John Boyd Thacher State Park, is situated along the Helderberg Escarpment, one of the richest fossil-bearing formations in the world. Even as it safeguards six miles of limestone cliff-face, rock-strewn slopes, woodland and open fields, the park provides a marvelous panorama of the Hudson-Mohawk Valleys and the Adirondack and Green Mountains. The park has volleyball courts, playgrounds, ball fields and numerous picnic areas with nine reservable shelters. Interpretive programs are offered year-round, including guided tours of the famous Indian Ladder Trail. There are over 25 additional miles of trails for summer hiking and mountain biking, and winter cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, and snowmobiling.
It’s not all his fault for sure. President Biden can’t be blamed for the COVID-19 pandemic winding down. He can’t be blamed for people across the world getting sick, dying and missing work due to the pandemic, reducing the labor force and leading to global supply chain issues. He can’t be blamed for the quick economic recovery or Russia invading Ukraine.
But I do think that he isn’t completely blameless. You can be dealt a bad hand but also act in ways that make things worse.
The massive infrastructure and stimulus bills made people’s bank accounts flush and also filled – in some cases overflowed the coffers of state and local government. I’m not convinced that infrastructure money was really needed, as while some infrastructure is old and creaky it was getting patched and maintained enough to be functional. I fear a lot of that money will be wasted on patronage jobs and unneeded, oversized infrastructure that subsidizes sprawl. Bridges that could be repaired and maintained, thrown away and replaced.
People suffered during the pandemic and while those checks were nice, it’s not clear how necessary they were, especially in the later stages of the pandemic, especially as people stayed home and saved money they’d otherwise have spent. Again, I fear a lot of that money is being squandered on junk people buy online and then a few months later pay to cart off to the landfill.
At the same time it’s hard to approve of the US’ half hearted involvement in the Ukraine. Sanctioning Russia has only jacked up prices, while handing over the weapons to the Ukrainians has only made the conflict longer and bloodier. Maybe oil prices have come back down a bit but remain pretty high. To say nothing about the high prices at the grocery store. Should the world looked the other way when a murderous dictator invaded a bordering country and given him a free pass to invade other nations? I don’t know but I sure wish the US government could have been less involved and taken actions less harmful to Americans like avoiding sanctions that involve global markets for energy, natural resources and food.
Plus it seems like lately there has been a trend to creating new laws and regulations that raise the cost of doing business. None of the single regulations alone are that expensive but like most things with inflation, costs add up. People often under estimate how much inflation was driven by regulatory costs in the 1970s but a lot was. Clean air, safe and fair working conditions and better human health are laudable goals but they are not free and collectively add real costs. Some of these costs are addressed through innovation and process redesign but those things often take time to bring up to speed and can be very inflationary in the short term.
Don’t you know renting is a waste of money, as you’ll never build up any equity
Renters are poor people, it’s what you do if you can’t afford to buy a house
Renting means your paying your landlord’s mortgage and not your own
While all those things are technically right, they are also quite wrong and only really valid if you are doing an apple to apples comparison — you are buying the same house in the same location.
The problem with that logic is that in most cases the house your buying or building is going to be larger and more costly to own and operate then the place you currently live in. Your commute will be longer, you’ll burn through more gas and junk cars quicker. The additional costs of an upgraded building, combined with mortgage costs tied to a single, non-diversified asset may not be a good investment at all. Forced savings — bank required mortgage payments — might be a good idea for those lacking discipline, but it’s still a non-diversified asset that is difficult and often expensive to convert to cash.
While buying can lead to an asset that accumulates in value, there are many things in owning a house that are immediate money sucks or depreciate in value:
Cost of automobile commuting compared to riding a bicycle or taking a bus to work
Replacing worn-out appliances and parts of a house
Energy costs of heating and lighting a larger stand-alone building
Interest paid to a bank may reduce your income in eyes of tax man, but a lower taxable income certainly doesn’t cover the cost of interest
Suddenly, if you looking at buying or building a house, the numbers don’t seem so great after all. It’s not to say it’s not a worthwhile goal for other reasons — like being able to own land and livestock or have a bigger house with more amenities, but to view renting as a waste of money or something only poor people do is a rather silly way to look at it.
After a busy week that went by like a flash, we made it to another maybe not so nice of a weekend. Tomorrow looks better but with a cold, blustery conditions. But then warmer and sunny for the eclipse on Monday, and the same with Tuesday but then rain comes back in for the second half of next week. But things might improve come next weekend. Is that an opportunity to get out out town?
