The Rattlesnake Hill Wildlife Management Area is a 5,100 acre upland tract, situated approximately eight miles west of Dansville, New York. Roughly two-thirds of the area lies in southern Livingston County, while the remaining third lies in northern Allegany County. The tract was purchased in the 1930’s under the Federal Resettlement Administration and is one of several such areas turned over to DEC for development as a wildlife management area.
The area is appropriately named after the Timber Rattlesnake, which may be occasionally found in the more remote sections of the “Hill”.
The area offers an interesting blend of upland habitats such as mature woodland, overgrown fields, conifer plantations, old growth apple orchards and open meadows.
The area is inhabited by a variety of game species and is open to public hunting. The white-tailed deer, wild turkey, ruffed grouse, grey squirrel, cottontail rabbit and woodcock are found on the area. An occasional snowshoe hare may be observed adjacent to thick creek bottom brush or conifer plantation habitats.
A number of small marsh units have been developed and provide limited hunting for waterfowl. Some of the area’s furbearing species such as mink, beaver and raccoon may be occasionally viewed at these marsh units.
As they say, it’s best not to bring your shit into the new month. All that fiber in one’s diet plus coffee can really make a good log that requires a plunger to flush down the toilet.
Good morning! January is almost done. Cloudy and 30 degrees at the Elm Ave Park and Ride. ☁️ There is a south breeze at 6 mph. 🍃. There are 3 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ ️Things will start to thaw out at around 9 am. 🌡️
Bathroom 🚽 humor beyond me, I’m catching the express bus 🚍 downtown. Another busy day ahead. I went out for an early morning bike ride and had johnny cakes for breakfast 🥞 with lots of spinach and peppers topped with cottage cheese. It’s busy learning so much in my new position. 🖥 Probably I’ve been watching too much Brappie on YouTube lately. Silly cannuck redneck shit. That said, eating lots of fiber is essential for healthy living.
Today will have some scattered flurries before 9am. Mostly cloudy ☃️ , with a high of 38 degrees at 3pm. Five degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 21st. South wind around 6 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. The high last year was 30 degrees. The record high of 58 was set in 1913. 6.9 inches of snow fell back in 2000.❄
Wasn’t a half bad morning for the ride. 🚲 With the clouds a bit dark but not terrible. Tomorrow I’ll probably ride my bike to work. The rail trail looks like it’s mostly clear of snow 🌨 and I don’t have to dress up for work tomorrow. Friday also looks like I’m likely going to be able to ride in to work. ☺ That puts a smile on my face.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:09 pm with sun having an altitude of 29.9° from the due south horizon (-40.9° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 10.4 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 4:25 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (240°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (247°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:07 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 10 seconds with dusk around 5:36 pm, which is one minute and 18 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:11 pm. At sunset, look for mostly cloudy skies ☁ and temperatures around 35 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 9 hours and 59 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 17 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a low of 27 degrees at 1am. 12 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 18th. South wind 3 to 5 mph. In 2023, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 12 degrees. The record low of -20 occurred back in 1920.
A picture perfect weekend on tap. 😎 Saturday, sunny, with a high near 37. Sunday, sunny, with a high near 36. Typical average high for the weekend is 33 degrees.
As previously noted, there are 2 weeks until Valentines Day ❤️ when the sun will be setting at 5:26 pm with dusk at 5:54 pm. On that day in 2023, we had partly sunny, mild and temperatures between 50 and 30 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 36 degrees. We hit a record high of 63 back in 1946.
I did not appreciate missing the express bus home yesterday or the smoke alarm repeatedly tripping off after cooking dinner. Or repeatedly hitting the wrong keys in VIM at work yesterday, half awake on a Monday. But the salmon and frozen asparaguswas good for dinner as was the larger paycheck with my new job.
Good morning! Happy Tuesday. Clouds and 28 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☁ Calm wind.There are 3 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ ️Things will start to thaw out at around 1 pm. 🌡️
Made it through my birthday 🎂 without anybody saying anything besides my mom= and a few people at work. I keep my birthday locked down on Facebook as I get tired of all the fake happy birthdays you get on Facebook. I really don’t appreciate all the unwarranted attention to myself and my age, I’d rather tell my story but otherwise he ignored. Maybe that’s why I don’t do the social media.
