On 2/23/2015 12:33 PM, David Eather wrote:>> So, how would you "confound" someone interacting with your >> door for the first time? > > A doorbell button that looks like it is the trigger of a mouse trap.A doorbell that *is* a mousetrap! And, "twitches" when you make contact with it -- followed by the *sound* of it "snapping"! Paramedic #1: "Gee, I wonder what happened to this guy?" Paramedic #2: "Looks like a massive heart attack. I wonder what spooked him, standing here on the front porch??"
Doorbell "button"
Started by ●February 22, 2015
Reply by ●February 23, 20152015-02-23
Reply by ●February 23, 20152015-02-23
John Larkin <jlarkin@highlandtechnology.com> Wrote in message:> On Mon, 23 Feb 2015 17:38:11 +0000 (UTC), DecadentLinuxUserNumeroUno > <DLU1@DecadentLinuxUser.org> wrote: > >>On Mon, 23 Feb 2015 09:06:01 -0800, John Larkin wrote: >> >>> On Sun, 22 Feb 2015 19:12:39 -0700, Don Y <this@is.not.me.com> wrote: >> >>>> >>>>So, how would you "confound" someone interacting with your door for the >>>>first time? >>> >>> >>> Pretty weird. >> >> >> Beyond the friggin fringe weird. >> >> Just build an armored box, and put an armored glass in front of it, and >>stick a display in there. Show "pop up" videos of folks you dislike >>seeing at your door, and some staged responses, like decpitations, etc.. >> >> The folks you expect to see, you inform about the videos, and they know >>where the real doorbell is to announce their arrival with. >> >> The uninvited stand there jaw dropped, in awe, watching the 'snuff >>video'. >> >> You could even post a go-pro camera aspect shot of a person approaching >>your door and watching one of the videos. It would probably go viral as >>the new way to deter foul would-be trespassers... without ever lifting a >>finger. > > Even weirder. > > We have a doorbell/intercom. When people ring, we can ask them what > they want. If it's not interesting, we say "no, thank you" and switch > them off. > > > -- > > John Larkin Highland Technology, Inc > picosecond timing precision measurement > > jlarkin att highlandtechnology dott com > http://www.highlandtechnology.com > >https://img0.etsystatic.com/019/1/6309859/il_340x270.500072420_r4og.jpg ----Android NewsGroup Reader---- http://usenet.sinaapp.com/
Reply by ●February 23, 20152015-02-23
John Larkin <jlarkin@highlandtechnology.com> Wrote in message:> On Mon, 23 Feb 2015 17:38:11 +0000 (UTC), DecadentLinuxUserNumeroUno > <DLU1@DecadentLinuxUser.org> wrote: > >>On Mon, 23 Feb 2015 09:06:01 -0800, John Larkin wrote: >> >>> On Sun, 22 Feb 2015 19:12:39 -0700, Don Y <this@is.not.me.com> wrote: >> >>>> >>>>So, how would you "confound" someone interacting with your door for the >>>>first time? >>> >>> >>> Pretty weird. >> >> >> Beyond the friggin fringe weird. >> >> Just build an armored box, and put an armored glass in front of it, and >>stick a display in there. Show "pop up" videos of folks you dislike >>seeing at your door, and some staged responses, like decpitations, etc.. >> >> The folks you expect to see, you inform about the videos, and they know >>where the real doorbell is to announce their arrival with. >> >> The uninvited stand there jaw dropped, in awe, watching the 'snuff >>video'. >> >> You could even post a go-pro camera aspect shot of a person approaching >>your door and watching one of the videos. It would probably go viral as >>the new way to deter foul would-be trespassers... without ever lifting a >>finger. > > Even weirder. > > We have a doorbell/intercom. When people ring, we can ask them what > they want. If it's not interesting, we say "no, thank you" and switch > them off. > > > -- > > John Larkin Highland Technology, Inc > picosecond timing precision measurement > > jlarkin att highlandtechnology dott com > http://www.highlandtechnology.com > >Even better: http://wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/files /2011/06/NoJesus-550x412.jpg -- ----Android NewsGroup Reader---- http://usenet.sinaapp.com/
Reply by ●February 23, 20152015-02-23
Don Y <this@is.not.me.com> wrote in news:mcfmac$nc1$1@speranza.aioe.org:> On 2/23/2015 6:19 AM, Richard Damon wrote: >> On 2/22/15 10:52 PM, Don Y wrote: >>> >>> Goal isn't to harm them. Rather, "confound"/confuse. Force them to >>> expend more effort than they had originally (subconsciously) >>> planned. "Set them back on their heels". Sort of like having NO >>> outgoing message on your answering machine...How about presenting them with several door bells. I'm thinking of three of the normal door bells perhaps arranded together or around the entryway. They may or may not provide hints. I'd then hide the real door bell button in something non-obvious like a brick that you have to touch. I'd use a couple intersecting IR detectors so it could be any brick or location inn the entryway. It might have a subtle hint that it might provide some function. All the other buttons are distractors or perhaps leads to the real button.
