On 2/13/17 9:53 PM, James Wilkinson Sword wrote:

In the UK, people sometimes (only 1 in 100) have boxes attached to the
outside of their house (not at the street), just to avoid stuff being
put into the house (because the dog might eat it). They often forget to
check it (as would I if I had one), because the mail doesn't appear
inside your home on the carpet so you notice it, you actually have to
remember to keep checking the box.

You've probably noticed some people here know about when the mail
carrier arrives. It's just a ritual to check for mail daily.
My parents were avid readers. Getting the daily paper(s) was a big deal.
There were also the monthly magazines. I think we got at least three farm
related magazines.
Getting the mail daily wasn't any different than feeding the cattle
and feathered
critters, picking eggs, etc.

Per Ralph Mowery:
In article ,
says...


For years here my postal address was RR2 box 109. They finally
standardized it to the normal grid address.

Same here in North Carolina. For years mine was Rt. 3 box 242EE. This
was on a country road. The road had a name and when the county went to
the 911 phone system every one had to have a street address. Most
started at the start of the road and the numbers went up about every
tenth of a mile. The address was then changed to 2345 Saw Road . Being
about 2.3 miles from where the road started.

Last year I stumbled on a global coordinates system called "What3Words".

Basically, somebody has figured out how to identify every 3-meter square
on earth by assigning it 3 English-Language(?) words.

My front door seems to be roughly at purple.snippets.whispering.

My side/rec-room door looks to be close to tulips.countries.amused.

The entrance to my driveway seems to be greyhound.stems.spectacular.

https://map.what3words.com/enhances.lecturers.pinpoints

Seems like, logically, there has to be some way to integrate it with
Google Earth, but I have not been able to find it yet.

Maybe somebody else has ?


--
Pete Cresswell

On Wed, 15 Feb 2017 22:12:13 -0000, Mark Lloyd wrote:

On 02/15/2017 02:42 PM, James Wilkinson Sword wrote:

You can chip your cat so the raccoon can't get in.

And use a door that recognizes the chip? I've heard of locks like that..

Yes, they are common for cats, mainly to stop the neighbour's cat from eating your cat's food. I've never seen the point myself. Why spend £100 on a door to stop a 50p can of meat getting taken?

--
Do files get embarrassed when they get unzipped?

On Wed, 15 Feb 2017 22:17:27 -0000, Mark Lloyd wrote:

On 02/15/2017 02:43 PM, James Wilkinson Sword wrote:
On Wed, 15 Feb 2017 03:27:22 -0000, Mark Lloyd wrote:


[snip]

I've nearly tripped over packages left right in front of my front door
and almost ran over one near the garage.

I've been home when packages are delivered. The mail carrier here
usually doesn't ring the doorbell unless something requires a signature.

Ok if your porch is sheltered from the rain.


It it well enough except when there's too much wind. Also there's a
hedge so the package isn't visible from the street.

I may want to set up some kind of switch that turns on a light if anyone
steps on the porch. Preferably one that can tell the difference between
delivery people and cats.

For some reason most people who fit those leave them on the default settings, which means they detect anything within half a mile, including on the road, and stay on for only 5 seconds. So if you stand at the door, they go on and off repeatedly.

--
Hipatitis (n): Terminal coolness.

On Wed, 15 Feb 2017 22:47:02 -0000, Dean Hoffman wrote:

On 2/13/17 9:53 PM, James Wilkinson Sword wrote:

In the UK, people sometimes (only 1 in 100) have boxes attached to the
outside of their house (not at the street), just to avoid stuff being
put into the house (because the dog might eat it). They often forget to
check it (as would I if I had one), because the mail doesn't appear
inside your home on the carpet so you notice it, you actually have to
remember to keep checking the box.

You've probably noticed some people here know about when the mail
carrier arrives. It's just a ritual to check for mail daily.
My parents were avid readers. Getting the daily paper(s) was a big deal.
There were also the monthly magazines. I think we got at least three farm
related magazines.
Getting the mail daily wasn't any different than feeding the cattle
and feathered
critters, picking eggs, etc.

What a fun life....

--
In the Nintendo GameCube instruction manual:
"Do not attempt to stick head inside deck, which may result in injury"

On Tuesday, February 14, 2017 at 9:32:24 PM UTC-6, Oren wrote:

On Tue, 14 Feb 2017 19:01:38 -0800 (PST), ItsJoanNotJoann
wrote:

Give it up James, you're looking more and more silly with your
continued whines about how things are done in the USA.

Now you are catching on. The Brits have penis envy of Americans.
Drives them crazy and they just can't stand it.


