Crime Found Me

Well, it finally happened. The chances of being burgled are fairly high these days, and let’s face it, I’ve had a pretty good run to not have been broken in to before. But last night it happened…

Gone is, well, pretty much everything electronic in my apartment. Not only have I lost home entertainment items like the Xbox 360, as well as my desktop computer (including two LCD monitors and scanner) and notebook computer, but also my external backup hard drives – meaning years and years of data is now gone. While this is a painful experience for anyone, it is even more so for someone like me who works from home. This has absolutely disabled me until I can get a new computer, and even then, the damage done from lost data cannot have a price put on it.

Gloves were used, so there are no fingerprints, and the chances of me getting anything back is slim to nothing. While I will not go into a deep, philosophical discussion about what it is that makes people behave in this manner, I will say that it is quite upsetting seeing how immoral humanity has become.

While I can spend time obsessing over the loss, the fact of the matter is that I am not hurt, and life will continue. The experience has shown me the good side of humanity as well, though, and I would like to extend the most heartfelt thank you to my friends, family, and girlfriend who have been incredibly supportive, and offered more help than I could ever hope for.

And on life goes…

October 8, 2006 11 Comments , , , ,

  • http://www.gadgetophile.com Ben

    Awww dude that really sucks. I’m hoping your insurance covers the hardware, and that retail therapy can go some way to reducing the pain of the data loss…

  • http://www.pantsland.com Brad Kellett

    Actually, the only thing covered by insurance is my laptop, since that was under a lease, but its looking like they will just cancel the lease without penalty, so I’m on my own with the lot of it.

  • http://www.gadgetophile.com Ben

    Oh damn that REALLY sucks. Time for a Paypal donate button I think Brad. I’ll be happy to spread the word.

  • http://www.pantsland.com Brad Kellett

    Thanks Ben, I really do appreciate the though, but I don’t think I could accept donations like that… As much help as that would be, there are definately more important things that people’s money could go toward.

  • http://xumdeo.blogspot.com Samuel C

    Really sorry to hear that, it’s the Data that counts…

  • http://jayeshm.com/wp jayesh

    damn that sucks brad. I hope you are back on your feet soon

  • http://jack-of-all-tradez.blogspot.com Richard Querin

    Brad,

    Man. I’m really sorry to hear you were robbed. The data loss maybe sucks even more than the hardware. I know that I’ve got stuff on my machine that been there almost 10 years. Hopefully you can recover some of the hardware via insurance.

    Good thing is, you’re safe, if that’s any consolation.

  • http://creativegeek.wordpress.com creativegeek

    M8, dont know you, read you blog sometimes. Been burgled myself. Im really sorry, people who steal are just scum. Its horrible to feel that someone has been through your stuff. Good luck and I hope the insurance pays out – although that really never helps apart from the retail therapy. cheers creativegeek.

  • http://www.pantsland.com Brad Kellett

    Thanks for all the kind words guys! It really makes me feel better to see that there are a lot of good people out there as well. Unfortunately, as I’ve said before, I didn’t have insurance – though that is going to change now.

    Thanks again guys.

  • http://www.mobiletracker.net Jon Gales

    So sorry to hear about this Brad. I regularly (every couple of days) mirror my whole system to a backup drive, but this got me thinking… I’m safe in case of fire (it’s in a fireproof box) but getting robbed is more likely than a devastating fire in a modern building. I have insurance, but as I’m sure you’re aware that doesn’t help me get my data back (which is what’s truly valuable). I just ordered another backup drive and will switch the drives out in an offsite secure location, probably a safety deposit box.

    The bright side is you now can’t feel guilty about getting a bunch of new gadgets.

  • http://www.pantsland.com Brad Kellett

    That is a really good idea Jon – and it’s great that people can learn from my mistakes. I am going to do the same thing once I get myself all set up again.

    And I really wish I could head out on a shopping spree, but the finances aren’t allowing that just now; replacing things really kills the budget. In fact, I have to wait to even get a new external drive! Time for a pay rise, I think ;)