JackFlash

I got my first bike in April. It's a Suzuki GS 500F. I'm still learning and enjoy the twisty roads. A bigger bike is somewhere in my future. I'm still figuring out what to get. .

I wonder what's next. Imagine having your door busted down in the middle of the night by jack booted thugs if you live in Florida or Maine, just so they can examine your electronics. It's coming.

I hope something in here can help. Removing Tile Adhesive from Concrete http://www.doityourself.com/stry/removing-tile-adhesive-from-concrete#.URmHKvLAFBk Glue Removal and Concrete Grinding http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZ81BvpmQrg Floor Polishing Tips: How to remove glue from concrete? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5NH2Cc1y-s Carpet glue removal 7" Grinder Vac http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWNcS78pxIE .

That's exactly what I am thinking. I'll bet that even if he surrenders to his attorney, in front of the news media, with all arrest procedures televised, and is kept secure in protective custody, somehow he will end up dead before he can have his day in court. They want him dead no matter who they have to kill to do it. This is authority run amok. They must have some very deep and dark secrets they do not want exposed. .

The Roadside Assistance is available to any member that is set up for automatic renewal. You can convert to auto-renewal at any time if you are not already set up for it. .

In your words... The post office is an overpaid union drain that gushes money and gives crap snail mail service, and doesn't take a credit card that isn't signed on the back. They piss money away on stupidity, idiotic and ever-changing regulations, needless gimmicks and wasteful services....and this is on top of the unworkable pension and benefit structure. They're wasteful. The USPS is burdened by the cost of their employees. They have an artificial pay structure based on union and civil service entry, and it does not adequately reflect the value of their employees. Clerks are overpaid. Mail carriers are glorified paper boys. They're overpaid, over-pensioned, and over-benefitted for the work they do. The Retirement packages are a bit ridiculous. Hmmm......let's just chuck it all. Stop using them. Try to get something delivered to California within 3 days by another company for 46¢. Your car payment to California? That's zone six, sir. That will be $4.95 and get there Wednesday unless you want to upgrade to overnite for $9.27. Credit Card payment to Delaware? Zone 1 from Zone 2. That will be $2.47. Electric bill to North Carolina? $5.85. Yes sir, there is a fuel surcharge added to that one at this time. Think about not having it when you need it. Nobody is going to do it cheaper, better, or as quickly, unless we totally eliminate all paper mailings and do it electronically. Businesses want their ads in your hands. The AMA welcome packet I just got came by mail. Some of what they sent me could not have been delivered by computer. It's cheap for what we get. Try other services and compare the costs. The USPS is a not for profit enterprise. Use a for profit company with stock holders to please for all your mailing needs and see what a years worth of service costs you. WASHINGTON — The Postal Service ranks as the fourth most trusted company — a two-point increase from 2011 and its highest company ranking since the survey’s inception by the premier privacy trust study in America. The same survey also named The Postal Service the ‘Most Trusted Government Agency for the 7th year in a row”* The Ponemon Institute in its Most Trusted Companies for Privacy Study ranked the Postal Service as the fourth most trusted company of 704 entries from 25 industry sectors. The results show that customers regard the Postal Service as one of the best in keeping their information safe and secure. http://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2013/pr13_020.htm https://www.usps.com/ .

It's always easy to say that of a job that you've never done. I know enough about the job that I wouldn't want to do it. Expectations of management and how carriers are treated is enough to make the job undesirable. The internet is full of stories about postal management and how employees are treated. I also know enough about supervision to not go into it unless my health becomes such that I can no longer do the job I do now. I'm often asked to think about it but I refer to their office as a snake pit where they are always stabbing each other in the back. Some jobs are not worth the money. .

Maybe so. I don't know how all that works. As far as privatization, I think it would all just crumble away. They would sell it off, piece by piece. If they had to pay taxes like a real business, they wouldn't know what to do. All the truck driver's jobs are gone. They are all working at other postal jobs and truck driving has been contracted out. Piece by piece, little by little, it is getting slimmer and trimmer. Wanna buy a part of it? Make an offer to do the custodial work. I'm sure it will go as soon as they can get rid of it. The people in charge wouldn't know how to run a real business and couldn't stay competitive. The big package handling businesses are years ahead of the USPS. Their volume is massive and they have an infrastructure in place to absorb all of the package business of the USPS, probably without a blink. The catch is, they don't want to go to every door, every day. There are days when the postman stops at every door. So, there are deals made between the USPS and the others to deliver in exchange for cargo space on planes, etc. One day, it will all be gone. Perhaps the USPS will just end up delivering for the others. Who knows. I just hope they last another 15 years. .

They don't use tax dollars. It's self supporting. But, since congress controls the post office, they can't change their prices like UPS or FEDEX can without an act of congress, and we all know what it's like to get them to act in a timely fashion. .

I don't think I would carry mail for any amount of money. Dog bites Extreme weather Leg and foot problems Back problems Hand and arm injuries Violence Upset customers Steps Rusty mailboxes with sharp edges Toys, tools, extension cords or hoses in the grass Dog piles – they’re slippery Read it for yourself: http://www.nalc-branch78.org/pdf/articles/The_Hazards_of_Door_to_Door_Mail_Delivery.pdf .

Carrier's hours will not be reduced unless it's to lessen overtime expenses. What will be reduced is the number of people required to do the same amount of work. From what I understand, the largest fit is being thrown by the postal unions and maybe a little from businesses that need to mail out merchandise or receive deliveries from the post office. .

