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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

The anger that's slopping over into local #a2council politics from national politics is as ridiculous as it is stupid. At least one candidate in our primary did his best to make sure that would happen (and that he'd benefit from it). We'll soon see how that translates to actual governance. A hint:

static.klipy.com

Bar Rescue: Woman Says 'Not Well'

ALT: Bar Rescue: Woman Says 'Not Well'

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

At some point one starts to wonder if Rabhi's entire mayoral campaign was secretly driven by his desire to add an unpermitted second floor to his home, and to do so without including a staircase.

Mayor-elect Rabhi writes:

Deeply disappointed in AA council’s vote last night in support of fossil fuel monopoly DTE’s position antagonizing the public power ballot proposal. I enthusiastically urge a YES ON E to move us past DTE.

Jim Pyke replies:

That's not what they voted on.
You know that's not what they voted on.

If Prop E supporters want to help undecided voters make their choice as effectively as possible, why not engage in good faith with the concerns voiced (and now voted on) by those who are saying that Prop E is a flawed proposal?

If you're so certain of how great the proposal is, why not stop dismissing concerns, stop denigrating the people who express those concerns, and start responding in good faith to those concerns?

If this behavior is any indication of how you're going to perform as Ann Arbor's mayor, it's gonna be a long four years full of us getting to hear again and again about how "disappointed" you are in people who are just trying to thoughtfully and carefully do the jobs they were elected to do.

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

#a2council The alternative here is to notice that we're all living this city w/ a significant degree of intimacy, & that we could choose to literally sit down together, discuss issues of concern in good faith w/ each other, & then collaboratively work toward universally beneficial compromises.

It bugs me that some people have decided to take their frustrations w/ the federal government out on our local government.

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Scrolling by this I read the word "Equipping" as "Fapping"

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Leave it to Ann Arborites to figure out how to align the local DSA with local anti-library republicans. (Related: leave it to Ann Arbor DSA members to figure out how to blame local pro-housing activists, rather than conservative anti-housing activists, for the housing problems Ann Arbor faces.)

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Could we perhaps amend this to also say something about the number of candidates for public office who pop off during their campaigns about stuff they know nothing about?

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

If pro-car-traffic activists were rational about their self-interest they would be among the loudest advocates for protected cycle tracks throughout the city because when more people choose to leave their cars at home to cycle more, there's more room on the roads for those who can't or won't cycle.

static.klipy.com

Tom Segura's Iconic 'Bikes!' Moment

ALT: Tom Segura's Iconic 'Bikes!' Moment

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

I'm calling it here, #a2council, the bandshell in Sterling Heights' Dodge Park looks way more functional than ours in West Park. If we can't fit something like this in West Park (& use it w/o annoying the neighbors there), maybe Vets Park might work?

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

The majority of drivers won't slow down and drive more carefully unless the design of the road itself forces them to do so. It's very sad that concern for damage to their vehicles is a stronger motivator toward caution than concern for injuring people. Very sad, but very true.

static.klipy.com

Design Is The Problem: Drinks Illustration

ALT: Design Is The Problem: Drinks Illustration

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Library haters are among the worst people on earth. Truly the dregs of humanity.

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

I've lived here since 1986. Spent time downtown almost every day for 40 years. Never once have I parked on that lot. Not one single time. Insufferable is a great descriptor. TBH I would add that these insufferable people present a real *danger* to Ann Arbor's future vibrancy.

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

If Chris Burden were still alive, we could commission him to fill the lot with something cool...

Chris Burden
Urban Light, 2008
On view: LACMA Campus, Los Angeles CA

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

I am once again asking residents of Ann Arbor who seem angry about change, to join those of us who see in change possibilities that could lead to a better future. We can embrace change together creatively & work w/ our #a2council government to help the changes we make turn out as good as possible.

static.klipy.com

Business Model Creativity: Learn, Create, Share

ALT: Business Model Creativity: Learn, Create, Share

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Entirely unexpected outcome of our massive house repair/renovation 3 years ago: smoke detectors in every bedroom that are permanently wired into the house's electrical system. I guess maybe it's part of code requirements for new construction/renovation projects.

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

So... when do you think city council will finally do something to fix this problem?! . . . /sarcasm

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

I think it's reasonable for them to protect their business interests, & the construction of The Legacy behind the Michigan Theater definitely created a few issues that could have been prevented. We want more housing to make things better for everyone wherever possible.

mlive.com

Debated sale of Ann Arbor’s Kline’s lot to luxury housing developer up for vote

The Ann Arbor City Council is poised to make one of its biggest decisions all year.

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

100 years from now Pootie Tang will be remembered as Louis CK's most (perhaps even only) important artistic achievement.

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Yes, & for me this is why urgently need to rezone as many exclusionary single family neighborhoods as possible not only to allow multiplexes, townhouses & small apartment buildings, but also smaller lot sizes & shorter setbacks to enable denser construction of small (~1K sq ft) single family homes.

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Related feeling: you ran the dishwasher after dinner but forgot to prop the door open overnight after the cycle ended so that the dishes would air dry by morning.

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

...all the lights for cars would stay red for 15 seconds while any pedestrians or cyclists cross, and then the lights would go back to the way they were before.

static.klipy.com

Animated NICE Word

ALT: Animated NICE Word

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

I agree w/ this. Pressing the beg button should IMMEDIATELY trigger the car traffic light to turn yellow, then red so that the crosswalk is safe to cross w/in 5 seconds. This would annoy drivers. especially if the beg button was pressed 2 seconds after the light turned green for car traffic, but:

static.klipy.com

Olivia Oblanc: I Don't Care About Their Feelings

ALT: Olivia Oblanc: I Don't Care About Their Feelings

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

See also: Are birds considered a "flight risk"?

