for journey

Did you ever get your stolen laptop back?

(Just curious/nosy)

Mel

On Sun, 23 Mar 2008 20:58:18 -0400, "MZB"
wrote:

Did you ever get your stolen laptop back?

(Just curious/nosy)

Mel

FYI -- Non-technical, OT, nothing related to Dell follows, so feel
free to skip if you want to save time.



Hi Mel -- unfortunately, no -- I haven't gotten the stolen items back.

I lost:

- Lenovo ThinkPad X61 notebook -- ultra portable, highly spec'd,
which I got from Craig's List for $750. Actual value is much more.

- The leather backpack itself, worth about $119 (when on sale).

- 160GB iPod Classic

- Palm Tungsten C

- Altec Lansing portable speakers for iPod. I think it is IM600 -
they are great ($129).

I ended up buying another iPod Classic. The laptop isn't replaceable
because I already have more laptops than I should have. I was going
to sell my ThinkPad T60 and keep the X61 but now I'll just keep the
T60.

I found Palm Tungsten C's on Craig's List for $40 (bought two of them
at that price). The PHP script that I use searches all Craig's Lists
nationally, and then I send a check, they wait until it clears, and
they send me the item.

Altec Lansing speakers -- I probably won't buy that again.

I have a pretty good idea of who took the backpack, but I don't know
for sure. She has been avoiding me since the backpack was stolen.

The police here in Madison, WI are worthless. Rather than take a
statement, I had to report the incident on a voice mail system. They
were supposed to transcribe it but they didn't, and a week later they
sent me a blank form for me to report it.

I don't know if my renter's insurance covers the items. Even if it
does, I am not going to use it. I used to have American Family
insurance, and they dropped me after making two claims (about $600
total). I had to scramble to find some "high risk" insurance. I
don't want to jeopardize that, so I am not going to make any claims
and just have it in case of catastrophic loss like fire.

No good deed goes unpunished. The laptop was stolen while I was
helping two people who don't have cars. I was distracted because one
of them made us wait for 20 minutes while she got food from a food
pantry, so that's when I set my laptop bag down.

The two insurance claims were from letting homeless people that I
trusted have a respite stay at my apartment for several nights.

I cope with the laptop bag loss by accepting responsibility for not
properly protecting my belongings. I don't like to feel like a victim
because there is noone to direct my "assertiveness" towards. I guess
that's part of the definition of "victim"? The powerless aspect?

It also helps to put things in perspective and be grateful for what I
do have. A lot of people I know who are on disability will never have
the money for any computer, and I have several. It helps when I think
of the loss of the X61.

I cope with the homeless incidents by not letting homeless people have
respite stays here anymore. Apparently, the allure of crack cocaine
and other drugs lead people to throw their lives away and even steal
from those trying to help them.

Thanks for asking, it did help a bit to write this.

Man, it's too bad you can't seem to get this resolved when you have a
suspect.

By now, I suspect your stuff could have been sold?

Mel
"Journey" wrote in message
news
On Sun, 23 Mar 2008 20:58:18 -0400, "MZB"
wrote:

Did you ever get your stolen laptop back?

(Just curious/nosy)

Mel

FYI -- Non-technical, OT, nothing related to Dell follows, so feel
free to skip if you want to save time.



Hi Mel -- unfortunately, no -- I haven't gotten the stolen items back.

I lost:

- Lenovo ThinkPad X61 notebook -- ultra portable, highly spec'd,
which I got from Craig's List for $750. Actual value is much more.

- The leather backpack itself, worth about $119 (when on sale).

- 160GB iPod Classic

- Palm Tungsten C

- Altec Lansing portable speakers for iPod. I think it is IM600 -
they are great ($129).

I ended up buying another iPod Classic. The laptop isn't replaceable
because I already have more laptops than I should have. I was going
to sell my ThinkPad T60 and keep the X61 but now I'll just keep the
T60.

I found Palm Tungsten C's on Craig's List for $40 (bought two of them
at that price). The PHP script that I use searches all Craig's Lists
nationally, and then I send a check, they wait until it clears, and
they send me the item.

Altec Lansing speakers -- I probably won't buy that again.

I have a pretty good idea of who took the backpack, but I don't know
for sure. She has been avoiding me since the backpack was stolen.

The police here in Madison, WI are worthless. Rather than take a
statement, I had to report the incident on a voice mail system. They
were supposed to transcribe it but they didn't, and a week later they
sent me a blank form for me to report it.

