Ben Testani

@ivebenthinking.co

549 Followers 535 Following

Putting words on screen: ivebenthinking.substack.com | 1L @law.ucla.edu | Bad at chess | Proud member @nwu.org

An attack mailer against California State Senate candidate Dr. Sion Roy cites two news stories from 2020 to claim car theft and property crime levels are still at record highs
A screenshot from Ransomware.live dating the Instructure hack to May 3
Louis Educational Concepts MIT - Executive Education McKendree University Miami Marlins Middle States Commission on Higher Education Middlesex County College Division of Workforce Mitutoyo America Montana University System - Evaluation Montessori Elementary & Middle School (Lite) American institute of Non-Destructive Testing ABSI Aerospace and Defense ACTU Education Inc. AFPA
A photo of a California mail ballot with an I Voted sticker
It has been overwhelmingly negative. Election law scholars called the Supreme Court’s voting rights decision on Wednesday a “disaster,” a “catastrophe” and “the worst ruling in a century.” I struggled to find a prominent law professor who publicly praised the ruling, which may be a testament to the liberal tilt of most law schools. Republican officials and conservative advocacy groups certainly welcomed the decision, with some saying it ranked with landmark precedents promoting racial equality. The Constitution, they said, does not allow the government to make distinctions based on race, whether in public schools, college admissions or the voting booth. But Nicholas Stephanopoulos, a law professor at Harvard, wrote in a blog post that the decision “is a disaster for minority representation in America — likely to cause the biggest reduction in the number of minority legislators since at least the end of Reconstruction.”
Adam Papagan's candidate statement simply reads "Love u"
A photo of the back of an envelope sent by Capital One, where a union bug from the Allied Printing Trades Council is located.
Seneca Scott, a political organizer who ran for Oakland mayor in 2022, said that he was less concerned about the potential health harms from the coal project than about the financial fallout from litigation. He lives in West Oakland, a low-income neighborhood where the terminal sits and where any coal pollution would likely be concentrated.
Corporate giveaways are, in the end, advertising gimmicks designed to drive purchasing. Earning Monopoly tickets for something you already have to do, like buying groceries, is a simple way to make a mundane errand fun. And if, like me, you find yourself with too much free time on your hands, the feeling of pulling a fast one on a corporation that comes from entering the contest via the free method required by law is eminently satisfying.
3) A tough debut for Chris Ash at defensive coordinator, as he spent the first three quarters pushing all the wrong buttons on third down and having his squad generally moving a half-step slow. Maybe there’s more to it that will be explained in time but I can’t think of a more baffling personnel decision than having the Christian Gray injury timeout and putting Karson Hobbs (playing his first real action) out there instead of DeVonta Smith on a third and long. Baffling! Leonard Moore solid and Gray the main character again forever and always, the pair combining to play every snap but one.
A survey from Spotico of USA sports leagues fandom political ideologies. The NBA comes in at 51% conservative. The NHL is 54%, the NFL is 56%, and the MLB is 57%.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) argued that the elaborate floor moves won’t change voters’ minds that the Senate ignored the parliamentarian to help the fossil fuel industry. Blumenthal said Republicans wanted to avoid a vote on directly overruling the parliamentarian, but he declared “it fails to give them anything more than a false fig leaf.”
BART offers automated service alerts on Bluesky social media platform BART has made service alert information even more accessible to the public by adding an automated BART Service Alerts channel to its Bluesky account (@bart.gov). As of Friday, April 11, there is now a dedicated feed for real-time BART Service Alerts (@alerts.bart.gov) to inform riders when multiple trains are off schedule by ten or more minutes. Unlike other social media platforms, Bluesky does not require a login to view BART’s timeline. BART has been providing informational content on Bluesky since November 2024. “Service alerts offer critical and timely information for our riders to help them make decisions about their ride,” said Alicia Trost, Chief Communications Officer. “We want this information to be easy to find and on the platforms people use. The Bluesky social media platform is growing in popularity, and our followers have been asking for our automated service alerts to be posted there.”
A photo of the court at the Chase Center as seen from the upper deck
The St. John's red Thunderbird mascot sitting alone in the bleachers. The chyron announces "Big East cancels conference tournament." The image is from March 2020.
