To often the mass media hysteria focuses on immediate threats that are clear and present dangers while ignoring chronic long term dangers. Sugar causes diabetes and cardiac conditions due to excessive weight, and it’s a risk often ignored. Lead consumption is an obvious threat but the growing waist lines of Americans is a far larger threat.
Before the rain, a week before Christmas and two before New Years Eve 🎅🎁🌲🎊🎇🎆🧨
Good morning! Happy Sunday. Cloudy and 42 degrees this morning but will warm up later on. ☁ There is a south-southeast breeze at 9 mph. 🍃. The current wind chill is 30. Temperatures will drop below freezing at Tuesday around 6 pm. ☃️
Up and cooking this morning at 5 o’clock after running to the rest room. 🧑🏻🍳 Just eggs 🥚 for breakfast and a grapefruit. 🟠 Also cooking down chickpeas for hummus. Plan to get to the store fairly early this morning, including home depot to get the stove burner first. ⛽ I need to gas up the truck, first time since before my Thanksgiving Black Friday trip to the Adirondacks. 🌲I could get propane but I’ll probably wait until heading out of town on Thursday or Friday.
Today will have a slight chance of drizzle or light rain between 11am and 2pm, then a chance of rain after 2pm. Cloudy 🌧, with a high of 49 degrees at 4pm. 11 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around November 17th. Southeast wind 7 to 10 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 some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 39 degrees. The record high of 59 was set in 1984. 19.7 inches of snow fell back in 2020.❄
Solar noon 🌞 is at 11:52 am with sun having an altitude of 24° from the due south horizon (-46.8° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 13.5 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 3:38 pm with the sun in the southwest (231°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (238°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:24 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 25 seconds with dusk around 4:55 pm, which is 18 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the First Quarter 🌓 Moon in the south (189°) at an altitude of 32° from the horizon, 226,410 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 5:32 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and temperatures around 48 degrees. There will be a southeast breeze at 7 mph. Tomorrow will have 9 hours and 6 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 17 seconds over today.
Tonight will rain. The rain could be heavy at times. 🌧 Low of 48 degrees at 6pm. 24 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around October 3rd. Southeast wind 7 to 9 mph becoming east after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible. In 2022, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 25 degrees. The record low of -9 occurred back in 1919.
Today in 1777 during the American Revolution, ⛲ France formally recognizes the United States.
As previously noted, next Sunday is Christmas Eve 🎅 when the sun will be setting at 4:28 pm with dusk at 4:58 pm. On that day in 2022, we had cold day, partly cloudy skies, snow showers and temperatures between 15 and 7 degrees. This Christmas Eve looks to be a lot warmer but then again it’s an El Niño winter much like 2005. Typically, the high temperature is 36 degrees. We hit a record high of 72 back in 2015.
Happy Tea Party Day 🐍
The day when they dump source separated organic waste in the Boston Harbor, obviously pissing off the marine fisheries bureau and the Brits before that famous call in Revere.
Good morning! Partly sunny and 47 degrees in Delmar. Not bad for Delmar at all in December. There is a north breeze at 6 mph. 🍃. Temperatures will drop below freezing at Tuesday around 4 pm. ☃️
Got up at five o’clock to start cooking black beans and pancakes 🥞. The pancakes were good the black beans are still cooking. 🧑🏻🍳 After getting up early 🛏 I’m now moving slowly, continuing to study machine learning videos on Udemy while I wait for the beans to cook. Also need to get the hub caps back on my truck and check the lug nuts for tightness. 🛠
Today will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 51 degrees at 2pm. 13 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around November 12th. North wind around 6 mph. A year ago, we had light rain in the morning, which became light snow by afternoon. The high last year was 35 degrees. The record high of 61 was set in 2021. 9.5 inches of snow fell back in 1981.❄
Today’s plan is to ride down to French Mills which I’ve seen photographed many times 🏞 but never visited. If time allows I might go to the Albany Pine Bush Preserve to ride trail there. 🚲 I’m just looking for new places close enough I can safely ride to and don’t have to necessarily drive to.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 11:52 am with sun having an altitude of 24.1° from the due south horizon (-46.7° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 13.4 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 3:38 pm with the sun in the southwest (231°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (239°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:24 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 25 seconds with dusk around 4:54 pm, which is 16 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the First Quarter 🌓 Moon in the south-southwest (202°) at an altitude of 24° from the horizon, 227,145 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 5:31 pm. At sunset, look for partly sunny skies 🌃 and temperatures around 44 degrees. There will be a north breeze at 6 mph. Today will have 9 hours and 7 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 26 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a low of 34 degrees at 9pm. 12 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around November 9th. Light and variable wind becoming south 5 to 8 mph in the evening. In 2022, we had light snow in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 31 degrees. The record low of 8 occurred back in 1942.
