Balsam Swamp State Forest

Balsam Swamp is a sprawling state forest that stretches almost 5.5 miles east-west across 4 towns. The area is very rural, and the landscape surrounding the State Forest is predominantly forested. Balsam Swamp State Forest is comprised of a mix of native hardwood forests, hemlock swamps, and conifer plantations. There are no designated recreational trails on the forest, but there is ample opportunity for self-guided day hikes to explore the diversity of habitats represented on this State Forest. Additionally, the western section of Balsam Swamp State Forest is adjacent to Five Streams State Forest to the south.

The main attraction of this forest is Balsam Pond. The impoundment is approximately 152 acres and is a popular destination for fishing and paddle boat sports. Balsam Pond is a warm water fishery that contains a mix of largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, chain pickerel, yellow perch, brown bullhead and sunfish. Tiger muskellunge have been stocked in the past with the last stocking occurring in 1995. However, there have been very few reports of anglers catching any of the adult tiger muskies. A shallow gravel boat launch is suitable for launching small fishing boats.

A small rustic camp ground is also located at Balsam Pond. Camping spaces are available at no cost on a first-come, first-serve basis and there is no running water or electricity. A fire ring, outhouse, and picnic table are provided for each camping space. A sign on Balsam-Tyler Road in Pharsalia designates the entrance to the boat launch and camping facility. This is a carry-in carry-out facility. Please do not litter.

http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/8261.html

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Average High is 35 Today

Even with the unusually cold weather we’ve been having, it’s clear that things are getting warmer as the sun angle increases! The sun angle is much stronger at 32.8° compared to less then 24° only a few weeks back in December. It was noticable and helped melt away much of snow we got last night, along with the warmer temperatures. Dusk isn’t until 5:48 PM which on a clear day means much more light in the evening. Spring is coming!

Boards of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES)

