February 16, 2023 Evening

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Good evening! Clouds, damp and 47 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☁️ Calm wind. Mild tonight but cold later. Temperatures will drop below freezing at tomorrow around 5 pm. ☃️

It’s nice to be able to walk 🚶 for one more night without any more than a vest. Tomorrow though the heat will probably have to come for a few more days. Like so many days that threaten to rain, turned out to be just a few showers.

Tonight will have showers likely, mainly after 5am. Cloudy 🌧, with a low of 46 degrees at 12am. 28 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 8th. Light and variable wind becoming south 5 to 10 mph after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 13 degrees. The record low of -16 occurred back in 1973.

Another busy day came and went at work. 🏢 But it made the time go by quickly. I’m doing good at eating up all the fruit and vegetables I bought on Sunday. 🍏 I swear I’ve noticed some small changes since I’ve started my calorie reduction program. I’m just not nearly as hungry when I always have an apple or orange in my mouth. And I’ve done good with the steps every day.

Tonight will have a Waining Crescent 🌘 Moon with 14% illuminated. The Worm 🐛 Moon is on Saturday, March 4. The darkest hour is at 12:10 am, followed by dawn at 6:23 am, and sun starting to rise at 6:52 am in the east-southeast (106°) and last for 3 minutes and 1 seconds. Sunrise is one minute and 24 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌄 The golden hour ends at 7:32 am with sun in the east-southeast (113°). Tonight will have 13 hours and 18 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 2 minutes and 43 seconds over last night.

Did some cleaning this evening 🧹around the apartment after making macaroni and cheese 🧀 with a ton of veggies and real cheese, eat only one bowl and froze the rest for future meals. Getting milk 🥛 for the first time in over a week, a big drop from drinking two gallons a week. I also am skipping apple juice, the bottle I have left I bought in January. I’m spending less on groceries even if I am buying more and more fruits and vegetables which haven’t been impacted by inflation nearly as much.

Tomorrow will rain showers before 4pm, then a chance of rain and snow showers. 🌧️ Temperature rising to near 52 by 9am, then falling to around 33 during the remainder of the day. South wind 10 to 18 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Little or no snow accumulation expected. A year ago, we had mist. The high last year was 24 degrees. The record high of 60 was set in 1981. 11.9 inches of snow fell back in 2003.❄

In four weeks on March 16 the sun will be setting in the west (269°) at 7:03 pm (Daylight Savings Time),🌄 which is one hour, 34 minutes and 21 seconds later then tonight. In 2021 on that day, we had cold, mostly cloudy and temperatures between 33 and 13 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 45 and 26 degrees. The record high of 82 degrees was set back in 1990.

Looking ahead, Read Across America Day 📚 is in two weeks, Average High is 60 🌷 is in 2 months, Arbor Day 🌳 is in 10 weeks, 8:30 PM Dusk 🌆 is in 11 weeks, 8 PM Sunset 🌇 is in 11 weeks, 9 PM Dusk 🌆 is in 15 weeks, June 🍹 is in 15 weeks, 8:30 PM Sunset 🌇 is in 16 weeks, Last Sunset After 8:30 PM 🌆 is in 5 months, Ugly Truck Day 🚚 is in 22 weeks, Campfire Day 🔥 is in 24 weeks, Columbus Day 🛥️ is in 34 weeks, Average High is 60 🍂 is in 35 weeks, Thanksgiving 🦃 is in 40 weeks, Tea Party Day 🐍 is in 10 months, First Day of Winter ☃️ is in 44 weeks and 4:30 PM Sunset 🌆 is in 45 weeks.

One Mile to Hunter Fire Tower

Largest Assembly Districts

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Often you hear people comparing the size of different Assembly Districts. I was curious what the actual size numbers where and realized I could run off a few tables with a few lines of code.

20 Largest Assembly Districts By Area
Member Party Square Miles
Robert Smullen Republican 118 4,171
Ken Blankenbush Republican 117 4,032
Billy Jones Democratic 115 3,319
Matthew Simpson Republican 114 3,303
Chris Tague Republican 102 2,654
Joseph M. Giglio Republican 148 2,644
Joe Angelino Republican 121 2,296
Scott Gray Republican 116 2,225
Philip A. Palmesano Republican 132 2,015
Stephen Hawley Republican 139 1,882
William A. Barclay Republican 120 1,768
Brian Manktelow Republican 130 1,612
Andy Goodell Republican 150 1,526
Jeff Gallahan Republican 131 1,443
Brian Maher Republican 101 1,290
Majorie Byrnes Republican 133 1,263
David DiPietro Republican 147 1,137
Fred W. Thiele, Jr. Democratic 1 1,105
Michael Norris Republican 144 1,063
Brian Miller Republican 122 966
Andy Arthur, 2/16/23.
Data Source: NYS GIS Assembly Districts

And here are the largest Democratic districts by area. In general, most of the Democratic districts are far more urban then Republican districts. You can fit Al Stirpe’s district in Billy Jones more then 16 times.

20 Largest Democratic Assembly Districts By Area
Member Party Square Miles
Billy Jones Democratic 115 3,319
Fred W. Thiele, Jr. Democratic 1 1,105
Aileen Gunther Democratic 100 927
Didi Barrett Democratic 106 892
Anna Kelles Democratic 125 642
Sarahana Shrestha Democratic 103 558
Carrie Woerner Democratic 113 338
Angelo Santabarbara Democratic 111 231
Jonathan Rivera Democratic 149 227
Marianne Buttenschon Democratic 119 221
Al Stirpe Democratic 127 199
Chris Burdick Democratic 93 190
Christopher Eachus Democratic 99 177
Jonathan G. Jacobson Democratic 104 160
Dana Levenberg Democratic 95 144
Sarah Clark Democratic 136 140
Jennifer Lunsford Democratic 135 137
Patricia Fahy Democratic 109 124
Pamela J. Hunter Democratic 128 123
Harry B. Bronson Democratic 138 121
Andy Arthur, 2/16/23.
Data Source: NYS GIS Assembly Districts

NPR

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7 key points about the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment : NPR

he derailment of a train carrying hazardous materials near a town in Ohio earlier this month has prompted environmental concerns and chemical fears for residents — even as state officials work to reassure them.

"From the very start of this, we have taken every step possible to assure that people's safety was first and foremost," Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, the director of the Ohio Department of Health, said at a Tuesday press conference.

And as authorities work to assess the damage and investigate the derailment, more information has emerged this week about the chemicals in the rail cars, a variety of contaminants and carcinogens. Some of the chemicals — five rail cars' worth of vinyl chloride — was intentionally burned off in a "controlled explosion" last week, which prompted a temporary evacuation of the area.

Here's what to know about the derailment and chemicals involved.

The new and improved 519 🚍

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The new and improved 519 🚍

I walked down to the Park and Ride today and caught the express from there. I was the only one on the bus today, and I felt guilty for walking and let the bus run empty but one person isn’t going to change much of anything on whether or not the Voorheesville bus has a future, especially the later run.

It’s just tough to rebuild service after the pandemic. Some people close to retirement just hung up their hats after the bus shut down at end of March 2020 and many people now are hybrid workers, working from home a few day a week. I wish that was an option I’d take advantage.

Plus if you take the later express and miss it for some reason, you are screwed and have to call somebody for a ride. Plus getting home at six o’clock or even later kind of sucks so people who have an option don’t do 9-5 but earlier.

At least after a few days of rough starts due to drivers making wrong turns and the closed ramp on 787, things are more on time and moving smoother. It will be interesting to see if bus traffic picks up the meantime or if the extended route will be on the cutting block.