shawn <nanoflower@notforg.m.a.i.l.com> wrote:
> On Mon, 25 Dec 2023 19:49:06 -0700, anim8rfsk <anim8rfsk@cox.net>
> wrote:
>
>> shawn <nanoflower@notforg.m.a.i.l.com> wrote:
>>> On Tue, 26 Dec 2023 13:24:16 +1300, Your Name <YourName@YourISP.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 2023-12-25 02:28:45 +0000, shawn said:
>>>>> On Sun, 24 Dec 2023 16:42:14 -0700, anim8rfsk <anim8rfsk@cox.net>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>> Your Name <YourName@YourISP.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> More proof of the stupidty of governments.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> The US government believes having a cellphone is a "necessity", so if
>>>>>>> you're poor enough to qualify, they'll give you a free Apple iPhone 13
>>>>>>> and on-going limited plan.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> A. A cellphone is *NOT* a necessity by any stretch of the imagination
>>>>>>> (I've never owned or needed one).
>>>>>>
>>>>>> It’s getting there though as more and more services require you to give
>>>>>> them your cell phone number.
>>>>>
>>>>> Only one I know of is Twitch. It requires you to have a cell phone if
>>>>> you want to verify your account. Some channels require a verified
>>>>> account in order to chat.
>>>>
>>>> There are even more idiotic systems. One survey website has recently
>>>> changed the rules and now requires verification by going to some
>>>> dubious third-party website where you have to upload a picture of
>>>> yourself holding some form of photo ID drivers' license, passport,
>>>> etc. :-\
>>>
>>> That's not going to happen unless I made up a fake DL/Passport etc.
>>>
>>
>> Yeah, I’ve heard of that. Hasn’t happened to me yet. But I sure as hell I’m
>> not showing my drivers license to the camera. Hell, I won’t even have a
>> drivers license in a couple weeks.
>
> Can't you renew by mail or do you have to take a test to renew your
> license? Here , before the Real ID nonsense and after it, you can
> renew by mail without taking any tests. At least up until age 64 or
> older which is when they start requiring an in-person vision screening
> each renewal period. You can even renew an expired license easily if
> it only expired less than 2 years ago. Otherwise you have to take all
> the tests again.
>

I am old enough I have to go in and do the eye test and such for this
birthday even though the license wouldn’t be due for renewal otherwise. I
don’t think we’ve ever had renewal by Mail. And we have some sort of weird
quasi real ID business that you can opt out of. But I wouldn’t be able to
pass the eye test and I don’t drive anymore, so why the hell should I stand
in line for hours?

They do offer a photo ID card for people that don’t drive anymore. I took
Mom in and got her one of those a decade ago. Of course, I’ll run into
something for that like them refusing to take your drivers license as proof
to get the photo ID card.

Come to think of it I wonder why they haven’t notified me about any of
this? Maybe they did in the mailman stole it along with my ballots and
census forms. ;-)

--
The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but it is still on my list.

anim8rfsk <anim8rfsk@cox.net> wrote:
> shawn <nanoflower@notforg.m.a.i.l.com> wrote:
>> On Mon, 25 Dec 2023 19:49:06 -0700, anim8rfsk <anim8rfsk@cox.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> shawn <nanoflower@notforg.m.a.i.l.com> wrote:
>>>> On Tue, 26 Dec 2023 13:24:16 +1300, Your Name <YourName@YourISP.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On 2023-12-25 02:28:45 +0000, shawn said:
>>>>>> On Sun, 24 Dec 2023 16:42:14 -0700, anim8rfsk <anim8rfsk@cox.net>
>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>> Your Name <YourName@YourISP.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> More proof of the stupidty of governments.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> The US government believes having a cellphone is a "necessity", so if
>>>>>>>> you're poor enough to qualify, they'll give you a free Apple iPhone 13
>>>>>>>> and on-going limited plan.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> A. A cellphone is *NOT* a necessity by any stretch of the imagination
>>>>>>>> (I've never owned or needed one).
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> It’s getting there though as more and more services require you to give
>>>>>>> them your cell phone number.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Only one I know of is Twitch. It requires you to have a cell phone if
>>>>>> you want to verify your account. Some channels require a verified
>>>>>> account in order to chat.
>>>>>
>>>>> There are even more idiotic systems. One survey website has recently
>>>>> changed the rules and now requires verification by going to some
>>>>> dubious third-party website where you have to upload a picture of
>>>>> yourself holding some form of photo ID drivers' license, passport,
>>>>> etc. :-\
>>>>
>>>> That's not going to happen unless I made up a fake DL/Passport etc.
>>>>
>>>
>>> Yeah, I’ve heard of that. Hasn’t happened to me yet. But I sure as hell I’m
>>> not showing my drivers license to the camera. Hell, I won’t even have a
>>> drivers license in a couple weeks.
>>
>> Can't you renew by mail or do you have to take a test to renew your
>> license? Here , before the Real ID nonsense and after it, you can
>> renew by mail without taking any tests. At least up until age 64 or
>> older which is when they start requiring an in-person vision screening
>> each renewal period. You can even renew an expired license easily if
>> it only expired less than 2 years ago. Otherwise you have to take all
>> the tests again.
>>
>
> I am old enough I have to go in and do the eye test and such for this
> birthday even though the license wouldn’t be due for renewal otherwise. I
> don’t think we’ve ever had renewal by Mail. And we have some sort of weird
> quasi real ID business that you can opt out of. But I wouldn’t be able to
> pass the eye test and I don’t drive anymore, so why the hell should I stand
> in line for hours?
>
> They do offer a photo ID card for people that don’t drive anymore. I took
> Mom in and got her one of those a decade ago. Of course, I’ll run into
> something for that like them refusing to take your drivers license as proof
> to get the photo ID card.
>
> Come to think of it I wonder why they haven’t notified me about any of
> this? Maybe they did in the mailman stole it along with my ballots and
> census forms. ;-)
>

OK after some research, I need to retract some of that. It’s very very very
very very different than the last time I went down. We never did go for
renewal by mail, but we now have renewal online. They’ve set up accounts
for everyone with a current drivers license, but you have to jump through
some hoops, to activate it.

And here’s a place where you have to have a cell phone according to the
instructions as we were discussing just yesterday as I recall.

The official DMV site says you can renew by online in most cases, but never
tells you in what cases you can’t. They want you to renew and give them all
sorts of information and set everything up first. But Mr. Google says
everybody over 65 has to go in and have a new picture taken and do the
vision test and all that good stuff. So none of this does me any good.

The AI chat bot says to start an account first to get my questions
answered. I’m not sure what you do if your questions are about how to start
an account. :-)

It doesn’t say anything about the photo ID card I got Mom for people that
don’t drive anymore.

For whatever reason we still don’t have real ID, but we have travel ID,
which is supposed to serve the same purpose.

Well, this is sort of interesting. Apparently, for whatever reason, Arizona
drivers licenses don’t meet the federal real ID standards. Which means I
can’t travel by air (or at least can’t get past an airport security
checkpoint) and I can’t get onto a military base and I can’t enter a
federal building. I wonder what they do if you have jury duty?
Also, I can’t get a real ID without a passport.
They’re still requiring the idiotic you have to bring in your utility bill
crap.
Mother of God. I can get around all these requirements by filling out an
Arizona Residency Affidavit. Which requires me to write in my name and
address. Period.

https://apps.azdot.gov/files/mvd/mvd-forms-lib/40-5143.pdf

Amazingly, we finally have appointments! The last time I went down, which
would be five years ago, you had to stand in line for three hours in one of
those winding things to get to a window.