Yesterday was a Monday and kind of a shitty one but it was always silly stuff. 💩 The kind of things that you can hit escape and then u in vim and undo. I just wasn’t feeling Monday, even if was my forty first time around the sun ☀. The smoke detector that kept going off time and time again from cooking smoke and moisture 🧑🚒 really set me off as did having to ride the local home. 🏡 Then I had to piss and crap so badly that I barely made the toilet 🚽 and had to clean up the seat but fortunately not my pants 👖 this time. 🤯 All that fiber and water from eating lots of fruits and vegetables can be tough at times. Especially spaghetti squash 🍆 which I find hard not to overeat but can he very lubricating of the gut and everything connected. Gawd, I’m getting old 👴🏼.
I got this enormous glass 🍸 at work as a Christmas gift that I love and when it’s full of water 💦 and ice 🧊 it’s so easy to overdo it and I was busy at the end of the day with work 📄 and didn’t have time to run to the bathroom before catching the shuttle 🚀 back to the Plaza. And then missing the express bus 🚍. Yeap. Forgot my fork 🍽 at lunch yesterday and didn’t have a spare one in my new office 🏢 so the cooked part of lunch with peas, corn, peppers and tofu got skipped for lunch as that ain’t finger 🖕 food. The milk 🥛 I had in the mason jar for my coffee ☕ at work went rancid. That was a Monday, my birthday. 🎂
I’m thinking today won’t be such a shit show 🤔 or so I tell myself. 🥞 Woke up at five o’clock like usual with no alarm ⏰ and made some good oatmeal banana 🍌 pancakes. I’ve finally mastered a good recipe that is absolutely delicious 😋 topped with mango and blueberries with real maple 🍁 syrup. The real stuff is so much better even if it’s slightly more calories. It’s not like I eat much meat or milk high in saturated fats these days or processed foods or added sugars so I figured I can use a little bit of natural sweetness occasionally like honey 🍯 or pure maple syrup.
Went for a five mile bike ride this morning after breakfast before showering and catching the express bus downtown. 🚲 Not so cold this morning for a change. My hands 👐 weren’t cold nor was my face. The cows 🐮 on Meads Road were up and around chewing their cud not all huddled together. 🚜 It was nice for a change. I probably would have gone for a longer ride, but time was tight as it was close to 6:50 AM when I got out riding. One thing is nice is that the mornings are a lot brighter then they were.
Today will have patchy freezing drizzle before 10am. Mostly cloudy 🌥, with a high of 33 degrees at 2pm. Typical for today. Calm wind becoming south 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, which became light snow by afternoon. The high last year was 41 degrees. The record high of 56 was set in 2013. 11.0 inches of snow fell back in 1966.❄
After all of it, dinner last night was good, 🐟 even if the fire alarm problem was annoying. 👩🚒 I am not sure why it’s been such a problem with the smoke detectors this winter. I got a new smoke detector hoping it would stop false alarms, 🔕 without much luck. Fresh asparagus are hard to get this time of year, but the frozen ones weren’t bad. 🎍 Looking forward to spring 🐰 when the fresh ones are more available for a reasonable price, like around Easter. 👣 Evening walk was good too. I need to get back in the habit, if my fingers are cold all of the time, 🧤 I should learn to toughen up and get better gloves. It’s not like I have as much of an opportunity to get steps in working in the suburban office, though come nicer weather when I don’t have to dress up as much, I’ll probably be back to riding back in and home from the office. I figure after President’s Day, there will be enough daylight in the evening to ride home, and that’s where the real calorie burning takes place. 🌧 With the rain and cold, I’ve really gotten out of the habit, and my stomach and face are starting to show it.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:09 pm with sun having an altitude of 29.6° from the due south horizon (-41.2° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 10.6 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 4:24 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (239°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (247°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:06 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 10 seconds with dusk around 5:35 pm, which is one minute and 18 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:10 pm. At sunset, look for mostly cloudy skies ☁ and temperatures around 32 degrees. There will be a south-southeast breeze at 7 mph. Tomorrow will have 9 hours and 59 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 18 seconds over today.
Maybe I’ve been overly cranky, but the smoke detector thing in particularly really set me off yesterday, 👩🚒 especially after such a long and difficult birthday. I am so done with winter, ready for nicer weather and longer days. At least the mornings and evenings aren’t as dark we move into February. I have a lot to look forward to once we get over the hump of winter. ⛄ I think what I really need is just more time in the wilderness. 🏕 Maybe this weekend.
Tonight will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a low of 25 degrees at 4am. 10 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 11th. South wind around 7 mph. In 2023, we had light snow in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 18 degrees. The record low of -26 occurred back in 1948.
It’s always nice to see a bit of money in bank account 💰 before the money goes into retirement, investments, and my landlord’s slice. 🏘 My apartment is a dump but it’s affordable.
A picture perfect weekend on tap. 😎 Saturday, sunny, with a high near 35. Sunday, sunny, with a high near 35. Typical average high for the weekend is 33 degrees. I am thinking of doing an overnight in the woods this weekend, though I wish I had skis ⛷ but I should be able to ride roads if the trails have too much which they might. Kind of a birthday weekend camping adventure. ⛺ But a week late. Probably won’t head too far out of town for that. President’s Day Weekend, depending on how much snow there is, I might head up to the Adirondacks or Madison County.
As previously noted, next Tuesday is Save the Pine Bush Turns 43 🦋 when the sun will be setting at 5:16 pm with dusk at 5:44 pm. On that day in 2023, we had partly sunny and temperatures between 41 and 21 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 34 degrees. We hit a record high of 55 back in 1991.
You turn on the radio and you hear them talking about polling and interviewing young voters and you realize that they aren’t talking about you. You’re at the point of being 20 years beyond your 21st birthday and first legal drink, 23 years since high school graduation – more than half a lifetime ago.
It’s both werid and kind of odd to be getting old so quickly. To be director of a major unit in your company, to realize your only a few years away from having two decades of experience there. Finally being able to look back and see that you’ve accomplished some big things in your life. But also looking ahead at the big hill left to climb. Retirement is still at least a decade and a half away, although I doubt if I’d retire at that age I’d hardly be idle but more focused on my homestead.
One year of Mission Fifty has come and gone – only less nine years left until I turn fifty. It’s been a good year in the markets – I can be gleeful about how quickly my investments have grown. Yet I’ll also give myself some credit as I’ve kept to my investment and retirement plans, aggressively saving and investing wherever possible by keeping expenses low. I’m realistic though and realize it’s unlikely we’ll see yet another year of 24% S&P 500 growth. Feels good while it lasted.
This was the year I identified and took action on my health, loosing a lot of weight last summer though regaining a bit this past winter. But still I’ve made nutrition a top priority in my life, eating healthy food, giving up processed food, fatty cheeses and meats, and refined grains except in exceptional circumstances. I’ve made learning to cook a priority, embracing cooking delicious healthy meals the fuel my body with vitamins, protein and fiber. I measure the fruits and vegetables in the number of pounds I can eat each day. I’ve made visiting my doctor a regular priority for check ups, learning about various medical conditions, and worrying more about my health. I do piss and crap a lot more with all that water and fiber in my diet since I’ve been eating healthier.
I bought a mountain bike and ride a lot to get around town – somewhat displacing walking but also burning more calories in less time – and seeing more of the country side. I’ve gotten in the habit of going to bed by nine each night and rising by five am each morning, to cook and embrace the day. I’ve tried to build on my old walking habit in the morning and evening, though bike riding has replaced a lot of it. But I do think I’ve slid somewhat backwards lately, with the cold weather and my tendency to have always cold hands and toes, especially in the cold weather. It’s not like when I was younger, maybe I’m crazier now, maybe my gloves are more worn, or maybe I don’t have the circulation in my hands I once did due to pinched nerves due to bike riding.
Not that it really matters that much, if I wasn’t told I probably wouldn’t notice that today is my birthday. It’s not like I remember that day from my birth, or that the day has any inherit meaning, except maybe that I survived another year.
Good morning! Cloudy at the freezing point in Delmar. ☁️ There is a north-northwest breeze at 11 mph. 🍃. There are 3 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ ️Things will start to thaw out at around 8 am. 🌡️
I was up at 5 AM to bake bread 🍞 and spaghetti squash. 🍆 Made eggs for breakfast with onions, peas, green beans, hot peppers which were good with some cottage cheese. 🍳 I was hoping to get in early enough to walk the Concourse this morning, but it takes time to do all that cooking and I missed the earlier bus in but settled on walking down to the Park and Ride for some exercise. 👣 Kind of tired an drowsy today, 😴 despite getting to bed fairly early last night.
