Re: Margy is famous!

[Jay Honeck]

> I would love to come and visit sometime, but I doubt if I'll be flying
> in...not in
> my plane anyway! Bit far. (based at Bourne Park, Hampshire - UK)

You still coming to the States this year, Paul?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Margy Natalie]

I'll keep on nagging, and I'm sure if the powers that be like the idea it won't
matter if it's rented. I just think a GA fly-in with planes folks can touch and
sit it would be a whole lot more educational than another warbird fly-in (don't
even think of stepping on the wing). We will see what happens. As for now I'm
just trying to make sure my stuff is ready for opening, first field trips, etc.
It is a great museum and a great collection.

Margy

Jack Allison wrote:

> Margie, can I display a rented airplane? :-) Would love to do something
> like that someday, especially if I reach the status of owner or co-owner
> someday.
>
> --
> Jack Allison
> PP-ASEL
>
> "When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth
> with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there
> you will always long to return"
> - Leonardo Da Vinci
>
> (Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)
> .)
> >
> > I'm not running for anything. We will leave that to Jim :-). I'm just
> having
> > lots of fun writing aviation lessons for students to go with the new
> > collection. Air and Space has done a great job with planning for the new
> > museum, especially in the area of education. The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy
> center
> > is located on the grounds of Dulles airport, but not anywhere near the
> > terminal. I don't know of any plans to run public transportation to the
> > museum, but it would be a short cab ride. The museum has a tower that is
> 1
> > foot taller than the Dulles tower for watching airport ops. The
> collection is
> > amazing. Unless I'm teaching a class I'm sure I'll be able to show you
> around,
> > but a tour by the docents will probably be better (they have to train for
> 5
> > months before they are allowed out on the floor!). Jay is rather
> mistaken, he
> > can't touch anything! There is rumor that the museum will be allowed 4
> fly-ins
> > a year. I'm going to work my hardest to get a general aviation fly-in
> with the
> > understanding that the pilots that fly in will show off their planes to
> the
> > general public. Does that sound like fun? Would folks be willing to
> fly-in
> > and stay with their planes for an hour or two?
> >
> > BTW if anyone has any wood or aluminum wing/stabilizer ribs they don't
> need I
> > really need some for a discovery station I'm working on.
> >
> > The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center opens on Dec. 15th, 2003. www.nasm.si.edu
> >
> > See you later,
> >
> > Margy
> >
> > >
> > >
> > > Congratulations, Margy! What a cool job you've landed! :-)
> > > --
> > > Jay Honeck
> > > Iowa City, IA
> > > Pathfinder N56993
> > > www.AlexisParkInn.com
> > > "Your Aviation Destination"
> >

[Margy Natalie]

Oh great, I guess I need to find a copy of that just to protect myself.
:-)

Margy

Jack Allison wrote:

> Congratulations Margie! Though, I do have a copy of that .jpg Jay is
> referring to on my computer *and* CD, just for safe keeping. :-)
>
> One of these days, I want to visit the Air & Space Museum.
>
> --
> Jack Allison
> PP-ASEL
>
> "When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth
> with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there
> you will always long to return"
> - Leonardo Da Vinci
>
> (Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)

[Jay Honeck]

> and I haven't got anyone's e-mail address any more (apart from you
> guys!)...it all needs planning and time...

Shoot -- what else do you need?

You've got Ron & Margy (and a host of others) on the East coast. You've got
Mary and me (and a host of others) in the Midwest. You've got Jim Fisher
(and a host of others) down South. And you've got a jillion people to
choose from out West!

You could conceivably spend a month in the States, and never see anyone but
pilots! :-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Paul Sengupta]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:wPxjb.783253$YN5.775152@sccrnsc01...
> You could conceivably spend a month in the States, and never see anyone
but
> pilots! :-)

That just about describes all the times I've been out there so far! :-)

[G.R. Patterson III]

Paul Sengupta wrote:
>
> Doesn't help that IT services managed to lose all my old e-mails
> and I haven't got anyone's e-mail address any more (apart from you
> guys!)...

