ssweeny.net
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“Hurt” Cover by Devora
There’s something about a really good cover of a favorite song that just digs right into me. This one is fantastic. She puts enough of her own spin on it but it’s still the song I love so much.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YTu3hM0Enk
H/T Richard Kadrey (one of my favorite authors BTW!) via bsky.
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Anyone have a recommendation for an external #microphone specifically for recording in-person meetings in a large conference room?
Likely specs:
- USB-C
- Mac-friendly
- long-ish cableWe don’t need a speakerphone, just a microphone. Goal is to be able to hear everyone clearly on the recording (better than using my laptop’s built-in mic, which picks up my tapping and clicking).
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“Interface design is my passion”
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A #waymo in front of me just signaled right then changed lanes to the left.
Sooo safe! Robots never make mistakes! 🫠
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The six moderate supervisors, including supposed urbanists Sauter and Mahmood, just voted to get rid of SF’s Bicycle Advisory Committee.
https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/politics/sf-supervisors-vote-to-cull-citizen-commission-system/article_97e450cb-3fc5-4a75-9b99-32546c4f9803.html #sfpol #bikeTooter
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RE: https://infosec.exchange/@masek/116579264376811608
Just spent the past week on and off trying to figure out how to self-host Vaultwarden on my NAS. This plan only works if (a) I can do it and (b) Bitwarden client apps remain free to use, which… seems unlikely to last.
Maybe someone will develop Bitwarden/Vaultwarden compatible clients.
(I can pay! It doesn’t have to be free. I don’t want to exploit devs. I just don’t want to be caught up in #enshittification pressures… which is why I’m leaving 1Password.)
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The Chronicle has a new puff piece on #Waymo purporting to show San Franciscans just looooove them. But 57% of respondents still think they're at least partly bad. https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/waymo-car-san-francisco-22253180.php
And it's based on a poll not by an objective pollster like Gallup or PPIC, but "Sextant Research & Strategies," a political consulting firm. https://www.sextant-research.com/ Seems like Alphabet hired them to ask the question in a way that gets an answer they like, then do PR around it to create a bandwagon effect.
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First #EV charging experience at an #IONNA station yesterday, and it was *vastly* superior to others I’ve tried (#EVgo, #ElectrifyAmerica).
First, no account and no app required. Tap to pay just worked, which, I know, seems obvious, but EV owners recognize that as a minor miracle. It was as simple as fueling at a gas station — simpler, actually, as I didn’t even have to enter my ZIP Code, and the machine didn’t beep at me once!
Second, charging started immediately and was super fast. Superior to the others.
Third, it was cheap! 39 cents/kWh. Other fast chargers in my area are ~60 cents/kWh. Some also have 99-cent “session fees.” (I recognize pricing can change; I assume they are starting off low to encourage new customers like me, and will increase later. 🤷♂️)
Fourth, the interface and brand elements were great. Everything worked together. What a concept! There are even optional charts with charging curves for the full nerdy level of detail. 🤓
I wish IONNA success! More across #California please!
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RE: https://mastodon.art/@colossal/116528210944944160
It’s cool that the #ArtemisII astronauts brought along an iPhone as camera, I guess, but iPhones by default do a LOT of post-processing to “enhance” your pictures. Often great for snaps of the kids, but maybe not great for the scientific and historical record.
Any #space #journos report on the nerdy specifics of how photo equipment was used, and what post-processing was done?
Bonus question: Was “airplane mode” enough? Or did they have to develop a custom “spacecraft mode”???
/cc @halide
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I have a Product Manager friend looking for a new PM role. I’m trying to convince him to #GetFediHired on #Mastodon.
#ProductManagement folks, where should my friend be looking/engaging for a new PM role in #SanFrancisco or #SFBA, hybrid or remote?
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Behold the full power of the #StreisandEffect https://newsie.social/@servelan/116501106630593646
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Got three enormous full-color mailers today:
1. Yes on Prop A, the earthquake resiliency + rebuild Potrero Yard bond
2. Yet another one from Scott Wiener's backers attacking Saikat Chakrabarti
3. Yet another one from Saikat promoting himself as the one to keep AI companies in checkIf you were newer to SF and not that engaged, you'd just think this enormous amount of money being dropped in races is normal. You wouldn't know Connie Chan is even in the race. #sfpol
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Awesome. Video Wave is the last video rental shop in San Francisco.
https://missionlocal.org/2026/04/colin-huttons-video-wave-makes-an-old-format-work/
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THE PEOPLE DO NOT YEARN FOR AUTOMATION
Software brain is changing the world, but most people still aren’t buying.
Source: BEWARE SOFTWARE BRAIN | The Verge
I really like this explanation from Nilay Patel on “Software Brain” and how disconnected tech folks are from how “normies” live their lives. I hope the right people get the message.
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Mayoral appointee is only D4 candidate not to oppose mayor’s tax cut on rich real estate investors.
