I was reminded again how impermanent most human things are in this world, looking at the various parts of the Empire State Plaza platform that are all torn up to replace leaky roofs under the planters, grass and concrete slabs, to limit water and salt intrusion into the building where it can deteriorate the concrete by causing the rebar to rust and the concrete to spall

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I was reminded again how impermanent most human things are in this world, looking at the various parts of the Empire State Plaza platform that are all torn up to replace leaky roofs under the planters, grass and concrete slabs, to limit water and salt intrusion into the building where it can deteriorate the concrete by causing the rebar to rust and the concrete to spall. Without constant maintance of the Plaza the concrete would quickly deteriorated over a period of a few years. 50 or 100 years after abandonment, there might not be much more then pile of collapsed concrete concrete rubble and rusty piers with trees and bushes all grown over it.

 

NPR

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Can Rage Hotlines Prevent Some Mass Shootings? Researchers Study The Idea : NPR

Extreme anger and rage are common traits among perpetrators of most mass shootings. Researchers are studying how they might preemptively manage that anger. One idea is creation of anger helplines.

I've long supported that idea. I don't think the liability or reporting concerns are that much of an issue if you have a structured policy and you make it clear to callers what is acceptable to talk about on such calls and what is a reportable threat. 

NPR

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Trump Sues Facebook, YouTube And Twitter For Kicking Him Off Their Platforms : NPR

Former President Donald Trump is suing Facebook, Twitter and Google's YouTube over their suspensions of his accounts after a mob of his supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol in January.

Trump filed class action complaints in federal court in Florida, alleging the tech giants are censoring him and other conservatives — a long-running complaint on the right for which there is little evidence and that the companies deny.

While I am no fan of President Trump, I think this could be an important First Admendment case that could protect free speech if any online community is required to protect speech. 

July 8, 2021 Morning

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Good morning! Happy Wet Thursday. 💦 Next Thursday is Cow Appreciation Day 🐂. Well, moo as you chew your cud. Rain showers and 63 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☁ Might have heard a clap of thunder ⛈️ earlier. Calm wind. The dew point is 62 degrees. The skies will clear tomorrow around 8 pm.

I decided to catch the earlier bus 🚍 downtown, as it’s kind of a rainy morning. 🚽 Landlord called and asked me to conserve water as he’s having trouble with the sewer lateral again, although I did take a 30 second shower before work 🚿 and decided I had to flush the toilet once because I didn’t want poop to be rotting in the toilet all day. It flushed fine when I did it this morning, but over the weekend I noticed the flushing was slow so I stopped throwing toilet paper in the bowl and used the plunger once or twice. Didn’t seem like a serious problem in my unit, but maybe downstream. I always wonder if it’s better to toss toilet paper in the toilet or wastebasket — probably if I had my own land unless I was on sewer, I’d probably keep a wastebasket next to toilet and do it like the Mexicans do — toss it and burn it with the other paper trash. 🔥

Hopefully my neighbor’s bathroom, downgrade, isn’t filling up with shit. 💩 One time there was a plumbing back up and it flooded all the way back to my unit. It seems like my building had a lot of problems but I guess it’s a rental and it’s cheap. I do have to wonder with the pandemic or the landlord will sell out and rent go up but at least my lease is good through May 1st and then I can make alternate plans if necessary. At some point I should buy my own property, but then I’d have to maintain it, and that probably would mean I’d have to be a commuter and I couldn’t have the ease of taking the bus to work. 🚌

When I get into the office, I am going to do laps in the Plaza until 9 AM. 🚶‍♀️Not raining hard now and maybe if it’s not raining much when I get downtown I’ll walk inside, otherwise I will walk outside and get some fresh air. The past few days at lunch time I’ve been doing laps in the plaza, because it’s been too hot to walk outside. That said, I got soaked yesterday running from the LOB to Smith Building after my afternoon walk. It was wet. 🌧 And then when I had a rain coat waiting for  the bus yesterday, there was no rain.

Today will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after noon. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. 🌧 High of 74 degrees at 4pm. 10 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around May 27th. Maximum dew point of 70 at 1pm. 🏖️ Light and variable wind becoming southeast 5 to 7 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, which became mostly sunny by afternoon. It was very sticky. The high last year was 89 degrees. The record high of 100 was set in 1936.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:01 pm with sun having an altitude of 69.8° from the due south horizon (-1° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.2 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:53 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (295°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (302°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:36 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 24 seconds with dusk around 9:09 pm, which is 23 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:54 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and thunderstorms 🌩 and temperatures around 73 degrees. The dew point will be 68 degrees. There will be a southeast breeze at 8 mph. Today will have 15 hours and 8 minutes of daytime, a decrease of one minute and 5 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have showers and possibly a thunderstorm before 8pm, then rain and possibly a thunderstorm after 8pm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. 🌧 Low of 68 degrees at 3am. Five degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 70 at 6pm. 🏖️ South wind around 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between three quarters and one inch possible. In 2020, we had mostly clear skies. It was very sticky. It got down to 73 degrees. The record low of 41 occurred back in 1963.

A picture perfect weekend on tap. 😎 Saturday, a slight chance of showers after 2pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 79. North wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Maximum dew point of 62 at 6am. Sunday, a chance of showers after 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 81. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Maximum dew point of 64 at 7pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 84 degrees.

I have my eye doctor’s appointment tomorrow, 👀 after which I will head up to Piseco-Powley Road for the weekend. Probably stay there through early Monday morning, then I’ll drive up to Spectulator and work for there until Tuesday. 🏕 Then Tuesday after work I’ll drive back home, stopping at the Guilderland Planning Board Meeting to raise concerns about another proposed development in Albany Pine Bush. 🌲 That said, it’s nice to take another real-weekend off, which I plan to be off the grid, do some fishing 🎣, reading, and no internet use, as I won’t have service up north. Also thinking of taking another long weekend the following weekend if it’s decent, 📴 again with the phone off.

As previously noted, next Thursday is Cow Appreciation Day 🐂 when the sun will be setting at 8:31 pm with dusk at 9:04 pm. On that day in 2020, we had partly sunny, patches of fog and temperatures between 86 and 65 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 84 degrees. We hit a record high of 96 back in 1997.

Pillsbury Mountain Firetower