Terrible Week

I'm in CA on business, which means I have about 10 days worth of work (building racks in a data center) to do in five days.

On day one, I decided to go get some lunch. I parked my rental, walked away, pushed the button on the key fob, heard the beep, and went in to have some lunch. After lunch I got in the car and drove to the data center where I discovered that my bag was no longer in the car.

Lesson for the day: On a 2017 Dodge Challenger (my rental car) you can "lock" the doors and hear the beep even if someone opens the door first (I've tested this myself). An undesirable (me being nice) in the car next to where I parked just reached over and pulled open the door before I pushed the button. I "locked" the car and walked away, lost in the dealings of my busy week. They didn't have to break a window - they just went in and took my bag. My bag which had everything in it.

Upon discovering the loss I drove right to work and reported the laptop stolen. They locked it remotely so not company secrets get lost. However, my bag also contained (among other things) the keys to my car which is sitting at Newark Airport. Thankfully, my wallet and phone were on me which means I can still get on the plane to get back home. I spent all day Monday getting a new laptop and configuring it for my needs. I keep my data replicated so no great loss there. The big loss is time. Time that I don't have.

Oh, and the police flat out don't care. They directed me to a website to fill out. Welcome to Silicon Valley.

While I was looking at that website at around 4pm, I got a phone call redirected from my work phone. "Hey, you don't know me, but I found your bag on the side of Rt 101." I talked to the guy and quickly realize he was legit (not a scam) and drove out to meet him.

The good news: I got my car keys back! HUGE relief.

The bad news: They stole my laptop, my camera (Panasonic Lumix LX7 - $700 new), my Kindle, and the miserable ***************** (I censored myself) stole my hat. MY HAT! The Tilly hat that I've had for 12 years that I've toted all around the world. The hat that my kids bought me for father's day when they were five and six.

Now it's personal.

John Wick imaginings aside, what can I do? Nothing, So I sit here and stew in my impotent rage.

And that's why I bought a pink Bladerunner which is going to make everything better.

To simply say "bummer" would be a YUGE understatement but at least no Guilds were harmed during this California drama.

Keep on the sunny side my friend, :cheerful:
Joe

Damn dude... that sucks! Good fer nothin' thievin' hat-stealin' MOFOs... and it is just epidemic here in St. Louis... we
must be one of the worst cities in the US for exactly this kind of thing... but I guess it goes on everywhere.

Consolation congrats on the pink Blade!

:-( :-(

GAD - all I can say is "I'm sorry". And that's the problem.

I feel sorry for you, while the p**** who did that to you is not sorry. Just another day to them, no compassion, no guilt feelings, probably even feeling proud for getting away with it. I can't even fathom that. Sure, we've always had crooks among us, but the problem is growing. Honest people will fight to the end to defend our values, but the question is, where does it end?

Just know there are lots of good people out there who share your pain. Enjoy the harmony of a few well played chords.

Your hat? Dammit! My hat, like my guitar, is an extension of me.

Sorry to hear of your victimization at the hands of a common thief. Sound like you came out as well as can be expected under the circumstances. Hopefully insurance will cover at least some of your losses.

Sorry to hear all your tribulations Gary, and these transponder keys that all new cars seem to have now are downright stupid. More like an answer to a question nobody ever asked. It's amazing how many cars you see running in parking lots these days because of them.

Now as for the hat, that's just low!

I'm sorry to hear that. To get some lemonade from your lemons, I had never heard of people lurking in parking lots with the hope of opening a door before the owner locked it with the fob. So I might get a chance to have this not happen to me.

Think Pink!

On the bright side, you weren't beaten and robbed.

It will get worse. So relax. Soak up all that California sunshine.

I just hope you're not flying through LAX. If you are, prepare to be brutalized again.
If you're not - maybe life is still worth living. It's one more reason to be thankful.

there is a nest of renegade shoe-fetishists in TSA/LAX. They detained my shoes on suspicion
for around 30 minutes. And I wasn't alone. Men, women, children, all of us had to witness
these people fondling our shoes in the most inappropriate manner.

