COMMENTERRY--

My furnace, approaching its 30th birthday, still keeps the house warm but its analog thermostat was getting tired.  While it worked fine at comfortable temperature selections, it would not maintain a lowered, maintenance-level temperature due, I suspect, to its aging, spring-loaded, internal design.

So, with a mind toward preemptive maintenance I opted to replace it with a modern, digital model from the well known Honeywell corporation.

When I selected 70 for my heating season comfort with the old one, made by Coleman, the furnace would run, then shut off at 70.  Perfectly.

Selecting 70 with this modern, Honeywell, digital gadget runs my house temperature to 73 degrees before the furnace shuts off--verified by the same, three, random interior thermometers used to monitor the Coleman's performance.

Sadly, Honeywell, appears to have joined the ranks of firms producing sloppy products and proving, once again, my hypothesis that today's standard of excellence is mediocrity.

*            *            *

Then, I was filling out my post office, change of address form for this winter's prolonged visit to sunny Florida when I noticed the form invited me to do this task online with their USPS.com web site.

So I said to myself, "Why not."

I rattled my keyboard and punched in all the necessary data; temporary change, addresses old and new, dates, etc., and hit "continue".

Their site then said they would be charging me $1.00 on my credit card to verify my identity...

...and $29.95 to process my application.

What?

If you do this the old fashioned way and mail your change of address card, "postage free" by the way, this service is free.

Appears to be a perfect example of another hypothesis of mine; namely, not all progress goes forward..