April 17, 2018 Evening

Good evening! When you get into your middle thirties, all that really matters is the traffic and weather. 🚗It’s frigid out, rain and 40 degrees in Delmar, NY. 💦 There is a west-northwest breeze at 10 mph. 🍃. Wasn’t raining but it was frigid when I left the office. Now it’s raining in Delmaritian. Fortunately I grabbed my umbrella before leaving the office. This endless winter is really bleeding me. I really need some spring weather. At least the bus home was running on time.

Tonight will have a chance of rain showers before 9pm, then a slight chance of rain and snow showers between 9pm and midnight, then a slight chance of snow showers after midnight. Cloudy β˜” , with a low of 32 degrees at 3am. Six degrees below normal. Southwest wind 7 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Little or no snow accumulation expected. In 2017, we had mostly clear skies with more clouds in the early hours of the next day. It got down to 40 degrees. The record low of 21 occurred back in 1948.

Tonight will have a Waxing Crescent Moon 🌒 with 6% illuminated with the moon setting at 9:33 pm. The moon will rise at 8:06 am. The First Quarter Moon is on Saturday night with a slight chance of showers then rain/snow is likely. The Pink Moon 🌝 is on Saturday, April 28th. The sun will rise at 6:09 am with the first light at 5:39 am, which is one minute and 36 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌄 Tonight will have 10 hours and 27 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 2 minutes and 43 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will be mostly cloudy ☁, with a high of 50 degrees at 4pm. 10 degrees below normal. West wind 9 to 14 mph. A year ago, we had mostly cloudy skies. The high last year was 58 degrees. The record high of 90 was set in 1976. 2.7 inches of snow fell back in 1887.❄

Kind of a long day at work. Been kind of an unusual week in many ways. 💼 Lots of run between buildings doing many different things. Nothing awful but I’m still saddened every time I walk by Assemblyman Skartados former desk in chambers with the rose left on there in his memory. 🌹 He definitely is missed. I’m thinking about going to his viewing later this week but I have to think about it some more. Dying so relatively young and so quickly scares me – pancreatic cancer is a horrible disease that basically means that you have months if even that to live after you get it. 😫 There is much talk about the War on Cancer but nobody in government is seriously talking about safer chemicals and products that don’t contribute as much to cancer, well except for the War on Cigarettes.

Got home late, heated up some soup. 🍛Laying back in bed with the red lights on. I think I may read a bit then I’ll put a podcast on and retire to bed💤 before ten.

Taxes are paid. The money is gone. 💸 Hopefully my tax dollars will be put to good use in serving my interest. Somebody has to pay for those roads back to the campsites to be maintained. I am thinking of doing more pre-tax retirement savings going forward because I’m getting tired of paying so much in taxes, especially on the state level but also the federal level. Being a renter, single and a investor in New York State, you really get hit hard with taxes. Retirement is important but so is general investment so I can eventually afford land and an off grid cabin to a low tax, pro agriculture, pro second amendment state that has fewer restrictions on open burning. I’m just so fascinated by the off grid lifestyle and cabin living. I hate all the trappings of modern suburbanite life. That dream is a decade or more away but every dollar saved and invested is one closer to realization. I continue to read and learn, follow the online community and what is practical for a life more like permanent camping than suburbanite living.

Figured out how my new cash back credit card works. You have to get 5,500 points and then you can apply to get a $50 credit on your bill. Or more if you can get 10,500 for the hundred buck credit. You get a three points for every buck spent at a gas station or Stewart’s even for milk.💳 Grocery stores and those businesses identified as grocery stores like Walmart give you two points per buck spent and everything else is a point per buck. So buying $20 in ammunition at Walmart gets you 40 points. Points don’t expire. Seems like a lot of money to get a little bit back but over a year I certainly spend a few thousand in food and gas. But it certainly is gimmicky, I don’t know how much I like it but it could add up to $50 or $100 a year. So much of finance is gimmicks and unnecessary complexity. At least credit card has autopay and a nice website interface. Why not take advantage of the cash over the LL Bean rewards I never use.

Cool this weekend with temperatures running 9 degrees below normal but otherwise sunny. :mrgreen: Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 49. Sunday, sunny, with a high near 55. Typical average high for the weekend is 61 degrees. At least it’s going to be sunny. Wish I could get out camping but maybe the following weekend as I have work stuff to do this weekend. It depends on the forecast.

I really look forward to getting back to the Adirondacks. I was looking at the pictures from past adventures. 🗻 Nights in the wilderness are wonderful especially when it’s not too cold. It’s always so nice sitting by the fire on a long summer night, listening to music.

In four weeks on May 15 the sun will be setting at 8:11 pm,🌄 which is 31 minutes and 7 seconds later then today. In 2017 on that day, we had rain, mostly cloudy skies and temperatures between 67 and 50 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 69 and 47 degrees. The record high of 93 degrees was set back in 1900. It’s going to warm up eventually.

Looking ahead, 8:30 PM Sunset ️⛱️ is in 7 weeks, Fathers Day 👨 is in 2 months, Consitution Day 👨‍🏭 is in 5 months, Election Day 2018 🗳️ is in 29 weeks, Christmas 🎅 is in 36 weeks, New Years Day 2019 🎉 is in 37 weeks, 36th Birthday 🎉 is in 41 weeks and Election Day 2020 🗳️ is in 133 weeks.

🇺🇸🦅Only 37 days remain until the start of Memorial Day Weekend!🦅🇺🇸

NPR Newscaster Carl Kasell Dies At 84, After A Lifelong Career On-Air

NPR Newscaster Carl Kasell Dies At 84, After A Lifelong Career On-Air

"Every weekday for more than three decades, his baritone steadied our mornings. Even in moments of chaos and crisis, Carl Kasell brought unflappable authority to the news. But behind that hid a lively sense of humor, revealed to listeners late in his career, when he became the beloved judge and official scorekeeper for Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! NPR's news quiz show. Kasell died Tuesday from complications from Alzheimer's disease in Potomac, Md. He was 84."

NB88 – Spring time at the cabin

"It's spring time at the cabin. We got hit with four nor'easters late in the winter which delayed spring by several weeks. Ice and snow are starting to melt and it's time to clean out the drainage and get some firewood cut."