USMB Coffee Shop IV

[Gracie]

Just got back from yard salin'. I hit 4 of them...came home and hubby went to the rest. Boring.
But I did get a brand new lighthouse throw for the roomie, 3 metal hot air balloons for wall decorations that need repainting, 2 patio candle lanterns, a flute (for ebay) and a spare Bissell vac.

No gold or silver this time.

 

[Statistikhengst]

Ahhhh. Home sweet home. I just got back from a week in Georgia at Boy Scout Summer Camp followed by immediately turning around to go to Band Camp in Kentucky (I missed the first week so I had a lot of catching up to do, especially since this is my first year). I didn't have time to go on my laptop in between I believe.

Anyways, I finally asked the girl I've liked for a year and a half out, and let it be said that
A. I can't ask girls out since I don't really know how, so I just state I'd like to go out with them.
B. I still don't have a girlfriend, even though I wasn't exactly rejected.
C. Moms apparently hate it when their son's smart, likable friend suddenly asks their daughter out.

Back to band, our show this year is based on The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly- many of you have probably seen it. Tonight-after 2 weeks (1 for me) of practice- we showed the opening theme song and Ecstasy of Gold for our parents . I accidentally hit a Color Guard member's head during the performance. Earlier, I'd hit the Drum Major's tuba during a tricky set.

Dayum. Maybe you should switch to piccolo.

I could never get any sound to come out on a flute, let alone a piccolo.
I do play the second largest instrument in the Band- the baritone- so maybe that is why I keep hitting people.

Do you play Euphonium in concert season, then?

 

[Bloodrock44]

That it is, going camping? We're going to get rain today and tomorrow.

Good on you Sarah. I am going to be stuck in all sunshine and 68° which means indoors, a cool and enjoyable 90° so I have to find another way to grab a good mood, as I will be here some of the day...

I love 68 and sunny. 90? Not so much, later on in the week we'll get a little cooler. Stick around, we'll cheer you up.

Supposed to be near 100 here tomorrow. One truism about NC: don't like the weather...wait 10 minutes.

 

[Pogo]

Dayum. Maybe you should switch to piccolo.

I could never get any sound to come out on a flute, let alone a piccolo.
I do play the second largest instrument in the Band- the baritone- so maybe that is why I keep hitting people.

Do you play Euphonium in concert season, then?

See, that's why I could never be in a marching band. I wanted to play pipe organ.

 

[Foxfyre]

Good morning all. A pleasant 80 degrees in Albuquerque at this hour but we could have a 100 degree day this afternoon. Not that unusual for us at all this time of year. But the monsoonal moisture is supposed to return tomorrow and with it much cooler temps all next week--mid 80's to low 90's and maybe some more blessed rain.

So Hombre and I are still trying to psyche ourselves into doing some grocery shopping. Not sure we're going to make it though.

Hope everybody is having a great Saturday. More coffee. . .

 

[Gracie]

Currently 61 degrees here. Kinda cold. Foggy too. I hope the sun breaks out soon..if it does at all.
Fixin' to head to the kitchen for my breakfast!

 

[Pogo]

Good on you Sarah. I am going to be stuck in all sunshine and 68° which means indoors, a cool and enjoyable 90° so I have to find another way to grab a good mood, as I will be here some of the day...

I love 68 and sunny. 90? Not so much, later on in the week we'll get a little cooler. Stick around, we'll cheer you up.

Supposed to be near 100 here tomorrow. One truism about NC: don't like the weather...wait 10 minutes.

Damn, that means upper 80s in this the elevated part of Cackalackee. Could be near a record.

Lots and lots and lots of sun right now. Good for ripening the tomatoes and drying the firewood.

 

[Foxfyre]

Leaving politics out of it of course, I think there isn't any single one of us who haven't had gripes and grumbles about the way the government does things.

But today's history lesson is about one genuine success story related to government.

On this day, July 26, in 1775 the U.S. postal system was established by the 2nd Continental Congress of the United States. The first Postmaster General was Benjamin Franklin. And from a long a checkered history involving mail delivered by foot, by Pony Express, by stagecoach and rail and eventually truck and plane as the decades ticked past, the modern U.S. Postal Service, often much maligned, remains an amazing entity.

