What can I say. Adding that vital wheat gluten to my whole wheat bread added some extra fluff and it really made things less crumbly with much better texature. I’ll see how it holds up over the next few days, as I slowly slice off slices to dip in soup, make french toast and enjoy dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Good morning! Monday’s come back around again. ☔ Hope you know where your umbrella is and your windshield wipers work during this dire emergency winter storm, comma lol. Rain and 36 degrees in Delmar, NY. 🌧️ There is a northwest breeze at 11 mph. 🍃. Temperatures will drop below freezing at around 9 pm. ☃️
Taking the express bus 🚍 in on this rainy ☔ morning. Not the early one either, as by the time I was done cooking 🧑🏻🍳 and getting ready it was a no go for the earlier express. I’m not super excited about doing a lot of walking 🚶 this morning, though I’ll try to get in my steps 👣 for the day, maybe even if that means bundling up and going for the evening walk. Going to be cold by evening especially with the wind. 🌬️
There is a closure through the Empire State Plaza tunnels due to a water 💦 main ⛑ break which might cause delays but I don’t care I’m not driving 🚘 and it’s not a big deal if I’m a few minutes late. Looks like the driver is taking an alternative route through the city to avoid traffic. It’s not like next year when I’ll be transferring to the shuttle 🚀 bus out to the suburban office. I do miss riding in on my bike but not with the cold and wet rain. 🚲 Tomorrow I’ll be back riding to work. January is going to be tough on the biking, due to the cold and inevitable snow on the trail, not to mention it’s not safe to be riding Water Street after dark in the evening.
Today will rain and snow before 11am, then a slight chance of rain between 11am and noon. 🌞 High of 41 degrees at 12pm. One degree above normal, which is similar to a typical day around December 8th. Breezy, with a northwest wind 11 to 16 mph increasing to 17 to 22 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 39 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Little or no snow accumulation expected. I’m sure at some point we’ll have snow. 🌨 A year ago, we had light snow throughout the day. The high last year was 30 degrees. The record high of 61 was set in 1952. 4.3 inches of snow fell back in 1970.❄
Adding the vital wheat 🌾 gluten to my 100% whole wheat bread added a tad bit more fluff to the bread but it didn’t make it as light as white bread. 🍞 Did make things stick together a lot better though for better slicing and texture. I bet it will hold up better in my bean soup.🍛 I’ll have to experiment with different amounts of yeast again but ultimately whole wheat is going to whole wheat. I wouldn’t say though it’s a flat bread as it was much more fluffy then what I had. White bread might be a lot more fluffy but it’s less healthy. I guess a reasonable compromise might be whole-white wheat, which is whole grain but the white wheat rather then the slightly more protein rich red wheat.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 11:49 am with sun having an altitude of 24.4° from the due south horizon (-46.4° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 13.2 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 3:38 pm with the sun in the southwest (231°). 📸 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 4 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 5:30 pm. At sunset, look for partly cloudy skies 🌃 and temperatures around 37 degrees. The wind chill around sunset will be 26. ☃️ Breezy, 22 mph breeze ⛅ from the west-northwest with gusts up to 38mph. Tomorrow will have 9 hours and 9 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 42 seconds over today.
Looking forward to tonight with the bean soup and bread. 🍞 🍲 It should be a good evening, but cold with the wind. But I want to walk at any rate, I’ll bundle up. 🚶♀️ Then settle back down home under the heated blanket. Not super cold tonight, but it will be windy. But it could be a lot colder — look at the record low of negative 12.
Tonight will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a low of 28 degrees at 5am. Four degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around November 29th. Maximum wind chill around 22 at 5am; Northwest wind 7 to 15 mph becoming south after midnight. In 2022, we had light snow in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 20 degrees. The record low of -12 occurred back in 1988.
