PRS-350 PRS-350 Stolen in a Careless Moment!

[halipleumon]

oh my goodness! i almost did this. i went clothes shopping right after an early morning shift and a full day at school. i changed into the new clothes in the mall bathroom, and very nearly transferred my PRS-350 from my schoolbag to this bag, so that i could more easily access it during my commute. i decided against it. i later left the bag of old clothes and a few new ones behind after i stopped to roll myself a smoke. some people behind me quickly realized my mistake and took my bag. i walked half a block before i realized i'd lost my clothes, but i was more upset by the fact i may have left my reader behind. sorry for your loss. <3

[SolRaven]

That sucks! Did you have you name on the back or anything? I have faith in NY'ers. I had a friend leave his wallet on a pay phone w/ $200. The guy who found it looked inside and called his office on his business card. He got his wallet back with all the cash in it. They guy who found it refused a reward.

Here's hoping you have similar luck.

[lestatar]

^ Indeed, this can happen, even in NYC. But I think in this case, even with a name/contact info...probably not.

[Bro Pete]

When I got my 650 I looked at it and realized just how easy it would be for someone to pick it up and hide it. For my standby screen I made a sort of bookplate. At the bottom in a small font I put my name and number and the promise of a reward if found.

I recently lost a camera in a similar circumstance. And I have decided to photoshop a picture with contact information and save it in an obvious place on the camera. That picture will have a title that would catch the attention of someone looking for who it belongs to. Hopefully someone will return it next time.

[SolRaven]

Originally Posted by lestatar

^ Indeed, this can happen, even in NYC. But I think in this case, even with a name/contact info...probably not.

Yeah, and my friend was a lawyer, which was clearly written on his business cards. The guy who found it didn't think twice about not keeping it.

[graycyn]

You have my sympathy and best wishes for finding a replacement at an affordable price. I would totally be depressed if my Sony were stolen.

[Prestidigitweeze]

Thanks, everyone, for the sympathetic and supportive replies. I hadn't returned here until now because focusing on the theft seemed too depressing.

To those who asked whether I work for Goldman Sachs, the answer is no. However, I live in NYC, and nearly everyone is affected by waves of layoffs. Since GS is letting people go, it's likely that law firms will do the same fourth quarter, which could affect everyone else. My girlfriend had been a web designer for five years when she was laid off in early 2009 by an apparently unrelated company. That's why I'm trying not to be extravagant: I'm an editor, Jim, not a tycoon.

The loss is a reminder to me to get out of the habit of playing with two gadgets at once. Part of my distraction came from devoting a slice of my attention to protecting my smartphone.

Originally Posted by Bro Pete

I have decided to photoshop a picture with contact information and save it in an obvious place on the camera. That picture will have a title that would catch the attention of someone looking for who it belongs to. Hopefully someone will return it next time.

That's a great idea, but I have two issues with it:

1. Identity theft is the most common kind in NYC and I'm not sure I want to give a thief even more info.

With my phone, Kindle or PRS-950, I'd have to worry about passwords and online theft (though I try to keep even mildly sensitive data on an SD which I only insert into my 950 when necessary). Because my 350 has no web access and stores no personal info, I'm relatively safe. My biggest problem will be if the thief decides to copy and distribute my library, which contained about three unpublished books of mine -- collections of stories and poems, and a morbid faux children's book I've been finessing for the past four years. I'm terrified someone's going to steal the title.

2. I love having thirty pictures that can appear as my screensaver, and I'm not certain the person who picks up the camera will bother going over them. A single screensaver photo with contact info seems like the best option, but that would make my life less fun.

Sony needs to allow us to change the words of the optional message that accompanies all screensaver photos. If PRS+ allowed that option, I'd switch to it immediately and put my most harmless contact info there: My first name and telephone number.

[Prestidigitweeze]

A few more replies to my kind respondents:

Originally Posted by lestatar

@OP: Man, that sucks. I know that exact Starbucks you are talking about...

If you know the spot, then you know its clientele consists of tourists and scavengers. None of the integrity of real NYC neighborhoods applies. It's like drinking coffee in a crowded bus station: Watch your stuff and don't flaunt your toys.

Originally Posted by SolRaven

That sucks! Did you have you name on the back or anything? I have faith in NY'ers. I had a friend leave his wallet on a pay phone w/ $200. The guy who found it looked inside and called his office on his business card. He got his wallet back with all the cash in it. They guy who found it refused a reward.

Here's hoping you have similar luck.

Originally Posted by lestatar

^ Indeed, this can happen, even in NYC. But I think in this case, even with a name/contact info...probably not.

I very much appreciate the optimism, SolRaven, but in this case, lestatar is right. Besides which, 9/11 and the recession have slid back the collective lid of civility, giving many New Yorkers a surviving castaway's desperation. You don't see it as much in Harlem, the Lower East Side or Williamsberg, but we're talking about City Hall, which is like Grand Central or Penn Station.

[carpetmojo]

Originally Posted by Shopaholic

I would think the deductible would be higher than the cost of a new reader.

I'm sorry for your loss OP. I'd be majorly PO'd at the loss too.

Depends on the policy - check it out !

You pay your premiums for just these sorts of occasions, but policies do vary - daft, and costly, not to at least check !
If, like me, yiou don't speak" legalese", check with your broker if you used one, or just ring the company .

I ran over my own newly purchased camera (don't ask !) and only "paid" my £50 excess, but got £270 towards the replacement - no increased premium (which is normal).

