Notes
AIDS/LifeCycle Support Dwindling
Via SF Standard: The most recent [AIDS/LifeCycle (ALC)], which departed from the Cow Palace early on the first Sunday in June, had about 1,400 cyclists, a dramatic dropoff from the approximately 2,500 who rode in 2022. Fewer riders has meant less money for the organizations that depend on the event. This year ALC raised $10,984,492, nearly $1 million less than in 2023. The 2022 effort raised $17,783,136; it was the first in-person event after COVID-19 forced the ride’s pivot to at-home events in 2020 (branded “My545”) and 2021 (branded “TOGETHERIDE”). I myself have participated in ALC in some capacity since 2015, either as a Roadie or Rider during the event, or as a volunteer leading up to it. Over all those years, my fundraising efforts
Billy Bean, 1964–2024
Billy Bean, the second Major League Baseball player to come out as gay, passed away today after a yearlong battle against acute myeloid leukemia.
Small Web
Much as I make use of them, I kinda resent the persistent presence of social media in our lives. To wit, a musing I posted to Facebook a couple of years ago… Remember when the Internet was fun? Pepperidge Farm remembers. Social media isn’t entirely fun, at least not to me. It’s very homogeneous, heavily moderated, and has a bad signal to noise ratio. It’s ruled by the almighty algorithm. And as these sites are often free, it’s awash in lots of advertising. (To be fair I get it, we gotta pay the bills — but come on!) It makes me long for the days when I floated around the web reading (and writing) blog posts, sharing fun stuff I’d stumble upon, and so on.
Hundred Best Hahas
Rolling Stone presents its list of the “100 Best TV Sitcoms of All Time.” Many of my favorites make the cut, including Daria (#92), Will & Grace (#81), Phineas & Ferb (#65), the Jeffersons (#48), the Golden Girls (#32), Fawlty Towers (#31), I Love Lucy (#4), and the Simpsons (#1).
Snow Day Misers
NYC’s Department of Education — already stingy with snow days — declares instruction will be remote [← WSJ paywall] on inclement weather days. On the plus side, DOE recognizes Indigenous People’s Day in place of “Columbus Day,” and adds Juneteenth as a day off.