Wow, it's been a while

but we've been busy, what with #2's arrival, buying a new house (yay!), trying to get our current place sold (yay.), etc., etc., but now that I'm out on parental leave for the rest of the year I'm hoping to get more posted here.

Another reason for the paucity of posts here is that almost everything that's been happening of note is family-related and goes on the family blog, but there are still some things that belong here instead, like for instance the fact that with a license number you can get anyone's name and address by text message direct to your phone.

Norway isn't as privacy-conscious as the US (the tax rolls are online for anybody to read, for cryin' out loud), but this sort of thing was done away with in the States a while ago after some unfortunate cases where someone saw a girl he liked, got her license number, and came a'callin'.

Here, though, no such worries: just send an SMS with REGNR and the license number to the DMV and for 50 cents you get the owner's name and address in a text message sent directly to your phone.

My father-in-law has used the service a few times since he lives next door to a school and the students sometimes park in his driveway, so he finds out who owns the car and calls the parents.

It still surprises me what's public and what's not here. My physical therapist met me at an open house and pretended she didn't know me because my medical records are private and she didn't want to let on where she knew me from in a room full of people I didn't know, but I can enter your name in a search query in an online search engine and find out how where you live and much money you made last year -- and with this DMV service, I don't even need a name -- I only need your license number.