---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment The most threatening situations I have been in as a piano tech have had to do with people's dogs, but never the people themselves. Of course dog's aren't always threatening, sometimes they are just really annoying. Once a dog took off with a broken key that was sitting on my took kit with a clamp on it. Luckily he just carried it and didn't chew it up and the client was able to retreive it. Another small dog would not stop jumping up on me while I worked. I tried to shoo it away: didn't work. I tried to thwap it with my finger: didn't work. I thwaped it really hard with my finger: still didn't work. I felt bad for the attention starved animal but I finally gave the dog a little poke with an awl: did the trick. I would have asked the client to take the dog away but she was on the phone in the other room. Another client had a cockatiel that kept landing on me. It was kinda neat until it started nibbling my ear. Oh, the tuners life.... Sarah Fox <sarah@graphic-fusion.com> wrote: >>>WARNING: BUSINESS RELATED SUGGESTION, NOT OF A TECHNICAL NATURE<<< Hi Cy, > Rob has every reason to be aware of his personal safety, at any time. We > all have different situations that make us uncomfortable or afraid, but it's > just funny (and sad) that he was more afraid of the dress than the beard (it > seems) -- especially for someone who lives in Vegas! No beard! But otherwise I agree. We all have to be concerned about our safety. I would submit, however, that the most likely attacker is the person entering someone's home, rather than the homeowner him/herself. Think about it. If you attack/molest someone in your own home, your neighbors are quite likely to witness it, and the victim knows where you live. In fact the reverse situation is far more likely. However, you are right that everyone in a private setting is still at risk, including the piano technician. By way of a contribution both to your bag of tricks and to the safety of both you (plural) and your clientele, I have a suggestion for all of you, especially the women among you. This comes from someone who has thought a LOT about nonviolent self defense. Police officers have reinforced to me that this is a very good, effective tool... Pack a freon horn in your tool kit. An unexpected blast of shrill, painful sound in the face is enough to startle and disorient just about anyone, just long enough to make an escape. In some environments, it's even more effective than mace (which can also be in your bag of tricks). Some freon horns are purse size (get over it, guys!), and *look* like mace canisters. If you point it it towards a would-be attacker as a deterrent, and the person still approaches, he or she is going to be expecting a blast of mace. The blast of sound will still be a surprise and will still be effective. Neither mace nor a freon horn will cause long-term harm to the client. Be prepared, because the sound will startle *you* too. Leave your tools, get out fast, and call the police. Above all, don't be caught off guard and unprepared. Always know exactly how you are going to handle a tight situation before it arises. Rash and poorly planned reactions can easily lead to disasterous consequencies, either for you or for your attacker. Having said that, though, a man's fear of a transsexual woman is about as rational as a woman's fear of mice. Geeez! Get over it! Peace, Sarah _______________________________________________ pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives Ryan Sowers, RPT Puget Sound Chapter Pianova Piano Service Olympia, WA --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Win 1 of 4,000 free domain names from Yahoo! Enter now. ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/14/07/5c/58/attachment.htm ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--
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