How did I not know this was the greatest thing ever?
White Pine Sway in the Breeze
At times I can be so impatient 🚲
Like waiting to pick up my mountain bike, Blackie, from the store or any time Big Red is in the shop which hopefully isn’t anytime soon though I still need to do that passenger seat air bag recall later this summer. The General keeps reminding me about the recall, but I rarely have passengers in my truck, so it’s not a top priority of mine, especially as it’s pain to take Red to dealership.
Good morning! What day is it? We’re climbing the Hump Day, of course. I’m also impatient for the weekend. Mostly sunny ☀ with some light fog and 66 degrees in Delmar, NY. Calm wind. The dew point is 63 degrees.
Nice morning today, lots of runners 🏃 🐶 and dog walkers out this morning including all the usual’s though both aren’t exclusive groups. It’s funny how when you do the same walk every day you see the same people and commuters driving to work every day. Now that I’ve gotten in better shape 🦵I’ve thought about maybe adding some jogging to my exercise program but I’d probably want to wear the sneakers 👟 I have in my closet, along with learning more about pacing and posture. Kind of had to run down to the bus stop 🚏for the express bus 🚍 yesterday that never came as apparently the driver pulled too far off the shoulder and got stuck in the mud letting a passenger on. I got a ride in with one of the other passengers. 🚘 Happens, it’s been wet, ⚡ and those electric buses they’ve been running on the Voorheesville Route are mad heavy compared to the normal buses.
11 3/4 miles walked and 40 flights of stairs up and down yesterday. 🚶 2 1/2 weeks of doing the stairs at work. I told one of my colleagues I’m now doing the stairs at work, and I got this look of you work on the 18th floor. Yesterday was cream of wheat, frozen blueberries and a dap of Greek yogurt for breakfast. So good but for a change eggs with spinach, mushroom, tomatoes and onions today. 🍳 It should make two breakfasts, maybe I’ll save it for Friday or Saturday might be good if I’m leaving early Saturday to head out of town. 🚲 Black beans, peppers, tomatoes and mushrooms for lunch – cold lunches are good in the heat. 🍱 Dinner was the remaining red kidney beans with sugar free maple syrup, plus a little of the mackerel – spinach/kale pasta salad, though I’m trying to limit that as it’s a bit greasy and is high in carbs from the pasta. 🍲
Today will have isolated showers, then scattered showers and thunderstorms after 11am. I am pretty sure thats just template text for summer. Mostly sunny ☀, with a high of 85 degrees at 3pm. One degree above normal. Maximum dew point of 68 at 10am. Calm wind becoming northwest 5 to 8 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. It became sticky as the day progressed. The high last year was 91 degrees. The record high of 96 was set in 1935.
Today I want to get to the farmers market on the Plaza 🌽 🍅 mostly in search 🔎 of tomatoes and sweet corn, basically in that order. I could almost kill for a fresh tomatoes but also sweet corn would be good. I know Stantons has both but they’re not convenient for me to get to, I’d have to drive out there. 🫐 Maybe more of the overpriced blueberries, they were good but I have frozen ones already in my freezer. I tend to prefer frozen fruits and vegetables at home while reserving good fresh ones for camping 🏕 not just as I lack freezer capacity but it gives me something to look forward to at camp, replacing the cookies 🍪 and junk food of the past. Maybe I can get fruits and vegetables in the Schoharie Valley this weekend. I should take an early lunch to ensure that I can get the best fruits and vegetables today, remembering to bring my reusable bag.
Accidentally double paid my credit card 💳 bill though it’s okay as I wanted to retire any outstanding debt before getting the bicycle 🚲 and then also before vacation 🏖 just so I had a safe margin in case of emergency on vacation. I’ll use the statement credit to cover it. Money is going to be a bit tight through next pay day on Tuesday but if I have to dip into rainy day for a few days not the end of the world. 💵
Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:02 pm with sun having an altitude of 69.4° from the due south horizon (-1.4° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.3 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:52 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (295°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (302°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:34 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 23 seconds with dusk around 9:07 pm, which is 31 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:52 pm. At sunset, look for partly cloudy skies 🌃 and temperatures around 76 degrees. The dew point will be 68 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 15 hours and 7 minutes of daytime, a decrease of one minute and 18 seconds over yesterday.
