Timezone
Redwood City is in the PDT (Pacific Daylight Time) timezone. When the TC is on, the timezone is on normal time again (summertime or DST expires 30 October), which is GMT-8 .
Weather
It is autumn now in the San Francisco Bay Area, which has a mild sea climate. You can expect both rain and sun, with nightly temperatures slightly cold (though well above freezing point), and mostly agreeable in daytime. You can look for yourself at the 5-day weather forecast, available in Celsius and Fahrenheit.
Currency
The local currency is USD or US Dollar (US$). Exchange rates can be found by clicking here. Cash withdrawal machines (ATMs) are quite common, also in the airports. All major credit cards are commonly used as well.
Power & Datacom
Local power is 120 V at 60 Hz. Power plugs are of US type (#102 : 2 parallel flat pins, plus for grounded devices a round pin) - converters are available at any airport and your favourite world travel adapter will always sport the #102 type plug.
Telephone plugs are usually of the modular RJ-11 type. Where wired ethernet/802.3 is offered, the standard modular RJ-45 is commonly used.
The city where the TC takes place has its own website: Redwood City. The neighbouring town is Belmont.
Quite near is the Santa Cruz mountain range that separates the Bay from the Pacific Ocean - in places you find here the giant Sequoia "Coast Redwood" trees. If you rent a car, visiting the Santa Cruz range can very conveniently be followed by hitting the Pacific Coast and driving north to San Francisco. San Francisco itself is described in too numerous webpages, but the wikipedia pages are a good starting point.
There are numerous possibilities for tours and visits in the Bay Area, and also culture and musea are available in a wide variety. If you are a hiker and looking for a 1 or 2 day hike - there are plenty of state parks around which offer good possibilities. In the Santa Cruz mountains for instance the Big Basin Redwoods State Park. On the opposite side of the bay there are also various parks, of which Mount Diablo is certainly recommendable.
