Comments on: LIESNS PL8S http://crookedtimber.org/2006/08/27/liesns-pl8s/ Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:07:34 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: Mark http://crookedtimber.org/2006/08/27/liesns-pl8s/comment-page-1/#comment-170449 Mark Wed, 30 Aug 2006 21:01:19 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/08/27/liesns-pl8s/#comment-170449 My favorites are the ones where there has been some shift in the owner's vehicle since the plate was issued. I especially enjoy the ones which indicated the ownership of an expensive car (HOTBENZ) that were now on something less exalted. Illinois doesn't require numbers. My favorites are the ones where there has been some shift in the owner’s vehicle since the plate was issued. I especially enjoy the ones which indicated the ownership of an expensive car (HOTBENZ) that were now on something less exalted.

Illinois doesn’t require numbers.

]]> By: Ali Soleimani http://crookedtimber.org/2006/08/27/liesns-pl8s/comment-page-1/#comment-170439 Ali Soleimani Wed, 30 Aug 2006 19:30:44 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/08/27/liesns-pl8s/#comment-170439 True anecdote: when I worked in San Diego several years ago, I used to pick up a friend who worked at the Salk Institute. Francis Crick worked there before he passed away recently, and my friend reported that you could immediately recognize his car in the lot from its vanity plate: A T C G --Ali True anecdote: when I worked in San Diego several years ago, I used to pick up a friend who worked at the Salk Institute. Francis Crick worked there before he passed away recently, and my friend reported that you could immediately recognize his car in the lot from its vanity plate:

A T C G
—Ali

]]> By: hilzoy http://crookedtimber.org/2006/08/27/liesns-pl8s/comment-page-1/#comment-170421 hilzoy Wed, 30 Aug 2006 17:44:13 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/08/27/liesns-pl8s/#comment-170421 kid b: oops. He got it right; I screwed up. kid b: oops. He got it right; I screwed up.

]]> By: cw http://crookedtimber.org/2006/08/27/liesns-pl8s/comment-page-1/#comment-170349 cw Wed, 30 Aug 2006 03:18:33 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/08/27/liesns-pl8s/#comment-170349 Eszter, I used to live in Illinois and I believe they require a number in every plate. So Eszter1 does not mean there is someone driving around with the plate Eszter. Eszter, I used to live in Illinois and I believe they require a number in every plate. So Eszter1 does not mean there is someone driving around with the plate Eszter.

]]> By: Michael Rebain http://crookedtimber.org/2006/08/27/liesns-pl8s/comment-page-1/#comment-170241 Michael Rebain Tue, 29 Aug 2006 13:11:47 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/08/27/liesns-pl8s/#comment-170241 For those of us interested in the design of license plates, and not just vanity plates, here is a comprehensive website: http://www.worldlicenseplates.com/ For those of us interested in the design of license plates, and not just vanity plates, here is a comprehensive website:
http://www.worldlicenseplates.com/

]]> By: Henry (not the famous one) http://crookedtimber.org/2006/08/27/liesns-pl8s/comment-page-1/#comment-170182 Henry (not the famous one) Mon, 28 Aug 2006 22:23:41 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/08/27/liesns-pl8s/#comment-170182 #12 and #25--That sounds like it, but the publication date throws me off, since my father (who died in 1993) had mentioned it several years earlier. Perhaps, like other great authors, he released his masterpiece in stages. The retelling of Oedipus is particularly stirring. As for Lolita, how did the first plate make it past the bureaucrats at the DMV? #12 and #25—That sounds like it, but the publication date throws me off, since my father (who died in 1993) had mentioned it several years earlier. Perhaps, like other great authors, he released his masterpiece in stages.

The retelling of Oedipus is particularly stirring. As for Lolita, how did the first plate make it past the bureaucrats at the DMV?

]]> By: Tim McG http://crookedtimber.org/2006/08/27/liesns-pl8s/comment-page-1/#comment-170140 Tim McG Mon, 28 Aug 2006 14:41:54 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/08/27/liesns-pl8s/#comment-170140 A friend of mine had a (Tennessee, IIRC) plate that read: IMGONUP, intended, of course, as "I'm goin' up." When another friend of mine saw it, she wondered, "Why does your license plate say 'I'm go'n'o pee'?" A friend of mine had a (Tennessee, IIRC) plate that read: IMGONUP, intended, of course, as “I’m goin’ up.”

When another friend of mine saw it, she wondered, “Why does your license plate say ‘I’m go’n’o pee’?”

]]> By: SamChevre http://crookedtimber.org/2006/08/27/liesns-pl8s/comment-page-1/#comment-170135 SamChevre Mon, 28 Aug 2006 14:25:56 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/08/27/liesns-pl8s/#comment-170135 Eszter, You should come visit Virginia; vanity and personalized plates are cheap here ($10 for personalization, and as little as $10 for the plate) and so are very common. Eszter,

You should come visit Virginia; vanity and personalized plates are cheap here ($10 for personalization, and as little as $10 for the plate) and so are very common.

]]> By: kid bitzer http://crookedtimber.org/2006/08/27/liesns-pl8s/comment-page-1/#comment-170114 kid bitzer Mon, 28 Aug 2006 12:13:55 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/08/27/liesns-pl8s/#comment-170114 hilzoy-- I don't get APNTN. Any chance it was APHTH? That would look a bit more like the greek word for virtue. hilzoy—
I don’t get APNTN. Any chance it was APHTH? That would look a bit more like the greek word for virtue.

