|
|
|
|
|
|
#1
02-23-2008, 12:23 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
7 hours. 40 minutes. And Counting. Enough already!
It isn't even something special. An old, beat into the ground, Nissan Sentra. Why would anyone spend the money to install an alarm system in car that can't be worth more than $1000. It doesn't even have a radio in it!
It's a very loud alarm. And it's been filling the neighborhood with it's shrieking horn and siren for 7 hours and 44 minutes. Must have a Diehard battery ... They (the neighbors) left last night to go into Salt Lake for some family thing. The alarm went off at 3:18 AM (according to my clock). It was apparently tripped by a stray cat jumping up on the hood. You can see the muddy paw prints. But, despite all that, I'm not pitting the fucknut 19 year old asshat that has somehow disabled the auto-reset feature that most of these alarms have. Not even the fact that he has the sensitivity up so high that it goes off every time it starts to snow. No, if I the person who has earned my wrath, and therefore this pitting, it is the idiot that called the Sheriff. By the time I got there with my 8 pound sledge hammer to 'disable' the alarm, the Deputy had already arrived*. He says that there really isn't anything anyone can do except let the battery go dead. And he's been sitting out there on the hill for nearly eight hours now watching to make sure someone doesn't vandalize the car to shut the fucking alarm off. Someone like me. I'm still surrounded by idiots. Lucy Alternate Pit Worthy Entity: Sheriff's Department. Doesn't that Deputy have somewhere else to go? No other crimes afoot? Aren't there any good donut shops in town? How 'bout Starbucks? I'll buy ... *Has to be the fastest response time ever. Usually takes two to three days to get them out on something like a 'man with a gun' or a 'domestic violence' call ...
__________________
Frisbeetarianism is the belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck. (Just for the record: She is a He ...) 
|
|
#3
02-23-2008, 12:58 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
This car alarm is mobile. It is not a burglar alarm in a residence. A call placed to the Deputy District Attorney (DDA) this morning apparently places this stupid mobile alarm in a grey area not yet addressed by Nevada case law. At least, apparently, the DDA is unaware of any precedent. IANAL, I do not understand this at all, but the DDA is unwilling to allow the deputy to forcibly enter the vehicle to disable the alarm. DDA currently consulting with higher(?*) authority  to see if public nuisance laws take precedent.**Status: DDA left a message on someone's voicemail ... is waiting for a return call. Still surrounded by idiots. Lucy *Frankly, I think the DDA is *high* enough already. **Okay. Please tell me that you have got to be shitting me! Have hammer. Will deal with it. Pretty sure the kid's insurance will cover it, too. Please look over there ---->> for just a minute ...  On preview: there ain't nobody around to write a ticket or issue anything to! Last edited by LucyInDisguise; 02-23-2008 at 01:01 PM. Reason: Preview a good idea before submit.
|
|
#4
02-23-2008, 01:02 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Ugh. I get annoyed when I accidentally hit my panic button and have to hear the horn beep 4 times before I can shut it off. I feel for your pain.
|
|
#5
02-23-2008, 01:13 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Is there anyone left who thinks car alarms are a good idea? For doing anything other than identifying the owner as a fucking jackass, that is?
No one really thinks "<Gasp!> A car alarm! Someone's vehicle must be getting burglarized! I must call the authorities at once!", so I'd like to extend this pitting to anyone who ever intentionally sets a car alarm.
|
|
#6
02-24-2008, 01:07 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
Car alarms must be outlawed. Oooh, Lucy I have a terrible plan - with the co-operation and knowlege of all the neighbours, I suggest that payback can be a real bitch - for a couple of hours around 3:00 am for the next couple of nights when the neighbours get back in their house. See how *they* like it.
|
|
#7
02-23-2008, 01:04 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
I firmly believe there should be a law that says, if a car alarm goes off for more than 60 seconds, the car's legal protection is removed.
