Video surveillance: Totally a Halloween vandalism deterrent (or not)

It's halloween. If your office is anything like my office, there is a great deal of time-squandering going on with costume discussion and silliness, so you're not looking for anything particularly substantive, I'm sure. So, here, are some fun Halloween stories. First up, a solid police blotter from Minny-St. Paul: OCT. 3 Theft. Halloween decorations were stolen from a deck of a home on the 1200 block of Trailwood N. The homeowner said she heard kids on her deck at approximately 10:30 p.m. She had posted a sign stating that there was video surveillance and heard the kids reading the sign aloud and then they left. So, the kids read the sign out loud, then stole the decorations anyway? And was there actually video surveillance or not? And why would anyone want to steal Halloween decorations? I thought kids just generally stomped and ruined Halloween decorations. This is a piece on "boneyards" (I wasn't the first to make the Halloween connection), which look like an interesting new market for video surveillance: Each yard is 7,240 square feet. The yards will be secure from the outside, with walls topped with razor wire. Tenants will have the option of video surveillance as well. On the inside, yards will be separated by chain link fence, which can be removed if a tenant wants to lease two yards. There's a common employee parking area west of the yards. Basically, it's a spot for contractors to store their stuff, out in the middle of the desert. Sounds like a good application for solar. Here's a story on video cameras catching pumpkin stealers who wanted to be pumpkin rollers: Three Chagrin Falls teens were arrested for allegedly stealing six pumpkins Oct. 14 from a home on Everton Avenue in Solon. The teens -- an 18-year-old woman, a 17-year-old boy and a 17-year-old girl -- said they planned on using the pumpkins in the annual Chagrin Falls pumpkin roll. Solon police learned of the theft Oct. 20. That was when the homeowner, who caught the teens on a security video camera, palyed the video for Chagrin Falls school administrators, who then identified the teens. Ironically, the same teens were also caught stealing pumpkins in Chagrin Falls and were arrested by Chagrin Falls officers. The trio was charged with theft. This pumpkin roll event sounds pretty fun, though I've got to agree with the commenter below the story that it's somewhat curious that the police are providing protection for the rollers. I'm torn here, really. On one hand, I can imagine myself being 17 and thinking that was a pretty damn fun event. On the other hand, I would never want my daughter to attend such a thing and wind up like the "18-year-old woman" who wound up in the clink thanks to pumpkin theft. Also, please note the incorrect use of the word "ironically" in the above quote. A: Ironically is an adverb and should only be used to modify a verb in a construction such as "he curtsied ironically"; B: It would not be ironic that teens caught stealing pumpkins once would be caught again. Clearly, they are serial pumpkin stealers! And, finally, a story on selecting the proper equipment for ghost hunting. Maybe some of your can make a buck or two selling IR illuminators to ghost hunters. Hey, you're always talking about finding additional revenue streams. Happy Halloween.