I had my beloved Garmin GPS system mounted in my windshield while I ran into a mall for a few minutes. And someone apparently saw it and thought it was so nifty that they just had to have one.
In fact, they liked it so much, they just had to have that particular one.
Which is why I came back to the car and found all the glass from the front passenger window inside the front seat and the GPS–Majel II, as we’d nicknamed it–gone.
Whenever I leave the car I always, ALWAYS, take the GPS down out of the windshield and put it in between the front seats, away from prying eyes…except today. Except for this one dámņëd day where I was thinking about other things and left it where it was…this one dámņëd time…
And someone smashed his way into the car and took off with it.
SON OF A BÍTÇH! SON OF A FÙÇKÍNG BÍTÇH!!!!! MOTHER FÙÇKÊR!!! GODDAMMIT!
• 
My condolences.
Ðámņ.
Sorry to hear about that.
(Reacting to last line of blog entry) Wow. Not that I’m at all going to tell you not to react that way, but wow.
I can sympathize, Peter. Maybe the slights I’ve endured haven’t been on the scale of the cost of a GPS (They can cost up to…what, a grand, I hear?) But right now I’m dealing with Video Professor trying to charge my credit card for their lame discs that I never asked for, another merchant harassed me the other night because his website only revealed that they only accepts COD’s and not credit cards after I pressed what turned out to the be the final order confirmation button (with various credit card logos displayed on the previous screen to imply otherwise), and I was mugged in December 2005, etc. so I can sympathize with being a victim of crime.
As for knowing how popular it is, I’ve had a couple of people tell me words to that effect when I tell them that a color pencil illustration I did of the X-Men’s Beast, using three different blue color pencils, was stolen from an art festival where it was being displayed several years ago. Their tendency is to tell me that this is something of a compliment, since the thief thought it was that good. I usually react with a sarcastic, “Gee, thanks! What a compliment!”
Perhaps Garmin should place stickers on their units that say, “PLEASE DON”T SQUEEZE THE GARMIN.”
“…..OR STEAL IT, EITHER.”
Ouch! Sorry Peter. Our GPS always stays in the house, mostly because Robin (the one who doesn’t drive) has yet to teach me (the one who does drive) how to program it…
I don’t suppose the company could locate the stolen GPS? It is after all a GPS. Probably not. it would make too much sense to have that option. Under the circumstances PAD’s reaction is very restrained. The only thing to do now is to insert this anonymous thief into one of the following issues of Spiderman, Fallen Angel or X-Factor so he may live in infamy for all eternity. at least in the world of comic books justice can be served.
When I was in the UK last week, one of the streets in Ealing had signs up along the streets saying, ‘Thieves, get your sat-navs here!’ Basically it was the local police’s way of saying if you leave them in the car, expect to lose them PDQ.
Peter, I’m sorry it happened to you, but hopefully it will save somebody who reads that post from having the same thing happen to them. Not much solace, I know.
What a sorry sack of šhìŧ.
You’d think SOMEONE might have noticed a person breaking into a car window but I giess these professional thieves are quick.
Sorry to hear about this.
It appears you’re overlooking the possibility that Majel II busted the window out from the inside, in order to complete its programming and return to its creators. It keeps production costs down, you know.
In all seriousity, what a pain to lose a toy with the new still on it.
–Ed
Sorry to hear it, PAD. I hope it’s NOT one of the malls that doesn’t have video monitoring in the parking lots. And I hope they catch the guy, you get Majel back, and you’re invited to give this obnoxious little turd an appendectomy via his left nostril.
Whatta asshat.
My condolences.
I know exactly how you feel… my sympathies. 🙁
http://steelaraza.wordpress.com/2006/08/28/some-bad-news-but-with-a-good-middle/
Out of curiosity since it’s a gps unit can;t it be tracked? I would assume it has a specidic serial number.
Sorry to hear about that.
Not too familiar with the gadget, but being as to how it’s a GPS device, is there any way to track it once it’s stolen? Like Micha said, maybe in the future one can register the devices so if they’re lost or stolen, they can be retrieved.