Today will have a chance of snow showers, mainly before 8am. Cloudy 🌦, with a high of 38 degrees at 12pm. Five degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 21st. North wind 11 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 44 degrees. The record high of 54 was set in 2002. 8.3 inches of snow fell back in 1990.❄
Yesterday, with the snow coming but mostly rain in Delmar until 5 PM 🌧 I decided to skip visiting my parents in favor of a trip to the laundromat and shopping in the morning. I can’t believe I spent another $130 on groceries and supplies, though it’s totally my fault as I bought some bulk containers of groceries that were nice but probably could have waited on. 🍏 🥦 But I didn’t want to risk running out mid-week. It’s fine, today I will likely get paid before my rent is due. Most of the things I bought were frozen or long-lasting like xylem gum and real maple syrup. 🍁
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:09 pm with sun having an altitude of 29.3° from the due south horizon (-41.5° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 10.7 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 4:22 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (239°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (246°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:04 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 11 seconds with dusk around 5:34 pm, which is one minute and 18 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:09 pm. At sunset, look for mostly cloudy skies ☁ and temperatures around 34 degrees. There will be a north breeze at 10 mph. Tomorrow will have 9 hours and 56 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 16 seconds over today.
For both lunch and dinner last night I had a big pot of red lentil soup 🍲 that I shredded a whole lot of carrots 🥕 and onions in. Came out delicious once I added the right spices, let it cool a bit to thicken. The previous night was chicken noodle soup which also was good. I do think I need to cut back though on portion sizes — I can sure drink a lot of soup and it’s not like I’m adding a lot of unhealthy stuff but I’ve noticed I’ve started to put some more weight on lately. 🤰 I think it’s all the carbs from the bread, even though it’s whole wheat and no sugar, it adds up.
Tonight will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a low of 22 degrees at 5am. Seven degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 1st. Maximum wind chill around 17 at 2am; North wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light after midnight. In 2023, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 28 degrees. The record low of -12 occurred back in 1965.
I am surprisingly worn out today, 😴 but after dinner which will be salmon, 🐟 broccoli, 🥦 spaghetti squash, 🍆 and some carrot bread, 🥕 I’ll do my evening walk then head to bed. 🚶♀️ I haven’t staying up late but sometimes Mondays can be tough. I am not doing anything special for my birthday this year. 🎂
Somewhat cool but sunny for a change this weekend. 😎 Saturday, partly sunny, with a high near 30. Sunday, mostly sunny, with a high near 28. Typical average high for the weekend is 33 degrees. I’m considering going camping this weekend, 🏕 just for a quick overnight, but it will all ultimately depend what the forecast is like. There would certainly be some snow and ground frozen with temperatures like that at least int he higher country.
Looking ahead, there are 3 weeks until Presidents Day 👴 when the sun will be setting at 5:33 pm with dusk at 6:00 pm. On that day in 2023, we had mostly cloudy and temperatures between 47 and 23 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 37 degrees. We hit a record high of 66 back in 1981.
Aldis in Colonie was so packed with people yesterday, picked over grocery wise with people stocking up for the winter storm that is supposedly approaching today, I just turned around and left. I look across the street at the Market32 with the packed parking lot, and tossed my hands up knowing chances were slim I’d get any whole-wheat flour or other needed groceries. Best to wait until today, when the stockers have been able to restore the shopping experience by morning. I’ll just do Walmart after I shower this morning.
Good morning! Happy Soon to be Wet and Sloppy Sunday. 🌧 It seems like it rains every Sunday lately. Without fail. Rain loves the weekend. Clouds and 35 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☁️ Calm wind. Temperatures will drop below freezing at tomorrow around 6 pm. ☃️
Decided I wanted pancakes today, 🍊 🥞 and I have a lot of oranges, so I decided to try out full-orange pancakes, milling both the orange and peal to make some rather zesty fully flavored pancakes with some lemon juice topped with some greek yogurt and honey. 🍯 Wow did they come out good — that orange flavor really shined, especially some ginger, vanilla in the mixture. Finished up the remaining oatmeal I had in the mixture, along with the whole wheat flour and had to fall back onto using some rye flour, but it worked out well.
