15A Elm Ave
All Photos: Slideshow / Severance Hill / Ticonderoga / Dresden
Book Review: Taken for a Ride.
A short review of Jack Doyle's authorative history on automobile pollution control.
All Fodder / Dreams / Landfills / Pickup Trucks / Second Amendment
Thursday; Riding the Bus; 80% By 2050 is Stupid; Emissions Standards.
Thursday, March 11th 8:25 am
Thursday.
It seems like Thursday has come around once again. That means the weekend isn't all that far away. It looks like the weekend will be rather cloudy and rainy, but so be it. Not every weekend can be as beautiful as last weekend.
Youtube: Toby Keith - American Ride
Much Happier Riding the Bus to Work.
While I like my truck, and I like going to the woods, I absolutely hate commuting. Because I missed the bus the pass couple of days or had business to do in other places in the city, I have been driving in. I really hate driving in the city.
Taking Delaware Avenue isn't as stressful as taking the main arterial on in, but still I find traffic incredibly infuriating. I suffer from the worst case of road rage, and while I haven't shot anybody yet, it's mostly because I don't normally carry a loaded firearm in my car.
80% By 2050 is Stupid.
One of the stupidest ideas I think I've heard in a while is the idea by some that we must be reduce our carbon emissions to 80% of 1990 levels by 2050. The reality is we are going to have a 1/3 more Americans by 2050, with our population increasing to 400 million.
We have politic-ians and enviro-mentalists insisting that such dramatic carbon emission reductions are necessary. At the same time, I look out from desk at work and see the new smoke stacks going up for a new natural gas power plant that is being built to meet our growing needs energy.
It's going to be awful hard just keep our carbon emissions from not dramatically increasing in coming years. With a growing population, not to mention growing prosperity, which means more energy will be consumed to power new devices, it seems only practical to see our carbon emissions increasing.
That said, we have to be looking to conserve. Even if we greatly improve the efficiency of air pollution control technologies and reduce the amount of fuel used to produce a unit of energy, we are most certainly not going to see carbon dioxide emissions dropping.
America Has Better Air Quality Standards Then Most Countries.
Somebody was asking last night why can't Albany adopt one of those high-tech waste incineration plants like they use over in Europe and Japan. The reality is the EPA is a very conservative organization when it comes to air quality control, very worried about new sources of air pollution -- especially from sources not well tested in the United States.
Enviro-mentalists like to pretend air quality standards are lax in America. They point to the history of the EPA punting on standards, most recently with the issue of carbon dioxide emissions. But while the EPA is sometimes slow on some standards, when it comes to tri-pollutants, namely carbon monoxide, nitrous oxides, particulate matter (soot), they are very tough. Likewise, they have gotten a lot better with sulfur dioxide and toxins in recent years, such as heavy metals like mercury.
For waste incineration or similar processing standards, our dioxin standard in America is 100 times tougher then the European Standard. Europe also allows passenger cars to put out much more soot then American cars are allowed to put out. Nowadays, the EPA/California Air Resources Board (CARB) are even pushing tougher diesel heavy duty pickup standards, that have the big car companies thinking they may have to transition over to big block gasoline engines to comply.
Hump Day; Adirondacks; Illegally Parking Politicians.
Wednesday, March 10th 8:32 am
Happy Hump Day.
Today certainly is a bright and sunny morning out there. Make the best of it today. Some music to start out the day.
Youtube: Garth Brooks - Friends in Low Places.
Sunday: Went Up to the Adirondacks.
On Sunday I went up to the Adirondacks to do some snowshoeing. I went up Black Mountain in Dresden between Lake Champlain and Lake George and then later up Severence Hill in Schroon Lake. Adirondacks, and how much different they are from the Catskill Mountains. I spent a little bit of time in Ticonderoga and down by Lake Champlain.
I forgot about the sheer beauty of the Adirondacks. They have such a different feel then the Catskill Mountains. I had actually not been up to Ticonderoga and out that way since I was back in college. The mountains in the Adirondacks are so much different then the Catskills.
I don't like how far the Adirondacks are compared to the Catskills from Delmar. I also find the driving up there to be kind of boring, especially the part driving on the Adirondack Northway. The Northway is pretty once you get inside of the park, but the portion of the suburbanite sprawl along it in Saratoga County is just so tacky and disgusting.
Summer Hiking in the Adirondacks and Catskills.
I do think I will spend more time this summer hiking and spending time in the Adirondacks. It might be a longer drive, but if I spend the weekend camping out in a lean-to or in a tent it will be worth it. I also really want to climb to the top to the top Mount Marcy sometime this spring. That should be really cool.
I've done a great deal of the major peaks in the Catskills. There are still many I haven't done, but all of them have inferior views or are otherwise largely redundent to where I've been before. After doing Slide Mountain, it seems like Cornell and Wittenberg Peaks seem kind of stupid. I do want to finish up TriMount / Boroughs Range this summer, when things aren't real icy or muddy. Black Head (which I partially climbed in the past) and Thomas Cole remain.
To Upload Pics.
I've been slowly but surely been going through pictures and uploading several from the trip. Being that I've been driving to work lately, and stuck at work late, I haven't had much of a chance to blog, much less upload photos. After spending 12 or 13 hours working on reports at work a day, I have no real interest at spending more time uploading photos. That said, I'll see if I can at least get the rest of Black Mountain uploaded sometime today.
Pet Annoyances:
Politicians Who Park Illegally in Bus Stops.
Apparently, if your a politician and it's after 6 PM, it's totally legal to park in a bus stop. No matter if it makes it difficult for patrons to flag down the bus. At least that is the kind of enforcement that Albany Parking Agents seem to follow, when they drive by their cars.
I won't says whose cars I saw illegally parked, although I might note both of them where from Upstate New York, and one of them lives just a block off a main CDTA bus line that runs out there until 10:47 PM, and could have taken the bus home, rather then park ilegally. Th e infamous local politician should know better then parking in a bus stop.
I absolutely have nothing but contempt for people who abuse their power, and all of the corrupt politicians out there. Much has already been said about the current leadership of our state and nation, so I need not say much about it. The good news is election day is coming soon, and hopefully those who choose to park illegally in bus stops will get voted out office.
Exploring the Outdoors.
Adirondacks /
Catskills /
Finger Lakes
Schoharie County / Northern Tier / Taconics
Snowshoeing at Rensselaerville State Forest.
Exploring state reforested lands on the hilltops above Rensselearville.
The Weather.
Today's Sunrise is 6:13 am and Sunset at 5:58 pm for 11 hours and 45 minutes of daylight. It will be dark out 28 minutes after sunset. Tonight the Waning Crescent Moon (23%) will rise after sunset at 3:24 am and set the next day at 3:15 pm. Get out and enjoy it!
Next Thursday the Waxing Crescent Moon (25%) will set around 10:01 pm. Get out and enjoy it! In One Month the Sunrise will happen at 6:20 am and Sunset at 7:34 pm for an increase of 90 minutes of daylight.
On the First Day of Spring the Sunrise will happen at 6:56 am and Sunset at 7:10 pm for an increase of 0 hours and 28 minutes of daylight. There are 9 days remaining until the calender says spring and we have a blizzard in Albany.
Today. 
Mostly cloudy with scattered rain showers. Highs in the upper 40s. Southeast winds around 5 mph. Chance of rain 30 percent.
Tonight. 
Mostly cloudy. A chance of rain after midnight. Lows in the mid 30s. East winds around 5 mph. Chance of rain 30 percent.
Friday. 
Cloudy with a 50 percent chance of rain. Highs in the mid 40s. East winds 5 to 10 mph.
Books I’m Reading.