My girlfriend’s jeep was broken into a few years ago. But what can I say? It’s a big load of suck and hearing “it happened to me too” generally doesn’t make one feel any better.
Crappy world we live in where having a cool gadget makes you thief-bait.
Wow, Peter, such language. There could be children reading you’re blog! They could be having moral seisurses (sp?) right now after reading you saying the F-word!
Wait, I’ve just been informed that it’s now official that nobody under 20 reads comic books anymore, or read Trek novels for that matter. So looks like we’re safe here afterall. Close call though.
Peter, that really sucks. But your name for the unit really made me laugh.
Maybe you should have hidden the GPS behind a Mooninite giving everyone the finger. Then your car would have been safe for 2 weeks.
>I don’t suppose the company could locate the stolen GPS? It is after all a GPS. Probably not. it would make too much sense to have that option.
Make sense? I suppose. If you want the company – or anyone else having access to their records – being able to keep track of your movements. I don’t think I’d care for the idea. That pesky privacy thing, don’t you know.
“You’d think SOMEONE might have noticed a person breaking into a car window but I giess these professional thieves are quick.”
1) Yeah, they are fast. I doubt that they took more then seven to ten seconds to do it.
2) Lots of someones likely did notice it. They just couldn’t be bothered to act. Ticks me off to no end when petty crimes happened just because no one feels it’s worth it to them to lift a finger, raise their voice or even stick around to tell the responding officers what happened, what the offender(s) looked like or some other info (say, like, a plate #) that would help nail the bášŧárdš.
I may not want the credit card comapny to track records of my movementseither, but the fact that they do makes it easier to catch thieves. Anyway, aren’t GPS’s also installed in cars to prevent theft?
“Make sense? I suppose. If you want the company – or anyone else having access to their records – being able to keep track of your movements. I don’t think I’d care for the idea. That pesky privacy thing, don’t you know.”
Uh, that’s *exactly* what the product is. It would be kinda silly for anyone to buy a Global Positioning device and be surprised that it keeps track of their position at all times.
Well, that’s just a tub of suck…
-Rex Hondo-
Disgusting conduct, that.
May the thief responsible find themselves incapable of anything but honesty for the rest of their lives after this.
My commiserations, it’s frustrating to have something like that happen. Three points that spring to mind reading the article and the comments of the other people here.
1) It’s a pig to be a victim of crime, even more so when there is nothing that you could have really done to stop it – my car has been stolen six times and each time I’d rather have been mugged, because then I might have been able to do something about it.
2) I think that the reason that people don’t do anything when they see petty crime is because of the fear of getting shot (in the US) or stabbed (in the UK). A semi-irrational fear but given the reward/risk ratio perhaps understandable.
3) A quick reminder that this is why you shouldn’t programme in your ‘home’ location as a easily determined waypoint. Otherwise the thief steals your GPS, and turns up at your home knowing that you will be shopping for the next few hours and that your house is probably empty. Most car thieves operate moments after you leave the car to avoid the worry that you’ll return in the middle of the crime.
/// I may not want the credit card comapny to track records of my movementseither, but the fact that they do makes it easier to catch thieves. Anyway, aren’t GPS’s also installed in cars to prevent theft? //
That would be a LOJACK device, which works partially because it’s hidden in the car, (even the car owners usually don’t know where it is). My Lojack has a special feature where it sends out a warning signal if the car is moved and it doesn’t register a little signal device that’s on my keychain. (The downside to this is the battery in the signal devices do die, prompting my sister, (who I live with) to go into a panic when she answered the phone one morning to hear a recorded message telling that her car may have been stolen.
PAD, as someone who has had a car stolen and another car broken into twice, I can totaly relate to your anger and frustration.
Guys, I don’t know how Garmin has their system set up, but many GPS systems out there can be tracked by just putting the right numbers and codes into the company’s computer. I would be surprises if Garmin really did it that different then the rest.
That is major suckage. It iss good to see someone that doesn’t keep his anger all bottled up 🙂
Well if that ain’t just about a bìŧçh! My wife and I had our car egged twice at the building we just moved out of, as well as a rental car when our’s was in the shop.