Disgusting.

Some people suck...

Hope the rest of the visit is good.

walrus

On my old, 2004 Nissan Frontier, if the door is open, it won't lock and won't beep. So I know there's something wrong. I know you know this is stupid, but this is REALLY STUPID. What the hell was Chrysler thinking? Or were they?

Sorry to hear about all the trauma/drama. It's unfortunate. But the hat, dude......

Oh, GAD, so sorry to hear that you were a victim of a thieving low-life that is good only for use as a doorstop, paperweight, or target practice (take your pick). (Notice I say "that" as opposed to "who" as "who" denotes an actual person whereas "that" is merely an object.) I personally don't deal well with dishonesty and have a zero tolerance for it, must be something about the way I was raised. I don't understand it either and that might be a good thing. I'm glad you had your wallet with you and also glad you got your car keys back. It's certainly good you had a backup plan for the computer (I always traveled with a backup plan for mine, too). I am sorry to hear about the camera, and especially sorry about the hat. A gift from the kids; that just makes me sad.

Side note: I always lock my truck with the button inside when I get out. The driver's door button will pop back up but I push it down and shut the door. Then I test the outside door handle to make sure it's locked before I walk away. I read years ago that fob signals can be captured by someone sitting in a vehicle nearby using a laptop and the right software so I almost never use the clicker to lock, unlock, or open anything. I unlock my door with the key then unlock the other doors with the button inside. If anyone is in a vehicle nearby I raise the back hatch with the button inside, not the clicker on the key ring. Paranoid? Maybe, but that's just me.

I hope the rest of your week goes well. If I were in the area and had any inkling how to do it I would help you build those racks. (I'm real good at "hold this here" and "hand me that"!) Wishing you the best in getting them done in time. Hey - Al's out there. What's he doing today?!

it's the hat isn't it, looks like it went on a head. I'm sure your kids will have a NHD surprise for you.

Ralph

Here's another one for ya.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...01jV_g&usg=AFQjCNHYVOWvn4sNJ6_CBLw9D628398SnQ

davismanLV said:

On my old, 2004 Nissan Frontier, if the door is open, it won't lock and won't beep. So I know there's something wrong. I know you know this is stupid, but this is REALLY STUPID. What the hell was Chrysler thinking? Or were they?

Sorry to hear about all the trauma/drama. It's unfortunate. But the hat, dude......

Click to expand...

In general, Chrysler's lack of thinking over the last several decades is a mystery to me, too, but they have nothing to do with Nissan. Nissan would be insulted! :nevreness:

walrus

If it will make you feel any better...wouldn't have mattered if the door was locked...in southern CA they carry the tools to quickly smash a window...as you now know, best to take any bag/item of importance with you...the lowlifes sit and watch and wait for someone to leave stuff in a vehicle, put it in the trunk, leave a 'hidden' key...whatever...they're very fast and they get away with it...popular locations are tourist attractions, beach areas, malls, restaurants...parked rental cars anywhere...sometimes they just swoop up with a fake tow truck flatbed and winch up the entire car...alarms or no alarms...off they go...in less than 60 seconds...onlookers think its a repo dude...car quickly ends up in a crate on a ship on it's way to Mexico or wherever...LA's an ocean harbor city. Really sorry it happened to you.

Opsimath said:

If I were in the area and had any inkling how to do it I would help you build those racks. (I'm real good at "hold this here" and "hand me that"!) Wishing you the best in getting them done in time. Hey - Al's out there. What's he doing today?!

Click to expand...

Well, in fact, I actually suffered my 6th tire puncture in 5 months today, so was having a pretty bad morning myself, but this thread quickly "readjusted my perspective".
GAD knows I actually have regular job, I've just got the luxury of being able to post from my desk between tasks.
Otherwise I probably would be up for makin' a little extra on the side, if it would help at all.
My sympathies, GAD.

Oops