Don, you're absolutely right.

Whenever an alarm goes off in the middle of the night, whenever one goes
off in a campground, whenever one goes off in a parking lot, causing
everyone within earshot to scowl and eventually bringing someone dashing
out of a store to shut the darn thing off, the first thought that goes
through my mind is NOT "I gotta get me one of those."

Possibly useful read here:
<http://www.transalt.org/files/newsroom/reports/caralarms/08ineffective.html>

The effectiveness of car alarms appears to be slight, given the small
discount offered by insurance companies for cars with alarms, see:
<www.silentmajorityny.org/links/alarmdiscount.pdf>

And,

"[...] the effectiveness of car alarms has been challenged by many
studies over the past several years. Auto insurance companies, a`to
makers and law enforcement agencies agree that cars with alarms “show no
overall reduction in theft losses'. One major reason is that people are
so used to hearing the noises, they have grown indifferent, and make no
effort to act when they hear an alarm. Another is that today’s
professional auto thief is very sophisticated and can easily disable the
electronic alarm device before it goes off.

"In addition, car alarms have created a huge backlash due to the noise
they create. Groups across the country have formed to combat the `noise
pollution' that car alarms contribute to daily life. Some even go so far
as to propose outright bans on their use.

"The use of a car alarm is still a personal decision, but it’s important
to know the facts:

"* They have been proven to be generally ineffective in stopping car
theft.
* Depending on your circumstances, a car alarm can have a negative
impact on your relations with your neighbors.
* There are other more effective security measures available to protect
your automobile." From <http://www.car-alarm-guide.net/car-alarms/>

Mind, I'm not anti-alarm. If someone wants to make their van into a
midnight "hey everybody, wake up!" noisybox, then that's their choice.
Just consider that not everyone within earshot will consider that swell
whooping sound to be a pleasant addition to the local soundscape.

--
Rocky J Squirrel

On Mon, 2011-05-02 at 07:30 -0700, Don Hanson wrote:
> On Sun, May 1, 2011 at 8:38 PM, miguel pacheco <mundopacheco@gmail.com>wrote:
>
> > Oh no, prepare yourself.....we get to hear about the two rabid black labs
> > again! Oh and the note on the dash, reading,' you boys get started with
> > your
> > target practice. Went to get more ammo....'
> >
> > Miguel
> >
> > Controversial, revolutionary signature line removed as requested........
> >
>
>   How about a rant on "false alarms"?
>  Have you ever seen anyone react to an alarm with anything other than
> annoyance or amusement?  Seriously, I hear those dumb things all the time,
> beeping or hooting away, with people walking right past... .They're
> especially irksome in a quiet campsite when they get activated.
>
>   I like a friend's solution when he drove a breadloaf and lived in New
> Jersey...He had some magnetic signs..."Ertz's Reptile Farm" and
> 'danger-snakes inside' below that.  His van was never bothered once he
> started sticking those on while steet-parked....till someone stole the
> signs.
>   Don Hanson