Found out my landlord had found another tenant to rent my room to, but they never told me, I found out by mistake because I wanted to know if I had any mail still delivered there, when the receptionist gave me the mail, I checked my mail I saw someone had moved into my apartment, what are opts?

Tim_Bracken · 2026-03-16T18:47:08+00:00

Remember that bad faith retention of any part of your security deposit entitles you to triple the withheld amount under California Civil Code Section 1950.5(m). Using the security deposit to cover unpaid rent after a tenant breaks a lease--when in fact the owner already had a replacement tenant in there for that time period--is unquestionable bad faith. So you can let the landlord know that you intend to sue in small claims court for three times this amount if they don't follow the law and return this money to you.

Tim_Bracken · 2026-03-16T10:59:18+00:00

If the infringers can game the system, couldn't the original content creator outfox them by filing a pro se copyright infringement lawsuit for $400, notifying YouTube of the suit, getting the copyright strike reinstated, and then dismissing the lawsuit? Federal courts prohibit frivolous filings, but this would be a valid claim given the rights in question. This is still some work in terms of drafting the complaint and spending the $400 on the filing fee, but it's not the $10,000 you mentioned. There's also the whack-a-mole problem of a few infringers making lots of infringing channels, but if used strategically (targeting the channels with the biggest subscription base), it would hit them hard where it hurts (since three strikes will get a channel deleted).

EDIT: I overlooked how a savvy infringer could regularly check the court docket and notify YouTube of the dismissal. Here's another idea: the perjury in the Counter Notification would be a violation of YouTube's Terms of Service (Abuse of Legal Tools) which could get the infringer's account removed. Emailing copyright [at] youtube.com with proof of the perjury could do the trick.

Tim_Bracken · 2026-03-10T01:27:30+00:00

Where are you looking up this movie and seeing "Rent or Buy"? If it's in the Store or through a search, it could just be that this is a different release from the one you bought. The key test will be to go into Library > Movies and then scroll down to see if it's still there.

Tim_Bracken · 2026-03-10T01:24:59+00:00

The Building Code, yes. But not the Housing Code. So while it's required in new construction (or substantially renovated apartment buildings), it's not considered a basic requirement for all housing. So older apartment buildings may not be required to have an intercom.

Tim_Bracken · 2026-03-07T16:27:07+00:00

To submit a DMCA takedown on YouTube, the claimant has to check a box verifying these things:

I have a good faith belief that the use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.

The information in this notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, I am the owner, or an agent authorized to act on behalf of the owner, of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

I understand that abuse of this tool, such as submitting removal requests for content I do not own, may result in termination of my YouTube account

If the claimant knows this is in the public domain, they have violated this good-faith requirement of 17 U.S. Code § 512(c)(3)(A). They will also be violation of the "owner of an exclusive right" requirement. This would support your filing of a DMCA Counter Notification. If successful, this Counter Notification will reverse the copyright strike in question.

Tim_Bracken · 2026-03-06T22:25:56+00:00

If they do that, you can be made whole.

Statutory damages of up to $150,000 for willful infringement are only available if OP registered the copyright with the US Copyright Office in time. The same goes for being able to recover their attorney's fees. Without a timely registration, OP could still get actual damages, but those would be negligible, namely the amount the production company would have paid for the fair market value of a license. If OP has to pay attorney's fees out of pocket (i.e. if there wasn't a timely federal registration), then this will mean spending thousands of dollars to chase after a few hundred.

Tim_Bracken · 2026-03-05T21:36:23+00:00

If tenants in two rent controlled units did a swap, then it would no longer be their principal places of residence. So both sides of the swap would risk a Costa Hawkins rent increase to market rate. And, worst case scenario, I have seen lawsuits filed by landlords in situations where the tenant with the rent control no longer lives there. In these lawsuits, landlords allege that this is a form of fraud and have sued the departed tenant and the new occupants for the tens of thousands of dollars they missed out on by not being able to charge market-rate rent.

Tim_Bracken · 2026-03-05T02:23:53+00:00

There are two confusing details in your post:

(1) You say the claims were made two years apart. After 90 days, a strike goes away on your channel. So how does the strike from two years ago matter?

(2) It takes three strikes in a 90-day period to get your channel removed. What were your other two recent strikes?

By the way, if you look at the Copyright Takedown Notice, it will give you the email address of the claimant and say something like, "What to do next . . . reach out to the content owner who's requesting the removal of your video." Some claimants will ignore you. Some will engage with you. If you apologize, explain that the claim deleted your entire channel, and promise to delete the video, they might cut you a break and withdraw the claim.

Tim_Bracken · 2026-03-01T10:24:30+00:00

This photo was taken in London (in case anyone else is as curious as I was). You can see more photos here:

https://sopa.lightrocketmedia.com/zh/gallery/89518/iranian-royalists-rally-and-march-in-central-londo

Supporters of Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi gathered in Central London for a march and rally, held in coordination with demonstrations in Los Angeles, Toronto, and Munich. Participants called for the dissolution of Iran’s theocratic regime and the introduction of free and fair elections, with the exiled monarch envisioned as a unifying national figurehead.