I don't know if my renter's insurance covers the items. Even if it
does, I am not going to use it. I used to have American Family
insurance, and they dropped me after making two claims (about $600
total). I had to scramble to find some "high risk" insurance. I
don't want to jeopardize that, so I am not going to make any claims
and just have it in case of catastrophic loss like fire.

No good deed goes unpunished. The laptop was stolen while I was
helping two people who don't have cars. I was distracted because one
of them made us wait for 20 minutes while she got food from a food
pantry, so that's when I set my laptop bag down.

The two insurance claims were from letting homeless people that I
trusted have a respite stay at my apartment for several nights.

I cope with the laptop bag loss by accepting responsibility for not
properly protecting my belongings. I don't like to feel like a victim
because there is noone to direct my "assertiveness" towards. I guess
that's part of the definition of "victim"? The powerless aspect?

It also helps to put things in perspective and be grateful for what I
do have. A lot of people I know who are on disability will never have
the money for any computer, and I have several. It helps when I think
of the loss of the X61.

I cope with the homeless incidents by not letting homeless people have
respite stays here anymore. Apparently, the allure of crack cocaine
and other drugs lead people to throw their lives away and even steal
from those trying to help them.

Thanks for asking, it did help a bit to write this.

On Sun, 23 Mar 2008 23:52:07 -0400, "MZB"
wrote:

Man, it's too bad you can't seem to get this resolved when you have a
suspect.

By now, I suspect your stuff could have been sold?

Mel

There's a good chance that by now it could have been sold. I should
be checking pawn shops (I don't even know where they are), I should
tell the f*ing police to get off their asses and interview the
suspect.

I also should contact Lenovo and see if there is a way to trace a
computer's "footprint" via the Internet. I doubt that MAC addresses
are part of Internet communication but I could be wrong. Also, Lenovo
has a lot of system utilities that other computers don't have so there
might be a way.

I was putting some pressure on the suspect but I didn't know for sure
it's her and I didn't want to harass someone.

I would be more active trying to resolve this but in the winter I
usually go through a major depression and this winter I got hit pretty
hard with it. Just paying my bills and getting my laundry done, etc.
is a major challenge for me right now.

To add to my gadget losses, I crushed both a Palm TX and a Treo 680
underneath a chair that I wa moving. Both at the same time. That's
why I am using a Palm Tungsten C right now but a nice surprise is that
I lke it better because it has a built-in keyboard.

"Journey" wrote in message
news like fire.

No good deed goes unpunished. The laptop was stolen while I was
helping two people who don't have cars. I was distracted because one
of them made us wait for 20 minutes while she got food from a food
pantry, so that's when I set my laptop bag down.


You were donating your time to the needy when your things were
stolen?

On Mon, 24 Mar 2008 01:24:45 -0400, "Von Fourche"
wrote:


"Journey" wrote in message
news like fire.

No good deed goes unpunished. The laptop was stolen while I was
helping two people who don't have cars. I was distracted because one
of them made us wait for 20 minutes while she got food from a food
pantry, so that's when I set my laptop bag down.


You were donating your time to the needy when your things were
stolen?

Yes, sort of. More like I was helping out some friends who didn't
have a car when I lost the backpack, and I was giving "friends" who
were homeless a 2-3 day respite stay (movies, pizza, shower, futon)
from being out on the street which makes it more bearable for them
knowing they have a place they can go to occasionally. I'm no longer
in the "homeless hotel" business and I don't even allow people who are
down and out into my apartment anymore. I've been burned too many
times.

Journey;799572 Wrote:
On Mon, 24 Mar 2008 01:24:45 -0400, "Von Fourche"
wrote:
-

"Journey" wrote in message
news like fire.-

No good deed goes unpunished. The laptop was stolen while I was
helping two people who don't have cars. I was distracted because one
of them made us wait for 20 minutes while she got food from a food
pantry, so that's when I set my laptop bag down.-


You were donating your time to the needy when your things were
stolen? -

Yes, sort of. More like I was helping out some friends who didn't
have a car when I lost the backpack, and I was giving "friends" who
were homeless a 2-3 day respite stay (movies, pizza, shower, futon)
from being out on the street which makes it more bearable for them
knowing they have a place they can go to occasionally. I'm no longer
in the "homeless hotel" business and I don't even allow people who are
down and out into my apartment anymore. I've been burned too many
times.

didn't have such luck




--
anyue

My volunteer activities just puts me in close proximity to where
people in recovery from drug abuse, etc. are located. I think Madison
has less drug activity than most cities, and because the University
and state capital are here it's a great city to live in (except for
the winters).