I was noticing that Price Chopper has raw walnuts for sale 🌰 🎅 which might be a lot of fun when I go camping next week to roast over an open fire. I am still thinking of heading out to Madison County in the lead-up to the Christmas Holiday but it really depends on how much snow there is. ❄️ Right now there is quite a bit of snow but I think much of it might melt by next weekend. I could do Stoney Pond or the Charles Baker Horse Camp. I know the mountain bike trails are closed but I can hike or ride the roads. 🚴♀️
Today in 1997, The Kyoto Protocol opens for signature. 🌎 The US would never ratify the agreement, and while some countries would participate, it was a lot of talk and not a lot of action. Every year the earth gets a little bit warmer and it ain’t because I drive a big jacked up truck 🛻 or burn those Styrofoam egg cartons I stuff in my trash and ultimately the fire. 🔥 Seriously though we are making some technological progress but things are still going in the wrong direction as the population increases and every year we burn more fossil fuel.
A picture perfect weekend on tap. 😎 Saturday, partly sunny, with a high near 44. I am thinking Saturday of doing a bicycle ride out to the Albany Pine Bush — and maybe taking the bus back home after dark, after doing some maul walking or similar activities, just to see how crazy it is. I think I can go past the Industrial Depot and the Guilderland National Guard Rifle Range to Willow Street and out from there. Then mountain bike 🚵♀️ around the Pine Bush. Sunday, partly sunny, with a high near 44. 🌞 Sunday, I am going to a family event watching the Nutcracker 👪 and then out to dinner. Not too bad for the weekend before Christmas 🤶. Typical average high for the weekend is 38 degrees.
Looking ahead, next Monday is Bake Cookies Day 🍪 when the sun will be setting at 4:25 pm with dusk at 4:55 pm. I got to bake cookies actually on Wednesday for the Cookie Share Day in the office on Thursday. I am thinking homemade cranberry-sugar cookies, going to try making with whole-wheat flour and stevia along with butter, so they aren’t quite as much junk food. On that day in 2022, we had partly cloudy and temperatures between 35 and 25 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 37 degrees. We hit a record high of 60 back in 1921.
I had no issues but things were kind of slick on the way home to and from the bus stop on heavy braking and more of a concern what how much road salt got on my bike riding on the front of the bus coming home last night. I guess I didn’t expect the snow to continue on and off all day yesterday and the roads to be wet and slushy come evening commute. That said it’s not going to be much longer I’m riding to work until it’s lighter in the evening and the bike trail is snow free.
Good morning! Yeah, it’s Friday! Survived another week, it’s not been a bad one. Day by day. Cloudy and 28 degrees in Delmar. ☁ Calm wind.There is a dusting of snow on the ground. ☃ Really aren’t going to make a snowman with that. ️Things will start to thaw out at around 9 am. 🌡️
Ridden to work all five days this week. 🚲 Not too bad, a few days had to use some due care and the front break is squeaking a bit from the road salt. I should wash and grease the bike good this week. Only the ride in due to darkness in the evening, but that’s fine. Only a few more weeks, as I’m afraid January will be too cold or snowy, plus the issue of taking the shuttle with my bike on it, although I could instead use CDTA. Come the spring though, I expect except on rainy days I’ll be riding in each day. 😀 An no more State Street Hill but a longer ride.
Today will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a high of 38 degrees at 1pm. Three degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around December 15th. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 51 degrees. The record high of 58 was set in 1927. 4.3 inches of snow fell back in 2001.❄
Just kind of a bleak early to mid-December day weather wise. 🎄 I think part of the reason they celebrate the holidays this time of year is to overcome the darkness that is upon us. That said, come Sunday we start gaining daylight in the evening, with the 5 PM sunset returning by the end of January. ⛄ While I am still planning one or two more camping trips this year, I’m kind of bummed out about not being able to ride to work in a few weeks. But it’s fine, those days of wearing a suit and tie 👔 aren’t that far off either.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 11:48 am with sun having an altitude of 24.7° from the due south horizon (-46.1° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 13.1 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 3:38 pm with the sun in the southwest (232°). 📸 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 22 seconds with dusk around 4:53 pm, which is 3 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 5:30 pm. At sunset, look for mostly cloudy skies ☁ and temperatures around 37 degrees. There will be a southeast breeze at 5 mph. Tomorrow will have 9 hours and 11 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 55 seconds over today.
