Last week my mother called me after she broke down on the side of the road. So I popped her hood, broke her timing belt, then sped off.

Have to agree with you, seems fairly pointless to kick someone while they’re down. Computer problems are stressful, so it’s not surprising someone would ask the first person they know is remotely involved with computing for help. It’s very easy just to tell someone a few things that they might try googling.