Filed under: Cult of Mac, Odds and ends
A friend of the Mac web needs your help!
This isn't Apple-specific, but Dori Smith, mistress of Backup Brain and friend of the Mac web needs our help. Seems some rascal has gone and swiped her license plate, seemingly in broad daylight, while she was at work. This wasn't just any license plate, however. This one is special. It's a vanity plate that reads, simply, WEB GEEK.Here's Dori's please for help:
I know a lot of people in the San Francisco/Silicon Valley area. I know a lot of Web geeks. The chances are good that whoever ends up with my plate knows someone who knows someone who knows me. So, I'm asking you for a favor; could you please:
- Tell your Northern California friends that I'm looking for it.
- Tell your Web geek friends that I'm looking for it.
- Post a message on your blog asking for help for me to get my license plate back.
- If you happen to come across it when visiting tech company offices, help it get back to me.
So spread the word and save Dori what sounds like a merciless ordeal to try to get it replaced. She's done a lot for Mac users over the years and it's only fitting we return the favor!
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Norman Brooks said 10:36PM on 10-17-2006
Doris had BETTER report it stolen. If it should be on a car and that car is involved in a wreck or some other misadventure (a crime maybe), Doris could be in for some frightening liability. While it's admirable for her to be as trustful as she is, it could cost her big.
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Dori Smith said 11:03PM on 10-17-2006
It's Dori, not Doris. And yes, I reported it stolen immediately (my office is across the street from the police station). Although my guess is that -- given the plate -- it was stolen to put up as a decoration, not to put on another car.
Laurie, thanks very much for helping get the word out!
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Peter Payne said 10:48PM on 10-17-2006
Nice Miata. Hope they get their plate back.
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Joseph Crawford said 11:52PM on 10-17-2006
i will post this on my blog in hopes of helping, although i am in vt it may be of no use but i do get visitors from cali :D
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Brad Daily said 12:24AM on 10-18-2006
I'd help you but...
People who drive Mazdas deserve crap like this. You're outta luck.
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Tony Barnhill said 1:28AM on 10-18-2006
I live in Hawaii and have GEEK
http://www.tonybarnhill.com/wp-content/uploads/Geekmobile.jpg
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Carl Grint said 4:32AM on 10-18-2006
I have posted an item to my blog.
Whilst I am not in the area, hopefully if as many of us as possible post and email about this, someone will see it, and report it for you.
I wish you all the luck in getting it back Dori.
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Gareth Burleigh said 6:41AM on 10-18-2006
I can only assume that in the US you cant just have another one pressed/printed like you can in England?
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Hank said 7:24AM on 10-18-2006
Dori, I hope you get the plate back, I'll look here in London for you. You never know, they might have fled the country when the heat got turned up.
#5 - You don't know much about cars, thats for sure! A Miata is a great car. So very, very fun to drive!
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CT said 7:40AM on 10-18-2006
#5 - "People who drive Mazdas deserve crap like this. You're outta luck."
You sort are what we call bastards. Get out, your useless input wasn't needed.
Good luck with 'search, Dori. Can't lose such a unique piece of identity
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Russ said 8:47AM on 10-18-2006
Why the hell would it matter if someone has stolen a license plate? Just go and get another one made its not like it's going to be expensive.
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Ed said 8:49AM on 10-18-2006
Yeah, why can't you just have another one printed?
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okron said 10:18AM on 10-18-2006
WTF is the matter with some of the readers of TUAW? This site seems to attract more ar$eholes than any other Mac site I've seen (yes, "Brad Daily", I'm talking to you).
Hope you get your plate back Dori :)
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Miguel said 11:35AM on 10-18-2006
I also have a Miata. Now i'm sure it is Girl's car!
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WhitIV said 11:38AM on 10-18-2006
To the few anti-social Narcissists who post negatively about Dori's situation:
What goes around, comes around.
Karma.
Naturally, you won't be looking for any help or sympathy from anyone in the human race when something bad happens to you. If you do not like helping people in need, the very title of this article gave you enough information to skip it reading it. Nobody asked you to post your negative vibes. Psychopaths.
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ThePete said 3:20PM on 10-21-2006
Not to seem rude, but I don't have time to blog on the stuff that is actually important. I'm only commenting here because I'm taking a break while at my dayjob.
Yes, yes--with all of the horrible things going on in the US and the rest of the planet, let's all mobilize so that this person can have her license plate back.
Dori--here's what you do: Report it stolen, order a replacement and do something a bit more useful with your time.
My wife's car got totalled a couple years back and it took her next to no effort to get her personalized plates replaced. Seriously, isn't this kind of thing more appropriate for LiveJournal or MySpace?
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Paul said 5:17PM on 10-18-2006
Dori -- were both plates stolen or just the one? As long as you still have the other one, you can get a dupe for $31 by submitting this form: http://www.dmv.ca.gov/forms/reg/reg17.pdf
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Dori Smith said 6:08PM on 10-18-2006
I love all the "Why don't you just get another printed?" comments -- they're clearly from people who either don't live in California, or from people who have never dealt with trying to get replacement CA plates.
If it was that easy, I wouldn't be making this big a push to get the old plate back.
Paul, here's the (semi-)short version:
When I first got the plates, I left the front plate off my car, because I knew that if both were stolen there was 0% chance of getting them reissued. The front plate ended up in a pile of papers in my kitchen.
When I moved in December '99, the front plate ended up somewhere. Possibly in the garage. Possibly in my husband's office. Possibly it never successfully completed the trip. I don't know; there's a whole lot of boxes and a whole lot of possibilities.
If I can find the front plate, then all I have to do is take it to the DMV (as you noted), pay the $$, and get a replacement. If I can't find the front plate, I'm out of luck. But finding the front plate will be a PITA (and yes, I've started looking!) so it would be much simpler for the back plate to just show up in my mailbox.
CT, okron, and WhitIV: thanks for adding your comments. It's nice to know that not everyone is a cold-hearted bastard. And to those in the latter group: just because you *can* comment doesn't always mean you *should* comment.
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Donald Burr said 8:08PM on 10-18-2006
Jeeze, will you people cut it out with the Muslim post ranting? Clearly the post was NOT meant to insult Muslims (or any other religious/ethic group for that matter), and anyway, the author soon after posted a commendable and totally UNnecessary apology. IT'S OVER. Get over it and move on with life. Sheesh.
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Tom Robinson said 12:32AM on 10-19-2006
My bike was stolen a few weeks ago. Can TUAW put a blog post about my bike up too? Thanks.
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