Well, if you make it over, my offer to shoot the Hudson corridor is still good.
Depending on how I feel, I may offer to fly you out to Jay's. *I* can't afford
to stay there, but I have a friend who lives half and hour flight north of
there, so it might be doable.

George Patterson
To a pilot, altitude is like money - it is possible that having too much
could prove embarassing, but having too little is always fatal.

[Margy Natalie]

Jay Honeck wrote:

> > and I haven't got anyone's e-mail address any more (apart from you
> > guys!)...it all needs planning and time...
>
> Shoot -- what else do you need?
>
> You've got Ron & Margy (and a host of others) on the East coast. You've got
> Mary and me (and a host of others) in the Midwest. You've got Jim Fisher
> (and a host of others) down South. And you've got a jillion people to
> choose from out West!
>
> You could conceivably spend a month in the States, and never see anyone but
> pilots! :-)
>

The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is opening on Dec. 15th right outside
Washington, DC then you could swoop on down to Kitty Hawk for the 17th.

Margy

[Jay Honeck]

> Depending on how I feel, I may offer to fly you out to Jay's. *I* can't
afford
> to stay there, but I have a friend who lives half and hour flight north of
> there, so it might be doable.

George, George, George. Our suites start at just $59.95 per night -- and
your Usenet Discount knocks that down another 20%. Thus, for just $47.95
per night, you get a 300 square foot suite, with a full kitchen, breakfast
bar, queen sized bed, and a delivered-to-your-suite breakfast basket in the
morning -- including the daily newspaper!

Or, you can pay 100% more, at $99.95, and stay at a Holiday Inn Express in a
room 50% smaller, with no kitchen, and no delivered breakfast. (I guess
that's what makes the people who stay there so "smart", eh?)

True, for $47.95 you won't enjoy an aviation theme suite, and you won't get
a jacuzzi hot tub -- but that suite (our smallest) is actually *bigger* than
the local Sheraton's BIGGEST suite. :-)

We have the most affordable luxury suites, anywhere -- period.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Paul Sengupta]

Hi Margy, I can't make December as I'm going on a tour
of central India with my parents for the whole of December
(well, 3.5 weeks). I have family in Calcutta so we're going
there for Christmas after the tour. Sorry! Otherwise I'd be
tempted. But I guess there will be a few people already at
Kittyhawk on the 17th...

I shall endevour to visit though. I have a few places marked
on my "to do" list! :-)

Paul

"Margy Natalie" > wrote in message
...
> The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is opening on Dec. 15th right outside
> Washington, DC then you could swoop on down to Kitty Hawk for the 17th.

[Paul Sengupta]

"G.R. Patterson III" > wrote in message
...
> Well, if you make it over, my offer to shoot the Hudson corridor is still
good.
> Depending on how I feel, I may offer to fly you out to Jay's. *I* can't
afford
> to stay there, but I have a friend who lives half and hour flight north of
> there, so it might be doable.

:-)

Thanks George. I appreciate that. I can get out to Jays on frequent
flyer points I think, but Maule would be much more of an adventure!
I would of course pay half the fuel (if anyone from the FAA is reading,
I didn't suggest the trip first! :-) )...

Paul

[Judah]

Wow! That's a good deal!

What's the circ at your local paper? I might have to start pitching their
mailroom people! This way I can justify a trip out...

Heck - if I can close something, I might even splurge for a Jacuzzi! ;)

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in
news:N8Jjb.799678$uu5.140928@sccrnsc04:

> George, George, George. Our suites start at just $59.95 per night --
> and your Usenet Discount knocks that down another 20%. Thus, for just
> $47.95 per night, you get a 300 square foot suite, with a full kitchen,
> breakfast bar, queen sized bed, and a delivered-to-your-suite breakfast
> basket in the morning -- including the daily newspaper!
>
> Or, you can pay 100% more, at $99.95, and stay at a Holiday Inn Express
> in a room 50% smaller, with no kitchen, and no delivered breakfast.
> (I guess that's what makes the people who stay there so "smart", eh?)
>
> True, for $47.95 you won't enjoy an aviation theme suite, and you won't
> get a jacuzzi hot tub -- but that suite (our smallest) is actually
> *bigger* than the local Sheraton's BIGGEST suite. :-)
>
> We have the most affordable luxury suites, anywhere -- period.

