10/31/2023: Localization News - Dead of the Brain 1!
This past Saturday night/Sunday morning, someone broke into my car and took all of my audio equipment. If you'll indulge me for just a few moments, I want to vent a small bit:
I do not drive a flashy car; in fact, it looks pretty ugly by most accounts: '97 Civic with peeling paint and scratched-up hubcaps. I don't care for cars in general, nor do I like driving; it's simply never been my thing. In fact, when my wife and I go somewhere, 9 times out of 10 she drives because I dislike it so much. Most days, I want to be in my car as little as possible. The one ray of sunshine I could look forward to, was being able to play the music I like through a quality sound system. It's quite literally the only thing I like about driving, ever.
Despite my car being equipped with 2 amplifiers and a pair of 12" subwoofers, I do not drive down the road with my music roaring away, and generally only "crank it" on the freeway, or long roads where I'm not likely to attract attention or offend anyone... especially not near my house. I don't play rap music, and while a lot of the music I do like has a lot of bass, I built my sound system for quality; not volume. I like music, and when I get in my car, I want it to sound as good as possible. I always turn down my stereo when I'm nearing my neighborhood, in order to avoid having people know that I own some halfway decent equipment. While the area in which I live is not really crime-ridden, it's also not the ritziest part of town, and my wife did have a car stolen from our driveway about 4 years ago. Still, things are pretty quiet and uneventful around here.
My wife and I keep to ourselves, and we don't associate with drug users, thieves or other such riff raff (two things I can't stand in life are a thief, and a liar). Between us, we have about 4 friends, not counting family. I am extraordinarily strict about who I keep company with, and no one enters my house or car without being completely trustworthy. Absolutely none of my relatives or friends would ever be a party to any sort of crime.
I mention all of the above so no one here thinks I'm the type of guy who had this coming to him, by way of irresponsibility or associating with the sort of lowlife this type of thing requires. This was either a random theft, or someone following me across town without my knowledge and making note of where I live, in order to partake of my property at a later time.
What disappoints me the most, besides the loss of the equipment, is how hard I worked to build the system to begin with, and now I've nothing to show for it. Four years ago, my dad and I, with no prior knowledge, carefully designed, wired, and built a really excellent audio installation. Top notch cable management, great amplifier placement, upper range accessories... the whole bit. None of my stuff was absolutely top-of-the-line, but it was all high quality gear that took me weeks of research to narrow down, and of course, hundreds of dollars to buy. My old head unit (read: stereo for the uninitiated) gave up the ghost about 2 months ago, and I spent a couple weeks determining just the right one to replace it with. It was still pretty much brand new, moderately expensive, and as such, it stings just a little more than the other pieces.
Now all that remains is a salad of loose and frayed wires in my trunk and a gaping hole in my dashboard.
As I mentioned earlier, I'm not a fan of driving (or being in a car at all), so the last couple of drives to work have been really disheartening. I haven't been on the site much in the last couple days because of this. I mentioned a few times to folks here that I am planning a Thanksgiving raffle. That's still gonna happen, but I've been so distracted and frustrated with the whole affair that it's probably still gonna be a few more days. My apologies for the delay, but don't worry -- it's still on.
Anyway, if you read this far, thanks for taking the time. I mainly just wanted to get that off my chest. If any of you have had something similar happen, you likely know precisely how I'm feeling right now. I'll be over it in a few days, but for right now, it feels good just to tell the story to someone, and you folks are always really nice, so I wanted to share. Thanks again!
I do not drive a flashy car; in fact, it looks pretty ugly by most accounts: '97 Civic with peeling paint and scratched-up hubcaps. I don't care for cars in general, nor do I like driving; it's simply never been my thing. In fact, when my wife and I go somewhere, 9 times out of 10 she drives because I dislike it so much. Most days, I want to be in my car as little as possible. The one ray of sunshine I could look forward to, was being able to play the music I like through a quality sound system. It's quite literally the only thing I like about driving, ever.
Despite my car being equipped with 2 amplifiers and a pair of 12" subwoofers, I do not drive down the road with my music roaring away, and generally only "crank it" on the freeway, or long roads where I'm not likely to attract attention or offend anyone... especially not near my house. I don't play rap music, and while a lot of the music I do like has a lot of bass, I built my sound system for quality; not volume. I like music, and when I get in my car, I want it to sound as good as possible. I always turn down my stereo when I'm nearing my neighborhood, in order to avoid having people know that I own some halfway decent equipment. While the area in which I live is not really crime-ridden, it's also not the ritziest part of town, and my wife did have a car stolen from our driveway about 4 years ago. Still, things are pretty quiet and uneventful around here.
My wife and I keep to ourselves, and we don't associate with drug users, thieves or other such riff raff (two things I can't stand in life are a thief, and a liar). Between us, we have about 4 friends, not counting family. I am extraordinarily strict about who I keep company with, and no one enters my house or car without being completely trustworthy. Absolutely none of my relatives or friends would ever be a party to any sort of crime.
I mention all of the above so no one here thinks I'm the type of guy who had this coming to him, by way of irresponsibility or associating with the sort of lowlife this type of thing requires. This was either a random theft, or someone following me across town without my knowledge and making note of where I live, in order to partake of my property at a later time.
What disappoints me the most, besides the loss of the equipment, is how hard I worked to build the system to begin with, and now I've nothing to show for it. Four years ago, my dad and I, with no prior knowledge, carefully designed, wired, and built a really excellent audio installation. Top notch cable management, great amplifier placement, upper range accessories... the whole bit. None of my stuff was absolutely top-of-the-line, but it was all high quality gear that took me weeks of research to narrow down, and of course, hundreds of dollars to buy. My old head unit (read: stereo for the uninitiated) gave up the ghost about 2 months ago, and I spent a couple weeks determining just the right one to replace it with. It was still pretty much brand new, moderately expensive, and as such, it stings just a little more than the other pieces.
Now all that remains is a salad of loose and frayed wires in my trunk and a gaping hole in my dashboard.
As I mentioned earlier, I'm not a fan of driving (or being in a car at all), so the last couple of drives to work have been really disheartening. I haven't been on the site much in the last couple days because of this. I mentioned a few times to folks here that I am planning a Thanksgiving raffle. That's still gonna happen, but I've been so distracted and frustrated with the whole affair that it's probably still gonna be a few more days. My apologies for the delay, but don't worry -- it's still on.
Anyway, if you read this far, thanks for taking the time. I mainly just wanted to get that off my chest. If any of you have had something similar happen, you likely know precisely how I'm feeling right now. I'll be over it in a few days, but for right now, it feels good just to tell the story to someone, and you folks are always really nice, so I wanted to share. Thanks again!
Console Repair/Mod Center