Mail delivery slowdown: USPS to slow delivery starting October 1

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[–][deleted] 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (12 children)

THIS - this is why we don't want corporate influence in politics. They want to kill our wonderful institutions. Even BIG/Corp news media are seemingly concerned about this:

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/trump-s-2020-usps-appointment-could-corrupt-key-institution-ahead-ncna1234125

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/10/politics/postal-service-board-of-governors-louis-dejoy/index.html

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/17/louis-dejoy-usps-postmaster-general-election

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/feb/16/democrats-biden-usps-chief-louis-dejoy-trump-ally

https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2020/09/09/postal-service-ties-to-trump-gop-dejoy-duncan-postmaster-general-board-of-governors/?sh=185db4a3d1e5

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/18/gop-and-trump-ties-run-deep-on-the-us-postal-services-board-of-governors.html

https://www.npr.org/2021/01/28/961722496/trump-appointees-oversee-the-u-s-postal-service-will-biden-change-that

[–][deleted] 4 insightful - 2 fun4 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 2 fun -  (5 children)

At least we're not at the level of the Russian postal service, but yes, it's incredibly disappointing. I ordered a hand forged knife from Russia because it was cheap. Russia is relatively poor, people don't often think about that, but the strength of the US dollar goes far there.

I couldn't get a hand forged paper weight for $30 here let alone a cryo treated D3 steel knife. Well, at least I couldn't get something that wasn't once a railroad tie made by an amateur. But the delivery took 3 months. The mail apparently sits in these big warehouses, and sometimes get moved between other warehouses, and only just sometimes does it actually ever go towards its destination.

Once it got out of Russia it got to me with a quickness. I looked into that too and Russia doesn't have a lot of post coming to the US so it's not busy there at all.

[–][deleted] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (4 children)

Very interesting. I've bought items from Russians, and there have been delays of 2 or 3 weeks, though one of the more interesting problems has been Paypal's refusal to accept money for certain email addresses because of concerns about fraud. The worst scenario was with Malaysia, which closed its normal postal services to certain countries between November 2020 and September 2021. I had to cancel an item, and have now purchased it again. (I collect books.)

[–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

Stellar lumens were designed for transferring money to other countries cheap if they'll accept crypto. I'm a fan of the idea of bypassing financial gatekeepers like PayPal.

2 to 3 weeks wouldn't bother me at all, I order tea from China and I'm used to waiting on a slow boat. Covid did happen during the shipping process but when I went looking into it I found many similar complaints from before all that. I was lucky my stuff was already on its way. Some junkies I guess order shit from Russia were jonesing hard on reddit at the time over it. Probably waiting on tianeptine or RCs, whatever stuff Russia does.

What kind of books do you collect? I used to enjoy physical books, still do for some things, but storing them is an issue. I have no room for the books I do have. So "electric ink" was a bit of a godsend, more like reading a proper book than a screen.

[–][deleted] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

More surprises from you. I know tea from China can be REALLY expensive, depending on what you're ordering. I've wanted to get first harvest Wuyi Oolong or Da Hong Pao, for example, but have chickened-out. Friends from Tokyo taught me the tea ceremony, and they get their tea from China. One of my favorites is Darjeeling. India often exports its best harvests, so I've had good luck getting 1st flush Darjeeling in the spring and 2nd flush Assam after the monsoons, from https://shop.tgtea.com .

I recently delivered 8 large bags of books to a charity bookshop, and will try to do that again soon. I occasionally collect old books and other items that are related to science.

[–][deleted] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

I started drinking tea a few years ago when I changed my diet. I love water but sometimes I want flavor. I figured lots of people love this tea stuff, there's no way everyone is enjoying this Lipton crap that tastes like boiled shrubbery. So I went down the rabbit hole a little bit, got myself some paraphernalia and overpriced low quality whole leaf tea from Amazon. It was an improvement, the US gets the absolute worst tea and it makes sense, we're not really a tea drinking nation. And now I feel I'm actually drinking good tea for once getting it right from the horse's mouth. It looks better. It tastes better. My dick grew two inches.

https://shop.tgtea.com/

Not too impressed with their oolong selection. I'm partial to Jin Xuan, milk oolong, lately. That's what I'd like to order 250-500g of the first place winner in one of the I'm sure numerous tea competitions. I wasn't sure that'd mean anything but the only time I've tried something like that before, it was extremely good.

first harvest Wuyi Oolong or Da Hong Pao, for example, but have chickened-out

I've never tried to choose which crop my tea came in, does it affect the price vastly? Wuyi by itself doesn't seem bad.

$100 USD is $644.67 CNY, that's half the rent of a one bedroom apartment in China. And you can buy 300yr old pu'erh for a fairly modest price. I know there's pricey tea, but isn't it usually sold by middle men who get it relatively cheap from China or India? I like to avoid those people. Like buying from eBay instead of Walmart because you can get the same stuff without Walmart making a buck. God help people who think they need lots of cheap plastic junk in their lives, but buying American isn't always possible.

I don't know of a single US company that makes laser pointers. Which is sad because Gizmo loves them, and they're kinda shoddy. It was neat though, we just picked the type of battery we wanted. I wanted one that runs on AAA because we bought a lot of those batteries and hardly anything uses them we own. Just as an example. I really hope someone in America still makes lasers.

Russians also have some interesting watches that contain a standard 1960s mechanism.

I have actually heard about that. I've spent a little time in watch forums trying to figure out what people love about them.

[–][deleted] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Wow - thanks for the info. I'll have a look at oolong options and will ask a friend in Beijing. My Japanese friends bought their tea in Hong Kong, and told me they'd spend approximately $300. I suspect the cheaper stuff will be fine. Very good to avoid the middle man.

