Joan Didion:

The apparent ease of California life is an illusion, and those who believe the illusion real live here in only the most temporary way.

James Temple:

San Francisco changes because the world changes. It was formed in a gold rush and reshaped by every one that followed.

Paul Rogers, on California:

Less rain fell in 2013 than in any year since California became a state in 1850.

Danielle Steel, on San Francisco:

It's all shorts and hiking boots and Tevas -- it's as if everyone is dressed to go on a camping trip.

Jenna Wortham, on Twitter:

It's less about drifting down the stream, absorbing what you can while you float, and more about trying to make the flashiest raft to float on, gathering fans and accolades as you go. We're all milling about, infinitely hovering, waiting for our chance to speak, to add something clever to conversation, even when we're better off not saying much at all.

David Graeber:

It's as if someone were out there making up pointless jobs just for the sake of keeping us all working.

Josh Bryant:

Some of the biggest companies in the world have security that is only as good as a minimum-wage phone support worker who has the power to reset your account. And they have valid business reasons for giving them this power.

David Foster Wallace:

The capital-T Truth is about life before death. It is about making it to 30, or maybe 50, without wanting to shoot yourself in the head. It is about simple awareness -- awareness of what is so real and essential, so hidden in plain sight all around us, that we have to keep reminding ourselves, over and over: "This is water, this is water."