Amazon. It’s amazing. I don’t always love it, but it’s always amazing. Take today, for instance.<\/p>\n
I don’t exactly live at the end of the world, but we’re constantly reminded that this is an out-of-the-way corner. The DMV office is open four hours a week — if the one guy who staffs it isn’t sick or out giving driving tests. We have a hospital, but its one-and-only surgeon visits just two days a week. When we were cut off from the outside world for three days after a devastating storm, nobody we were cut off from gave a rat’s ass about us.<\/p>\n
One of my favorite petty irritations about living here is that the post office treats us like second-class customers. You need to get something to me overnight? Give it to your local USPS and they’ll charge you full overnight rate for it. But they’ll deliver it two or three days later without apology, prior notice, or refund because apparently there’s some sub-clause in some subsection of some unpublished codicil to their regulations that says the advertised rules don’t apply in places like this.<\/p>\n
Then along comes Amazon. Yesterday — after 5:00 p.m. yesterday<\/em><\/strong> — I ordered a new wifi router because I couldn’t get my old one working. Amazon told me I’d have it by Thursday. Today, Tuesday afternoon, less than 24 hours after I ordered it, it was waiting at the post office. Not delivered there by postal workers, but by UPS.<\/p>\n This isn’t the first time that’s happened, either. I don’t know how they do it. Amazon’s got to have a warehouse somewhere out here in the boonies, perhaps attached to a UPS facility?, stocked with their most common items. If you know how else they manage this, let me know.<\/p>\n You guys in New York City or Los Angeles or wherever might be used to same-day delivery. But in this beloved but sometimes frustrating backwater delivery this quick is a miracle. A lovely free-market miracle.<\/p>\n —–<\/p>\n And much appreciated today. I popped the router out of its box and 15 minutes later my wireless problems were solved. The cable modem now flashes a dire red alert to warn me that OMG, there is NO DEVICE connected to me!!! You must DO SOMETHING about this IMMEDIATELY!!!<\/i> But the “unconnected” device in question is relaying signal from the modem just fine.<\/p>\n —–<\/p>\n Amazon has been amazing in another way this month. Specifically, in terms of my Amazon links<\/a>. <\/p>\n I’m always a little hesitant to mention items people have purchased — even though I don’t know who the purchasers are and can’t possibly betray their privacy. But this month there’ve been a couple of real whopper purchases along with a nice, strong flow of regular buying.<\/p>\n I have to laugh as I thank the mystery person who has (several times over the last year) made what is obviously a substantial group buy of the most unlikely textbooks. Thank you, excellent Outlaw Mole<\/a>.<\/p>\n Also this week, somebody is obviously putting together a beautifully equipped shop or lab. Once those items ship, they’ll be an absolutely huge addition to an already great Amazon month. Not only that. But also — dear buyer of high-quality shop items — you chose one thing I’ve long had my own eye on but can’t yet justify purchasing. It’s a great piece, though. Enjoy it with my thanks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Amazon. It’s amazing. I don’t always love it, but it’s always amazing. Take today, for instance. I don’t exactly live at the end of the world, but we’re constantly reminded that this is an out-of-the-way corner. The DMV office is open four hours a week — if the one guy who staffs it isn’t sick or out giving driving tests. We have a hospital, but its one-and-only surgeon visits just two days a week. When we were cut off from the outside world for three days after a devastating storm, nobody we were cut off from gave a rat’s ass…<\/p>\n