Licenses Pl8tes - Freeze-Frame Radio

star · The Goddess Of Gab

Licenses Pl8tes

Zim · Chairwoman Of The Board

None lately, but Marylanders have to pay so much money for vanity plates, so we don't see them very often.

On a related topic, ever since I started work in graphics I've always thought license plates were the way to go for revenge tactics. Imagine, you can fabricate a fake license plate on any graphic program relatively easily, laminate it, and double stick tape it to the person's actual plate! How long until the looks and honks make them realize it's not the normal plate? And no one really gets hurt...

I had this local yokel barrel down our 25 mph road and because I assumed he was going the speed limit, pulled out in front of him... He harrassed me for the next two miles - and it was his fault for speeding!! If I had thought to write this guy's plate down, I would have done this... I saw the exact same truck down the road he turned on a week later, but I wasn't sure enough to do it - next time I'll get the license number!!

Oh sure, I could rely on karma, but this just completely satiates my need for passive aggression (which is actually a diagnosable psychology disorder!)

confuzzed · Permanent State of Confusion

I knew a tax collector that used to have an old VW Bug and the license plate was TAX BUG.

I have always wanted the license plate TAX GIRL - because I am. Plus it would probably make for good advertising. I'll probably get it whe I have some fancy convertible.

ray925 · Darth Raydar

I saw this the other day.

2TH DOC

Sparky · Phat Cat EL Presidente

In the business I'm In I had one recently made up that says BROKE & BROKER. It's more of the size of a street sign and hangs in my office at home.

The best license plate I saw simply said "LICENSE"

MzHartz · Permanent Vacation

I've heard stories of people having license plates that say NULL or NO PLATE getting tcikets and fines sent to them that were supposed to go to people who didn't have a license plate!

confuzzed · Permanent State of Confusion

One of the ladies that I work with has this: GRNILDY

For the longest time I couldn't figure it out, so I finally asked. Green Eyed Lady. Now it makes sense.

Sparky · Phat Cat EL Presidente

This one I heard on one of those crappy radio stations that you HAVE to listen to in the car until you can get to a computer. (disclosure statement). It was banned.

3M TAE

star · The Goddess Of Gab

Spark -

That's bad.

Confuzzed, just picture seeing it in your rearview mirror. Took me a min. to figure out, too.

Sparky · Phat Cat EL Presidente

I think it took the DMV a minute to figure out too, before they pulled it.

confuzzed · Permanent State of Confusion

Star - Since I know I didn't write that I didn't understand Sparky's plate, how did you know that I didn't pick it up? As I was sitting here I did ask aloud. Did you hear me? I guess you knew that I was actually living up to my name. Either that or you are just a superstar or pyschic. I never knew you were so talented. Impressive.

Sparky · Phat Cat EL Presidente

I was wondering that myself Confuzzed! I figured you two were sending secret messages via the wonder twins or something...

star · The Goddess Of Gab

I've just know my confuzzed. Remember, I watch out for you?

confuzzed · Permanent State of Confusion

Thanks Star - you rock. Somebody has to do it. You, Sparky and Ray seem to be pretty good at keeping an eye on me.

Sparky - what do think about Star here? Must be some talent huh? Did you know about this secret talent and not tell me? Although, did I not say she may be pyschic? Maybe it is an East Coast thing, her in FL and me in PA. Quite possibly she did hear me.

Sparky · Phat Cat EL Presidente

That could be! I'll probably hear it 2 hrs later because of the time change...

WFTR · Prophet of the Posts

Here's one I remember from my teen years, it let you know what you were in for. It was on a Monte Carlo and read "NOS SS". Nitrous Oxide System SS.

Dylan · Leader Of The Banned

Wefmeister,

We dont see many muscle cars any more, do we?

Sparky · Phat Cat EL Presidente

Dylan, I live 3 miles from a Drag strip. Muscle cars galore!!

Dylan · Leader Of The Banned

Sparky,

Nothin' like a little high octane fun...once you get past the cost of gassin' it up.

WFTR · Prophet of the Posts

I was shocked and amazed yesterday. I saw a Grand National on the road. Those were THE CAR in the '80s and they weren't supposed to live this long.

Date: Thu Jun 2 14:54 2005

I saw one the other day on a brand new beautiful corvette:

KIDZRGON

I always tell my son that I would be driving a corvette and not a minivan, if I was childless. That inspired me. One day they will be gone and then I will have my vette!

Dylan · Leader Of The Banned

Amanda,

just avoid the color red when, not if, you get your Vette, because red sports cars lead the league in Speeding tickets...coppers can catch the red out of their peripheral vision and love to do busineaa with sports cars.