Today in 1965, the Vietnam War would escalate. 🪖General William Westmoreland sends U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara a request for 243,000 more men by the end of 1966. And in Cleveland, Ohio becomes the first major American city to default on its financial obligations since the Great Depression.
Looking ahead, next Saturday is Festivus 🍖 when the sun will be setting at 4:27 pm with dusk at 4:57 pm. On that day in 2022, we had rain and temperatures between 53 and 9 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 36 degrees. We hit a record high of 64 back in 1990.
Another work week draws to a close with the holiday party today 🤶
One week until the start of the Christmas Weekend and two until New Years Eve Weekend. Both weeks will be abbreviated as I plan to take off next Friday and the following Monday and Tuesday after Christmas where I work are holidays. Lot of work projects on my desk as I pack up my office and get ready to do a trip out to Madison County next week. Today is Bill of Rights Day and also the 56th anniversary of the Silver Bridge Disaster down in Point Pleasant, WV.
Good morning! Happy Friday. Only two more left this year. Mostly clear at the freezing point 🌅 in Delmar, NY. There is a south-southeast breeze at 6 mph. 🍃. Going to be a nice day. Will be a bit cold for riding into work but I’ve done it in much colder weather for sure. Time goes by so quickly it seems.
The ride to work 🚲 was pleasant and if leave early from the party 🎉 I’ll be able to ride home after getting a beer 🍻 at City Beer Hall. I haven’t decided what’s for dinner tonight, last night fried up some left over riggis from last week’s Sunday dinner with corn, butternut squash, tofu, mushrooms and onions. Not too bad. Had some more of that rye bread I made up. Maybe I should stop frying things up, but it’s so good especially with some spices, and a little avocado oil isn’t the most unhealthy thing ever. You need some fats in your diet to absorb fat soluble vitamins, and omega-3 fats are the healthier option to do so.
Today will be sunny 🌞, with a high of 50 degrees at 1pm. 12 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around November 15th. South wind 6 to 16 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 33 degrees. The record high of 61 was set in 2015. 8.2 inches of snow fell back in 1968.❄
The cookies 🍪 I baked for cookie share day were kind of disappointing in my book, rather bland and too tart. The whole wheat flour I used was grainy, the stevia wasn’t sweet enough and had an after taste not balancing out the cranberries well. 🍒 I need to experiment with other sweeteners like monk fruit, or maybe honey or pure maple syrup, or just plain old sugar. Not everything has to be perfectly healthy, though I don’t want to get in the habit of consuming large amounts of unhealthy sugar, though I guess it’s somewhat balanced by the whole-wheat red flour adding fiber. Truth is I’ve kind of gotten to really dislike the taste of stevia — I first got into it for sweetening lemonade in the summer as a healthy low-calorie alternative to beer while camping, but the after taste it leaves in my mouth is kind of yucky, and I don’t like how it tastes with baking those cookies.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 11:51 am with sun having an altitude of 24.1° from the due south horizon (-46.7° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 13.4 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 3:38 pm with the sun in the southwest (231°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (239°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:23 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 24 seconds with dusk around 4:54 pm, which is 14 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Crescent 🌒 Moon in the south-southwest (213°) at an altitude of 15° from the horizon, 228,509 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 5:31 pm. At sunset, look for clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 47 degrees. There will be a northwest breeze at 13 mph. Today will have 9 hours and 7 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 30 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will have increasing clouds ☁, with a low of 34 degrees at 5am. 11 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around November 9th. Northwest wind around 7 mph becoming northeast after midnight. In 2022, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became light rain by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 33 degrees. The record low of -11 occurred back in 1917.
It’s annoying having that broken burner on my stove, ♨️ so I need to get that part this weekend. I am pretty sure it’s a standard 6 inch burner, and I can get that at Lowes for $11 so I am not going to bother my landlord. I’ll replace the drip trays again, which after about 3 or 4 years have burned through again. I really enjoy cooking, 👩🍳 so I want to make sure my stove is in top shape, especially as I often find myself using all four burners, and that’s the largest burner on my stove.