Boards of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES)
BOCES Districts
Broome-Delaware-Tioga Binghamton City, Chenango Forks, Chenango Valley, Deposit, Harpursville, Johnson City, Maine-Endwell, Newark Valley, Owego-Apalachin, Susquehanna Valley, Tioga, Union-Endicott, Vestal, Whitney Point, Windsor
Capital Region Albany City, Berne-Knox-Westerlo, Bethlehem, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, Cobleskill-Richmondville, Cohoes City, Duanesburg, Green Island, Guilderland, Menands, Middleburgh, Niskayuna, North Colonie, Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk, Rotterdam-Mohonasen, Schalmont, Schenectady City, Schoharie, Scotia-Glenville, Sharon Springs, Shenendehowa, South Colonie, Voorheesville, Watervliet City
Cattar-Allegany-Erie-Wyoming Allegany-Limestone, Andover, Belfast, Bolivar-Richburg, Cattaraugus-Little Valley, Cuba-Rushford, Ellicottville, Fillmore, Franklinville, Friendship, Genesee Valley, Hinsdale, Olean City, Portville, Randolph, Salamanca City, Scio, Wellsville, West Valley, Whitesville, Yorkshire-Pioneer
Cayuga-Onondaga Auburn City, Cato-Meridian, Jordan-Elbridge, Moravia, Port Byron, Skaneateles, Southern Cayuga, Union Springs, Weedsport
Clinton-Essex-Warren-Washing Ausable Valley, Beekmantown, Boquet Valley, Chazy, Crown Point, Keene, Moriah, Northeastern Clinton, Northern Adirondack, Peru, Plattsburgh City, Putnam, Saranac, Schroon Lake, Ticonderoga, Willsboro
Delaw-Chenango-Madison-Otsego Afton, Bainbridge-Guilford, Delaware Academy Csd At, Downsville, Franklin, Georgetown-South Otselic, Gilbertsville-Mount Upton, Greene, Hancock, Norwich City, Otego-Unadilla, Oxford Academy &, Sherburne-Earlville, Sidney, Unadilla Valley, Walton
Dutchess Arlington, Beacon City, Dover, Hyde Park, Millbrook, Northeast, Pawling, Pine Plains, Poughkeepsie City, Red Hook, Rhinebeck, Spackenkill, Wappingers
Eastern Suffolk Amagansett, Bay Shore, Bayport-Blue Point, Brentwood, Bridgehampton, Brookhaven-Comsewogue, Center Moriches, Central Islip, Connetquot, East Hampton, East Islip, East Moriches, East Quogue, Eastport-South Manor, Fire Island, Fishers Island, Greenport, Hampton Bays, Hauppauge, Islip, Longwood, Mattituck-Cutchogue, Middle Country, Miller Place, Montauk, Mt Sinai, New Suffolk Comn, Oysterponds, Patchogue-Medford, Port Jefferson, Quogue, Remsenburg-Speonk, Riverhead, Rocky Point, Sachem, Sag Harbor, Sagaponack Comn, Sayville, Shelter Island, Shoreham-Wading River, South Country, Southampton, Southold, Springs, Three Village, Tuckahoe Comn, Wainscott Comn, West Islip, Westhampton Beach, William Floyd
Erie 1 Akron, Alden, Amherst, Buffalo City, Cheektowaga, Cheektowaga-Maryvale, Clarence, Cleveland Hill, Depew, Frontier, Grand Island, Hamburg, Hopevale Ufsd At, Kenmore-Tonawanda, Lackawanna City, Lancaster, Sweet Home, Tonawanda City, West Seneca, Williamsville
Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Bemus Point, Brocton, Cassadaga Valley, Chautauqua Lake, Clymer, Dunkirk City, East Aurora, Eden, Evans-Brant Csd (Lake Shore), Falconer, Forestville, Fredonia, Frewsburg, Gowanda, Holland, Iroquois, Jamestown City, North Collins, Orchard Park, Panama, Pine Valley Csd (South Dayton), Ripley, Sherman, Silver Creek, Southwestern Csd At, Springville-Griffith Inst, Westfield
Franklin-Essex-Hamilton Brushton-Moira, Chateaugay, Lake Placid, Long Lake, Malone, Raquette Lake, Salmon River, Saranac Lake, St Regis Falls, Tupper Lake
Genesee Valley Alexander, Attica, Avon, Batavia City, Byron-Bergen, Caledonia-Mumford, Dalton-Nunda Csd (Keshequa), Dansville, Elba, Geneseo, Le Roy, Letchworth, Livonia, Mt Morris, Oakfield-Alabama, Pavilion, Pembroke, Perry, Warsaw, Wayland-Cohocton, Wyoming, York
Hamilton-Fulton-Montgomery Amsterdam City, Broadalbin-Perth, Canajoharie, Edinburg Common, Fonda-Fultonville, Fort Plain, Gloversville City, Johnstown City, Lake Pleasant, Mayfield, Northville, Oppenheim-Ephratah-St. Johnsville, Piseco Comn, Wells, Wheelerville
Herk-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego Central Valley Csd At Ilion-, Dolgeville, Frankfort-Schuyler, Herkimer, Little Falls City, Mount Markham, Oppenheim-Ephratah-St. Johnsville, Poland, Richfield Springs, Van Hornesville-Owen D Young, West Canada Valley
Jeffer-Lewis-Hamil-Herk-Oneida Adirondack, Alexandria, Beaver River, Belleville-Henderson, Carthage, Copenhagen, General Brown, Indian River, Inlet Comn, La Fargeville, Lowville Academy &, Lyme, Sackets Harbor, South Jefferson, South Lewis, Thousand Islands, Town Of Webb, Watertown City
Madison-Oneida Camden, Canastota, Hamilton, Madison, Morrisville-Eaton, Oneida City, Rome City, Sherrill City, Stockbridge Valley
Monroe 1 Brighton, East Irondequoit, East Rochester, Fairport, Honeoye Falls-Lima, Penfield, Pittsford, Rochester City, Rush-Henrietta, Webster, West Irondequoit
Monroe 2-Orleans Brockport, Churchville-Chili, Gates-Chili, Greece, Hilton, Holley, Kendall, Spencerport, Wheatland-Chili
