On February 5th 2009, on the way back from a dismal poker tournament performance, on a spare tire from the previous week’s blowout mishap, I got a ticket. I was in the left lane on the NJ turnpike trying to pass two cars so I could take the truck side of the turnpike. When I realized I didn’t have enough space to pass the two cars I slowed down and cut in between the two cars, crossed two lanes and made it to the truck side of the turnpike. Not even 5 seconds go by and I see the flashing red and blue lights that we all dread. I immediately pull over; the officer asks if I know why he’s pulling me over. I respond, “I don’t have a clue officer.” He tells me that the car that I cut in front of had to “jam” on his breaks and that I could have caused an accident. Please, Jersey drivers are the worst drivers in the States, they don’t need someone like me to cause an accident, they’ll cause one themselves. At anyrate, he comes back and says he’s cutting me a break by writing me a citation for “Creating Traffic Risk” statute number 39:4-56. I want to know how much I owe, so I look up the statue online.
39 : 4-56 . Delaying traffic prohibited
No person shall drive or conduct a vehicle in such condition, so constructed or so loaded, as to be likely to cause delay in traffic or accident to man, beast or property.
Maximum fine of $50 (NJ Statute 39:4-203) + $6 ($1 for the “Body Armor Replacement” fund, $1 for the “New Jersey Spinal Cord Research Fund”, $1 for the “Autism Medical Research and Treatment Fund”, 2$ for the “New Jersey Forensic DNA Laboratory Fund”, $1 for the “New Jersey Brain Injury Research Fund”; all found in statute 39:5-41), no points.
In looking at all of the statutes and possible things you can get tickets for while driving and parked is ridiculous. I guess he did “cut [me] a break”.
To see a list of violations and the penalty go to:
http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/mcs/October%20Min-Man%20Payable.pdf
To see the description of the violation go to and search:
http://lis.njleg.state.nj.us/cgi-bin/om_isapi.dll?clientID=425338&Depth=4&TD=WRAP&advquery=39%3a%204-203&headingswithhits=on&infobase=statutes.nfo&rank=&record={E526}&softpage=Doc_Frame_Pg42&wordsaroundhits=2&zz=
I was searching google for a way to automatically delete email from folders in Outlook 2003, but could not find it anywhere, so for the benefit of the greater good, I’ll publish the “how to.” It’s actually quite easy…
In outlook, right click on the folder you want to auto delete emails and select Properties.
Click the AutoArchive tab, and select the “Archive this folder using these settings:,” select how frequently you want to auto delete the contents of the folder. Next, select the “Permanently delete old items” radio button. Click Apply and Ok out.
That’s it! I told you it’s easy.
I use these settings on “Deleted Items” and “Sent Items”. One of my professors in College told me to delete old messages regularly, that way you can’t be blamed for purposly deleting email to cover yourself, etc.
The Story:
I stumbled upon a nice auto insurance company in PA that beat my previous insurance company by 50% while increasing my coverage. Impossible right? Wrong. I swear it’s true. They are a smaller company and able to offer such low rates because they don’t advertise. [Warning the next few lines are speculation] Since there only method of advertising is by way of mouth (free) they are able to underwrite some pretty low premiums. Another thing that works for them is they don’t deal with the “high risk” group of individuals because they don’t market to the masses. Well, unfortunately, I have moved to a state which they don’t offer coverage and I am looking for a comparable company in my current state. So I tried to find my current company online and try the same method in my new state to find the diamond in the rough. And the following is what I came up with.