On December 15, 1967, the Silver Bridge collapsed under the weight of rush-hour traffic, resulting in the deaths of 46 people. Two of the victims were never found. 🌉 The Silver Bridge was an eyebar-chain suspension bridge built in 1928 and named for the color of its aluminum paint. The bridge carried U.S. Route 35 over the Ohio River, connecting Point Pleasant, West Virginia, and Gallipolis, Ohio. Investigation of the wreckage pointed to the cause of the collapse being the failure of a single eyebar in a suspension chain, due to a small defect 0.1 inches (2.5 mm) deep. Analysis showed that the bridge was carrying much heavier loads than it had originally been designed for and had been poorly maintained. The collapsed bridge was replaced by the Silver Memorial Bridge, which was completed in 1969.
Also, today in 2000, was an the end of an era at the infamous Chernobyl Power Plant. Reactor No. 4 was the site of the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, and the power plant is now within a large restricted area known as the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. ⚛ Both the zone and the former power plant are administered by the State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management. The three remaining reactors remained operational after the accident; all three were eventually shut down by 2000, and the plant remains in the process of decommissioning as of 2019. Nuclear clean-up is scheduled for completion in 2065.
Tomorrow will be partly sunny 🌞, with a high of 45 degrees at 12pm. Seven degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around November 27th. West wind 6 to 8 mph becoming north in the afternoon. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 35 degrees. The record high of 61 was set in 2021. 9.5 inches of snow fell back in 1981.❄
Planning on riding to the French’s Mills 🚲 and maybe the Pine Bush tomorrow. Should be a good day for a nice ride. Also need to put the hub caps back on my truck. I am thinking either Saturday night to go shopping and get the replacement burner or maybe Sunday morning. Depends how tired I am from lots of biking.
Looking ahead to Sunday, rain likely, mainly after 1pm. ☔ Cloudy, with a high near 47. Southeast wind 7 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. Typical average high for the weekend is 38 degrees.
Sunday going to the Nutcracker 👪 with the family, that is after going grocery shopping early in the morning. Then probably bake some bread later on in the day. 🍞 And head to bed fairly early.
Looking ahead to longer days and ultimately summer, next Friday is Days are Getting Longer ☀️ when the sun will be setting at 4:27 pm with dusk at 4:57 pm. By then we’ve already gained almost five minutes in the evening. First full day of winter. But probably won’t feel that way. On that day in 2022, we had partly cloudy, rain showers and temperatures between 34 and 19 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 36 degrees. We hit a record high of 60 back in 1990.
Peters, Dead at Age 38
Now that I am in my forties, it strikes me a bit hard to learn of people I knew in years past when they pass. Matt Peters is no exception — I remember him from the Young Democrats many years ago. We went down to Philadelphia to Young Democrats of America convention in 2005. I haven’t seen him in a decade but it’s sad to hear of his passing.
He died of a heart attack after previously having a aortic dissection. Uncommon in somebody so young but it happens. But it’s a warning of what can be lurking under the surface and how precious life really is. I don’t think he was particularly unhealthy in his life choices, and may have been bad luck or genetics, but it really is a wake up call for somebody like myself to make sure I eat healthy and exercise every day. Regular exercise, healthy eating is important even though we live in a culture that seems to be completely opposed to such things, encouraging a sedentary lifestyle and eating processed junk food most meals of the day. I think a lot about my health each time I lose another friend or colleague.
Certainly Matt Peters chose a different life then I did — he was intimately involved in politics, serving as Chief of Staff for the Mayor of Albany and later as the Albany Parking Authority director, the later a rather cushy job at the Parking Authority with an equally cushy salary. But then again, as I’ve worked my way up into management, I do respect how much work management can be and the tough decisions often that have to be made, along with all the contracts and hiring decisions that have to be made. And it’s actually not that much money he made in these inflationary times. Maybe I’m just a bit jealous.
I could never see myself being out in the forefront of politics. While I know many people who have ran and served in office, I don’t think I’d ever want to be involved in politics besides being behind the scenes, advising based on statistical data or assisting in the hard work that makes government and political campaigns run. Unlike Matt, I have zero desire to run for County Legislature, nor do I want to be in the public eye bar occasionally speaking at public hearings. It’s just not the life for me, but it’s necessary work for those who choose to do it. I’m much more private, focusing on improving my own life and not saving the world.
Maybe I shouldn’t compare myself to him. I chose a different career path and lifestyle, is both Democrats and involved with politics but with very different views and involvement in the system. He was a good man, even if I didn’t always agree with him and I will miss him even if we went our own ways the over the decades come and gone. I’m quite devestated that he’s gone even if we were very different people.