Nassau Baldwin, Bellmore, Bellmore-Merrick Central School, Bethpage, Carle Place, East Meadow, East Rockaway, East Williston, Elmont, Farmingdale, Floral Park-Bellerose, Franklin Square, Freeport, Garden City, Glen Cove City, Great Neck, Hempstead, Herricks, Hewlett-Woodmere, Hicksville, Island Park, Island Trees, Jericho, Lawrence, Levittown, Locust Valley, Long Beach City, Lynbrook, Malverne, Manhasset, Massapequa, Merrick, Mineola, New Hyde Park-Garden City Park, North Bellmore, North Merrick, North Shore, Oceanside, Oyster Bay-East Norwich, Plainedge, Plainview-Old Bethpage, Port Washington, Rockville Centre, Roosevelt, Roslyn, Seaford, Sewanhaka Central School, Syosset, Uniondale, Valley Stream 13, Valley Stream 24, Valley Stream 30, Valley Stream Central School, Wantagh, West Hempstead, Westbury
Oneida-Herkimer-Madison Brookfield, Clinton, Holland Patent, New Hartford, Ny Mills, Oriskany, Remsen, Sauquoit Valley, Utica City, Waterville, Westmoreland, Whitesboro
Onondaga-Cortland-Madison Baldwinsville, Cazenovia, Chittenango, Cincinnatus, Cortland City, Deruyter, East Syracuse Minoa, Fabius-Pompey, Fayetteville-Manlius, Homer, Jamesville-Dewitt, Lafayette, Liverpool, Lyncourt, Marathon, Marcellus, Mcgraw, North Syracuse, Onondaga, Solvay, Syracuse City, Tully, West Genesee, Westhill
Orange-Ulster Chester, Cornwall, Florida, Goshen, Greenwood Lake, Highland Falls, Kiryas Joel Village, Marlboro, Middletown City, Minisink Valley, Monroe-Woodbury, Newburgh City, Pine Bush, Port Jervis City, Tuxedo, Valley Csd (Montgomery), Warwick Valley, Washingtonville
Orleans-Niagara Albion, Barker, Lewiston-Porter, Lockport City, Lyndonville, Medina, Newfane, Niagara Falls City, Niagara-Wheatfield, North Tonawanda City, Royalton-Hartland, Starpoint, Wilson
Oswego Altmar-Parish-Williamstown, Central Square, Fulton City, Hannibal, Mexico, Oswego City, Phoenix, Pulaski, Sandy Creek
Otsego-Delaw-Schoharie-Greene Andes, Charlotte Valley, Cherry Valley-Springfield, Cooperstown, Edmeston, Gilboa-Conesville, Hunter-Tannersville, Jefferson, Laurens, Margaretville, Milford, Morris, Oneonta City, Roxbury, Schenevus, South Kortright, Stamford, Windham-Ashland-Jewett, Worcester
Putnam-Northern Westchester Bedford, Brewster, Briarcliff Manor, Carmel, Chappaqua, Croton-Harmon, Garrison, Haldane, Hendrick Hudson, Katonah-Lewisboro, Lakeland, Mahopac, North Salem, Ossining, Peekskill City, Putnam Valley, Somers, Yorktown
Questar Iii (R-C-G) Averill Park, Berkshire, Berlin, Brunswick Csd (Brittonkill), Cairo-Durham, Catskill, Chatham, Coxsackie-Athens, East Greenbush, Germantown, Greenville, Hoosic Valley, Hoosick Falls, Hudson City, Kinderhook, Lansingburgh, New Lebanon, North Greenbush Comn Sd (Williams), Rensselaer City, Schodack, Taconic Hills, Troy City, Wynantskill
Rockland Clarkstown, East Ramapo Csd (Spring Valley), Haverstraw-Stony Point Csd (North, Nanuet, Nyack, Pearl River, Ramapo Csd (Suffern), South Orangetown
Schuy-Steub-Chem-Tioga-Alleg Addison, Alfred-Almond, Arkport, Avoca, Bath, Bradford, Campbell-Savona, Canaseraga, Canisteo-Greenwood, Corning City, Elmira City, Elmira Heights, Hammondsport, Hornell City, Horseheads, Jasper-Troupsburg, Odessa-Montour, Prattsburgh, Spencer-Van Etten, Watkins Glen, Waverly
St Lawrence-Lewis Brasher Falls, Canton, Clifton-Fine, Colton-Pierrepont, Edwards-Knox, Gouverneur, Hammond, Harrisville, Hermon-Dekalb, Heuvelton, Lisbon, Madrid-Waddington, Massena, Morristown, Norwood-Norfolk, Ogdensburg City, Parishville-Hopkinton, Potsdam
Sullivan Eldred, Fallsburg, Liberty, Livingston Manor, Monticello, Roscoe, Sullivan West, Tri-Valley
Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga Candor, Dryden, Groton, Ithaca City, Lansing, Newfield, South Seneca, Trumansburg
Ulster Ellenville, Highland, Kingston City, New Paltz, Onteora, Rondout Valley, Saugerties, Wallkill
Washing-Sara-War-Hamltn-Essex Argyle, Ballston Spa, Bolton, Cambridge, Corinth, Fort Ann, Fort Edward, Galway, Glens Falls City, Glens Falls Comn, Granville, Greenwich, Hadley-Luzerne, Hartford, Hudson Falls, Indian Lake, Johnsburg, Lake George, Mechanicville City, Minerva, Newcomb, North Warren, Queensbury, Salem, Saratoga Springs City, Schuylerville, South Glens Falls, Stillwater, Warrensburg, Waterford-Halfmoon, Whitehall
Wayne-Finger Lakes Canandaigua City, Clyde-Savannah, Dundee, East Bloomfield, Gananda, Geneva City, Gorham-Middlesex Csd (Marcus, Honeoye, Lyons, Manchester-Shortsville Csd (Red, Marion, Naples, Newark, North Rose-Wolcott, Palmyra-Macedon, Penn Yan, Phelps-Clifton Springs, Red Creek, Romulus, Seneca Falls, Sodus, Victor, Waterloo, Wayne, Williamson
Westchester Ardsley, Blind Brook-Rye, Bronxville, Byram Hills, Dobbs Ferry, Eastchester, Edgemont, Elmsford, Greenburgh, Harrison, Hastings-On-Hudson, Irvington, Mamaroneck, Mt Pleasant, Mt Vernon School, New Rochelle City, Pelham, Pleasantville, Pocantico Hills, Port Chester-Rye, Rye City, Rye Neck, Scarsdale, Tuckahoe, Ufsd-, Valhalla, White Plains City, Yonkers City
Western Suffolk Amityville, Babylon, Cold Spring Harbor, Commack, Copiague, Deer Park, Elwood, Half Hollow Hills, Harborfields, Huntington, Kings Park, Lindenhurst, North Babylon, Northport-East Northport, Smithtown, South Huntington, West Babylon, Wyandanch
Andy Arthur, 3/31/23
Data Source: NYS Education Department.

