The AM Forum

Today my daughter and I go into home cheapo to pick up some spray paint for a power supply front panel I'm doing. We go to the check out counter and girl asks, " what is your date of birth"? So I tell her and ask why da heck do you want my DOB. She smiles and says spray paint.
Daughter asks if I'm going out tagging tonight.   

Hey, you're just a young looking scamp. ;D

Now everyone has to be  carded in the airport bar...no matter what your age...I personally got a kick out of it the first few times...being carded by a 20 something waitress when I'm old enough to be her grandfather...But alas the thrill is gone..Soon everyone will have a chip implanted in their ass at birth so we can keep the ID in the pocket...

Maybe she wanted to make sure you are old enough to "huff" it.  8)

My Daughter said the same thing...I guess the lack of good cheap weed has kids doing stupid stuff.

Gee Frank, if someone asked for my proof of age now, at age 57, I'd be friggin' thrilled.

Take it as a compliment, OM.

73,

Bruce

I've had the happen at home despot too.  Recently, Liz and I were out to dinner and the both of us got carded when we ordered a couple glasses of wine before dinner in Niantic. It wasn't a big deal but we got a chuckle out of it considering the obvious age differences between us and the waitress.  They have to do it. I can't fault them. They're under orders by the man.

Frank said:
Around here smoking 'bath salts' has become all the rage to the point local DA's are encouraging the outlaw of their sales!

"Do you think that we want those laws to be observed? We want them broken. There’s no way to rule innocent men. The only power the government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws."

Frank, you got carded because word got out Bob's gone, and everyone your age is looking for a sub for toluene.

Yea you are right HUZ. Here in CT. they want to ban large clips and turn anyone with one into a crook. A lot easier than solving real problems.

We had a tech at work who lived in the woods by himself. He always smelled real bad, like lighter fluid. You couldn't sit next to him for very long or you would feel sick. He never shut up either. He finally retired then turned up dead.

This sounds like a statement of Objectivism Steve. Perhaps Atlas Shrugged?

You get the prize Rob. First published in the UK in 1938 and the USA in 1946.

Always get carded in the bars and restaurants in the West Palm Beach airport and places in town.  Think it's a PB county thing that they card everybody down there because of a major problem they had with underage drinkers in the downtown Clematis Street district.  When they do card me, I ask them if they are going to at least give me a senior discount....

My 67 year old wife got carded at the checkout of the local chain grocery market, for, wait for it,,,,, non-alcoholic  beer!  ::)

I'm gonna see if I can dig out my draft card.....  That should generate some confusion. Guess they'll have to get the manager.


klc

Something has to be going on behind the scenes.  It couldn't be just "coincidence" that this shit is suddenly going down all over the country right about the same time.

This past weekend I went to Chattanooga to visit my daughter.  While there I was carded before they would serve me beer at three different establishments!  Only one, a restaurant visited mostly by an older clientele, plus the bar in the hotel where I was staying, did not card me. At one place, they had a bouncer at the door who called out the manager, because after I finally agreed to show my driving licence, he didn't want to let me in because it doesn't have my picture on it, but instead, the words "valid without photo" where the picture normally goes.  In this state, you don't need the picture after age 59 and you can renew it by mail. The last time I was there, about a year ago, I went bar/pub hopping all over town and I don't think it even crossed anyone's mind to card an old fart like me.

It really pisses me off to the extreme.  Not that it's a severe inconvenience to pull out my "papers"; it's a matter of principle.  One more little freedom lost.  I can't just walk in off the street on foot or riding a bicycle, therefore not needing a driving licence in my possession, just cash in my pocket, and order a goddam beer. Besides, I don't always carry my wallet 24/7 everywhere I go. What ever happened to common sense?  Any damn fool could look at me and tell I'm old enough to buy beer. If not, they don't have any business serving the public and handling other peoples' money, let alone serving alcohol.

I know the servers or cashiers are only doing what they are told to do, but whenever this happens I still go out of my way to make as big a scene as I can without getting kicked out of the joint or arrested, and try to make everyone involved feel as much like a fool as possible.  Unfortunately the great majority of the sheeple will just smile or make a joke about it and comply without further ado, and one more little freedom has just slipped by.  If everyone made a scene, they would return to common sense because it would be bad for busine$$.  What in the hell does carding me at 68 have to do with keeping kids under 18 or 21 from buying alcohol or spray paint?

