More bad luck...

Time to install a video survalence system.

That was my first thought. Any suggestions?

JS

Damn man you can't catch a break. That really sucks. Hopefully it doesn't mess anything up (paint, etc). I wouldn't be parking the car in the garage or sheltered car port. Something.. seems too coincidental, but I wouldn't read too much into it. Video surveillance isn't a bad idea.

-Mike

The car is going away for winter storage soon (in an off-site garage), but for now, it'll have to fare on the street. My garage is full of crap and it would probably be worse for the car to park it there.

Oh well... such is life. I'll find out if he did it or not. I knew he stole the car months before the police or courts contacted me, and he's a minor. I have a pretty good network of people around here that take care of each other... they're all young punks like myself or younger.

I'll get a name... and if it's him, I think it's time I paid him a visit.

Video surveillance isn't a bad idea, but I shouldn't have to go through the expense and hassle of installing one because one juvenile moron wants to play games.

JS

My Logitech webcam comes with motion detection software that will automatically record video onto the HD whenever motion is detected within the video frame. You can pick one up for < $100.

Yeah I understand the video surveillance thing.. it does seem a little pricey for potentially just 1 little punk kid. He needs some discipline. Anybody who has the sheer ignorance to mess with somebody elses property like that should be kept at home :P. I could never in my life egg a car so nice as a Cobra or any Mustang.. not even if I hated the person. Hell I'd have trouble egging any car... and as for STEALING one.. my lord! never!

-Mike

Hey, don't even go near the little f*ck that stole your car. Nothing you can do outside a courtroom is an asset, just a liability. We ought to cane convicted thieves on TV and send 'em home, but we're too "civilized" for that. So, you need to stay away from the thief, especially since it's a minor. You touch it and you likely land in jail. You don't need to serve time for someone else.

Dana

I hate to sound harsh here but CLEAN OUT YOUR F***ING GARAGE!

Kate

| > -Mike | >

| > > I came home this evening from a ride on my Ninja to find a egg | splattered | > on | > > the snake badge on the fender. Only car on the street to be hit. | > >

| > > Seems a lil too coincidental to me. I really don't have any people | around | > > here that have a problem with me. I haven't stepped on anyone's toes | for | > a | > > long time. | > >

| > > *sigh* | > >

| > > Time to go wash it off... at least it's still wet.. | > >

| > > JS | > >

| > >

| >

| >

| |

Another thought on this.. WHY would you let the little bastard off easy anyway? You know, you have to pull teeth to get him to pay you. You should have pressed the issue, so he would learn a lesson, and hopefully serve as an example to his peers.

Kate

By "worse for the car to park it there" I mean that it's not much of a garage. The roof leaks, the floor is mud, the neighborhood cats seem to have a way of getting in there and tearing things up. I'd take my chances with the street thugs because A) I know most of them... and B) I haven't really pissed anyone off... save for that kid, and that was only because I wanted back what was mine.

The car would probably rot out faster in there and get torn up by the cats. A simple cleaning isn't in order, the thing needs a new roof, new doors (including man doors) and a new concrete floor... and right now, cash isn't in order to do that.

JS

Hi Kate.. :-)

(for the response to the garage comment... see my response to GT-Vert-03's post... I could probably get the car repainted professionally once or twice for the cost of getting the garage fixed, and right now, it's not economically feasible).

Anyway... my theory was this.

A) If he was going to learn his lesson, he would have learned it when he got dragged through the legal system. Another hundred or two either way and having it on his slate isn't giong to teach him much more than he already learned by being arrested, having to show up to court with his father, etc. If he didn't learn from that, he's not going to learn.

B) My options were get the money in 6 months and him have a clean record or get the money some time between now and 2008 and him still have the theft on his record. That was *all* I could do to him. If I could have made him sit in a cell somewhere for a few months, I would have, but to be paid my couple hundred dollars in $5 increments over the next 5 years did nobody any good.

C) I was young and stupid once too, and was in a position to need a break. Not with the law, but just in general. I figured *maybe* he'd realize that he'd been given a chance and clean his act up.

Ehh.... live and learn.

JS

Hello,

Take it from a guy who lives in the ghetto, and has 4 cars and only a 1 car garage. I just moved here about a year ago, and the day of our closing (hadn't even moved in yet) sombody broke 3 of my garage windows! One week later, 3 more. One week later, they graffiti'd my garage door. About another week later, they broke the back window of my wife's van. Ok, now I am motivated, and I put up 1700W worth of motion-detector floodlights (now you can see my house from space when sombody comes by). That worked for about 2 months, and then they broke the windshield of my wife's van. So then I put up a 6-camera night-vision digital survelance system, and signs everywhere that say "all activity on or near these premesis recorded 24 hours". That has been 6 months ago, and I am not saying I am out of the woods yet, but I haven't had any problems since. And if I do, at least I will know who is doing it (It happens while I am asleep, and they must be very quiet, even the dog doesn't hear them!)! So basically what I am saying is the cameras, like one poster implied already don't stop a crime from happening, but are a great way to give yourself peace of mind. If you are electronicly/computer inclined, you can put together a system very cheap. I got my digital multi-port capture card and software on ebay for $200 (they can be had much cheaper lately) and had an extra pc laying around to put it in, and I got all six cameras for $100 from a website, and I got 500ft of shielded cable at a thrift store for $2.00. The system is very nice, it comes in handy even when I am not trying to catch theives. For instance, I have the PC's output run through a modulator and spliced into the house's cable system on channel 88, so if I hear anything, or sombody rings the doorbell, just flip any TV to 88 and see what is going on. I can also connect to it at work, or while I am away, and view the cameras from my laptop! You can even set it up to call you if it sees motion. Sorry to carry on about this so long, but I know exactly how it feels to be vandalized, and thought my experiences might be of help.

CoogarXR

You're a good spirit... :¬)

I hear ya on the garage, if it's hopeless, then it's hopeless.

| > Kate | >

| >

| |

That is just too cool

"CoogarXR" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@mb-m07.aol.com... | Hello, | | Take it from a guy who lives in the ghetto, and has 4 cars and only a

I agree. The arrangement is wonderful.

I have a bunch of X10 stuff that I bought when I moved in my new house and I never had the gumption to install. I've heard the X10 cameras are rather cheapish, but they are sittin here in a box doing nothing and in lieu of putting it on Ebay I'm inclined to get rid of them for an overly substatial savings. $350 worth of stuff. $100 for everything? 3 Cams and all the fixins. If you're interested I'll give you a full list of stuff. It includes stuff to hook up to your puter and watch your cams at the house from over the Internet :-D

Yeah, if I did it anyone can. Had to make room for the new daily driver.

I got my digital multi-port capture card and software on ebay for $200

This X10 stuff that I have does that. Each camera has a little paddle antenna on it and theres a reciever that plugs into a video in. Color and with sound.

----------------- Jim '88 LX 5.0 (now in car heaven) '89 LX 5.0 vert '99 GT 35th Anniversery Edition - Silver Mods to date - Relocated trunk release to drivers side, shortened throttle cable.