One Year Anniversary of Mike being burgled

["Michael McGeachie" <mmcgeach@>]

GSB Important Announcements -

1.  GSB Announcements will precede this week's humorous retrospective tale
of adventure, instead of following it, in the hope that more than $e$ people
read them.

2.  GSB is now proud to offer a FREE BEVERAGE to anyone we explicitly
mention by name or other unambiguous reference in the GSB announcements.*
To claim your beverage you must attend GSB on the day you were mentioned or
the following week.  We realize faculty may be busier, and will thus allow
faculty members mentioned to redeem their free beverage at anytime within
the semester. 

3.  GSB features homemade rootbeer this week!  We suggest you bring your own
mug or stein to try Mike and Tracy's concoction!


And so, loyal fans, it's that time of year again.  No, not International
Talk like a Pirate Day (www.talklikeapirate.com), that was last week.  It's
in fact the anniversary of my apartment's burglary, and someone was
mentioning that there was never a GSB message about that incident, and that
ought to be rectified.  And so, we set the stage: it was September of 2003,
on a Friday afternoon, maybe 3pm, when I was just waking up and starting my
morning routine.  I put on some coffee and blindly flipped on my computer.
I wanted to check email and see if my advisor had comments on my paper
draft.  Our internet service was acting up again, so I'd have to deal with
email when I got into the office, I thought.  I grabbed a sip of coffee and
stumbled into the shower.  Soon I heard a bang as the front door opened.  I
figured one of my roommates must be getting done with work, it being close
to 330pm on a Friday.  I finished up.  Wet and clothed in a towel, I went
back to my bedroom to find a tall gentleman trying to unplug my laptop from
the monitor, mouse, and keyboard I used.  
   "Hey, What are you doing?" I said.  It was clear he was having trouble
with those stupid screw-in monitor plugs, and couldn't get it disconnected.
"Are you here to fix the internet service?"
   "Oh, uh, sorry man.  See you later," said the burglar.  He then got up,
leaving my laptop in place, and called to his buddy the other burglar who
was busy unhooking my roommate's laptop, "We go."  
   And out they went, closing the front door behind them.  I figured I'd eat
something and maybe get dressed before calling the police.  So I called my
roommate to tell him someone stole his laptop, and he came home to check
things out.  It turned out the laptop was about 10 years old and worth at
most 50$, so my roommate only bemoaned the lost collection of porn stored on
the laptop.  We figured calling the Police was a good idea, as was
installing a new lock on the door, since the current one had been forced
open.  We started looking through the blue pages and the yellow pages, but
couldn't find a number for the police other than 911, and that didn't seem
appropriate because it didn't seem like an emergency.  
   "I've got it!" exclaimed my roommate, and we went down to the Dunkin
Donuts on the corner, where, sure enough, two cop cars were parked.  "We've
just been burglarized," we explained.  They came by and took a report and
all, but ultimately weren't able to do much.  I'd later look through mugshot
books at the station, but wouldn't find anyone I felt confident enough to
accuse.  
   Even though the burglars had gotten 50$ worth of electronics, my
quick-witted, sure-footed, and towel-beclothed action had prevented a much
bigger loss.  This, I realized, was the start of something good.  Something
called...  The Adventures of Recently-Showered Guy!  I could roam the city
as a vigilante, wearing nothing but a towel and armed with little more than
a shampoo bottle, stopping crime!
   "Huzzah!  Stop, thief!" would be my battle-cry!
   "Uh, ok, sure, towel-guy.  Just don't get too excited." **



            +-                                                  -+
              girl scout benefit -+-  5:30 pm  -+- 32-G9 lounge
            +-                                                  -+

               For those coming from elsewhere: Building 32 is
                <http://whereis.mit.edu/map-jpg?selection=32>
           Once you are in 32, just take the G-elevator to the 9th
       floor and we will be in the lounge that you will be looking at



* GSB Staff, den-mothers, and guest writers are not eligible.

** This week the only entities able to claim a free beverage are in fact the
two burglars, the cop from the Dunkin Donuts, my advisor, and the founders
of www.talklikeapirate.com. 


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