double identity theft, etc

I just checked a Sierra weather forecast, and it's calling for snow accumulation of 4 to 72 inches overnight. How cool is that! It'll certainly make Saturday's avalanche assessment training with Sequoia Mountain Rescue interesting.

My car was broken into Monday night. The thieves stole my radar detector. I haven't been too concerned about tickets in my new clunker, so I wasn't all that upset. Besides, in my new line of work maybe I shouldn't be driving around with a device aimed at circumventing law enforcement (my boss raised an eyebrow when he saw it the other day =). A spare credit card I used to keep in the glove box for emergencies was also taken. A call to the credit card company confirmed that several unauthorized charges were attempted. The company was great about cancelling the charges and offering a new card with a different number, but not so great about cancelling the account entirely, which is what I wanted to do. I gave up after they put me on hold 5 times transferring me to six different people.

The weirdest thing is that my insurance and registration info was stolen. I couldn't figure out why someone would do that- all I could think of was that it was like a new kind of identity theft- for cars instead of people. I checked the bottom left corner of the windshield. Sure enough, the VIN plate was gone. I've read enough police reports on vehicle code violations the last few weeks to know that there are countless unlicenced and uninsured drivers out there who would be happy to provide a citing officer with false info during a traffic stop. I've filed a police report and now my car's VIN is reported stolen. That'll really up the resale value, as anybody who runs a CarFax or other vehicle history report on it will attest.

I'm kind of pissed off. I don't think I've ever been the victim of a crime before. I feel helpless and angry. I wish I'd walked outside and caught whoever it was in the act. Maybe the cops will be able to trace the credit card use or VIN or something and make an arrest. I would love to testify as a witness in the case (I'd have to recuse myself from being the prosecutor). I'll probably just settle for going back to work tomorrow putting the bad guys in jail with renewed vigor.

Anyway, enough of that- I'm getting depressed.

I went snow camping with two friends Sunday into Monday. We had a great time despite temperatures dropping into the teens overnight. A few pictures:

Lodgepole visitor center in Sequoia National Park. Last year was an extremely dry year- the Sierra snowpack was only about 30% of normal. This season is shaping up to be a good one for snowsports (and kayaking come Spring!).

My friends Sean Trimble and Brian Hutchins. Both DA's. Sean and I share an office, which makes for quite a bit of confusion regarding names. The good news is that even though my new business cards haven't come in yet, I can just take some of his and scratch out the last name. =)


We didn't take tents or tarps, instead opting to build a snow shelter. Fun stuff! I don't think I'll ever outgrow playing in the snow.

Snow is a great insulator. A well built snow cave or shelter can be surprisingly warm- well above freezing even! They take some time to build, but can offer more warmth and protection than a tent. What you see in these pictures isn't a great example because we were short on tools and time, but I didn't freeze, and that's pretty much the point.

I never get tired of these views.