The most absurd case has to be the time not too long ago my father-in-law (12 years my senior) was with me at Wal 'o ChinaMart and we decided to pick up a 12-pack.  The cashier wanted to card me, but all I had was cash in my pocket, no wallet, because "Grandad" was driving and I left it at the house. She wouldn't sell me the beer, so my father-in-law said "I'm buying the beer" and took out his wallet.  She wouldn't sell to him because she "knew he was buying it for me".

I have been carded more times since I retired than I ever was when I was actually young enough for anyone to doubt I was of age. I feel like I paid my dues decades ago and don't need this crap now and I always make sure to tell them so.
 
Wonder what would they do at the airport if someone else bought the beer and then handed it to me, and I didn't have any papers to show? Would they arrest me as a suspected terrorist?

 >:( >:( >:(

Frank
Saw our bud Friday on the way home. He was sitting on a tree right where 30 splits off to 91 N/S. I carded him
Carl
/KPD

I was asked for ID at Wal-Mars by the Wal-Martian when I purchased Air Duster.  (You know, cans of air to blow all the sunflower seed shells out of my keyboard)

Carl,
I also saw him in the same area Friday but he was flying around about 5:00PM

Bob, Where do you eat in Niantic that isn't a rip off? We go to the new Greek place West of town that is pretty good. Most of the places are big bucks and small meals. I like Jon's in Colchester the best for fish.

As Frank mentioned before, CT is locking down all kinds of things, to "keep us all safe". A lot of weird stuff now requires that you show a driver's license before you can purchase it. Anything that can be potentially abused, especially in a "recreational" way, is on the list.

Unfortunately, a lot of stores seem to have jumped on the bandwagon and they now try to gather information with every sale. It's creepy how so many places want personal information for the privilege of buying their products.

When my wife and I buy things with cash that aren't on any of the "unsafe lists" we refuse to provide any identifying information. When we are asked for our name, or phone number, or zip code, or whatever, we just say, "Why?" That usually provokes a shocked stare from the clerk, and then they say something like, "Ummm... well it's our policy." To which we say in a friendly tone, "Look, it's our policy not to give that information out to strangers. You're selling something, and we're buying with cash. That's all you need to know." I can't recall a single time when they didn't take our cash and move on to the next customer.

I suppose the "card everyone" policy falls into the same idiotic category as "zero tolerance" policies. Both remove common sense from the equation, on the premise that everyone should be treated exactly the same, even though no two people are exactly the same...

Rob W1AEX

Rob
You in gown next week? I may want to swing by and see the shack at the end of the day
Carl
/KPD

Quick trip to the hardware store today to pick up a bunch of those 50cent, use one time, throw away paint brushes. Well, you guessed it "CARDED".....Your kidding me, for paint brushes. His reply, I was buying to many at once and people have been known to clip the bristles and smoke them. I was floored..............This has got to be a first.
Gary

When they try to card me, one of the things I like to tell them is "You know I am old enough, and that's all that matters.  Once that's decided, it's nobody's business what my name, address or date of birth is."

I haven't run into this yet, but several companies are manufacturing a device that scans the ID card of every customer who enters an establishment and saves the demographic information. Who knows what kind of data bases this could get you into.


http://www.jssecurity.com.au/clubscan/

So, carding you because you might smoke the bristles does WHAT to help this merchant?  I don't get it.  Gary you were born in 1947... I'm sure there is no mistaking you with a 13 yr old green-haired "legal highs" seeker.

What if a 16 yr old wants to make some extra money painting his neighbors house on spring break?  Mommy has to buy his paint brushes???

Incredible.

If they card you for buying paint brushes be ause somebody can smoke the bristles soon they will be carding people for buying grass seed because you grow it then possibly smoke it too

This is exactly the same logic as  searching everyone and doing random thorough searches at airport checkpoints.

Maybe we should quit bitchin' on the board and start writing to politicians, making speeches, whatever... to start getting some common sense back in this country.

 Remember the 55 mph debacle.  Even the extremely dense pol's and lawyers finally got the message that even their exalted asses were getting stopped for breaking the 'law.'