Good morning! Happy Saturday. The weekend has arrived already again. Seemed like the last time I looked it was Easter weekend and I was in the Adirondacks. 🦎 Time goes by so quickly these days. Clouds with rain showers, a damp 36 degrees in Delmar. ☔ There is a north-northwest breeze at 10 mph. 🍃. Temperatures will drop below freezing at Monday around 2 am. ☃️
Started the morning with some johnnycakes with sweet onions and spinach. 🥞 Topped them with cottage cheese then had a small side of ground oatmeal and banana 🍌 as sort of a dessert. ☕️ And more coffee. I had much too much caffeine yesterday, and it impacted my sleep during the middle of the night last night, but it wasn’t too bad. Will need to go shopping tomorrow early. 🛒 Usually Sunday morning early, the crowds are thin and the stores well stocked.
Today will have a chance of showers before 10am, then a slight chance of showers after 2pm. Cloudy 🌦, with a high of 46 degrees at 4pm. Nine degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 19th. North wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. Apparently they’ve not gotten the news at the weather bureau that the calendar says spring. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning, which became light rain by afternoon. The high last year was 65 degrees. The record high of 82 was set in 1921. 17.3 inches of snow fell back in 1982.❄
It’s not the nicest day out, but I’m hoping as the day goes on the weather can improve, and I can ride out to Voorheesville. 🚴♂️ Later on I might also want to go to the library to upload some things to my blog, 📚 🤖 and maybe get some books out. I am taking a bit slow today, as yesterday was a long day after getting up at 4:30 or 5 AM then going to work at 6:30 AM on my bike, then going to the other office by around 9:30 or so, and then working there until quarter to six, and riding back home, as I missed the bus by a few minutes. 🚌 But it’s all good, I got my exercise in. 💪
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:58 pm with sun having an altitude of 54.1° from the due south horizon (-16.8° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 4.4 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 6:50 pm with the sun in the west (274°). 📸 The sunset is in the west (280°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:28 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 56 seconds with dusk around 7:56 pm, which is one minute and 9 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:31 pm. At sunset, look for rain showers 🌧 and temperatures around 43 degrees. There will be a north breeze at 14 mph. Today will have 13 hours and 2 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 52 seconds over yesterday.
My neighbor who had that big pile of trash next to his unit has moved out 🏚️ and they’re remodeling the unit next door. Doing work today too, but not super noisy work. It’s a good sign they’re remodeling the other unit. As it seems like they won’t be in a rush to tear down my unit. I should be prepared to have my rent bumped up $100 a month come June, as it expected from the notice of the increase to $800, but so be it.
The thing is I still need time to research and think about buying or building a home. 💭 I am not so aggressively looking at that right now, though I do keep my eye on Zillow and Landwatch to see what is popping up these days, 🐄 and houses to for the right one. Even if I do end up signing a lease in June, there will probably be an escape hatch or at any rate, it’s going to take time, especially if I’m thinking of building. I am undecided though, as renting remains the most affordable option due to the low cost of heat and electricity, and being able to bike or take public transit 🚍️ to work each day. The thing is if you save and invest in things like stocks and bonds 📊 you have a lot more flexibility. You can move cash out of state, you can’t move a house.
Tonight will have a slight chance of showers before 9pm. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 33 degrees at 4am. One degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 5th. North wind 11 to 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2023, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 34 degrees. The record low of 13 occurred back in 1982.
As previously noted, there are 3 weeks until Arbor Day 🌳 when the sun will be setting at 7:52 pm with dusk at 8:21 pm. On that day in 2023, we had partly cloudy, patches of fog and temperatures between 62 and 40 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 65 degrees. We hit a record high of 91 back in 1962.
Last year, I bemoaned what I knew would be a chapter coming closed in my life at age 40. It was oddly apparent that the free-wheeling, spending 60-plus nights a year in the wilderness was not going to go on forever. My big jacked up truck was 12 years old, while still going strong and running well, I knew things could not go on forever this way. It is showing it’s age, as were many things in my life. More and more things are breaking in my apartment and wearing out, the rot in the door has gotten worse. The rent is going up again as my building was sold to a cigar-smoking, mustang driving kid. I saw other signs of change too – my face growing grayer and my body going thinner as I got into eating healthy and biking.
Things are so good these days, the future is looking bright, but I’m mirrored in troubles in my life. I know I am going to have to give up a lot of what was me in my 20s and 30s to become a homeowner, the nights in the wilderness and the urban living. I know whatever I decide will be right for me, as I have found my new job to be, but it’s not without the high costs of change. To gain a lot, I’ve also had to give up a lot. Often things and principles that I once loved and held dear. People say you shouldn’t look back in your rear view mirror, but its hard not to glance back at where you came from, even when things in the future are much brighter.
Best way to do it as I got to start my morning in Menands then head back downtown. Good exercise while getting from point A to B.
