Downtown Albany is the Central Business District in the City of Albany. Or as the Downtown Albany Bid describes it …
“Exciting Entertainment. World-Class Dining. Exquisite Art and Culture. Urban Residential. Whether you work or live in New York’s Capital District or are lucky enough to make a visit, downtown Albany offers the unique opportunity to explore a city rich in history, framed by nearby mountains and over 400 years in architecture.”
There are a lot of jobs downtown, and decent public transit. You have to go there on the weekdays to make a buck or two.
Good Morning! Happy Ground Hog Day. Early spring it looks like. Currently 40 degrees and sunny this morning in Albany. This afternoon we are looking for a high around 45 degrees. Light breeze. Going to be a nice one for early February. Sunset at 5:09 PM with darkness around 5:30. Should be a nice sunset. Tonight the Waning Crescent Moon with 36% visible will rise around 2:03 AM. Early risers and those up before tomorrow’s sunrise are most likely to see it. The new moon is next Monday.
I left my cellphone home this morning, so I guess I won’t be able to use it at work today. I realized I didn’t have my cellphone with me, so my choice was either to run home and catch a later bus or leave the phone home. I decided on the later. At least it will be well charged when I get home.
Certainly the bright sunshine nice this morning. It’s been so cloudy, dark, and gray lately. Sunshine just gives us some hope, especially as we enjoy it’s warmth. All things considered, this has been a rather depressing winter season. But maybe the early spring will mean warmer temperatures with adequate rain to prevent the fire risk. We will see. I heard that January was pretty darn dry by historical standards. I’m sure we have to get at least one good snow storm this year.
It seems like January came and went fairly quickly, which is nice because I’m already pretty tired of winter. It’s not so much the cold and the snow as the extended darkness. The nights are just so incredibly long this time of year. That said, I wouldn’t mind a nice weekend up at Moose River Plains once summer comes back around.
I think so much of the obsession over the Iowa Caucasus is a bit silly. NPR had three hours of analysis on the Iowa Caucus results last night, which I have to admit I did tune into hear a bit. Like many Americans, I was fascinated by the race between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. Ms. Clinton won the Iowa Caucus but not by a lot. I was surprised how well Mr. Sanders preformed. Iowa is a fun state with good gun laws and not a lot of restrictions on open burning in the country. If it burns, you can burn it within reason. They as a state are a bit devoid of public lands, but they do have some good dirt for growing crops, which is why they produce a big chunk of the nation’s corn and soy, and they also feed a lot of hogs and cattle. Food is good.
That said, I think Punxsatawney Phil can tell us more about our country’s future then the Iowa Caucus.
Chapin Brothers – Ground Hog Song
Come out little ground hog. Put your head above the ground. Can’t you see there ain’t no shadow, on that cold, cold ground? But if you dance your song, and you know that winter’s gone. Come out little ground hog, spring a spring on me!
There are 2 months, 23 days until Arbor Day. Looking forward to the warmer temperatures and some green popping up. Maybe the Ground Hog is on to something.
This day in 1934, the Export-Import Bank of the United States is incorporated. The bank finances and insures foreign purchases of United States goods for customers unable or unwilling to accept credit risk. It was suspended for several months this year, when Congress refused to renew it’s charter, suggesting the bank was corporate welfare, and allowed risky American corporations to succeed when the market alone would not sustain them.
Good evening. Currently mostly cloudy and 36 degrees in Albany. Tonight will be partly cloudy, with a low around 29. Northwest wind 5 to 7 mph. Fairly mild start to February.
Tonight we will have a Waining Crescent Moon with 42% illuminated. It will rise at 1:11 am. Tomorrow’s sunrise will be at 7:07 am with first light at 6:37 am, which is 2 minutes earlier then today. As it will be sunny tomorrow, it should be easier to get up in the morning than recent morning. Punxsutawney should be cloudy, so it’s unlikely the ground hog will see the shadow.
Dark but mild evening for the evening walk. Fairly clear, not too bad for viewing the stars. Not complaining about the weather for the beginning of February.
I think you’ll agree it’s been a decent start to February. Getting closer to springtime. Good night. Sleep well!
Good evening on this February 1st. Currently mostly cloudy and 43 degrees in Albany. Tonight will be partly cloudy, with a low around 29. Northwest wind 5 to 11 mph.
Tonight we will have a Waining Crescent Moon with 42% illuminated. It will rise at 1:11 am.
Tuesday will be mostly sunny, with a high near 42. Northwest wind 5 to 9 mph becoming calm in the afternoon.
The days are getting longer. In two weeks the sun will be setting at 5:27 pm, which is 18 minutes later then tonight. The sunset in four weeks on Feb. 29 is at 5:44 pm. Daylight Savings Time begins on Sunday, March 13 is 1 month, 12 days away. Sunset on that day is at 7:00 pm.
