March 30, 2016 Update

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Lots of sun this morning and at the 9 o’clock hour we are looking at 32 degrees as we head up to 57 degrees. Listening to Bobby Vinton’s Please Don’t Stop Loving Me as I head downtown on this sunny morning. The lack of wind and ample bright sunshine makes it feel quite warm.

Tonight in about 10 hours the sun will set around 7:20 PM with last light of the day around 7:50. Clear evening, around 50 degrees for the evening hour. I wouldn’t mind going to the park this evening, but we will see how things go at work. Without the last quarter moon rising until 12:45 AM, it will be a good night for viewing the stars, especially beyond the city lights.

Two months from now it will be Memorial Day. Seems hard to believe, especially with such cold weather predicted for the weekend.
On 1909, the Queensboro Bridge in New York City opens, linking Manhattan and Queens. Ed Koch would be proud. That said, I like my pickup truck and I like the Chinese food in Canastota.

Happy Birthday to former Alaskan US Senator Mark Begich. A one term senator, he was a member of the Democratic party and defeated Ted Stevens who was in the middle of a major corruption scandal.

March 30, 2016 Morning

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Good morning, Cold start to our Hump Day, around 29 degrees under Partly Cloudy skies. Despite the cold start, it will warm up to a pleasant 57 degrees under sunny skies. Light breeze. 50 degrees and partly cloudy around 7 PM and the low of 46 degrees by 6 AM. Sunset tonight at 7:20 PM.

Have a great Hump Day.

March 29, 2016 Night

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Definitely warmed up this evening when the wind died down. 37 degrees now with a west – northwest breeze at 13 mph or less. Lots of stars up above on this clear early spring night. Going to drop to 26 degrees by daybreak, which is 6 degrees below normal but far above that cold night in 1946 when it got down to zero. The last quarter moon will be rising around midnight.

Tomorrow, 56 degrees and pleasant. Increasing clouds in the afternoon, not so windy. Sunrise in about eight and a half hours at 6:39 AM with first light around 6:10. Should be a nice day, consider eating your lunch outside tomorrow.

11 weeks from now is Flag Day, this year falling on a Tuesday, June 14th. The average high is 78 degrees. Dreaming of those warm summer days for sure….

Started playing with the CDTA real time bus info API. I have some interesting ideas for coding projects. I also went down to the library for a while then out for my evening walk. Bought some milk at Stewart’s, watched most of the PBS Newshour and now I’m in bed, ready for a good night’s sleep. Sleep well.

As Phil Ochs once sung, “Tomorrow will bring happiness or at least another day.”

NYS State Population

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As of July 1, 2015 there are 13.5 million residents of the Metropolitan Region of New York State (the “MTA Counties”). This includes all of Long Island (Suffolk and Nassau counties), along with the Five Boroughs of New York City, and the Quarter Pounders (Dutchess, Orange, Rockland, and Putnam counties). This is 68% of the state’s population.

In contrast there are 6.3 million residents outside of the Metropolitan region, representing 42% of the state’s population.

11% of the state’s population, resides within the counties of Erie (Buffalo), Monroe (Rochester), and Onondaga County (Syracuse). The remaining 31% of the non-metropolitan population resides in 42 other counties.

The total state population as of July 1, 2015 is estimated to be 19.7 million.

March 29, 2016 Evening

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Good evening on this clear and chilly evening. The mercury reads 45 degrees but it is breezy making it feel cold out at the bus stop. Tonight we are looking at freezing temperatures, with mercury expected to drop to 26. The wind is expected to die down somewhat after dark. By the time you read this post, it will be twilight but darkness won’t overcome the landscape in Albany until 7:47 PM. We are almost at the last quarter moon, it will rise around midnight.

In case you didn’t realize, tomorrow is Hump Day. Going to be a nice day for the Hump, with sunny conditions and temperatures around 56 without that biting wind. Maybe March will end like a lamb but April will start as a lion. The high for Sunday April 3rd is expected to be 33 degrees which is 22 degrees below normal. The Sunday night look for 21 degrees as a low. Not a record breaking low, but only 6 degrees above the record low of 16 degrees set back in 1954.

It was a good if not real exciting day at work. Things kept moving slowly long as we head towards the frigid weekend and trout fishing season. Warmer weather will be upon us before you know, the aggression of winter must succumb to the increasing sun angle. Gas prices are already going up in preparation for summer driving season and the need for gasolines that reduce smog.