It's one of my many sensible legal suggestions. For example, I also think that if your turn signal has been on for more than 30 seconds, your car's steering wheel ought to go ahead and make the turn for you, and Detroit should be required to build this override into all new cars. Also, if you make a turn without first signaling it--even a lane change--your car should tell you that you have 60 seconds to reach a safe stopping point before the car turns off; highway patrol should carry some sort of device that will allow you to turn your car back on. (We could be forgiving with this law, and allow people, say, two signalless-turns per month before this measure kicks in). Also, my car should have a gravity beam on it that allows me to lift other cars up in the air and gently set them down on the side of the road if they're driving like idiots, and Detroit should be required to build this into any car I drive. Not anyone else's car, because there are some real idiots out there who would abuse such a privilege, and I don't want that. I keep meaning to send these ideas to my senator, but I forget to do it. Daniel
|
|
#8
02-23-2008, 02:44 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
Update: Okay. We can all go on vacation to Fairy Farkle Land. At the sign post up ahead, we will be making a blind left turn into The Twilight Zone. DDA showed up at the scene. Can't get a ruling from a high* authority. It's Saturday, and no one seems to be available. Imagine that. Sheriff (not just one of his Deputies) came out and surveyed the situation. After calmly listening to the complaints and suggestions, he has ruled thusly: Since I and each of 19 of my neighbors are willing to pony up $20 bucks cash ($400 total) he will allow us to call the local towing company and have the thing towed out beyond hearing range and left until the battery dies, at which time the vehicle will be returned to its present location. We're all pretty cool with that. This is the The Twilight Zone part: The DDA insists that an armed constable be provided at taxpayer expense to guard the vehicle until such time as the rightful owner returns to take possession of the vehicle. Even after the vehicle is brought back to it's present location.  Taxpayer expense. To guard a vehicle who's want ad would read: 1997 Nissan Sentra. Blue. Runs. Good Alarm System. $500 obo. 555-7777. I happen, by a really strange coincidence, to own a 1998 Nissan Sentra. I doubt it's worth more than $500 and it's in much better condition than this piece of shit noise maker. Will the county provide a guard for my car when I leave town???? I just want to know what kind of battery this POS has in it. 9 hours, 21 minutes. And counting. Tow truck at least 45 minutes out.  Lucy *That ain't no typo of the word higher. Although a case could certainly be made for the increasing level of the DDA's apparent highness. Last edited by LucyInDisguise; 02-23-2008 at 02:47 PM. Reason: There are typos, and then there are more.
|
|
#10
02-23-2008, 02:56 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Ack! Someone's car alarm went off directly in front of my store for about 2 hours one day and I was practically catatonic. Just recalling it is giving me a headache. I'm amazed you could see to type to post this thread.
best wishes
|
|
#11
02-23-2008, 12:51 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Did he write a ticket for public nuisance or for a noise ordinance or something?
|
|
#12
02-23-2008, 01:40 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Depending how pissed off you (and the neighbors) are, Lucy, you could argue that you, and your neighbors are now a class for a class action lawsuit, naming both the neighbors and the Sheriff's department as being cupable in a effective conspiracy to prevent anyone from sleeping for the weekend.
I doubt it would go through all the way to a settlement, but I wonder whether the threat of such a suit might not convince the deputy to turn aside to watch the pretty flowers.
|
|
#16
02-23-2008, 03:19 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Gah! I'm sorry Lucy. That's awful. I'm not too hopeful about the voicemail thing. The boonies of Utah have fuck-all for cell phone reception. They won't get the message until they make the turn into their own driveway. Maybe you'll get lucky, and one of your neighbors will start a trash fire with the deputy sitting there. At least your tax dollars won't be completely wasted.
