Bethlehem Public Library

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October 25, 2017 Evening

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Good evening! Partly cloudy and 63 degrees in Delmar. There is a south-southwest breeze at 5 mph. The dew point is 46 degrees. The sun just recently set on this somewhat chilly October day although compared to normal, it’s actually quite mild. Kind of a pretty sunset. The sun set at 5:56 pm with dusk around 6:25 pm, which is one minute and 27 seconds earlier than yesterday. 

I had to take the local home as  I left my truck at the Delmar park and ride, but it didn’t matter as I got stuck after five at work. Hasn’t been a lot of late nights lately but something came up at the end of the day. I think I want to pick up some additional groceries on the way home. Things like cookies, pasta sauce, orange juice and cheese. Not essential but they make life more delicious and I don’t plan on driving until Saturday or Sunday. 

Tonight will have a chance of showers, mainly after 2am. Mostly cloudy, with a low of 46 degrees at 6am. Nine degrees above normal. Light and variable wind becoming northwest 5 to 7 mph in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2016, we had mostly cloudy skies, clearing in the early hours of the next day. It got down to 33 degrees. The record low of 20 occurred back in 1952.

Tonight will have a Waxing Crescent Moon with 34% illuminated with the moon setting at 10:13 pm. The moon will rise tomorrow at 1:16 pm. The First Quarter Moon is on Friday night. The Beaver Moon is on Friday, November 3rd. 

The sun will rise at 7:21 am with the first light at 6:52 am, which is one minute and 14 seconds later than yesterday. Mornings sure are dark this time of year. Gets a little better after the time change. Tonight will have 13 hours and 26 minutes of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 41 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will have a chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high of 56 degrees at 3pm. Typical for tomorrow. Northwest wind 7 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly cloudy skies. The high last year was 46 degrees. It was cold how we ended out October last year. The record high of 78 was set in 1963. There was a dusting of snow in 1997.

Right now, a split verdict on the weekend. Saturday, sunny, with a high near 66. Maximum dew point of 49 at 7pm. Sunday, rain, mainly after 8am. The rain could be heavy at times. High near 63. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Maximum dew point of 55 at 1pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 55 degrees.

In four weeks on November 22 the sun will be setting at 4:26 pm (Standard Time), which is one hour, 29 minutes and 56 seconds earlier then today. In 2016 on that day, we had snow, mostly cloudy skies and temperatures between 37 and 30 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 45 and 30 degrees. The record high of 70 degrees was set back in 1931.

Once I get my truck serviced, I will plan my next trip. Probably do some hunting. I’m thinking about a North Country trip for mid to late November, assuming that they don’t get snow before then. Or maybe somewhere else. Heated tent should make the cooler weather bearable. Next week I will make the appointment. I just want a November inspection sticker and the next paycheck to come in. 

I also need to think about retiring the debt from my road trip. It’s just a little thing to do and I know I have auto pay on my credit card but it always feels good to do. I also need to return my unspent cash to the bank. It’s not a lot but leftover but I’d rather have the bank safe keeping it rather than on paper bills that could get lost or stolen. 

Tomorrow marks four weeks to Thanksgiving. I really don’t know where time goes so quickly. I’m not ready for winter. While after careful consideration of the numbers I’ve decided not to take my truck off the road, I’m not planning on driving much come winter. Thinking about learning more about the Andruno and more electronic wiring projects this winter. 

I am glad I got a flu shot. The flu is a nasty sickness and the fifthteen minute it took me could avoid the risk of two weeks of extreme illness. It’d really quite painless. I hope Trump doesn’t take away the free flu shots. 

Looking ahead, Christmas is in two months, Coldest Day of Year (Avg. 14-30 degrees) is in 11 weeks and Inaugeration Day 2021 is in 169 weeks. Hopefully we are getting closer to having a new direction for our country in the third decade in the 21st century. We can’t go on living the way we do, pumping more and more carbon into the air. 

January 5, 2017 10 PM Update

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Good evening! Snow flurries and 27 degrees in Delmar. There is a south-southwest breeze at 6 mph. The skies will clear tomorrow around 10 am.

Tonight will be light snow picking up  between 1am and 3am. Cloudy, with a low of 20 degrees at 5am. Five degrees above normal. Southwest wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Total nighttime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. In 2016, it got down to 5 degrees under mostly clear skies. The record low of -19 occurred back in 1996.

First Quarter Moon tonight with 53% illuminated. The moon will set around 2:24 am. The Full “Wolf” Moon is next Thursday. The sun will rise at 7:25 am with the first light at 6:53 am, which is 7 seconds earlier then yesterday. Sunrises are finally starting to get earlier. Tonight will have 14 hours and 47 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 1 minute and 8 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will have a slight chance of light snow before 11am, then a slight chance of snow showers between 11am and noon. Partly sunny, with a high of 27 degrees at 1pm. Four degrees below normal. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies and a high of 34 degrees. The record high of 71 was set in 2007. 12.7 inches of snow fell back in 2002.