Today will rain and snow. 🌧 High of 35 degrees at 7am. Two degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 9th. Calm wind becoming north 5 to 8 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than one inch possible. Not going to stick more A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 45 degrees. The record high of 56 was set in 1916. 9.6 inches of snow fell back in 1897.❄
Riding trail in the Albany Pine Bush was great yesterday 🚵♀️ 🌲 though by mid-day I was starting to feel a bit worn out from all the trail riding. The section off of Kings Road was closed due to them logging and using a tub grinder to chop up the black locus, blackberries and invasive trees as part of the restoration effort. 🦋 Ended up riding my bike around Morris and Curry Road to see what I could spot from the road both ecologically and development wise, to further educate myself for Save the Pine Bush. 💭 In the afternoon, after shopping at Salvation Army I decided to head up Balltown Road to Aquaduct, as I wanted to check out the old Aquaduct that once carried the second Erie Canal across the Mohawk River and then NY 146 until the 1964 bridge was completed, and the aquaduct demolished to improve the river’s flow and prevent ice jamming. Seems odd these days when Mohawk River ice jams are rare, because the river rarely jams up with so much ice. ❄️ Climate change has changed a lot in our world. There was some ice on Mohawk River but not a lot. Then I rode my bike down the Erie Canalway to the ALCO Trail through that swanky new Mohawk Harbor development, then through the Stockade and Riverfront Park, then the Erie Canalway Trail to Lock 8 and ultimately out to I-890 – NY 5 Connector near Rotterdam Junction. 🛣
While Aldis was insane yesterday, 👔 I did luck out at the Salvation Army in Karner – Niskayuna – Lisha Kill or whatever the area off of Central Avenue and got two nice dressier shirts. The stuff you get there is nicer then anything you might find at Walmart and cheaper then going to a place like Macy’s or JC Pennies. Plus often much higher quality. Two really nice shirts for $9.60. Can’t beat prices like that. Not only are there wonderful deals at Salvation Army, you’re supporting their disaster and community development efforts. That place is a complete dump on the outside, with people leaving discarded furniture and trash all around it, but inside it really is the best thrift store to get really nice clothing, often for prices far below other thrift stores around. Not going to find anything that nice so cheap at Goodwill or one of the “high end” thrift store boutiques like in Delmar or Slingerlands. Also looked at lamps for my new office, 🛋 but I’m going to wait until I move into my permanent office before committing to buying a desk lap, assuming I can’t find one in a storage closet somewhere. Thrift shop’s the way to go for that — I am thinking I can put a 150 watt equivalent bulb 💡 in it as a bright desk lamp. I just hate the overhead florescent lighting.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:09 pm with sun having an altitude of 29.1° from the due south horizon (-41.7° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 10.8 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 4:21 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (238°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (246°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:03 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 11 seconds with dusk around 5:33 pm, which is one minute and 18 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:07 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and snow 🌨 and temperatures around 34 degrees. There will be a north breeze at 8 mph. Tomorrow will have 9 hours and 54 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 14 seconds over today.
Tonight will snow, mainly before 4am. 🌨 Low of 33 degrees at 5am. 18 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 5th. North wind 9 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible. Ain’t going to be much snow on the roads with that temperature, especially if they’re treated with the tons of deicing chemicals as they most certainly are. Maybe this week will be a good one to wash my truck. In 2023, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 22 degrees. The record low of -10 occurred back in 1925.
Looking ahead, there are 2 weeks until Don’t Cry over Spilled Milk Day 🥛 when the sun will be setting at 5:22 pm with dusk at 5:50 pm. I was totally getting teased the other day in my old office for being such a complainer. I know, I’m such a perfectionist. 💎 Cheap bastard too, but I’m saving all my money so I can blow it someday on land, 👩🌾 goats 🐐, hogs, 🐷 and cattle. 🐄 I’ve been told cattle are the fastest way to be broke forever, maybe except for horses. 🐴 Probably someday I’ll meet a girl who is as much a hillbilly as I’m and I’ll have to agree on horses in exchange for having a burn barrel and land. 🔥🛢 Actually, I think I complain about things, but it’s different from what others complain about. I don’t like working in suburbs, when so many others love the acres of parking for easy motoring and the convenience of avoiding crowded elevators, lol. 🤣 On that day in 2023, we had mostly sunny skies snow showers and temperatures between 38 and 23 degrees. I wouldn’t say that’s spilled milk, but a rather nice day. Maybe just a few drips of milk after the teats are stripped. 🐮 Typically, the high temperature is 35 degrees. Going to be in the forties during this up coming week. We hit a record high of 59 back in 1981.