Reply by ●February 24, 20152015-02-24
On 2/23/2015 7:07 PM, David LaRue wrote:> Don Y <this@is.not.me.com> wrote in news:mcfmac$nc1$1@speranza.aioe.org: > >> On 2/23/2015 6:19 AM, Richard Damon wrote: >>> On 2/22/15 10:52 PM, Don Y wrote: >>>> >>>> Goal isn't to harm them. Rather, "confound"/confuse. Force them to >>>> expend more effort than they had originally (subconsciously) >>>> planned. "Set them back on their heels". Sort of like having NO >>>> outgoing message on your answering machine... > > How about presenting them with several door bells. I'm thinking of three > of the normal door bells perhaps arranded together or around the entryway. > They may or may not provide hints.Yes, in my original post, I suggested "a *group* of buttons". But, that probably is only a minor setback -- press them one at a time in succession until someone answers the door, etc.> I'd then hide the real door bell button in something non-obvious like a > brick that you have to touch. I'd use a couple intersecting IR detectors > so it could be any brick or location inn the entryway. It might have a > subtle hint that it might provide some function. All the other buttons are > distractors or perhaps leads to the real button.The "group" could all be non-pushable buttons to further frustrate/confound. Or, *do* "other things" (visible to the visitor -- like turn on the irrigation for the hanging plants; turn on a porch light; etc.). So, the visitor gets distracted into sorting out what the buttons ACTUALLY do instead of trying to "ring the bell" ("Oh, crap! How do I turn that water off now that a button press turned it ON? It's dripping all over the place!!") The point is to make this an "unsatisfying experience". I think my best compromise is the HAL9000 approach. It's "unexpected". It contains no explicit (or implicit!) directions as to how it *should* be used (do you look into it? talk to it? wave your hands in front of it? whistle at it? etc.). It's not "cute" like a moving doorbell button might be. It's not aggressive/hostile tempting you to take a swipe at it (when no one is apparently home). It's not "consumable" (like a knocker that falls off in your hand). And, it gives me an obvious place to put the camera that "watches" the visitor (from the front) and "intercom" (speaker + microphone). It may take some work coming up with suitable pieces of glass, optics, etc. (a round bottom flask would be a good starting point! but, as they are tempered glass, I suspect they would be hard to "cut" precisely). I think there's a group of glass blowers here in town 9articans) that I could approach for "one off". And, possibly get the *exact* shape that I need (instead of trying to approximate it from bits of existing glassware).
Reply by ●February 24, 20152015-02-24
On Mon, 23 Feb 2015 22:18:09 -0700, Don Y <this@is.not.me.com> wrote:>On 2/23/2015 7:07 PM, David LaRue wrote: >> Don Y <this@is.not.me.com> wrote in news:mcfmac$nc1$1@speranza.aioe.org: >> >>> On 2/23/2015 6:19 AM, Richard Damon wrote: >> >> How about presenting them with several door bells. I'm thinking of three >> of the normal door bells perhaps arranded together or around the entryway. >> They may or may not provide hints. > >Yes, in my original post, I suggested "a *group* of buttons". But, that >probably is only a minor setback -- press them one at a time in succession >until someone answers the door, etc.Make them all part of the process: no one button works, but a particular (maybe timed) sequence does. George
Reply by ●February 24, 20152015-02-24
Hi George, On 2/24/2015 2:39 AM, George Neuner wrote:> On Mon, 23 Feb 2015 22:18:09 -0700, Don Y <this@is.not.me.com> wrote: > >> On 2/23/2015 7:07 PM, David LaRue wrote: >>> Don Y <this@is.not.me.com> wrote in news:mcfmac$nc1$1@speranza.aioe.org: >>> >>>> On 2/23/2015 6:19 AM, Richard Damon wrote: >>> >>> How about presenting them with several door bells. I'm thinking of three >>> of the normal door bells perhaps arranded together or around the entryway. >>> They may or may not provide hints. >> >> Yes, in my original post, I suggested "a *group* of buttons". But, that >> probably is only a minor setback -- press them one at a time in succession >> until someone answers the door, etc. > > Make them all part of the process: no one button works, but a > particular (maybe timed) sequence does.Yeah, it would undoubtedly frustrate a caller. But, I don't think it would "set him back on his heels"/confound him. He'd eventually treat it as a "broken doorbell". By contrast, the coin slot, HAL9000, etc. would really catch him off-guard! While N "buttons" might cause him to press *each* of them (instead of "gambling" on a single choice), the coin slot would have him contemplating whether or not he wants to "risk" a quarter (dollar?) to see what the coin slot *does*! (i.e., make it just issue a "Thank You" message -- and do nothing else! :> ) [I wonder how many folks would actually scratch their curiosity "itch" in this way?]
