Showing posts with label USPS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label USPS. Show all posts
7/24/16
Will Snail Mail Make A Comeback?
The internet has given us e-mail and texting as popular forms of communication. In the process the United States Postal Service and its snail mail have suffered large losses and some say are terminal. Terminal? Not so fast. Hell, politicians and their shenanigans were much safer with snail mail. By the time a stupid snail mail became public they were already history. Not so with e-mail. E-mail as Hillary Clinton and Debbie Wasserman Schultz well know can get into the wrong hands in real time. Any politician worth his salt must have concluded by now that e-mail should not be the bearer of smears and sensitive comments. Snail mail is a much better choice. By the time snail mail is delivered the events leading to its creation are history. Of course snail mail will not make a comeback. We are too committed to quick ways of becoming asses. For instance, tweeting has become an important form of communication for most politicians. In the future politicians will only be guilty of stupid squawks. Incidentally, is it texting's turn to upset some politician's apple cart?
12/14/12
The cards dwindle down to a precious few
Just finished making out my Christmas cards - all five of them. I can't help going back a few decades when making out Christmas cards was a tedious task. I recall having to bundle the cards - two bundles, one local and one out of town. I also recall that the Christmas card list was long enough to qualify as a capital expense. So what has changed? Have I become so anti-social that my friend list is very short? Have I lost touch with my friends because of our mobile society? Has Facebook become the vehicle of choice for posting seasons greetings? All of the above for sure have shortened my Christmas card list but I must admit that the real culprit is age. I haven't kept track of numbers, but my Christmas card list gets shorter in direct proportion to my age. Friends have joined the choir silent in increasing numbers. As I get older, call me Scrooge if you must, I increasingly lose interest in sending out any kind of a canned greeting. So why am I sending out five cards via USPS? Nostalgia? Heck no, a charity sent me a bunch of cards and conned me into a donation, so I felt obligated to use a few of the cards. Besides USPS needs the business.
4/11/12
High Primals And Junk Mail
An important part of a High Primal's leisure hours is reviewing and absorbing the content of junk mail. When told that the USPS was in trouble the High Primal had this to say:
I’m suffering at the prospect that our once vaunted mail system will leave me in the lurch. I don’t get much mail in the form of personal letters anymore but I do love my junk mail.
It used to be fun to take pen in hand , write a letter and receive a written letter in response. No more, its all texting, twittering or e-mail. I would love to write a love letter to Tony but that would be overkill since he’s underfoot all the time. Besides the price of stamps is out of site. Sorry USPS, e-mail it is ( I’d try texting, but my thumbs get in the way.)
Tony tells me that spam e-mail is almost like junk mail but he doesn't know what he is talking about. He hates junk mail.
If the USPS loses its junk mail business, I'll be pissed. Can't Washington bail out the USPS? Why can't they get some stimulus funds? . If there was a Postmaster General in the President's cabinet the USPS wouldn’t be struggling for funds and junk mail would be a cinch to get to my mailbox.
I’m suffering at the prospect that our once vaunted mail system will leave me in the lurch. I don’t get much mail in the form of personal letters anymore but I do love my junk mail.
It used to be fun to take pen in hand , write a letter and receive a written letter in response. No more, its all texting, twittering or e-mail. I would love to write a love letter to Tony but that would be overkill since he’s underfoot all the time. Besides the price of stamps is out of site. Sorry USPS, e-mail it is ( I’d try texting, but my thumbs get in the way.)
Tony tells me that spam e-mail is almost like junk mail but he doesn't know what he is talking about. He hates junk mail.
If the USPS loses its junk mail business, I'll be pissed. Can't Washington bail out the USPS? Why can't they get some stimulus funds? . If there was a Postmaster General in the President's cabinet the USPS wouldn’t be struggling for funds and junk mail would be a cinch to get to my mailbox.
10/10/11
Columbus Gets No Respect These Days
 |
| Christoforo Colombo |
( Worth a read - Whatever Happened To Columbus Day?)
9/16/11
Save USPS
It is inconceivable that we would abandon snail mail delivery or at the minimum castrate it. I acknowledge that I have contributed to the financial woes of the USPS by paying my bills on line (it is important to note that I receive them by snail mail) and using E-Mail rather than buying stamps, but at the same time I do not want the USPS to disappear. The possibility of its demise or a severe downgrade is unacceptable. Delivery of mail to our individual mail boxes I'm sure was guaranteed in the Bill of Rights ( exactly where I'm not sure but neither is the Tea Party with some of its outrageous claims about the Constitution). It is up to the stalwart characters in Congress to step up the bar, have a drink or two on me and come up with the money to preserve an American institution.
