And Brooks and Dunn. Maybe I’m somewhat sentimental for the days were back when I was in college. Not that I would want to go back to those days, but the world in some ways was simpler — and I was much more ignorant kid of the sticks finding my way in the city, but won’t we all?
Apparently the internet marketers have decided I am interested in meal services, and are now serving up a series of advertisements in my social media feeds and even when I open up the browser
Apparently the internet marketers have decided I am interested in meal services, and are now serving up a series of advertisements in my social media feeds and even when I open up the browser. Probably because I often blog about going to the grocery store, if only because that’s just something that is regularly on my to-do list for once a week, like going to the laundromat or washing Big Red.
I should become a better cook, and make healthier food but my kitchen is small and rundown, and I’m busy. When I own my own land, I probably get more into cooking so I can harvest more of my own food from my animals and plants. But I can’t imagine paying money for an overpriced meal service, one that comes in styrofoam and tons of packaging — even if I lived out in the country and had a burn barrel to burn up the packaging. I always buy bulk in store, and try to minimize packaging — so I have less to bring to transfer station. I don’t do TV dinners or anything excessively packaged — why pay for something your going to have buried in landfill or burn on up?
It just seems like so many things these days are over-packaged and waste — trying to get you to part with your money to throw it away. 🍌 👉 🗑
Farming and the Natural Landscape.
Farmers they say live off the fat of the earth.
In other words, they plant, they raise, the grow food and fiber in the dirt which they either sell or feed to livestock. The same could be said of ranchers, or for that matter loggers — both who generally use and manage natural resources both for today and tomorrow. They work the land in ways that tries to tie down and maximize nuetriant uptake in plants, use science to produce more product with less impact and fewer inputs.
Farms by their very nature are quite adaptable land-use pattern. A farm can become a housing development, a forest or wilderness area, a commerical plaza, an industrial area or a highway. Or it can continue to be agriculture. For one, farms are generally large properties, with one owner. Many farms are hundreds of acres, in some parts of country that are flatter and less agriculturally productive, farms can be thousands of acres managed by a single family. That makes land transfers and wide-spread development or conservation much easier.
Farm land is generally lightly developed, as most fields are dirt that could quickly grow back up to forest if abandoned. Or paved or built over. Farming in many ways is a temporary land use, much more so then when a farm land is paved-over, subdivided, or used for other non-natural purposes. Developed land is often in many hands, and contains buildings, infrastructure, and other things that can be costly to remove. Farm land also is more productive to wildlife, often the home of many species of birds, deer, coyotes and other wildlife. It absorbs carbon dioxide, and is part of a healthy landscape.
Chances are you are already using Artificial Intelligence already… 🤖
Artificial intelligence sounds scary but chances are if you are living a modern life, like anyone reading this blog, you are benefiting from this technology.
- Chatbots and Virtual Assistants: AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants are employed for customer support, answering queries, and automating tasks.
- Recommendation Systems: AI algorithms are used by platforms like Netflix and Amazon to suggest content or products based on user preferences.
- Natural Language Processing (NLP): NLP is used in sentiment analysis, language translation, and speech recognition, enabling applications like Google Translate and voice assistants like Siri and Alexa.
- Healthcare: AI assists in disease diagnosis, drug discovery, and patient care by analyzing medical data and images.
- Autonomous Vehicles: AI powers self-driving cars, enhancing safety and efficiency in transportation.
- Finance: AI is used for fraud detection, algorithmic trading, and credit risk assessment.
- Manufacturing: Robots and AI systems automate production lines, quality control, and predictive maintenance.
- Education: AI-powered tools aid personalized learning, adapt curriculum, and assess student performance.
- Gaming: AI is used to create realistic non-player characters (NPCs) and adapt game difficulty based on player skills.
- Energy Management: AI optimizes energy consumption in buildings and power grids.
- Marketing and Advertising: AI-driven analytics and ad targeting help businesses reach their target audiences effectively.
- Agriculture: AI helps optimize crop management, predict crop diseases, and enhance yields.
- Security: Facial recognition, behavior analysis, and anomaly detection systems enhance security in various contexts.
- Human Resources: AI aids in resume screening, candidate matching, and employee engagement analysis.
- Environmental Monitoring: AI is used to analyze data from satellites and sensors for climate and environmental research.
A brief history of Thacher Park
Here are some key points in John Boyd Thacher State Park’s history:
- Early 20th Century: The park was established in 1914 and originally named the Helderberg State Park. It was created to provide the people of Albany and the surrounding region with a natural recreational area.
- John Boyd Thacher: In 1938, the park was renamed John Boyd Thacher State Park in honor of John Boyd Thacher II, the Mayor of Albany from 1886 to 1887 and a prominent local figure. He was an avid naturalist and conservationist who played a significant role in preserving the Helderberg escarpment.
- Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC): During the Great Depression, the CCC was active in the park. CCC workers built many of the park’s facilities, including trails, picnic areas, and the famous Indian Ladder Trail.
- Indian Ladder Trail: This trail is one of the park’s main attractions, taking visitors along the Helderberg Escarpment, offering stunning views of the Hudson Valley. It is named after the original wooden ladders that were used to navigate the steep cliffs.
- Geological Significance: The park is known for its unique geological formations, such as limestone caves and fossils dating back hundreds of millions of years. The Indian Ladder Trail provides an opportunity to explore these geological wonders.
- Today: John Boyd Thacher State Park continues to be a popular destination for hiking, picnicking, birdwatching, and enjoying nature. It offers a variety of recreational activities and scenic vistas, making it a beloved spot for both locals and tourists.
The park’s history is intertwined with the conservation efforts of John Boyd Thacher II and the contributions of the CCC, and it remains a testament to the natural beauty of the Helderberg Mountains.
An unspoken thing is the many people in our society who are winners with mass-shootings.
1) Television Stations – Nothing gets people watching more television then parents grieving over dead children. More viewers means more advertising revenue. People who feel sad are more likely to go out and buy things to be happy. Billions of dollars in marketing possibilities.
2) Police Officers – Over-time means they take home more money. Moreover, they are able to get make the case to the public that they deserve the latest equipment and toys, and that they should be allowed to expand their forces and obtain higher wages and enhanced pension benefits.
3) Retired Police Officers – Many school districts and public places like malls are hiring retired law enforcement as security consultants.
4) District Attorneys – D.A. are able to make their case for re-election by showing they are taking steps to be tough on crime, they are given opportunities to speak and raise their public profile, which helps as they seek higher office with more power and increased pay.
5) Politicians – Politicians have the ability to champion new laws that can play to their base. They can push gun control or take a tough on crime posture, even if their proposals are either meaningless or even harmful to law abiding citizens.
6) Security/Defense Contractors – While mass-shootings are an extremely rare, very low-risk event, businesses, governments, and schools feel public pressure to invest billions in completely needless upgrades to “harden” buildings from attacks.
7) School Employees – Even school employees benefit from mass-shootings, as it’s an excuse to take taxpayer-funded junkets to learn about the how they can improve safety at their school. Who doesn’t mind spending a few hours in a lecture hall to discuss grim topics with consultants if it’s taxpayer-financed junket to Las Vegas or the Atlantic City (with meals and lodging paid for at taxpayer expense)?
Good morning, Happy Friday. 🌅
Still pretty dark out but the sun is rising. It should be interesting to see how large the hole is next to my apartment when the landlord decided to dig up where my kayak is normally stored to fix a broken waterline as part of the renovations. He did pressure wash some of the mold off the building and looks like he is fixing some of rot around my door which is good I guess.
I was actually surprised 🤨 to see them working into late into the evening, especially now when I would think Mr. Preska would be bailing hay and chopping silage but maybe not yet. 🐮 I just wonder when the project will ever be done and when I’ll get new neighbors or face the inevitable eviction notice.
Yesterday was surprisingly quiet, 🖥 though I keep volunteering for more work and making my data processing work more complicated then ever was done in the process. But I want to do it right, provide value added services to my employer so they can maximize the value of the data they have. 🍬 I don’t normally eat candy or processed sugar, but those M&Ms, fudge bars and diet soda at campaign committee were pretty damn good. 😋
The way I look at it is I’m becoming a damn good R Statistical Language programmer, 🤓 good at manipulating and processing data for what it’s worth. I know that and a buck fifty will get you on bus, and that R Statistical Language isn’t a real programming language, especially if you aren’t using it for scientific purposes. But it’s damn good for processing and manipulating reasonable-sized data like the state voter file broken down by Assembly distirict. Or spatial data and GIS processing. I know Python and Pandas is more popular and probably somewhat faster but on the whole I think R is a better tool.
The left channel of my ear buds broke again 🎧 but I was looking online at what Walmart and saw that now they have low-cost ear buds that aren’t wired between the ears, that won’t have the issue of the broken cables, or any cable for that matter running between the ears. 👂 Wasn’t all that long ago when headphones were simply just wired. I have to admit I’m not the most up on technology, but I like listening to music at work and when I’m home. 🏡
Tomorrow I might take the Nature Bus 🚍 to Thacher Park for a while before the rain starts, especially if they are continuing to dig and work on the apartment on Saturday. Going to rain in the afternoon, ☔ which will be a good opportunity to read and look at various properties on Zillow.
Off to work shortly, 🏢 one more busy day in the office before the moratorium sets in and then I can focus on more long-time projects for next year. Plus maybe work remote sometimes on Fridays and even Mondays when it’s quiet so I can do so from camp or the library. 🖥