When Castro was asked about the potential presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents appearing at schools in Alameda County, she suggested the response would be akin to a school shooter on campus. “The reality—and I respect as a law enforcement officer, my friend Yesenia, can’t interfere with a law enforcement activity—but in schools unfortunately, or fortunately, we know how to deal with arm intruders on campus, and we know how to lock it down, and we know how to call for backup,” Castro said. “Real fascists are really trying to come for our kids,” Castro added. However, she believes county and state law will provide a bulwark against any adverse federal actions. “In the legal hierarchy, an executive order does not come close to trumping the law in California,” Castro said.
Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., specifically asked members not to use “props” to protest the speech, while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., encouraged members to stay on message and keep the spotlight focused on the people affected by Trump’s policies — not make the story about themselves.
Emergency Call to Action Call ICE And demand release of Damaris & Edgar and their 7 year old daughter! The family is pursuing a U-visa application and has an attorney, but ICE has detained them and is threatening to deport them to Guatemala. Phone: 415 365 8800 Email: SanFrancisco.Outreach@ice.dhs.gov
In laying out his case that Mfuzia violated Wikipedia’s COI policy, Nstrauss came within an inch of committing a policy violation themselves. They claimed to have found “through publicly available offsite information, that Mfuzia is an employee of FDU and is specifically tasked with working with its public relations department to maintain the FDU's Wikipedia article [sic].” Nstrauss categorized Mfuzia’s edits “quite well-written” but also as giving articles a “promotional, ‘puff-piece’ feeling overall.”
In October of 2021, the user Rebecca Maxon at Fairleigh Dickinson University submitted a significant number of suggested edits to the then-protected article on the university. The article on FDU hadn’t been updated to match the restructuring the school implemented in 2019, and Maxon was happy to clarify. Normally, these types of edits would be welcomed by the Wikipedia community. There was just one problem: Maxon was at the time the Associate Director of Communications for Fairleigh Dickinson.
A male elephant seal shows off for viewers at Drake's Beach
The results of my efforts have been mixed. There are no shortcuts to tranquility, and confronting my problems and stress is not the same as solving them. On days when it feels as though anxiety is about to crest and drown me, I fish my earbuds out of my pockets and instead allow my music to crescendo, postponing my mind’s duel with reality until another day when I feel more prepared to contemplate. But on calmer days, I leave my ears open, attuned to my surroundings. I can now differentiate the rattle of the recycling truck chock full of glass bottles and aluminum cans from the rumble of the garbage truck stuffed with the rest of my city’s refuse. On warm days when everyone in my building leaves their windows open, I follow my upstairs neighbor as he makes progress on a new steel drum composition. His rehearsals transport me to tropical paradise no matter how stressed I feel.
Of course, the fantasy ends when the film returns to reality, one where Seb is seemingly more successful professionally but far less so romantically. It is impossible to fault Seb or Mia for the choices they made, as their love failed due to the largely mutual understanding that the demands of their separate careers meant it was impossible for either person to behave differently while still reaching the same levels of success. This no-fault romantic failure is saudade.
The contact us sign from TSA at ORD with the Arabic printed incorrectly
Me and my siblings tailgating at the Bills game
A screenshot of Gboard showing an emoji search for "Italian" brings up 🤌🏻
A foggy morning view out of a Capitol Corridor train passing the Benicia Bridge
An alert from MyShake about the earthquake in Humboldt County telling me shaking is expected and I should drop, cover, and hold on
The endurance of 🌠 means the playlist is now a memory artifact in the same vein of the songs that comprise its existence. I turn to 🌠 when I am overwhelmed, alone, nostalgic, melancholic, or simply awake late at night and trying to fade into my nocturnal background. Some of the songs on 🌠 are also among my all-time favorites, while others would never have been downloaded if it were not for their inclusion on 🌠.
For people like me for whom a music library doubles as a diary, the advent of streaming services has expanded not just our audio discovery capabilities, but the level of detail contained within our digital journals. With or without Spotify, the Dreamville collaboration “Costa Rica” would have always been associated with playing beer die in the backyard of my house as a college senior. But thanks to Spotify’s database functionality, I know precisely which date — September 3, 2019 — I was introduced to the song. By cross-referencing my other digital archives, like my photos and calendar, I can create a more accurate memory of my introduction to the track.
Elon 80 Notre Dame 75
A photo of the Utah BYU and Auburn Houston broadcasts on the Apple TV ESPN app
A TikTok DM from a fake Molly White account asking if I've invested in crypto
If you’re under the age of 53, you’ve never seen a cigarette commercial on television or heard one on the radio. Tobacco manufacturers are prohibited from sponsoring athletic events, giving out free samples, and intentionally marketing to minors, while all nicotine products require warnings about the product’s addictive potential. sportsbooks are utilizing all these strategies and more, and the gambling warnings are read at 500 words per minute or displayed in a two-point font.
