USPS Archives - Ramblin' with Roger

Recent package from the USPS

Informed Delivery®

My most recent package from the USPS took a most circuitous route. It was sent on July 30, 2022, at 9:51 am from a location on the Vermont/New Hampshire border. It left that day at 3:59 pm.

July 31, 2022, 11:30 pm
Arrived at USPS Regional Origin Facility
JERSEY CITY NJ NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER
OK, that’s weird, but it’s close to NYC…

August 2, 2022, 12:20 am
Arrived at USPS Regional Facility
WASHINGTON DC NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER
Wait, what? No, this is heading south, AWAY from me.

August 2, 2022, 2:14 pm
Arrived at USPS Regional Facility
GREENSBORO NC NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER
It’s supposed to come to Green, not go to Greensboro!

August 2, 2022, 8:29 pm
Departed USPS Regional Facility
GREENSBORO NC NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER

August 4, 2022, 12:41 pm
Arrived at USPS Regional Facility
SPRINGFIELD MA NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER
This is where it SHOULD have gone initially, less than two hours south on I-91 from the origin.

August 4, 2022, 8:16 pm
Departed USPS Regional Facility
SPRINGFIELD MA NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER

August 4, 2022, 11:22 pm
Arrived at USPS Regional Facility
ALBANY NY DISTRIBUTION CENTER

August 5, 2022, 5:46 pm
Departed USPS Regional Destination Facility
ALBANY NY DISTRIBUTION CENTER

August 6, 2022, 5:57 pm
Delivered, In/At Mailbox
ALBANY, NY

The original arrival date was August 2, which would have been easily met if the package had gone to SPRINGFIELD, MA, in the first place.

No joy

I’ve complained about the tenure of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. His orders slowed mail service in the run-up to the 2020 election and into the holiday season.

DeJoy recently announced at a conservative think tank event that he wants to eliminate 50,000 jobs. He’s still under investigation for campaign finance violations and conflicts of interest. And resists the transition to electric vehicles.

Anecdotally, I know that many are still suffering delays in deliveries. One person in my county noted it took two weeks to get an absentee ballot. In Albany, post offices have closed, making some of the others more crowded.

My daily mail is surprisingly reliable, this package debacle notwithstanding. I check daily on the Informed Delivery® by USPS®.
“Digitally preview your mail and manage your packages scheduled to arrive soon! Informed Delivery allows you to view greyscale images of the exterior, address side of letter-sized mailpieces and track packages in one convenient location.”*
* Images are only provided for letter-sized mailpieces that are processed through USPS’ automated equipment

What is your postal experience?

May rambling: Put on your mask

Zero-sum politics don’t work in a pandemic

If you haven’t, PLEASE fill out your Census form.

Ida B. Wells receives Pulitzer Prize citation. Her long-overdue recognition was for her groundbreaking coverage on lynching in the 1890s.

Charges Filed After Armed All-White Mob Led By Off-Duty Deputy ‘Terrorized’ Black Family in North Carolina.

Adam Zyglis: Put on your mask.

Take Me Out of the Ballgame: the Decline in Participation and Identification of African-Americans in Baseball by Holly Prior.

Asking for a friend. DICKS: Do you need to be one to be a successful leader?

Last Week in Corruption and What’s Up With the Stock Market?

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: United States Post Service.

The country is witnessing his steady, uninterrupted intellectual and psychological decomposition and Zero-sum politics don’t work in a pandemic.

The Worlds of Kickstarter Comics, featuring 12 Kickstarter-funded tales.

How to Draw Disney characters by Eric Goldberg.

Do Marvel Masterworks Contain Comic Stories Redrawn By Modern Artists?

The Oatmeal: Finishing a project and Positive vibes.

Cracking the mystery of Don Mattingly’s birthday.

The New York Public Library is excited to announce the release of the new album, Missing Sounds of New York.

A Magazine Is an iPad That Does Not Work.

