As I approach my 40th year in the electronic security business, sometimes I reflect on things I was involved with that didn’t work out so well.

For coax cable connections to analog cameras, our industry long ago standardized on the BNC style of connector. The BNC (Bayonet Neill–Concelman) was patented in 1951; consequently, it has been heavily used in analog CCTV, other video and 10BASE2 coax-connected Ethernet networks for decades. These connectors were and are manufactured by a wide variety of companies.

The bunker in Bucktown is becoming inundated with Wi-Fi devices. As I attempt to count up the number of devices competing for my wireless connectivity, I believe I have about 11 devices that are banging through my airwaves most of the day.

My grandmother Lillian was full of little life-lesson witticisms. One of her favorites was, “If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.” It takes a second to get it but the message is simple; wishes are just that. Reality is usually something else.

As a happily married man it is a rare occurrence when my wife Joan and I have been apart for more than one or two days in a row.

We have all seen images of the ancient cavemen, with the group standing around a roaring fire while some brave soul holds a skewered piece of mastodon meat and tries to get the perfect grill lines. Heat is important when living in a cold environment such as Chicago. While my SoCal, Caribbean and desert friends don’t usually have this problem, I can assure you that when the heat fails in Chicago during January, not only does the family get upset, but serious consequences can occur, including broken water pipes and marital tension.

 As a handgun enthusiast I have handled and fired all sorts of semi-automatic pistols and revolvers (and I still have all my fingers). Thanks to my late friend George Maddox I became acquainted with the 1911-style .45-caliber pistol, which was the U.S. military’s sidearm of choice from its introduction in the early 1900s until 1985, when it was replaced by the Beretta M9 9 mm. Many handgun experts have waxed poetic on the qualities of the 1911-style pistol, often declaring it the best handgun ever designed. 

“Look out honey, ‘cause I’m using technology.” — “Search and Destroy,” Iggy and the Stooges, 1973

Dispatch from Buffalo, N.Y.

 I travel extensively around the lower 48 and Canada performing training classes for our industry. As a result, I have taken hundreds of cab rides in the past seven years.

I am back to buying lottery tickets. The debut of the Dodge Challenger Hellcat has stimulated my muscle car genes from years gone by.

The mouse and rat action around our properties continues. Two years ago it was the summertime invasion of the Chicago rats into the backyard of the bunker in Bucktown. This problem was eventually subdued with the installation of a Maginot line of steel sheets and cement on the fences facing the alley. There is a price to be paid for living in a neighborhood that is chock-full of wonderful restaurants; the presence of tossed foodstuffs is heaven for the Chicago Rattus norvegicus.