Alfred E. Smith Building

The Alfred E. Smith Building, known officially as the Alfred E. Smith State Office Building and sometimes called simply the Smith Building, is a structure located in downtown Albany, New York across the street from the New York State Capitol and One Commerce Plaza.

The building’s namesake, Alfred Emmanuel Smith, was a four-term governor of New York and the Democratic Party’s nomination for the 1928 presidential election. The Art Deco skyscraper has 34 stories and at 388 feet (118 m) is Albany’s second tallest structure (after the Erastus Corning Tower).

Completed in 1928, it houses offices of the New York State government. Built originally with an observation deck on the 31st floor, the 350-foot-high (110 m) open-air deck was closed in 1976 when the 589-foot-tall (180 m) 42nd floor enclosed Corning Tower Observation Deck was opened. An extensive renovation of the building began in 2002. This modernization, which cost at least $103 million, is now finished.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_E._Smith_Building

December 10, 2015 morning

Good morning. A fairly warm morning at 47 degrees but also a bit rainy but at this point things are clearing out. We might even see some sun on this quite mild Thursday. Might even hit 50 degrees. Already some blue skies to the north.

I have a lot of things I should do this weekend but I still almost want to head out of town while the weather is still warm. We will see. That said, it looks like the mild December weather will be with us for a while. I wouldn’t mind some snow eventually for lean-to camping. I need to get a haircut and refill propane tank among other things like continuing to clean my apartment. I would also like to get mapping working again on my laptop.

Got to bed at a reasonable hour, so hopefully I’ll be more awake at work today. I should have gotten coffee yesterday because I was so tired. I should have just opened that god awful instant coffee that is multiple decades old on my desk. Going to be a another busy day in the office but I’m hopeful I will have a lot more energy.

Have a great day! Tomorrow is Friday.

December 9, 2015 evening

Good evening. Currently 45 degrees and cloudy this evening. This evening will be fairly warm and cloudy, near constant temperatures. The wind appears to have died down a bit.

Stayed a bit late at work, catching the local bus home. According to the Bus Time the buses were running late but I didn’t notice the delay. It’s possible that the buses are just running 15 minutes late, essentially on time. I don’t know.

Tired tonight. I was up too late last night. Going to try to get a earlier start to bed tonight.

December 8, 2015 evening

Good evening. Currently 33 degrees and partly cloudy as we get one day closer to Christmas. Tonight will be mostly cloudy, with a low around 28. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph.

Bus driver made a wrong turn so we had to go around the block. But sometimes leaving later means less traffic. Tonight though traffic is slow. Oh, well I get home when I get home.

December 3, 2015 evening

Good evening. Currently 41 degrees and clear. Tonight will be partly cloudy, with a low around 33. Northwest wind 7 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.

Traffic is moving slowly but surely on the old 787 heading out of the city. Creeping along. Eventually I’ll get home. It’s rush hour. I’m starting to think traffic has picked up a fair amount since the end of the recession.

December 2, 2015 night

Good evening. Currently 48 degrees at nearly 11 PM. The rain has stopped and  by all means a nice evening but no stars are to be seen. Scattered showers, mainly before 1am. Cloudy, with a low around 38. Light and variable wind becoming west 5 to 10 mph after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Not a bad evening for sure.

December 2, 2015 evening

Good evening. The rain has stopped for a bit and it’s about 44 degrees. Later this evening, periods of rain continue, mainly before 10pm, then scattered showers after midnight. Low around 38. Light and variable wind becoming west 5 to 10 mph after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Tomorrow also looks to be rainy but nicer weather comes in for the weekend. Mid 40s and lots of sun can’t be beat for early December. It will be nice for getting away at least one more time truck camping. I might leave work early so I’m not driving in the pitch black on Friday.

That house fire on Park Avenue in Albany was pretty nasty as seen from the skyscraper I work in downtown. It reminded me of a winter campfire when you’re burning wet wood with flames struggling to peak out of wood and tons of smoke. At one point during the fire the smoke started to get sucked into the building’s ventilation system and it stunk like burning shingles in a bonfire.

Just passed a pickup truck with West Virginia plates. God I miss that state, even if I can’t exactly put my finger on why I love it besides the amazingly rugged scenery. November 2016 will be here before you know it.

All and all it was a good day at work even it was a day of change. I look forward to new challenges and moving forward. 2016 is just around the corner and I’m willing to embrace it fully, even though 2015 wasn’t a have bad year in the grand scheme of things. That sprained ankle in August was pretty horrific though.

I need to get more Egg Nog from the store and it sure is good mixed with liquor. Auld Lang Syne will soon be played a million more times. Then it’s 2016.

December 2, 2015 morning

Good morning. It’s a rainy morning on this second of December. With the rain comes higher temperatures. Forty four this morning.

More rain today with a high near 46. It is expected to pick up morning. South wind 3 to 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Kind of a dreary day but it’s the middle of the week and I have to work. We need the rain so it’s hard to complain. It looks like in the near future we will remain snow free. So be it.

In this rainy weather make sure to increase your distance between cars as your stopping distance will increase due to hydroplaning. There was a three car crash at the stop light near where I live. Motorists not maintaining a safe speed in the adverse conditions.

Getting closer to being back in the map making business. A number of the PostGIS have been restored but I’m still missing some data that I need to download and update into the system. At least when I’m back in business I’ll be totally up to date with the data.