Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with found

How do I deal with a friend's lost object?

fiasco — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:05:40 -0800

Friend said I lost something of his, asked me to replace it. What should I do now? The other night, several friends and I went out on the town. We then met up with another friend -- let’s call him Friend A – who drove us to another (and the last stop) bar.

Preface: I was on my way to becoming very drunk.

Friend A said he found his iphone charger in my belongings. I think that I might have grabbed it accidentally, mistaking his charger for my cell phone charger. He took it back; all was well.

Later, my friend reported that he lost his iphone. He asked me to search my apartment, etcetera. I searched my apartment high and low. I called the bar we were at and asked them to check the lost and found to no avail. I reported my findings to him.

Friend A then responded that he believes when I got out of the car to go to bar, he thought I dropped something. He assumed it was my phone and that I picked it up but he thinks now that it must’ve been his iphone.

I do not believe I dropped anything as I got out of his car. I was drunk at that point, but not annihilated. I feel that I would have noticed and/or retrieved said fallen object.

To figure things out, I asked my other friend (a third party – let’s call him Friend B) if he saw anything slip out with me. Friend B said he was getting out on the same side of the car as me and no, he did not see or hear anything fall out. He said if he had, he would have helped me out. Friend B also stated he never saw me with the iphone in my possession.

This all leads to my question. Friend A asked me to replace his iphone. I am not in a financial position to do so. I was pretty passive/helpful at first, doubting myself, and thinking it might have possibly been my fault, but at this point, I’m a little salty about the allegation.

I do not steal things. I have never stolen anything (except a piece of candy in a department store when I was seven) nor do I think it’s funny or mischievous to steal things when I am drunk. I have never been that type of person. I’ve heard about people who do that type of thing when loaded and I’ve always wondered where the humor or logic is.

Our friendship is important to me but there is no feasible way I can pay him. What is the right thing to do? How would you handle this situation?

I used to have a dearth of iPhones. Now I have a glut of iPhones.

harperpitt — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:11:09 -0800

Last week I lost my iPhone. Yesterday my new iPhone was delivered. Today we discovered my original iPhone lying face-down in my front yard. Now what? After drinking way too much bourbon, I woke up last week to find that my iPhone 3GS had disappeared. After tearing up the house looking for it, I resigned myself to the fact that it was lost or stolen, and I bought a replacement.

Through at&t's website, I "upgraded" my phone to a refurbished 3G model with only 8GB of memory, as opposed to the 16 my 3GS had. I paid $250 and reset my contract to get this new refurbished model, which was delivered yesterday.

Today, my roommate discovered my first iPhone laying face-down in the mud of our front lawn. Its sturdy rubber casing prevented it from getting any (obvious) damage, and it boots up just fine. Obviously, I have no idea if there are any problems with the phone I can't see.

So now what do I do?

- Can I return the crappier iPhone to at&t? Can I get my money back, or my contract changed back?

- Should I do this, or is the second iPhone (crappier though it may be) safer, since it's never been exposed to water?

- Can I take the iPhone Mark I to an Apple store to find out if there's any insidious damage I can't see?

- Is there anything else I should be thinking about here?

- Can/should I make the iPhones duel to the death?

If you think about it, if someone helps CF Kane get the sled back earlier, a lot of people lead much better lives. So who is that hero?

rileyray3000 — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:53:57 -0800

Say that Citizen Kane really wanted to find Rosebud - who would he call? Is there a kind of specific person who tracks down these personal lost things? So I’m doing research for a project and I’m wondering if there is a specific class of person of searcher, or researcher or private investigator who goes looking for objects that are lost. Kind of like art provenance people but more general if that helps.

If there’s a name or kind that exists and you can tell me, that would help. And if there really is some sort of expert out there you can name that I could then try to reach out to and ask some questions that would help more.

What should I do with this cat I found?

jnaps — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 15:48:46 -0800

I went out for a cigarette and came back with a cat. Now what? Last night I was outside smoking when I heard a cat meowing rather loudly. I went to investigate and it came right towards me, and let me pick it up. It was rather cold, and very late (2am), and the cat had no tags. We took it inside and made up a litterbox and bought some cat food, which she scarfed down.