Technology has gone too far when it threatens us with the loss of first class mail delivery ( I'm not concerned about junk mail, after all it is junk). Our government owes us at least some reliable form of low tech mail service. I admit that is a tall order but Congress is up to it ( look at our tax code - better yet, don't look at it, just pay your taxes). Everything else in the country is moving at a snail's pace, so what's wrong with having snail mail even if it must be slowed down ( if that is possible). It will still be faster than the Pony Express.
I don't mean to malign the Pony Express. Had it not been for the Pony Express our flag would still only have a handful of stars on it.
The mail carrier has been an American hero for decades but lately his image has been tainted. He or she hardly ever smiles and sleet and snow does deter them. He or she no longer walks from house to house but drives a vehicle from box to box . When push comes to pull, they still get the job done and my bills arrive before their payment due date. We need snail mail! On the other hand if the bill is not in the mail I won't need to pay it. Oh yes, I know, I will be asked to go green and opt to receive it digitally. The hell with that. No snail mail, then I'm cancelling my Internet service unless Uncle Sam pays for it. Don't remind me - getting Washington involved with financing Internet service will start the mail delivery problems all over again except now some aliens in cyberspace will be involved. We can't afford that - save the USPS!
ed note: The high primal read this epic post and reminded me that a sentence should not end with a preposition. I retorted that it can. It's easy, I've done it a countless number of times. As Winston Churchill said when he received the same criticism, " It's my prerogative".
Technology has gone too far when it threatens us with the loss of first class mail delivery ( I'm not concerned about junk mail, after all it is junk). Our government owes us at least some reliable form of low tech mail service. I admit that is a tall order but Congress is up to it ( look at our tax code - better yet, don't look at it, just pay your taxes). Everything else in the country is moving at a snail's pace, so what's wrong with having snail mail even if it must be slowed down ( if that is possible). It will still be faster than the Pony Express.
I don't mean to malign the Pony Express. Had it not been for the Pony Express our flag would still only have a handful of stars on it.
The mail carrier has been an American hero for decades but lately his image has been tainted. He or she hardly ever smiles and sleet and snow does deter them. He or she no longer walks from house to house but drives a vehicle from box to box . When push comes to pull, they still get the job done and my bills arrive before their payment due date. We need snail mail! On the other hand if the bill is not in the mail I won't need to pay it. Oh yes, I know, I will be asked to go green and opt to receive it digitally. The hell with that. No snail mail, then I'm cancelling my Internet service unless Uncle Sam pays for it. Don't remind me - getting Washington involved with financing Internet service will start the mail delivery problems all over again except now some aliens in cyberspace will be involved. We can't afford that - save the USPS!
ed note: The high primal read this epic post and reminded me that a sentence should not end with a preposition. I retorted that it can. It's easy, I've done it a countless number of times. As Winston Churchill said when he received the same criticism, " It's my prerogative".
12/17/10
Kudos to Amazon.Com
In the midst of the Christmas shopping rush, errors in orders are bound to be made. In my case , a book I ordered using my Amazon.com account did not arrive as promised. I should modify that last statement, according to USPS it was delivered on 12/11/10. If indeed it was delivered. the poor order arrived at someone else's home. Could it be that someone is enjoying my book gratis? That's beside the point. On December 14, I decided to contact Amazon's customer service in an effort to resolve the problem. Much to my amazement there were no if, ands or buts. I received a commitment that if the order did not arrive by December 16, Amazon would be glad to to either give me a refund or ship a replacement. The order did not arrive on December 16 and I elected a refund. On December 17, I received e-mail confirming that my credit card account had been credited for the price of the lost order. No hassle, just plain courtesy. I understand that this is standard practise for Amazon.Com. They certainly have earned my loyalty.
11/18/10
Sorry USPS, you're toast!
got a late start for this morning's walk - laziness I guess. I probably shouldn't have ventured out at all. I passed a mailbox that had been knocked down and immediately my unruly mind started to come up with all kinds of disturbing scenarios. The one that made be hesitate about continuing my walk concerned the antics of the anti-government forces. If war was coming , I wanted to be home.
The war to reduce the size of government started with the midterm elections. Without a doubt the Republicans and their Tea Party allies won this initial skirmish. Their generals have been all over the boob tube making sure we all realize that they are on the offensive and once and for all will shrink that ogre called government. The offensive weapons they are revealing are awesome. Weapons of mass destruction are readily available in the form of filibusters, hearings and the ultimate weapon - control of the purse strings. On what front will they attack first?
