April 14, 2016 Night

Good evening. It was a pretty nice day but the mercury is dropping fast on its way down to what is now expected to be 29 degrees by daybreak. But as fast as it goes down under clear skies, it will climb back up come morning. First quarter moon sets at 3 AM and sunrise at 6:11. Blue skies and lots of light to get you up and going tomorrow.

I walked down to the park this evening and played on my laptop until after dark. I really should have just brought my book, as I don’t really need to waste more time on the Internet. Regardless, I like how I have until well after 8 PM now before it gets dark out. Tomorrow I might bring a book down to the river and go fishing. I know if I want something I can clean and eat, I should go out to Lawson Lake which is equidistant but I like sitting down by the river with a book, watching the boats go by, and be able to stop on in Glenmont and buy beer and supplies on the way home. If it’s warm out during the weekend evenings I want to get some Corona and drink it out back. None of that cheap Budweiser stuff now that it’s getting truly nice out. Maybe my neighbors will have a fire out back tomorrow night and I can join them.

Still totally psyched about that MMQGIS plug in that lets you export KML data with basic styling data attached. I tweaked a few lines in the code of the plug-in to improve th output, but I’m pretty happy with the result. Good stuff. Lots more KML maps coming soon. I should also update the county /regional KML maps with the latest data I got from the DEC and I have ideas for further improvements to my blog’s KML viewer.

I hate all the politics stuff in Facebook lately. I tend to think that the national Democratic Party has really gone off the rails lately, with their extreme liberal positions and their mostly pro-urban poor agenda. Most Americans live in the suburbs, most are not colored or poor. I respect people of all races, but our political dialog can’t solely be about a small sector of the electorate. Donald Trump is a buffoon and Ted Cruz is nuts. But this whole hyperpartisan national debate does nothing for any of us. I just want a boring government that provides a quality education to our kids, invests in our parks, libraries and cultural institutions. I want a government that stays out of my business but keeps my community safe from drugs and crime. I just really hate politics these days. I don’t know if in November I will vote for Trump or Clinton. Well see.

That red light bulb helps a lot with the sleep. It’s sounds stupid but killing the lights in my apartment except for that one red bulb is so much easier on my eyes, very calming, and makes sleep come a lot easier for more restful nights. Ever since I got my Smartphone and started blogging before bed, I’ve had trouble sleeping. Now with the red light every night, I always wake up well rested. Stupid but it works for me. I also avoid my computer an hour before bed, so I have as little blue light as possible.

Good night. Sleep well.

April 14, 2016 Evening

Not quite as warm as earlier due to the declining sun angle but still nice. Sunny and 54 degrees currently. Your going to want a long sleeve shirt and sweater this evening as it will be 49 degrees when the sun sets at 7:37 pm and darkness at 8:06 pm. Tonight will be cool, about 30 degrees which is seven degrees below normal. Tomorrow in contrast will reach 62 degrees or warmer.

The express bus got cut off in front of city hall and the driver hit the service brake but avoided hitting the cars on both sides of it. The driver stopped briefly to inspect the bus to be certain but we are on our way home. The 787 is super congested tonight but the driver is maximizing use of the left lane and the gore. Being a bus, your bigger and have more passengers so you get to go first. Lots of accidents on the 787 tonight due to the nice weather and people forget how to drive.

First quarter moon tonight and it will set around 3 AM, leaving very starry skies. Do plan for temperatures reaching 30 degrees and frost advisories are out. The real nice weather comes for the weekend but be aware with the recent cold weather nothing has budded up much in the mountains combined with a low dew point and a breeze. Dehydration is also a risk and heat exhaustion because finding shade will be difficult in the woods this weekend.

With the fire danger, I’m taking backcountry camping at a local state forest off the agenda for this weekend. Instead I’ll just go down to the park after the Save the Pine Bush clean up or maybe out fishing. Maybe hit up some trout holes on Sunday or maybe go hiking, but I got to be careful of heat exhaustion because it will be hot, especially in the mountains where there are no leaves on the trees. But after tonight, I don’t see any below freezing weather for the foreseeable future and with highs every day in the 50s and 60s, things will green up.

It was a pretty crazy day at work today and the commute home was even crazier. But it will be nice tonight down at the park.

April 14, 2016 9 AM Update

Blue skies and about as clear as I can remember it in recent times. The Helderbergs look like they are next door. 40 degrees on our way up to 56 degrees. Or as the weatherman reports it, fair. Spring like with green grass and the trees budding up in the city but no leaves yet. Spring is tardy this year in the city, but I believe it will come. That sunrise was early and the sun was in my eyes by 6:15 AM.

Listening to Tommy James and the Shondells’ Crystal Blue Persuasion. Taking the express bus downtown. Nice day for sure and a nice long run on the weather. Three Thursdays from now will be Cinco de Mayo.

Happy Birthday to Loretta Lynn, the country western singer of hits like Coal Miners Daughter and of course The Pill. Nobody could ever forget her for sure.

Today in 1958,Β Β the Soviet satellite Sputnik 2 falls from orbit after a mission duration of 162 days. This was the first spacecraft to carry a living animal, a dog named Laika. The female dog likely lived only a few hours. Regardless, it was an enormous step forward for man kind in our effort to conquer outer space.

Got a recall notice for my truck, but ironically it’s for a part that I don’t even have on my truck any more.Β GM is offering to replace broken middle leaf springs on 2011 Chevy Silverados in the northeast. Fortunately for me, that won’t be an issue with GM, because I replaced the leaf springs with bigger ones when I put the lift kit on my truck. This did happen in college on my old Ford Ranger though. Watkins Spring replaced it, and it wasn’t too expensive. So after I read through the notice carefully, I tossed it in the paper garbage to get burnt the next time I’m out camping. Helps prevent identity theft, and recycles trash into fire starters. Hah!

Still undecided about camping this weekend, but now I’m leaning towards it.Β Going to be a nice weekend. I’m disappointed that I have the Save the Pine Bush 40 Karner Road clean-up on Saturday, but maybe I still can get out camping in the evening. We will see. It depends how I feel come tomorrow night, when I would have to pack if I plan on going out.

April 14, 2016 Morning

For Look High in the Sky Day we have nothing but blue skies and 32 degrees on the mercury. 54 degrees for the high and 31 degrees for the low tonight. First quarter moon under brilliantly clear skies tonight.

Going to be a nice Thursday. And actually looking through next Wednesday – as far as NOAA predicts – no clouds or rain are predicted with seasonable or even somewhat above temperatures predicted.

Get out and enjoy this beautiful weather. We all deserve it, been a tough winter.