Thursday, August 1, 2024
The dragons befriend us, the dungeons enthrall us
New stamps mark the 50th anniversary of the D&D role-playing game
The Postal Service is celebrating 50 years of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game with the release of new stamps on Thursday, Aug. 1.
The popular tabletop pastime invites participants to collaborate on an open-ended story guided by books, dice and their own imaginations.
Players can imagine themselves as wizards, warriors and other adventurers in exciting and treacherous fantasy worlds.
Often referred to as D&D, the game has its roots in the Midwest and has drawn an estimated 64 million fans since its launch in 1974.
Greg Breeding, an art director for USPS, served as both art director and designer for the stamps.
The pane of 20 stamps will feature 10 designs that highlight characters and creatures familiar to players of the game.
The stamps will be available at Post Offices and usps.com.
The Postal Service will dedicate the stamps during an unveiling at the Gen Con 2024 gaming conference in Indianapolis.
Off the Clock
Rock on!
This letter carrier’s band is quickly gaining national recognition
My name is Mike Maple and I’ve been a letter carrier in Marquette, MI, for three years.
Working for the Postal Service is a good fit for me. It has good pay, reliable hours and I have nights off. It fits my lifestyle because off the clock, I’m in a band called Liquid Mike.
We play punk, but not like spiky hair punk. Our music is loud, guitar-driven and has a lot of melody.
Liquid Mike started in 2021 as a songwriting project — I write all the songs.
The band has put out five albums and eight singles so far. Our latest album is “Paul Bunyan’s Slingshot.” Our music is on streaming platforms and iTunes.
Rolling Stone, Spin, Paste and other publications have written about us. A local TV news station has also featured us.
Finding time to write music is easy. Sometimes I get ideas just walking around on my route. You see different things every day, even if you are on the same route. You also see different people. I keep a notes app open on my phone and write stuff down when it comes to me.
All of our songs are short. We can play 13 songs in 25 minutes. It is not as fun for me to repeat a chorus three times. I feel like a chorus sticks out harder if you do it once or twice and then the song is gone. I like my songs to be like a flash. We want to leave people thinking, “What the hell was that?”
We’ve been touring and it is exciting. We’re planning to tour all month in October. We’ll also do some festivals this year.
Liquid Mike has been a learning experience, but so far, so good.
“Off the Clock,” a column on Postal Service employees and their after-hours pursuits, appears regularly in Link.
August 8, 2024
Datebook
PSHB virtual seminar
USPS employees and annuitants may participate in an upcoming virtual seminar on the new Postal Service Health Benefits (PSHB) Program.
The session will be held Thursday, Aug. 8, from noon to 1 p.m. Eastern and from 4 to 5 p.m. Eastern.
PSHB — which takes effect in 2025 — is a new, separate program within the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and will be administered by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
USPS employees, annuitants, and eligible family members are required to enroll in this new program.
The MyHR website’s PSHB page has more information, including the Zoom links and passcodes to participate. To find the page, enter “Postal Service Health Benefits” in the MyHR search bar.
Participation is voluntary. Nonexempt employees must be off the clock or on authorized breaks.
Employees can also receive updates by texting “PSHBP” to 39369.
August 8, 2024
Datebook
‘USPS: Medicare + FEHB’
Postal Service employees may participate in an upcoming webinar that will examine how Medicare works with the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program.
The session, “USPS: Medicare + FEHB,” will be held Thursday, Aug. 8, from 1 to 2 p.m. Eastern.
Representatives from GEHA, a provider of health plans for federal employees, will lead the discussion.
Participants must register before the event on the webinar website.
Participation is voluntary. Nonexempt employees must be off the clock or on authorized breaks.
Employees who have questions can email the USPS Benefits and Wellness team.
WestPac Area, Minnesota-North Dakota District lead in scanning
A snapshot of Postal Service scanning data shows the national rating was 97.19 percent during the week ending July 26, down 0.09 percent from one week earlier.
The data was collected July 31.
WestPac led the four areas with a rating of 97.6 percent, while Southern ranked last with a 96.37 percent rating.
Among the 50 districts, Minnesota-North Dakota, part of Central Area, ranked first with a 98.27 percent rating, while Georgia, part of Southern Area, ranked last with an 93.57 percent rating.
Scanning data allows customers to track their mail and packages, which helps USPS deliver excellent service, boost loyalty and drive revenue.
To see the latest data, go to the Informed Visibility website and select “Customer Experience,” followed by “DES 2 Scan Performance.” Postal Service employees must request Informed Visibility access through eAccess.