

Anna Farley said...

You know, I was just talking about this with mom and Shawn last night. He told me that his mom-this really surprised me-wants to keep a gun in their house, and then he asked me how I felt about it. We ended up both agreeing that neither of us would want a gun because, first of all, you would probably not have enough time to get it out, load it, and have it ready for when someone does break in. Also, I wouldn't want curious children sneaking a peek at it. That would freak me out. I also didn't know that you could own a taser. That seems interesting...

Colleen said...

yeah, a gun is just too risky when you have kids. if you keep it locked up, it won't be much use to you if someone breaks in; "oh, hold on a minute while I get my gun!' just doesn't seem like it will work. on the other hand, if you have it where it can be readily available, then it is too easily available for curious children to get hold of. and whether you tell them and teach them or not, a child's curiosity will get the better of them in an unguarded moment and I know I would never forgive myself and I would never get over it.
as for a taser, it would depend, again, on how easily a child can be hurt by it if they get hold of it and how easily it can be made available for emergencies.
mace or pepper spray would probably be good because it wouldn't have a permanent effect if your children managed to get hold of it. to me, it's all about making sure your kids are safe from themselves first.
As for morning sickness, I only had it with Caryn; with Shannon I was just tired most of the time, with Adena I had strange cravings, and with Anna, it was a relatively uneventful pregnancy. There's no good cure but time for it.

Carynanne said...

Well, I had it worse with Julian than with Lara. I never felt like it went totally away. It's good birth control, though.

Adena said...

Shannon.. I cannot believe you haven't considered Adam's ninja stars... I mean, if dropping them on the floor punctures it, imagine what that would do to a bad guy's HEAD!!

Um, and I'm not sure about the name order/boldness thing... eh...

Shannon said...

So, Adena = strange. Got it.

I just took Adam's word for it (by him talking about it) that you can buy a taser. I asked him last night and he said, "Yeah, they are coming out with civilian models." Right. But I guess if we can have guns we should be able to have tasers.

Asher is walking! Almost for real. He treks around now, he still occasionally crawls but I think for the most part he's walking. Finally, little terd.

And yeah, throwing stars. Excellent self defense, they are so accurate and easy to use!

Colleen said...

Okay, I just read the funniest email about a guy who bought his wife a taser. It's too long to post, so I'll just send all of you the email. I laughed so hard because I can just picture a guy doing it!