Robbed

[hypernova]

Yeah...the literal sense of the word.

Came home from work today, noticed the closet door open.  Thought nothing of it.  Maybe wife got something out before leaving for work herself.  Then noticed the basement gate was broken ever-so-slightly in the wrong direction.  OK, maybe she came up the stairs, and stumbled forward a tad.  Then the revelation of one of the shittiest kinds starts to hit me.

I look left.

Wii.  Gone, along with 4 remotes, classic controller and Smash Brawl inside.  Lots of downloads too.  I've calculated $576 worth.  Good thing didn't have WiiFit or Mario Kart yet.
PS2.  Gone, along with a controller, and codebreaker disc inside.  It was a modded PS2 as well.  I was about 30 hours in on FFXII currently.
Sony DVD/VCR player.  Gone.  Meh, not so bad, as I've got no time invested in this.
Toshiba Laptop.  Gone.  Nothing sensitive, except a few downloaded movies, five reasonably hidden pr0n movies, along with about 10 other movies from torrents.
Maybe $50 worth of change from a coin bank.  Another $42 from daughter's piggy bank.
Wife's jewelry.  Jokes on them here.  It ain't worth much.  She's not a jewerly woman.
They rummaged through the chest with personal info.  Not sure what, if anything they got here.  We'll have to play it safe.

It's weird though.  All these things they took.  When they took the game systems, look left, and there's a good 25 games untouched.  They'd have found a PSP, had they looked.  Not only that, but FFXII was sitting ON TOP of the PS2, and they didn't take it, which furthur added to the confusion.  Neither TV was taken, I'm writing from my desktop, which they left as well.  On top of the desktop hutch is an HD camcorder in it's carry bag, a digital camera.

Right now, I'm just pissed that someone's got my stuff.  But the feeling that someone was in here walking around is starting to sink in, and it's really pissing me off now.

They came in the back basement sliding door.  Looks like it was pried open.  (We've now laid a stick down there to prevent it from sliding now.)

Went around with 20 copies of a letter to neighbors (we live out in the semi-country.)  Houses maybe no more than a few hundred feet apart each.  Heard many stories about people being home when someone, on foot, came in.  Two were chased off by large dogs.  One had a former foster child who didn't turn out so well and robbed the foster parents, and is awaiting charges or something.  Been a rash of break-ins a few miles away.

In what I thought was a quaint, quiet street in a serene neighborhood doesn't seem that way anymore.

They didn't touch my 'cade.  Probably a tad too big for 'em.

Any suggestions for watching Craig's List.  I can watch ebay myself, but I'm not familiar with CL.  Can anyone help and watch it for me?  I figure watch for these items within a particular zip code.

I'm so sad and angry.

[Daniel270]

Sorry to hear you've been hit... not fun when stuff comes up missing.

Hope you had insurance...

[SirPeale]

I'm really sorry to hear this. 

I had my eyes opened to how easy it can be when I caught a few episodes of that TV show "It Takes A Thief".  Likely the thieves were in and out quickly, so rifling thru your stuff wasn't a priority.

I'd advise stepping up your security quite a bit.  It can't help the way you're feeling now, but hopefully it will help from happening again.

[Cakemeister]

Make sure you file a police report. Maybe the Wii will show up somewhere and they'll be stupid enough not to erase your Miis. Even then, there's probably some identifying information on it somewhere to prove it's yours.

Definitely watch craiglist and Ebay. It might be difficult to watch pawn shops, there are so many, but it can't hurt to canvass ones near you.

[hypernova]

We had the boxes for the laptop, wii, and ps2.  I gave the serials for all three to the police.

My wife found something around 15 minutes ago.  Keys.  There's one I recognized the shape of immediately.  It was a forklift key.  So the guy's over 18.  Now I've got a question:

None of the keys looks like a regular car key.  There's one, maybe two that are close, but only one side of the key is jagged, instead of both like a normal vehicle key has.  Are there car keys/commercial vehicles that have just the single jagged side?

[Ginsu Victim]

Hypernova, if you still have your receipt for the Wii, the serial number is usually on them these days. That will help to identify yours.

(Edit: You pretty much just posted the same thing...)

[hypernova]

Here's a pic of the keys.

Is the one on the top right a car key?  It's long enough.  The one on the bottom left has a weird cutout, and has the word "Diamond" on one side, with a glimmering diamond on the other side at the head of the key.

By the way...think they got the balls to attempt to come back and get them?

[mccoy178]

That car key looks like a chrysler key.  I remember that type of key from my grandmothers car years ago.

[hypernova]

Quite a quick reply, mccoy.  With pictures, too.

So...

Where were you today between 8 and 5?   

[mccoy178]

Helping my grandma look for her keys.............................

[Daniel270]

Just did a search... found this pattern.


http://www.mysecuritypro.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=443


It's definitely a Chrysler key....

[shmokes]

Those keys have the perp's prints on them.  If he has a record, or even had to be fingerprinted for his forklift job, you've got him.  Take them into the police.  And for god's sake, quit getting your own prints all over them.

Additionally, you Nintendo basically has a built-in lo-jack, considering that it's got all your user account information basically hard-coded to the system.  I don't know if Nintendo helps out with this sort of thing, but they certainly have the capability of giving you an IP address when the Wii goes online.  Once the cops have the IP address they've got enough for a warrant to get a physically location from the ISP.

[SteveJ34]

Bum deal no doubt.....I have been in similar situation more than once and thought responding combined with a little luck might help catch a thief.

Based upon the items taken and the items remaining untouched it was likely a snatch, grab, and run as it appears the items taken add up to what they were able to carry in hands, pockets, or backpacks.

My own experience several years back with very similar items taken (though older consoles) turned out to be some teens in the neighborhood that my son had actually played ball with at the local park from time to time. He had been bragging it up on the court about the systems he had, etc and they used the information to steal from him.

He was actually home, upstairs asleep during the day when the actual theft occurred.

You indicate you live in the 'semi-country' but if you have Gamestop, Movie Trading Company, or similar establishments I would recommend paying them a visit and speaking with the managers along with a list of the console items that were taken particularly if you have serial numbers some other method of system identification.

We got lucky when we did this and the thieves showed up a day or two later 'pawning' the items to uptrade on a new console system at the time.

When the manager returned the following day and saw the items traded in the night before, he contacted me in addition to the police detective that had been assigned to the case. Based upon the fact that such trades require identity, we were able to track down the thieves.....the teens in my case being minors, used an older brother of one party to complete the transaction with Movie Trading Co.

Again, we got lucky and were dealing with stupid teen thieves out to make a quick buck....that did not travel very far to complete the 'pawn'. I live in Dallas/Fort Worth so there are a million places they could have chosen and never have been caught but they used the store closest to our neighborhood.

We ended up getting almost all items back and the little thugs were charged.

The detective on the case indicated our footwork no doubt was the reason for their being caught....I would add a lady luck was also on our side.

I realize the intrusion has much greater emotional impact than the actual loss of material items....take the necessary steps to protect your home and family.

Best of luck to you and yours in your recovery both financially and emotionally.

