Robbed

[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.