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Post by allanorn on Nov 13, 2017 0:04:41 GMT
Someone sent me info on about 40 airports in the USA so I’ve been busy adding those. Still need to catch up on the rest of the world and write a few posts.
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Post by allanorn on Jul 20, 2017 23:21:50 GMT
Managed to get Asia and what I had planned for Africa done. On to Central/S. America, then the rest of the world.
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Post by allanorn on Jul 16, 2017 22:24:08 GMT
Finally have Europe covered as of today. Looking at Asia next (no later than end of July hopefully) and will fill in the rest as I have time.
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Post by allanorn on Jun 28, 2017 15:48:55 GMT
My local post office was sold out today. I was a sad panda. Aww. You could resort to ordering online... I second ordering online, especially if your post office doesn't carry a lot of the most recent stamps. It's not the fastest method, but it's inexpensive and saves trips to the post office.
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Post by allanorn on Jun 26, 2017 21:21:01 GMT
Thanks! I had talked to them about going to LA for their celebration, and told them about the project at the same time. There was a similar site years ago that went by the wayside and all the data was lost; they were nice enough to feature the site.
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Post by allanorn on Jun 25, 2017 17:20:14 GMT
Can confirm. My local post office still had them; I have two sheets in my possession and I played around with them for a few minutes.
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Post by allanorn on Jun 24, 2017 2:12:07 GMT
I guess my tour of Route 66 by rail will have to include a laptop then if I plan to be at all useful. I could wish that the train had no wifi as I have no willpower and know I will use it if it's available. Drat modern convenience. Amtrak has hideously bad wifi, and it will be very dependent on where you are on the train. Berths will probably be a little better.
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Post by allanorn on Jun 22, 2017 15:59:22 GMT
Do you think you could type on a computer on the train ride? I've often wondered if a train would be any good for writing letters and you're the first person who appears to have tried that I have found. I can't write in a car going down the highway but haven't tried to type on a keyboard yet. Mostly because I don't travel a lot by car unless on vacation and I detest taking a laptop with me on my vacations. When I do take one I lock it in the trunk to only be used in emergencies. Yep, computer is ok. The Amtrak train has wifi(via cellular network) and power, so getting work done on the train is something that usually happens. I have no problem typing on the laptop while on the train. Computer is fine on a train and a plane. I tried handwriting on a train and it was a challenge; it's not something I would recommend with a fountain pen but I know our admin has done it.
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Post by allanorn on Jun 20, 2017 18:16:23 GMT
I went looking for a post box when I was traveling by train recently and had time at an interchange to mail a letter I had written on the three hour plus first leg... I have been tempted lately to take the train to Chicago rather than drive just so I can write letters. The issue is that it's just not convenient. I'm spoiled by being able to drive there myself and park where I want to. But to use that three hours for something other than shaking my fist at other drivers would be a plus! I'm in the same situation this week. I am going to an event in Glendale (central Los Angeles) - which is a couple of hours by car or three hours by train (plus losing the freedom to leave whenever).
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Post by allanorn on Jun 19, 2017 3:58:19 GMT
I went looking for a post box when I was traveling by train recently and had time at an interchange to mail a letter I had written on the three hour plus first leg... If I lived in a country that traveled more by train, I could seriously see a similar site for train stations. Sadly the US is not there at all.
