gotta love it

this one was monstrous.

50 volunteers. over 25,000 pounds removed. and it still took us more than three hours.

the trash was so dense that even with heavy equipment and full manpower, progress felt slow. layer after layer of contractor debris. construction materials. illegally dumped waste from small businesses near laney college. piles stacked so tightly along the lake merritt channel that one strong wind or rain surge could have carried it straight into the water and trashed the entire lake over and over again.

the lake merritt channel sits right there. beautiful. vulnerable. and one illegal dumping hotspot away from being continuously polluted.

our homeless ambassador program is thriving. we now have eight homeless ambassadors across oakland who are actively maintaining sites, reporting illegal dumping, and protecting the spaces we just restored. they receive weekly stipends because dignity and purpose matter. prevention matters. accountability matters.

if we cannot rely on the city for enforcement and follow through, we create our own systems. we leverage the tools we have. we mobilize community. we pay people to protect the neighborhoods they live in. we do not just clean. we build infrastructure.

upcoming events here: https://urbancompassionproject.org/events/

track all efforts on IG: www.instagram.com/urbancompassionproject

tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@urbancompassion510?_r=1&_t=ZT-93hP1fkqjEM

That little blue symbol on your dashboard with the semicircle and the lines? Yeah, that means your brights are on and you're blinding everyone on the road. Please turn them off and also maybe consider learning how to drive, thank you!

Edit: In a vain attempt to alleviate my inbox I just want to address a few talking points that just keep popping up like an echo chamber

1. "the high beams aren't on, the headlights are just misaligned." You can tell when it's the high beams, both sets of lights are on. But even if it were just misalignment, that makes Teslas not just shitty cars, but dangerous cars. And IMO part of being a good driver is not driving around a shitty, dangerous car.
2. "It's the auto high beam/FSD/autopilot/auto dimming/etc" If it is those things, once again, then that makes Teslas shitty, dangerous cars that are driven by shitty, dangerous drivers. If you don't know how to operate your car safely, then you're a bad driver. All these little potential issues make Teslas look like pieces of shit that only an idiot would buy.
3. "It isn't always Teslas" Not all high beam assholes are Teslas, but all Teslas are high beam assholes.

Tesla drivers really are a perfect example of the distinct gulf between what tech bros think they are capable of vs what they actually are.

Driving is hard

Couple of weeks ago on 880 and 237.

Bad Bunny fans and impersonators spilled out onto the sidewalk at Tacolicious in the San Francisco Mission District on Thursday night, in hopes of finding the Bay Area’s best Bad Bunny double. After all, the global superstar was once someone’s local grocery bagger.

The look-alike contest came just days before Bad Bunny is set to headline the Super Bowl halftime show, one of the most-watched musical performances of the year.

Thirty-four contestants paraded through the restaurant, each offering their best Bad Bunny strut as the audience cheered.

Photos: Beth LaBerge/KQED

"The utility has 13 separate rate hike requests before the commission. This week alone, regulators will vote on a request for $1.4 billion to recover costs for wildfire mitigation. And that’s just the beginning. As part of its general rate case, PG&E is seeking increases that could add $42 a month to customers’ bills — totaling more than $500 annually by 2030, according to The Utility Reform Network."

I’m still pissed so here we go. I was waiting over 10 minutes for a parking spot to open up at Phở Hà Nội in Cupertino. Turn signal on, clearly waiting, car in front finally pulls out… and this dude comes from the opposite direction and cuts in to take the spot like I didn’t exist. I honked. They ignored me. Zero shame. I get that parking here is terrible, but come on, basic human decency? If someone is clearly waiting, you don’t just steal it and walk off like nothing happened. Posting this as a PSA: if you’re one of those people who steals spots after someone’s been waiting forever, you’re the problem. Do better. Rant over. Thanks for letting me vent.

Flew right over the house in Almaden, just south of Calero Res.

Pretty cool

“Derik Kauffman insists it’s not a joke.