|
|
#17
02-23-2008, 04:20 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Okay. In our continuing tour of The Twilight Zone:
The DDA has, much to our dismay, made contact with a judge. After discussing this situation at length, here is where we stand: On one side, we have a DDA, his armed constable, and a Judge in a cell. On a cell. Phone. On a cellphone. On the other side, we have the Sheriff, four of his Deputies, the tow truck driver, 41 neighbors, interested observers and rubberneckers. There were 42, but after hearing what I just heard, me and my 8 pound sledgehammer just had to walk away before the sledgehammer took it upon itself to hurt someone. And just where the hell is the reporter from the Elko Daily Free Press? I want pictures. I want documentation. 'Cause nobody with more than a 3rd grade education is gonna believe this! Here's the deal: Putting the car on the tow truck would constitute an impoundment. As I understand it, if understanding it is even possible, Nevada law makes no provisions for impoundment of vehicles on private property, except in the case of an abandoned vehicle, in which case the complaint must be made by the property owner. This vehicle is clearly not abandoned (it has current tags, registration and insurance), and anyway, no complaint is forthcoming from the property owner due to the fact that he's in Salt Lake with his dipshit teenaged son. Soooo, the Sheriff can take no action until after 10:00 PM, at which time the nuisance noise ordinance will become applicable. Then, and only then, can the Sheriff or one of his deputies make forceable entry into the vehicle and disable the alarm. Oh, yeah, one more thing will have to happen: someone will have to call in a new complaint about the noise. The fact that all of this started at 3:18 AM or so when the nuisance noise ordinance was in full effect appears to bear no relevance at all in this situation because the Judge did not render his opinion until after noon. Until then, we'll just have to ride it out. With ear plugs firmly in place. Oh, and just to be certain that no one will take the law into their own hands, the constable will continue to stand guard, cause that will cost less than leaving a Deputy behind. (Let me assure you that I sincerely pity that poor son of bitch. Hope he don't have to pee ... 'cause a more than just a few of us will be watching!) Surely the battery will be dead by 10:00 PM. Won't it? I know that if it was my car and I accidently left the lights on the battery would be dead in 15 minutes! I'm telling you: Ya just can't make shit like this up. Here's the really frustrating part about all this: the offending car is parked just 300 feet from my living room. My wife is in Salt Lake with the Jeep. The Nissan is buried in a 3' snow drift, 60' away from anything resembling dry land (We just don't bother with it during the winter months. That's what the Grand Cherokee is for ...). My big truck is parked in town due to the fact that recent snow storms have made it impossible to bring the rig home. I'm basically a prisoner in my own home 'til my wife gets back tomorrow, so I can't even leave to get away from this shit. And, as a personal note to any law makers who may happen upon this: Why do you guys think it's okay to be obnoxiously noisy until 10:00 PM??? Some people go to bed before 10 PM. In fact, some of us even try to go to bed as early as 8:00 PM (especially those of us who usually get up at 3:00 AM because we actually work for a living). Dammmit! Nearly eleven hours now! I want that battery! Lucy [SIDEBAR] To Cheez-Whia: How nice of you to remember. However, the burn restrictions were lifted last fall, so it would make no difference - except for providing a small measure of warmth for the constable. For everyone else, I believe the reference is to the fact that some of my neighbors are idiots. I also believe I may have mentioned that before. At least that time I managed to get some documentation! [/SIDEBAR] Last edited by LucyInDisguise; 02-23-2008 at 04:23 PM. Reason: Damn typos.
|
|
#18
02-23-2008, 04:30 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
 Hmmmph. Maybe not. Apparently the links in that thread to the documentation I thought I had no longer work. And a preliminary search of the EDFP website failed to turn up the appropriate articles. Am I in a 1984 time warp or something? Lucy
|
|
#19
02-23-2008, 05:12 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
I would shoot that car. And then I'd put its owner in the stocks with "MORON" tattooed on his forehead. And put him in the middle of town with a basket of rotten tomatoes bearing the sign "Free. Please throw." on it. And then the wolverines would be released.