Some facts and figures re the U.S. Post Office:

67.3 billion — 2013 revenue, in dollars
158.4 billion — number of mail pieces processed
40 percent of the world’s mail volume is handled by the U.S. Postal Service
1.8 billion — dollar amount paid every two weeks in salaries and benefits
489,727** — number of career employees
137,037** — number of non-career employees
31,135 — number of Postal Service-managed retail offices
211,654 — number of vehicles — one of the largest civilian fleets in the world
1.2 billion — number of miles driven each year by mail carriers and truck drivers
38.8 million — number of address changes processed
41.2 — percent of retail revenue from alternative access channels
1.1 billion — total number of visits to usps.com
83.4 million — number of inquiries handled by the Postal Customer Care Center
873.3 million — dollar amount of online stamp and retail sales at usps.com
47.6 million — number of Click-N-Ship labels printed
510.2 million — total revenue, in dollars, from Click-N-Ship label purchases
107.5 million — number of packages picked up using Free Package Pickup
5.3 million — number of passport applications accepted
94.9 million — number of money orders issued
457.6 million — amount in revenue from 2,500 postal Self-Service Kiosks, in dollars
70,000 — number of stores, banks and Self-Service Kiosks that sell stamps
773,882 — number of new delivery points added to the network in 2013
152.9 million — total number of delivery points nationwide
73 — Patrick R. Donahoe, 73rd Postmaster General
0 — tax dollars received for operating the Postal Service

If the U.S. Postal Service was a private business, it would rank 29th on the Fortune 500 and has been named as the most trusted government agency for six consecutive years and the sixth most trusted business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute. It is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation--150 million residences, businesses and post office boxes.

In 2011 the USPS teamed up with UPS in a cooperative adventure to handle each other's deliveries and it has been a huge success and a big boost to on line commerce that has a great track record for getting ordered merchandise to its customers in record times. And Hombre and I no longer go to the post office for much of anything--we just order the stamps on line--quick, easy, and usually delivered to us in 24 to 48 hours.

 

[Pogo]

Leaving politics out of it of course, I think there isn't any single one of us who haven't had gripes and grumbles about the way the government does things.

But today's history lesson is about one genuine success story related to government.

On this day, July 26, in 1775 the U.S. postal system was established by the 2nd Continental Congress of the United States. The first Postmaster General was Benjamin Franklin. And from a long a checkered history involving mail delivered by foot, by Pony Express, by stagecoach and rail and eventually truck and plane as the decades ticked past, the modern U.S. Postal Service, often much maligned, remains an amazing entity.

Some facts and figures re the U.S. Post Office:

67.3 billion — 2013 revenue, in dollars
158.4 billion — number of mail pieces processed
40 percent of the world’s mail volume is handled by the U.S. Postal Service
1.8 billion — dollar amount paid every two weeks in salaries and benefits
489,727** — number of career employees
137,037** — number of non-career employees
31,135 — number of Postal Service-managed retail offices
211,654 — number of vehicles — one of the largest civilian fleets in the world
1.2 billion — number of miles driven each year by mail carriers and truck drivers
38.8 million — number of address changes processed
41.2 — percent of retail revenue from alternative access channels
1.1 billion — total number of visits to usps.com
83.4 million — number of inquiries handled by the Postal Customer Care Center
873.3 million — dollar amount of online stamp and retail sales at usps.com
47.6 million — number of Click-N-Ship labels printed
510.2 million — total revenue, in dollars, from Click-N-Ship label purchases
107.5 million — number of packages picked up using Free Package Pickup
5.3 million — number of passport applications accepted
94.9 million — number of money orders issued
457.6 million — amount in revenue from 2,500 postal Self-Service Kiosks, in dollars
70,000 — number of stores, banks and Self-Service Kiosks that sell stamps
773,882 — number of new delivery points added to the network in 2013
152.9 million — total number of delivery points nationwide
73 — Patrick R. Donahoe, 73rd Postmaster General
0 — tax dollars received for operating the Postal Service

If the U.S. Postal Service was a private business, it would rank 29th on the Fortune 500 and has been named as the most trusted government agency for six consecutive years and the sixth most trusted business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute. It is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation--150 million residences, businesses and post office boxes.

In 2011 the USPS teamed up with UPS in a cooperative adventure to handle each other's deliveries and it has been a huge success and a big boost to on line commerce that has a great track record for getting ordered merchandise to its customers in record times. And Hombre and I no longer go to the post office for much of anything--we just order the stamps on line--quick, easy, and usually delivered to us in 24 to 48 hours.

As anyone who's ever mailed something from a foreign country knows, the USPS is the envy of the world, both in terms of cost-effectiveness and efficiency. Being our own system we take it for granted but it's one thing we do in which we truly are number one and of which we can be proud.

