beastlet

Don't do this. Your kid's teeth and mouth shouldn't be trusted to some shady mail order orthodontics. Look at Smile Direct -- not only did they go bankrupt and out of business, they left many people with half finished treatment or screwed up treatment, even though they had already paid in full.

This mom gets the estimate for her teenage son's braces and her reaction is pure, relatable shock. She sits there staring at the paper: over $6,000 for full top-and-bottom braces. "What? Like who can afford over $6,000 for braces?" she says, voice cracking with disbelief. Her son needs them for an overbite and just one or two crooked teeth—"his teeth aren't even that crooked"—but it's still full treatment. She thought maybe it was $1,900 or something (perhaps a down payment), but nope, the numbers are real. He's got two insurances (one through mom, one through dad), yet the estimate only factors in dad's. She hopes hers kicks in more, especially since her daughter only needed top braces before. But even so, she's floored: "Oh my god, this can't be real. This can't be real. Parents, is this real?" This is the everyday reality hitting so many families right now. A basic need like fixing your kid's teeth turns into a massive financial gut punch—thousands out of pocket, even with insurance, while you're already dealing with life’s other curveballs. Kids shouldn't have to go without straight teeth and confidence because orthodontics costs more than a used car. Parents shouldn't have to choose between braces and bills. Who's been hit with a braces quote that made you do a double-take? Or is this just what we Americans have to deal with in 2026?

I agree, I thought it was a good dea, especially as they had to run condiut across my three car garage. I've saved $683 over gas according to my charging stats and my state doesn't charge an extra EV registration fee (yet) so I've almost paid for the charger installation in my gas savings.

$850 is actually a solid price. Panel being on the wrong side of the garage means they had to run a longer conduit/wire run which adds material and labor. As a Master Electrician — the big thing most people don't realize is that the panel location + existing load determines whether you need an upgrade at all. Most people don't. A proper NEC 220.82 load calc takes 10 minutes and can save you $3K+. Smart move charging off-peak too. $0.08/kWh is hard to beat.

Just the facts: Took 1.5 hours to charge Cost ~$75

@Paul_Phillips20 @JacquiDeevoy1 You can fly on a plane as a passenger without a background check -- all you have to do is buy a ticket. What's the big deal? I have flown many, many times and have never once had a background check.

@beastlet @JacquiDeevoy1 So the US give out airside passes to anyone who has a kid flying without any background checks?

Dear airport experts, I’d be very grateful if you could explain airport security to me again. I watch 20 or more people go through but I’m the only one told to remove my shoes. Every time. Meanwhile, the bottle of water in my handbag isn’t spotted. They make you take off your coat, your jacket, your belt yet the body scanner can see through all that. They unpack my tightly packed rucksack and scan two books with a hand-held scanner. Then tell me to repack. Why? The weight of hand luggage is limited, as is the number of bags. Yet, airside, you can buy as much stuff as you want - any weight in any number of bags - and take it on the plane. Yours sincerely, Baffled of Heathrow

@Paul_Phillips20 @JacquiDeevoy1 Every US airport allows this. You have to get a special pass when you check your child in to be allowed through security. The last thing the airport wants is your kid wandering around alone.

@beastlet @JacquiDeevoy1 Where were you allowed to escort your child to the gate?

@congressdj @LoriDelaneyJ @SouthwestAir Bullshit. In the choose your own seat days of a few months ago you were allowed to move at will.

@LoriDelaneyJ @SouthwestAir This is a weight and balancing issue. You have no idea what cargo is underneath you. Every single body makes a difference in fuel, too. If you want to plane to fly without stalling (which can be a real concern in a 737 with only 50 people, follow instructions.

Hey @SouthwestAir - Flight WN2991 Tucson > Vegas tonight has abt 50 passengers. Please explain why I’m required to stay in a window seat in a full row when there are completely empty rows behind me? Please tell me why a flight attendant called me rude for asking? #RapidRewards

@LeighWolf Blockbuster wouldn't have had to declare bankruptcy if you had just paid your late fee.

Just found this in a moving box, what kind of lates fees am I looking at here?

@Landeur Not having a purpose is soul killing. There will be a lot more Fentanyl or equivalent use.

I actually think this is a bad thing. Strife and hardship moulds human beings. Difficulty and adversity brings ingenuity and beauty.

@BronutHere @lobotomy_user There's a reason I don't do business with Adobe. No one forces you to sign that contract. But railing against something happening that you were told would happen is just pointless, as this argument has become.