Sorry to be so late in replying but, BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAA!!

On Wednesday, February 15, 2017 at 2:44:57 PM UTC-6, James Wilkinson Sword
THE TROLL wrote:

On Wed, 15 Feb 2017 03:01:38 -0000, ItsJoanNotJoann wrote:

And you know everyone doesn't check for mail if they have outside
mail boxes how? Are people sending you e-mails saying they don't
check outside boxes? You are walking the streets spying on people
who have outside mail boxes to see if and when they look inside?

Because they've told me.

Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people have told you they
don't check their mail boxes every day. You must be one busy
troll to know when people do and do not check their mail box.

Why bother checking it every day if you don't get important mail every day?

Ooooooooh, you KNOW what day(s)you'll be receiving *important*
mail?

No. You misunderstood me completely. Nobody gets important mail every day, so they don't check it every day.

How do you know they don't get important mail every day? Let me
guess, you ASKED those hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of
people. You're probably just nosey and looking in their outside
mail boxes to see what they're receiving. Heaven forbid you're
lifting up that flap on their front door slot and peeking inside.

Who said anything about a locked box? I guess folks across the pond
don't have screened, security, or storm doors. I have security storm
doors on my house and no way would they be able to get any mail through
those doors.

And your postman can?

Don't be deliberately stupid. I've already told you my mail box
is on the front porch, I don't have a mail slot. Reading compre-
hension is not a strong suit with you I see.

Give it up James, you're looking more and more silly with your
continued whines about how things are done in the USA.

I didn't whine, I asked how the system worked, but your stupid answers in this post have proved I should have done.

My answers nor anyone else's have been stupid. We've explained
to you but you insist on being an obtuse jerk.

On Wednesday, February 15, 2017 at 4:32:57 PM UTC-6, James Wilkinson Sword THE TROLL wrote:

On Wed, 15 Feb 2017 11:50:54 -0000, Cindy Hamilton wrote:

On Tuesday, February 14, 2017 at 5:16:27 PM UTC-5, James Wilkinson Sword wrote:

Mine has a flag that's connected to the mailbox door. When the door
goes down, the flag goes up.

https://www.amazon.com/Rubbermaid-Mb515b01-Durable-Plastic-Post-mount/dp/B00OOCBCWK

So you can't tell if something is in it for you?

Dunce, did you think her mail box flag woulld indicate there was
mail in her box for someone else?

You're an annoying troll and I'm done with you and your
stupidity.

On Wed, 15 Feb 2017 17:05:47 -0800 (PST), ItsJoanNotJoann
wrote:

You're an annoying troll and I'm done with you and your
stupidity.

....took you long enough :-\

On Wednesday, February 15, 2017 at 7:21:01 PM UTC-6, Oren wrote:
On Wed, 15 Feb 2017 17:05:47 -0800 (PST), ItsJoanNotJoann
wrote:

You're an annoying troll and I'm done with you and your
stupidity.

...took you long enough :-\

Oh come on, Mr. Shwing is an amusing diversion. It's fun to toy with him/her/it. It's hard to imagine but England would fit inside the borders of The State of Oregon and my Limey cousins have no comprehension of the size of The United States. What I found when I was out west is that folks there measure distance in hours instead of miles. ヽ(ヅ)ノ

[8~{} Uncle Vast Monster

On Wed, 15 Feb 2017 18:21:52 -0800 (PST), Uncle Monster
wrote:

On Wednesday, February 15, 2017 at 7:21:01 PM UTC-6, Oren wrote:
On Wed, 15 Feb 2017 17:05:47 -0800 (PST), ItsJoanNotJoann
wrote:

You're an annoying troll and I'm done with you and your
stupidity.

...took you long enough :-\

Oh come on, Mr. Shwing is an amusing diversion. It's fun to toy with him/her/it. It's hard to imagine but England would fit inside the borders of The State of Oregon and my Limey cousins have no comprehension of the size of The United States. What I found when I was out west is that folks there measure distance in hours instead of miles. ?(?)?

[8~{} Uncle Vast Monster

Go ahead and play in the creature's sand box. You may need a plastic
shovel, a bucket and some sand from Walmart.

I live in the West, raised in the South, lived in the North and other
places. Out West we do measure distance by time. Ask Todd (T).

I'm not entertained by a limey troll that can't grasp facts when they
are explained in simplest terms, shown with actual facts.

Have fun, and stay dirty my friend. I just checked my mail box for
mail.

On 02/15/2017 03:54 PM, (PeteCresswell) wrote:
Last year I stumbled on a global coordinates system called "What3Words".

