3-Cent Stamp On Demand

stamp-3-cent.pngFor this year’s Christmas card mailing, Kathy wanted me to use up some old non-denominational Lady Liberty stamps. I had to research these to find out they were worth 39 cents. When I went to the post office, they were closed, but I was able to use the Automated Postal Center (APC.) I bought several books of 42 cent stamps, thinking I would end up with the Liberty Bell forever stamps. Instead I had these four nutcracker guys show up by surprise.

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I was then able to order stamps of “another value” and was able to request 3 cent stamps. I got 5 of them. Since these are print-on-demand, I could have ordered any amount on the stamp, including 1 cent.

As I applied all of the stamps, I regretted not having a pen. I kept wanting to draw an arrow pointing to the more surly nutcrackers with whatever guy’s name was on the envelope. “Bob”… “John”… “Grant”… “Jim”…. “Ted”… etc.

If any of you guys are reading this, just know that these characters remind me of you. Arrggghhhh.

Tomato Butt

This is one of the funniest editions of The News from Lake Wobegon I’ve ever heard. A younger brother annoying his older sister. It reminds me of a lot of sibling relationships in our family and can be enjoyed by any (younger or older): The return of tomato butt.

I listened to this one on my iPod while raking the yard just around Kathy’s garden. 16 minutes.

Credit Card Tune-Up


Looks like Ted (and others) may be looking for a new credit card. Clark Howard recommended the website creditcardtuneup.com where you can plug in your spending patterns, and the site will point you in the direction of the best rewards program for you. Kathy and I have always used Discover as our primary card because it pays you back in cash. But after running through the site, I found that Discover ranked far below other options. For us, the American Express Blue ranked at the top. I think this is because we spend so much on groceries and at department stores. It also pays cash back. (I’m not interested in trying to figure out how to maximize sky miles, gift cards, etc. Too complicated. Cash please.)

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I signed up on the spot, and now Kathy and my primary card is American Express Blue. It has a smart chip in it, but no one makes use of that (yet.) After two decades with Discover our balances suddenly went to near zero.