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Postal Sensor Fleet Idea Gets Tentative Nod From the USPS
Late last year, we mentioned the idea floated by to Michael J. Ravnitzky, a chief counsel at the Postal Regulatory Commission, that the US Postal Service use its wide-ranging fleet to gather and upload useful data of all kinds — everything from weather conditions to RF coverage. Now, an anonymous reader writes "A workshop on this topic is scheduled for April 12th in Washington, DC. This month, the Postmaster General sent a letter to Senator Thomas Carper, Chairman of the US Senate Subcommittee that oversees the Postal Service, expressing interest in exploring this concept."
On the surface this sounds like a good idea, provided that data is collected from sensors only - for things like radiation and chemical/biological agents.....
However, I could easily see DHS wanting to expand this to more troubling activities....
Google collects images for its streetview, and a Wifi sensor to create a "coverage" map, and it gets investigated by two governments (EU and US) plus an anti-trust investigation.
But if the government-owned post office does it, and "accidentally" collects your userID and other crap, that will be good. It will "help stop terrorism". Yep.
Sorry. I'm a cynic.
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They return with the data you requested the next day!
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You don't need GPS for that conspiracy theory. Your address is already on the parcel....
You do realize that the USPS gets exactly $0.00 from your taxes right? Not even a penny. Whether or not the USPS exists has absolutely no effect on the national debt. In fact even their retirements are PRE-funded so it is impossible for them to have unfunded pension issues... This is a potential revenue source for the USPS. Weather services, scientists, and others could "rent" access to the sensor information for a small nominal fee.
This also has the potential to greatly expand the available data points for any number of things and could greatly increase our ability to understand or predict natural phenomenon.
Of course people like you who have absolutely no idea what they're talking about will probably ruin the opportunity for those that aren't completely uninformed idiots.
I'll meet you at the intersection of "Should be" and "Reality"
Actually, the Post Office has been automated for a long time. The letter sorting machines really cut costs and mistakes. I think they got them in the late 90's. They could sort something like 30,000 letters an hour. You must be in some back woods location if the time clock is the only machinery they have. In the 90's even the smallest PO had computers. Some of their mail was sorted by machine in a nearby town. "Junk mail" is how small businesses reaches customers that are not connected to the internet for reasons of money or location. The USPS has experimented with fuel efficiency (hybrids, electric). MPG is affected by the weight of the mail, and the stop and go driving from box to box. On my route I drove two miles, walked ten miles. My last vehicle was a S10 with an aluminum screwed and glued body by Cushman. The newer vehicles are lighter and more efficient. The data collection code and equipment will probably be provided by the businesses and agencies. I don't think the PO would be doing the coding. BTW, the Post Office has no control of pricing or markets they can enter. They are also required to have universal delivery. When I was a rural route carrier, there was one delivery 2 miles down a one lane road. So I had to do a 4 mile trip whether I had mail for him or not. There was an outside chance there was some outgoing mail, and I'd get my butt reamed if I missed it. There are the intangibles of the public servant/mailcarrier. Many lives have been saved, crimes solved and prevented, and child and animal abuse reported by mail carriers. Sometimes the only human contact the elderly have is their mailman. I used to check to see if one of my elderly customers remembered to take her medicine. We provide a sense of normalcy, and a human touch. There are a lot of lonely people out there, and a "hello, how are you" from the mailman might be enough to give temporary relief from the crushing loneliness many experience in this impersonal society.
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Now how about moving to Electric cars. Seriously, The USPS could make a dent in lowering their costs, as well as getting electric cars in the USA moving. They currently buy most of their vehicles from AM General, which are basically CJ-5's, called DJ5s. Instead, AM General could produce an electric version that got 40-50 miles on a charge. That might sound low, but the average USPS vehicle travels less than 30 miles daily(yes, that little). So, with 40-50 miles / charge, they have plenty left over. And if AM General did this up right, they would get a load of work their way.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.