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KEYSTROKE MONTHLY THE
MAY 2019 PAL SAVES KIDS Our Free Service for Saving Kids in Locked Cars
L ast year, 52 children in the U.S. died of heatstroke after being left in a hot car during the summertime. It’s a story all too common, and it can happen to anyone. All it takes is a sudden change in the schedule or an unexpected deviation from routine. During the hot summer months, the internal temperature of a vehicle can go up 20 degrees in 10 minutes. In Kentucky and southern Indiana, the average high temperature from May to August ranges from 80–90 degrees, which means your car can easily heat to above 100 degrees in a short amount of time. It doesn’t take long for a child to be in danger of heatstroke after being locked in the car. Since 1995, our team members at Pop-a-Lock have used their expertise to help minimize this occurrence in Kentucky and southern Indiana through our free community service, PAL Saves Kids. If you see a child locked in a car, first call 911, and then give our number a call (Lexington 859-253-6736 and Louisville 502-895-6736), and one of our team members will come as soon as possible. We give any call about children locked in cars top priority, and the service is completely free of charge. Since PAL Saves Kids began, we have saved thousands of kids from locked cars — including around 6,500 in the Louisville area and around 5,400 in and around Lexington. We respond to calls about pets as well, so if you see a dog locked in a hot car, please don’t hesitate to call.
While we at Pop-a-Lock are happy to assist in rescuing children from hot cars, we want to focus just as much on prevention and education so that call doesn’t have to be made in the first place. There are a number of strategies you can use to remind yourself to take your children out of the car with you on your errands. Placing the child’s favorite toy, blanket, or diaper bag in the front passenger seat can be a good reminder of the precious cargo in the back seat. You can also put your purse or bag in the back seat so you will see the child when you retrieve it. There was a woman I knew who would take her left shoe off and put it in the back seat while she drove to remind herself that her child was back there. And of course, if you see a child in a locked car, get involved and call the police. This is not only a problem for some parents. Locking a child in a hot car can happen to anyone; all it takes is one moment of forgetfulness. Don’t let yourself forget, and if you see a child in a hot car, call 911 and then our expert locksmiths at Pop-a-Lock. -Doug Barnes
“If you see a child locked in a car on a hot summer day, first call 911, and then give our number a call ... and one of our locksmiths will come as soon as possible.”
Of course, before you call us, please call 911. Even though we’ll drop everything we’re doing to respond to a call about a child locked in a car, you should tell the police the situation before calling us. In these instances, sometimes the police arrive first and sometimes we do. By calling the police and then calling us, you double your chances of a speedy response and potentially save a child’s life.
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‘HEY, ALEXA!’
3 Ways a Virtual Assistant Can Help Get Your Kids Ready for School
Even though parents and kids everywhere are getting close to celebrating the last day of school this year, school day mornings are difficult no matter what season it is. Do you feel like you’ve run a marathon by 9 a.m. every day? Rest assured that you’re not alone. Mornings are often the most hectic and stressful part of a parent’s daily schedule. Fortunately, there is an inexpensive and popular device that can help take some of the pressure off your morning routine and get your kids to the bus on time: Amazon’s virtual assistant, Alexa!
so they wake up to light instead of sound, which offers a more calming way to wake up. If your kid decides to catch a few more z’s and ignore their alarm, you can use some of Alexa’s other features, like Drop In and Intercom, to start a two-way conversation or send announcements to all the kids’ rooms in the house. Alexa can also help you check off items from your family’s morning to-do lists to minimize the chaos of weekday mornings. You can create reminders to pack lunches or grab homework, and then all you have to do is ask, “Alexa, what are my reminders?” She will run down the list, so you can hit the road early without the nagging feeling that you left something behind. REMINDERS AND LISTS
MAKE IT A GAME
“Out the Door” is an interactive Alexa game that turns getting ready for school into an adventure for younger children. Each day, kids are given a new superpower and have to defeat a different creature as they complete “missions,” which include tasks like brushing their teeth and getting dressed. It makes the process of getting ready for school exciting and gives kids an incentive to fulfill their responsibilities. If you don’t already have an Echo Dot, you can find them at most major retail stores. Make your mornings less stressful by starting with “Hey, Alexa,” and going from there.