On Mon, 24 Mar 2008 10:12:30 -0400, "MZB"
wrote:

Journey:

Do you live in an area where a lot of this goes on (drugs, etc.)?

Mel
"Journey" wrote in message
.. .
On Mon, 24 Mar 2008 01:24:45 -0400, "Von Fourche"
wrote:


"Journey" wrote in message
news like fire.

No good deed goes unpunished. The laptop was stolen while I was
helping two people who don't have cars. I was distracted because one
of them made us wait for 20 minutes while she got food from a food
pantry, so that's when I set my laptop bag down.


You were donating your time to the needy when your things were
stolen?

Yes, sort of. More like I was helping out some friends who didn't
have a car when I lost the backpack, and I was giving "friends" who
were homeless a 2-3 day respite stay (movies, pizza, shower, futon)
from being out on the street which makes it more bearable for them
knowing they have a place they can go to occasionally. I'm no longer
in the "homeless hotel" business and I don't even allow people who are
down and out into my apartment anymore. I've been burned too many
times.

Journey:

Do you live in an area where a lot of this goes on (drugs, etc.)?

Mel
"Journey" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 24 Mar 2008 01:24:45 -0400, "Von Fourche"
wrote:


"Journey" wrote in message
news like fire.

No good deed goes unpunished. The laptop was stolen while I was
helping two people who don't have cars. I was distracted because one
of them made us wait for 20 minutes while she got food from a food
pantry, so that's when I set my laptop bag down.


You were donating your time to the needy when your things were
stolen?

Yes, sort of. More like I was helping out some friends who didn't
have a car when I lost the backpack, and I was giving "friends" who
were homeless a 2-3 day respite stay (movies, pizza, shower, futon)
from being out on the street which makes it more bearable for them
knowing they have a place they can go to occasionally. I'm no longer
in the "homeless hotel" business and I don't even allow people who are
down and out into my apartment anymore. I've been burned too many
times.

On Mon, 24 Mar 2008 20:38:36 -0500, RnR wrote:

On Mon, 24 Mar 2008 04:40:03 -0500, Journey wrote:

My volunteer activities just puts me in close proximity to where
people in recovery from drug abuse, etc. are located. I think Madison
has less drug activity than most cities, and because the University
and state capital are here it's a great city to live in (except for
the winters).



Sounds just like Austin, Texas. Austin is the capital of Texas and you
have the University of Texas (big campus) beside the Capitol bldgs..
This is the city where Lance Armstrong lives. He used to practice his
biking in Austin a bit because it was hilly too. I don't live in
Austin but my daughter does because she attends this University. I
almost feel like I live there tho because I visit Austin a LOT.
People say Austin is a nice place to live. I do notice people are
friendly there but they are fanatics when it comes to college football
around that campus. You don't want to show any horns (longhorns
actually which is from the steer) pointed down. It's sorta like
giving someone the finger around that campus. As I said they are
fanatics. They even got my daughter brainwashed now. So I can
imagine if Madison is like Austin, it's a busy place for a young crowd
(that disqualifies me).

And cheer up Journey. Summer isn't too far off. BTW, just
curious, do you bike around Madison ?

I saw an article about Austin once -- maybe it was Money Magazine's
annual rating. I actually live in Middleton, which is #1 on this
year's list of best places to live. Hmm, could have fooled me -- I
consider Middleton to be the annoying stetch of road I have to drive
to in order to get to Madison :-)

I have two bikes which I haven't used. I bought one for $20 that was
worth maybe $400 last fall. I just happened to be in the right place
at the right time. I also was given one by one of my homeless friends
when he lost his storage locker because he couldn't afford it anymore
and I spent $200 fixing it up. Now I think I need a car carrier. I
am cutting expenses a lot and someone said that I could take the front
wheel off and it would easily fit in my Matrix but I tried to take the
front wheel off of one and it didn't come off so I don't know how to
do it yet.

Over the winter I have been using a Schwin Airdyne. I don't work so
my focus in the near future will be on livng a healthy lifestyle (I
say this as I drink a Diet Coke at 10:30pm -- I guess I have a big
challenge ahead of me!).

As far as football, I don't mind the University of Wisconsin Badgers.
The one thing that does irritate me is that students are not given
free prime seats. What the he**, shouldn't college sports be for the
people who go to the college? The residents of Madison seem to think
they are more important. Just a small pet peeve. I went to Northern
Illinois University and sporting events were free.

I AM very irritated at Green Bay Packer fans though. It's all that
some people can talk about. If I lived in Green Bay I would go
insane.