It is commonly believed that repeal of all or most of the landmark health care reform bill will be the first target. Others argue that Medicare will take a hit. Some even predict they will try to make radical changes in Social Security. Some of their more aggressive generals are prepared to go after all three. My intelligence has found that this is all poppycock. They will not launch an all out offensive. They have a safe target in mind which if they successfully demolish will demoralize the public and make their ultimate objectives attainable with little loss of political capital.
Sources have revealed that sometime next year the United States Postal System will be bankrupt. The G.O.P. and the Tea Party will be handed a great opportunity to reduce government. Although the USPS is only a quasi- government agency it is government enough to be a target of interest. The battle cries are ready. No bailout for the Post Office! Privatize the Post Office! Government has no business delivering mail!
The public will not be shocked. Big Business has already been at work laying the groundwork for the demise of the postal system. The propaganda mill has all but convinced the public that hot-mail, G-mail, Yahoo are the way to go. How can “postal service” compete with such cute names? Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and now Facebook would like to handle all our mail. Paying bills - no problem, smart phones and the faithful PC will handle bill paying and depositing money at relatively little cost. Of course, where the friendly post man never opened our mail we will now will be at the mercy of our Internet providers as far as privacy is concerned. Not to worry, that can be handled by a little government intervention as long as we bury the costs and do not give it a name. After we’ve been carpet bombed with all sorts of reasons why the USPS is “toast” and after we find out how much it will cost to bail out USPS, we’ll buy mail privatization with little resistance. Moreover, the demise of USPS will force us to go paperless and save the environment.
The war will be fought in Congress but the battle will be won on the streets. It is rumored that Tea Party activists are prepared to go undercover to raise havoc with USPS. They have been purchasing brown pants and shirts complete with a certain logo. The plan is to hijack a mail truck every week and throw the mail in any body of water close by. The post office will ask for government troops to intervene. The response from the Pentagon will be that the troops are too busy fighting wars in the Mideast. If all these uprisings are successful the USPS may come to its knees as early as next April - April 1 to be exact. The joke will be on us but no one will be laughing except the Tea Party. Now what to do about health care, Medicare and Social Security. As long as our representatives, who still care about people hang tough, attacking these programs can be made tough. The anti-government forces could be forced to retreat and sue for peace in the form of bipartisanship. The secret weapon will be the fickle public who really don't know what they want except the ever changing American Dream.
I'm not sure how to get out of this other than to say I cut my walk short, went home, had a cup of coffee and wrote this post. No doubt about it - walking can be bad for your mental health!
The war to reduce the size of government started with the midterm elections. Without a doubt the Republicans and their Tea Party allies won this initial skirmish. Their generals have been all over the boob tube making sure we all realize that they are on the offensive and once and for all will shrink that ogre called government. The offensive weapons they are revealing are awesome. Weapons of mass destruction are readily available in the form of filibusters, hearings and the ultimate weapon - control of the purse strings. On what front will they attack first?
It is commonly believed that repeal of all or most of the landmark health care reform bill will be the first target. Others argue that Medicare will take a hit. Some even predict they will try to make radical changes in Social Security. Some of their more aggressive generals are prepared to go after all three. My intelligence has found that this is all poppycock. They will not launch an all out offensive. They have a safe target in mind which if they successfully demolish will demoralize the public and make their ultimate objectives attainable with little loss of political capital.
Sources have revealed that sometime next year the United States Postal System will be bankrupt. The G.O.P. and the Tea Party will be handed a great opportunity to reduce government. Although the USPS is only a quasi- government agency it is government enough to be a target of interest. The battle cries are ready. No bailout for the Post Office! Privatize the Post Office! Government has no business delivering mail!
The public will not be shocked. Big Business has already been at work laying the groundwork for the demise of the postal system. The propaganda mill has all but convinced the public that hot-mail, G-mail, Yahoo are the way to go. How can “postal service” compete with such cute names? Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and now Facebook would like to handle all our mail. Paying bills - no problem, smart phones and the faithful PC will handle bill paying and depositing money at relatively little cost. Of course, where the friendly post man never opened our mail we will now will be at the mercy of our Internet providers as far as privacy is concerned. Not to worry, that can be handled by a little government intervention as long as we bury the costs and do not give it a name. After we’ve been carpet bombed with all sorts of reasons why the USPS is “toast” and after we find out how much it will cost to bail out USPS, we’ll buy mail privatization with little resistance. Moreover, the demise of USPS will force us to go paperless and save the environment.
