Miscellaneous news items that don't warrant their own thread

[∞∞∞]

One step removed from a postage meter.

Well, let's be honest. If we went really old school and were playing $10,000 Pyramid or something, things like a "stamp" or a "postage meter" would be in the category of "things you could find in the workplace", hence why most millennials would flub that category.

And seriously, who's buying stamps in a post office other than old people? We do have something called "the internet" now. It's very useful.

On a serious note, I can see how this would be a hassle. If you're a college kid without a car to get to a post-office, you need to find a printer. When you print, you need to cut and glue/tape the stamp. I find it annoying as an adult, so I can imagine how maze-like the process would feel for someone growing up used to information-transfer at instant speeds. I don't even know when the last time I used a stamp is, so think of an 18-year old who may have never used a stamp in their life.

I actually think the article speaks more to the need for revamping the voting system than anything else. It should be easily accessible for everyone across America.

[CAA Flagship]

Well, let's be honest. If we went really old school and were playing $10,000 Pyramid or something, things like a "stamp" or a "postage meter" would be in the category of "things you could find in the workplace", hence why most millennials would flub that category.

And seriously, who's buying stamps in a post office other than old people? We do have something called "the internet" now. It's very useful.

On a serious note, I can see how this would be a hassle. If you're a college kid without a car to get to a post-office, you need to find a printer. When you print, you need to cut and glue/tape the stamp. I find it annoying as an adult, so I can imagine how maze-like the process would feel for someone growing up used to information-transfer at instant speeds. I don't even know when the last time I used a stamp is, so think of an 18-year old who may have never used a stamp in their life.

I actually think the article speaks more to the need for revamping the voting system than anything else. It should be easily accessible for everyone across America.

....and Russia.

[kalm]

What the hell is a "stamp?"

Well ya see, Jimmy, a stamp was an archaic but amazingly affordable and efficient method of certification for sending papers and personal affects an entire continent away in a reasonable amount of time for pennies on the dollar. In fact, one of our more brilliant founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin helped found the service and was the 1st Post Master General as the revolutionaries recognized the importance of setting up a system to exchange information in their efforts to beat the British and free themselves from tyranny.

Old time conks will make fun of you for not knowing what and how useful a stamp is while at the same time calling derisively for the privatization of the service by hyper-inflating the cost of the pension fund for those who have worked for the service - most of whom are veterans (so it's also a form of veterans welfare).

They will then ask you to fix their computer for them as their understanding of new-fangled tech is rudimentary at best.

[∞∞∞]

What the hell is a "stamp?"

Well ya see, Jimmy, a stamp was an archaic but amazingly affordable and efficient method of certification for sending papers and personal affects an entire continent away in a reasonable amount of time for pennies on the dollar. In fact, one of our more brilliant founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin helped found the service and was the 1st Post Master General as the revolutionaries recognized the importance of setting up a system to exchange information in their efforts to beat the British and free themselves from tyranny.

Old time conks will make fun of you for not knowing what and how useful a stamp is while at the same time calling derisively for the privatization of the service by hyper-inflating the cost of the pension fund for those who have worked for the service - most of whom are veterans (so it's also a form of veterans welfare).

They will then ask you to fix their computer for them as their understanding of new-fangled tech is rudimentary at best.

[CAA Flagship]

Enjoy the last years of "stamps" old farts! Are you really denegrating an entire generation that is about a decade away from controlling this country for the next 30 or 40 years after that just because they don't "go to the post office"? I fvckin hate going to the post office.....always a cluster fvck of old people. It takes 30 minutes just to get a parking space.

I use stamps still. I have bought them from the vending machine in the PO lobby during off hours, but mostly (maybe twice a year) during the transaction when I'm sending a package somewhere. Not sure what the big deal is.

[Gil Dobie]

Well, let's be honest. If we went really old school and were playing $10,000 Pyramid or something, things like a "stamp" or a "postage meter" would be in the category of "things you could find in the workplace", hence why most millennials would flub that category.

