" . . . it does make for the beginnings of a shit-eating grin."

Only if it works.

Hope it does.

That's probably a little more polite than many of us would have been.

Could have gone more sarcastic as in, too bad you can't afford a decent set of ear buds.

I find nothing gets a message across better than a couple of flat tires.

I have a neighbor who lately has been parking with the front half of his truck in my driveway, impeding my access. He's done this 4 times in the last month. Parking sucks in our neighborhood and I drive a big ass SUV so the only place I can park is in my assigned parking spot on my driveway. I have left very friendly notes asking that he please not do that, but he did it again last week. I called my local police department's parking enforcement number...they came out and ticketed him. Of course I hold out little hope that the ticket will change his behavior. He's the same asshole that still leaves his dog shit on my yard, even though I always return it to him. I'm sure I'll be calling animal control to report his off leash dogs in the near future. I hate rude, inconsiderate jerks and I love Amy for not letting the jerks in her neighborhood get away with their bad behavior!

If they are blocking access to your driveway, you should be able to have them towed. They have to pay the towing and storage to get their vehicle back. If they don't want to pay for it the towing company can sell it.

If you know who it is, ask them to move it so you can get in and out of your driveway. After that have them towed every time.

@Amy:

> And you should get an interesting method from felons you share a cell with in jail.

While I've never done it, there are ways to give flat tires that don't cause damage, just hassle:

1) just depress the pin in the center of the tire stem till all the air is out

2) Get a tire valve removal tool http://www.amazon.com/Milton-MILS449-Valve-Insertion-Removal/dp/B000K1PKFY and unscrew the center of the tire stems, then leave all four of them in a ziplock under the windshield wiper

It'll cause a hassle...just like loud music at 4am does.

We had a neighbor family, when I was growing up, on one side of us whose dogs used to jump the 3 foot fence separating our yards, do their business, and then jump back over the fence! The guy who owned the place was oblivious, and they weren't the cleanest people (cars up on blocks, crap all over the yard, dirty kids playing on/with dirty toys and unsafe swings). We didn't have any dogs, just one cat and 2 gerbils, so my dad starting going out in the yard with a shovel, after the dogs did their thing, and scooping up the poop and throwing it back over the fence. The next-door neighbor saw him one day and yelled at my dad, 'hey! whaddaya doin'?' and Dad said, 'just puttin' it back where it came from.' Next day the guy came over with 6' high fence sections and asked dad to help him put them up. He did. Problem solved!

Nonegiven: Parking control won't tow him unless my driveway is completely blocked, they'll only ticket him. If he was parked on private property, I'd have him towed in a heartbeat! And unfortunately, leaving nice notes asking him to refrain from blocking my driveway doesn't do any good, nor does asking him to please clean up after his dogs. He's just an inconsiderate douche, so I hope he likes parking tickets!

I was just thinking fondly of an incident I witnessed in front of my parents' house a few years ago.

A bunch of teenagers were hanging out in a pack on the corner, about 30 of them. They were throwing rocks at the cars and buses that went by. One car came down the street, and one of the kids kicked it. The car stopped, and a woman stepped out. She asked them exactly what they thought they were doing. None of these "badass" kids would own up to it, and the little fucker who did it faded away into his crowd of friends. She got back in her car and drove off, and as she did, the coward punk hiding behind his friends got all tough again. He muttered loudly about how he was going to find her and rape her. But she was so far gone that I doubt she heard him.

I called the police, who eventually got rid of them, but that was also the night I learned that the NYPD doesn't respond to anything but 911 calls. It wasn't an emergency, so I tried calling the non-emergency number, over and over again. But no one ever answered it, so I had to call 911. I wish they wouldn't encourage people to use that number if they didn't intent to answer it.

If I came outside to find my car with flat tires, I would NOT make the connection that it was payback for my loud music. I might call roadside assistance or the police, inconveniencing a lot of people and learning nothing in the process.

Why would you want to punish someone before attempting to solve the problem?

Living in Venice, where parking is always a premium, I solved the problem of people who constantly parked across my driveway, because they thought my iron gate was a wall.

Not a problem. I printed stickers that said "I am am an unconsidered asshole" - a large sticker, one big enough to be a hindrance on a windshield, and that you have to scrape off with a razor blade.

It happened a couple of times and it seems I got to my message across and guess what - it no longer happens - at least no often enough to get ticked off about. Besides that it has provided me with some great laughs.