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

This is like asking, "What's one small way in which a pathological liar who is also a kleptomaniac could help you?"

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Wow this is a good post for me to see. I know at least one person with a long history of substance issues who REALLY likes AI, and this is my first time seeing this angle of on the situation. Thank you!

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Some of his wealthiest, most vocal supporters couldn't possibly wish harder for A² to be more of an exclusive country club where every whim of the wealthiest residents are catered to, so hopefully he has indeed "Trojan Horse'd" himself in on the backs of those supporters whom he will now betray.

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

The implication of those quotes being that Taylor & #a2council took power/Ann Arbor *away* from "the people". And some folks questioned why I thought aloud on another site that Rabhi's speech sounded angry. Maybe if we have a permanently aggrieved mayor we'll see fewer aggrieved residents @ mtgs?

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Zach Cabrera: Silver Lining?

ALT: Zach Cabrera: Silver Lining?

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

There are significant objective facts that they will have to come to grips with in office unless they're willing to either actively make things worse or passively achieve nothing of value to anyone (which is just a gentle version of making things worse) for whom they profess a desire to help.

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We Need More Housing: Missing Middle Types

ALT: We Need More Housing: Missing Middle Types

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

I'm trying to stay hopeful too, but seeing that in his victory speech he came very close to calling the new 9 member pro-housing majority on council all enemies of the people of Ann Arbor I'm not going to hold my breath for him to get better any time soon at working collaboratively with anyone.

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Some folks in town REALLY love playing golf. I think we should start circulating this idea now as much as we reasonably can to wear down the resistance over the next 10-20 years. When it's done everyone will wonder why we didn't do it sooner.

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Homer & Bart: We Will Get There Someday

ALT: Homer & Bart: We Will Get There Someday

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

It means he wants less housing here, and wants what housing there is to be more expensive. Because: nature.

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

It's almost like he knows that keeping everything as vague as possible is his one and only strength - at least in the eyes of people likely to support him.

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

May the gods help us if this guy is elected mayor. I say this as an atheist. There will be no one who can help us if this guy is elected mayor.

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

The giant TIF was pretty bad too.

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

The 3-unit cap was the worst decision the current #a2council ever made. It will haunt this city's future until it is eventually eliminated, much like the 2018 COTC amendment did before it. We have to stop making bad housing policy decisions ASAP. Maybe an 8-unit, 4-story cap would be better?

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Sadly, if Taylor loses he will have lost partly because of this issue. See also: why our local grievance gang will fail in office even if they win any of their elections. Being endlessly aggrieved is pretty much the opposite of celebratory self-promotion. If they win, we all lose.

static.klipy.com

Ryland James: We've Been Here Before

ALT: Ryland James: We've Been Here Before

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Of course the money is a trap. But it's also what frees directors like Nolan (Cameron, Villeneuve, etc) to do the big industrial-scale work within the movie *industry* that they seem to enjoy doing. It takes a very precise balance of quality & clunkiness to set entertainment industry records.

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Is she talking about Stewart Beal's endorsement of Rabhi?

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Wow this suuuuuuucks😢 How can she not have worked out some kind of reply to a question like this by now? Honestly it could be as simple as, "I will accept support from absolutely anyone because candidates need tons of money & other support to win elections now, & my goal is to win." But instead…

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Thanks for a great thread. I've seen it many times now because I'm on the theatrical film projection team. It doesn't hold up especially well on multiple viewings, but I'm very happy people are coming to see a film on film in theaters. I hope Mr. Nolan figures out how to make something joyful soon.

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

The worst part is that even if the challengers win they & their supporters will continue to be relentlessly aggrieved when they have power. We know this because we've already seen this. They have nothing fueling them but grievance. They never do anything good, & everything bad is not their fault.

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Once elected will the candidates say, "Thanks for the cash, now we're gonna enact the progressive policies you've railed against for years while others were trying to enact them, only we're going to do it even faster!"

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

I wonder if the Tom Wieder-hosted fundraiser last weekend gave any of those unpersuadables even a nanosecond of pause. Is courting the support of the worst bad-faith actors in Ann Arbor some sort of "by any means necessary" trick on their part?

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Radically unreliable source.

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

The worst part is that some ppl will easily believe the baseless accusation here. Ppl are so inured to conspiracy theories (thanks to the tireless efforts of some of our more vocal locals & ex- #a2council members) that a comparatively mild one like this will just slip right into some ppl's brains.

static.klipy.com

It'S Not Okay Pippa Fitz-amobi

ALT: It'S Not Okay Pippa Fitz-amobi

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

"You have a situation here where my understanding is that [Rabhi] basically [violated campaign finance laws]." Anyone can put words into that MadLib. Some ways of filling in the blanks read like conspiracy theories, while others can be backed up with evidence.

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

The best way to reduce worries about automobile traffic is to spend less time in an automobile being part of traffic. (I'm writing this while freelancing away from home up in the car-brained hellscape of Sterling Heights / Utica).

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Jim Pyke @jimpyke.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Here's an example of a former #a2council member having a super normal reaction to news of crime being committed.

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