Good afternoon! Today is World Pasta Day. Stuffed shells, please. Although, I think I will make ravioli for dinner tonight. Almost warm enough to have a barbecue outside this evening though, but it does get dark so early (sunset at 5:56 PM). Mostly cloudy and 61 degrees in Albany. There is a west-northwest breeze at 5 mph. The dew point is 50 degrees. The skies will clear around 5 pm. Even with the clouds, the increased color of late autumn is making the landscape quite beautiful. Hopefully we will have a fairly mild start to November, and snow will hold off for a while.

Today will be partly sunny, with a high of 64 degrees at 2pm. Eight degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 50 at 10am. West wind around 5 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon. A year ago, we had mostly cloudy skies. The high last year was 47 degrees. The record high of 77 was set in 1963. There was a dusting of snow in 2005.

The sun will set at 5:56 pm with dusk around 6:25 pm, which is one minute and 27 seconds earlier than yesterday. At sunset, look for partly cloudy conditions and 63 degrees. The dew point will be 46 degrees. There will be a south-southwest breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 10 hours and 35 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 41 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be mostly cloudy, with a low of 47 degrees at 5am. 10 degrees above normal. West wind 3 to 7 mph. In 2016, we had mostly cloudy skies, clearing in the early hours of the next day. It got down to 33 degrees. The record low of 20 occurred back in 1952.

In 1962, in the Cuban Missile Crisis, Adlai Stevenson shows photos at a meeting of the United Nations Security Council proving that Soviet missiles are installed in Cuba. This article has a nice overview of the Cuban missle crisis.

This morning I got my flu shot and my teeth cleaned. All good things to do. The flu is a nasty dieases from what I’ve heard, the shot is painless and free. Which is good, I hope that Donald Trump doesn’t take away my free flu shot. It’s important to take care of your health, and since I’ve been going to the dentist regularly I’ve not had the sensitivity that I used to have in my gums at times. Plus, it’s zero co-pay for my insurance for regular dentist visits.

I’ve decided to hold off on taking the truck to the lift kit shop to get the shock absorber bolt tightened. I will get the bolt tightened when it’s inspected, oil changed, and tires rotated, and if issues beyond that loose bolt are discovered, I will take it back to the lift kit shop — or see what the regular shop will charge to fix it. The shock absorber if needing to be replaced isn’t difficult to access, even just parked you can easily access both bolts. It’s easier to work out one appointment then two. I am thinking next week to have the work done but maybe the following week. Should the inspection expire, I won’t drive it until I can get it inspected again. I’m trying to walk more, and drive less especially as all but the marginal camping season winds down. I would rather have a November State Inspection Sticker, as that will make life so much easier come 2018 when I’m out of town.

I looked at taking my truck off the road for winter, but the thing is regardless I am going to have to have the maintenance preformed on it, and it turns out taking a vehicle off the road for a few months doesn’t save that much money. Insurance and gas are biggest savings, but that is offset by the cost of surrendering the plates, and having to re-register the vehicle in 5-6 months. Plus I’m not sure I would want to do it until December, and it would be nice to have the truck back on the road by April. I think I will do like I do most winters and just not drive much. It would be nice to avoid the road salt, but I guess I can wash that on off.

There are 2 months until Christmas when the sun will be setting at 4:27 pm with dusk at 4:59 pm (Standard Time). The average high temperature is 32 degrees, with a record high of 61 in 1895.