Link doesn’t work for me, but I’ll look it up

https://usafacts.org/topics/education/

I was surprised to find out how much the U.S. actually does spend on education, given how shitty it is. Idk where the money is going, but it’s definitely funded

An old friend, back when I was 17/18 or so, told me about the last time she had a kitten.

The kitten somehow got into the WASHER and her busy and absent-minded mother didn’t realize it until the kitten had already drowned. Her mother drove herself (and the kitten) to the police department because she felt so bad.

After that I have always checked for cats. Even now, at almost 40 (I even check the oven)! My husband thinks it’s over-kill, but I’m never gonna get that horror story out of my head

That’s because he needs an answer to the eternal question of: do I want inside the room, our outside the room? He can’t figure it out, so the door staying open is the most convenient

These bastard insurance companies will tell your dentist how much they are willing to pay for a treatment.

So say the dentist would normally charge $300 for a cleaning, with full x-rays, flouride varnish, and comprehensive exam

The insurance company can dictate that they will only pay $250 with flouride. Another plan with the same company might pay $175, but won’t cover flouride. A seperate insurance company will pay for flouride up to age 14. Another will… you get the point.

Further, with the exceptions of exams and cleanings (which I think they HAVE to cover by law) they can dictate a fee of $500 for a crown, but then only a porcelain fused to metal crown, and then only pay like 60% of that with you needing to pay the rest. The dentist may normally charge $800 for a crown, but prefer using something like zirconium.

The receptionist has to go through each and every patient’s insurance schedule fee, and can only give you an estimate because even though they call the insurance company, the rep on the phone can make mistakes.

It’s a horrible, horrible, system that serves no-one except the insurance companies and I hate it

(Worked in dental, tried doing up front stuff but I have ADHD and the insurance garbage breaks my mind)

Yeaaah probably fake, but given that it could be easier to just get it back by asking rather than rescheduling patients, dealing with the police, and waiting for insurance to cover the expensive equipment it’s… possible that this is legit (probably not, but possible)

Nah, I’ve worked in dental. Those machines are insanely expensive. This is one hand-held unit for sale just under 3k, down from just under 7k . That doesn’t count the sensors, which are also crazy expensive.

https://universadent.com/product/nomad-pro-2/

Most offices have machines attached to the wall, which would be extremely difficult to steal. But a nomad is portable.

https://dentimax.com/x-ray-sensor-comparison/

Above is ONE sensor (most offices have at least 2) that costs around 7k. There are other neccessities as well, but I think you get the point

Show: Love, Death and Robots. It’s fantastic but some of the episodes just hit too hard. I’ll eventually get back to it, I just need some time

Game: Cyberpunk. I was looking something up and found out what happens to Evelyn. I kinda look like her a bit, and have also dealt with (much milder) issues in the same category. Too brutal

Movie: I actually watched it all the way, but the first time I watched American Beauty is just fucked me up for like, a week

I’ve already watched it, but my husband and I are going through it again because he hasn’t seen it. We binge watch most shows, but Mr. Robot is HEAVY and it gets heavier and weirder until the end.

My advice while watching it is to detach from the characters. Accept that anyone can die at any moment, often horribly, but know that the ending is bitter-sweet and that the show is absolutely worth the watch

Lemmy’s being difficult for me (or it could be Connect for Lemmy) so I keep having to find the post in order to reply to you! (Meaning I might have to stop replying, but if I do that’s why)

And yes, I would say a dog growling and a honey bee releasing pheromones are also examples of language! I’m sure many would disagree (and rightfully) but my general perspective on the matter is that any type of communication is language (but I can see how it can be argued that no, it’s not language which is different- they’re just so closely related in my mind that to me they’re practically synonyms)

I agree that it has to do with definition. My definition of language might be of a wider range than yours (and linguists)

My cat, for example, might not use grammer but I can certainly communicate with her (and she with me!) In this sense she and I have a language between us that’s a mix of signs, sounds, and body language. It’s not possible for me to seperate our talks from language, even though our understanding of each other doesn’t cover specifics.

So if someone communicates with me via emoji, and I understund accurately, I would count it as language (even if it goes against classical definitions)

Idk. I think they can all fall under language, because they’re all a form of communication. Like sign language, or body language

Last I heard, the speculation was that it’s from what’s known as food fraud: adding cheap fillers to foods in order to maximize profit. Hard to say where on the chain this happened- the company could have innocently purchased what they thought was legit cinnamon, or they could have been in on it.

Another possibility is that the cinnamon was grown in an area with naturally occuring lead (and I guess now chromium), or it could have been unknowinglyirrigated with water contaminated by lead and chromium.

Either way, this shit scares the life out of me. I hate that the FDA doesn’t do more to protect us (and frickin’ kids!) from this sort of injustice

Yeah, my husband and I tend to trade off playing during 1-player games, and I’d essentially toss the controller at him each time there was an enemy. He got to the point of “fuck this, I’m running” (Though we haven’t played in a while due to the nausea I get from it)

Yeah, that looks satisfyingly crunchy!

I’m somewhat similar, but I’m also extremely easily distracted. I can’t hold multiple things in my mind for longer than two or three steps ahead. And then anything that comes along to break me out of it and I’m just done. It’s super frustrating, especially because I have the kind of mind that bounces different perspectives around all the time. It’s like I just want to reach out and grab a thought to think it through thouroughly before I get to the next but… nope

I like the game but I can’t deal with the nausea. Idk what it is about it, (I suspect it’s the rain) but within minutes I feel sick and need to go lay down. My husband has no issues with it. We’re probably about 30% through.

I love the weirdness of the story. The voice acting is pretty good. The environment is immersive, and I’ll remember that cake scene forever. (But the boat controls suck, combat isn’t fun and doesn’t add anything to the game, and I’m not a fan of having to run to a point in order to fast travel)

Just wish I could either watch or play it without wanting to throw up

I’ll never forgive her for clinging on to power. She destroyed her legacy and ruined lives for the greed of it

Copy cat :)

I haven’t had it for years and I don’t miss it at all, either. Only social media I use is Lemmy and Youtube