See you on Thursday at The Skybar

[othniel77.livejournal.com]

The DNC and Somerville

[arakasi.livejournal.com]

Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone: "We're going to look at closing neighborhood streets if the gridlock gets so severe that we're facing severe gridlock." Medford may follow suit. More (but not much) info in this Boston Globe article.

air conditioners

[bratling.livejournal.com]

if you're thinking about buying an in-window air conditioner this year, this may be a good time to do it. i was at the Somerville Home Despot (sic) this morning, and they had Maytag 6000 BTU air conditioners with remote control for $120. no kidding.

i didn't check the energy efficiency rating, and at that price i expect it's not high, but at that price, it'll take a few years before the electric bill exceeds your savings. a couple weeks ago i saw 6000 BTU air conditioners at Economy Hardware in Central Square for $200.

after the summer five or six years ago when i gladly paid $350 for a 5000 BTU air conditioner -- the last one sears had in stock -- seeing $120 just makes my jaw drop. :-)

if you are getting an AC, i suggest getting one with a real thermostat, rather than "hi-med-low" settings. last year i replaced my old one with a Kenmore with an electronic thermostat. being able to set it to (say) 75 degrees and forget it is great -- it doesn't run all the time, thus using less energy. ones with timers to turn them off (for going to sleep) are nice, too.

anyway. saw the $120 unit and now i'm babbling ... :-)