Can you really claim to live somewhere until you’ve experienced that place’s particular brand of bureaucracy? I say no. And to that end, Dr. Evil and I are headed off this morning to tangle with the beast of beasts: the DMV. Wish us luck, and I’ll be back later with a full report on the festivities.
PM UPDATE:
The photo I posted prior to going the the DMV (sorry, BMV) was a stock image from Google. Here’s what we really found: 
There was no line, and four clerks, three of them quite pleasant, even. It was one of the better DMV experiences of my life. Naturally, we could not do all the things we wanted to do in one trip—that’s just the nature of the DMV, I think—but as interactions with the government go, it was a solid A.
Side note: Two younger men came in to renew their licenses while we were conducting our business. They both declined the offer to register to vote.
Nice! NJ was easy too – no appointments and in an out in 30 minutes on a Saturday with new licenses in hand. CA on the other hand, the one time I went without an appointment I stood in a 2 hour line just to get a number to wait 2 more hours for my turn and another 2 weeks to get my license in the mail. It’s the DMV that all DMV horror stories are built on.
Voting. It only encourages them. I do it so they, and I, can continue this charade that the process matters. But, does it, really? Half my ballot is uncontested, half of the other half is rascals I wouldn’t want at my dinner tablr, much lesd representing my interests on any matter of importance. Democracy, objectively, is a terrible form of government, just like all the other kinds.
Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the power dynamic.
We have moved to a ruby red precinct of a deep red county of ~13,000, so I look forward to confounding their norms each November.
Surly-wan, you’re our only hope. I’m going to imagine your maverick run for office, maybe Sheriff, like Hunter S. Thompson.