My security camera's going back online as soon as I get the insurance check. Finger crossed that happens. When I first set up this office/studio it was well-protected. Motion-sensor alarms, motion-sensor infrared camera, bars on the windows. I even walled off the attic so no one could get in that way.
 
But I got complacent. The computer that the camera had been connected to died, and I couldn't afford to replace it. The batteries went dead in the alarms. Only the door stood between me and tragedy. That door's getting replaced tomorrow and the frame reinforced. Batteries are going back into the alarms. Protections for the house are going in today. 
 
My complacency seemed justified, because I am in a quiet location at the end of a long driveway. The property is completely fenced, and most of the neighbors are the kind of people who'd call the cops for you if they saw anything suspicious. Most of the neighbors, anyway. All it takes is one household with unemployed teens to ruin everything.
 
So you're absolutely right, Bob. One must remain vigilant and prepared - even if you think you're in a respectable low-crime suburb where things like that don't happen. Surprise! They happen everywhere these days.
 
 

is there any way you can train a camera at this "household with unemployed teens" to catch them in the act of loading stuff into a car etc? Sometimes you have to put yourself in the minds (such that exists of them) of these scumbags and speculate on what you might do with a haul of your neighbor's goodies. Would you stash it in your house until the heat died down, thinking that it would be crazy to try and sell the stuff while the victim hasn't yet given up looking for it? Or would you want to get it out of the house as soon as possible in case the cops showed up with a warrant? I can't help thinking of your hard drives just sitting somewhere, untouched. They might not have even hooked them up yet. 

Sorry to hear this. Sounds like reading this thread that if it is your neighbors then they like to move at night. What is really disturbing is the fact that it sounds like your local police don't wanna be bothered with anything except such things that might glamorize them and get them on social media like You Tube highlight's/Facebook and such things. 
 
I can't stand thieves!!! They are the worse, because the thing is that it's not about them stealing what might make them have a little cash, it's about them taking away what you can't put a price on like your master tracks that matter to you the most. I understand. 
 
If your PC had WIFI then use your phone if you have a WIFI phone and see if it's broadcasting from your neighbors house. If so, call the police, that would be OBVIOUS evidence that they stole your stuff if they plug in and turn your PC on and it has WIFI. Should be more than enough for them to get a warrant and search their house for your stolen items. 
 
Man I hope you get all your stuff back, especially your master tracks because I know how that is. I trusted this site to keep all my stuff online and put all my master tracks on there site and made some changes with my PC setup, then a PC CRASH and nothing was backed up ended up losing all my master tracks I had backed up online. Reason why was because the site shut down for good. So I know how it feels to lose all your hard work. 
 
For me, I dunno, maybe it was a good thing, because the music that mattered the most was created by and from me, and I guess if it was meant to be then depending on what I choose to do, then it will either be lost or brought back to life by me if it so. So I guess you could say, I didn't lose memories with the music I made, I lost idea's because I am much more improved since then. But it wasn't a loss, it was more of a learning progress. 
 
I hope they catch whoever done this to you. I don't ever use Craig List because there are too many horror stories I've heard on the news about such things, but I'll keep my eyes opened for the items you listed earlier in this thread. Best of luck man!!!
 
 

What has come as the biggest surprise is the psychological effect this has had on me. Paranoia, anger, insomnia, loss of appetite. It sucks. At least my late wife isn't here to experience it. She'd have never let me hear the end of it. When I do sleep and dream, I hear her voice saying "I told you so".
 
From talking to people and cops, I gather that Craigslist is no longer popular for selling stolen stuff directly because it's too risky. Apparently they've switched to an app called OfferUp. I had intended to get it for my phone but my Play Store account has been invalid since I cancelled my credit card.
 
Got the new CC yesterday (which UPS had tossed over my gate and left lying in the grass all day) so now I can now re-activate my Google account. UPS also tossed a new purchase from Sweetwater over the fence and left it there all day. Fortunately, my gate is out of sight of the thieves' house. That reminds me, I have to change my Netflix account too...
 