Basically, somebody has figured out how to identify every 3-meter square
on earth by assigning it 3 English-Language(?) words.

My front door seems to be roughly at purple.snippets.whispering.

My side/rec-room door looks to be close to tulips.countries.amused.

The entrance to my driveway seems to be greyhound.stems.spectacular.

https://map.what3words.com/enhances.lecturers.pinpoints

Seems like, logically, there has to be some way to integrate it with
Google Earth, but I have not been able to find it yet.

Maybe somebody else has ?


Our marketing VP fell in love with it. I did a quick feasibility study
and came back with "Yes, we can do it. Why, exactly, would we want to?"
Basically, what3words has a RESTful interface. You call it with a
latitude and longitude and get the three words, or vice versa.

We generally use the State Plane Coordinate System since it is more
accurate than other projections. PA, for example, has two SPCS zones,
north and south. Based on your words, you are in the south zone. With a
latitude and longitude, which is what we get from a cell phone feed, I
can convert to SPCS, UTM, USNG, or even Google's grid system. The
reprojection is just math.

what3words is a database lookup. You can either hit their web site for
the conversion or host their database locally. It's proprietary and
money will change hands. They are a little coy about how much money.

Let's say for the sake of argument I've implemented it. You call 911 and
you've memorized your three words and recite them to the dispatcher. The
dispatcher says "Duh?" Actually, she probably already knows where you are;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_9-1-1

Taking it further, you're driving into Philly and you see a jihadi
lurking in the bushes. How do you come up with the three words? Right,
your smart phone takes your latitude and longitude and looks them up.
Again, you tell the calltaker the three words. Assuming she doesn't know
already, we convert the three words back to coordinates we can use.

One of the selling points is its easier to say three words than read off
something like '40.0419° N, 75.4876° W'. Well, maybe. Let's say the
calltaker is hard of hearing and you have a mild speech impediment.

greyhound.stems.spectacular Paoli, PA
greyhound.stem.spectacular Frenchtown, MT
greyhound.stemmed.spectacular Kovdor, Murmansk

Oops. When you need help in seconds the cops are only 17 hours away,
unless you speak Finnish or Russian.

Okay, there is an option of getting a list of close possibilities and if
your call was received in the Chester PSAP you're probably not in Russia...

The 3m square is a little optimistic too given consumer grade GPS
receivers.

It's a cute scheme but I can't figure out a compelling reason to use it.
Add to that it's a fairly new private company funded by venture
capitalists, and they reserve the right to change the words at any time.

On 02/15/2017 01:42 PM, James Wilkinson Sword wrote:
On Wed, 15 Feb 2017 03:21:33 -0000, Mark Lloyd wrote:

On 02/14/2017 02:41 PM, Frank wrote:

[snip]

Years ago neighbor had a cat door and his son came down one morning to
see a raccoon eating cat food. Rabies is endemic here and he was lucky
it was not rabid.

I started leaving my cat door unlocked all the time, but changed to
locking it at night. Raccoons were coming in and making messes.

You can chip your cat so the raccoon can't get in.


In the US we would probably chip the raccoon instead, but it does make a
helluva mess. Have to hose the chipper down.

On 02/15/2017 03:17 PM, Mark Lloyd wrote:
I may want to set up some kind of switch that turns on a light if anyone
steps on the porch. Preferably one that can tell the difference between
delivery people and cats.

A guy at work has his front door wired up to his smart phone. It alerts
him when someone approaches the door. He gets video and audio feed and
can also give a delivery person instructions if need be.

On 02/15/2017 07:21 PM, Uncle Monster wrote:
On Wednesday, February 15, 2017 at 7:21:01 PM UTC-6, Oren wrote:
On Wed, 15 Feb 2017 17:05:47 -0800 (PST), ItsJoanNotJoann
wrote:

You're an annoying troll and I'm done with you and your
stupidity.

...took you long enough :-\

Oh come on, Mr. Shwing is an amusing diversion. It's fun to toy with him/her/it. It's hard to imagine but England would fit inside the borders of The State of Oregon and my Limey cousins have no comprehension of the size of The United States. What I found when I was out west is that folks there measure distance in hours instead of miles. ヽ(ヅ)ノ

[8~{} Uncle Vast Monster


We could drop Britain out in eastern Montana where there isn't much
besides prairie dogs and bentonite. Leave the Brits where they are and
just get the castles, museums, and such. It would definitely improve the
drive from Billings to Bismark. You know it sucks when you look forward
to seeing a 38' high Holstein

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2716

On Wed, 15 Feb 2017 20:42:52 -0700, rbowman
wrote:

We could drop Britain out in eastern Montana where there isn't much
besides prairie dogs and bentonite. Leave the Brits where they are and
just get the castles, museums, and such. It would definitely improve the
drive from Billings to Bismark. You know it sucks when you look forward
to seeing a 38' high Holstein

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2716

Big City

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbCYJZnxIFk

On Wednesday, February 15, 2017 at 5:32:57 PM UTC-5, James Wilkinson Sword wrote:
On Wed, 15 Feb 2017 11:50:54 -0000, Cindy Hamilton wrote:

On Tuesday, February 14, 2017 at 5:16:27 PM UTC-5, James Wilkinson Sword wrote:

I thought the flag went up with the weight of incoming mail?

Mine has a flag that's connected to the mailbox door. When the door
goes down, the flag goes up.

https://www.amazon.com/Rubbermaid-Mb515b01-Durable-Plastic-Post-mount/dp/B00OOCBCWK

So you can't tell if something is in it for you?

I can tell if something is in it for me. The yellow flag goes
up when the postman puts something in the box. I put the flag
down when I remove the mail. On weekdays I pick up the mail
when I come home from work, but on weekends I can look out my
window and see whether the flag is up.

We don't leave outgoing mail out overnight.

Your postmen don't appear at the crack of dawn?

Of course not. They have a route that takes them most of the day
to traverse, so somebody's going to be first, and somebody else
is going to be last. My mail arrives around noon, more or less.

Mine varies, and I sometimes get three postmen (and sometimes a ****ing gorgeous postwoman) during the course of the day. Letters, small parcels, and large parcels are delivered seperately.

We pretty much have just one delivery. I have no idea what our postman
looks like.

Cindy Hamilton

Per Mark Lloyd:
I may want to set up some kind of switch that turns on a light if anyone
steps on the porch. Preferably one that can tell the difference between
delivery people and cats.

Security equipment shops have mats that close a circuit when stepped on.

.... and maybe they have other stuff that might work better...
--
Pete Cresswell

On Wed, 15 Feb 2017 16:17:27 -0600
Mark Lloyd wrote:

On 02/15/2017 02:43 PM, James Wilkinson Sword wrote:
On Wed, 15 Feb 2017 03:27:22 -0000, Mark Lloyd
wrote:


[snip]

I've nearly tripped over packages left right in front of my front
door and almost ran over one near the garage.

I've been home when packages are delivered. The mail carrier here
usually doesn't ring the doorbell unless something requires a
signature.

Ok if your porch is sheltered from the rain.


It it well enough except when there's too much wind. Also there's a
hedge so the package isn't visible from the street.

I may want to set up some kind of switch that turns on a light if
anyone steps on the porch. Preferably one that can tell the
difference between delivery people and cats.


Do you get lots of deliveries after dark?

Per rbowman:
Add to that it's a fairly new private company funded by venture
capitalists, and they reserve the right to change the words at any time.

I suspect that may have already happened. A year or two ago I looked
up the words for my driveway entrance and recorded them in my address
book.

When writing my post, I tried doing a lookup on those words and it
failed.

For emergence response, I am surprised that there aren't cell phone apps
available that will inject data-to-speech for the phone's current GPS
coordinates into a phone call.... seems like one of those
bread-and-butter/no-brainer type niches.
--
Pete Cresswell

On Thu, 16 Feb 2017 08:38:02 -0500
"(PeteCresswell)" wrote:

Per rbowman:
Add to that it's a fairly new private company funded by venture
capitalists, and they reserve the right to change the words at any
time.

I suspect that may have already happened. A year or two ago I looked
up the words for my driveway entrance and recorded them in my address
book.

When writing my post, I tried doing a lookup on those words and it
failed.

For emergence response, I am surprised that there aren't cell phone
apps available that will inject data-to-speech for the phone's
current GPS coordinates into a phone call.... seems like one of those
bread-and-butter/no-brainer type niches.

all cellphones are required to report GPS to the 911 center when 911 is
dialed.
It can not be turned off.

On 02/16/2017 06:38 AM, (PeteCresswell) wrote:
For emergence response, I am surprised that there aren't cell phone apps
available that will inject data-to-speech for the phone's current GPS
coordinates into a phone call.... seems like one of those
bread-and-butter/no-brainer type niches.

