ShowMeTwice

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Apologies for the off-piste-post.
This little insect is a juvenile Assassin Bug.

Brutal predators of other insects and arachnids. That long, curved proboscis sticking out below its head has a dual purpose: it's razor sharp and injects an enzyme into the body of its prey which causes the internal organs to liquify.
Then it uses the same proboscis to suck up the now liquid guts as a meal.

They quite often end up in a t-shirt or underpants left on the clothes line. The resulting bite to a person's back or nether regions is said to be excruciatingly painful.

My son was about 9 years old when he dried himself after a swim at a friend's pool. A juvenile Assassin Bug had made a home on his towel.
Dagger between the shoulder blades and a scream to wake the dead.
No permanent damage (except a perfect little circular drill hole still visible 7 years later.)

Took this photo on my little bay tree today.

View attachment 969981
It looks like a deadly ninja assassin.

"Assassin bugs are quite strong and can remain active well into the cold of winter. They'll congregate on homes seeking warm refuge and if they find a way inside, its not uncommon for them to nest on the home all year long." o_O :cry:

"Beware the assassin bug! Beneficial as they may for protecting your garden plants, these critters may attack and bite humans and animals, even if unprovoked, piercing the skin with that sharp beak."

I would be setting tiny plates of spag bol all over the place for them to eat so they wouldn't attack. :D
 

Letitia

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vape MAIL!

I was just in the middle of building an original Recurve and yaaay I finally received the Asmodus Amighty in gradient blue to purple, the new Recurve v3 and a nice drip tip by Vandy Vapemall from Element Vapes.

I don’t usually get deliveries at 7:30 on a Sunday night!

It was an independent parcel service and actually had me sign my name which I have yet to do with anything coming through the USPS. It was from a USA vape shop so no customs stuff to deal with.

There is a sticker on it that’s making me a bit nervous. However I did just check my invoice and they had taken MA sales tax AND MA vape tax plus the Signature fee. It was over $80 so I did get “free” shipping.

So I guess I shouldn’t worry.

View attachment 969961 View attachment 969962 View attachment 969963
I'd print that receipt incase MA comes after you for taxes in the future.
 

Letitia

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This is the one Ange.
https://www.amazon.com.au/Japanese-Organic-Cotton-Sliver-Unbleached/dp/B07KTCXQMZ?th=1

13 Feets does have a break in time a bit longer than some cotton but then it wicks great and lasts fine.
A bit like SMT's Upland Sliver, I find each section of rope does two wicks for 2.5mm ID coils with some left over.
I don't understand how you could waste any because the left over strands go together to form new sections, as long as you cut the lengths consistently.

I've used so many different brands of cotton over the years and some are much finer quality, but this ticks all the practical boxes for the way I vape.

And thanks @Letitia for putting me on to it!!
Still my go to cotton. Found some maverton on sale a few months ago and it's still in the stash waiting for a trial run. Yep I'm definitely stuck in my ways on the vape front. Lol
 

Fidola13

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I'd print that receipt incase MA comes after you for taxes in the future.

great idea. I already save all my invoices into a Vape Folder. Now I know I need to keep doing it just in case.

I still have all the receipts and correspondences from when I first started vaping over 4 years ago.

I remember some folk we’re talking about this in regards to tobacco brought over state lines and then the states trying to collect the revenue from those sales.

Unfortunately because of Massachusetts’ wonderful 90% vape tax PLUS Signature for Delivery, I doubt I’ll be buying much more at least from US sites.

Athough Im very nervous to see this at my favorite stabwood mods UK site. I either scrolled right past this section on numerous times or it’s new policy. I’ve bought A LOT of mods ($$$$$$) from them and only a shipping charge of $25 to the US.

I am going to eventually send Phil the awesome customer service man and find out it there’s been a change. I’ve been holding off cuz I don’t want to get depressed :(:yawn::w00t:!

Does this mean the end to my midnight stabwood purchases? :w00t: ?!

D35C076B-92A4-4150-BF9A-5202134B3F89.jpeg
 
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Fidola13

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My last purchase from them was labeled as that It was the "r" tank from the same brand is the fat rabbit. It included extra coils and cotton like 95 of each and I still don't quite know what it meant It was supposed to be shipped February 2nd but they ended up shipping it mid-January I already have it. I'm still not sure what the meaning of it was But I got my product and everything went fine I don't know if that helps

do you have a screenshot or invoice that shows that. I’m going to screen shot my invoice and see it it’s different although I don’t think I got any goodies. Maybe that’s the difference?
 

Nailz

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    Athough Im very nervous to see this at my favorite stabwood mods UK site. I either scrolled right past this section on numerous times or it’s new policy. I’ve bought A LOT of mods ($$$$$$) from them and only a shipping charge of $25 to the US.

