New Campsite Box
I found this plastic box left out on the street corner, left it out in the sun, cleaned it with bleach, and now I use it for all my dry goods, paper goods, and other camp food supplies.
Key facts about race and marriage in the U.S.
"In 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the Loving v. Virginia case that marriage across racial lines was legal throughout the country. Intermarriage has increased steadily since then: One-in-six U.S. newlyweds (17%) were married to a person of a different race or ethnicity in 2015, a more than fivefold increase from 3% in 1967. Among all married people in 2015 (not just those who recently wed), 10% are now intermarried – 11 million in total."
June 12, 2017 Afternoon
Good afternoon! Mostly sunny and 91 degrees in City of Albany. There is a west breeze at 11 mph. The dew point is 63 degrees. We’ve broken the 90 degree mark for the fourth time this year — the same number of times we did in the fairly cool summer of 2014. Definitely summer like out, although the humidity is moderate as is the haze. It could be a lot hotter and humid, and I’m sure we will see some dog days of summer later on.
This afternoon will be sunny, with a high of 94 degrees at 3pm. 17 degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 65 at 6pm. West wind 11 to 13 mph. A year ago, we had rain, cloudy skies and a high of 69 degrees. The record high of 94 was set in 1949.
The sun will set at 8:33 pm with dusk around 9:08 pm, which is 29 seconds later than yesterday. At sunset, look for mostly clear conditions and 87 degrees. The dew point will be 66 degrees. There will be a west breeze at 7 mph. Today will have 15 hours and 17 minutes of daytime, an increase of 34 seconds over yesterday. It’s getting ready to start shifting the daylight into reverse, as we approach winter again. But so the seasons go. Blame Trump for the short summers.
Tonight will be mostly clear, with a low of 70 degrees at 5am. 14 degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 67 at 9pm. That will feel a bit sticky. Better drink lots of cold beer. Southwest wind 5 to 7 mph. In 2016, it got down to 52 degrees with rain and mostly cloudy skies. The record low of 38 occurred back in 1974.
On this day in 1967, the United States Supreme Court in Loving v. Virginia declares all U.S. state laws which prohibit interracial marriage to be unconstitutional. This year marks a half century since this decision, which helped to lead to the gay marriage decision many years later.
Looking ahead, there are 7 weeks until Mutts Day when the sun will be setting at 8:15 pm with dusk at 8:47 pm. By then the days will be getting quite a bit shorter. Funny how summer ends before ever really begins. It’s amazing how fast the sunset comes once you get into the second half of July. On that day in 2016, we had rain, drizzle, fog, mist, cloudy skies and temperatures between 71 and 63 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 82 degrees. We hit a record high of 98 back in 1917.
Camped out in my truck last night. It was good sleeping, the fan kept things cool for most of the night and didn’t run down the battery much. That said by late into the night, the temperature had dropped enough that the fan wasn’t necessary. But I was impressed on how much air that little 12 volt fan pushed around in the truck cap, and it was a nice evening.
Lilly Lake
Paddling along Lilly Lake on a beautiful spring afternoon. Listening to the sounds of the birds and wind as passes by.
Saturday Morning at Camp
Just an early Saturday morning walk around at my campsite on Piseco-Powley Road, showing my flags and some of my gear back at camp.
The burning monk, 1963
"June 11, 1963, Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk Thích Quang Duc burned himself to death at a busy intersection in Saigon. He was attempting to show that to fight all forms of oppression on equal terms, Buddhism too, needed to have its martyrs. John F. Kennedy said in reference to a photograph of Duc on fire: “No news picture in history has generated so much emotion around the world as that one”. Photographer Malcolm Browne captured the scene in Saigon for the Associated Press, and the stark black and white image quickly became an iconic visual of the turbulent 1960s."
"The self-immolation was done in protest to the South Vietnamese Diem regime’s pro-catholic policies and discriminatory Buddhist laws. In particular this was a response to the banning of the Buddhist flag, just 2 days after Diem had held a very public ceremony displaying crosses; earlier in his rule he had dedicated Vietnam to Jesus and the Catholic Church. The growing resentment of Buddhists under Diem was one of the underlying issues of South Vietnam, and eventually led to a coup to put in place a leader who would not alienate Buddhists, who made up 70-90% of Vietnam’s population."