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mcahill · Feb 27, 2005, 09:19 PM

I thought you guys would enjoy the story of my first-gen iPod being returned to me after being stolen nearly two years ago. To summarize, a kid came up to an old high school art teacher of mine asking to get "his" iPod recharged, and my teacher found my name under the iPod's About menu and got the kid arrested. Apparently he never reformatted the thing and I'll be getting it back next week complete with all my music from that time on the drive. How cool is that?

The whole story is available here at my blog.

I can't wait to get the damn thing back!!!

ManOfSteal · Feb 27, 2005, 09:25 PM

Disgruntled Head of C-3PO · Feb 27, 2005, 09:25 PM

Cool but I am surprised the teacher said in an email that the kid is a moron.

memory-minus · Feb 27, 2005, 09:27 PM

Originally posted by Disgruntled Head of C-3PO:
Cool but I am surprised the teacher said in an email that the kid is a moron.

If the shoe fits...

Great story!

mcahill · Feb 27, 2005, 09:51 PM

Yeah, I think I'm going to edit that to take out the moron comment. Don't want to get him in trouble after being so nice to me!

Xeo · Feb 28, 2005, 01:31 AM

Originally posted by mcahill:
Yeah, I think I'm going to edit that to take out the moron comment. Don't want to get him in trouble after being so nice to me!

Oh that's why I didn't get what SWG was talking about. You're high school teacher really told you the kid was a moron? That doesn't sound like a very good teacher...

Anyway, cool story.

Webscreamer · Feb 28, 2005, 01:36 AM

My 5gig was stolen about a month ago in a computer lab and it was sitting right next to me. I went to get something in my bag.... the person next to me grabbed it and booked.

I knew I shouldn't have renamed it from my real name

Albert Pujols · Feb 28, 2005, 02:00 AM

Great story.

Originally posted by Xeo:
You're high school teacher really told you the kid was a moron?

Your.

Xeo · Feb 28, 2005, 02:09 AM

Originally posted by Albert Pujols:
Your.

Oh, right. It happens.

mcahill · Feb 28, 2005, 02:19 AM

Well you do have to take into consideration that we've been really good friends since my early years of high school, and have carried that over to college. It was much more like a friend calling this guy a moron rather than a teacher. You can be certain he didn't say that to the other school authorities!

Big Mac · Feb 28, 2005, 06:27 AM

Congratulations on getting your iPod back. I imagine the probability of such a thing happening is nearly as high as getting struck by lightning.

Eriamjh · Feb 28, 2005, 08:08 AM

He's not a moron. He's an a$$hole. Only an a$$hole steals someone's iPod.

Apple Pro Underwear · Feb 28, 2005, 10:21 AM

press charges and make sure you do everything possible to get the FULL F*CKING BOOK THROWN AT HIS ASS.

and keep us updated.

Scifience · Feb 28, 2005, 10:30 AM

Originally posted by Big Mac:
Congratulations on getting your iPod back. I imagine the probability of such a thing happening is nearly as high as getting struck by lightning.

In other words, don't go outside the next time there's a thunderstorm.

Zimphire · Feb 28, 2005, 10:53 AM

Originally posted by Eriamjh:
He's not a moron. He's an a$$hole. Only an a$$hole steals someone's iPod.

He wasn't a moron for stealing it. He was a moron for not reformatting it after he stole it to get rid of all evidence.

mcahill · Feb 28, 2005, 11:02 AM

Unfortunately it appears that I can't press charges since I originally never filed a police report. Dumb at the time but given the probablility of something actually turning up the school said to not worry about it. Oh well I can just take solace in the fact that the school is investigating him and probably going to press charges for also stealing a bunch of Texas Instruments TI-83 calculators too

And Zimphire, that's exactly why he was a moron. He had it for two years and never thought to erase the only contact information! Oh well, worked out in the end

d4nth3m4n · Feb 28, 2005, 11:06 AM

so you're telling me that a first gen iPod holds a charge for two years?

damn.

EDIT: oh, read the blog entry makes a lot more sense now.

Cadaver · Feb 28, 2005, 01:28 PM

This doophus should be up for a Darwin Award special mention.

Eriamjh · Feb 28, 2005, 07:38 PM

I hope you gave the kid a good punch in the stomach.

mcahill · Feb 28, 2005, 07:57 PM

Oh rest assured if they ever tell me who it was I'll make some form of contact...most likely to his face. Haha that's probably part of the reason why they aren't telling me!

Sosa · Feb 28, 2005, 08:49 PM

I wish I could get my first generation iPod returned too. I lost it three months after I purchased it back in March 2002. Not sure if it fell of my motorcycle or if I left it in an open gym locker. Never seen it since. I was depressed for two days.

All that remained was the charger, which I sold on Ebay for $20.

Veronica · Mar 1, 2005, 02:14 AM

Originally posted by mcahill:
I thought you guys would enjoy the story of my first-gen iPod being returned to me after being stolen nearly two years ago. To summarize, a kid came up to an old high school art teacher of mine asking to get "his" iPod recharged, and my teacher found my name under the iPod's About menu and got the kid arrested. Apparently he never reformatted the thing and I'll be getting it back next week complete with all my music from that time on the drive. How cool is that?

The whole story is available here at my blog.

I can't wait to get the damn thing back!!!

I'm still wating for my iPod to return... Nearly 2 years since mine was stolen as well. But hey, I got a new 40GB instead of 15GB since I had receipt for both

mcahill · Mar 1, 2005, 03:19 AM

Originally posted by Veronica:
I'm still wating for my iPod to return... Nearly 2 years since mine was stolen as well. But hey, I got a new 40GB instead of 15GB since I had receipt for both

Dang, why didn't I think of that?

jbartone · Mar 1, 2005, 06:46 AM

Originally posted by Disgruntled Head of C-3PO:
Cool but I am surprised the teacher said in an email that the kid is a moron.

Does it really? He's a criminal, after all.

Big Mac · Mar 1, 2005, 08:44 AM

People were surprised that the teacher would call the thief a moron, since teachers are usually reserved with their comments about kids. It's strange that mcahill's teacher friend would not give him the name of the culprit. On the other hand, it may well have been a friend of the OP, and in that case I bet the teacher is withholding the information out of kindness. Back in the 7th grade I used to keep lunch money in a pouch in my back pack, in a plastic pouch. One day I realized someone stole it, probably during an assembly I had attended. I always suspected it was a particular "friend" of mine, based on his personality and the fact that a friend would know where I kept the money. I carried a wallet from that day forward.

When I am out and about my iPod never leaves my person. These are small, hugely popular devices, and leaving them alone is tantamount to begging petty thieves. I am not taking anyone to task - just stating fact.