Why go from data to speech? Your call goes to a PSAP controller, a piece
of hardware. We get a data stream, over a RS-232 serial line in the old
days or some sort of socket connection now. When a dispatcher picks up
the phone, we create a 'call for service' screen with the location we've
gotten from the data stream. The complainant's location is already
filled in for most calls. 39.203453 -92.79823 doesn't mean much to most
people, so we take the coordinates and find the nearest street address.

http://www.firechief.com/2016/06/08/...d-911-callers/

The slowdown for Phase II implementation was the cell phone
manufacturers. It costs money to add a GPS receiver to the device and
tie it in. Some of them dragged their feet and paid the fines for
selling non-compliant devices but everyone is on board now. The stream
often includes a quality value for the coordinates.

NextGen expands that capability to handling SMS messages, photos, or the
other stuff that can be sent with a modern phone. That's been slowly
coming with a lot of vaporware and hand waving. It takes a coordinated
between the carrier, the PSAP controller manufacturer, and the CAD
(computer aided dispatch) vendor. There is no real standard that's
honored so it has to be implemented on a site by site basis.

The article mentions USNG. That's sort of a UTM derivative.

https://www.fgdc.gov/usng/how-to-read-usng/index_html

That can be converted to/from UTM or latitude/longitude algorithmically,
unlike what3words. I added that capability to our system years ago. I'd
have to look at the Subversion log to say for sure. afaik, none of our
sites ever used it, including the federal government ones.

There are a lot of schemes, proposed standards, working committees, and
so forth. After the chaos of 9/11 there was a push to get everybody
using the same standards to allow interoperability. Ain't happened yet.
For me, it's been job security as I write yet another interface to some
third party using their own little data schema and protocol.

On 02/16/2017 07:04 AM, burfordTjustice wrote:
all cellphones are required to report GPS to the 911 center when 911 is
dialed.
It can not be turned off.

Right. What's more, updated coordinates are passed along while you are
connected. If you're ever in the trunk of a black Cadillac and manage to
dial 911, you'll be tracked even if you have duct tape over your mouth
and can't say a word.

The Caddy probably already is being tracked, courtesy of OnStar or some
other system. The show 'Person of Interest' was fictional. But not very...

Mine has a flag that's connected to the mailbox door. When the
door goes down, the flag goes up.

The yellow flag goes up when the postman puts something in the box.

Around here that would be an invitation to mail theft. Flags up, checks
are in the box.

We switched to a locking mailbox several years ago after several mail
thefts. The buggers still tried to break in once, forcing me to repair my
new (expensive) mailbox. Haven't had any problems since.

We have a red flag on our mailbox, but that's for outgoing mail. I'm
supposed to put it up if I have mail for the carrier to pick up, so they
know to stop even if I don't have incoming mail.

That said, I NEVER put outgoing mail in the box. Again, it's just
inviting theft. We always take outgoing mail to the post office.

I have switched virtually all of our financial accounts to electronic
delivery, so the only snail mail we get anymore is junk mail.

Mine varies, and I sometimes get three postmen (and sometimes a
****ing gorgeous postwoman) during the course of the day. Letters,
small parcels, and large parcels are delivered seperately.

We pretty much have just one delivery. I have no idea what our
postman looks like.

We also get one delivery per day. In the last year or so they've started
doing special Sunday deliveries for Amazon packages. I guess they have a
lot of them these days.

Our old mailman used to run like clockwork, right around 10am every
weekday. In recent years they've been a lot more variable, anywhere from
9am to 4pm. It can be frustrating to walk the few hundred feet to the
mailbox and back to the house, only to hear them drive by a few minutes
later.

Our mail carriers tend to rotate in and out every year or two. We had a
middle aged guy for a couple years, but now we've got a younger gal. I
see our carrier often because they bring packages to my door that are too
big to fit in our mail box. I work from home, so I'm here to accept them
rather than leaving them on the porch.

Anthony Watson
www.watsondiy.com
www.mountainsoftware.com

Do you get lots of deliveries after dark?

Our mail delivery is usually in the morning.

UPS delivers around noon.

FedEx always seems to deliver around dinner time. In the winter, that's
usually after dark.

Anthony Watson
www.watsondiy.com
www.mountainsoftware.com

On Thu, 16 Feb 2017 15:31:30 -0000 (UTC)
HerHusband wrote:

Our old mailman used to run like clockwork, right around 10am every
weekday. In recent years they've been a lot more variable, anywhere
from 9am to 4pm. It can be frustrating to walk the few hundred feet
to the mailbox and back to the house, only to hear them drive by a
few minutes later.


Save all the postage paid envelopes from the junk mail. Stuff each one
with stuff from another.
Put out in your mail box for pickup.
When you look and see the flag down you know mail has
went by.

