Coffee owes its global ascendancy to a fortuitous evolutionary accident: The chemical compound that the plant makes to defend itself against insects happens to alter human consciousness in ways we find desirable, making us more energetic and industrious—and notably better workers. That chemical of course is caffeine, which is now the world’s most popular psychoactive drug, used daily by 80 percent of humanity. (It is the only such drug we routinely give to our children, in the form of soda.) Along with the tea plant, which produces the same compound in its leaves, coffee has helped create exactly the kind of world that coffee needs to thrive: a world driven by consumer capitalism, ringed by global trade, and dominated by a species that can now barely get out of bed without its help.
Yet for the most part, these boomers’ relative unwillingness to confront the reality of COVID-19 seems to stem from the same impulse that guided my worst decisions during my teenage years: They just don’t like being told what to do, whether it’s in their best interest or not. “When you’re 55-plus and 60-plus, you’re already limited so much by what society says you can/can’t do due to your age,” says Deanna Kugler, 30, a public-relations professional based in New York. Kugler says she regularly fights with her parents, who live on Long Island, about things like going out to dinner and traveling to special events. “There’s a huge stigma around boomers not knowing things, being able to do certain things — I’m sure they recognize that and think, ‘I can do anything!’ when really they should be cautious and staying inside.”
He must be sitting in the earth, enjoying all that fresh manure and dirt odor, as spring time approaches.
Taken on Sunday March 21, 2010 at Middleburgh Cliff.Good morning! Happy Spring 🌷! The sun passed the equator as the most direct spot its hitting the earth. 🌎 Three weeks to Good Friday ✝️. Rain showers and 47 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☔March showers bring April mud. 👢 At least now I have good boots for that purpose. There is a south breeze at 11 mph. 🍃. Temperatures will drop below freezing at tomorrow around 5 am. ☃️
Today will have showers likely, with thunderstorms also possible after 5pm. ⚡ Cloudy 🌦, with a high of 71 degrees at 5pm. 25 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around May 20th. Maximum dew point of 58 at 4pm. South wind 11 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Should be fun to watch from the Coronavirus office. 💦A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 55 degrees. The record high of 78 was set in 2012. That would be nice. 7 inches of snow fell back in 1944.❄
With the lack of sun ☀ might be another tight day for power to run my laptop for work 💻 but it worked out yesterday and should be okay today too. It turns out that my laptop draws less current than I originally expected, but I should fix the plug 🔌 on my DC to DC car charger for my laptop this weekend to further improve efficiency by cutting out the inverter loses. I have a he adapter but I accidentally broke the plug on it. The main thing is figuring out which is the hot and ground on the plug when I splice on another plug. I might eventually be getting an assigned computer for work should the shutdown extend multiple weeks but I was told that the computers were back ordered.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:04 pm with sun having an altitude of 47.5° from the due south horizon (-23.4° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 5.5 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. Shorter than Mini Mike, a fact the folks slinging cow poop in their spreaders appreciate. 💩 Soil science is fascinating, been studying it lately, reading more about it online. Did you see that video that Our Wyoming Life posted about Mini Mike and agriculture a few weeks ago? The golden hour 🏅 starts at 6:31 pm with the sun in the west (265°). 📸 The sunset is in the west (271°) starting at 7:05 pm and lasts for 2 minutes and 54 seconds with dusk around 7:36 pm, which is one minute and 10 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:09 pm. At sunset, look for rain showers 🌧 and temperatures around 64 degrees. The dew point will be 54 degrees. There will be a west breeze at 14 mph with gusts up to 25mph. Today will have 12 hours and 10 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 55 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms before 7pm, then a slight chance of showers between 7pm and 9pm. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 31 degrees at 6am. Four degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 29th. Northwest wind 14 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 29 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 38 degrees. The record low of -1 occurred back in 1956.
Tomorrow will be sunny 🌞, with a high of 44 degrees at 4pm. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 16th. Northwest wind 9 to 11 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 48 degrees. The record high of 78 was set in 1921. 6 inches of snow fell back in 1905.❄
So tomorrow I’m going to the recycling center ♻ to get rid of my bottles and cans 🍶 and then finish going through my camping gear and getting ready for the upcoming season. ⛺ My sleeping bags have been hung up to air out, my camp stove cleaned. I thought about going to Aldi for groceries and Schodack Island for a walk 🚶 but I don’t know, it might be crowded.
Looking ahead to Sunday, sunny, with a high near 41. North wind 3 to 6 mph. ☀ Typical average high for the weekend is 46 degrees. Assuming that I don’t have other things to do in the Pine Bush, I am thinking of hiking up at Partridge Run for the bulk of the day, probably mostly on the dirt roads because the trails will be muddy unless of course I wear my boots. I like doing more nature study and observation. 🐦
As previously noted, there are 3 weeks until Good Friday ✝️ when the sun will be setting at 7:32 pm with dusk at 8:01 pm. On that day in 2019, we had partly cloudy and temperatures between 50 and 32 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 56 degrees. We hit a record high of 86 back in 1922.
In four weeks on April 17 the sun will be setting in the west-northwest (285°) at 7:40 pm,🌄 which is 31 minutes and 59 seconds later then today. In 2019 on that day, we had partly sunny and temperatures between 62 and 32 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 59 and 38 degrees. The record high of 91 degrees was set back in 2002. Nicer weather is just around the corner.
Looking ahead, Good Friday ✝️ is in 3 weeks, May 🕊 is in 6 weeks, 8:30 PM Sunset ️⛱️ is in 11 weeks, Last Day of Session 🏛 is in 3 months, Summer ️⛱️ is in 3 months and Inauguration Day 2021 👴🏻 is in 10 months.