Non-Citizens in New York

For those who are curious, there are 2,047,527 non-citizens in New York State. Non-citizens are people who are have green cards, work or education visas, or are undocumented immigrants.

The state’s population of non-citizens is about twice 1,066,421 residents of our state who live within 14-county region of New York State that is falls under the Appalachian Regional Commission, and consists of most of the counties of the Southern Tier and few above them.

See this map of the Applachian Regional Comission counties in New York State: https://andyarthur.org/map-applachian-region-of-new-york-state.html

Divided Government

  • Different parties represent different segments of the population — differences in region, population density, gender, race, occupation
  • Increases compromise on legislation, ensuring a variety of viewpoints are represented in final law.
  • Stops or at least modifies bad laws that would screw one segment of the population to appease another segment of population’s ideological beliefs.
  • Increases constitutional protections by allowing one party to raise constitutional questions related to their ideological beliefs.
  • Allows one party to investigate the other party, increasing honesty in government.

… it’s really not clear that it’s a bad thing.

US Capitol

Why is electric heat so expensive?

On average in 2019, it took an average of …

10,551 BTU or 3.1 kW of coal or 7,732 BTU or 2.3 kW of natural gas to produce 1 kilowatt of electricity, which is equal to 3,412 BTU.

With fossil generation, it takes quite a bit more kWh of the fossil fuel burned to turn into usable electricity. It took roughly 4.65 kWh worth of coal to make the 1.5 kWh of electricity, as it fossil fuels have significant losses due to the inefficiency in converting coal or oil into electricity.

How much does your 120 volt plug-in electric heater in your house use when it’s on? It doesn’t really matter whether it’s a $12 Walmart heater fan, or a $300 radiant heater in a fancy wood cabinet. All are same energy efficiency – when you apply resistance to electricity, 100% becomes heat, including the heat produced by the fan coils or indicator lights.

All 120-volt heaters are 1.5 kW or 5,118 BTU, because 120-volt wall outlets can only supply 12.5 amp constantly. In theory, you could make a space heater smaller then 1,500 watts but nobody does because electric coils are cheap to manufacture, and when you are warm, the thermostat just shuts off.

So every hour a heater heater is operating, it’s 1.5 kWh.

Oddly Fascinating

I find it oddly fascinating that in the split phase electricity system used in the United States, the only power that flows on the neutral wire back to the center tap of the pole transformer is the difference in amperage between the phases.
So if you have …
20 amp draw on the Phase A
30 amp draw on Phase B
You’ll have 10 amp flowing on the neutral, which is also referenced to the ground
If you disconnect the neutral from the center tap of the transformer, the 20 amp load will work okay but the 30 amp circuit will see its voltage cut by 1/3rd.