A List Of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago

I DO, HOWEVER, TIP MY UROLOGIST: Something I'm still not used to even having lived in NYC for 7 years now is the whole concept of "holiday tipping." In some cases, it makes a lot of sense--I do give a gift to my assistant, and leave a tip for my maid service on the last cleaning before the holidays. But I draw the line at things like tipping the newspaper guy and the mailman. What's a particular problem for me is the question of whether the "tip" is a reward for good performance in the year past or a bribe to ensure appropriate future performance. For instance, my paper delivery screws up on average of once a week, where no paper is delivered to my door (though, interestingly, that status has improved over the past few weeks). Does that warrant a tip?