Today I will phone the bike shop 📞 to see how progress is going on building my bike if they don’t call by one or so. If it’s ready, I’ll try to sneak out of work at 4 pm with permission of course, get home get my truck and hurry over to the shop. I would like to start to breaking it in 🚲 even if I don’t have all the accessories I want before the weekend. 
With the earlier sunsets, I would like to be able to bicycle out to Voorheesville or Five Rivers in evening, and then spend the evening out before riding home. I thought about walking to Five Rivers last night 
but it’s a lot of walking in the sprawl either on Fisher Boulevard or the narrow NY 443, and I’d rather spend more time in the woods. But the bicycle could let me speed through that boring crap.
Honestly, the question most biting into my mind is will the Borranger MIK Rack fit on the XXL version of the Trek Marlin 6, 
which the internet doesn’t seem to have a good answer for or the cost since the recent inflationary increases. 
I guess worse comes to worse, there are other rack systems you get online like the AVS and RackSystem, but I want something with a quick release for adding and removing the milk crate / storage basket I want to mount on there for hauling gear but be able to take off when the bike is in transit or I’m on narrow trails or otherwise don’t need the weight of the carrying container on the back. Getting adapters and quick release connectors on a generic bike rack might end up costing more 
so I’d rather stick with MIK as it seems like if I get it built in the rack, then I can get just get the plate I need for the milk crate.
Tonight will have scattered thunderstorms, mainly before 7pm. Mostly cloudy ☁️, with a low of 64 degrees at 6am. One degree above normal. Maximum dew point of 68 at 8pm. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It was somewhat humid. It got down to 62 degrees. The record low of 45 occurred back in 1939.
On this day in 1967, the Newark Riots begin with over six days of rioting, looting, and destruction leaving 26 dead. We really are fortunate that despite living troubled times, there has been no rioting in our cities this year. 🌆 2020 with all it’s disorder seems like a one shot deal, though I swear downtown is a lot rougher than it used to be before the pandemic but maybe I forgot after two years of remote work.
A very summer like weekend. 🏖 Saturday, showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 87. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Maximum dew point of 72 at 4pm. Sunday, a chance of showers, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 85. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Maximum dew point of 73 at 11am. Typical average high for the weekend is 84 degrees.
As of now I’m still on track for going out to Schoharie ⛺ 🚲 but things could change in the mean time. I’m watching the Sunday forecast closely. I’d really like to get two days of swimming 🏊 in the pool under my belt to prepare for summer vacation but not if Sunday is going to be bad weather. The auto show at the Power Authority would be fun, as riding the Catskill Scenic Trail.
One month 📅 from now will be Last Sunset After 8 PM 🌆 with dusk at 8:32 pm. Come August due to earth wobble we loose a lot of evening daylight though morning daylight declines slower.
Betty Brook Road
Been thinking about some of the bicycle trips I want to take in Madison County 🚲
- Charles Baker State Forest – Forest Roads mostly, riding around the various landmarks in the forest along the truck trails. Maybe camp at the Elmer Spring Campsite. Also kayak at the Nine Mile Swamp and maybe ride some of the Chenango Canal Trail.
- Stoney Pond State Forest – While many of ski trails might be mountain bikable and I’m less likely to do them in favor of smoother rail trails like the Link Trail from Cazenovia to Freber Road, and some of the dirt roads in Tioughnioga Wildlife Management Area. And then the Chenango Canal Trail. Maybe ride around the roads up in Fenner through the Fenner Wind Farm to get a better look at the turbines from the public roads then you can when you are riding.
- Old Erie Canal Trailway – Areas from Fayetteville to Chittenango to Canastota are stone dust trails and would be excellent riding. I could camp at Stoney Pond State Forest again, though it’s a bit of a trip north.
- Alfred E Woodford State Forest – Janis Road, White Street, and potentially the mountain bike trail up to Tassell Hill with due care could be excellent riding. It is a blue diamond trail (moderate) but on dangerous sections that are rough, I could dismount and walk the bike and carry it over any jumps.
Happy World Population Day, at least if you are a mosquito or a tick 🪰
We got a brief respite from the muggers after the rain and it cleared out. But the mosquitoes are celebrating their new found pools of water and the ticks have been so bad, I found one crawling up my leg in the office downtown yesterday.
Good morning! Clouds and 62 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☁️ Calm wind. The dew point is 61 degrees. Not quite as muggy as before the rain though it will be muggier come midday 🕛.
