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That rye bread I made this morning was pretty good ๐Ÿฅ–

Mom picked me up some rye flower and dill weed and adding some wheat flour, yeast, water, salt and some vital wheat gluten made some good bread. Wish I had more rise though, I could try more yeast next time or a higher portion of vital wheat gluten and less wheat flour. Wheat flour is difficult as it is very low in gluten and is heavy with all that healthy protein and fiber.

Good morning! Happy Thursday. Mostly sunny and 30 degrees in Albany, NY. There is a west breeze at 5 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. There are 0.3 inches of snow on the ground. โ˜ƒ ๏ธCold start to the morning, though warming up quickly, it will be above freezing by 9 AM.

Rode my bike in again to work today. ๐Ÿšฒ Like I do most days, while the weather is decent. Today is share cookies day in the office ๐Ÿช so I had to be careful riding in with my bike box full with my laptop, lunch, snacks, and a large glass pyrex container full of cookies I baked. ๐Ÿ“ฆ ๐Ÿช ๐Ÿ’ป ๐ŸŽ’ But with careful ride in on the somewhat snowy and icy bike trail I made it in safely. I did make sure my basket was good and tight to the panier rack, and things bungeed down, and easy on the bumps.

Today will be sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 37 degrees at 1pm. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around December 18th. West wind 5 to 7 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 31 degrees. The record high of 63 was set in 1901. 12.5 inches of snow fell back in 1956.โ„

Working back downtown again today. ๐Ÿ“ƒ I wouldn’t want to miss the exchange cookies day this afternoon, ๐Ÿช plus I like the

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 11:50 am with sun having an altitude of 24.1° from the due south horizon (-46.6° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 13.4 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 3:37 pm with the sun in the southwest (231°). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west-southwest (239°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:23 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 24 seconds with dusk around 4:53 pm, which is 11 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Crescent ๐ŸŒ’ Moon in the southwest (223°) at an altitude of 6° from the horizon, 230,431 miles away. ๐Ÿš€ The best time to look at the stars is after 5:30 pm. At sunset, look for mostly clear skies ๐ŸŒ„ and temperatures around 36 degrees. There will be a south-southwest breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 9 hours and 7 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 34 seconds over yesterday.

Big Red passed his inspection with no issues, ๐Ÿ”Ž๐Ÿ›ป the oil changed and tires rotated. Prices have gone up a bit in the shop, I think it was about $94 bucks for all three things but I should be good until next summer except should random things break or need repair before then. Makes me want to go back to changing my own oil, lol. ๐Ÿ›ข I want to get another year out of Big Red if at all possible, so I’ll feed it parts beyond engine or transmission tear-down type repairs. ๐Ÿ‘ฉ‍๐Ÿ”ง Rust continues to be an issue but I’ve been painting it with red primer, and some point maybe in the spring I’ll cover with duplicate color match. ๐Ÿ‘จ‍๐ŸŽจ I haven’t put the hub caps back on, will do this weekend after I do a quick check of the torque of the wheel nuts, lest the shop mess that up. ๐Ÿ”ง Can’t happen twice, right?

Tonight will be mostly clear ๐ŸŒƒ, with a low of 28 degrees at 3am. Five degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around November 29th. South wind around 8 mph. In 2022, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 16 degrees. The record low of -8 occurred back in 1874.

Today in 1994, started construction begins on the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze river. The Three Gorges Dam has been the world’s largest power station in terms of installed capacity (22,500 MW) since 2012. In 2014, the dam generated 98.8 terawatt-hours (TWh) and had the world record, but was surpassed by the Itaipú Dam, which set the new world record in 2016, producing 103.1 TWh. ๐Ÿž Also, today was a notable date in civil rights history, with the release of the Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States, 379 U.S. 241 (1964), a landmark United States Supreme Court case holding that the Commerce Clause gave the U.S. Congress power to force private businesses to abide by Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination in public accommodations.

Mild and pretty nice for the weekend. ๐Ÿ˜€ Friday is going to be in the fifties. And Saturday, partly sunny, with a high near 45. North wind around 6 mph. Sunday, more clouds push in especially late, with a high near 47. Typical average high for the weekend is 38 degrees.

Looking ahead, next Thursday is First Day of Winter โ˜ƒ๏ธ when the sun will be setting at 4:26 pm with dusk at 4:56 pm. On that day in 2022, we had mostly sunny and temperatures between 34 and 16 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 37 degrees. We hit a record high of 62 back in 2018.

Took The Skis Off

Rainy start to for Regular Deer Season in Southern Zone ๐ŸฆŒ

I bet those people sitting in their deer stands this morning are shivering, fighting off hypothermia thinking they probably won’t get their big buck despite the statistics that show two thirds are harvested today. I’m quite okay being inside this morning, enjoying my eggs and spinach, along with the homemade bread, sweet potatoes and butternut squash that I baked starting a little after 5 AM this morning.

