I recall seeing free home water testing kits in home depot a while back. Not sure what those kits tested for but they were a means to sell you home filtration systems and plumbing stuff. But they were free. Maybe start there?

I can agree with this. Assholes from all walks.

That’s awful nice of the managers to take that on. I honestly think that anything that involves biohazard should not be handled by store employees at all.

Anecdotal, but it seemed like 80% of the time it was the poorer folks doing this shit. Have a sister with 4 kids, super close to welfare level and her and her kids do this shit (mostly her kids do this and she just lets them). Shes just tired and inattentive all the time. What I’ve noticed gets her attention is when a store clerk or other customer calls them out and shames them.

So public shaming may help the problem, but in today’s world some of these people may turn rabid Mama bear on you. Some stores make you count items on hangers going in and then going out. That actually might work. But I’d rather see societal behavior change instead.

Side note: My sister has worked years of retail before so no idea how tf she does this.

I find the kind of behavior you’re describing as a sort of non-necessary survival mode behavior. They want to not just get the product they need, they want to get the best darn carton of strawberries in the entire batch. We’re not talking looking over a few cartons, we’re talking those people that will go through EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. That side of the spectrum. I feel like people who do this might be predisposed to hoarding tendencies or other obsessive disorders. Don’t get me wrong, fk those people, but I really want to believe there’s a reason behind the madness.

Used to work retail so I feel this. Crazy thing is that sometimes it only takes one or two customers (and their gremlin children) to cause this kind of chaos. I’d go into fitting rooms and shit would be thrown all over the floors. Every now and then there would be extra surprises…like food or drink containers, or used diapers, or urine in the wastebasket. Fun times.

Outright purchase, finance, or lease are the 3 options for getting solar. Many people prioritize this on their wish list, save up, and eventually can afford to do so. There may also be subsidies, rebates, and tax credits (federal and/or state) that may apply. New York, for example, is eligible for a max federal credit of -$5700 and a state credit of 25% of your system value to your income taxes. So that would shave off a lot.

Piggybacking to also recommend realistically assessing if you might move prior to that breakeven point. I don’t know if solar panels have good ROI for house selling or not.

I honestly don’t think this is a bad idea for the US…for now at least. Right now your typical options for official statements from government leaders are either through (1) politically polarized media like CNN or Fox, (2) paid subscription to better journalism, or (3) social media monopolies like Twitter (X) and Instagram. Can we really not fund something entirely independent of a mega-corporation to get official info out?