NPR

California Identifies A Case Of Coronavirus Variant First Seen In U.K. : NPR

The new highly contagious coronavirus strain from the U.K. has spread to Southern California, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Wednesday.

He made the statement during an online conversation about the pandemic with r. Anthony auci, the nation's leading infectious disease expert, but Newsom offered little additional information about the circumstances of the diagnosis.

The first case of the coronavirus variant in the U.S. was detected in Colorado on Tuesday. Experts have said it spreads faster than the common strain.

December 30, 2020 Night

Good evening! Rain showers and 35 degrees in Delmar, NY. β˜” There is a south breeze at 13 mph. πŸƒ. Temperatures will drop below freezing at tomorrow around 6 pm. β˜ƒοΈ

I am feeling a lot better tonight 🚢🏻 and went for my evening walk. Cold and a bit of a drizzle outside but I was glad to be out of my apartment for a while. Sore throat is almost entirely gone but still a bit congested. Since I got back home the rain has picked up a bit.πŸ’¦

It looks like with the pandemic getting worse πŸ‘ΎI’ll be working from home all next month but the Hotspot on my phone works quite well and I’m finding I’m using a lot less data than I expected but I’m careful. But at least it will be warmer than working down at the library parking lot. Definitely been an odd but I would argue fun year.

Tonight will rain likely before 3am, then a chance of rain and snow. Cloudy 🌧, with a low of 33 degrees at 3am. 17 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around November 12th. South wind 9 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Little or no snow accumulation expected. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became light snow by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 34 degrees. The record low of -17 occurred back in 1917.

Tonight will have a Full 🌝 Moon with 99% illuminated. At 10 PM, the moon was in the east-southeast (104Β°) at an altitude of 52Β° from the horizon, some 241,857 miles away from where you are looking up from the earth. πŸš€ At the state speed limit of 55 mph, you’ll make it there by July 2nd. Buckle up for safety! πŸ’Ί The Wolf 🐺 Moon is on Saturday, January 16. The darkest hour is at 11:59 pm, followed by dawn at 6:54 am, and sun starting to rise at 7:26 am in the east-southeast (121Β°) and last for 3 minutes and 24 seconds. Sunrise is 10 seconds later than yesterday. πŸŒ„ The golden hour ends at 8:12 am with sun in the southeast (129Β°). Tonight will have 14 hours and 54 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 41 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will have a chance of rain and snow showers, mainly before 7am. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 38 degrees at 11am. Six degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around December 10th. West wind 9 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Little or no snow accumulation expected. A year ago, we had patches of fog in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 39 degrees. The record high of 61 was set in 1895. 7.9 inches of snow fell back in 2007.❄

Been working on some new maps πŸ—Ί and content to take advantage of leafletjs. I figure if it’s free to use I might as well maximize the technology. You can do some very cool and interactive maps with leaflet.

I think I’m going to head up to the Adirondacks tomorrow β›Ί through at least New Years Day and maybe the weekend. I was on the fence with the forecast and feeling so sick earlier in the week but I think things are looking up for the final night of the year. It would be fun to get out night 63 camping this year. I’m trying to purposely stay up a bit late tonight to make the NYE a bit easier.

In four weeks on January 27 the sun will be setting in the west-southwest (246Β°) at 5:02 pm,πŸŒ„ which is 31 minutes and 20 seconds later then tonight. In 2020 on that day, we had partly cloudy skies, mild weather with snow showers and temperatures between 43 and 35 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 31 and 14 degrees. The record high of 62 degrees was set back in 1974.

Looking ahead, Make Your Dream Come True Day 🏑 is in 2 weeks, Inauguration Day πŸ‘΄πŸΌ is in 3 weeks, Clean Your Computer Day 🧹 is in 6 weeks and Presidents Day πŸ›οΈ is in 7 weeks.

High Point

Calendar Weeks

In many years there are only 52 calendar weeks. This year has 53 weeks, last time this happened was 2015. The next time will be in 2026. πŸ—“

Knox – Berne – Gallupville in 1960

A 3D animation of Knox - Berne - West Berne - Gallup designed in QGIS 3D using an aerial photo from April 1960. This follows NY 156 to NY 443 out to the county line.

Median Household Income (2019 5-yr averages)

Downstate New York is much wealthier in general compared to Upstate NY.

Data Source: US Census Bureau. MEDIAN INCOME IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS (IN 2019 INFLATION-ADJUSTED DOLLARS). Survey/Program: American Community Survey, TableID: S1903. Census Tracts.

Eliminate Local Government

I would like to see all local and county government moved into the state, governed by the Regional Economic Development Councils, consisting of business leaders and community activists appointed by the governor and legislature.

I think in the modern era there is zero role for local government. It is wasteful and duplicative. We should be one state, with one government. Appoint people who are business leaders not politicians.

We could save billions by having just a state DOT, state run welfare offices, state police, state planners, etc.