It looks like this halloween is going to suck big time. Michael has the flu, so he can't go trick-or-treating like we'd planned. At least he got to dress up in his costume for a halloween party at Traci's church on Wednesday, so the holiday isn't a total waste. This is the first year where he really understands what's going on, and he's stuck in the house, puking all over the place--definitely not very pleasant. We're desperately hoping that Bradley doesn't get sick as well, 'cause an infant with the flu would just be hell.

I have got to get me one of these bad boys. Or better yet, build my own.

The hearing didn't go too badly, but there's still no telling how the Tax Commission will decide. They said they'd mail out a decision "within the next month," so it could be awhile before I know anything. Administrative Law Judge Kerry R. Chapman presided over the hearing, along with Tax Commissioner (and former Salt Lake City Mayor) Palmer DePaulis. Laron Lind represented the other side, with Lynette Byrd there to answer questions as well. DMV Director Brad Simpson and Assistant Director Kevin Park were also there, but they simply sat and watched.

I gave my arguments first, then Laron gave the DMV's position, then Judge Chapman and Mr. DePaulis asked a few questions of Ms. Byrd. One interesting thing is that when Ms. Byrd was asked, hypothetically, if the DMV would have granted a plate request for "MR UDINK" or some other such phrase that would put my name into context, she stewed over it for a minute, then decided that they would deny that as well.

My argument consisted of basically four points. The first point was that my cousin has his last name on his license plate in Oregon, and it's apparently not offensive there. Secondly, the most common uses of the word "dink" are fairly innocuous, and as proof I cited such kid-friendly things as Shrinky Dinks, Dink, the Little Dinosaur (a Hanna-Barbera cartoon series), Winky-Dink and You (another cartoon), and such uses of the word as "rinky-dink" and "dinky." Thirdly, I suggested that any reasonable person would associate these innocuous meanings with my license plate, and I cited all the media attention that this case has received as evidence--KUTV did a segment on it, it was mentioned on two national news channels and on 48 major news websites (thanks to the AP), and I was interviewed on 14 radio shows across the country. Last of all, the slang dictionary where they got their definition for the word "dink" actually got its definitions from this slang dictionary, which is run by some guy in Norway. This "dictionary" gets all its definitions from individual internet users (as you can read here), and it's also nowhere near being an authoritative source. I'm sure the Oxford English Dictionary would have the same definition if it's as widely used as the DMV claims, but they don't cite that as their source.

Anyway, now it's just time to sit back and wait. Even if they rule against me, I can still appeal their ruling and have a more formal hearing, which I may just do. I still haven't heard any compelling reasons from the DMV as to why they denied my license plate request, and until I do, I think I'll just keep pushing the issue.

Well, tomorrow's the big day, the appeal hearing for my license plate denial. I hadn't started really preparing my arguments until this evening, and I'm already finished with everything that I need to do. I don't think the hearing will last long, as there's not much either side can say. My arguments alone shouldn't take more than 10 minutes, and after seeing what Laron Lind sent me, I don't think he'll be much longer than that either. I'm not certain when the Tax Commission will make their decision--hopefully they'll do it before the hearing is over. Whatever the outcome, it will have been worth it. To let this pass without fighting it would have been as ridiculous as the situation itself.

I've finally gotten motivated enough to do some more work on my Subaru during the past week. I swapped out the entire front-end from my '88 into the '87, so now all that's left is to swap the pedal assembly and install the transmission. There are also a few small odds and ends left to do (exhaust, driveshaft, etc.), but most of the major stuff is complete. For the front-end stuff, I took the steering knuckle, strut, axle, and lower control arm out as a unit, which must weigh around 100 pounds, and moved it all to the other car and installed it. Both sides are installed on the '87, but I have yet to install the bad parts that came from the '87 in the '88--it's got to at least roll and steer so I can get it out of my driveway.

When I finish up with all that work, which is just barely enough to get the car driveable, I've still got to replace the front brake pads, valve cover seals, and speedometer cable, and reseal the camshaft cases, and probably a dozen other small things that I'll need to do for this car to be truly off-road-worthy. I think I'm going to paint it camouflage, too, at least if I can figure out a way that won't look stupid. Hopefully after another weekend or two it'll be on the road (or off-road, actually), which means it probably won't be long before it's back in the garage being repaired after some major abuse. =)

See, not all states' DMV officials are obtuse--this is my cousin Mike's Dodge Durango, registered in Oregon:

I just got a phone call from Lia at the Utah State Tax Commission, informing me that the hearing date on the notice I received was a "typo." Yeah, right. Even Laron Lind thinks the hearing is Monday, so she was going to call him and clarify things. Now, the hearing is supposed to be on October 30th, rather than the 27th, so I've got a lot of rearranging to do at work. I had Monday scheduled as a vacation day, and I had a meeting that I was supposed to conduct in the office on Thursday. Changing the vacation day isn't a big deal, but changing the meeting is--I'll have to see if my manager wants somebody else to take care of it, or just reschedule the whole thing.