Tonight will be mostly cloudy ☁️, with a low of 31 degrees at 12am. Six degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around November 19th. South wind 5 to 7 mph. In 2022, we had clear skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 25 degrees. The record low of -11 occurred back in 1902.
In 1963, Pan Am Flight 214, a Boeing 707, is struck by lightning and crashes near Elkton, Maryland, killing all 81 people on board. 🌩✈️ As the flight approached Philadelphia, the pilots made radio contact with air traffic control near Philadelphia at 8:42 pm. The controller informed the pilots that the airport was experiencing a line of thunderstorms in the vicinity, accompanied by strong winds and turbulence. The controller asked whether the pilots wanted to proceed directly to the airport or to enter a holding pattern to wait for the storm to pass. The crew elected to remain at 5,000 feet (1,500 m) in a holding pattern with five other aircraft. The controller told the pilots that the delay would last about 30 minutes. At 8:58 pm, the aircraft exploded.[6] The pilots were able to transmit a final message: “MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY. Clipper 214 out of control. Here we go.” Seconds later, the first officer of National Airlines Flight 16, holding 1,000 feet higher in the same holding pattern, radioed, “Clipper 214 is going down in flames.”The aircraft crashed at 8:59 pm in a corn field east of Elkton, Maryland, near the Delaware Turnpike, setting the rain-soaked field on fire. The aircraft was completely destroyed, and all of the occupants were killed. A lot has improved in lightening and airplane safety since then. I think pilots generally try to avoid thunderstorms and turbulence these days, and radar is far better then it once was.
Tomorrow will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a high of 45 degrees at 1pm. Five degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around November 27th. South wind 5 to 8 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 39 degrees. The record high of 62 was set in 1966. 7.3 inches of snow fell back in 2009.❄
Saturday plans are to be decided. 💭 I am of two minds. I would like to get the Salvation Army to look at clothes but I also don’t want to get a bunch of salt on my truck or have to gas it up. ⛽ Then do some riding on my mountain bike in the Albany Pine Bush and get groceries. 🛒 But I guess I’m okay with clothes for now, though I’d like to get some dressy stuff for wearing come January that fits well. 👔 Often I can find good things now that I’m so much slimmer. On the other hand, I could stay home, go for a nice long bike ride, maybe make some soup and then be home before dark and do more of the Udemy Machine Learning Course.
Looking ahead to Sunday, rain. 🌧 High near 55. South wind 11 to 16 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. Typical average high for the weekend is 40 degrees. It looks like the rain will be heavy enough that I won’t have to worry about much salt on the road at that point, and if anything any salt I get on my truck will be mostly washed off by the heavy rain. Not that I guess it makes much difference. Going shopping in the morning 🛒 would give me something to do and then go out to folks house later 👪 as I don’t think Sunday will be a good day for anything outdoors. ☔
Looking, next Friday is Bill of Rights Day 📜 when the sun will be setting at 4:24 pm with dusk at 4:54 pm. As I often point out, the constitution is not self-enforcing. It’s all a matter of quality of judges and the politicians people elect. Politicians and even judges ignore the law all of the time when it’s inconvenient and they have the power to get around it. On that day in 2022, we had partly cloudy, sleet and temperatures between 33 and 16 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 38 degrees. We hit a record high of 61 back in 2015.
How did I not know such a thing beforetoday? I heard of spiralizers but never used one. I’m very happy with my decision to hop on my bike, ride and get a zucchini spiralizer at Walmart rather than go to Indian Ladder Farms for apples today. The store bought apples are fine – probably any of the ones Indian Ladder at this point has been stored in nitrogen for the past year and would quickly spoil. In two weekends I’ll likely bike out to Indian Ladder.