How about this? In the past, electric vehicles have been tried and used: http://about.usps.com/who-we-are/postal-history/electric-vehicles.pdf Everywhere that I have worked, those who have cried the loudest about their workload did the least work and put the most effort into getting someone else to do half of their job. .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeZastf0wcM I can't believe I found one.

I was looking for a Sky King video to post here but found this instead. http://www.americanflyers.net/Entertainment/above_and_beyond.htm When I win the lottery and quit my job, I'll get that sailboat to live on and go to school here: http://www.americanflyersftlauderdale.net/school_videos.htm EDIT: This is the closest I can find to the Sky King TV show from way back. http://www.skyking.com/ BUT... Here's a very funny twist. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1eSaRCSD4k .

That is probably considered a rural route which means that a rural carrier owns that car and contracts with the post office to deliver mail. The retirement system is a 1% of base pay that is put in. You can save more out of your pay if you like. If you do, the post office will match the next 2% and 1/2 of the next 1% you want to put in. It all goes into the market according to how you decide, through the Thrift Savings Plan. I think the Military has a similar plan. You can throw more in if you like. The pay scale has been restructured for new employees entering the Post Office, to reduce that burden. That bottom line is that the Post Office is not to be a profitable enterprise. It's to serve the public good at what it costs to do so. Payroll is one of the most expensive costs of any business. That's why there are so many machines to do the different jobs that it used to take several people much longer to do. I work on those machines and keep them running. There are few I haven't worked on. Drive by 2323 Citygate Dr. in Columbus. It's over 800,000 sq ft of processing space that opened in 2001. I wish I could walk you through when it is in full swing, which is all night long. .

I think it was half price to join at the museum when I was there. I looked back on my CC statement and it shows a $29 charge for the AMA. I paid cash to get into the museum, if I remember right. .

It's the middle of my work week, a two hour drive, 111.8 miles one way, and it's not riding weather. I wish I could.

Actually, the Post Office doesn't use tax dollars to operate, they claim. There is more than one union and none of them are worth a crap for the employees, locally. Everyone hates them but fears not having them, due to management and supervision's tactics of totally disregarding the labor contracts when they can get by with it. It's not that they really give a crap. It's more like they have had problems with credit card companies when they have accepted cards not signed, that may have been stolen from mailboxes, or that since they handle the delivery of these cards to credit card customers, it would be a legal conflict of interest issue if they couldn't demonstrate that they were actually possessed by a customer before they were used for postal services. The signature of the customer would be adequate to show that they were actually delivered to the customer's address and not stolen by a postal employee when the item was in the mail stream. $5 Billion dollars a year. No other business has to do that. Blame Congress. It really cripples their ability to stay afloat. I'm thinking that one day, on the corner of your city block, there may be ganged mailboxes that you will go to, to pick up your mail, instead of receiving it at home. That's how it is at apartment complexes. It speeds up delivery and reduces the number of carriers needed. The "+4" number they added to your 5 digit zip code some years ago identifies a corner (a fourth) of your "city block". That how I understand it. Your "+4" number would identify your delivery box. Got any details on that? They worked their way up through the years to that pay level that the union claims to have negotiated. Regarding undeliverable Standard Rate (used to be 3rd class) mail, it all goes into the recycle bin. Outer post offices sends it all to Columbus for recycling, which they get paid for by the company picking it up. They also recycle pop cans, plastic drink bottles, and shrink wrap. It's a big deal with them. They make a lot of operating money for recycling. Luckily, there has been no need for layoffs. They offer "early outs" for those close to retirement and sweeten the pot by offering an insulting cash bonus amount (payable over two years) for those who will leave. It benefits those that were planning on leaving the most. Many are not replaced and others are asked to do more. It knocks those at the top of the pay scale off. New hires come in at a much lower cost and are on a different pay program than existing employees, to lower expenses. Here's something you don't think about: Fuel Costs. I picked this up on some website: A one-cent movement in fuel prices increases national costs for the post office by $8 million annually, or $667,000 a month, according to Greg Frey, a Postal Service spokesman. So if prices rose $1.50 per gallon, from, say, $3.50 to $5, fuel costs for the post office would increase by $100 million per month. A sustained period at $10 a gallon for gas would add billions in fuel costs. Frey says another risk also would be inevitable: "During the recent recession, the USPS experienced significant declines in mail volume and revenue. Should the U.S. economy slip significantly again due to spikes in fuel prices, it would certainly again adversely impact our revenue and cost base." Mail volume is affected very much by the economy. Businesses don't want to waste money on postage by sending out ads if there is little chance of sales. And how much have fuel prices raised since Chairman "O" has been in office? .

I like the Connie 14 but height-wise, it doesn't like me. I was told that it couldn't be lowered as much as I would need, for reasons that I don't remember. .

I picked up a few back issues at their office. For anyone who has never been to the Motorcycle Hall of Fame, right there by the AMA office, you are missing a real treat. Plan to be there for at least three hours to begin to appreciate it. Perhaps Ohio Riders should plan a day to visit as a group. I'm sure they would be delighted to have us. Feedback? .

I've looked at both of them at Motohio (http://www.motohio.com/). I like the sportier look of the GT best.

That's my dream bike. You have to like it. With a trunk on the back, I may never come home. K 1600 GT

I'm on my 2nd Outback Wagon and I'll be looking for another after this one. I am considered essential personnel and my arrival is critical regardless of the weather. There has been no road condition that has held me back. Remember the blizzard in March a few years ago? A Subaru laughs at snow. I usually can't tell the road is slippery with the grip my car gets. I have Nokian WR G2 winter tyres. You won't have any problem in the winter with these on a Subaru. I just wish I could also have a WRX STI for the fun factor. .