A nice spring evening

Walking back from the park was nice this evening with the full moon lighting the landscape. Walking on Van Dyke Road there was still a little light backlighting Wolf Hill. 

I’ve always liked looking at the hilltowns and the wilds of the Heldehergs. The mountains still stir my soul, although in recent years I’ve fallen more in love with Pennsylvania Wilds, if more because I agree with the philosophy of that state when it comes to the management of their wilds. West Virginia is amazing too but I have more reservations about how things work in that state. 

Sitting out back in my lawn chair, drinking a beer. Some clouds but lots of moonlight. Still 74 degrees which is as nice as any summer night. Not so much noise from the spring peepers tonight but lots of motorcycles roaring around. 

I can’t wait for summer. 

April 10, 2017 – Looking Ahead This Week

We definitely have a pretty nice week coming up for mid-April, although Easter looks a bit dicey. But rain is good because with these low dew points things will dry out fast and things might not get a chance to green up quick enough.

Weather Summary
Tonight. Partly Cloudy and 55 degrees , 6:18 sunrise.
Tuesday. Partly Sunny then Chance of T-storms and 81 degrees , 45 max dew point, 7:33 sunset.
Tuesday Night. Chance of T-storms then Chance of Showers and 57 degrees , 6:16 sunrise.
Wednesday. Chance of Showers and 62 degrees , 56 max dew point, , 7:34 sunset.
Wednesday Night. Partly Cloudy and 39 degrees , , 6:14 sunrise.
Thursday. Mostly Sunny and 58 degrees , , 7:35 sunset.
Thursday Night. Partly Cloudy and 39 degrees , , 6:13 sunrise.
Friday. Mostly Sunny and 60 degrees , , 7:36 sunset.
Friday Night. Mostly Clear and 39 degrees , , 6:11 sunrise.
Saturday. Mostly Sunny and 63 degrees , 34 max dew point, , 7:37 sunset.
Saturday Night. Chance of Showers and 50 degrees , , 6:10 sunrise.
Sunday. Chance of T-storms and 69 degrees , 48 max dew point, , 7:39 sunset.
Sunday Night. Chance of Showers and 51 degrees , , 6:08 sunrise

Donald Trump and Change

Despite my concerns about many of the policy positions that President Donald Trump has put forward, I still like the idea that we have a new president with new ideas, who is not afraid to shake things up. Already his ideas on many issues have gotten people talking — even if his ideas don’t necessarily agree with mine — and they are forcing people to examine their positions and put forward new ideas. For too long in our country, people have been resistant to change, to try new ideas, make government relevant to people’s lives. Sometimes we need to tear down our society, so we can rebuild it.

While his proposed cuts to the federal budget and impoundment of funds to so-called sanctuary cities will inevitably cause real pain to some individuals and organizations, it also means that states and cities will have to re-examine their spending priorities. This is not a bad thing, because government is quite bloated, and we need to get government more concerned about it’s core purposes. We need to cut government spending at all levels, and Donald Trump is forcing politicians to think about small government.Β Big government leads to high demand for revenue and idiotic pro-sprawl policies. Big government is a cancer on society, it saps resources from the all of society.

Donald Trump hasΒ raised the stakes, and made people not take the services they receive from government for granted. And I don’t think that’s a bad thing. When the government threatens to take away your favorite park or service, more people take ownership and volunteer to make their place great. It’s time for people to stop taking all that government provides for granted.

As Robert Moses once said:

‘You can’t make an omelet without breaking some eggs.”

April 10, 2017 Evening

Good evening! Partly sunny and 76 degrees in Albany. Breezy, 17 mph breeze from the south-southwest with gusts up to 29 mph. Not a half bad afternoon. 

The sun will set at 7:32 pm with dusk around 8:01 pm, which is one minute and 8 seconds later than yesterday. At sunset, look for partly clear conditions and 72 degrees. There will be a south-southwest breeze at 15 mph with gusts up to 25mph.

Tonight will be partly cloudy, with a low of 55 degrees at 5am. 19 degrees above normal. South wind 6 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. In 2016, it got down to 40 degrees with periods of rain. The record low of 20 occurred back in 1874.

April’s Pink Moon tonight. The sun will rise at 6:19 am with the first light at 5:50 am, which is one minute and 40 seconds earlier than yesterday. Tonight will have 10 hours and 46 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 2 minutes and 48 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 4pm. Partly sunny, with a high of 81 degrees at 4pm. 25 degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 53 at 6pm. Southwest wind 6 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A year ago, we had rain and a high of 52 degrees. The record high of 82 was set in 2011. 1.7 inches of snow fell back in 1942.

Right now, a split verdict on the weekend. Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 63. Maximum dew point of 43 at 6pm. Sunday, a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 69. Chance of precipitation is 50%. Maximum dew point of 55 at 2pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 58 degrees.

In four weeks on May 8 the sun will be setting at 8:03 pm, which is 31 minutes and 39 seconds later then today. In 2016 on that day, we had rain and temperatures between 59 and 45 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 67 and 45 degrees. The record high of 91 degrees was set back in 1936.

Looking ahead, Patriots Day is Next Monday, May Day is in 3 weeks and Memorial Day is in 7 weeks.

Walked down to the DEC during lunch time, and bought my fishing license. Turns out it didn’t expire until last Friday, I could have gone out fishing the Sunday after opening day — although I was on call and probably would have got called into the office had I driven out to one of the good trout streams in the Hilltowns.  The DEC was slow and pokey at doing the license as usual, but at least they got it done. At least they know how to use their own broken DECALS system. Definitely a nice afternoon for a walk, but it’s a pretty good climb back up the State Street hill. Good breeze downtown, and I spent a little time down by the river. I wish I could have spent more time down there, but as soon as I got down there my email box started filling up,  and people started calling me.

Once I get home I will have a quick dinner and go down to the park. I should be a nice evening, although it still gets dark around 8 PM, because we are still in the first half of the month. I guess it might be better go down to the library, and just sit on the bench there, although the wifi is much quicker at the park. Then it’s back home, for a cold beer or two on the tailgate. I could work on running the wire back to cap but I’m going to be tired and I’ll run out of sun before you know it. I’d rather get home relatively early and retire to bed, so I can get a good nights sleep.  It will be nice with the windows open and all that fresh air. I plan to sit out back for a while.

After long but relatively calm days at work the day broke, and today I was pretty busy. I guess I can’t complain that much as I got to take the express bus home and traffic is moving relatively quickly. And the park will be nice.