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.
I mean it’s good that we are finally getting caught up on the rain and the mountains are starting to look super green again after last night’s rain. Still I wish it would stop and get hot out for the holiday weekend for swimming up at the Potholers. I guess every weekend can’t be beautiful.
Good morning! Happy Tuesday. Clearing skies to the north and 59 degrees at the Elm Ave Park and Ride. ๐ฅ There is a west breeze at 7 mph. ๐. The dew point is 58 degrees. The skies will clear around 10 am.
This morning I have black beans simmering on the stove. ๐ฒ Out doing my morning walk ๐ถ, I got a fairly early start and I already plan to double check and make sure the beans are done before leaving for work. ๐คฏ I actually want those black beans for a cold lunch today, they are perfect ๐ with a good chopped red onion ๐ง like the type they have at salad ๐ฅ bars. Red Kidney beans are good but better hot, except for as more of a dessert or side mixed with a little pure maple ๐ syrup. Yum. 10 ½ miles walked yesterday. ๐ฃ
Today will have a slight chance of showers before 8am. Partly sunny ๐, with a high of 76 degrees at 5pm. Three degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around June 4th. Maximum dew point of 59 at 12pm. Northwest wind around 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies. It was somewhat humid. The high last year was 82 degrees. The record high of 94 was set in 1892.
Solar noon ๐ is at 12:56 pm with sun having an altitude of 70.6° from the due south horizon (-0.2° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.1 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐ starts at 7:52 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (296°). ๐ธ The sunset is in the west-northwest (303°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:35 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 27 seconds with dusk around 9:08 pm, which is 29 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ The best time to look at the stars is after 9:54 pm. At sunset, look for partly cloudy skies ๐ and temperatures around 69 degrees. The dew point will be 57 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 15 hours and 20 minutes of daytime, an increase of 33 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will be partly cloudy ๐ค, with a low of 53 degrees at 4am. Four degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around June 1st. Maximum dew point of 57 at 6pm. Light and variable wind. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 53 degrees. The record low of 39 occurred back in 1970.
On this day in 1966, the United States Supreme Court rules in Miranda v. Arizona that the police must inform suspects of their rights before questioning them. ๐ฎ Also in 1970, “The Long and Winding Road” becomes The Beatles’ last U.S. number one song. ๐ฟ And in 1977, Convicted Martin Luther King Jr. assassin James Earl Ray is recaptured after escaping from prison three days before.
Right now, a split verdict on the weekend. ๐ Saturday, a chance of showers between 8am and 2pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 74. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Maximum dew point of 58 at 10am. Sunday, a chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 78. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Maximum dew point of 60 at 7pm. For Juneteenth, scattered showers especially late, partly sunny looking at high of 78. Typical average high for the weekend is 80 degrees. Kind of a cool weekend ahead.
I am chewing over what the best days to head out of town. ๐ I was originally planning on taking off Friday and Tuesday for the long weekend, as I want to get up to Piseco-Powley Road early enough to get the House Pond Campsite if at all possible. But now I hear a rumor that there may be session next week, so maybe I won’t be able to take off Tuesday. Thursday now looks better.
Looking ahead, next Tuesday is Primary Day ๐ณ๏ธ when the sun will be setting at 8:38 pm with dusk at 9:11 pm. I’m not sure if that’s right, it might be the following week? Not sure but there is no Democratic Primary in my town so nothing for me to do except maybe make maps up after the Conservative Highway Superintendent primary results, although with such low turn out unlikely to be very interesting. On that day in 2022, we had mostly sunny and temperatures between 82 and 47 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 81 degrees. We hit a record high of 97 back in 1953.
I still got my big ol six foot flag hanging out at my place in the burbs though soon I plan to take it up in the woods camping for the long weekend. Might need to take it in though on flag day as it’s expected to rain, which is very much needed. And the fact it’s Trump’s 77th birthday come Wednesday, it’s a reminder we need fewer geriatrics in the White House.
Good morning! Monday’s come back around again. Partly cloudy and 62 degrees in Delmar, NY. โ Do bring your umbrella or rain coat if you expect to be late today, it will likely rain by evening. โ There is a south-southeast breeze at 5 mph. ๐. The dew point is 58 degrees. The skies will clear tomorrow around 2 pm.
I’m up and going this morning ๐ด though not as early as I would have hoped as my sleep is seriously messed up from all those late nights at work and I simply didn’t get to bed ๐ by nine like I should have been and went down memory lane ๐ญ remembering those olden days of Macintosh System 7 and the promise of Copeland. ๐ฅ I’m glad I use open source software these days as it’s less likely to be abandoned, witness things like GNU FORTRAN all these decades later.
