Q&A with Broke Ass Stuart
Stuart Schuffman, also known as Broke-Ass Stuart, is a travel-writer, blogger, television star and San Francisco Mayoral candidate best known for his book Broke-Ass Stuart's Guide to Living Cheaply in San Francisco. His travel documentary series, Young, Broke & Beautiful, appeared on IFC. He is currently on the official candidates list for the San Francisco Mayoral election. Read more from Stuart here, and follow his campaign here. [Full disclosure: I wrote the DIY column on BrokeAssStuart.com for three years.]
1. What's the best tech advice you've ever received?
"Turn it off and then turn it back on again." Also, "blow in the game cartridge"
2. What is your worst tech habit?
Checking social media way too much.
3. What app(s) can you not live without?
Facebook, twitter and instagram. They pretty much have me by the balls.
4. Are you sporting a wearable right now? If so, what is it?
Does a nose ring count?
5. If you could have any superpower what would it be?
To have the metabolism of a 19 year old.
6. What is your #1 tech pet peeve?
That every time you update your software on Apple it actually hurts your product and leads to you buying a new one. How on earth is that legal?
7. What is your go-to karaoke song?
Tiny Dancer by Elton John. It's a crowd pleaser.
8. Share your favorite tech tip or trick:
Command Z. I sometimes wish life had a Command Z button.
9. If you could create an emoji not yet in existence, what would it be?
A smiling poop! Oh wait, someone beat me to that. How about a frowning poop? See how I totally just disrupted the emoji poop game?
10. What is your favorite GIF?
This one is pretty stellar.
11. What was the last thing you Googled?
I just googled "How do you google something" just to see if I could break google.
12. If you were a cocktail, what kind of cocktail would you be? Any why?
A vodka soda because it is less likely to result in hangovers. Nobody wants to be a hangover.
13. Show us the last photo you took on your phone:
It's people reading the note that I taped to Ed Lee's office door challenging him to debate me.
14. What device(s) are you currently lusting after?
If we're talking lust, might as well just throw one of those animatronic sex dolls out there.
15. What aspect of your life remains analog?
I like to read actual books. I mean I use a kindle too but I alternate. I use kindle more when I travel.
16. What is your biggest tech time suck (website/app/game/et al)?
I wish I had time to play games because I love them but I don't. I'd say Facebook is the biggest one. Damn you Zuckerburg!
17. What is the last book you read?
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August. It was awesome!
18. What is it like running for mayor in one of the most tech saturated cities in the U.S.?
The struggle is to get people who only view themselves as here for a short period of time, to care about the city. The 40,000 people who moved here to work in tech have greatly impacted our city, so much so, that now laws are being created as a response...laws dealing with housing and transit etc. So if people are making laws because you're here, don't you think it's your duty to vote on them? Here's an analogy: If you walk into someone's house and knock over a bottle of wine, you don't say "Look, I'm only here for a couple hours. I'm not gonna help clean that up." Same goes for SF, if you're here helping create these issues you have to help clean them up.
19. Why do you want to be Mayor of SF?
Because the current administration is crooked and is only doing things that serve the very very rich. It's not the tech workers who are benefiting from these things, its only the share holders, and investors who are. Things are bleak for working people right now. I love my city and I owe it to her to stick up for her.
20. What kind of resources (on or offline) are available for folks wanting to get involved in local government and/or the political process?
There are lots of Democratic Clubs to get involved in as well as community organizations. Justa Causa is great. So is the League of Pissed off Voters. Also, read 48 Hills. They are a non-profit progressive online news source. And of course read my site BrokeAssStuart.com. If you wanna get involved in my campaign please donate and sign up to volunteer at BrokeAssMayor.com.
21. What is your favorite part of living in an era of rapidly advancing technology?
I get to see all the new technologies come out first. I get to laugh at the stupid ones that fail and cheer on the amazing ones that triumph. And I get to secure my user names before anyone else does.
22. How do you feel participation in the political process is different in the "age of the internet"?
Some of the best minds of our generation are in the Bay Area working in Tech. I just wish they'd focus less on the next app that will get your laundry done and more on getting the political process streamlined. So many government agencies are using really old technology or still using paper. Fix that shit before you make your next dog walking app.
23. What can local government do to deal with the recent public backlash against tech companies in SF and still foster the economic growth of the city?
Luckily, I wrote all about that here.