Smile, it’s the weekend. Not the sunniest or warmest weekend after, but it’s good to get out and enjoy it. Leading in theory a Save the Pine Bush hike at 9 AM, though who knows if anyone will show up. But it’s a good excuse to get up early, get going so I will go hiking, then check out Salvation Army for some nice business-casual shirts and then do some shopping early on.
Good morning! Happy Saturday. Finally the weekend! I won’t say it’s a banner of weekend weather wise, but it’s not snowing and not cold. Cloudy and 36 degrees at the Elm Ave Park and Ride. ☁ There is a north-northwest breeze at 6 mph. 🍃. Temperatures will drop below freezing at Monday around 1 am. ☃️
Today will be cloudy ☁, with a high of 40 degrees at 2pm. Seven degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 28th. North wind around 6 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, which became mostly sunny by afternoon. The high last year was 36 degrees. The record high of 62 was set in 1974. 9.3 inches of snow fell back in 1963.❄
I intentionally planned a Save the Pine Bush Hike at 9 AM this morning 🌲 so I would have an incentive to get out hiking early this morning, and hopefully have some people to join me. Not the nicest day ever but with some friends it could be nice. And if nobody shows up — and for later in the afternoon — I’ll bring my mountain bike. 🚵 Often I find riding in the Pine Bush to be a little soft without fat bike tires but after the recent rain and snow, I expect the sand to be quite well packed and good for riding. I will probably will ride the East Barrens though I haven’t done Blueberry Hill in a while and that could be a good place to watch the sun set.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:09 pm with sun having an altitude of 28.8° from the due south horizon (-42° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 10.9 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 4:19 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (238°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (245°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:02 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 12 seconds with dusk around 5:31 pm, which is one minute and 17 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:06 pm. At sunset, look for mostly cloudy skies ☁ and temperatures around 39 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 9 hours and 50 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 9 seconds over yesterday.
After the hike this morning 🏃♀️ my plan is go over to the Salvation Army and look at shirts to wear 👔 for cheap, and maybe desk lamps. I don’t think my new office I’ll be moving into in March from my temporary desk has a desk lamp, and I’ve really gotten to like that brass desk lamp I had in my old office 🛋 as I don’t like the overhead florescent lighting. The darker lit office with task lighting just seems a lot more comfortable to work in. Then I’m hoping to get to Aldi’s and get some groceries 🛒 followed up by Yonder Farms for apples 🍎 and maybe stopped at Hannaford in Voorheesville so I can get more whole-wheat flour. 🍞 I’ve also thought about potentially exploring more of the Erie Canalway Trail and the Stockade in Schenectady, 🚲 but we’ll see how tired I am by mid-day. At any rate, I like to keep my options open. ⛽ I also need to get some fuel for my big-jacked up truck. That said, at least gas prices have come down.
Tonight will have a slight chance of rain and snow after 4am. Cloudy 🌧, with a low of 33 degrees at 1am. 18 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 5th. Light and variable wind. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2023, we had light snow in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 25 degrees. The record low of -16 occurred back in 2005.
Yesterday, I had my diversity training 👩🏫 which was remarkably interesting. What a difference a good professor really can make. It really gives you a chance to reflect upon how you view the world. So many years diversity training is overally legalistic and not enough reflection, but this year it really gave me some chance to think about my biases. I ended the day working in my old office, which was nice to catch up with some my colleagues and not feel like I’m in North Siberia, as often is the case up in the suburban office.
I’ve been continuing to explore how to use the R Statistical Language at work to automate processes and clean data. 💽 So much of my work in my new job is data-centric, and the tidyverse is such a handy way to process lots of data quickly. One of my goals is get away from PDF reports and presenting more data as nicely formatted Excel spreadsheets, as it makes it much more easier for users to produce calculations on their own computer. I installed R Studio on my work computer, though I with I could get Docker working and therefore Rselenium up and running on it, so I could automate some of the report generation by using a Selenium controlled browser. In theory I don’t need Docker but so far I can’t seem to figure out to get RSelenium to find Java I installed on the computer. Strange thing is OpenXLSX see Java without a problem.
Tomorrow looking at rain and snow, mainly after 8am. 🌧 High near 35. Calm wind becoming north 5 to 8 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than one inch possible. Going to try to get out to my parents house tomorrow, a lot depends on the weather. I might end up going to Walmart tomorrow, especially if I don’t get everything I need at Aldi’s today, most notably whole-wheat flour.