__________________
"Okra, the Pod of God!" - Swampbear "I started To Reign in Hell, but was bored out of my mind." - Doomtrain "This is what I love about the Dope, we close ranks and beat these folks like so many baby seals." - Capt Kirk
|
|
#20
02-24-2008, 04:03 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Hang on, I'm confused, having come into this thread in the middle and waded through the various posts.
Quote:
|
|
#21
02-24-2008, 08:08 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
Second, Naw - nobody bothered coming back to disconect the alarm. After about 9 PM you really had to strain to hear it, and if it hadn't been dark this morning I wouldn't have noticed the headlights trying to come on and probably wouldn't have heard that very soft mooooo. Either that or I would have thought it was one of the neighbors cows. Third, someday, I promise, I will learn to preview to see if there are any new posts I need to address before I hit submit. Quote:
Quote:
Get off of my lawn! (Sorry. Damn kids ...) Quote:
Ya think they'd be interested? "Our battery will drive you neighbors batty for hours on-end ..." (See, I can be taught ...) And what are all you folks doin' here? You're supposed to all be tuned in to ABC watching the actors' love-in. Lucy
|
|
#23
02-23-2008, 06:19 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Wait, there's snow over where you are? Why don't you and your neighbors go shovel (or snowblower) your front yards, and maybe practice building igloos?
Last edited by kaylasdad99; 02-23-2008 at 06:19 PM.
|
|
#25
02-23-2008, 06:43 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
|
|
#26
02-23-2008, 06:52 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Hour number 14. The long, slow, agonizing and obviously painful death of the battery has begun.
It would be comical if this was some sort of parody of a horror flick with stupendously bad special sound effects. The good news is that, while it still sounds like a cow being slaughtered near a whore house with microphones in all the back rooms and a $10 PA system, the volume has dropped significantly in the last 45 minutes. The constable wandered off about 20 minutes ago, presumably to give his ears a rest. Either that or he's gone off someplace less public to commit suicide. I'd vote the latter. The end appears to be near. Four of my neighbors are coming over in just a while. We're gonna BBQ some steaks and celebrate the pending and greatly anticipated silence. Thanks for lending an ear. That reminds me ... anybody got some ears of corn for the BBQ? Lucy
|
|
#27
02-23-2008, 07:05 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
Just ... thank you. And I am so stealing that line.
|
|
#30
02-24-2008, 12:21 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Holy shit, 14 hours?
I always wondered how long one of those could go off without some kind of time limit or the battery dying. I figured it would be somewhere in the 1 to 3 hour neighborhood. Fourteen hours is some serious disturbance of the peace.
|
|
#32
02-24-2008, 08:20 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
If I may be so bold, and hopefully the occasion would never arise again, but consider calling your local tv station when this happens.
Hours of horn? BBQ? Sheriffs and a judge? Man, local news salivates for a story like this. A crew drops by and an hour later packs up and heads home to edit. A few hours later it airs locally, then CNN picks up on it and it hits the feeds, shown hundreds of times around the country. What then might happen is that with publicity comes a change in the law, and the next poor sod calls the cops who drop by, slim jim the lock, pop the hood & diconnect the battery. ETA: Another thought for the future - pile blankets and tarps around the front of the car - bet it would drop the sound dramatically. Last edited by 2gigch1; 02-24-2008 at 08:22 AM.
|
|
#33
02-24-2008, 09:19 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Well it is clear now that your neighbor, in order to live must now appease the neighborhood.
