March 29, 2016 Update

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As we head into the 9 o’clock hour, we are seeing more sun peaking out from the clouds but we are still at 37 degrees with the wind whipping around. About 1 pm the skies will be partly clear and 42 degrees and by time we get out of work at 5 pm and he skies will be mostly clear and 44 degrees. Expect a sustained wind of 22 mph with gusts up to 44 mph, which is good for the wind turbines but will make for a kind of cold day.

Today is Tuesday but it still is one more day closer to the weekend. I’m going to stay in town on what promises to be a frigid weekend but may go trout fishing in the Catskill Creek one of the days during the weekend. I also want to clean out the fridge, and take a bunch of bottles and cans to the transfer station. I also want to fix the wiring in the truck cap and finish organizing my camping gear.

Today in 1973, the United States starts withdrawing from Vietnam pursuant to the Paris Peace agreement signed in January of 73. Also in 1929, Herbert Hoover has installed the first phone in the Oval Office.

March 29, 2016 Morning

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Just be glad you don’t need an umbrella this morning as the wind is whipping around on this Tuesday morning. Wind gusts up to 43 mph. The wind is roaring. Mostly cloudy this morning and 37 degrees. Feels cold with the wind. Later today will be mostly sunny and 44 degrees but breezy which is about six degrees below normal. Transit of the sun at 12:59 this afternoon and sunset at 7:19 pm.

We may be in the second gear of the week but you know it is passing gear and so well be up to speed on the weekend before you know it.

March 28, 2016 Night

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Good evening folks. 41 degrees and blustery with on and off showers this evening. A 24 mph wind this evening with his gusts up to 44 mph. Hold on to your steering wheel when venturing out tonight. 36 degrees for a low.

11 hours and 22 minutes of darkness tonight with a sunrise at 6:39 AM and twilight at 6:11. It’s almost like there wasn’t a time change with all of the increase in daylight in the morning. Breezy conditions continue tomorrow and there will be lots of clouds to start out the day with increasing clearness by late. With the breeze tomorrow it will feel quite cold for late March, and the high at 45 degrees is about five degrees below normal. Wednesday will make up for it, with temperatures around 56 degrees and plenty of sun and just a modest breeze.

I hope you had a good Monday!

March 28, 2016 Evening

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I was tired but somehow I made it through a Monday at work. Taking the local yokel bus on home. It was pouring the first time I ran out to bus stop but missed it. I ended up missing it by a few seconds. So I went back into the office and picked up my dinner which I left in the work frig. Now it’s mostly cloudy and 50 degrees. A continued chance of rain showers throughout the evening but it will diminish at night progresses. Later the wind will pick up for a quite breezy low around 36. Sunset tonight at 7:17 pm which is 1 minute and 9 seconds later then tonight. More sun tomorrow but blustery with a chilly high of 45. Five degrees below normal.

Tonight I have to go to the supermarket and also pick up an umbrella. In other words probably Walmart. I like the one stop shopping experience. Hopefully the state will raise the minimum wage to $15, to help the working folk out at Walmart. Workers there should also unionize. But I guess I’m drifting off topic.

March 28, 2016 Morning

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I don’t know where I put my umbrella, but it was pouring rain when I left home for the bus stop. 41 degrees this morning, and it’s going to get up to 51 degrees with more rain, although somewhat tapering off this evening. Slept into to 8 AM this morning and caught the late bus in, because I didn’t get to bed until after midnight, as I didn’t get home until late because I went out to my parents house late on Sunday for Easter dinner and to do wash.

Happy Dyngus Day for those out in Buffalo and many Midwestern states where it’s a big holiday due to the large Polish populations and a need to celebrate something from the good old days as deindustrialization leaves mostly toxic brownfields and no jobs.

Sunset at 7:18 pm for 12 hours and 35 minutes of daylight, an increase of 2:35 over yesterday. Waning Gibbous Moon at 11:30 with 2/3rds illuminated. The new moon is Saturday April 9th.

Today in 1979 was the Three Mile Nuclear Disaster at the nuclear power plant outside of Harrisburg, Penna on the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania farm country. Starting at 4 AM, a series of operator errors lead to Unit 2 to have an internal meltdown and the release of some radioactive gasses. Nearby residents reported having a burning metal taste in their mouths, and some cancers increased. Many people were evacuated around the plant. The many dairy farmers who came back daily to milk and feed their cows, have to viewed as heroes.  Official studies suggest that the amount of radioactivity released was relatively low, and while Unit 2 was forever destroyed, the Unit 1 plant was brought back online about a ten years later.

March 27, 2016 Night

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Good evening. I hope you had a good holiday weekend and enjoyed your Easter.  For a little while longer we will have partly cloudy skies but more clouds creep in around midnight. Currently 47 degrees. The Waning Gibbons Moon moon is visible in the east. Rain and 52 degrees expected for tomorrow morning. The sun will be rising at 6:43 AM on Monday.

I had a good day, although I got kind of dehydrated, sunburn and a bit sick out hiking back from Middleburgh Cliff. The trail was a bit more up and down then I had remembered from hiking it years ago, and while the morning was cold, the sun came out and without shade from the leaves, it got very hot int he woods quicky.

Once I was fully rehydrated, I was a feeling achy but better, but I should have brought more then 40 oz water with me, wore a hat and lots of sunscreen. At least I didn’t die or have to be hospitalized for heat stroke. This time of year with no shade and cold mornings can get deceptively hot and get a nasty sunburn. Still pretty achy this evening, and we will see in the morning on how sunburnt I got. Hopefully no pealing skin or reddish skin.

I got back to my truck about 5 PM, which was much later then expected, but after getting overheated on the trail I had to stop, and I also ended up stopping several times to make phone calls for work. But being only 40 minutes from home, I was able to make it out to my parents house at a reasonable hour for Easter dinner. Regardless it was a nice hike out to Middleburgh Cliff, even if the hiking was a little more vigorous then first expected.

Regardless, it was a good day. Got my wash done and I think I’ll be in bed by midnight. Got much of my gear unpacked, and while the cooler and buckets need to be washed, that will have to wait until morning. I got my clothes put away. I have some more gear to get out of the truck, but I think I want to clear out the bed of my truck as I need to fix some wiring in the truck cap and need room to take a bunch of bottles and cans to the transfer station. Want to get everything kind of inventoried and ready for the spring camping season too.