Looking ahead, there are 2 weeks until Clean Your Computer Day 🧹 when the sun will be setting at 5:21 pm with dusk at 5:49 pm. On that day in 2023, we had mostly cloudy, mild, rain showers and temperatures between 51 and 34 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 35 degrees. We hit a record high of 53 back in 1955.
Kind of a wet one to flush away the month of January. I’m up early walking laps on the Concourse in the Emperor’s Plaza. I was thinking if I wanted to do some cardio I could do the stairs in LOB, though truth be told I’ll be here come midday for diversity training and then I’m going to work the rest of the day in my old office.
Good morning! Yeah, it’s Friday! Heavy rain and 38 degrees at the Elm Ave Park and Ride. 🌧️ There is a southeast breeze at 7 mph. 🍃. Not much snow left after the warm temperatures and the rspTemperatures will drop below freezing at Sunday around 3 am. ☃️
For some reason I didn’t sleep well last night 🛏 so I’m up early walking 🚶 the Plaza. I just find it hard to sleep with the windows closed and I need another night in the wilderness but alas it’s January for a few more days and the woods is going to be a mosh pit after all the rain of recent. 🐽 I have diversity training today, so I’ll need to stay awake for that. And lots more reports to run. I need to figure out how to get Docker running on my work machine 🤖 to automate that further.
Breakfast this morning was pancakes 🥞 made from carrots 🥕 and apples with some egg and whole wheat flour for binder with cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice and honey 🍯 to top. Then I decided I was still hungry and wanted some protein, so I had some Greek yogurt and strawberries 🍓 as a side. ☕ Looking forward to more coffee when I get in the office. Last night it was pea soup 🥣 with carrot bread which came out so moist and tender, reminded me almost of carrot cake. By the end of the week I think I will have eaten nearly five pounds of carrots.
Today will rain, mainly before 10am. Patchy fog after 5pm. 🌧 High of 43 degrees at 4pm. 10 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 9th. Southeast wind 6 to 10 mph becoming northeast in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, which became light snow by afternoon. The high last year was 41 degrees. The record high of 59 was set in 1950. 8.5 inches of snow fell back in 1949.❄
Bike ride in and hike was good, 🚲 though on a cloudy day like yesterday it was darker than I would have preferred for riding across the Water Street Bridge. Didn’t help there was a bunch of debris from crashes on the shoulder. I should have enough time that in the future I might ride through Corning Preserve 🏞 and over the pedestrian bridge as an alternative.
I’m getting used to suburban office 🏢 with its acres parking 🅿 which everybody tells me is a good thing but I find it hard to believe. I just find the corporate architecture to be so soul depraving with the acres of cubicles, florescent lighting and the very square windows that are few and far between. At least I can make it work with the buses 🚍 and it’s an easier bike 🚲 ride. I enjoyed riding in yesterday and riding down to the river at lunch time, ☺ It will be nice come summer. Acres of parking probably is good if I’m planning on going out of town after work.
I do think I’m doing good work, 🖥 putting my data science skills and Unix knowledge to hood work in the new position. Change is good, I think I’m rapidly getting up to skill. Plus it’s a good resume builder as I can say I’m using Unix text utilities, SQL and R processing in a o
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:08 pm with sun having an altitude of 28.6° from the due south horizon (-42.3° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 11 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 4:18 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (238°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (245°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:00 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 12 seconds with dusk around 5:30 pm, which is one minute and 17 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:05 pm. At sunset, look for cloudy skies ☁ and temperatures around 42 degrees. There will be a southeast breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 9 hours and 48 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 7 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will have patchy fog before 7pm. Otherwise, cloudy ☁, with a low of 35 degrees at 5am. 20 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 10th. North wind 3 to 6 mph. In 2023, we had light snow in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 27 degrees. The record low of -23 occurred back in 1994.
Tomorrow will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a high of 41 degrees at 1pm. Eight degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 3rd. North wind around 6 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, which became light snow by afternoon. The high last year was 36 degrees. The record high of 62 was set in 1974. 9.3 inches of snow fell back in 1963.❄
Looking ahead to Sunday, rain and snow, becoming all snow after 4pm. 🌨️ High near 35. North wind 5 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. Typical average high for the weekend is 33 degrees.
As previously noted, next Friday is Ground Hog Day 🐻 when the sun will be setting at 5:10 pm with dusk at 5:39 pm. On that day in 2023, we had partly cloudy and temperatures between 36 and 19 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 33 degrees. We hit a record high of 53 back in 1981.
