Elm Ave Park & Ride – CDTA

The Elm Avenue Park and Ride offers a convenient way to get downtown without the hassles of urban traffic. Located next to the Elm Avenue Park at the end of the Delmar Bypass (NY 32), it is serviced by several buses that will quickly transport you downtown.

There is a new, expanded schedule for the Elm Avenue Park and Ride. 5 morning buses depart there, 5 buses in the afternoon plus a mid-day bus schedule. Very convenient. http://www.cdta.org/uploads/Route719.pdf

Rochester used to have a lot more clover leafs in 1960. ๐Ÿ€

Rochester used to have a lot more clover leafs in 1960. ๐Ÿ€

Cloverleafs have fallen out of popularity due to the dangerous weaving conditions they create.

The Rochester Arterials were in many cases built early on in the Interstate era and have a lot of problems with weaving conditions and left handed exits and merges. Newer designs are better and they’ve been fixing them in recent decades.

Another interesting thing is the sharp curve at South Goodman Street on Interstate 490 – this is due to a sharp bend in the original Erie Canal which 490 follow, although they round a bit of the curve when they built the Interstate.

At the Can of Worms, the route of I 590 follows the original Erie Canal south bend – the sharp bend to the south from I 490 to I 590 was a feature of the Canal.

Why We Need Widespread Rapid COVID Testing

Why We Need Widespread Rapid COVID Testing

8/27/20 by NPR

Web player: https://podcastaddict.com/episode/111671776
Episode: https://play.podtrac.com/npr-381444908/edge1.pod.npr.org/anon.npr-podcasts/podcast/npr/fa/2020/08/20200827_fa_fapodthurs-e5a1d6f4-062d-4af6-b825-b443befc4b71.mp3

‘Atlantic’ journalist Alexis Madrigal says millions of at-home saliva tests for COVID could be the key to life returning to normal โ€” even if the tests are less accurate than the traditional PCR tests. We talk about the advantages and disadvantages of different kinds of testing, and what it would take for the government to fund and manufacture millions of daily tests. “I think what’s happened in the U.S. has been so catastrophic on so many levels โ€” economically, psychologically, educationally โ€” that we have to be at least willing to entertain the idea of a fairly radical plan that could work,” Madrigal says.

August 26, 2020 Night

Good evening! Partly clear in Delmar. ๐ŸŒ‰ Sixty two degrees. There is a west-northwest breeze at 6 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. The dew point is 47 degrees. All things considered, a pretty pleasant evening.

I told myself that I should work outside today โ˜€ with the great weather but I was super busy with work so I didn’t go outside except for my morning stroll around the Swift Preserve. And then in the evening, a walk around the Albany Pine Bush. ๐ŸŒฒ๐ŸŒฒ

Also attended the Save the Pine Bush protest at Guilderland Town Hall ๐Ÿ›๏ธ and held up signs wearing masks. ๐Ÿ˜ท Town leaders were so afraid ๐Ÿ˜จ of the public and a bunch of senior citizens ๐Ÿ‘ต๐Ÿป and television reporters ๐Ÿ“บ they had to enter the back door ๐Ÿšช of Town Hall by police escort. ๐Ÿ‘ฎ๐Ÿผ Not sure why the town planning board is so afraid of a bunch of elderly ๐Ÿ‘ต๐Ÿป seniors with paper signs.

The fight for the Pine Bush seems endless and thankless against the big developers ๐Ÿ—๏ธ but it’s worth it because if you don’t fight in the trenches, who will. Even though the battle is ongoing its worthwhile. While eventually when I own my off-grid property ๐Ÿš๏ธI’ll probably be non political when I’m in Albany it’s fun to fight the developers the best I can and keep pour wild land wild. ๐Ÿฆ We got good media coverage tonight. ๐ŸŽฅ

The walk around the Pine Bush ๐Ÿฆ‹ was really nice but it got dark quickly with some clouds pushing in after sunset ๐ŸŒ‡. Grass was super high ๐ŸŒพand I didn’t want to catch Lyme disease๐Ÿ•ท๏ธ again so as soon as I got home I took a shower ๐Ÿšฟ because I was wearing shorts while I was walking in in the Pine Bush. ๐Ÿ˜ณ

Tonight will have a chance of showers, mainly after 2am. Mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒง, with a low of 54 degrees at 2am. Four degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around September 9th. Maximum dew point of 50 at 6am. Northwest wind around 6 mph becoming light and variable after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2019, we had partly cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 53 degrees. The record low of 41 occurred back in 1969.

