I’m in the same boat. Their only competition where I am is DSL, other than 5G/satellite.

Your first sentence hit the nail on the head. Most Americans travel nearly exclusively in their car. Why would they get out of their car to use a vending machine when McDonald’s has a drive-thru? Or if they are willing to get out, why wouldn’t they just pick up fresher food from a restaurant? Moreover, mobile ordering has solved the issue of having to talk to people.

The US does have some vending machines like this, but pretty much exclusively in areas with very high foot traffic, like airports, train stations in major cities, etc.

It was pretty useful as a kid for feeding my Gameboy and Game Gear with batteries I rescued from the junk drawers of friends and family. If they were low, I knew I had to save more often to avoid losing progress if they went dead while I was playing.

My appetite for PvP dropped off precipitously after college. I just don’t have the time to dedicate to getting good at any game, and every online multiplayer game I’ve ever played is toxic if you aren’t at least decent. I have no interest in a sixteen year old cursing me out because I don’t have the map memorized.

Single player generally also brings in much more flexibility, especially when it comes to things like mods. With my limited free time, if I’m enjoying a game except for thing x, I prefer the ability to remove or diminish that thing x. Also, you have the ability to pause to change laundry loads or whatever.

Maybe if you have a super low cap, high fees, and they automatically close your position at a pretty conservative point. But that’d hardly be worth any broker’s time with that risk/reward, unless they are hosing the borrower with insane fees. Though if that’s the case, putting up collateral would be cheaper (even if you have to borrow it from somewhere).

You definitely do need money. No broker is going to let you short without collateral, and you’re going to be paying interest for the duration of your short position beside any fees/commission.

I definitely agree with you on basic preventative meds for pets. I think the only somewhat reasonable argument I’ve heard is that if a vet prescribes it, there’s a very high chance it’s the right dose for the animal’s size, whereas pet owners are more likely to err. However, the doses are already marked for weight ranges; it’d be hard to get that wrong if you’re not intentionally being obtuse.

Yeah, the stainless steel ones are great if you have a dishwasher. I can understand if people don’t want the upkeep of replacing filters and that black ring thing around the pump, though. And honestly the pump itself needs to be replaced every 1.5-2 years even if you clean it well.

If you are a homeowner, property transaction records are public information in the US. Plenty of data brokers collate from the numerous city/county databases for those who only know your name.

I could never earn enough CT money to actually get anything good, so I’m sympathetic to the feelings of the artist in this story.

To be fair, four of the five boroughs have greater populations than multiple states (Staten Island being the exception). I don’t think any other city in the US has comparable subdivisions.

It’s also hard to overstate the historical and cultural significance of NYC in the US. And this is coming from a New Englander who is obliged to say, “New York sucks.”

If they put the same love into this one as Tsushima, I will be very happy.

I’ve seen the urn characterized both as rare/expensive and not uncommon/inexpensive. It seems to change depending on the point different articles are trying to make. Perhaps it’s relative.

The Planet Money episode on this was an interesting listen. If I remember correctly, after the bans he held this weird discussion group at the White House where everyone just talked over each other, and he ended it completely noncommittally.

Wait, so they’re including inedible parts like husks, peels, etc. that can’t actually be used for food? So this is more a combination of food waste and food byproducts, then. It might say more about the types of foods that these countries prefer than how wasteful there are if they consume more foods with inedible byproducts.

Amazon literally did this with diapers.com that led to them acquiring the company and shutting it down. I’m sure they’ve done it in hundreds of other product spaces as well.

Many monopolies form by first using a dominant market position to sell at a price no competitor can afford to match. Choice has already been removed before the “competition” folds or pulls out of the market. The consequences don’t happen overnight; you feel the squeeze before the “true” monopoly emerges. Amazon isn’t going to sell at a cheaper price once their competitors go out of business out of the kindness of their hearts.

Further, high consumer price is just one form monopoly power takes. Reduced labor power, wages, and worse working conditions are other important concerns, in addition to removing product variety and innovation incentive.

I feel like a conspiracy nutjob, but I can’t see another reason for it sometimes.

The last bus in my city is about 10-20 minutes before most theater shows end in our downtown. So I can take the bus to go see a show, but I can’t take one back unless I rudely leave during the final scene. Same deal for things like bar trivia. It’s like they want people to drive drunk.

And I can’t feasibly walk home because there’s two goddamn highways bisecting the city that make getting from downtown to my neighborhood take five times as long to walk as it should.

You’ve got me there!

According to Pantone 19-0912 it is. You were just very savvy to printing industry standards as a child.