[Christ]

RE: Keys in the SUV

I've been known to do a few dick-ish things when I see this... such as setting the parking brake and leaving it idle in gear. Removing the keys, but leaving the lights and extraneous voltage drainers on. Brick on the gas pedal. Turn the heat on high, and leave it that way.

All, of course, before I adopted my current lifestyle. I used to be quite the evil child.

The worst one I've ever done was publicly announcing that someone had left their car idle for an extended period in a restaurant. I got kicked out for it. I literally stood next to my table, and called out something like "Excuse me - If you are the owner of X SUV, please, stop increasing gas prices, and shut the damn thing off. There is no need for it to idle while you're eating in this restaurant, and we'd all like to be able to afford to drive home - Thank you."

Someone got up and left, apparently embarrassed. Shortly thereafter, the manager comp'd my meal and asked me to not come back. Fair enough, I suppose.

RE: Dumpster diving - When I lived in Endicott, NY, a short time ago, I used to pick up computers and components on the side of the road, every Wednesday night, just before trash was picked up on Thursday.

One time, a man waited up well into the night, so that he could see who was "stealing his trash". Apparently, he was upset that someone had found value in that which he did not. He evidenced this by stating loudly: "It ain't worth dick!" To which I replied - "Then why do you care if I take it?".

When that man threatened to call the cops, myself knowing fully well that at this point, the law was on my side *for once in my life*, I volunteered my phone to him. Promptly, (surprising) the officer showed up, and told the man that even if there was anything he could do, he wouldn't bother. Any time someone feels like picking up the garbage left behind by the more wasteful people in the city, it saves the city landfill space, even if it's just a little bit, so they actually encourage people to snoop trash, as long as you're not disturbing others or making a mess. Once you put it on the little patch of grass across the sidewalk, it's not yours anymore. It belongs to the municipality in which you live, but you have the right to take it back, until it hits the truck.

The guy started purposely not putting his trash out until the garbage truck was right there. I found this amusing, because he was so disgusted by my actions that he would intentionally put himself out, just to stop me from doing something that I would simply do at the next house down the line anyway. I hope he was happy for what he'd done, because it affected me and my goals not in the least.

Rent-A-Center is famous for throwing away salvageable stuff and really nice furniture because of simple problems, like small rips or stains.