Techies are paying $700 a month for tiny bed 'pods' in downtown San Francisco

And last month this was just a meme...

They have these in Japan as hotels, and they are expensive. It works pretty nicely for that, but renting them as a permanent dwelling is insane...

The bizarre thing about this is that the media and tech companies are pretending this is because these people WANT to live in pods.

Not because they can't afford anything, even when they have tech jobs that should mean they get paid well.

i thought it would be like those japanese sleep pods but these dont even have a door 😭

It's time. This is only going to get worse. (And this is not a call to violence, but reform. Please don't misunderstand, and hear me out - I use the words of those wiser than me, and wish to share what I have learned.)

We have tried to act by silent manipulation - a perfectly valid way of exercising our will. But we have failed. In attempting to exercise our will in a way synchronous to those more powerful than us, we have instead allowed them to build us into another herd morality - one of willing slavery. This can stand no longer. Violence against those weaker than you may be a sign of weakness, but using it as the last resort to escape those acting counter to your most basic needs may soon become the only way out.

We must act now. We must wait no longer, or soon there may be no alternative to violent revolt. I fear it may be too late. But in the struggle for the power to control your own life, any means required to exercise that will is justified. They are weak in will, and in their weakness, they resort to the illusion of strength that comes from squashing us under their feet.

They fight for themselves and their own will to power. I respect that - but they have made a fatal mistake, and shown their weakness by resorting to a show of force against us. It is this:

There are two ways to exercise your will over another: to annihilate them, and continue on as one force behind your will. Or to build them up, and change their life for the better - to make them a better, stronger person.

The former is what the aristocrats choose. It carries a great illusion of strength. But the latter is how we must fight - while they trample one another, we must strengthen each other. Though we disagree on how to exercise it, we share a common will: change. If we work together to accomplish that, rather than fight like they do, we can overcome their power easily.

Reshaping another's will by empowering each other is far more potent than fighting each other. In doing so, as a being of will, you make them indebted to you. And that helps orient their will towards yours. And that is how you achieve true power - by starting a movement. One that can shape the very universe to your will.

I have not started a movement. But I see that this movement is in line with my will. So I will add my small power to it, and seek to add more. We have no name or banner. Or rather, we have too many to reconcile. That is good. Instead of fighting for whose details and name should be plastered on a useless surge of will, let's all join under whatever banner we choose to fly (and I fly only my own just as many of you), and come together to spark the fire of action.

The revolution began long ago. Perhaps it has burned since the beginning of time, recurring forever, and will never truly end until the universe collapses and our eternal will is ended.

But perhaps in fighting, we can join something eternal. Something not reliant on faith or platonic idealism, but rather a tangible effect that repeats until time itself is extinguished.

I choose to join. I ask you to as well. Join us - join the force, with no name or banner, but a common goal - and live, through your will, forever.

Eeesh. Just get a van and convert it. Park at work. Gym membership for showers.

Here’s a fun thought.

What happens to all these people living in sarcophagi (TIL that’s a real word) when another pandemic/lockdown happen? Do they just go into solitary confinement conditions worse than actual solitary confinement in terms of square footage?

Asking for a friend that happens to be everyone in New York who isn’t rich

I stayed in a capsule hotel in Tokyo once. It was awful.

Seems cleaner, but similar to the kind of places I lived while getting into tech in SF (maybe ~8 months total)... I have some pretty interesting stories from that time lol. But extra hilarious was years later seeing a dystopian article about one of the very places I had lived (had it down to the Pinterest dev living in the closet):

https://www.salon.com/2016/09/17/hacker-house-blues-my-life-with-12-programmers-2-rooms-and-one-21st-century-dream/

Los Angeles bases its occupancy limits on the square footage of a unit, rather than the number of bedrooms:

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        - One to two people for every 70–119 square feet
    - Three people for every 120–169 square feet
    - Four people for every 170–119 square feet
    - 50 square feet for each additional person

  

I guess $23 and some change daily compares favorably, cost wise, with just getting a hotel room. But me -- I'll take the hotel room, thanks.

700$ a month!? I mean if this is what it takes to keep more people from slipping through the cracks into homelessness I'm all for it, but fuck the whole system that got us to this point.

What could possibly go wrong? Such a terrible idea. I hope they have some safety measures in place to prevent sexual assault.

why would someone choose this over living literally anywhere else?

Of course the startup behind it is called "Brownstone"

Beats a studio in rural New Hampshire.

That website is a disaster. Endless pop up ads that play sound and constantly interrupt your reading. How does anyone use it?

Like Matrix, but service is lacking and price is still early adopters. In the future, we might not need to leave our pods and get them for free.

If I was single and working 4-10s or 3-12s and wanted a way to just crash where I didn’t need a car or commute, and it would let me live the rest of the time out of the city, I’d probably do this. It reminds me a bit of the bunk houses of the early 20th century.

It would be a shitty long term existence for most but I can see its utility. Back when I was in college, a friend shared a 3BR with 5 other guys to make living near Julliard affordable. Note that I’m looking for space for the next generation of students I’m seeing tales of 8 people sharing 4 br flats in Edinburgh.

I moved to sf 7 years ago for work. Let me tell you. This isn’t that insane. Some of my coworkers would share a one bedroom with 5 + people to save money. They can afford the rent in South Bay or east bay. They just want to save enough to put 1m down on a house as soon as possible or they are sending money back overseas or they own a house somewhere else and commute on weekends. I have a feeling those paying for these are making less than 200k a year and don’t want to commute via Caltrain or BART and will shower at a gym. But I could be wrong

For what it’s worth, Wife and I lived in a 2 bedroom literally on the beach for 4k a month and we did it so we weren’t miserable after work and our dogs could enjoy our lives when not working. We ended moving back to Colorado with a nice downpayment during Covid but still.

This will do well cause the mentality of just having a place to sleep is enough. However! I hope this is used by others and not just tech workers.

The techies rework really left the poor guys in shambles :(

I like it. You can rent a parking spot in central Amsterdam for the same price, this is more value and utility for the money.