Laptop stolen
My laptop was stolen yesterday.
My IBM ThinkPad T22 (serial #: 786NKZP) was about two or three years old, but I had it for only 74 days.
It came with Windows 98, and I added FreeBSD 5.2.1 to it so that it dual-booted.
I added KDE 3.2.2 and OpenOffice. I had xplanet set
up just they way I like it. This machine saw me through BSDCan
without a hitch. It still had 16 days left on the 90 day warranty.
*sigh*
The thief also got:
- Orinoco Gold card
- Orinoco Silver card
- Linksys PCM100 10/100 Integrated PC Card
The only item which is not replaceable is my notebook (the paper kind, not the ThinkPad). It had many notes
on various subjects dating back three years.
I’ve filed the police report. I’ve found my receipt with the serial number. I’m going to deal with the insurance
next week.
For what it’s worth, the laptop from stolen from the back of the station wagon. Yes, it was in plain view. That
is the part I regret. I am normally so fastidious about that. The car also had a bike in the back
and a 10ft ladder on the roof rack. I was more concerned with the ladder than the laptop. Wrong decision.
I started the replacement process last night. I’m not going to wait for the insurance process to start.
I’ve come to depend upon the laptop too much for that.
No photos (added on 25 May 2004)
As I was typing up the
BSDCan article, the building manager from the parking garage called to say they found nothing
in the video tapes. The tape shows me driving in, parking, and leaving the car. Nobody approaches the car,
nothing happens until I return. Now that’s very interesting.
I know the laptop was in there when I left the car. I looked right at it. When I returned, I knew the car
alarm had been triggered because of the chirps when I unlocked it. Normally you get two chirps when unlocking.
If the alarm has gone off, then you get a series of chirps. In addition, the right rear car door was ajar
upon my return. It wasn’t ajar when I locked the car because the alarm would have chirped to let me know
about the improperly closed door when I armed it.
My theory: the thief came along the walls to avoid the camera. It’s a pretty obvious camera. They also used
a slim-jim to unlock the door and grab the laptop.
I just hope this lack of photo evidence does not affect the insurance claim.
I just moved last month and my house was broken in to. My file server, my Sony trinitron TV, DVDs, CDs, all of my extra HDs, memory. The fucker even stole my CD booklet with my file server backups. They also got my wallet with my credit cards. The worst part is, Insurance wasn’t setup on the new house when this all happened. =\
[%sig%]
What a ****… Because i don’t want this happen to me, i plan to install a simple "house-IDS". If my fileserver and backups are stolen, i freak out…
YOU SHOULD ASK TO SEE THAT VIDEO FOOTAGE. That is impossible that it got you leaving and getting back with nothing in between.
Maybe the camera was hooked up to a windows machine and went into sleep mode? ;P
Sucks about the theft Dan. Pretty spooky about the ghost vandal!!!
You should have replacement value on your laptop? So you may be able to snag a relatively new one.. =]
ya, i just realized that when my apt. was broken into last year, they also took my snowboard with the boots and bindings (about $500), in addition to my ps2 and all my games. Its not as bad as your case but it really just makes you feel like ****..
cannot describe the feelings of loss i have my laptop was stolen in venice. i had saved up to be able to take my little boy on holiday (i am a single mum,) it was difficult to get all the cases and bags organised and keep an eye on littlun as we moved from plane to bus to taxi, and i am normally completely fastidious about my precious laptop as it has my work and all my personal photos, special ones i just took at my little girl’s party.. these are irreplaceable. on top of all that, my essays for my law degree exams were on there. unbelievable i know, but that is the reason i took the laptop on holiday with me – i hadto finish them for the deadline. I had backed up the essays in rough but i got so depressed about it all i found myself unable to work for a week. the irony is i had the photos still on the memory card of my camera but decided to delete them at the last minute to make room for my holiday pictures of venice. needless to say i cant bear to look at a single one.
[i]the thief came along the walls to avoid the camera.[/i]
Damn you spiderman! Damn you!
[%sig%]