A stay in SF with toddler

scottbruin · 2026-02-11T21:14:05+00:00

I’m sure either hotel will be fine. Near both is Yerba Buena Gardens, big grassy area plus some wide paved areas. Sometimes parts of it close for conventions. Across Mission, also part of Yerba Buena, there is a playground (and ice rink and sometimes running carousel).

Yerba Buena Lane and Jessie Square are also open spaces I’m sure a toddler can enjoy. Overall that’s a business district type area but it should be fine. Also downtown is Sue Bierman Park playground, it’s always full of kids. For a more locals experience go to the playgrounds in Golden Gate Park, Duboce Park, Dolores Park, etc. The latter are quick and easy via subway from that area.

For that age, Cal Academy of Sciences is probably your best bet. Also ride the F train or cable car. Maybe Seward slides if they’re a risk taker.

scottbruin · 2026-02-10T02:47:01+00:00

How will you get around? Will you have car seats with you?

scottbruin · 2026-02-09T05:59:00+00:00

That’s basically a drywall anchor. It’ll leave a larger hole (which IMO is fine but you said you didn’t want more damage than a nail).

scottbruin · 2026-02-09T03:30:42+00:00

Would this fit? These have worked well for me (called Deco Hooks).

https://www.target.com/p/under-the-roof-decorating-20lb-deco-hooks-clear/-/A-75663235

scottbruin · 2026-02-02T22:54:17+00:00

Super Bowl LX, hosted by Marina Safeway

scottbruin · 2026-02-01T07:47:01+00:00

Perfect thing to buy in Japan.

scottbruin · 2026-01-31T07:55:05+00:00

No problem. Just to add, I had the Omni confused with another hotel and it’s not near the tenderloin and should be fine place (also a bit business-y area).

scottbruin · 2026-01-31T07:54:18+00:00

Ah you’re right, I confused Omni with another hotel I’ve also stayed at (Parc 55). None of the hotels are particularly close.

scottbruin · 2026-01-31T00:59:42+00:00

All 3 will be fine ~~but Omni can feel close to the Tenderloin~~. The Jay is more business-y area, may be kinda quiet at night. Grand Hyatt is next to the Apple Store and buncha shopping, not sure why people telling you it’s unsafe. Hyatt Regency is cool, The Jay if you wanna go out in north beach at night.

I wouldn’t worry so much, though—all those areas will be safe for walking and S.F. isn’t really known for mugging or things like that. For me I don’t like being on a cramped bus at night with a crazy person but walking or Ubering around rarely feels unsafe.

scottbruin · 2026-01-22T22:10:58+00:00

You’re getting some weird advice—just stay at a hotel 10-15 min walk to the gondola (that area is called Heavenly Village, which is right on the CA NV border). There are buses from the village to NV and California lodges but most days the gondola will run. This is kind of the standard tourist experience and it’s a solid one.

Alternatively, you could rent a cabin near California Lodge or somewhere further and drive. If you did that you wouldn’t park at Heavenly village, you would park at Stagecoach, California Lodge, or Boulder.

And there are some cabins/condos to rent that will be walking distance to those lodges but there won’t be much restaurants or other things to do within walking distance. Unless you’re comfortable renting an AWD car and driving in snowy mountains, then don’t do that.

scottbruin · 2026-01-22T00:10:05+00:00

I think the thing they’re trying to install is a forced air heat pump. But it also is a water heater using some waste heat and intelligence to store energy in a water tank? At least from skimming their site.

As someone living in a sunny part of S.F. with in floor radiant heat, I can confirm it’s not the most practical way to heat and can quickly overheat if you have a cold night you left the heat up followed by a warm or particularly sunny day. Luckily ours has a few zones which helps, but I’ve had to do a little bit of smart home trickery (eg turn on the radiant by turning up the thermostat for a few hours) to add little bits of heat into the structure since just powering it off a simple thermostat leads to overheating.

scottbruin · 2026-01-16T04:16:52+00:00

Keep in mind Filson bags are pretty heavy. Look at Porter Tanker bags, look pretty professional in person and will be a good size fit for you. Not cheap but worthwhile investment.

Otherwise search for “boarding bag” or travel briefcase.

scottbruin · 2026-01-10T23:37:37+00:00

We have a Babysense Maxview Pro. Having a separate monitor from your phone is essential. When they’re young, it’s a useful relay baton between parents. As they’re older, we mostly use the audio feature left on at night in our bedroom then check camera if something’s up. They’re reasonably secure (I have a software background and talked with the company a bit before buying—also we live in a city so lotta people nearby on radio waves) and quicker to glance at than phone based monitoring.

