Good evening! Clouds ☁️ and 29 degrees for the evening walk 🚶. There is a west breeze at 10 mph. 🍃 with gusts up to 22 mph 💨💨💨. Zero chance of seeing that metroid that they are talking about unless it hits the earth with a big bang. There are 4 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ ️Things will start to thaw out at tomorrow around 11 am. 🌡️
Probably didn’t need to go for a walk 🚶 tonight but extra steps are good and I like walking. Helps pass the time and it’s healthy.
The big forty is what’s on my mind tonight. 🎂 I mean I know it’s just a number and most people eventually hit it but it’s not something you ever give much thought about when you are young. The day will come and go like all do, and what matters is what you make of it as one step towards the future 🔮 but it’s such a big number. Been doing a lot of reading about the meaning of turning forty and I guess the best thing about being in your forties is you don’t give a rats ass what others think about you not that I ever really did.
Tonight will have a slight chance of snow showers before midnight. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 26 degrees at 4am. 11 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 15th. Maximum wind chill around 26 at 5am; West wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 26 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2022, we had light snow. It got down to 23 degrees. The record low of -23 occurred back in 1994.
I went to the library for the first time in several weeks 📚 mostly to use the internet, I didn’t get any books out. The library since the pandemic seems so much more crowded than the past. With my unlimited phone plan I mostly just use my phone 📱 but for coding purposes and data intensive things it’s best to go to the library. Plus cell service lately has been unreliable locally since the storm yesterday.
Tonight will have a Waxing Crescent 🌒 Moon with 32% illuminated. At 8 PM, the moon was in the west-southwest (244°) at an altitude of 30° from the horizon, some 234,343 miles away from where you are looking up from the earth. 🚀 Can’t see it through the clouds. At the state speed limit of 55 mph, you’ll make it there by July 23rd. Buckle up for safety! 💺
The moon will set in the west (276°) at 10:56 pm. The Snow ❄ Moon is on Sunday, February 5. The darkest hour is at 12:09 am, followed by dawn at 6:46 am, and sun starting to rise at 7:16 am in the east-southeast (115°) and last for 3 minutes and 12 seconds. Sunrise is 51 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌄 The golden hour ends at 7:59 am with sun in the east-southeast (123°).Tonight will have 14 hours and 10 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 2 minutes and 9 seconds over last night.
I filled up the water 💦 container and loaded up the propane tank to be filled after I go to the dentist and then I plan to head up to the woods to ski 🎿 and camp ⛺ on my final day of being in my thirties. I just sleep better and are happier in the woods. 🌲🌲 But first the evening walk 🚶. Also may need more coffee ☕ before I run out.
Tomorrow will have a slight chance of snow showers after noon, mixing with rain after 1pm. Mostly cloudy 🌞, with a high of 37 degrees at 2pm. Four degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 18th. Light southwest wind. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning, which became snow by afternoon. The high last year was 28 degrees. The record high of 62 was set in 1974. 9.3 inches of snow fell back in 1963.❄
In four weeks on February 23 the sun will be setting in the west-southwest (258°) at 5:38 pm,🌄 which is 36 minutes and 21 seconds later then tonight. In 2021 on that day, we had mostly cloudy, snow showers and temperatures between 38 and 28 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 38 and 20 degrees. The record high of 69 degrees was set back in 2017.
Looking ahead, Ground Hog Day 🐻 is Next Thursday, Average High is 35 ☀️ is in three weeks, Read Across America Day 📚 is in 5 weeks, Arbor Day 🌳 is in 13 weeks, 8:30 PM Dusk 🌆 is in 14 weeks, 8 PM Sunset 🌇 is in 14 weeks, 9 PM Dusk 🌆 is in 18 weeks, June 🍹 is in 18 weeks, 8:30 PM Sunset 🌇 is in 19 weeks, Ugly Truck Day 🚚 is in 25 weeks, Campfire Day 🔥 is in 27 weeks, National Dog Day 🐩 is in 7 months, Columbus Day 🛥️ is in 37 weeks, Average High is 60 🍂 is in 38 weeks, Thanksgiving 🦃 is in 43 weeks, First Day of Winter ☃️ is in 47 weeks, Boxing Day 🥊 is in 11 months and 4:30 PM Sunset 🌆 is in 48 weeks.
I shut the brass desk lamp off in my office and left for the last time in my 30s … 🛋
I do really like that brass desk lamp in my office, it makes it feel like I’ve made it in my career. The private corner office is nice, but the brass desk lamp like the legislators have make it seem so classy. And then it was dark in my office, I hurried out to the bus stop and caught the express home for the last time in my 30s. I took tomorrow off to get my teeth cleaned and spend a few days and nights in the wilderness camping and skiing.
