Elm Ave Park and Ride

January 9, 2023 Night

Good evening! Mostly cloudy and 31 degrees in Delmar for my evening walk. ☁ Calm wind. Things will start to thaw out at tomorrow around noontime. 🌡️

Monday’s almost Done. Not a bad evening walk, not real cold no ice but the moon hasn’t risen enough to be visible on the horizon. Windy late but a fairly mild night by January standards.

Tonight will be cloudy ☁, with a low of 29 degrees at 8pm. 12 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 24th. Maximum wind chill around 28 at 8pm; Light west wind increasing to 6 to 11 mph in the evening. Winds could gust as high as 21 mph. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 16 degrees. The record low of -13 occurred back in 1968. Back when it used to be a lot colder in winter.

I finally got that mouse trap I ordered a week and a half ago. 🐁 I am as excited as a pig in shit about that. Finally got one of those Rinne bucket traps you snap on a five gallon bucket full of water 💦 and they fall in, the peanut butter 🥜 flap drops and they drown. Their popular with farmers and snake owners as they can catch several mice in a night and they don’t involve toxic chemicals and can be used indefinitely. I figure just dump the buckets in the woods out back and it’s clean food for predators. Been waiting for a long time for the trap and I’ve not had a lot of luck lately with the spring traps or sticky traps. Both worked for a while till they stopped. I’m just annoyed the mouse chewed through the hole I patched a few years back.

Tonight will have a Waining Gibbous 🌖 Moon with 91% illuminated. At 8 PM, the moon was in the east-northeast (72°) at an altitude of 7° from the horizon, some 251,000 miles away from where you are looking up from the earth. 🚀 At the state speed limit of 55 mph, you’ll make it there by July 19th. Buckle up for safety! 💺 The Wolf 🐺 Moon is on Wednesday, January 25. The darkest hour is at 12:03 am, followed by dawn at 6:54 am, and sun starting to rise at 7:26 am in the east-southeast (120°) and last for 3 minutes and 21 seconds. Sunrise is 13 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌄 The golden hour ends at 8:10 am with sun in the southeast (128°). Tonight will have 14 hours and 41 minutes of darkness, a decrease of one minute and 18 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will be partly sunny 🌞, with a high of 37 degrees at 1pm. Four degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 18th. West wind 6 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph. A year ago, we had light freezing rain in the morning with more sun 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.❄

Tomorrow is the State of the State Address. 🎤 If there was ever a day I avoid the Capitol or Empire State Plaza that would be it. I’m not sure how many protestors there will be this year but I’m quite comfortable watching them from the window of my office 🏢. When I take the local in the bus 🚍 drops me two feet from the Alfred E Smith building where I work and I can slip in and upstairs without the craziness.

I sent the state a $250 estimated tax payment for Q4 of last year. 💸 With work and everything else I missed my Q3 payment though I should be good as I usually only average about $1,200 a year in taxable dividends. It always angered me a lot to have to take money 💵 out of my pocket to cover dividends I’m reinvesting and not taking but I was doing the numbers the other day how important reinvesting dividends is to a secure future. 🌎 That said, I probably should have paid estimated taxes to the fed as I’ll probably owe but those limits aren’t as tight. I think my taxable income will still be low enough this year to free file 📂 which is nice.

In four weeks on February 6 the sun will be setting in the west-southwest (250°) at 5:16 pm,🌄 which is 34 minutes and 42 seconds later then tonight. In 2021 on that day, we had mostly sunny skies and temperatures between 36 and 12 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 34 and 16 degrees. The record high of 55 degrees was set back in 1991.

Looking ahead, Martin Luther King Day 🖤 is Next Monday, National Cheese Lovers Day 🧀 is Next Monday, Save the Pine Bush Turns 43 🦋 is in 4 weeks, Average High is 35 ☀️ ️️| 3 is a month away, Presidents Day 👴 is in 6 weeks, 7:30 PM Sunset 🌇 is in 3 months, 8 PM Dusk 🌆 is in 13 weeks, May 🕊 is in 16 weeks, 8:30 PM Sunset ️⛱️ is in 21 weeks, Average High is 80 🏖 is in 23 weeks, World Mosquito Day 🐞 is in 32 weeks, Labor Day 👨‍🏭 is in 34 weeks, September 11th 🇺🇸 is in 35 weeks, 7 PM Sunset 🌆 is in 36 weeks, Average Night Below Freezing 🌌 is in 44 weeks, Cyber Monday 🛍️ is in 46 weeks, First Sunday of Advent ✝️ is in 47 weeks, Average High is 40 🌨 is in 11 months, Earliest Sunset of the Year ⌛️ is in 11 months, Bake Cookies Day 🍪 is in 49 weeks and Christmas 🎅 is in 50 weeks.

