Ok, not really RPG related, but not really Media related, but completely Fuck You, You Cocksmocks, Wrap Yourself Around a Phone Pole related.
So, yeah, I've been kinda under the weather lately (physically and mentally), but everyone at work decides to cut out a bit early today and go to a local bowling alley to spend some fun time together. Sweet, yeah?
Went. Bowled. (good, considering how long - 176, 169), played some video games (including the original Missile Command - yar!!). Good times had by all.
Come out to head home, and some Princes of Princes had decided to smash in the rear passenger side window of my 4Runner and see what they could grab.
What'd they get? My black satchel full of game books (HAH fuckers, no laptop worth $1500 for you - put THAT in your crack-pipe and smoke it!)...
Yes, they struck at my very heart.
What's worse - it was full of Warhammer 1st and 2nd edition books I was reading for my future GMing pleasure. Yup. They went there.
Most of the books are ones I had picked up on eBay (courtesy of a recent posting by one of our regulars), but the biggest hit was the 2nd Edition core book, 2nd edition Realms of Sorcery, and 1st Edition Shadows Over Bogenhafen - all three of which belonged to my Sunday GM. Fortunately, they left the 1st Edition core book that the bag was sitting on, but still...
And my dice bag. And my memory stick with game-related files on it. And my Earthdawn character for Sunday.
Not asking for anything but lots of Black Bug Room sympathy and a few curses thrown the way of those fucking morons. Seriously, if you are running a game this weekend, have a couple of petty thieves turned inside out by some vile Dark Elder God for me.
.... fuck.
Yeah man, that sucks.
Just a few months ago, the chap that runs Palladium round these parts had his books an comic stollen out of his moms garage.
Quote from: Werekoala;414586.... fuck.
What a bunch of motherfuckers. Sorry to hear that.
The books'll probably just get thrown away, too.
Quote from: Cole;414592The books'll probably just get thrown away, too.
Oh, no doubt. Pearls before swine and all that...
Nastiest theft I came across over the years, were Sun Sparcstations machines being stolen from the university's computer labs. They're the size of a medium pizza box and can fit into a briefcase.
Try to log on to a particular Sun Sparc computer, and find out later that it's been stolen. :banghead:
Quote from: Cole;414592What a bunch of motherfuckers. Sorry to hear that.
The books'll probably just get thrown away, too.
Or used as paper to burn in a fireplace.
I think we should bring back public whippings.
Quote from: Cranewings;414600I think we should bring back public whippings.
Public beheadings. Bringing back the guillotine as a form of capital punishment. :rolleyes:
Quote from: ggroy;414601Public beheadings. Bringing back the guillotine as a form of capital punishment. :rolleyes:
I'm not kidding. It would save the state a ton of money if instead of tossing people in jail, you get your ass kicked. No prison based criminal training program, and little lost work.
Edit--plus it is a little funny.
Quote from: Cranewings;414603I'm not kidding. It would save the state a ton of money if instead of tossing people in jail, you get your ass kicked. No prison based criminal training program, and little lost work.
Edit--plus it is a little funny.
Wonder if it is cheaper to just throw someone in jail for life, than to put them on death row. In many places, there's a lengthy appeals process which can go on for years before an inmate on death row can be executed.
I suppose if all appeals on death sentences are eliminated, in principle it would be cheaper. Not so sure, when appeals can go on for many years or decades. All those attorneys, judges, etc ... have to be paid eventually.
Funny thing, a friend had all his gaming books in a bag, too, and got his car broken into and it all taken in one grab.
I think I'd rather lose my laptop than one-of-a-kind stuff, even if the latter is nominally replaceable more cheaply.
I guess the moral is not to put books in a booksack anymore, let 'em slide around freely. Thieves don't take books, I guess.
"Funny" thing is, if they had taken just about anything else it wouldn't have bothered me as much. 1st problem- stealing things I had borrowed from someone else. 2nd problem - stealing RPG books. 3rd problem - being hellspawned crack-sucking ass masters.
You wouldn't want that here. In the us we put away a fucking lot of innocent people. Another reason why I like the public ass kicking - once it is over you can go back to normal life. So many innocents go to death row, they need a chance for it to be overturned.
Quote from: Doom;414605Funny thing, a friend had all his gaming books in a bag, too, and got his car broken into and it all taken in one grab.
I think I'd rather lose my laptop than one-of-a-kind stuff, even if the latter is nominally replaceable more cheaply.
I guess the moral is not to put books in a booksack anymore, let 'em slide around freely. Thieves don't take books, I guess.
A buddy of mine recently had his car broken into while he was in the bank. The crook got his bag with a borrowed, shitty old beater laptop, but missed the 2000 dollar one the bag was sitting on.