Dovetails · Living Legend

I knew a lesbain once who's plate was:
RU12

A lady that goes to our church (not related to above) has the first name of "Carlene". She has a VW bug with the plate:
CARS CAR

A guy named John from our church is always selling things on the local radio "trade & sale", paper, garage sales, etc. His plate is:
ASK4JOHN

My wife and I both have amateur radio plates with our call signs on them. It's funny to watch people try to figure out what KB0TOC and NB0W means. Here in Nebraska, the ham radio plates are only an extra $5.00/year. Several years ago, there was a plan to raise the rates on hams to the full price of regular personalized plates. The legislators were told that if that happened, the hams would stop doing silly things like getting our vehicles pounded while chasing tornados, participating in public service events, etc. They decided that maybe we could keep our low-cost ham plates.

confuzzed · Permanent State of Confusion

Sparky - but are there any nice, cute, available muscle men to go with those cars? Do me a favor, have your girlfriend or someone trustworthy pick me out a nice guy and send him over to me. I would appreciate it.

Dylan · Leader Of The Banned

Dovetails,

Your technical experience is lightyears ahead of mine, but I was listening to a talk show that featured ham operators a while back, and they were saying that there was a potential thing the federal government was moving towards that was going to interfere with the frequencies ham operators use. I'm sorry the details are sketchy, but I was interested and never heard a follow up to that topic. Do you know what they were referring to?

I know ham licenses used to be pretty hard to acquire...are they still pretty stringent with the requirements?

Sparky · Phat Cat EL Presidente

Confuzzed, Uh yah... I'll uh see what I can do for you. These guys are usually greese monkeys with no hair and pot bellies, but just for you I'll pick the best one out of the crowd!

Sparky · Phat Cat EL Presidente

Dove, KD7ZURF our other forum member is a hammer also.

confuzzed · Permanent State of Confusion

Hey Sparky, if that is the case, maybe we should forget it. I would like a nice, pretty boy who is a lot of fun, not a greasy guy. Thanks for the help though.

Dylan · Leader Of The Banned

Confuzzed,

You would probably never have to pay for another auto repair with the former.

I am not a mechanically oriented guy but if there was a cute female mechanic that could keep my car A-1, I might just marry her.

Dovetails · Living Legend

Dylan,

What they are working on is broadband or DSL over the power lines. It's a way to get high speed internet to rural users that can't get DSL or cable. In the inital testing, it showed that all that power lines acted as one big antenna and radiated a great deal of noise on the amateur frequencies. The word now is that they are getting that under control but I don't know much more.

Locally the battle is of the business/political type. The rural power provider in most of Nebraska is publically owned. The phone/cable companies are complaining that it's not fair competition to have a public company competing in the same service as a private company. The phone companies can't get DSL to rural users yet anyway, so one might wonder what they care. I think they are not upset about the power company providing DSL but rather that if the DSL over power line works, users could then drop their phone service and just use that DSL for voice over IP for their phone service as well. That's just my opinion on the political end of it but I suspect that is what the phone companies are worried about.

Ham licenses still require testing. The big roadblock for most people has been the morse code requirement. Depending on the license, there used to be a 5, 13, and 20 word/minute morse code test. The code requirement has been dropped for VHF/UHF privelages only, and only 5 wpm to gain access to HF (shortwave) frequencies. Upgrading license then is only a multiple choice test with no more code requirements. The tests are radio theory, operating practices, and procedures.

The code requirement has been a hot topic. Many complain that any code requirement is keeping good people out of the hobby. Others feel that if you are not dedicated enough to learn morse code, then you are not very serious about it. They feel that will help keep the "good buddies" from turning the amateur frequencies into what has happened to CB. Personally, I understand why the code requirement has been reduced with all the digital modes that are available, but yet its always seems unfair to "earn" something "the hard way" only to later have the same thing given away for almost nothing.

Recently, Jay Leno had a kid known as the "worlds fastest text messenger" compete against a morse code sender/receiver in a speed test. The kid got smoked.

Personally, most of my contacts over the last few years have been via morse code. I'm into what is called QRP or low power operating. I can legally run 1,500 watts but most of the time I run less that two watts out of a radio I built from a kit. I've had many people ask why anyone would want to do that but I compare it to hunting deer with a bow vs. a high-powered rifle. It depends on if the purpose of doing something is the end destination or the journey getting there.

That's certainly more than you asked and probably more than you wanted to know.

Phew, that outta be worth about 20 posts. lol