@beastlet @lobotomy_user "erm it says right here that the corporations can kick you in the balls and steal your first born. I hate that corporation but it's legal so nothing we can do because it says right here on page 33 if their terms. Reading comprehension much?" That's you

great, i have to pay to cancel my adobe subscription most pathetic way to get me to keep my subscription lol

@CallMeSam89 @GadSaad I don't know, one visit and they never complain again.

@GadSaad I guess MAID is not that popular with patients.

Thoughts?

@BronutHere @lobotomy_user I'm not standing up for the corporation I despise. I'm standing up for reading comprehension. It will serve you well in all facets of your life.

@beastlet @lobotomy_user You're so principled, standing up for corporations that make awful terms and conditions on the basis of "hey it's legal"

@BronutHere @lobotomy_user Yes, that addressed the points I made in my reply quite intelligently. Thank you for the thoughtful response.

@beastlet @lobotomy_user All I hear is *gawk gawk gawk gawk*

It doesn't matter what it does. It matters that the OP agreed to this and now is shocked that the contract they signed is being enforced. This is how people get scammed of a lot worse than $103 because they agree to things without reading or understanding them. OP should take this as a cheap lesson in reading the fine print.

@beastlet @lobotomy_user what cancelling a subsciption abruptly even do to a million dollar company? what's the worse is going to happen for the company?

Bozo, reading is fundamental. This is clearly stated when you sign up. I see these stupid posts of people aghast at Adobe's early cancellation fee when they agreed to it in order to get cheaper rates when they signed up in the first place. I hate Adobe. I don't subscribe because I don't want to lease software. I bought Photoshop years back when you actually owned a product. However they abandoned me when it wasn't updated and eventually became unusable. Now I stick to open source software whenever possible.

@beastlet @lobotomy_user Are they at least paying you or are you just sucking off corporate dick for free?

@CoffeeNGrit @elonmusk @Tesla My Y experience last summer was the same. VIN snatched away. All the accessories arrived a month before the car did. Zero regrets. Best car I've ever had.

Update on my Tesla Model Y saga, y'all ☕ Feb 18: Took a demo drive "just to see." Went home and ordered one like a man with absolutely no chill. Posted about have amazing it was.. @elonmusk and @Tesla quoted it! Feb 20: Order placed. Told myself I'd be patient. I was not patient. Feb 28: VIN assigned! I may have done a small victory lap. Mar 9: VIN vanished. Manufacturing gremlins won. Viictory lap cancelled. Mar 13: App says "Vehicle in transit." I refreshed it 47 times… patience has left the building. Mar 14: Finally an actualy delivery window of Mar 26–31. It's official. The car exists. It's headed my way. Meanwhile, my garage looks like a Tesla accessory warehouse exploded with more packages on the way... Damn you Amazon and Tesla shop! All for a car I don't technically have yet. 😂

@rroruman @1JoeSpringsteen To most people going on an expensive ski vacation $4k isn't life changing. It also isn't $4k in your account. It is useless airline credit with restrictions that probably expires in a year.

@1JoeSpringsteen Everyone on that plane is pretending $4k isn't life changing money. The most expensive thing in that terminal right now is collective ego. Someone take the check.

At the airport and they won’t board until a final volunteer gets off. Airline offer is up to $4k. Destination Aspen. It’s a Mexican standoff at this point.

@JosephGelman @HowardA_AtLaw @channingms1 This is what I came to say. Jews that vote democrat are such a puzzle to me.

@HowardA_AtLaw @channingms1 Maybe you should stop being a “lifelong Democrat”?

I am a lifelong democrat and I’m genuinely concerned that it will take a mass casualty terrorist attack on the Jewish community for Democrats to stop worshiping Hamas Piker, Mahmoud Khalil and other terror supporters Burning 12 of us alive in Colorado clearly wasn’t enough

@mark_slapinski Mark Slapinski has been credibly accused of putting his head up his own ass in search of his brain. Proof you ask? I saw it on the internet, so it's credible.

I'm going to lose followers for this, and possibly get murdered by Mossad, but it needs to be said: Israel has been credibly accused of using white phosphorus, a chemical weapon, in Lebanon. Acknowledging this fact is NOT anti-Semitic.

@potatoslav My silent generation mom hates margarine and only uses butter. She remembers during the post WW2 years you couldn't get butter and only could get margarine, which came with the yellow color separate and you had to mix it in yourself. Turned her off margarine forever.

why do so many boomers insist on using margarine when butter both tastes better and is an actual food