If they thought your iron gate was a wall, how were they being inconsiderate?

You're saying you defaced a couple of people's cars, and they got the word out in their illegal parking forums and all agreed to stop?

Why would you want to punish someone before attempting to solve the problem?

Because petty vengeance is hilarious and satisfying, it seems.

I usually find it works better to explain to people what the problem is before taking more drastic action. A lot of the time what seems like someone being a dick is really someone who's just distracted and not thinking about the impact he or she is having on others. It sounds weird to think that someone who is blocking your driveway or blasting music at 4 am doesn't know this is inconsiderate, but sometimes people really are that dense, even people who are normally considerate of others. I mean, if no one ever complains about the pre-dawn jamfest, it must not be a problem for anyone, right?

I think Amy handled this well. If it continues to be a problem, she can call the police, assuming they're violating some kind of noise ordinance. I'm not a fan of elevating to the police right away unless there's some danger of violence, nor do I think acts of petty vengeance help much. It often just leads to the other person escalating if they find out who did it. And if they never find out who did it, where's the satisfaction in that?

As for the iron gate, it would probably be more useful to post a sign asking people not to park there and informing that that it's a gate, not a wall.

Four in the morning when your house is five feet away from another house in a densely packed neighborhood and you're blasting your stereo...is this really a "Wow, I had no idea people would be sleeping at this hour" issue?

Some people should know better but don't. They delude themselves into thinking it's not a problem if no one complains, or that it isn't that loud, or that no one can hear it from that far away. My husband is normally one of the most considerate people I know, but I constantly have to remind him to lower the volume on the TV, because our walls are paper thin. He never thinks it's as loud as it is. I think you handled the situation perfectly. There's no need to call the cops for a first offense, but they did deserve a good, stern talking to.

While I've never done it, there are ways to give flat tires that don't cause damage, just hassle:.... -- TJIC at May 29, 2012 5:59 AM

As I. Poison noted flat tires does not equate to loud music other than inconvenience.

As noted in Get Even: The Complete Book Of Dirty Tricks when you do revenge, you should be at the same level and a reciprocal to what they did to you. (Granted a lot of the actions are outdated as I was reading the 1980's version.)

But for example if you know their phone number you have a person call them every time the volume rises on the music. Say "Please turn down the music" then hang up. The music goes up, the next person calls, and so on. Call them via Skype or block your phone number. Hopefully they will get the message. Set off your car alarm. That gives them the idea they are disturbing others.

Oy. I have a new upstairs neighbor who apparently weighs 700 pounds and has a kid who is part Mexican Jumping Bean.

I have complained to the leasing office, which has had a chat with them. It stopped.

For three days.

I am going to be the leasing office's worst nightmare, I swear.

I get up at 3:00 and leave for work at 4:00. I'm super sensitive about being quiet while I'm getting ready for work, as I'm afraid of waking up my downstairs neighbors. They're very sweet and never complain to me. And in return, I don't complain about their toddler banshee-shrieking during the day (I discovered he's in that phase when I was home sick last week!). And they don't let him do that in the evenings.

The assy college kids in the building across the way are another story. They yell and curse and chat outside on their phones pretty much anytime they want, day or night. I don't understand how some people can be so inconsiderate (and I don't think it has anything to do with their ages).

For the commenters suggesting letting the air out of their tires: this is illegal. Tampering with another person's property (non-permanent notes don't count) is unlawful trespass, even if you don't cause any permanent damage.

Find out when they sleep.
Find out what music they don't like.
Respond in kind.

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lnxdffFGtT1qgt8qno1_500.png

Gotta get some of these...

I'm posting this here instead of the China/Tolerance comment stream; I'm done trying to reason with Amy, but I did want to touch on this topic and it's more appropriate to post it over here.

Amy thinks what she did was appropriate. I disagree. After calling the cops, she still went on her little tantrum. She should have spoken to the noisy neighbors before having her little tantrum, because she is making some assumptions that might not be true. She suggests that someone blasting music at 4am is automatically not justified, but her "poisoning other people lungs" once in a while is perfectly justified. For your consideration:

Amy (Realistic Internal Dialogue): "As soon as I could afford a new car, I bought a Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle so I would poison other people's lungs as little as possible. I sometimes have to drive places, yes. But I drive little and pollute little. I have a 2004 Honda Insight that gets 65 mpg highway. Since 2004, I've put 20,000 miles on it. Last year, I spent $93 on gas. All last year for the entire year. I try to be conscious about negatively affecting other people with my driving, perfume wearing, etc. as much as possible. I live in Los Angeles. Some driving is required, but I set up my life so I run several errands at once, etc."

