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Lester Black

@leddder.bsky.social

440 followers 110 following 210 posts

Journalist, stoner, malcontent, cannabis editor at SFGATE.com

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Lester Black @leddder.bsky.social · 1d

This quote should keep investors and policymakers up at night: “We are in a phase of the build-out where the entire industry’s got to come together and everybody’s going to do super well,” said OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

Lester Black @leddder.bsky.social · 1d

Is the AI boom driven by a spectacular technology, or just incestuous capitalism at its peak?

There's a handful of executives and a few dozen board members controlling decision-making for so much of this economy, what could go wrong?

'Circular' mega-deals by Bay Area tech giants are raising eyebrows

"A lot of big companies have a lot of skin in the game on OpenAI."

Lester Black @leddder.bsky.social · 1d

Newsom facing pressure to veto controversial cookware ban www.sfgate.com/politics/art...

Newsom facing pressure to veto controversial cookware ban

Some of the chefs sell products that could be banned under the proposed law.

Lester Black @leddder.bsky.social · 6d

In an unprecedented move, California authorities have declared kratom and synthetic kratom completely illegal, launching a major new crackdown on the drugs.

www.sfgate.com/bayarea/arti...

California declares kratom illegal, raids stores in Sacramento and San Diego

The new crackdown comes after three LA deaths were attributed to the drug.

Lester Black @leddder.bsky.social · 6d

Few things more satisfying than getting a correction demand, responding quickly, and never hearing anything back.

Lester Black @leddder.bsky.social · 15d

'All bets are off': AOC launches new ad supporting Prop. 50 www.sfgate.com/politics/art...

'All bets are off': AOC launches new ad supporting Prop. 50

"California, you know we don't back down from a fight."

Lester Black @leddder.bsky.social · 16d

being responsible for the destruction of white collar jobs just seems like a bad idea when your company is funded by ads in a service economy.

Lester Black @leddder.bsky.social · 16d

has anyone done work looking at the zero sum nature of the AI economy? It seems like best case scenario for the big AI firms is that their tech replaces white collar workers, making companies more profitable. But...

AI works > high unemployment > economic recession > no ad dollars for Meta/Google.

Lester Black @leddder.bsky.social · 16d

Like in 2008, it all works until it suddenly doesn't.

Lester Black @leddder.bsky.social · 16d

It gets even sketchier when the chipmaker itself is paying for the data centers. It's like a construction company issuing loans to homebuyers to buy their new expensive houses, even though the homebuyer has no cash or salary.

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/22/t...

Nvidia to Invest $100 Billion in OpenAI

www.nytimes.com

Lester Black @leddder.bsky.social · 16d

Data centers are giving strong echoes of the subprime mortgage crisis. They're built using high interest debt under the promise that eventually AI becomes profitable. But if it doesn't? Good luck to the US tech economy.

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/b...

What Wall Street Sees in the Data Center Boom

www.nytimes.com

Lester Black @leddder.bsky.social · 19d

certainly strange, but intent seems clear when you run towards the dais with the butt of a gun sticking out of your vest, regardless of if it is an actual firearm.

Lester Black @leddder.bsky.social · 19d

Debates over the war in Gaza and homelessness have plagued a small California town council. Then an armed man showed up.

Armed man arrested after storming California city council meeting www.sfgate.com/northcoast/a...

Armed man arrested after storming California city council meeting

"For some reason, my mind went to the Charlie Kirk shooting."

Lester Black @leddder.bsky.social · 22d

SF Supervisor Joel Engardio faces crushing recall loss in early vote returns www.sfgate.com/politics/art...

SF Supervisor Joel Engardio faces crushing recall loss in early vote returns

Voters deeply resented Engardio for supporting a car-free Great Highway.

Lester Black @leddder.bsky.social · 22d

It's pretty incredible to see how fast conservatives are leveraging cancel culture against universities

Calif. professors placed on leave for 'deeply offensive' Charlie Kirk comments www.sfgate.com/bayarea/arti...