]]> By: baslow http://crookedtimber.org/2006/08/27/liesns-pl8s/comment-page-1/#comment-170107 baslow Mon, 28 Aug 2006 11:07:18 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/08/27/liesns-pl8s/#comment-170107 Right on my block I encountered <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/baslow/20287571/" rel="nofollow"> a plate that put the "vanity" back into "vanity plate".</a> Right on my block I encountered a plate that put the “vanity” back into “vanity plate”.

]]> By: plover http://crookedtimber.org/2006/08/27/liesns-pl8s/comment-page-1/#comment-170105 plover Mon, 28 Aug 2006 10:55:54 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/08/27/liesns-pl8s/#comment-170105 One I always remember is: OHIT7LY One I always remember is: OHIT7LY

]]> By: hilzoy http://crookedtimber.org/2006/08/27/liesns-pl8s/comment-page-1/#comment-170099 hilzoy Mon, 28 Aug 2006 08:56:14 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/08/27/liesns-pl8s/#comment-170099 California is the home of a classicist whose plate reads: APNTN California is the home of a classicist whose plate reads:

APNTN

]]> By: bad Jim http://crookedtimber.org/2006/08/27/liesns-pl8s/comment-page-1/#comment-170095 bad Jim Mon, 28 Aug 2006 08:19:38 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/08/27/liesns-pl8s/#comment-170095 You can check out your own personalized California license plate <a href="https://vrir.dmv.ca.gov/ipp/ippMain.jsp" rel="nofollow">here</a>. They're tax-deductible if you itemize, by the way. An early favorite was <a href="http://www.chipdocs.com/datasheets/datasheet-pdf/Fairchild-Semiconductor/CD4528.html" rel="nofollow">CD4528</a>, instantly recognizable to any number of engineers as a "one-shot" (or, if you prefer, a dual monostable multivibrator). A co-worker claimed she'd seen the state-issued plate 3HOL469. Since I once saw a 2HOT###, I was disinclined to doubt her. My own vanity plate is the coastal protection model, with a bluish whale's tail. I don't mind my modest annual charitable contribution. The text I chose is so obscure that most people can't even recall the letters correctly, which may come in handy if I ever use the car in a crime: 2SEELEN. You can check out your own personalized California license plate here. They’re tax-deductible if you itemize, by the way.

An early favorite was CD4528, instantly recognizable to any number of engineers as a “one-shot” (or, if you prefer, a dual monostable multivibrator).

A co-worker claimed she’d seen the state-issued plate 3HOL469. Since I once saw a 2HOT###, I was disinclined to doubt her.

My own vanity plate is the coastal protection model, with a bluish whale’s tail. I don’t mind my modest annual charitable contribution. The text I chose is so obscure that most people can’t even recall the letters correctly, which may come in handy if I ever use the car in a crime: 2SEELEN.

]]> By: up too late http://crookedtimber.org/2006/08/27/liesns-pl8s/comment-page-1/#comment-170073 up too late Mon, 28 Aug 2006 04:35:47 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/08/27/liesns-pl8s/#comment-170073 #6: The book to which you refer is called <i>PL8SPK: California Vanity Plates Retell the Classics</i>, written by Daniel Nussbaum, copyright 1994, published by HarperCollinsWest. It contains 24 stories retold using only vanity plates then in use in California. ("Stories" is occasionally a misnomer: it includes a list of the Beatles' greatest hits, a choice bit of dialogue from GoodFellas, and a rehash of "Dress for Success," among others.) No story uses any plate more than once. Some stories are only a few words long. Here, in its entirety, is "LOLITA": ID8JLB8. SOAMI AA PERV? Others are longer: "ANDY WARHOLS DIARIES (HILITES)" is probably the longest, with an estimated 350 plates telling the tale. Probably my favorite in the book is "BUGDUDE BYYYY KAFKA." ("GREGRRR DOSS NOT YET SEETHAT AAAA 5FT10 COKROCH IZZZ UNWANTD 2DXTRME.") A fun achievement, well-designed, and best taken in small doses. (Its classification as a "paperback" is rather amusing, as the front and back covers of this spiralbound book are made of metal.) Sorry I haven't figured out how to post a link; it's pretty easy to figure out how to look it up, though. I think it's OSI, but used copies are available. #6: The book to which you refer is called PL8SPK: California Vanity Plates Retell the Classics, written by Daniel Nussbaum, copyright 1994, published by HarperCollinsWest. It contains 24 stories retold using only vanity plates then in use in California. (“Stories” is occasionally a misnomer: it includes a list of the Beatles’ greatest hits, a choice bit of dialogue from GoodFellas, and a rehash of “Dress for Success,” among others.)

No story uses any plate more than once.

Some stories are only a few words long. Here, in its entirety, is “LOLITA”:
ID8JLB8. SOAMI AA PERV?
Others are longer: “ANDY WARHOLS DIARIES (HILITES)” is probably the longest, with an estimated 350 plates telling the tale. Probably my favorite in the book is “BUGDUDE BYYYY KAFKA.” (“GREGRRR DOSS NOT YET SEETHAT AAAA 5FT10 COKROCH IZZZ UNWANTD 2DXTRME.”)

A fun achievement, well-designed, and best taken in small doses. (Its classification as a “paperback” is rather amusing, as the front and back covers of this spiralbound book are made of metal.) Sorry I haven’t figured out how to post a link; it’s pretty easy to figure out how to look it up, though.

I think it’s OSI, but used copies are available.

]]> By: maidhc http://crookedtimber.org/2006/08/27/liesns-pl8s/comment-page-1/#comment-170063 maidhc Mon, 28 Aug 2006 01:10:53 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/08/27/liesns-pl8s/#comment-170063 Some years ago now I saw a (white, naturally) VW Rabbit with the plate ML8ML8. Some years ago now I saw a (white, naturally) VW Rabbit with the plate ML8ML8.

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