Meter Misers

There are some things I just don’t understand. Despite the very nice explanation by Gloria from FEMA, why you have to continue to pay your Flood Insurance premium on a house that’s been condemned defies common sense. I mean, what's left to insure?

Here’s another one: The City of Houston has, in its infinite wisdom, decided that if you park at a parking meter, you cannot feed the meter.

If you park for two hours, and you need another 15-minutes, you can no longer legally pop out the door and plug another quarter into the meter.
You’ll get a ticket.
$25 smackeroos.

This defies common sense on a couple of levels:

First, when city leaders are trying to attract people downtown to conduct business, imposing rules that make it difficult to do business downtown would seem to be counter-effective.

I know, I know.
The argument is that we've got to keep those metered spaces turning over so everyone has a chance to park curbside in H-town.
So install more meters.
Just think of the additional revenue $$!

Secondly, when we’re all being told to conserve, conserve, conserve, where’s the sense in having to come out, fire up the jalopy, and circle the block a couple of times, just because the stinking meter ran out ten minutes before someone's finished doing what they came into town to do?

I mean, it's not like they're going to be there forever, or anything.

I'm sure there are a few other examples I could come up with...but I've got to go feed my meter, while I can!