[Jay Honeck]

> Wow! That's a good deal!

Thanks. We're holding the prices until all the suites are done -- at least
two years away...

> What's the circ at your local paper? I might have to start pitching their
> mailroom people! This way I can justify a trip out...

The Press-Citizen has something close to 30,000. There are actually three
"local" papers -- the Press-Citizen (Gannett owned), the Gazette (out of
Cedar Rapids, family-owned), and the Daily Iowan (owned by the University).
Combined they probably have a circ of close to 70,000 -- in a city of
65,000!

This is a newspaper town, for sure. It helps that everyone (and I mean
EVERYONE) has a college degree. (One of my desk clerks speaks 14
languages...)

> Heck - if I can close something, I might even splurge for a Jacuzzi! ;)

What do you pitch to the mailroom folks? I worked in Circulation and
Distribution for 22 years -- maybe I can steer you in the right direction?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Peter R.]

Jay Honeck ) wrote:

> It helps that everyone (and I mean
> EVERYONE) has a college degree. (One of my desk clerks speaks 14
> languages...)

This just goes to show how tough the current job market is.


--
Peter












----== Posted via Newsfeed.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
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[Montblack]

("Peter R." wrote)
> > It helps that everyone (and I mean
> > EVERYONE) has a college degree. (One of my desk clerks speaks 14
> > languages...)
>
> This just goes to show how tough the current job market is.

Nope. It's a college town thing. My sister has been in Boulder Colorado for
over 30 years. She says people take college courses, there at CU, the way
people in other cities go to the local health club or gym. Academic workout?
Brain Buff?

Even during the roaring 90's, she would often tell us about the guy bagging
her groceries, with a PhD in something obscure, or her mailman, the rocket
scientist.

--
Montblack

[Jay Honeck]

Montblack hit it on the head. We only have 2% unemployment around here --
it's just that people who graduate from the U of Iowa fall in love with the
place, and want to stay here. Many will take any job they can find in order
to do so.

Iowa City has also (I kid you not!) become a popular retirement destination.

As a result, we have two widely disparate groups who do nothing but go to
school in their spare time! It makes for an interesting place to live, and
a fabulous (if bored) work force.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Judah]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in
news:7hSjb.157329$%h1.154594@sccrnsc02:

>> Wow! That's a good deal!
>
> Thanks. We're holding the prices until all the suites are done -- at
> least two years away...

OK, then I have some time! :)


>> What's the circ at your local paper? I might have to start pitching
>> their mailroom people! This way I can justify a trip out...
>
> The Press-Citizen has something close to 30,000. There are actually
> three "local" papers -- the Press-Citizen (Gannett owned), the Gazette
> (out of Cedar Rapids, family-owned), and the Daily Iowan (owned by the
> University). Combined they probably have a circ of close to 70,000 --
> in a city of 65,000!
>
> This is a newspaper town, for sure. It helps that everyone (and I mean
> EVERYONE) has a college degree. (One of my desk clerks speaks 14
> languages...)
>

Wow! That's amazing! Looks like I'll DEFINITELY have to drop by! :)


> What do you pitch to the mailroom folks? I worked in Circulation and
> Distribution for 22 years -- maybe I can steer you in the right
> direction?

I saw you mention in a previous post that you had a DC or something in a
"previous life"...

If you've heard of a product called NEWSCOM, that's our "bread and
butter"... It's an Inserter control system for SLS's, 72's and 99's.
Besides NEWSCOM, we also do Stacker control upgrades and Inkjet systems
for labelling on bottomwraps and on TMCs. We're also going to be
producing a Bundle Distribution System next year...

Basically, we do software and controls from the Pressroom Wall to the
Loading Bay Window...

I probably shouldn't get too heavy into the pitch in the newsgroup. If
you want more details, or you can help me out at all, EMail me at my name
at miracomcomputer.com... (Hopefully that's obscure enough to avoid the
spam robots! :) )

Thanks!!