 

[BluesMistress]

Wishing You All Great Weekend ~~

[URL=http://s1373.photobucket.com/user/djangoLove/media/More%20Stuff/e1ca4390-7bb9-4ecd-a9c3-d3463507e461_zps459939cb.jpg.html][/URL]

 

[saveliberty]

Two words Foxfyre: Junk mail.

Anyone in favor of a don't mail list?

 

[Pogo]

Two words Foxfyre: Junk mail.

Anyone in favor of a don't mail list?

The fact that all that junque mail is delivered only affirms the point.

A do-not-mail list would presumably have the same effect as the do-not-call list: increasing the harassment exponentially.

 

[Foxfyre]

Two words Foxfyre: Junk mail.

Anyone in favor of a don't mail list?

I don't mind the junk mail. If the government doesn't mind it what the heck? Some of it is fun. But 99% of it goes right into the recycle bin for another component of government to pick up and recycle. I figure that junk mail is providing good jobs for a lot of people and the unnoticeable cost to me and the minimal inconvenience puts it in the 'whatever' category of my life.

 

[Againsheila]

Birds are fine, I usually sleep right through their singing. However 4am is a little early. If they are really that close to the window, here's one way to eliminate your problem ...

Air catditioner?

There were two different times when a boyfriend had to build either a perch or a walkway for my cats. One time I had moved to a converted garage on someone's property. It was a nice conversion, and the house and garage were surrounded by a big fenced yard and garden. But, the people in the main house had a big dog. My cat got to roam free, but I felt she would want to be able to get out of reach of the dog if necessary. So my friend build a perch for the cat to climb up on just outside my back door. It was a ladder leading to a platform, built on the deck outside my kitchen window.

Another time, years later and a different cat and boyfriend, I had moved to the upstairs flat in a house, and the stairway was an indoor stair way. To make it easy for the cat to go in and out, my then boyfriend build a walkway from the upstairs window down to the roof of the carport and then a step ladder down to the lawn, also a fenced yard. Both of these worked quite well for the cats.

That's what this photo reminded me of--adapting your house to suit the cat's needs.

Our first house was a split level with a garage jutting out in front of it. Our cat was really mean. He would go get the attention of the neighbors dog until it started chasing him, then he would jump up on the roof of our garage and tease the dog until the dog got tired and went home. Then the whole thing would start all over again.

I don't really believe in inside cats. My cats have always been inside/outside cats. My last cat was with us for 20 years. I still miss her. I want a kitty!

 

[Sarah G]

Good on you Sarah. I am going to be stuck in all sunshine and 68° which means indoors, a cool and enjoyable 90° so I have to find another way to grab a good mood, as I will be here some of the day...

I love 68 and sunny. 90? Not so much, later on in the week we'll get a little cooler. Stick around, we'll cheer you up.

Supposed to be near 100 here tomorrow. One truism about NC: don't like the weather...wait 10 minutes.

NC was where I learned to hate hot weather. I was miserable down there. It's even worse there in the summer than here and we get some high humidity here.

 

[Againsheila]

Two words: It's Saturday!

Dayum, now I'm craving biscuits and gravy. My husband tried to make them for me a couple of weeks ago, but he's the worst cook in the world. I never thought I'd be craving my own cooking so much. I sure hope I can walk soon.

 

[Againsheila]

Apologies are an interesting topic Noomi. There are several types.

1. The courtesy apology. The automatic one we give out of politeness usually because we did some unintentional small thing.

2. The conflict avoidance apology. Given to smooth things over, even though you meant what you said and really haven't changed your opinon.

3. The heart-felt apology. This is the one for biggie's and has the best chance of being accepted. Often accompanied by a change in behavior.

I am all too familiar with apologies. Why do I have to be wrong so much of the time?

 

[Againsheila]

A good Saturday morning to all!

Today's National Day of the Cowboy...

Should I wear my sequined cowboy hat today? Which color? I have rose, red, and teal. I have some other colors but my friend borrowed them.

 

[Againsheila]

If you accidently hit people with the baritone, what would happen if you played the tuba ... ?

I know, right?

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STB7PsAHqj4]Seven Tuba Pileup during halftime show - YouTube[/ame]

When I was in the marching band in high school, our stupid instructor wanted us to "shuffle" of the field at the end of our performance. Do you have any idea how hard it is to "shuffle" off of AstroTurf? The saxophone player went down and everyone behind him went down right on top of him. It was a disaster. I barely avoided going over myself, but I did avoid it. "HA!" Our high school didn't have a marching band again for years.

 

[Againsheila]

I just found out that the 2nd friend of my son's who passed away was from a heroin overdose. what are these kids thinking? are they even thinking

Not if they're on heroin they're not. My condolences to you and your son, and the poor kid's family.