Foamy Lechate Leaking Off the Landfill

January 8, 2023 Night

Good evening! Mostly clear and 26 degrees during my moon lit evening walk here in Delmar. 🌖 Calm wind.Things will start to thaw out at tomorrow around 10 am. 🌡️

I was going to stay home this evening after walking about ten miles today 🚶 but with the weeks schedule ahead and the moonlit night I decided to go out and walk this evening. Making good progress on breaking in the boots, they’re pretty comfortable now 👢 but I figured give them a rest and then do my evening walk with the old ones. I’m really trying to maximize them as much as possible with inflation.

Walked out to Five Rivers Environmental Education Center 🐸 in the morning, then visited John Wolcott up in Colonie for a few hours and then stopped at Colonie Center Maul to look for reasonably priced dress shirts. First time I’ve been into a shopping maul since the pandemic. I looked at Boscov’s first but ended up at Macy’s. 👨🏻‍💼 They didn’t have a lot reasonably priced. I did find one I liked ultimately. That said, I think I’m going to take a risk order online next time from like Amazon or Ebay take the risk and if I find something I like order more.

I felt so out of place at the Maul. 👨‍💼 Especially those fancy department stores like Macy’s and Boscovs. I liked the old Sears better, but truth be told, I’d rather be in the woods 🌲 or a barnyard 🐮 then any maul. The whole maul environment seems so oppressive, with so much future garbage on shelves. 🗑 I guess people need stuff and want fancy things for their suburbanite homes, but I can’t imagine spending money on half the things they sell at mauls. 🚜 Of course, that’s why on Facebook I look at farm tractors and implements so much lately. But at least they’re not all shiny and fancy. 🏚 The more time I spend in suburbia the more I want to have my off-grid homestead, as simple as possible. Maybe even no electricity. 📺 Don’t get me started on the television.

Later on I did an evening hike in the Pine Bush 🌲as it got darker out. The crowds thinned out before dusk, I did the loop from the Discovery Center past the landfills. I really don’t get up to the Pine Bush as much as I should but I don’t like driving 🚘 and try to avoid the city as much as possible. I would and probably should visit John more too but like the Pine Bush I really avoid the city as much as possible. Northway traffic is so heavy. Then I picked up a few more groceries I forgot at the store 🏬 on Friday. Should be good for the week now.

Tonight will have increasing clouds ☁, with a low of 21 degrees at 1am. Four degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around February 26th. Calm wind. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became light freezing rain by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 19 degrees. The record low of -20 occurred back in 1968.

Tonight will have a Waining Gibbous 🌖 Moon with 95% illuminated. At 8 PM, the moon was in the east-northeast (76°) at an altitude of 18° from the horizon, some 251,964 miles away from where you are looking up from the earth. 🚀 At the state speed limit of 55 mph, you’ll make it there by July 18th. Buckle up for safety! 💺 The Wolf 🐺 Moon is on Tuesday, January 24. The darkest hour is at 12:03 am, followed by dawn at 6:54 am, and sun starting to rise at 7:26 am in the east-southeast (120°) and last for 3 minutes and 21 seconds. Sunrise is 11 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌄 The golden hour ends at 8:11 am with sun in the southeast (128°). Tonight will have 14 hours and 42 minutes of darkness, a decrease of one minute and 15 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will be partly sunny 🌞, with a high of 40 degrees at 3pm. Seven degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 28th. Calm wind becoming northwest 5 to 8 mph in the afternoon. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 36 degrees. The record high of 62 was set in 2008. 9.9 inches of snow fell back in 1953.

Back to the grind tomorrow. 👨🏻‍💼Got to make that money 💵 for a better tomorrow. Like walking 🚶 it’s one step at a time, learning, thinking and becoming a better person. it’s one way closer to fifty. Money is a key part of Mission Fifty, but there is so much I can do learn and become better also over the upcoming decade. Soft skills can make it easier to succeed beyond age 50, provide income and so many other benefits — and they are as key to Mission Fifty as saving and earning in the mean-time. 👨‍🏫 When that day comes in 2023, the adventure is really just starting, but the next ten years, on the mission gives me a change to develop who I want to me as I undertake whatever my goals are to be implemented with Mission Fifty. Skills, life experience, are equally as important as money as I look to the next ten years. 📈

In four weeks on February 5 the sun will be setting in the west-southwest (249°) at 5:15 pm,🌄 which is 34 minutes and 26 seconds later then tonight. In 2021 on that day, we had partly cloudy skies, snow showers and temperatures between 38 and 17 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 34 and 16 degrees. The record high of 59 degrees was set back in 1890.

Looking ahead, Coldest Week of the Year on Average 🌬 starts Next Sunday, 38th Birthday 🎉 is in 3 weeks, Daylight Savings Time 🌆 is in 9 weeks, Last Day of Winter 🏂 is in 10 weeks, 7:30 PM Sunset 🌇 is in 13 weeks, Average High is 60 🌷 is in 14 weeks, 8 PM Sunset 🌇 is in 17 weeks, Mothers Day 👩‍ is in 18 weeks, 8:30 PM Sunset 🌇 is in 5 months, Fathers Day 👨 is in 22 weeks, Last Sunset After 8:30 PM 🌆 is in 27 weeks, 6:30 Sunrise 🌇 is in 35 weeks, Constitution Day 📜 is in 36 weeks, October 🎃 is in 38 weeks, Average High is 65 🍂 is in 9 months, Day After Election Day 🛀 is in 10 months, 7:15 AM Sunrise ⌛️ is in 48 weeks and Christmas Eve 🎅 is in 50 weeks.

Close the City Dump

December 28, 2022 Night

Good evening! Partly cloudy and 32 degrees at the Elm Ave Park and Ride. ⛅ There is a south breeze at 6 mph. 🍃. ️Things will start to thaw out at tomorrow around 9 am. 🌡️

Out for the evening walk 🚶 a bit later than usual as I washed my truck 🛻 returned cans 🥫 and got gas ⛽ before the prices start creeping up come the New Year and the gas tax holiday ending. It’s only sixteen cents a gallon but you know gas stations or at least oil companies will jack up prices by 40 cents to celebrate the end. Though who knows, gas prices are falling nationally as everybody talks recession.

Tonight will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a low of 24 degrees at 5am. Five degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around December 13th. South wind around 7 mph. In 2021, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became mist by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 33 degrees. The record low of -18 occurred back in 1933.

It is a nice evening with the moon 🎑 above though the skies are still hazy with only the brightest stars showing. The air has the taste of barnyard on it as they’ve been doing spreading with the snow gone and the ground expected to thaw. Someday soon it will become hay or silage and ultimately just another cold glass of milk 🥛.

Tonight will have a First Quarter 🌓 Moon with 38% illuminated. At 8 PM, the moon was in the southwest (230°) at an altitude of 27° from the horizon, some 230,719 miles away from where you are looking up from the earth. 🚀 At the state speed limit of 55 mph, you’ll make it there by June 21st. Buckle up for safety! 💺 The moon will set in the west (263°) at 10:56 pm.

The Wolf 🐺 Moon is on Friday, January 6. The darkest hour is at 11:58 pm, followed by dawn at 6:53 am, and sun starting to rise at 7:26 am in the east-southeast (122°) and last for 3 minutes and 25 seconds. Sunrise is 15 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 The golden hour ends at 8:11 am with sun in the southeast (130°). Tonight will have 14 hours and 52 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 29 seconds over last night.

I’m glad I got my truck washed 🚿 as tomorrow will be warm and sunny which will wake up the tin worm. 🪱 I don’t expect to drive anywhere before the New Year unless of course the weather improves and I do Brookfield. Nobody was at the car wash tonight but tomorrow will certainly be crowded and a lot more snow melt on the roads.

Tomorrow will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 45 degrees at 3pm. 10 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around November 27th. South wind 5 to 8 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 38 degrees. The record high of 71 was set in 1984. 6.0 inches of snow fell back in 1915.❄

Should be a real nice day, especially for walking 🚶in the park at lunch time. Friday will be warmer still but probably more cloudy ⛅. I have to say the rain for New Years Eve is such a bummer. I guess stay home save money. 💵 Hey, the one upside is that the heat can stay off.

In four weeks on January 25 the sun will be setting in the west-southwest (245°) at 5:00 pm,🌄 which is 29 minutes and 57 seconds later then tonight. In 2021 on that day, we had mostly sunny and temperatures between 29 and 5 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 32 and 15 degrees. The record high of 61 degrees was set back in 1938.

In many ways the year that was has been a bit of a disappointment for me, though at the same time I feel like I learned a lot 🧠 and saved a lot 💵 even though the down market isn’t making it apparent. I’ve learned to love and cherish things closer to home 🏡 and that escape to remote country isn’t always essential. And to embrace who I am and what I believe, even if that’s not always popular. To not undervalue what I’ve learned and connections I’ve gained at work. And to believe better times are ahead.

