<DIV>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. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>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. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>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. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Another client had a cockatiel that kept landing on me. It was kinda neat until it started nibbling my ear. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Oh, the tuners life....</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><BR><BR><B><I>Sarah Fox <sarah@graphic-fusion.com></I></B> wrote:</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid">>>>WARNING: BUSINESS RELATED SUGGESTION, NOT OF A TECHNICAL NATURE<<<<BR><BR>Hi Cy,<BR><BR>> Rob has every reason to be aware of his personal safety, at any time. We<BR>> all have different situations that make us uncomfortable or afraid, but<BR>it's<BR>> just funny (and sad) that he was more afraid of the dress than the beard<BR>(it<BR>> seems) -- especially for someone who lives in Vegas!<BR><BR>No beard! But otherwise I agree. We all have to be concerned about our<BR>safety. I would submit, however, that the most likely attacker is the<BR>person entering someone's home, rather than the homeowner him/herself.<BR>Think about it. If you attack/molest someone in your own home, your<BR>neighbors are quite likely to witness it, and the victim knows where you<BR>live. In fact the reverse situation is far more likely. However, you are<BR>right that everyone in a private setting is still at risk, including the<BR>piano technician.<BR><BR>By way of a contribution both to your bag of tricks and to the safety of<BR>both you (plural) and your clientele, I have a suggestion for all of you,<BR>especially the women among you. This comes from someone who has thought a<BR>LOT about nonviolent self defense. Police officers have reinforced to me<BR>that this is a very good, effective tool...<BR><BR>Pack a freon horn in your tool kit. An unexpected blast of shrill, painful<BR>sound in the face is enough to startle and disorient just about anyone, just<BR>long enough to make an escape. In some environments, it's even more<BR>effective than mace (which can also be in your bag of tricks). Some freon<BR>horns are purse size (get over it, guys!), and *look* like mace canisters.<BR>If you point it it towards a would-be attacker as a deterrent, and the<BR>person still approaches, he or she is going to be expecting a blast of mace.<BR>The blast of sound will still be a surprise and will still be effective.<BR>Neither mace nor a freon horn will cause long-term harm to the client. Be<BR>prepared, because the sound will startle *you* too. Leave your tools, get<BR>out fast, and call the police.<BR><BR>Above all, don't be caught off guard and unprepared. Always know exactly<BR>how you are going to handle a tight situation before it arises. Rash and<BR>poorly planned reactions can easily lead to disasterous consequencies,<BR>either for you or for your attacker.<BR><BR>Having said that, though, a man's fear of a transsexual woman is about as<BR>rational as a woman's fear of mice. Geeez! Get over it!<BR><BR>Peace,<BR>Sarah<BR><BR><BR>_______________________________________________<BR>pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives<BR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>Ryan Sowers, RPT Puget Sound Chapter<br>Pianova Piano Service<br>Olympia, WA<p> <hr size=1>Do you Yahoo!?<br> Win 1 of 4,000 free domain names from Yahoo! <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=26640/*http://promotions.yahoo.com/goldrush">Enter now</a>.