# Dear Geek Squad Home Theatre Installation **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 16, 2011, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-geek-squad-home-theatre-installation/589281 "2011-07-16T20:42:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-geek-squad-home-theatre-installation/589281/41 "2011-07-18T18:22:19Z")
Most houses it seems you can just peek in the window to see what kind of TV they have, its also not like it is an extreme rarity to find a 55" TV in peoples homes these days. its not like the side of the truck said, “Secure Faberge Egg Delivery”. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-geek-squad-home-theatre-installation/589281/42 "2011-07-18T20:48:44Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > (I know one guy who keeps a gun hidden in every room so as to get the drop on any intruder, no matter where he is in the house at the time. A bit extreme? Yes. One of our fellow Dopers ( **Crafter\_Man** , I believe?) boasted of a similar strategy, but pluralize “gun,” strike the word “hidden,” and add kids to the mix (as I recall). I presume he’d consider your “extreme” friend a gun-hating liberal pussy. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-geek-squad-home-theatre-installation/589281/43 "2011-07-18T22:12:16Z")
Perhaps the OP is just suggesting that the Geeks use a vehicle painted slightly differently, like perhaps [this.](http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o313/clemsparks/1992%2520Chevrolet%2520Van/FlowersByIrene.jpg&imgrefurl=http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/green/33017/page1/&usg=__EbRMIiNwJJiXPoLxHRTQ9pEjRnE=&h=540&w=720&sz=102&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=kcddHTrIicJ-0M:&tbnh=153&tbnw=204&ei=Mq8kTu6rE4LqgQf9xN2-Cw&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dflowers%2Bby%2Birene%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26biw%3D1083%26bih%3D978%26tbm%3Disch&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=500&vpy=421&dur=1064&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=102&ty=210&page=1&ndsp=20&ved=1t:429,r:14,s:0) ---
**Author:** ![emacknight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ec8ea/32.png) [@emacknight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emacknight)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-geek-squad-home-theatre-installation/589281/44 "2011-07-18T23:54:55Z")
Fuck it, you’ve convinced me it’s stupid to take personal responsibility. I’ve now unlocked my wireless, set it to broadcast, uninstalled my anti-virus/firewall, changed all my passwords to password (or Password1 if they require a capital an a number), and plan to make my banking pin my birthday. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-geek-squad-home-theatre-installation/589281/45 "2011-07-18T23:55:31Z")
You are a weird no-middle-ground kind of guy. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-geek-squad-home-theatre-installation/589281/46 "2011-07-19T00:11:50Z")
If I were wanting to jack home theater systems, I’d hold up the truck _before_ it got to the customer’s house, and get the stuff still boxed up. That’s gotta be easier. The installation crew is certainly less attached to the merchandise than the householder is to the security of his home. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-geek-squad-home-theatre-installation/589281/47 "2011-07-19T04:35:01Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > You are a weird no-middle-ground kind of guy. Its the middle ground that always opens up and swallows you. At least in the movies. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-geek-squad-home-theatre-installation/589281/48 "2011-07-19T12:39:44Z")
> [@emacknight](#): > > I get that it’s a great form of advertising, but certainly not for the homeowner. Agreed, one time I had a plumber come by to fix a leak, the very next day [someone steals my boiler](http://montclair.patch.com/articles/heat-is-on-cops-say-pair-stole-boiler-right-out-of-house-35). In the future, I’ll demand that the plumber use an unmarked truck, that way the thieves won’t have any idea that my home has indoor plumbing. I’m installing a fake outhouse next week, that should throw them off the scent. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-geek-squad-home-theatre-installation/589281/49 "2011-07-19T12:52:50Z")
> [@emacknight](#): > > Fuck it, you’ve convinced me it’s stupid to take personal responsibility. I’ve now unlocked my wireless, set it to broadcast, uninstalled my anti-virus/firewall, changed all my passwords to password (or Password1 if they require a capital an a number), and plan to make my banking pin my birthday. Are you old? Because you sound like the kind of guy who will call the cops on the no-goodniks who are hanging out in the park because they are listening to hippity-hop music on their crazy transistor radios. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-geek-squad-home-theatre-installation/589281/50 "2011-07-19T13:00:37Z")
