PA has a peculiar set of booze laws. Beer can be sold only by the sixpack for take out by licensed deli's, by the case by beer distributors. Wines and spirits are sold only by the State Liquor Control Board through a network of "state stores". Their prices are better now, but years ago they were very expensive. People would drive over into NJ or into Delaware to buy booze. The PA LCB would send agents over to take down PA car registration numbers and other agents would be waiting for them when they crossed the border. The local township's police forces in NJ and DE then started arresting the LCB agents for loitering. It was fun for a while.

Just over the NJ/PA border on the PA side in the Poconos mountains (Delaware Water Gap) there are a number of outlets to buy fireworks, which are banned in NJ and NY.

Exactly the same scenario with the cops happened (possibly still happens)....they would look for cars with the NJ or NY plates and then nab them once they'd crossed State lines.

I find it incredibly inconvenient that the liquor stores (state run ABC stores) in my county in NC all close at 9.00pm.

Entertaining as that concept is, it highlights the extreme locality of government over here. Back in England, the council was largely irrelevant, apart from trying to get your bins emptied or, perhaps - I have no experience, trying to stop some pot smoking sociopath of a social worker from taking your kids away for trumped up reasons.

Here, government interference is much closer to home. In some ways, that's a good thing (we know which donkey to beat) but it does create much more scope for petty little shits to cause inconvenience. I'm beginning to suspect that I'm behaving like the UK does in the EU, slavishly following ridiculous dictats that everybody else ignores.

Examples, please! What naughtiness are you getting up to (or not getting up to, as the case may be...)???

OK, couple off the top of my head:

1. Driving - I've been resident in TX for > than 30 days, so my UK licence has no validity. I'd like to practice (both driving on the wrong side of the road and with the vehicle in which I'll be taking the test) before I take my test for a TX license. So I'm jumping through all sorts of hoops to get a learners permit, get insurance etc. prior to taking it, whereas a local probably wouldn't give a toss.

2. Shooting. I recently bought a used shotgun. Stripped it, fixed it up and would like to pattern it. So I'm looking around for a range that lets you fire shotguns, where a local would just drive out into the wilderness.

Where to shoot

I know (there, there).. it sucks sometimes. You're right, if it were me, in Texas, I'd probably do whatever common sense dictated. But I've been the immigrant too, and I know I used to follow lots of 'silly' rules that no one else did. I had countless Brits argue with me that they didn't need a residence permit 'because we're in the EU!!! We have the RIGHT to live here!' (not UK)., Which is true, but technically, the host country also requires them to register their presence.
I tried to keep on top of the regs just in case.. but I wouldn't have done at home or if my residency situation wasn't so fragile.

It'll go away soon.
And lookie there, a shooting link! Just ask for what you need...

I agree.

This very weekend my friends sister was taken by a university police car to a 'detox facility' a 20min drive away because she was drunk enough that she threw up in her dorm room (horror of horrors!). Never mind that my friend had got her back to her room and made sure she was in bed. Never mind that she had the presence of mind to throw up in a bin...nope, her busybody 'house fellow' decided that someone getting drunk enough to throw up meant she was a danger to herself and others. Oh yeah, and they even charged her for the priviledge! When my friend and I told a city police officer he just laughed at how ridiculous it was.

The next evening, my girlfriends brother made the mistake of stepping onto the sidewalk holding a can of beer and was spotted by probably the most obnoxiously rude police officer I've ever met (not that I've met many, I've never even had a speeding ticket) and was issued a $298 fine.

Utterly pathetic.

Revenue.

Gesundheit.

(Swine flu)

Did they?

Yes.

But, the kitten caught one midair and the rest left.

Good kitten!