My Dad, a self employed plumber, had $500 worth of tools stolen from his van one night.
If you happen to catch the responsible party, hang ’em by the shorthairs while being fisted by a gorilla.
For reference, a news story from about a week ago…
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21103476-13762,00.html
If you happen to catch the responsible party, hang ’em by the shorthairs while being fisted by a gorilla.
I really, truly hope you mean “while they’re being fisted by a gorilla.”
Otherwise, take it easy on the guy. He just had his car broken into. 😉
-Rex Hondo-
GPS is a radio receiver, not a transmitter; unless it’s been hooked up to a cellphone or some other transmitter, there’s no way for Garmin or anyone else to track the device.
But this is why I’ve programmed my “Home” button with the address of my local police station. 🙂
Sorry to hear about that, Peter. It must be eerie and frustrating at the same time.
Given the story Stephen linked to, one would wonder whether some GPS are trackable, and others not, and if so, why they just don’t make all of them traceable. It seems a pretty obvious feature to have in them, given that the natural habit is to keep them on the dashboard.
I wonder if car manufacturers will begin putting little mini “trap doors” on the top of the dashboard in the center, where the device is usually mounted, so that the driver can just slip it out of sight, or perhaps have the door automated to have it retract the device when the engine is shut off.
My boss had his stolen about a year ago, and told me how he had to shell out like, a grand to replace it.
PAD,
Sorry, bud… that really sucks – I promise I’ll never point out any more cool gadgets on sale to you.
Garrett
I really, truly hope you mean “while they’re being fisted by a gorilla.”
Yup, sure did. Wife had some Braxton Hicks contractions, followed by a sudden craving for…something.
17 more days.
But, yeah Rex, yer right.
Did I mention no lube for the gorilla.
Given the story Stephen linked to, one would wonder whether some GPS are trackable, and others not, and if so, why they just don’t make all of them traceable. It seems a pretty obvious feature to have in them, given that the natural habit is to keep them on the dashboard.
That would be because there are far too many people afraid of any technology that could remotely be used by “Big Brother” to watch or track them.
-Rex Hondo-
>It would be kinda silly for anyone to buy a Global Positioning device and be surprised that it keeps track of their position at all times.
Keeping track such that you know where you are on the map is one thing. Broadcasting it to strangers is quite another.
As for people not doing anything, can’t say I’m surprised. I witnessed a car being broken into – about half a block away – roughly ten years back. I immediately called the cops (I was next to a phone booth at the time). By the time they showed up, the perpetrator was long gone. And, even though I gave a description and we did a square grid search of the area with me in their car, we never found a trace of the guy. I can understand the average citizen figuring that sort of non-result doesn’t quite justify the time and effort involved. Oh, I’d do it again, but …
I sympathize. I, too, have been the victim of robbery. At least you weren’t there when it happened, and had the thieves tie you up and threaten you with a knife to your throat. Take my word for it, it isn’t pleasant.
But please understand if I have a slight lack of sympathy. After all, it is an item that I can’t afford, don’t want and consider a profound waste of money. And not to have it permanently mounted in your car so it would take hours to remove, while setting off all manner of alarms, is not a good idea.
Think of it this way. If you had used a laptop with mapping software and a GPS unit, you could have had Lojack for Laptops installed. True, it only traces a laptop’s location when it’s connected to the Internet, but what else is a thief going to use a stolen computer for than getting pørņ from the Internet? Perhaps these Garmin people will get something similar installed for their systems…if people like you, who’ve had them stolen, complain enough.
Sorry to hear about the dìldø who walked off with your gps Mr. David.
I assume you checked out Garmin’s website to see what to do about a stolen unit.
But, just in case you didn’t I looked.
The only “stolen” question in their FAQ is:
Q. I purchased a unit through an online auction and Garmin has just informed me that the unit is stolen. What can I do?
A. If a unit is purchased through an online auction and that unit is found in our stolen-units database, Garmin is not obligated to release any registration or unlock code information. Also, please be aware that Garmin can request that the stolen unit be returned to Garmin without compensation and report this information to law enforcement authorities.