On Wednesday, February 15, 2017 at 9:13:48 PM UTC-6, Oren wrote:
On Wed, 15 Feb 2017 18:21:52 -0800 (PST), Uncle Monster
wrote:

On Wednesday, February 15, 2017 at 7:21:01 PM UTC-6, Oren wrote:
On Wed, 15 Feb 2017 17:05:47 -0800 (PST), ItsJoanNotJoann
wrote:

You're an annoying troll and I'm done with you and your
stupidity.

...took you long enough :-\

Oh come on, Mr. Shwing is an amusing diversion. It's fun to toy with him/her/it. It's hard to imagine but England would fit inside the borders of The State of Oregon and my Limey cousins have no comprehension of the size of The United States. What I found when I was out west is that folks there measure distance in hours instead of miles. ?(?)?

[8~{} Uncle Vast Monster

Go ahead and play in the creature's sand box. You may need a plastic
shovel, a bucket and some sand from Walmart.

I live in the West, raised in the South, lived in the North and other
places. Out West we do measure distance by time. Ask Todd (T).

I'm not entertained by a limey troll that can't grasp facts when they
are explained in simplest terms, shown with actual facts.

Have fun, and stay dirty my friend. I just checked my mail box for
mail.


What, you've never owned a puppy? The critters lick their butts and are very entertaining. They have no idea what you're saying but they know if you're angry at them or if you're telling them they're a good puppy. A lot of those posting here are like puppies, they start barking when they see the names of certain political figures. Some of the puppies bark more than the others then they pee and poop on the floor. Some of the puppies are more full of poop than the others. ヽ(ヅ)ノ

[8~{} Uncle Canine Monster

On Wednesday, February 15, 2017 at 9:42:12 PM UTC-6, rbowman wrote:
On 02/15/2017 07:21 PM, Uncle Monster wrote:
On Wednesday, February 15, 2017 at 7:21:01 PM UTC-6, Oren wrote:
On Wed, 15 Feb 2017 17:05:47 -0800 (PST), ItsJoanNotJoann
wrote:

You're an annoying troll and I'm done with you and your
stupidity.

...took you long enough :-\

Oh come on, Mr. Shwing is an amusing diversion. It's fun to toy with him/her/it. It's hard to imagine but England would fit inside the borders of The State of Oregon and my Limey cousins have no comprehension of the size of The United States. What I found when I was out west is that folks there measure distance in hours instead of miles. ヽ(ヅ)ノ

[8~{} Uncle Vast Monster

We could drop Britain out in eastern Montana where there isn't much
besides prairie dogs and bentonite. Leave the Brits where they are and
just get the castles, museums, and such. It would definitely improve the
drive from Billings to Bismark. You know it sucks when you look forward
to seeing a 38' high Holstein

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2716


OMG! I can just imagine what it would be like for a carload of stoned, drunk or tripping Hippies to come across the giant cow from outerspace. ヽ(ヅ)ノ

[8~{} Uncle Tall Monster

On 2/13/2017 5:07 PM, Frank wrote:

There are mailboxes on doors here too but single family homes on larger
lots will have their mailbox outside on the street. Mail-carriers drive
vehicles with steering wheels on the right (since we drive on the right,
normal are on the left) and drop off mail without leaving vehicle.


Frank gets magazines wrapped in "no see 'um" brown paper. The neighbors
suspect these are gay publications.
Hmmmmm.

On Thursday, February 16, 2017 at 9:33:24 AM UTC-6, HerHusband wrote:

I NEVER put outgoing mail in the box. Again, it's just
inviting theft. We always take outgoing mail to the post office.

I rarely have anything to mail but when I do it goes to the post
office about 6 blocks away. I learned many years ago that anything
that was mailed from the house rides around in their truck for 2 or
3 days before they take it inside to be post marked and sorted.

I have switched virtually all of our financial accounts to electronic
delivery, so the only snail mail we get anymore is junk mail.

I did that 20 years ago. I signed up with each utility for my bill
to be automatically drafted from my checking account each month.
About two weeks before it's due, maybe 3, I get the bill stating
what it is each month. Saves time remembering what is to be paid
and of course it's a money saver not buying stamps. Credit card
bills are received electronically and also paid that way.

On 02/15/2017 05:42 PM, James Wilkinson Sword wrote:
On Wed, 15 Feb 2017 22:12:13 -0000, Mark Lloyd wrote:

On 02/15/2017 02:42 PM, James Wilkinson Sword wrote:

You can chip your cat so the raccoon can't get in.

And use a door that recognizes the chip? I've heard of locks like that.

Yes, they are common for cats, mainly to stop the neighbour's cat from
eating your cat's food. I've never seen the point myself. Why spend
£100 on a door to stop a 50p can of meat getting taken?


