Wednesday
Another typical midweek workday. I remembered an item that I forgot to mention last night:

Please (see, I’m starting out politely…), when you are preparing letters and bills and other mailings, please write legibly. You would not believe some of the penmanship handwriting chicken scratch scrawling that we have to try and decipher and interpret into something that resembles a viable address.

And, when you are writing said address: Make sure that you use the full (and correct) address. I know that sounds like a no-brainer, but you’d be amazed at how many things that we get with just a person’s name, the city, and the state. ONLY. *ARGHHHH* Yes, there are a fair number of small towns where a letter addressed like this might actually get delivered, but for the most part…. no go. And street suffixes (“street,” “avenue,” lane,” “drive,” etc.) are not just there for decoration. There are some cities where there is more than one thoroughfare with the same name; the only difference is the suffix. Sometimes, they aren’t even in the same part of the town; if the suffix is missing, that delays delivery… even if it comes to a facility like ours. Suite and apartment numbers? Same rules apply. If, for some reason, you aren’t sure of someone’s address (or street suffix or apartment number), ask them. I’m Ivory Soap® sure that they will tell you. If not, I’m pretty sure that they have family or friends who will confirm whether you have the correct information

This is a good place to mention return addresses. IF the address that you have for Person X or Firm Y is… ‘not as correct as it could be’ and we have to send your letter back to you, it helps if there is an address on the envelope to which it can be returned. Don’t feel like writing it out? Address labels. Simple, yet effective.

And, finally: Stamps – they aren’t just nice to look at, without them, we don’t deliver your letters. Again, this is pretty much a no-brainer. Yet again, you’d be surprised at how many people think that we won’t notice the lack of postage. (Hint: We do.) Lack of postage is another way to guarantee that the letter that you sent today will be the letter back in your mailbox tomorrow… waiting for proper postage.

All right, I feel better now. With email and e-billing and e-this-that-and-the-other, you may not use “Snail Mail” very often, if at all, but these items will make sure that your mail gets to its destination on time. And keep everyone happy.

Came home and watched the Sisko and the Janeway/Barbie Borg Shows. I also got to call our satellite provider to upgrade our service. Why? Because, after a year-and-a-half, apartment management has decided that the dish can’t be cantilevered out over the balcony. Hello….?!? They are the ones who said that it would be all right to do so in the first place.

::: braincramp :::

So, the dish must be moved. The inherent problem: The satellite from which the signal comes is sighted along the edge of the building. Hence, the reason that the dish protrudes from the balcony. There is another satellite that is available, but it’s not viable for the package that we have. *sigh* So… upgrade time. This will add new channels and bring newer equipment AND be able to access the other satellite.

NPR/PRI Stories
Talk of the Nation – Group Dynamics Under Pressure
All Things Considered – Reading Up on Islam
All Things Considered – Braving the Badwater Ultramarathon
All Things Considered – Hogs as Tuition (I did NOT make this up!)
The World – Saints (Did Juan Diego, the latest person to be canonized by the Pope, really exist…?)
The World – Airplane Seat Sensors

Quote of the Day: Dee and I were talking about a mutual acquaintance of ours. He surprised me with information about her personality…

Dee: “She’s not all sweet, she’s got a feisty side!”
Me: “Oh… she’s like Frosted Mini-Wheats.”

For Dee: “Blind Man’s Bluff”

Peace.