h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

*Approaches the sideboard and constructs a Dagwood style sandwich.*

My daughter failed the written test for her driver's permit today. I suspect she thought she could breeze through it without preparing properly. The test was given at her high school and she just completed a 10 week marking period of Drivers Ed. This is a kid that gets A's in Honors level courses. Because she failed, she must re-test at the DMV. I was hoping to avoid having to schlep her there.

I feel for her. I hate having to go to the DMV for any reason. Luckily anymore there are a ton of places that will renew your plates without the need to make the trek to the DMV.

WM - if you can, get an appointment, I haven't had to wait in a DMV line for quit some time because I always try to get appointments.

Courtesy

*nudges d'E*

Did you hear that? An appointment, he said.

Here's how it works in New Jersey:

- Walk into DMV office and get in a (minimum) 20 minute line of 40 people waiting to tell the receptionist why they are here.

- Receptionist directs you to next appropriate line, where the end result is you turn grey and wrinkle up like a prune before you receive any service whatsoever.

- Commit suicide if it turns out you were sent to the wrong line.

Oooh, appointment! That's a good one! I think I'll call the NJ DMV and ask for an appointment even though I don't need one. Oh, my sides hurt! I bet they book the appointments in their fancy computer system .

Congrats, Marv .

/* Giggles while making a sandwich */

Two of the DMV offices in SLC were closed in the interests of community service, I guess that after you drive to one end of the valley to get whatever it is you are looking for the many hour wait seems less intense.

Appointment? At the DMV?!!!

The system in NY is similar to NJ, Witty. But at the end of the 20 minute line you are handed a form (which is not one of the many forms that a conveniently kept on a table by the from - this is a special form available only from behind the counter, and no mater what you want this is the form you need). You fill out the form then get back in line to turn it in.

I remember my written driver's test. I went down to the DMV to get the manual to study for the test and instead they handed me the test. So I took it. I aced it. The road test, however, is a different story. Do not ask, I will not speak of it.

*full from dinner, but takes an olive from the banquet - it's bad luck not to take something from a celebratory banquete*

Way to go, Marv.

I just double checked the DMV website and it appears I have stretched the truth a bit. One must make an appointment to take the road test. HOWEVER, one must make the appointment IN PERSON and return another day for said test. No appointments are taken over the phone. They probably don't have phones, come to think of it.

/* Wipes a tear from his eye */

And Witty, you forgot about the part about waiting on the cashier line only to find out that they don't accept credit, and they don't post the prices anywhere so you can't know how much cash you need beforehand.

Is there some universal law of motor vehicle agencies that California is violating?

Thanks for reminding me, I must get the new CD Rom from the DVLA so that No1 son can swot up on the Highway Code for his theory test. At 22 he is finally going to learn to drive, there wasn't much point when he was at Uni as he couldn't afford to run a car.

*helps herself to a light supper from the collation on the sideboard*

We can now renew our tags for 2 years at a time. That helps a little.

*tries to imagine cutting to the front of the line and saying that it's ok because I have an appointment*

*skipped lunch so makes a Dagwood*

I've never had to wait more than three minutes at the DMV, and that was because I had to ask for a usable pen.

Upon renewing the tags for my car earlier this month, I discovered the appropriate office in the Missoula County Courthouse has turned into a big city DMV with a waiting area, a few television sets tuned to CNN and the Cartoon Network, a number counter (you pull a numbered service ticket a la a New York deli when you come in) and several back issues of magazines no one in their right mind would read.

It's still first come, first served however. MR informed me several months ago that Irvine, California's DMV took appointments and I was in shock! I remember being so unfortunate as to go to Vallejo's (CA as well) DMV for my first learner's permit back in high school and waiting with 50 other people all afternoon in line for service from a large surly woman having a bad day.

Someone explain the term Dagwood to me, please.

Blondie is a cartoon strip here in the States. Dagwood is her husband and is famous for the size of his appetite. He regularly creates huge sandwiches.

http://www.kingfeatures.com/features/comics/blondie/about.htm

There are at least three deli's in SLC that I know of that have a sandwich called the "Dagwood" and they are all huge. In fact my friends and I would all chip in a couple of dollars for a two of them and that would feed 6 of us.

I have an interesting trouble shooting problem for you all. With my wife out of town the family's alpha geek duties fall to me, and I am vastly unsuited for this role.

If you want to print something on my parent's computer you click on PRINT - and nothing whatsoever seems to happen. Then you turn the computer off. Sometime later you turn the computer back on. The first thing it does is print everything that was sent to the print que the last time the computer was on.

What the heck?!

This is not covered in the troubleshooting guide.

Let me guess, is it an HP printer?


*not a in any way*

Lexmark

hmmm

Without more information I would guess that the printer driver is hosed and it will queue print jobs in the spool and when you restart the machine it will then empty the spool.