[ChadTower]

Those keys have the perp's prints on them.  If he has a record, or even had to be fingerprinted for his forklift job, you've got him.  Take them into the police.  And for god's sake, quit getting your own prints all over them.

They did, anyway, before hypernova started playing with them.  Prints on metal come off really easily as it doesn't absorb any oil. 

Question:  how did they drive away without their keys?

Dude, google on how to lock your credit.  They very likely stole enough paperwork to steal your identity and that is a billion times worse than anything else they took.  Lock the credit now.

[Ginsu Victim]

Could've stole someone's keys and left them behind to throw police off, but I doubt they were that smart.

[ChadTower]

Could've stole someone's keys and left them behind to throw police off, but I doubt they were that smart.

That would be pretty funny.   

[SirPeale]

Question:  how did they drive away without their keys?

They didn't.  THEY'RE STILL IN THE HOUSE!

Seriously though...I'd say it was more than one person, and one of them dropped their keys.

[ChadTower]

Question:  how did they drive away without their keys?

They didn't.  THEY'RE STILL IN THE HOUSE!

Seriously though...I'd say it was more than one person, and one of them dropped their keys.

Fire up the MAME cab.  Check the high scores.  Then figure out who you know with the initials DIK and COQ.

[shmokes]

If they drove out to the country to break into your house, no amount of beefed up locks is going to stop them in the future.  I take reasonable precautions, but I generally lock my doors only to keep them from blowing open.   

I think you are wrong here, actually.  Based on what they stole, these guys were kids, probably between 16-22 years old.  They were totally small-time.  And based on some of the inexplicable stuff they left behind, like the Final Fantasy game and their own set of keys, they were nervous, jittery and in a big hurry to get the hell away from there.

[ChadTower]

Why does FFXII indicate anything?  It's not new and it's not valuable.

[ChadTower]

Willing to break into a house but not willing to break a window?  C'mon.

Why break a window when a crowbar on the sliding door is just as fast and is quiet?  Odds are it was just some teens looking for meth money. 

[ChadTower]

Cause now he's got a stick preventing the sliding door from being pried open? 

So?  It's not like they're coming back.  Especially since one of them is bound to suspect he left his keys sitting there.

Maybe hypernova should drive around town and try the key on every old Chrysler he finds.  There can't be all that many old K cars floating around anymore.   

[shmokes]

Usable prints off a set of keys?  Stop watching so much CSI.

You're an idiot.

[hypernova]

Found out our small amount of prescription drugs are missing.  I had some percocets left too.  Those are awesome when something hurts really bad.  Comes in handy every few months.

If it's young adults, and they wanted the systems...they have to be selling them, because they took no games with them.  There were plenty of good games just feet away, so I'm going against my theory that they stole to keep them.

I'm guessing a backpack was used.  That's the only logical thing that wouldn't bust out from the weight of that amount of change ...or my laptop case.

Besides a pawn shop and ebay/cl, what else could you do with a password protected laptop.  (Assuming you don't have the ability to crack/format the HD to use it yourself.)

[SirPeale]

Why break a window when a crowbar on the sliding door is just as fast and is quiet? 

Cause now he's got a stick preventing the sliding door from being pried open? 

One one of those "It Takes A Thief" episodes they showed exactly how useless a bar holding a sliding door is.  It literally took the guy ten seconds to pop open the door.  You need a real bar lock if you want any kind of security.

[ChadTower]

Besides a pawn shop and ebay/cl, what else could you do with a password protected laptop.  (Assuming you don't have the ability to crack/format the HD to use it yourself.)

It's pretty easy to fence a laptop.  If they're not looking for cash now now now they could easily just sell that to a friend.  A lot of people would buy a $150 laptop no questions asked.

[shmokes]

I had some percocets left too.  

Those make me constipated.  I had to go to the hospital once because they made me so constipated    (there's somewhat more to the story)

what else could you do with a password protected laptop.  (Assuming you don't have the ability to crack/format the HD to use it yourself.)

Probably not a safe assumption, unless you actually have a BIOS password preventing the system from booting without entering a password.  Otherwise, it's safe to assume that they can format the hard drive and install a fresh copy of Windows.  And if they're even the slightest bit savvy, they can use google to find applications that can easily crack the Windows passwords.  You just boot to the disc and change any user password you want(including the administrator password).  If you can find your way through Nero to burn an ISO image to disc, you have the technical skills to break into a local Windows machine.

[ChadTower]

If you can find your way through Nero to burn an ISO image to disc, you have the technical skills to break into a local Windows machine.

And if they're spending hours backed up on the toilet they have all the time in the world to hack at a laptop, too.

[Dartful Dodger]

Sorry to hear about this.  This story makes me a little queasy.

I've a gun safe about the size of a school locker leaning up against a wall.  I've been meaning to bolt it to the studs in a closet for a couple of months now.  This is a sickening reminder to me.

Good luck with everything.

[ahofle]

what else could you do with a password protected laptop.  (Assuming you don't have the ability to crack/format the HD to use it yourself.)

Probably not a safe assumption, unless you actually have a BIOS password preventing the system from booting without entering a password.  Otherwise, it's safe to assume that they can format the hard drive and install a fresh copy of Windows.  And if they're even the slightest bit savvy, they can use google to find applications that can easily crack the Windows passwords.  You just boot to the disc and change any user password you want(including the administrator password).  If you can find your way through Nero to burn an ISO image to disc, you have the technical skills to break into a local Windows machine.

Why would anyone need to crack the windows pwds?  Just remove the hard drive and put it in an enclosure as an external drive on another computer.  Then you can see everything unless you used some form of low level encryption.

[ChadTower]

Because the person may want to actually use the machine as is rather than just access files on the hard drive.  And they can use the windows crack without opening the machine.

[myntik1]

If you do live out in the sticks you might want to think about a dog.  You can bolt doors and put clamps on things but unless you have enough neighbors around to take notice then everything else is useless. I have the safest neighborhood in America during the summer.  Most of the people on my street are teachers.  During the summer I have an active street from 7:30am to 10pm, but if I have a day off in the fall or spring my street is like a ghost town.  Sorry to hear about the break-in though.  It sucks when you work hard for your stuff and someone else is enjoying your labor.

[shmokes]

Why would anyone need to crack the windows pwds?  Just remove the hard drive and put it in an enclosure as an external drive on another computer.  Then you can see everything unless you used some form of low level encryption.

Heh . . . is it just me or is that not considerably more work than simply booting to a disc and clearing the password, particularly if you don't already have a 2.5" enclosure on-hand, which is the case for about 99.999% of the population?

[ahofle]

Heh . . . is it just me or is that not considerably more work than simply booting to a disc and clearing the password, particularly if you don't already have a 2.5" enclosure on-hand, which is the case for about 99.999% of the population?

That's true, but you implied that a BIOS pwd would make it a "safe assumption" that they would not be able to format the HD in your previous post.  Just correcting you.

[AtomSmasher]

Probably not a safe assumption, unless you actually have a BIOS password preventing the system from booting without entering a password.  Otherwise, it's safe to assume that they can format the hard drive and install a fresh copy of Windows.

All you have to do is change a jumper on the mobo to clear a bios password, so there really isn't any simple way to prevent them from formatting your harddrive.

