Path: ccsf.homeunix.org!news.moat.net!news.glorb.com!newshub.sdsu.edu!sn-xt-sjc-03!sn-xt-sjc-11!sn-xt-sjc-01!sn-post-01!supernews.com!news.supernews.com!not-for-mail From: Kevin Wayne Williams Newsgroups: fj.life.in-japan Subject: Re: Shipping Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2006 12:18:28 -0400 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Message-ID: <124fd2qhe4gq895@news.supernews.com> User-Agent: Mozilla Thunderbird 1.0 (Windows/20041206) X-Accept-Language: en-us, en MIME-Version: 1.0 References: <1144909164.786730.162090@i39g2000cwa.googlegroups.com> <1144937554.808351.306610@i39g2000cwa.googlegroups.com> <1144940656.131999.3330@g10g2000cwb.googlegroups.com> <3lvu321bs7u8l9lepm0utdqdbmonh1lcib@4ax.com> In-Reply-To: <3lvu321bs7u8l9lepm0utdqdbmonh1lcib@4ax.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Complaints-To: abuse@supernews.com Lines: 37 Xref: ccsf.homeunix.org fj.life.in-japan:162455 Michael Cash wrote: > I've heard a couple of anecdotes regarding some odd abuses of the lack > of adequate regulations waaaay back when..... > > In one case, a fellow wanted to move a house a few miles. He got an > estimate from a house moving firm. Then he consulted the (US) postage > tables in effect at the time and noticed it would be cheaper to mail > the house. > > So....he bought sufficient stamps to pay the postage, stuck them on > the side of the house, addressed it, and called the post office to > come pick it up. The post office ended up having to hire a house > moving firm to move the house for him. > > In the other case, a building contractor got a contract on a new > project in Alaska. Naturally, it was going to cost him a small fortune > to have all the building materials shipped to the job site, it being > in a remote area with roads ranging from poor to nonexistent. > > The great thing about domestic postage rates is that distance and > remoteness of the addressee don't affect them. He sent every single > bit of the building material via the United States Postal Service, > which quite naturally ended up having to pay exorbitant rates to an > outside contractor to haul the stuff the last bit of the way. > > It is enterprising geniuses like those two who are at least partially > to blame for the regulations being the way they are. Amazing how many people think that other people should pay their costs. There was a rancher in Arizona back in the mid-80's who raised holy hell because US West wanted to charge him $10,000 to install a residential line. He lived 50 miles from the nearest town with phone service and they were going to have to install a private microwave station to deliver him service. He successfully lobbied the Arizona legislature to get a $100 installation fee cap imposed. KWW