UPDATE on The USPS Problems - A Visit In Person

So I took the short ride over to my post office because the last message on Informed Delivery said my package was there for pickup. At 10:15 AM, all four mail trucks were still there, and the first one was still loading! Not a good sign. I went in and spoke to the person holding down the fort and found out the 411.

My regular carrier is out on extended medical leave. The carrier they were using (either a new hire or a transfer) resigned! The other carriers are trying to pick up the slack but are unfamiliar with my section of town. As for my package, it was there at the post office but in the process of being loaded to be delivered to my house. She said if I really needed it she would go dig it out, but since it is just an audio cable I said I would just wait for it. I told her that going forward I would continue marking items promised but not delivered on the Informed Delivery site. She didn't seem to be happy about that, but understood my frustration.

Maybe if they spent more time delivering mail instead of spying on American Citizens, service could improve.

The USPS Is At It Again, Now The Problems Are Local

I don't know what the fuck is going on, but I am going to find out today. I am only getting deliveries every other day according to my "Informed Delivery" account. I have been waiting for a package from an eBay seller in Illinois. It was showing "out for delivery" along with the rest of my mail on Saturday. When I checked this morning I had no mail and the package said it was ready for pickup back at the post office. A friend that retired from the USPS said I should tag everything not delivered when promised which will ding them negatively. He also told me they get in trouble for not finishing their routes and/or if they get back after a certain time. I had a great carrier, but I haven't seen her in a long time, so I don't know what is going on. According to my wife who is on FecesBook, there are lots of complaints from residents on the town neighbor page, so it isn't just me being a crabby old man.

Progress On The Deck

First let me say I enjoy doing construction. I have many extensive home improvement projects under my belt, most of which I did on my previous house which was an small cape built in 1950. I stripped and refinished the hardwood floors, stripped and replaced the roof, rebuilt the front porch, did the bathroom twice (because the tile we put in the tub the first time did not hold up, and got replaced with acrylic walls), kitchen renovation and expansion (the floor and cabinets were done by contractor, I did everything else), second floor renovation (except the W-W carpet install), stripped and repaired the exterior in preparation for vinyl siding, plus several other smaller projects. In my current house, I built and plumbed my wife's stainless steel dog washing tub, built my chicken coop and pen like you would build a house (which is why it is still there and rock solid after 14 years), did all the demo work when we replaced the 1st floor carpet with bamboo hardwood, and did the demo and plumbing when we put in the quartz kitchen countertops. The reason I don't do it for a living is because I am S-L-O-O-O-O-O-W and would never be able to make money at it. I also don't have an equipped truck full of tools and supplies, so I am constantly having to stop and run out to get what I need.

 

Tuesday the 3rd, I got the stairs in. It was a royal pain in the ass setting the base concrete blocks for the stringers to rest on.

The four new deck boards are for continuing the overhang where the railing used to be.

Once the stairs were in I cut back the railing to match where the edge of the new wider steps are. That was it for the day because the bright sun of earlier became clouds and then rain.

Yesterday I worked on the railings, but didn't get too far. Remember when I said I don't have a truck full of everything I need? Yeah. I thought the screws holding the structure together were 3" #10 exterior deck screws. Nope... those are too long and would have poked out the backside of whatever boards I was screwing together. I cut out the two angled 2 x 6 pieces for the stair railings and called it quits to go back to Lowe's to exchange the #10 3" screws I had bought for #10 2 1/2". When I got home I got the left half of the stair railing partially in place, and then my wife called to say she was on her way home from work. QUITTING TIME!! We had one more "Hello Fresh" meal in the fridge so it was my job to get dinner cooked. I not only know my way around a circular saw, but a kitchen as well. Dinner was Beef Bulgogi Meatballs and delicious.

The Hello Fresh meal recipe card. Detailed instructions for prep, cooking, and serving are on the rear.

 

It is an Asian inspired dish. The Bulgogi BBQ Sauce is labeled as Korean, and we like our food spicy so I dumped in the entire packet of Sriracha Sauce for maximum heat. It was quite flavorful and I washed mine down with a Sam Adams Porch Rocker.

Southern New England has been stuck under a stationary front the past couple of days, and the rain has been on and off. Today has been one of those days mostly wet and damp, so no progress until tomorrow. It is supposed to be warm and sunny for just one day, then back to unsettled. I'm not sure how much I will actually get done tomorrow, because I could get a phone call to go for a ride on "The Beast" for which I will have to take action on.

Question For The I.R.S.

I know you fed motherfuckers are monitoring all electronic media and messaging, so I pose a question for you to pass along to the I.R.S. in this blog. First a little background.

The due date for returns and taxes due has been pushed to May 17th because, you know... COVID!! I filed my tax returns on March 5th, which is a couple of weeks later than normal for me, but that was the recommendation. We are due a substantial refund. Normally we receive a refund direct deposit within 5 days. It has been two months as of today and we have received nothing.

I realize you changed the rules regarding unemployment due to the phony pandemic and the first $10,200.00 became exempt after I already filed. My wife collected during this period, and all of a sudden, several thousand dollars magically became tax exempt, skewing my Adjusted Gross Income. I use H&R Block's Tax Cut program and filed everything electronically. According to the program, I was to do nothing on the fed side, because the I.R.S. would recalculate and correct the return and send the proper refund amount. For my state return, I had to file a paper amended return. I originally owed the state $311, and that has become a $542 refund. I mailed the amended return 0n April 14th by certified mail, and less than two weeks later, received a paper check from the state for the $542. The May 17th date is fast approaching.

So here is my question: "IF I DO NOT RECEIVE MY REFUND BY MAY 17TH, DO I GET TO CHARGE THE I.R.S. THE SAME INTEREST AND PENALTIES I WOULD INCUR IF I DID NOT FILE OR PAY ON TIME?"

I WILL ALSO INCLUDE THE $4.15 POSTAGE FOR SENDING MY AMENDED STATE RETURN CERTIFIED MAIL. 

Imagine how much fun it would be to file a lien against the federal building in Hartford for non-payment. How about garnishing some wages of I.R.S. Commissioner Charles P. Rettig? Call for a full audit of the federal treasury? You know, the fun stuff they like to put citizens through acting like the jack-boot goons they are.

Audacy.com SUCKS!!!

Radio.com has become Audacy.com and they really suck! I have used Radio.com for a long time to listen to local talk radio that I have difficulty picking up over the air where I live. The app and website now both cut right into the middle of programming to dump in their national commercials. The few times that would happen on the old Radio.com a quick refresh would bring the program right back. Not with Audacy, you are stuck listening to their crap, they just restart the forced commercial break with fresh crap. I have used Radio.net before, but they had their problems too. I am trying it again. I don't mind commercials on the radio or online, as long as the breaks are coordinated with programming. When the radio host is in mid-sentence interviewing a guest and the break happens, I get nothing but pissed off. At least listening to national talk radio programs I can go to iHeart radio and listen uninterrupted. They seem to have the commercial thing down.