My favorite Burning Man anecdote was one I read in a magazine about a decade and change ago about San Francisco, right when the last traces of the old hippie counterculture was being snuffed out by techbros. It was a not-rich San Franciscan talking about their difficulties with the housing market. They had a floor they were renting from an old landlord, but the house got bought out by a new owner that promptly told them they were getting kicked out. They went to the new landlord’s floor to ask for an extension as they were having trouble finding new housing. The landlord was in the process of putting on this ridiculous light-up jacket and snapped at them, “Can’t you see I’m getting ready for Burning Man!?” Which says everything about both Burning Man and San Francisco.