August 10, 2017 Night

Good evening! Partly clear and 75 degrees in Delmar, NY. Calm wind. The dew point is 58 degrees. A rather warm evening but it’s not too bad. I went to a reception for a colleague up in Troy then got home and went for my evening walk. Now I’m sitting out back struggling to hear the PBS Newshour over the sound of the crickets. 

Tonight will be partly cloudy, with a low of 62 degrees at 5am. One degrees below normal. Maximum dew point of 59 at 11pm. Light south wind. In 2016, we had mostly cloudy skies. It was very sticky. It got down to 72 degrees. The record low of 46 occurred back in 1941.

Tonight will have a Waning Gibbous Moon. The Last Quarter Moon is on Monday night with partly cloudy skies. The Harvest Moon is on Tuesday, September 5th. The sun will rise at 5:57 am with the first light at 5:27 am, which is one minute and 4 seconds later than yesterday. Tonight will have 9 hours and 55 minutes of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 27 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will have isolated showers, then scattered showers and thunderstorms after noon. Partly sunny, with a high of 80 degrees at 2pm. Typical for Tomorrow. Maximum dew point of 62 at 10am. Calm wind becoming south 5 to 8 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A year ago, we had light rain in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. It was very sticky. The high last year was 91 degrees. The record high of 98 was set in 1944.

Right now, a split verdict on the weekend. Saturday, scattered showers, with thunderstorms also possible after noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 77. South wind 6 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Maximum dew point of 66 at 5pm. Sunday, partly sunny, with a high near 79. Maximum dew point of 62 at 7am. Typical average high for the weekend is 81 degrees.. 

Staying in town this weekend but that’s fine as I have a list of things I need to get done. I’m looking forward to a quiet weekend and not having to pack and unpack all my camping gear. Hoping to get a kayak paddle this weekend, after I return the one that is too short. 

In four weeks on September 7 the sun will be setting at 7:18 pm, which is 45 minutes and 2 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2016 on that day, we had partly cloudy skies and temperatures between 86 and 63 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 76 and 55 degrees. The record high of 96 degrees was set back in 1945.

Looking ahead, State Fair Opens is in 2 weeks, 7:30 PM Sunset is in 3 weeks, Average High is 70 is in 6 weeks, Hunter’s Moon is in 8 weeks, Thanksgiving is in 15 weeks and Coldest Day of Year (Avg. 14-30 degrees) is in 5 months.

Rest Area Plan Questioned by Congresswoman Tenney

Rest Area Plan Questioned by Congresswoman Tenney

This is stupid, especially because Congresswomen Tenney doesn't understand the law. The NYS Thruway was financed by the Thruway Authority bonds, it receives no federal highway funding (with a handful of exemptions, e.g. in late 1970s widening of the "free" Interstate 88 overlap).

The Thruway was built before the Interstate system, it's grandfathered into whatever state standards exist. Full-service rest areas are allowed on the Thruway, because it's grandfathered in facility. This is why there are gas stations and McDonalds on the Thruway -- even though on a normal federally funded highway -- this is not permitted. On normal federally funded highways, only facilities that may be provided on the highway is bathrooms and picnic tables. No other businesses are allowed on federally funded interstate highways (which, I repeat, the Thruway is not a federally funded road).

Even if the US DOT decides to withhold federal highway funding for some reason (like the I Love NY signs), it's a moot point, because if you withhold 100% of $0 in funding, the Thruway Authority still receives no money.

The Truth

M.T.A. Tries a New Tack During Delays: The Truth

"On my way home from work two Thursdays ago, the No. 3 train I was riding stopped suddenly, just before the 72nd Street station.This, on the New York City subway, was not particularly unusual. But what happened afterward was."

β€œLadies and gentlemen,” began the voice over the loudspeaker, sounding rattled. β€œI have bad news. A passenger just jumped in front of the train.”

Several people gasped. A woman near me jerked her head up from her phone, wearing an expression of horror. We riders did something not normally acceptable: We made eye contact with one another. A train conductor or operator speaking of a death on the tracks without euphemism: We had never heard that before."

August 10, 2017 8 AM Update

Good morning! Happy Thursday. Two weeks to State Fair Opens. Partly sunny with the fog quickly burning off and 68 degrees in Albany. Calm wind. The dew point is 61 degrees. Warming up fast. The bus at the Park and Ride didn’t have the air conditioning on but once we got moving, the open windows quickly cooled things down.

Today will have isolated showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high of 85 degrees at 3pm. Four degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 62 at 10am. Going to be a fairly nice day, not too humid but fairly warm. Calm wind becoming southwest around 6 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had light rain in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. It was very sticky. I remember that day, I was glad I was stuck in the air conditioned office until seven. It wasn’t pleasant — it felt like you stepped out into a wet mop when you went outside. The high last year was 84 degrees. The record high of 96 was set in 1949.

The sun will set at 8:02 pm with dusk around 8:33 pm, which is one minute and 23 seconds earlier than yesterday. At sunset, look for partly cloudy conditions and 75 degrees. The dew point will be 62 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 14 hours and 5 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 27 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be partly cloudy, with a low of 63 degrees at 4am. Two degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 62 at 8pm. Light south wind. In 2016, we had mostly cloudy skies. It remained very sticky. It got down to 72 degrees. That was a night I spent next to the fan. The record low of 46 occurred back in 1941.

This weekend doesn’t still look that great despite yesterday’s optimism. That’s fine. I ordered and received a new kayak paddle but it was too short for my big kayak so I need to return it this weekend and hopefully exchange it for a larger size. I really want to be able to get Β out in the kayak and do some fishing before the end of summer. I am keeping an eye on the following weekend because if it turns out nice, I’ll have to think seriously about a mini vacation redo. Right now, looking 10 days out, next weekend looks just about perfect in the Finger Lakes. It would be fun to take some nights camping, and watch the solar eclipse.

Today is the big rally today with Bill McKibbean and James Cromwell downtown.Β People talk a lot about Mr. Cromwell, but I have no idea who he is except some obscure movie star, that refused to pay a fine so he spent six day in the county lock-up, at large expense to county government.Β I guess they are protesting that new natural gas plant downstate. While I don’t have much of an opinion on that — besides arguing that natural gas is cheaper and less polluting then nuclear — I think it would be cool to see Bill McKibbean. He was too expensive to get to come to our college for a lecture, despite living just up the road in the Adirondacks, at least part of the year. I am going to go to check it for a short while during my lunch break.

As previously noted, there are 2 weeks until State Fair Opens when the sun will be setting at 7:41 pm with dusk at 8:11 pm. On that day in 2016, we had patches of fog, partly cloudy skies and temperatures between 85 and 57 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 79 degrees. We hit a record high of 95 back in 1947.

Tight Squeeze

Driving past an excavator which is taking up a lot of room on a rural road in Schuyler County.