[ChadTower]

At that point do you even care if they format your hard drive?  Seems to me like that's a good thing.  All of your personal data is destroyed rather than used by a thief.

[Ed_McCarron]

All of your personal data is destroyed rather than used by a thief.

Wait, wait, don't tell me.

You used to be a thief too, right?

[ChadTower]

You used to be a thief too, right?

Not thief, archaeologist.  Respect the tenure.


I just thought of something.  Maybe Mr C's laptop is booby trapped.  It would suck to steal someone's laptop, go to all that trouble of accessing the filesystem, only to discover 5000 pictures of schlongs.  Maybe Mr C is shrewder than we thought.

[shmokes]

Heh . . . is it just me or is that not considerably more work than simply booting to a disc and clearing the password, particularly if you don't already have a 2.5" enclosure on-hand, which is the case for about 99.999% of the population?

That's true, but you implied that a BIOS pwd would make it a "safe assumption" that they would not be able to format the HD in your previous post.  Just correcting you.

Ah ha . . .    I completely misunderstood where you were going with that.

[ark_ader]

I read all that and the thing that kept on coming back to me was the mods, downloads etc.

Was these mods and downloads legal ones?

Because if they are not, I don't think the police will help you.

It might be the other way around. 

[Ed_McCarron]

Nah.  The cops don't know its modded.  AS long as he has the serial # and they catch some methheads with the stuff, hes golden.

[ahofle]

 
"Sargent...before we return this stolen Wii to its rightful owner, hand me your tri-wing screwdriver.  [suspenseful music]  AH HA!!  Did you really think you could slip this WiiKey by us, son?  Book em'!"

 

[ark_ader]

"Sargent...before we return this stolen Wii to its rightful owner, hand me your tri-wing screwdriver.  [suspenseful music]  AH HA!!  Did you really think you could slip this WiiKey by us, son?  Book em'!"

 

 

[SithMaster]

I'd setup traps everywhere.  Trap doors that lead to pits with Rancors, claymores attached to cabinet doors and also inside disc drives of fake systems, chemical sprayers above doorways that you don't use, and a moat.  Remember its not about keeping them out its about keeping them in until you get home with a <insert weapon of choice>.

Seriously though traps.  Example to protect data setup magnets around doorways and window frames.  Ruin the stuff so they don't get anything for it and they won't know about it until they try and pawn it.  I second the getting a dog idea.

You used to be a thief too, right?

Not thief, archaeologist.  Respect the tenure.


I just thought of something.  Maybe Mr C's laptop is booby trapped.  It would suck to steal someone's laptop, go to all that trouble of accessing the filesystem, only to discover 5000 pictures of schlongs.  Maybe Mr C is shrewder than we thought.

Wait wait wait...wait.  So we are going to assume they will go through all 5000 pictures to see if any of them aren't schlongs?  If he was really clever he would figure out a way to make the pics 3-d.

[hypernova]

I read all that and the thing that kept on coming back to me was the mods, downloads etc.

Was these mods and downloads legal ones?

Because if they are not, I don't think the police will help you.

It might be the other way around. 

Just the PS2, not the Wii.  And they don't know that.

I did tell the I had a bunch of stuff downloaded on the Wii, and the , obviously not familiar with it, asked me if it was stuff I paid for.   I said yes, and explained the points card to him.

[SithMaster]

Are they even allowed to open the console to check?

[TOK]

All of your personal data is destroyed rather than used by a thief.

Wait, wait, don't tell me.

You used to be a thief too, right?

He does appear to be a Time Burglar.

I agree with getting a dog, especially for the country. Best break-in preventative ever.

[ChadTower]

Wait... Mr C's laptop wouldn't be booby trapped. It would be penis trapped.

[ark_ader]

My Yorkshire Terrier eats people on command.

So thieves are safe when I'm asleep or out. 

I think its pretty funny mentioning all your downloads, like it ment something valuable.   

[pinballwizard79]

I have a fear of someone taking my stuff too.

Things like my Vice City neon sign are priceless......in my mind at least . The 360, TV & etc are very important to me as well of course.

Not sure if it was already mentioned as I only skimmed through but if all they took were games & jewelry it was most likely kids from the neighborhood.

Anyway, I ended up going all out on an alarm & it really makes feel safer.

All of my accessible windows are protected with contacts (complete with tamper switches just in case someone gets smart) & embedded door contacts. There are glass breaks in every room, 3 dual tech heat & microwave motion detectors in central locations, an exterior siren & most of all a hidden control panel, battery backup & dual band cellular backup dialer.

You can even set up the system to have a super short 10 second delay for code entry or arm it for instant & do a remote disarm before entry. This means anyone walking in wont make it to the kitchen before cops are called.

Eventually I will get hidden exterior 480p cameras with a wireless link to an off site server but for now that's just a little too paranoid.

Oh, a p90 will make me feel even better 

[ark_ader]

I have a fear of someone taking my stuff too.

Things like my Vice City neon sign are priceless......in my mind at least . The 360, TV & etc are very important to me as well of course.

Not sure if it was already mentioned as I only skimmed through but if all they took were games & jewelry it was most likely kids from the neighborhood.

Anyway, I ended up going all out on an alarm & it really makes feel safer.

All of my accessible windows are protected with contacts (complete with tamper switches just in case someone gets smart) & embedded door contacts. There are glass breaks in every room, 3 dual tech heat & microwave motion detectors in central locations, an exterior siren & most of all a hidden control panel, battery backup & dual band cellular backup dialer.

You can even set up the system to have a super short 10 second delay for code entry or arm it for instant & do a remote disarm before entry. This means anyone walking in wont make it to the kitchen before cops are called.

Eventually I will get hidden exterior 480p cameras with a wireless link to an off site server but for now that's just a little too paranoid.

Oh, a p90 will make me feel even better 

You come home after a very good party, lose your keys, climb through a window and your house or your girl shoots you. 

[Ed_McCarron]

I have a fear of someone taking my stuff too.

Things like my Vice City neon sign are priceless......in my mind at least . The 360, TV & etc are very important to me as well of course.

Not sure if it was already mentioned as I only skimmed through but if all they took were games & jewelry it was most likely kids from the neighborhood.

Anyway, I ended up going all out on an alarm & it really makes feel safer.

All of my accessible windows are protected with contacts (complete with tamper switches just in case someone gets smart) & embedded door contacts. There are glass breaks in every room, 3 dual tech heat & microwave motion detectors in central locations, an exterior siren & most of all a hidden control panel, battery backup & dual band cellular backup dialer.

You can even set up the system to have a super short 10 second delay for code entry or arm it for instant & do a remote disarm before entry. This means anyone walking in wont make it to the kitchen before cops are called.

Eventually I will get hidden exterior 480p cameras with a wireless link to an off site server but for now that's just a little too paranoid.

Oh, a p90 will make me feel even better 

And his wife always forgets to turn it on...

