Gonna keep hyping heated mattress pads for comfort and #energy savings. Last night I used a smart plug to measure energy use. Heating my side of the bed for one night used 0.030 kWh. My wife’s side was roughly the same. The house thermostat was set to 55 degrees and we were toasty all night.

Woh, I have even better news re eateries on the Paseo in San Jose #dtsj. Apparently a new place is coming to the former Togo’s spot. It’s called Pretty Good Advice, a #vegetarian place with a couple locations in Santa Cruz. It’s kind of farm-to-table meets burgers. They’re aiming to open this week.

Gonna keep hyping heated mattress pads for comfort and #energy savings. Last night I used a smart plug to measure energy use. Heating my side of the bed for one night used 0.030 kWh. My wife’s side was roughly the same. The house thermostat was set to 55 degrees and we were toasty all night.

Another holiday gift for the 10+ kids in your life: the #boardgame Dorf Romantik. I *love* this game. It's easy to learn but ramps up, it's cooperative, beautiful, and has a reasonable play time (<1 hr). It's also incredibly re-playable, with a brilliant campaign mode.

Just (finally) ate at Sumi Sushi on the Paseo (between 3rd & 4th). Quite good, very affordable. I’ll be back. #dtsj

Roosevelt Community Center is giving out Christmas toys on Sunday, Dec 7. To donate, drop off unwrapped toys by 12/6 at any of the following: - City Hall, 18th flr - Roosevelt Comm Center - Bizzy Fit Meals (1657 McKee Rd #60) - The Last Round Tavern (354 E Santa Clara) - War Fitness, 899 S 1st St

Hi everybody, It's Black Friday, a big day for us at The Onion, since we rely almost entirely on your memberships. Our goal for 2026? More print subscribers than the Washington Post. This is, somehow, feasible. So sign up! A year of print is $75 for the year today. Help us do a very funny thing.

This. For every city. Especially San Jose #dtsj

Another holiday gift for the 10+ kids in your life: the #boardgame Dorf Romantik. I *love* this game. It's easy to learn but ramps up, it's cooperative, beautiful, and has a reasonable play time (<1 hr). It's also incredibly re-playable, with a brilliant campaign mode.

Woh, I have even better news re eateries on the Paseo in San Jose #dtsj. Apparently a new place is coming to the former Togo’s spot. It’s called Pretty Good Advice, a #vegetarian place with a couple locations in Santa Cruz. It’s kind of farm-to-table meets burgers. They’re aiming to open this week.

Dumpling PSA: there’s buy one, get one 50% off on dumplings at MeiMei on the Paseo (between 3rd and 4th) in San Jose. Deal ends today. #dtsj

Support your local bookstores this giving season. Not sure they have what you want? Just call! It’s easy to buy online, but how sad would you be if your local bookseller went out of business? Very sad, right? In San Jose, @hicklebees.bsky.social & @booksinc.bsky.social #gifts #books

Support your local bookstores this giving season. Not sure they have what you want? Just call! It’s easy to buy online, but how sad would you be if your local bookseller went out of business? Very sad, right? In San Jose, @hicklebees.bsky.social & @booksinc.bsky.social #gifts #books

Another #gift recommendation for kids 10+: Roker wood sets. Kinda like a less-expensive Lego set but without all the plastic. This one was apparently tricky but my son enjoyed making it, and the clock and cuckoo actually work.

Here’s the best cranberry relish recipe I’ve ever had. You should try it because it’s easy and much more delicious than the usual cranberry glob

This Op-Ed in @sanjosespotlight.com rightly calls out a literal old boys club that has filed various NIMBY lawsuits to try to prevent much-needed improvements to St James Park in San Jose. The city deserves better, and if you’re able please contact your city council member before Dec 2nd. #dtsj

Here’s the best cranberry relish recipe I’ve ever had. You should try it because it’s easy and much more delicious than the usual cranberry glob

This makes sense to those of us that live downtown. Also: underrated bicycling city. Flat, pretty good bike lanes, excellent weather year-round, bike-friendly transit. #dtsj

Have kids 10+ years old and looking for a good gift? I heartily recommend the book What If? by Randall Munroe @xkcd.com My 13-yr-old has been re-reading it and he likes to share the weird insights from the book. I also often hear him cackling while reading.

Most people have never heard of #radon, but it’s a serious health risk. EPA (before RFK Jr) estimated the US experiences ~21,000 deaths/yr from lung cancer related to #radon exposure. It’s the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers. A thread on radon in homes (1/11)

Most people have never heard of #radon, but it’s a serious health risk. EPA (before RFK Jr) estimated the US experiences ~21,000 deaths/yr from lung cancer related to #radon exposure. It’s the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers. A thread on radon in homes (1/11)

We were curious about housing availability in/near downtown Boise. This is from Redfin, all 2 br, 1000+ sqft homes. Some folks may not believe that more housing = lower prices, but they surely would concede that with this many homes for sale some of the prices are gonna come down.