Which seems to imply that if you registered your unit with them, Garmin can determine if somebody tries to reregister it now that it’s stolen.
Hope this helps a little.
Matt
Posted by: Thomas E. Reed at February 4, 2007 04:08 AM
I sympathize. I, too, have been the victim of robbery. At least you weren’t there when it happened, and had the thieves tie you up and threaten you with a knife to your throat. Take my word for it, it isn’t pleasant.
That’s awful! I’m glad you survived.
But that must’ve been one hëll of a trauma, physically and emotionally.
Posted by: Thomas E. Reed at February 4, 2007 04:08 AM
But please understand if I have a slight lack of sympathy.
I can’t speak for Peter, but I find it difficult to understand why you’d have a “slight lack of sympathy.”
Posted by: Thomas E. Reed at February 4, 2007 04:08 AM
After all, it is an item that I can’t afford, don’t want and consider a profound waste of money.
You’re entitled to feel that way. But why should that affect your sympathy for Peter’s plight?
Think of it this way: we live in a capitalist society. Publishers give Peter money in exchange for his writing, which is of substantial value to them. Each dollar he earns, therefore, represents a certain amount of hard work on his part.
Let’s say the Garmin GPS costs exactly $1,000. Think of that as 1,000 “units” of Peter’s labor. So, in essence, Peter exchanged 1,000 “units” of labor for $1,000, which he then exchanged for a Garmin GPS.
The Garmin GPS was stolen by some áššhølë thief. That thief probably spent a few seconds worth of effort to take something that cost Peter 1,000 “units” of his hard work.
Peter was doing what one is supposed to be doing in a capitalist society: trading one form of value in exchange for another. Except now he’s got jack šhìŧ for that 1,000 “units” of labor. I find myself unable to be anything but sympathetic.
Posted by: Thomas E. Reed at February 4, 2007 04:08 AM
And not to have it permanently mounted in your car so it would take hours to remove, while setting off all manner of alarms, is not a good idea.
You’re assuming thieves wouldn’t at least try. That is an incorrect assumption. Today, many factory-installed car stereos are integrated into the dashboards in such a way that attempting to remove them will ruin them. That doesn’t stop thieves from trying.
If Peter had permanently mounted the dámņ thing, someone would’ve tried to steal it anyway, leaving him with a smashed windshield and a wrecked Garmin GPS.
Posted by: Thomas E. Reed at February 4, 2007 04:08 AM
Think of it this way. If you had used a laptop with mapping software and a GPS unit, you could have had Lojack for Laptops installed. True, it only traces a laptop’s location when it’s connected to the Internet, but what else is a thief going to use a stolen computer for than getting pørņ from the Internet?
Unless the laptop has an interface that is as convenient as that of the Garmin GPS, it’s not a good substitute. One does not want to be fûçkìņg around with a laptop keyboard and/or trackpad while trying to drive.
By the by, if anyone reading this thread hasn’t had their car broken into, trust me, the broken glass gets EVERYWHERE and is a NIGHTMARE. When thieves smashed one of the windows of my girlfriend’s Jeep, the glass got into every imaginable crack and crevice, including the gearshift.
“GPS is a radio receiver, not a transmitter; unless it’s been hooked up to a cellphone or some other transmitter, there’s no way for Garmin or anyone else to track the device.”
I’m not sure, but I don’t think that’s the way it works. the function of a GPS is that a system of satellites sees the location of the device, and then that location is displayed on the GPS. Presumably the key ingredient here is the satellite system, and anybody who can access the satelites can use them to locate tyhe GPS so long as it is on. Obviously smarter thieves will find a way around it, maye dismante it, maybe keep it off until they sell it. But transmitting its location to the satellite, or having the function of being seen by a satellite is its key feature. From the article linked above it seems that some GPS have the function of being activated from a distance by someone other than the user. I doubt PAD’s GPS has that function, but it’s worth asking. Anyway, wouldn’t it be nice if the thief was caught by something so simple. Obviously we’re not talking about a criminal mastermind here.