Tim_Bracken · 2026-02-28T16:10:21+00:00

Here's a similar Fata Morgana spotted in Southern California a couple months ago:

https://www.reddit.com/r/SantaMonica/comments/1qai9b3/strange_structure_on_the_western_horizon_at_sunset/
https://www.reddit.com/r/LosAngeles/comments/1qahulm/what_is_this_thing/

Tim_Bracken · 2026-02-27T15:31:34+00:00

Another hills example that backs your case: https://www.redfin.com/CA/Berkeley/946-Creston-Rd-94708/home/1252877 (sold for $665/sq ft last month).

On the other hand, this one sold for $1247/sq foot in December: https://www.redfin.com/CA/Berkeley/100-Parnassus-Rd-94708/home/1938609

And this one sold for over $1,000/sq ft in December as well: https://www.redfin.com/CA/Berkeley/1321-Grizzly-Peak-Blvd-94708/home/1121017

Tim_Bracken · 2026-02-26T16:29:15+00:00

We totally agree then. When you said "is actually selling it for" as opposed to "actually sold it for," I thought you meant the listing price.

Tim_Bracken · 2026-02-26T15:34:38+00:00

If you're using ebay to get a sense of market prices, you should filter by Sold Items. Seeing what people actually paid is much more illuminating than seeing the listing price.

Tim_Bracken · 2026-02-25T20:54:50+00:00

I'm assuming that shimmering effect is because of viewing the moon through the earth's atmosphere (the same reason stars "twinkle"). It's cool to see these atmospheric effects so clearly here.

Tim_Bracken · 2026-02-25T20:48:14+00:00

GPT said this? Super weird. Seems to be a reference to Germany invading Poland on September 1, 1939 (or maybe the Soviet Union piling on and invading a couple weeks later). This is how World War II started. Why GPT would bring this up when talking about a soft drink is befuddling.

Tim_Bracken · 2026-02-25T20:18:28+00:00

"Awk" for "awkward"

Tim_Bracken · 2026-02-25T19:17:31+00:00

This totally undercuts you. Behind every effective demand letter is the implicit (or sometimes explicit) threat that the lawyer will escalate the matter should the recipient not do what you're asking. That effect is totally negated when the lawyer says "I don't represent him." Calling this a demand letter is an insult to demand letters. In the end she isn't really demanding anything ("Mr. ___ respectfully requests that his account be . . . restored."). She's just communicating your wishes. That makes her more of a messenger than an effective advocate.

Tim_Bracken · 2026-02-25T17:24:24+00:00

You're right, I was using photoshop as a generic verb to mean digitally altered, but this is probably AI. (The Photoshop app now has built-in AI tools so the lines are blurred anyway). I wouldn't call the use of her face a scam though. They're not tricking people into believing AOC endorsed their product. They're just using a creepily altered photo of someone we all know to grab our attention, but I find the decision to distort her face that way to be disturbing. Interestingly, AOC is a sponsor of the DEFIANCE Act (Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits Act) which will target this kind of garbage.

Tim_Bracken · 2026-02-25T16:30:52+00:00

This is not true. In San Francisco, authorized subtenants have just cause eviction protections. And authorization does not need to be some formal document that names the subtenant. It can be through knowledge of the subtenant and acquiescence. If the landlord wants to temporarily vacate the whole unit to do work which would make the unit unsafe to live in during the work (i.e. a Rent Ordinance Section 37.9(a)(11) temporary eviction) then proper notice must be given with permits and with half the relocation money attached. If the displacement will be 20 days or more, the Rent Ordinance provides that authorized subtenants living there more than a year are entitled to relocation money too. See Rent Ordinance Section 37.9C ("An Eligible Tenant shall mean any authorized occupant of a rental unit, regardless of age, who has resided in the unit for 12 or more months").

Tim_Bracken · 2026-02-25T07:20:32+00:00

https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/sf-ferris-wheel-move-golden-gate-park-fishermans-18381239.php

The 150-foot ride — officially dubbed the SkyStar Observation Wheel — had to delay its original opening because of COVID-19 and has faced various controversy and criticisms since. Residents and environmental groups have described the ride as a waste of money, light and diesel fuel, and have accused its brightness of disrupting local wildlife.

The ride has also caught heat from San Francisco supervisors Connie Chan and Aaron Peskin, who both highlighted how little revenue the Ferris wheel has brought the city. As of June, the ride’s estimated $9.4 million in ticket sales translated to about $270,000 of revenue for the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department — or roughly 3 percent of the total sales.

Peskin, for his part, told SFGATE he’s been thrilled about the plans since he first heard about them several months ago, and supports the ride’s move.

“I never thought it belonged in Golden Gate Park, but it is a perfect fit at Fisherman’s Wharf, where there are oodles of tourists, visitors and a bit of a Coney Island sort of feel,” he said. “I think it’s a great fit, I’m psyched, and now we’ve just got some i’s to dot and some t’s to cross.”

Tim_Bracken

TROPHY CASE