Good morning! Rain and 45 degrees in Delmar, NY. โ˜” There is a north-northwest breeze at 9 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. Temperatures will drop below freezing at tomorrow around midnight tonight. โ˜ƒ๏ธ Kind of a yucky morning, temperature is going to drift downwards as more sun appears later with a steady breeze to keep things good and cool for the balance of the day. That said it’s mild enough, that the heat is off, though I have plenty of warmth inside after all that cooking this morning. ๐Ÿ‘ฉ‍๐Ÿณ

While I don’t really need to get up at 5 AM on my day off โฐ I wake up that hour, especially as I was asleep before 8 PM last night as it was such a dreary night and I lacked the energy to do my evening walk, ๐Ÿƒ‍โ™€๏ธ though to be fair, I did get in 10,000 steps ๐Ÿ‘ฃ for the day, rode my bike 7 3/4 miles to work via the rail trail ๐Ÿšฒ, walked laps at lunch time on the Plaza and then did the stairs up and down to my 18th floor office downtown. I do note that once I move to the suburban North Albany office in a few weeks though it’s going to be more difficult to do the stairs, though I am thinking I’ll probably transfer buses a the Empire Plaza and can walk laps there or days I ride in it’s a bit longer of a ride then downtown, though not the Madison Avenue Hill, though lately I’ve been using Arch Street/Warren Street past the Albany City Jail ๐Ÿ‘ฎ‍โ™€๏ธ and then heading up Park Avenue and Museum Road (yes, the wrong way on a one way street) to the Plaza to avoid the worse of the hill. ๐Ÿคท‍โ™‚๏ธ ๐Ÿคฃ

I was thinking blueberry pancakes this morning ๐Ÿฅž ๐Ÿ‘Ž ๐Ÿณ but ended up deciding I so love the onions, tomatoes, spinach and eggs for a more protein packed day that will keep me going all day. Also cooked up some kidney beans, I am thinking of making homemade spaghetti sauce from canned tomatoes, chop up some onions, cumin and red pepper with peas and spinach thrown over some chickpea pasta ๐Ÿ for dinner tonight. Along with a generous side of butternut squash and maybe some of the sweet potatoes. ๐Ÿ  ๐Ÿ†

Lunch is going to be some leftover beef stew I got from my parents house about two or three weeks ago that’s been frozen, tossed over some peas and sweet potatoes. ๐Ÿ˜‹ I need to use up some of the leftovers I keep taking home from my parents house. I often forget about left overs. Mom makes good food, even if it is more calorie dense then I would prefer, but then again maybe I’ve gotten a bit extreme with my own cooking. ๐Ÿ‘จ‍๐Ÿณ I just don’t want slip back into the old life of being so heavy and out of shape. The left over stew should be real tasty. ๐Ÿฒ I can’t complain, mom’s home cooking won’t be around forever, as she’s getting up there in the years, and it’s something you can only enjoy until you no longer can.

Having that extra pot of coffee โ˜• this morning, with the cinnamon and ginger. I am not planning on heading out until a while, and only to the library, so if I spend my day pissing it away, I don’t care. I just like an extra cup or three on this cold morning, with that rich tangy taste of cinnamon and ginger. Plus yesterday when I was walking I started to feel a bit achy, ๐Ÿ˜ฃ first time in a long time, apparently the turmeric with the spinach, onions and eggs isn’t enough to overcome all those stairs I’ve climbed ๐Ÿง—‍โ™€๏ธ over the past week, lol. ๐Ÿคฃ What can I say, I’m getting ducking old ๐Ÿฆ† in a few weeks I’ll be 41. That means two decades have passed since I can legally drink and that first time I went out to the bar with the Young Democrats.  I just remember that night at the Lionheart Cafe downtown, and how much that bar stunk of alcohol ๐Ÿป I think because it was right after they had banned smoking at bars ๐Ÿšญ and they hadn’t gotten good at cleaning all that spilled beer. Or maybe the Lionheart was more of a dive college bar back in the day.

Today will have showers likely, mainly before 7am. Cloudy through mid morning, then gradual clearing ๐ŸŒง ๐Ÿ‘‰ ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 45 degrees at 6am. Three degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around November 25th. North wind 9 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning with more sun in the afternoon. The high last year was 43 degrees. The record high of 71 was set in 1928. 9.0 inches of snow fell back in 1980.โ„

I am thinking I’ll watch and do some more of the Udemeny Course on Remote Sensing ๐Ÿ›ฐ and then shower and go down to the library ๐Ÿ“š so I can use the internet on my laptop this morning without working about data use at 10 AM. Then maybe check out the Bethlehem Sportsmart at 1 PM for skis, โ›ท and then in the afternoon ride out to Voorheesville, maybe visiting Indian Ladder Farms for apples. ๐ŸŽ Or I could just get apples at Price Chopper on Sunday. Also want to see if I can repair my broken vacuum cleaner. Also thinking about doing some soldering and working on an electronics project this evening. I haven’t done much electronics in a while now. ๐Ÿค“

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 11:41 am with sun having an altitude of 28.2° from the due south horizon (-42.6° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 11.2 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 3:49 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (237°). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west-southwest (244°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:32 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 14 seconds with dusk around 5:01 pm, which is 49 seconds earlier than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ At dusk you’ll see the First Quarter ๐ŸŒ“ Moon in the south (185°) at an altitude of 24° from the horizon, 227,672 miles away. ๐Ÿš€ The best time to look at the stars is after 5:37 pm. At sunset, look for clear skies ๐ŸŒ„ and temperatures around 42 degrees. There will be a northwest breeze at 11 mph. Today will have 9 hours and 43 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 3 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be mostly clear ๐ŸŒƒ, with a low of 31 degrees at 3am. Typical for tonight. Northwest wind 5 to 9 mph becoming light and variable. In 2022, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 21 degrees. The record low of 12 occurred back in 1972.