And seriously, who's buying stamps in a post office other than old people? We do have something called "the internet" now. It's very useful.

On a serious note, I can see how this would be a hassle. If you're a college kid without a car to get to a post-office, you need to find a printer. When you print, you need to cut and glue/tape the stamp. I find it annoying as an adult, so I can imagine how maze-like the process would feel for someone growing up used to information-transfer at instant speeds. I don't even know when the last time I used a stamp is, so think of an 18-year old who may have never used a stamp in their life.

I actually think the article speaks more to the need for revamping the voting system than anything else. It should be easily accessible for everyone across America.

My hobby is buying and selling merchandise and shipping thru the USPS. They do have sticky labels you can print your postage on. Most modern post office's have a shipping station, that weighs items and prints sticky labels if you don't do that at home. It's not all old people at the post office(s) I go to in the suburbs, and there is lots of parking at both. Basically lots of parking at any post office I go to in the metro area, inner city and suburbs. I go several times a week to drop off items to ship. It's nice to be able to circumvent the lines and just go to the drop-off. It's not that difficult.

[kalm]

Enjoy the last years of "stamps" old farts! Are you really denegrating an entire generation that is about a decade away from controlling this country for the next 30 or 40 years after that just because they don't "go to the post office"? I fvckin hate going to the post office.....always a cluster fvck of old people. It takes 30 minutes just to get a parking space.

I use stamps still. I have bought them from the vending machine in the PO lobby during off hours, but mostly (maybe twice a year) during the transaction when I'm sending a package somewhere. Not sure what the big deal is.

I still buy them too for work. I've thought about stamps.com but I enjoy taking the short trip down the country road to the tiny little town with the tiny little post office to drop off mail or buy a roll. It's one of those center of the community places where locals like to BS. I'm sure it will close soon as these types of things are dying just like the small towns they supported.

[∞∞∞]

On a serious note, I can see how this would be a hassle. If you're a college kid without a car to get to a post-office, you need to find a printer. When you print, you need to cut and glue/tape the stamp. I find it annoying as an adult, so I can imagine how maze-like the process would feel for someone growing up used to information-transfer at instant speeds. I don't even know when the last time I used a stamp is, so think of an 18-year old who may have never used a stamp in their life.

I actually think the article speaks more to the need for revamping the voting system than anything else. It should be easily accessible for everyone across America.

My hobby is buying and selling merchandise and shipping thru the USPS. They do have sticky labels you can print your postage on. Most modern post office's have a shipping station, that weighs items and prints sticky labels if you don't do that at home. It's not all old people at the post office(s) I go to in the suburbs, and there is lots of parking at both. Basically lots of parking at any post office I go to in the metro area, inner city and suburbs. I go several times a week to drop off items to ship. It's nice to be able to circumvent the lines and just go to the drop-off. It's not that difficult.

Or alternatively, as soon as someone becomes eligible to vote, they're automatically registered in a national database and sent a free voter ID card. On election week, people go to their polling station, get the ID scanned, and vote. If you're in college, travelling, living overseas, or have other circumstances, there's a secure online-method to change your polling station...or even vote online.

[Col Hogan]

Enjoy the last years of "stamps" old farts! Are you really denegrating an entire generation that is about a decade away from controlling this country for the next 30 or 40 years after that just because they don't "go to the post office"? I fvckin hate going to the post office.....always a cluster fvck of old people. It takes 30 minutes just to get a parking space.

I use stamps still. I have bought them from the vending machine in the PO lobby during off hours, but mostly (maybe twice a year) during the transaction when I'm sending a package somewhere. Not sure what the big deal is.

You can also buy them at most super market check outs...same price as at the post office...

[Gil Dobie]

My hobby is buying and selling merchandise and shipping thru the USPS. They do have sticky labels you can print your postage on. Most modern post office's have a shipping station, that weighs items and prints sticky labels if you don't do that at home. It's not all old people at the post office(s) I go to in the suburbs, and there is lots of parking at both. Basically lots of parking at any post office I go to in the metro area, inner city and suburbs. I go several times a week to drop off items to ship. It's nice to be able to circumvent the lines and just go to the drop-off. It's not that difficult.

