Notes — Andy Arthur.org

Provisional ballots | MIT Election Lab

Andy | July 14, 2026

Since the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) became law in 2002, all states have been required to use provisional ballots. The only exception is states that offered same-day registration when the National Voter Registration Act was enacted in 1993, and even most of these states have found them useful in certain situations.

In its most basic form, a provisional ballot works like this: A voter whose name doesn’t appear on the voter registration list at a precinct polling place on Election Day—but who believes she or he is, in fact, registered—may be offered a provisional ballot. After being marked, it's placed in a special secrecy envelope rather than in the ballot box. After the polls close, the registration status of the voter is determined. If the voter was in fact registered in that precinct on Election Day, the ballot is removed from the secrecy envelope and counted just like any other ballot. If the voter wasn’t registered, the ballot remains in the secrecy envelope and is not counted.

Kind of bored 🥱

Andy | July 14, 2026

Lately I have found myself bored with many parts of life. It just seems like there are fewer and fewer new places to explore near home, new things to learn, new experiences out there. Or maybe I’ve just gotten so comfortable with the status quo, and are unwilling to look harder?

Truth is most of the easy and obvious experiences have been found and done. Going back and doing again for a second time rarely has the thrill of doing it the first time. Moreover, the lesser known experiences are often harder to research and accomplish – if it was obvious – I’d probably already done it.

Your mid-40s are different then your twenties. It’s to say vast wilderness and wild areas don’t exist, still it seems like I’ve gobbled up the big places, and now the smaller, hidden places are harder to find. Or if I want totally new places, the trips and travel only grow longer and more daunting – as goes with the idea of my now canceled trip this summer to Michigan.

Going to be a hot one 🫠

Andy | July 14, 2026

After going out to gawk at the voltage gauge on the SuperDuty – already charging the starting battery – I thought it night be cool enough to ride in but ultimately I decided to test out my new Swiper card and bus it in.

Bike rode fairly good last night 🚲 and I ran to the store on the way home but I’ve still been tired and it was hot. I thought about riding in with the cool breeze but when it’s this hot, you know there is a a constant threat of thunderstorms. ⛈️ And I do want to do further adjustments to the bike, maybe see if I can pull the rear wheel and further straighten the derailuer hanger with vise grips and a hammer 🔨.

A number of people have reached out about Big Red 🛻, I will work on setting up appointments for them to look at the truck today. 🔎 I found the title 🖇️ and other service and purchase records. Was $4,500 to little to ask for? Compared to similar trucks and accounting for the frame rust and required repairs I think it’s fair though I could see why a lifted truck in otherwise decent shape would go for such a price. Honestly at this point I just want the truck gone and just enough money to top off my savings account so I can return to my full investing plan.

The weekend looks like rain, 🌧️ so maybe it’s good so I’ll be around to show Big Red. I kind of want Red gone too now because he’s no longer on the battery charger and the SuperDuty has basically replaced him in my mind. So probably no Schoharie trip this weekend. 🏕️ Maybe the subsequent weekend I can do Schoharie, right before I head out on vacation to the Finger Lakes. Or maybe not. Seems like a lot of weekends lately have been rainy or I’m busy. I know every summer is like that.

Started researching dash cameras 📹 to capture my trips. The old one I have has an increasingly fogged up lens. Apparently that was an issue with the older models. It would be nice to have capture some of the views along the way. I used to do that a lot more before the old camera started recording such shit pictures after getting fogged up. ⏺️

A Dash Cam for the SuperDuty ?

Andy | July 13, 2026

Back in 2016, I picked up a VIOFO A119 dash cam to capture the memorable highlights of my road trips. Not so much for recording crashes, but scenic views and that occasional odd thing, like the enormous fiberglass bull you see driving down the highway in some hick town. For the first four years, it did its job well enough, but by autumn of 2020, a permanent, stubborn fog developed inside the lens assembly that no amount of cleaning could fix. Having my scenic trip footage ruined by a milky haze was a major bummer, and honestly, it drove me to use the camera a lot less. I eventually learned that years of baking behind a hot truck windshield causes early-generation dash cam plastics and adhesives to break down and outgas, permanently clouding the internal optics. It wasn’t a terrible lifespan for the time, but the foggy image was a frustrating roadblock for a camera meant to preserve memories.

While I have the old dash cam, I really want to buy a quality model that doesn’t have the fogging issue. Laying out hard-earned money for a replacement makes you hit the brakes when you’ve been burned by hardware degradation in the past. My truck spends a lot of time parked in the sun, and since I only really run it on weekends for trips, the camera has to be tough enough to survive the idle heat. I am currently giving myself a few days to pause, mull things over, and really look at my options before jumping into a purchase.

Right now, I am leaning toward the VIOFO A119M Pro, but I am still weighing how much the technology has actually improved. On paper, it sounds promising—moving away from the old plastic lens elements to a 7-layer all-glass setup, and replacing plastic ventilation with a heavy-duty metal heat sink to pull heat away from the processor. I am also factoring in the convenience of its built-in Wi-Fi 6, which pairs directly to a phone hotspot so I wouldn’t have to constantly pull out the memory card just to view a clip. No wi-fi needed which is good as I don’t have that at home, much less in the wilderness. Yet, it would be good not to be fiddling with mini SD card out in the wilderness, dropping it in the mud. I am leaning towards getting the same make as the old one – it seems to address my old pain points, but after my last experience, I am content to take my time, ponder the reliability, and make sure it is truly the right fit for the long haul before pulling the trigger.

Vanderwhacker Firetower Hike

Andy | July 13, 2026

The hike to the Vanderwhacker Mountain Fire Tower starts about a mile beyond where Moose Club Road crosses Vanderwhacker Brook, roughly 3.1 miles from NY 28N at Boreas River. The road is not maintained in the winter and can be very soft past Vanderwhacker Brook and Railroad Tracks.

The trail starts out following an ol logging road, that winds through birch, beech, and maple trees, crossing several small streams. There are some small wooden bridges, however this part of the trail can be muddy. Then as you start the first real ascent of trail, where you reach an old long abandoned Fire Observer Cabin and dump. There also is an a historical marker that reminds visitors of the wilderness rangers who once lived on the mountain full-time to safeguard the surrounding valley from forest fires. The trail switches back, the real mountain climb starts.

Over the course of the final mile, hikers must navigate a staircase of exposed tree roots, loose rocks, and large stone slabs that require careful footwork and steady pacing. As the elevation increases, the surrounding hardwood forest transitions into a dense boreal ecosystem dominated by fragrant balsam fir and red spruce. The air grows noticeably cooler, and the physical exertion intensifies, making the occasional flat ledge a welcome spot to pause, catch one’s breath, and glimpse the surrounding valleys through the thickening trees. You are close to the submit, with about a half mile gentle climb to the top.

When you emerge at the base of the tower, there are no views. But the short, relatively recently restored 35-foot tower is just high enough to get you an excellent view of the surrounding country. Outstanding views of the High Peaks are looming to the north, the sprawling Boreas Ponds tract below, and countless rolling green ridges fading into the blue horizon as you look to the rolling wild forest to the south and east.