Security tip: own an old-fashioned phone.

I saw this over at Rachel Lucas’ blog – Rape victim: 1. Scumbag rapist: 0.

An intended rape victim shot and killed her attacker this morning in Cape Girardeau when he broke into her home to rape her a second time, police said.

… She tried to call 911, but couldn’t because the power was off.

I’m very security minded. We own guns, have a commercial grade alarm system, not one of those useless “trunk slammer” ADP setups, and other security measures – just about everything you can think of short of bars on the window, which are both tacky AND can trap you in your own home. But one very cheap security measure that EVERYONE should take is to own a phone which does not rely on electrical power to work.

We all love our cordless phones; I’m not suggesting that we get rid of them. Just add a corded phone. You can’t rely on your cell phone, which can be jammed. (Yes, they’re illegal in the US. It’s also illegal to rob, rape and kill, but that doesn’t seem to be stopping people from doing it.) But one these corded phones work whether or not your electricity is on. They cost about $10 and are available at Amazon, Radio Shack, and a bunch of other places. Get one, and put it in a central location in your home.