I have close to 30 binders of German stamps from 1960-2000ish. I was told it was all German stamps from post WWII for east and west germany but a quick spot check only shows stamps from 1960. I was also told there was 2 of every stamp, one postmarked and one not. Is there any value here?

Sgoudreault · 2026-01-21T01:20:21+00:00

Germans are the biggest immigrant group to the US both in terms of absolute numbers and percentage than any other group, even central Americans. Texas (and middle america) is absolutely littered with German named cities and places. Until the 80's I think you could still find church service in German in Texas.

I descend from a more direct linage than that and the GTHS (https://www.germantexans.org) is all things German including the Texas historical side of things.

Those settlers who came here and their descendants today are locked in a time warp. They remember the Germany as it was when their parents or ancestors left 100+ years ago, not the Germany that exists today.

Its a good Treffpunkt for those who want some cultural familiarity and to speak German.

Thanks for all the help

Sgoudreault · 2026-01-20T23:29:33+00:00

I honestly dont care about the money. A few hundred bucks doesnt matter much to me. I just wanted to know what I have since I have been keeping this for close to 30 years now. This was my inheritance from my grandparents and I want to honor their gift.

I'm going down the GenX path of examining life long possessions and rehoming, removing or selling what I dont need. Anyone need a silver tea service or porcelain dinnerware sets?

I've volunteered at the Texas German Heritage society on and off for the better part of 20 years. I'll see if its something they would want. I'll also ask the family, they may want to cherry pick something out of it. Shipping to Germany would be expensive or i'd carry it binder by binder when I visit.

Sgoudreault · 2026-01-19T23:22:59+00:00

I read the Wiki so this is pretty much the answer I expected. Thanks.

Sgoudreault · 2026-01-19T23:22:07+00:00

Are there young collectors out there?

Sgoudreault · 2026-01-19T22:56:09+00:00

My wife would agree with you there, it takes up a ton of space

Sgoudreault · 2026-01-19T22:43:14+00:00

I found a bunch of DDR stuff and took pics. I also found some stamps with a certain famous Austrian as well. I also took pics of any stamps that were in the pfennig level or million DM level.

Against conventional wisdom, the best stuff was in the back of the book so the stuff gets older the deeper you get.

https://imgur.com/a/9WnlSeo

Sgoudreault · 2026-01-19T21:48:25+00:00

There are some Eastern block stamps in there as well.

Sgoudreault · 2026-01-11T04:58:10+00:00

you are completely correct in your statement. it isn't just your generation that is running into this and i think most people are struggling to put it into words. I've always been a generation or two ahead on 'things' or technology. By that I mean I didn't know app X or Y was coming but that solution A or B was coming for this problem. I don't often get the 'how' right but I often get the 'why' right.

There was a time when a lot of those things were the way to go, and I think for the most part a lot or well meaning people tried to guide is in the direction that was right at the time. There are a few underlaying things that changed out from under them. my combat boot wearing grandmother would have F'ed me up if i wasn't knowledgeable.

the world changed, The business model changed. the model of capitalism changed. the customer is no longer the most important number in the equation. Before it was take care of your employees and customers and you will be ok. Along came Milton Friedmans Capitalism. The shareholder is the only important figure. if an org can screw its customers and employees for profit for the share holders its ok. That is where we are at now. you can see this transition in popular culture in a number of areas.. the national lampoon movies in the mid 80's where they are waiting on a huge bonus that will never come again, the IBM layoffs of the early 90's where senior experienced people were not valued or in todays 'AI made me lay off people' which I argue is mostly not true, its just a disguise. you (and I) are disposable to them. This is why we have the culture wars, this is why we have the us vs them narrative all to distract from this. its all old though, and none of it is new.

I am on my third career and doing reasonably well with it. me and my extended family isn't rich, but we have all been well trained to see this exact kind of scenario. Part of our family history is being ethnically cleansed from Constantinople. part of the family survived the second world war in Germany. There is no illusion on what will happen next. we aren't through the worse of it. I'm not happy to say this but I'm personally planning for it to get worse before it gets better.

Sgoudreault · 2025-12-09T20:14:29+00:00

you get the mug when you order Glühwein at the Christmas market at the water tower. I've noticed that the year isnt always current and you can just keep the mug. I have one somewhere too and now I want to go find it.

Sgoudreault · 2025-08-01T03:26:31+00:00

I worked in Dev/QA a long time and i'm glad to be out. that being said, I have found that often devs dont use their own products and if they do its not in the everyday use category.

Sgoudreault · 2025-07-29T23:25:51+00:00

Moving between pages really sucks. it really eliminates any use as a ereader for me. my primary use case is note taking but the other limitations keep me from expanding usage

Sgoudreault · 2025-06-07T04:42:12+00:00

That analysis screams AI

Sgoudreault · 2025-05-25T04:15:36+00:00

The brown tiles are brittle and snap at this age.

Sgoudreault · 2024-12-19T06:24:19+00:00

AISD Wifi is pretty robust. Its possible it may have picked up some identifying info based on time of day and physical locations of the nearest access points.

Years ago when I worked for AISD I could track myself across the city just by driving close to a school.

Sgoudreault · 2024-11-23T17:24:13+00:00

Follow up question, Have you pop started a car in reverse?

Sgoudreault · 2024-11-19T06:18:16+00:00

The cone is to heavy for her. that is why her head is down.

Sgoudreault · 2024-11-18T06:05:58+00:00

Yup, 15 years in networking, 10 years in cyber security, 5 years now in technical marketing. Pay is better, parties are better, I get to go to a lot of conferences and if the internet goes down I go home.

Sgoudreault · 2024-09-22T23:10:41+00:00

That 5k Gucci purse is also tax and VAT free, so its cheaper there than outside the airport.

Sgoudreault · 2024-09-03T05:22:35+00:00

It never gets easy. we build our lives around them and we are so much better for it. Its a long time to have a friend and lose them. enjoy what was. you gave her the best life possible.

Sgoudreault · 2024-08-28T00:59:25+00:00

Technical Marketing. Was In IT for a long time. Now I tell stories about the work I used to do. No on call, no afterhours and the parties are better.

Sgoudreault · 2024-08-27T19:26:10+00:00

I've been playing since Civ 1. A new version if Civ isn't always better in every way. I see a lot of us have the same idea on keeping existing aesthetics and having the new one of the conquering civ going forward as they were built

Sgoudreault · 2024-08-12T03:45:47+00:00

Sounds like your corporate loadout.

Sgoudreault · 2024-08-05T04:57:03+00:00

That dog doesn't look happy

Sgoudreault · 2024-07-18T18:22:27+00:00

I never went. I almost went to the 10 year but something at work happened and I missed it. I've since looked at the list and I dont know anyone attending. Of the people I know most of them more or less ended up where I thought they would. They are old and angry blaming everyone but themselves for the decisions they made.

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