Today will have a slight chance of showers before 7am, then a chance of showers after 10am. Mostly cloudy ๐ฆ, with a high of 80 degrees at 3pm. One degree above normal, which is similar to a typical day around June 16th. Maximum dew point of 64 at 11am. South wind 5 to 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. The high last year was 78 degrees. The record high of 95 was set in 2017.
Back to work today ๐ข but things should be relatively quiet now that session is over once I figure out this cap grant on my desk that was really puzzling me on Friday. I bought angel ๐ food cake, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, bananas, whip cream and Greek yogurt for a summer party ๐ at work this afternoon. ๐ Planning to work three or four days this week before heading north. โบ
Solar noon ๐ is at 12:56 pm with sun having an altitude of 70.5° from the due south horizon (-0.3° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.1 foot shadow today. The golden hour ๐ starts at 7:51 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (296°). ๐ธ The sunset is in the west-northwest (303°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:34 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 27 seconds with dusk around 9:08 pm, which is 31 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ The best time to look at the stars is after 9:54 pm.
At sunset, look for rain ๐ง and thunderstorms ๐ฉ and temperatures around 72 degrees. The dew point will be 61 degrees. There will be a southeast breeze at 10 mph. Today will have 15 hours and 19 minutes of daytime, an increase of 38 seconds over yesterday.
Tomorrow I want to go to the Albany Bicycle Rescue after work ๐ฒ to get some advice and help on rebuilding the wheel on my bicycle. I figure it either will be helpless and not worth repairing, or I will get some tips. I briefly checked out the used bicycle sale at MadDog though I didn’t stop in but if I can’t fix my bike, I want to get rid of the old one by donating it and then buying a new one, by the end of the month.
Tonight will have showers and thunderstorms before 3am, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm between 3am and 5am, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 5am. ๐ง Low of 60 degrees at 6am. Three degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around June 23rd. Maximum dew point of 64 at 1am. ๐๏ธ Southeast wind 7 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. Sounds like a good chance for beneficial rain. In 2022, we had light rain in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It was somewhat humid. It got down to 60 degrees. The record low of 38 occurred back in 1974.
On this day in 1967, the United States Supreme Court in Loving v. Virginia declares all U.S. state laws which prohibit interracial marriage to be unconstitutional. Next year it will be a half century since this decision, which helped to lead to the gay marriage decision many years later.
A picture perfect weekend on tap. ๐ Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 78. Maximum dew point of 57 at 7pm. Sunday, a chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 79. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Maximum dew point of 60 at 7pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 80 degrees.
As previously noted, next Monday is Average High is 80 ๐ when the sun will be setting at 8:37 pm with dusk at 9:11 pm. On that day in 2022, we had mostly sunny and temperatures between 73 and 50 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 80 degrees. We hit a record high of 94 back in 1995.
It will be a great summer. That is if it ever warms up again and the legislature doesn’t come back for a, summer session which will happen at one point or another. Okay, today will be in the low eighties but they’re talking about highs in the 60s and 70s for mid June. I don’t think we’ve had a real hot and muggy day yet this year. Hit ninety a couple of times but with very little humidity. Then again I’m not as well insulated as I once was.
Good morning! Partly cloudy and 54 degrees in Delmar, NY. โ Calm wind. The dew point is 52 degrees.
It’s a pretty nice morning. ๐ I’m out walking ๐ถ as usual, have a pot of red kidney beans on the stove simmering down. ๐ฒ I was actually studying all the different types of beans they have at the store including some of the soup mixes. I’ll have to do some bean soup come the winter, especially if I avoid too much salt and fats in it. Legumes are so healthy and the nature of beans is they fill you up quickly and keep you full all day.
Today will be partly sunny ๐, with a high of 82 degrees at 2pm. Four degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around June 24th. Maximum dew point of 58 at 11am. Calm wind becoming south around 6 mph in the afternoon. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. The high last year was 78 degrees. The record high of 94 was set in 1947.
Yesterday I worked from home the bulk of the day ๐ป, it was just a lot of waiting around for Committee Agendas and calendars to be released, checking votes and responding to miscellaneous emails ๐ง. It’s all time I can use next week for going to the Adirondacks. โบ In the afternoon I went down to the library ๐ both to work and get books out. I got some books out on bicycle repair ๐ฒ. Then I came home, had dinner and got groceries. ๐ช
Solar noon ๐ is at 12:56 pm with sun having an altitude of 70.5ยฐ from the due south horizon (-0.4ยฐ vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.1 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐ starts at 7:51 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (296ยฐ). ๐ธ The sunset is in the west-northwest (303ยฐ) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:34 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 27 seconds with dusk around 9:07 pm, which is 33 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ The best time to look at the stars is after 9:53 pm.
