I tell you those are fighting words. The guy warns he lost a lot of weight only to put it back on. And asks how much I’ve lost. Truth is I don’t know, I don’t have a scale and only have a vague idea from my online medical records. I’ve been focused on nutrition and eating healthy whole foods not counting calories or limiting portions and walking.

Good morning! Happy Smokey Thursday. Mostly cloudy and 60 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☁ There is a west breeze at 5 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 58 degrees. The air quality index has fallen to 83 due to wildfire smoke, it’s worse out in Western NY and expected to decline through the day. The skies will clear around 10 am. I guess it depends on the smoke.

Black beans are cooking down on the stove this morning 🍲 for some good cool lunches and dinners in the coming days. They’re great with some good chopped red onions 🧅 and maybe peppers 🫑🌶️. Especially with warmer weather ahead and I’m getting tired or the rice, peas and lentils even if I’m mixing them up with other ingredients. Cooking now, I plan to have them for lunch.

Today will be partly sunny 🌞, with a high of 81 degrees at 6pm. Assuming we can see the sun through the smoke. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around June 23rd. Maximum dew point of 62 at 11am. Northwest wind around 6 mph. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 85 degrees. The record high of 96 was set in 1944.

Walked 🚶 11 ¼ miles yesterday including doing the stairs to the 18th floor both ways at work twice. It’s great cardio and avoids the risk of getting trapped in the elevator again. I’m not really afraid 😨 of elevators, I’m sure if I got stuck they’d send a technician quickly. I just like feeling good.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:59 pm with sun having an altitude of 70.6° from the due south horizon (-0.2° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.1 foot shadow today at solar noon. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:55 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (296°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (303°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:38 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 27 seconds with dusk around 9:12 pm, which is 3 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Gibbous 🌔 Moon in the south (172°) at an altitude of 26° from the horizon, 237,068 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:58 pm. At sunset, look for partly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 76 degrees. The dew point will be 63 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 15 hours and 20 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 31 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌃 , with a low of 59 degrees at 6am. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around June 22nd. Maximum dew point of 63 at 8pm. Light and variable wind. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 56 degrees. The record low of 47 occurred back in 1938.

On this day in 2006, in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld the U.S. Supreme Court rules that President George W. Bush’s plan to try Guantanamo Bay detainees in military tribunals violates U.S. and international law. ⚖ Seems like ancient history now.

Has the Independence Day weekend improved? 🌥 Still looks fairly cloudy with potential smoke and air quality issues. Saturday, a chance of showers, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 83. South wind 9 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Maximum dew point of 66 at 12pm. Sunday, a chance of showers, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 83. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Maximum dew point of 69 at 12pm. Monday, a chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 83. Chance of precipitation is 50%. Independence Day, a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 83. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Typical average high for the weekend is 83 degrees.

Some models seem more positive for the weekend, 😀 and I will decide on Friday night if I am going to head out of town. I probably won’t leave until mid-day Saturday if I decide to head out of town as I want to look at bicycles. 🚲 I might have something to do the following weekend, and this is a four day weekend, 🏕 plus I want to get sparklers, so this would be a good weekend to get out of town. 🎆

Looking ahead, there are 3 weeks until Ugly Truck Day 🚚 when the sun will be setting at 8:29 pm with dusk at 9:01 pm. On that day in 2022, we had hot, humid, mostly sunny, thunderstorm and temperatures between 97 and 72 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 84 degrees. We hit a record high of 97 back in 1991.