I still don't have the new door installed, but should have it this week. My stepson's business neighbor is a door & window guy, who's going to find something inexpensive for me. Still going to be a few hundred bucks I can't afford, but dammit, those f*cktards are NOT going to get me again! Today's project is to try and get the security camera working, a surprisingly challenging task. 

craigb

Rain
 
EDIT: I might have understood if it were Wagner... But it wasn't.

Let's see, then ... 
 
I feel like I took a nice dose of LSD25 after Stravinsky!
 
I thought I had just gotten laid, after Tchaikovsky!
 
I think I fell asleep in my dreams with Debussy!
 
I really wanted to think that all those singers were gay in a few Russian operas!
 
I really DID, fall asleep after the fist album/side of any Wagner opera!
 
I had a H_____ after listening to ... Turandot!
 
I'm not even sure how I felt after listening to some rock'n'roll ... it was too loud and not better than many of these!
 
And if you want to hear a difference, look up an aria in Tosca, but as many tenors as you can find ... and believe it or not, Gigli's is the best of them all, as it is pure emotion, instead of getting your ears drilled by Pavarotti, like Callas used to do in Carmen.
 
Oh, btw, Bit ... I hope the goons responsible for the theft get picked up this week. Assuming the police are not just laughing on their way to their paychecks!

bitflipper
What has come as the biggest surprise is the psychological effect this has had on me. Paranoia, anger, insomnia, loss of appetite. It sucks. At least my late wife isn't here to experience it. She'd have never let me hear the end of it. When I do sleep and dream, I hear her voice saying "I told you so".
 

 
It's something I never appreciated until it happened to us.  You hear of this sort of thing happening to people, and you think "man, that sucks..", which is an inadequate exercise in empathy.  It doesn't just "suck", it's a nightmare and a crisis of the soul.  Particularly since we're talking about our intellectual and emotional work, our creations and personal investment and purpose.  It's deeply personal and intimate.  It's where many of us find the very value in ourselves and our lives.  If that is stolen, it's like part of our lives, our past, was stolen.  The evidence of our existence, snatched away.  
 
I found that I turned into a bit of a flake after this incident.  Gone, was the confident, reliable decision maker, replaced by an insecure snow flake.  Don't let that happen to you.  
 
Also, hard as it may be, try not to let this lose your faith in humanity.  No matter how cruel and nefarious people can be, they are always dramatically outnumbered by good people.  Always.  Way more good than bad in the world. As humans, we seem to focus and lament on the bad elements of life, without really absorbing the good that got us here.  Maybe that's the doom of progress and evolution, I don't know.  But I have to constantly remind myself of these things to keep from being an angry cynic.  
 
 
 

AW, MAN, BIT....
 
now i understand your comment in my thief thread.
 
MF's.....
i hate em.
 
'fortune has it that you will pay'
 
i hope they do.
 
sorry for your troubles, man,
as cheap as they are, get a portable drive to keep off site.
 
 

If the replacement is a wood door I would also suggest adding these around the deadbolt and locking handle set.
 
http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?partNumber=243480-76018-U+9548-L&langId=-1&storeId=10151&productId=3407788&catalogId=10051&cmRelshp=req&rel=nofollow&cId=PDIO1
 
While they appear decorative, they do re-enforce the door. If you look at the standard bolt/latch in the door, the surrounding is only about 1/2" of wood. Also make sure the heavy duty strikes (not the ones that come with the locks) has LONG screws to go into the backing stud and not just into the jamb. While these won't stop someone that is truly determined, it may prevent those that are less resolute. When working as maintenance in apartments, I have seen and repaired more than my share of kicked-in doors. I have had a couple of thefts as well. Some attempts were stopped by using the above. While the sleeves, locks and jamb were damaged, they didn't get in.
 
Preferable your friend can put in a steel door and frame for you.  As a reminder, they know you will likely replace all the stuff and may plan to visit again in the future.

Dear Bitflipper,
  I am so sorry and sad about your loss.  Please take care of yourself.
Love, Jeffrey

A book I read some time ago about crime in the US made one somewhat gratifying point.  Criminals almost always get caught, just probably not for the crime in which you were the victim.  But sooner or later they make a mistake.  If they weren't stupid, they'd have found a much less risky way of obtaining money.