Until August 2023, Pardon My Take was even more ingrained in the sports gambling ecosystem, as their parent company Barstool Sports operated its own sportsbook. Barstool Sportsbook was a huge loss for casino-giant Penn Entertainment, so Penn wrote off its Barstool losses and promptly licensed one of the few properties of sports media bigger than Barstool: ESPN. The existence of ESPN Bet casts aspersions on the network’s coverage every time gambling is mentioned. Garbage-time touchdowns now elicit tongue-in-cheek comments from broadcasters, and ESPN shows live odds on screen during certain contests.
The view from an Amtrak car of the Jersey skyline
A California Voter Survey asks for my opinion on Marshawn Lynch after opening with his background.
Oakland fans chant "sell the team"
Tsuboi was spot on. Billionaires can take our teams, hold our local governments hostage for stadium funding, and then blame us, the fans, when they leave. But no one, not the league, not city officials, not even the outsiders chomping at the bit to paint the A’s departure as another example of Oakland’s impending doom can rob this city of its communal spirit.
Born and raised in this part of the bay. My early morning and evening commute on this bridge made me think of the good o'l days....back to before I was born. Currently there are only 2 lanes going West, and 3 lanes going East (if they don't close the third). A combination of this and the sweet sweet skill of most bay area drivers has created an abberation; a prison that molds your cheeks into your seat and makes the blood in your veins thicken. There is no time of the day that can spare you from the cereal box IQ of most drivers out here. No one knows how to merge, courtesy is rare like GEN Z homeowners, and the aesthetic of the bridge is an iconic tetanus grey. With the amount of taxes we gotta fork over, how about a new bridge hmmm?? How about a decent bridge with numerous lanes that can account for those who limit in cognitive ability ? This bridge is cramped and you can feel it shake when your neighboring commuter rips cheeks. With so little space, stagnant traffic happens for any
San Diego: After passing an ordinance last year cracking down on encampments, the number of people sleeping outside without shelter increased 6% in the city compared to last year. But the number doesn’t classify sanctioned camps and safe parking sites as shelters, which Mayor Todd Gloria called “frustrating.” He told CalMatters he believes “the streets are better today than they were a year ago.”
A Spotify screenshot of Here Come the Irish by The O'Neill Brothers
A notification from Oakland Library letting me know that my purchase suggestion, Character Limit by Kate Conger and Ryan Mac, was approved and will be added to the catalog in 3-4 weeks.
My experience is far from unique. Writers, politicians, and your grandfather love to wax poetic about baseball as America’s Pastime, but football is the true American sport, dominating domestic television while failing for decades to capture the attention of the rest of the world. More than a quarter of MLB players are foreign-born. Last season, there were 125 foreign-born players on opening-night NBA rosters, and the two best players in the league hail from Greece and Serbia. But in the NFL, just 136 players — 6% of the league's roster size — are international citizens.
A screenshot of my comments on my own Google Doc where I remind myself to tighten up what I am trying to say and, later, compliment myself while still reminding myself to strengthen the phrasing
The Harris campaign now has two TikTok accounts! They still have @KamalaHQ, but now they also have @KamalaHarris, which launched late last week. We’ll be sharing data from both accounts to get a better understanding of their collective impact. This week, her combined accounts gained 388.4 million new views and posted 36 videos. Their top performing video this past week was with @LanceBass saying “Bye Bye Bye” to Donald Trump in November. It garnered 41.6m views and 3.6 million likes.
Thank you for being a GIG Car Share Member. While we at AAA remain committed to developing services that empower our Members to navigate the future with confidence, we’ve made the difficult decision to conclude Gig operations as of December 27, 2024. We realize that this may come as a surprise to you, and we want to answer any questions you may have, such as: Why are you ending service? Since launching GIG Car Share, we have continuously evolved our offerings based on Member feedback and demand. Despite our best efforts, there have been challenges — primarily around decreased demand, rising operational costs, and changes to consumer commuting patterns. How can I use my remaining Gig Credits? December 27, 2024 is the last day to use any remaining Gig Credits.
I love the way magazine paper feels to the touch, how its paper is glossy and a bit thicker than what you find in a book. I love the insane advertisements you find toward the back of most weekly publications, with blurbs for fortune tellers and matchmakers and snake oil supplements seemingly straight out of the 19th century. I love how print editions function as time capsules you never realized you created, as by nature a paper magazine will always be slightly outdated upon delivery.
