Oooooooh that makes sense! Thanks for explaining. Yeah I wish we had legislation around it here, it’s stupid that I have to play games to get lower prices on things.

Wait what??

The consumer is barred from swapping providers annually to get better rates? Or are they barred from lying about fake quotes to get a better rate from their current provider?

Edit: By chance did you mean “price walking”? I did some searching online and I couldn’t find anything about the UK forbidding consumers from changing insurance companies to seek lower prices by searching for “policy walking” but I did find something about insurers slowly increasing prices on customers (thus creating the need for the behavior I suggested) called “price walking”, though I didn’t see anything about it’s legality. Admittedly, I’m just skimming while working.

Every year, call your insurance/internet/phone/TV etc. provider and tell them one of their competitors gave you a lower quote and you want them to match it or come close.

They will often give you a better rate just for asking. It’s easier if you do have an actual quote to compare it against but you don’t need one. Everything is made up. Just ask to pay less and threaten to stop paying them and they’ll often just give it to you.

Even if they refuse, just say, “Okay. I need some time to think about whether or not I want to continue our relationship or switch.” Hang up and do nothing.

It’s good to keep in mind that the cost of space exploration vastly pales in comparison to most social programs which also vastly pale in comparison to the military budget.

We should absolutely focus on helping people on Earth, but we don’t need to cut space exploration to do that, just war.

Can one give consent in a situation when they’ve mentally decompensated to a point where they are a risk to themselves or those around them and need intervention?

There’s a $12 bottle of Monastrell that my roommate and I adore. It’s rich and complex with wonderful plum and fruit notes, it’s not too expensive, it’s vegan, and it always seems to be flying off the shelves.

Whenever I see it, I try to buy a case of it and we save the bottles, never opening more than one a night, debating if we should open another cheap red or “one of the good ones”.

It’s not much, but it is a luxury I love to enjoy and share with friends.