Online dating is a risky affair.
People have become so adept at faking their virtual selves that once you meet them in real life, you might not immediately be able to adjust to the truth.
A New Jersey woman discovered this to her cost, when she went on a first online date with a man.
As the local Daily Record reports, the unnamed woman from Dover, NJ, met someone allegedly called Joel online.
First dates can go in several directions (south has often been my experience). In this case, however, the date must have gone north of expectations. The woman says she invited the man to her home.
At some point in the evening, she left the man alone for a while. I have no idea whether she needed to freshen up, adjust the lighting in other parts of her house, or phone a friend.
In any case, she says that when she returned, Joel had disappeared. Perhaps it's easy to cope with the departure of someone you've only just met. However, along with Joel, her dog Violet and her Samsung flat-screen TV were gone with the wind.
You might be muttering to yourself: "Who does that?" All I can reply is that I did once have a date in New Jersey myself and lost several things that I never expected to lose.
Police say that they have a sense of who this Joel might be. He allegedly used the woman's phone, which they have dusted for prints.
Still, some might worry about the woman's judgment of men. This Joel apparently drives a gold-colored Mercedes.
While it doesn't seem that the woman found love in this instance, she has finally encountered something of a happy ending.
The Associated Press reports that her Violet and her Samsung have returned. (She reportedly valued Violet at $1,000 more than her Samsung.)
She said that Violet was found leashed to the Samsung, and both had been left in her front yard.
Given that Technically Incorrect is largely a heartfelt advice column, might I suggest that it's never a good idea to take a first date home.
Once they espy the quality of your electronics, they might covet them more than they covet you.
That's the way the world is these days. People are dispensable. Electronics are definitive.