Quote from: Doom;414605I guess the moral is not to put books in a booksack anymore, let 'em slide around freely. Thieves don't take books, I guess.
Anecdotally, I've noticed some types of book are more often stolen by thieves. For some reason, thieves were interested in guitar tablature books (of popular metal or grunge cds) and/or books about vampires. No idea why.
Quote from: Werekoala;414606"Funny" thing is, if they had taken just about anything else it wouldn't have bothered me as much. 1st problem- stealing things I had borrowed from someone else. 2nd problem - stealing RPG books. 3rd problem - being hellspawned crack-sucking ass masters.
Blah, what dildos.
Quote from: Cranewings;414607You wouldn't want that here. In the us we put away a fucking lot of innocent people. Another reason why I like the public ass kicking - once it is over you can go back to normal life. So many innocents go to death row, they need a chance for it to be overturned.
An article which asserts it's more expensive to execute someone on death row, than it is to lock them up for life.
http://law.jrank.org/pages/5002/Capital-Punishment-COSTS-CAPITAL-PUNISHMENT.html
Quote from: ggroy;414609Anecdotally, I've noticed some types of book are more often stolen by thieves. For some reason, thieves were interested in guitar tablature books (of popular metal or grunge cds) and/or books about vampires. No idea why.
Tablature books probably used to have pretty good resale/pawn shop value compared to most any other book; I used to see them a lot at pawn shops along with the guitars.
Books with vampires often prominently depict cleavage on the jacket art, so that probably explains that one.
Wow. That sucks mightily.
I feel for you.
Werekoala, it pains me to hear about that...
Did you have a look around the area... like in back alley dumpsters and such? A lot of times those tweekers will smash and grab and not even look in the bag until they're a block or so away... if they don't like what they see (meaning it doesn't look like they'd be able to hawk it right away for cash) they'll ditch it right there. I used to work in a strip mall and was always finding stolen purses and random merchandise in the dumpster out back.
I don't know, I think it is money well spent. If they are found innocent, they get out and the money was totally worth it. If not, I'd rather they be dead.
Quote from: Cranewings;414615If not, I'd rather they be dead.
Death by being burned at the stake alive. :rolleyes:
Goddamn fucking knobloids. Losing cash or something expensive and generic is bad enough, but having books stolen that you've spent time selecting and collecting is awful.
I assume you've notified the cops, which isn't always pointless. The thieves may get nabbed for something else and the books could turn up in their posession.
And don't be too quick to assume they've been binned or burnt. Thieves can be very entrepreneurial. Keep an eye on Ebay and local pawnshops/used book shops to see if the collection turns up.
Rough luck, man.
Quote from: Hairfoot;414625Goddamn fucking knobloids. Losing cash or something expensive and generic is bad enough, but having books stolen that you've spent time selecting and collecting is awful.
I assume you've notified the cops, which isn't always pointless. The thieves may get nabbed for something else and the books could turn up in their posession.
And don't be too quick to assume they've been binned or burnt. Thieves can be very entrepreneurial. Keep an eye on Ebay and local pawnshops/used book shops to see if the collection turns up.
Getting 10 bucks or less for a few stolen rpg books, probably isn't worth their time.
It may be a different story if they're better organized, where the money isn't to get a drug fix.
Quote from: ggroy;414627Getting 10 bucks or less for a few stolen rpg books, probably isn't worth their time.
Probably. I mentioned it because during my bookshop days I once filled an insurance order for a guy whose entire library was stolen by burglars. Obviously they thought they could offload the loot, and this was before the internet was everywhere.
Hairfoot, thanks for the words of encouragement. I know we've butted heads before, but the solidarity of gamers makes me feel warm and fuzzy. :)
I intend to head for the local dumpsters and such first thing in the morning, just in case.
Quote from: Werekoala;414632Hairfoot, thanks for the words of encouragement. I know we've butted heads before, but the solidarity of gamers makes me feel warm and fuzzy. :)
Oh, we have huge differences of opinion on some topics, but ultimately we're only arguing about the best way to maximise the availability of Good Things on planet earth. Please don't ever think that I wish you any personal harm.
Only gamers can appreciate the true worth of what's been stolen, and if I could I'd hand out some very un-liberal, extra-judicial punishment to those responsible! Due process be damned.
L.A.M.E :( :mad: ...thieves be damned.
check some of the local used book stores etc. as well as dumpsters in the area. In this age of economic challenge anything worth money will be sold. There has been a glut of used stuff at my LFGS as of late (I got a 1ed. C&S very good cond. for $15 !) so don't dispare yet, though you may have to buy back the items...
good luck. :)
Sorry Werekoala, that's amazingly crappy. Going to New Orleans this weekend. I'll pick up a couple of voodoo dolls for you and and work a curse on the rat bastards.
