Monday, October 12, 2020

Back To Work

      After a week off, it's back to work.  I don't want to go.  There's plenty to do at home -- but only work produces that lovely paycheck every other Friday.  So off I go.

     There is some question about getting into the North Campus.  Thanks to a jammed up front gate and a contractor whose crews can't seem to figure out how multiple padlocks on one chain are supposed to work at the back gate, I had to climb the fence twice, the week before last.  After the second time -- a tough scramble up and a hard landing -- I told my boss that unless it's an emergency, I'm done climbing high, barbed-wire-topped security fences* into an isolated and otherwise unoccupied location.  Inside a locked gate is not a good place to have a broken leg or ankle!  If I'm locked out, I'll call in and do something elsewhere until the problem is resolved.
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* The main reason for those Y-shaped barbed-wire supports on top of a ten-foot chain-link fence is to add an unmistakable, "And we mean it!" to the "No Trespassing" signs.  A good pair of gloves and a determined attitude will get you over it.  Places that need better security use higher fences, fine mesh over the chain link to deny finger and toe-holds, razor wire in place of barbed wire and even electrification.  But a non-governmental site has to be careful not to make fences too daunting; courts have held that an overdone fence presents a "challenge," and attracts efforts to breach it.  A good fence is just enough trouble to get through that most malefactors -- and the idly curious -- will pass it by in search of easier prey.  The main risk I run climbing in is having to explain myself to local police from two different jurisdictions, who make a point of passing by fairly often.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Police - "Hey, you, Crazy Lady, get down from there. You'll hurt yourself."
You- "I'm just trying to go to work!"

Stuart said...

I would think that climbing over a fence like that definitely deserves the 'going an extra mile' tag. Though if you did hurt yourself they'd probably deny all responsibilty and put the blame on you.
Take care.

Stuart said...

I would think that climbing over a fence like that definitely deserves the 'going an extra mile' tag. Though if you did hurt yourself they'd probably deny all responsibilty and put the blame on you.
Take care.

Douglas2 said...

Back Gate chain:

If it is like my area where most crews accessing such sites use similar 4-wheel combination locks, I've found a hack.

Doofi can't identify which lock is their own, so they try their combination on the locks in sequence until one opens.

Do they reset the wheels on the previous locks that didn't open?

So I take a note of the present combination showing on each locked lock. Odds are that at least one of them will be the correct combination for some lock on the gate.


Anonymous said...

What about having one of those key combination lock boxes secured somewhere nearby ? The key of course only opening gate lock. The building would have a separate key.

Roberta X said...

My employer requires a specific, fairly secure key-type lock. The contractors were suppose to provide their own padlock, add it to the lock chain, and "never get in our way." But they kept bypassing our lock with their cheap, 4-digit combination lock.

They're gone, at least for now: no extra lock, no collection of odds and ends in their area. So that's a relief.

Bruce said...

Call your local construction equipment rental house, have them deliver a cherry picker to your site, park next to the fence and ride over the fence. The boom can set you inside easily. At least they could in the 1960s when I used them. Or how about a portable grinder and just cut the chain?

Anonymous said...

My Goodness! Kudos for trying! I’ve NEVER had to scale a fence to get in to work.
Ulises from California

Rick T said...

Good thing too. BosnianBill and LockPickingLawyer have youtube channels that show how you can beat most of those locks in a few minutes with few or no tools.