Out walking 🚶 this morning, did 10.8 miles and 40 flights of stairs up and down yesterday, as the rain stopped early yesterday and it was nice for both for a lunch time walk and especially in the evening. So buggy down at the park but since they’ve improved the trails they’ve been pretty dry. I liked that cream of wheat with the frozen blueberries and Greek yogurt yesterday that I’m thinking that will be breakfast again with a fresh pot of coffee ☕. Quick breakfast too.
Black beans are cooking on the stove 🍲 which I will use for a cold lunch with red onions 🧅 and sliced peppers 🫑. Last night was kale – spinach blend as I ran out of the prior with some pasta and mackerel. 🐠 I was looking at the label 🔎 trying to figure if mackerel or tuna fish is a healthier option but I guess it matters if you prioritize vitamins and minerals, along with total omega 3 over slightly more calories and saturated fat. Most of the calories comes from the pasta at any rate, which I used the last half box of white pasta I had left in my kitchen with 1 1/4 lb of frozen spinach and a half lb of frozen kale. Tuna fish salad thet won’t kill you! All that fiber with the delious omega 3 fat fills you up quickly so it’s not so bad but I’m only buying whole wheat or chickpea pasta going forward.
Yesterday the 40″ waist seam jeans and XXL shirt 👖 I wore to work looked cartoonishly big on me, as I’ve lost so much weight. I’ve recently bought 38″ shorts thinking they’ll be good as I like my shorts loose and they also are running kind of big one. Even some of the XL shirts, especially undershirts now seem to big for me. I guess I never thought I would loose so much weight so quickly, though I’m still very hesitant to buy more clothes as I don’t know what size will fit well. Maybe come August I’ll have to shop the thrift stores to see what I can get, although it’s still tough as I’m so tall. I just worry about weight gain though I think I’ve really changed what I eat.
Speaking of which I was really happy to hear that Stanton now has both sweet corn 🌽 and tomatoes 🍅. I am not really sure which I’m most excited about, probably my favorite nightshade as tomatoes are so good in many foods and fresh tomatoes are the best! If I go to Schoharie this weekend I’m hoping to get somewhere I can stock up. I’ll eat them quickly so they don’t ret a chance to go bad, lol 😂.
Today will start out cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny ☁️🤜🌞, with a high of 88 degrees at 5pm. Kind of a game of weather punch buggy, as the sun and hot weather push out the cooler rainer weather of yesterday. Four degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 65 at 11am. Light and variable wind becoming west 5 to 10 mph in the morning. 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 a few breaks of sun the afternoon. The high last year was 91 degrees. The record high of 98 was set in 1936.
At this point I’m getting a bit impatient about getting Blackie 🚵 as last night I figured out what heavy gauge u-bolt lock to get to secure my bicycle, a USB rechargeable long lasting rear light for the rear and a waterproof carrying mount for my phone. 📱 I tested out my phone to see if it would work okay as a GPS bicycle speedometer / trip odometer, turned out that 45 minutes on and off the bus with the GPS location and screen on only used 3% of the battery life, so should be good. 🔋
Mostly want it to keep track of distance out on the trip so I know how long the return will be though watching my speed on the down hills would be fun and I want to track my distance. It’s good that I can avoid adding any more expenses to this ever growing bicycle project. 💸But I figure now is the time to equip the bicycle as I want it, so it will be ready for adventures as close to day one as possible and I can work out kinks before vacation. 🏖
One issue I might run into is I don’t know if the Trek MIK rack will fit on the XXL model of the Marlin 6. 🚲 I’m going to ask and buy at the shop when I pick up the bicycle for just that reason. If not there are many after market bike rack systems you can get and either use a MIK adapter or maybe a different rack system. I just want something I can bolt 🔩 to a milk crate storage containers and do the quick release for packing inside or at camp, and load the bike in the truck or on the bus 🚍. I really want to have the storage before vacation especially for longer rides so I can bring lunch and supplies without having them in a backpack 🎒 on my back in the heat. I might even do some hammock camping on vacation depending on where I’m riding.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:01 pm with sun having an altitude of 69.5° from the due south horizon (-1.3° vs. 6/21). The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:52 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (295°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (302°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:35 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 23 seconds with dusk around 9:07 pm, which is 29 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:53 pm. At sunset, look for mostly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 82 degrees. The dew point will be 65 degrees. There will be a west breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 15 hours and 9 minutes of daytime, a decrease of one minute and 14 seconds over yesterday.