Cats learn. It's unlikely to be just one can.

I'm not concerned about the neighbor's cat, but about the raccoons that
leave a much bigger mess.

--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"Knowledge and history are the enemies of religion." -- Napoleon
Bonaparte (1769-1821)

On 02/15/2017 05:43 PM, James Wilkinson Sword wrote:

[snip]

For some reason most people who fit those leave them on the default
settings, which means they detect anything within half a mile,
including on the road, and stay on for only 5 seconds. So if you stand
at the door, they go on and off repeatedly.


It that one detected things on the road it would be useless for
detecting packages on the porch. It wouldn't take more than 5 minutes
before it came on. I'd learn to ignore it after checking the porch every
5 minutes or so.

Sometimes I can tell when the mail comes by sound (vehicle starting and
stopping frequently) but other times I'm busy or out back and miss that.

--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"Knowledge and history are the enemies of religion." -- Napoleon
Bonaparte (1769-1821)

On 02/16/2017 07:32 AM, (PeteCresswell) wrote:
Per Mark Lloyd:
I may want to set up some kind of switch that turns on a light if anyone
steps on the porch. Preferably one that can tell the difference between
delivery people and cats.

Security equipment shops have mats that close a circuit when stepped on.

... and maybe they have other stuff that might work better...


Mats may be what I want, especially if they're not so sensitive as to
detect cats.

BTW, I do already have once sensor. A camera connected to a DVR that
analyzed the video. However, it's too sensitive. Vehicles on the street,
and tree limbs will set it off. Around Halloween and Christmas, it's
useless because the flashing lights trigger it.

--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"Knowledge and history are the enemies of religion." -- Napoleon
Bonaparte (1769-1821)

On 02/16/2017 07:34 AM, burfordTjustice wrote:

[snip]

It it well enough except when there's too much wind. Also there's a
hedge so the package isn't visible from the street.

I may want to set up some kind of switch that turns on a light if
anyone steps on the porch. Preferably one that can tell the
difference between delivery people and cats.


Do you get lots of deliveries after dark?


Maybe once or twice a year, the mail delivery is that late. This has
nothing to do with the light I mentioned, since it is an indicator.

--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"Knowledge and history are the enemies of religion." -- Napoleon
Bonaparte (1769-1821)

On Thu, 16 Feb 2017 00:45:57 -0000, ItsJoanNotJoann wrote:

On Tuesday, February 14, 2017 at 9:32:24 PM UTC-6, Oren wrote:

On Tue, 14 Feb 2017 19:01:38 -0800 (PST), ItsJoanNotJoann
wrote:

Give it up James, you're looking more and more silly with your
continued whines about how things are done in the USA.

Now you are catching on. The Brits have penis envy of Americans.
Drives them crazy and they just can't stand it.


Sorry to be so late in replying but, BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAA!!

According to stats, Americans have smaller penises than Brits.

--
Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest. (Rev. Larry Lorenzoni)

On Thu, 16 Feb 2017 01:00:56 -0000, ItsJoanNotJoann wrote:

On Wednesday, February 15, 2017 at 2:44:57 PM UTC-6, James Wilkinson Sword
THE TROLL wrote:

On Wed, 15 Feb 2017 03:01:38 -0000, ItsJoanNotJoann wrote:

And you know everyone doesn't check for mail if they have outside
mail boxes how? Are people sending you e-mails saying they don't
check outside boxes? You are walking the streets spying on people
who have outside mail boxes to see if and when they look inside?

Because they've told me.

Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people have told you they
don't check their mail boxes every day. You must be one busy
troll to know when people do and do not check their mail box.

Why would I need anything like that number?

Why bother checking it every day if you don't get important mail every day?

Ooooooooh, you KNOW what day(s)you'll be receiving *important*
mail?

No. You misunderstood me completely. Nobody gets important mail every day, so they don't check it every day.

How do you know they don't get important mail every day? Let me
guess, you ASKED those hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of
people. You're probably just nosey and looking in their outside
mail boxes to see what they're receiving. Heaven forbid you're
lifting up that flap on their front door slot and peeking inside.

Nobody gets important mail every day.

Who said anything about a locked box? I guess folks across the pond
don't have screened, security, or storm doors. I have security storm
doors on my house and no way would they be able to get any mail through
those doors.

And your postman can?

Don't be deliberately stupid. I've already told you my mail box
is on the front porch, I don't have a mail slot. Reading compre-
hension is not a strong suit with you I see.

Then it's not behind a locked whatever, is it?

Give it up James, you're looking more and more silly with your
continued whines about how things are done in the USA.