Noisy Neighbor (Hypothetical Internal Dialogue): "My grandfather just died. The whole family is coming over for a wake. It'll probably last a while and there will be loud noise and drinking. Normally, I'm a considerate neighbor, but my grandfather just died and the family is arriving. Just this once I'll be loud, because I don't do it all the time. I'll pay the fine if the police come because my family needs this."

Amy's dialogue is realistic because I used her own words, the Noisy Neighbor's dialogue is hypothetical because WE DON'T KNOW what was actually going on. Amy decided to throw a tantrum rather than talk to the neighbor. Actually, she claims she banged on the fence, then called the cops, then threw her tantrum the next morning. It's been days now and she STILL hasn't spoken to them to find out why they were loud so early in the morning. Although, in her defense, she's painted herself into a corner; she is probably too frightened to speak to them after posting those signs, hence her having a neighbor try and find out who they are and contact their landlord.

Now, I'm not defending the neighbor. I think she's probably right - they were just being inconsiderate. Noise laws are in effect where she lives, and she called the cops - where it should have ended. I'd bet anyone a dollar that if we ever discover what went on in that house that night, the result would be "They were just being rude." But, unlike Amy, I don't profess to know. Amy took action based on an assumption, and is looking for praise in doing so. I'm not going to praise ignorance and childish behaviour.

Adults talk to each other, children throw tantrums, pass notes and post signs calling each other booger-butts. Grow up, Amy.

Rod, fuck you. that is all

Also how exactly does one get tired of trying to 'reason' with the blogmistress on one thread, in just over 12hours no less, and decides to make their point on a different thread on the smae fraking website?

"I'm done trying to reason with Amy, "

Rod, you're desperate for attention, convinced of your own greatness and make assumptions about everything. You lack the ability to reason -- and the ability to understand or accept that.

Instead of asking whether I saw what they were doing, you decided to imagine it -- like the many assumptions you made on the other thread. When you saw you weren't getting attention there, you came over here to spew what you like to pretend is reason.

I looked over the fence. It was a bunch of 20- and 30-something assholes having a party.

I just had a very close friend die. That's no reason to wake the neighbors.

Your main point here is clear -- making yourself look smart and logical. You're neither.

And if you wake me up, make me get out of my bed at 4am, put on clothes, walk down the street, and knock on your fence for you to be quiet, and then you don't turn the music down, you'd better fucking believe I'm going to put a sign on your fence to tell you you're an asshole.

All your examples above are those of a weak mind in a guy who thinks he's smart as hell.

I live in Los Angeles, and it's necessary to drive here. I try to drive as little as possible, and I bought the least polluting car possible. This is called consideration.

"Although, in her defense, she's painted herself into a corner; she is probably too frightened to speak to them after posting those signs, hence her having a neighbor try and find out who they are and contact their landlord"

Yes, I have a reputation as somebody "frightened." If I'm not afraid to go all whup-ass -- repeatedly -- on the felon who stole my car, you really think I'm afraid to walk down the street and talk to the neighbors? The signs did the job. I work seven days a week and, as I said, my friend just died, and another friend needs me a bit. I'm not interested in hearing why people are such assholes that they blast music at 4am in a densely packed neighborhood -- I'm only interested in seeing they never do it again.

Rod, you're a rectum with legs.

Rod, you're a dick. Wow, your name is pretty fitting then, isn't it. LOL.

Look, if you wake ME up, I know I don't have to call the cops because half the neighborhood already has. I live literally half a block down from the fire department. While they are as considerate as they can be when flipping on the sirens (lights go on when the door goes up, they have to do that as they are downtown) I NEVER hear them.

Therefore, if *I* hear *YOU*...

Oh, and this: *****Adults talk to each other, children throw tantrums, pass notes and post signs calling each other booger-butts. Grow up, Amy.*****

ADULTS respect their neighbors and don't blast the stereo at 4am, FOR ANY REASON. I don't care if your entire family just perished in a plane crash, YOU DO NOT BLAST THE STEREO AT 4AM.

You're an idiot, dude. Idiot.