I suppose I’ll try to set up the account in the morning. I don’t have a lot
of luck with systems that are supposed to text a confirmation number to
your cell phone. I guess they only work maybe half the time? We’ll see what
happens.

Thanks for galvanizing me into action.

--
The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but it is still on my list.

On Tue, 26 Dec 2023 07:15:32 -0700, anim8rfsk <anim8rfsk@cox.net>
wrote:

>anim8rfsk <anim8rfsk@cox.net> wrote:
>> shawn <nanoflower@notforg.m.a.i.l.com> wrote:
>>> On Mon, 25 Dec 2023 19:49:06 -0700, anim8rfsk <anim8rfsk@cox.net>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> shawn <nanoflower@notforg.m.a.i.l.com> wrote:
>>>>> On Tue, 26 Dec 2023 13:24:16 +1300, Your Name <YourName@YourISP.com>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> On 2023-12-25 02:28:45 +0000, shawn said:
>>>>>>> On Sun, 24 Dec 2023 16:42:14 -0700, anim8rfsk <anim8rfsk@cox.net>
>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>> Your Name <YourName@YourISP.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> More proof of the stupidty of governments.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> The US government believes having a cellphone is a "necessity", so if
>>>>>>>>> you're poor enough to qualify, they'll give you a free Apple iPhone 13
>>>>>>>>> and on-going limited plan.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> A. A cellphone is *NOT* a necessity by any stretch of the imagination
>>>>>>>>> (I've never owned or needed one).
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> It’s getting there though as more and more services require you to give
>>>>>>>> them your cell phone number.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Only one I know of is Twitch. It requires you to have a cell phone if
>>>>>>> you want to verify your account. Some channels require a verified
>>>>>>> account in order to chat.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> There are even more idiotic systems. One survey website has recently
>>>>>> changed the rules and now requires verification by going to some
>>>>>> dubious third-party website where you have to upload a picture of
>>>>>> yourself holding some form of photo ID drivers' license, passport,
>>>>>> etc. :-\
>>>>>
>>>>> That's not going to happen unless I made up a fake DL/Passport etc.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Yeah, I’ve heard of that. Hasn’t happened to me yet. But I sure as hell I’m
>>>> not showing my drivers license to the camera. Hell, I won’t even have a
>>>> drivers license in a couple weeks.
>>>
>>> Can't you renew by mail or do you have to take a test to renew your
>>> license? Here , before the Real ID nonsense and after it, you can
>>> renew by mail without taking any tests. At least up until age 64 or
>>> older which is when they start requiring an in-person vision screening
>>> each renewal period. You can even renew an expired license easily if
>>> it only expired less than 2 years ago. Otherwise you have to take all
>>> the tests again.
>>>
>>
>> I am old enough I have to go in and do the eye test and such for this
>> birthday even though the license wouldn’t be due for renewal otherwise. I
>> don’t think we’ve ever had renewal by Mail. And we have some sort of weird
>> quasi real ID business that you can opt out of. But I wouldn’t be able to
>> pass the eye test and I don’t drive anymore, so why the hell should I stand
>> in line for hours?
>>
>> They do offer a photo ID card for people that don’t drive anymore. I took
>> Mom in and got her one of those a decade ago. Of course, I’ll run into
>> something for that like them refusing to take your drivers license as proof
>> to get the photo ID card.
>>
>> Come to think of it I wonder why they haven’t notified me about any of
>> this? Maybe they did in the mailman stole it along with my ballots and
>> census forms. ;-)
>>
>
>OK after some research, I need to retract some of that. It’s very very very
>very very different than the last time I went down. We never did go for
>renewal by mail, but we now have renewal online. They’ve set up accounts
>for everyone with a current drivers license, but you have to jump through
>some hoops, to activate it.
>
And here we have renewal online, by mail and in person. Doing it
online was fairly easy the last time I did it and would likely be the
same now since I have a Real ID license. You can also easily get a
replacement license if you have a Real ID license.

>And here’s a place where you have to have a cell phone according to the
>instructions as we were discussing just yesterday as I recall.

No requirement for a cell phone here.

>The official DMV site says you can renew by online in most cases, but never
>tells you in what cases you can’t. They want you to renew and give them all
>sorts of information and set everything up first. But Mr. Google says
>everybody over 65 has to go in and have a new picture taken and do the
>vision test and all that good stuff. So none of this does me any good.

As mentioned above the only times you can't renew online are if you
don't have a Real ID license, or if you license was expired for two
years or more.

>The AI chat bot says to start an account first to get my questions
>answered. I’m not sure what you do if your questions are about how to start
>an account. :-)
>
>It doesn’t say anything about the photo ID card I got Mom for people that
>don’t drive anymore.

I suppose we also have a photo ID card but I don't know anything about
it.

>For whatever reason we still don’t have real ID, but we have travel ID,
>which is supposed to serve the same purpose.

I'm surprised we still have states that don't have Real ID. I never
liked it but if we are going to have it then why not have everyone
have it.

>Well, this is sort of interesting. Apparently, for whatever reason, Arizona
>drivers licenses don’t meet the federal real ID standards. Which means I
>can’t travel by air (or at least can’t get past an airport security
>checkpoint) and I can’t get onto a military base and I can’t enter a
>federal building. I wonder what they do if you have jury duty?

Really? I didn't know not having a Real ID license limits you in those
areas. That makes it even more odd that everyone hasn't gotten on
board with the standard.

>Also, I can’t get a real ID without a passport.
>They’re still requiring the idiotic you have to bring in your utility bill
>crap.

Yeah, if you don't have a Real ID card you need to do the same thing
with the utility bill here to prove you have a residence here.

>Mother of God. I can get around all these requirements by filling out an
>Arizona Residency Affidavit. Which requires me to write in my name and
>address. Period.

LOL. Don't point that out to the officials in charge or they will be
bound to increase those requirements.

>https://apps.azdot.gov/files/mvd/mvd-forms-lib/40-5143.pdf
>
>Amazingly, we finally have appointments! The last time I went down, which
>would be five years ago, you had to stand in line for three hours in one of
>those winding things to get to a window.

We really don't need appointments as when I went and got my Real ID
license I think it took me at most an hour to get through the process.
Probably because more people were doing an online renewal if they had
a Real ID license. I wouldn't be shocked if the process was even
faster now since I expect only new state license holders won't have a
Real ID license and so don't need to show up in person to renew.

>I suppose I’ll try to set up the account in the morning. I don’t have a lot
>of luck with systems that are supposed to text a confirmation number to
>your cell phone. I guess they only work maybe half the time? We’ll see what
>happens.

Only one that I have that uses that confirmation system is my bank and
they've always worked every time.

>Thanks for galvanizing me into action.

