When it rains it pours. I woke up at 2am to find two men in our house. I screamed "Lori (my wife), get the gun!" (no we don't have a gun), and they bolted. I've been sleeping on the first floor because of the broken leg...and I have no idea how I didn't wake up when they pushed our A/C in. Anyway, they stole our TV, a Wii, about $800 in cash, our wallets (have a lot of canceling/reordering to do!) and, worst of all, my work laptop. Worst of all because I have years of irreplaceable work on there.

BUT...they passed right over the Sachs tourer, the Vanilla and the Titanio. THANK HEAVENS.

Wow. That is scary and really sucks. Glad you are ok.

Glad to hear you are both ok. Yeesh! What an experience.

Oh, man, sorry to hear about that, it sure does suck.

And I am just amazed how stupid criminals are.

Glad you didn't get hurt. I hope you're able to get some of your work back from backups.

That is so sad. What's next?

LOL - this has been a year for the record books so far

What's the encore? Flesh eating bacteria?

You need one of these

Our home was burglarized last November. The thief busted down our front door around noon on a weekday. He took the MacBook (like you, with much of my wife's grad work not saved elsewhere), iPad, jewelery, my Gibson acoustic, etc. He obviously had zero interest in the bikes.

Thanks to the "Find My iPad" app and my wife's tenacity he was arrested and charged with more than half a dozen burglaries in the neighborhood. I was able to recover my guitar, but the electronics were long gone.

It sucks, man. It's a terrible thing to have your home invaded in such a way.

Sucks to hear, glad that the bikes are alright, but the lost work is a bad break. Hopefully they'll get nabbed before the drive gets wiped. Oh, and might I suggest it's time to invest in an external hard drive? (I'll refrain from also suggesting a purchase of that item you yelled for your wife to grab, to each their own as far as that goes.)

Man, sorry to hear that. I have to say that 'get the gun' line was pretty inspired under the circumstances.

Dude, that's terrible. Did you run after them? (Sorry, couldn't resist.) Glad you stopped them before they made it through the rest of the house, and, more importantly, that you and your family were unharmed. I've had my car broken into many times, and it's such a sinking feeling of violation. I can only imagine it's that much worse when it's your home. Good luck recovering your goods.

Sorry to hear that, I woke up last night around 2 am thinking I have to renew my renters insurance. I'm glad you are ok.

So sorry! I walked in a burglar quite a few years ago after coming home from being at a family Christmas party. I chased him out of the house, but not after finding out all the jewelry and cash that had been taken. He had stacked up new Christmas gifts (my wife's new leather jacket, handbags, kids tapes, etc.) and was ready to take it all when I walked in on him.

I had an alarm system installed throughout the entire house, including motion sensors a week later. We've slept well since.

Oh my God. Sorry to hear about this Aaron. I probably shouldn't add this as I'm generally a peace loving fellow and would never shoot anyone over mere material possessions, but you never know how perverted or violent they may be. I'd get either the dog, or the gun.
I'm not into dogs, so....
Glad you and yours are safe.

edit: I also own a large safe. I know this after-the-fact stuff is pretty much worthless, so FWIW,
which ain't much.

We're going by the SPCA today to get a puppy. By puppy I mean dog that would make Michael Vick switch to cock fights. The trick will be finding one who won't mind the cats, will be warm and cuddly with us, but who would appear in the alien vs predator sequel with an intruder. I thought about a gun, but it wouldn't have helped; we'd just have a thief with a stolen gun. I honestly trust a dog over my aim. I'm not anti gun, or judging, I just think a dog is the way to go.

I think our chances might be ok in catching them. One of them dropped a glossy lighter on the way out and we might have prints from the AC. I've been pushing for security for years and my wife called me paranoid.

I had an external drive, they stole it with the lap top. A lot might be recoverable through email archives. I thought I did ok all things considered. In retrospect I would have played possum for a minute to get a better look. Hindsight!

I don't know sheit, but you might be careful with a pit bull. Could eat the cats later on. How about a Mastiff? Now there's a big, fearsome dog. Good point about the gun. They can definitely be a liability as well as an asset.

I've had 2 "pound dogs" both big Shephards. They were loyal, cuddly, shedding, pooping machines who had no issue with our old tom cat. Seems the ones saved from the pound are particularly grateful beasts.

Wow, that totally sucks! Glad you guys weren't hurt. People who break into homes in the night are very dangerous. They know that someone will be home and do it anyway. This either means they are willing to harm you or are incredibly stupid.

External HD wouldn't have saved him if they just stole that too. You should look into backing up your work on a Cloud. they can't steal the internets

Show us pics of your new pup

I want a Shepard or Doberman, wife is thinking pit. We should have photos of a pit soon!

Look in to a Boxer, they're scary as hell looking but fantastic family dogs.

That's such a bummer. Good thing they didn't steal your crutches (or notice you were hobbled and stick around for a fight). You did much better than I would have. I'd have pit my shance.

We have had dogs for many years. We used to have a St Bernard, he was a gentle giant. But when he barked, he would only bark once, but it was like time stood still for that bark. He was great security.

So sorry to hear about that happening to you, but thankfully you and your family are safe! Get a gun and a dog! a German Shepard is the pet to have. They are extremely loyal and valient! Those scumbags have no regards for life, so if it comes down to it take theirs! Of course warning shots first, but if you really see them coming towards you or your family then aim for the heart! I hope everythings turns out well! Things will definitely get better for you, and your family! Good luck with everything!

Flash

The dog I posted above is one of three dogs we have. The other two are smaller (beagle sized) and not particularly threatening;they are pets with a pet mentality for the most part. Winston, though, is a shepherd/hound mix and has a very strong instinct for guarding. Never having owned a guard dog breed before, it's impressive to watch how he operates. With family, he is a cuddly lap dog. With visitors, he is stern at first but is learning to take our cues and relax (he's two years old and still learning). If someone broke in and we were alarmed, I have no doubt that he would act without hesitation to protect us. We left him in the yard when we weren't home at first, but now we give him the run of the house and he does fine with it. He chewed a couple minor things in the first few weeks but hasn't done anything like that for months.

We have a cat too, and when Winston was a puppy he would catch it and hold it down while it hissed, but he never harmed it. He seemed to enjoy tormenting the cat though, and didn't seem to get alarmed when the cat hooked a claw in his nose or eyelid. He pretty much ignores the cat now.