ALARMS OF ALL KINDS
You can place an Echo Dot in your kid’s room and set an alarm that wakes them up to the weather report, a standard alarm sound, or their favorite tunes. You can also program Alexa to turn on a compatible bedside lamp
A SIMPLE PAIR OF SHOES
How This Nonprofit Is Changing Impoverished Communities Abroad
possible. They began developing other products, too, like the Bednet Buddy, a portable bed net that allows kids to sleep without worrying about contracting malaria from mosquitoes. Because International doesn’t just bring its products to impoverished communities. They bring jobs, too, manufacturing their products near the communities that need them in countries like Ethiopia and Uganda and paying their workers a livable wage. Every pair of shoes costs $20, and when you buy a pair (or several) as a donation, they’re delivered to people who need them. You can also partner with the organization directly to help fundraise and distribute shoes to areas they may not otherwise reach, or buy a pair for yourself through GroFive.com, which donates part of their profits back to Because International. In a few short years, Because International and The Shoe That Grows have given shoes to thousands of children. They don’t have to worry about outgrowing them — at least, not for a while. In impoverished communities, their impact is monumental, and it all comes back to a simple pair of shoes.
We take our shoes for granted. Most of us have at least several pairs of shoes, and some of us have dozens! If we need a new pair, we can get them from a brick-and- mortar store or online with relative ease. This makes it easy to forget that many people have to make do with shoes that don’t fit them or no shoes at all. The Shoe That Grows was born from a desire to address this disparity. On a trip to Nairobi, Kenya, in 2007, The Shoe That Grows founder Kenton Lee saw a young girl who had outgrown her shoes and cut holes in the front so her toes could poke out. This inspired Lee to develop a shoe that could grow with the child. Lee returned home to Nampa, Idaho, and got to work solving the problem with a couple of friends. Over the course of six years, they developed a durable shoe that can expand up to five sizes.
As part of the development of The Shoe That Grows, Kenton and his team also created the nonprofit Because International to get shoes to as many kids as
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THE TURN OF THE KEY
With the Turn of History
Since the beginning of time, people have wanted to protect their belongings from theft and abuse. Nobody can guard their belongings every hour of the day, so they had to devise some way to protect them in their absence. You could always stick a long wooden bar across your door, but that would only work if you were on the inside to put it there. There had to be a better means of security. Enter the lock and key. Locks and keys have been around for thousands of years. The ancient Egyptians built a large, primitive, wooden version of a pin tumbler. The key was a foot-long piece of wood with a set of pins at the end that matched the pins in the lock. The locks may have been used to protect valuable items or religiously significant locations, removing the need to station a guard outside the door. The downside to this mechanism was that the key was too unwieldy to be carried on someone’s person. The Romans improved upon the Egyptians’ design for locks and keys, making smaller, stronger mechanisms out of metal. While the lock and key remained functionally the same, the shape of the key evolved into what we today know as a “skeleton key.” This design for the lock and key was still easy to break into but remained virtually unchanged for nearly 17 centuries.
recipe title Our expert locksmiths and security professionals at Pop-A-Lock want to help keep your assets and belongings safe, and that starts with knowing our locks and keys. We can install, update, and program all types of locking mechanisms for you (except for maybe the Ancient Egyptian ones) if you call our number today. In the mid-19th century, the Industrial Revolution brought with it the ability to mass produce and standardize a variety of products. Locks were designed with the intent to only be opened by one specific key, and keys became flatter and less cylindrical, with serrated edges on one side. Most modern locks and keys are variations of the designs invented during this time.
SHRIMP SAUSAGE SKEWERS
EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT
Inspired by PaleoLeap.com
These shrimp skewers are a quick way to add some surf and turf to your cookout. Pair them with a vinaigrette salad for a side dish that complements without overwhelming the main event.
