August 21, 2020 Morning

Good morning! Yeah, it’s Friday! โ˜บ Two weeks to Labor Day Weekend Begins ๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐Ÿญ. Nice cutting torch in the emoji. That book ๐Ÿ“™ I read ๐Ÿ“– on welding ๐Ÿ—๏ธ a few months ago was very interesting. Mostly sunny and 59 degrees in Delmar, NY. Calm wind. The dew point is 53 degrees.

Got to bed early ๐Ÿ› and I woke up quite early too. But that’s good it ensures that I can go for my morning walk ๐Ÿšถ๐Ÿป before what appears to be a very busy day today at work. I didn’t even realize last night was the DNC speeches this morning as I was too busy reading that book on pig farming. ๐Ÿฝ Understanding feed rations for hogs is probably far more important than whatever bull ๐Ÿ‚ Biden his Time or the Trumpster is rambling about.

I was annoyed that I am out of milk ๐Ÿฎ again but I had enough for my coffee โ˜• which was a little blacker than normal. ๐Ÿ–คI don’t do creamer or sugar or salt in my coffee but I do like milk on my coffee. I usually prefer my coffee cold this time of year – after sitting on the stove for a few days. I’m sure the mold growth adds flavor and is important for fighting off the Corona’s virus. ๐Ÿ‘พ

Starting out as another autumn like morning but more heat will push in today ๐Ÿ˜ฐ and especially tomorrow. But fortunately tomorrow I’m planning to head out to Schoharie and spend some time at the Mine Kill Pool ๐ŸŠ๐Ÿปโ€โ™‚๏ธ before it’s done for the summer. The morning walk ๐Ÿšถ๐Ÿป should be nice today.

I realize with two Zoom meetings ๐Ÿ“น today I’m going to have to shower ๐Ÿšฟ and shave and put on my politician’s suit ๐Ÿ‘”well at least my dress shirt and blazer. Otherwise with remote work nobody knows on the internet if you are dog ๐Ÿถ.

Today will be sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 85 degrees at 3pm. Five degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 58 at 11am. Calm wind becoming west around 6 mph in the afternoon. A year ago, we had light rain in the morning, which became thunderstorm by afternoon. It was very sticky. The high last year was 85 degrees. Ditto. The record high of 98 was set in 1916.

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 12:59 pm with sun having an altitude of 59.3ยฐ from the due south horizon (-11.5ยฐ vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 3.6 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 7:11 pm with the sun in the west (281ยฐ). ๐Ÿ“ธ The sunset is in the west-northwest (287ยฐ) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:49 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 2 seconds with dusk around 8:17 pm, which is one minute and 35 seconds earlier than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Crescent ๐ŸŒ’ Moon in the west (259ยฐ) at an altitude of 14ยฐ from the horizon, 226,696 miles away. ๐Ÿš€ The best time to look at the stars is after 8:55 pm. At sunset, look for partly clear skies ๐ŸŒ„ and temperatures around 79 degrees. The dew point will be 58 degrees. There will be a west-northwest breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 13 hours and 38 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 39 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be partly cloudy ๐ŸŒƒ, with a low of 58 degrees at 5am. One degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around August 27th. Maximum dew point of 59 at 10pm. Light and variable wind. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It was sticky. It got down to 65 degrees. The record low of 39 occurred back in 1982.

On this day in 1959, United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs an executive order proclaiming Hawaii the 50th state of the union. I guess that makes Barack Obama a US Citizen. ๐Ÿง“๐ŸพDoesn’t matter neither President Trump or his fan club Q Annon would believe that as they think the former president is a child sex trafficker like their former buddy Jerry Espstein.

See, there is the evidence that I follow the news ๐Ÿ“ฐ carefully, which isn’t quite true ever since my radio ๐Ÿ“ป started giving me problems. Heck, I didn’t even realize that last night was Joe Biden’s speech ๐Ÿ’ฌ at the DNC. I do remember listening ๐Ÿ‘‚ to Barack Obama’s 2008 DNC speech up in that holler camping at Burnt Rossman โ›บ listening to 1010 Wins as that was the only channel I could get besides that very werid Christian Raddio station. I’ve listened to that station a bit and I can tell you I think ๐Ÿค” you’d have to spent too much time breathing in burnt plastic or smelling the chemicals in the sprayer tank ๐Ÿšœ to get into it. But I respect folks belief and I totally get why folks want to live in the mountains โ›ฐ with their guns ๐Ÿ”ซ. Me too!