And then maybe we'll get to stop pulling restrictors from shower heads, restoring antique commodes to get a decent flush, punching drunk keys to get the car to start, putting the ever older babies into ever more complex seating gadgets..   turning off the front seat 'eject' lever in certain model years....     

Well I hope Ann Rand's book as a movie makes it big, or will it be like 'Gods and Generals,' extremely interesting to the faithful, but probably very boring , stilted and pendantic to the measly attention span of the general public.

Therein lies a problem, the two day memory of the average voter.
"We don't buys our chickens at Church's anymore, we buys it at the Kernel's.

Mooltipass  ;D


(http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/8818/60946649.jpg)

Hi Frank, 
Main Street Grill, the old Constantine's place at the end of Pennsylvania Av.  Foods not bad and prices are good.  I'm not thrilled with Jon's.  I find the place hit or miss.   I like Johnny Ad's in Old Saybrook plus you can sit down inside too. Prices I think are a smidge better.

I have not been asked for ID to buy paint brushes. That is the stupidest thing I've seen all week. So which paint brush bristles are the ones they are smoking? Horsehair, plastic? sounds nasty.

The last time I ate in Constantines they brought me a 3 inch by 3 inch hunk of Tuna with a little baked potato and charged me $20. No wonder they went out of business.
Morton house is a joke. Last time I ate there the cook quit. Unk's is good but big prices.

But first, you have to bitch here and elsewhere to call people's attention to the nonsense... that is the "elsewhere" you are referring to.  If 99% of the population co-operates without protest and brands those who refuse as troublemakers, while continuing to obliviously watch news pre-occupied with the likes of Tiger Woods and Lady GaGa on the boob tube while sipping their Bud Lite, no telling what nonsense will be thought up next.

Remember, they started the photo ID-to-fly policy several years before 11SE01.  Claiming it was for "security reasons", long before anyone had dreamt of such a thing as suicide-hijackings, the real reason was for the benefit of the airlines industry. Those discount round-trip fares were often substantially cheaper than a regular one-way. People would purchase a round-trip and use only half.  Sometimes they would give away or sell the other half.  I recall seeing dozens of postings in university snack bars advertising the unused halves of round-trip tickets for sale or trade. The airline companies felt that they were being ripped off, so they lobbied for the ID policy.

I did that once myself.  My father-in-law flew down for a few days visit, then my wife and kids drove with him back to Massachusetts.  I stayed behind because I couldn't get off from work until a couple of days after they left, so instead of causing the rest of the family to delay the trip, I used the other half of my father-in-law's ticket and flew up to Boston a few days later as "Mr. Hussey". No-one questioned my identity or even appeared to care who I was since the ticket was already paid for, and the flight went without a hitch.


A 5-minute task.  With our water here, those things clog up with crud after a few weeks in any case, and it's a lot easier just to remove them than to try to clean or replace them, and the shower works better anyway.  Just unscrew the shower head and take out that little plastic gizmo with the holes in it designed to restrict the flow. Our toilet has a regular size tank, but it was adjusted to release less than half the contents per flush, and it would sometimes take two or more flushes to complete the job.  It was restored to a full flush merely by adjusting the little chain that  links the lever to the float.  We have another toilet that has always worked well @ 1.6 gpf, so I have never tinkered with it.  Since we have a septic system and poorly draining soil, low water usage would be great, if it actually worked.

Speaking of antiques, I'd love to find a repairable high tank toilet with the pull chain.

If you protest you will be called an extremist and a racist. Just so ya know...... ;)

    Papers! Your papers, please!

Wheat Straws?  These are not ID papers,

"Remember, they started the photo ID-to-fly policy several years before 11SE01. "  -- K4KYV

Speaking of being carded with photo ID, why do they never ask me for that when I vote?  Something is strange there.  I get asked for Photo ID when buying cans of air, decongestant, alcohol, cans of whipped cream... but never when it's time to pull a lever.   ::)

I have an old toilet and don't eat out because I am a cheap ham.  I'd rather spend money on parts.  My latest cheap trick is driving everywhere at never more than 1400 rpm.  I get up into 5th and hold it there at 1400.   gas mileage much better.   Fortunately I always do this on 4 lane roads and stay off toll roads and freeways because I'm about 10 minutes from my job.

