As we head into the nine o’clock hour, we are seeing more sun and blue skies with temperatures around 44. 56 degrees and even more sun later but then this afternoon the mercury will start dropping and it will drop through the weekend. I brought my umbrella but honestly if it rains downtown it usually is useless with the wind. I’m better off to just run to the bus shelter.

The sun will set at 5:54 pm with dusk around 6:22 pm, which is one minute and 12 seconds later than yesterday. Today will have 11 hours and 37 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 53 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have a slight chance of rain showers before 3am, then a slight chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly clear, with a low of 33 degrees at 6am. Eight degrees above normal. West wind 8 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 34 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2016, it got down to 48 degrees under partly cloudy skies. The record low of -14 occurred back in 1943.

Sunny but cold weather this weekend. Like last weekend only colder. So cold that if you don’t bundle up you might freeze your dip stick off. Maybe not record breaking cold for mid March but it will still feel cold with the wind. I don’t think I will be outdoors doing any kind of wiring, and hiking will have to wait for milder temperatures of Sunday. But just think all of the miles I’m saving.

I will have to do an oil change come April based on the miles I’ve been driving — but this time I am just going to take it somewhere to go the oil change I think. Maybe Midas in Glenmont. I don’t want to take it to a full repair shop due to labor costs, but it won’t fit in the quick lube garages. It will be quicker, and just less of a pain climbing under the truck, for probably only $30-40 more then I would do it for myself. Less worry and hassle, having to find a place that sells the synthetic 5W30, which can sometimes be hard to find — a lot of old cars don’t use the synthetic and the newer motors, including GM trucks, typically use a thinner oil for fuel economy reasons.

In 1965, thirty-five hundred United States Marines are the first American land combat forces committed during the Vietnam War. This would be the start of escalation of the Vietnam War a war that would tear at the fabric of America’s post war consensus. Much of what happened during the Vietnam War lead to the election of Donald John Trump.

Playing with that switch box last night, I’m very happy with the way those switches feel on the fingers and how they are big, firm feeling. I can put the voltage meter and USB ports on a switch too by switching around the quick connection clips. I like the set up a lot. Can’t wait to get it all wired up.

Renewed by blog hosting contract through October 2020. It wasn’t going to expire until autumn but I figured after getting my tax refund, I should do it now. It’s not a lot of money, like $6 a month, and I like sharing my pictures, maps and thoughts. I have had the same hosting company for 15 years now, and I’m generally happy with their services. I also transferred my domain names over to the hosting company, because the third-party domain registrar I was using seem to have a slow and unreliable website, and I kept forgetting the password. The hosting company has cheaper domain registration nowadays, and honestly, I like having the auto-renew feature for the domain names, so I don’t have to remember. I do have to be a bit careful with money though because I still owe the state like $300 on April 15th and my insurance company like $450 for the truck insurance come March 29th.

As previously noted, next Wednesday is Ides of March when the sun will be setting at 7:02 pm with dusk at 7:30 pm (Daylight Savings Time). The sunlight in the evening will be really nice. Dusk closer to 8 or 8:30 would be even better but those days will be here before you know it. April 9th for 8 pm dusk. On that day in 2016, we had cloudy skies and temperatures between 58 and 39 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 44 degrees. We hit a record high of 72 back in 1989.

Good morning! What day is it? Hump Day, of course. Next Wednesday is the Ides of March. Better watch out for those friendly strangers in Black Sedans with pictures and candy asking you to hop in their car. Light rain and 44 degrees in Delmar, NY. There is a west-northwest breeze at 9 mph. The skies will clear around 8 am.

Today will have continued scattered showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 2pm. Increasing clouds, with a high of 55 degrees at 1pm. 16 degrees above normal. Southwest wind 9 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 33 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A year ago, we had mostly cloudy skies and a high of 60 degrees. The record high of 68 was set in 2012. 6.5 inches of snow fell back in 2013.