The war will be fought in Congress but the battle will be won on the streets. It is rumored that Tea Party activists are prepared to go undercover to raise havoc with USPS. They have been purchasing brown pants and shirts complete with a certain logo. The plan is to hijack a mail truck every week and throw the mail in any body of water close by. The post office will ask for government troops to intervene. The response from the Pentagon will be that the troops are too busy fighting wars in the Mideast. If all these uprisings are successful the USPS may come to its knees as early as next April - April 1 to be exact. The joke will be on us but no one will be laughing except the Tea Party. Now what to do about health care, Medicare and Social Security. As long as our representatives, who still care about people hang tough, attacking these programs can be made tough. The anti-government forces could be forced to retreat and sue for peace in the form of bipartisanship. The secret weapon will be the fickle public who really don't know what they want except the ever changing American Dream.
I'm not sure how to get out of this other than to say I cut my walk short, went home, had a cup of coffee and wrote this post. No doubt about it - walking can be bad for your mental health!
8/30/10
Blocked Box Sequel
On 8/27 I wrote about the trials and tribulations of a blocked mail box - no mail!
This morning 8/30, the mailbox was again blocked, this time by a moving van. Blocked box - no mail? Lo and behold later in the morning I noticed that the mail man had stopped his truck , got out and walked to the blocked box to deposit my mail. So what? Just that the USPS motto apparently is a matter of choice for mail carriers. Neither moving van nor miserable hot weather deterred this morning's mail courier from his appointed rounds.
This morning 8/30, the mailbox was again blocked, this time by a moving van. Blocked box - no mail? Lo and behold later in the morning I noticed that the mail man had stopped his truck , got out and walked to the blocked box to deposit my mail. So what? Just that the USPS motto apparently is a matter of choice for mail carriers. Neither moving van nor miserable hot weather deterred this morning's mail courier from his appointed rounds.
11/22/09
Whither the postal service or is the USPS withering away
My mailbox needs painting. In fact it probably should be replaced. Is it really worth spending money on something which I'm told will soon be obsolete? It has even been suggested that encouraging mail delivery is bad for the environment. All that junk mail , bills from creditors and the occasional personal letter use paper. Paper comes from trees. Deforestation is causing climate change. Go paperless and save the world! Go paperless and watch postal service grind to a halt. Its inevitable. We innovate and some service becomes obsolete.
The horseless carriage brought an end to blacksmith shops. The iron horse brought an end to the stage coach. The airplane brought an end to train service. The first two instances brought new jobs. The last one screwed the consumer. I guess two out three isn't bad.
Fast forward to the age of the computer and Internet and we see the groundwork being laid to make mail service obsolete. E-mail, on line banking, Facebook, Twitter and smart phones are changing the way we communicate and conduct our financial affairs. The United States Postal Service is left sucking hind tit. Of course the USPS has a response - raise postal rates, cut service and close facilities. That's what the railroads did when they raised the white flag to airliners. Now we have an abundance of freight trains, gas guzzlers on the road and guess what - a struggling airline industry. Soon we'll have FedEx, UPS and a struggling USPS delivering packages - no mail. The consumer is left hanging once again. Become computer and Internet savvy or become obsolete along with postal service.
One bright spot in all of this. I can save a buck by forgetting about the condition of my mailbox.
Come to think of it maybe I should refurbish it - I'm sure it will soon be an antique which can turn a buck on e-Bay.
The horseless carriage brought an end to blacksmith shops. The iron horse brought an end to the stage coach. The airplane brought an end to train service. The first two instances brought new jobs. The last one screwed the consumer. I guess two out three isn't bad.
Fast forward to the age of the computer and Internet and we see the groundwork being laid to make mail service obsolete. E-mail, on line banking, Facebook, Twitter and smart phones are changing the way we communicate and conduct our financial affairs. The United States Postal Service is left sucking hind tit. Of course the USPS has a response - raise postal rates, cut service and close facilities. That's what the railroads did when they raised the white flag to airliners. Now we have an abundance of freight trains, gas guzzlers on the road and guess what - a struggling airline industry. Soon we'll have FedEx, UPS and a struggling USPS delivering packages - no mail. The consumer is left hanging once again. Become computer and Internet savvy or become obsolete along with postal service.
One bright spot in all of this. I can save a buck by forgetting about the condition of my mailbox.
Come to think of it maybe I should refurbish it - I'm sure it will soon be an antique which can turn a buck on e-Bay.
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