Judah

[G.R. Patterson III]

Jay Honeck wrote:
>
> George, George, George. Our suites start at just $59.95 per night -- and
> your Usenet Discount knocks that down another 20%. Thus, for just $47.95
> per night, you get a 300 square foot suite, with a full kitchen, breakfast
> bar, queen sized bed, and a delivered-to-your-suite breakfast basket in the
> morning -- including the daily newspaper!

Ok, now *that's* a great deal. Can't exactly compete with staying at O'Kane's
for free, but then I'd have to put up with O'Kane for that. :-)

Still, if I'm out that way, I think I'd have to drop up to Cedar Rapids to see
the man.

George Patterson
To a pilot, altitude is like money - it is possible that having too much
could prove embarassing, but having too little is always fatal.

[G.R. Patterson III]

Jay Honeck wrote:
>
> One of my desk clerks speaks 14 languages...

A couple fellows back home were directing traffic at the Museum of Appalachia's
entrance when a guy drove up and asked, "Sprechen sie Deutsch?"

Gene and Slim just stared at him. So the visitor tried, "Parlez vous Francais?"

Still no response. So he said, "Parlare Italiano?"

Nothing. So the fellow gave it one last effort with, "Habla Espanol?"

Zip. So, throwing his hands over his head in disgust, the visitor angrily sped away.

"Y'know, maybe we oughta learn a foreign language," said Gene.

"Why?" asked Slim. "That feller knew four of 'em, and it didn't do him
no good."

George Patterson
To a pilot, altitude is like money - it is possible that having too much
could prove embarassing, but having too little is always fatal.

[Peter Duniho]

"G.R. Patterson III" > wrote in message
...
> [...]
> "Why?" asked Slim. "That feller knew four of 'em, and it didn't do him
> no good."

Of course, that story was obviously translated from whatever the folks
living in the Appalachian "hollers" speak. I don't know what it is, but it
isn't English. :)

[Robert Moore]

"Peter Duniho" wrote

> Of course, that story was obviously translated from whatever the
> folks living in the Appalachian "hollers" speak. I don't know
> what it is, but it isn't English. :)

Yes Pete, I see the smiley, but I still take it as a personal
insult having been born up Shelby Hollow in Shelbiana, Pike Co.,
Kentucky where the almost pure English descendants spoke some-
thing a lot more akin to the English spoken in the British Islands
than do many New Yorkers. :-)

Bob Moore

[Jay Honeck]

> If you've heard of a product called NEWSCOM, that's our "bread and
> butter"... It's an Inserter control system for SLS's, 72's and 99's.
> Besides NEWSCOM, we also do Stacker control upgrades and Inkjet systems
> for labelling on bottomwraps and on TMCs. We're also going to be
> producing a Bundle Distribution System next year...
>
> Basically, we do software and controls from the Pressroom Wall to the
> Loading Bay Window...

Ow, ow, ow! Stop it -- you're hurting my head!

I haven't heard those words in close to 18 months -- nor have I used any
"newspaper brain cells". (Perhaps they've regenerated, after being damaged
for 22 years? :)

So YOU'RE the guy we used to curse in the middle of the night, eh? God, I
can't tell you how many times I had a D.C. full of contract drivers, waiting
for the papers that were late because of some "mailroom glitch"...

There's nothing like trying to placate a couple of dozen ****ed off guys,
who are NOT being paid extra to wait for their newspapers. When the Cedar
Rapids Gazette (our primary customer) went "live" with their new mailroom
(and press) systems a couple of years ago, this scene was played out every
night, for months...

We used to sit around sticking pins in little "Judah" dolls -- did you
experience any unexplained pains during this time? :-)

Anyway, do you do any work with Lee Enterprise? They own something close to
30 (maybe more, now?) papers throughout the Midwest. I worked for (and
with) them for 12 years, too...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Peter Duniho]

"Robert Moore" > wrote in message
. 7...
> Yes Pete, I see the smiley, but I still take it as a personal
> insult

Whatever. Be insulted all you like. I've run into plenty of folks from
rural Appalachia that I could not even communicate with. My post was
intended as a joke, but certainly it has some truth to it which is IMHO what
makes it funny.