Good luck!

shawn <nanoflower@notforg.m.a.i.l.com> wrote:
> On Tue, 26 Dec 2023 07:15:32 -0700, anim8rfsk <anim8rfsk@cox.net>
> wrote:
>
>> anim8rfsk <anim8rfsk@cox.net> wrote:
>>> shawn <nanoflower@notforg.m.a.i.l.com> wrote:
>>>> On Mon, 25 Dec 2023 19:49:06 -0700, anim8rfsk <anim8rfsk@cox.net>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> shawn <nanoflower@notforg.m.a.i.l.com> wrote:
>>>>>> On Tue, 26 Dec 2023 13:24:16 +1300, Your Name <YourName@YourISP.com>
>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On 2023-12-25 02:28:45 +0000, shawn said:
>>>>>>>> On Sun, 24 Dec 2023 16:42:14 -0700, anim8rfsk <anim8rfsk@cox.net>
>>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>>> Your Name <YourName@YourISP.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> More proof of the stupidty of governments.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> The US government believes having a cellphone is a "necessity", so if
>>>>>>>>>> you're poor enough to qualify, they'll give you a free Apple iPhone 13
>>>>>>>>>> and on-going limited plan.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> A. A cellphone is *NOT* a necessity by any stretch of the imagination
>>>>>>>>>> (I've never owned or needed one).
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> It’s getting there though as more and more services require you to give
>>>>>>>>> them your cell phone number.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Only one I know of is Twitch. It requires you to have a cell phone if
>>>>>>>> you want to verify your account. Some channels require a verified
>>>>>>>> account in order to chat.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> There are even more idiotic systems. One survey website has recently
>>>>>>> changed the rules and now requires verification by going to some
>>>>>>> dubious third-party website where you have to upload a picture of
>>>>>>> yourself holding some form of photo ID drivers' license, passport,
>>>>>>> etc. :-\
>>>>>>
>>>>>> That's not going to happen unless I made up a fake DL/Passport etc.
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Yeah, I’ve heard of that. Hasn’t happened to me yet. But I sure as hell I’m
>>>>> not showing my drivers license to the camera. Hell, I won’t even have a
>>>>> drivers license in a couple weeks.
>>>>
>>>> Can't you renew by mail or do you have to take a test to renew your
>>>> license? Here , before the Real ID nonsense and after it, you can
>>>> renew by mail without taking any tests. At least up until age 64 or
>>>> older which is when they start requiring an in-person vision screening
>>>> each renewal period. You can even renew an expired license easily if
>>>> it only expired less than 2 years ago. Otherwise you have to take all
>>>> the tests again.
>>>>
>>>
>>> I am old enough I have to go in and do the eye test and such for this
>>> birthday even though the license wouldn’t be due for renewal otherwise. I
>>> don’t think we’ve ever had renewal by Mail. And we have some sort of weird
>>> quasi real ID business that you can opt out of. But I wouldn’t be able to
>>> pass the eye test and I don’t drive anymore, so why the hell should I stand
>>> in line for hours?
>>>
>>> They do offer a photo ID card for people that don’t drive anymore. I took
>>> Mom in and got her one of those a decade ago. Of course, I’ll run into
>>> something for that like them refusing to take your drivers license as proof
>>> to get the photo ID card.
>>>
>>> Come to think of it I wonder why they haven’t notified me about any of
>>> this? Maybe they did in the mailman stole it along with my ballots and
>>> census forms. ;-)
>>>
>>
>> OK after some research, I need to retract some of that. It’s very very very
>> very very different than the last time I went down. We never did go for
>> renewal by mail, but we now have renewal online. They’ve set up accounts
>> for everyone with a current drivers license, but you have to jump through
>> some hoops, to activate it.
>>
> And here we have renewal online, by mail and in person. Doing it
> online was fairly easy the last time I did it and would likely be the
> same now since I have a Real ID license. You can also easily get a
> replacement license if you have a Real ID license.

Arizona doesn’t do real ID but we have our own version of it but last time
I got my license renewed I opted out because I didn’t have a passport.

>
>> And here’s a place where you have to have a cell phone according to the
>> instructions as we were discussing just yesterday as I recall.
>
> No requirement for a cell phone here.

The first level of instruction says they have to be able to text you a
confirmation number to put back in online. I assume that means cell phone.

>
>> The official DMV site says you can renew by online in most cases, but never
>> tells you in what cases you can’t. They want you to renew and give them all
>> sorts of information and set everything up first. But Mr. Google says
>> everybody over 65 has to go in and have a new picture taken and do the
>> vision test and all that good stuff. So none of this does me any good.
>
> As mentioned above the only times you can't renew online are if you
> don't have a Real ID license, or if you license was expired for two
> years or more.

Here if you’re 65 or more, you have to have a new photo and an eye test
every time. It doesn’t say that on the actual drivers license site, but Mr.
Google finds it everywhere else. I have to sign up for everything and get
an account in order to find that out for certain from the state.

>
>> The AI chat bot says to start an account first to get my questions
>> answered. I’m not sure what you do if your questions are about how to start
>> an account. :-)
>>
>> It doesn’t say anything about the photo ID card I got Mom for people that
>> don’t drive anymore.
>
> I suppose we also have a photo ID card but I don't know anything about
> it.

I suspect our travel ID card has taken its place.

>
>> For whatever reason we still don’t have real ID, but we have travel ID,
>> which is supposed to serve the same purpose.
>
>
> I'm surprised we still have states that don't have Real ID. I never
> liked it but if we are going to have it then why not have everyone
> have it.

Mr. Google says there are a lot of states that don’t comply. For some
reason, our drivers license criteria don’t come up to the standards. But I
can’t find out exactly what it is that doesn’t match.

>
>
>> Well, this is sort of interesting. Apparently, for whatever reason, Arizona
>> drivers licenses don’t meet the federal real ID standards. Which means I
>> can’t travel by air (or at least can’t get past an airport security
>> checkpoint) and I can’t get onto a military base and I can’t enter a
>> federal building. I wonder what they do if you have jury duty?
>
> Really? I didn't know not having a Real ID license limits you in those
> areas. That makes it even more odd that everyone hasn't gotten on
> board with the standard.

Mr. Google says this went in earlier this year.

>
>> Also, I can’t get a real ID without a passport.
>> They’re still requiring the idiotic you have to bring in your utility bill
>> crap.
>
> Yeah, if you don't have a Real ID card you need to do the same thing
> with the utility bill here to prove you have a residence here.
>

I wonder if they’d care if I just showed them my utility bill on my cell
phone? Since I don’t get paper billing from anybody anymore.

>> Mother of God. I can get around all these requirements by filling out an
>> Arizona Residency Affidavit. Which requires me to write in my name and
>> address. Period.
>
> LOL. Don't point that out to the officials in charge or they will be
> bound to increase those requirements.

Really!

>
>> https://apps.azdot.gov/files/mvd/mvd-forms-lib/40-5143.pdf
>>
>> Amazingly, we finally have appointments! The last time I went down, which
>> would be five years ago, you had to stand in line for three hours in one of
>> those winding things to get to a window.
>
> We really don't need appointments as when I went and got my Real ID
> license I think it took me at most an hour to get through the process.
> Probably because more people were doing an online renewal if they had
> a Real ID license. I wouldn't be shocked if the process was even
> faster now since I expect only new state license holders won't have a
> Real ID license and so don't need to show up in person to renew.
>

On Sun, 24 Dec 2023 22:21:26 -0700, anim8rfsk <anim8rfsk@cox.net>
wrote:

>I hit it all the time. Google canceled my YouTube account because I
>wouldn’t give them my cell phone number.

Really?

I don't have a cell phone and I regularly use Youtube on Google.

