Good morning! What day is it? Hump Day, of course. After a cloudy start this morning, it is now sunny and 57 degrees in North Syracuse. Calm wind. The dew point is 53 degrees. Certainly a nice autumn morning.

Earlier this morning, I went out for a walk at Green Lakes State Park. Explored some more of the trails, and this time traffic wasn’t too bad. A little more color today, but not that great. Still have a while for peak colors — I am not sure if it will happen by Columbus Day or the week after. I had been going down to Onondaga Lake, but Green Lakes really works out to be about the same distance when you consider the lighter traffic and higher speeds you have on Interstate 481. Change is good too, as it gets boring hiking the same way every day.

Today will be sunny, with a high of 72 degrees at 3pm. Eight degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 54 at 11am. East wind 3 to 6 mph. The record high of 91 was set in 1941. The sun will set at 6:37 pm with dusk around 7:05 pm, which is 1 minutes and 44 seconds earlier than yesterday. Today will have 11 hours and 29 minutes of daylight, a decrease of 2 minutes and 53 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be clear, with a low of 50 degrees at 6am. Seven degrees above normal. Southeast wind 3 to 5 mph. The record low of 24 occurred back in 1965.

On this day in 1982 was the start of the Chicago Tylenol murders. Johnson & Johnson initiates a nationwide product recall in the United States for all products in its Tylenol brand after several bottles in Chicago are found to have been laced with cyanide, resulting in seven deaths. Yuck. Now most pre-packaged medicine comes with a sealed cap to prevent people from tampering with Tylenol and other over-the-counter drugs.

And in 1966 in Detroit, there was a partial core meltdown at the Enrico Fermi demonstration nuclear breeder reactor.

There are 1 weeks until Yom Kippur when the sun will be setting at 6:25 pm with dusk at 6:53 pm. The average high temperature is 61 degrees, with a record high of 85 in 1954.

Good evening! Partly clear and 61 degrees in North Syracuse. Calm wind. The dew point is 55 degrees. Definitely a nice evening, and I wish I was staying somewhere I could have a porch, sitting out enjoying the evening with a cold beer.

Watching the debate tonight, and while I’m no fan of Trump, I have to say I’m rather impressed by Pence. Which is a bit scary, because I’m supposedly a liberal Democrat or something like that. I’m enjoying learning more about the candidates and making up my independent opinions about everyone who is running. Maybe I’ll vote for Hillary or maybe Trump or maybe Gary Johnson or Jill Stein. There is a lot of interesting voices in the process, and while I don’t agree totally with any one of them, I look forward to studying the totality of the evidence then ultimately checking my ballot. I’m a Democrat, and as such inclined towards Hillary, but I want to continue to learn more.

While I’m watching the debate on the Youtube/NPR Live Feed (at least until I completely loss interest), I started researching campgrounds along the Blue Ridge Parkway that will be open in November. Not a lot are open after October 29th. That means I’ll have to camp at various places in the Jefferson National Forest. There are many free or low cost primitive campgrounds and dispersed camping opportunities if I plan appropriately. That said, with the sunset at 5 PM in Viriginia during mid-November, I must be careful with the time. Snow and ice is also a danger on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I may end up spending more of my November in the Southern Tier/Western NY hunting, and skipping the Blue Ridge Parkway. It’s something to consider further.

Virginia is kind of a weird state. The debate reminded me of that. Very southern in many ways. I like country boys and I like my big jacked up truck, and spending time in the back country but I always found that the southerners I ran into down there were a bit different – especially blacks. I get being polite but the manorisms at times can be kind of strange. West Virginia in contrast feels much more like a northern state. 

For the rest of tonight, look for patchy fog after 4am. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low of 51 degrees at 6am. Quite mild. Eight degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 55 at 9pm. Light southeast wind. The record low of 26 occurred back in 1965. Waxing Crescent Moon tonight with 26% illuminated. The moon will set around 11:10 pm. The First Quarter Moon is on Sunday at 4:33 am with mostly cloudy expected. The Full “Hunter” Moon is on Sunday, October 16th at 4:23 am.

Tomorrow will have patchy fog before 10am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high of 71 degrees at 2pm. Seven degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 55 at 11am. Light east wind. The record high of 91 was set in 1941. The sun will rise at 7:06 am with the first light at 6:38 am, which is 1 minutes and 9 seconds later then yesterday.

Looking ahead, World Pasta Day is in 3 weeks, November 1st is in 4 weeks, Election Day is in 5 weeks and Square Dance Day is in 8 weeks.

I’ve had enough of this debate. I’m off to bed.

Good afternoon! Partly cloudy and 71 degrees in N. Syracuse. There is a east breeze at 5 mph. The dew point is 55 degrees. A nice fall afternoon now that sun is out, although we still don’t have a lot of color out here. By sunset look for the temperature to drop to around 67.

Tonight will be partly cloudy, with a low of 51 degrees at 6am. Eight degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 55 at 8pm. East wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. The record low of 26 occurred back in 1965. The sun will set at 6:38 pm with dusk around 7:07 pm, which is 1 minutes and 45 seconds earlier than yesterday.

Checked the oil and fluids in my truck and they looked good. Still need to do a state inspection, I might take it to the garage tomorrow. We will see. I have all month to get it done, but I always like to get done earlier in the month so I don’t have to worry about it later on, especially when I’m traveling for work.

Waxing Crescent Moon tonight with 26% illuminated. The moon will set around 11:10 pm. The First Quarter Moon is on Sunday at 4:33 am with mostly cloudy expected. The Full “Hunter” Moon is on Sunday, October 16th at 4:23 am.

Tomorrow will be mostly sunny, with a high of 71 degrees at 2pm. Seven degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 55 at 11am. Light east wind. The record high of 91 was set in 1941.

While we have to watch the weather, it could be a pretty decent week. Saturday, a chance of rain. Partly sunny, with a high near 69. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Maximum dew point of 55 at 4pm. Sunday, a chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 59. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Maximum dew point of 49 at 6am. Typical average high for the weekend is 63 degrees.

In four weeks on November 1 the sun will be setting at 5:55 pm, which is 43 minutes earlier then today. Definitely looking for the election to be over, and to get back to traveling. The average high is 54 degrees, and the record for that date is 78 degrees was set back in 1950.