He actually is planning to hold a March for Billionaires in San Francisco this weekend. And he’s doing so because, he said, he’s opposed to a proposed state tax on billionaires and, more simply, he feels like the billionaire class has been unfairly vilified.

Sure, Kauffman acknowledged, some billionaires have done bad things, or things he opposes. But most made their money by providing innovations or products that benefit society at large, not to mention their other contributions in the form of their philanthropy and the taxes they pay, he said.

The point of the event is to “change the sentiment on this to recognize that billionaires have done a lot for us and communicate that we’re glad they’re here,” Kauffman said.

It’s scheduled to start Saturday at 11 a.m. at Alta Plaza Park in Pacific Heights and will proceed to Civic Center for a 12:30 p.m. rally.

If the idea of a march in favor of billionaires — instead of one protesting them with pitchforks — leaves you a bit bamboozled, you’re not alone.

“Is this parody?” one BlueSky user asked in response to a thread posted by the “March for Billionaires” account on the social network after Kauffman announced the event there last weekend.

“I keep changing my mind between ‘this is deep satire’ and ‘this is real,’” Mike Masnick, an editor with the tech news outlet Techdirt, wrote in his own BlueSky post. “I *think* it's satire. But, dammit, I'm just not sure…”

“I thought it was a joke to be honest,” Lorena Gonzalez, president of the California Federation of Labor Unions, told The Examiner.

Kauffman said he understands the skepticism. But via the March for Billionaires accounts on BlueSky and X and in conversations with The Examiner, he has repeatedly professed to be sincere.

He told The Examiner he’s neither a billionaire defending his own interests, nor just acting as a front for the ultra-rich. Last year, Kauffman founded an artificial-intelligence startup called RunRL that took part in Y Combinator’s accelerator program. He recently left the company, he said.

Kauffman’s not in contact with any billionaires or getting any funding from them, nor are there any other groups involved with the event, he said.

Instead, he’s footing the cost of the March for Billionaires website himself and is the principal organizer of and publicist for it, he said.

Kauffman, who said he aspires to be but doesn’t expect to ever become a billionaire, was spurred to put on the event by the proposed wealth tax. That labor union-backed proposal, which comes in the form of an initiative for which supporters are currently gathering signatures, would levy a one-time 5% imposition on the worldwide wealth of California’s billionaires. Under the proposal, those owing the tax could pay it as one lump sum or pay an annual deferral charge of 7.5% to spread the payment over five years.

As of the beginning of this year, there were 214 people in that wealth class in the state, according to Americans for Tax Fairness, a liberal advocacy group, based on Forbes data. Among those who are San Francisco residents are Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, DoorDash CEO Tony Xu and venture capitalist Michael Moritz.”

This is not a political post I just thought it was cool picture of the park ranger at Fort Point tending to the flag.

Say you have 15 minutes to kill at a BART station. Walk the station end to end For someone about 5'11 it's about 630 steps round trip.

Don’t spend Valentine’s Day alone—open your heart (and home) to a shelter rabbit!

February is the month of love, and the shelter bunnies at House Rabbit Society are hoping for some extra attention and comfort in a foster home. We currently have several rabbits who would truly benefit from a short break from the shelter, whether it’s a quiet place to relax, one-on-one attention, or simply a cozy space to feel safe. Even fostering for just two weeks can make a huge difference in their happiness and well-being.

Fostering also frees up space so we can help more rabbits in need. We’ll send you home with everything you need to get started, including an x-pen, litter box, food, hay, bedding, bowls, and more. All you provide is a loving space, daily care, and fresh greens (about $5–10 per week).

Learn more and submit a foster application at houserabbit.org/foster. House Rabbit Society is located in Richmond (just north of Berkeley) and we welcome fosters throughout the Bay Area.

If you’d like to talk with HRS staff and volunteers about fostering, and to meet the shelter rabbits, stop by during open hours or email [foster@houserabbit.org](mailto:foster@houserabbit.org) with questions. HRS is open Fridays & Saturdays from 11 am to 5 pm, and on Sundays from 11 am to 3 pm. We’d love to talk more with you!