Random Sputterings 3.3.2002
 

Quiero decir algun en español por un momento. No sé por qué...

After 48 seasons, today is the last day for basketball at Cole Field House at the University of Maryland. Beginning next fall, the Terps will play at the new Comcast Center. Fortunately, it will not go the way of the wrecking ball.

Speaking of new names...I wonder when our own F.U. Center will become the Wacko Center.

New Jersey DOES have its good points: New Jersey is easy to pick on. Lord knows I do it enough. But the place does have some redeeming qualities.

Like gasoline. NJ is one of only 2 states where the gas stations are full-service only (Oregon is the other state). I'm not sure why it is this way in NJ, although I have heard it is because the gas station attendants are unionized. (Though on the news this past week, they were talking about gas stations going self-serve.) In addition, NJ has some of the lowest gasoline taxes in the US. Friday, I got a full tank of regular unleaded full-service in NJ for $1.01 a gallon. The gas station near my house in Philadelphia is charging $1.07 a gallon for self-serve unleaded.

And now, let us talk about one of my favorite subjects: alcohol. I need to give a shoutout to Roger Wilco. Roger Wilco consists of two locations, both on NJ Route 73, just across the Tacony Bridge from Philadelphia (there is one on each side of the highway). We went to the location in Pennsauken, on the eastbound side of the highway. First off, the selection is simply awesome. Lots of beers from all over the world, including microbrews. Also, an extensive selection of liquors and wines. And the prices...well, here's an example:

6 pack of Michelob Amber Bock in Philadelphia--$8.99
At Roger Wilco--$5.29

12 pack of Bud Light bottles in Philadelphia--$11.99
At Roger Wilco--$8.99

40 ounce of Bud Light in Philadelphia--$2.89
At Roger Wilco--$2.09

The liquor prices are also lower. It is definitely worth the $2 toll if you are buying stuff for a party. Plus, they're open on Sunday.

I myself purchased some Young's Oatmeal Stout from London. It was pretty good, except for the fact that it was 3 months beyond the recommended date.

Oh, and lastly, the original purpose of going to NJ--White Castle. The two in the city of Philadelphia closed sometime in 1999. The closest one to us now is in Pennsauken, NJ. mmmm...*drools*

Fun in driving: Cloverleaf interchanges seem to be going the way of the dinosaur. However, they can still prove extremely useful sometimes.

Friday, I was driving over to the temp agency to pick up my paycheck. I was driving south on Route 1 and took the eastbound Street Road exit. As I was on the exit ramp, I realized I went the wrong way. No problem. I just took the Route 1 north exit, followed by the Street Road west exit. If that exit hadn't been a cloverleaf interchange, it would have been a pain in the ass to turn around. Plus, I'm easily amused.

Quick Quips

Holy shit! There's a Quizno's at 30th Street Station here in Philadelphia! Oh my god...they make Subway look like shit! Man, I haven't had Quizno's in almost 3 years.

The government encouraging people to marry...hmmm, I'll have to strongly protest that by not marrying Rhoda. :)

You know what? I want a fur coat. I don't know why, but that would just be pimpin'.

I need to head to Baltimore again soon. Rho needs to visit with family and friends. And I have a delicious crab cake dinner coming to me from a certain person on here. ;)

Speaking of that...I must have been on crack on this particular day: I was at the grocery store and saw that Cabin Boy crab cakes were on sale. I knew damned good and well that they were no Phillips, but we had never had them before, so I decided to give them a shot. Big mistake...god, those were horrible. And we still have one more box...Rho can eat 'em...blecch! :eek:

There is a pay-per-view event on this coming Friday night. Depeche Mode--One Night in Paris. It's a film of their Paris concert late last year. They must be high if they think people are going to pay for it. And like morons, Rho and I will probably spring for it.

Wow...Alanis Morissette seems to get hotter with each record...heh.

Alright, well, that's enough for this edition, but here are some more words to ponder:

--contusion
--discombobulate
--dialysis
--wound
--Turkmenistan
--pyrite

Re: Random Sputterings 3.3.2002
 

Of course you know, every once in a while the PSP sends somebody over to Roger Wilco to look for PA licence plates, and radio descriptions of the smuggler's cars to a partner at the nearest bridge.
I'm building a list or fun words from Stephenson's "The Diamond Age". http://chroot.ath.cx/fade/etexts/ste...DiamondAge.htm

So far:

faience
gallimaufry
concinnitous
propaedeutic
enchiridion
paroemiological

And while we're doing words, wouldn't it be "Quiero decir *algo*?