The Verizon salesman 📴 stalked me out at home last evening, seeing if I would be interested in signing up for internet today. 🖥 I was like not really bro, I don’t have a TV or internet at home and I’m not really interested in all that technology stuff. He wasn’t that persistent when he learned I didn’t own a television or had a computer at home (I store my laptop at work). Truth is during the pandemic that was the closest I ever got to getting home internet as it was cold especially in the winter working out of my truck 🛻 down at the library but now with unlimited phone data and 5 GB Hotspot, I’d much rather just use my phone 📱. Phones are so powerful these days, yet they are so portable, can he used virtually anywhere and use very little electricity to charge. 🔋 Heck, I’ll probably leave my laptop locked in my office 🏢 rather than bring it on vacation this year.
Tonight will be mostly clear 🌃, with a low of 64 degrees at 6am. One degree above normal. Maximum dew point of 65 at 8pm. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies. It was humid. It got down to 70 degrees. The record low of 44 occurred back in 1978.
After reading 📖 more of the Boggleheads Guide to Investing, I just ordered up my yearly free credit report 📜 and no surprises there, it was super boring 💤 and accurate. I did find one issue – my Experian report wasn’t properly locked 🔒 so I did that to protect against identity theft. The other two were good. Updated my assets spreadsheet, 🧮 that’s looking far better now than six months ago. I was pleasantly surprised that my ratio of bonds to stocks has increased but then again I’ve been buying more bonds lately as I’m getting older 🧓. The higher fed rate is helping with the cash side of things too. Far better than wasted year in the market in 2022. The out year projections look good, based on the past decade but I’m sure we are going to have a recession but I figure that’s just a loss on paper and in the long run, it’s a potential for gain.
On this day in 1962, live television was transmitted for the first time across the Atlantic Ocean. On Telstar! 📺 Seems odd nowadays, when so much commerence is global and we can access a server next door as quickly as in France. 🇫🇷 Of course ultimately Telstar 📡 would be destroyed by above ground nuclear ⚛ testing. 💣Which was pure foolishness of a deadly kind of way that was making the sweet corn 🌽 radio and putting strontium 90 in children’s ice cream cones. 🍦Now we just have PFAS and dioxin in our ice cream and everything else.
A nice summer weekend ahead. 🏊♂️ ⛺ Saturday, scattered showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 86. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Maximum dew point of 70 at 11am. Sunday, scattered showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 86. Chance of precipitation is 50%. Maximum dew point of 71 at 11am. Monday, scattered showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 88. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Typical average high for the weekend is 84 degrees.
Still thinking this is the weekend to go out to Schoharie 
though a lot depends on timing of getting Blackie, my new bike. 
I keep waiting for that call from the shop, though I realize it’s only been two days, or maybe three. Maybe I’ll get the call this afternoon, though I’m not sure if I can leave work early today, but maybe tomorrow. I guess I don’t need to have the rack on my bicycle, I can use a backpack 
for this weekend for supplies along the rail trail but I do want to get things tested out. I haven’t decided about Monday yet, but it looks like a much better day to take off then Friday.
As previously noted, there are 3 weeks until August 🌻 when the sun will be setting at 8:17 pm with dusk at 8:48 pm. On that day in 2022, we had hot, partly sunny and temperatures between 89 and 69 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 84 degrees. We hit a record high of 101 back in 1933.
Drinking less water 🥛
One of the things I’ve noticed since I got into eating healthy is that I drink a lot less water and beverages more generally. I have a few theories why that is likely the case, despite sweating more and increasing my calorie burn.
- Fruits and vegetables have a lot more water in them compared to most carbohydrates like bread and pasta
- Lower calorie foods tend to have more water in them, which is why they contain less energy
- Less of a need to have water to flush away the excess salt (and nitrates) in my body as I’m not eating the processed food loaded with salt
- Less of a need to flush out excess sugars, especially the refined sugars that hit your blood steam all at once
- Less desire to drink just for the sweetness of apple juice or the fats in milk
I’ve been monitoring my water intake and particularly any signs of cramping and dehydration especially after what happened with my neck while sleeping in the hammock at camp. But I think I’m still good with my water intake.