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One has to be careful criticizing laws that are meant to protect law enforcement personnel.

But Florida’s Move Over Act, to paraphrase Creighton, is one of the worst ideas in the long sad history of bad ideas.

I don’t mean the intent is bad, of course. I mean the law will never achieve the intent, and therefore the law is bad. Motorists cannot be blamed for violating the law if the hazard appears too quickly for them to react.

Rather than attempting to legislate what should be common sense, the public and the law enforcement community would be better served by creating better visibility of local emergency events, such as a vehicle blocking a lane of traffic.

One way to do this might be to erect a bright flashing red and blue light on a portable, retractable tower, perhaps something akin to the towers used by remote television broadcast vans, or perhaps on a standalone tripod support.

Another way might be to raise such a light with a quickly-inflatable balloon, tethered to the law enforcement vehicle.

It might even be conceivable to combine the two ideas, to provide maximum visibility.

The point is to give motorists more than a few seconds’ notice that they are approaching a temporary hazard.

That will do far more to protect the public and law enforcement than an impractical, unpublicized, and nearly-unenforceable law. “Move Over” should be relegated to the scrapheap of history, as soon as possible.

Looking back at runaway housing inflation, and seeing the breadth of spec development that it spawned, and wondering how severe the impact is going to be when it all collapses, I came up with what is in retrospect a brilliant idea:

Tie development impact fees to the prime lending rate.

The lower the lending rate goes, the higher the impact fees. That would help put a governor on the misperception of instant riches to be found in unrestrained development.

There’s some applicable saying about “hindsight”, but there’s another one involving a barn door and a horse.

Is it just me, or are the remote ATM charges spinning even further out of control?

Last one I saw was $3.50, not counting what my own bank would charge me. Since we’ve allowed the definition of usury to be inflated beyond any practical use, technically it’s even legal.

The worst part is when they ask you if it’s all right to charge you. Often people needing cash don’t have the option of saying “no” at that point– they’ve bought groceries, or perhaps found themselves short of cash after a purchase or hotel stay, and their native ATM isn’t accessible.

But why do they only give you two options? You know some bean-counter is taking this to senior management to justify the fees. “See, boss, 99% of the people approve of the fee!”

I think that if the menu option read like this:

Leech America Bank will deduct a $3.50 service charge from your account. This is in addition to any fees your institution may charge you. Do you agree?

• Yes, proceed. I understand that a $3.50 service charge will be deducted from my account.
• No, cancel my transaction.
• Hell no. Give me my money, you bloodsucking vultures, and stuff your “service charge” into any orifice that causes you pain.

there would be a much more accurate accounting of how people really feel about it.

The world sometimes seems hell-bent on keeping me up-to-date on the lastest melodrama concerning Paris Hilton.

My assertion is that she is simply a personal hallucination, a la Harvey, and therefore not an appropriate topic for polite conversation.

I’m the first to concede that there might be a few holes in that theory, but you have to admit, it does do a good job of clearing some of the clutter from one’s mind.

Toppled in the median near my home, roots to the sky, lies a very expensive tree.

Not expensive merely because it was a fully-grown palm, which means a price tag in four digits, possibly five.

Expensive because, in this case, it cost two Gainesville teens their lives.

When the median decorations first went up people complained that they were dangerous, that they blocked the view of oncoming traffic, that they could become obstacles in an accident.

No one listened.

Perhaps they’re listening now.

*Roads are not parks.* They are not Commons for grazing. They are not opportunities for beautification. They are tools, and any beauty they possess derives primarily from their functionality.

From that perspective, our roads are uncommonly ugly.

It seems that we have all the money in the world to build bike lanes, and sidewalks, and landscaped medians, and curbs, and fancy illuminated “No Turn On Red” signs, and intersection cameras, and so on and so on.

When asked to make the roads actually work, to make traffic actually *flow* for a change, our commissioners and the DOT turn out their pockets and weep big crocodile tears and moan, “Poor! Poor!”

It’s time for a change. Now we are not merely wasting money. Now we are not merely wasting citizens’ time.

Now we are paying with lives.

We must make the roads functional and safe. No more games. No more hidden agendae. No more political maneuvering.

I’ve been complaining about this problem for some time.

No one listened.

Perhaps they’re listening now.

Good news, everyone! Scientists at the ESO have discovered an new planet.

The planet, called Gliese 581 c, is Earth-like in nature, may actually be capable of sustaining human life, and is only 20.5 light-years away.

At least that was the situation in 1986– 20.5 years ago.

:)

I can’t write haiku.
The pattern is beyond me.
I just can’t grasp it.