I've asked my immediate neighbors, and they say that it isn't theirs. Given the weather (I'm in Queens), my landlord has given me a few days to find this kitty's home.

A few questions: 1.) How much detail should I provide in my "found" ads? I've heard of instances where some people abuse animals that they pick up this way, fraudulently. Should I post a picture, or just a description, or what?

2.) Do most cat owners let their pets outside that late in the cold? How likely is it that I kidnapped this cat? Should I just let it go back outside?

3.) I have some people who would like to adopt the cat, but I don't want to give someone's pet away. That said, I've only got a few days to resolve this situation, and no one has responded to my flyers so far.

Thanks for your help.

Cute Hat or Cootie Hat?

cachondeo45 — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 09:09:37 -0800

Found: 100% acrylic (super cute, made in USA) winter hat on the (mostly abandoned) street in 20ºF weather (on New Year's Day). I washed it. Can I wear it? Not to be a cootie phobe, but do you think it's safe to wear now? My thoughts were that the cold probably killed any cooties, and then I washed it, but I wanted to check with the more experienced hatted hive mind just in case.

How can I find my lost ring?

OlivesAndTurkishCoffee — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 19:35:57 -0800

Other than Craigslist and Kiiji, are there any other places to try to find lost and found items in Toronto. I just lost a ring downtown in Toronto. I posted it in the Lost and Found on Craigslist. I know that the odds of my finding it again are terrible, but are there any other avenues I might try?

Taxi lost & found

ceribus peribus — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 08:47:44 -0800

Help, I left some important paperwork in the back of a NYC cab last night! I've read this, and submitted the online Lost Property Inquiry form. The lost property precinct numbers were busy when I called; I'll try them again in a few minutes.

Is there anything else I can do?

Like an idiot, I don't have a medallion number. That lost binder has my passport, and immigration forms that have taken me years to get. I can't believe I did this.

Names of the locations in these old slides?

Venadium — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 11:20:58 -0800

Need help identifying some places (and maybe even people?) in a bunch of old slides I found at a thrift shop. Picked up an old Argus slide projector for $3 at a thrift shop in CT a couple weeks ago. There was a small box of slides included, and the pictures look like they were taken on some kind of family vacation in the summer of 1989. Two of the pictures were taken in downtown Ridgefield, where I bought the projector. The rest are a mystery.

I've scanned all the slides and thrown them into a set on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mgoddard/sets/72157607241381299/

Please help me reach out to the person who found our memory card!

lioness — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 04:13:18 -0800

What would you do if you found a memory card? Have you found our memory card in Rome, Italy? We've lost our Sony memory card in Rome, Italy, during our vacation at the end of July. It probably fell out of our bag while sitting on the benches on Piazzale Ugo La Malfa, near Circo Massimo. It was in its plastic encasing, so it's fairly protected and a bit easier to spot than 'just' a memory card. We probably lost it on the 25th of July.*
I know the odds of the card being found are slim and the odds of retrieving it are even slimmer, but I really have to try for my own piece of mind.

So, if you're a Roman/Italian and found a memory card, what would you do?
Or, if you're a tourist in Rome and found a memory card, what would you do?

On which Italian or English websites/forums/boards would you post? Which site with advertisements do I have to keep an eye on? Where could I place advertisements myself? Would you bring it to the police (and how can I contact them if that's the case)? What is the Italian equivalent to Craigslist?

I want to maximize the odds that if there is indeed someone trying to find the owner of our memory card, he will be able to find us.
I'm already keeping an eye on Found Cameras and Orphan Pictures and I've posted an ad on The Found Bin and Lost and found now.

Last part of my question:
Can you help me write a short Italian version of this question I could post on the Roman Craigslist? The contact information you should mention is lostandfoundinrome at hotmail dot com.

Of course, I will gladly offer a reward to the person who finds the memory card!

Grazie mille!

*If any Roman living in the neighbourhood happens to feel very warm-hearted and compassionate and would be willing to go look on the Piazzale, he/she would earn my eternal gratitude and some great Belgian sweets!

