Is there anything wrong with...

[Animeniax]

I guess it depends on what kind of teapot you use. I have a cast iron tea pot with enamel coating, so a quick rinse is all it takes to clean it. If you're pouring boiling water into it with each use, I imagine that kills anything nasty, as least on the surfaces it contacts, plus the steam would sterilize the rest.

[Ryllharu]

I've left a cup in my room long enough to grow mould. Couldn't that happen to a teapot?

Mold happens when you don't let it dry out, or you have something producing a lot of mold spores nearby, like the dirt in many types of houseplant pots.

I always remove the lid on the pot and let it dry. At work I wipe out the mug I use after each cup with a napkin or whatever. That does get washed out because I also use it for instant soup packets.

[Shadow Skill]

Wow this really got derailed in one day lol.

[enkoujin]

I think it's OK to not wash your teapot because of the aforementioned reasons (sanitation, etc.)

Personally, I like to rinse my ceramic teapot with lukewarm water from time to time when I'm emptying out old tea leaves. It keeps the taste of the tea more pure.

[Animeniax]

It's weird that some will go to great lengths for hygiene and sanitation in some aspects, then forego basic methods of cleanliness in others. Tea gets stale and flavorless if it sits, so there is little additional flavor from making tea in a pot with residual tea from previous brewings. It sounds like classic Asian superstitious nonsense. Better mix in some dried deer penis while you're at it.

[Ryllharu]

I think boiling water is pretty sterilizing. It's not really a question of sanitation.

Tea leaves gets stale if they are exposed to sunlight or get enough oxygen. Tea left in a pot molds.

[Animeniax]

Yes but tea left in a pot stales and loses flavor long before it molds. If the point to reusing a teapot without cleaning it is to add flavor from previous brewings, I think it's probably just a mind trick.

[Buffalobiian]

In cultures that recognise the "rude finger", is there anything wrong with pointing with that finger? Does it count as "giving someone the finger" if you point it wards them, or does the gesture only mean something when the finger is viewed dorsally?

[Animeniax]

My dad does that all the time, and it isn't to be rude or a dick. It feels awkward to me to point with that finger.

It reminds me of the scene in Inglorious Basterds where the nazi knew the British guy was a fake because of how he counted 3 on his fingers. Different cultures use their fingers differently.

[Kraco]

I wouldn't personally make a habit of using the middle finger for pointing at things. Although I have yet to meet anybody so sensitive they would take offense if you were using the finger for some work and thus accidentally giving them the finger. But if you do it all the time, instead of using the index finger like most people, somebody might start to wonder if it isn't intentional.

If the orientation is unconventional, they will just think you are so gangsta you can't hold anything properly, not even a finger.

[Buffalobiian]

I was eating potato chips with my hand, so my thumb and index finger were soiled. I naturally pointed at him while we were in a group conversation talking about something or other, and he asked if I "off-ed him". I asked in what that meant, then denied so. After that I re-enacted the action and saw that I was indeed using the prerequisite finger, but not in a way that I'd associate with being offensive.

I've always thought of the act requiring an erect display of the finger (orientation doesn't really matter so much as long as you're looking dorsally), so it's the first time someone picked me up on pointing at them like that.

[Kraco]

Sounds like an easily offended type if he didn't realise it was only you not wanting to spread salt and spices around from your index finger. But didn't you just answer your own question? If there's no visible reason, it's a risky habit.

[Buffalobiian]

If there's no visible reason, it's a risky habit.

I was wondering what qualifies as the "gesture", particularly the pointing part when you're not even looking face on at the "fist". Japanese don't give a shit about it, for example.

[Ryllharu]

The middle finger only has two appropriate uses. The widely-known derogatory gesture, and pushing one's spectacles back up one's nose (very rarely even mistaken as offensive, even when talking to someone and looking them in the eye).

Why the hell would you point with it unless you're missing an index finger? Point with two fingers sure, but why use just the middle?

[Animeniax]

I've used the "pushing up my spectacles with my middle finger" as a surreptitious "f*ck you" to a jerk motorist. Probably not a good idea but my glasses do tend to slide down my nose, and he was a f*cking punk driver.

[Kraco]

Oh, right. I'm certainly guilty of using my middle finger to push my glasses back up. I use random fingers for that job.

[Buffalobiian]

Why the hell would you point with it unless you're missing an index finger? Point with two fingers sure, but why use just the middle?

When I point with the middle finger, I don't tightly flex my other fingers as if I was making the gesture either. They're somewhat flexed since that's the natural resting state of my hand. In my previous case, my index/thumb were preoccupied. In other cases where I've done that, it's simply exercising the use of my finger when it felt natural.

This seems like a big deal then.

I do the glasses thing with my middle finger too most of the time. It's simply because it's the longest finger so you won't touch your glasses with anything else. If you used your index finger you'll have to make more effort in tucking away the others.

[Animeniax]

Just read this in a J-culture blog:

Why do the Japanese sometimes point at things with their middle fingers? (They only learned the American usage of this gesture 10-15 years ago, and many people still find it natural to point at things using the middle finger, which would be very rude in the U.S.)

Which is why you'll sometimes see them give the middle finger or say "fuck" in J-dramas but no one in the show seems to care, because neither has the same significance as it does in Western cultures.

[Animeniax]

I've been switching to the winning team in matches on BF4 when my team sucks and doesn't go for objectives. Usually my score and contributions are middle of the pack or higher, so it's not like I'm not carrying my weight. But I get really pissed seeing tanks sit back and snipe instead of leading the charge to capture points, or seeing everyone play recon when we need AA and support players. I do feel kind of like a heel for switching teams to the winning side, and one time I even switched off my platoon's team and on to the other team because my platoon sucks apparently.

Is there anything wrong with wanting to win?

[Buffalobiian]

I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting to win. What's questionable here is that you're switching sides partway through a team. It's one thing to pick strong team members who give you better odds of winning, while it's another to quit your own team partway through to ride on the success of the other team.

You mention that you're "middle of the pack or higher" so you're carrying your weight (and ?therefore should deserve to win), but the other team must also have lousy members who are being kept afloat as well.

In the end, the problem can be summarised as Double Dipping, and the fact that you're working against the idea of team-balancing does earn a frown from me.

I get pissed off in games too when our team sucks too much (mostly at BF4's Team Balance not being perfect), but I consider swapping to a new server as being a "fair, random allocation" as opposed to jumping onto a team that you know is mowing down the other.

I do find your "desire to win" here strange given that you're happy with using subpar weapons that can cost you performance in order to complete assignments.