Stinkin' Thieves

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  • bellicose
    MCB Member
    • Jul 2020
    • 406
    • Oregon

    #1

    Stinkin' Thieves

    I teach high school kids: a mix of business, tech, design and engineering CTE classes. I have lots of cool toys for the kids to play with, and 30 computers where they sit and make cool stuff. I fought hard with the district to get nice computers, and am proud of them (no other rural high school our size has access to this quality in the state). Yesterday, I discovered one of the cases to my computers open. Only one part was missing. Can you guess which one? The mother fricken graphics card. We have Asus Rog GTX 1070s, so they're not the latest, but they are nothing to scoff at. It's going to cost me a grand to replace it. Had to be premeditated, and the awkwardness of the case and how it is stored under the desk makes me think I wasn't in the room at the time. That, or the kid was a fricken ninja. It's frustrating when a kid steals, and I know there are lots of reasons why (it is a very poor area), but it feels like a personal attack, and I know I shouldn't take it that way. It suck even more that the gpu market is terrible these days that I can't just get a replacement cheap and easy.
  • BrickHaus
    Tactical Spoon Reacquired
    • Sep 2020
    • 3414
    • Minnesota

    #2
    Maybe invest in some safety screws for the mounting plate to prevent furtger thefts without proper tooling.
    https://www.mcarterbrown.com/forum/b...khaus-feedback

    Comment


    • bellicose
      bellicose commented
      Editing a comment
      They are on order. Going to do them on both the cases and the graphics card.
  • Carp
    enter over there..☝
    • Jul 2020
    • 4940
    • ....on the 13th floor!

    #3
    Ouch...dang Ammon. It is definitely frustrating, when you work "Hard" to accomplish something... and it is just snatched away, by inconsiderate A-Holes. 😩
    Carp 's Feedback

    Comment

    • Rusty Brass
      Mostly harmless
      • Jul 2020
      • 415
      • Portland, Oregon

      #4
      That sucks, man. The terrible GPU market is probably why it grew legs. Video cards are in high demand.
      Any chance your computer cases have the little loops on the back to padlock the cases closed?

      Comment


      • bellicose
        bellicose commented
        Editing a comment
        I believe they do, but I'm going to go the route of a security screw, using the key as a screw driver. I think having a bunch of visible locks on equipment could be demoralizing, and I want kids to feel comfortable. It's one of those Maslow's hierarchy things.
    • Paintslinger16
      OG MCB Member
      • Jul 2020
      • 251
      • Milwaukee, WI

      #5
      It won’t help with the theft but look into this for your school
      https://www.dla.mil/DispositionServi...ilization/CFL/

      Comment


      • bellicose
        bellicose commented
        Editing a comment
        That looks interesting, thank you. I'm going to have to dig deeper on that.
    • Seajay
      Spyder Cocker Noises
      • Jul 2020
      • 769

      #6
      That sucks. There are ways to lock cases. If you have too much spare time reverse thread some of the screws, 😏
      Also locking the door when you are not there helps.
      If it happens again, it's not the kids, probably a janitor or another teacher who has a key.

      Comment


      • bellicose
        bellicose commented
        Editing a comment
        I am one of the few teachers that never leaves the kids unattended, locks my computer when I walk away from it, and always locks my door (in fact, it is never in an unlocked position, always need a key to open, but there are "lock blocks" to keep it accessible, which I always slide when I'm not there). The more I think about it, the more I am leaning towards this happening when I had a sub last week.

        I am the tech expert of the staff, and I'm not sure if any with keys to my room know what a graphics card is. We have had sticky finger janitors in the past, but they stole things that were out in the open. The person was afraid of my computers when in my room, and never swept. The floor was disgusting, but everything was there. I don't want to point fingers, and the current janitor is awesome. I hope it wasn't one of her kids.
    • fullofpaint
      Hoarder
      • Jul 2020
      • 495

      #7
      I'm surprised they didn't require you to have some kind of lock on the computer. My high school was in a pretty decent neighborhood and even then all our video lab's Mac G5 towers had security locks installed.