The best way of course if for him to find out where the sheriff, DDA and judge live, go park his car legally near their house, set the alarm, set if off and disappear for 24 hours. I think once they had 24 hours of this they might have a new attitude! Since they will live in different neighborhoods it might take awhile--I would start with the sheriff first, because the DDA and the judge won't be sympathetic, then the DDA, cause the sheriff will tell him to go fuck himself, then the judge cause the other two won't care at that point! We have this ALL the time on the ferries here in Seattle. You are on a boat, in the water and you set your fucking alarm? What you think someone is going to drive your precious somewhere? Always is a BMW, AUDI or Mercedes--always. Dumb fucks. They always make an announcement over the PA on the ferry, and everyone watches the stairways down to the car deck to see who the dumb ass is  Only gratifying moment of the whole situation.
|
|
#34
02-24-2008, 11:14 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
I bet you'd have the backing right now to have a local ordinance passed. Strike while the memory is strong. Who's going to protect the ass that owns the car when they return, and I bet the car has a mishap before long. All those people annoyed that long is going to have at least a couple people get even. Maybe everyone can get the sheriff to bill the guy for man hours required to guard the car, because that's beyond normal services.
|
|
#35
02-26-2008, 02:49 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
On my car, there is no way to separate the alarm from the door locks, as far as I know. If I lock the doors, the anti-theft device is armed. Isn't it that way with most late-model cars? Granted, I am one of those dumb fucks with an expensive car- maybe if I drove a piece of shit, I could manually push the door-lock button down on each door without activating an alarm... of course, I'd have to remember to hold the handle up when I push the door shut...  , kind of
|
|
#36
02-24-2008, 11:57 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
 Local newspaper said they'd send someone out - but they never showed. They're owned by some big publishing conglomerate from back east somewhere. We have trouble getting any, you know, actual local news any more. Quote:
 Quote:
Lucy Last edited by LucyInDisguise; 02-24-2008 at 11:58 AM.
|
|
#37
02-24-2008, 12:12 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
My guess is an Interstate deep cycle. I had one in my old Plymouth that lasted over 7 years.
|
|
#38
02-24-2008, 02:31 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
Ooh, I thought of another terrible plan - take turns with the neighbours going to the assholes' house and waking them up in middle of the night, telling them you thought you saw someone messing with their car. With enough neighbours in on this, you could do this for weeks.
|
|
#39
02-24-2008, 03:36 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
|
|
#40
02-24-2008, 07:48 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
I'm very nearly speechless.
A few minutes ago a very sheepish and apologetic young man visited my home. I was #3 on this young man's tour of apology. I refer to him now as a young man because he is, having heard what happened, and of his own volition, visiting each of his neighbors to accept responsibility and offer to atone for having put us through this. He has already disabled the alarm, and promises to remove it from the vehicle as soon as the weather permits. He even called and spoke with the Sheriff to find out how much trouble he was in and to see if there was anything he needed to do (Answers: none, nothing). That was pretty amazing in and of itself. I have had very little personal interaction with this young man, but he just impressed the living hell out of me. Ask either of my daughters - they will tell you that that is no easy task. Here, though, is the jaw dropper: The battery in question is: (envelope, please ...) ::faints:: A 3 year old Wal*Mart house brand Everstart MAXX - 78N I would have bet real heavy money on almost any other ... I'm going to go lie down now. Lucy This is where 300 dopers are going to jump in and ask me why I'm so surprised ... It's what they've got, etc., etc., etc., ad infinitum ... Answer: read the next to the last line above.
|
|
#43
02-24-2008, 10:42 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Well, good for him. I would suggest a summer's worth of car washes (by hand) as a good start on the atonement.
We just got a new battery from Wal*Mart - here's hoping it's the same kind.
|
|
#45
02-25-2008, 09:21 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
FWIW, after a little googling, I came up with this post on another message board about this battery.
Quote:
|
|
#46
02-25-2008, 03:33 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
Interesting thread, I can understand why everyone was upset, but I was thinking to myself that the owner of the car was probably a young guy and had not imagined his alarm would be going off for so long without him around.
|
|
#47
02-25-2008, 10:13 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
People still buy car alarms?
I thought those went the way of the dodo a few years ago.
|
 |
| Bookmarks |
| Thread Tools | |
| Display Modes | |
|
|
Hybrid Mode
