A safety tip from Houstonist: If some duct tape-wielding strangers show up at your door one night, don't let them in: They may be planning to rob your house while you watch. That's what happened to a guy in his townhome at Floyd and Hartman streets, just off Washington Avenue. About 10 p.m. yesterday, he said two middle-aged white men knocked on his door; when he answered, they forced their way into his house, tied him to a chair with duct tape and spent a couple of hours stealing valuables.

The men ended up stealing between $30,000 and $40,000 worth of stuff, the homeowner said, including jewelry, a stereo and flat-screen TVs. And for good measure, they also took his 2004 Mercedes coupe while they were at it. According to KHOU, the burglars' getaway vehicle was a silver Ford F-150 — we can't help but wonder if it was stolen, too.

When the thieves left, the homeowner broke free of his duct-tape bonds and ran for help. The suspects are still at large and police are trying to figure out whether they had followed the man home or had been casing his place for a while.

Update: The Chronicle reports this afternoon that there's another side to this story: THe two men who burglarized the guy's house weren't random thieves after all — the victim, 31-year-old Eric James Mitch, invited them over after talking to them through an online gay chat site. Mitch said he talked with the men on gay.com; when they came over, he went into the bedroom expecting to make sweet love, but instead found himself bound with duct tape (and not in a good way). The robbers called themselves Ricky and John; as they were leaving, "Ricky" apologized to Mitch for robbing him and said the pair had robbed other people under similar circumstances.