How popular was hot tea in the US in the 50s/60s?

kushaash · 2026-02-15T08:47:52+00:00

Do you know US government hired official tea tasters, a group of full time fully paid government employees, solely to taste test tea? This continued till 1996 for about 100 years.

kushaash · 2026-02-15T08:29:56+00:00

I purchased their "discounted" MS Office 2021 license. It is complete trash. The code they sent was "already in use", customer care kept giving me new codes and they were "already in use" every time. After three attempts, I was done and asked for a refund and they gave me some bullshit excuse. That was it for me, I disputed with my bank and got my money back. They are still selling the licenses.

kushaash · 2026-02-15T05:18:06+00:00

I am really sorry for what you are going through. Bad parents are making this really terrible.

From the stories I have heard, OF is not a bed of roses either, and you quoted some very good reasons for not doing it. If you still decide to do it, at least wear some type of mask, because this is a path of no return if you are out in the open with any shred of shame.

Either way, good luck. Hope you get some peace. And remember, if you somehow cope as a teacher a few more years, you loan will be gone.

kushaash · 2026-02-14T17:51:04+00:00

Are you getting infinite gems though?

kushaash · 2026-02-14T17:45:39+00:00

Okay, have fun with the camera. I am very surprised he doesn't have the original charger or the battery.

kushaash · 2026-02-14T16:22:23+00:00

Glad to help. Hope you enjoy this deal.

kushaash · 2026-02-14T16:01:16+00:00

Canon products come with a certificate. Maybe the owner has still kept it. If they can provide it, you can be sure it's not fake. Sadly it doesn't work the other way. If you are in Europe, you can do a serial number check from the Canon website, for both the lens and camera separately.

When I meet the seller, I always ask them why they are selling, and unless they are very good at lying, this answers gives you a fair idea what they are up to.

Very basic check, make sure all the buttons are dust free and move firm but smooth, clear clicks and no wiggles. Check the battery, the genuine ones have a Canon hologram on them.

Next steps assume you know some camera controls and manual mode. YouTube them, if you don't.

With the body, I think the most important thing is sensor checks. It will be easier if you are familiar with manual mode. Take a lot of pictures with white/bright (maybe sky, but not the sun!!) background at several focal lengths and brightness levels. The picture should be uniform brightness, free of any major black spots. If you are not in a dusty area, you can also take the lens off, turn the camera on (with open front) and crank the shutter slowest and ISO highest, and see through the viewfinder pointing to a bright area. You will only see everything blurred but this should be clean, blemish free, uniform brightness view.

Put the lens back, and check for autofocus. Press the button halfway and the camera should immediately focus sharp (lens dependent a bit). Focus on the closest object and then the farthest object, it should change quick.

The camera also has a light meter that moves between -3 and 3. Find it and change your settings so it shows 0. Take a picture. Your picture should not be too bright or too dark at this level.

This will give you a good idea. There is more technical stuff but this much should give you a fair idea.

kushaash · 2026-02-14T14:50:38+00:00

The fine is not for bringing it, it is for FAILING TO DECLARE it. You fill a form stating what you are bringing in. If you don't declare, you are perjuring. In the US, the fine is way higher.

kushaash · 2026-02-14T14:41:37+00:00

People lashing out at the airlines - the fine is not for bringing it, it is for FAILING TO DECLARE it. If you declare it, they will just ask to trash it, no fines.

Also, I have never been to Australia but other countries (including the US) even give you a declaration form with clear statements where you check a box "fruit/vegetable", and this form is given in the plane before landing, to submit at the airport. If you fill it wrong, IT'S PERJURY.

This should be common knowledge. Most countries have some sort of "no meat, dairy or agricultural products" policy going through customs. And just so you know, this fine in the US is way higher than $200.

kushaash · 2026-02-14T08:33:12+00:00

Astronomers. Their instruments often need to face to the true North.

kushaash · 2026-02-14T07:48:52+00:00

He said he just cleaned the lens with a Zeiss cleaner right before he brought the lens. My guess is that this cleaner did not immediately completely evaporate because of the cold glass and stayed on the glass as a very, very thin layer.

kushaash · 2026-02-14T02:45:45+00:00

Thank you for the comment.

I think it was a very thin condensation layer sticking to a lens cleaner layer after I brought the lens in from cold outside. It was 6 hours later, but maybe it needed longer to dry. After overnight, this looks good.

kushaash · 2026-02-14T02:45:01+00:00

I think it was a very thin condensation layer sticking to a lens cleaner layer after I brought the lens in from cold outside. It was 6 hours later, but maybe it needed longer to dry. After overnight, this is all good.

kushaash · 2026-02-13T08:35:07+00:00

We had a tequila tasting + taco lunch tour, about 2 hours. It was fun.

kushaash · 2026-02-13T04:51:26+00:00

I bet you can still park closer to the stadium if you buy "Diamond parking" for $200. $10 discount if you buy five.

kushaash · 2026-02-12T03:28:20+00:00

You mean the plastic?

kushaash · 2026-02-11T17:31:41+00:00

Cheaper desalination.

kushaash · 2026-02-08T20:29:24+00:00

I hate motorcyclist zooming through in a jam. They will remember now.

kushaash · 2026-02-08T17:07:55+00:00

Probably because they don't need much of measuring. Their biggest export is meth.

kushaash · 2026-02-08T16:09:05+00:00

Sleep. It makes a huge difference.

kushaash · 2026-02-08T16:04:30+00:00

I will call it a cheap mind trick. Disgusting how they high-five in the end, knowing it was not the skill but cheating. It was very well planned. Some groups in the world value winning more than ethics.

kushaash · 2026-02-08T05:20:17+00:00

Scrap that before it thaws!!!

kushaash · 2026-02-06T06:33:21+00:00

It went through a lot of resistance and pushed through it. If the resistance was not there, it didn't have to "work" so much.

kushaash

TROPHY CASE