Good afternoon! Clouds and sun and 76 degrees at the Delmar. 🌥 Probably a thunderstorm will come through before this blog post is done. There is a west-northwest breeze at 7 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 67 degrees and getting muggier as the thunderstorm approaches. The muggy weather ends tomorrow around 1 am. 😓
Black is great for a quick run to the grocery store 🛒 like this morning when I ran to Wally World to get a spiralizer for the zucchini that I wanted to try making zucchini lasagna out of. 🍝 With some of excess zucchini and tomatoes made an excellent lunch without all the carbohydrates to crash my blood sugar in a few hours. The spiralizer made excellent zucchini spaghetti, and used the food processor for the tomatoes plus some onions, jalapeños and Italian spices, a frying pan plus some parmesan up top. Good meal 🍴 for lunch. I do want to try zucchini bread next, using whole wheat flour and oatmeal along with stevia, cinnamon and olive oil – also maybe some grapes or other fruit mixed in for flavor. 🍞
What can I say, Blackie 🚵 is such a slow dog 🐶 on the paved bike trails Erie Canal Trail but awesome on gravel and light mountain biking on horse and easy to moderate mountain bicycle trails. It gets blown by the road bicycles like your standing still on the paved bike trails, with a continuous pace and top gear. ⚙ But then it’s so much fun on the gravel and even gated haul roads on the background where you’d shred road bike tires. Not so wonderful in deep mud or even in deeper sands like in parts of the Pine Bush but those crawl gears are awesome for crossing the rough terrain. Blackie on asphalt likes to go around 10 mph though on gently slopping terrain, it can easily do a constant 13-15 mph but road bikes blow by at 20-25 mph. It’s kind of the tractor on the interstate experience.
This afternoon will have isolated showers and thunderstorms. It’s summer. Mostly sunny 🌦, with a high of 79 degrees at 2pm. Four degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around September 1st. Maximum dew point of 67 at 12pm. West wind 7 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had cloudy skies. The high last year was 79 degrees. The record high of 98 was set in 1947.
Yesterday was a good day, checked off basically everything on my list besides the spiralizer which I got today. ☑ Got a lot of groceries at the Stanton Farm Stand 🍑 though the Pennsylvania peaches they had where a bit disappointing. Their sweet corn 🌽 was excellent along with their tomatoes. 🍅 No good clothes at Goodwill but not unexpected. Mountain biking in the Albany Pine Bush Preserve, 🦋was great though some of the trails were rougher than I expected and the deep sand wasn’t great in spots though that’s partly my fault for not airing the tires down more but I didn’t want pinch flats. 🚲 I did find a nice pair of shorts and long sleeve shirts at Salvation Army for $20 which fit my smaller size nicely 👍👕 and I mentioned it to Linda when I was visiting John and she gave me some of his old shirts which fit well too. Going to need to buy smaller jeans 👖 and in the fall should keep an eye on Salvation Army for dress clothes 👔 and maybe some new ties but I’ll probably end up buying much of that new at JC Penny. For me it’s not a money 💵 thing at this point but I’d rather keep good clothes out of the landfill and support needy people. 🏚️ Plus there is some unique stuff there, especially their ties.
Visiting John was nice though he was largely out of it due to sedatives for pain he’s on. 🧓 Rode some of the Erie Canalway which was crowded and the weather hot and sticky 😰 and the constant blow by of road bikes 🚲 was kind of obnoxious. I prefer more solitude and less spandex as I ride my slow as shit mountain bike. Got most of the supplies and food I needed at Walmart, had dinner – zucchini and onions again, followed by yogurt and frozen fruit with lemonade 🍋 and retired to bed 🛏.