The Soviet movement I refer to is the 3017 caliber Poljot, which seems rather simple, and shock proof, by comparison with Swiss, French, and Japanese movements, and they're not expensive (unless you get a rare one). It's like the Mir or Volkswagen of watches. Not that I have so much interest in watches, but it's been interesting to watch the growing trend in discussions of watch movements. Move on Soviet watches, here.

[–]ShalomEveryone 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Conservatives want to bleed dry public services. Set those services up for failure and once it fails. Those very same conservatives will point towards their handiwork and say. "See, the post office does not work, it must be privatized". Then you'll get idiots in the public who think privatizing the post office is a good idea.

Shalom

✡️️

[–][deleted] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Indeed - and something that puzzles me at Saidit is that all of the outrage about Big Corp is often addressed with the propaganda that Big Corp is pushing.

[–]Drewski 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

The US Post Office is not a wonderful institution, it's a government created monopoly that bleeds money. Allow private companies to compete for mail delivery like they do for packages, and you'll improve service and reduce prices.

[–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

Yes - corporations would want that to be true. But best practice internationally has been that the taxpayer wants a reliable postal service from his/her government. It's an extremely important government agency, which safeguards a number of important services. I've rarely had any problems with the USPS, and I know I'll have so many more problems with a Big Corp postal service. There is competition in UPS, FedEx, and other services. As we know from previous postal services in the 19th century, it doesn't work to have other local and state companies running their own postal arrangements, and the process for getting anything in that manner would be at a snail's pace. The USPS has been required to find money for their own pensions, which was an attempt to shut it down by corporate-influenced GOP. Since the new Trump appointee took over, there have been more attempts by him to harm the business. These corrupt corporate cucks shouldn't be anywhere near the USPS. Any other postal system will not work. Our government owes us a postal system.

[–]Drewski 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

I want a reliable postal service, but not from a government monopoly. Europe has privatized their postal service and we should be doing the same. This page makes some good arguments for privatizing the postal service: https://www.downsizinggovernment.org/usps

[–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Europe has privatized their postal service

Not fully privatized across Europe.

Malta and the Netherlands have fully privatized their mail service, while Germany, Austria and now the U.K. have partially done so. And 25 of 27 countries in the European Union allow some form of private-sector competition with the official post. Source

More info

One can elect the people who help regulate corporations and government practices, but the institutions that are given over to private companies will spiral - and have spiraled - out of control with costs and expenses, while they pay executives in the millions and make the workforce work for peanuts. This happened with the national rail in the UK, and has happened with other companies. Government oversight can be arranged democratically, whereas corporate profit-oriented systems will abuse the workforce for the sake of a few executives.

[–]Node 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

I ordered a hand forged knife from Russia because it was cheap.

I might be in the market for a good knife. Any links?

[–][deleted] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

It's VasverBlades on Etsy. I picked up this little kiridashi.

[–]Node 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Thanks. They make quite a variety of knives.

[–]Node 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (4 children)

I order tea from China

From yunnansourcing? Any recommendations, or do you use a different site?

[–][deleted] 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (3 children)

I use dragonteahouse.biz, used to buy from them off eBay. I heard about yunnansourcing on r/tea but they only sell in 25g amounts and it looks pricey to me buying that way. I wouldn't expect to pay $100+ for a quarter a kilo of tea unless it was a competition winning batch, and it's much better than the stuff I can get on Amazon.

[–]Node 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

they only sell in 25g amounts

25 grams? No, I usually get 50 or 100 grams, or 250 grams for favorites. This one is available in up to a kilo.

https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/black-tea/products/traditional-smoked-zheng-shan-xiao-zhong-lapsang-souchong-black-tea?variant=33276065030

Also cheap out on my morning tea, with a $10/pound Assam from a local supplier that's surprisingly drinkable for that price point.

Looks like prices have gone up since my last yunnansourcing order, but there's no 25 gram limit. Btw, that strainer is the best for loose leaf. Superfine mesh, with two layers.

Imperial Grade Laoshan Black Tea from Shandong - 100 grams 红茶 $17.00 USD

2018 Cha Nong Hao "Mengku Pure Aroma“ Ripe Pu-erh Tea Cake - 1 Cake (250 Grams) $19.00 USD

Traditional Smoked Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong * Lapsang Souchong Black Tea - 100 grams $12.00 USD

SST Stainless Steel Dual Layer Mesh Filter Strainer for Tea - Large $1.90 USD

The Journey is the Destination Pu-erh Tea Sampler Set $53.00 USD

15 Years Aged Golden Melon Ripe Pu-erh Tea Tuo - 3 Tuo $11.50 USD

[–][deleted] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

25 grams? No, I usually get 50 or 100 grams, or 250 grams for favorites. This one is available in up to a kilo.

I got redirected to the US site and was just looking at oolongs, they have different listing and I see no way to select a size like you can on the original EU version. See, everyone fucks Americans on tea.

Neat stuff. I haven't had a cup of pu-erh recently. I tend to prefer more mild flavors but I have a roll of mini-pucks of something or other. Forgot what it was now. I like my Taiwanese oolongs.

Sorry I didn't get back to you about the knife guy yet, I'm trying to remember my Etsy password.

[–]Node 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I was skeptical of the pu-erh until just a couple years ago, but yunnansourcing kept sending samples with orders. One of those was a pu-erh that still tasted like old dishwater, but the most compelling old dishwater I've tasted. It was weird to be so won-over by such an odd taste. They sold out of those cakes way too quickly. :o

Mainly, I tend to go for black teas. Although I do some genmaicha and greens on occasion.