Driver's License Renewal

Last Friday I went down to a MJ MVC office and got my driver's license renewed for another 4 years.  This wasn't too painful although at one point I did have to wait about half an hour for my number to be called. This was a longer wait than I remember from previous visits but perhaps the Friday before a 3 day weekend wasn't the best time to visit.

The way the process works is that you first go to a reception desk that tells you where to go next. In my case as I would have to present several forms of ID to get my license renewed I was first sent to a queue for several clerks who were checking that you had brought enough forms of ID to satisfy New Jersey's somewhat complicated requirements. This allows people who don't have the right ID to find out quickly. This line just took a few minutes. After the clerk checked my ID she gave me a sticker with a code (a letter followed by a number) on it and directed me to an area with chairs where I could wait for my code to be called.

The codes were being read out on a loudspeaker and also being flashed up on a bunch of video screens. When a code was called you were directed to a numbered window. Since I had nothing else to do I tried to figure out the system. It was a little complicated but eventually I deduced that there were multiple queues for the different services provided each with a different initial letter. The numbers (for each letter) were then being called in increasing order. I estimate there were about 4 clerks handling license renewal and about 12 people ahead of me. If each transaction took about 10 minutes this would account for about a 30 minute wait.

When my code was called and I went to my window and found a young woman trying to convince the clerk that she was next. The clerk was having none of it and eventually was able to turn her attention to me. I gave my IDs to the clerk and she checked them (with a slight scare when she momentarily misplaced my old driver's license).  I had to answer the same 3 questions on an electronic pad I had already answered on a written form that I had filled out (as directed) before going to the office. I had to sign my name on a different electronic pad (with another slight glitch when I tried to use the stylus for the first pad which doesn't work). At some point my picture was taken. You are offered the option to retake the picture if you don't like the first one which I declined (as in my experience the second one isn't going to be much different). Then I filled out a check to NJMVC and received my new license (which has a similar format to the old one) and my old license back with a hole punched in it.

As I was driving away I figured out what I think happened with the young woman. She initially missed her code when it was first called. When this happens after a few minutes they call the next code. At this point the young woman belatedly realized her code had been called but it was too late she had missed her slot. But instead of going back to the waiting area and waiting for her code to be called again in a few minutes (as I expect the clerk had told her to do) she had instead hovered around while the clerk served the next customer thinking she would be next. But that isn't how the system works, when the slot opened up again the system assigned the next code which was mine. When I was done I think she was still hovering around expecting to be next which still wasn't how the system works but I didn't wait around to see what happened. Ironically when I was waiting to be called I noticed a repeat code call right before mine which I expect was her code coming up again with a different clerk.  But as she was hovering around the first clerk's window instead of listening for her code it had done her no good.

I felt a little sorry for the young woman as she said she was missing work and seemed to be in a bit of a panic but on the other hand if you are in a hurry perhaps should you be paying attention so you don't miss your code.  And perhaps you shouldn't ignore instructions.  

Press 1 for English

Back in July, Paul Campos (of the Lawyers, Guns & Money blog) posted a rant in which he derided the  ""press 1 for English" myth" declaring (among other things):

The claim that people are forced to “press 1 for English” is pure racist bullshit, peddled by liars ...

I was pretty sure I had encountered this in the past  but of course it was hard to cite specific examples.  But now I can.  This morning I had reason to call New York E-ZPass service center (1-800-333-8655) and one of the first things I heard was "press 1 for English" (or some close variant).  So more confirmation of my opinion that the left is increasingly living in a fantasy world.

I was calling the service center because yesterday I received an E-ZPass statement which showed a bogus charge for using the lower level of the George Washington Bridge.  This was easy to spot since it was the only charge on the statement and I haven't been in New York State for some time.  Once I got a live person on the line this proved fairly simple to resolve.  She determined by some unspecified means that the charge was in error and agreed to have it reversed.  It was not clear what happened.  She said something about the license plate number not matching so maybe she was able to pull up a photo.

Car Talk

My previous car was a Toyota Solara. This was a pretty good car but it had an annoying flaw. There was some problem with way the tires were sealed to the rims and they tended to develop slow leaks. So I had to keep topping off the air pressure. When it got too bad I would take it to a tire place and they would do something that fixed the problem for a while but eventually it would recur. Also the car was high mileage and required expensive repairs from time to time. Finally in 2013 (at 216,000 miles) it had a serious engine problem for which I received a $4000 repair estimate. So I replaced it with a Toyota Camry my current car.

The Solara was a variant of the Camry so there isn't too much difference between them. The Camry had about 34000 miles on it when I bought it (it is now approaching 72000 miles). This is the only car I have owned with less than 100,000 miles on it and it has been pretty trouble free which is nice. The Camry also gets better highway mileage than the Solara. The gas tank is the same size so the range is greater. The longest distance on one tank of gas I managed with the Solara was 536.5 miles (Salt Lake City to Denver) in 2011. I soon exceeded this with the Camry (541.7 miles in November 2013) and while on vacation last month set a new personal record by going 626.2 miles on one tank. 

The miles per gallon (mpg) achieved between fill ups seems to vary quite a bit even when I am driving almost exclusively on highways. On my vacation last month my mpg varied between 33.3 and 44.8. Measurement error could be part of this, I fill the tank until the pump shuts itself off and I expect there is some variation in how much gas is in a full tank. Elevation change is clearly a factor, my record distance was aided by a 5000 foot elevation drop which I estimate saved about .8 gallons (compared to no net elevation change). Running the AC will reduce mpg as will traffic tie ups. Average speed affects mileage and when driving long distances in the same direction it seems plausible that you could have a substantial average head wind or tail wind which would also affect mileage. Anyway enough things lined up right for a new record.