[danny_galaga]

that is really crappy news. it must feel awful to know some &%(%&^ has been through your house. a few points about the event. as said by some, they are in a rush and are only going to take easily portable stuff. they probably just didnt notice the psp in their rush and in a tense situation and wont be thinking quite as straight as john mclane in die hard (i remember when i was 11, how freaky it was when i shop-lifted. even freakier when i got caught  ). the probable reason the keys are there is because there were two of them. the keys will belong to the guy who wasnt driving. im sure you have taken them to the police by now. that is a godsend.

about what they will do with passwords, modded stuff etc - nothing! what do they care. if they cant fence it straight away, it will end up in a dumpster...

edit: oh, and if the police went as far as to trace the ISP of the wii, all they will find is the sucker who bought it from cash converters...

[ChadTower]

edit: oh, and if the police went as far as to trace the ISP of the wii, all they will find is the sucker who bought it from cash converters...

While probably true, receiving stolen property, even without knowledge of it being stolen, is a crime here.  The Police would use that to get the person to reveal where they bought the Wii.  The Wii then gets taken back to the pawn shop.  The pawn shop, by law, has records of who sold them everything in the place.  The Police use the pawn shop's records to find the thief.  The pawn shops and cops are so practiced in this that it doesn't take long at all.

Of course, I seriously doubt you'd ever get the ISP info from Nintendo nor the user info for that specific IP from the ISP.  Not without a lawsuit that costs way more than the Wii ever would.

[hypernova]

I think its pretty funny mentioning all your downloads, like it ment something valuable.

Let's see.  It cost money to download all those things, thus it has monetary value, so yes, it was valuable, smartass.

My laptop case had a SNES USB adapter.  That can be replaced.  The fully functioning ASCII pad with turbo and slow motion (best SNES turbo pad ever) is quite a bit harder to replace.  I hate the fact that I was about 30 hours in FFXII.  Since they have my memory card, it's basically like I wasted 30 hours doing nothing.

[ChadTower]

I think its pretty funny mentioning all your downloads, like it ment something valuable.

Let's see.  It cost money to download all those things, thus it has monetary value, so yes, it was valuable, smartass.

Actually, it's not a bad question.  It had monetary value when you bought it.  The games are nontransferrable and can be redownloaded, in theory, at Nintendo's discretion.  Do they retain any value after they are purchased?  I'm sure your home insurance provider is going to give that some thought.  You couldn't sell them once you had bought them so did they really have any value at that point?

[melarky]

I had my car broken into and my GPS stolen a while back, ended up finding it on ebay, wrote about it here:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=61312.0

Good luck, I hope you find your stuff, and I'm sorry to hear that this happened to you.

[shmokes]

edit: oh, and if the police went as far as to trace the ISP of the wii, all they will find is the sucker who bought it from cash converters...

While probably true, receiving stolen property, even without knowledge of it being stolen, is a crime here.  The Police would use that to get the person to reveal where they bought the Wii.  The Wii then gets taken back to the pawn shop.  The pawn shop, by law, has records of who sold them everything in the place.  The Police use the pawn shop's records to find the thief.  The pawn shops and cops are so practiced in this that it doesn't take long at all.

Of course, I seriously doubt you'd ever get the ISP info from Nintendo nor the user info for that specific IP from the ISP.  Not without a lawsuit that costs way more than the Wii ever would.

Actually I just looked into this a little bit, and it looks like it's FAR easier to subpoena information than one would think.  In some states you just have to fill out a form and if the court clerk thinks its reasonable he/she will sign it and, voila.  A lot of people/companies will simply comply with a subpoena out of hand.  If the company chooses not to comply with the subpoena it must be prepared to show good cause before a judge or it will be held in contempt.  That's just from about five minutes of google research, though, so I could have that totally wrong.  I haven't dealt with it in the slightest at school.

[ChadTower]

I'm thinking the main issue isn't willingness it's the fact that Nintendo is in Japan.  They have no obligation to care about a tiny subpoena from the US.

[ark_ader]

I think its pretty funny mentioning all your downloads, like it ment something valuable.

Let's see.  It cost money to download all those things, thus it has monetary value, so yes, it was valuable, smartass.

My laptop case had a SNES USB adapter.  That can be replaced.  The fully functioning ASCII pad with turbo and slow motion (best SNES turbo pad ever) is quite a bit harder to replace.  I hate the fact that I was about 30 hours in FFXII.  Since they have my memory card, it's basically like I wasted 30 hours doing nothing.

Gee listen to you.  All your SNES pads....Get a life.

Maybe this act of theft has some merit.  Maybe you will now spend your life doing something OUTSIDE rather than sitting in front of the TV with your SNES.

I showed this thread to a mate of mine and he couldn't believe how funny it was.

[ChadTower]

No thief is stupid enough to steal SNES pads, I bet one of his friends did it.   

Or the thief really only stole a couple of things but his wife discovered this first and saw her chance to chuck half the game hardware without getting caught.   

[SirPeale]

Gee listen to you.  All your SNES pads....Get a life.

Maybe this act of theft has some merit.  Maybe you will now spend your life doing something OUTSIDE rather than sitting in front of the TV with your SNES.

I showed this thread to a mate of mine and he couldn't believe how funny it was.

I'm going to say this *once.*  Knock off your inflammatory attitude.  So many of your posts reflect this one.  This guy had someone break into his house.  Other than the loss, it's a total feeling of violation.   If you disagree, you can take a short vacation to think things over.

[SavannahLion]

I'm thinking the main issue isn't willingness it's the fact that Nintendo is in Japan.  They have no obligation to care about a tiny subpoena from the US.

The subpoena won't go to Nintendo of Japan, it'll go to Nintendo of America in Redmond.

fixed broken code

[pointdablame]

Gee listen to you.  All your SNES pads....Get a life.

Maybe this act of theft has some merit.  Maybe you will now spend your life doing something OUTSIDE rather than sitting in front of the TV with your SNES.

I showed this thread to a mate of mine and he couldn't believe how funny it was.

Wow, even knowing that you've said stuff like this before, that comment makes you come off as a Grade A --cream-filled twinkie--.

[ChadTower]

The subpoena won't go to Nintendo of Japan, it'll go to Nintendo of America in Redmond.

That's certainly possible.

[danny_galaga]

edit: oh, and if the police went as far as to trace the ISP of the wii, all they will find is the sucker who bought it from cash converters...

While probably true, receiving stolen property, even without knowledge of it being stolen, is a crime here.  The Police would use that to get the person to reveal where they bought the Wii.  The Wii then gets taken back to the pawn shop.  The pawn shop, by law, has records of who sold them everything in the place.  The Police use the pawn shop's records to find the thief.  The pawn shops and cops are so practiced in this that it doesn't take long at all.

Of course, I seriously doubt you'd ever get the ISP info from Nintendo nor the user info for that specific IP from the ISP.  Not without a lawsuit that costs way more than the Wii ever would.

pawn shops make a good part of their money from the proceeds of crime. i seriously doubt the trail will go any further than the pawn shop. i once met a guy who was riding MY bike that was stolen some months before. i knew he didnt steal it. where did he get it? cash converters. it was second hand when i had it so i didnt have any proper identifying records so i couldnt go any further.

burglary is big business. big business is efficient business. the stuff needs to be fenced with a reasonable chance of getting away with it. youll find most of the stuff gets sold to some middleman before it gets sold to the general public. sure, the occasional meth head is going to get busted because he was too desperate to fence it properly and went to a pawnbroker instead...

having said that, my father had a stroke of luck once. he was a caretaker at a highschool. one time, all the tools in the workshop were knocked off. cops told dad to check out all the local pawnshops. first one he checked, there it all was!