However lately I've been doing most of my Youtube on Firefox since
with Firefox (unlike Google) you can easily bypass ads without getting
complaints about your ad-blocker and how that violates Youtube's terms
of service. (Which apparently were only introduced within the last 3
months)

On Tue, 26 Dec 2023 17:45:32 +1300, Your Name <YourName@YourISP.com>
wrote:

>On 2023-12-26 04:25:14 +0000, Your Name said:
>
>I remembered incorrectly. It wasn't Reddit, it was Trustpilot ... the
>website that is supposed to help you to know how trustworthy websites
>are. They're own reviewers gave the verification site a score of only
>1.4 stars out of 5, with 80% of the reviews giving it only 1 star.
><https://trustpilot.com/review/veriff.com>
>
>The Veriff verifcation business is also based in Estonia, so yet
>another red flag telling any sane person to avoid using it and never
>upload any personal details there.
>
>
Didn't Estonia have a Russian cyber-attack about 10 years ago that
knocked the whole country offline for about a week? At the time the
debate was whether Russia had stolen mega-amounts of information or
just did a denial of service attack.

On Tue, 26 Dec 2023 19:18:40 -0800, The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca>
wrote:

>On Sun, 24 Dec 2023 22:21:26 -0700, anim8rfsk <anim8rfsk@cox.net>
>wrote:
>
>>I hit it all the time. Google canceled my YouTube account because I
>>wouldn’t give them my cell phone number.
>
>Really?
>
>I don't have a cell phone and I regularly use Youtube on Google.
>
>However lately I've been doing most of my Youtube on Firefox since
>with Firefox (unlike Google) you can easily bypass ads without getting
>complaints about your ad-blocker and how that violates Youtube's terms
>of service. (Which apparently were only introduced within the last 3
>months)

Yeah, Google doesn't have my number and never will.
Stll have my account.

The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca> wrote:
> On Sun, 24 Dec 2023 22:21:26 -0700, anim8rfsk <anim8rfsk@cox.net>
> wrote:
>
>> I hit it all the time. Google canceled my YouTube account because I
>> wouldn’t give them my cell phone number.
>
> Really?
>
> I don't have a cell phone and I regularly use Youtube on Google.
>

I was fine for years and then one day they demanded my cell phone number
and I didn’t give it to them and my account vanished.

A very similar thing happened with Instagram. I had never had Instagram but
three friends that I follow on (then), Twitter Moved over to Instagram and
so I started an account to follow them there. Never did anything except
follow those people. Never posted, nothing, after a couple days I got a
message from Instagram demanding my cell phone number. I ignored it and
they canceled my account.

> However lately I've been doing most of my Youtube on Firefox since
> with Firefox (unlike Google) you can easily bypass ads without getting
> complaints about your ad-blocker and how that violates Youtube's terms
> of service. (Which apparently were only introduced within the last 3
> months)
>

I don’t do YouTube through a browser. I do it through the apps.

--
The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but it is still on my list.

In article
<1313066154.725348142.678086.anim8rfsk-cox.net@news.easynews.com>,
anim8rfsk <anim8rfsk@cox.net> wrote:

> A very similar thing happened with Instagram. I had never had Instagram but
> three friends that I follow on (then), Twitter Moved over to Instagram and
> so I started an account to follow them there. Never did anything except
> follow those people. Never posted, nothing, after a couple days I got a
> message from Instagram demanding my cell phone number. I ignored it and
> they canceled my account.

I also give the (landline!) phone number I had when I first moved out
on my own, in 1975. No one has ever questioned it.

On Tue, 26 Dec 2023 06:37:23 -0700, anim8rfsk <anim8rfsk@cox.net>
wrote:

>I am old enough I have to go in and do the eye test and such for this
>birthday even though the license wouldn’t be due for renewal otherwise. I
>don’t think we’ve ever had renewal by Mail. And we have some sort of weird
>quasi real ID business that you can opt out of. But I wouldn’t be able to
>pass the eye test and I don’t drive anymore, so why the hell should I stand
>in line for hours?
>
This is why I was astonished NOT to have to do the eye test since my
renewal in September was my first driver's licence since reaching age
65.

I had to go in to their office (not in any way a geographical
"challenge") and was bored silly during the hour it took to get
through the queue - but I had expected that so had brought a book -
and once my number was called I was staggered to be in and out of
there in under 15 minutes including my new photo. The new licence
arrived in the mail before my birthday and well before the expiry of
the old licence at the end of September.

On Wed, 27 Dec 2023 19:25:36 -0800, The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca>
wrote:

>On Tue, 26 Dec 2023 06:37:23 -0700, anim8rfsk <anim8rfsk@cox.net>
>wrote:
>
>>I am old enough I have to go in and do the eye test and such for this
>>birthday even though the license wouldn’t be due for renewal otherwise. I
>>don’t think we’ve ever had renewal by Mail. And we have some sort of weird
>>quasi real ID business that you can opt out of. But I wouldn’t be able to
>>pass the eye test and I don’t drive anymore, so why the hell should I stand
>>in line for hours?
>>
>This is why I was astonished NOT to have to do the eye test since my
>renewal in September was my first driver's licence since reaching age
>65.
>
>I had to go in to their office (not in any way a geographical
>"challenge") and was bored silly during the hour it took to get
>through the queue - but I had expected that so had brought a book -
>and once my number was called I was staggered to be in and out of
>there in under 15 minutes including my new photo. The new licence
>arrived in the mail before my birthday and well before the expiry of
>the old licence at the end of September.

Hmm, that's a bit surprising. Here the only reason you have to go in
to the office if renewing a license after reaching age 65 is because
they want you to take eye test. That's the only thing they are
requiring so you could renew by mail/online if they didn't have the
eye test requirement for those over 65. Given that you can renew your
license up to 150 days before it expires there shouldn't be any issue
with getting a new license before the old one expires.

On 2023-12-28 06:46:32 +0000, shawn said:
> On Wed, 27 Dec 2023 19:25:36 -0800, The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca>
> wrote:
>> On Tue, 26 Dec 2023 06:37:23 -0700, anim8rfsk <anim8rfsk@cox.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> I am old enough I have to go in and do the eye test and such for this
>>> birthday even though the license wouldn’t be due for renewal otherwise. I
>>> don’t think we’ve ever had renewal by Mail. And we have some sort of weird
>>> quasi real ID business that you can opt out of. But I wouldn’t be able to
>>> pass the eye test and I don’t drive anymore, so why the hell should I
>>> stand in line for hours?
>>
>> This is why I was astonished NOT to have to do the eye test since my
>> renewal in September was my first driver's licence since reaching age
>> 65.
>>
>> I had to go in to their office (not in any way a geographical
>> "challenge") and was bored silly during the hour it took to get
>> through the queue - but I had expected that so had brought a book -
>> and once my number was called I was staggered to be in and out of
>> there in under 15 minutes including my new photo. The new licence
>> arrived in the mail before my birthday and well before the expiry of
>> the old licence at the end of September.
>
> Hmm, that's a bit surprising. Here the only reason you have to go in
> to the office if renewing a license after reaching age 65 is because
> they want you to take eye test. That's the only thing they are
> requiring so you could renew by mail/online if they didn't have the
> eye test requirement for those over 65. Given that you can renew your
> license up to 150 days before it expires there shouldn't be any issue
> with getting a new license before the old one expires.