It seems weird to think come Monday, I’ll be back to work. Nothing will have changed, except that the little date on the calendar will say that I am officially in my forties. I will have left the ground, and lifted my way onwards to Mission Fifty. I’m already working little hacks into my life to get me towards the big fifty, saving a little more, trying to cut back a bit on food and waste in all parts of my life. And trying to enjoy life more — especially the little, inexpensive things close to home.
One thing I’ve realized over the past few weeks is that I am doing a lot of things right. I have made sound financial decisions, I have worked hard to get where I am now. Maybe things have taken longer then I would like, but good things happen when you act strategically. Taking your time to climb the mountain isn’t a bad thing if you get out and observe a lot of what is around you. In some ways, time has gone by so quickly, in other ways, it’s been painfully slow.
What if you could design a house that on a cold day in January would stay at 70 degrees inside — without running the furnace? Or even having a furnace?
It's already being done.
In fact, what's known as the passive house concept came to the United States in 2006, and is being used to construct buildings throughout the U.S.
Maine Public recently visited a passive house in the town of Hope to find out how it works — and what it costs.
Good morning! Happy Thursday. Snow fog, cloudy and one degree above freezing for the morning walk. 🌫 There is a southwest breeze at 5 mph. 🍃. There are 5 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ We ended up getting less rain than expected and no snow over night. So things melted but there is still snow around. Things will freeze again tonight. Temperatures will drop below freezing at around 5 pm. ☃️
Kindof damp and chilly for the morning walk 🚶but the lack of ice is nice. Reminds me of the snowy icy day camping at East Otto State Forest in November or that day camping in December in the Vanderwhacker wilderness. Lots of slop for snow. Dawn is now 6:45 which means that except for the cloudest days the start of the walk isn’t pitch black.
Today was a breakfast reheat morning 🥞 which meant it was a quick and easy start to the morning and I set my alarm ⏰ 10 minutes earlier to ensure that I maintain my schedule. I like my calorie reduction program it saves so much food and money 💵. With inflation every dollar is precious, especially if I can invest it while the market is down.
Today will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a high of 40 degrees at 11am. Seven degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 28th. West wind 5 to 10 mph increasing to 12 to 17 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning, which became snow by afternoon. The high last year was 24 degrees. The record high of 59 was set in 1950. 8.5 inches of snow fell back in 1949.❄
Taking the express bus 🚍 in as today isn’t a session day. Looks like they’re running the big articulated bus this morning 🚏which means that the driver will likely leave right on time or even a bit early as those pusher buses are slower to drive through traffic. So I have to put my phone down, shower 🚿 quickly leave right on time for the express.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:09 pm with sun having an altitude of 28.6° from the due south horizon (-42.2° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 11 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 4:18 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (238°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (245°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:01 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 12 seconds with dusk around 5:30 pm, which is one minute and 17 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the First Quarter 🌓 Moon in the south-southwest (204°) at an altitude of 48° from the horizon, 234,063 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:05 pm. At sunset, look for partly cloudy skies 🌃 and temperatures around 33 degrees. The wind chill around sunset will be 22. ☃️ Breezy, 17 mph breeze from the west with gusts up to 29mph. Tomorrow will have 9 hours and 50 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 10 seconds over today.
I got milk 🥛 at Stewart’s yesterday and was disappointed that the expiration date is a week from Friday. Compared to the grocery store that’s good but it’s not as fresh as it used to be. Plus with my calorie reduction program I’m not drinking as much milk as it once did.
Tonight will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a low of 24 degrees at 4am. Nine degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 8th. Maximum wind chill around 20 at 6am; West wind 11 to 16 mph decreasing to 5 to 10 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 28 mph. In 2022, we had light snow. It got down to 23 degrees. The record low of -23 occurred back in 1994.
Cloudsand mild for the weekend 🌥 Saturday, mostly cloudy, with a high near 41. South wind 10 to 14 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Sunday, a chance of snow before 10am, then a chance of rain and snow between 10am and 1pm, then a chance of rain after 1pm. Cloudy, with a high near 39. Chance of precipitation is 50%. Typical average high for the weekend is 33 degrees.
As previously noted, next Thursday is Ground Hog Day 🐻 when the sun will be setting at 5:11 pm with dusk at 5:39 pm. On that day in 2022, we had snow, mostly cloudy and temperatures between 27 and 20 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 33 degrees. We hit a record high of 53 back in 1981.