[G.R. Patterson III]

Peter Duniho wrote:
>
> Of course, that story was obviously translated from whatever the folks
> living in the Appalachian "hollers" speak. I don't know what it is, but it
> isn't English. :)

It is if you live there.

George Patterson
To a pilot, altitude is like money - it is possible that having too much
could prove embarassing, but having too little is always fatal.

[G.R. Patterson III]

Peter Duniho wrote:
>
> Whatever. Be insulted all you like. I've run into plenty of folks from
> rural Appalachia that I could not even communicate with.

That may mean that you speak worse English than they do.

George Patterson
To a pilot, altitude is like money - it is possible that having too much
could prove embarassing, but having too little is always fatal.

[Peter Duniho]

"G.R. Patterson III" > wrote in message
...
> That may mean that you speak worse English than they do.

Well, there's English and then there's English. I admit, they might be
speaking Chaucer's English or some such thing. Regardless, a translation is
necessary. I speak the current version of English quite well.

[Judah]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in
news:QRakb.169068$%h1.160953@sccrnsc02:

> Ow, ow, ow! Stop it -- you're hurting my head!

"Just when I thought I was out, they PULL me back in!" ;)

> I haven't heard those words in close to 18 months -- nor have I used
> any "newspaper brain cells". (Perhaps they've regenerated, after
> being damaged for 22 years? :)
>
> So YOU'RE the guy we used to curse in the middle of the night, eh?
> God, I can't tell you how many times I had a D.C. full of contract
> drivers, waiting for the papers that were late because of some
> "mailroom glitch"...
>
> There's nothing like trying to placate a couple of dozen ****ed off
> guys, who are NOT being paid extra to wait for their newspapers. When
> the Cedar Rapids Gazette (our primary customer) went "live" with their
> new mailroom (and press) systems a couple of years ago, this scene was
> played out every night, for months...
>
> We used to sit around sticking pins in little "Judah" dolls -- did you
> experience any unexplained pains during this time? :-)

Nah... Our stuff works! Besides, many of the papers where we do
installations don't have DCs. They go out the window with route-based
bundle breaks to "ma and pa" carriers who won't stick around if their stuff
is late. They gotta get back home to get their kids off to school, or get
toe their day job!

I think the worst holdup I can remember we had was in Colorado. The
inserter was running so nicely, the operator kept bumping up the speed...
Finally, she got the thing up to about 22k/hr (faster than I have ever seen
an inserter run in production!) All of a sudden, "BANG!" - it happened. A
few of the single-sheet inserts were blowing past the pockets from the wind
generated by the jackets at 22k... Instead of falling inside the pockets,
they were blowing all over and in between. Eventually, a few of them got
wrapped around the main drive sprocket, and knocked the collator chain off
the sprocket. That in turn broke a series of pockets and brought the whole
machine to a screeching halt.

It took over an hour to get things back together... Actually, most of the
time was spent trying to get the collator chain to move at all.

Sure enough, we got blamed! :)

> Anyway, do you do any work with Lee Enterprise? They own something
> close to 30 (maybe more, now?) papers throughout the Midwest. I worked
> for (and with) them for 12 years, too...

I know the name and the logo, but I haven't met anyone over there. I was
going to use the "East Coast" excuse (both Miracom and NEWSTEC, our key
distributor, are based in the NorthEast), but looking at their website it
seems they have a couple papers out my way now, too - upstate NY and PA...
According to E&P they are up to 38...

Hmmm... I will have to get on that...


Thanks!

Judah

[Judah]

Whachyous talkin' 'bout? Us New Yoakers talks perfectly good english!

Besides, our english comes from the Dutch!

Robert Moore > wrote in
. 7:

> "Peter Duniho" wrote
>
>> Of course, that story was obviously translated from whatever the
>> folks living in the Appalachian "hollers" speak. I don't know what it
>> is, but it isn't English. :)
>
> Yes Pete, I see the smiley, but I still take it as a personal
> insult having been born up Shelby Hollow in Shelbiana, Pike Co.,
> Kentucky where the almost pure English descendants spoke some-
> thing a lot more akin to the English spoken in the British Islands
> than do many New Yorkers. :-)
>
> Bob Moore
>

[vincent p. norris]

>Of course, that story was obviously translated from whatever the folks
>living in the Appalachian "hollers" speak. I don't know what it is, but it
>isn't English. :)
>
Pete, you might want to read up on the history of the language. Them
folks in the hollers speak very good English. You don't understand it
because you know only contemporary Amurrican.

