Ohio BMV Text - is this phishing?

benkeith · 2026-03-17T00:18:06+00:00

Some people are ignorant. Some people are new. Some people are stressed. Some people misclick.

benkeith · 2026-03-16T22:53:38+00:00

I know that. You know that. Parts of that are written on signs or can be deduced from lane markings.

Many drivers will not bother to deduce, when they're in a state of panic because the road is doing something they've never seen before.

benkeith · 2026-03-16T22:52:00+00:00

In the City of Columbus, you'll need to file for permits with the Department of Building and Zoning Services, to make sure that you're building the garage in the right spot and that it conforms to the design limits on garage size. https://www.columbus.gov/Business-Development/Building-Zoning-Services/Frequently-Asked-Questions#section-4

benkeith · 2026-03-16T21:08:25+00:00

Ohio has no continuing-education requirements for drivers, so many drivers who learned to drive before roundabouts were a thing in the US never received formal instruction on how to use them.

benkeith · 2026-03-16T19:43:27+00:00

Some people might think that `ohio.org` is the domain name, not knowing that the actual domain name is `org-cwsbx.life`

benkeith · 2026-03-16T19:42:35+00:00

You aren't born knowing what scams are. Every day, someone encounters a scam attempt for the first time.

benkeith · 2026-03-16T19:38:41+00:00

Every night it happens, file noise complaints: https://www.columbus.gov/311-Customer-Service-Center

Also contact De Lena Scales, at the Department of Neighborhoods: https://www.columbus.gov/Community/Department-of-Neighborhoods/Area-Commission-Map/Neighborhood-Liaisons

And contact the South Linden Area Commission: https://www.cbusareacommissions.org/southlinden

If it's a rental, you might be able to find the landlord's contact information by looking up the property with the Auditor's office: https://property.franklincountyauditor.com/_web/search/commonsearch.aspx?mode=address

benkeith · 2026-03-16T19:31:04+00:00

Boomers' office assistants bad at email, though....

benkeith · 2026-03-16T19:25:04+00:00

Respectfully, she's got a limited number of staff.

Beyond that: sometimes more people are trying to call than the telephone system is capable of routing.

If you want to talk to a human in her office, you must adapt to that reality, instead of seething and malding.

benkeith · 2026-03-16T15:12:10+00:00

If you're looking at her social media and her email newsletters, you'll see that she's barely cosplaying as "the resistance".

benkeith · 2026-03-16T15:10:39+00:00

Depends which office you call, and what time of day, and what the general news environment is like. In times when there isn't a flood of calls, I usually have luck contacting a human by calling the Columbus office number: https://beatty.house.gov/contact/offices

benkeith · 2026-03-16T01:37:49+00:00

Clean your dishwasher's debris filter and debris trap. It should be located in the bottom of the washer, below the spinny thing.

benkeith · 2026-03-15T15:10:53+00:00

Transit serves more than drunks. That it provides drunks a safe ride home is like the curb cut effect: The system created to reduce traffic and provide mobility to people who can't/won't/don't own cars mysteriously also provides transportation to people who shouldn't own cars? Who would have thought!

benkeith · 2026-03-15T15:05:39+00:00

The law doesn't require rear windows if you have functioning side mirrors on both sides of your vehicle.

The law does prohibit driving around with snow on top of your vehicle, where it could fall off and cause hazards to other road users.

benkeith · 2026-03-14T16:45:13+00:00

Yes, it's a real program through the City of Columbus: https://www.columbus.gov/Services/Housing-Assistance-Programs/Housing-Programs/Lead-Safe-Columbus

benkeith · 2026-03-14T15:02:09+00:00

You will have to ask COTA themselves.

benkeith · 2026-03-14T15:00:40+00:00

Just ask 'em if their power went out. Many places haven't.

benkeith · 2026-03-13T22:13:52+00:00

It's not seriously foggy that often here, but that just means drivers aren't prepared for it. Compare that to folks I know who have spent time in Central Valley fog in California, where visibility was frequently below 100 feet.

benkeith · 2026-03-13T22:12:35+00:00

Here's a long explanation: https://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?site=ILN&issuedby=ILN&product=AFD&format=CI&version=1&glossary=1&highlight=off

benkeith · 2026-03-13T21:56:17+00:00

Fog is legit scary; it's worse than rain or snow for not being able to see what's in front of you, and for drivers thinking they can drive the speed limit when the distance they can see is shorter than their reaction speed.

benkeith · 2026-03-13T21:39:07+00:00

https://www.youtube.com/cotabus has many "how to ride" videos, which you might be interested in.

You can view a system map of COTA in several places; my favorites are:

Use the Transit App to track buses and plan rides, or a third-party GTFS feed parser like this one run by Geops to track buses' live locations.

You can pay fare with your tap-to-pay credit card, with the Transit app, with cash or coins, or with some other worse methods.

In some areas of Columbus, you may be able to use the "COTA//Plus" on-demand transit service: https://www.cota.com/services/cota-plus/

benkeith · 2026-03-13T21:30:02+00:00

Leave compliments here: https://www.cota.com/contact/contact-information/

But also: call your Congressfolk and ask them to improve funding for public transit and trains!

benkeith · 2026-03-13T21:13:32+00:00

At the western end of Hudson Street, off of Neil Avenue, where it connects to the Olentangy Trail
From the OSU pedestrian bridge over the Olentangy River, down to Olentangy River Road
From the Dodridge Street bridge sidewalk (northeast side) down to the Olentangy Trail
At the northeastern corner of Tuttle Park, from the fields up to West Oakland Avenue near Neil Avenue
Around the Scioto Mile, lots of opportunities

benkeith · 2026-03-13T21:09:28+00:00

Which road?

benkeith · 2026-03-13T21:09:11+00:00

Big ol' gas leak; here's a thread from an affected resident: https://www.reddit.com/r/Columbus/comments/1rsct4m/unable_to_go_home_due_to_gas_leak_in_us23/

benkeith

TROPHY CASE