Going Postal or: Down the Rabbit Hole Again

It started this morning because my husband forwarded a note from work about the change in first class postage taking effect on May 11. A first class letter will go from $.42 to $.44 cents. And I wondered what a first class postage stamp in the Before Time (the year I was born) was, so I looked it up with my trusty search engine, and discovered that it was 3¢.


( More postage history, for those who love research... )

It Ain't the Pigs

The WHO has decided not to continue calling it "swine flu", because that casts a false sense of culpability on pigs. This, apparently, after Egypt slaughtered many pigs in a well-meant (except to the pigs) but useless attempt to avoid the flu. The swine has escaped from the sty, guys, in the same sense that the horse is no longer in the barn. Leave the piggies alone; they have enough troubles in their lives.

Hereafter the flu's correct designation is H1N1 Type A. But you can call it Louise, if you like. Or Charles.