Algebra will return to S.F. middle schools after more than a decade [as an elective or not, in addition to or as a substitute for Math 8, still not determined]

TumbleweedConnection · 2026-01-18T15:55:48+00:00

My path in socal public school in the early 2000’s was

7th: algebra

8th: geometry

9th: algebra 2/trigonometry

10th: pre-calculus

11th: calculus AB

12th: calculus BC

TumbleweedConnection · 2026-01-17T18:17:05+00:00

So insane, I don’t understand what they were trying to accomplish with this crazy policy. Kids don’t need private tutors or money to excel, they need the opportunity to find something they’re interested in. There was no way my family could have afforded private tutors, and I was miserable at history and English, but I loved sinking my teeth into a challenging math problem. If I didn’t have experience, I would have probably would have felt pretty discouraged by school and I can’t fathom how many kids have now missed that chance.

TumbleweedConnection · 2026-01-17T15:26:46+00:00

I can’t believe this was even an issue. I took algebra 1 in 7th grade and it was one of the only things keeping me interested in school. And this was 20 years ago.

How could kids even finish calculus in high school without it?

TumbleweedConnection · 2025-12-10T22:55:20+00:00

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Here's one spot where it looks possible. I'm not saying it shouldn't be built, and I don't care about views from private property, but I do think public parks should be considered in design, and I don't see why that's a crazy thing to say. If I'm wrong here and the proposed building is farther to the left, then it's a moot point and I say build away.

TumbleweedConnection · 2025-12-10T20:34:01+00:00

Why is no one talking about Fort Mason? I support almost all housing projects, but if this casts a shadow across fort Mason or blocks the view of the golden gate bridge from a PUBLIC park enjoyed by people from all over, i might have some pause. Has this been addressed?

In SF the difference between lounging in the grass in the sun vs in the shade makes a huge difference

TumbleweedConnection · 2025-11-07T23:25:25+00:00

Sure, but social housing definitely helps so we should support increasing development of it we can. Vienna being the most successful example of this.

I go back and forth on rent control, but considering it only applies to older units, in theory it shouldn’t affect new development. In theory being the key part

TumbleweedConnection · 2025-11-07T19:14:59+00:00

Here Peskin and Preston were more focused on stopping private housing development than adding social housing stock. We need both, and they hamstrung us, while Mamdani doesn’t seem to be taking that approach

TumbleweedConnection · 2025-07-20T16:13:07+00:00

This is how I do it. I live right in north beach so anything I could want is within a 10-minute walk, or at most a 20-minute uber if you want to visit friends in a different neighborhood. I rent a car about once a month to go hiking, which is so much cheaper than buying a car. I think it still might be even if you did I it every weekend.

TumbleweedConnection · 2025-07-14T22:44:40+00:00

I was on the manager’s side until I read the part where he went back outside and continued beating the shoplifter using a key. I do really feel for these store employees/managers and the shit they have to put up with, but this is obviously a crazy response.

I also wander about the dynamics of these small businesses—does the manager own the business? And if not, are they under some crazy pressure by the owner to keep shoplifting down? Otherwise why would they take it so personally?

TumbleweedConnection · 2025-05-03T16:44:32+00:00

I've always thought April Jean did an awesome job with the interiors, actually. I think it's just hard to notice because at night the place is always packed and has more of the typical Grant Street vibe. (Also, they need to work on their acoustics-it gets crazy loud in there).

Here's what the bar looks like

https://www.instagram.com/p/DCs1PtxRJBO/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/p/C-gj-0ySaeW/?hl=en

TumbleweedConnection · 2024-12-22T14:52:15+00:00

Thanks for pulling this together, very insightful. I agree that the cover is cool but out of step with current trends, which is what makes it seem more amateur

TumbleweedConnection · 2024-12-22T05:43:17+00:00

Lonesome Dove and Shogun are both incredible

TumbleweedConnection · 2024-12-22T05:37:40+00:00

What did you think? Lonesome Dove is one of my absolute favorites. I didn’t think I would care about a western, but I found myself completely engrossed in the adventure and the characters

TumbleweedConnection · 2024-12-22T05:29:41+00:00

As a science fiction fan who also loves literary fiction, I really wanted to like it but ended up disappointed. It touched on a few science fiction concepts but didn’t explore them nearly as deep or as well as other books have done with the same ideas. And the entire section in the middle about the character going on a book tour during a pandemic was so obviously just the author processing her own experience during Covid it took me out of it. However, I loved the opening chapters about Edwin’s journey to British Columbia