But, I may have to burn some gas rushing around to liquor stores and places that sell spray paint so I can get carded too, and feel young.  This is nuts for me because it won't cost anything.  Since the point is getting carded, I can just say "Shoot, I left my ID at home."  And put the spray paint back and leave without buying anything.

p.s. all those old fixtures like high tank toilets cost $$$$ these days.   They are considered sheek, or chick or whatever.
My house has a big cast iron porcelain glaze kitchen sink, the kind yuppies call a "farm sink" with a dish drain and high back splash.   I found out they go for upwards of $1600.   Fortunately I was not one of these idiots who tears things like that out for new junk fixtures.   I'm all Case and Chicago Faucets.

You really shouldn't put both of those thoughts in the same sentence.  ;D

That will probably change soon.  Lot of states are passing laws requiring a photo ID to vote.  Argument against it is that many of the elderly who no longer drive have no driving permit or other picture ID and will be disenfranchised. Argument for it is that it will keep convicted felons and illegal aliens from illegally voting.  A non-issue, because neither group is overly eager to vote and most wouldn't give a crap anyway.  The illegals especially want to keep a low profile and would unlikely expose themselves by showing up at a public polling place. If the felon has fully served his time (not still on parole) and been released, he should have the right to vote.

Here, you have to sign your voter registration card in the presence of the clerk when registering, and they require some proof of identity and address of residence then.  A signature is a lot harder than a photo to falsify for most people. When you vote here, you have to sign the slip, and the employee compares your signature with the one on the registration card.  If they want the photo ID, all they would have to do is use one of those portable machines at the registration site and snap an instant digital photo which would be embedded on the card, and that would assure that everyone registered to vote has one.

We're working a photo ID law for voting here in NH.  I doubt it's the cause, but I actually wrote about having one put in place a little under two years ago to all my state reps/senators. Some even answered back (it helps that they were paper letters and I proof read and spell checked I suppose).  There was so much voter fraud in the last elections and we just had to walk up and state our name and address without anything.  It has always bugged me that one of the most important civic duties didn't require any kind of validation.  A well crafted ID law won't make it difficult to vote for more than a very few individual cases, and at least in our state, you can easily get a state issued photo ID for a very small fee (looks just like a Drivers license).

Haw, good one :D

That "small fee" is effectively a poll tax. That was declared unconstitutional decades ago. They would have to offer it for free.

In this state, we have to show our voter registration card (although sometimes the local workers don't ask for it if they know you personally), and the local precinct has a list of all registered voters in a ledger.  As each voter enters the booth, they check his/her name off the list, and the voter also has to sign a form, that is kept on record.  Isn't that adequate for keeping anyone from voting twice, voting in someone else's place, or voting without properly registering?

It would be better if you phase shift the thought so you eat first ...

As long as the registration card had a photo on it, I suppose that would fit the bill.  I didn't think about the poll tax side, but the state ID isn't required to vote, nor is voting it's sole purpose.  Any form of photo ID could be used, License, Passport, School ID, Military ID etc.   In my original proposal I also made the allowance that a person with out a photo ID could show a Birth Cert and/or Soc Sec card etc. to the folks and be allowed to vote. 
The real intent was to keep folks from just perusing the previous couple years obits and walking in to vote 4 or 5 times.  Or simply reading a name off of the list as they were being checked off.  I originally wrote my state reps when I saw a Clinton for President rally at our local highschool.  It was covered by the news and showed a HUGE crowd.  I was at th school that day, and I noticed that the parking lot was FULL, I also noticed that the license plates were about 4-1 out of state to in state, from places like Massachusettes, CT, RI, NY and NJ being the most prevalent.  I have no problem with folks supporting their candidates, but I felt that the event was used to show a huge LOCAL support for the candidate which was out and out false.  So I figured if they can do it with a rally, the day of the polls wouldn't be too hard either. I also found on that election, that at least at the elementary school that I voted at, the 'volunteers' for that candidate were all bussed in being from N. Carolina! (The accent was a tad obvious).  Again the intent being to show a huge crowd of folks and making the voters think the candidate had a much bigger local following (people will vote for who they think is going to win).