I met a fellow in Manteo, NC, a year ago who spoke the most beautiful
"hillbilly" I had ever heard. It was like music. I would glady have
bought him beer all afternoon just to hear him talk.

Next time you have the opportunity, listen carefully the Queen of
England speak. She pronounces many words just the way folks in the
Applalachians do.

Surely you will agree that the Queen speaks English.

P.S. Back in 1946, when I arrived at Parris Island, I could not
understand the "redneck" kids from rural Alabama.

As I look back on it, I'm not sure it was their fault, or mine.

vince norris

[G.R. Patterson III]

Peter Duniho wrote:
>
> I speak the current version of English quite well.

As long as you don't leave your back yard.

George Patterson
To a pilot, altitude is like money - it is possible that having too much
could prove embarassing, but having too little is always fatal.

[Jay Honeck]

> > Ow, ow, ow! Stop it -- you're hurting my head!
>
> "Just when I thought I was out, they PULL me back in!" ;)

No way. If I ever go back to newspapers, it will be back into the marketing
side, period. No more dealing with drunk contract haulers at 2 AM, thank
you! ;)

I much preferred my years in marketing, where I never had to actually *do*
any work. All I had to do was come up with ideas that *others* had to
implement. (And if the concepts failed in the field, it was OBVIOUSLY the
fault of the soldiers on the ground who were incapable of properly
implementing the plan -- right?)

Too bad running my newspaper distribution company was so danged profitable.
It just about ruined my health -- but newspapers were willing to pay
whatever it took to remove *that* particular headache from their hands...

> Nah... Our stuff works! Besides, many of the papers where we do
> installations don't have DCs. They go out the window with route-based
> bundle breaks to "ma and pa" carriers who won't stick around if their
stuff
> is late. They gotta get back home to get their kids off to school, or get
> to their day job!

Must be using employee-run distribution/circulation operations at those
newspapers. Newspapers that utilize contract distributors (like my old
company) don't give a **** whether the papers go out on time or not -- it
isn't *their* problem to deal with the ****ed-off drivers. It's a whole
different attitude at newspapers with employee district managers running the
carriers! (I've worked in both systems...)

> I think the worst holdup I can remember we had was in Colorado. The
> inserter was running so nicely, the operator kept bumping up the speed...
> Finally, she got the thing up to about 22k/hr (faster than I have ever
seen
> an inserter run in production!) All of a sudden, "BANG!" - it happened. A
> few of the single-sheet inserts were blowing past the pockets from the
wind
> generated by the jackets at 22k... Instead of falling inside the pockets,
> they were blowing all over and in between. Eventually, a few of them got
> wrapped around the main drive sprocket, and knocked the collator chain off
> the sprocket. That in turn broke a series of pockets and brought the whole
> machine to a screeching halt.

Ouch. Been there, done that.

The worst hold ups I've seen were when the Cedar Rapids Gazette brought
their new mailroom and press equipment on-line. Although their primary
problems were press-related (they actually ended up bringing suit against
Goss, it was so bad -- a losing battle, since Goss was bankrupt by that
time...), it always seemed that an inserter or conveyor would go down
whenever the press was "up".

We actually had to deliver newspapers at NOON one Sunday -- the papers were
NINE hours late, coming off the press. Many of my drivers had to go to
their regular jobs, and the ONLY thing that saved us was the fact that it
happened on a Sunday -- otherwise we would have lost them all.

My stomach churns just thinking about that day. And there were sooo many
like that, over the years...

> I know the name and the logo, but I haven't met anyone over there. I was
> going to use the "East Coast" excuse (both Miracom and NEWSTEC, our key
> distributor, are based in the NorthEast), but looking at their website it
> seems they have a couple papers out my way now, too - upstate NY and PA...
> According to E&P they are up to 38...

