For those who are fans of winter mud
For those who are fans of winter mud … ๐ง
It looks like we might get 1 1/4 inches of rain on Saturday, followed by another 1/4 inch on Sunday. While 54 degrees on Saturday might not be the warmest January day ever, it’s going to turn everything into more slop, as it will destroy any frost that might be remaining in the ground. ๐
Stewart’s $2.99 Ice Cream Sale Starts Today!
I am quite excited about the fact that from Monday, 1/6/20 to Sunday, 1/12/20 that all half gallons are just $2.99/each at Stewarts! ๐๐จ Granted, they have the sale four times of year, but their always awesome ice cream is from local cows and local farms, ๐๐ฝ๐ฎ and it's a true half gallon -- not one of those two-pint containers they sell at the stores -- pretending to be a half gallon.
A lot of local dairies, especially in Rensslear and Saratoga County ship their milk to Saratoga where it's processed into milk and ice cream. ๐ฅ I know what I'll be buying the next time I go to Stewarts to get more milk. Ice cream might not be a true health food, but so it's such a good treat especially the four times a year they have the special. ๐ฆ
Mid-Town Albany
With the Palmerstown Ridge in Saratoga County in the distance on this crystal clear day.
Taken on Sunday January 15, 2012 at John Boyd Thacher State Park.3 Great U.S. Trails We Wouldn’t Tackle Without a UTV
NPR
More than a year after his death, a cache of computer files saved on the hard drives of Thomas Hofeller, a prominent Republican redistricting strategist, is becoming public.
Republican state lawmakers in North Carolina fought in court to keep copies of these maps, spreadsheets and other documents from entering the public record. But some files have already come to light in recent months through court filings and news reports.
They have been cited as evidence of gerrymandering that got political maps thrown out in North Carolina, and they have raised questions about Hofeller's role in the Trump administration's failed push for a census citizenship question.
Now more of the files are available online through a website called The Hofeller Files, where Hofeller's daughter, Stephanie Hofeller, published a link to her copy of the files on Sunday after first announcing her plans in a tweet last month.
January 6, 2020 Morning
Good morning! Monday’s come back around again. It’s a five day work week once again. Been a long time since I’ve worked a full five day week but it should be busy and go quickly. Next Monday is Make Your Dream Come True Day ๐ก. Maybe that’s a bit too soon for he but I can continue to save and invest. Snow showers and 28 degrees at the Elm Ave Park & Ride – CDTA. โ Made for kind of a icy walk ๐ถ to the express bus ๐ this morning and I was running a little late but I made it in time. โ And I did not slip and fall, even those a few times it was a slosh. There is a south-southeast breeze at 6 mph. ๐. There are 0.2 inches of snow on the ground. โ ๏ธThings will start to thaw out at around 10 am. ๐ก๏ธ
Finished off the quiche that I made up on Sunday. ๐ฅง It was very good, and no I did not die or have any bad taste from cooking up the pie shell that had officially expired on November 16, 2016. ๐ It was pretty good and used up a bunch of eggs, with lots of broccoli, ๐ฑ cheese topping ๐ง and breadcrumbs ๐ from some stale bread in the refrigerator. Except for the issue of the broiler not working well, it came out pretty good. You know it’s good if it only lasted for two breakfasts, and I was a hurry to have it both mornings. I got to make it again, but I need more broccoli and another pie shell mix, this time maybe with an expiration date six years newer or so.