Reply by ●February 24, 20152015-02-24
On 2/24/2015 8:03 AM, Don Y wrote:> Hi George, > > On 2/24/2015 2:39 AM, George Neuner wrote: >> On Mon, 23 Feb 2015 22:18:09 -0700, Don Y <this@is.not.me.com> wrote: >> >>> On 2/23/2015 7:07 PM, David LaRue wrote: >>>> Don Y <this@is.not.me.com> wrote in >>>> news:mcfmac$nc1$1@speranza.aioe.org: >>>> >>>>> On 2/23/2015 6:19 AM, Richard Damon wrote: >>>> >>>> How about presenting them with several door bells. I'm thinking of >>>> three >>>> of the normal door bells perhaps arranded together or around the >>>> entryway. >>>> They may or may not provide hints. >>> >>> Yes, in my original post, I suggested "a *group* of buttons". But, that >>> probably is only a minor setback -- press them one at a time in >>> succession >>> until someone answers the door, etc. >> >> Make them all part of the process: no one button works, but a >> particular (maybe timed) sequence does. > > Yeah, it would undoubtedly frustrate a caller. But, I don't think it > would "set him back on his heels"/confound him. He'd eventually > treat it as a "broken doorbell". > > By contrast, the coin slot, HAL9000, etc. would really catch him off-guard! > While N "buttons" might cause him to press *each* of them (instead of > "gambling" on a single choice), the coin slot would have him contemplating > whether or not he wants to "risk" a quarter (dollar?) to see what the > coin slot *does*! > > (i.e., make it just issue a "Thank You" message -- and do nothing else! > :> ) > > [I wonder how many folks would actually scratch their curiosity "itch" > in this way?]What's the caller's objective? For most, I'd expect that it is to contact the resident. I'd start banging on the door. I get few callers. But for those few, almost none ring the doorbell. They knock on the door. The people you most want to talk to seem to do neither. Guy who came to discuss the fiber install hung a tag on the door and left. When queried, he said it was early and he didn't want to disturb. Cost him another trip...go figger...
Reply by ●February 24, 20152015-02-24
On Tue, 24 Feb 2015 13:17:34 -0800, mike wrote:> The people you most want to talk to seem to do neither. > Guy who came to discuss the fiber install hung a tag on the door and > left. When queried, he said it was early and he didn't want to > disturb. > Cost him another trip...go figger...Oh boy! mike wants to get all TEMPEST secure! As if you had anything important to shield. IF you are smart enough to want and choose the right "fiber install", you are smart enough to do it yourself. The wire guy is likely in the area every day anyway. Another trip by your place is no big deal. Not like the more hectic cable TV installer regimen. fiber install mike hahahaha can you say overkill?
Reply by ●February 24, 20152015-02-24
On 2/24/2015 2:17 PM, mike wrote:>> (i.e., make it just issue a "Thank You" message -- and do nothing else! >> :> ) >> >> [I wonder how many folks would actually scratch their curiosity "itch" >> in this way?] > What's the caller's objective? > For most, I'd expect that it is to contact the resident.Well, that depends on how the caller is "motivated". If you've been paid to walk the neighborhood and knock on doors WITH NO (monetary) INCENTIVE to "make sales", then you'd be content just to *look* like that is what you were doing. OTOH, if it's *your* business you are promoting (or you have been incentivized to promote it!), you might be a bit less "ready" to walk away from that potential contact. As I said before, if you don't contact the occupant, you're pretty likely NOT going to make the sale. OToOH, if you annoy the occupant (e.g., wake me up too early in the morning!), then you've probably lost ANY chance of making a sale *and* risk having the occupant gripe to his neighbors about your behavior. Most will walk away and leave a card/leaflet in the hope that you later read it (before discarding it!). Some will return at a later time/date. As our delivery guys (USPS, UPS, FedEx) appear to be "regulars" (perhaps they have "assigned routes"?), they typically just knock and leave the item -- even if a signature is required, etc. (they'll leave the item *and* the slip to be signed KNOWING I'll "do the right thing" by them).> I'd start banging on the door.We can keep people away from the door thereby making this impractical. (of course, they could "yell" or pound on the side of the house... but, I suspect they ALL know this would be "bad form")> I get few callers. But for those few, almost none ring the doorbell. > They knock on the door. > > The people you most want to talk to seem to do neither.We don't have that problem. Folks "making deliveries" or "stopping by to chat" know our living habits and tend to "fit in" with them. None of them typically wants the "trip" (to our door) to have been wasted.> Guy who came to discuss the fiber install hung a tag on the door > and left. When queried, he said it was early and he didn't want to disturb. > Cost him another trip...go figger...That sort of "visit" wouldn't be a cold call, for us. We'd insist on knowing *when* you were going to come by -- we're not going to sit around WAITING for you to grace us with your presence (esp if you're looking to convince us to spend money on your product or service!). Didn't make the appointed time? Be sure you can show us the *CAST* where you broke your arm/leg/etc.! Or, the "zipper" on your breast bone from the OH surgery!
