One of the (theoretical) reasons I took today off was to get my emissions inspection done on my car.
Whenever you renew your vehicle registration in VA, you need to get the inspection done. It's one of the many things that makes car ownership in VA a pain, along with having to pay personal property tax on your car (and pay for a sticker that shows that you paid your property tax), getting an annual safety inspection done (and paying for a sticker that proves that you had your safety inspection done), and being required to have front and back license plates.
That last bit isn't a big deal, but in Michigan only a back plate is required, and it's been that way for years, so it's a mildly irritating deviation from what I'm accustomed to.
In Arizona, after you turn 25, your driver's license is valid until you turn 65, which is awesome, but here in VA, like in most places, it has to be renewed every four years. The one good thing that VA has as far as being a vehicle owner, though, is that you can choose to renew your vehicle for two years at a time.
This is why, when I took a look at my registration renewal form last night, I was annoyed to see that, for some reason, I was ineligible for a two-year renewal this time around.
I figured it must be some limited-time thing, and that after your car reaches a certain age it has to be renewed annually. This led to a lot of swearing and, "That was the only thing you did right when it comes to owning a car! Way to suck, Virginia!"
After my rant, though, I noticed something else written in bold, all-caps: EMISSIONS INSPECTION IS NOT REQ'D FOR THIS RENEWAL.
Oh.
...
Okay then.
I guess it would have helped if I'd looked at the form a little more carefully back when I got it.
So I pretty much took the day off for nothing.
But you know, I'm okay with that.
Showing posts with label emissions inspection. Show all posts
Showing posts with label emissions inspection. Show all posts
Monday, February 02, 2009
Monday, February 19, 2007
Three Strikes And I'm Out
So I got up early this morning in order to be able to make it to my car dealership by 9 so that I could be sure to have enough time to get my emissions inspection done and still make it to the theater on time to meet Scott and Stacy.
This was my third attempt at getting the inspection done.
Or rather, it was my third failing attempt.
This time it wasn’t a problem with my car; the machine they use to do the inspection was broken.
Three strikes and you’re out; I’m going to a different garage to get it done.
I left from there to do my grocery shopping.
When I got home I had an e-mail from Kathleen. That potential part-time job I’ve mentioned in the past is for doing some design and copywriting work with the company she works for, and Kathleen was letting me know about a project that her boss wants me to work on as sort of an audition (though not in the original sense of the word, as this involves visuals, not sound).
After I responded to the e-mail Kathleen called and gave me a little more info before I headed off for the movie.
Long story short on Ghost Rider: I liked it.
It combined elements of the version of Ghost Rider that I used to read with elements of the Ghost Rider of the 90s that I didn’t read, though I was at least aware of the basics of that version.
There were some pretty big plot holes, but what it was lacking in that area it made up for with a good sense of humor that was a perfect balance between being goofy and taking itself too seriously, great action sequences, and some spectacular effects.
My only real complaint was that the voice of the Ghost Rider seemed a little run-of-the-mill in its scary, demonic sound.
Still, it’s a minor quibble.
In interviews about the movie, Eva Mendes mentioned that in the comics her character was a big-breasted, blue-eyed blonde, and that because she couldn’t meet the last two characteristics, she would do what she could to fulfill the first. I have to say that she did an admirable job, putting in a boobtacular performance and dressing in such a way as to provide a particular focus.
(That was my other minor beef: I did not believe for a second that Eva Mendes and Nicholas Cage were the same age, which they were supposed to be. Cage looked way older.)
So yeah, I liked it. Not a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but definitely a solid entry in the genre.
(Peter David, Writer of Stuff, has a pretty good take on how much worse it could have been on his blog.)
Once I got home I went to work on my audition piece. Not sure I’m happy with it, but I think it’s a solid design, particularly given that I didn’t get much in the way of guidance in terms of what the client is looking for, so I sent it off to Kathleen for consideration.