    I am going to eventually send Phil the awesome customer service man and find out it there’s been a change. I’ve been holding off cuz I don’t want to get depressed :(:yawn::w00t:!

    View attachment 970025

    Please share what Phil says when you do contact him please, I don't buy from them often, but used a few times, and probably again unless things have changed.
     

    Fidola13

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    Please share what Phil says when you do contact him please, I don't buy from them often, but used a few times, and probably again unless things have changed.

    I most certainly will. I’ll be emailing him this weekend. I have to prepare myself !
     

    cats5365

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    great idea. I already save all my invoices into a Vape Folder. Now I know I need to keep doing it just in case.

    I still have all the receipts and correspondences from when I first started vaping over 4 years ago.

    I remember some folk we’re talking about this in regards to tobacco bought over stat lines and states trying to collect the revenue from those sales.

    Unfortunately because of Massachusetts’ wonderful 90% vape tax PLUS Signature for Delivery, I doubt I’ll be buying much more at least from US sites.

    Athough Im very nervous to see this at my favorite stabwood mods UK site. I either scrolled right past this section on numerous times or it’s new policy. I’ve bought A LOT of mods ($$$$$$) from them and only a shipping charge of $25 to the US.

    I am going to eventually send Phil the awesome customer service man and find out it there’s been a change. I’ve been holding off cuz I don’t want to get depressed :(:yawn::w00t:!

    Does this mean the end to my midnight stabwood purchases? :w00t: ?!

    View attachment 970025
    I can't speak to this specific vendor, but this looks like the normal boilerplate I've seen on non-vape sites that ship international. It basically means that depending on your country, you may be assessed extra fees and taxes as part of the custom clearance process. The US is pretty generous with the max amount before a lot of duties and such get charged, but if you go over the magic number, you will have to pay the duty and any broker charges before you get your goodies.

    My main concern about this is that your vendor may be one that declares exactly what is in the box, and if Customs sees that you ordered vape products, it might not make it out of customs. I know of a different UK vape shop that quit shipping to the US a while back when all of the US bans kicked into effect.
     

    Fidola13

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    I can't speak to this specific vendor, but this looks like the normal boilerplate I've seen on non-vape sites that ship international. It basically means that depending on your country, you may be assessed extra fees and taxes as part of the custom clearance process. The US is pretty generous with the max amount before a lot of duties and such get charged, but if you go over the magic number, you will have to pay the duty and any broker charges before you get your goodies.

    My main concern about this is that your vendor may be one that declares exactly what is in the box, and if Customs sees that you ordered vape products, it might not make it out of customs. I know of a different UK vape shop that quit shipping to the US a while back when all of the US bans kicked into effect.


    Well it would save me A LOT of money! My bank account would’ve been happy with this about a year ago lol!
     

    chanelvaps

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    All I can say is God Bless Texas. Yes, we have our high (8.25%) sales tax, but that is in lieu of any state income tax. No vape tax and no noise of implementing one.
    but but but...you have an ancient electric grid system that rendered most of the state without electricity recently. I am happy to pay tax if it goes for infrastructure. In this case, you get what you give.
     

    Territoo

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    but but but...you have an ancient electric grid system that rendered most of the state without electricity recently. I am happy to pay tax if it goes for infrastructure. In this case, you get what you give.

    That was a once in a century storm, and a lot has been done in the last year to combat that. :)censored:ing windmills) Keep in mind the electrical grid stays functioning during the peak demands of 100+ degree heatwaves throughout the entire summer. Also, we were denied permission to fire up two old, but functional, coal plants, because of environmental concerns. One thing I have noticed, there doesn't seem to be any more trucks with new windmill parts on them going through anymore.
     
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    AvaOrchid

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    do you have a screenshot or invoice that shows that. I’m going to screen shot my invoice and see it it’s different although I don’t think I got any goodies. Maybe that’s the difference?
    It was the luxury standard edition that just automatically came with those extra coils It wasn't fast tech that included them extra. And right now the invoice that I just went and checked just looks like any old invoice with it just labeled as shipped completely. Even the product
    do you have a screenshot or invoice that shows that. I’m going to screen shot my invoice and see it it’s different although I don’t think I got any goodies. Maybe that’s the difference?
    It was a luxury edition which I believe was in pre-release when I paid for it the kit came with those items It wasn't extras. And I just went back to look at the invoice to see if it's still mentioned the strange wording about it being custom or whatever and that doesn't appear It only shows that it's been completely shipped. At the time that I ordered the product it wasn't available yet though it did appear on the Facebook groups as something that was coming out So it seems like a pre-release or something along those lines. Now when I look at the same exact product it no longer says the custom order thing It just says ships in 7 days. I will go back through and see if maybe I took a screenshot when I purchased it which I usually do but I might have erased it. I do remember being curious about the phrasing and being able to click on a question mark or a highlighted thing and it telling me what it meant but it still didn't make much sense to me.
     

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