Jay I never doubted you.  One of the gals here had that happen too.  Don't think it was Gloria hummm  A mind is a terrible thing to lose.

Jana

Jay, you are one of those smart people and totally taking the high road.  I'm taking the Jerry Springer approach !!

Man, you do having some blogging skillz.  Two weeks ago, you said you were going to a blogging "conference" and I was like WTF?  Four days later, I googled myself and saw OPEN HOUSE / BEER and was like, there is something to this.

Two days later, I start an informal SOI blog with my buddies via email platform but everybody kept "replying to all" and it basically prevented anybody from working for a week because everybody's PDA was making noise and jammed.  Still getting complaints from that one.

BLOGGING IS THE FUTURE !  BRING YOUR BLOGGING SKILLZ !

Jay, I've also read that blogging will ulitimately destroy the mainstream media.

I don't think I'd ever be on camera though.  YUCK!  I certainly don't need an extra 20 lbs added to me!

Crazy what people are stealing now-a-days.  I haven't heard any of that going on around here.

Good job on getting you face on the news.  Glad to hear it wasn't an undercover sting with Dateline!  ;)

"Good job on getting you face on the news.  Glad to hear it wasn't an undercover sting with Dateline!  ;)"

Most feared words on the planet.......

Hi, I'm Chris Hansen.  

I love that guy!  Have you seen some of his other "To Catch A...." on MSNBC?  Scam artists, cons, etc...now, let me see...

Hi, I'm Leesa Finley......not as ominous is it?

(Didn't mean to hijack - that is AWESOME about the blog and news coverage!)

Yes indeed. My brother is really good at writing "David Letterman-type Top Ten Lists". He posted some of these on the blog page of a sports radio show website. Soon he began to hear them being read on the radio with credit going to him. Then the radio station actually started calling him and asking for a daily Top Ten List. They have now asked him to be the moderator of their entire blog.

Way to go Jay, (but it would have been nice if I didn't get a virus or non-desirable trojan horse warning attached to the site.) Thanks for sharing!

Two weeks ago, a builder I know was setting up a security camera in his latest development.  Not for a copper thief, though.  Landscaping!  Don't know if he caught thief yet.

Wow, the saying used to be "they'll steal anything that isn't bolted down"  Now its just "they'll steal anything".

We have had mini developers lose to thieves entire air conditioning compressors. They snipped the copper to the house and off they went, all 3 of them.

Great news on the blogging Jay. I am still waiting for me to show up with mine in google.

Radley - you are going to be known as the FUN Atlanta Realtor after they read that blog.

Sort of on this note:

I am representing a buyer on a property and the listing agent tells us that for "some reason unknown and believed to be that someone just released the freon from an a/c system" the a/c was not working about a week before we made the offer. The agent contracted an a/c technician out there to to find out what the problem was and they found that the freon was gone from the system. They filled it back up and it's been working fine since then. We are going to have it leaked checked etc again to be sure but it's my guess that someone with an evacuation unit is going around to vacant homes and stealing the freon from them. Have you priced freon lately? That stuff isn't cheap! And if it is someone doing that and they have an a/c company it would certainly be easy for them to pull up to a vacant home at mid-day and appear as though they are "supposed" to be there, evacuate the freon into a recovery unit (which any technician of a/c is "REQUIRED" to use) and leave. They just saved themselves a few hundred dollars on filling the next a/c system they need to charge. If they do something like that say, ten to fifteen times a day they just profited a few "thousand" dollars in just a few hours time.

Great job, Jay!  I have to say, however, the anchorman was a bit "Ron Burdandy"ish... "finds out the missing copper pipe is missing."

Oh and they get more business from the place they just "evacuated", too?  Nice plan.

Well now you've got some good press. You will be known as "the realtor who cars if your copper is stolen". Marketing genius, huh.

I had the entire AC unit stolen from a rural property I have listed. It was an REO and we have a contract on it and since it happened before the contract the seller won't pay to have it replaced.