Interviewed by WCSX Detroit this morning (taped again, I think). Laron Lind, Assistant Utah Attorney General, called me yesterday and explained a few things to me, and sent me an email this morning outlining the case he'll present in support of the DMV's arguments. After hearing from him, I feel pretty damned confident that I'll prevail. Of course, that's only if I'm dealing with rational individuals here, which is questionable in this state.

Traci is in Sandy at the scrapbook expo, and she took Bradley with her, so I'm home with Michael for a couple more days. I'm not sure what we're going to do while she's gone--so far all we've done is go to the library, which Michael has never done before. He seemed to enjoy it, and he's a little too excited about books about dinosaurs now. I think we'll go geocaching, and replace the Rubbermaid containers I used for my caches with ammo boxes, after I spray paint them camo tomorrow. I'm sure by Saturday evening, Michael will be sick of watching SciFi, The Food Network, and The History Channel, and he'll be grateful for Traci to be back, who lets him watch cartoons almost all the time.

Everything you ever wanted to know about biological soil crusts, and then some.

I've just now finally gotten the time to post these pictures from Saturday. We had a great time in the San Rafael Swell, and this was certainly the best time of year to go--the weather was extremely pleasant. Even though it was opening day of the deer hunt, we saw more tourists than hunters. It was downright crowded at the Wedge overlook, so much so that we had to drive about a mile down a side road to find a secluded place to park and take some pictures. The scenery got a little bland after leaving Buckhorn Wash and heading south, but then we hit the San Rafael Reef where I-70 cuts right through it, and it was even more beautiful than everything else we'd seen. In fact, I plan on returning to do some hiking in the area, since it's not really too far a drive from Price.

I got a call from KFSO, Kool 92.9 in Fresno, California, this morning, and they recorded our interview, I assume to play on the air tomorrow morning. I'd assumed that interest in my story had died down, but apparently not. The appeal hearing is only one week away, and I haven't heard back from Laron Lind's office yet regarding the letter I sent him more than a week ago. From reading a few things on the Tax Commission's website, it looks like this hearing is only an informal one, after which I can request a formal hearing if I don't agree with the decision. I hope things go well for me the first time around, because I'm already nervous enough about the informal hearing.

In today's Daily Herald:

Buffalo chip to the Utah Division of Motor Vehicles. The DMV refused to issue a vanity plate bearing the last name of Dennis Udink of Price because it was deemed "vulgar." The vulgarity in this case is with the bureaucrats who see obscenity everywhere, even in someone's real name.

It looks as though things have finally returned to normal around here. I've been pretty busy with work lately 'cause we're nearing the end of a project, so beta testing and fixes are underway in order to get it shoved out the door.

For tomorrow, we're planning on a trip through the San Rafael Swell. We'll start on the dirt road that turns off just north of Castle Dale, then follow it to the turnoff for the Wedge overlook. After that, it's back to the main road, then through Buckhorn Wash and finally to I-70. Since I haven't been down that far before, it'll be some new scenery for once. We're going to do as much geocaching as time will allow, plus I'd like to do some hiking and general sight-seeing. We're going to head back to Price via Green River, rather than going through all the little Emery County towns along Highway 10. I've never actually been to the town of Green River (just been past it a few times), so I'd like to stop there just to have a look-see.

Traci's sister and her boyfriend, Dave, said they'd come along, but now it doesn't look like it's such a sure thing. Dave is going golfing or some such thing, and I don't think either of them realized how long of a day it's going to be. We were going to leave town around 10:00 in the morning, and probably get back home after dark. Now that it looks like nobody else is coming, we may leave even earlier so there's more time to do everything that we want to.

If anyone ever deserved to die a slow, painful death, it is Reverend Fred Phelps.

Hmm...the silhouette on this Concealed Firearm Permit looks strangely familiar. (You may have to scroll down and agree to the terms to view the page.)

Got a call from KTYD, Santa Barbara, California, about being on their morning show tomorrow at 7:30. I had figured that the morning radio shows were finished calling, but apparently not (not that I mind). I sent a letter to Laron Lind, Assistant Utah Attorney General, regarding a notice that I received last week. The notice simply stated that I should send any supporting documents and "other material relevant to this action" to his office, but I have no idea what type of information, if any, I'm expected to furnish. I don't actually have anything in writing at the moment--I've just been formulating it all in my head--but I don't expect to have much in the way of supporting documents anyway. There's no disputing that the word "dink" has a possibly offensive meaning, according to some obscure dictionary reference, so my argument doesn't hinge around that fact. What it does hinge around is that any reasonable person wouldn't find it offensive to see UDINK on my license plate, and all the news coverage surrounding this issue should be testament enough to that fact. If I had requested any common four-letter expletive, which would reasonably offend most people, and had been denied, this wouldn't be news to anybody. But seeing as how innocuous my name is, and how it is my actual birth surname, I don't see it as being a big deal.

