December 19, 2016 9 AM Update

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Good morning! An hour or so later the sun is up and the mercury is now around 17 degrees. I didn’t do very good at getting up this morning and indeed missed both the express bus and the earlier local.

I was running late this morning, and at eight AM noticed Vadney’s Underground Plumbing truck parked in the lot. Rushed in the shower to make sure I got a quick shower in before the water would be shut off. They are replacing the sewer line out front which for years has been problematic for the landlord. He had some kind of permit dispute with the town, so he couldn’t fix it. Hopefully now the tub will drain quicker once the new line is in. I’m hoping it’s done by the time I get home, but that may be unrealistic, as they seemed to have trouble finding the existing sewer line. At least I hope that water will be working.

Misplaced my bus pass but found it after I got on the bus. Ended up using my other card, but that’s fine, $1.30 won’t break the bank. I will get to work, abit a little later then I would I have hoped. So be it.

Going to be a cold one today but not as bad as Friday. It will be sunny, with a high of 24 degrees at 2pm. 11 degrees below normal. North wind 5 to 7 mph. A year ago, we had snow and a high of 39 degrees. The record high of 54 was set in 1895. 7.8 inches of snow fell back in 2008.

The sun will set at 4:24 pm with dusk around 4:56 pm, which is 26 seconds later than yesterday. Today will have 9 hours and 2 minutes of daylight, a decrease of 7 seconds over yesterday. Wednesday, the first day of winter is the shortest day of the year, when we will be down to about 9 hours and 1 minute of daylight. Staten Island has the most day light on that day of the year compared to all other municipalities. Massena, especially the part north of the 45th parallel at Robert Moses State Park, has the shortest day on the first day of winter.

Tonight will be mostly clear, with a low of 8 degrees at 6am. 12 degrees below normal. Light and variable wind becoming south around 5 mph after midnight. In 2015, it got down to 26 degrees with periods of snow. The record low of -19 occurred back in 1951.

Looking ahead to the most frigid part of January 2017, there are 4 weeks until Martin Luther King Day when the sun will be setting at 4:49 pm with dusk at 5:20 pm. On that day in 2016, we had rain, snow and temperatures between 40 and 29 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 30 degrees. We hit a record high of 62 back in 1995.

December 19, 2016 Morning

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Another dark and cold December morning. Sunrise this morning isn’t until 7:21 AM in Delmar. Once some light comes over the horizon, it will be mostly clear with temperatures around 14. Wind chill values are around negative one. 

Coffee is on the stove and waffles are in the oven, although I lack all the fruit that I enjoy on them. Got to go shopping soon. Maybe tonight? 

Today will be sunny, with a high of 24 degrees at 2pm. Still fairly cold this morning. 11 degrees below normal. Wind chill values as low as -1. North wind 5 to 8 mph.

Tuesday will sunny and 34 and Wednesday will be mostly sunny with clouds later and 38 degrees. Colder and grayer for the second half of the week. 

December 18, 2016 Night

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Good evening! Partly clear and 25 degrees in Delmar. Breezy, 18 mph breeze from the northwest with gusts up to 29 mph. You can hear the wind whipping around. The current wind chill is 11.

I just walked down to Stewart’s to buy milk for the coffee tomorrow. I didn’t think it was too cold but I was only out for a few minutes. 25 degrees is reasonable for an evening this time of year. No black ice outside, the roads and sidewalks dried out sufficiently before the the mercury dropped. The cold front has some good winds and lots of dry air.  

Tonight will have isolated snow showers before 11pm. Partly cloudy, with a low of 11 degrees at 6am. Nine degrees below normal. Cool but not unreasonably cold for the second half of December.  Wind chill values as low as zero. Northwest wind 9 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2015, it got down to 31 degrees with periods of snow. The record low of -13 occurred back in 1973.

Going to be a cold start tomorrow, not sure if I will walk down to the Park and Ride. I will get an early start regardless. 

Waning Gibbous Moon tonight with 63% illuminated. It should be rising soon and the clouds will be breaking.  The Last Quarter Moon is on Tuesday night with mostly cloudy expected.

Tomorrow will be sunny, with a high of 22 degrees at 1pm. 13 degrees below normal. Wind chill values as low as zero. Cold but sunny. Not as bad as Friday morning though. Northwest wind 5 to 7 mph. A year ago, we had snow and a high of 39 degrees. The record high of 54 was set in 1895. 7.8 inches of snow fell back in 2008. The sun will rise at 7:21 am with the first light at 6:49 am, which is 36 seconds later then yesterday.

