How to scratch out envelope 'Facing Identification Mark' (FIM) ?

I have been saving all the envelopes that I get within mail such as cell phone bills, credit card bills and any spam mail with return-envelopes. Consequently I now have a huge pile of clear window envelopes. I have been trying to reuse these envelopes and in that process discovered the significance of the pre-printed bar codes on such envelopes.

The most common lines are the bars on the envelope near the right upper edge and to the left of the postage stamp area. These bars are called 'Facing Identification Marks'. All the envelopes that I have saved have the FIN A bar code on them.

The following image shows the FIN bar code on a postcard.


So now when I reuse these envelopes, do I need to scratch the FIN bar code or should I leave it?

The USPS web site says:

A FIM must be printed on all letter-size BRM and on business reply labels affixed to letter-size mail. One purpose for FIMs is to face the mail as it is processed through the advanced facer canceller machine. The other purpose is to direct the mailpiece to either the optical character reader or the barcode sorter, depending on whether it has a barcode applied.

So, leaving it in will at the very least allow the sorting machine to now which way is face up. Wikipedia states:

FIM A is used for courtesy reply mail metered reply mail with a preprinted POSTNET bar code. In both of these types of mail, the postage is prepaid, either by a postage stamp in the case of courtesy reply mail or by a postage meter in the case of metered reply mail.

Since, my envelopes do not have a postnet bar code on them, I guess eventually the system will get confused and this may delay the sorting of my mail or worse, increase the chances of it getting lost.

I am still not sure as to what is the best way to strike out these bar codes and on the lookout for the information.

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New Hipster PDA

In my last blog post, I mentioned that I was looking around to find out how I could make myself a Hipster PDA. I downloaded a few templates, printed them, cut them and used my Hipster PDA for sometime.

I found that:

I flip through the pages of my Hipster PDA more often than I add or remove sheets.

The clip I was using to hold the Hipster PDA in place did not allow me to flip through the pages easily. So most of the times the first front page would be the most often used page and other pages would go unused.
So this weekend, I made myself a new Hipster PDA and I am pretty happy with the outcome!

Here is a photo of this new Hipster PDA:



Here is a mini-howto for making this Hipster PDA:

Step 1: Download, print and cut a template you like or use index cards. You can refer to my last blog post for some URLs to do this.

Step 2: I bought a punch from a local craft store. This punch makes a tiny hole - 1/16th of an inch.

I used this punch to make a little hole on all the template printouts and index cards I was going to use in my Hipster PDA.

The punch is really not important, since you can make a small hole in the paper in a variety of ways. The punch just makes it easier to do this task.

In my first run, I punched the holes too close to the corner. The next time I punch new sheets, will take care to ensure that the holes are neither too close nor too far.

Step 3: I bought a pack of 'jump rings' from the same store. I wanted a ring based Hipster PDA so that I can easily flip through the pages.

These rings are used to make jewellery. So any store which supplies caters to jewellery hobbyists will have these rings. Or better still, you could take a jump ring out from an unused old key chain and use it.

I did not use a blinder ring, since I did not want the Hipster PDA to become too huge to comfortably fit into a pocket.

Open the ring a little and pass it through all the index cards/template printouts. Close the ring to have your new Hipster PDA ready for use!

I am a little afraid of the pages tearing off the ring. So, I might end up punching a hole in the left bottom corner and use another jump ring there to secure the pages. But then, since I normally clip a pen with this PDA, my fear of the pages getting torn may be unfounded.



The Pilot G2 pen 05 ("Extra Fine Point") pen goes very well with this PDA.

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Hipster PDA

I am thinking of making one for myself. My needs from an organizer of this kind are:

• Should be a pen-paper solution (beauty in simplicity)
• I should be able to move the pages around, so as to group them better
• I should be able to carry it around in my pocket

It seems that the Hipster PDA will be a good choice. The mind.Depositor is also interesting. But I guess I will stick to plain index cards and clips :)

A good site for templates is Active Voice’s download page.

LiveJournal Tags: Hipster PDA,GTD

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Top 50 Linux Alternatives to Popular Apps

A very nice posting on Open Source alternatives:
Top 50 Linux Alternatives to Popular Apps (http://laptoplogic.com/resources/top-50-linux-alternatives-to-popular-apps)

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Back...

I have been silent for a long time now. Maybe I am back now.

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