elfs | A visit to the DMV.

I went to the DMV today. Why, whenever anyone wants to talk about the incompetence of the government, they say "Would you like your experience at the doctor's office to be like going to the DMV?" As far as I can tell, the experiences are fairly similar: You go in, you wait, you're served competently by another human being who may or may not be having a good day, and you leave. The service was about as decent as any other routine service: at the bank, in line for a bus pass, or whatever.

When I went, I was most concerned about the eye test. I'm a 45-year-old man who, my doctor reminds me constantly, is in pretty damned good shape for my age. I work out, I eat well, I don't get too much sun (it's Seattle. Duh.). I sit too much, maybe, but I do try to exercise regularly, and do some quick push-ups and reverse lunges every hour or so, just to stay in motion. (The technical name for this is the "prison workout.") But after a day of programming my eyes are exhausted. Driving home in the dark without my driving glasses has worried me recently. I can see other cars just fine as long as their lights are working correctly, but roadsigns are often indecipherable at even a fairly short distance.

The eye test was ridiculous. Those letters looked ten feet high. If that's the driving vision test, what are they testing? You could be legally blind and pass that thing.

Well, I've now replaced my old mullet pic with a new one featuring the van dyke. I still look like I've had a bad night.