Tomorrow will have isolated showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Mostly sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 84 degrees at 3pm. Four degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 64 at 11am. Calm wind becoming northwest 5 to 9 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had light rain in the morning, which became thunderstorm by afternoon. It was very sticky. The high last year was 85 degrees. The record high of 93 was set in 1916.

Looking ahead to Sunday, isolated showers, then scattered showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. ๐ŸŒฆ๏ธ Partly sunny, with a high near 88. Calm wind becoming south 5 to 7 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Maximum dew point of 65 at 10am. Typical average high for the weekend is 80 degrees.

Yes, it looks like Sunday is going to be a hot one. ๐Ÿ˜ฐ But I figure it’s best to enjoy it as September is just around the corner ๐Ÿ‚and autumn is just over a month away – September 22nd. ๐ŸŽƒ All those moldy carved pumpkins for Halloween sitting on door steps just waiting to be tossed in the garbage, crush and preserved forever next to the crushed television ๐Ÿ“บ set in the local mound. ๐Ÿ—‘ I think when I own land I’d rather compost, feed them to chickens ๐Ÿ” or pigs ๐Ÿท especially because I doubt moldy pumpkins would burn well in the burn barrel. ๐Ÿ”ฅ

I am still hoping to get up to Piseco Powley Road โ›บ come mid September should Stratford get its bridge rebuilt by then. ๐ŸšงI heard they’re making progress but I’m taking a wait and see approach to hear when it will be open again. I want to cool off one more time at the Potholers before it gets super cold out and the road is closed for the winter.

As previously noted, there are 2 weeks until Labor Day Weekend Begins ๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐Ÿญ when the sun will be setting at 7:24 pm with dusk at 7:52 pm. Labor Day is very late this year – latest it can be due to the calendar ๐Ÿ—“. On that day in 2019, we had thunderstorm and temperatures between 80 and 59 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 77 degrees. We hit a record high of 97 back in 1929.

Quaker Lake Beach

How Dairy Monopolies Keep Milk Off the Shelves

How Dairy Monopolies Keep Milk Off the Shelves

Consolidation in the dairy industry has created separate, inflexible supply chains for consumers and commercial markets. When COVID killed commercial demand, perfectly good milk and cheese was wasted.

To be fair the same thing happened to toilet paper around the same time. Most people don't buy more than a gallon of milk ๐Ÿฅ› at a time because it's a very pershiable product. 

NPR

Far More Microplastic In Atlantic Ocean Than Previous Estimates, Study Finds : NPR

Scientists are trying to understand how much plastic humans are pumping into the ocean and how long it sticks around. A study published this week says it may be much more than earlier estimates.

By some measures, the plastic trash that's floating on the surface of the water only accounts for about 1% of the plastic pollution that humans generate.

"If we are missing 99% of plastic that we thought we have put in, it has to be somewhere," says Katsiaryna Pabortsava, a researcher at the National Oceanography Centre in the United Kingdom.

Escape Clause | How Your Love Of Rural People And Lifestyle Will Make Your Life Better

OFI 874: Escape Clause | How Your Love Of Rural People And Lifestyle Will Make Your Life Better

8/18/20 by Matt Brechwald

Episode: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/offincome/OFI_874__Escape_Clause___How_Your_Love_Of_Rural_People_And_Lifestyle_Will_Make_Your_Life_Better.mp3

Itโ€™s in the news again. The Treasure Valley of Idaho, where I live, is getting more and more expensive to buy a house in or rent a house or apartment in. Reading this article made me think of the chase that so many people are on that puts them in tremendous debt trying to buy a house and causes them to live paycheck to paycheck to make their house payment or rent payment. In todayโ€™s episode I want to look at how lucky all of us are that we love and value the rural lifestyle. We will examine just how easy and stress free the rest of our lives can be when we โ€œescapeโ€ from the city or urban area to a wonderful, small community that suits our values and costs very little to live in.

This is a really interesting interview about rural living and farm life.

Why QAnon Is Important

Why QAnon Is Important

8/20/20 by NPR Fresh Air

Episode: https://play.podtrac.com/npr-381444908/edge1.pod.npr.org/anon.npr-podcasts/podcast/npr/fa/2020/08/20200820_fa_fapodthurs_1-ed818713-ad61-41db-9e0a-943c313695d5.mp3

QAnon, the conspiracy theory that claims President Trump is battling a deep state child sex trafficking ring run by high-profile democrats and celebrities, is the subject of a new ‘Atlantic’ article by Adrienne LaFrance. “It’s almost like a bad spy novel,” LaFrance says. QAnon adherents often appear at Trump rallies, and one supporter has won the Republican nomination to a Georgia Congressional seat.