[ark_ader]

Gee listen to you.  All your SNES pads....Get a life.

Maybe this act of theft has some merit.  Maybe you will now spend your life doing something OUTSIDE rather than sitting in front of the TV with your SNES.

I showed this thread to a mate of mine and he couldn't believe how funny it was.

I'm going to say this *once.*  Knock off your inflammatory attitude.  So many of your posts reflect this one.  This guy had someone break into his house.  Other than the loss, it's a total feeling of violation.   If you disagree, you can take a short vacation to think things over.

Most of you have seen my previous posts, concerning the robbery of one of our members.  These posts have been made with mockery of the affair, which to some of you seem over the top or inappropriate.  Was these posts to incite a troll like behaviour?  No.

I'm sure you all will have your opinion, one way or another.  I too have been a victim of several robberies but a much more larger scale than some console games.  I won't go into specifics, but I found his loss to be trivial as most of his items will be replaced.  My friend I spoke of has been robbed 5 times in three months.

There is no excuse for mocking the unfortunate, but if you open yourself up on a forum of different views, you should expect a different reaction to those more experienced in loss. That doesn't give anyone an excuse to be negative of the affair, or should it be enough to condemn him for his views.

I have learned not to put too much value on personal property.  When your time come to an end, you cannot take it with you.  That might not be whats on everyones mind right now, especially in this recent absence of judgment in our fellow man.

[ChadTower]

pawn shops make a good part of their money from the proceeds of crime. i seriously doubt the trail will go any further than the pawn shop.

Could be different in Australia.  Here, if they do not cooperate with the Police, they lose their license.  They lose it quickly.  The laws are very specific regarding pawn shops.

[hypernova]

Gee listen to you.  All your SNES pads....Get a life.

Maybe this act of theft has some merit.  Maybe you will now spend your life doing something OUTSIDE rather than sitting in front of the TV with your SNES.

I showed this thread to a mate of mine and he couldn't believe how funny it was.

I'm going to say this *once.*  Knock off your inflammatory attitude.  So many of your posts reflect this one.  This guy had someone break into his house.  Other than the loss, it's a total feeling of violation.   If you disagree, you can take a short vacation to think things over.

Most of you have seen my previous posts, concerning the robbery of one of our members.  These posts have been made with mockery of the affair, which to some of you seem over the top or inappropriate.  Was these posts to incite a troll like behaviour?  No.

I'm sure you all will have your opinion, one way or another.  I too have been a victim of several robberies but a much more larger scale than some console games.  I won't go into specifics, but I found his loss to be trivial as most of his items will be replaced.  My friend I spoke of has been robbed 5 times in three months.

There is no excuse for mocking the unfortunate, but if you open yourself up on a forum of different views, you should expect a different reaction to those more experienced in loss. That doesn't give anyone an excuse to be negative of the affair, or should it be enough to condemn him for his views.

I have learned not to put too much value on personal property.  When your time come to an end, you cannot take it with you.  That might not be whats on everyones mind right now, especially in this recent absence of judgment in our fellow man.

Yet, you sure do like to rationalize and justify your option to be a dick, don't you?

I could be a dick, just like you, and mock points of your post, and trivialize the thing.  But I won't.

I was never truly worried about the items themselves.  But, yes, it pisses me off.  I've just been robbed.  The fact that someone was in here, cool and methodically taking my stuff that I worked for and earned is what irks me.  Principle.  Let's not forget the criminal's attempt to find personal information that could screw me far worse for years to come.

You can't possibly tell me the multiple times you've been robbed that you just shrugged it off and said "it's only stuff."  I've had a few lighter experiences in getting stolen from, but generally only a few hundred dollars worth.

Now we have problems much larger than these things.  Our youngest daughter's been acting weird the last two weeks.  New thread on that to come. 

It's been a ---smurfy--- week.

[hypernova]

Maybe this act of theft has some merit.  Maybe you will now spend your life doing something OUTSIDE rather than sitting in front of the TV with your SNES.

By the way...why do you assume I spend all day in front of a TV?  That is a rather humorous assumption on your part.  Do you enjoy generalizing?

[danny_galaga]

pawn shops make a good part of their money from the proceeds of crime. i seriously doubt the trail will go any further than the pawn shop.

Could be different in Australia.  Here, if they do not cooperate with the Police, they lose their license.  They lose it quickly.  The laws are very specific regarding pawn shops.

yes, they will co-operate with the police. that is the same here. this is australia, not africa. doesnt mean the goods they are receiving arent stolen. but theres only so much stuff you can sell in the parking lot of a pub 

[SavannahLion]

Hypernova, have you worked out the total dollar loss for what was stolen?

[ark_ader]

Gee listen to you.  All your SNES pads....Get a life.

Maybe this act of theft has some merit.  Maybe you will now spend your life doing something OUTSIDE rather than sitting in front of the TV with your SNES.

I showed this thread to a mate of mine and he couldn't believe how funny it was.

I'm going to say this *once.*  Knock off your inflammatory attitude.  So many of your posts reflect this one.  This guy had someone break into his house.  Other than the loss, it's a total feeling of violation.   If you disagree, you can take a short vacation to think things over.

Most of you have seen my previous posts, concerning the robbery of one of our members.  These posts have been made with mockery of the affair, which to some of you seem over the top or inappropriate.  Was these posts to incite a troll like behaviour?  No.

I'm sure you all will have your opinion, one way or another.  I too have been a victim of several robberies but a much more larger scale than some console games.  I won't go into specifics, but I found his loss to be trivial as most of his items will be replaced.  My friend I spoke of has been robbed 5 times in three months.

There is no excuse for mocking the unfortunate, but if you open yourself up on a forum of different views, you should expect a different reaction to those more experienced in loss. That doesn't give anyone an excuse to be negative of the affair, or should it be enough to condemn him for his views.

I have learned not to put too much value on personal property.  When your time come to an end, you cannot take it with you.  That might not be whats on everyones mind right now, especially in this recent absence of judgment in our fellow man.

Yet, you sure do like to rationalize and justify your option to be a dick, don't you?

I could be a dick, just like you, and mock points of your post, and trivialize the thing.  But I won't.

I was never truly worried about the items themselves.  But, yes, it pisses me off.  I've just been robbed.  The fact that someone was in here, cool and methodically taking my stuff that I worked for and earned is what irks me.  Principle.  Let's not forget the criminal's attempt to find personal information that could screw me far worse for years to come.

You can't possibly tell me the multiple times you've been robbed that you just shrugged it off and said "it's only stuff."  I've had a few lighter experiences in getting stolen from, but generally only a few hundred dollars worth.

Now we have problems much larger than these things.  Our youngest daughter's been acting weird the last two weeks.  New thread on that to come. 

It's been a ---smurfy--- week.

If the person was cool and methodical as you pointed out, why did the person leave their keys behind?