In New Zealand the eyesight test is a requirement every time you renew
you drivers licence (every 10 years or age 75, whichever comes first,
and after 75 the renewal time frame becomes more often). You can skip
the eye test by having an official letter from you doctor or
optometrist to say they have tested your eyesight within the last 60
days.

Driver Licence renewals cannot be done by mail or online here - they
must be done at an official licencing agency (e.g. Automobile
Association, some vehicle roadworthiness testing stations, etc.).

On 12/28/23 1:46 AM, shawn wrote:
> On Wed, 27 Dec 2023 19:25:36 -0800, The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca>
> wrote:
>
>> On Tue, 26 Dec 2023 06:37:23 -0700, anim8rfsk <anim8rfsk@cox.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> I am old enough I have to go in and do the eye test and such for this
>>> birthday even though the license wouldn’t be due for renewal otherwise. I
>>> don’t think we’ve ever had renewal by Mail. And we have some sort of weird
>>> quasi real ID business that you can opt out of. But I wouldn’t be able to
>>> pass the eye test and I don’t drive anymore, so why the hell should I stand
>>> in line for hours?
>>>
>> This is why I was astonished NOT to have to do the eye test since my
>> renewal in September was my first driver's licence since reaching age
>> 65.
>>
>> I had to go in to their office (not in any way a geographical
>> "challenge") and was bored silly during the hour it took to get
>> through the queue - but I had expected that so had brought a book -
>> and once my number was called I was staggered to be in and out of
>> there in under 15 minutes including my new photo. The new licence
>> arrived in the mail before my birthday and well before the expiry of
>> the old licence at the end of September.
>
> Hmm, that's a bit surprising. Here the only reason you have to go in
> to the office if renewing a license after reaching age 65 is because
> they want you to take eye test. That's the only thing they are
> requiring so you could renew by mail/online if they didn't have the
> eye test requirement for those over 65. Given that you can renew your
> license up to 150 days before it expires there shouldn't be any issue
> with getting a new license before the old one expires.
>

In my state, if you've had an eye exam in the last year, your doc will
give you a paper (in a sealed envelope) with their seal of approval.

No need to go down for an eye exam.

--
"Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a man’s mind." - OC
Bible 25B.G.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ek8kap93bmk0q5w/D%20U%20N%20E%20Part%20II.jpg?dl=0

Gracie, age 6.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/0es3xolxka455iw/BetterThingsToDo.jpg?dl=0

The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca> wrote:
> On Tue, 26 Dec 2023 06:37:23 -0700, anim8rfsk <anim8rfsk@cox.net>
> wrote:
>
>> I am old enough I have to go in and do the eye test and such for this
>> birthday even though the license wouldn’t be due for renewal otherwise. I
>> don’t think we’ve ever had renewal by Mail. And we have some sort of weird
>> quasi real ID business that you can opt out of. But I wouldn’t be able to
>> pass the eye test and I don’t drive anymore, so why the hell should I stand
>> in line for hours?
>>
> This is why I was astonished NOT to have to do the eye test since my
> renewal in September was my first driver's licence since reaching age
> 65.
>
> I had to go in to their office (not in any way a geographical
> "challenge") and was bored silly during the hour it took to get
> through the queue - but I had expected that so had brought a book -
> and once my number was called I was staggered to be in and out of
> there in under 15 minutes including my new photo. The new licence
> arrived in the mail before my birthday and well before the expiry of
> the old licence at the end of September.
>

Interesting. I still haven’t made it through the online registration…

--
The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but it is still on my list.

shawn <nanoflower@notforg.m.a.i.l.com> wrote:
> On Wed, 27 Dec 2023 19:25:36 -0800, The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca>
> wrote:
>
>> On Tue, 26 Dec 2023 06:37:23 -0700, anim8rfsk <anim8rfsk@cox.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> I am old enough I have to go in and do the eye test and such for this
>>> birthday even though the license wouldn’t be due for renewal otherwise. I
>>> don’t think we’ve ever had renewal by Mail. And we have some sort of weird
>>> quasi real ID business that you can opt out of. But I wouldn’t be able to
>>> pass the eye test and I don’t drive anymore, so why the hell should I stand
>>> in line for hours?
>>>
>> This is why I was astonished NOT to have to do the eye test since my
>> renewal in September was my first driver's licence since reaching age
>> 65.
>>
>> I had to go in to their office (not in any way a geographical
>> "challenge") and was bored silly during the hour it took to get
>> through the queue - but I had expected that so had brought a book -
>> and once my number was called I was staggered to be in and out of
>> there in under 15 minutes including my new photo. The new licence
>> arrived in the mail before my birthday and well before the expiry of
>> the old licence at the end of September.
>
> Hmm, that's a bit surprising. Here the only reason you have to go in
> to the office if renewing a license after reaching age 65 is because
> they want you to take eye test. That's the only thing they are
> requiring

Here it’s eyeI test and photograph every five years starting at 65. I guess
they think your looks change more often once you retire.

so you could renew by mail/online if they didn't have the
> eye test requirement for those over 65. Given that you can renew your
> license up to 150 days before it expires there shouldn't be any issue
> with getting a new license before the old one expires.
>

--
The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but it is still on my list.

On Thu, 28 Dec 2023 06:46:08 -0700, anim8rfsk <anim8rfsk@cox.net>
wrote:

>shawn <nanoflower@notforg.m.a.i.l.com> wrote:
>> On Wed, 27 Dec 2023 19:25:36 -0800, The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> On Tue, 26 Dec 2023 06:37:23 -0700, anim8rfsk <anim8rfsk@cox.net>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I am old enough I have to go in and do the eye test and such for this
>>>> birthday even though the license wouldn’t be due for renewal otherwise. I
>>>> don’t think we’ve ever had renewal by Mail. And we have some sort of weird
>>>> quasi real ID business that you can opt out of. But I wouldn’t be able to
>>>> pass the eye test and I don’t drive anymore, so why the hell should I stand
>>>> in line for hours?
>>>>
>>> This is why I was astonished NOT to have to do the eye test since my
>>> renewal in September was my first driver's licence since reaching age
>>> 65.
>>>
>>> I had to go in to their office (not in any way a geographical
>>> "challenge") and was bored silly during the hour it took to get
>>> through the queue - but I had expected that so had brought a book -
>>> and once my number was called I was staggered to be in and out of
>>> there in under 15 minutes including my new photo. The new licence
>>> arrived in the mail before my birthday and well before the expiry of
>>> the old licence at the end of September.
>>
>> Hmm, that's a bit surprising. Here the only reason you have to go in
>> to the office if renewing a license after reaching age 65 is because
>> they want you to take eye test. That's the only thing they are
>> requiring
>
>Here it’s eyeI test and photograph every five years starting at 65. I guess
>they think your looks change more often once you retire.
>

I'm sure they do the photograph too since you are there once you pass
the eye test. Though it's every seven years here. I haven't been to
the office since getting my Real ID license with the nice star on it
so I don't know what the lines are like, but I can't imagine they are
that long as anyone that can renew without going to the DMV is going
to choose that option. So while it took me about an hour, maybe an
hour and a half to get my Real ID license I would think the process
would be much faster now since only newcomers to the state and those
needing the eye test would have to go to the DMV for a drivers
license.

The Biden administration made two virtue-signaling proclamations at last
week�s COP28 conference in Dubai that it says will help save the planet from
climate change.

The policies aren�t likely to change the planet�s temperature by even one-
tenth of a degree, but they might just destroy the 21st-century American
industrial economy as we know it.

First, Team Biden announced it will stop production of all new coal plants in
the United States.

This comes on the heels of President Biden�s Environmental Protection Agency
saying this year it would impose new power plant emission regulations that
are virtually impossible for coal plants to comply with.

The bottom line: No more coal. Period.

But the White House was just getting started.

Vice President Kamala Harris trumpeted the next day new rules to �sharply
reduce methane from the oil and natural gas industry.�

The administration calls methane a �super-pollutant� that it wants to
eliminate because it�s �many times more potent than carbon dioxide.�

But methane is effectively a hydrocarbon that comes from natural gas.

Eliminating methane is a de facto ban on natural gas power plants.

Here is the most sinister part of this story that no one in the Biden
administration is telling you: Eradicating coal and natural gas plants will
ravage America�s electric power capacity.

These regulations will cause rolling blackouts and brownouts across the
country, much like we�ve already seen in California � America�s forerunner of
radical anti-fossil fuel policies.

The lights will go out intermittently, and home heating in the winter and air
conditioning in the summer will have to be turned off or rationed.

Without gas and coal plants, hospitals, schools, the internet, construction
projects and factories will be routinely shut down when unreliable
alternative energy sources like wind and solar power aren�t delivering enough
juice.

Upward of 60% of America�s electric power generation will go away � and soon.

Coal still provides roughly 20% of our electric power; natural gas supplies
around 40%.

What will make up for this lost power, especially given that our demands on
the power grid are only going to multiply over the coming years as the greens
want the entire network of cars, trucks and vans to be powered by charging up
on the electric grid?

The Biden administration, in other words, wants to nearly double the demands
on the electric grid network at the same time it wants to shut down more than
half of the nation�s power generation � and the most reliable sources at
that.

Something must give.

The climate-change groups that crammed into Dubai last week, echoed by head-
in-the-sand politicians like John Kerry, piously advise that Americans will
have to stop taking so many plane trips � especially overseas � and become
less reliant on cars, switching to mass transit or bicycles instead.

Some people may believe these mandatory sacrifices and rationing of modern-
age conveniences are justified to stave off �catastrophic climate change.�

Except the shutdown of our coal and natural gas power plants won�t move the
needle a millimeter on greenhouse gas emissions � and may make global CO2
emissions worse, not better.

That�s because by far the biggest producer of greenhouse gas emissions �
China � isn�t playing in this climate-change sandbox.

(President Xi Jinping didn�t even attend the conference, and the Chinese who
did were adamant that climate-change concerns aren�t going to interfere with
Beijing�s grandiose economic expansion plans.)

The coal plants and mines we shut down in places like Pennsylvania, West
Virginia and Wyoming are being replaced two or three times over by newly
built coal-fired plants in India and China.

We shut down one plant; they bring on line two or three new ones.

This math doesn�t add up � especially since we have cleaner coal plants than
China does.

Biden is playing a dangerous game of unilateral energy disarmament.

If he has his way, we will jump off the cliff first in the na�ve hope that
China, India, Russia and Europe are right behind us.

Whether intentional or not, this radical green agenda will cripple our global
economic leadership, cost our economy millions of jobs and make Americans
colder in their homes in the winter and hotter in the summer.

Does that seem like a smart way to protect ourselves from the dangers of a
changing climate � real or imagined?

--
Let's go Brandon!

On Thu, 28 Dec 2023 01:46:32 -0500, shawn
<nanoflower@notforg.m.a.i.l.com> wrote:

>Hmm, that's a bit surprising. Here the only reason you have to go in
>to the office if renewing a license after reaching age 65 is because
>they want you to take eye test. That's the only thing they are
>requiring so you could renew by mail/online if they didn't have the
>eye test requirement for those over 65. Given that you can renew your
>license up to 150 days before it expires there shouldn't be any issue
>with getting a new license before the old one expires.

Around here they're more interested in getting your photo since the
drivers' licence doubles as a medical care card (folks without
drivers' licences get their cards through the motor vehicle office
though theirs don't come with driving privileges)

I renewed during the first week of my birthday month as my birthday
is in the last week of the month. Got the licence (as opposed to
interim paper version I got when I had to surrender the outgoing card)
about 2 weeks later and well before my birthday so I was a happy guy.

On Thu, 28 Dec 2023 20:04:58 +1300, Your Name <YourName@YourISP.com>
wrote:

>On 2023-12-28 06:46:32 +0000, shawn said:
>> On Wed, 27 Dec 2023 19:25:36 -0800, The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca>
>> wrote:
>>> On Tue, 26 Dec 2023 06:37:23 -0700, anim8rfsk <anim8rfsk@cox.net>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I am old enough I have to go in and do the eye test and such for this
>>>> birthday even though the license wouldn’t be due for renewal otherwise. I
>>>> don’t think we’ve ever had renewal by Mail. And we have some sort of weird
>>>> quasi real ID business that you can opt out of. But I wouldn’t be able to
>>>> pass the eye test and I don’t drive anymore, so why the hell should I
>>>> stand in line for hours?
>>>
>>> This is why I was astonished NOT to have to do the eye test since my
>>> renewal in September was my first driver's licence since reaching age
>>> 65.
>>>
>>> I had to go in to their office (not in any way a geographical
>>> "challenge") and was bored silly during the hour it took to get
>>> through the queue - but I had expected that so had brought a book -
>>> and once my number was called I was staggered to be in and out of
>>> there in under 15 minutes including my new photo. The new licence
>>> arrived in the mail before my birthday and well before the expiry of
>>> the old licence at the end of September.
>>
>> Hmm, that's a bit surprising. Here the only reason you have to go in
>> to the office if renewing a license after reaching age 65 is because
>> they want you to take eye test. That's the only thing they are
>> requiring so you could renew by mail/online if they didn't have the
>> eye test requirement for those over 65. Given that you can renew your
>> license up to 150 days before it expires there shouldn't be any issue
>> with getting a new license before the old one expires.
>
>In New Zealand the eyesight test is a requirement every time you renew
>you drivers licence (every 10 years or age 75, whichever comes first,
>and after 75 the renewal time frame becomes more often). You can skip
>the eye test by having an official letter from you doctor or
>optometrist to say they have tested your eyesight within the last 60
>days.
>
>Driver Licence renewals cannot be done by mail or online here - they
>must be done at an official licencing agency (e.g. Automobile
>Association, some vehicle roadworthiness testing stations, etc.).
>
I am in the middle of cornea replacement surgery which is primarily
about removing risk of cataracts though it also improves one's vision.
I was worried when I renewed as an eye test (my doctor assures me I'm
safe to drive even though right now one eye is better than the other)
would have revealed better vision in one eye than the other. (I had
originally been scheduled to have the second eye done BEFORE the
licence expired on my birthday but was postponed by the doc)

Will have to ask my niece about that next time I see her - she
emigrated from Canada to NZ about 6 years ago and lives in
Christchurch. Hopefully not too soon though since I lost saw her in
early 2022 for a family funeral.

On 2023-12-30 05:35:31 +0000, The Horny Goat said:
> On Thu, 28 Dec 2023 20:04:58 +1300, Your Name <YourName@YourISP.com>
> wrote:
>> On 2023-12-28 06:46:32 +0000, shawn said:
>>> On Wed, 27 Dec 2023 19:25:36 -0800, The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca>
>>> wrote:
>>>> On Tue, 26 Dec 2023 06:37:23 -0700, anim8rfsk <anim8rfsk@cox.net>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I am old enough I have to go in and do the eye test and such for this
>>>>> birthday even though the license wouldn’t be due for renewal otherwise.
>>>>> I don’t think we’ve ever had renewal by Mail. And we have some sort of
>>>>> weird quasi real ID business that you can opt out of. But I wouldn’t be
>>>>> able to pass the eye test and I don’t drive anymore, so why the hell
>>>>> should I stand in line for hours?
>>>>
>>>> This is why I was astonished NOT to have to do the eye test since my
>>>> renewal in September was my first driver's licence since reaching age
>>>> 65.
>>>>
>>>> I had to go in to their office (not in any way a geographical
>>>> "challenge") and was bored silly during the hour it took to get
>>>> through the queue - but I had expected that so had brought a book -
>>>> and once my number was called I was staggered to be in and out of
>>>> there in under 15 minutes including my new photo. The new licence
>>>> arrived in the mail before my birthday and well before the expiry of
>>>> the old licence at the end of September.
>>>
>>> Hmm, that's a bit surprising. Here the only reason you have to go in
>>> to the office if renewing a license after reaching age 65 is because
>>> they want you to take eye test. That's the only thing they are
>>> requiring so you could renew by mail/online if they didn't have the
>>> eye test requirement for those over 65. Given that you can renew your
>>> license up to 150 days before it expires there shouldn't be any issue
>>> with getting a new license before the old one expires.
>>
>> In New Zealand the eyesight test is a requirement every time you renew
>> you drivers licence (every 10 years or age 75, whichever comes first,
>> and after 75 the renewal time frame becomes more often). You can skip
>> the eye test by having an official letter from you doctor or
>> optometrist to say they have tested your eyesight within the last 60
>> days.
>>
>> Driver Licence renewals cannot be done by mail or online here - they
>> must be done at an official licencing agency (e.g. Automobile
>> Association, some vehicle roadworthiness testing stations, etc.).
>>
> I am in the middle of cornea replacement surgery which is primarily
> about removing risk of cataracts though it also improves one's vision.
> I was worried when I renewed as an eye test (my doctor assures me I'm
> safe to drive even though right now one eye is better than the other)
> would have revealed better vision in one eye than the other. (I had
> originally been scheduled to have the second eye done BEFORE the
> licence expired on my birthday but was postponed by the doc)
>
> Will have to ask my niece about that next time I see her - she
> emigrated from Canada to NZ about 6 years ago and lives in
> Christchurch. Hopefully not too soon though since I lost saw her in
> early 2022 for a family funeral.

I always do the eye test at my optometrist and get the letter. The one
time I did it at the driver licencing agency, the silly machines they
use were worse than useless - the tiny specks of light are barely
visible, especially once your glasses steam up from having your face
pressed into the machine's goggles. :-\

I haz new drivers license!

That’s the short version.

I made a bunch of notes and took screenshots as I went. It was a really
elaborate process. But I did it all online. Here are some High points:

It immediately required me to have a cell phone. In fact, at three
different points it required me to have a cell phone. Fortunately, there
were workarounds, because as I had said would happen, the code they were
supposed to send me via cell phone never showed up. It asked if I’d like
to try a different phone number. I said yes. It said changing my phone
number required. The advanced authentication, which could only be done
after had finished registering. After messing with it for far too long, I
finally backed out of the system entirely, and started over again.

The first thing you do is give them an email address and they email you a
code and you put it in and somehow this proves you are you. The second
thing you do is give them a cell phone number and they text you a code and
you put it in and somehow this proves you are you. I don’t know what it
possibly proves except that you have access to that email address and that
phone number.

It kept saying I could do it all online despite everything else saying that
you have to have a new photo and take the vision test with every renewal
after age 65.

I was able to take the vision test online.

The vision test Consists of you clicking a box answering the question
whether you do or do not require glasses to drive. My glasses are reading
glasses so, no.

I had to take a picture of myself so that they could compare it to the
current photo I guess. I did my best to take an identical photo and they
said they couldn’t match it. After a few tries of that, they said that I
had to start making funny faces because that improved matching capability
and security. I’m seriously not kidding. First up I had to look sad for
them. We did several of those, and they didn’t match. Finally, they asked
me to look angry. so I made a psychotic face and bingo that matched first
time. I’m not really sure what that says about them or me. I picture a
bunch of the DMV guys sitting around watching these pictures come in and
laughing.

We still don’t have real ID but it’s not required now until mid 2025.
Apparently they extended the date. So I can still fly and go into federal
buildings for another year and a half.

I had the option to do the Arizona travel ID at the same time as the
drivers license but it was another $25 and I had no expectation the drivers
license was going to work at all. Once I have the physical license in my
hand (they sent me an image of it, it uses my old picture) I may go back in
and do that. But I don’t really think I want to screw with the system right
now.

They tried to get me to register to vote. There was no button to indicate
that you are already registered to vote. so I refused to register to vote.
Because that was my only option.

The fee was $10. They never did send me a receipt for it, but my credit
card says they billed them.

Thanks all for giving me the boot in the butt I needed to try this!

--
The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but it is still on my list.

On Sat, 30 Dec 2023 09:38:05 -0700, anim8rfsk <anim8rfsk@cox.net>
wrote:

>I haz new drivers license!
>
>That’s the short version.
>
>I made a bunch of notes and took screenshots as I went. It was a really
>elaborate process. But I did it all online. Here are some High points:
>
>It immediately required me to have a cell phone. In fact, at three
>different points it required me to have a cell phone. Fortunately, there
>were workarounds, because as I had said would happen, the code they were
>supposed to send me via cell phone never showed up. It asked if I’d like
>to try a different phone number. I said yes. It said changing my phone
>number required. The advanced authentication, which could only be done
>after had finished registering. After messing with it for far too long, I
>finally backed out of the system entirely, and started over again.
>
>The first thing you do is give them an email address and they email you a
>code and you put it in and somehow this proves you are you. The second
>thing you do is give them a cell phone number and they text you a code and
>you put it in and somehow this proves you are you. I don’t know what it
>possibly proves except that you have access to that email address and that
>phone number.
>
>It kept saying I could do it all online despite everything else saying that
>you have to have a new photo and take the vision test with every renewal
>after age 65.
>
>I was able to take the vision test online.
>
>The vision test Consists of you clicking a box answering the question
>whether you do or do not require glasses to drive. My glasses are reading
>glasses so, no.
>
>I had to take a picture of myself so that they could compare it to the
>current photo I guess. I did my best to take an identical photo and they
>said they couldn’t match it. After a few tries of that, they said that I
>had to start making funny faces because that improved matching capability
>and security. I’m seriously not kidding. First up I had to look sad for
>them. We did several of those, and they didn’t match. Finally, they asked
>me to look angry. so I made a psychotic face and bingo that matched first
>time. I’m not really sure what that says about them or me. I picture a
>bunch of the DMV guys sitting around watching these pictures come in and
>laughing.
>
>We still don’t have real ID but it’s not required now until mid 2025.
>Apparently they extended the date. So I can still fly and go into federal
>buildings for another year and a half.
>
>I had the option to do the Arizona travel ID at the same time as the
>drivers license but it was another $25 and I had no expectation the drivers
>license was going to work at all. Once I have the physical license in my
>hand (they sent me an image of it, it uses my old picture) I may go back in
>and do that. But I don’t really think I want to screw with the system right
>now.
>
>They tried to get me to register to vote. There was no button to indicate
>that you are already registered to vote. so I refused to register to vote.
>Because that was my only option.
>
>The fee was $10. They never did send me a receipt for it, but my credit
>card says they billed them.
>
>Thanks all for giving me the boot in the butt I needed to try this!

Congrats on conquering the governments technology.

President Joe Biden and his administration are being accused of telegraphing
their alleged forthcoming punches against Iran and its terrorist proxy groups
in the Middle East after three U.S. soldiers were killed in a terror attack
over the weekend.

Sky News reported Monday afternoon that Biden was preparing to authorize U.S.
Military action against those responsible for the attack �as early as
tonight,� thus potentially tipping them off.

Shortly after the suicide drone attack was carried out on Sunday, the
Iranian-backed terrorists responsible for the attack evacuated their posts
and spread out their most valuable equipment in anticipation of U.S.
airstrikes.

Biden officials leaked to Politico on Monday night the targets that Biden is
considering:

Among the options on the table for the Pentagon: striking Iranian
personnel in Syria or Iraq or Iranian naval assets in the Persian
Gulf, according to the officials. The Iranian government, for its
part, has suggested that a strike on Iran itself would be a red
line. The officials suggested that, once the president gave the
go-ahead, the retaliation would likely begin in the next couple of
days and come in waves against a range of targets.

Rebeccah Heinrichs, senior fellow at Hudson Institute and the director of its
Keystone Defense Initiative, slammed the administration for once again
tipping off the enemy to its plans.

�It is a bizarre habit of this White House to overshare what it is going to
do to the enemy,� she said. �It does not appear that it is meant to
complicate the enemy�s calculations or make him fear us; instead it seems
meant to clarify for the enemy and assure him. It would be far better to say
nothing at all.�

Why is the WH previewing the attack? https://t.co/Moa6uXjkFG
� Josh Kraushaar (@JoshKraushaar) January 30, 2024

For God�s sake: strike hard at Iran to deter further Tehran-backed
attacks � and a war. And stop the leaks and messaging about how
terrified you are of escalation! @JakeSullivan46
https://t.co/Ht35psjGFN
� Andrea Stricker (@StrickerNonpro) January 30, 2024

When Biden finally launched bare minimum retaliatory strikes against
Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen for disrupting global trade in the
Red Sea earlier this month he was accused of warning them in advance of his
plans.

�A surprise attack obviously gives us better odds of killing more Houthis,
destroying their weapons, and keeping our service members safe. Telegraphing
the attack decreases those odds,� Heinrichs told The Daily Wire at the time.
�It is a maddening hallmark of this administration�s approach in responding
to aggression. It seems to think by allaying the fears of our enemies,
communicating that we won�t hurt them �too badly,� they won�t hit us back
�too much.��

�We should be making our enemies fear us,� she added. �We have the
overwhelming advantage. We have got to start acting like it or it will keep
getting worse.�

--
"In our time, there is still the old ghost of new garments. We all need to
rise and meet the moment".

-- Joe Biden

New York Democratic Mayor Eric Adams says he is limited in what he can do to
address the migrant crisis that has crippled the city�s welfare system.

Adams suggested that New York�s sanctuary city laws and other policies that
have allowed migrants to take advantage of the city�s welfare system have
curbed his ability to act, according to Fox News.

�We�re not just saying we�re out of room as a soundbite. We�re out of room,
literally. People are going to be eventually sleeping on the streets,� he
told FOX 5 New York�s Rosanna Scotto.

When asked what Adams could do about the flood of migrants entering the city,
the mayor demurred. He said the legal system has restricted his options and
forced his decisions on key issues.

�The law states that we cannot notify [Immigration and Customs Enforcement].
I cannot break the law and enforce the law. I can�t deport. I can�t stop
people from coming in, repeated criminal behavior, I can�t report to ICE for
deportation. So, there�s certain things I can�t do,� Adams responded.

Adams said the migrant crisis that is straining the city�s infrastructure is
�unfair to New Yorkers.�

�Our hearts are endless, but our resources are not,� Adams said. �It�s not
like New York is not saying we are not a city of immigrants. We are. We have
a rich history of immigrants, but we can�t take the global problem and it
become our problem. That is unfair to New Yorkers, and is unfair to
migrants.�

Adams was hit with a lawsuit on Wednesday as New York City has struggled to
house tens of thousands of homeless immigrants. A new law, put in place after
the city council overrode a veto from Adams, expands the city�s housing
voucher program as thousands of people are looking for space in the city�s
shelters, according to The New York Times.

Legal Aid Society, a group that represents low-income New Yorkers, filed a
class action lawsuit against Adams accusing the mayor of not expanding the
voucher program as the new law requires.

�The Adams administration�s refusal to implement the law is unacceptable, and
the City must take immediate action to ensure that the thousands of New
Yorkers who are experiencing or are on the brink of homelessness and who are
now eligible for CityFHEPS can secure safe, long-term and affordable
housing,� Legal Aid attorney Robert Desir stated.

Adams said in a press conference on Tuesday that the city cannot afford to
pay for the reforms to the expanded voucher program.

--
Let's go Brandon!

The myriad of gaffes by President Joe Biden has �nothing to do with his
brain,� a veteran Democrat in Congress said on Saturday as he pointed to
Biden�s lifelong fight to overcome a stutter.

Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC), a co-chair of Biden�s re-election campaign, defended
the 81-year-old president during an interview on CNN as polls show up to 86%
of Americans believe Biden is too old to serve a second term in the White
House.

�If Joe Biden commits a gaffe, a guy who stuttered all of his childhood, into
his adulthood and everybody knows his stuttering is what caused a lot of his
speech impediments, and we know that. It has nothing to do with his brain, he
stumbles one time and everybody says, �He�s too old to be the president,'�
Clyburn said.

The congressman then alluded to the release last week of a new survey of
historians who ranked all the presidents from best to worst, placing Biden in
14 place and Trump in last place.

�Look, we had a president of these United States, I saw the rankings the
other day, who was in the top ten, and some people got him in the top three:
Franklin Roosevelt was in a wheelchair. It didn�t bother his brand,� Clyburn
said.

Fresh questions about Biden�s ability to lead effectively were spurred by
this month�s release of a report by special counsel Robert Hur that
criticized Biden�s handling of classified documents. Although Hur did not
recommend charges, the report added that Biden exhibited memory problems that
likely would preclude a jury from convicting him.

Biden responded to Hur�s findings in an impromptu press conference during
which he insisted that his memory was �fine� and then mixed up world leaders.
In the days leading up to the report�s unveiling, Biden made headlines for
talking about discussions with European heads of state who had died by the
time he said the conversations took place.

Clyburn suggested former President Donald Trump, who is also running for re-
election, does not get the same amount of press as Biden when it comes to
gaffes or �meandering� remarks.

Although polls do not reflect as much concern about the age of 77-year-old
Trump, Clyburn insisted, �There�s something wrong with Trump, and we noticed
something wrong with Trump.�

--
Let's go Brandon!