Vanity plate case a slam-dunk --an opinion piece in the Deseret News. I'm not sure who wrote it, but thanks. =) Today has been wonderful--no morning radio shows, so we got to sleep in until 9:00 (rather than 5:00 or 6:00, which has been usual the past few days). We went geocaching with my sister and her family, which took up a good chunk of the day. It was nice getting out of the house, and onto the dirt roads in the middle of nowhere.

We had a little bit of a scare yesterday--Traci was bending over to grab Michael to change his clothes in the morning, and she felt a pain on her right side. She pulled her shirt up and looked, and saw a big swollen spot. She called her doctor, and he said it sounds like a hernia, and told her to get to the emergency room to have it looked at. Her mom watched the kids while we went to UVRMC in Provo to have it checked out (didn't want to chance it at the ER here in Price--besides, I saved a $50 co-pay by driving up there). After 5½ hours of waiting (not to mention 3 hours of total drive time), it turned out to be an abscess. They did an ultrasound to make sure it wasn't anything major, then just drained it, wrote out a prescription, and sent us packing. It was a waste of a day, but it could have been much worse.

Trillian Patch F finally out. Fixes problem when connecting to Yahoo Messenger.

B96 out of Chicago called at 5:20 this morning, and I just got off the phone with Tom Barberi (great show, by the way--thanks for the mention of my website). Also, at 8:48 am, I was on Robin and Maynard on KQBZ, Seattle, Washington.

I've really got to start preparing my arguments for presentation to the Tax Commission--after this weekend, I'll only have two weeks before I have to attend the hearing. I'll be up against Assistant Attorney General Laron J. Lind, so chances are that I'll be way out of my league. Oh well, if they listen to logic and reason, I shouldn't have to worry.

Here's today's Deseret News article, and also one from the Salt Lake Tribune. No decision was made at yesterday's committee meeting, and one state senator had doubts that relaxing the rule would be a good thing. I don't know when they plan to meet next, but I suspect that nothing will happen before my hearing on the 27th, so I'm starting to prepare my case for presentation to the Utah State Tax Commission. The Steve and DC show went well this morning--I managed to record the entire thing this time, so I'll probably put an MP3 of it on here when I get home from work.

Update: Here we go again:

? 8:45 am: The Bob Rivers Show, Seattle, Washington

? 9:07 am: The Bob and Mark Show, Anchorage, Alaska

? Tomorrow morning: B96, Chicago, Illinois

? Tomorrow morning: The Tom Barberi Show, KALL 700, Salt Lake City, Utah

Ahh, and get this--somebody who works for the Utah State Tax Commission is leaving comments on my website that I doubt the Tax Commission will approve of.

Here is the MP3 [1.2 MB] from the Steve and DC show this morning.

I'm not normally awake this early, but Star 102.1 in Knoxville, Tennessee, called here just after 6:00 am and had me on their show. And they likely found out about it from Fark. =) I suppose I'll try to get some more sleep, at least until the phone rings again, which it undoubtedly will.

Update: Wow:

? 7:02 am: Tommy and Rumble, FM 99 WNOR, Chesapeake, Virginia

? 7:30 am: Franke and Jean, 95.7 The Rock, La Crosse, Wisconsin

? 7:39 am: Fisher and Laura, Star 102.7, Salt Lake City, Utah

? Tomorrow at 5:45 am mountain time: Steve and DC, 104.1 The Mall, St. Louis, Missouri, and on SIRIUS Satellite Radio

? 5:56 pm: They just mentioned it on the Fox Report w/Shep! He mispronounced the name at first, but got it right on the third try.

? Also, I got a phone call from a guy named Dave Madden, who said he is an assistant producer (or some such thing) for the Ellen DeGeneres Show. He asked me if I'd be ok going on the show, but said it has to be run by the producers first. Now I'm really freaked out.

AP article in the Boston Globe

MP3 from Doug Wright Show [1.9 MB] on KSL 1160 AM (partial recording--I missed the last half)

Article from QuoteNet, a Dutch news source (I'll place the translation in the comments section)

Free Republic comments

Well, Dan Rascon and the rest of the news crew just left my house. Dan said the segment would be on the air at 5:30 this evening on channel 2. I'm obviously gonna record it, and I'll try to get a copy to put on my website somehow. I managed to record three minutes of me on the radio show this morning, but I couldn't find a decent mp3 recorder, so the shareware crap that I had cut off after three minutes. Instead of feeling nervous, I felt cheesy, having to repeat and explain everything several times while they shot at different angles and locations. If you watch the newscast, you'll get to see how damned messy my computer desk is, too, though most of the footage was taken outside in front of the house.

