Intentional Camera Movement...

...today's subject for Abstract Thursday and thanks to Ingeborg for hosting. You KNOW you're a dedicated blipper when you go out after a
night of falling snow, with a chill factor of 5 below zero (F) just to try some ICM. This one was my favorite.   Now an update on the saga of the stolen catalytic converter. The alarm was installed on the car yesterday and we got it back around 4:30pm, so Jennie came and got the car after she finished class. Her boyfriend was getting ready to go to work around midnight, and noticed flashing lights on the street. When he looked out, he saw a car parked right alongside the Prius with it's flashers on. One guy was sitting behind the wheel and three of them were in the street, one with a long pole (that's apparently used to lift the car enough for someone to crawl under and cut the catalytic converter out). Jennie called the police and her boyfriend took off to go outside. The car alarm went off when they jostled the car, and two got back in the car and drove off and one walked off. Her boyfriend had said from the beginning that someone in the neighborhood had to be involved because in order to remove the part so quickly they had to have come prepared with tools and to know the car was there. He said this proved it when they showed up again, as how else would they know the car was back and was repaired, plus one of those guys just walked away so had to be local. The policeman told her that even if they'd had the license plate number (which they couldn't see) it probably wouldn't help, as the professional crews that steal parts also change license plates so they can't be traced to the vehicle they're using. The policeman also said that even with the alarm, if they want the part badly enough they'll come back. Great! Tom looked it up online, and there's been a huge spike in thefts of catalytic converters that began last November, when the price of some of the metals in the converters skyrocketed. The article said they can be sold for anywhere from $150 to $250 dollars, and that an experienced person can remove it in about 60 seconds. Yikes!  :(