The 42 story Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh is second only to Moscow State University’s main building in terms of overall height.  The Gothic structure was designed by Philadelphia native Charles Klauder and it took two years to complete.

So…  where have I been?  Under the inane illusion that no one was reading this damn thing, so why should I continue?  Well, as fact would have it, people do read this thing.  When they are bored…   or need some place on the Internet to go and burn a few calories…  In short…   I gotta get back on the camel…   OR ELSE!

With the start of the New Year, what better thing to discuss than…    new laws!

It’s now illegal to text on your cell phone or PDA while driving.

Yep.  Is this a win-win?  An AAA study says that 46 percent of teens text while driving.  And the fine is the same for ‘texting’ as it is for not using hands free devices.  Will this new law stop this practice?  Doubt that.  It’s a dumb law if it doesn’t change driving habits.  For $75 bucks and a slap on the wrist…  BOOK ME!  God forbid it would alter my insurance premiums…   and it if cost me $1325 bucks for the first infraction and it added a point (or two) to my driving record, you can damn well bet that even my passenger wouldn’t be touching his cell or PDA.

Mounting navigational devices, such as GPS systems.

You are now allowed to mount navigational devices on the lower right or left portions of a vehicle’s windshield as long as they do not block an air bag.  Wow.  You can’t text, but you can watch a moving map that tells you how much farther you have to go before you make a right turn.  Why watch the road when you can watch TV.  I wonder…   does this law apply to the mounting of GPS devices on a motorcycle?  Hey, if you get busted for watching TV while driving, there are no points involved and your insurance will never go up!  I gotta get a 40 inch plasma set in my cab pronto!

The definition of a Motorcycle

This new law changes the definition of a motorcycle, deleting the existing weight limitation of 1500 pounds.  Whatever you do, don’t let BMW know about this or the next LT may weigh in at just under 1600 lbs.  It also removes a separate definition for electrically-powered vehicles.  Those electrically-powered vehicles have their own laws now.  I wonder if you can text in those vehicles??? And the change in the law will also allow drivers of fully-enclosed 3-wheeled motor vehicles to use the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes.  Like we have an abundance of enclosed three wheeled vehicles floating around the state.

Water bottle labeling

Under another new law, sellers of bottled water will be required to list the source of the water on the bottle and print a Web site where consumers can find a report on the quality of the water.  If you buy a bottle of water and under “Source” it says ‘Tap’, you paid way too much for it.

People recycling more than $100 worth of materials will face restrictions

This new law requires scavengers (you know who these folks are) who collect glass and aluminum from recycling bins on the streets to show identification and be paid with a check if they bring in a large amount of recyclables.  This means that police will now be able to track people who make large drop-offs with their names, addresses and other personal information from the checks, and the scavengers also could be liable for income tax.  I don’t even want to comment on this law, except to say this…  Can you imagine the tax revenue the State of California we will see from this new law?

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In 2008, the California governor vetoed 415 bills that would have become law.  He cited the fact that he only wanted to approve significant measures and not “Mickey Mouse bills”.  I’d like someone to define the phrase “Mickey Mouse bills”!

Here’s “Mickey Mouse”…  The ‘No Texting while Driving’ bill specifically mentions “text-based communications,” but does not address activities such as Websurfing.  So keep that laptop on the front seat folks and Google your way to your next destination.

Laws are fine.  Laws are good.  But laws made just for the sake of trying to tell your constituents that your doing your job is stupid.  Laws that have no bite, no real possibility of success and won’t alter normal behavior patterns is stupid.  Laws made that cover portions of a perceived wrong doing and do not address other concerns directly related to the infraction is just plain stupid.  And we pass some real doozies.  Not all of them about vehicles and/or driving.

Chico, California -  Detonating a nuclear device within the city limits results in a $500 fine.

As a side note:  In California, where driving and talking on a cell phone without the use of a “hands free” device is illegal, a teenager went to court to fight the cell phone ticket issued by a CHP officer.  Since the officer was a no show ( he was obviously needed in court and not on the streets), the judge ruled in favor of the plaintiff.  No ticket, no fine.

Until next week…