Delmar, NY

What both vegetarians and meat enthusiasts get wrong 🍖 🆚 🥦

|

Many things in one’s diets are beneficial when consumed in moderation. Meat is one of them.

By definition, meat has saturated fats which are solid at room temperature. Think lard or the grease you get off bacon when it dries and hardens, either plugging up your plumbing or your body’s arteries. The flipside is that meat is one of the easiest forms of protein for the human body to absorb and utilize, unlike plant proteins, a larger portion of which passes through the digestive system uneaten.

While omega-3 polyunsaturated fats from fish are healthier than omega-6 polyunsaturated fats from meat, the easily digested protein and vitamins in meat cannot be ignored. Or its delicious taste. Animals that have eaten more grass rather than grain have more omega-3, though the numbers still look weak compared to fish. But in moderation, meat can be a useful source of protein, vitamins, and minerals.

I don’t embrace eating as much meat as possible. That’s a pretty unhealthy choice. You should make vegetables a much bigger part of your plate, along with some grains and fruits as sides or for dessert. Like meat, dairy is an important part of a well-rounded diet, but it should be consumed in moderation. Meat and dairy promoters are wrong in saying you should eat your fill. No, you should eat a healthy portion of it, not too much and not too little.

I totally understand why farmers are so eager to push meat and dairy consumption, trying to ramp up demand and inflate prices for their own profit. But seriously, is the answer really to persuade people to feast their way to terrible health? Come on now! What we really need is a surge in demand for premium meats and dairy products, especially the absolute healthiest ones available. And hey, if that means we have to pay a little extra and consume a bit less, then so be it!

We should also look at moving more marginal farmland out of production and using it for conservation and recreation purposes, which is all the more important with a growing population and sprawl. Meat and dairy are an important part of a working landscape, but the solution can’t be just to keep driving up demand by getting people to eat more and more unhealthy portions of it.

The weekend finally seems like a go 🚦

|

Finally a decent weekend to get out of town it would seem this weekend for a long weekend and then the start of vacation also looks pretty good too.

Good morning! What day is it? Hump Day, of course. Mostly cloudy ⛅ and 64 degrees in Delmar, NY. Calm wind. The dew point is 63 degrees. The air quality has improved as the smoke has drifted east, we are at a moderate 79. The air tastes of barnyard. I might ride to work today to save the bus fare. 🚲

Out walking 🚶 right at 6 o’clock this morning 🕒 as I rose fairly early this morning and it’s a pretty nice morning with the sun shing to the east through the air pollution a bright red color and fog around to the west. Walked 7.9 miles yesterday, did the stairs twice at work, Blackie stayed parked all day due to thunderstorms and rain in the evening. Shrimp and brown rice with edamame for dinner last night followed by carrots and fresh cherries 🍒 for dessert. I still have that sugary taste on my mouth this morning, so I’m thinking scrambled eggs with spinach, olives and anything else I decide to include. ☕ After a quick cup of coffee it seems like I will need a fresh pot to get the morning started when I get back home.

Today will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 83 degrees at 3pm. One degree below normal, which is similar to a typical day around August 3rd. Maximum dew point of 64 at 8am. Northwest wind 3 to 7 mph. Typical July day, maybe slightly cooler though really normal before the warming shown in the recent climate normals. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. It was humid. The high last year was 92 degrees. The record high of 97 was set in 1904.

Farmer’s Market today 🌽 and I am thinking about getting some more sweet corn as I’m pretty much otherwise good on food through the weekend when I can get more from Shauls.

I was thinking about going down Norman’s Kill Ravine Preserve 🏞 yesterday after work but it stormed a lot and turn poured. 💦 Read more of the Boggleheads investing book 📙 and then the rain stopped and I went for my evening walk 🚶. Maybe I’ll have to think about hiking the Norman’s Kill Ravines Preserve tonight. Might be a good night for it. That said, also on the agenda is figuring how to bolt the MIK adapter to the crate so I can quick remove it for shopping 🛒 and when I’m putting the bike on the bus or in my truck.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:02 pm with sun having an altitude of 68.3° from the due south horizon (-2.6° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.4 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:48 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (293°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (300°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:30 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 20 seconds with dusk around 9:02 pm, which is 45 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Crescent 🌒 Moon in the west-northwest (286°) at an altitude of 10° from the horizon, 252,270 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:45 pm. At sunset, look for partly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 75 degrees. The dew point will be 60 degrees. There will be a west-northwest breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 14 hours and 57 minutes of daytime, a decrease of one minute and 38 seconds over yesterday.

Got paid yesterday 💸 and my finances look a lot better than before, though just wait until my automatic deposits and withdrawals go through with my rent check at the end of the month. But then again I’ll get paid on August 1st again and next month is a three paycheck month.

After a few tries with the payroll office I finally got my increased federal and state deductions enacted properly to cover my interest and dividend payments so I shouldn’t have to worry about quarterly state and federal tax payments unless I end up selling stocks or bonds. 💲It was annoying because increasing my state withholding automatically decreased my federal withholding however with the unearned income I was ending up not paying enough state and federal. Regardless, whole lot more pleasant to give the government an extra $50 a pay period then cut big checks each quarter or on April 15th. Because I’m automatically reinvesting the dividends and not touching the interest income, essentially it’s a backdoor way of saving for my future.

Tonight will be partly clear 🌃 with a low of 60 degrees at 4am. Three degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around August 20th. Maximum dew point of 60 at 6pm. Not so humid. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies. It was sticky. It got down to 72 degrees. The record low of 49 occurred back in 1974.

On this day, there was the Great New York City Fire of 1845: The last great fire to affect Manhattan began early in the morning and was subdued that afternoon. 🧑‍🚒The fire killed 4 firefighters, 26 civilians, and destroyed 345 buildings. Always be careful with matches, in densely packed urban areas with lots of wooden buildings.

Weekend forecast continues to look great. 🏊‍♂️⛺ 🚲 🌲Saturday, a chance of showers after 2pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 81. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Maximum dew point of 64 at 9am. Sunday, sunny, with a high near 84. Maximum dew point of 62 at 10am. Typical average high for the weekend is 84 degrees.

Should be a good weekend out of town. 🏖 Got to take advantage of it before summer is done. It won’t last long at this point, soon we will be losing a lot of time in the evening. I took off Monday so I can camp an additional night this weekend and have time to pack and prepare for vacation a week from Friday. Been doing a lot of thought and planning on what I want to eat on summer vacation. Bike and swim Saturday and Monday, Sunday I might stay around camp, bike fish and read, maybe cool down in the creek.

That makes next week a three day work week 🏢 which should go by quickly as the evenings will be packing and planning and getting ready for my trip. 🛶 I am thinking I should get new rope and bungees for carrying my kayak and retire the old worn out rope to camp duty – hanging the flags 🇺🇸 and tarps that are not critical should they fail.

Looking ahead, there are 6 weeks until Average High Falls To 79 ️Degrees ⛱️️️ when the sun will be setting at 7:35 pm with dusk at 8:03 pm. On that day in 2022, we had rain and temperatures between 90 and 66 degrees. We hit a record high of 98 back in 1953.

South Across the River

Benefits and How to Incorporate it in Your Diet

|

Wheat Germ: Benefits and How to Incorporate it in Your Diet

The wheat plant is a long grass that has a spike at the top. The spike contains wheat berries, anywhere from 20 to 100 berries per plant. Each wheat berry has three parts: the bran, endosperm, and the germ.

The bran is the skin on the outside of the wheat berry. The endosperm, what makes up most of a wheat berry, is inside the bran. The germ is the part of the wheat berry that sprouts to grow into a new plant. When wheat is being refined into white flour, usually the bran and the germ are removed.

However, the germ is the healthiest part of the wheat berry. Even though it’s quite small, only about 3% of the wheat berry, it’s a nutritional powerhouse. You can add wheat germ to many different foods to experience its health benefits.

I used to be so burly

|

And now I’m so tall and lanky compared to that picture on summer vacation three years ago with me wearing that second amendment t-shirt. The thing is the change was worth it, I’ve learned a lot about food and nutrition and I’m so much healthier these days, and my meals are so much filling without the hunger or extreme fullness I used to have.

Good morning! Happy Tuesday. Clouds, wildfire smoke and 69 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☁️ There is a south-southeast breeze at 5 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 66 degrees. The air quality index is 131, unhealthy for sensitive groups.

Today is the 200th Day of Year. ⏳Only 165 days remain. It will be 2024 before you know it, a fact that a lot of people are already a lot more focused on then I am. Maybe because lately the markets have been on such an upswing. 📈 I’m glad because the end of the year last year was so depressing. While there is storm clouds in the distance sometimes the storm breaks up and doesn’t hit and I’m young and I fundamentally believe that the US economy will continue to grow and if it slows too much the politicians will goose it and at least boost the markets. 🦆

Another hot and humid summer morning with the wildfire smoke 🌫 making everything look quite dull. At least there isn’t that acrid smell from the smoke currently like there was around dusk last night when I was riding back from Five Rivers Environmental Education Center. When you smell wildfire smoke it’s really not pleasant, more like smoldering PVC plastic then wood smoke. 🤮 And it kind of burns your lungs. Fortunately that’s not all the time, usually just around dusk when the air settles down.

Moving a bit slowly this morning 🛌 though I slept surprisingly soundly. I didn’t get out walking until nearly 6:40 AM as I hit the snooze button a few times ⏰ and then by the time I got downstairs, did the bathroom thing 🚽 and had some cold coffee ☕,  along with a hard-boiled egg I pulled out of the fridge, and a few carrots. 🏃 Did my walk, then came home and had some cream of wheat, fresh blueberries and Greek yogurt for breakfast with a side of some red kidney beans with a bit of sugar-free maple syrup. Black beans, farmer market tomato, mushrooms and another hard-boiled egg for lunch. Not sure yet what is for dinner, maybe brown rice and shrimp, though the shrimp is still frozen. Haven’t had that in a while.

Today will have isolated showers before noon, then scattered showers and thunderstorms between noon and 3pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 3pm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. Widespread haze. Partly sunny 🌦, with a high of 84 degrees at 2pm. Typical for today. Maximum dew point of 72 at 4pm. South wind 3 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible. A year ago, we had light rain in the morning, which became rain by afternoon. It was very sticky. The high last year was 81 degrees. The record high of 100 was set in 1953.

Payday today. 💵 Money hasn’t hit my checking account quite yet but I’m sure it will shortly. It better hit relatively soon as I will need it to pay the rent because I don’t have a lot of excess funds due to double paying my credit card 💳 and the bicycle 🚲 purchase. At least my bicycle license wasn’t expensive, only a single quarter or 25¢. It looks like they haven’t changed that fee since 1958. Next payday is during summer vacation 🏖 and it’s a three paycheck month. Good I’ll need it, lol. 😂 Today I made sure to bring deodorant into my office for after climbing the stairs. 👃

Electric bus 🚍 ⚡ downtown is well air conditioned though the way the driver is heading downtown with hard braking and acceleration it can’t be real fuel efficient. He’s pretty much on time but driving very aggressively this morning. 🔋

Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:02 pm with sun having an altitude of 68.4° from the due south horizon (-2.4° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.4 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:49 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (293°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (300°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:30 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 20 seconds with dusk around 9:02 pm, which is 44 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Crescent 🌒 Moon in the west-northwest (296°) at an altitude of 6° from the horizon, 251,986 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:46 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and thunderstorms 🌩 and temperatures around 73 degrees. The dew point will be 69 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 14 hours and 58 minutes of daytime, a decrease of one minute and 37 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have showers and thunderstorms likely before midnight, then isolated showers between midnight and 1am. Patchy fog after 2am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 62 degrees at 6am. One degree below normal, which is similar to a typical night around July 31st. Maximum dew point of 70 at 7pm. Another muggy evening tonight. Light and variable wind. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. In 2022, we had light rain in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It was humid. It got down to 71 degrees. The record low of 47 occurred back in 1875.

After riding out to Five Rivers Environmental Education Center 🐸 and walking 🚶 around the preserve I spent some time reading 📖 then rode home around 8:30. Even with the new batteries 🔋 I was surprised how dim the lights were on my bike. Maybe I need to think about upgrading them eventually along with adding a better more comfortable seat. But I’m going to wait a while on that I’ve spent enough money and time on the bike for now. If the weather is decent tonight I might pick a different local preserve to visit like Norman’s Kill West or Bender Mellon Preserve. Or maybe I’ll just go for an ordinary walk down to the Elm Ave Park 🏞.

On this day in 1969, Senator Ted Kennedy from Massachusetts drives his car off a bridge and his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, dies. 🚘 And in 1984, there were McDonald’s massacre in San Ysidro, California: In a fast-food restaurant, James Oliver Huberty opens fire, killing 21 people and injuring 19 others before being shot dead by police. 🙏 After that, California implemented strict new gun control in that state, and there have been no more mass shootings. 🔫 Aren’t you glad, the liberal agenda has saved the world.

A picture perfect summer weekend on tap. 😎 Saturday, a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 81. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Maximum dew point of 65 at 10am. Summer humidity but not oppressively hot and humid, especially out in the mountains. Sunday, mostly sunny, with a high near 82. Maximum dew point of 63 at 7pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 84 degrees.

I am pretty sure I’m going to take off Monday and do a three day weekend to swim 🏊‍♂️ at Mine Kill Pool and ride the Catskill Scenic Trail. 🚲 Do some camping 🏕 and get veggies at Shauls. I don’t really need that much time to pack for summer vacation in the Finger Lakes National Forest the following Friday. It’s my best chance to get away in a long time. Who knows what the rest of summer will look like. ☀ That said, I do see the weather pattern improving in the coming weeks. Or so I hope.

Looking ahead, there are 2 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.

Looking East