A nice weekend coming up with slightly below average temperatures. Saturday, a slight chance of light snow after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 24. Northwest wind 3 to 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Sunday, partly sunny, with a high near 22. Typical average high for the weekend is 31 degrees.

In four weeks on February 2 the sun will be setting at 5:11 pm, which is 34 minutes later then tonight. In 2016 on that day, we had partly sunny skies and temperatures between 46 and 29 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 32 and 15 degrees. The record high of 53 degrees was set back in 1981.

Looking ahead, Ground Hog Day is in 4 weeks, Cinco de Mayo is in 4 months and Start of June is in 21 weeks.

Laser Light Projector

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It’s important to have goals in life. Mine is on Monday to get a discount laser light Christmas light projector, so I can light up the trees branches in the wilderness next summer. I like how they only use like a couple of watts and are pretty on the tree branches. 

Figure I better get a set this year before the whiny liberals get them banned claiming they cause aeroplanes and rowboats to crash because some drunkard set them up next door to an airport or a wildlife refuge. 

December 24, 2016 Morning

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A rainy and dark but mild for the start of the Christmas Eve holiday. Around 39 or 40 degrees this morning. Certainly not the 72 degrees of a year ago. The risk of freezing rain around the city has disappeared with the warmer temperatures that stayed with us throughout the night. 

For the rest of today look for near constant temperatures around 40 under cloudy skies.   Seven degrees above normal. South wind 8 to 13 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. A year ago, we had fog, rain and a high of 72 degrees. The record high of 72 was set in 2015. 13 inches of snow fell back in 1966. Unlike 1966, sixty-nine and twenty ought two we probably aren’t going to have a very snowy Christmas but as is common there will be some snow in the Adirondacks. 

Cooled offers enough last night that by morning it was pretty chilly in the apartment. But it warmed up quickly as morning approached. Still a very gray and dreary morning with the clouds and rain. 

The sun will set at 4:27 pm with dusk around 4:59 pm, which is 38 seconds later than yesterday. Today will have 9 hours and 3 minutes of daylight, an increase of 16 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be partly cloudy, with a low of 33 degrees at 5am. 15 degrees above normal. Northwest wind around 9 mph. In 2015, it got down to 35 degrees with periods of rain. The record low of -22 occurred back in 1969.

Tomorrow I was thinking about going camping but again it looks like it will be a very cold evening with temperatures hovering around zero in the Adirondacks, so I may wait another week. I’ve tent camped down to about 16 degrees but tomorrow night will be much colder in the Adirondacks. Plus I’m not crazy about getting out everything in the attic for one day at camp. I do want to get back to the Adirondacks but maybe next weekend if it’s not so cold. 

Next Saturday is New Years Eve when the sun will be setting at 4:32 pm with dusk at 5:04 pm. On that day in 2015, we had rain and temperatures between 43 and 37 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 32 degrees. We hit a record high of 61 back in 1895.

Internet 

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I don’t believe in subscription services like cable TV or home Internet. Like debt they are one of the greatest evil in our society. Eventually I plan to move to a house that does not have electric utility services or subscription heat like oil or gas service. Solar panels, generators, wood and coal fireplaces don’t have monthly bills. Coal can be bought with cash and loaded in your pickup  from most farm and hardware stores. 

For the first time in almost a year, I watched commercial television. I saw Columbo was on one of the channels that I get over the antenna hooked up to the digital converter box hooked to my HDMI computer monitor. I don’t like commercial television but Columbo is a gateway drug. 

Then I saw one of those ads for Cablevision or Time Warner  whatever the local cable monopoly is. Only $90 for Internet plus another certain $50-70 in fees a month. I’m not poor, but I know my budget could never afford such a rate for a service. 

The digital converter box gets me PBS and most libraries and parks have free Internet. For casual web browsing, I have my $40 month basic 3G smartphone that meets most of my needs. I don’t understand the need for all these fancy services and technologies that people have. 

I know I shouldn’t have watched Colombo but I muted the ads. And worked on my laptop at the same time. 

December 14, 2016 Night

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At this point we are down to 23 degrees as the cold air continues to push in. Definitely winter like out there, although the wind hasn’t really picked up much yet. 14 degrees by morning.

Tomorrow will be cold as promised. Some snow showers, mainly after 5pm. Partly sunny, with a high of 21 degrees at 11am. 15 degrees below normal. Wind chill values as low as -1. Breezy, with a west wind 14 to 19 mph increasing to 20 to 25 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 40 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible. A year ago, we had rain and a high of 61 degrees. The record high of 61 was set in 2015. 8.2 inches of snow fell back in 1968. The sun will rise at 7:18 am with the first light at 6:46 am, which is 43 seconds later then yesterday.

Looking ahead, First Day of Winter is Next Wednesday, Valentines Day is in 2 months, March 1st is in 11 weeks, Ides of March is in 13 weeks, Good Friday is in 4 months, Average High is 60 is in 18 weeks, Mother’s Day is in 5 months, Flag Day is in 6 months and Summer is in 27 weeks.