Niagara Power Project’s recognized for influence on power production

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Niagara Power Project’s recognized for influence on power production

One of Robert Moses' biggest projects is now on the register of Historic Places ...

"The locale of a pioneering hydropower project near one of North America’s iconic natural wonders is now on the National Register of Historic Places."

"The National Park Service has approved the designation of the Niagara Power Project Historic District, a “massive complex engineering structure” that “dominates the Niagara River and the surrounding landscape through its massive scale and bold design.” Located in the town of Lewiston, the project sits along the 36-mile river that flows from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario and forms an international border between Ontario and New York."

Coleman Ovens Are Great

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This past weekend I had a few accidental experiments with my Coleman Folding Oven.

One, I left the Coleman Oven cooking muffins on the oven for over an hour, while I was pitching a tarp and gathering firewood. The muffins, while well done, were not black on the bottom, but instead were very well cooked throughout. No blackening on the bottom of the muffin. I am very impressed on how even the heating is on the Coleman Oven, although I think a lot of that has to do with the three fire brick I always stick in the bottom of the Colemen oven when cooking.

Coleman Oven

The second experiment was I ran out of propane, so I ended up cooking with the Coleman oven on some charcoal, on a grill over the campfire. It works equally well for cooking muffins. Things were evenly cooked, even if they were somewhat more smoky then the when cooked on the gas stove. Not at all black on the bottom side, very evenly cooked. Again, I was very happy with the results.

Apparently those Coleman Ovens have been around for a long time. I saw a similar oven box when I toured the LePorto house at the French Azul outside of Tonawanda, PA. They would put them on top of a wood stove for baking. Indeed, I could see using a Coleman Folding oven when I eventually live off grid, rather then a big oven, just as a way to save money and space over a full gas range, yet do the cooking that I need to enjoy life.

September 8, 2017 8 AM Update

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Good morning! Yeah, it’s Friday! Two weeks to Autumn Begins. That said, it’s already cool and gray enough to feel like autumn. Mostly  cloudy with some clearing to the east and 53 degrees in Delmar, NY. There is a south-southwest breeze at 6 mph. The dew point is 49 degrees. The skies will clear around 7 pm.

Taking another big articulated bus downtown from the Park and Ride. It seems a bit silly but I’m sure the driver also runs the 12 past the college at rush hour but it still seems silly to use such a big bus for so few passengers. I guess on the highway the fuel economy isn’t as bad. That said, it does have a rather rough ride. The acceleration and braking is really smooth but the truck and trailer design means you don’t have the nice  air suspension of a regular bus. I’m sure the driver though is enjoying the bonus he gets for driving the big bus. Its a couple bucks extra an hour and it adds up. 

Today will be scattered showers, with thunderstorms also possible after noon. Some of the storms could produce small hail. Mostly cloudy, with a high of 66 degrees at 2pm. Nine degrees below normal. Maximum dew point of 52 at 11am. South wind 6 to 11 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Definitely an early autumn day today. A year ago, we had mostly cloudy skies, clearing in the afternoon. It was very sticky. The high last year was 89 degrees. The record high of 94 was set in 2015.

The sun will set at 7:16 pm with dusk around 7:44 pm, which is one minute and 45 seconds earlier than yesterday. At sunset, look for partly cloudy conditions and 61 degrees. The dew point will be 50 degrees. There will be a west-northwest breeze at 9 mph. Today will have 12 hours and 47 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 49 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have isolated showers before midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low of 49 degrees at 5am. Five degrees below normal. Northwest wind 5 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2016, we had mostly cloudy skies. It was very sticky. It got down to 69 degrees. The record low of 36 occurred back in 1938.

This weekend I have to wire up the relay for the CB radio and get the kayak rack back on the truck so I can do some paddling and fishing, probably on Sunday at the Thacher Park. 

As previously noted, there are 2 weeks until Autumn Begins when the sun will be setting at 6:51 pm with dusk at 7:19 pm. On that day in 2016, we had mostly sunny skies and temperatures between 82 and 53 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 70 degrees. We hit a record high of 95 back in 1895.