A large sign outside the Oakland Coliseum reads #ProudToBeHere
The DOHA document states that the applicant is in her thirties, was born in Country X, and immigrated to the United States in the 1990s with her parents, later naturalizing as U.S. citizens. In 2016, Ko Yong Suk and Ri Gang, using the names they left behind in North Korea, gave a series of interviews to the Washington Post, where they stated that they moved to the United States in 1998 with the assistance of the CIA, which bought them a house. The Post reported that the couple had three kids, two sons and one daughter. The couple also confirmed that they are Kim Jong Un’s aunt and uncle, as Ko is Kim’s mother’s sister.
A screenshot of an email from Neighbors Together Oakland. Underneath a call to volunteer with the group, the email reads "NTO has been granted 501(c)(3) nonprofit status and is recognized as a charitable organization by the IRS. Donations are tax deductible."
A quick records search with the FTB confirms that this failure to register wasn’t a case of the IRS bungling paperwork, but rather that NTO is no longer a nonprofit in the eyes of the California government either. The organization was arguably never operating as a proper 501(c)(3) at any point in its history, having failed to ever submit its required state and federal disclosures.
Founded in 2021, Neighbors Together Oakland is the project of Seneca Scott. A multiyear fixture of Oakland politics, Scott ran unsuccessfully for a seat on city council in 2020 and again for the mayor’s office in 2022. A self-described “free thinker,” Scott has slowly pivoted to the right since his first run for office; examples include calling for increased policing in Oakland, villainizing the city's homeless population, and lobbing baseless accusations of pedophilia at an openly gay member of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao’s staff.
An email from MLB.com Insider touting an Opening Day Pick Em contest where the winner receives "the ultimate All-Star experience"
But now I am feeling stuck. I had hoped that after three years spent sharpening my skills with the written word, memorizing when to use adjectival hyphens, and learning how to turn an interview into a story, I would be able to land paid pitches in real Big J publications. This has not happened. I still struggle to land a rejection notice from an editor, let alone an actual placement. When I combine the inertia of my writing career with the rapid decline of Twitter, the one digital network that provided me and other extremely early-stage writers a modicum of discovery potential, I feel as though I am fighting just to tread water. Subscriber growth to IBT has stagnated, and I have started to worry that if I can’t figure out how to build this publication further, my goals will remain unattainable forever.
While King is leaving the industry on his own terms, thousands of other writers have not been so lucky. Media, especially journalistic media, has been in crisis mode for at least a decade. In the last six months alone, outlets ranging from Vox to Highsnobiety to the Los Angeles Times have had layoffs, while famous publications like Vice and even Sports Illustrated appear to have shut down entirely. Much of the blame for the slow death of media can be laid at the feet of Silicon Valley, especially Meta and Alphabet. An estimated $300 billion in ad buys, representing 50% of global spending, passes through the two tech giants. Social media sites like Facebook and Instagram profit off headlines while disincentivizing outbound clicks, depriving publications of ad revenue, while Alphabet continues to nudge users to stay within Google Search rather than clicking through to results, offering features like snippets and automated summaries of common queries.
You may have noticed that I used the past tense when describing the price of a Tog lift pass. This is not one of my many typos. Instead, the resort’s prices are given in the past tense because Tog was closed by its owners shortly before the 2021-22 ski season. It is nearly the end of the 2023-24 season, and Tog has not reopened. In 2015, husband and wife John and Christine Meier, in partnership with businessman Marc Stemerman, bought the Toggenburg Mountain Resort from the Hickey family, who had owned and operated Tog since its opening in 1953. Two years prior, the trio had purchased Greek Peak, a significantly larger, year-round resort located about twice as far from Syracuse as Tog, so the acquisiton of Tog meant they were quickly becoming a big presence in the CNY winter sports scene.
Consolidation is the name of the game in downhill winter sports, and there are no bigger players than Epic, offered by the public corporation Vail Resorts, and Ikon, offered by the private firm Alterra Mountain Company. The Epic and Ikon passes each retail for more than $1,000 and provide access to a combined 126 resorts across five continents. If you want to ski or snowboard more than twice per season at nearly any of the world-class resorts, from Lake Tahoe to Tsugaike Hakuba to the Matterhorn, buying an Epic or Ikon pass is the obvious financial decision.
The Alameda County I Voted sticker on my laptop next to a sticker from BART made to look like their old paper tickets