Pretty much typical weather for this evening. ๐Ÿ›Œ I’ll probably head to bed pretty early as it gets dark out so early, and I prefer an earlier start. I want to get to Price Chopper tomorrow morning before the crowds ๐Ÿ›’ and get the groceries I need for the week with my coupons. ๐ŸŽซ And then get up and going on the day. Maybe ride out to Five Rivers ๐Ÿฆ to enjoy the sunshine and cold before heading out to the folks house for Sunday dinner. ๐Ÿฒ They are making chilli which should be good.

Going to shop at Price Chopper come Sunday as I have two $5 off $50 coupons, ๐ŸŽซ giving one to mom and one for my own use. Plus I have a $2 off $10 in meat or fish coupon to use, I’ll probably stock up on frozen salmon for the next time I decide to bake up some salmon. ๐Ÿ  I haven’t had salmon in a few weeks, and I think I don’t have any more in my freezer currently but its an excellent source of omega-3 fats. ๐Ÿ˜‹

Looking ahead, next Saturday is Small Business Saturday ๐Ÿ›๏ธ when the sun will be setting at 4:27 pm with dusk at 4:56 pm. On that day in 2022, we had mostly cloudy, rain showers and temperatures between 49 and 40 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 45 degrees. We hit a record high of 64 back in 2004.

I am watching the forecast, ๐ŸŒจ especially to see how much snow they get up north on Wednesday, but I’m hopeful to head up to the Adirondacks come Friday, to camp and maybe hike or possibly ski along the East Branch more likely. ๐Ÿ• I would probably take off Cyber Monday so I can have a three-day weekend, as I’ve been planning for some time now, though I am running a bit low on vacation time for the year, and don’t want to drop below 210 hours for the year if I can avoid it to maximize my roll over into next year, where I may need the extra hours to cover time spent working at the campaign committee along with trips I plan for the summer and autumn. ๐Ÿ‘ฉ‍๐Ÿ’ป That said, I’m hopeful to do remote work at times next year, so maybe I can extend some of my camping trips while working from the Spectulator Library or the hotspot and my laptop in a hammock from camp. But not until spring time, as it’s too cold and not enough solar in autumn.

Gray Day

The days go by too quickly it seems โŒ›

I was saddened, maybe even devestated to hear of John Wolcott’s passing while I was up in the wilderness, cut off from the news of the world. At one level I expected it sooner, he wasn’t well when I left for summer vacation and he hadn’t gotten better the last time I visited and I knew the end was near. And it was a cold and rainy four days, away from it all up at Piseco-Powley Road, though maybe it was good to be away from it all for four days before summer was done for good. No radio news, nothing up to date since leaving Thursday. Last summer weekend camping at least at Piseco-Powley though I might do an autumn trip and thinking Speculator for Labor Day Weekend. Can you believe it in two weeks?

Good afternoon! Partly cloudy and 74 degrees at the Herkimer Home Historical Site. โ›… There is a west breeze at 7 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. The dew point is 62 degrees.

I would have hoped for better weather for the weekend that was ๐ŸŒฆ๏ธ but I’m not surprised by rain every day with the summer that’s was and the forecast that degraded as the long weekend approached. There was some breaks of sunshine โ˜€ but most of the weekend was cloudy with times of rain, especially after dark but also each morning after I got up including take down take down day, earlier today. Cold and rainy. Not a wash out but at times I was glad I packed the propane heater it got a fair amount of use for August camping!

Fortunately I caught the impending rain โ˜” with the darkening skies and got the screen tent ๐ŸŽช, flags ๐ŸŽŒ and tarp down before they could get very wet. ๐Ÿ’ง Had a bit of sun today which is good for drying gear and as my starting and accessory batteries ๐Ÿ”‹ could use a good boost this morning as it’s been cloudy and I haven’t run my engine since Thursday. It was raining while driving down to Little Falls this afternoon but now it’s getting sunny and warmer.

This afternoon will be mostly sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 78 degrees at 4pm. Four degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around September 5th. Maximum dew point of 63 at 4pm. West wind around 8 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. It was somewhat humid. The high last year was 93 degrees. The record high of 97 was set in 1937.

The rainy weekend did leave a lot of time for reading ๐Ÿ“– and playing around with cooking ๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿณ some meals coming out better than others. Been trying to come up with filling meals that taste damn good, relatively easy to cook but also have less calories but more fiber and protein, along with essential vitamins. ๐Ÿ’Š Plus I have so much good farmers market ๐ŸŒฝ foods to eat up. The sweet corn ๐ŸŒฝ from Samdil’s was amazing as was the peaches ๐Ÿ‘ from Roger’s.

Took a few naps ๐Ÿ˜ด in the hammock besides reading, ๐Ÿ“– listening to podcasts and some bike riding ๐Ÿšฒ and hiking it’s been a very lazy weekend but I’m chocking it up to the weather. โ˜” Honestly though if it had been nicer it would have been a lazier weekend just floating on the tube โญ•. Let’s be honest. Still every day either walked at least five miles, rode 7 ยฝ or a combination of both. ๐Ÿšถ Do it’s not like I was just eating ๐Ÿด and sleeping. ๐Ÿ”ฅ Had some nice fires in part because it was so cold and rainy, smokey at times due to the wet wood.