      Comment


      • bellicose
        bellicose commented
        Editing a comment
        Once you get to the other side of the fence, you find out that there is a lot of smoke and mirrors for security in schools. This is especially true for older schools. If someone was serious, they could loot hundreds of thousands of equipment without getting caught with not a lot of effort.
    • punkncat
      The piggy went to market
      • Jul 2020
      • 798

      #8
      Take a wait and see. If it was one of the students, word will get around about it eventually.

      Right this moment 1070 and up cards with higher levels of RAM are little gold mines.

      feedback

      Comment


      • bellicose
        bellicose commented
        Editing a comment
        Students have suggested that I run data mining at night with my lab...
    • Wmasspeedsoft
      Rockin and Cockin
      • Sep 2020
      • 86

      #9
      Put out a small reward someone will snitch guaranteed.

      Comment


      • Axel
        Axel commented
        Editing a comment
        [In Scottish accent] Am no a grass
    • Axel
      AI-Powered Mod Bot
      • Jul 2020
      • 2218
      • MCB Building Sub-Basement Level 2 Genetic Modification Lab

      #10
      Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Private Pyle, why is your footlocker unlocked?
      Private Gomer Pyle: Sir, I don't know, sir!
      Hartman: Private Pyle, if there is one thing in this world that I hate, it is an unlocked footlocker! You know that, don't you?
      Pyle: Sir, yes, sir!
      Hartman: If it wasn't for dickheads like you, there wouldn't be any thievery in this world, would there?
      Pyle: Sir, no, sir!
      Hartman: Get down!
      Well now... let's just see if there's anything missing!!

      Jokes aside, nothing angers me quite like thievery. "Oh what's that? You worked hard to make/build something? Well I'm going to take--not just your physical property--but the time, the little slice of your life that you spent creating it. Because I'm a selfish prick" Especially given how targeted it was, this isn't some random little accident, mfer knew exactly what he was doing
      Jesus, teach me to forgive lol
      Originally posted by Phantom1313
      now you can loudly shout “I know things” and nobody can argue with you when you wildly wave your masters degree in front to them
      Dulce et decorum est pro comoedia mori

      Comment


      • bellicose
        bellicose commented
        Editing a comment
        So much this. I put in so much after hours work, take on a ton of extra responsibility that I don't have to, and am not getting paid for, to have decent equipment for the kids. All of us CTE teachers do. It's a kick in the pants. I would take a bullet for these kids.
    • bellicose
      MCB Member
      • Jul 2020
      • 406
      • Oregon

      #11
      After a few talks with the principal, it seems like we may have some money in the budget to replace it next month. When I talked to all of my classes about it yesterday, it was reassuring to hear their anger and frustration about it. If the person who stole it told anyone, I'm pretty sure word will get around quick. I don't wish ill will on the kid. I had to talk to police about it, but I'd rather tell them it just anonymously appeared if it comes back. I'd rather have a conversation with the kid, or have the councilors talk to them.

      Comment

      • punkncat
        The piggy went to market
        • Jul 2020
        • 798

        #12
        To me, the real bummer part is going to be trying to find a good replacement. A 1660ti and super are just a tiny bit slower, and the 2060 is that much faster. Not that I would imagine an ability to find ANY of those at a reasonable price. The aspect that would scare me about a used 1070 is the unknown use along with it's age.
        It would be nice if it just magically showed up again before you have to move on it.
        feedback

        Comment

        • gabe
          Thirst Trappin
          • Jul 2020
          • 1074
          • Alaska

          #13
          That is a loss. The 1070 was a really great spot in the old 10xx series lineup. Finding a replacement is a tough deal.

          Comment

          • bellicose
            MCB Member
            • Jul 2020
            • 406
            • Oregon

            #14
            We're in the process of contacting our supplier to see what can be done. It's a public school tech dept, so they spring for the best warranty. It won't cover theft, but they might have spare stock.

            The other problem is that I would really want the exact same model. One computer different will make updates and imaging an even longer process.

            Comment

            • punkncat
              The piggy went to market
              • Jul 2020
              • 798

              #15
              How did this all turn out?

              feedback

              Comment


              • bellicose
                bellicose commented
                Editing a comment
                No one came forward, unfortunately. Thankfully, there is some money left in the principal's general use fund to purchase a new one (one good thing about Covid is that we got a little bit more money for technology). I did spend $120 on security screws, and have been installing them on all the PCs so that it doesn't happen again.
            Working...