joshlittle

I drive for Uber as a mental and emotional health break between contracts.

Uber partners do not have to accept every request. In fact, I don’t accept any passenger with a low score. As it turns out, there’s no shortage of passengers in San Francisco. Be nice to your driver!

Most passengers appear to be completely unaware that it is a “privilege” for a passenger to ride in my car, (not a “right”)

Resultingly, a very small group of terrible passengers feel that their abusive behavior towards others or my property is justified.

With informed consent, I do indeed record all activity in and out of the car.

If it starts to get abusive I will simply end the ride when and where it is safe to do so.

When one enters my car, they’re inside my privately owned vehicle. If they don’t like being recorded - They can probably easily find a ride with a different driver.

Of course, everybody I drive seems to be OK with this arrangement, as my driver score is 4.99 stars.

This is what I have written / posted: ——————————

First, welcome to my car!

If you’re reasonable, decent, empathetic human who understands how painful it is for me to have to write the following informed consent disclaimer, thanks.

You are appreciated, friend.

• This car is equipped with video capture and broadcast devices.

• This equipment protects you (the passenger), Joshua (the driver), and the vehicle from a "He Said - She Said" scenario in the event of accident or an incident.

• In California, video recording does not require two party consent; only “informed consent” I.e me informing you - which this just did.

• There is no audio recording - that would require your consent.

• In addition, an abbreviated notice of active filming has been posted on all exterior passenger windows.

• If at any time you feel uncomfortable with video being captured, please inform me as soon as possible. We will work together to find a agreeable safe place to promptly end this trip. You will only be charged for the partial trip. Note that video capture and recording will continue in the event of a rapid escalation of hostilities.

Thanks for understanding!

Technically, it is against policy to transport minors under 18; that’s up to the driver.

Ironically low density neighborhoods such as the Sunset District are the few places you can actually get fiber in San Francisco. The grid streets of single family homes and above ground utilities make for an easy permitting process with little challenges. This is changing; but for years I’ve looked at my Westside friends’ Sonic.net Gigabit service with envy. I generally agree with your statement though.

Now if they’d resurrect the Circle line next it’d for sure win over even the most skeptical Chicagoans.

https://www.transitchicago.com/planning/circle/

- A former Chicagoan.

My Midtown Terrace house is over 750’ above sea level; though only a 15 min walk to Cole and a 20 min walk to Castro or Upper Haight.

Still yet, prospective renters shudder when I say the words “easiest transit is the 36 Bus from Forest Hill Station.”

Property Crime is only a problem on Christmas Tree Point and down on the East side terraced streets - Burnett/Corbett. The worst thing I’ve encountered personally in MT would be the coyotes that roam the night in the woods that appear occasionally on Marview or Farview.

One wouldn’t think ~$4K a month for a 4 Bed 3 Bath fully detached single family house, split up amongst roommates, would have any hangups for people looking to rent in SF - though it’s been tough finding people who’re “ok” with the location.

It’s for sure high up - I’ll give in to that.

I indeed use the excess garage space to charge and house my Bolt EV for most trips outside of SF; though most of SF is ~$12 for uberX.

I say, people can enjoy their overpriced $4000 (barely) one bedroom apartment in a “walkable” hood, next to a Philz and their favorite brunch place. I’ll join on foot after hiking on Mount Sutro. I’ll even pick up the tab - and indeed I work part time as a QA Engineer making a bit less than six figures annually.

(Midtown Terrace is a illogical land use nightmare... a subdivision of fully detached single family homes on Twin Peaks.)

While this could turn out to be a logistics nightmare, I think this could be absolutely wonderful for Out-Of-Warranty users. There's a desire for people to have access to replacement parts but, for example, Apple doesn't sell their service inventory.

Some repairs (such as iMacs) do require a substantial amount of care. Even after 8.5 years of Mac repairs I still found myself running into issues - from "fat fingering" connectors, to defective Logic boards that still pass all hardware diagnostics sent to us - some of this stuff is not for the faint of heart. Imagine using a plastic "pizza cutter" to cut off the VHB tape that holds the incredibly fragile $800 display of an iMac, and then remembering to connect the display back up before you put new tape on during reassembly.

My guess is Apple fought the NY bill because they know how these machines are designed. There's a reason they charge a flat rate of $39 for Labor, but then only when a hardware repair is actually completed.

On the other hand, the charge to backup your data is $99 for a drag/drop or a time machine backup - something you should do yourself. :-)

I always feel like these articles are one sided - jobs and money. Those things make life easier but ultimately are not the things that make life worth living. This article hits on none of the reasons I moved here after several prior extended stays in the City. For what I want out of life, it absolutely made sense for me to move here - even with only $2K in cash, no job, and no place to live at first.

I came here for the things you can't easily put a price on - like the weather, local arts, music, and culture. Also driving into the mountains, or down the coast of California. Chicago is no slouch for fun but cold days like this make me glad I'm not waiting for the 'L' outside anymore. SF weather is generally magical.

Being in a top US city still gets me direct, reasonably priced, and frequently scheduled nonstop flights to family/friends in places like Chicago, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, Seattle - not always attainable in some of these smaller tech hubs (like Portland, or Austin.)

When people move here, there is a constant worry about how much money they will make or what company they work for - I didn't sweat it.

Within a month after arriving, I landed a great career. I spent the last two years exploring other hobbies and interests, and nurturing healthy new friendships.

Biggest tip I can give - It's nice to get to know people who've been around here for a while, they've seen it all before. Show an interest in your local community. Volunteer your time but branch out of tech. Get to know people here in all walks of life; show compassion You just may be liked enough by some old school San Franciscans that refer you to one of their friends; who rent you their old place (with parking and views on Twin Peaks) for $1200. It worked for me.

San Francisco is not an expensive city because of tech alone, it's always been a bit on the expensive side; as there's no place in America like it.

Of course this is my experience. I merely bring it up just as a reminder that there's so many things to focus on when decide whether or not moving here is worth it. The questions that guided me in my decision to move here were:

What are my goals long-term? What made me decide to move here? What is my contribution to the local community and society - outside of working in tech? Will I ultimately grow as a person; both personally and professionally? Is there enough other activities around that will keep me from being bored that I'll enjoy?

My $.02.

Depending on the outcome, I think that we'd be able to figure some solution that works for what would become the nation of California (based on what land actually CalExits.)

Worst case scenario - either de-salt the water in the ocean, or buy it. If the United States can sell electricity with Mexico given our contentious at times relationship, I'm sure we could figure it out.

Totally agree with you - in principle it would be difficult, messy, and would very much be a disruptive conversation to have with America.

Then again, even the Trump campaign expected they would be unsuccessful in the end.

This would probably kick off a trend if it were successful here. None of the other blue states would be satisfied with the loss of our progressive electoral college voting bloc. It'd put Republicans in the awkward position of denouncing the progressive left's sudden support of states' rights.

California, on the other hand, would continue to be a terrific place to live.

Preliminarily I would consider supporting #Calexit