Bike ๐Ÿšฒ and hiked part of the way back to both the swimming hole off Old Edick Road snowmobile trail on Friday and on Saturday did Goldmine Stream Falls. Lot of water ๐Ÿ’ฆ going over Goldmine Steam Falls. Thursday I rode up to Notch Mountain โ›ฐ and Friday also spent time at the Potholers but no swimming ๐ŸŠ due to it being very cold and the water levels dangerously high. I’ve never seen the Potholers so high in the summer months. ๐ŸŠโ€โ™‚๏ธ

Saturday night was the best night by far, stayed up until close to midnight watching the shooting stars โœจ from my hammock then listening to music ๐ŸŽถ down by the campfire ๐Ÿ”ฅ for warmth. Had a second beer ๐Ÿป and maybe a smoke ๐Ÿšฌ which is so uncommon these days since I’ve gotten into healthy eating in my forties. But also snacked on sweet corn ๐ŸŒฝ and peaches ๐Ÿ‘ by the fire. No more cookies these days, I go for natural fruits when I’m hungry. Greek yogurt too but not on Saturday. Switched on Country is so much funnier when your slightly stoned. ๐Ÿคช

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 1:04 pm with sun having an altitude of 59.5ยฐ from the due south horizon (-10.9ยฐ vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 3.5 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 7:18 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (282ยฐ). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west-northwest (288ยฐ) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:56 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 4 seconds with dusk around 8:24 pm, which is one minute and 34 seconds earlier than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ At dusk you’ll see the First Quarter ๐ŸŒ“ Moon in the west-southwest (246ยฐ) at an altitude of 14ยฐ from the horizon, 246,018 miles away. ๐Ÿš€ The best time to look at the stars is after 9:03 pm. At sunset, look for partly clear skies ๐ŸŒ„ and temperatures around 75 degrees. The dew point will be 64 degrees. There will be a west breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 13 hours and 47 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 40 seconds over yesterday.

Today out exploring Little Falls, Herkimer Home, Bike Path and Moss Island. ๐Ÿšฒ No set agenda, I’m just in the area until 6 pm or so when I’ll take NY 5S to Sprakers then down to Sloansville and US 20, maybe stop for ice cream ๐Ÿฆ and sweet corn ๐ŸŒฝ if I see a good place. I was surprised that Green Acres dinner and ice cream stand is still open in Dolgeville, I heard it’s closing but I’m not going back that way.

Tonight will have increasing clouds โ˜, with a low of 64 degrees at 6am. Four degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 64 at 7pm. Light northwest wind. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies. It was humid. It got down to 70 degrees. The record low of 42 occurred back in 1977.

The unavoidable truth is a five 5โƒฃ day work week ahead in the office ๐Ÿข as the head director is off for my unit, and as the deputy I have to step up and fill in for her role. It’s fine, but no more passing the buck, ignoring emails ๐Ÿ“ง and not taking immediate action on staff and inter departmental requests because I don’t want to step on the toes ๐Ÿ‘ฃ of the director. ๐Ÿ™ˆ It means no sneaking off to the woods this week. Promised my mom next week to do a clam bake for them too. ๐Ÿฆช Following weekend though probably head to Spectulator, maybe taking off that Friday or working remotely.

Need to order the bolt ๐Ÿ”ฉ and the tool to install the lost bolt on Blackie’s ๐Ÿšต rack. The zip tie was a good emergency fix but it still rattles and I’m not convinced that I should carry a lot of groceries on the rack with the loose bolt. Could fail under weight. ๐Ÿ Rather be safe then sorry and have groceries spill all over the road.

In 2014, seventy-two people are killed in Japan’s Hiroshima Prefecture by a series of landslides โ˜” caused by a month’s worth of rain that fell in one day. Reminds me of the some of the extreme rain we’ve been having lately.

I was sadden to learn of John Wolcott’s passing this afternoon ๐Ÿ˜ข while I was away from town at camp. ๐Ÿ‘ผ๐Ÿผ He was quite the man though I don’t know even half the story as so much of his memory had passed by the time I started interviewing him and going through his files. ๐Ÿ“‚ I do always wonder what was in his attic that burned in that fire ๐Ÿ”ฅ. I know after that fire I personally made sure to keep multiple off site back ups, scan in important documents and purge a lot of the paper ๐Ÿ“„ I owned. Never got to the really interesting stuff in his attic where the fire burned hottest. So much of the story untold. ๐Ÿ•ฏ

I’m glad I blog in part because it’s a way to ensure at least part of my story is told and can get found on the Way back Machine and the Internet Archives. ๐Ÿ–ฅ You never really know how long people’s lives will last, or the institutions and things around us. Here one day, gone the next. ๐Ÿ•Š Honestly I thought ๐Ÿ’ญ the news ๐Ÿ“ฐ would happen during summer vacation, though I’m glad I did spend a few afternoons with him at the hospital, took him around the Crossings and read to him before it was over. ๐Ÿฆ† ๐Ÿฆ ๐Ÿฆ‹ ๐ŸŽ I do wish I had found time to do that one more time before it was too late. ๐Ÿ™ I need to do better with my parents.

Looking ahead, there are 3 weeks until 6:30 Sunrise ๐ŸŒ‡ when the sun will be setting at 7:20 pm with dusk at 7:47 pm. On that day in 2022, we had mostly sunny, patches of fog and temperatures between 83 and 56 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 77 degrees. We hit a record high of 96 back in 1931.

Powley Bridge

It’s Monday – Let’s go chase that ducking money ๐Ÿ’ต

I mean Dan Halloran wasn’t wrong. Sometimes you got to swim in the mud and muck in the Cesspool of New York State to pay for the days riding Blackie through the cow shit and horse manure of Schuyler County. Those ten days went by so quickly and I’m back in Albany with the rain falling down doing my morning. The first day back is always the hardest, especially on such a dreary day but those eighteen flights of stairs must be climbed even with the door to door service of the local.