Update: Thanks to Ty, here is the video [5.3 MB] from today's news. They aired a slightly different segment during the 10:00 news, but it was shorter than the evening news and didn't really contain anything new.

I spoke with Amy Joi Bryson from the Deseret News a couple of times on the phone yesterday, and lo and behold, there's a great article in today's paper about this whole fiasco with the DMV. You gotta love all the witty remarks: "Motorist seeking U-turn in plate tiff," and "The stink over Udink's name..."

Update: Somebody from the Doug Wright Show just called me, and they want to interview me on the air sometime after 11:30 today. It's on 1160 am for anybody in northern Utah who wants to tune in. Now I just gotta figure out which frequency it comes in on down here so I can record it. =)

Update: KUTV News is on their way down to interview me. I just got off the phone with them, and they're in Provo right now. They should be here between 1:00 and 1:30. Man, I'm nervous.

This Wednesday at 8:35 a.m., the Utah Legislature Administrative Rules Review Committee will be reviewing Utah Administrative Rule R873-22M-34, Rule for Denial of Personalized Plate Requests Pursuant to Utah Code Annotated Sections 41-1a-104 and 41-1a-411. Senator Dmitrich called me last Thursday to let me know of his plans to introduce a measure dealing with the denial of my personalized license plate, and to make sure that I was ok with having my situation dealt with in the public spotlight like this. He said he has some friends whose last names would also likely be considered offensive by the DMV, and he thought the rule could definitely stand to have some sort of exception for people who obviously aren't trying to offend anybody. He seems like a great guy, and I owe him many thanks for what he's already done, not to mention what's to come.

We had every intention of making two hikes in a single day yesterday, but our bodies had different intentions. When we got done with our first hike yesterday, Matt's knee was really bothering him, mine and Mike's feet hurt, and I had a killer headache. On top of all that, the hike itself took twice as long as my book said it should--I guess the time estimates are for experienced hikers, which we certainly are not.

It was still a lot of fun. It was definitely as far from any trace of civilization as I've gone on foot. Just the quiet was nice, with the exception of an occasional airliner passing overhead. There were several boulder fields that we had to hike across, which gets really monotonous after awhile. From the high peak, we had an awesome view of some lakes to the east, and we heard quite a few elk bugling in the pines to the south. If it wasn't for the boulder field between us and the pines, I'd have hiked over there to try and catch a glimpse of the elk.

If it wasn't for my GPS it would have been a much more difficult trek. I forgot to mark a waypoint at the car before we started hiking, so I had to follow my track log back to the starting point, which wasn't as nice as doing a goto on a waypoint (can't use the compass). Since we didn't want to follow our previous route back to the car, we just followed the arrow on the map page in a pretty much straight line back to the car, and occasionally picking our way around the more difficult terrain.

We'd planned on getting back to Mike's house before noon, but we didn't make it there until around 3:00. Even if we hadn't all been too worn out to go on another hike, we wouldn't have had the time. But I suppose that's ok with me, since I got home a day earlier than I'd planned.

I got this letter in the mail today from Mike Dmitrich in response to the letter I sent him a couple weeks ago. Hopefully he'll be able to persuade the DMV to allow my personalized plate request, but it doesn't look like he's willing to push a legislative change through. I haven't heard back from any other legislators that I wrote to, but considering how long it took Senator Dmitrich to respond, I probably shouldn't be expecting to hear from anybody else too soon (if at all).

I'm gonna have to head up to Kenilworth today to fix the coordinates for my first geocache. I returned to the cache last week and did some hiking in the area, and just for the hell of it, did a GoTo to the cache to see if my GPS would lead me straight to it. Well, it didn't--when I reached the cache, the GPS said I still had 48 feet left to go, which would have lead me up a steep hill. One person who logged the cache also confirmed the same thing with his unit, so hopefully I'll get it fixed today. This weekend I'm going to West Valley, so while I'm up there I'm going to buy a few ammo boxes to move my caches into. The Rubbermaid containers I used are pretty decent as far as protecting the contents, but the camoflauge paint that I used is already flaking off, even after sanding down the plastic.

I'm really looking forward to hiking on Saturday. We'll hit the high peaks for three different counties in a single day. We're planning on being gone all day, and hopefully we'll make it back from our last hike before it gets dark. At least with my GPS, we won't get lost, but hiking through the mountains in the dark still doesn't sound fun, even when you know where you're going.