Yesterday, despite my claims that I didn’t do much, I designed a logo for Brian, who apparently has a Web site in the works (I’ll leave it up to him to provide the details if you’re interested).
Driving in to work Thursday morning I got rather a rude awakening once I started driving over 40, as my car began to shake like Rush Limbaugh making fun of Michael J. Fox.
Simon reported the same problem on his drive in, so we both hoped that it was related to the cold temperatures. Turns out it must have been, as the drive home was much smoother.
The snow that came last week is still hanging around due to cold temperatures and general incompetence on the part of the people responsible for moving it.
I was amazed by how much snow is still around making the lanes narrow and blocking off turning lanes as I was driving around today.
In any case, that about does it for this entry.
Tomorrow it’s off to the dentist and hopefully to some garage that can do the emissions inspection.
Beyond that, not much else going on in my life this week, though I’ve already got more than usual going on anyway.
This was my third attempt at getting the inspection done.
Or rather, it was my third failing attempt.
This time it wasn’t a problem with my car; the machine they use to do the inspection was broken.
Three strikes and you’re out; I’m going to a different garage to get it done.
I left from there to do my grocery shopping.
When I got home I had an e-mail from Kathleen. That potential part-time job I’ve mentioned in the past is for doing some design and copywriting work with the company she works for, and Kathleen was letting me know about a project that her boss wants me to work on as sort of an audition (though not in the original sense of the word, as this involves visuals, not sound).
After I responded to the e-mail Kathleen called and gave me a little more info before I headed off for the movie.
Long story short on Ghost Rider: I liked it.
It combined elements of the version of Ghost Rider that I used to read with elements of the Ghost Rider of the 90s that I didn’t read, though I was at least aware of the basics of that version.
There were some pretty big plot holes, but what it was lacking in that area it made up for with a good sense of humor that was a perfect balance between being goofy and taking itself too seriously, great action sequences, and some spectacular effects.
My only real complaint was that the voice of the Ghost Rider seemed a little run-of-the-mill in its scary, demonic sound.
Still, it’s a minor quibble.
In interviews about the movie, Eva Mendes mentioned that in the comics her character was a big-breasted, blue-eyed blonde, and that because she couldn’t meet the last two characteristics, she would do what she could to fulfill the first. I have to say that she did an admirable job, putting in a boobtacular performance and dressing in such a way as to provide a particular focus.
(That was my other minor beef: I did not believe for a second that Eva Mendes and Nicholas Cage were the same age, which they were supposed to be. Cage looked way older.)
So yeah, I liked it. Not a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but definitely a solid entry in the genre.
(Peter David, Writer of Stuff, has a pretty good take on how much worse it could have been on his blog.)
Once I got home I went to work on my audition piece. Not sure I’m happy with it, but I think it’s a solid design, particularly given that I didn’t get much in the way of guidance in terms of what the client is looking for, so I sent it off to Kathleen for consideration.
Yesterday, despite my claims that I didn’t do much, I designed a logo for Brian, who apparently has a Web site in the works (I’ll leave it up to him to provide the details if you’re interested).
Driving in to work Thursday morning I got rather a rude awakening once I started driving over 40, as my car began to shake like Rush Limbaugh making fun of Michael J. Fox.
Simon reported the same problem on his drive in, so we both hoped that it was related to the cold temperatures. Turns out it must have been, as the drive home was much smoother.
The snow that came last week is still hanging around due to cold temperatures and general incompetence on the part of the people responsible for moving it.
I was amazed by how much snow is still around making the lanes narrow and blocking off turning lanes as I was driving around today.
In any case, that about does it for this entry.
Tomorrow it’s off to the dentist and hopefully to some garage that can do the emissions inspection.
Beyond that, not much else going on in my life this week, though I’ve already got more than usual going on anyway.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Hungry vs. Tired
This morning found me getting up at 7 AM to bring my car in for an oil change and emissions inspection.
