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 literally walked out to the early express bus and was thinking it’s too nice to be cooped up on a bus this morning or walking laps in the plaza. So I ended up riding in. I was hesitant at first ride in as I don’t love riding back to the train station after dark or putting my bike on the bus rack, but I do like the fresh air and the sunshine before it’s cold and dark in the evening.
Yesterday, it was getting back into the groove, just getting catched up on everything. 🏢 There were so many different things to get done and caught up on. The five days I spent in Madison County was a lot of mountain biking, 🚴♀️ sitting around the campfire 🔥 drinking beer 🍺 and smoking pot. 🚬 Fun times, but I also ignored everything else in the world, especially as I’ve been so busy and doing remote work, so it was nice for a change of doing nothing at all. 🤷♂️
Yesterday I rode to work, 🚲 and it was fine but it was so dark riding back to the express bus stop at Train Station in Albany from Menanads. Took the express bus home, but it was cold waiting for the bus ❄️ and I spent the ride watching the bike bump up and down, with an unfamiliar driver not slowing down for the bumps. 🚌 I ended up having to help the driver navigate the route 🗺 as he was a Troy driver who didn’t have a good idea how to get to Voorheesville. Based on my experience, I was thining it would be just easier and a lot warmer to just take the bus in both ways, and walk laps on the Plaza but then my mind was changed.
Thinking tonight I will need to turn the heat on ♨️ at least downstairs to keep it from getting too cold, though my plan after dinner is to retire to bed under the electric blanket, much like last night. It’s dark and cold out at night, so I like to get to bed early and sleep a lot, plus read or watch a video under the covers on my phone. 📱 While turning out the lights at 7 PM might not save a lot, it does mean I get more sleep, and it’s so cozy with the heated blanket.
Attention Daylight Savings Time Haters! So do you prefer:
1) Very dark mornings in November and December, waking up and driving to work in the dark
2) Very dark and early evenings when you get out of work in July and August, so you barely have time enjoy a steak in the evening before it’s pitch black?
If you repeal daylight savings time: Sunset on August 15th in Albany – 6:56 PM
If you keep daylight savings time year round: Sunrise on December 10th in Albany – 8:19 AM
I really enjoy living some place where I’m not so dependent on automobiles.
It’s nice to be able to walk down to the library, to a Stewart’s and to the town park. Heck when I feel adventurous I can even walk to the Five Rivers Environmental Education Center.
I have express and local busses that take me to and from work, and to various shops and entertainment venues. I can have a few drinks and take the bus home. I don’t ever have to worry about parking, about being tired on the way home or getting into a wreck. Snow is just an occasion to wear boots and not worry about the road conditions.
When people say they support something to pollsters its often difficult to capture their depth of support. Most people would say they like chocolate ice cream but asked if they would be willing to forfeit $100 for a chocolate ice cream cone would pass on the ice cream.
On paper most people would like something to be done about climate change. But their depth of support is equally shallow as is there support for chocolate ice cream. It sounds nice to protect the planet for future generations, to avoid the severe damage to infrastructure and our homes and businesses that increased severe weather is to impose on them.
People like climate change action if it’s free to them and has no impact on how they live their lives. Slap a few solar panels on your roof, scrub your plastic bottles before tossing them in the blue bin, drive your Prisus to Wally World. But not so much if it means much higher energy bills, less reliable electricity, more restrictions on driving, less low cost products at the store and fewer jobs.
I think many on the left are correct to diagnose climate change as a serious problem. But they are quite happy to live as life of fiction, pretending that the solutions are zero cost – or just a big bill they can dump on the rich.
