Spend some time in a bike shop and there are a few questions that you hear routinely. And I'm not talking about:

"So when are you going to get a real job?"

or

"How do you like not having health insurance?"

or 

"Can you make me a deal on that?" 

because those are pretty common, too. I'm talking about:

"Can you tell me how to lock my bike?" 

and

"Can you pack my bike for me?"

The answer to the first question is yes, but the answer to the second question is "yes, but it would not only save you money, but give you a sense of accomplishment to learn to do it yourself.*" Sabinna at Cycling Satin Cesena offers the ultimate illustrated pro's guide to secure bike packing, here. [link fixed now]Her blog is a fascinating insider's view of the business from the other side of the Pacific, by the way.

Locking, on the other hand, is more straightforward, although it can be deceptively difficult at times. Bike Hugger posted this PSA from the city of London's anti-bike theft campaign. 

Mostly I just like this hyper-caffeinated guy going on about locks. Sheldon Brown has a simple locking demo, of course, here. 

The hypercaffeinated lock guy reminds me of how TTR gets when the coffee has made its rounds . . . for everybody but this guy:

*If this sounds like something that someone might say to you if they don't want to do something, you're right.