Tonight will have a Waning Crescent 🌘 Moon with 6% illuminated. At 12 PM, the moon was in the southwest (221°) at an altitude of 70° from the horizon, some 249,616 miles away from where you are looking up from the earth. 🚀 At the state speed limit of 55 mph, you’ll make it there by February 19th. Buckle up for safety! 💺 The moon will set in the northwest (307°) at 7:04 pm. The Sturgeon 🐡 Moon is on Tuesday, August 29.
The darkest hour is at 1:01 am, followed by dawn at 5:30 am, and sun starting to rise at 6:00 am in the east-northeast (69°) and last for 3 minutes and 6 seconds. Sunrise is one minute and 4 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 The golden hour ends at 6:39 am with sun in the east-northeast (76°).Tonight will have 9 hours and 57 minutes of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 30 seconds over last night.
Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌃 , with a low of 60 degrees at 4am. One degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around August 20th. Maximum dew point of 63 at 6pm. Northwest wind 5 to 7 mph becoming light and variable after midnight. In 2022, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 54 degrees. The record low of 44 occurred back in 1941.
I don’t think I’ll get to Indian Ladder today 🍏 with rain storms around, and because I got a good ride doing a quick trip out of Walmart on Blackie. 🚵♀️ But soon in a bit I’ll head out to my parents house for Sunday dinner and to do my wash then do a quick hike up Bennett Hill. 🏔 Then get home, and unpacked. And ready for the upcoming week.
In four weeks on September 10 the sun will be setting in the west (278°) at 7:16 pm,🌄 which is 45 minutes and 46 seconds earlier then today. In 2022 on that day, we had mostly sunny, patches of fog and temperatures between 83 and 56 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 77 and 55 degrees. The record high of 96 degrees was set back in 1931.
Looking ahead, 6:30 Sunrise 🌇 is in 4 weeks, Constitution Day 📜 is in 5 weeks, October 🎃 is in 7 weeks, Average High is 65 🍂 is in 8 weeks, Average Night Below Freezing 🌌 is in 3 months, 7:15 AM Sunrise ⌛️ is in 17 weeks and Christmas Eve 🎅 is in 19 weeks.
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. 🎶 Rain I know I’m shocked and 65 degrees for the morning walk in Delmar, NY. ☁ There is a south-southeast breeze at 5 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 60 degrees. The skies will clear tomorrow around 9 am.
Out walking this morning 🚶 in the rain like so many days lately back in the Albany. The weather was so unbelievably nice out in the Finger Lakes. 📻 But it also was nice camping 🏕 somewhere without cell service 🔕 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 ⚖ and restorative justice. I mean he will likely be the first felon ever to be a major presidential party candidate. 👩🏻⚖️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. 🔫 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 Iknow I wouldn’t return to Albany if I didn’t like playing in the shit of the Cesspool, 💩 and making that big boy money 💵 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. 🚜 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, 😀 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. 🌧 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. 🏖️ 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. 🧑🍳 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 🚍. I was hoping to ride to work today 🚲 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 🥞 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 🤯 $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 🐮 these days, though I try to eat in moderation st least when I’m not on vacation. 🍋 I also bought big bags of red and Vidalia onions 🧅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 🌽 🍆 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 😴 and just kind of focused on getting home yesterday after vacation then stopping at farm stands. 🤷 I also would like to get more peaches 🍑 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 🫐 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 🍌 🍏 every week, though I still keep both of them in my office and like to have those for snacking.
Solar noon 🌞 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 🏅 starts at 7:30 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (287°). 📸 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. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:20 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and thunderstorms 🌩 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. 🌩 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. 💦 I have to say I’m glad I’m not camping this week at least not in the Albany-area. 🏘 The Finger Lakes have been much drier then locally. I guess there isn’t much of a fire danger locally at this point. 🚒 But I’m still hopeful to get out for my evening walk 🚶♀️ after my dinner of salmon, rice, spinach, onions and any other thing that wets my appetite. 🐟 😋
That said, we do have more good weather to look forward to come this weekend. 😎 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, 😂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. 🦷 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. ⛽ 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 🍉 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 🐞 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.