Last I'd heard, the program to try to stop PA buyers from crossing the bridge is no more. But just in case, if you really want to hose them, just load your car and drive around Jersey for a few minutes. Make sure to speed as the liquor cops are not permitted to do so. Do not permit anyone to search your car; in PA, they can't search without probable cause or a search warrant.

I think that's the way it is in the entire United States, Tony. Something about some fourth amendment or something. You'd be surprised what they can use as "probable cause" though. Speeding. Being belligerent in any way. Shit like that. At best, you've got a wrongful arrest suit. At worst, you've wasted a day while the cops tear apart your car.

The key is to ask yourself "What is it exactly that I want to accomplish by doing this?" - and then act accordingly.

Just don't go to the nearest bridge. You've got at least four to choose from.

But Dave has a point, failure to kneel at the zipper is still probable cause for anything, up to and including roadside execution.

You guys. The PA liquor laws are not enforced by the Pennsylvania State Police. They are enforced by the PLCB, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. Its enforcement division consists of a couple of cars. The staties don't get involved.

So now not only can they not speed, but if they do speed they will be hauled over by the *competing* law enforcement agency, y'unnerstan?

The fine for getting caught is huge, just huge. But now you know everything you need to know to avoid being caught. The few bucks in savings are worth the civil disobedience and everyone knows it.

Re: Random Sputterings 3.3.2002
 

http://www.charm.net/~mbyrd/packhel.gif

Play yer cards right and I might even buy ya a beer to wash them down with.

Re: Re: Random Sputterings 3.3.2002
 

Very good points, folks! However, for the record, I didn't say WHERE I drank the alcohol. ;) And PA tags are not an issue for us.

I wonder just how that is enforced from state-to-state. Back home in St. Louis, it was nothing to buy beer in Illinois on Sunday (when it was still against the law in Missouri). Or driving into DC from MD and vice versa. In fact, I didn't even know it was illegal to transport alcohol or cigarettes across state lines until I moved to Maryland (and I saw some guy get jacked for it...although, he was going to resell cigarettes in MD after buying them in NC).

It really just depends on if it is worth it to you. Given where Tony and Maggie live, I wouldn't expect them to do something like that (unless Tony is throwing a kegger for the Cellar folks ;) ). But if you live near the Delaware, you could pay $57 for 3 cases of beer in PA...or cross the bridge, pay $36 plus $1-3 for the toll (or nothing if you use I-95), maybe a dollar or two for gas...

Re: Re: Random Sputterings 3.3.2002
 

So long as it's not Natty Boh. ;)

Maggie: La palabra es "algo." Lo siento...necesito mejorar mi español. No lo he utilizado mucho recientemente.

Re: Re: Re: Random Sputterings 3.3.2002
 

Oh, right...I forgot: you're now living in PA except for PennDOT purposes. :-) More of that "civil disobediance" stuff... :-)
Me neither....one odd word is enough for me to lose a whole sentence for a minute or two...and at typical *spoken* Spanish rates you can get lost really fast that way.

Oh man, booze purchases in Pennsylvania, one of my favorite topics!:beer:

I wish I had saved the article I read a couple years back about the practice of stopping people who had bought booze out of state. I believe the court ruling was, basically, yes it's illegal, but the PLCB doesn't have the authority to stop a car on the highway.

It never ceases to amaze me that the opposition to any change in our bizarre alcohol sales system is so vehement. The idea that private employees, as opposed to the current state ones, will somehow be less concerned about carding underaged drinkers, seems ludicrous. Also, the idea that the sale of even beer or wine (to say nothing of liquor) at grocery and convenience stores will be a prelude to the end of civilization as we know it in Pennsylvania seems equally stupid.

This is a case of Ignorance of the Law being Bliss. I almost never buy booze in PA because, living on the border, I do all my shopping in New York. I'd assume there is no cost savings as New Yorks tax rates are pretty oppresive. We used to cross the border for beer when PA had a 21 drinking age while NYs was still 18 but we knew we were "smuggling". I never knew that PA had a problem with all out of state purchaces,... thats just stupid.

