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Who am I, how do I prove it to you, and what do you let me do once you know?

I got my driver's license today. It was actually the first time I can remember going to the DMV for a renewal. I've had to get new ones when I've moved, but have either moved before a renewal, or lived in a state with fairly loose renewal rules. When I was 25 I moved to Arizona, I handed over my (soon to expire) Texas license, and they handed me back a new one good till I was 60--that was a little scary actually. And that TX one had been renewed by mail a few years before that...In fact my mother was allowed to renew over the internet when she was 65. I guess at least Connecticut confirms I can walk in the door of a DMV office every 6 years. Pretty amazing when you think about it, this little card not only gives me legal permission to drive, gets me on airplanes and once upon a time bought beer (no one's asked for that in a while).

And I have another photo ID, for work. This one carries an RFID tag, which codes what doors I can open and tracks my comings and goings (except for when I follow others in or out without scanning my badge). Recently a security guard in a different building tried to insist that I had to replace it because it was the old style. I decided it wasn't worth the argument to explain that the outer style of the badge has no effect on its validity as long as I can scan in the door. Noone looks at the picture.

In the spirit of full replacement of IDs today I gave in and had a new pic taken to get a new badge at work too. Wonder if it will still open all the same doors?

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