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In Central Florida, traffic can be horrendous, especially near the tourist areas. The key to avoiding this is to use one of the many toll charging expressways. The money that you spend in tolls is usually made up by less fuel consumption, and fewer frazzled nerves.

Florida has installed a statewide toll system, where you purchase a transponder to put in your car, and the toll is paid as you drive by the toll booth. This is a convenience for the driver, and a money saver for the state, as the system requires fewer toll booth operators. The system is called SunPass.

With the SunPass system, you set up an account, tell it which transponders are yours, and you prepay your tools by purchasing credits in $10 increments. You can do it with cash, or program it to place a predetermined amount of money in there, and charge it to a credit card. I have one, and it is convenient to not have to stop and wait at the toll booth every few miles.

Good idea, right? Until politics get involved. You see, Orange County figured out that they can get more cash if they cut the state out of the action, so they established the Orange County Expressway Authority. This authority has their own automated toll system, called EPass. An Epass transponder is supposed to allow you access to the SunPass system roads, and vice-versa.

Note that I said “supposed to.” Yesterday, I got a letter from the EPass with a picture of my car, and a letter telling me that they have recorded 8 instances in the last two months where I passed through, and the system failed to recognize the transponder. The letter went on to say that the authority “may” issue me a citation for EACH time I failed to pay the toll. I immediately called the number on the letter.

This is what I was told, and what makes this so incredible:
The two systems are not always good at compatibility, and if the systems fails to communicate, it fails to pay the toll correctly. However, it is still the driver’s fault that the system didn’t pay the toll, hence the ticket.

1 On what planet does a known flaw with a provider’s equipment remain the problem of the customer?
2 There is no way for the driver to know that the toll wasn’t paid at the time of the failure. My first indication was the letter.

Nice racket, government. All of the money, none of the legal responsibility.

Irresponsible people do stupid things. If you own a gun, and there are children in the house, the gun should be locked up when it is not under your physical control.

Robb talks about having to put down his cat, which reminds me of my own experience. I am not a “cat person,” or at least I wasn’t until about 9 years ago. That was when my (now) ex-wife brought home a seven year old cat that she rescued from the shelter. Not being a cat person, I largely ignored him. I wouldn’t even name him, I just called him boy cat. That was when he decided that I was to be his human.
Over the next eight years, that cat was a constant companion: he would nap with me on the couch, he would sit on my desk as I worked or surfed the internet, he would follow me around the house. He loved food, and and became so fat that his belly would sway to and fro when he ran. He used to sit on my chest while I laid on the couch, and he would tap me on the chin each time he wanted a treat, and I obligingly gave him one. He was a sweet, loving animal. He was my friend. Eventually, boy cat became Mr. Boy, and that was his name.
Four years after we got him, he began vomiting. A lot. The vet couldn’t find anything wrong. He ruined several pieces of furniture. After a year or so of this, the vomiting stopped and we thought he was getting better. Then he began losing weight. He became rail thin.
Then came the day, last fall, that the diarrhea began. It became more and more frequent. His teeth began breaking. Then, one morning, I couldn’t get him to stand, he was weak. He just laid there, looking at me, so weak that he couldn’t even raise his head.
We took him to the vet, and the diagnosis was cancer. We had to put him down.

That was last September, and I still get teary eyed when I think about him. I miss my friend.

Two kids suspended for pointing pencils at each other and saying “pew! pew!”

This is a form of Orwellian mind control to teach children that the image of a
gun in a slave’s hand is evil, while the same weapon in the hands of a
SWAT team is good.

I just got in an argument on the Huffington post site with an anti-gunner. This is how it went:

Guns should be illegal.

Me: “Because that has worked so well with drugs.”

Banner:  “People are cooking drugs in their home kitchens. Know anyone
manufacturing guns? If they would legalize drugs they could take the
money out of it, regulate it, tax it and diminish the criminal element
connected to it. Worked with alcohol. Guns are different.”

 Few people make their own guns because guns are legal, and it is cheaper in terms of knowledge and cash to buy it commercially. The same argument you use for drugs. If people want something and are willing to pay for it, they will get it because someone will provide it. Make a product illegal and the only people who will get that product are, by definition, criminals. How are guns different from any other product?
Making guns illegal would simply result in a black market of guns.
As to your comment about no one manufacturing guns: Here is a 3D printable one, and here is a weapons factory in Pakistan where everything from antiaircraft guns, to machine guns, to pen guns are made by hand.