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What are code words, and why are they useful?

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There are many good reasons to have code words setup in advance with your immediate family. A code word is a single word you use to quickly and easily communicate something vital to a loved one. My family for example has a code word that our children are told. Then that code word is kept a secret.

If we need to have our children picked up by someone other than us due to an emergency, the person picking them up has to provide the code word. They don't know the code word? Our children respond as if the person is a potential kidnapper instead of cooperating. If the word is used, make a new one.

I also have two other code words that my family knows. If I see something near me that could be dangerous, I will say, "alert." Saying it makes my family aware of a potential danger. It means for them to get behind me, and it also means they should look for cover. The second code word is, not surprisingly, "cover." If I ever say cover, that means my gun is coming out. My gun will never come out unless someone needs to die immediately.

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Sunglasses are bad for you in general, but Private Investigators love them.

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Your body's natural reaction to the sun is determined by what your eyes detect. If your eyes detect darkness, your body assumes you're in the dark. Quick Google searches for this biological response are not helpful, so do more thorough research to confirm the truth behind it. Regardless, I only wear sunglasses when I have no other choice due to glare while driving or while doing surveillance work.

Private investigators wear sunglasses for a very specific reason. When you wear reflective opaque sunglasses, people around you cannot tell where you are looking. You may appear to be looking at a newspaper or book in your hands, but you're actually watching the people beside you.

As you control the camera recording them, your eyes will go back and forth from the camera to the subjects over and over. No one near you will notice those eye movements though because of the sunglasses. Now when you go out in public, pay closer attention to who wears opaque and reflective sunglasses. This trick is great for people watching in general too!

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Make sure you have a fire escape plan for your family.

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It does not have to be a complicated plan, but children should be taught at least a few simple things. A rally point should be setup, and then they know to go there and wait. In addition to a rally point, they should be told to never go back in the house no matter what happens. Leave the heroics to the adults and first responders!

Make sure they know how to use fire escape ladders too if they have them within their bedrooms. The ladders should be kept near the window and left out to quickly access them.

For children too young to go down a ladder, make sure you have a large duffle bag or similar container to place them in positioned near the escape ladder. Have a rope already attached to the bag or container to lower them to the ground. You do not want to be trying to hold your baby while you escape a fire! The bag can also be used for your family pets.

I wrote about fire extinguishers in a previous post. Make sure all rooms in your house that have a high fire risk have a fire extinguisher within them. Those rooms usually include the kitchen, any place with kerosene or similar space heaters, and rooms with fire places or wood stoves. I keep one in the master bedroom to fight my way through a fire to get to my children's rooms as well.

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