Honest I’m up and going this morning, though I’m still in still in quite a haze this morning despite making sure to be in bed by nine o’clock last night.
Good morning! Happy Thursday. Partly sunny 🌞 and 54 degrees in Delmar, NY. ⛅ Calm wind. The dew point is 52 degrees.
Out for the morning walk 🚶 and I’m not feeling it today. 7 ¾ miles yesterday. I got to bed 🛏 on tike last night but I think I’m still half asleep despite sleeping in to six. The sun ☀ in sky helps a lot.
Hoping to walk down to the Park and Ride this morning, 🚍 as I’m running close to on time this morning and I have an extra lunch in the office 🏢 as I got home early enough last night to eat at home. Not a session day, they’re gone, so no shirts to iron.
Today will be partly sunny 🌞, with a high of 75 degrees at 2pm. Six degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around May 31st. Maximum dew point of 56 at 6pm. Calm wind becoming southeast 5 to 7 mph in the morning. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. The high last year was 67 degrees. The record high of 95 was set in 1954.
I think I’m good on groceries 🍏 through Friday night though I think tomorrow in the evening I’ll go shopping 🛒 after the store is restocked. I think I want to get more shorts and especially boxers and under shirts as my current ones are much too large and my boxers at times are slipping off. With warmer weather coming I should continue to think about quick cold meals that don’t require much cooking. Beans and rice are a once a week thing so they don’t require too much heat and can be eaten cold. 🥘
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:58 pm with sun having an altitude of 70.8° from the due south horizon (-0° vs. 6/21). The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:55 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (297°). 📸 The sunset is in the borthwest (304°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:38 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 28 seconds with dusk around 9:11 pm, which is 12 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the First Quarter 🌓 Moon in the west (266°) at an altitude of 30° from the horizon, 252,135 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:58 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and temperatures around 68 degrees. The dew point will be 57 degrees. There will be a south-southeast breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 15 hours and 22 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 seconds over yesterday.
Looking at my pay stub 🎫 person it looks like I didn’t get my federal deduction quite right so I’m going to have to talk to the pay roll office about fixing that today. State taxes are good. So I guess that’s a step forward. 👣 I’ll have to talk to the Payroll office to get that straightened out.
Tonight will be scattered showers, mainly between 11pm and 3am. Cloudy 🌧, with a low of 60 degrees at 6am. Typical for tonight. Maximum dew point of 60 at 6am. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became light rain by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 60 degrees. The record low of 44 occurred back in 1940.
Humid with thunderstorms this weekend. 🌩 Saturday, a chance of showers before 11am, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 11am and 2pm, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 2pm. High near 82. South wind 6 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Maximum dew point of 71 at 1pm. Sunday, showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm, mainly after 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 83. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Maximum dew point of 70 at 10am. Typical average high for the weekend is 82 degrees.
This weekend, I still want to look at bicycles. 🚲 I would really like to be able to start commuting to work as soon as next week on a bicycle. I am going to part out my existing bicycle, but I’ve come to the conclusion that it would be better to start out fresh with a good used or new bicycle, something more designed for road riding then a hybrid bicycle. Then keep it in good maintance, especially keeping that back tire well inflated. Bicycle tires should be checked weekly for pressure based on the bicycle repair manual I’ve been reading. Every day I delay, it’s costing me a bus fare 🚒 to say nothing of the health benefits of riding back and forth to work. Or how handy it would be able to set up camp and then ride to trail heads, especially in more spread out areas like Piseco-Powley Road or even Moose River Plains. 🚵♀️
I am also thinking about going to visit John Wolcott on Saturday and then do an afternoon hike in the Pine Bush. 🌲🌲🦋 I doubt I’ll see as many Karner Blues at this point, as we are a few weeks past the lupine bloom but it’s always a nice hike in the Albany Pine Bush, especially as dusk approaches. Plus I am sure I will end up forgetting to get groceries at the store on Friday and will end up stopping at Market32 in Guilderland, although based on the affordable surprisingly affordable prices at Hannaford in Voorheesville 🏬 maybe that’s where I should be going.
