Charge speeds also suck unless you get some of the fancy expensive chargers.

Absolutely not. There are plenty of Youtubers testing this theory. Here is a pretty credible reviewer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7-ghrTqA44

I personally have had nightmarish results with Amazon Basics Alkaline. In my experience these batteries have a greater tendency than other brands to leak over time and have destroyed multiple electronic equipment that I have owned. It was a big mistake on my part because I bought a large package of them, installed them and then didn't realize that many of them leaked until it was too late and they have eaten away many terminals in the different devices I put them in.

What I am getting at is trying to figure out which city minimizes the types of "idiots" you are referring to and i'm finding that no city is really like that. Every city has these kinds of problems to some extent as well as positive aspects.

Maybe you just like a smaller city? ~2-3 vs ~12 million is a big difference.

[1]:https://www.bls.gov/web/metro/laummtrk.htm

Small selection of things that I found interesting:

1. Turn your old Dreamcast VMU into a modern game console: Would never have thought of it but in hindsight its the perfect device to mod given its form factor! https://akiba-pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/news/1306197....

2. Combine a Raspberry pi with a Famicom cartridge to provide the Famicom the ability to run DOOM. Given all the other Famicom related releases listed there, its amazing to see the Famicon still alive and kicking. Wonder how the N64 scene is like over there. https://akiba-pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/news/1297530....

3. IPS Screen mod for Wonderswan (granted we have seen lots of IPS mods so this one for Wonderswan makes sense given its Japan)

The story about Akihabara stores being vacant seems sad though. Even they cannot escape COVID/the future of shopping being online it seems.

KFC uses a Pressure Fryer: https://youtu.be/9ZLKj2a_OPM?t=546

Wendys and Chickfila also use a pressure fryer but notably their sandwiches are not dripping with oil when you order them.

Here is the same pressure fryer Wendys uses but to fry chicken wings instead of sandwich patties, noice that they are dripping with oil: https://youtu.be/7owZz26W1_U?t=176

Popeyes uses a standard fryer plus a thick coating of buttermilk(as seen earlier in the video) and their chicken seems to come out cleaner: https://youtu.be/31dGYRnhS8k?t=113

Seems like Pressure fryers + breading might be the culprit but really, this is just a wild guess. If there are any fried chicken masters here, feel free to jump in.

This was made possible in part by the culmination of multiple democratization events that made it viable for Yum Brands: a large company but nowhere near the big guys to be able to effectively punch above their weight class.

1) Youtube allowed them to shoot some silly 15 min short film and not have to worry about massive distribution costs or paying for a spot on TV.

2) The rise of Netflix and other streaming has helped to break down the walls that may have prevented KFC from even considering to hire people like Mario Lopez.

3) The Console is just a PC in a custom case. The increasing commoditization of tech + the rise of cheaper and cheaper manufacturing of commodity components allows the production of one off SKUs like this to be within reach to more and more organizations.

We see amazing quality videos being produced by people in their bedrooms. It stands to reason that an ambitious company with a decent budget would produce something like this.

Years ago, Google experimented with enabling regular people to buy TV ad spots through Google ADs. I feel like that was a democratization of getting on TV for regular people that I wish was continued but I guess Google had a different vision.

That will go away once Climate Change reduces the ability of the planet to produce abundant resources needed for the modern way of life. The remaining carrying capacity of the planet will force a move back to subsistence farming and with that comes the inevitable brutal environment.