5.4GHz Conroe gets stolen in Theo Disaster Diary

* HEY THEO we just had a call from the polizei. Your passport and belongings have been found. In another state. In both senses.

The polizei were pleased to hear the Ed knew you were alive because they were just about to dredge the canal where the bag was found in case you'd toppled in.

Ich haben keine Deutsch speak, so I hope they won't arrest you because my German is so bad. They have now talked to the Leipzig polizei because the bag was found in a different state.

Ah, we had another call from the very charming German police at Merseburg in Sachsen-Anhalt.

Theo's been in touch with them. So all's well that ends well. Although his passport and tickets are possibly a tad soggy.

Any chance of some stories apart from this one, Theo? Like, is the 5.4GHz Conroe lost forever? Did Kinc get his passport back too? The world+dog wants to know.

** ANUVVER UPDATE According to Andreas Galistel at Nordic Hardware, Monsieur "Kinc" has started his benchmarketing again. He had to go to the Swedish consulate, wherever the JEDEC that is, but the chip appears to have gone forever. Andreas didn't say whether Mr Kinc has got his passport back yet. Why the heck don't they keep their passports in their pockets, like sensible Mumbles? I can assure you, from the INQUIRER side, there will be a public inquiry about this debacle. Ed.

WE WOZ ROBBED LAST NIGHT in the parking space of Bowle (whatever) american restaurant & bowling alley, located some 300 metres from the Leipzig messe.

After the dinner, yours truly took a walk with Zikria of Mushkin fame to a brand new VW Passat Variant, only to find that the rear window was broken and that the contents of the trunk were emptied.

Two of the world's most famous overclockers, Shamino from Singapore and Kinc from Sweden could only join yours truly in disbelief when we saw the amount of damage.

Several notebooks were stolen - I was robbed of my SSD-packed notebook, digital cameras, PSPs and most heart-breakingly for overclocking enthusiasts - over a dozen Intel processors and graphics cards that were used to break world records, including a Conroe that worked at 5.4GHz, memory and stuff.

But the most important thing missing were not the components themselves, valued at more than the car itself, but passports from honorable Mr. Kinc and yours truly - departed for unchartered territory, thus leaving yours truly stranded in Germany and probably not heading out to the Turkish Grand Prix now.

I will have to forgo a coverage of GC for now, since all of the pictures and drafted articles are on the encrypted hard drive and the consulate is in Berlin, 200 kilometres from here. Camera with two expensive lenses is also MIA, so are all the data cards, a lot of USB sticks and invaluable prototypes of water-cooling equipment from Xirex.

One thing I know for sure - my passport will not leave the close proximity of my body ever again. And I will not buy a VW.

If you're an industry insider and can help Kinc, Shamino or yours truly, you know our e-mails. In my case, I can be reached over at theo.valich@theinquirer.net.

Your help would be greatly appreciated. Sent via BlackBerry from Vodafone