New York purchased yesterday- The Glenlivet 1 liter $46.99 ....$50.51 after tax

That smuggling was one of the things that made me a (small-l) libertarian.

We had the MD border when I was a kid, and it was in my youth that the federal law was enacted that "encouraged" the states to raise their drinking ages to a uniform 21. During the debate, a study was done of the rates of teenage alcoholism and drunken driving between PA and MD in similar types of communities. It found that the rates were lower in MD, where the drinking age was lower.

But this fact held no sway amongst the legislators. Real social science was not relevant. The knee-jerk opinions of the masses was the only concern. The feds passed the legislation even though it would increase drinking problems and drunken driving.

Heh yeah Tony, I remember how whenever I got close to the legal drinking age, NC would up it tantalizingly out of my reach. I was relatively young at the time of my wedding (21) and missed by less than a month the embarassment of not being able to drink champagne at my own wedding. (Leaving aside the fact that I'd prefer to have a beer, or a martini, or some good Scotch, rather than any kind of wine.)

You know, alcohol abuse is a really serious problem on many college campuses. I'm waiting for somebody to stand up and point out that it has become the big problem it is now largely SINCE the drinking age was raised to 21, and to ask if it's possible that there's a connection there somewhere. I'm waiting, but I'm not holding my breath!

For some reason, it's always Sunday when I want to buy a bottle of wine. Across the bridge, to the liquor store, to the gas station, back across, the deed is done. PLCB be damned. Maybe I'll start buying it with a credit card and using EZ-Pass just to wave it in their faces :-)

As for "alcohol abuse" on college campuses: One big thing is they define all underaged drinking as "alcohol abuse". Move the drinking age from 18 to 21, and you create a whole lot of "alcohol abuse" -- which is good for some people, because it gives the authorities something to justify their budget over.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Random Sputterings 3.3.2002
 

Yep...and once Rho gets out of the hospital, we're going to burn our W-2's and run up and down Academy Road screaming "REVOLUTION!" It'll be a hoot.

Apparently, your imagination is as active as mine. :)

Sycamore's plan to free the common man in Pennsylvania
 

Since PA will probably never become like VA or MO and sell in grocery stores, I have a good compromise.

Allow delis, bars, beer distributors, and state stores to sell everything at their discretion. Foster good competition. If the state were forced to be competitive, they could generate more business and more $$$. No unionized state employees would lose their jobs and the state could set a good example for the nation...not to mention, more money for the state coffers.*

(*--Although Sycamore has experience in running a business, he does NOT have an MBA ;) .)

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Random Sputterings 3.3.2002
 

For some reason, this brought "Punk Rock Girl" to my mind...

"So we jumped up on the tables and shouted, 'ANARCHY!'"

Heh. :)

One Saturday I took a walk to Zipperhead, I met a girl there and she almost knocked me dead...

Somebody that knows: Wasn't that song based in Philadelphia?

Not only the song, but the band too.

Re: Sycamore's plan to free the common man in Pennsylvania
 

*Everything?* Cool...I'd like to be able to stop into 7-11 and buy high-quality marihuana and hollow-point 9mm ammo. :-) Actually, I'd settle for full metal jacket; I don't fire hollow-points in practice.

I think state stores are a stupid idea, don't get me wrong.

Re: Re: Sycamore's plan to free the common man in Pennsylvania
 

Syc: "Yeah, ummm...do you have any Southern Missouri Stinkbuds?"

Clerk: "Oh, I'm really sorry. We're out right now. Have you tried the Southern California Chronic?"

Syc: "Yeah, but that's just a bit harsh. I'm looking for something more mellow. Something that goes good with a bottle of merlot."

I can see it now...a marijuana connoisseur magazine from the Commonwealth...much like the current Wine Quarterly. "Acapulco Gold goes great with fish!"

The fact that I do not see beer at my local 7-Eleven still confuses me. It really shouldn't though...they were always the most expensive place to get beer. That was like the last stop if everything else was closed.