South West

Cancers in Albany County, compared to expected Cancers

Some of the spikes in cancer are due to the small populations of the town, where one cancer case can quickly spike above what the state-wide average would suggest for a similar demographic.

Cancers compared to expected cancer levels based on age/gender demographics in Albany County
Municipality Bladder Bone Brain Breast Colorectal Esophagus Kidney Larynx Leukemias Liver Lung Mesothelioma Nasal NHL Oral Other Ovary Pancreas Prostate Soft_Tissue Stomach Testis Thyroid Uterus Total
Albany city 19% −38% −18% 11% 5% 32% 6% 44% −6% 67% 26% −7% −10% 7% −4% 19% −4% 10% −4% −7% 6% 15% −36% −10% 9%
Berne town −3% −100% 110% 5% 1% 32% 32% −76% 3% −5% 8% −100% −34% 3% −4% 16% −22% −39% −16% 50% −15% 55% 7% 34% 3%
Bethlehem town 33% −11% −6% 21% −16% 11% 29% −0% 5% 8% 9% 63% −27% 13% 23% 20% 6% 13% −4% −22% −12% 45% 1% −21% 9%
Coeymans town 26% 53% −0% −4% 3% −6% 39% −12% −15% −5% 68% −28% −7% 42% 80% 17% −68% 23% −12% 24% −32% 66% 23% −3% 15%
Cohoes city 37% −100% −16% −6% 11% 10% 39% −5% −7% 12% 58% −49% 98% 20% −27% −9% −4% −29% −3% −30% −52% 32% −28% 9% 6%
Colonie town 19% −46% −4% 7% 3% −22% −2% 10% 10% −14% 16% −26% −50% 14% 9% 11% −12% −1% −8% −25% −22% 3% −5% −6% 4%
Green Island town 60% −100% −19% −11% 45% −5% 37% 27% −19% 61% 81% −1% 21% 10% 11% 7% 27% −20% 3% 1% −40% 30% −33% 19% 17%
Guilderland town 27% −78% 32% 15% −17% 28% −1% −23% −14% −25% 6% 45% −20% −9% −10% 6% −9% −8% −9% −27% −1% −15% −2% 9% 1%
Knox town −20% −100% 77% 39% −0% 69% 9% −73% 2% 47% −15% 135% −28% −25% 6% 13% −49% −32% −22% 32% 32% 9% 2% 46% 3%
New Scotland town 34% −47% 30% 24% 15% 21% 15% −3% 9% −21% 2% 102% 27% −7% 45% 18% −50% −15% −9% 14% −32% 90% 15% −4% 9%
Rensselaerville town 25% −100% 35% −6% 4% −50% −3% −67% −10% −49% 37% −100% −8% 9% −4% 30% 31% −73% −12% 189% −29% 133% −43% −7% 3%
Watervliet city 54% −100% 10% 19% 21% 2% 0% 40% 0% 38% 56% −14% −45% 0% 40% 8% −22% 18% −1% 35% 6% −19% −23% −27% 15%
Westerlo town −4% −100% 98% 9% −0% 71% −11% −75% −27% −52% 22% 1% −100% 4% 25% 26% −5% −60% −14% 143% −25% 171% 17% 2% 5%
Andy Arthur, 12/23/22. NYS Cancer Mapping Project, aggregated to town level.