Tonight will have a First Quarter ๐ŸŒ“ Moon with 64% illuminated. At 9 PM, the moon was in the south-southwest (197ยฐ) at an altitude of 23ยฐ from the horizon, some 231,153 miles away from where you are looking up from the earth. ๐Ÿš€ At the state speed limit of 55 mph, you’ll make it there by February 18th. Buckle up for safety! ๐Ÿ’บ The darkest hour is at 12:58 am, followed by dawn at 5:46 am, and sun starting to rise at 6:15 am in the east-northeast (75ยฐ) and last for 2 minutes and 59 seconds. Sunrise is one minute and 4 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ„ The golden hour ends at 6:53 am with sun in the east (82ยฐ). Tonight will have 10 hours and 36 minutes of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 43 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8am, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm between 8am and 2pm, then showers and thunderstorms likely after 2pm. Some of the storms could be severe. Mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒฉ, with a high of 74 degrees at 3pm. Five degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around September 11th. Maximum dew point of 65 at 2pm. Southeast wind 5 to 7 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible. A year ago, we had sunny skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 75 degrees. The record high of 97 was set in 1948.

I think I’m happy ๐Ÿ˜Š with the haircut ๐Ÿ’‡๐Ÿป I gave myself. That sharper trimmer did a nice job although I may want to trim behind my ears ๐Ÿ‘‚๐Ÿป a little closer. I think next time I might also use a slightly longer cutting guard. My sideburns though are growing in quite gray now. ๐Ÿง”๐Ÿป

I don’t see myself heading out of town the next two weeks โœŒ๏ธ although I guess depending on how many Zoom Meetings I have coming up I could take a long weekend at some point. I don’t mind using my phone ๐Ÿ“ฑ or the cellular internet on my work laptop but I really need Wi-Fi for Zoom. I guess I could go up to the Spectulator Library. Maybe after the holiday weekend when they crowds filter out from the Adirondack Park. The only concern then is the days are starting to get short and the sun angle is decling which means less solar power.

In four weeks on September 23 the sun will be setting in the west (270ยฐ) at 6:50 pm,๐ŸŒ„ which is 48 minutes and 54 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had humid, partly sunny, warm weather, rain showers and temperatures between 86 and 66 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 69 and 49 degrees. The record high of 97 degrees was set back in 1895.

I joined a group on Facebook about backyard pig raising. ๐Ÿ– Some people raise some beautiful hogs including here in New York. After finishing up that book ๐Ÿ“™ I was reading ๐Ÿ“– I find that Facebook group endlessly fascinating. Maybe because farming and homesteading is so much different than my every day work. That said a pair of hogs and two ton of grain run through them can turn some pretty marginal dirt or bare rock into good soil. ๐Ÿ’ฉ I do wonder about invasive species – while grain isn’t likely to introduce them any time you disturb soil it makes it so much easier for them to take root. Next I think I’ll get a book ๐Ÿ“™ about goats. ๐Ÿ

Looking ahead, Average High is 55 ๐Ÿ‚ is in 9 weeks, Day After Election Day ๐Ÿ›€ is in 10 weeks, Veterans Day ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ is in 11 weeks, Thanksgiving ๐Ÿฆƒ is in 3 months, Earliest Sunset of the Year โŒ›๏ธ is in 15 weeks, Tea Party Day ๐Ÿ is in 16 weeks, Festivus ๐Ÿ– is in 17 weeks, Boxing Day ๐ŸฅŠ is in 4 months, Bacon Day ๐Ÿฅ“ is in 18 weeks, Make Your Dream Come True Day ๐Ÿก is in 20 weeks, Inauguration Day โœ… is in 21 weeks, 5:30 PM Dusk ๐ŸŒ† is in 5 months, Clean Your Computer Day ๐Ÿงน is in 24 weeks and Presidents Day ๐Ÿ‘ด is in 25 weeks.