[SolRaven]

Originally Posted by Prestidigitweeze

I very much appreciate the optimism, SolRaven, but in this case, lestatar is right. Besides which, 9/11 and the recession have slid back the collective lid of civility, giving many New Yorkers a surviving castaway's desperation. You don't see it as much in Harlem, the Lower East Side or Williamsberg, but we're talking about City Hall, which is like Grand Central or Penn Station.

That's sad to hear. I haven't been in the city since I moved 5 years ago. I'm planning to visit this summer and I'm hoping it's as lovable as always.

Were you living there during the August 2003 blackout? It was amazing how much community there was in a city of that size.

[lestatar]

^ yes. Look, as a native NYCer I tellya its like this IMO/IME:

NYC is filled with the best and worst of people. Just like any other large metropolis in the world. Period.

It is a fact that NYC is far safer nowadays in terms of violent crime than it was in the 70's, really in my observation since the City Hall Disneyfication of the town [which included massive police manpower increases]. Many native NYCers like myself actually kinda lament the loss of some seedy bit of character in NYC. That's just nostalgia talking...

The area/Starbucks that PD lost his Sony is populated by everyone from Wall Street masters of the universe types to city workers to tourists to vagrants. Indeed, very much like Grand Central Station

People in NYC, like in pretty much every other big city I have visited, generally tend to mind their own business. Its neither good nor bad - just people focused on what they are doing. Which really means that a moment of unfortunate forgetfulness often goes completely unnoticed, leading to the perfect scenario for petty opportunism by those so inclined.

But indeed, things like the 2003 NorthEast Blackout can lead to a sense of community. I was there

Really though, it only lasted like a day as I recall but even in that short period of time, I saw shameless opportunism by a deli owner [16OZ bottles of Poland Spring water being sold for 5USD] on the very same block as an ice cream parlor giving away their stock [since everything was melting already] and a pizza parlor who still was able to make pizzas but were doing it at half price slices/pies until their ingredients ran out. [All the above on 8th Avenue, midtown West where I lived]

Enjoy your trip SolRaven...NYC kicks ass as you know and you will have a blast revisiting! PM me if you want some recent restaurant suggestions from the last 5 years...

[Ripplinger]

Originally Posted by carpetmojo

Depends on the policy - check it out !

You pay your premiums for just these sorts of occasions, but policies do vary - daft, and costly, not to at least check !
If, like me, yiou don't speak" legalese", check with your broker if you used one, or just ring the company .

I ran over my own newly purchased camera (don't ask !) and only "paid" my £50 excess, but got £270 towards the replacement - no increased premium (which is normal).

Exactly. It seems the normal deductible didn't apply to this instance in my case and the rates didn't go up for me as well. It's definitely worth a phone call to inquire about it. The only thing they required since it was a theft was a police report, which you can go down and file any time to satisfy that.

[Ashjuk]

Originally Posted by Prestidigitweeze

If you know the spot, then you know its clientele consists of tourists and scavengers. None of the integrity of real NYC neighborhoods applies. It's like drinking coffee in a crowded bus station: Watch your stuff and don't flaunt your toys.

As a tourist who has travelled to New York on more than one occasion I take exception to that. Whilst you may well be able to speak for the scavengers, who are you to say that tourists have no integrity.

I know you may well be still upset about losing your reader, but to be honest you only have yourself to blame. Perhaps if you had taken more heed of your last sentence you would still have your 350.

[Ditchleyportrait]

saw a prs 350 (silver) for 89$ at radioshack

[Prestidigitweeze]

Ditchleyportrait: Thanks for the excellent tip. I'll call around now and visit a few stores tomorrow.

Edit: If it's convenient for you to do so, Ditchleyportrait, please PM me about the location of the store where you saw that 350.

Originally Posted by Ashjuk

As a tourist who has travelled to New York on more than one occasion I take exception to that. Whilst you may well be able to speak for the scavengers, who are you to say that tourists have no integrity.

Ashjuk:

Everyone, and I mean everyone, is a tourist when they travel, including me. If I were insulting the moral integrity of all tourists, then, logically, that same insult would apply to me, my friends and my family. Even from the most selfish perspective you could invent for me, that sentiment would be far-fetched.

I used the word integrity to modify neighborhood for a reason: the place I'm describing has no integrity as a neighborhood because people don't feel any sense of social/local coherence. The place isn't devoid of a creed because tourists are there, but because, by definition, a place without any sense of local coherence contains only merchants, tourists, drifters and scavengers: merchants who are on the job, tourists who don't live there, drifters who don't live anywhere and scavengers who hope to take advantage of the two middle groups' provisional status.

Grand Central is another example of a place that lacks social integrity or, if you prefer, community-specific coherence. Everyone's en route or looking for a payoff.

know you may well be still upset about losing your reader, but to be honest you only have yourself to blame. Perhaps if you had taken more heed of your last sentence you would still have your 350.

I mention this not for my own sake but for that of my fellow human beings (including you):

(1) Looking for an insult where none is implied will always seem justified because language is ambiguous and is therefore rich with unintended implications. Looking is, however, never conducive to good will.

Better to interpret people's words in the best way and be accused of idealism than to assume the worst and waste your time on earth pasting angry emoticons into endless responses with a knot in your stomach.

(2) For your own sake, don't project insecurities onto others and, for everyone else's, don't use said insecurities as an excuse to try to wound someone who has just suffered a loss. The act won't feel satisfying even to you, it is often predicated on a mistaken perception on your part, and it is a quick way to make yourself look bad at the moment when you think you're being most righteous.

If you suspect someone's being dismissive, then ask them if that's their intention. Don't assume you know their unstated motives and then act out.