My last post was about how there are homeless guys coming into my yard, up onto my back porch, and rooting through my blue box, and looking in my kitchen window to smile at me. I've noticed a lot more of them in my neighbourhood lately, undoubtedly diffusing out from the dodgier parts of downtown in the wake of the recent police crackdown there.

Again: I want to be sympathetic; I know these people have terrible lives. It's just that when they're right up on my porch looking in my window, my compassion thins very quickly. Getting deposit bottles is one thing; casing my house for future breakins is quite another. Some of my friends said "chill out, they're only after the bottles...don't be so paranoid, they're sick and harmless."

Yesterday I came home from work and took the garbage out to the alley, only to discover my garage door had been kicked in. When I came back to my back door, the knob fell off...someone had been at my back door too.

I notified the cops in case there has been a rash of break-ins in my neighbourhood, but there's nothing much they can do. Now I'm thinking it's only a matter of time before my back door gets kicked in too. I now keep a stout metal bar by each door.

I'm feeling kind of impotent to do anything. I could reinforce the back door, I guess...maybe I'll do that this weekend. I could get tenant insurance, but last time I looked into that it was really expensive. The junkies likely to break into my house would only be looking for something they can pick up and run to the nearest pawnshop with. The insurance deductible was more than anything I own that's portable is worth.

It's really too bad that it's illegal to boobytrap your own house.