Calif. professors placed on leave for 'deeply offensive' Charlie Kirk comments

Professors, teachers and school officials across the state are being placed on leave.

Lester Black @leddder.bsky.social · 22d

She's a suburban soccer mom. Her downtime is spent chasing ICE officers out of LA. www.sfgate.com/la/article/a...

The suburban LA soccer mom who's become a headache for ICE

Angie "the ICE Chaser" Vargas strives to document immigration crackdowns.

Lester Black @leddder.bsky.social · 25d

3 healthy California residents die after ingesting synthetic kratom www.sfgate.com/la/article/k...

3 healthy California residents die after ingesting synthetic kratom

Authorities said kratom users do not know that 7-OH can cause a fatal overdose.

Reposted by Lester Black

Grant Marek @grantmarek.bsky.social · 27d

You wouldn’t know it from the work boots or dirt smudged on his hands, but just seven months earlier, Slebir was the man responsible for riding a 10-story wave, unofficially the largest wave ridden in human history.

via @leddder.bsky.social
www.sfgate.com/sports/artic...

This Calif. construction worker unofficially broke a fabled world record

"We're not in it for the money. We're in it for our own selfish pursuit."

Reposted by Lester Black

Grant Marek @grantmarek.bsky.social · 29d

Marcela Hernandez, a director of organizing at Detention Watch Network, said the city is in violation of the law, as it never conducted the required hearings, and that CoreCivic is currently operating without a permit.

via @leddder.bsky.social
www.sfgate.com/centralcalif...

Trump admin spends millions to reopen private California prison

A private prison company may be running a detention facility without proper permits.

Lester Black @leddder.bsky.social · 28d

so honorable of Newsom to cancel his self-titled Fuck Around and Find Out political rally after a political assassination. Perhaps there's pitfalls to adopting internet speak.

www.sacbee.com/news/politic...

Gavin Newsom calls fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk ‘disgusting’

Kirk, the CEO of the conservative youth group Turning Point USA, was shot while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University.

Lester Black @leddder.bsky.social · 29d

Private prisons have become a vital tool for Trump's immigration crackdown.

Critics say Trump is using an illegal detention facility in Calif. desert www.sfgate.com/centralcalif...

Critics say Trump is using an illegal detention facility in Calif. desert

A private prison company may be running a detention facility without proper permits.

Lester Black @leddder.bsky.social · Sep 3

“Newsom doing a meme coin won’t highlight problems any more than a Newsom pickpocketing ring would highlight the problem of pickpockets. You can’t do a grift and say you were being ironic.”

Newsom announces controversial meme coin www.sfgate.com/politics/art...

'Obvious naked grift': Newsom announces controversial meme coin

"You can't do a grift and say you were being ironic."

Lester Black @leddder.bsky.social · Aug 28

Some politicians are worried about homelessness and housing, others are worried about in-unit laundry. I guess it's just a question of priorities?

Calif. Democrat goes viral for bragging about blocking affordable housing www.sfgate.com/politics/art...

Calif. Democrat goes viral for bragging about blocking affordable housing

"That's government at its worst. And it's helped get us into this crisis."

Lester Black @leddder.bsky.social · Aug 26

It says a lot about the California that the state's most famous stoners had to leave to actually make money selling pot.

Cheech and Chong built a $100M cannabis brand by ditching California www.sfgate.com/cannabis/art...

Cheech and Chong built a $100M cannabis brand by ditching California

Cheech Marin said he'd rather be smoking dope and playing guitar in the desert.

Reposted by Lester Black

Grant Marek @grantmarek.bsky.social · Aug 25

"As for Burning Man, at first mention Law makes the universal hand signal for jerking off. 'Burning Man is the least interesting thing I’ve been involved with,' he says."

via @dangentile007.bsky.social
www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/a...

He co-founded Burning Man. It was the least interesting thing he ever did.

After a tragedy in 1996, John Law disavowed the festival he helped launch.