I am hoping the following weekend — Independence Day Weekend 🎆 to get out of town. A lot depends if they give us that Monday July 3rd off as a state holiday. It could happen. The issue is camping four nights straight — I’ll need a permit or have to move mid-weekend. I worry about things filling up, especially if it’s nice. I could do the Green Mountain National Forest, though I guess your not supposed to be lighting off fireworks in the National Forest, though I doubt locally they do much enforcement on the 4th of July unless it’s very dry. Plus, I want to get fireworks on my way out there. Piseco-Powley would be fun again that weekend, but I don’t know if I will be able to get a campsite, though maybe I could leave early on Friday.
Looking ahead, there are 4 weeks until Ugly Truck Day 🚚 when the sun will be setting at 8:29 pm with dusk at 9:01 pm. On that day in 2022, we had hot and humid weather, mostly sunny skies and the inevitable thunderstorm and temperatures between 97 and 72 degrees. I think I was out camping in Finger Lakes National Forest that week. Or 4 weeks, was that week before and I was in the office? I don’t remember. I should think about summer vacation and what week I want to take off. Typically, the high temperature is 84 degrees. We hit a record high of 97 back in 1991.
Geographic Information Services (GIS) – Maps – Cartography
I am an amateur cartographer who designs maps and does a wide variety geospatial analysis using free and open-source geographic information software (GIS) and public sources of data to design quality maps, graphs, charts and datasets. I am looking for new and interesting projects to improve my skills, make connections and expand my portfolio.
Are you looking for my personal blog with it’s hiking, camping and outdoor recreation maps, along with a variety of charts, photos, and stories? Please visit andyarthur.org.
Mapping Avaliable
Tax/Property Mapping
High Resolution Aerial Photography
Recreational Maps – Hunting, Camping, Hiking
Georeference addresses using State Address Mapping service, plot them on a map
Wetlands, Topographic Contours, Land Cover
Compare historical aerial photos or maps to current photography
Web mapping using leaflet (HTML/Javascript file to embed on a website or use at home)
For most projects, there is no fee. I am looking for experience, references, mentors and connections in the geospatial community.
If you have a large project, let’s talk about it. I might be willing to do it for free, if it’s something really interesting or important like fighting suburban sprawl and pollution. I don’t a business or taxes set up, so I can’t really charge at this point.
How to get started?
Please send me an email describing the mapping or data project in as much detail as possible.
US Census – 2019 American Community Survey, 2020 US Census
NYS Tax and Assessment Rolls (2020)
NYSDOT Traffic Counts and Road Data
Historical Aerial Photography (primarily 1952, but earlier and later exist)
ArcGIS REST/Services and WMS Services from state and local agencies
LiDAR Elevation Profiles
USGS Topographic Maps, historic and modern – with overlays if requested
Data Repositories like CUGIR, DataNY.gov and NYSGIS
Recreation data from NYSDEC
Software Used
Quantum GIS (QGIS) including 3D Mapping
Geodata Abstraction Library (GDAL, ogr2ogr)
Python, including the data-science libraries PANDAS and GeoPANDAS
LeafletJS Web Mapping Services
Geographies Avaliable
Primary Capital Region and also much of New York State, also some for Pennsylvania, Vermont, West Virginia
State, county, municipal, school districts – Most data sets
Parks, highways, buffer (distance to) – Most data sets
Election districts – Roughly 75% of NYS counties
Census Tract or Blockgroup – 2019 American Community Survey
Tabulation Block – 2020 US Census
Are printed maps avaliable at this time?
Not currently. I can send you a file based on your specifications to print at your local print shop.
How long do mapping projects take?