I hate the system that the service center at my car dealership uses. Basically you call in to make an “appointment,” which just means that you’ve reserved the right to wait in line on a particular morning.
Given that people seem to camp out there like nerds in line for Star Wars tickets, you can never hope to be the first in line, and when you get there you’re never really sure if you should pull off into a parking space to wait, or actually stay in the line with the other idling cars until they finally open.
Once they do open, you’re never sure if you should go in or not, because they usually send someone around to the cars to assign them a number. You can go inside and talk to them, but it seems like you’re better off getting a number put on your car’s rearview mirror first, though they don’t actually seem to work on the cars in any sort of particular order anyway, so ultimately being the first in line may not do you all that much good.
In any case, once my car was being attended to, I went off to sit in the waiting area.
Given that something I always does, I expected some sort of problem that would cost me money and leave me without a car for at least a day would pop up. After having sat there for over an hour, I was sure of it, and waited for the shoe to drop once my name was called.
The service guy said, “There’s a problem.”
I said, “There always is.”
However, this one would cost me anything extra and won’t even deprive me of my car. All it will cost me is some irritation and additional waiting.
Basically my car’s computer got reset somehow, which means that there’s no information in it that can be used for the emissions testing. This means that I have to put 50-75 miles on the car to allow it to capture data before bringing it back to get the emissions test done.
And at least with the inspection I don’t have to get it done in the morning; I can bring it in any time during the day.
Of course, I don’t drive around enough to quickly put on 75 miles before the weekend, so it’ll have to wait until next week.
Once I got home I found that I was very tired from having only gotten about 6 hours of sleep, and so, since it was only 9, I considered going back to bed.
While I’d been up, though, I’d gotten hungry, so I also considered making breakfast.
It then became a contest between hungry and tired to determine my next course of action.
After climbing into bed it seemed clear that tired had won, but while I was lying there hunger asserted itself and soon I’d made the move from the bedroom to the kitchen.
From there it was back to bed, where I only managed to half-doze for about an hour.
Once I got up I thought about going to see the movie Children of Men in order to speed up the mile-logging process.
I gave Brian a call to see if he wanted to go with me, but he said he was too swamped today, but that he could do it tomorrow, so that scrapped my plans for the afternoon.
(I’ll bet he would have cleared his calendar if I’d said I wanted to see Stomp the Yard)
And that’s been my day so far. I still may venture out into the world to get a few things, though I don’t need much, as I managed to stock up pretty well last week when I went shopping.
Oh Yeah, I Forgot One Department:
When bitching about commercials yesterday I forgot one.
It’s the commercial in which we find ourselves at some sort of party where a group of attractive(ish) women in their 30s are gathered around having a discussion about birth control, and one of them brings up this exciting new product.
Once she mentions it, one of the other chicks says, “Oh yeah, I’ve heard about that,” and then proceeds to completely take over the conversation, rattling off facts about the product as though she’s some sort of paid spokesperson for it.
After she finishes reciting the pharmaceutical company boilerplate, one of the friends jokingly says, “Show off,” to which the spokesmodel says, “Hey, I didn’t go to medical school for nothing.”
They all share a hearty laugh, and go back to their Sex in the City-esque repartee.
The thing that bothers me is that chick who brought up the product in the first place never gets to talk about it, and doesn’t seem bothered by the way her friend, who obviously has a compulsive need to be the center of attention and can’t wait for an opportunity to rub the fact that she went to medical school in all of their faces.
If I were the chick who got shouted down by Dr. Talksalot, I’d be all like, “Bitch, I was talking. Nobody asked for you to recite the press release you got from the pharmaceutical company along with your free samples, all right? We all know you went to medical school seeing as how you never talk about anything else.”
In any case, that’s it for this particular edition of pointlessness.
(Oh yeah, and be sure to click on the National Gorilla Suit Day banner over on the right. Thanks to Neil Gaiman for bringing this important holiday to my attention over on his blog.)
