Blog Number 408

Greetings and welcome to today's random thought.

Today I got to (had to) go to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) to get license plates for my Buick and to get an Indiana drivers license.  I had put this off as long as I could but my Texas plates expire at the end of the month and even though my Texas driver's license is still good for a few more years I thought it a good idea to trade it in for a local one.  Our BMV is no longer open on Monday's due to budget cuts but from my experience in getting plates for the Kia minivan in May, the lines are quite short.  I think that many of the renewals are done online or via the kiosk in the front section of the BMV and that allows for the shorter lines.  I researched what documents I would need beforehand in hopes of not having to arrive without proper credentials.  It is quite incredible what you need...

• One document proving your identity (birth certificate, passport, etc); and
• One document proving your Social Security number (Social Security Card, W2, etc); and
• One document proving your lawful status in the United States (birth certificate, passport, etc); and
• Two documents proving your Indiana residency (bill from utility, bank statement, pay stub, loan payment book, etc)

One thing I did not plan on was having to take a written test in order to get my license.  I had not studied but in typical macho persona I decided to take the test anyway rather than grab a booklet and return another day.  I finished the 50 question test in about 20 minutes or so and I was quite surprised to see the BMV worker grade the test manually since I used a #2 pencil to color in the little multiple choice answer sheet.  In the end I missed 2 of the multiple choice section (the first 34 questions).  You are allowed to miss 6 of these.  I missed a question about the distance behind another car that you are allowed to have your bright lights on and also a question about the standard speed limit for an Indiana highway.  The last 16 questions I aced as they were on road signs.  The 48 out of 50 ties the score the wife racked up in May so neither of us have bragging rights (though she did tell me that she challenged the answer on one of her missed questions - she is rather competitive and despite the question having nothing to do with her getting her license or not she still belabored the point with the poor BMV helper).  The rest of my visit was pretty straightforward and I got out for around $100 (which was lower than I anticipated).  I did not get around to swapping my Indiana plates for my Texas ones tonight as the daughter is not feeling well and the wife is at a kick off meeting for a fall children's Wednesday night program at our church.  So I get to enjoy my lovely Texas plates for one more day.  I am going to miss having plates on the front and back of my car since Indiana only gives you one plate.  I will have to say that my picture on my driver's license is easily the best I have had in my driving career.  It is also the first time that I did not have the "has to were glasses or contacts while driving" restriction.  Also, I got to update my weight (my old license said 195) so I proudly instructed the BMV person to change that to 180.

Album Review - Stryper -  Murder By Pride (2009): I received this CD for my birthday on Monday from the wife.  I have been a Stryper fan since their first LP in 1984.  This is their 25th year as a band (with anniversary tour to boot).  This is not on a major record label so it suffers a bit from big production $'s but this is better than their 2005 Reborn CD by far.  Long time fans of Stryper will hear a little bit of To Hell With The Devil era songs (Murder By Pride, 4 Leaf Clover, etc) along with some newer sounds (The Plan, Mercy Over Blame, Everything) and they even cover a song off of their re-release of their first LP (My Love I'll Always Show) although other than the lyrics, you would never tell it is the same song.  I don't think that this release will not win them any new fans but old fans will not be disappointed.  The obligatory cover of Peace Of Mind (a Boston song) is good but I prefer the original Boston version.  Thanks again to the wife for this perfect birthday present.  The CD was not available locally anywhere and I had just not got around to ordering it online.  I toyed with the idea of driving the 4 hours to the closest tour stop (in Ohio) but it will likely not happen.  Maybe I can catch them on their 30th anniversary tour.

Thanks for reading my Random Thoughts.

Jon