The group, […] argued that the public backlash prevented the company from pursuing “the aggressive, anti-consumer tactics that it would need to achieve” its earnings goals.

Sorry, am I missing something here or is this them saying the quiet part out loud?

I read this as “Investors are annoyed that public backlash prevented UHG from fucking over, and in some cases KILLING their customers, and wanted the company to acknowledge sooner that they wouldn’t be able to fuck over and kill their customers”

Seconded. I’ve got one and I’m pretty happy with it

I eventually bought a kfocus laptop, but the shipping on both was horrendous. I think kfocus worked out ever so slightly cheaper for the laptop itself though.

cries in southern hemisphere

We were discussing the usefulness of receipts, why are we now discussing the maturity of my friends and my ability to set boundaries?

I’m more than happy to pick up whatever my friends would like… because they’re my friends, and so long as I have hands to carry it, it’s not an imposition.

I just expect them to pay for it. Expecting me to foot the bill WOULD be an imposition, and I wouldn’t be ok with that. THAT is my healthy boundary.

Receipts help with this.

There is no one size fits all when it comes to group dynamics like this, and I’ll thank you to not make assumptions about my friends like that.

If I’m only getting a scone and a small black coffee, I’m not paying for your soy mocha latte with almond sprinkles and unicorn hair. “I’ve got next” is a luxury of those not on a budget. All my friends get it, and we all agree you pay for your own. We save rounds for the bar where everyone is drinking the same thing

Also, fwiw, I’ve never even been to America

Because only Americans buy more than a single donut?

I mean, yes, but that breaks down when you start thinking about a donut, two croissants, a cheese scone, and 3 coffees, 2 regular, 1 large, one with regular milk, one with almond milk, and one black, for me and the two friends in the office who then need to think about reimbursement

Latest variant is NSFL

Ye, the medical thing concerns me. NZ has a national health record system that let’s you register a primary emergency contact. From everything I’ve read, that, coupled with the fact that we’re in a defacto relationship should be enough to prevent that being an issue. I hope that stays untested

I’m in NZ. Theoretically we’re listed as each other’s primary emergency contacts, so that shouldn’t be an issue. I just hope we never have to find out.

As for children, property etc. NZ has this idea of a defacto relationship, which you can enter into either by living together for 2 years, or by having a child together. It offers the same protections that marriage does. I think it gets a bit greyer if you just have a child together, but living together for 2 years is as good as a marriage in this regard.

Where it matters the most is if one of us passes away, but that can be negated through a will.

It could matter if we ever decided to move out of the country, but I don’t see us doing that in a hurry. We’ll cross that bridge if we ever get to it

Estate can be managed by having a good will drawn up, and in NZ there is no distinction between a married couple and a defacto relationship (living together for >2 years) when it comes to separations and property.

Marriage is a big ceremony where you declare that this person is now your family in front of the people most important to you. From that angle I’m on board.

Where I’m out is that you have to register that with the govt. I HATE that. I’m in a het relationship, and gay marriage is legal here, so I have no idea why that irks me so much, but it’s like, who the fuck are they to tell me my marriage isn’t real because it’s not registered with them?

Here there aren’t even any good tax benefits, so I really don’t see the point.

We’ll probably have a ceremony, but it won’t be a legal marriage.

“but you can call me the fediverse chick guy/person”

This is the darkest timeline

OK, you’re gonna need some things:

A heat gun, A wire brush, Bandaids, A stiff drink

Huh, that’s not what I get:

Enjoy it! We’re going the opposite way now. One of the major downsides of living in the southern hemisphere is people forgot why the holiday season landed in the middle of winter. It was to give people something to look forward to and help them through the dark months… There is NOTHING like that during the winter here. It can be pretty bleak!

It’s looking like it’s going to be a good year for gaming.

Games I’m looking forward to:

Subnautica 2 The Outer Worlds 2 Death Stranding 2 (possibly. I’ll wait for reviews) GTA 6 (Assuming there is an offline, kernal DRM free mode) Solarpunk Paralives