The Information
Most, if not all, states have a department dedicated to insurance. On your state’s insurance department’s web site you should be able to find a wealth of information to help you choose an insurance carrier. Some states gather average premium amount data and put it all in a neat report for you to consider. Other states will give you what percentage of policy holders are with which carrier. It has been my experience that you can get lower premiums with the companies that have a lower percentage of the total policy holders. On these sites you will also find information about the terms that make up a policy. For example; do you know what your state minimum Bodily Injury Liability limits are and what exactly does “Bodily Injury Liability” mean? What’s the difference between full tort and limited tort and if your state defaults to full tort or not? This information can be found on your state’s Insurance web site.If you’re looking for auto insurance and want to get quotes from multiple companies and you are worried about the number of credit checks negatively impacting your credit score, you shouldn’t be. First off, the type of credit check done when looking for auto insurance is different from the check done to open a credit account. Second, multiple inquires, such as insurance quotes, done in a relatively short time span are understood to be for comparison shopping and not credit abuse. Last tip and possibly the most important… Once you have chosen the company you think you want to go with, call a personal injury/automobile accident attorney, need not be someone you know. Make sure you have a paralegal/secretary/lawyer (don’t ask the receptionist) on the line and ask if the company you have chosen to do business with is a good insurance carrier; do they pay out quickly in the event of an accident. Some companies just have bad reputations in the legal world and the attorney will know this.
Some state insurance sites for reference:
New Jersey - http://www.state.nj.us/dobi/index.html
Pennsylvania - http://www.ins.state.pa.us/ins/cwp/view.asp?a=1339&Q=544190&PM=1
Maine - http://maine.gov/pfr/insurance/license_search.htm
Delaware - http://www.delawareinsurance.gov/
Ney York - http://www.ins.state.ny.us/
I received this poem as an email from an Indian frriend I made in Mysore. Thought I would share with everyone.
The Last Wish
One year ago we joined a new college.
To earn few penny and gain some knowledge.
Afar from home in the cold chilly weather
At heaven of Mysore we all got together.
The morning rush with the roommate
Racing the cycle for not getting late
The torture started at the strike of nine
We survived by keeping messenger online
The afternoon session was really an overkill
Since Mysore food was indeed a sleeping pill
Submitting the assignments was a total waste
As we followed the magic trick of copy-paste.
The junk forwards continued to flow
We waited whole week for the new movie show
Along with friends when everything was quiet
We roamed around the campus till the late night.
The modules and compre didn’t let us sleep
Some cleared away while others had to weep
Results came out, no more hosting
We had to leave, as per the posting.
Battle for swap then began soon
Mailboxes spammed by every goon
Giving last look to the gratifying paradise
The Infy guests left with the watery eyes.
We all settled down in the different places
Though memories of Mysore left in the traces.
New friends and colleagues now we have made
The old intimacy is slowly going fade
An year gone by since we had a start
Moments of past is stirring my heart
In the noisy world today am losing my mind
The last wish I make, if time could rewind.
I just got out of the screening of “A Mighty Heart”, a terrifyingly movie based off of the book “A Mighty Heart: The Brave Life and Death of My Husband Danny Pearl” witten by Mariane Pearl. The plot outline is as follows:
On January 23, 2002, Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl is to fly from Karachi to Dubai with his pregnant wife, Mariane, also a reporter. On the day before, with great care, he has arranged an interview in a café with an Islamic fundamentalist cleric. When Danny doesn’t return, Mariane initiates a search. Pakistani police, American embassy personnel, and the FBI examine witnesses, phone records, e-mails, and hard drives. Who has him? Where is he? There’s also the why: because of U.S. abuse of prisoners at Guantanimo, because of a history of Journal cooperation with the CIA, because Pearl is a Jew? Through it all, Mariane is clearheaded, direct, and determined.
I thought the movie to be incredibly moving. I don’t know what works better, a good true stroy film as such or terrorism. Being so close to the setting of this film worrys me. It made me think of all the suspicious people I have run across since I have been in Mysore. It made me feel as if at any moment I can be taken off the streets and transported to an undisclosed location for turtoring and ultimately death. It was interesting to be able to relate to some of the sceens which took place in Mumbai, India. For example in one of Mariane’s flashbacks of Danny, they were on a boat in Mumbai near the Gateway to India with the Taj Hotel in the background; I recall being in the same location.