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Post by allanorn on Jun 18, 2017 18:53:52 GMT
I started a postal project to assist correspondents and travelers to find postal facilities at airports: www.airportmailbox.comA little history: there was another site dedicated to this that was featured on the LWA blog, but it eventually went away (and no data was archived whatsoever). I found out the hard way when I was looking for a mail drop in SFO (I think) and couldn't find anything. It still needs quite a bit of work - I haven't started researching the European airports - but the framework is up and I have some blog posts that I want to do. I can always use your submissions if things are wrong or you want an airport covered; just use the contact form on the site. Looking forward to seeing if this project takes off! (pun intended)
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Post by allanorn on May 21, 2017 4:09:23 GMT
It is now sufficiently long ago for many people to think what is now First Class is a kind of premium service when in fact it was the other way round: First was orginally the standard service and Second a new deliberately deteriorated one. Interesting information. Amusing how time will do that to an offering; what was a lesser service offering choice becomes an economy/premium selection. I see it all the time in airlines, but I digress. From a business and even consumer perspective I don't have a problem with offering a lower class of service after the primary has been established, if the consumer demands it and it's acceptable and/or competitive. It's plausible that the ongoing concern could finagle the consumer into accepting a lower-grade option - the Beeching cuts could have been on everyone's mind in 1968, or postal rates went through the roof in years prior - but at least it exists and it's a relatively cost-effective option. Compare to the US Postal Service, where a letter is 49 cents but can take 2-4 business days to get to most places. If I want (better) guarantees, it's US$6-7 to get it there within 2-3 business days or ~US$20 to get it there overnight!
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Post by allanorn on May 3, 2017 16:10:55 GMT
Has there been any discussion of going to one class of mail? I imagine the costs of running two classes may not be worth it. I've not heard anything about it, but I imagine the RM discuss all sorts of aspects of their operations on an ongoing basis. The RM is a part of British tradition, which a lot of people hold very dear, so I can imagine changing to one single class of mail would create quite the controversy! I don't know if it would, since it would be dependent on implementation details. The USA had distinct airmail service (vs. land-based) domestically until the 1970's and had two classes of international service (air vs. sea) until the mid-1990s. If most everyone uses second-class mail for most of their UK deliveries and Standard for international, there may be little resistance towards those level of standards. With online and/or card payment for most things, it's likely to be a small shift in expectations (at least domestically).
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Post by allanorn on May 2, 2017 23:50:13 GMT
I'm in the UK. I once contacted Royal Mail to ask whether 2nd Class mail travels by road, as opposed to air, but they said it's not that simple. I was asking because I'd rather not increase demand for domestic flights where possible, but it seems that there's no way to avoid it for sure, so I tend to send letters 1st Class. I've sent birthday cards via 2nd Class a few days in advance before, and it's *always* on those occasions that they manage to deliver it the next day! The one time you actually want them to take their time (I try to get cards to arrive on the day where possible) When it comes to international mail, I've sent post via Economy (by sea) before and it's always been treated as Standard (by air). A Post Office clerk once told me that 9 times out of 10, Economy mail gets put on a plane anyway! (FYI, the time periods you quoted are delivery 'aims', not guarantees; neither 1st nor 2nd Class are guaranteed to arrive within a given period. Also, the level of compensation (£20) is the same for both 1st and 2nd Class.) I found it interesting that the UK provides insurance for First Class mail - we don't have that for letters/postcards or even Standard Mail packages (used to be called Parcel Post). That's interesting that international mail would be mostly Standard even on an Economy stamp; that can be a decent chunk of savings for a 20g letter (90p vs. £1.40). However, I guess there's the risk that it would end up on a boat and take 12 weeks to get somewhere! Has there been any discussion of going to one class of mail? I imagine the costs of running two classes may not be worth it.
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Post by allanorn on May 2, 2017 20:23:45 GMT
I was reading about Royal Mail (UK) and they have two different postcard/letter rates. First Class (domestic) is more or less guaranteed to get there next working day, while Second Class (domestic) has a guaranteed delivery time of three working days. First Class stamps cost a bit more for that guarantee plus some insurance (as of 3/2017 the difference is 9p). Royal Mail UK also has two classes for international mail.
Here in the USA that isn't the case: it's one class for letters and postcards, and a domestic letter will get to its destination typically within three working days. We have varying international rates based on destination, but those only come into play if it's a package or more than a one-ounce letter.
In this conversation, I'd like to ask: first, does your country have multiple classes of mail - and second, if you do, which one do you typically use and why?
For this discussion let's keep it to personal letters and postcards only, and you're free to ignore those circumstances in which it's not efficient to use a different class of mail. For instance: UK international delivery times for Second Class vs. First Class make it obvious that First Class is really the only way to go for a very small surcharge.
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