I finally just let my Editor & Publisher subscription lapse, after some 15+
years as a subscriber. Now that we've survived 14 months with the inn --
thus far, successfully -- I'm hopeful that I can let the rest of my
newspaper skills atrophy...

Wow -- they've got 38 products now? Impressive.

If you do hit Lee up, be prepared -- they're so tight, they make Gannett
look like drunken sailors... :-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Judah]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in
news:q6Hkb.822403$YN5.841029@sccrnsc01:

>> > Ow, ow, ow! Stop it -- you're hurting my head!
>>
>> "Just when I thought I was out, they PULL me back in!" ;)
>
> No way. If I ever go back to newspapers, it will be back into the
> marketing side, period. No more dealing with drunk contract haulers at
> 2 AM, thank you! ;)
>
> I much preferred my years in marketing, where I never had to actually
> *do* any work. All I had to do was come up with ideas that *others*
> had to implement. (And if the concepts failed in the field, it was
> OBVIOUSLY the fault of the soldiers on the ground who were incapable of
> properly implementing the plan -- right?)

Hey - I LIKE that! I think I'll have to try that sometime myself! :)

<snip>
>> Nah... Our stuff works! Besides, many of the papers where we do
>> installations don't have DCs. They go out the window with route-based
>> bundle breaks to "ma and pa" carriers who won't stick around if their
>> stuff is late. They gotta get back home to get their kids off to
>> school, or get to their day job!
>
> Must be using employee-run distribution/circulation operations at those
> newspapers. Newspapers that utilize contract distributors (like my old
> company) don't give a **** whether the papers go out on time or not --
> it isn't *their* problem to deal with the ****ed-off drivers. It's a
> whole different attitude at newspapers with employee district managers
> running the carriers! (I've worked in both systems...)

Hmm.. I don't know. I don't think I've ever been in a mailroom that didn't
give a **** if they were late. At least not on a daily. It's true they
don't give a **** if the drivers are late... But they want to meet their
own targets, because in many cases they are rated on it.

That said, I've seen mailrooms make decisions to allow them to meet their
targets, even if they have adverse affects on drivers - like sequence
changes to improve inserter productivity. So you end up with a pile of
bundles in everybody's way, waiting for a driver who isn't in yet, and a
driver who's been standing there 15 minutes waiting another 15 minutes for
his bundles because they have a different sized Sears flyer... That kinda
**** happens ALL the time.

> Ouch. Been there, done that.
>
> The worst hold ups I've seen were when the Cedar Rapids Gazette brought
> their new mailroom and press equipment on-line. Although their primary
> problems were press-related (they actually ended up bringing suit
> against Goss, it was so bad -- a losing battle, since Goss was bankrupt
> by that time...), it always seemed that an inserter or conveyor would
> go down whenever the press was "up".

IIRC 17 papers sued Goss. I was doing work for the NY Daily News who were
one of the plaintiffs. That was a mess. Amazingly enough, now Goss is
talking about buying Heidelberg!

> We actually had to deliver newspapers at NOON one Sunday -- the papers
> were NINE hours late, coming off the press. Many of my drivers had to
> go to their regular jobs, and the ONLY thing that saved us was the fact
> that it happened on a Sunday -- otherwise we would have lost them all.
>
> My stomach churns just thinking about that day. And there were sooo
> many like that, over the years...

Geez! That's bad news! NOON!! Holy cow... I can't even imagine that...

> I finally just let my Editor & Publisher subscription lapse, after some
> 15+ years as a subscriber. Now that we've survived 14 months with the
> inn -- thus far, successfully -- I'm hopeful that I can let the rest of
> my newspaper skills atrophy...

Hey - you still have to distribute the paper to all your guests! :)


> Wow -- they've got 38 products now? Impressive.
>
> If you do hit Lee up, be prepared -- they're so tight, they make
> Gannett look like drunken sailors... :-)

Well, we have a Gannett paper already (actually they're the one in
Colorado). And to be honest, They were for the most part a pleasure to deal
with. Then again, I am heavily sheltered by my key distributor in deals
like that. But even they seemed to be pretty happy with things over there.
Besides, we got to eat at this INCREDIBLE steak house. Actually, it was
more of a sports bar, but the meat there was absolutely out of this world!