Good morning! Monday’s come back around again. Time for the morning walk and that old John Prine record. And maybe Paul Simon. ๐ŸŽถ Rain I know I’m shocked and 65 degrees for the morning walk in Delmar, NY. โ˜ There is a south-southeast breeze at 5 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. The dew point is 60 degrees. The skies will clear tomorrow around 9 am.

Out walking this morning ๐Ÿšถ in the rain like so many days lately back in the Albany. The weather was so unbelievably nice out in the Finger Lakes. ๐Ÿ“ป But it also was nice camping ๐Ÿ• somewhere without cell service ๐Ÿ”• and no radio – avoiding the shit known as the news, all bad and useless crap – and the even worse social media. I heard that Florida Man got indicted for even more felonies over the past week and might soon be subject to a protective order. Good for him and I do think his cases will ultimately for first amendment law โš– and restorative justice. I mean he will likely be the first felon ever to be a major presidential party candidate. ๐Ÿ‘ฉ๐Ÿป‍โš–๏ธMaybe he’s bad for our country but he’s a good force for it’s laws. Crises are often best the time for reform. I’m excited about some of the second amendment cases in front of the Supreme Court in the coming year. ๐Ÿ”ซ Whatever you think it Florida man, be has been a voice for change in the justice system – many times unintentionally.

Not to be overally negative after vacation, but I know I wouldn’t return to Albany if I didn’t like playing in the shit of the Cesspool, ๐Ÿ’ฉ and making that big boy money ๐Ÿ’ต from my corner office that overlooks the Capitol, Empire State Plaza and also the Hudson River and Dunn landfill that is when the caustic smoke from the Canada wildfires doesn’t drown out the skyline. I mean I wouldn’t listen to Paul Simon’s Duncan if I didn’t like that song. Like so many things in this world. It’s so hard to get up and going after 10 days of pure delight out in the Finger Lakes. I wish I could live every day out in the woods, in the country. ๐Ÿšœ But alas, I’m back in the city, back taking the local bus downtown to work. I know it’s going to be a great week, ๐Ÿ˜€ I have good healthy food to eat,

Today will have showers and thunderstorms before 10am, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm between 10am and noon, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Some of the storms could produce gusty winds and heavy rain. ๐ŸŒง High of 75 degrees at 4pm. Six degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around September 8th. Maximum dew point of 71 at 3pm. ๐Ÿ–๏ธ Southeast wind 8 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New not rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible. A year ago, we had cloudy skies. It became very sticky as the day progressed. The high last year was 91 degrees. The record high of 102 was set in 1918.

Pots of red kidney beans, brown rice with red lentils and split peas are cooking down this morning on the stove. ๐Ÿง‘‍๐Ÿณ Good carbs cooking down to be the basis of many meals this week. I double checked to make sure they were properly refrigerated or frozen and the stove off before leaving for work on the local bus ๐Ÿš. I was hoping to ride to work today ๐Ÿšฒ but the weather is not cooperating and I wasn’t running early enough to catch the express after all that cooking and breakfast to say nothing about the morning walk. Oatmeal pancakes ๐Ÿฅž for breakfast with some chia seeds mixed in and topped with frozen peaches, strawberries, mango and whatever else was in the blend with a little sugar free maple syrup.

I ended up spending a shocking ๐Ÿคฏ $120 in food this week at Hannaford, I fully admit I should have gone to Wally World last night but I was tired and my pantry was bare. I did end up rugged getting a lot of things, many things like the 5 lb bag of brown rice should last a few weeks. They didn’t have store brand only 5 lb of Carolina brown rice but the price was reasonable for a bag that size. They also had non-fat plain Greek yogurt actually in stock at Hannaford so I ended up buying 2 large containers as it can be hard to get locally. Unopened Greek yogurt has a shelf life of about two months refrigerated and two years frozen, which I was reading how good it freezes. Not that it would ever last that long because that’s how I get my dairy fix ๐Ÿฎ these days, though I try to eat in moderation st least when I’m not on vacation. ๐Ÿ‹ I also bought big bags of red and Vidalia onions ๐Ÿง…and lemons because I enjoyed such things a lot on vacation. Both can be used in so many meals, plus I’m hooked on fresh squeezed stevia lemonade especially on a hot summer evenings. There is worse things to be hooked on.

I do wish I had stopped at that farm stand I passed in Chenango County to get zucchini and more sweet corn ๐ŸŒฝ ๐Ÿ† but summer isn’t over and I should be able to get both at the farmers market at the Plaza this week. I forgot how wonderful zucchini I when I got some and chopped it up and fried it. I was tired ๐Ÿ˜ด and just kind of focused on getting home yesterday after vacation then stopping at farm stands. ๐Ÿคท I also would like to get more peaches ๐Ÿ‘ from the farm market, as they are so much better then the store-bought ones that are rock-hard and less tasty. Yesterday, I got plums ๐Ÿซ at the grocery store and they are pretty good. They are supposed to make your skin really shinny. Good after that sun tan I got last week. Trying to try new fruits when in season to learn new tastes, and maximize the health benefits of variety. Changes it up from apples and bananas ๐ŸŒ ๐Ÿ every week, though I still keep both of them in my office and like to have those for snacking.