Well, that may be an official definition somewhere, but that wasn't how I'm using it. I don't consider an 18 yo having a couple beers "alcohol abuse". When you're talking about five or six drinks at a sitting, more than once a week, on a regular basis, well, in my book that's a problem. I've worked or done graduate study on enough campuses to be convinced that the "problem" is a) a lot worse than when I was in college 15 years ago and b) is not simply an anecdotal effort to justify increased budgets for certain departments.

Just wait until you see the over-protected generation enter college - which they are due to do in the next few years. The kids whose moms bought SUVs just for them are not going to stand for this kind of thing. They will surprise their elders by demanding change. By 2015 there will be half as much alcohol as there currently is on campus. That's my prediction and I'm stickin' to it.

This is relevant to Sycamoreland because Syc and I are both child-free by choice.

Me too!

At least for the next 10 years, anyway. :)

My brother says the same thing, he won't breed because he sees disaster for the next generation, of course he is a socialist and an educater, two groups that always see the end of the world right around the corner. (griff puts away his broad brush) I don't see it that way any more. We have kids because they will be a positive counter force to two common trends in child rearing, the over protected and the ignored. We're raising two sweet, tough, counter culture, individualists. I've seen quite a few of these kinda kids out in the world and I'm optimistic. (of course I just got back from showing my daughters baby chicks to her kindergarten class and theres nothing like being the big hero in a room full of 5 year olds to put you in a good mood)

Damn you Tony! You HAD to have read my mind. I was just thinking about starting a thread regarding being childfree this morning...and so I will start it.

Re: Re: Re: Sycamore's plan to free the common man in Pennsylvania
 

Obviously you've never heard "A Child's Garden of Grass", released as an LP (the vinyl kind, not the political; party) when I was in college....a pretty distinction, since I wasn't in college long.

There's a cut on that album that sounds very much like your hypothetical conversation... including the enumerating of minor options one typically gets buying tobacco: ("Mexican, Vietnamese or domestic?" "Mexican" ""Hard pack, flip top, soft pack or bulk?")

I should put that on the list of "tracks to be ripped from vinyl to MP3" one of these days.

I browse the comedy mp3 groups all the time, and someone did encode that and post it. It was... odd. Culturally obsolete. I think the weed subculture has completely changed since that came out.

I used to have six or more drinks a night, multiple times a week when I was 18, but I didn't, and still don't, think I had/have a drinking problem. It's the life of a college-aged social drinker.

Are you kidding? Cut the apron strings on the overprotected and they'll drink like fishes and smoke like chimneys. Statistically speaking, anyway.

I am bringing this thread back to life, after I heard this on the news Monday night. It's not really detailed, and truth be told, I think the LCB only leaked this shit out to scare people.

Fuck the LCB. I live near 5 Delaware crossings. I know the roads around them and the liquor stores around them. Come and get me! :finger:

*exhales* Much better...

Welcome to the Rendell administration. Hope you like the LCB, they ain't going anywhere. :-)

I have given up on the idea of seeing beer in the supermarket in my lifetime ...

I meant to post this article about the LCB from the Philadelphia Weekly last summer. I can applaud Fisher for wanting to sell it off, but it wouldn't have happened. And Ed's just being a realist on this one. The LCB's been a nice cash cow for the state, from what I understand.

My own thought is that the current system will never change unless we have a massive influx of like-minded and influential folks who find this system absurd...and we destroy the general rural nature of the state.

Let's face it, most people are apathetic about the whole deal. They'll keep patronizing the state stores...and I will too if I am too lazy to drive across the river. At least we're fortunate enough here to have that option.

Wolf, don't give up yet. Not to mention, you just never know whether you'll be here in PA all your life.

I miss the days of going to the grocery store or Walgreens or 7-Eleven to pick up a 12-pack or a fifth. Most of all, I miss the prices. $9 for a case of Natural Light at Shop N' Save...those were the good ol' days.

so how much does, say, a 12 pack of bud light bottles go for up there?

~james

It depends. You can get them in NJ for $9. Here in PA, $11-13. Back in MO, $7 or 8. Case prices here in PA aren't too bad for the most part, though.

And it's back again this New Year's...

Except this year, the State Police will be doing the enforcement, apparently. (Story)

hmmm... glad I stopped drinking.

Wha?! Stop playin'!

Whoops sorry 'bout that! hmmm... glad I stopped drinking about 3 o'clock the other morning so I still have booze in the house... yah thats what I meant, sure thats it.