of bugs and balls

Errant thought from a while back:

"I remember when mice used to have balls."

.

I'd been trying to remember this word: Boggart, which I once learned from a Susan Cooper book, as I could imagine a boggart being behind the weird bug-related mystery I've been trying to solve.

After a while, the supernatural explanations seemed as likely as any others I came up with.
"These bugs must have the power of invisibility!"
"Maybe they aren't invisible bugs; maybe they are ghosts."
I remembered a mischievous supernatural creature that was a boggart, but it took me a while to remember the word.

Fittingly, it turns out that boggart and bug even share the same etymology!

Harry Potter theme, sung a cappella

Video title: SINGING THE HARRY POTTER THEME IN AN EMPTY MUSEUM
Posted by: JADA
Date posted: May 26, 2021

UPS shipping cost notes

UPS Retail Shipping Rates

Shipping rates are based on package weight and size and origin-to-destination distance (ie. zones).

On the above page you can enter your zip code to get a downloadable "zone chart" spreadsheet, which will tell you the zone number for your shipment.

You can also download the "Retail Rate and Service Guide" PDF which has weight charts and details on how the charges are determined, rules, limitations, etc.

Billable weight is the weight used to calculate the rate. For domestic and international services, the billable weight will be the greater of the dimensional weight compared to the actual weight.
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Dimensional weight reflects package density, which is the amount of space a package occupies in relation to its actual weight.
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For domestic shipments: Divide the cubic size in inches by 166 to determine dimensional weight in pounds. Increase any fraction to the next whole pound.
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A Large Package Surcharge may apply to domestic and international shipments.
For domestic shipments, a package is considered a “Large Package” when its length (longest side of the package) plus girth [(2 x width) + (2 x height)] combined exceeds 130 inches or its length exceeds 96 inches.
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Large Packages are subject to a minimum billable weight of 90 pounds.

Flat Rate Shipping from UPS® (aka "Simple rate")
The largest size (XL) box allowed for this is 1728 cubic inches; for example, a one-foot-square box. The maximum weight is 50 pounds.

The above page indicates the simple rate charge for an XL box "starts at $22.85" (how is it a "flat rate", if it "starts at"?). But in the above PDF, the "Simple Rate" section indicates it costs $26 for UPS Ground (which is the cheapest of their shipping methods).

For comparison, the non-flat rate (not limited to a one-foot-square package) for 50 pounds via UPS Ground ranges from $33 to $113 or more, depending on the zone. From here in SC to Ohio it is $53.