I didn't whine, I asked how the system worked, but your stupid answers in this post have proved I should have done.

My answers nor anyone else's have been stupid. We've explained
to you but you insist on being an obtuse jerk.

No, you've just been typically American.

--
Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what the **** happened.

On Thu, 16 Feb 2017 03:32:03 -0000, rbowman wrote:

On 02/15/2017 01:42 PM, James Wilkinson Sword wrote:
On Wed, 15 Feb 2017 03:21:33 -0000, Mark Lloyd wrote:

On 02/14/2017 02:41 PM, Frank wrote:

[snip]

Years ago neighbor had a cat door and his son came down one morning to
see a raccoon eating cat food. Rabies is endemic here and he was lucky
it was not rabid.

I started leaving my cat door unlocked all the time, but changed to
locking it at night. Raccoons were coming in and making messes.

You can chip your cat so the raccoon can't get in.


In the US we would probably chip the raccoon instead, but it does make a
helluva mess. Have to hose the chipper down.

You surprise me, don't Americans like to shoot and eat?

--
From Hollywood Squares:
Host Peter Marshall: Charley, you've just decided to grow strawberries. Are you going to get any during your first year?
Charley Weaver: Of course not, Peter. I'm too busy growing strawberries!

On 02/16/2017 08:04 AM, burfordTjustice wrote:

[snip]

all cellphones are required to report GPS to the 911 center when 911 is
dialed.
It can not be turned off.


However, they don't all report the GPS information to the USER.

That isn't that much of a problem for me, since I have a dashcam that does.

--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"Knowledge and history are the enemies of religion." -- Napoleon
Bonaparte (1769-1821)

On 02/16/2017 09:31 AM, HerHusband wrote:

[snip]

We have a red flag on our mailbox, but that's for outgoing mail. I'm
supposed to put it up if I have mail for the carrier to pick up, so they
know to stop even if I don't have incoming mail.

Most of the mailboxes around here have red flags. The mail carrier
almost always ignores them. Important outgoing mail has to be taken to
the post office. If they stop (usually only if you have incoming mail)
they almost never put the flag down.

[snip]

I have switched virtually all of our financial accounts to electronic
delivery, so the only snail mail we get anymore is junk mail.

Mostly true for me. I get tired of the numerous letters from charities.
They act like my money is theirs and they can make a withdrawal anytime
they feel like it.

[snip]

We also get one delivery per day. In the last year or so they've started
doing special Sunday deliveries for Amazon packages. I guess they have a
lot of them these days.

I notice that most packages I get from Amazon come by USPS now. IIRC, I
haven't gotten one on Sunday yet.

Our old mailman used to run like clockwork, right around 10am every
weekday. In recent years they've been a lot more variable, anywhere from
9am to 4pm.

My mail usually comes by 1PM. However, its occasionally as late as 7.

It can be frustrating to walk the few hundred feet to the
mailbox and back to the house, only to hear them drive by a few minutes
later.

They do that here a lot. Probably forgot something.

[snip]

I
see our carrier often because they bring packages to my door that are too
big to fit in our mail box. I work from home, so I'm here to accept them
rather than leaving them on the porch.

Sometimes I'll be going to the mailbox and meet the carrier with a
package. Usually they leave the package on the porch and don't ring or
known. I'm often in back and won't see that unless I happen to be looking.

Missing sig separator of "-- " below?

Anthony Watson
www.watsondiy.com
www.mountainsoftware.com



--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"Knowledge and history are the enemies of religion." -- Napoleon
Bonaparte (1769-1821)

On 02/16/2017 10:30 AM, burfordTjustice wrote:
On Thu, 16 Feb 2017 15:31:30 -0000 (UTC)
HerHusband wrote:

Our old mailman used to run like clockwork, right around 10am every
weekday. In recent years they've been a lot more variable, anywhere
from 9am to 4pm. It can be frustrating to walk the few hundred feet
to the mailbox and back to the house, only to hear them drive by a
few minutes later.


Save all the postage paid envelopes from the junk mail. Stuff each one
with stuff from another.
Put out in your mail box for pickup.
When you look and see the flag down you know mail has
went by.


Here, they ignore the flag and don't put it down.

One interesting junk-mail thing here comes on some Thursdays. That's the
day for curbside recycling pickup here. If mail comes first, I can
transfer most of it directly to the recycling container.

Note that some of the junk mail (from charities) comes with a little
money inside (usually just a nickel, but I have found $2 bills), so you
might want to look first.

--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"Knowledge and history are the enemies of religion." -- Napoleon
Bonaparte (1769-1821)