Diamond found on ground... now what?

djpyk — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 22:32:56 -0800

Diamond found on ground... now what? Q1: How long should I wait for someone to claim? Q2: What steps should one go through when selling a gemstone? Any advice? My friend (yes yes, I assure you, it was my friend and not me), found a sizable diamond on the ground (>.75 carat). It looks nice, and we're pretty sure it's a diamond based on some simple tests. We reported it to a few nearby places to where she lives, but no bites yet.

Question 1: How long should she wait?

Now, supposing it remains unclaimed for a few months (my suggestion)...

Our current plan is to get it appraised, to #1, see if it's real, #2, see if there is some laser engraving or otherwise, and #3, see what grade/color/cut classes it falls under.

Question 2: What steps should one go through when selling a gemstone? Any advice?

This could include... are there any pitfalls to watch out for? Any preferred methods? I've heard consignment is an option... but I don't know the logistics of it all (perhaps it's different based on the jeweler? or is there consistency in consignment practices?). Is online selling with a GIA certificate worth it (and is the GIA certificate worth it?)?

If it helps, I'm in Georgia here in the US.

Show me the money!

Gungho — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 11:24:25 -0800

OK so my grandfather bought the proverbial 'swamp land in Florida'... He died 20+ years ago. The property was recently sold at auction for 5 figures by/to a developer. AFAIK it was sold for back taxes which were less than the sale amount. A company contacted us and said there may be money, but of course they would want a cut. I have found several documents online that record the sale. How do I go about getting the remaining funds without involving them?

Phound Phone

rossination — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 11:50:01 -0800

I found a Blackberry 8830 (I think) the other day -- it was sitting on the back of my car which was parked out in the carport. Now what? I would like to do one of the following things, in order of preference:

1) Find the original owner and get it back to him/her.
2) Failing that, re-activate it for myself [it is a Verizon Wireless phone, as is mine].
3) Failing that, sell it on Ebay.

Obviously the first option would be most ideal.

The catch is: it's not turning on. I tried plugging it into my iBook with a mini USB cable and nothing happened. SO -- what do I do now? Are there other ways of getting into this thing to try to see if there's some "if found, contact ____" info, or should I not worry about it at all, or is the thing completely borked?

Lost and Found

soonertbone — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 09:38:03 -0800

I recently found an iPod on the ground. What should I do? I found this iPod in my apartment's parking lot. I'm planning on putting up a sign by the apartment mailboxes saying something like "Found: iPod. Call for info."

If I were to do something like that, how would I verify that the person calling actually owns the iPod? There is no personally identifying information on the iPod itself, other than music (which is very generic college-student music). No movies, contacts, etc. I called the Apple Store, thinking that there might be a way to get the iPod's serial number off the original owner's iTunes, but they said there wasn't.

So, suppose I get a call from somebody claiming it's theirs: How can I be sure I'm giving it away to the right person?

Bonus question: Suppose nobody calls. How long should I keep the sign up before I take it down and keep the iPod? Am I justified in doing that at all?

I need to stop losing stuff. But how?

gregb1007 — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 23:28:48 -0800

I need to stop losing stuff. But how? When I am on the train, in a public building like a library or even in a park, I may incidentally leave behind an item of mine to never see it again.

The worst incidents happened on the train as a hat, gloves, cell phone, or wallet that I had put on the seat next to me or on my lap did not make it out of the train with me.

(I would take gloves and hat off because it was hot, but have nowhere to put them. I would hold the wallet on my lap cause I took out some card from it and forgot to put it back in my pocket.)

Now, recently, I have decided to always have the wallet and cell phone in my pocket so that I wouldn't have the chance to lose them. But my PDA/Palm Pocket PC was always in my hands cause I was writing or reading it. To my dismay, I didn't take it with me as I left the train. I probably laid it down by my side and forget to check whether I put it back in my backpack as I exited the train.

Now, what should I do in the future to make sure that I don't lose a PDA (or anything else in my hands like hat, gloves) in a public place. I really need some tips to feel like I am gonna manage to keep my stuff, otherwise I'll be pretty nervous about carrying PDAs and/or other expensive things.

(It takes only one forgetful moment every 6 months or so, or every year to lose an important item. But how to prevent it?)