Nope, it’s a receiver. The short version from wikipedia:
A GPS receiver calculates its position by measuring the distance between itself and three or more GPS satellites. Measuring the time delay between transmission and reception of each GPS radio signal gives the distance to each satellite, since the signal travels at a known speed. The signals also carry information about the satellites’ location. By determining the position of, and distance to, at least three satellites, the receiver can compute its position using trilateration.[1] Receivers typically do not have perfectly accurate clocks and therefore track one or more additional satellites to correct the receiver’s clock error.
Well, it would appear this ground has already been covered but I have to admit my first thought was the thing must have a serial number and therefore is traceable (a la LoJack).
I looked at the site and noticed you can register the thing so maybe if you have that will be of some help.
Where were you parked? You’re out on the Island still, right? Just curious.
Ðámņ, that bites hard, PAD. I hope your insurance company doesn’t give you a hard time of it.
Wow, Peter, such language. There could be children reading you’re blog! They could be having moral seisurses (sp?) right now after reading you saying the F-word!
Well, that’s why he had it below the fold.
The fun part is that the thief probably used a rescue hammer to break the windshield. Those little pointy-tipped hammers they sell for you to keep in your car in case you’re trapped and need to break a window to get out. They’re like, ten to fifteen bucks, I think. And they’re REALLY fast at smashing windows from either side.
Dear Peter,
In my life I have heard several people drop the F Bomb that I would never have suspected…. among the list are
1) Mister Peppermint (local dallas host)
2) Buffalo Bob
3) Jim Henson
4) Frank Oz
5) Roger Staubach
But You sir? I am ashamed and from now on I will only wait 1/2 as patiently for anything you write to hit the shelf… if it happens again that will make it 1/4 then 1/8… and so on till eventualy I will be looking as forward to one of your books as much as I look forward a new book by Dan Brown.
Dear god would I not want to live in a world like that!!!! So please as you choose the soap to clean out your mouth, that in the words of Ralphie “lifeboy is just nasty”
To Bill Meyers: First, I do apologize for sounding rather crass. But I’m pìššëd that something so apparently useful is so stealable and pawnable, and with those extremely negative factors, that people are still buying the dámņ things. All that does is assure druggies a continued supply of money.
Also, I like Mr. David and his work. It hurts me to point out that he spent his hard-earned money…money that will shortly disappear, as writing will soon no longer be a paid profession…on a very stealable gadget. A gadget whose destiny is to be stolen, in our current economy. It pains me to point out to a good man that the Garmin was a bad idea.
Second, it is true that stupid thieves will try to steal anything, and as a result may wreck a hardened dash-mounted unit. But in that case, car insurance (perhaps with an added-cost rider) will cover the cost of replacement. Insurance won’t cover something loose left in the car.
Third, a laptop can be more than just a GPS device. It is a universal tool for information management. You could write articles on it that you could sell…that is, until publishers stop paying writers completely, which should be any day now. You shouldn’t need to buy an expensive gadget if you already have a laptop, into which you can plug some low-cost cables, software and a GPS receiver, which will do the job. Awkward? Maybe. But if it’s ease of use, a printed map – maybe even printed from the Internet – is easier, cheaper and is much less desireable in a snatch-and-grab. Better to use what you have than to buy something new, especially a thief magnet.
Bill Myers
“By the by, if anyone reading this thread hasn’t had their car broken into, trust me, the broken glass gets EVERYWHERE and is a NIGHTMARE. When thieves smashed one of the windows of my girlfriend’s Jeep, the glass got into every imaginable crack and crevice, including the gearshift.”
That’s what I was thinking. On top of everything else, you’re stuck with finding glass in your car for the rest of the time you own it, no matter how much you vacuum.
I had the pleasant experience of heading out to work one day only to find my driver’s side window all over the inside of the car, along with the chunk of concrete someone tossed thru said window.
And they didn’t even try to steal anything – it was just someone who felt like throwing rocks thru windows. I still have the rock (there’s a picture on my personal site somewhere) on the off chance I ever find out who did it. I’d like to give it back to them.
Sideways.