Our Interim Dean of Research and head of Nursing Research at the Hospital passed away last night (hence the meeting). I had never known her, and only had had one email contact with her, so it was not personally affecting, but a great deal of professors were mentored by her and very close to her. Her administrative assistant was also her nephew, so I am not really sure what that means for him, either.

I'm not sure how I feel about this.

Postal cuts to slow delivery of first-class mail

WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing bankruptcy, the U.S. Postal Service is pushing ahead with unprecedented cuts to first-class mail next spring that will slow delivery and, for the first time in 40 years, eliminate the chance for stamped letters to arrive the next day.

The estimated $3 billion in reductions, to be announced in broader detail on Monday, are part of a wide-ranging effort by the cash-strapped Postal Service to quickly trim costs, seeing no immediate help from Congress.

The changes would provide short-term relief, but ultimately could prove counterproductive, pushing more of America's business onto the Internet. They could slow everything from check payments to Netflix's DVDs-by-mail, add costs to mail-order prescription drugs, and threaten the existence of newspapers and time-sensitive magazines delivered by postal carrier to far-flung suburban and rural communities.

There are reports that they were doing 150 km/h on an S-curve where the limit is 80 km/h. In the rain. So, yeah, little sympathy for them.

I'm earwormed with "Life Upon the Wicked Stage." The High Society/Cabaret version. [link] (I'm not entirely sure where this clip is from, but I found it a few days ago when looking for clips of Anna Kendrick singing for some Les Mis fantasy casting I was doing with a friend on facebook, and it totally cracked me up. And now it won't leave my head.)

Yeti crabs farm bacteria on their arms.

I'm not sure how I feel about this.

Postal cuts to slow delivery of first-class mail

Ben Franklin is not amused.

Ben Franklin is not amused.

Ben Franklin does everything online these days.

I think it's horrifying, actually. There are a lot of people out there who aren't reliably online, and aren't using FedEx or UPS for everything.

It's like assuming everything can be an e-book -- e-readers are fantastic, but it's going to be a long time before every child in this country has reliable access to one.

Yeah, do not love that postal slow. I mean, a LOT of stuff you receive by mail is time-sensitive, and I don't think companies are going to really be sensitive to that.

ION, it's 10:15 am and we still have internet at home! Cross fingers they forgot to flip a switch; I can live without cable until the 15th!!! For sure! Happy to do it if I can keep the interwebs!

ita !, you should put this on your Xmas list: [link]

Well, the USPS is severely limited by Congress as to what they can do to reduces their financial losses. Maybe there'll be an outcry about the slowing of the mail that will make Congress give them other options.