Lost a 30D! But have hope.

sirliberal — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 15:30:51 -0800

Lost Camera! How can I search the 'net's for it? I lost a Canon 30D SLR camera. Games up right, ill never find it. The kicker is I have my email address set in the camera, so any photos it takes will be tagged with my email address unless said finder happens to know about this, and how to change it (you need the Canon software, and its hidden in a menu).

So! How can I search the web for EXIF data, specifically my email address or the camera serial number? Are there services that offer this? Would it be worth emailing flickr, or the other major sources? I would have to assume if someone picked up a 30D eventually it would get a photo from it posted on the net, and as long as EXIF survives, it should show up!

If you found a diamond on the street, would you have to pay taxes on it?

paulinsanjuan — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 10:14:40 -0800

If you found a diamond on the street, would you have to pay taxes on it?

A Cat's Life Might Just Be Hanging in the Balance

dhammond — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 18:25:28 -0800

There's a little kitty that's been showing up near my apartment. He's cute as a devil, very affectionate, and appears to be in good health (if undernourished). I'm wondering what, if anything, I should do with him? Picture and more info inside. He has a collar, but no name tag, which leads me to suspect that he belongs to somebody. But I haven't seen any missing kitty signs around the neighborhood, so I don't think tracking down the owner is going to work for the time being. I'm a cat owner but, as much as I'd love to take the little dude inside and feed him, I don't know if that's the best idea. I wouldn't want little Cosmo (my 4-year-old cat) to get upset or diseased or covered in fleas.

I don't know much about animal control and shelters here (Los Angeles), except they seem to be overcrowded and maybe not the best place for an animal.

Just to be clear, I don't really feed need to do anything. He's certainly not bothering me and doesn't appear to be in any imminent danger. But if anyone has any good thoughts or suggestions about what might be best for him, I'd love to hear from you. Thank you.

Get a dumpster surround sound system to play from my Macbook?

raygan — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 15:26:15 -0800

How can I get surround sound from my Macbook to this nice five speaker system I found in the trash? I found a Boston BA7800 computer surround sound system in the trash. It's in great shape, I've hooked everything up and everything seems to work, but I don't know how to get surround sound to it from my Macbook. Ideally I'd like to be able to play DVDs with surround sound from my Macbook.

Here's how it's set up: the system is "4.1 surround" (front and rear speakers and a subwoofer) and has no optical input or surround sound decoder, It just has two mini-jacks, one of which feeds through to the front speakers and one of which feeds through to the rear speakers. There is no way to get it to play from one jack to all four speakers, it's just Stereo and Stereo. I'm assuming that this thing was designed to work with computers that have surround sound audio cards, but I'm on a laptop.

Now, when I found the system, it had with it a USB Xitel MD-Port AN1, which I have researched and I can use as a 2nd audio output. I have plugged it into my Macbook and can see and use it as an audio device. So I'm thinking, Bang! Two stereo outputs to two stereo inputs... Surround Sound!

Software-wise though, I haven't figured out how to make this happen yet. From the Sound prefPane I can have the system output audio from EITHER the built-in audio output OR the USB device, but not both at once so I can have audio on the Front speakers or the Back speakers, but not both at once, and definitely not both playing different audio, as I would need to work out to play surround sound from DVDs, which is my primary goal.

Can anybody help me? I'm interested in either software or (inexpensive) hardware options. I've googled extensively and found a wealth of options and products, but none seemed to make sense for my somewhat unusual needs.

server not found on first request

specialk420 — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 15:30:12 -0800

"server not found" problems in Firefox 2 and IE 7 ... I have recently developed a consistent problem with server not found errors in FF and IE, request will load on a second refresh of the request this topic has been explored in depth elsewhere i am hoping the friendly folks as ask me might be able to help solve this one? i suspect the browser issues are symptom of system issues. side note: using netmon i have consistent network connections so thats not the issue...