Obits

Longtime comic book and TV writer Marty Pasko has died at the age of 65 and the coroner is saying “natural causes.”

Disco Percussion Pioneer Hamilton Bohannon Dead at 78, an influence on Talking Heads.

Dolphins Hall of Fame coach Don Shula dies at 90. 17-0 in 1972 (cf 18-1).

Betty Wright, US soul, funk and R&B singer, dies aged 66. She was the Cleanup Woman.

Now I Know

What’s the only US state with a four-syllable name that doesn’t border another US state with a four-syllable name? (Answer below)

Nebraska’s Fearless Maid and Shear Determination and The Belgian Grandmothers That Helped Win the War and The Illegal Onions That Go Great With Spaghetti and It’s Genuine, but is it Genuinely Good? and The Sandwich You Don’t Want to Eat.

Video: Why Does Pisa’s Tower Lean? (And How to Fix It)

MUSIC

Beautiful Song of the Week, going strong for 10 years!

Pandemic Saturday.

Longest Time – Quarantine Edition – Phoenix Chamber Choir.

What A Wonderful World – GECA & Aubrey Logan

You Can’t Do That – MonaLisa Twins

Stranded In The Jungle – starring Big Daddy.

Any Wednesday – the Royal Guardsmen.

In the South overture, subtitled “Alassio – Edward Elgar.

Sesame St parody of Glee.

Paradise Garage – Tim Curry.

Coverville: 1307: The 50th Anniversary of Let It Be and 1308: They Might Be Giants Cover Story II

K-Chuck Radio: The many hits of one-hit wonder Robin Ward.

Black folk musicians created the soundtrack for a movement—and helped Bob Dylan find his sound .

Answer: Indiana

AS as in American Samoa (USPS)

Most American Samoans are bilingual

American Samoa.Pago Pago The United States Postal service, the oft-maligned entity, is in fact quite systematic. One of its great innovations was the two-letter state codes back in 1963. This allowed for easier mail delivery.

At some point, the Canadian postal service also created a two-letter system for its provinces and territories, using something called the ISO 3166-2:CA. Exciting!

For some reason involving the international scope of the ABCW folks, I’m going to go through the list alphabetically each week. For those weeks that have NO state/province/territories with that letter, I’ll figure out something else.

AA Armed Forces Americas (except Canada)
AB Alberta, Canadian province. The use of the first letter in the second syllable avoids the clash with Alabama. The traditional English abbreviation was Alta., the traditional French Alb. Capital: Edmonton; largest city: Calgary.
AE Armed Forces Europe, the Middle East, and Canada

AK Alaska – first letter, 1st letter of the third syllable. Apparently, the tradition abbreviation was Alas. Capital: Juneau; largest city: Anchorage.
AL Alabama – in general, in case of a tie, the states that are oldest get those first two letters. When I was a kid, I mostly saw it as Ala. Capital: Montgomery; largest city: Birmingham.
AP Armed Forces Pacific
AR Arkansas – its traditional abbreviation was Ark. Capital and largest city: Little Rock

AS American Samoa – “Samoa was not reached by European explorers until the 18th century. International rivalries in the latter half of the 19th century were settled by an 1899 treaty in which Germany and the US divided the Samoan archipelago. The US formally occupied its portion – a smaller group of eastern islands with the excellent harbor of Pago Pago [the capital and largest city]- the following year.”

“As of April 2019, the population of American Samoa is approximately 55,689 people. Most of them are ‘nationals but not citizens of the United States at birth’. Most American Samoans are bilingual and can speak English and Samoan fluently. The total land area is 199 square kilometers (76.8 sq mi), slightly more than Washington, D.C.”

AZ Arizona – often previously listed as Ariz. Capital and largest city: Phoenix

“Jointly developed by the Postal Service and mailing industry, standardized address information enhances the processing and delivery of mail, reduces undeliverable–as–addressed mail, and provides mutual cost reduction opportunities through improved efficiency.”

For ABC Wednesday