You want to call me names, that is fine and is well received.  You are on the point of recovering from your ordeal, but posting your problems on a message board will not solve them.  It will take someone like me to make your problem seem light hearted and inconsequential.

I suggest professional counseling for you and your family.  When my house was burgled and my two dogs that I raised from pups were killed by the same intruder, I got help.  If you think it is expensive, then check out the charitable programs on offer. 

I used the Smaritians and I got over most of it.  I think what is left of the experience is most likely on show here.

My Father gave me some words of advice:  "Its a cold cruel world, do not expect any sympathy".  Isn't that the truth!

Maybe this act of theft has some merit.  Maybe you will now spend your life doing something OUTSIDE rather than sitting in front of the TV with your SNES.

By the way...why do you assume I spend all day in front of a TV?  That is a rather humorous assumption on your part.  Do you enjoy generalizing?

Yeah I actually thought you sat in front of your TV playing on your SNES.  Agreed.  Generalizing was not my intention there, actually I was being facetious.  I will try to be more supportive in the future. 

[AtomSmasher]

Gee listen to you.  All your SNES pads....Get a life.

Maybe this act of theft has some merit.  Maybe you will now spend your life doing something OUTSIDE rather than sitting in front of the TV with your SNES.

I showed this thread to a mate of mine and he couldn't believe how funny it was.

Ya, I don't like video games either.  I only come to this forum to laugh at people who spend so much time building cabinets to play them on.   

[Organic Jerk]

There is no excuse for mocking the unfortunate, but if you open yourself up on a forum of different views, you should expect a different reaction to those more experienced in loss. That doesn't give anyone an excuse to be negative of the affair, or should it be enough to condemn him for his views.

Where is the line between a "different reaction" and "being negative?"  (Six smileys?  ?)  It makes it sounds like you're trying to be abstract enough to have your cake and eat it, too.

You shouldn't be negative to others about their experiences, but when you bring your experiences to the forum you shouldn't expect others to all be positive.  That doesn't give anyone an excuse to be negative towards you, nor should it be enough to condemn him for not being positive.

There's a distinct difference between the high school punk you portrayed before having your feet held to the fire, and the buddhist monk you portrayed after, and I think that's where the main conflict lies.  You went fron "Get a life. I showed this thread to a mate of mine and he couldn't believe how funny it was.", to "I suggest professional counseling for you and your family. If you think it is expensive, then check out the charitable programs on offer. "

Again, people in this world and the experiences that come with them are definitely up and down, and thus life is hard.  But life is also relative.  If what you meant to do was exemplify the kinds of BAD people there are in the world and how in the face of relatively minor but substantially stressful tragedy they laugh in your face,  then I would say you succeeded.  But that's about all you succeeded in doing, meaning the the attitude you portrayed combined with the things you said made you come off like nothing else but a BAD minded person.  5 smileys on a forum doesn't teach any lessons in tough integrity.  It diminishes your own.

That being said, this is not the free roaming world moderated by no one but the police.  This is a forum that is moderated by a few set individuals, and thus, the existence of antagonistic activity (no matter how much you state you may be playing "the role of the bad guy"), will be up to their discretion.  I have experienced this firsthand, actually.

Who are YOU to judge the way he may or may not live his life?  You're not his father.  You're a fellow user on a moderated forum (a forum which is about video games, again.... There are people who could feel the need to tell You to "get a life" based on the fact that you even browse an internet forum at all, mind you.)

I would assume that the "tough love" you talk about from your father was NOT the equivalent of him telling you to "Get a life" and 5 smileys worth (if we can picture it ) of laughing at you when you fell or was taken advantage of.  I would imagine the love you are talking about is of a hard and sensible demeanor that knows when to take action and when to stand firm in the face of adversity.

[missioncontrol]

Hey Ark...

Quit being a dooooosh


kthxbai,

The Internets

[ark_ader]

There is no excuse for mocking the unfortunate, but if you open yourself up on a forum of different views, you should expect a different reaction to those more experienced in loss. That doesn't give anyone an excuse to be negative of the affair, or should it be enough to condemn him for his views.

Where is the line between a "different reaction" and "being negative?"  (Six smileys?  ?)  It makes it sounds like you're trying to be abstract enough to have your cake and eat it, too.

You shouldn't be negative to others about their experiences, but when you bring your experiences to the forum you shouldn't expect others to all be positive.  That doesn't give anyone an excuse to be negative towards you, nor should it be enough to condemn him for not being positive.

There's a distinct difference between the high school punk you portrayed before having your feet held to the fire, and the buddhist monk you portrayed after, and I think that's where the main conflict lies.  You went fron "Get a life. I showed this thread to a mate of mine and he couldn't believe how funny it was.", to "I suggest professional counseling for you and your family. If you think it is expensive, then check out the charitable programs on offer. "

Again, people in this world and the experiences that come with them are definitely up and down, and thus life is hard.  But life is also relative.  If what you meant to do was exemplify the kinds of BAD people there are in the world and how in the face of relatively minor but substantially stressful tragedy they laugh in your face,  then I would say you succeeded.  But that's about all you succeeded in doing, meaning the the attitude you portrayed combined with the things you said made you come off like nothing else but a BAD minded person.  5 smileys on a forum doesn't teach any lessons in tough integrity.  It diminishes your own.

That being said, this is not the free roaming world moderated by no one but the police.  This is a forum that is moderated by a few set individuals, and thus, the existence of antagonistic activity (no matter how much you state you may be playing "the role of the bad guy"), will be up to their discretion.  I have experienced this firsthand, actually.

Who are YOU to judge the way he may or may not live his life?  You're not his father.  You're a fellow user on a moderated forum (a forum which is about video games, again.... There are people who could feel the need to tell You to "get a life" based on the fact that you even browse an internet forum at all, mind you.)

I would assume that the "tough love" you talk about from your father was NOT the equivalent of him telling you to "Get a life" and 5 smileys worth (if we can picture it ) of laughing at you when you fell or was taken advantage of.  I would imagine the love you are talking about is of a hard and sensible demeanor that knows when to take action and when to stand firm in the face of adversity.

I'm real glad you explained that to me.  Honestly.

Maybe you can foster that enthusiasm toward his other thread.

[hypernova]

If the person was cool and methodical as you pointed out, why did the person leave their keys behind?

While shaking my change jar loose, the sound of the falling of the keys on the floor was completely disguised by the pounds of change falling into whatever he used to carry my change away.  It wasn't something stupid he did.  Per se.  Just unfortunate luck for him.

I've gone around the neighbors twice, hoping these things would help, because I figure that's my best shot, but so far no one's recognizing anything.  Been calling around gamestops, and I hope the police scour the pawn shops, because these are my last hopes...with what little hope I have left.  I can't buy anything big yet, because we need new CC#s.  Canceled the others for good measure.

Yeah I actually thought you sat in front of your TV playing on your SNES.

You were way off.  If I have a hankerin' for SNES, I use a PC.

Hypernova, have you worked out the total dollar loss for what was stolen?