Good morning! Happy February. All eyes are focused on Punxsutawney tomorrow. It is cloudy with 48 degrees in Delmar. Today will have scattered showers, mainly before noon. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 50. South wind 5 to 14 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 24 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Sunset will be at 5:09 pm with twilight at 5:38 pm which is one minute and 19 seconds later then yesterday. Tonight we will have a Waining Crescent Moon with 42% illuminated. It will rise at 1:11 am. The New Moon is on next Monday. Dark few nights ahead, although it will be good for viewing stars especially on Tuesday and Thursday nights.
There are 2 months until April Fools Day. This day in 1968, the New York Central Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad are merged to form Penn Central Transportation. At this point due to competition or highways and airplanes, the railroad all were in dire straits. The merger of these formerly massive railroads was part of the effort to save both passenger and freight service in the private realm.
Another pretty dark and gray morning. I wish the sun would shine more. It’s just so dark and depressing this winter. Most winters are colder and with more snow, but they also have blue skies.
Leaning towards staying in town next weekend if only because the budget remains tight and it’s winter. If it’s exceptionally nice I might go up to the Adirondacks after I do the oil change, but we will see. I could keep putting it off, but I really want to get some fresh oil in the engine, because I don’t like to let it drop below 20% oil life remaining.
On the bright side of things, I have lots of new maps for the blog this week.
Good evening on this Australia Day. Currently overcast and 43 degrees in Albany. With the wind downtown, it feels much colder. Pretty much a gray and cloudy day.
Tonight we will have a slight chance of showers before 10pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 31. South wind 7 to 11 mph becoming west after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Tonight we will have a Waining Gibbous Moon with 80% illuminated. It will rise at 7:48 pm. Not sure how much we will see of the moon tonight with the clouds but maybe for a few hours around midnight the moon will peak out.
Daylight Savings Time begins on Sunday, March 13 which is 1 month, 18 days away. Sunset on that day is at 7:00 pm in Albany. I keep counting down the days until I can spend evenings down at the park with a good book or the laptop. Granted it won’t be tomorrow..
Traffic is moving exceptionally smoothly and generally well on the old 787 despite being rush hour. We missed most of the stoplights too. A trooper pulled a motorist off on Southern Boulevard but traffic is still moving well.
One more day closer to summer. Depending on how much sun we get this weekend, I might head out winter camping. Looks plenty warm but it might be cloudy up north. Still winter camping ain’t as much fun as those long summer nights. Winter nights are longer but they’re spent in darkness.
Not sure if I’m going down to the library tonight. We will see how things go. If the wind ain’t so bad in Delmar, the walk to the library plus the evening walk will give me close to five miles of walking which is good for health. I’ve not been doing that much walking lately.
Good evening on this Opposite Day. Currently mostly cloudy and 36 degrees in Albany. Tonight will be partly cloudy, with a low around 27. South wind 7 to 11 mph.
Tonight we have a Waning Gibbous Moon with 98% illuminated. The nice big moon is currently rising in the east.
Tuesday will be a slight chance of rain showers and sleet before 11am, then a chance of rain showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 42. South wind 14 to 16 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Little or no sleet accumulation expected.
The days are getting longer. In two weeks the sun will be setting at 5:17 pm, which is 18 minutes later then tonight. The sunset in four weeks on Feb. 22 is at 5:35 pm.
Good evening. Currently it’s partly clear, and it’s 21 degrees but feels colder with the breeze in Albany. Tonight will have a slight chance of snow showers before 9pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 15. Blustery, with a northwest wind 11 to 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.Tonight we have a waxing gibbous moon, setting at 3:18 am. Should be clear enough that the moon will be visible throughout the evening.
The good news is that less cold but still blustery weather is coming for Wednesday. It will be mostly sunny, with a high near 30. Northwest wind 11 to 16 mph. Pretty cool but sunny. And it sure could be colder.
It’s winter. But every day we get close to spring. With the partly clear skies this evening, one could see how much the daylight has been extended in recent days.
The potential snowstorm this weekend needs to be watched. Right now it looks like mostly costal and Mid-Atlantic impacts, but it could track further north. It is a super powerful storm and certainly could strengthen. I’ve not missed the snow that much in Albany but the lack of snow sure makes things look kind of brown.
In two weekends, my birthday weekend, I’m looking at going camping back again in the Adirondacks, assuming it’s reasonably nice and the weather cooperates. Just a one night trip, but by then the nights will be somewhat shorter and I sure enjoy a night by the fire.
Undecided if I will walk down to the library tonight. It’s pretty dang cold out but I could use the Internet on my laptop to get several things needed to be done, accomplished. I guess I could catch a bus down there and minimize my time in the cold by checking the Moovit app.
