Good morning! Happy Palm Sunday 🌴! Next Sunday is Easter 🐰. Cloudy and 50 degrees at the Five Rivers Environmental Education Center in Delmar. ☁ There is a north breeze at 5 mph. 🍃. The skies will clear tomorrow around 10 pm.
This morning I decided to walk out to Five Rivers Environmental Education Center 🐸, like I’ve been doing the past few weekends. I prefer it to the rail trail as you never see anybody walking out here and there is a lot more nature and interesting quiet places here then along the rail trail. Lots of birds 🐦 chirping around, I saw the Ground Hog again. I timed myself this morning ⌛took almost exactly 40 minutes to walk out here, a 2.4 mile walk at 3.7 mph. Walking is such a good healthy activity.
Today will have a chance of showers after 3pm. Mostly cloudy 🌦, with a high of 63 degrees at 4pm. Five degrees above normal, which is similiar to a typical day around April 25th. Maximum dew point of 49 at 6pm. Light and variable wind becoming east around 6 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had cloudy in the morning, which became rain by afternoon. The high last year was 49 degrees. The record high of 83 was set in 1968. 1.4 inches of snow fell back in 1950.❄
I’m heading over to John Wolcott’s house this afternoon. 📂 I’m on the fence about taking the bus 🚍 versus driving 🚘 but I think the easiest and most environmentally friendly way is to bus it. I mean regardless of if I ride it, the bus is going downtown. I really try to do whatever I can to avoid motoring.
The sun will set at 7:36 pm with dusk around 8:05 pm, which is one minute and 8 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and temperatures around 56 degrees. Definitely a lot rain seen in the radar, Buffalo is getting soaked today. Won’t be much field work getting done in Western NY today. 🚜The dew point will be 50 degrees. There will be a southeast breeze at 9 mph. Today will have 13 hours and 22 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 46 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will be occasional showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. 🌧 Low of 54 degrees at 8pm. 17 degrees above normal, which is similiar to a typical night around June 6th. Maximum dew point of 55 at 12am. 🏖️ Southeast wind 10 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. In 2018, we had cloudy in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 28 degrees. The record low of 21 occurred back in 1940.
As previously noted, next Sunday is Easter 🐰 when the sun will be setting at 7:44 pm with dusk at 8:14 pm. On that day in 2018, we had sunny and temperatures between 60 and 34 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 61 degrees. We hit a record high of 89 back in 1923.
I am hoping for one nice day during Easter Weekend 🐰 to get out and hiking. Platte Clove is still on the top of my list 📃 but there are other options. So many trails are wet and muddy 💦🐷 this time of year.
Good afternoon! Mostly cloudy and 77 degrees in Westerlo.🌥 There is a west-southwest breeze at 14 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 41 degrees. Warm and dry.
I got the brake switch installed in the truck, and the cruise control is working again.🚗 It wasn’t too hard, the worse part was getting the bolt back in, which I had to fiddle around a bit, because the first time I tried I didn’t have the pressure clip lined up properly. The clip came off easily, as did the sensor. I could have ordered the same part online from Amazon for half the price — but I’m not complaining about a $25 fix to my truck, that took all of a half hour to do — repositing the clip and getting the bolt tightened back up was the only real challenging part.
I am a big fan of cruise control as it’s the best way to control your speed on the open road. You reach the speed limit of in rolling country a few miles below it and you hit a button and it locks 🛅 you at a legal speed. No need to constantly monitor your speed. It was annoying when the cruise stopped working in the cold, it was even worse now that it’s warmed up and I’m traveling more. I probably have the cruise control on 90% of the time while I drive, especially in speed zones.
I got to the transfer station today, ♻ returned all my cans and bottles for recycling. so now they are out of the back of my truck. I replaced the light strip that was failing in the truck cap, with a bright, modern new one. After five years several segments of the LEDs had failed and the waterproofing was yellowing, greatly reducing the output. I do need to get some more super glue, not the runny type to tack it on in a few more locations. Now I should have plenty of light in my truck cap, and it’s free of bottles and cans.
This evening is Sunday dinner at the folks house 🍔 some good burgers on the grill. Should be good.
Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌤, with a low of 42 degrees at 5am. Five degrees above normal, which is similiar to a typical night around April 28th. Northwest wind 6 to 13 mph. In 2018, we had mostly clear in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 28 degrees. The record low of 19 occurred back in 1973.
The sun will set at 7:35 pm with dusk around 8:04 pm, which is one minute and 8 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At sunset, look for mostly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 63 degrees. There will be a west breeze at 11 mph. Today will have 13 hours and 18 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 46 seconds over yesterday.
Tomorrow will have showers likely, mainly after 4pm. Mostly cloudy 🌦, with a high of 57 degrees at 3pm. One degrees below normal, which is similiar to a typical day around April 12th. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had cloudy. The high last year was 49 degrees. The record high of 83 was set in 1968. 1.4 inches of snow fell back in 1950.❄
I haven’t decided if tomorrow I’ll start packing my camping gear ⛺ again or wait until I get glue to fix the LED tape so I don’t spill glue everywhere. 💡 But I do think I’ll get that packed sometime this week. I’m not sure if I’m heading out of town next weekend, I might instead do that hike up Platte Kill Clove sometime during the Easter Weekend 🐰.
