I live in Florida and on my daily commute to work I pass a large Publix warehouse facility. Over the past six or so months a new 8-10 foot fence has gone up and today I noticed for the first time "No Trespassing" signs at regular intervals.

Interestingly enough, the "No Trespassing" signs face an Interstate highway. I wouldn't expect many trespassers from that direction. (?) I can't tell if they are also posted on the other sides of the facility.

Also, there is barbed and concertina wire around the top of the fence for the entire distance I can see.

Anyone else travel around food warehouse facilities that would care to report?

As always, this could be just an upgrade to their facility.

J

-- j (sandpine@juno.com), March 22, 1999

Answers

Hi, j: don't know about your neck of the woods but here in Durham, NC, unless you have a sign saying "No Trespassing" it is assumed that the interloper didn't know he/she wasn't supposed to be on your property. Someone trying to break in your door or window is another matter--in that case, you can shoot someone if you believe your life is in danger (thanks to the passage of a new law two or three years ago). I suspect an increase in the crime rate (now occurring or expected to occur imminently because of a boom in the teenage group at which most crimes are committed) is to blame for the new fence and signs. I would also suspect that hurricanes, a belief that the economic bubble is bound to go bust soon AND Y2K were in the back of someone's mind as well--a sort of sidebar.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), March 22, 1999.

What's even stranger, I live in a rural area and Sprint has a building in town with no windows, and around the building the landscaping has huge mounds of dirt planted with sod to semi-hide the building from the street. Around the perimeter of the property is a 10-foot high fence with razor sharp barb wire going around it. Anyone else have a building like this in their rural town? There's also a Pac-Bell building with no windows but is easily accessible. I have also noticed 5 huge radio towers that have been installed within a 15 miles radius of our town. I'm not electronically inclined so I don't know what type of towers they are. Repeaters for cell phones?

-- Mimi (Mimi@mimi.com), March 22, 1999.

Mimi:

Cell towers can be either very large or quite small. One key is that there will USUALLY be three antennas arranged in a nice triangle, extending DOWN from the supports and either only one going up, or all three go up from the support.

MOST cell, phone, and power HARDWARE buildings are as described, windowless brick or concrete structures, since switches don't need a view to work well. The landscaping may also be required by the locality specifically to hide ugly, windowless, industrial building/boxes.

Chuck

-- Chuck, a night driver (reinzoo@en.com), March 22, 1999.

Chuck, there are huge round dishes on these massive poles and they are painted red and white (like a candy cane). Also, went hiking out in the back woods and came upon a huge billboard-type structure sitting on top of a ridge. It was like 3-times the size of a normal billboard and the face of it was all white. Couldn't get to it but saw it through my binoculars. Could this be radar?

-- mimi (mimi@mimi.com), March 22, 1999.