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 1:02 pm with sun having an altitude of 63.9° from the due south horizon (-7° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.9 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 7:30 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (287°). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west-northwest (294°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:10 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 9 seconds with dusk around 8:40 pm, which is one minute and 18 seconds earlier than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ The best time to look at the stars is after 9:20 pm. At sunset, look for rain ๐ŸŒง and thunderstorms ๐ŸŒฉ and temperatures around 73 degrees. The dew point will be 70 degrees. There will be a south-southeast breeze at 10 mph. Today will have 14 hours and 18 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 22 seconds over yesterday.

More rain quite possibly tonight. They’re calling for a chance of showers and thunderstorms to start out the evening, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 10pm. Some of the storms could produce gusty winds and heavy rain. ๐ŸŒฉ Cloudy, with a low around 68. South wind 9 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. ๐Ÿ’ฆ I have to say I’m glad I’m not camping this week at least not in the Albany-area. ๐Ÿ˜ The Finger Lakes have been much drier then locally. I guess there isn’t much of a fire danger locally at this point. ๐Ÿš’ But I’m still hopeful to get out for my evening walk ๐Ÿšถ‍โ™€๏ธ after my dinner of salmon, rice, spinach, onions and any other thing that wets my appetite.  ๐ŸŸ ๐Ÿ˜‹

That said, we do have more good weather to look forward to come this weekend. ๐Ÿ˜Ž Saturday, a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 83. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Maximum dew point of 66 at 1pm. Sunday, ๐Ÿ˜‚a chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 80. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Maximum dew point of 68 at 11am. Typical average high for the weekend is 83 degrees. Just kind of a chance of thunderstorms, but that’s to be expected on a summer weekend. The plans for the weekend are to be decided, but it seems so nice. ๐Ÿฆท I have my dental cleaning on Friday, so I have to take off the first part of the morning for that but it could also be jumping off start to the weekend. Schoharie? Potholers? Adirondacks? So many options, though it seems like lately I’m always on the road burning up increasingly expensive gasoline. โ›ฝ If the forecast slides downhill, I’m thinking of doing some mountain biking in the Albany Pine Bush, and getting some watermelon at Market 32 ๐Ÿ‰ which apparently is on sale this week. I do dig the sweetness of watermelon like that one I chomped on summer vacation.

Looking ahead, there are 2 weeks until World Mosquito Day ๐Ÿž when the sun will be setting at 7:50 pm with dusk at 8:18 pm. On that day in 2022, we had hot weather partly sunny skies and temperatures between 88 and 70 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 82 degrees. We hit a record high of 98 back in 1916.

Forked Lake

End Remote Work ๐Ÿ’ป

As August fades away to September, the remote work program comes to an end in my office after Labor Day Weekend and it’s back to working downtown five days a week.

In some ways I’ll miss “phoning it in” (lol, but often working hard) from the Adirondacks and Green Mountains, there were many a good day working from Spectulator – both the library, the town park and the beach. Sometimes working from the hammock or the screen tent using my phone or laptop over the hot spot with a cold beer in the opposite hand. Those days happened, nobody knows if you are a dog on the internet.

Remote work

It was kind of a racket during the pandemic, kind of fun and kind of crazy making sure I always had good cell service and batteries kept charged. I took remote work to the extremes one summer week last year, literally phoning it in from the wilderness in the Green Mountain National Forest in Vermont. But it wasn’t like I was just goofing off – that week I actually wrote two large reports for work using my work laptop. Working remotely, I always make it a priority to be very responsive and provide the best service to clients.

The Ledge

Then there was that week I started at Mason Lake, heading up to Horseshoe Lake and the Bog River Flow, Primary Night 2020. Done remotely from camp, next to a big ol fire. Working 9-5 the day after primary night and then hiking Lows Ledge after work.

Hammock View

What an adventure that year and a half of the pandemic was for me. But it’s back to work downtown full time once Labor Day has passed, no more phoning it in. I guess it’s good for the local businesses and the transit authority, much like car crashes are good business for hospitals and television reporters.

 Dragon Fly

And I kind of like keeping work and pleasure separate – the Adirondacks will go back to being vacation land, none of this focusing on work 9-5 then trying to squeeze in some fun and sleep and ordinary camp duties before the next day of work.

November 17, 2020 Morning

Good morning! Happy Tuesday. Two weeks to December ๐ŸŽ„. Cloudy and 30 degrees in Delmar, NY. โ˜๏ธ There is a south-southwest breeze at 5 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. The skies will clear around 5 pm.

This is the middle of November ๐Ÿฆƒ so cool and cloudy weather is to be expected. ๐ŸŒฅ Out for my morning walk ๐Ÿšถ๐Ÿป, and it’s cool and gray but generally pleasant for the second half of November. A week from today will be the Tuesday before Thanksgiving ๐Ÿฆƒ. Listening to Simon and Garfunkel’s Cloudy.

Not AN ILLEGAL! At least when it comes to my truck. I got my new registration sticker on my truck ๐Ÿ“œ and my truck passed inspection but I have to go back to the shop for the sticker later in the week. Annoying that they haven’t gotten the stickers after the November 3rd rush but they said it would take two minutes to get the inspection finished later in the week but everything looked good. At any rate, it buys me time โŒš. At some point I’ll have to make a decision about the tires and probably the worn struts and the wheel bearing that I think is going although it might just be the wear noise of the tires.

