Saturday, March 10, 2007
Friday, March 9, 2007
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Dear Yahoo!:
Dear Yahoo!:
What percentage of mail is lost by the USPS?
Mike
Chicago, Illinois
Dear Mike:
You'd have better luck finding Dick Cheney's social security number. Even though the United States Postal Service routinely hires contractors to assess performance, it doesn't release statistics on lost mail.
The post office uses something called the "External First-Class Measurement System," or EXFC, to determine the percentage of first-class mail that travels within USPS time standards from a collection box to the addressee. Relying on those results, the post office has determined it's doing a pretty good job. For example, the USPS reported an EXFC score of 90% nationwide last year.
The Government Accountability Office, however, has found some post office assessment criteria "unsuitable as benchmarks." Furthermore, the post office "does not measure and report its delivery performance for most types of mail. Therefore, transparency with regard to its overall performance in timely mail delivery is limited...(so) it is difficult to hold management accountable for results and conduct independent oversight."
This 1991 manifesto against the post office from the CATO Institute, admittedly an organization that would rather see oxygen privatized than praise a government agency, claimed that one original intent of the EXFC was to "determine...the percentage of mail lost or misdelivered." But when the initial test was completed, the USPS didn't release those figures. The CATO report went on to accuse the post office of "losing or throwing out over a billion letters a year." Of course, that was 16 years ago, but that's not to say at least some shenanigans still don't occur.
What percentage of mail is lost by the USPS?
Mike
Chicago, Illinois
Dear Mike:
You'd have better luck finding Dick Cheney's social security number. Even though the United States Postal Service routinely hires contractors to assess performance, it doesn't release statistics on lost mail.
The post office uses something called the "External First-Class Measurement System," or EXFC, to determine the percentage of first-class mail that travels within USPS time standards from a collection box to the addressee. Relying on those results, the post office has determined it's doing a pretty good job. For example, the USPS reported an EXFC score of 90% nationwide last year.
The Government Accountability Office, however, has found some post office assessment criteria "unsuitable as benchmarks." Furthermore, the post office "does not measure and report its delivery performance for most types of mail. Therefore, transparency with regard to its overall performance in timely mail delivery is limited...(so) it is difficult to hold management accountable for results and conduct independent oversight."
This 1991 manifesto against the post office from the CATO Institute, admittedly an organization that would rather see oxygen privatized than praise a government agency, claimed that one original intent of the EXFC was to "determine...the percentage of mail lost or misdelivered." But when the initial test was completed, the USPS didn't release those figures. The CATO report went on to accuse the post office of "losing or throwing out over a billion letters a year." Of course, that was 16 years ago, but that's not to say at least some shenanigans still don't occur.
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Strange Accident
FYI: I believe its saying that the insurance couldn't be any faster...
Strange Accident - Watch more amazing videos here
Strange Accident - Watch more amazing videos here
Road Repair?
The road by my house was in bad condition. Every day, I dodged potholes on the way to work, so I was relieved to see a construction crew working on the road one morning.
Later, on my way home, I noticed the men were gone and no improvement in the road. Where the crew had been working stood a new, bright-yellow sign with the words, "Rough Road."
Later, on my way home, I noticed the men were gone and no improvement in the road. Where the crew had been working stood a new, bright-yellow sign with the words, "Rough Road."
Sony's NW-A800, Samsung's K3, and Apple's iPod nano stacked
With Sony's NW-A800 Video Walkman (pictured center) now globally released, we thought you might like to see how it stacks up -- literally -- against the Samsung K3 and the notoriously thin iPod nano. As you can see, Sony opted for chub and squat over slim and long by comparison. But just look at that relatively huge, 2-inch display for video playback -- something neither the K3 nor iPod nano can do. Now go check the rest of the pics over at French site Le Journal du Geek. Fortunately, the thousand words spoken by pictures don't need machine translation.
Monday, March 5, 2007
Mass. Man Arrested in Cisco Fraud Plot
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- A Massachusetts businessman who resold Cisco Systems Inc. networking gear was arrested on charges he defrauded the technology company out of millions of dollars by cheating its program to replace broken or defective hardware.
Michael Daly, 53, of Danvers, Mass., was arrested Tuesday and was scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in Boston federal court, according to federal prosecutors. After preliminary hearings in Boston, his case will be moved to San Jose, prosecutors said.
Daly faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted of wire fraud.
Daly is accused of using false identities in 39 states to order networking gear from Cisco since 2003. He allegedly exploited a Cisco program that allows customers to immediately obtain replacements for broken or defective parts without having to send in the problem hardware first.
Daly ordered replacement parts at least 700 times and resold them without ever returning the defective items, or in some cases returning worthless parts that weren't covered under the program, prosecutors said.
San Jose-based Cisco makes the routers and switches that direct data traffic over computer networks, and the parts Daly obtained were worth between $995 to $25,000 each, prosecutors said. Some of the proceeds were used to buy classic cars.
Investigators also seized computer equipment, documents and other items from Daly's business, Data Resources Group, based in Salisbury, Mass.
The company's Web site describes Data Resources Group as a private company established in 1991 and offering the full line of Cisco products at "substantially discounted prices."
No one answered the phone at the number listed for the company Wednesday, and it was not immediately clear if Daly had retained a defense lawyer.
© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Michael Daly, 53, of Danvers, Mass., was arrested Tuesday and was scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in Boston federal court, according to federal prosecutors. After preliminary hearings in Boston, his case will be moved to San Jose, prosecutors said.
Daly faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted of wire fraud.
Daly is accused of using false identities in 39 states to order networking gear from Cisco since 2003. He allegedly exploited a Cisco program that allows customers to immediately obtain replacements for broken or defective parts without having to send in the problem hardware first.
Daly ordered replacement parts at least 700 times and resold them without ever returning the defective items, or in some cases returning worthless parts that weren't covered under the program, prosecutors said.
San Jose-based Cisco makes the routers and switches that direct data traffic over computer networks, and the parts Daly obtained were worth between $995 to $25,000 each, prosecutors said. Some of the proceeds were used to buy classic cars.
Investigators also seized computer equipment, documents and other items from Daly's business, Data Resources Group, based in Salisbury, Mass.
The company's Web site describes Data Resources Group as a private company established in 1991 and offering the full line of Cisco products at "substantially discounted prices."
No one answered the phone at the number listed for the company Wednesday, and it was not immediately clear if Daly had retained a defense lawyer.
© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)