to enter the enterprise market. They did, in the best tradition of insurgents, an end run. They knew if they captured the upscale home market, those customers would want to use their Macs at work. "How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying."

When he is on vacation his route might be split up among other carriers. If there are delivery problems there could be either a carrier problem, management problem, or you might be the paranoid libertarian type that doesn't like their name on the mailbox. Three hour breaks would be discovered because his barcode reader would show the time gap. BTW, the union doesn't stand behind the incompetent. I've seen them tell a goldbrick to shape up, or they will pull their support. That would mean they would not defend him over and above making sure the firing is legal. (that protects the union and the PO) the union does police it's own. We don't like problems to get to the point where management has to act.

We become the eyes and ears of the community. I remember when the bush admin wanted to use mail carriers as homeland security snitches. We told them to fuck off. The job is dangerous enough without being pegged as a government agent. My route was so physically difficult three straight carriers, including myself, became 100% disabled. I don't know how my replacement has fared. My route was in "crack alley." Nobody wanted the route, so I took it. Until I got injured I enjoyed my route. The punks didn't mess with me. I knew their mothers. In the winter I found a lot of money on the route. The dealers dropped money because of cold hands and heavy clothing. The main supplier was the son of the richest man in town, so he had immunity. His street dealers got busted, but he never did. The cops knew who he was, but their hands were tied. They weren't happy about that.

Actually, the Post Office has been automated for a long time. The letter sorting machines really cut costs and mistakes. I think they got them in the late 90's. They could sort something like 30,000 letters an hour. You must be in some back woods location if the time clock is the only machinery they have. In the 90's even the smallest PO had computers. Some of their mail was sorted by machine in a nearby town. "Junk mail" is how small businesses reaches customers that are not connected to the internet for reasons of money or location. The USPS has experimented with fuel efficiency (hybrids, electric). MPG is affected by the weight of the mail, and the stop and go driving from box to box. On my route I drove two miles, walked ten miles. My last vehicle was a S10 with an aluminum screwed and glued body by Cushman. The newer vehicles are lighter and more efficient. The data collection code and equipment will probably be provided by the businesses and agencies. I don't think the PO would be doing the coding. BTW, the Post Office has no control of pricing or markets they can enter. They are also required to have universal delivery. When I was a rural route carrier, there was one delivery 2 miles down a one lane road. So I had to do a 4 mile trip whether I had mail for him or not. There was an outside chance there was some outgoing mail, and I'd get my butt reamed if I missed it. There are the intangibles of the public servant/mailcarrier. Many lives have been saved, crimes solved and prevented, and child and animal abuse reported by mail carriers. Sometimes the only human contact the elderly have is their mailman. I used to check to see if one of my elderly customers remembered to take her medicine. We provide a sense of normalcy, and a human touch. There are a lot of lonely people out there, and a "hello, how are you" from the mailman might be enough to give temporary relief from the crushing loneliness many experience in this impersonal society.

When I was in the process of retiring one supervisor talked about the PO adding GPS to trucks to gather information on carriers. He said they would be able to track every action from whether the emergency brake is on, doors locked, speed, time between stopping and starting on walking loops. It seemed like just too much micro management of the carriers. Carriers work really hard, and didn't need the aggravation of being watched constantly.

Stand up to the corporate whores. DU, stand strong against these capitalist assholes.

Now you know where the phrase "blowing smoke up your ass" comes from.

I haven't seen one for a long time, they must not be made anymore.

Practicing drunk typing. It's family or friends reading it so they all recognize that uncle Alfredo is drunk again, and pay me no mind

English and Kentucky

It is now used by the local Democratic party. I put Inkscape, GIMP, NeoOffice, and Scribus on it so they can use it for creating handouts and such.

Kryptos is gibberish. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kryptos

The Miami Police don't like having their pictures taking because it can be used as evidence against them. To them photojournalist are a threat to their authority so they are treated as enemies.

Standardized batteries keyed to the class of vehicle could save money and address the depreciation problem. Refueling would be unclipping the discharged and then clipping the charged battery into the car. Service stations would stock, recharge, and maintain the batteries, returning the batteries to the maker when they lose their ability to hold a charge. Such technology could be used in auto racing. Pit stops would have the normal tire changes along with a quick battery module change.

I saw electric powered garbage trucks in Asmara Ethiopia (now Eritrea) back in the sixties.