Kind of a pretty day with the snow โ enough to glaze up the sidewalks and ramps. There was a wreck on one of circle stack ramps โญ๐ข๐๐๐๐๐๐ and traffic is just generally moving slow today. Warm enough though with the salt that on the major roads, things are moving well if a bit slow. But thanks to Iran and Trump ๐บ there are delays on the bus turn around due to the gates being closed due to the supposed terrorist warnings. It’s annoying how sometimes the bus has to wait for the gates to open and close. I guess they are supposed to keep people safe, but we know it’s mostly to make the contractors rich with security theater.โ
Today will have a chance of snow, mainly before 4pm. Mostly cloudy ๐จ, with a high of 37 degrees at 1pm. Six degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 23rd. South wind 6 to 15 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 50%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than one inch possible. With the warmer temperatures I’m thinking the icy sidewalks won’t stick around. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 44 degrees. The record high of 71 was set in 2007. 12.7 inches of snow fell back in 2002.โ
Solar noon ๐ is at 12:02 pm with sun having an altitude of 24.9ยฐ from the due south horizon (-46ยฐ vs. 6/21). Almost to 25 degrees. Maybe tomorrow? The golden hour ๐ starts at 3:52 pm with the sun in the southwest (232ยฐ). ๐ธ The sunset is in the west-southwest (240ยฐ) starting at 4:34 pm and lasts for 3 minutes and 23 seconds with dusk around 5:08 pm, which is 58 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ The best time to look at the stars is after 5:44 pm. At sunset, look for snow ๐จ and temperatures around 36 degrees. There will be a west breeze at 15 mph. Today will have 9 hours and 11 minutes of daytime, an increase of one minute and 4 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will be partly cloudy ๐ค, with a low of 25 degrees at 5am. 10 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 14th. Maximum wind chill around 22 at 9pm; West wind 6 to 9 mph. In 2019, we had light snow in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 14 degrees. The record low of -12 occurred back in 1878.
I really am enjoying the big tin of hot coca mix I got from the store. โ I wanted to have hot coca for my New Years Eve Camping Trip but I couldn’t find it at Price Chopper, not my normal store, and I was running late. It’s probably good, because those little packets of hot coca don’t always burn up completely when tossed in the fire with the thin layer of aluminum foil, and I was trying to camp in a “tread lightly” fashion, doing as little noticeable damage to the forest as possible. I’m not delusional enough to believe you can camp with zero impacts, but I like to keep my campsites as clean and tidy as possible, with anything that doesn’t full burn get packed out. ๐ฒ But at home, the big tin of hot coca is wonderful — especially in coffee or on a cold evening. I can always pack some in a ziplock bag for camping. Probably a lot cheaper that way too. I do wish the container it came in was recycable — but I can probably tear off the aluminum parts for recycling and burn the rest. โป I normally do not have snacks at home, ๐ฌ although maybe I’ll break that tradition as this week is $2.99 for all flavors at the Stewarts Ice Cream Special Week. Yum! ๐จ I already see myself falling off the wagon. Fortunately though, I don’t ever have alcohol at home for the most part.๐บ
Another rainy but mild weekend on tap. โ Saturday, rain. High near 53. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Sunday, a chance of rain and snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 39. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Typical average high for the weekend is 30 degrees.
At least the rain will keep the salt off the roads. ๐ฆI have a lot of things to do in town next weekend including starting working on the Reszin Adam’s video – and possibly heading over to John Wolcott house to work on better labels ๐ for his files ๐.
๐น๐ป๐ผOnly 73 days remain until the first day of calendar spring!๐น๐ป๐ผ
I am thinking about doing a camping trip over Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend in two weekends, ๐ but a lot depends on the winter. This time if I do Cole Hill State Forest, I’ll make sure to leave a note on my truck where I am in case anybody reports it parked overnight. ๐ ฟ Although, honestly if there isn’t too much snow I would truly prefer to camp up Moscow Hill Area in Brookfield — I just like seeing that beautiful farm country, ๐ plus it’s nice having those hardened campsites with the gravel and the pavilion. Ideally, if there is no or little snow, I could drive right back there.
As previously noted, next Monday is Make Your Dream Come True Day ๐ก when the sun will be setting at 4:44 pm with dusk at 5:15 pm. On that day in 2019, we had partly sunny and temperatures between 23 and 10 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 30 degrees. We hit a record high of 71 back in 1932.