Watched some of the How Farms Work videos I downloaded earlier from YouTube, worked on some maps and blog code, and yes I watched the guilty pleasure of commercial television known as Columbo. They are the best mysteries. Guilty pleasure. I don’t normally watch television but sometimes it is fun for a change, especially on a cold winter night like tonight. Maybe I should have devoted my attention to coding or mapping but a diversion is nice from time to time. 

Went out to my parents house for their tree decorating party but my sister and niece couldn’t make it because of the weather. I watched the forecast the whole time I was there, due to concerns over black ice. None seemed to happen locally due to the dry air and wind drying off the pavement before the freeze. Black ice is quite rare locally as low humidity usually precedes the freezing point but you never know. 

Made up some YouTube video of local roads from the trip out to my parents house. I enjoy sharing the scenery from out along the way. 

I will be glad to see the above freezing temperatures midweek, so I can turn the heat down when I’m not home. As long as it’s above 20, I turn the heat way down in the daytime and night to save energy. When it’s cold out the heating system is undersized to raise the temperature back up quickly when I get home. 

Tuesday or Wednesday this week I hope to take off to go hiking and maybe hunting. I have to ask for it off but it looks like those days they have sufficent staff. Not sure which day will have the best weather. Christmas Day I may go camping, it depends. That’s next Sunday and I have the following Monday off from work. 

Looking ahead, Christmas is Next Sunday, New Years Day is in 2 weeks, My 34th Birthday is in 6 weeks, Daylight Savings Time is in 12 weeks, Palm Sunday is in 16 weeks, Easter is in 17 weeks, Tax Day is in 4 months, Mother’s Day is in 21 weeks and Father’s Day is in 6 months.

Internet 

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I don’t believe in subscription services like cable TV or home Internet. Like debt they are one of the greatest evil in our society. Eventually I plan to move to a house that does not have electric utility services or subscription heat like oil or gas service. Solar panels, generators, wood and coal fireplaces don’t have monthly bills. Coal can be bought with cash and loaded in your pickup  from most farm and hardware stores. 

For the first time in almost a year, I watched commercial television. I saw Columbo was on one of the channels that I get over the antenna hooked up to the digital converter box hooked to my HDMI computer monitor. I don’t like commercial television but Columbo is a gateway drug. 

Then I saw one of those ads for Cablevision or Time Warner  whatever the local cable monopoly is. Only $90 for Internet plus another certain $50-70 in fees a month. I’m not poor, but I know my budget could never afford such a rate for a service. 

The digital converter box gets me PBS and most libraries and parks have free Internet. For casual web browsing, I have my $40 month basic 3G smartphone that meets most of my needs. I don’t understand the need for all these fancy services and technologies that people have. 

I know I shouldn’t have watched Colombo but I muted the ads. And worked on my laptop at the same time. 

December 18, 2016 Morning

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Talk about a dark start to our Sunday morning with pouring rain coming down, chewing away at the four inches or so of snow on the ground. 43 degrees and a good strong southerly breeze means it feels cold and wet though it’s more wet then cold. 

Next Sunday is Christmas for those of you who keep track of such things. Looks like it will be mild for Christmas Day and it would be fun to spend the day out camping.

Today will start out as rain but change over to snow by afternoon. Rain before 2pm, then a chance of rain and snow showers between 2pm and 3pm, then a slight chance of snow showers after 3pm. Some thunder is also possible. Patchy fog before 10am. High of 46 degrees at 10am. 11 degrees above normal. By 4pm, temperatures will drop to 31 degrees.   Look for 10 degrees by tomorrow morning. Breezy, with a south wind 13 to 23 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 38 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. 

A year ago, we had clouds and a high of 52 degrees. The record high of 60 was set in 1921. 17 inches of snow fell back in 1887.

The sun will set at 4:24 pm with dusk around 4:56 pm, which is 24 seconds later than yesterday. Today will have 9 hours and 3 minutes of daylight, a decrease of 11 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be partly cloudy, with a low of 10 degrees at 6am. 10 degrees below normal. Blustery, with a northwest wind 16 to 21 mph decreasing to 8 to 13 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 34 mph. In 2015, it got down to 31 degrees with snow flurries. The record low of -13 occurred back in 1973.

As previously noted, next Sunday is Christmas when the sun will be setting at 4:28 pm with dusk at 5:00 pm. On that day in 2015, we had rain and temperatures between 59 and 35 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 33 degrees. We hit a record high of 66 back in 1889 on Christmas.