As they say, all things must come to an end
The 2023 NY legislative session included. Nothing is longer than the present moment but nothing is quite as fleeting. But the best one could do is put one foot in front of another and apply more paint and bondo over the rust holes. I’m looking forward to summer and not having to wear my loose fitting dress shirts anymore, knowing that I can catch the 5 o’clock home every day.
Good morning! Today 8:30 PM Sunset ️⛱️ . I guess that’s a sign of spring even if the mercury isn’t agreeing. Partly cloudy and 47 degrees in Delmar, NY. ⛅ There is a north-northwest breeze at 5 mph. 🍃.
I got a good night’s sleep 🛏 that is relatively speaking but I’m still dragging my ass on the morning walk 🚶 a few minutes late again. 🏢 Maybe I’m fearing the week to come 😱 but I don’t know why as the latest night last week was 6 pm and often on the real late nights I can work from home.
Today will be partly sunny 🌞, with a high of 75 degrees at 4pm. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around May 31st. Maximum dew point of 48 at 10am. North wind 5 to 11 mph. I still haven’t needed to get my fan out of the closet. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 77 degrees. The record high of 97 was set in 1925.
Yesterday I made a 1 lb of black beans 🍲 and baked up a bunch of chicken and asparagus for the week to come. I have plenty of rice 🍚 and lentils cooked for the first half of the week plus a few pounds of spinach and kale in the freezer, along with lots of peppers, tomatoes and onions. I may need more fresh fruit before the week is done but I anticipate getting my truck and driving in on some of the late nights. Also need toothpaste 🦷 but I’ll squeeze what I can out of the tube or cut open to get anything remaining out of the tube.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:55 pm with sun having an altitude of 69.9° from the due south horizon (-0.9° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.2 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:47 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 8:30 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 25 seconds with dusk around 9:03 pm, which is 42 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:49 pm. At sunset, look for partly cloudy skies 🌃 and temperatures around 67 degrees. There will be a north-northwest breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 15 hours and 13 minutes of daytime, an increase of one minute and 3 seconds over yesterday.
Barley and quinoa with frozen raspberries for breakfast 🥣 this morning. I was hoping to find Juneberries in the woods this weekend without much luck. I think where I was looking has gotten too shaded in recent years. 🍓 Then iron my pants and shirt while cooking 🕴️, shower 🚿 and catch the bus downtown. 🚍 Going to try to do this without racing 🏁 out the door 🚪 today. Found another tick on me this morning. 🐜 Finished off the rest of the barley and quinoa, did a better job rinsing the quinoa which made it less bitter. I still need a better strainer for that.
Tonight will have a slight chance of showers after 2am. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 52 degrees at 5am. Three degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 29th. Maximum dew point of 46 at 6am. Northwest wind 3 to 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 51 degrees. The record low of 38 occurred back in 1971.
Packed both a lunch and dinner tonight for work. 🍴🧆 Decided on a lighter lunch, with out the carbs as it seems like lately I’ve been overdoing it. Red onions, peppers, black beans for lunch. Dinner is rice, black beans, chicken, asparagus and kale. I’m worried about back sliding after last week. 🤰🏼Plus I know with work today it will be a fairly sedintary day, though I’ll try to get over to the legislative office building and Capitol during the day to get my steps in. 👣 I really want to walk at least five miles today. 3 miles so far.
A picture perfect weekend on tap for the Gas Up 🚜. Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 77. Maximum dew point of 54 at 8pm. Sunday, a chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 78. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Maximum dew point of 55 at 9am. Should be fun with dad on Saturday and maybe I’ll hammock camp on Saturday night. Maybe go back to Gas Up ⛽ myself on Sunday after camping to see the parade. Just a thought. Typical average high for the weekend is 78 degrees.
Looking ahead, there are 2 weeks until Average High is 80 🏖 when the sun will be setting at 8:37 pm with dusk at 9:11 pm. On that day in 2022, we had mostly sunny and temperatures between 73 and 50 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 80 degrees. We hit a record high of 94 back in 1995.
Going to be a cool but maybe damp weekend ahead 🌦️
I’ll believe the rain when it comes. High temperatures in the sixties and seventies. It’s just been a rather cool spring. The days are long but it’s hard to think of it as the second week of June. I’m just hoping it warms up for Juneteenth Weekend in two weeks and the rain holds off for it.
| Today. Feels like … May 31st. |
|
Partly sunny.
North wind 5 to 11 mph.
|
75 degrees | 48 max dew point | 8:30 sunset |
| Tonight. Feels like … May 29th. |
|
A slight chance of showers after 2am. Mostly cloudy.
Northwest wind 3 to 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
|
52 degrees | 5:16 sunrise |
|
| Tuesday. Feels like … May 23rd. |
|
A chance of showers.
Northwest wind 7 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
|
73 degrees | 52 max dew point | 8:31 sunset |
| Tuesday Night. Feels like … May 19th. |
|
A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy.