That rye bread I made this morning was pretty good 🥖
Mom picked me up some rye flower and dill weed and adding some wheat flour, yeast, water, salt and some vital wheat gluten made some good bread. Wish I had more rise though, I could try more yeast next time or a higher portion of vital wheat gluten and less wheat flour. Wheat flour is difficult as it is very low in gluten and is heavy with all that healthy protein and fiber.
Good morning! Happy Thursday. Mostly sunny and 30 degrees in Albany, NY. There is a west breeze at 5 mph. 🍃. There are 0.3 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ ️Cold start to the morning, though warming up quickly, it will be above freezing by 9 AM.
Rode my bike in again to work today. 🚲 Like I do most days, while the weather is decent. Today is share cookies day in the office 🍪 so I had to be careful riding in with my bike box full with my laptop, lunch, snacks, and a large glass pyrex container full of cookies I baked. 📦 🍪 💻 🎒 But with careful ride in on the somewhat snowy and icy bike trail I made it in safely. I did make sure my basket was good and tight to the panier rack, and things bungeed down, and easy on the bumps.
Today will be sunny 🌞, with a high of 37 degrees at 1pm. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around December 18th. West wind 5 to 7 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 31 degrees. The record high of 63 was set in 1901. 12.5 inches of snow fell back in 1956.❄
Working back downtown again today. 📃 I wouldn’t want to miss the exchange cookies day this afternoon, 🍪 plus I like the
Solar noon 🌞 is at 11:50 am with sun having an altitude of 24.1° from the due south horizon (-46.6° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 13.4 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 3:37 pm with the sun in the southwest (231°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (239°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:23 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 24 seconds with dusk around 4:53 pm, which is 11 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Crescent 🌒 Moon in the southwest (223°) at an altitude of 6° from the horizon, 230,431 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 5:30 pm. At sunset, look for mostly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 36 degrees. There will be a south-southwest breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 9 hours and 7 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 34 seconds over yesterday.
Big Red passed his inspection with no issues, 🔎🛻 the oil changed and tires rotated. Prices have gone up a bit in the shop, I think it was about $94 bucks for all three things but I should be good until next summer except should random things break or need repair before then. Makes me want to go back to changing my own oil, lol. 🛢 I want to get another year out of Big Red if at all possible, so I’ll feed it parts beyond engine or transmission tear-down type repairs. 👩🔧 Rust continues to be an issue but I’ve been painting it with red primer, and some point maybe in the spring I’ll cover with duplicate color match. 👨🎨 I haven’t put the hub caps back on, will do this weekend after I do a quick check of the torque of the wheel nuts, lest the shop mess that up. 🔧 Can’t happen twice, right?
Tonight will be mostly clear 🌃, with a low of 28 degrees at 3am. Five degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around November 29th. South wind around 8 mph. In 2022, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 16 degrees. The record low of -8 occurred back in 1874.
Today in 1994, started construction begins on the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze river. The Three Gorges Dam has been the world’s largest power station in terms of installed capacity (22,500 MW) since 2012. In 2014, the dam generated 98.8 terawatt-hours (TWh) and had the world record, but was surpassed by the Itaipú Dam, which set the new world record in 2016, producing 103.1 TWh. 🏞 Also, today was a notable date in civil rights history, with the release of the Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States, 379 U.S. 241 (1964), a landmark United States Supreme Court case holding that the Commerce Clause gave the U.S. Congress power to force private businesses to abide by Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination in public accommodations.
Mild and pretty nice for the weekend. 😀 Friday is going to be in the fifties. And Saturday, partly sunny, with a high near 45. North wind around 6 mph. Sunday, more clouds push in especially late, with a high near 47. Typical average high for the weekend is 38 degrees.
Looking ahead, next Thursday is First Day of Winter ☃️ when the sun will be setting at 4:26 pm with dusk at 4:56 pm. On that day in 2022, we had mostly sunny and temperatures between 34 and 16 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 37 degrees. We hit a record high of 62 back in 2018.
I am totally looking forward to the New IRC Redistricting Maps for Congress …
If only because it gives me a chance to do some analysis on the blog, crunch some numbers in R studio, make maps and other interesting content to fill space on the blog. People get all political about these kinds of things, but I enjoy just teasing out the data, without taking sides or even dulging into the politics behind all of it. Simple math and analysis.