Shane has been with our company longer than any other employee. Since 2000, he has worked as a Car Door Unlocking Technician, a locksmith, and finally as the general manager of the Lexington Office. He is loyal, dedicated, determined, and one of the best locksmiths in Kentucky. Shane’s work ethic has deep roots. He started helping his family train Quarter Horses at just 3 years old, and eventually trained them himself. After graduating from West Carter High School, he worked as a part time police officer at the Carter County Police Department before moving to Lexington in 2000. Shane boasts an active personal life, having raced Super Bikes with WERA in the past, and now spending his free time captaining his offshore power boat, “The Sickest.” His favorite movies are Event Horizon and the Alien Franchise, and his favorite quote is “Stupid is as stupid does.”
INGREDIENTS • 1/2 pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined • 1/2 pound cooked sausage, cut into 1-inch pieces
Creole Seasoning Ingredients • 2 tablespoons paprika • 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder • 1/2 tablespoon onion powder • 1/2 tablespoon cayenne or chili powder • 1/4 tablespoon dried oregano • 1/4 tablespoon dried thyme
• 2 zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch cubes • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil • Wooden skewers, soaked in water for 30 minutes
DIRECTIONS 1. Heat your grill to medium-high. 2. In a bowl, combine all ingredients for creole seasoning. 3. In a large bowl, combine the shrimp, zucchini pieces, and sausage pieces, and cover them with the olive oil. 4. Add creole seasoning and mix well until all ingredients are covered. 5. Load up skewers with alternating pieces of shrimp, sausage, and zucchini until they’re full. 6. Grill skewers until shrimp are well-cooked (6–8 minutes).
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PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411
POP-A-LOCK 739 MILLPOND ROAD LEXINGTON, KY 40514 POPALOCKKY.COM
LEXINGTON SOUTHERN IN 859-253-6736 502-895-6736 812-288-7576 LOUISVILLE
INSIDE THIS ISSUE RAISING AWARENESS FOR A GROWING PROBLEM PAGE 1 3 WAYS ALEXA CAN HELP GET YOUR
KIDS READY FOR SCHOOL A BUSINESS PROFILE OF BECAUSE INTERNATIONAL AND THE SHOE THAT GROWS PAGE 2 A HISTORY OF LOCKS AND KEYS EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT SHRIMP SAUSAGE SKEWERS PAGE 3 HOW TO TRAVEL SUSTAINABLY PAGE 4
GO GREEN
Get Out There With These Eco-Tourism Tips
Vacations can come with great expense, and not just for your bank account. According to a 2018 study published in Nature Climate Change, travel accounts for 8 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Cut through the greenwashing and do your part to lessen these emissions by traveling sustainably.
STAY GREEN Where you stay impacts the environment as much as how you get there. Hotels use copious amounts of water for bathing and laundry, and they struggle to reduce energy because guests leave their lights and televisions on. However, many luxury resorts, woodsy cabins, and even entire countries have opted to make eco- tourism easier. If you’re looking for a region of the world committed to preserving nature, look no further than Iceland, Finland, and Sweden, which are ranked the three most environmentally friendly places in the world. DO GREEN Man-made attractions like the Egyptian pyramids and Machu Picchu are some of the world’s greatest wonders, but Earth itself is pretty breathtaking. Check out natural attractions while hiking or camping in preserved forests, or soak up all the Caribbean has to offer by snorkeling, scuba diving, sailing, kayaking, canoeing, and paddleboarding. When you’re mindful of your surroundings and remain unobtrusive, there are endless outdoor activities you can explore. Some locations even partner with environmentally conscious organizations you can donate to or volunteer with.
TRAVEL GREEN When possible, trains, hybrid buses, and carpooling are great alternatives to larger, more environmentally intrusive travel methods. Large cruise liners are detrimental to oceans, and airplanes emit large amounts of toxins into the air. However, you can cruise and fly with the earth in mind. Some cruise lines are working to reduce their impact by installing more eco-friendly lighting and materials, and flight experts recommend using “green” airports, choosing fuel- efficient airlines, staying longer, and traveling less. If anything, it’s an excuse to extend your European vacation!
Opt for a green vacation and know that while you relax, the earth is getting a little relief too.
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