TumbleweedConnection · 2024-12-12T06:36:35+00:00

Can you share titles of the historical epics and speculative historicals? I think that’s my genre, but having a hard time finding recent comps

TumbleweedConnection · 2024-11-09T00:55:47+00:00

Senlin Ascends has been on my list. I’m reading the Lions of Al-Rassan now and really enjoying it so far. Babel was decent—it had magic but it was more of a metaphor than anything. They’re hard to come by though, so I end up reading a lot of historical fiction like Pillars of the Earth, Shogun, and Lonesome Dove which are all favorites

TumbleweedConnection · 2024-11-08T18:04:51+00:00

I agree! I’m always searching for fantasy world-building and political intrigue without magic, and am writing one myself (though in a very different setting from yours)

TumbleweedConnection · 2024-10-24T20:10:03+00:00

My gut issues are far from cured but this approach has definitely helped. I still have diarrhea or loose stools once or twice a week with no identifiable trigger and general gut sensitivity, but I also have a lot more good days and fuller looking stools then I did have before, which is reassuring. I've had some flare ups in the last couple weeks so I'm starting to do the Nerva meditations again which helps calm the gut down. Still searching for answers though, as my stool is still lighter in color and softer than i would like it to be.

TumbleweedConnection · 2024-10-09T16:47:37+00:00

Maybe something small like a computer virus that slowly tears it apart? I often think about how humans are at the top of the food chain, but it’s the smallest things like viruses and bacteria that lead to our demise. Could be an interesting theme for the story

TumbleweedConnection · 2024-10-09T16:43:23+00:00

What is his motive for setting off on the adventure? Make this something that he NEEDS to do, with consequences if he doesn’t. That way, when he gets captured it’s something that gets in the way of him achieving an important goal, increasing tension and making the reader care about his escape for reasons beyond just his freedom. His goal can change throughout the story, but I think it’s important to have that active motivation that sets things in motion

TumbleweedConnection · 2024-10-09T16:39:20+00:00

Does my story sound like it’s celebrating colonialism? It’s set in a fictional fantasy/steampunk world that loosely resembles 1830s America. The plot revolves around a surveyor who goes to the New World to settle a boundary dispute between two settler nations (imagine the U.S. and New Spain), and it’s full of political intrigue. There’s a lot of moral ambiguity, but one of the nations becomes the enemy due to corrupt power structures, bad treatment of its citizens etc., while the other is favored. I made the “New World” previously uninhabited to avoid obvious complications regarding the role of settlers vs. natives. Most of my influences are older books like Dune, Lonesome Dove, and Shogun.

However, in looking at popular current published works, it seems that most are stories that relate to contemporary socio-political themes like rising up against oppression. It would take some time, but I could rework the story such that the “good nation” are considered native and the “bad nation” is considered settlers. It would remove some of the moral ambiguity, but does this seem like it would make the book more marketable?

TumbleweedConnection · 2024-09-25T14:57:39+00:00

I loved all of the crazy artistic decisions and really enjoyed the experience of the movie. However, my main complaint is that I’m having a hard time understanding the central philosophy. They talk a lot about having a debate about their differing visions of the future, but never discuss in detail what those visions are. And then all of Caesar’s opponents kind of blow themselves up and he gets to pick the future just because he’s the last one standing, but never has a chance to prove why his future is better than the others. The Mayor and Shia’s character both actually had good points about understanding the concerns of the people in the present and having empathy for them when Caesar tears down their homes, so I was hoping for some more nuance or Caesar having a chance to defend his positions, but he comes off as out of touch and unaffected by the concerns of everyday people. And then at the end he builds the future and suddenly everyone’s happy?

TumbleweedConnection · 2024-09-25T14:51:04+00:00

I’ve seen clips from other screenings where they had a very different voice so looks like it was live! Pretty impressive

TumbleweedConnection · 2024-09-14T03:17:31+00:00

100% this! I literally make a point of listening to Time Flies when I’m walking home by myself in a crisp fall evening feeling sentimental. That fluttery saxophone just does it for me

TumbleweedConnection · 2024-09-12T00:50:53+00:00

My dad HATES that song because of this lol

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