As previously noted, there are 2 weeks until Arbor Day 🌳 when the sun will be setting at 7:51 pm with dusk at 8:21 pm. That might be the weekend I go to camp. On that day in 2018, we had rain showers, cold conditions, partly cloudy and temperatures between 50 and 36 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 63 degrees. We hit a record high of 91 back in 1962.
Good morning! Happy Deep and Dark December 🎄! At leastif you are a Simon and Garfunkel fan. Two weeks toBill of RightsDay 📜. Partly cloudy and 29 degrees in the land of the Delmaritian. ⛅ Calm wind. Black ice on the driveway and grass will start to thaw out at around 9 am. 🌡️ Depending if I decide to drive somewhere this morning I may need to find the ice scrapper. Maybe I should instead hike somewhere. Beats scraping ice.
Today will be partly sunny 🌞, with a high of 36 degrees at 1pm. Five degrees below normal, which is similiar to a typical day around December 14th. At least we have the sun which is a rare thing in Trump’s America. Light and variable wind. A year ago, we had mostly cloudy skies with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 45 degrees. The record high of 67 was set in 1934. 3.7 inches of snow fell back in 1969.❄
The sun will set at 4:22 pm with dusk around 4:54 pm, which is 18 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At sunset, look for partly cloudy skies 🌃 and temperatures around 35 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Nicer than most evenings of recent. Today will have 9 hours and 16 minutes of daytime, a decrease of one minute and 22 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will rain and snow likely before 11pm, then rain and sleet between 11pm and 3am, then rain after 3am. 🌧 Low of 33 degrees at 6pm. Six degrees above normal, which is similiar to a typical night around November 12th. Southeast wind 3 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow and sleet accumulation of less than a half inch possible. In 2017, we had mostly cloudy skies. It got down to 26 degrees. The record low of -2 occurred back in 1875.
Last night I watched some YouTubevideos I previously had downloaded, worked on maps and code projects I’ve been working. 💻 Fixed some minor glitches on my VMS display that keeps me entertained with useless weather facts.
Once I finish my coffee I will head out somewhere for the day. ☕ I am not sure, I guess if the ice is melted off the windshield I could go down to Schodack Island for a change. I’m not super excited about going anywhere far away despite being a sunny day. 🏃 I really have gotten tired of driving. I don’t really know why. After my walk I should go to the store and pick up a few things. Alternatively I could walk out to Five Rivers but I’ve been there a lot lately. Nice morning with lots of sun, it would be a pity to waste it.
As previously noted, there are 2 weeks until Bill of Rights Day 📜 when the sun will be setting at 4:22 pm with dusk at 4:54 pm. Better have a candle handy to read your constitution with the days so short. Or as Phil Ochs once sung, “tell the police about your rights as they drag you along the ground.” The constitution is only as good as the people enforcing it. Otherwise it’s just another piece of paper in the burn barrel. On that day in 2017, we had snow, mostly cloudy skies and temperatures between 22 and 7 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 36 degrees. We hit a record high of 61 back in 2015.
Earlier in the week was Small Business Saturday, which encourages people to shop at locally-owned small businesses. It’s the kind of event promoted by chamber of commerce types, and locavores, who think if we spend more of our money at local businesses, it’s good for the local economy. It it is, but also shopping locally promotes waste and inefficiency.
Big businesses are successful because they have economies of scale, they can sell, move, and produce product with less waste and overhead then small businesses. Less waste doesn’t just mean more profits, it also means less trash going to landfills, less electricity wasted, less costs on things that don’t actually make peoples lives better. Big business is typically better regulated by government, less likely to engage in fraud or crime then small businesses. I am not against Big Business, I think in many ways it’s good for our economy.
Small businesses do have an important role in our economy – they promote innovation and new ways of doing things. Large businesses are risk adverse. Why try something that’s risky when there is sure bet? All large corporations originally started small, usually with a novel product or service, something of value that isn’t provided by an existing business. Small businesses are also a leading employer when grouped together collectively.
Indeed, I’ve toyed with the idea of getting into small business myself. I think at some point I could turn my mapping skills into a businesses of my own. I’ve seen advertising for some of the mapping products that other people are selling on the Internet, and there seems to be a market for high quality maps, especially those printed on good water-resistant paper. There also is a big market for making maps with aerial (orthophotos) and other tree data for hunters and others who could benefit from a careful survey of their lands. But not for now.
Now we could do a lot to help small businesses by getting the health insurance and retirement burden off their backs, but government has been slow at creating a universal healthcare system. They could also create more options for supporting retirement efforts of both employees and owners of businesses. Regulations could be simplified and made more straightforward. Lots of things could be done to make life better business of all sorts.
I am not one who bemoans the lost of local business in favor of big business. Efficiency should win. Lower prices, more selection are good for consumers who often have a limited budget. But I also think small businesses do have an important role in our economy, advancing novel new products and services that aren’t provided in communities but are needed. Small business should be encouraged but big business shouldn’t be frowned upon – each should be emphasized for their unique strengths.