I figured around $1600 or so.  And they could've taken probably about another $2000+  worth if they wanted really quickly, and I'm not including the TV, desktop PC and other larger things.  HD Camcorder alone was $1000.  What blows is the deductible is $1000, and I doubt I get all of what I claim, so I expect it to even out, which will essentially mean the insurance was nearly worthless in this case.  But I'm not sure how much I'll get, because I've never had to deal with something like this, so we'll see.

You are on the point of recovering from your ordeal, but posting your problems on a message board will not solve them.  It will take someone like me to make your problem seem light hearted and inconsequential.

Emotionally, other than the principle of the matter that someone's got my hard earned stuff and saved games, I've not had a problem.  I do keep having dreams of getting things back.  Literally, when I'm close to waking up, then I wake up.   Fortunately, my wife and oldest don't seem too disturbed by it.  My wife's quite a bit more...secure about our stuff, and the oldest is a little afraid of her room at night, but other than that, nothing too bad.  The youngest, thank goodness based on her current situation, is too young to realize what happened.
Didn't expect anyone to solve them.  This is just human nature.  One person talks, the other(s) listen.  Besides, I can make the problem inconsequential myself.

Also, if I gave the impression that I thought my robbery was the worst to experience, I never meant to.  You obviously had it far worse with the loss of two beloved pets.  (I used to have some, but for daughter's allergy reasons, had to sell them.  Shetland sheepdogs, so they couldn't have stopped anything anyway.)  I'm not so naive as to believe I've got it the worst.  I've actually got it pretty damn good.  Nightly news reminds me that it could be a million times worse.

[Jdurg]

I'm so sorry to hear about all this.  I've never been robbed myself, but know people personally who have and it takes some time to get over it.  In addition, if someone truly wants to burglarize your house there really isn't anything you can do about it.  No matter what security you have in place or what you do, someone who is looking to get in will find a way in.

A lot of people will feel safe if they have a dog, but I've seen many cases where the dog didn't do anything, or the robbers disposed of the dog which is far worse.  I think the best protection against a robbery is a plan of action for when it does happen.  Take your valuable stuff and do something so that it can be recovered later on.  Don't go around telling people exactly how much stuff you have or specifics about your security system. 

After buying my house there were some breaking and entering reported in my neighborhood.  One of the neighbors came home to see a car in his driveway and someone walking around outside the house.  The neighbor blocked his car in the driveway, and when the perpetrator saw this he tried to run by my neighbor.  The neighbor, not knowing why this guy was running towards him, gave him an elbow to the face, knocking out a few teeth and putting the perp right on the ground.  The police arrived and the theif is now in jail having been wanted for some other charge.

[ChadTower]

Nothing like hypernova's situation but someone broke into my car last night, rifled around, and stole the stereo faceplate.     No damage it seems, doors probably weren't locked.  I think I'm only out the cost of a replacement faceplate.

[hulkster]

i'm just now reading this....wow.....

ark - you are a huge  .  the guy just had some stuff stolen.  whether it was $10 or $2000...getting your stuff taken by someone sucks.  period.  there will always be someone in the world who has it worse off than you, so dont make stupid points like that, especially to hypernova who's pissed that his stuff was stolen.  i mean seriously, why dont you kick the man while he's down more. 

my step-dad died last year...but i'm sure you've had it worse than me, so why dont you tell me how my step-dad's death has some "merit" because now i dont have to drive across state to see him, so hey, i'm saving gas money.  sheesh!  and the fact that you bring up how sad it is for someone to be spending so much time playing games on a BUILD YOUR OWN ARCADE CONTROLS WEBSITE is by far the dumbest thing ive ever heard of.  maybe its time you went outside instead of spending so much time on your computer throwing salt in others' wounds. 

point is....yes it's just "stuff" and there are far more valuable things in life than the stuff we get...the stuff he had brought him some joy.  he's got kids so there is plenty of joy in raising kids, but all guys need their down time.  videogames are for some people (like myself) that downtime.  not everyone wants to go "outside" and go on a 3 hour nature hike to feel like they are spending their time wisely. 

hypernova - i hope you catch the turds that stole your stuff.  yes it's just "stuff" and cant take it with you  ...but it still sucks big time to have it stolen.

[SavannahLion]

Nothing like hypernova's situation but someone broke into my car last night, rifled around, and stole the stereo faceplate.     No damage it seems, doors probably weren't locked.  I think I'm only out the cost of a replacement faceplate.

Ditto, but if it's any consolation, I just had my catalytic converter stolen a week and a half ago. ---fudgesicle--- nuts likely used a sawzall to cut it right out.

[protokatie]

I've been robbed too, and although it sucks losing stuff (and a wad of money in my case) I think the worst thing about it was the invasion feeling... IE the fact that someone you didnt know was walking around all non-chalant in your home turf just taking stuff as though he had a right to do so. That is what burned me the most.

And to kick the kicker in my case, I found out that the person who robbed me was someone who I had over several times before (A friend of a friend kinda deal) and he actually robbed me WHILE I was there! USING MY TRUST! (And that is a really ---smurfy--- feeling!)

I hope things turn out better for you in the future, after this month, they only can!

[protokatie]

I was robbed by a guy that posts on this board.   

You mean "robbed robbed" or you sent money and they never delivered the product?

Regardless, that still sucks...

[ChadTower]

Is that what happened to Stingray?   

[Jdurg]

I'm always a tiny bit nervous about finding someone in my house who is not expected because I don't think I could retain a stable sense of mind.  I have a feeling that I would just absolutely freak out and beat the person to death and then have to deal with that for the rest of my life as well as a jail sentence.

I gave my parents a spare set of keys to my house when I moved in so that they could stop by if they wanted and I was away.  One Saturday morning, my father stopped by on his way into work and I was sound asleep and didn't hear him pull in.  I just heard noise from my kitchen and the opening of trash bags.  (He was taking out my recyclables and anything that could be turned it at the bottle return).  I just reacted instinctively, put on some clothes and grabbed a baseball bat in one hand and a knife in the other.  My dad, fortunately, heard me coming down the stairs and said something, but my body went into instinct mode and I would have violently attacked and slaughtered anybody I ever caught in my house.  This is probably why I don't own a gun.

[WunderCade]

Just a quick note, if you want to make a policeman chuckle, go to your local police dept. and ask them to fingerprint those keys for you.

[SithMaster]

I'm always a tiny bit nervous about finding someone in my house who is not expected because I don't think I could retain a stable sense of mind.  I have a feeling that I would just absolutely freak out and beat the person to death and then have to deal with that for the rest of my life as well as a jail sentence.

  Why would you go to jail?  If you dispose of the body correctly no one should know what happened.

[Dartful Dodger]

I'm always a tiny bit nervous about finding someone in my house who is not expected because I don't think I could retain a stable sense of mind.  I have a feeling that I would just absolutely freak out and beat the person to death and then have to deal with that for the rest of my life as well as a jail sentence.

  Why would you go to jail?  If you dispose of the body correctly no one should know what happened.

I was with a few buddies of mine on an 800 acre farm and we were target shooting with various rifles and shot guns.

Someone asked the guy who owned the property if his insurance would cover any accidents. 
He replied, “I know how to use a shovel”.