Or alternatively, as soon as someone becomes eligible to vote, they're automatically registered in a national database and sent a free voter ID card. On election week, people go to their polling station, get the ID scanned, and vote. If you're in college, travelling, living overseas, or have other circumstances, there's a secure online-method to change your polling station...or even vote online.

The postal service also picks up your outgoing mail daily. Anything from the USPS can be ordered online. I've been in the technology business a long time, studied cyber security, and I don't think we are ready for online voting.

[∞∞∞]

Related, but looking into this I came across the following fake news article from 1978. This is - by far - my favorite part (in discussing the PO's attempt to create a stamp that people can't re-use):

"They say it is too difficult to find a jury that will convict someone of recycling a postage stamp. So the people upstairs told us we had to come up with a stamp that couldn't be used twice. It wasn't an easy assignment. The first thing we developed was a glue with an explosive base. When a person tried to pry off an uncanceled stamp from a letter, the stamp would blow his hand off. We thought we had the solution but the Occupational Safety and Health Administration raised objections so we had to go back to the drawing board."

"That was tough luck," I said, "because it would have done away with the crime."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/ ... cc58be3ee5

OSHA - as lame in 1978 as they are now.

[GannonFan]

Or alternatively, as soon as someone becomes eligible to vote, they're automatically registered in a national database and sent a free voter ID card. On election week, people go to their polling station, get the ID scanned, and vote. If you're in college, travelling, living overseas, or have other circumstances, there's a secure online-method to change your polling station...or even vote online.

The postal service also picks up your outgoing mail daily. Anything from the USPS can be ordered online. I've been in the technology business a long time, studied cyber security, and I don't think we are ready for online voting.

Considering the hub-bub over just a few Russian bots planting fake stories in social media in the 2016 election, I think it's pretty safe to say that actual on-line voting is years away, if ever. People are even calling into doubt voting machines that aren't tied to anything close to an internet. We're probably going back to paper ballots before we go to online voting. Because, well, Russians.

With that said, I like the idea trip has about the automatic registration and the automatic free voter ID card. And I like the election "week" as opposed to just one day. We should be able to do those things, assuming politicians actually want to move forward.

[Winterborn]

I use stamps still. I have bought them from the vending machine in the PO lobby during off hours, but mostly (maybe twice a year) during the transaction when I'm sending a package somewhere. Not sure what the big deal is.

You can also buy them at most super market check outs...same price as at the post office...

And can mail letters/packages from the same supermarket. Zero excuse not to vote, but then if they can't figure out how to read directions and Google something, I don't want them to vote anyway.

[93henfan]

I had to mail (only option allowed) a request for doc fee credit to DMV for a recent car sale and purchase.

There was no stamp involved, though I did have to go to the post office. I paid 50 cents and they postmarked it.

How a millennial can’t navigate that is pretty humorous to me. Trip defending it is hilarious. He has to be trolling just a little.

[∞∞∞]

I had to mail (only option allowed) a request for doc fee credit to DMV for a recent car sale and purchase.

There was no stamp involved, though I did have to go to the post office. I paid 50 cents and they postmarked it.

How a millennial can’t navigate that is pretty humorous to me. Trip defending it is hilarious. He has to be trolling just a little.

I just want less government involvement in people's lives.

[93henfan]

I had to mail (only option allowed) a request for doc fee credit to DMV for a recent car sale and purchase.

There was no stamp involved, though I did have to go to the post office. I paid 50 cents and they postmarked it.

How a millennial can’t navigate that is pretty humorous to me. Trip defending it is hilarious. He has to be trolling just a little.

I just want less government involvement in people's lives.

Your pre-edit post was more quotable for people who are into putting such things in their signatures. I only do that with angry negro women.

But for anyone who likes to quote Lebanese-American millennials, it was, “I just want less government.”