[Jay Honeck]

> > Must be using employee-run distribution/circulation operations at those
> > newspapers. Newspapers that utilize contract distributors (like my old
> > company) don't give a **** whether the papers go out on time or not --
> > it isn't *their* problem to deal with the ****ed-off drivers. It's a
> > whole different attitude at newspapers with employee district managers
> > running the carriers! (I've worked in both systems...)
>
> Hmm.. I don't know. I don't think I've ever been in a mailroom that didn't
> give a **** if they were late.

Well, okay -- they SAY they care. But here's the difference:

Scenario #1: Independent Distributors. You see the owners of these
companies quarterly -- maybe. Papers are late? You deal with phone calls.

Scenario #2: Employee District Managers: You see these guys every day. They
report to you. You know their families. Papers late? You deal with them
and their wives, every hour, of every day.

Who you gonna care more about? What's going to make you make the hard
decisions necessary to fix the problems?

That said, employee district managers don't give half a damn about their
jobs, compared to an independent distributor -- since they get paid whether
the papers go out or not. Distributors live and die on sales, so
newspapers that care about their circulation generally use distributors
where they can.

> That said, I've seen mailrooms make decisions to allow them to meet their
> targets, even if they have adverse affects on drivers - like sequence
> changes to improve inserter productivity.

God, yes. Internal flow ALWAYS came ahead of common sense in the real
world. A great example of this was when the Gazette's new mailroom plan was
being implemented, and someone in a Circulation Dept. meeting asked how they
were going to send carrier supplies (rubber bands, rain bags, etc.) out on
the newspaper bundles.

There was a long pause, and everyone stared blankly at each other. Finally
one of the mailroom design engineers volunteered "that it would no longer be
possible to cap bundles with supplies" -- because there was no room in the
conveyor system for a person to actually *do* that! This guy was
astounded at the sudden hostility in the room when it became obvious that
some moron had sold out the "real world" in favor of some theoretical flow
chart.

This situation eventually forced the contract drivers -- not the sharpest
sticks in the bunch to begin with -- to try to distribute carrier supplies
on their trucks. Needless to say, on rainy days there were a LOT more wet
papers delivered, simply because carriers couldn't get plastic bags -- and
it ALL went back to that stupid mailroom designer... (Of course, the
newspaper would never admit that...)

The newspaper industry is so old, and so backward in so many ways, that
there are literally dozens of examples of this kind of stupidity, as they
try to take half-steps into the 21st century.

> IIRC 17 papers sued Goss. I was doing work for the NY Daily News who were
> one of the plaintiffs. That was a mess. Amazingly enough, now Goss is
> talking about buying Heidelberg!

No frickin' way! How does a bankrupt organization do *that*?

> Hey - you still have to distribute the paper to all your guests! :)

Well, most mornings Mary takes care of that! :-) As much as I hate 'em,
I'll always love newspapers. After two decades, they're in my blood, and
the morning just isn't right without a cup of coffee and the paper...

I've found that (unlike much of the general population) most pilots agree
with me on that point.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[[email protected]]

> Well, if you make it over, my offer to shoot the Hudson corridor is
> still good.

Hey, if you pass thru northern Colorado, I can arrange a mountain
flight for you! With a few weeks notice, I can get on the
schedule at the gliderport and we can fly the Grob-103 sailplane.

Best regards,

Jer/ Eberhard, Chief Flight Instructor, EMAIL:
--
Poudre Aviation, Ft Collins, CO, USA
CELL/VM: 970 231-6325, CELL Message:
WEB: http://poudreaviation.com/ "Online Services" "New User"

[Paul Sengupta]

Hey, it just so happens that the Grob 103 is about the only
glider I can fit in. If I fly from the back seat that is...

Paul the large.

> wrote in message
...
> Hey, if you pass thru northern Colorado, I can arrange a mountain
> flight for you! With a few weeks notice, I can get on the
> schedule at the gliderport and we can fly the Grob-103 sailplane.