🎄 is coming!

Saturday night vibes

PSA: just bag your own dang groceries at Trader Joe’s. You’re buying innovative snacks, you’re not royalty.

Maybe we’re not *such* a bad country. I mean, we have our moments.

🚨 Postdoctoral opportunities! 🚨 Hello #econsky! We are hiring 2 postdocs in the department of economics at UCalgary for those working in *electricity economics* Term: 2 years Pay: $80,000/yr + benefits + $10k research allowance Start: July 2026 Details in next two posts 👇

Insane but true fact: making US roads as safe as Canadian, Australian, or European roads would save more lives than eliminating murder from the US.

I hope every person who uses the same Wordle word every day eventually meets and falls in love with someone who changes their Wordle word every day.

There are a lot of green product labels out there. I figured I'd share some that have credibility among green building professionals. I'll start with GreenGuard Gold, which is a common certification for paints & coatings. It sets limits on VOC emissions & relies on best-practice test methods. #IAQ

I like the term “safer climate”. It’s not something I’ve seen, but it might be a useful term of art to convey the severity of climate concerns to everyday life. I do fear climate concerns remain abstract and somewhat esoteric to most folks.

There are a lot of green product labels out there. I figured I'd share some that have credibility among green building professionals. I'll start with GreenGuard Gold, which is a common certification for paints & coatings. It sets limits on VOC emissions & relies on best-practice test methods. #IAQ

For some reason I decided to look up Aldous Harding’s video for The Barrel. I’m entranced, cannot stop watching. What is happening?

Quick FAQ on heated mattress pads: Q: do the move around on the bed? A: no, they stay in place like a fitted sheet Q: can you feel the pad? A: no, it’s smooth Q: does it get hot, like a heating pad? A: at the lowest levels it’s not hot to the touch at all but still keeps the bed warm

“straight up giving the president a bar of gold” is where we’re at now on the “corruption isn’t real” scale good work, John Roberts

Colleague yesterday told me he recently for an F150 Lighting #EV. Seems to really love it, but reported the mileage in the cold wasn’t great. I wondered if was due to the heater and he said the new Lightning has a *heat pump* to serve the cabin.

With the Christmas / shopping season coming, I strongly recommend Games Unlimited (@gamesunl.bsky.social), a board game shop in Pittsburgh, PA. Three things: 1) free shipping on purchases >$100 2) the website has lots of useful game reviews w/ videos 3) they have a great newsletter #boardgames

This is your friendly reminder to change the air filter in your HVAC system. Ideally the filter should be MERV-10 or higher and must completely fill the housing. Top: old filter Bottom: new filter #IAQ

Good statement from the US conference of Catholic Bishops

Next Tue, Nov 18: Join us for a convo about the evolving landscape of affordable housing finance, the impacts of federal disruptions, and policy opportunities to support growth in Massachusetts and beyond. @masshousing.bsky.social @harvardkennedy.bsky.social www.jchs.harvard.edu/calendar/aff...

Another day, another multifamily project with a central heat pump water heater. This time, a Nyle e360 system, 3-4 COP efficiency, operational to 10 degrees F. Also, nice to see them advertising their use of a lower-GWP refrigerant, R513A.

With the Christmas / shopping season coming, I strongly recommend Games Unlimited (@gamesunl.bsky.social), a board game shop in Pittsburgh, PA. Three things: 1) free shipping on purchases >$100 2) the website has lots of useful game reviews w/ videos 3) they have a great newsletter #boardgames

Interesting video on the history of Penn Station in NYC and the challenges w trying to refurbish it. #transit

new Plain English podcast w/@dkthomp.bsky.social is titled "Are Young People Screwed?" My wife & I were just discussing this. Feels like Thompson gets it but his guests don't. Uncertainty & insecurity w/r/t housing & employment affects quality of life more than [financially secure] people think.

New Barr Brothers album dropped last month. A bit of a different sound but I’m really enjoying it. #barrbrothers

Subscribe, follow, consume work by actual journalists. You may not always like how NY Times or WaPo or BBC report things. But it's unthinkable that they'd just published slop. Also: you can/should support other real news outlets like @propublica.org, or local ones like @sanjosespotlight.com

They laughed at me for not taking down the Christmas lights in January. Well, well… who’s laughing now?

This may seem nit-picky, but why does YouTube TV require me to click a couple links to get the $20 credit (bc of the ongoing stand-off with Disney/ESPN)? Why not just put a $20 credit in my account automatically? ... sneaky bastards...

You know how I know AI will never replace real music? Because it’s fucking amazing to see someone perform actual music in front of you.

☕️ We’re holding office hours! Join me for Coffee with a Councilmember at Playback Coffee on November 21 at 4:30. I’ll be there to answer your questions and fill you in with what our office and your city government is doing to serve our D3 neighbors. See you there! RSVP: bit.ly/TordillosCoffee