Been doing a lot of research on internet options for January should the pandemic continue along for remote work ๐Ÿ’ป from home. I am thinking if I can reduce my data service on my phone ๐Ÿ“ฑ I can cover at least some of the cost. I just don’t think it’s practical to work in my truck from the library when it’s negative 20 out and I don’t want to screw up my good job because I’m so damn stubborn about technology. ๐Ÿ™„My phone plan expires in December, so I could cut down the data plan to save money there. I’ll probably have to reduce my monthly savings goals but I don’t want to kill the golden cow ๐Ÿฎ. At any rate, I would get the most basic and cheapest plan if I had to get it.

Plus it would be a heck of a lot easier than using the USB cable ๐Ÿ”Œ to transfer files ๐Ÿ“‚ between my phone ๐Ÿ“ฒ and the laptop ๐Ÿ’ป whenever I need a file between the two. It works but it’s kind of cumbersome to say the least. Plus then I could build smart ๐Ÿง  devices using microprocessors to pull data from the internet. On the other hand, I would miss my walks to the library and the park ๐Ÿž to get podcasts and other files.

I am working on a new chart ๐Ÿ“Š uploader for the blog that will allow me to directly upload CSV files saved from Open Office or Microsoft Excel and use them as graphs on the blog. That means I can create new graphs directly from my phone or any other computer ๐Ÿ–ฅ I may be on.

Those Kinzua and Allegheny Reservoir aerial photos ๐Ÿ—บ I’ve been going through are quite interesting, I am going to do some more work on them and eventually post some historical comparisons. ๐Ÿ“š Neat stuff.

Today will have a chance of rain and snow before 10am, then a chance of rain between 10am and 5pm, then a slight chance of rain and snow after 5pm. Mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒง, with a high of 42 degrees at 2pm. Five degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around November 29th. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Little or no snow accumulation expected. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 38 degrees. The record high of 73 was set in 1928. 2.8 inches of snow fell back in 1992.โ„

Today I decided to do the virtual meeting route from the library ๐Ÿ’ป rather than go downtown in part because I feel a bit congested in my nose. ๐Ÿ‘ƒ๐Ÿป I’m sure it’s just allergies now that windows are closed but everybody else will believe it’s the Corona ๐Ÿ‘พ even though I haven’t been drinking ๐Ÿป at all lately and have been mostly anti-social. ๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 11:41 am with sun having an altitude of 28.3ยฐ from the due south horizon (-42.6ยฐ vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 11.2 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 3:49 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (237ยฐ). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west-southwest (245ยฐ) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:32 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 13 seconds with dusk around 5:01 pm, which is 50 seconds earlier than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Crescent ๐ŸŒ’ Moon in the southwest (218ยฐ) at an altitude of 13ยฐ from the horizon, 231,656 miles away. ๐Ÿš€ The best time to look at the stars is after 5:37 pm. At sunset, look for rain ๐ŸŒง and temperatures around 39 degrees. There will be a west-northwest breeze at 10 mph. Today will have 9 hours and 40 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 4 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be partly cloudy ๐ŸŒค, with a low of 23 degrees at 5am. Eight degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around December 10th. Northwest wind 8 to 10 mph. In 2019, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 32 degrees. The record low of 10 occurred back in 1972.

Tomorrow is going to be bitterly cold โ„. I am not prepared for winter โ˜ƒ๏ธ but I have to admit that for the morning walk and evening walk ๐ŸงฃI wore my heavy Carhartt. I will have to leave the heat turned up tonight before bed so things don’t get too cold by mid night.

A picture perfect weekend on tap. ๐Ÿ˜Ž Saturday, partly sunny, with a high near 53. Sunday, partly sunny, with a high near 55. Typical average high for the weekend is 46 degrees.

This weekend I will probably stay in town, ๐Ÿก just because next weekend after Thanksgiving I might do a three day Buy Nothing Weekend trip to the Adirondacks. Sure I could probably work remotely from the library on that following in Speculator but the sun sets early this time of year. And I don’t want to drive home from the Adirondacks during the rut in the darkness.

As previously noted, there are 2 weeks until December ๐ŸŽ„ when the sun will be setting at 4:23 pm with dusk at 4:54 pm. On that day in 2019, we had snow and temperatures between 28 and 17 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 41 degrees. We hit a record high of 67 back in 1934.

 Morning At Camp

November 7, 2020 Night

Good evening! Partly clear and 52 degrees at the Stoney Pond State Forest. There is a west-southwest breeze at 6 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. The dew point is 43 degrees.

Walked down to Stoney Pond but there is enough clouds โ˜๏ธ that the Syracuse light pollution makes the stars โœจ much more difficult than previous nights. Came back to camp and sat by the fire ๐Ÿ”ฅ for a while. Definitely some nice scenery hiking along the Canastota-Cazenovia Trail and poking around Fenner. The wind farm and all the various livestock farms up that way are quite interesting to see. ๐Ÿฎ It’s amazing what people can make from the earth ๐ŸŒŽ tillage and grass. ๐Ÿšœ God bless the grass.

