I think Costco glasses are a good deal, even if you have to buy a one-year membership to get them. Don’t know if they’re available online, but don’t you want to try glasses on in person to make sure they fit and are comfortable?

I have been really disappointed by the times I’ve ordered from a shop online (even one that came highly recommended on forums) that I hadn’t previously visited in person. So now I default to a shop that I stopped by on a trip to Chicago once: https://www.coffeeandtea.com/. They have a good supply of the basics (eg English breakfast tea) that are decent quality and very well priced, perfect for everyday tea. For special occasion teas, I was very impressed by a place in Portland, OR I visited: https://thejasminepearl.com/. A lot more expensive but quality to match.

Nowadays I try to make a habit of stopping by tea shops when visiting new cities, and taking note of which specialty teas each has, their price points, etc. I’ve about five or so that I rotate ordering from at this point.

Fun fact: cats don’t just purr when they’re happy! They use it as a method of self-calming and healing when feeling anxious or unwell. Amazingly they purr at a frequency that stimulates healing, which is one possible reason as to why the behavior evolved in the first place. Each individual is different of course, but generally you can get a better sense of a cat’s emotional state by observing their eyes (that’s how cats smile!) than by whether they are purring or not.

https://www.petmd.com/cat/behavior/why-do-cats-purr

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2023/05/05/do-cats-smile/11761709002/

Someone gets a (mind) plague

“Geordi doesn’t get some tail”

Coming from someone who has seen all of the older (pre-Discovery) stuff but only a smattering of the newer stuff:

This is such a difficult question because I think TNG and DS9 were peak Star Trek (along with movie IV) and are where I would point newbies, but both series have such off-putting starts. I grew up on TNG, so it was easy to get past the rough edges of the early seasons on my start-to-finish watch. However I hated DS9 when I started watching it, and only powered through because I was on a “watch all of the franchise” mission (this was back in 2015). Having finished it though, DS9 is now my favorite series in the franchise.

I think my recommendation for newbies is a curated list of a handful of TNG’s standout episodes, followed by “if you liked this, start TNG from the beginning,” followed by “if you liked this, watch DS9 but PROMISE ME you’ll watch the first three seasons before giving up, yes I know it’s a lot to ask but trust me,” followed by “if you’re still with me, start from the franchise beginning and watch in air order, although feel free to give up on TOS if it’s not your thing and skip to movies II+.”

I would actively dissuade anyone who hasn’t watched at least 20 seasons of Star Trek (any series) from starting Lower Decks. Even I feel like half the jokes and references go over my head.