[89Hen]

I just want less government involvement in people's lives.

That doesn't jibe with your previous posts.

[kalm]

I had to mail (only option allowed) a request for doc fee credit to DMV for a recent car sale and purchase.

There was no stamp involved, though I did have to go to the post office. I paid 50 cents and they postmarked it.

How a millennial can’t navigate that is pretty humorous to me. Trip defending it is hilarious. He has to be trolling just a little.

They don’t like driving. I have nieces and nephews in their mid to late 20’s who don’t own a car and/or don’t like driving. WITAF? That was a huge rite of passage and instant liberty when I got my first license.

That said, not all electronic methods are the cats meow either. I had a choice yesterday to either mail my summer Dunngeness catch record card to the WDFW offices or do it “on the line”.

I chose the latter for time and simplicity’s sake and spent the next 20 minutes navigating the states stupid website...that was probably built and is maintained by a millennial.

[CID1990]

Enjoy the last years of "stamps" old farts! Are you really denegrating an entire generation that is about a decade away from controlling this country for the next 30 or 40 years after that just because they don't "go to the post office"? I fvckin hate going to the post office.....always a cluster fvck of old people. It takes 30 minutes just to get a parking space.

*denigrating - it means disparaging

Denegrating means removing black people. Why are you using angry white man dog whistles?

[93henfan]

I had to mail (only option allowed) a request for doc fee credit to DMV for a recent car sale and purchase.

There was no stamp involved, though I did have to go to the post office. I paid 50 cents and they postmarked it.

How a millennial can’t navigate that is pretty humorous to me. Trip defending it is hilarious. He has to be trolling just a little.

They don’t like driving. I have nieces and nephews in their mid to late 20’s who don’t own a car and/or don’t like driving. WITAF? That was a huge rite of passage and instant liberty when I got my first license.

That said, not all electronic methods are the cats meow either. I had a choice yesterday to either mail my summer Dunngeness catch record card to the WDFW offices or do it “on the line”.

I chose the latter for time and simplicity’s sake and spent the next 20 minutes navigating the states stupid website...that was probably built and is maintained by a millennial.

My oldest son has already told me he doesn’t care about getting a license. Weirdo, though his hand-eye motorskill challenges probably feed into it somewhat.

Luckily my youngest demands to drive everything with wheels that I’ll allow him to. He’s already tired of winning go-kart races at the local dirt track. He’s 10. His brother is 13. I’m willing to bet he encourages his brother to get his license just so he can get rides.

[∞∞∞]

This backs up what stats show about Gen Z. My neighbor's daughter thinks the same.

They've grown with instant communication and have generally built parallel lives around virtual communities, so there's no particular necessity for real-life interactions unless it's an outing or something. And when travel is necessary, ride-sharing is easily available.

[GannonFan]

This backs up what stats show about Gen Z. My neighbor's daughter thinks the same.

They've grown with instant communication and have generally built parallel lives around virtual communities, so there's no particular necessity for real-life interactions unless it's an outing or something. And when travel is necessary, ride-sharing is easily available.

And they don't have jobs.

[93henfan]

This backs up what stats show about Gen Z. My neighbor's daughter thinks the same.

They've grown with instant communication and have generally built parallel lives around virtual communities, so there's no particular necessity for real-life interactions unless it's an outing or something. And when travel is necessary, ride-sharing is easily available.

And they don't have jobs.

[∞∞∞]

This backs up what stats show about Gen Z. My neighbor's daughter thinks the same.

They've grown with instant communication and have generally built parallel lives around virtual communities, so there's no particular necessity for real-life interactions unless it's an outing or something. And when travel is necessary, ride-sharing is easily available.

And they don't have jobs.

I mean the first few are just entering the workforce (career-wise), but the rapid rise of remote-staffing will likely mean travelling for work won't be a big necessity either.

[dbackjon]

Do we really want people like that voting?

We let enough people dumb enough to vote for Trump, so there's that