...the new solar requirement is about 3.5% the cost of the [newly built] store.

Just repeating your number to highlight solar canopies' insignificance in total build cost.

Vandalism is a potential threat for all solar installations, and I'm sure that there is insurance that can be taken out against it.

That being the case, there is no higher risk of vandalism to parking-lot solar installations than there is risk to solar-over-dirt solar installations.

It's actually a bonus. "We have shaded parking in our mall!" is a good advertising line. No one likes getting into a scorching-hot car.

If dark matter interacts only through the gravitational force, how could an accreted cloud of dark matter create drag on a star whose orbit passes through it?

A given volume of dark matter particles would 'pull' the star forward in its orbit while approaching, and then would 'pull' the star backwards in its orbit by the same amount after it had passed through.

What is the effect that they are referring to as 'drag'? Could it just be stellar dust?

Let's hope this continues.

I am not hopeful.

Did you miss the part where this is part of Medicare?

It is not a part of Medicare. It is a plan that people on Medicare can opt in to. It is a medical insurance plan in which a private insurance company takes over from Medicare all of the decision-making, and is funded by your Medicare dollars (and sometimes a small consumer--paid premium).

The result is still 80% coverage for medical needs, but the companies are using AI algorithms (i.e., algorithms) to make decisions, sometimes against the legally required Medicare minimums, about how much medical care a person can receive.

In other words, the insurance companies running the Medicare Advantage plans are using computer programs to make life-and-death decisions over who gets coverage and who doesn't, without taking into account case-specific factors. That's pretty heinous.

Made up of mangers and ass kissers.

A pro-return-to-office group, eh? How many of those 700 accounts are bots?

Or if not bots, shills?

So how do I get into my bank account if I have a cold, or just a stuffy nose?

The price difference for being or not being 'in the shoppers club' can be as high as 30% for some items at Kroger-owned supermarkets (They own several chains).

That's a strong incentiviser for shoppers, and I can't imagine how Kroger makes THAT MUCH money off of your purchase information. I guess most people haven't heard of ad-blockers yet. . .

In the early 2000's, when every grocery chain suddenly wanted your telephone number so you could be a "club member", I started telling people that this was for data collection purposes – for profiling you – and not to go along with it. Almost every single person told me I was deluded.

You see, phone numbers used to change every time you moved, but with cell phones and 'number portability' laws, people started keeping their phone numbers as a permanent number. Same thing with email addresses. Well, both of those are now strong individual identifiers, as strong as a social security number (which shops are barred from using for tracking and such).

Nobody listened. There were some like me who saw, this early, the reason for this change, and basically no one listened to us.

Lesson for the people (who didn't listen) is that if you stop paying attention, then you're gonna get taken advantage of.

The cycle repeats.

The Democratic author of the bill had to water down the bill in order to get enough Republican votes (in addition to the Democratic votes) that it would pass. This is frequently how politics works.

The law is a start, and the next state to pass such a law might make it stiffer, if there is public awareness and support for its expanded provisions. Also, a future New York House might draft a stiffer bill and push it through if they have enough Democratic supporters that bending to the will of the lobbyists isn't required.

I thought everyone already knew this, or at least figured it was the case.

Gah.

HIPAA

Agreed. GoodRx seemed scammy from first glance. As it turns out, it was.

Typo correction: HIPAAA.

FTA: "Strategic under-shipping helps companies maintain higher prices for their wares."

It's not "strategic" undershipping. It's screwing your customers in a new way when the winds of supply and demand shift.

This is cartel-like behavior (just like the DeBeers diamond cartel). It's not right.

Humans adapted to voice-only communication decades ago. And while video chat is fine, a full simulation of the other person having a verbal conversation with you is a bit over-the-top. Unnecessary.