Joe Biden is the president elect and I listened to his speech ๐ŸŽค๐Ÿ‘ด๐Ÿป. Honestly with socially distant drive in rally due to COVID-19 it sounded like it was held at the median of the Belt Parkway. ๐Ÿš˜ I get it but it’s weird to hear car horns at a political speech. I voted for Jo Jergenson but I think Biden will be a much better president than Trump. Biden has so much more experience, he listens to experts, and he’s a calming influence during the pandemic. ๐Ÿ‘พBut even if I felt differently, I don’t have much say in the presidency beyond a bubble I marked on the voting Scantron machine. ๐Ÿ–‹๏ธ I don’t do many political rally anymore – protests are fun but I’m not interested in defending any particular cause. ๐Ÿคœ

Maybe Trump to a certain extent was a good thing. ๐Ÿคฌ He tore down the old rules about obscenity, brought down the presidency in some ways to the people by replacing the class and decorum of the office with that of a cheap suit worn by Billy Fuscillo. ๐Ÿ•ด๏ธ He made politicians a lot more free on their social media and many ways elevated politics over bureaucary and decorum which had gotten awful stuffy ๐Ÿง for the modern era. I think it’s fine for the world to know the president poops ๐Ÿ’ฉ and tweets from his gold plated toilet ๐Ÿšฝ. His three justices he appointed in the Supreme Court will provide an effective check on the new administration. โš– No one party should be too powerful. ๐Ÿ›ข That farm I passed with the very well used and blacked with melted plastic all over them burn barrels had a big ol Trump flag out front. But as a farmer I’m sure he’s done more than most to conserve our earth ๐ŸŒŽ and probably doesn’t send much trash to the landfill. ๐Ÿ”ฅ

Tonight will be mostly clear ๐ŸŒƒ, with a low of 47 degrees at 6am. 13 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around September 27th. Southwest wind around 6 mph. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 23 degrees. The record low of 18 occurred back in 1971.

I don’t know it feels colder than that already, โ„ but truth be told it was so warm and sunny today that everything seems a lot colder then it is. But sitting the next to the campfire ๐Ÿ”ฅwith my vest and cowboy hat ๐Ÿค  it’s quite warm. I realize that there is so much I can’t change about the world today but I can continue to enjoy my own life free and work to save for a better tomorrow. ๐Ÿ’ต The politicians are going to do what they do but I can’t turn off the radio ๐Ÿ“ป and avoid the social media. ๐Ÿ“ฑ I don’t think I’ll ever own of those colored televisions ๐Ÿ“บ,

Tonight will have a Last Quarter ๐ŸŒ— Moon with 54% illuminated. The moon will rise at 10:33 pm. The Beaver ๐Ÿป Moon is on Monday, November 23. The darkest hour is at 11:47 pm, followed by dawn at 6:16 am, and sun starting to rise at 6:46 am in the east-southeast (112ยฐ) and last for 3 minutes and 9 seconds. Sunrise is one minute and 16 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ„ The golden hour ends at 7:27 am with sun in the east-southeast (119ยฐ). Tonight will have 13 hours and 59 minutes of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 26 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will be sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 68 degrees at 2pm. 17 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around September 27th. Maximum dew point of 46 at 5pm. Light west wind. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning with more sun in the afternoon. The high last year was 37 degrees. The record high of 75 was set in 1975. 1.7 inches of snow fell back in 1894.โ„

Tomorrow I have to take down camp โ›บ, officially by eleven o’clock when my three night tenancy expires. I will miss the wild Hill and Hollow country of Madison County ๐Ÿฎ but it’s not going away any time soon. I mean this was the exact same campsite I was at a decade ago. But with the mild weather โ˜€ I haven’t been able to enjoy the solitude that was the case a decade ago – people are enjoying the nice weather. Can’t blame them. Me too!

Central NY ๐Ÿ—ฝ is different than the Adirondacks or the Green Mountains but I like the agricultural landscape for a change. ๐Ÿฎ There are a lot of neat trails and scenic vistas out along this way. I honestly haven’t spent a lot of time out in Cazenovia area in years and the Trailway is quite nice. ๐Ÿšถ๐Ÿป That said, Chittenango Falls was way too crowded but particularly the high country part of the Trailway was super quiet. ๐Ÿคซ I just wish more people would wear masks on the trail ๐Ÿ˜ท. Apparently social distancing isn’t as popular here. ๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ

Iysa beautiful landscape out here, and some day I want to live back out in the country ๐Ÿก๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿท but not one of those big fancy houses. More ramshackle like those often rundown farms I pass on by. There is something so beautiful about how nature grows back and works to take over everything – the abandoned homes and equipment, and just the mud and muck that can be found on every farm.

In four weeks on December 5 the sun will be setting in the west-southwest (239ยฐ) at 4:28 pm,๐ŸŒ„ which is 18 minutes and 45 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had mostly cloudy, snow showers and temperatures between 38 and 28 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 40 and 25 degrees. The record high of 65 degrees was set back in 2001.

I may do a December trip โ›บ but I don’t really know, as I expect soon for remote work ๐Ÿ’ป to be ending and I don’t have a lot of vacation time left at this point before the end of the year. I feel like the abnormally warm weather is soon to switch to be cold โ„ and snow ๐ŸŒจ. And once the roads are icy and snow covered, camping season is likely done for me unless I hot tent ๐ŸŽช locally as I’ve done some years during the holidays.

Looking ahead, Regular Deer Season in Southern Zone ๐ŸฆŒ is in 2 weeks, Small Business Saturday ๐Ÿ›๏ธ is in 3 weeks, Repeal of Prohibition Day ๐Ÿบ is in 4 weeks, Boxing Day ๐ŸฅŠ is in 7 weeks, Static Electric Shock Day ๐Ÿงผ is in 9 weeks, National Cheese Lovers Day ๐Ÿง€ is in 11 weeks, Save the Pine Bush Turns 43 ๐Ÿฆ‹ is in 13 weeks, 5:30 PM Sunset ๐ŸŒ† is in 15 weeks and Snow Moon ๐ŸŒ• is in 16 weeks.