January 11, 2019 11 AM Update
Good morning! Yeah, it’s Frigid Friday! This is the time of year when it’s usually the coldest, although one year ago it was pretty mild at winters aren’t as cold as they once were most of the time. Next Friday is Winnie the Pooh Day π―. Partly sunny and 14 degrees in Delmar. Cold and gusty outside, with a 18 mph breeze from the northwest π¬ with gusts up to 31 mph π¨π¨π¨. The current wind chill is -3. Things will start to thaw out at Tuesday around 1 pm. π‘οΈ
Today will be sunny and cold π, with a high of 18 degrees at 2pm. 12 degrees below normal. Maximum wind chill around 1 at 3pm; Northwest wind around 18 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph. A year ago, we had partly cloudy in the morning, which became mostly clear by afternoon. The high last year was 51 degrees. The record high of 57 was set in 1975. 8.0 inches of snow fell back in 1922.β
The sun will set at 4:43 pm with dusk around 5:14 pm, which is one minute and 6 seconds later than yesterday. π At sunset, look for mostly sunny skies π and temperatures around 17 degrees. The wind chill around sunset will be 1. βοΈ Breezy, 18 mph breeze β from the northwest with gusts up to 31mph. Today will have 9 hours and 19 minutes of daytime, an increase of one minute and 26 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will be mostly clear π, with a low of 10 degrees at 6am. Four degrees below normal. Maximum wind chill around zero at 6pm; Northwest wind 6 to 14 mph. In 2018, we had mostly clear in the evening, which became light rain by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 39 degrees. The record low of -26 occurred back in 1968.
This morning, I drove down to the express bus stop, as the landlord is cutting down another tree in the yard where I’m normally parked. π³ Hopefully that won’t make my apartment warmer in the summer, but I doubt it will. The other trees he’s cut in recent years are more problematic, but summer is survivable. At least I shouldn’t have to worry about that tree falling on my truck, and maybe it will give me more sun to ensure my accessory battery remain fully charged. Not so cold running from door to to door, the bus and office were plenty warm.
Like before, the truck started easily with the fully charged accessory battery backing up the starting battery, πalthough once again I had trouble getting it out of park until it warmed up a bit. Only have problems with that when it’s really cold out and it hasn’t warmed up enough.π ΏΒ I think it’s a malfunctioning wheel sensor, but because it only acts up in extreme cold, I’m not that worried about it butΒ I do hope it doesn’t leave me stranded somewhere at some point. It’s almost certain that mud and ice in the sensor congeals causing all kinds of problems, apparently a common issue with trucks built by the General.
I’ve read on the interwebs more likely than not it’s a wheel speed sensor that is filled with ice and mud throwing invalid data into the computer, that thinks the car is moving, which causes the ABS and traction control to shut off temporarily, and also is sending invalid data that keeps the park mode from releasing until it errors out into limp-home mode. But as long as it’s above 20 degrees, this isn’t an issue at all.π I don’t drive enough in the winter, to spend $500 or $1,000 to fix an occasionally annoying issue. Cruise control also doesn’t work until things aren’t warmed up below 40 degrees outside, but again I can live with that. I don’t drive that much in the winter, and will fix the sensor once it gets more unreliable and ABS light is on all of the time or cruise stops working completely. It’s been doing this for about two or three years now, but it’s so occasional, it’s not a big deal, but annoying. π‘
Last night, was pretty cold so I mostly just stayed home, did a little bit of reading and listening to podcast,π§ and retired to bed early. I had fish sticks and green beans and I ended up pulling out a few beers from my truck, which sat there from the last time camping, as I wanted a drink. I don’t drink very often anymore, but I figured one would be fine, πΊ it’s not like I have I’ve had a beer since the near year except for the one I had the other night.
Other then that, I didn’t do much. I really should work more on my electronics projects, but I’ve held off on that, in part because I’m having a lot of trouble with this one bluetooth module I’ve been experimenting onπ’, and I’ve been a bit too tired to spend a lot of time soldering, which requires a careful eye. I have ample parts now and they are carefully sorted, π¬ I just really need to sit down and work on things. Maybe if the weekend remains as cold as it’s been lately.π¬ I do want to get outside for a while though this weekend.πΆ
As previously noted, next Friday is Winnie the Pooh Day π― when the sun will be setting at 4:51 pm with dusk at 5:22 pm. On that day in 2018, we had a rather cold but partly sunny day with some snow showers and temperatures between 24 and 2 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 30 degrees. I bet Winnie the Pooh had to put the honey in the microwave to warm it up a bit before he could use it, although hopefully not too long where he melted it. We hit a record high of 59 back in 1973.