Northwest wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
|
49 degrees | 5:16 sunrise |
|
| Wednesday. Feels like … May 6th. |
|
A chance of showers. Partly sunny.
Northwest wind around 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
|
68 degrees | 47 max dew point | 8:32 sunset |
| Wednesday Night. Feels like … May 19th. |
|
Mostly cloudy.
|
49 degrees | 5:16 sunrise |
|
| Thursday. Feels like … April 28th. |
|
A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy.
Chance of precipitation is 40%.
|
65 degrees | 50 max dew point | 8:32 sunset |
| Thursday Night. Feels like … May 16th. |
|
Mostly cloudy.
|
48 degrees | 5:15 sunrise |
|
| Friday. Feels like … May 3rd. |
|
Mostly sunny.
|
67 degrees | 50 max dew point | 8:33 sunset |
| Friday Night. Feels like … May 19th. |
|
Partly cloudy.
|
49 degrees | 5:15 sunrise |
|
| Saturday. Feels like … June 8th. |
|
Mostly sunny.
|
77 degrees | 51 max dew point | 8:34 sunset |
| Saturday Night. Feels like … June 5th. |
|
Partly cloudy.
|
54 degrees | 5:15 sunrise |
|
| Sunday. Feels like … June 11th. |
|
A chance of showers. Partly sunny.
Chance of precipitation is 30%.
|
78 degrees | 55 max dew point | 8:34 sunset |
Considering my reasons for eating healthy 🍏
You know there are many reasons to make a lifestyle choice. I’m not really sure which of these is most important to me now that I’m in my forties. Truth is all of them are kind of important.
Lose weight
People judge you you by your weight. Thinner people get better jobs, make more money. There is a strong correlation between weight and personal success. People who are thinner get better medical care and more respect from medical professionals.
At the same time, it’s not entirely unwarranted. It’s tough to stay physically fit in a world full of processed foods that are calorie rich. To be fit means you have to work hard to keep off the weight. Never under estimate the struggle of the physically fit individual.
Live longer
You know when you are in your twenties and thirties you often feel kind of invincible. While some people die in those years of life, it’s usually from freak events, something distant from the rest of us.
But hit forty and a lot changes. You see your parents getting into their later years. You see the consequences of diet choices. Diabetes is a real concern and heart attacks certainly can and do happen to people in their forties and fifties.
Have more energy
Food is fuel. Garbage in, garbage out. While sugary foods and especially carbohydrates can give you a temporary boost in energy, the truth is that the quicker you go up the faster you crash. It’s much better to get sugars from fiber rich whole foods while also maximizing foods that combine protein and lots of vitamins with fiber.
The truth is my previous carbohydrate rich diet which relied heavily on white pasta not only was making me fat despite all my exercise but also lead to blood sugar spikes and crashes. All that fatty foods like sausage patties, burgers and beer left me feeling lethargic when camping. Healthier foods keep you going all day.
Save money
Eating healthy is a mixed bag when it comes down to it. Meats of all types, cheese and butter have seen much higher rates of inflation then most fruit and vegetables. I don’t spend my money on labels like organic or preprocessed meals.
The flip side is I find myself needing a lot more ingredients and going through a lot more fresh food then those big bars of cheese and pasta of yesteryear. It’s a lot harder to buy whole foods in bulk bar beans, rice, frozen fruit and vegetables. Many whole foods are inexpensive on their own but you end up buying a lot more different things, especially right now when I’m experimenting with my diet, trying to learn what I like best.
Less trash
Whole foods usually are much less packaged. Many fresh fruits and vegetables have no packaging at all. Dried rice and beans come in simple plastic wrappers as do most frozen fruits and vegetables.
I have been saving all my food scraps – mostly banana peels, apple cores, pepper cores for compost. Rarely do I have fresh food spoil as I eat it quickly. I drink about a quarter of the milk I once did, and get it in paper cartons which I stuff with wrappers as fire starters. No more milk or apple juice plastic bottles in the trash. No more plastic bottles from the pasta sauce to be discarded. Recycling is a scam.
Eat more local food
They sell whole foods mostly at the farmers market. As that’s what I’m eating primarily these days it’s easy to substitute in better farmer’s market or farmstand foods for grocery store foods. In most cases now it’s a one on one replacement from what I’m already eating on a daily basis. Hello, fresh tomatoes.
Eat adult food
It’s kind of embarrassing but when I would often go to restaurants for work functions I would have no idea what to order. I would go to receptions and see all these werid largely whole foods but have no idea what they were even if they tasted good.
Eating healthy has really opened my eyes to what is out there. Now when I see a restaurant menu or food at a reception I know what I’m looking at and what is good and what is not so good to eat. Nutrition really takes a forefront on what I put in my mouth these days.
Eat food I can produce myself
It sounds silly but learning to eat healthy, nutritious foods offers more options to eventually grow my own. You can’t really do that with processed foods, and while you may be to produce milk or even make homemade pasta and pasta sauce it’s a lot of work compared to eating simple whole foods that are closer to nature.
Albany City Wards, 2024
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