2022 US Census Population Estimates

State Population Estimates 2020 through 2022
April 2020 Census Count July 2020 Estimate July 2021 Estimate July 2022 Estimate Change April 2020 to July 2022
New York 20,201,230 20,108,296 19,857,492 19,677,151 −2.6%
District of Columbia 689,546 670,868 668,791 671,803 −2.6%
Puerto Rico 3,285,874 3,281,557 3,262,693 3,221,789 −2.0%
Illinois 12,812,545 12,786,580 12,686,469 12,582,032 −1.8%
Louisiana 4,657,749 4,651,664 4,627,098 4,590,241 −1.4%
California 39,538,245 39,501,653 39,142,991 39,029,342 −1.3%
West Virginia 1,793,755 1,791,420 1,785,526 1,775,156 −1.0%
Hawaii 1,455,273 1,451,043 1,447,154 1,440,196 −1.0%
Mississippi 2,961,288 2,958,141 2,949,586 2,940,057 −0.7%
Massachusetts 7,029,949 6,995,729 6,989,690 6,981,974 −0.7%
Michigan 10,077,325 10,069,577 10,037,504 10,034,113 −0.4%
Ohio 11,799,374 11,797,517 11,764,342 11,756,058 −0.4%
Rhode Island 1,097,371 1,096,345 1,096,985 1,093,734 −0.3%
New Jersey 9,289,031 9,271,689 9,267,961 9,261,699 −0.3%
Pennsylvania 13,002,689 12,994,440 13,012,059 12,972,008 −0.2%
Maryland 6,177,213 6,173,205 6,174,610 6,164,660 −0.2%
New Mexico 2,117,527 2,118,390 2,116,677 2,113,344 −0.2%
Kansas 2,937,847 2,937,919 2,937,922 2,937,150 −0.0%
Wisconsin 5,893,725 5,896,271 5,880,101 5,892,539 −0.0%
North Dakota 779,091 779,518 777,934 779,261 0.0%
Alaska 733,378 732,923 734,182 733,583 0.0%
Oregon 4,237,291 4,244,795 4,256,301 4,240,137 0.1%
Kentucky 4,505,893 4,507,445 4,506,589 4,512,310 0.1%
Minnesota 5,706,504 5,709,852 5,711,471 5,717,184 0.2%
Iowa 3,190,372 3,190,571 3,197,689 3,200,517 0.3%
Nebraska 1,961,489 1,962,642 1,963,554 1,967,923 0.3%
Missouri 6,154,920 6,153,998 6,169,823 6,177,957 0.4%
Connecticut 3,605,942 3,597,362 3,623,355 3,626,205 0.6%
Virginia 8,631,384 8,636,471 8,657,365 8,683,619 0.6%
Vermont 643,085 642,893 646,972 647,064 0.6%
Indiana 6,785,668 6,788,799 6,813,532 6,833,037 0.7%
Wyoming 576,837 577,605 579,483 581,381 0.8%
Alabama 5,024,356 5,031,362 5,049,846 5,074,296 1.0%
Washington 7,705,247 7,724,031 7,740,745 7,785,786 1.0%
Arkansas 3,011,555 3,014,195 3,028,122 3,045,637 1.1%
Colorado 5,773,733 5,784,865 5,811,297 5,839,926 1.1%
New Hampshire 1,377,518 1,378,587 1,387,505 1,395,231 1.3%
Oklahoma 3,959,346 3,964,912 3,991,225 4,019,800 1.5%
Maine 1,362,341 1,363,557 1,377,238 1,385,340 1.7%
Georgia 10,711,937 10,729,828 10,788,029 10,912,876 1.9%
Tennessee 6,910,786 6,925,619 6,968,351 7,051,339 2.0%
Nevada 3,104,624 3,115,648 3,146,402 3,177,772 2.4%
North Carolina 10,439,414 10,449,445 10,565,885 10,698,973 2.5%
South Dakota 886,677 887,799 896,164 909,824 2.6%
Delaware 989,957 992,114 1,004,807 1,018,396 2.9%
Arizona 7,151,507 7,179,943 7,264,877 7,359,197 2.9%
Texas 29,145,428 29,232,474 29,558,864 30,029,572 3.0%
South Carolina 5,118,429 5,131,848 5,193,266 5,282,634 3.2%
Florida 21,538,226 21,589,602 21,828,069 22,244,823 3.3%
Utah 3,271,614 3,283,785 3,339,113 3,380,800 3.3%
Montana 1,084,197 1,087,075 1,106,227 1,122,867 3.6%
Idaho 1,839,092 1,849,202 1,904,314 1,939,033 5.4%
Andy Arthur, 12/23/22.
Data Source: US Census Population Estimates.

Base ten math

I still think teaching base 10 math in school is is one of the most idiotic things they do. So few things in the physical world are based around base 10 except for human fingers and toes. Nothing in the real world grows in powers of ten but lots of things double.

If children learned base 2 math and the sixteen hexadecimal digits they would be so much smarter and could learn math so much quicker at a younger age. Plus they would have a much better way of understanding the physical world and relative values of things.

Binary, base 2 math is so simple… It’s just shifting digits…

0b10 * 0b10 = 0b100
0b10 * 0b100 = 0b1000
0b10 * 0b1000 = 0b10000
0b10 * 0b10000 = 0b100000
0b10 * 0b100000 = 0b1000000

No times tables to learn though for compactness you might want to write your results in hex, so 0x4, 0x8, 0x10, 0x20, 0x30. To write hex you have to know the sixteen digits but they are easy to convert from binary – they’re groups of four digits with a shift / carry for the overflow – But that’s optional to use hex.