Great answers from the others. Greco and Gee are the ones I’m most aligned with overall, but on this question Lee and Chow are strong too—all 4 defending the will of the voters to put this money toward affordable housing. Love to see it
https://missionlocal.org/2026/04/sf-election-district-4-transfer-tax-build-act/ #sfpol
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Happy #ThickTrunkThursday! Here is the largest Bay Laurel tree I have ever seen. 😮
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SF: Send a letter opposing Dorsey's legislation that would ban SF from funding permanent supportive housing unless it evicts people for using drugs! The hearing is coming up Thursday.
https://actionnetwork.org/letters/save-permanent-supportive-housing-oppose-supervisor-dorseys-drug-free-psh-ordinance?source=mastodon #sfpol
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#CalPrivacy is hitting the road, to educate citizens all over #California about its new Delete Request and Opt-out Platform (DROP).
With stops in #Fresno, #SanDiego, #Fullerton, #Oakland, #LongBeach, #Vista, #LosAngeles, and #Sacramento.
(OK, there is a LOT state left for outreach but still — when was the last time you heard of a great government program promoted this way? How cool!)
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I'm very excited about the Affordable Housing Guarantee Act, filed this week for the November ballot in SF.
The AHGA will bring in an estimated $500m a year over the next five years for affordable housing and homelessness prevention, of which between 30% and 55% will go to social housing models.
And with no new tax! It only continues an existing tax on rich real estate investors that Mayor Lurie and Supervisors Dorsey, Mahmood, and Sauter are trying to repeal.
https://media.api.sf.gov/documents/20260415Affordable_Housing_Guarantee_Act_Combined_Redacted.pdf #sfpol
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It's fun to be actively fighting Bilal Mahmood's legislation that would strip $500 million in voter-approved funds for affordable housing over the next five years, all to give a tax cut to the rich, and see that Garry Tan called Mahmood "too progressive."
The billionaire/VC class in SF are not reasonable people we can work with. They must be defeated.
#sfpol -
"Dorsey is a sincere person. Even his most strident critics believe the SoMa supe means well."
I'm right here, Joe. I think he's a sadistic piece of shit. https://missionlocal.org/2026/04/sober-housing-matt-dorsey-matt-haney-drugs-permanent-supportive-housing/ #sfpol
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Monkeybrains is now advertising the parcel it stole from community gardeners as an event space under the name “Third Thursdays on Treat.”
They don’t own this land. They are squatters who used violence, threats, and lawfare to displace neighbors who were selflessly working to make Parcel 36, or the Mission Greenway, a public space. #sfpol
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Me when I meet literally anyone who lives in District 6: Have you considered running for supervisor? Did you know there's still time to file? Can I cover your filing fee?
(This a-hole is running for re-election unopposed when there are parts of the district like Western SoMa that are actually quite progressive)
https://missionlocal.org/2026/04/sf-matt-dorsey-evict-drug-use/ #sfpol -
Ramble On
I love this song so much, and this version in particular is so good.
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Been a while since I joined a #BikeParty, thanks for the inspiration @fluffydotorg
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A VY2 callsign (Prince Edward Island) left me a message on my packet BBS via RF tonight, and I'm pretty delighted.
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Every SF YIMBY-endorsed supervisor voted for this cruelty, with SF YIMBY's silent, implicit agreement. "Legalize housing" my foot.
https://missionlocal.org/2026/03/sf-rv-ban-housing/ #sfpol #homelessness #yimby
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I guess some people spell it #guerillaUrbanism. For those looking at that spelling of the hashtag, see above for two updates from the SF Bay Area!
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Packet radio alt-OS experiments.
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Here’s a perfect encapsulation of why #YIMBY hopes for new market-rate housing to lower rents are in vain. San Francisco has the highest rents in the country, but still not high enough for developers to build. It “could really help” if our extreme rents got even higher, though!
https://therealdeal.com/san-francisco/2026/03/01/sf-rents-hit-no-1-but-builders-still-cant-build/ #sfpol -
Enjoying some Chicago style pizza. If you are in Hamilton, this is your place:
https://chicagostylepizza.ca/ -
Modest improvement coming to the Evans bike lane: one additional block eastbound from Rankin to Quint will be parking-protected. https://www.sfmta.com/media/44461/download?inline
Biking on Evans is now vastly better than before the project, but the traffic numbers show how much work is left to be done: cars still outnumber bikes on Evans 100 to 1 (!), probably because nearby connecting streets like Cesar Chavez, Phelps, and 3rd Street are still so unsafe, discouraging biking in the area. #bikeSF
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Today in the drizzle I stopped by the Living Library, a beautiful native plant garden near SF's Balboa Park at the San Jose/Seneca intersection. Highly recommend a visit to see some #ceanothus in bloom and California poppies and island mallows beginning to, and much more.
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Finished writing up my notes from the deployment of our latest home server and our switch to uCore: https://github.com/scottsweb/hamlet
Highlights include local SSL, an in home Steam server with Wolf and services that scale to zero when not in use (thanks to Sablier).
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Checking out some of the music at this month’s Mission Arts Performance Project. This is Eduardo Alvarez with Mary Sol at Muddy Waters Coffee House. #MAPP