Bare Top of South Mountain

Decided to go for a walk after work at Five Rivers ๐Ÿฆ ๐Ÿธ ๐Ÿฆ‰

Decided to go for a walk after work at Five Rivers ๐Ÿฆ ๐Ÿธ ๐Ÿฆ‰๐Ÿฆ‹

Kind of a nice low humidity evening with blue skies and a breeze. Definitely feel like autumn this evening and the sun is setting earlier now that I’m back east. While I do miss the wild country of the Finger Lakes it’s still nice to know there are nice places to walk to close to home and observe nature.

I do wish I had brought my banada as a mask ๐Ÿ˜ท but it’s not really proven necessary this evening.

August 18, 2020 – Next Sixteen Weeks

If you don’t believe autumn is coming take a look at this chart.

Week Date Dawn Sun-
rise
Sun-
set
Dusk Day Noon Sun Angle Avg High Avg Low Record Hi Record Low
0 Aug 18 5:36 am 6:06 am 7:52 pm 8:22 pm 13:46 60.3° 80 60 95 (1913) 40 (1981)
1 Aug 25 5:44 am 6:13 am 7:41 pm 8:10 pm 13:27 57.9° 79 59 99 (1947) 35 (1940)
2 Sep 1 5:52 am 6:21 am 7:29 pm 7:58 pm 13:08 55.4° 77 57 96 (1953) 41 (1967)
3 Sep 8 6:00 am 6:28 am 7:17 pm 7:45 pm 12:48 52.9° 75 55 94 (2015) 34 (1978)
4 Sep 15 6:07 am 6:35 am 7:04 pm 7:32 pm 12:28 50.2° 73 52 92 (1915) 33 (1975)
5 Sep 22 6:15 am 6:43 am 6:52 pm 7:20 pm 12:08 47.5° 70 49 95 (1895) 31 (1962)
6 Sep 29 6:23 am 6:51 am 6:39 pm 7:07 pm 11:48 44.7° 67 46 86 (1921) 29 (2000)
7 Oct 6 6:30 am 6:58 am 6:27 pm 6:55 pm 11:28 42° 64 43 90 (1900) 24 (1965)
8 Oct 13 6:38 am 7:06 am 6:15 pm 6:44 pm 11:09 39.4° 61 40 81 (1930) 24 (1981)
9 Oct 20 6:46 am 7:15 am 6:04 pm 6:33 pm 10:49 36.8° 58 38 80 (1965) 18 (1972)
10 Oct 27 6:54 am 7:23 am 5:54 pm 6:23 pm 10:30 34.4° 56 36 79 (1963) 21 (1950)
11 Nov 3 6:03 am 6:32 am 4:45 pm 5:14 pm 10:12 32.1° 53 35 75 (1990) 20 (1980)
12 Nov 10 6:11 am 6:41 am 4:37 pm 5:07 pm 9:56 30.1° 50 33 72 (1931) 16 (1965)
13 Nov 17 6:19 am 6:50 am 4:30 pm 5:01 pm 9:40 28.3° 47 31 73 (1928) 7 (1972)
14 Nov 24 6:27 am 6:58 am 4:26 pm 4:56 pm 9:27 26.7° 44 29 70 (2014) 7 (2000)
15 Dec 1 6:34 am 7:06 am 4:23 pm 4:54 pm 9:16 25.5° 41 27 67 (1934) -5 (1875)
16 Dec 8 6:41 am 7:13 am 4:21 pm 4:53 pm 9:08 24.6° 38 24 58 (1927) -3 (1902)

Along the Edge of Lake

Fall Glow

 Colors Off Spruce Mountain