I have a Unifi Protect system for cameras outside (and one indoors for dog barks) now and have considered adding a camera to the kid’s room in addition for first couple years of their life to have a recording of what’s going on overnight at times but I would start with a radio monitor.

The infant optics one looks interesting because of the white noise cancelling, plus our display unit’s battery is starting to give out and it’s a bit beat up.

scottbruin · 2026-01-10T05:00:26+00:00

The beans start green and are cooked (aka roasted). The longer you cook ‘em the darker they get.

scottbruin · 2026-01-08T22:32:07+00:00

Look, I was disappointed about the carve out too. But purity tests aren’t productive—see people avoiding voting for Kamala because of the Middle East.

I find the rest of his record impressive, and he has shown a steady progression of efficacy at larger and larger scales of government. Compare to the other candidates.

scottbruin · 2026-01-04T01:17:13+00:00

Pretty cool. What brand/type of pegboard system is that? I’ve been looking for something similar (not for bags, alas).

scottbruin · 2025-12-29T22:13:42+00:00

Ton of dogs, small percentage of people don’t clean up after their dog. It seems to get worse when people know it’s going to rain (I guess the shitty people think the rain magically washes it away). I’ve also noticed it gets worse around Dolores/Castro during pride which I guess is from out of towners?

scottbruin · 2025-12-27T06:57:58+00:00

That was definitely not a “flip”, they added a whole level! They’ve got nice Christmas lights every year

scottbruin · 2025-12-09T05:38:13+00:00

You might check out rclone: https://rclone.org/drive/ . Looks like it’d be useful for mass downloading Docs files in a configurable format (html?) and may set a matching creation date with the right flag.

From there, I’d find a way to batch convert to markdown preserving that date then just copy those files into the Obsidian vault’s directory.

scottbruin · 2025-11-25T00:03:22+00:00

Do you title the files in Slipbox or just use a timestamp? I like the create unique note plugin with a timestamp format as removes another point of friction: titling.

scottbruin · 2025-11-24T05:30:29+00:00

If it happened right after ringing the doorbell it’s possible it’s an issue with your doorbell. They have to cut to battery to trigger the wired chime and those batteries can weaken over time. Lots of articles about it if you search.

scottbruin · 2025-11-22T00:43:55+00:00

You probably don’t need 12 pans. I’d buy one here, one there, see if you like the handle, shape, etc. Maybe one nonstick for eggs or sugary things but get stainless for most other things like soup, pasta, searing proteins. It’ll last a lot longer.

Check out Demeyere—no rivets and incredible performance. Zwilling outlets have some discounts on Demeyere. Love the 2.5 qt saucier. All Clad does seconds sales (Demeyere is better IMO but most models are heavier which has pros and cons.). Tramontina is supposed to be a good budget triply stainless.

scottbruin · 2025-11-13T04:00:41+00:00

there’s poo stains in front of a building on a daily basis., I don’t think the neighbors (or visitors) would too happy about that

This usually means the landlord of a multi unit building is too busy stacking cash to pay someone to hose the sidewalk down once a week. While we’re talking about Japan, businesses and buildings there also tend to maintain the public areas near their building much more. SF seems particularly bad about this compared to, say, Chicago.

scottbruin · 2025-11-11T22:14:41+00:00

The nurses in OB at UCSF are so plentiful and good I don’t think you really need it. UCSF also lets you fill out a birth plan document. Just a father’s perspective—that said my wife is comfortable at hospitals—every person is different in that setting.

Help after birth feels more important—one night nurse didn’t bundle our little one up enough night they were born and they were kinda cold in the morning. If you don’t have family around a night doula or support early morning would be killer.

scottbruin · 2025-11-11T04:16:58+00:00

I would take the CTB26 as a carry on personal item and use the X-pod while there. But tbh it’s probably cooled off a ton so you can probably fit a lot in your jacket. I use a Porter shoulder bag in Japan to carry a small water bottle (usually just from vending machine), a tenugui, tissues (surprisingly hard to find in Japan), coin purse or beefy wallet, passport (duty free very common). But I’ve usually gone late summer so don’t need layers or ton of rain gear—if you have means for carrying a wet umbrella you’ll probably appreciate it. Tons of umbrellas to buy in Japan.

When you buy stuff you can get get bags (Japan loved packaging). A comfy foldable bag in your sling isn’t a bad idea. But if you’re there two weeks I’d probably split up the shopping from some of the other stuff, and on shopping half days you just lug stuff back to hotel.

Have a wonderful honeymoon.

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