Aww man, I'm really sorry to hear that, Werekoala. Hope your books turn up by freak chance - fingers crossed from here.
Quote from: ggroy;414601Public beheadings. Bringing back the guillotine as a form of capital punishment. :rolleyes:
People here have no imagination. Tie up their limbs and throw them in a shallow pool of leeches.
Quote from: ggroy;414601Public beheadings. Bringing back the guillotine as a form of capital punishment. :rolleyes:
Just to point out it's not called guillotine. That bastard Frenchman plaigerised it. It's properly called a Halifax Gibbet.
Just while we're on the topic of theives.
That totally blows. You have my sympathy.
I hate to think about what was lost from your thumb drive. Thieves once stole a laptop that did have all of my gaming files and campaign material at the time. Consequently, I started backing up all of that stuff on Google Docs or Dropbox (http://www.dropbox.com/).
Sorry man.
Quote from: Werekoala;414586Not asking for anything but lots of Black Bug Room sympathy and a few curses thrown the way of those fucking morons. Seriously, if you are running a game this weekend, have a couple of petty thieves turned inside out by some vile Dark Elder God for me.
Those FUCKERS! :rant:
Oh, yeah, I can relate. I
can relate (http://fomalhaut.rpg4.me/2010/03/03/the-railway-station-haul/). :banghead:
Quote from: Hairfoot;414629Probably. I mentioned it because during my bookshop days I once filled an insurance order for a guy whose entire library was stolen by burglars. Obviously they thought they could offload the loot, and this was before the internet was everywhere.
Did this guy's library have lots of rare books?
Sounds like the thieves possibly canvassed a private book collection (or bookshop) previously, and knew exactly what to take. They probably already had a "buyer" in advanced to fence or sell the stolen merchandise. Better organized than the typical street thief.
Sorry to hear about getting robbed, Werekoala. :(
Quote from: ggroy;414691Did this guy's library have lots of rare books?
Sounds like the thieves possibly canvassed a private book collection (or bookshop) previously, and knew exactly what to take. They probably already had a "buyer" in advanced to fence or sell the stolen merchandise. Better organized than the typical street thief.
Possibly some rare books, but the shop I was at didn't supply those anyway. It was mostly non-fiction and a huge load of sci-fi and fantasy. Strangely, they left a large number of textbooks, which have a far better resale value. So, yeah, probably had a buyer lined up already.
Still, if a street thief can sell a laptop for profit, how much more effort does it take to find a buyer for D&D books?
Quote from: Hairfoot;414979Strangely, they left a large number of textbooks, which have a far better resale value.
I would have thought old textbooks would be almost next to worthless. From friends who worked previous at a college campus bookstore, I was told that only the latest editions in good condition still have some resale value. Previous editions and stuff older than 10 years old that isn't used anymore in classes, have very little to no resale value.
Quote from: Hairfoot;414979Still, if a street thief can sell a laptop for profit, how much more effort does it take to find a buyer for D&D books?
I would guess laptops are more of a "commodity" than D&D books. Probably a bigger pool of buyers for stolen laptops than for D&D books in a particular area.
If they're familiar with the value of D&D or rpg books in general, they can make something from it. If they're organized, they can probably try selling it to a place like noble knight. Thieves looking for easy fast cash, probably aren't going to be doing this.
Quote from: ggroy;414987I would have thought old textbooks would be almost next to worthless. From friends who worked previous at a college campus bookstore, I was told that only the latest editions in good condition still have some resale value. Previous editions and stuff older than 10 years old that isn't used anymore in classes, have very little to no resale value.
As you say, it's only recent editions that fetch good prices, but those prices are better than second-hand fiction. I didn't go into that much detail with the guy.
Maybe I'm crediting smash-n-grab thieves with too much initiative.
Talk with local stores that buy used books. Give them a list (maybe with pictures of the covers) of the stolen items. With some luck, you might be able to recover all the books when the thief tries to sell one of them.
Quote from: Hairfoot;415056As you say, it's only recent editions that fetch good prices, but those prices are better than second-hand fiction. I didn't go into that much detail with the guy.
Over the years I've noticed a lot of second-hand fiction is around 6 bucks or less per paperback book, at nearby second hand bookstores. For second handed copies of recent editions of popular textbooks, I've seen them for as high as $75 to $100 for something like a 1000+ pages latest edition of a calculus or engineering textbook. Brand new, these same textbooks would be more than $150 on amazon.
Quote from: Hairfoot;415056Maybe I'm crediting smash-n-grab thieves with too much initiative.
They're probably too stoned and/or too dumb, to have that much initiative. :pundit: