The Anchorage, Part 3

[Terre]

I just love the way you limey's, kiwi's and roo's talk! I can hear your accent from here in the USA.

Petrol! Posh! I just love it!

LOL

Same here! Of course now I'm hearing Rex Harrison singing "Why can't the English".
I grew up listening to the record my grandmother bought in NY when she and my mother went to see the original stage production of My Fair Lady and was VERY annoyed years later to see a CD of that album which said it was the original recording but find , upon getting home and listening to it, that it had been remastered to tone down the accents. The ways the people were speaking and singing was the REASON for the story!

 

[Pendraia]

Just wonderful views Mytho...I've been to Blackpool many years ago. My Great Aunt took me when I stayed with her in Bury. My mum was born in Lancashire.

 

[quietrob]

Just wondering...do Americans sound as if we have the accent? Are we easier to follow than cockney?

 

[Miss B]

I'm pretty sure we do Rob, and considering there are regional "accents" all over the US and Canada, it doesn't surprise me.

 

[McGyver]

I don't know if other people do this, but I have a tendency to incorporate an accent into people's writing based on where they say they are from, or if they tend to use a certain vernacular...
Like if I think you are Welsh, I'll read your post hearing a welsh accent... Or if you say you are from Texas, I might add a slight Texy drawl...
There is a guy at the Sketch-U-cation forums that I have given the accent of one the characters Gerard Depardieu played, and I can't read his posts without hearing it.
But then again, I'm somewhat insane, so hearing voices shouldn't be surprising.

 

[quietrob]

@McGyver We're all a little crazy though I should only speak for myself.
I do think you are right. I am certain that somehow MissB lived or was from New York and despite their being a ton of regular country folk, I read her posts with a slight New York city accent in my head. I'm from California and I wonder if you hear some Surfer accent like I'm Eddie Spicolli. Now when I watch the BBC network, I hear everything from Cockney to New York and a standard British accent in between.

Of course this is the Anchorage and everyone that lives in Alaska sounds like an Eskimo. Everyone knows that

 

[Satira Capriccio]

Hmm ... what does an eskimo sound like it???

Ok ... so not all that different from anyone in the Pacific Northwest

 

[Miss B]

My mother's younger brother was stationed in Fairfax when he was in the army. He liked it a lot, but it's one place I've never had a desire to visit.

 

[Terre]

I seem to have a mixed up accent. A German friend of the family asked what accent I had when visiting in the late '70s. It seems to have a trace of my grandmothers' Minnesota accent and likely a bit of Japanese from having lived on the economy there as a 5 and 6 year old.

Meanwhile hubby and I are now done with having to deal with this law REAL ID Act - Wikipedia for the time being. We both got our DLs renewed for 8 years.

 

[Satira Capriccio]

I hate when they sneak nasty things like this into spending bills as riders like they did with this one.

You know most of the senate and house don't bother to read more than a page or two of any bill. If that.

 

[quietrob]

@ Terre How is the REAL ID Act (Which I just read) affecting you adversely? I know was required to have a valid California Drivers License and a matching Credit Card before I was allowed to board.

@Satira Capriccio What riders did they slip into the law. Obama was good but not perfect. I know he was making concessions to the Congress in Power.

 

[Terre]

New Mexico has run out of extensions for being compliant and beginning in Jan. of next year no one from this state will be able to board a plane or enter a military base or whatever if they don't have the new "Enhanced" ID. The current DLs and State IDs NM has won't be accepted.

I think Satira may have meant the whole Real ID law itself. Not fully sure about that though.

 

[Satira Capriccio]

The Real ID Act originally passed the house and then pretty much died. Until it was attached as a rider on a Military Spending Bill and then signed into law by President Bush in May 2005. In my opinion, a bill should fail or pass on its own. I hate how they add riders to bills when they have absolutely nothing to do with the bill ... riders that generally would never otherwise be passed into law. They are nothing more than bribes in my opinion.

Anyway ... the majority of states have been against the Real ID Act, and there have been several attempts to repeal it. Consequently, it's been postponed and deadlines extended for years. But, time is running out Even though as of March, only 14 states are actually fully participating in sharing their ID databases. 26 states and territories have been granted extensions.

I'm of mixed feelings on this, because I hate state's rights. Law and rights should apply equally to everyone in the US. Regardless of which state I live in ... I should have the same rights as any other American in any other state. It shouldn't be legal to discriminate against a person anywhere in the US. But, that's exactly what state's rights allows.

At the same time, given the direction the White House is going, I'd rather states split with the White House. We simply can't afford to go backwards in terms of human rights, the environment, and jobs. Focusing on restoring jobs that not only destroy the environment but kill those who work in those jobs is senseless ... especially when the future is elsewhere.



Rather depressing how everything is such a mess now.

 

[quietrob]

@Satira Capriccio I can agree that with the current occupant in the White House, some states rights makes more sense than ever. Weed and gambling is legal where I live. You have to 21 for the first and 18 for the second. Both are controlled quite well so that only adults can indulge, though there will ALWAYS be someone who skirts the law. When I was stationed in Ft. Riley, Kansas (Home of the Big Red One) for military duty, I and a pack of young bucks where sent to get beer for the G.I Party. For those that didn't know, a G.I. Party is a cleaning party where we clean everything and drink a lot of beer while doing it. We went about town looking for a Liquor Store. Where upon some folksy character out of the past, sitting on a rocking chair, wearing plaid and chewing chaw, looked me up and down and asked what I wanted. When I told him we wanted beer, he spit and told me..."BOY. Don't you know you can't buy beer in Kansas on a Sunday?"

States rights. I agree, it allows states to discriminate and with the current people in the Supreme Court I wouldn't push too much. Personally I'll be happy when they take down those confederate flags over the capital and allow anyone to love who they wish. Riders. It used be to done with some sense. I really had no problem with some Senator holding out for a park or a school in exchange for his vote. Now, all civility is gone and hate is the norm.

Depressing, you say, Satira? I think you are right.

By the way...Cool name.

 

[Terre]

Riders. Yeah, I've always disliked them.

NM had reached the point where we had to be Real ID compliant. Unless things have changed in the last 30 years the military is still the largest employer of civilians in the state and people needed to be able to go on base next year.
Not just the military actually. Sandia National Labs mostly employs civilians and is located on Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque.

As far as Real ID stuff yesterday below is what I told some friends elsewhere:

"Real ID paperwork is a pain but we had more than sufficient.
Birth certs? Yup. Got State copies for both of us in Oct. of '14.
Marriage cert for me? $1.50 paid to the county clerks office this morning. Having gotten married in this town made that easier.
2 proofs of residency? Easy. Bank statement served for one for both of us. Plateau bill (told the lady it was an internet bill as cell phone bills don't count) for Jim as his name and our address are on it and that one is the one his email is from. Century Link bill with my name on it worked for me after making sure the lady at the desk knew it was an internet bill.
DLs and SS cards.
Paperwork was easy to provide."

 

[McGyver]

In New York (and apparently Michigan, Minnesota, Vermont and Washington too) we have what are called "Enhanced Drivers Licenses".
When I first heard about that I said "oh cool... "
Usually when a state "enhances" something it makes it micro-marginally differentish.
But in this case by "enhancing" my driver's license, it actually added a few features that were not present previously.

Such as:

• A new material that it is made out of is 12% more pitbull saliva resistant than previous versions... Should perhaps your friend's goofy dog playfully snatch it out of your hand and run off with it (license, not hand)...

• Liberal use of the Arial Bold font... A step up from the previous overuse of "Disco Funk Rounded"

• A pseudo holographic anti-duplication feature that both: 1- Simulates the effects of a bad acid trip while staring at a new state seal and 2- makes your ID photo look like your head is shooting radioactive sine waves.

• A special scientifically developed laminate coating that absorbs any and all forms of dirt and stainable materials so as to allow your license to develop a rich tapestry of funk on its surface, thus challenging anyone comparing you to your photo, to decide whether or not you once had a Hitler mustache and fifty huge black warts on your face or you are trying to use someone else's ID.

• An elaborate blue watermark which features among other designs, a fine chain link or scale pattern on the photo area that gives everyone's ID photo a supplementary "lizard-man" appearance.

• In addition to the standard "Organ Donor" notation (if you choose that) on the front, the back allows for the last minute addition of an "Anatomical Gift", should you decide right before kicking off that you feel particularly generous today... Although I have to wonder, given the meaning of "Anatomical Elements" in the DAZ/Poser community, what exactly I'm gifting there... I'm already an organ donor, so I'm not signing that bit in case that means what I think it means, since I'm sure my wife is okay with someone using my heart, but I'm pretty sure she would be not be okay with my anatomical elements running wild about town attached to some stranger... Especially now that science has finally ironed out the kinks in that grafting problem.

• The inclusion of a "Happy Face" sun in the New York State "Excelsior" seal... The previous "Clinically Depressed" sun had served from 1779 until apparently the recent development of antidepressants for celestial objects.

• An RFID and barcode.

• And what is apparently the most useful feature, the ability to serve as a limited use passport into any participating countries still willing to allow Americans past their borders after November 2016...
To begin with, it was only Canada and Mexico... Soooo... I'm guessing at this point, nobody.

Being that New York has EDL (which sounds more like something you take small blue pills for), N.Y. was granted an extension from REAL ID... Texas was also granted an extension, but mostly because the DHS was afraid Texas would beat them up if they didn't...

There are aspects of the REAL ID act that are reasonable, such as better monitoring of individuals with serious vehicular convictions and those determined to repeat said serious offenses...
And there are things that are not so great, like the possibility of it infringing on the 10th amendment...
And then of course there is the possibilities that such a system is vulnerable to abuses from data thieves and institutions not concerned with an individual's right to privacy, as such a system makes it far easier to track people's activities on a scale eclipsing credit card use and Internet visits...
An optional universalized form of ID might not be bad... But once it becomes something you are required to always carry, that's where things to go bad...
You open the door to RFID readers being installed in public transportation... For security...
That leads to government buildings and facilities... Of course, for security...
That leads to important public buildings... For security....
That leads to public places... For security...
Eventually you end up with these things being everywhere.
Unfortunately "Acts" like this tend to have a "pry bar on nails" effect... As they can be used to weaken other rights and freedoms over time.

As it is every time I go to Canada, I've got border guards looking me up and down like I stole a warty hitler mustached lizard man's ID... I could only imagine the amazing new possibilities for comical misunderstandings that will arise when New York finally becomes part of the REAL ID system.

 

[Miss B]

This all makes me happy I did all my long distance traveling decades ago. I don't go now-a-days, unless I can get there by car in a reasonable amount of time.

 

[Satira Capriccio]

And of course ... each state's implementation has to be paid for by the states, with no assistance from the federal government. Which may well be the primary reason most states objected to it ... at least those states and lawmakers that aren't concerned with the potential loss of privacy and the Big Brother aspect of all this.

In 2009, Oregon lawmakers prohibited the Oregon DMV from complying with the REAL ID act unless federal funding paid for the higher security standards. Yeah ... like that's ever going to happen. Thing is ... even after the January 2018 deadline, you can use your passport instead of a Real ID Driver's License to board a plane. Sooo ... just what is the point of forcing all states to implement this?

Like it's going to prevent terrorist acts anyway.

 

[Miss B]

Well, I never renewed my passport after my last trip abroad, so I don't have that anyway.

What exactly is the difference between my current driver's license, which has my picture (though not a very flattering one) and address on it, than a Real ID driver's license?

 

[Satira Capriccio]

They cost more.

It has an added security stamp which is designed to prevent tampering or duplication. Some states use a radio frequency ID chip like what's used in credit cards, pets, and passports.

The Real ID driver's license will be optional in PA and won't include the ID chip. So ... I'll stick with the standard driver's licence.