I made a short trip to the local hardware store, getting some new door locks and other stuff, and then returned to the apartment.
I grabbed the lock and the toolbox, and took out the tools for the door latch. It only took about ten minutes to change the lock on the door so that it wouldn't match any master key, or any previous tenant's. I also changed the deadbolt lock to a high-security model, and replaced the hinge and striker screws with three-inchers so that a quick crowbar jamb wouldn't allow access. I saved the old locks for reinstallation later when I no longer needed the apartment. The whole process only took about a half an hour. When I was done, it would take quite a bit of effort to get into the apartment through the front door.
A bit more security was needed for the rest of the apartment. Using wooden dowels, I secured the sliding patio door (the other main entry point into the apartment). I also installed locking pins on the patio door and all windows. The pins would not allow the windows to open at all. With the doors and windows secured, phase two was done.
Well, not quite. I set up a motion detector to one of my portable alarm systems. That was a modified version of my home system, with a radio link to a small box with a combo low power red/green LED in it. The motion detector was set up in the main living room with the computer. It had a keypad for setting and resetting the alarm. And the remote LED box was mounted with some double-sided foam tape to the outside eaves near the front door. The LED was recessed into the box so you could see it only at a very narrow angle.
When the alarm system is enabled, the green LED on the remote box would light. When motion is detected, the LED will turn red. If the correct code is entered on the keypad within a 30-second window, the alarm system will reset the LED to green.
The motion detector was quite clever, if I do say so myself. It was actually a large size desk calculator (which worked, by the way). Here's a block diagram of the alarm calculator. Inside was the regular calculator electronics, to which I had added the alarm circuitry and motion detection. If you were to see it on a desk, you'd see a normal desk-type calculator. The alarm system was enabled by a special sequence of numbers and function keys: an example would be "4 3 9 2 2 4 4 * + % $". Not a sequence you would normally press on a calculator, but a sequence that would enable the alarm system. There was a 30-second exit delay, which was long enough to leave the apartment and lock the door.
I set up the calculator/alarm, mounted the remote LED box (just a bit larger than the two 9V batteries that powered it), and tested the system. Worked just fine: set the alarm, go outside, wait a minute, then go back into the house. Looked at the remote LED box, it changed to red. Waited 2 minutes (much longer than the 30 second reset window), and the remote LED was still red. Entered the disarm code, the remote LED changed to green. Then I entered the sleep code, which turned off the remote LED, saving the batteries (which were fresh Duracell Power-3's that could power the LEDs for several weeks at a time).
So the security phase was done.
Now to phase three, setting up the computer room.
First, I made a quick trip back to the house for a couple of sawhorses and a 30x60 sheet of 3/4" plywood. I had to use the van for this trip; it's hard to transport plywood in a convertible. I stuck on the magnetic signs for the "Bob's Electricians" company on the van. I had several of those magnetic signs from previous businesses. (I know, maybe a bit of overkill.) I put the sawhorses and plywood in the van, grabbed some 1 1/4" wood screws, and my Makita portable drill/screwdriver.
Back at the apartment, I unloaded the van, and set up the plywood on the sawhorses, using screws to fasten the plywood on top. I set up the power strips, and the phone jacks, then the laptop computer. No printer, because I didn't want any printed record of the whole process, although there would be an encrypted log file if I needed it.
I stepped back for a minute, took a look at the setup, and pronounced it good. I grabbed some oatmeal raisin cookies and a big glass of milk, and sat down to the computer. I booted it up, ran a couple of tests to make sure it was ready and configured properly, then connected one of the phone lines to the computer. I dialed into one of my email connections on a local Internet Service Provider (ISP), and got a connection to the Net at 48kBps (dial-up line here, no broadband available).
Here we go.