Good Morning! Happy Thursday.

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The calm after the storm. Not that the storm affected me much, although I did take the local bus downtown on Wednesday, because I didn’t want to risk the delays of the Voorheesville-Altamont Bus (the 719) on grounds that it could be quite late due to bad roads in those more rural locations.

Altogether, yesterday was a pretty easy commute. There was some snow on the roads, and it wasn’t fun tromping through the snow to get the bus. But the 8:40 local bus was pretty much on time – it got me downtown within minutes of the normal time for the local. The 5:10 PM bus coming home, actually got me home early, because there was zero traffic, and we had one of those crazy bus drivers who didn’t think it was necessary to slow down on the slippery roads. If anything though, it’s an indictment of the 5 PM rush hour traffic that can be pretty awful.

Bright Blue Skies Today

Bright and sunny out for sure today. If your heading out, don’t forget your sunglasses from the intense glare of the snow.

The bright and sunny, calm after the storm of last week.

Autistic Child I Worked With During College Passed Away

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I saw that in the obituaries on Sunday that Tillman Moody, the autistic-child that I worked with as a counselor as a job during my college years passed away in what was described as a “accident in the home”. I worked with him for almost four years, until his condition worsened, and I became busy with my post-college job.

Apparently, in the past seven years, he went to college and was making a lot of improvements in his life, which make this all the more tragic.

His obituary basically explains it all:

Tilman Moody

Obituary
Moody, Tilman DELMAR Tilman Hammond Moody, much loved by mommy and daddy, James and Felix, Wizzy, Sofia and Rufus, died accidentally at home on Friday, January 31, 2014. Tilman was born in Glasgow, Scotland on April 9, 1989. He was a natural rebel who the world diagnosed with autism at age three years, four months. As one of the earlier generations of children with autism negotiating public school, Tilman helped to bring about brand new special education programs tailored to the unique needs of autistic individuals in Bethlehem. He overcame many obstacles to graduate Bethlehem Central High School in 2007, and went on to attend Siena College and Hudson Valley Community College. He was passionate about chemistry, woodworking, camping, landscaping, dancing, Bertie Botts jelly beans, Monopoly, and above all, reptiles. Tilman’s wild and generous spirit will live on with all who knew him, human or reptile. Relatives and friends are invited to call at the Applebee Funeral Home, 403 Kenwood Ave., Delmar on Monday, February 3, 2014 from 4 to 7 p.m. A graveside service will be held on Tuesday, at 11 a.m. in Bethlehem Cemetery, Delmar. Those who wish may send memorial donations to the Autism Society of the Greater Capital Region, 101 State St., Schenectady, NY 12305.
A very sad situation for sure. He was a good kid, despite his medical difficulties with autism. I spent many an weekend afternoon out in the community with him, and playing monopoly at his house. Smart as all get out, but he was definitely impacted by autism and the troublesome behaviors caused by autism.
autism-awareness
More about autism, the disease he suffered from.
I stopped by his wake briefly this afternoon and offered his parents my condolences.

Some brief reflections.

The 719 Today

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The Route 719 bus seems fairly lightly used today for the late run downtown. Four people heading downtown. But I guess this is the most off-peak time that it runs, and you got to offer service at different times if you want get people to ride the bus. Still it sure is convenient, even if the primary benefit is getting to work a little earlier for me.Untitled2

Another day with fairly light ridership of the 719 late bus downtown.

Good Morning! Happy Monday.

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The week has come back around again. It’s February. Kind of a gray cloudy start to the month, but we are expected to miss the snowstorm that hitting New York City today. Some projections show Albany getting 6-12” of snow on Wednesday. I am fine with that, as we could use some snow to help purty up the landscape. I much prefer snow on the weekdays, especially if it seems likely that it will clear up by the weekend.

Cows

Grey, cloudy weather today. And some snow on tap for Wednesday.

Why I Believe Punxsutawney Phil Didn’t See His Shadow

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I am of the belief that this is wrong…pic winter

The facts are clear.

1) There was no sunshine in Punxsutawney, PA this morning. This is a fact confirmed by the National Weather Service’s history record for nearby Dubois, PA.

D
a
t
e		 Time
(est)		 Wind
(mph)		 Vis.
(mi.)		 Weather Sky Cond. Temperature (ºF) Relative
Humidity		 Wind
Chill
(°F)		 Heat
Index
(°F)		 Pressure Precipitation (in.)
Air Dwpt 6 hour altimeter
(in)		 sea level
(mb)		 1 hr 3 hr 6 hr
Max. Min.
02 10:56 W 3 5.00 Light Snow Fog/Mist BKN004 OVC016 35 32 89% NA NA 29.96 1015.6
02 09:56 NW 3 1.75 Light Snow Fog/Mist OVC004 34 32 92% NA NA 29.96 1015.8 0.03 0.05
02 08:56 NW 7 8.00 Overcast OVC004 36 33 89% 30 NA 29.95 1015.2 0.02
02 07:56 W 7 0.25 Fog VV002 39 37 93% 34 NA 29.91 1013.8
02 06:56 W 7 0.25 Fog VV002 39 37 46 39 93% 34 NA 29.88 1012.7 0.02 0.07
02 05:56 W 8 0.25 Fog VV002 39 37 93% 33 NA 29.88 1012.6 0.01
02 04:56 W 9 2.00 Fog/Mist OVC003 40 38 93% 34 NA 29.88 1012.5 0.03
02 03:56 W 12 7.00 Overcast OVC009 40 37 89% 33 NA 29.87 1012.2 0.01
02 02:56 W 13 8.00 Overcast OVC013 42 36 79% 35 NA 29.87 1012.3 0.01
02 01:56 W 13 10.00 Overcast FEW026 OVC037 45 29 54% 39 NA 29.86 1012.2
02 00:56 SW 8 10.00 Overcast OVC048 46 26 46 41 46% 42 NA 29.86 1011.9

woodchuck2) Look at the video from this morning’s ceremony. It was clearly dark, foggy, and no sign of sunshine in sight.

The Ground Hog must see his shadow for there to be six more weeks of winter. Clearly this isn’t the case.

 

I am of the opinion that the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club got it wrong when they declared Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow.