Day two in my Coronavirus office
Bethlehem Public Library
February 13, 2020 Morning
Good morning! Happy Thursday. The direct drive of the week. Next Thursday is 5:30 PM Sunset 🌆. As the sign on the bridge says, “When there is no hope, there is spring!” And black flies. They’re waiting. 🐜 Snow, slop and 33 degrees in Delmar, NY. ❄ Calm wind. The sidewalks have the consistency of a pasture after a wet spring today with all the snow, rain and slop on them. There are 2 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ ️Temperatures will drop below freezing at around 7 pm. ☃️
Today will rain, snow and sleet, possibly mixed with freezing rain before noon, then a chance of snow showers between noon and 1pm, then a chance of rain and snow showers after 1pm. 🌧 High of 38 degrees at 3pm. Five degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 1st. Calm wind becoming northwest 5 to 8 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Little or no ice accumulation expected. Total daytime snow and sleet accumulation of less than one inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, which became mostly sunny by afternoon. The high last year was 38 degrees. The record high of 58 was set in 1900. 9 inches of snow fell back in 1893.❄
I mean it could be worse in Trump’s 🎺 America, this could all be ice or deep snow. The later would be less sloppy but it would delay traffic with the cidiots abandoning their cars 🚘 in the middle of the street, calling it parallel parking. 🅿 I’ve been wearing my black leather work boots 👢 to work lately and keeping my dress shoes under the desk at work. Seems to work well.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:11 pm with sun having an altitude of 33.9° from the due south horizon (-36.9° vs. 6/21). The golden hour 🏅 starts at 4:44 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (246°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (253°) starting at 5:21 pm and lasts for 3 minutes and 3 seconds with dusk around 5:52 pm, which is one minute and 18 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:27 pm. At sunset, look for possibly more rain 🌧 and snow 🌨 and temperatures around 37 degrees. There will be a west-northwest breeze at 9 mph. Today will have 10 hours and 28 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 39 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a low of 15 degrees at 6am. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around February 5th. Northwest wind 6 to 11 mph. 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 26 degrees. The record low of -13 occurred back in 2016.
Today I have to renew the two library books I have out. 📚 I finished up the Almost President book I was reading over the past week, and I can return it tonight when I go down to the library, but I figured I’d renew it to be safe. I am starting reading a book about electrical wiring, as I want to further my knowledge of electricity and code issues — I am hoping to understand the electrical code, so eventually when I own land I can make appropriate upgrades on my off-grid property. Even if I live in a place without code enforcement, it’s good to have a safe system that doesn’t burn your house to the ground or shock you to head.
Right now, a split verdict on the weekend. 😕 Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 32. Calm wind becoming south around 6 mph in the afternoon. Sunday, mostly cloudy, with a high near 40. Typical average high for the weekend is 35 degrees.
Somehow I have this vague thought about heading out of town this weekend, ⛺ even though I know that there is no chance in hell of that happening. But come April the snow will be replaced by rain, mud and black flies I tell myself. 🎣 Trout season too. I bet there is still a ton of snow out in Madison County — actually there is a checked. So that’s probably not a realistic option but Presidents Day might still be a good opportunity to go skiing ⛷ maybe out at Partridge Run or Rensselearville State Forest. I haven’t been in the later in some time.🌲🌲🌲
🌹🌻🌼Only 35 days remain until the first day of calendar spring!🌹🌻🌼
As previously noted, next Thursday is 5:30 PM Sunset 🌆 when the sun will be setting at 5:32 pm with dusk at 6:01 pm. On that day in 2019, we had cloudy, snow showers and temperatures between 28 and 9 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 36 degrees. We hit a record high of 66 back in 1930.
In 2019, more Americans went to the library than to the movies. Yes, really. | Literary Hub
The US film industry may have generated revenues somewhere in the region of $40 billion last year, but it seems Hollywood still has plenty of work to do if it wants to compete with that most hallowed of American institutions: the public library.
Yes, according to a recent Gallup poll (the first such survey since 2001), visiting the local library remains by far the most common cultural activity Americans engage in.
January 10, 2020 Morning
Good morning! Tonight is the Wolf Moon 🌕! Four weeks to Save the Pine Bush Turns 42 🦋. Partly cloudy and 36 degrees at the Elm Ave Park & Ride – CDTA. ⛅ Light breeze 🍃. A very pleasant morning that feels more like late March or early April then the coldest week of the year. Maybe colder by next weekend but still not super cold. I bet it will be a lot colder come February. Even with the warmer climate these days we still get at least one good artic blast each winter. ❄ But in the mean time my heat won’t be running much at all this weekend. I like saving energy says the boy in the big jacked up truck who is taking the bus to work. 🚍
Today will have a chance of rain, mainly after 3pm. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a high of 45 degrees at 5pm. 15 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 17th. South wind 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 32 degrees. The record high of 55 was set in 2016. 7.3 inches of snow fell back in 1984.❄
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:03 pm with sun having an altitude of 25.4° from the due south horizon (-45.5° vs. 6/21). The golden hour 🏅 starts at 3:57 pm with the sun in the southwest (233°). 📸 By next week the evening golden hour won’t be until after 4 pm. The sunset is in the west-southwest (240°) starting at 4:38 pm and lasts for 3 minutes and 21 seconds with dusk around 5:12 pm, which is one minute and 5 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 5:48 pm. At sunset, look out for possible rain showers 🌧 and temperatures around 44 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 10 mph. Today will have 9 hours and 16 minutes of daytime, an increase of one minute and 20 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will have a chance of rain. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 40 degrees at 7pm. 26 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 22nd. South wind 8 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2019, we had light snow in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 12 degrees. The record low of -25 occurred back in 1968.
Tomorrow will have a chance of rain, mainly after 2pm. Cloudy 🌧, with a high of 60 degrees at 3pm. 30 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 18th. Maximum dew point of 49 at 3pm. Breezy, with a south wind 16 to 21 mph decreasing to 10 to 15 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 33 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 24 degrees. The record high of 57 was set in 1975. 8 inches of snow fell back in 1922.❄
Looking ahead to Sunday, showers, mainly before 10am. ☔ High near 62. South wind 11 to 15 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 31 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. Maximum dew point of 53 at 6am. Typical average high for the weekend is 30 degrees.
The Hudson River is really choppy 🌊 with some white caps heading down river. Maybe it’s just the tide going out with the full 🌕 moon tonight. Definitely wouldn’t want to be in a kayak on the river right now, it almost looks like white water or right below a dam. Plus I bet the water is really cold.
🌹🌻🌼Only 69 days remain until the first day of calendar spring!🌹🌻🌼
I am still thinking about next weekend heading out to Madison County for Martin Luther King Day. 🏕 It looks like the weather might be closer to normal temperatures, and it all depends if we have precipitation or not. It will probably not have a lot of snow out there by next week, so camping at the Moscow Hill Horse Camp, which is on the asphalt road wouldn’t be a problem. Maybe do a little hiking or skiing around there, enjoy the rural scenery with all it’s earthy browns and smells. 🐮 It’s like being in a totally different land then Albany.
Looking ahead, there are 4 weeks until Save the Pine Bush Turns 42 🦋 when the sun will be setting at 5:16 pm with dusk at 5:45 pm. I was talking to one of the Save the Pine Bush leaders from 1978 and said I bet you wouldn’t be fighting development in the Pine Bush in 2020. 🌲🌲On that day in 2019, we had partly cloudy, mild, rain showers and temperatures between 47 and 36 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 33 degrees. We hit a record high of 48 back in 2005.
Bethlehem Library
Why Helsinki’s Library Robots Aren’t Important
Oodi, the new Helsinki Library, has robots to help reshelve books. They get a lot of press attention. But they're not the important part of the library: here's why.
June 30, 2019 Morning
Good morning! Where did June go? Summer is coming and going quickly. But this wasn’t a good weekend to head out of town. Two weeks to National Nude Day 👱. Cloudy and 70 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☁ There is a northwest breeze at 10 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 61 degrees.
It really poured for a while this morning 💦 with a few dramatic thunder claps but now it’s stopped and just cloudy. ☁ Supposed to clear out later on but I’ll believe it when it happens. Barometer seems a pretty steady 29.80 here, dropped a little bit from last night. Been working on my barometer display as part of the VMS in my bedroom — works fairly good but I’m still finding bugs in the code and other improvements I’d like to make. It’s fun watching the air pressure go up and down and what it means for the coming weather.
Today will have showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 4pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 4pm. Some of the storms could produce small hail and gusty winds. Mostly cloudy 🌦, with a high of 74 degrees at 5pm. Seven degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around June 2nd. Maximum dew point of 61 at 11am. North wind 10 to 17 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. It became humid as the day progressed. The high last year was 94 degrees. The record high of 98 was set in 1964.
The sun will set at 8:37 pm with dusk around 9:11 pm, which is 7 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At sunset, look for partly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 70 degrees. The dew point will be 55 degrees. There will be a northwest breeze at 11 mph. Today will have 15 hours and 15 minutes of daytime, an increase of 37 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌤, with a low of 57 degrees at 5am. Three degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around June 18th. Maximum dew point of 56 at 6pm. Northwest wind 7 to 11 mph. In 2018, we had mostly clear skies. It became very sticky as the night progressed. It got down to 72 degrees. The record low of 45 occurred back in 1978.
I decided this week to make up Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches for work. 🥪 They’re good for a change. I’ve been having too many hot lunches, I’m tired of ravioli and chicken all the time. Plus now I won’t have to worry about keeping things cold, especially if I pack them going hiking. I’ll also bring it up to camp to pack a lunch when I go up to Moose River Plains.🎒
This week I also bought apple juice 🍏as something to drink as an alternative to beer, as I don’t drink alcohol at home anymore. As soon as I get home from camping I always put the beer away in my attic, where it sits warm until i go camping. I drink a lot more water with cider vinger for flavor — or as I also picked up this week — some lemonade juice. Just add enough to make the water a bit tart — I don’t use sugar. I do also drink quite a bit of milk but less then I used to.🐮
On this day in 1971, Ohio ratifies the 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, reducing the voting age to 18, thereby putting the amendment into effect. 🎂☑ Also in 1934, The Night of the Long Knives, Adolf Hitler’s violent purge of his political rivals in Germany, takes place.🔪 Fortunately, we only have obnoxious rhetoric to that impact on Facebook in our country today. 😡
Continued to work on the display in my bedroom. 📺 The barometric features seem to be working well know, it’s nice to get updates on the barometric pressure. Lots of little changes and tweaks to make to the code, and I keep finding things to debug and improve.
As previously noted, there are 2 weeks until National Nude Day 👱 when the sun will be setting at 8:31 pm with dusk at 9:05 pm. On that day in 2018, we had hot, humid, partly sunny, rain showers and temperatures between 88 and 72 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 83 degrees. We hit a record high of 99 back in 1995.