Depends on complexity of the project. Many projects only take minutes, however if a project requires georeferencing, data cleaning, or custom shapes or layouts, it might take significantly longer. More revisions lead to better quality output.
Do you make maps professionally?
No! This is just a hobby. But I’m interested in expanding my skills. I do a lot of mapping for my blog and in support of community organizations like Save the Pine Bush.
Are my maps of good quality?
Thats for you to decide. I don’t have formal education in map making, and I don’t have professional tools. But do take a look at the work I’ve done below.
Examples of Maps
This shows a 3D rendering of the Buckville Canal north of Hamilton
This map shows the use of 2020 PL 94-171 data to calculate population density in City of Albany.
This 1985 aerial photo shows Crossgates Mall prior to it’s expansion.
This GIF image shows the change in unemployment during Coronavirus panademic.
This image shows hiking trails near Brooktrout, Falls Pond and Deep Lake.
Peebles Island, a Comparison 1952
3D Interactive of campsites at Moose River Plains.
import pandas as pd
import geopandas as gpd
# path to overlay shapefile
overlayshp = r'/tmp/dis_to_albany.gpkg'
# summary level -- 750 is tabulation block, 150 is blockgroup
# large areas over about 50 miles much faster to use bg
summaryLevel = 150
#summaryLevel = 750
# path to block or blockgroup file
if summaryLevel == 150:
blockshp = r'/home/andy/Documents/GIS.Data/census.tiger/36_New_York/tl_2020_36_bg20.shp.gpkg'
else:
blockshp = r'/home/andy/Documents/GIS.Data/census.tiger/36_New_York/tl_2020_36_tabblock20.shp.gpkg'
# path to PL 94-171 redistricting geoheader file
pl94171File = '/home/andy/Desktop/nygeo2020.pl'
# field to categorize on (such as Ward -- required!)
catField = 'Name'
# geo header contains 2020 census population in column 90
# per PL 94-171 documentation, low memory chunking disabled
# as it causes issues with the geoid column being mixed types
df=pd.read_csv(pl94171File,delimiter='|',header=None, low_memory=False )
# column 2 is summary level
population=df[(df.iloc[:,2] == summaryLevel)][[9,90]]
# load overlay
overlay = gpd.read_file(overlayshp).to_crs(epsg='3857')
# shapefile of nys 2020 blocks, IMPORTANT (!) mask by output file for speed
blocks = gpd.read_file(blockshp,mask=overlay).to_crs(epsg='3857')
# geoid for linking to shapefile is column 9
joinedBlocks=blocks.set_index('GEOID20').join(population.set_index(9))
# store the size of unbroken blocks
# in case overlay lines break blocks into two
joinedBlocks['area']=joinedBlocks.area
# run union
unionBlocks=gpd.overlay(overlay, joinedBlocks, how='union')
# drop blocks outside of overlay
unionBlocks=unionBlocks.dropna(subset=[catField])
# create population projection when a block crosses
# an overlay line -- avoid double counting -- this isn't perfect
# as we loose a 0.15 percent due to floating point errors
unionBlocks['sublock']=unionBlocks[90]*(unionBlocks.area/unionBlocks['area'])
# sum blocks in category
unionBlocks=pd.DataFrame(unionBlocks.groupby(catField).sum()['sublock'])
# rename columns
unionBlocks=unionBlocks.rename({'sublock': '2020 Census Population'},axis=1)
# calculate cumulative sum as you go out each ring
unionBlocks['millions']=unionBlocks.cumsum(axis=0)['2020 Census Population']/1000000
# each ring is 50 miles
unionBlocks['miles']=unionBlocks.index*50
# output
unionBlocks
Land use in town of Berne (from 2016 National Land Cover Dataset)
Most highly assessed properties in Albany County …
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.
Bicycle Trails and “Blackie” My Mountain Bike 
Python and Pandas 
Politics 
The Earth 
Saving Money 
Mission Fifty & Being Healthier 
/ Enjoying Life 