I hate the system that the service center at my car dealership uses. Basically you call in to make an “appointment,” which just means that you’ve reserved the right to wait in line on a particular morning.
Given that people seem to camp out there like nerds in line for Star Wars tickets, you can never hope to be the first in line, and when you get there you’re never really sure if you should pull off into a parking space to wait, or actually stay in the line with the other idling cars until they finally open.
Once they do open, you’re never sure if you should go in or not, because they usually send someone around to the cars to assign them a number. You can go inside and talk to them, but it seems like you’re better off getting a number put on your car’s rearview mirror first, though they don’t actually seem to work on the cars in any sort of particular order anyway, so ultimately being the first in line may not do you all that much good.
In any case, once my car was being attended to, I went off to sit in the waiting area.
Given that something I always does, I expected some sort of problem that would cost me money and leave me without a car for at least a day would pop up. After having sat there for over an hour, I was sure of it, and waited for the shoe to drop once my name was called.
The service guy said, “There’s a problem.”
I said, “There always is.”
However, this one would cost me anything extra and won’t even deprive me of my car. All it will cost me is some irritation and additional waiting.
Basically my car’s computer got reset somehow, which means that there’s no information in it that can be used for the emissions testing. This means that I have to put 50-75 miles on the car to allow it to capture data before bringing it back to get the emissions test done.
And at least with the inspection I don’t have to get it done in the morning; I can bring it in any time during the day.
Of course, I don’t drive around enough to quickly put on 75 miles before the weekend, so it’ll have to wait until next week.
Once I got home I found that I was very tired from having only gotten about 6 hours of sleep, and so, since it was only 9, I considered going back to bed.
While I’d been up, though, I’d gotten hungry, so I also considered making breakfast.
It then became a contest between hungry and tired to determine my next course of action.
After climbing into bed it seemed clear that tired had won, but while I was lying there hunger asserted itself and soon I’d made the move from the bedroom to the kitchen.
From there it was back to bed, where I only managed to half-doze for about an hour.
Once I got up I thought about going to see the movie Children of Men in order to speed up the mile-logging process.
I gave Brian a call to see if he wanted to go with me, but he said he was too swamped today, but that he could do it tomorrow, so that scrapped my plans for the afternoon.
(I’ll bet he would have cleared his calendar if I’d said I wanted to see Stomp the Yard)
And that’s been my day so far. I still may venture out into the world to get a few things, though I don’t need much, as I managed to stock up pretty well last week when I went shopping.
Oh Yeah, I Forgot One Department:
When bitching about commercials yesterday I forgot one.
It’s the commercial in which we find ourselves at some sort of party where a group of attractive(ish) women in their 30s are gathered around having a discussion about birth control, and one of them brings up this exciting new product.
Once she mentions it, one of the other chicks says, “Oh yeah, I’ve heard about that,” and then proceeds to completely take over the conversation, rattling off facts about the product as though she’s some sort of paid spokesperson for it.
After she finishes reciting the pharmaceutical company boilerplate, one of the friends jokingly says, “Show off,” to which the spokesmodel says, “Hey, I didn’t go to medical school for nothing.”
They all share a hearty laugh, and go back to their Sex in the City-esque repartee.
The thing that bothers me is that chick who brought up the product in the first place never gets to talk about it, and doesn’t seem bothered by the way her friend, who obviously has a compulsive need to be the center of attention and can’t wait for an opportunity to rub the fact that she went to medical school in all of their faces.
If I were the chick who got shouted down by Dr. Talksalot, I’d be all like, “Bitch, I was talking. Nobody asked for you to recite the press release you got from the pharmaceutical company along with your free samples, all right? We all know you went to medical school seeing as how you never talk about anything else.”
In any case, that’s it for this particular edition of pointlessness.
(Oh yeah, and be sure to click on the National Gorilla Suit Day banner over on the right. Thanks to Neil Gaiman for bringing this important holiday to my attention over on his blog.)
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