Good morning! Already, it’s Friday! Can you believe it? Snow flurries and 33 degrees in Delmar, NY. 🌨️ There is a west-northwest breeze at 11 mph. 🍃. F-it, I’m riding my bike to work. 🚲 Temperatures will drop below freezing at Monday around 1 am. ☃️
Up at 4:30 am for ground oatmeal 🥣 bananas and Greek yogurt. Heading to work on my bicycle at 6:30 am, probably be in the office downtown for the next 12 hours after spending the first few hours of the day in the Menands office. 🏢 Things are falling behind, reports need to be run, data formatted and exported. The life of a data professional. 💾
Another busy, busy day today.🤪 Getting things done to the best of my ability though things are just a mess at work. But I decided to step up and volunteer on this project we’re working on but it doesn’t make it any easier, especially as funds are tight. I think the happiest moment is once I’m back home 🏡 and the day is done and I can curl up with a good book 📙 in bed 🛏 and fall asleep.
Today will have a chance of snow before 8am, then a chance of rain showers after noon. Mostly cloudy 🌦, with a high of 44 degrees at 3pm. 10 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 14th. Northwest wind 11 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Little or no snow accumulation expected. A year ago, we had cloudy skies. The high last year was 56 degrees. The record high of 82 was set in 1928. 2.1 inches of snow fell back in 2019.❄ Big whoop.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:59 pm with sun having an altitude of 53.7° from the due south horizon (-17.1° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 4.4 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 6:49 pm with the sun in the west (273°). 📸 The sunset is in the west (280°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:26 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 56 seconds with dusk around 7:55 pm, which is one minute and 8 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:29 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and temperatures around 40 degrees. Breezy, 17 mph breeze ⛅ from the west-northwest with gusts up to 29mph. Tomorrow will have 13 hours and 2 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 52 seconds over today.
Tonight will have a chance of rain showers, possibly mixing with snow after 11pm, then gradually ending. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 35 degrees at 6am. Two degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 10th. Northwest wind 11 to 17 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Little or no snow accumulation expected. In 2023, we had cloudy skies. It got down to 47 degrees. The record low of 14 occurred back in 1943.
Tomorrow will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a high of 45 degrees at 4pm. 10 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 17th. North wind 14 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph. A year ago, we had cloudy skies. The high last year was 65 degrees. The record high of 82 was set in 1921. 17.3 inches of snow fell back in 1982.❄
I am running low on eggs, 🥚 so I might run to the store on my bicycle 🚴♀️ among an other ride tomorrow. Not going to be a real nice day for sure. ☁️ Might be good to catch up on my reading.
Looking ahead to Sunday, partly sunny, with a high near 49. ☀ North wind 11 to 13 mph. Still cold by April standards but it looks like we are on the cusp of change. Might go out hiking or driving around exploring things. Who knows, it depends on how cold it truly feels that day. Much nicer come Monday for the eclipse. Typical average high for the weekend is 55 degrees.
One month 📅 from now will be Cinco de Mayo 🤠 when the sun will be setting at 8:01 pm with dusk at 8:31 pm. Things should be nice in green at least in the city by then and the days warmer.
I couldn’t believe they sent a 120 person pusher bus out to Voorheesville this morning in all of the slop. At least it’s running close to on time.
Good morning! Happy Thursday. I’m not sure you can call it snow but it’s kind of white and sloppy and will get your boots wet. 33 degrees here in the Delmar. 🌨️ There is a north breeze at 10 mph. 🍃. Temperatures will drop below freezing at around 11 pm. ☃️
Out walking on the Concourse this morning, 🚶 getting in some steps before work. With the weather I’ve decided to work downtown, lest the roads get worse as the days progress. 🚲 I’m hoping the weather is good enough tomorrow to at least ride to work.
Today will snow before 2pm, then a chance of rain and snow. The snow could be heavy at times. 🌧 High of 37 degrees at 3pm. 15 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 24th. North wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 58 degrees. The record high of 79 was set in 1950. 4.3 inches of snow fell back in 2016.❄
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:59 pm with sun having an altitude of 53.3° from the due south horizon (-17.5° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 4.5 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 6:48 pm with the sun in the west (273°). 📸 The sunset is in the west (279°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:25 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 56 seconds with dusk around 7:53 pm, which is one minute and 9 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:28 pm. At sunset, look for cloudy skies ☁ and temperatures around 35 degrees. There will be a north breeze at 9 mph. Today will have 12 hours and 57 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 53 seconds over yesterday.
Last night I had a nice pile of Johnny cakes 🥞 for dinner and then sat back and read for a while about house building 🏡 and then listened to more of the Power Broker. It was a rather rainy and cold evening but it was warm under the heated blanket.
Tonight will have a slight chance of snow showers between 2am and 3am. Cloudy 🌧, with a low of 31 degrees at 6am. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 1st. Northwest wind 7 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2023, we had cloudy skies. It got down to 44 degrees. The record low of 14 occurred back in 2016.
Right now, a split verdict on the weekend. 😕 Saturday, a slight chance of showers after 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 46. North wind 11 to 16 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Sunday, partly sunny, with a high near 50. Typical average high for the weekend is 55 degrees.
One month 📅 from now will be 8:30 PM Dusk 🌆 when the sun will be setting at 8:00 pm.
