Greener rooftops for a greener world (and SF) — The tops of San Francisco’s buildings are slowly turning green. No, it’s not because of some weird chemical reaction with Karl the Fog — the change is happening because of a 2017 law that requires the newest construction in the city to incorporate solar panels and living roofs. With the…

And how to use free tools to dig deeper into your Direct visits — Last week, my website blew up. For several months I’ve been following Christopher Kokoski’s boring content strategy. It involves writing quality, long-form content about topics that get a lot of search traffic but which many people find too dry or too specific to cover. In this case, I wrote a…

And maybe drive safer, too — I’m a Californian, which means I spend lots of time in my car every day. Some people spend a lot more time than me, though. If you have a long commute, live in a remote place, or drive for a living, you probably log tens of thousands of miles and…

The company is beginning active testing of the new standard — Matter is a new home automation standard that aims to get your home automation devices talking to each other. …

The superb lyrebird can mimic chainsaws, cameras and babies — Imagine that you’re walking through the forests of Australia, and you suddenly hear a chainsaw. You spin around, looking for loggers. Only there aren’t any — there’s just a giant, radiant bird staring back at you. The superb lyrebird is endemic to Australia. It’s one of the world’s largest songbirds…

Much of the International Space Station is available to rent — The Pay Transparency Movement is gaining momentum, leading millions of workers to wonder what their time is worth. Most pay transparency seekers have down-to-earth jobs. But what if your 9–5 involves soaring around the earth at 17,000 MPH on a spacecraft like the International Space Station (ISS)? How much is…

Starbucks has been busy this Spring, dropping all kinds of new drinks including their popular Iced Toasted Vanilla Oatmilk Shaken Espresso (try saying that five times fast.) This week, they launched another new drink, the Chocolate Cream Cold Brew. I stopped by the Starbucks in Lafayette, California to grab the…

You can help — I’ve been publishing YouTube videos for over five years now, which has been going very well. My main channel, DIY Life Tech, primarily provides short answers to people’s burning questions about products. “How do I light my Weber grill?” “Is this soccer ball any good?” “Will Swiffer kill my dog?” …

A free, meditative place to stop and smell the roses — Mother’s day just passed, so it’s likely you’ve had a lot of roses in your life lately. If you can’t get enough of the flowers, though, you need to check out Osage Station Park in Danville, a community park in the deep East Bay. At first glance, Osage Station park…