[ark_ader]

my step-dad died last year...but i'm sure you've had it worse than me, so why dont you tell me how my step-dad's death has some "merit" because now i dont have to drive across state to see him, so hey, i'm saving gas money.  sheesh!  a
hypernova - i hope you catch the turds that stole your stuff.  yes it's just "stuff" and cant take it with you  ...but it still sucks big time to have it stolen.

My step dad died of cancer.  He went the worse way imaginable,  Two months later my real dad dies. 

What's your point?   

[hulkster]

my step-dad died last year...but i'm sure you've had it worse than me, so why dont you tell me how my step-dad's death has some "merit" because now i dont have to drive across state to see him, so hey, i'm saving gas money.  sheesh!  a
hypernova - i hope you catch the turds that stole your stuff.  yes it's just "stuff" and cant take it with you  ...but it still sucks big time to have it stolen.

My step dad died of cancer.  He went the worse way imaginable,  Two months later my real dad dies. 

What's your point?   

well my step dad died of lung cancer if it makes you feel a whole lot better, but i didnt feel it relevant to the conversation.  regardless here's my point:

dont be a turd.  unless your post is "man that sucks, sorry for your troubles" or something like that...just dont say anything. simple enough.  but next time something terrible happens to you, make sure you post it here so everyone can make fun of your misfortune.  

[protokatie]

ARK! THIS ISNT A COMPETITION! Just say you feel for him and move on! It sucks being robbed, many of us have been there. Just give the origonal poster your well wishes, and then move on!

[erictrumpet]

here's my point:

dont be a turd.

The Internet really brings people together doesn't it?

[AtomSmasher]

here's my point:

dont be a turd.

The Internet really brings people together doesn't it?

[ark_ader]

my step-dad died last year...but i'm sure you've had it worse than me, so why dont you tell me how my step-dad's death has some "merit" because now i dont have to drive across state to see him, so hey, i'm saving gas money.  sheesh!  a
hypernova - i hope you catch the turds that stole your stuff.  yes it's just "stuff" and cant take it with you  ...but it still sucks big time to have it stolen.

My step dad died of cancer.  He went the worse way imaginable,  Two months later my real dad dies. 

What's your point?   

well my step dad died of lung cancer if it makes you feel a whole lot better, but i didnt feel it relevant to the conversation.  regardless here's my point:

dont be a turd.  unless your post is "man that sucks, sorry for your troubles" or something like that...just dont say anything. simple enough.  but next time something terrible happens to you, make sure you post it here so everyone can make fun of your misfortune.  

If you didn't feel it necessary to bring it into the conversation, why did you?

I thought you were making an apt comment about being robbed.  I do feel sorry for the guy, but it was his original post that made me comment.  You want to call me names for having a point of view, I don't mind.

But this is EE Everything Else for warm and fuzzy chat.  Not being robbed or anything else along those lines.  That is not warm and fuzzy.  I do admit my previous posts could have been avoided.  But you see they are still there, as I have not removed them.

I have been told my Peale, that he was not happy for my posts. 

You guys are just jumping on the bandwagon.

Let it go.   

[ChadTower]

This user is currently ignored.

I just don't see what the problem is with this guy...

[ark_ader]

This user is currently ignored.

I just don't see what the problem is with this guy...

If only that was true, but you are like a dog with its bone, so I know that will never happen.

But if you did I would be happy.

[saint]

 

[hypernova]

Seemed like everyone was back to normal until Hulkster had to stir the pot again.

Found a local pawn shop that frequently gets my kind of stuff in, so I called the detective this weekend, left a message.  Must not have been explicit.  He calls back today at home, stating they don't have the manpower to track jewelry.

Just left another message...hopefully he tries this time.  Last time I talked to him, he made it sound like they check up on no more than 2 or 3 shops.    Meanwhile, I spend 20 minutes, while feeling absolutely crappy yesterday (digestion problems all day...had two hours sleep the night before because of it.  Feel fine today, though,) and afterwards, whittled a list of about 15 potential shops to one.

I'm doing all I can...yet I just know the outcome.  I'm not getting a damn thing back.  I was hoping that if I did my homework, put forth an effort, that I'd get lucky.  Find some keys, call around 15 pawn shops, 10 Gamestops.  I was just hoping someone above  would cut me some slack on this one.  Guess I should give the hope up.

Then I tweaked my shoulder pretty good today.  Putting away a ten pound box.  Freakish.  It hurts pretty good if I move it wrong.  Which is fairly easy to do.
  <---  Doing this would hurt bigtime.

[SavannahLion]

<---  Doing this would hurt bigtime.

Trying to get your shoulders up past your eyeballs would hurt anyone trying to do that.   

[Dartful Dodger]

One night someone side swiped my friend's car.  He saw the damage that morning and called the police. 
The other car had left a big white piece of fiberglass behind.
When the police officer arrived he just filled out a form. He wasn’t going to take the white piece until my friend handed it to him.

Later that day my friend was walking through the alley and saw a white car in a neighbors backyard with a blanket over the front of it, so he called the police.

A few minutes later they knocked on his door and said that was the car that hit his and it was lucky he called when he did.  The police officer’s shift was about to end and the piece of the other car would have been thrown out as soon as he got back to the station.

The officer told him the piece couldn't be used as evidence, he only took it to keep my friend from getting upset.  He said he ended up using it to bluff the owner of the white car into admitting it was him.

What I’m saying is, check the pawn shops yourself then call the police if you find something.

[hypernova]

Always a good thing to know that when I want my tax dollars to work for me, they just ignore me.   

[channelmaniac]

Did you ever take a picture of those keys and put it on craigslist? Or put a found ad in the lost/found section of the paper?

Who knows, you might find the thief that way.

[danny_galaga]

Did you ever take a picture of those keys and put it on craigslist? Or put a found ad in the lost/found section of the paper?

Who knows, you might find the thief that way.

and, take it to the cops? you have a combination of keys. cops can determine that say, he drove an 80s chrysler, and a crown forklift, and this and that. they can visit the workplaces of some usual suspects and find that yes 'dave drives a dodge airies and he did lose the keys to the forklift the other day'. and look a little deeper.

of course they may not bother. i had a car stolen once, and when the cops found it they asked me if the set of keys they found in the car were mine. i said no and they just left the keys with me!

but you really should give it a go just in case they happen to be switched on AND motivated...

[hypernova]

I gave them the keys the following day.

I'll hit my last option, and see if the detective feels like having Nintendo keep an eye on my console's number.  There was still 700 points, which is enough to download quite a few things.  Nintendo can only locate a console if they actually download something.  (Being online isn't enough, unfortunately.)

More than likely, everything of mine was either kept, or sold on the black market.

My parents bought me a new laptop today.  CC didn't have any in stock though, so I'll have to wait a few days.  This one.  It's quite a step up from my stolen one.  It was only 1 GB RAM, 160GB HD, 15.4" screen, with a normal AMD processor.

Saw 8 Wiis in BB today.  Didn't get one, though.  I can wait a bit more to replace it.  Gotta find out what's up with the insurance.  Plus, with all the recent console price reductions (including coming ones for the XBOX360) I'm hoping the Wii will see one soon as well.