A throwback photo of Frank Chu at Powell and Market from the 1990s recently made the rounds, and honestly, it hit different.

For the uninitiated — which, if you live in San Francisco, means you haven't been paying attention — Frank Chu is the man who has marched through the streets of this city for decades carrying his iconic protest sign about the 12 Galaxies, Zegnatronic populations, and various interstellar grievances against the Clinton and Bush administrations (among many, many others). He is, without exaggeration, one of the most enduring fixtures of San Francisco public life.

And that 1990s photo? It's a reminder that while entire city administrations have come and gone, while tech booms have inflated and popped, while the Embarcadero Freeway was torn down and replaced with palm trees, Frank Chu has been doing his thing at Powell and Market with a consistency that puts every city agency to shame.

Think about it. Muni can't keep a bus schedule. City Hall can't keep a budget. The Board of Supervisors can't keep a coherent policy position for more than one election cycle. But Frank Chu? Frank Chu shows up. Every. Single. Day. Rain or shine. Decade after decade. No taxpayer funding required.

There's something beautifully libertarian about the whole enterprise. One man, one sign, zero government grants, zero nonprofit overhead, zero bureaucratic approval processes. He didn't need a community benefit district. He didn't apply for a permit from the Entertainment Commission. He just showed up and became a San Francisco institution through sheer, stubborn persistence.

In a city that spends billions and somehow has less to show for it every year, Frank Chu operates on a budget of approximately zero dollars and delivers more cultural value than half the projects in the city's arts funding portfolio.

Say what you will about the 12 Galaxies — the man's work ethic is unimpeachable. San Francisco could learn a thing or two.