Two turntables and a pen and a piece of paper

sleevener — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 17:21:15 -0800

Most interesting poetry which makes use found or appropriated language? Who are the best or most interesting poets who make use of "found" or "appropriated" language? Anything counts, from movie quotes to chatter overheard in the mall to Chinese ideograms (looking at you, Ezra). I already know Pound, Eliot, blee blah. I love Rae Armantrout's work like crazy, and her subtle use of appropriation. I'm going to comb Ubuweb. Ted Berrigan's _The Sonnets_ is a favorite, and maybe has the qualities of what I'm looking for: vital, purposeful and optimistic. Who haven't I heard of? Oddball and regularball suggestions welcome. Double points for links to specific books. Double and a half points if the work's online.

I left my iPod in the seat pocket!

mhm — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 10:04:27 -0800

I left my iPod in the seat pocket on a flight from SFO to IAD (I changed planes and went on to ROC) yesterday. I've made some attempts to locate it, but with the holiday travel and the huge backup due to Denver being closed, I'm having little success. I'm jumping through the hoops with the airport and airline, but having a tough time due to the heavy traveler volume. Has anyone else lost an item by leaving it in the seat pocket and got it returned? Any tips?

I found 20 karmabucks.

ninjew — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 10:01:54 -0800

I found $20 at work. I have no intention of keeping it, but I don't know how to return it. I work in a museum. While walking into the cafe to grab breakfast one morning, I spotted a bill on the ground. I stood there for about a minute, waiting for the inevitable paniced 'owner' to show up. No one ever did. When I picked it up, I found that it was a $20.

Here's the rub, though. How would I ever be able to find the person that lost it? Furthermore, how could I even know if it belonged to a fellow employee, or a visitor who would be long gone by now? Visitors do have access to the cafe when the museum is open, and when I walked through, the facility had been open to the public for the day.

There is a lost and found here, but its not hard to figure out what would happen if I just put $20 in it. And I cannot send a mass email to everyone about it, since we are generally not allowed to send broadcast emails (those only can come from HR or the PR dept).

This isn't exactly like finding/returning someone's blue hat.

What is this mystery object?

kcds — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 15:23:36 -0800

What the heck is this mystery object? I found it by the side of the road, partly embedded in the dirt, on my own property. It appears to be made of steel, probably weighs a pound or two (I can weigh it if anyone is interested), was covered in dirt (and some black grease) when I found it, and has puzzled me ever since. It is extensively machined (as you may be able to tell from the lousy photos - I can provide more, higher-quality shots from any angle you like if it will help), and incorporates one moving part, a spring-loaded mechanism that may be some kind of a latch. It bears some wear marks, but does not appear to be extensively "worn".

If I were to hazard a guess, I would say it might be some kind or part of a control mechanism, perhaps involving the flow of gas or (e.g. hydraulic) fluid, but that's really just a hunch, nothing more. There is nothing riding on identifying this, just my own curiosity and those of the friends I have also baffled with it!

The cat has one less life.

jammer — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 13:16:12 -0800

Help me translate this Indian text, please? I just received this text, presumably mis-sent, from someone at yahoo.co.in. I'm intrigued by the context switching become English and the mother language. I've heard this done verbally, but have never seen it in writing. Some Google searching shows the foreign language to perhaps be Gujarati, but I am not at all sure.

DEAR XXXXX & XXXXXXXXX, AAPNE BADHANE INDIA NI VISIT BAD DUTY MA JOIN THAI GAYA HASHO! ! OFCOURSE TAME LOKO EXCESS RAIN NE LIDHE DISTURBED RAYA SORRY,BUT TAMARA PAGLE AMONE SOLH ANNI PAK MALSHE.AMARI PRACTICE MA SEASON JAMI CHHE ATLE JE PUNE-MUMBAI FARI GAYA ,TAMARI SATHE COPANY MA CHANGE MALYO, ASK ALL TI DEVIA O AN ESSAY ON INDIA VISIT, ADITYA SITA-RAM ,JAYSHREE KRISHNA

This appears to be completely mundane, but I'm still highly curious about what it actually says. Can anyone provide any translation help?

(Since it *does* appear to be a personal email, I've excised a few likely names.)

Thanks!

Point me to blogs about found objects and such!

cortex — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 07:00:27 -0800

I'm looking for websites that informally catalogue found objects of some sort: sites (particularly blogs) that operate around the thesis of "look at this stuff I found".