Leesa - that Chris Hansen pedophile show creeps me out, but it's like an accident scene...if you land on it by accident while channel surfing, you can't turn away.

By the way, Jay, in MY family, a good beer belly is a thing of beauty!

Belinda, I see you've changed again.

Yes, I'm trying on different pictures.  I mentioned in a different thread that I don't think I'll be able to hold up all of this "big hair" for very long, though.

I'm not sure, Jay! I just spent all this time removing it. I think it was the othrer site.

Hi Everyone!  We have had similar thefts here in Wyoming for years.  Copper wiring is stolen and resold for cash, and Freon is one of the chemicals used to manufacture methamphetamine.  Both problems probably go hand-in-hand.

Jay, the thing that got stolen in this area were the real estate "for sale" yard signs. After four were missing on a vacant lot, the agent set up and caught the neigbor next door stealing a sign. The neighbor did not want the lot sold and did not like cars stopping to take down the information. She took him to court, but the Judge said she only proved he took one sign. The person was ordered to return it which he did that day in the court room. But, as for the cost of the other four signs; that comes out of her pocket (4X35= $140 ). And, don't even try the cost of justice = priceless line with me.

Greg, I love your shield, royal blue, nice.

Speaking of not liking people stopping for information...as I said, my neighbor's house is for sale.  We live on a private road that is pretty narrow, so there's really no place to turn around once you get here.  You can either pull into a driveway to turn around or back out into the main road, which isn't too busy.  

I don't mind if people pull into my driveway to turn around, but the past two days people who obviously cannot see or drive have been backing into my yard, knocking over my flower pots, crushing my flowers, etc., because they can't navigate the curve of my drive backwards.  I finally just put two big home depot buckets at the end of my drive to discourage people.

I think yesterday was the caravan - it was the worst day.  Damned REALTORS(R)  grrrr.  Who do they think they are?

Bee, I didn't notice the name, but read the post and looked at the pic to see who it was.  Saw your photo and thought oh my what a real estate agent photo, she needs help.  Then I looked at the name.  Almost spit my tea all over my lap top!!  

Which photo?  The glamour shot or the senior pic?

neither one really looks like me.

The glamour shot.  I must have just logged in before the switch.  Then on the next blog, it was high school, which is why I was a little confused ; )  I was expecting Bette Davis, and got this high schooler!!

But the Bette Davis had me spitting my tea!!

That's funny.  You know even after my hubby and I got divorced (we remarried 6 years later) he kept that glamour shot on his office desk.

Now that is love!!!  My husband HATES my glamour shot.  I think I look cute.  My mom has it on her fridge (along with other photo's that are so old she qualifies for that 70's show) and maybe I can scan it for you.

You guys are always so informative and this post was a bit inspiring.  My friend recently sent me footage of a water spout she caught off the bay.  I was going to post it but thought I would be the only one that cared.  Needless to say she sent it to the news and they were all over it.

Being a geek is so cool.  I am jealous and I mean this in the highest regard.

Christina

hmm, are you saying we are geeks, and you are not? hmm, rethinking, rethinking, rethinking...

I missed the glamour shot...i want to see... i want to see..Shoe me Bee,,,Show me

Mary, thanks. The shield was a gift from Gene. Much nicer than that Scottish one I have been lead to believe was for my family name. Anyway, I like it - hope he shows me how to make it change colors like this shield.

After dealing with the buyers and sellers of real estate, his single act of humanity was almost enough to make me cry.

I got to get past this - I've been in a bad mood for a while now. Maybe I'll get to the closing table soon. That normally helps brighten my outlook. It is all about the wallet.

Greg,

Hope you see many visits to the closing table soon.

Gene made me one too, he is a keeper.

Greg, you are looking rather handsome in that shield!

Thank you Jay, Just my attempt to class the place up a bit.  ; )

Funny, you wrote this post Jay.  This morning there was a story in the Tampa Tribune about copper thefts.

http://www.tbo.com/news/nationworld/MGBU43FO04F.html