> [@emacknight](#): > > I get that it’s a great form of advertising, but certainly not for the homeowner. If the homeowner had done their research they would have known about the “ROB ME” sign that was parked outside their house for hours and would have chosen someone else to do it. Or maybe they did. What do you have against people taking individual responsibility for their choices? -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-geek-squad-home-theatre-installation/589281/51 "2011-07-19T16:30:48Z")
I just can’t see this being an issue. Unless you live in the hoodiest of hoods in which case you are already a target, and should take appropriate measures, I can’t see this being a big deal. Most burglars really aren’t all that smart. Where I live, it tends to be a crime of opportunity. They are looking for a house that doesn’t have an alarm, that has an entry that has an obstructed view and that by preference has an open window that they can get in. My neighborhood got hit by some burglars who were eventually caught. If they found a house with an open window, that where they hit. If the house didn’t have an alarm company sign, that’s where they hit. At least one of the houses didn’t even have a TV worth stealing. They certainly weren’t spending hours on stakeout looking for a house with a Best Buy installation truck. Ironically, they were caught by the police coming out of my neighbor’s house by a police cruiser on a drive by. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-geek-squad-home-theatre-installation/589281/52 "2011-07-19T22:02:31Z")
> [@emacknight](#): > > After moving in I walked around the house looking in windows. Then moved stuff so it wasn’t as visible. Seriously? Or is this a joke, like (I hope) the bear trap thing? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-geek-squad-home-theatre-installation/589281/53 "2011-07-19T22:24:13Z")
Maybe he means he closed the curtains. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2011, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-geek-squad-home-theatre-installation/589281/54 "2011-07-23T02:49:07Z")
> [@emacknight](#): > > What better way is there to say, "if you stop by tonight around 3am, I have a brand new TV and the boxes are probably still in my garage. Why would they thieves care about the empty boxes? ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2011, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-geek-squad-home-theatre-installation/589281/55 "2011-07-23T10:51:54Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Why would they thieves care about the empty boxes? Presumably the TV would be easier to sell or fence if it’s in its original packaging. We all know that some very gifted and detail-oriented thieves live in emack’s neighborhood. Hell, if we keep making fun of him, he might start following the Geek Squad van and robbing people to prove his point. Emack, follow the Country Curtains truck and burgle yourself up some drapes. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2011, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-geek-squad-home-theatre-installation/589281/56 "2011-07-23T15:56:35Z")
> [@emacknight](#): > > Next winter I put out a few bear traps… I’m pretty sure that is illegal. Sounds like you need to move to a better neighborhood ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2011, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-geek-squad-home-theatre-installation/589281/57 "2011-07-23T15:58:09Z")
> [@DoctorJ](#): > > I live in a fairly nice neighborhood, and I’d guess that 90% of the houses in it have a reasonably nice home theater setup. The Geek Squad van doesn’t really raise the odds that much. > > My beef has long been with UPS. I bought a guitar and an amp last year, both of which were delivered in boxes helpfully marked with the Fender logo (and one of which was roughly guitar-sized). Both times UPS just left the boxes on my front porch. I don’t see why an enterprising thief wouldn’t just follow the UPS truck around and clean up behind it. Because half the time its stuff like diapers. It probably makes more sense to work for UPS driving a truck than steal the stuff they leave on doorsteps. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2011, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-geek-squad-home-theatre-installation/589281/58 "2011-07-23T15:59:50Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > You are a weird no-middle-ground kind of guy. Is this the first time you have encountered Emac? ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2011, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-geek-squad-home-theatre-installation/589281/59 "2011-07-23T18:24:51Z")
Why would a bear want to steal a flat screen TV? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2011, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-geek-squad-home-theatre-installation/589281/60 "2011-07-23T18:34:23Z")
I’m kind of confused. If the OP buys a new car, do they key the hood to make it less appealing for thieves? Do people really take a magic marker and black-out the name of the product on the box? What good does that do? Or did I just woosh myself? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-geek-squad-home-theatre-installation/589281.md?page=2)