Crazy, This, 191/556
Check out these Sleuths images:

191/556: How crazy is THIS!?

Image by Fuschia Foot

So Adam gets home today a little before me (I stopped at the library for a new book!) and he's on the phone outside. I take my time getting the mail and when I get out of the car he motions me over, and he's holding a business card in his hand. He says to the person on the phone "Well, she just got home, do you want me to pass this info on to her, or give her the phone?"

He shows me the card and I see it's the Lake County Sheriff's office, and this guy's all "I'm a detective in the fraud division..."

Back it up. Two days ago I got an email from someone on Flickr saying that they attended what I call "my school". This is an abandoned school in my area that I've had an interest in ever since I saw it. I've had little dreams of restoring it and living in it mansion-style, but that'll never happen (last year I discovered that they owe over 0k in back taxes). You can see the set where I finally went exploring here: www.flickr.com/photos/fuschia_foot/sets/72157604420664467/

Anyway, so I get an email from a person saying they were a student, and noticed a pic I posted of some paystubs, and could I please remove the photo as it had personal info on it. To be honest I was taking a picture of the seal on the envelope in the photo, not the paystub info, and hadn't even thought twice about it (especially since the stub was from 1980). I went ahead and scribbled over the name and address and then noticed there was even the SSN on there, so I scribbled that out too and then emailed the person to let them know I did it.

So this detective says it was brought to his attention that this photo existed and that he had to look into it. We got to talking and I said that I had already doctored the photo (which he said he saw I did last night) and that I wasn't in any trouble or anything. He just talked about protecting people's private information, etc. Then he said as an aside he would caution against going in the building if it's unsafe and if I get caught I could get charged with criminal trespassing, although he said he looked at a lot of my photos and it was clear I was there for pictures/architecture and not to do harm. (Which I never would--when I've gone exploring it's because of a love of architecture/buildings/nostalgia--I can't imagine going into a building and doing anything to harm it; in fact it PISSES ME OFF when I see how people have broken the windows on the school, scattered the papers, written on walls, etc. I mean... WTF?!)

He thanked me for my time and I thanked him for his and that was pretty much the end of that.

UNTIL I hang up and I was like "Wow, that was really random!" and Adam said "YEAH, especially since he was AT OUR HOUSE."

Hello! Hadn't even occurred to me that this detective had BEEN AT MY HOUSE... I realize they're detectives for a REASON but I had to call back and ask if he used his detective powers to find me or if I had info out on the internet (like my ADDRESS) I didn't know about.

He said it was pretty easy to deduce my general area, look through my photos for the type of car I drive, access BMV records, and then look for my house because of all of my potted plants I've showcased on Flickr.

I keep obvious stuff private online, but I think it'd be pretty easy for people to find me if they REALLY wanted to, regardless of whether they saw me online or not. I mean, it only takes someone watching to see what car I go into to get the plate number and then it can spiral from there. Case in point? When we found Miller and I hunted that guy down based on the picture on his website. It's not hard to be an amateur sleuth.

Anyway, that's my little adventure/life lesson for the day. Pay more attention to details in photos I'm posting. :)

ritual




Image by istolethetv

Before entering a Shinto Shrine one usually performs a traditional hand and wmouth washing known as Temizu washing ritual: wash your left hand first, then your right, then rinse your mouth, (do not spit back into the water supply or drink), and sometimes your feet as well if needed. Tip the ladle backwards to wash the ladle handle with the remaining water and place opening down on the rack where you found it.

There were several people performing this ritual when I visited the Meiji Shrine by Harajuku, including this woman, who was performing the ritual for her plush friend, while taking pictures with her cell phone. I even saw her later in the day taking pictures of her friend in front of the shrine's ema. I chalked this up to Japanese eccentricity. this is, after all, a country where people are known to have unusual relationships with inanimate objects. however when I asked our local chums about this, they all agreed that it wasn't so much "eccentricity" as much as "that woman is crazy." anyone who agrees or disagrees or knows what the deal with that doll is, please feel free to share in the comments section.

Update: with a bit of e-sleuthing, i found out the little guy is Chupa Chuck. Chuck is the mascot for Chupa Chups lollipops, and a bit of an internet phenomenon. So, maybe this lady was trying to make some kind of tribute video or something with her phone? Or something? We may never know...

Update 2: crokittycats is amazing. See comments below.

Other posts like this, by keyword:

Crazy:

Maryland Politics: GOP gains 6 delegates, may lose 2 Senate seats ...
The War for Late Night: When Leno Went Early and Television Went Crazy Reviews ...
Crazy ‘08: How a Cast of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads, and Magnates Created the Greatest Year in Baseball History ...
Comic Crazy! (Spongebob Squarepants) ...
7 Tips to Make Crazy Money in Photography ...
Mother Goose Unplucked: Crazy Comics, Zany Activities, Nutty Facts, and Other Twisted Takes on Childhood Favorites ...
This:

Crafts Books blog ...
Animals Books blog ...
Mathematics Books blog ...
blog Childrens Books ...
Travel Books blog ...
Museums Books blog ...
Parenting and Family Books ...
Ancient Books blog ...
Fantasy Books blog ...
Certification Books blog ...
191/556: