π²π² Our Public Lands π³π²
Interactive maps with backcountry and roadside camping: New York , Pennsylvania , West Virginia & Vermont .List of NYS DEC Lean-Tos with map coordinates. List of NYS DEC Firetowers with map coordinates and more information. Google Spreadsheet with Roadside, Primitive and Pay Campsites
Explore the Finger Lakes Trail , Long Path , Northville-Placid Trail and Long Trail/Appalachian in Vermont .Catskill Park Mountain Peaks , Hudson Valley & Long Island Peaks , Peaks Over 3000 ft Elevation , Highest Peaks in Adirondacks , Interactive Map of All Named Summits in NYS , Blaze Colors in Catskill Park, Trailhead Parking Coordinates and Addresses in the Catskills .
Browse USGS Topo Quads as PDF π by State Lands or County. You can Bulk Download New & Old USGS Topograpic Maps .
Links to various NY State Land Websites π. Get latest GIS Data from state Web Services .
βΊπ² Camp π²π
Moose River Plains – Campsite Listing, Maps and photos of state’s largest free camping area. Piseco-Powley Road – Campsite Listing , Maps and photos of 15 mile dirt road with camping. Catskill Park Primitive Campsites – An overview of free camping locations in Catskill Park. Burnt-Rossman Forest , Cattaraugus County , East Branch Sacandaga River , Finger Lakes National Forest , Madison County , Pennsylvania , Vermont and West Virigina .
Campsite Coordinates for Bog River Flow / Lows Lake , Hudson River SMA (Buttermilk Falls), Lake Lila , Oswegathie River , Nine-Corner Lake , Pharaoh Lake Wilderness , Saranac River Campsites , Stillwater Lake , Schoharie County , and Sugar Hill State Forest .
Overview of Camping Areas in the Catskills , Green Mountains , Southern Adirondacks , Central Adirondacks , Northern Adirondacks , Allegheny National Forest and Penna. DCNR Motorized Campsites and the Monongahela National Forest West Virginia .
Free Campsite Overview Maps: Adirondack – North Country , Catskills, Central NY , Finger Lakes , Western NY. Interactive Map .
Places I camped in 2023 , 2022 , 2021 and 2020 .
Bicycle Trails and “Blackie” My Mountain Bike
Finally bought a mountain bike , after chewing over a mountain vs commuter bike . Really enjoying riding my bike to work and when it rains there is always a bike rack to safely take it back home . One way to get to adventures at Thacher Park is the Nature Bus .
Empire Trail – KMZ and Interactive Map. Parking along it .
More Trailways with KMZ files including the Albany County Rail Trail , Black Diamond Trail , Catharine Valley Trail , Catskill Scenic Trail , Fonda, Johnstown & Gloversville Rail Trail , Genesee Valley Trail , Link Trail .
π¦π² Hunt π¦πΏ
Wildlife Management Units (Deer) – KMZ Map shows the WMU boundaries.
Summer 2019 Aerial Photographs of WMUs
KMZ Maps of Deer Harvest Density by Town: 2019 , 2018 , 2017 , 2016 . By WMU 2017 , 2016 , 2015 .
KMZ Maps of Buck Harvest Density by Town: 2019 , 2018 , 2017 , 2016 . By WMU 2017 , 2016
2016 -2019 Deer and Buck Harvest by Town – KMZ Spreadsheet with FIPS codes for making your own calculations.
π£π‘ Fish ππ
Parking and Access to Trout Streams – An interactive, downloadable KMZ Map. Lakes with DEC Contour Maps – A KMZ Map links to Contour Maps for Fishing.
π¨π Sled & Wheel πβ
State Truck Trails Over A Half Mile – Dirt roads to explore in the backcountry. NYS Statewide Snowmobile Trail System – State trails on public and private lands.
ππ Learn π΅π
Interactive Maps of NY Census – Explore and download KML files. Charts and Interactive Diagrams – From population to pollution control. Andy Arthur GitHub – Git my R and Python scripts used to make maps and diagrams. Use ArcPullR to Get Geospatial Data – Super easy way to connect to get GIS data in R from government servers. GDAL Opens E00 Files – Most open source programs nowadays can open common geospatial formats. NY Building Footprints – Where to find on the internet for making maps. WMS and ArcMap Services – Downloadable CSV file listing services used on the blog. 2022 US Census Population Estimates – Red states, south continue to gain population. 2020 Cartogram of State Population
π³ π Property Taxes π πΈ
Properties in Albany Pine Bush Study Area , Excel Files: Various Tax Rolls , Find coordinates and political districts , Look Up State Tax Records and a Script for Processing RPTL 1520 PDFs . Match NY SWIS Codes to FIPS Codes and GEOID
ππ Big Red ππ
Big Red – Photos and Videos of my lifted truck with its camper shell. Big Red’s Dual Battery Setup for Camp Power , Video Tour and Diagram . Big Red is getting old. What is next? I’ve thought about going carless for a while to save money and reduce pollution. Or maybe going bigger ? Or smaller ? Five dollar gas sucks.
π₯π² Off-Grid Living π π€
I am seriously thinking about building an off-grid house. I have a first draft . I need to learn CAD ! I have a road map towards buying land and building . I concede might have to live with long commute and give up traveling and camping . I need to be strong .
Why off grid? Well, I’m not into contemporary society. I want to own land , but not be called a landowner , and a cabin , not hooked to electrical grid , farm , raise pigs for food and burn my own trash . I’m saving for a better tomorrow , hoping to make the leap to another freer state . Having acreage is important . Cornfields aren’t bad neighbors . Maybe though my vision has grown smaller and more local. More on off-grid living .
I am 16 years into my career and have made some significant progress in my life. I love my job. But I do wonder on all the things I’m missing out but saving sure makes me high . Maybe it will be different when I own my own land — the end of goal of all this saving .
2020 into 2021 during the pandemic was a year of remote work . It was a struggle not having internet at home , worked a lot out of my truck. But I worked remotely from Horseshoe Lake which was super cool.
Generally I like the idea of owning land in a red state , particularly Idaho , Iowa , Pennsylvania, West Virginia , Wisconsin — and Midwest more generally . But I may settle for New York – it’s all about the f-ing money!
π»π¨βπ» Open Source πΊοΈπ
I use open source software and public sources of data for the blog. Quantum GIS (QGIS) , GDAL/ogr2ogr , PyQGIS , GeoPANDAS , R Studio and Leaflet for map making, Arduino and ESP32 microprocessors , Ubuntu Linux and XFCE Window Manager . I’ve recently gotten interested in machine learning.
I avoid using commercial software like Microsoft Windows and do not have home internet or television . If you don’t use commercial software and use your brain, fears of computer viruses are overblown . I deleted most of my social media accounts.
Creating Digital Surface Models using LiDAR Point Clouds .
R Statistical Programming
The R programming language and RStudio are powerful tools for statistical analysis, making maps and charts . Many of the blog posts and analysis I do are in R, ggplot not only makes great charts but also maps using tidycensus . Generally, R is better then Python for geospatial work.
Use IDW Interpolation to fill in missing Census data, Zonal Histograms for land cover, load WMS Aerial Photography in R, find mountain peaks , save Census shapefiles using tigris quickly , pull NY Election Night Results using Selenium . Fast reverse Geocoding in PostGIS . Working with PDFs in R . Fix a common error starting rselenium /wdman. Make data-filled calendars. R is wonderful and weird , learn it !
Python and Pandas
Querying state property database, political enrollments , PL 94-171 Census files , calcula t ing population statistics , what address is a district in , converting old districts to new districts , Shapefiles missing Projection information in QGIS .
Learn to code for free modern HTML, Javascript, Python and SQL at freeCodeCamp and web development at the Odin Project .
Politics
Crunched Election Results with Turnout for Albany County: November 2023 , 2022 , 2021 , 2020 , 2019 and Primaries June 2019 , Pres/June 2020 , June 2021 , June 2022 , Aug 2022 , June 2023 .
Albany County Races converted to the new 2023 EDs using Super EDs and Code : 2022 , 2021, 2020 , 2019 and Primaries June 2019, Pres/June 2020 , June 2021 , June 2022 , Aug 2022 .
Above Election Results as zipped Excel files.
Albany County Legi slature Districts 2024 Maps –
Maps Comparing 2017 and 2023 Albany County Election Districts and a Crosswalk Table Showing the Proposition of Voting Age Population in New and Old EDs
Maps of 2022 NYC Assembly Races , NYS Assembly Races , NY Senate Races , Governor’s Race in Erie County and Statewide . Partisan shift in governor race between 2010 and 2018 .
A comparison of Democratic Performance 2022 Assembly Districts to those proposed in 2023 by the IRC. Here is latest 4/20/23 IRC Maps, showing ADP and how they change from existing Assembly districts . Most towns upstate, outside of cities, are quite red . Using LATFOR data with R to calculate Average Democratic Performance.
You can scrape employee salary data from SeeThroughNY using R. Other useful investigative resources .
I often think politics is for losers . I’m into the politics of statistical analysis and reading history books.
I believe strongly in the first amendment , second amendment , oppose gun restrictions and I support de-funding the police in favor of lower-cost technology and civilian employees. Maybe use red flag laws for voting to stop dangerous voters? And the media should stop promoting mass-shootings , even if it’s super profitable for all involved. They should tax the media when it promotes violence . I think some people are much too paranoid in politics. How elections are rigged under law to benefit incumbents. But vote , it’s the best option and inexpensive .
Yeah for the third parties ! I voted for Larry Sharpe for Governor and Jo Jergenson for President but my views are complicated and often vote for Democrats, after voting Jill Stein Green Party in 2016.
Generally, I think Biden has been a good change over DJT and glad the Trump era is over and are glad prosecutors and grand jurors are holding him responsible by indicting him for many serious felonies. I don’t think Trump can win in 2024 , as nothing has changed politically from 2020.
I think rural people should be left alone and not worship government workers or have parades for them . I am no fan of Donald Trump , his speeches are bad , I don’t like Trump’s embrace of radical environmentalists , but do admire the homemade roadside monuments to DJT.
I don’t toke. But whatever. There are too many transit authorities.
The Earth
Why I oppose wilderness areas and parks . It’s trendy to be green these days, but is eco-marketing good for the planet? I visited the Mount Storm Coal Plant and Corridor H.
I worry about a lot about overly-aggressive Climate Change Action , and Undermining Environment Laws for Climate Action . I think we should all admit we are Addicted to Fossil Fuels . These days, urban recycling has become a joke, when it’s still an option at all. It’s better to just buy less shit and avoid the alure of Costcos . I really don’t like how aging radicals have become industrial solar salespeople.
Big bucks are coming to state-designated disadvantaged communities under the CLCP. Which counties and political districts are in line for the the most pork? Interactive map.
I’m a big of farmers who are essentially Living Off the Earth and think Rednecks are Noble Savages . Dairy Farming are key to our rural landscape. I’d trust a farmer or a hunter in a pile of guts he’s butchered over any ivory-tower scientist.
ππ Industrial Solar π π
Hundreds of multi-acre industrial solar farms are being built in our state. How bad is solar for the environment? We should ask tough questions. Interactive of recently built solar farms , proposed facilities . List of proposed industrial solar facilities . See how the Greenville Solar Farm changed the landscape .
Saving Money
I am not a fan of ESG Investing as it’s not well diversified. I prefer index-funds and other tax-advantaged ways of saving . Why I am concerned about saving enough for retirement , even though I’m in my late 30s. We as a nation should save more , consume less. I like the idea of carbon tax to replace capital gains taxes to discourage consumption .
Mission Fifty & Being Healthier
I am now officially in my 40s ! I am building to a better life in my 50s , which means getting up early , walking a lot , saying no to cake and yes to more fruit . In many ways, the forties are an awesome time to be alive.
And eating healthy for less without losing sleep over arsenic. And I don’t think we should subsidize unhealthy habits . How I got started in eating healther . Meals are too focused on meat and carbs due to how we describe them , maybe I eat too many bananas in the office , what to eat while camping , worry more about salt then GMOs, eat more beans . Do spend extra for farmers market peaches , especially doughnut peaches and plums. Consider ethnic supermarkets. Thinking about how to make a healthier macaroni and cheese , spinach-mackeral-pasta salad , quick-cook biscuits and whole-wheat bread . That said, too many recipes are junk food crap . Okay in moderation is not okay. The fact that I’m thinner is not a sign I’m dying .
A few years back I decided to explore my mental illness with therapy, thinking about why I have so much anxiety and how many of my values are rational or just thinking too much rednecks’ burn barrels and how much of a throwaway society we live in . Do I want to change ?
I’ve learned to care less about the world, and focus more on myself . Maybe I am happier as I am now, saving and investing a lot towards owning my own land, where I don’t have to deal with all the bullshit of modern life .
Mission Fifty : Getting to the point where I own my own land. Healthy Eating / Growing My Wealth Healthy Thoughts / Enjoying Life
Questions, comments? Feel free to email me at andy@andyarthur.org .
You do your thing, I’ll do mine.
I use GNU open source software. Plus I like buck goats, because they’re real macho men spraying their beards with goat urine.
“ March is upon us. Get out, enjoy it, be safe with fire and burning shit, and remember soon enough black flies are waiting.” – Andy Arthur
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