I got a good night’s sleep ๐ด last night not rushing out this morning. Planning on banana – oatmeal pancakes ๐ฅ ๐ this morning with coffee โ after I get done walking and get milk ๐ฅ at Stewart’s. I’m going to get a gallon of skim milk this time as I want to make sure I’m getting enough calcium and vitamin D in my diet plus I’m heading out camping ๐ on Thursday for the long weekend. Plus I have a free half gallon card this week.
Today I’m heading out to the Gas Up with dad ๐ which should be fun as the last time I went was before the pandemic. I’m sure things haven’t changed that much. But should be fun. Then I have to start getting ready for the upcoming work week and heading out of town for camp. โบ
At sunset, look for potential rain showers ๐ง and temperatures around 74 degrees. The dew point will be 60 degrees. There will be a south-southeast breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 15 hours and 19 minutes of daytime, an increase of 42 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will have isolated showers before 9pm, then isolated showers after midnight. Mostly cloudy ๐ง, with a low of 62 degrees at 6am. Five degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 60 at 8pm. South wind 5 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 55 degrees. The record low of 38 occurred back in 1972.
On this day in 1963, Buddhist monk Thรญch Quแบฃng ฤแปฉc burns himself with gasoline in a busy Saigon intersection to protest the lack of religious freedom in South Vietnam. The self-immolation would be captured on film and would go around the world ๐ฅ . On the same day, John F. Kennedy addresses Americans from the Oval Office proposing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that propsed equal access to public facilities, end segregation in education and guarantee federal protection for voting rights. โ
One month ๐ from now will be World Population Day ๐ฉโ๐ฉโ๐งโ๐ง when the sun will be setting at 8:35 pm with dusk at 9:07 pm. The average high temperature is 34 degrees, with a record high of 61 in 1895.
There is this campsite on lower Jessup River Road, up on Hartwick Hill which offers a nice view of the mountains when camping there. Not a lot of shade in the campsite proper, and it’s kind of exposed to the elements, but it offers a fantastic view and cellphone service to boot.
I ended up spending the weekend up there during Labor Day Weekend 2018, it was a nice place to camp, despite only modestly nice weather. But with the bright open area, the view and the good cellphone reception, I think i might go back there next June once the road opens for the summer.
There is some traffic on Jessup River Road, especially in the morning when people are heading out to the mountains to hike, or as with Labor Day Weekend, people heading up to camp. Traffic means noise and dust, but I didn’t find it overly bothersome.
I can’t say enough about the great views for sure. Too bad when I camped most of the weekend was trapped in fog and rain, but next time I go up I expect the weather would be nicer. I would probably go up there in June, when I’m on-call for work, as I could sit up there, do work business using my phone, while sipping a cold beer or leaning back in the hammock.
The great thing about the big open campsite, is it makes for a great place for looking at the stars, and of course having a great big ol’ fire into the night.
Still a few more weeks until June but I sure look forward to those nice nights come the summer.
Computers, computers, computers wherever you turn.
Those chips are so loaded with hot information
You’d think they would burn.
Some of it’s factual, actual,
Some of it’s made of thin air.
Whatever gets in a computer
Stays there.
You can put almost anything in there that comes to your mind.
The programmer gets lost in the shuffle, the scuffle,
The dope stays behind.
Some of its factual, actual,
Some of it is double-faced.
Whatever gets in a computer
Isn’t erased.
Our lives have been fed to computers, every thought, every dream,
Everything that we’ve bought that has rusted or busted
Or split at the seam,
Every up, every down,
Every howl, every glimmer of luck.
When something gets in a computer
It’s stuck.
The stuff that we have in our heads is a different affair.
We’ve hoarded and sorted, amended and bended
And let in the air.
But computer banks grow like a cancer,
They can always produce a wrong answer
And they never are troubled with doubt.
And once you get in a computer
You never get out.
I don’t use Microsoft Windows much. But when I do use it, the thing that is most noticeable is the enormous security and features updates that take forever to update. Literally, it took my laptop 25 minutes of unusable time complete with multiple reboots to get working the other day, meaning I would have missed my Zoom meeting if not for my phone.
In Linux, all updates can be done in the background using apt-get or a similar package manager. Linux doesn’t require reboots during updates, nowadays even kernels can in many cases be hot swapped. Most other software and libraries can be updated in the background. Yes, every two years there are big distribution updates for Ubuntu which often require a single reboot to load the latest kernel and features but it’s not usually mandated right away, and the reboot is just an ordinary reboot with no delays.
The windows update process really should be faster, requiring less files be downloaded for patching bugs and should occur in the background. The windows infrastructure should be redesigned to allow libraries to be updated behind the scenes without reboots and if a library has breaking changes, it should only require you to restart that app. Likewise, windows should tell you exactly what is updating during system updates, not keeping you in the dark – maybe hide the real technical information but at least give you a much better idea what is happening in the background (patching the security bug that could xxxx) along with estimated time, percent done and progress.
