Did I lock All The Doors This Morning ? - An Airport Lament

 

How often have you got half way to work,  and found yourself convinced that you left the front door unlocked, or the gas on ? 

Or, or worse still, found yourself well on the way to your holiday destination with the same sinking feeling ?

It’s a more common problem than you might think, and it definitely isn’t confined to the elderly…

I call it the ‘Familiarity Breeds Amnesia’ (FBA) syndrome, because it arises from our ability to distinguish between individual occurrences of a familiar action which we perform day in, day out.

Picture this type of scenario – you’ll probably leave your house at least two or three times every day, and will likely double-lock it each time with a conventional latch and possibly also a mortice key. This simple action is virtually automatic, but isn’t always registered as a discrete event in your memory. The action, and therefore the memory of it, is difficult to recall – precisely because you do it so often. Worse still, the procedure can also be easily disrupted if you are distracted by someone asking you a question, or just greeting you on your way out. If this happens, you’ll probably remember the greeting…but not the door-locking event, even if you did complete it successfully. And that’s the problem.

Fear not, though - a simple and effective solution is at hand…..

The only guaranteed way to convince yourself that you left everything in good order is…to actively record doing so at the time, and carry the record with you. 

And that’s exactly what this simple little remedy does for you….

It’s basically an event recording software device designed around key security features of your house, which you can tailor to your own setup.

I’ve parcelled it up as an .HTML file which will run on any browser, either on a pc or perhaps more usefully, on a smartphone or tablet. All you need to do is to spend 5 minutes going round the house before you leave, smartphone in hand, and record the status of your house’s doors, windows, utility supplies and appliances. The program date- and time-stamps each change you make, so you’ll know exactly when you recorded it. The system stores any changes you've made when the app is off, so you can restart it at any time and convince yourself you did actually leave things in good order….and save yourself a whale of a lot of ‘holiday angst’.

Since it’s a simple recording device, it doesn’t need an internet connection, or connect to any sensors, or use up any of your network data allowance.  And it’s absolutely free of charge...with not a subscription request in sight.

Why not try it for yourself and see ? You can download it from my downloads list using this link

I’m also planning to release it as an Android app in due course…watch this space for news on that.

First published 7.11.26

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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