Sunday, August 28, 2011

Advanced Eye Glasses (If your prescription changes, you don't need a new pair)

     Recently, my optometrist, or eye doctor, sent me this postcard as a way of reminding me I had an appointment coming up. It stuck out from the rest of the mail and gave me a good laugh. I hope it also gave you one too.


     The machine the boy has in front of his eyes is a phoropter, an instrument commonly used by eye care professionals during an eye examination. It contains different lenses used for refraction of the eye to measure an individual's refractive error and determine his or her eyeglass prescription.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

USNA


     Founded in 1845 by Secretary of the Navy, George Bancroft, the Academy started as the Naval School on 10 acres of old Fort Severn in Annapolis. Since then, the history of the Academy has reflected the history of America. As America changed culturally and technologically, the Naval Academy followed suit. In only a few decades, the Navy has moved from a fleet of sail and steam-powered ships to a high-tech fleet with nuclear-powered submarines and surface ships and supersonic aircraft. The Academy has changed, too, giving midshipmen the up-to-date academic and professional training they need to be effective naval officers in their assignments after graduation.


Thursday, August 25, 2011

Cover # 5: Croatia!


Thanks, Ms. Ivanna Perunski.

This cover is from http://stamps-croatia.blogspot.com/2011/10/postcard-from-usa-new-york.html








Going from clockwise, the first stamp shows Jagoda Truhelka (  1864-1957), a Croatian teacher and writer for children and adolescents.


The second stamp has written, roughly, Children's World of Croatia, and has been dedicated to the International Children's Festival in Sibenik. Going into its 51 year, the fair is an old tradition and has thousands of visitors each year.


 The third stamp shows the American brown bear, a large bear distributed across much of northern Eurasia and North America. It can weigh from 300 to 780 kilograms (660 to 1,700 lb), and its diet varies depending on the subspecies and the location.


The main, big lettering of the fourth stamp translates into "And children are entitled". However, without the word children, it translates to "the rights" The small text at the bottom translates into "The Year of the Declaration of Children's Rights" and "The  Convention on the Rights of the Child"The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, or CRC adopted by the United Nations in November 1989, spells out the basic human rights to which children everywhere are entitled. It has since been ratified by all governments except the richest, the United States of America, and one of the poorest, Somalia.


The fifth stamp is a stamp with a picture of Croatia on it.


The sixth stamp is about Woodland Strawberries.Woodland strawberries are fruits that are strongly flavored, and are still collected and grown for domestic use and on a small scale commercially for the use of gourmets and as an ingredient for commercial jam, sauces, liqueurs, cosmetics and alternative medicine. In Turkey hundreds of tons of wild fruit are harvested annually, mainly for export. A plant of the Northern Hemisphere, the leaves serve as significant food source for a variety of mammals, such as mule deer and elk, and the fruit are eaten by a variety of birds that also help to distribute the seeds in their droppings


*****************  My Postcard reached to Croatia ******************

http://stamps-croatia.blogspot.com/2011/10/
postcard-from-usa-new-york.html




Saturday, August 13, 2011

My Second Postcard Reached its Destination!

Hello Readers,


My second postcard from my postcard galore recently reached its intended recipient.


This is a official advertisement postcard from Recreation Dept. of USA (www.recreation.gov) which has a picture of a National Park in the USA. 


What really made this postcard special, however, was that it also had a National Park Pictorial Cancellation (with trees, USA flag & animal) and a National Park Stamp! (98 cents Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming)


   


I think this will be a Used Max Card with 3 things


1) Stamp (Grand Teton National Park)
2) Cancellation (Pictorial Cancellation from Olympic National Park)
3) Picture (National Park)


Following is a translation of his original article, which was in German. 


http://webmastermarkt.blogspot.com/2011/07/olympic-nationalpark-usa.html 


In the western part of Washington, lies the Olympic National Park. This was founded around 1938. The biosphere reserve of the National Park has been recognized in 1976 by UNESCO. The park is located on a peninsula, almost isolated from civilization and therefore could develop many animal and plant species found only there. For obvious reasons, is the preserve of biologists and zoologists, as assumed in research, like. Consisting of two parts, on the one hand there is the coastal section, which is almost always shrouded in mist.On the other beaches are located directly on the wood, so that frequently uprooted trees line the beach.


The focus of the national park is the mountainous region, which is called the Olympic Mountains. Those are covered with glaciers and inaccessible. There is a park boundary, it lies on the rain forest. This is the wettest region of America. It is named after the Olympic National Park, Mount Olympus, which Captain John Meares in 1788 as this place "where the living gods" called. Logging decimated the forests and enormous President Cleveland declared so in 1897 the Olympic Forest Reserve on. This action protected and guarded the timber. A long struggle for the national park was created. Today 95% of the parking area are under additional conservation. 


The UNESCO named the Olympic National Park a World Heritage Site.


Of course, large areas open to visitors. Numerous rivers give way to the boat trip or even for fishing. In winter, at the Hurricane Ridge to provide skiers and snowboarders show off their skills. Also suitable campsites are available and are mobile to reach. For travelers who prefer more leisurely, two hotels called Mountain Lake Crescent Lodge and Kalaloch Lodge, provide pleasant atmosphere. Paths with nearly 1000 km in length in all directions of the park with nature trails and hiking trails are very popular.


Self-climbing is not excluded. The Mount Olympus, with its 2428 m altitude is not to be despised and the mountaineers are a must. Riding tours in the immediate vicinity of the park are not uncommon and are gladly accepted by visitors. So many different events are offered. Of natural history programs on children, to slide lectures, which are held outdoors.
Thanks
USApostman

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Cover # 4: England!

Thank you, Stamp Raider, for this delightful postcard!


Great Britain's oldest letter box still in regular use is at Barnes Cross, Holwell, near Sherbourne, Dorset.  The box was made between 1853 and 1856 and is octagonal with a vertical letter slot.  In the picture, the local postman Stephen Whittle wears a uniform of the 1850s.




http://stampraider.blogspot.com/




Thanks again for the cool postcard!

You sent me mail from two different countries, so I am looking for something interesting about archaeology to send you back.

Thanks,
USA Postman

Monday, August 8, 2011

Cover # 3: England!

Thank you Ms. Termes! 


     This cover is a commemorative cover celebrating the 25th anniversary of D-Day. On June 6, 1944, now better known as D-Day, 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of well-fortified French coastline to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. 


     When asked about D-Day, General Dwight D. Eisenhower said it was  a fight in which “we will accept nothing less than full victory.” More than 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, and by day’s end on June 6, the Allies gained ground in Normandy. 




     The D-Day cost was high -more than 9,000 Allied Soldiers were killed or wounded- but many more went on to march into Germany. The cover has stamps from both Canada and England on it.

Cover # 2: Taiwan!

Thank You, Mr. Chen.


The two stamps are two different species of of owls.


The first stamp, the one worth 10 Taiwan Dollars, depicts a Tawny owl, or Strix aluco.Also known as the  Brown Owl, it is a stocky, medium-sized owl commonly found in woodlands across much of Eurasia. Its underparts are pale with dark streaks, and the upperparts are either brown or grey. This owl doesn't migrate and highly territorial.


The second stamp, worth 5 Taiwan Dollars, depicts a Oriental Scops Owl, or Otus sunia. It is a kind of owl found in dry deciduous forests of Southern Asian countries.These birds are medium sized and have a brownish complexion. It helps them stay camouflaged when they rest on tree trunks It is remarkable for its shrill, far-reaching hoot, by witch it is often detected..  They are also notable for their keen sense of hearing