Last night
Quiet morning
Camp
July 24, 2016 Morning
Good morning! Happy Sunday. Partly sunny and 74 degrees in Burdett. Calm wind. The dew point is 58 degrees. A perfect start to what should be a very nice but warm day.
Today will be mostly sunny, with a high of 89 degrees at 4pm. Seven degrees above normal. Light and variable wind. Maximum dew point of 58 at 10am. The record high of 96 was set in 1941. The sun will set at 8:34 pm with dusk around 9:07 pm, which is 57 seconds earlier than yesterday. Today will have 14 hours and 42 minutes of daylight, a decrease of 1 minutes and 55 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will have a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low of 71 degrees at 5am. Nine degrees above normal. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Maximum dew point of 65 at 6am. The record low of 46 occurred back in 1953.
0.3 inch of rain expected between Monday 2am and Tuesday 1am. Within the next four days, a total of 0.3 inches of rain is expected. We could use the rain here in the greater Watkins Glen area, which hasn’t had any rain in almost two months.
We have some muggy weather coming up. Monday 6am – Monday 6pm. Maximum temperature will be 89 degrees, a heat index reaching 92, and a maximum dew point of 70. Monday 9pm – Tuesday 3am. Maximum temperature will be 79 degrees, a heat index reaching 79, and a maximum dew point of 66.
On this day in 1969, Apollo 11 splashes down safely in the Pacific Ocean. Mission accomplished! Good for all involved. In 1974, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that President Richard Nixon did not have the authority to withhold subpoenaed White House tapes and they order him to surrender the tapes to the Watergate special prosecutor. In 1959, at the opening of the American National Exhibition in Moscow, U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev have a “Kitchen Debate”. I hear the United States wins that one.
There are 1 week until Mutts Day when the sun will be setting at 8:27 pm with dusk at 8:59 pm. The average high temperature is 82 degrees, with a record high of 98 in 1917.
Wino Lives Activists Denounce Police Tactics
Activists claim there is excessive ticketing of cars parked overtime in front of local wine bar.
Recently in our local town, Wino Lives activists have denounced the tactics of the local police. Police have continued their campaign of ticketing people who stay longer then 30 minutes in spots located in front of the Wine Bar pursuant to the signs located next to parking spots in front of Wine Bar.
“Simply said, 30 minutes is not long enough to enjoy a good glass of wine with dinner,” said Wino Lives activist Jeffery Smith. “I know I certainly don’t want to chug a good glass of organic wine, then get behind the wheel of a car with my kid in the backseat. Moreover, 30 minutes really doesn’t give me enough time to discuss current events in the context of Karl Marx and Max Weber.”
Police argue that the ticketing is legitimate action for cars that are illegally parked for longer 30 minutes in spots that have long been designated solely for short-term parking.
“I’ve been with the force with 35 years, and as long as I can remember, those spots have been designated for short term parking only,” said Chief of Police Marget Ashwater. “The town designated those spots for short-term use, because people visiting other local businesses, such as the laundry, pizzeria, or Chinese take-out, deserve to be able to find a close parking spot when they run into to pick up their food or laundry.”
Wino Lives activists vigorously disagree with Ms. Ashwater.
“Why do the police favor those people washing their dirty underwear or picking up a cheap pizza,” asked Smith. “Winos, like myself, contribute far more to our region’s tax base, by drinking expensive wine and eating boutique, organic foods. We are helping to grow our economy, and we actually help reduce traffic congestion by spending more time drinking wine then driving.”
Ms. Ashwater notes that winos have plenty of alternatives to parking illegally in front of the Wine Bar. She notes the Wine Bar has a large parking lot behind it. Moreover, there is a large town-owned lot located about a block up the street. Ample, free parking opportunities exist in our community, says Ashwater.
Mr. Smith disagrees. He says that winos constantly face police prosecution. He notes one of his fellow winos, was arrested, placed into jail on felony charges for driving home with their kid in the backseat, after having a delightful night of drinking wine. The kid was a having a good time, noted Mr. Smith, eating organic chicken fingers, while Dad and Mom were sipping a good organic white wine.
“It’s just systematic discrimination against all us wine drinkers,” said Smith. “Not only do they regularly arrest us winos for drunk driving, they target our cars for parking tickets. A $25 fine might not seem like much, but when your ticketed three or four times a week, it really adds up. One of my fellow wine drinkers, got $425 in parking tickets, all in one month. Those fines really cut into the amount of wine we can enjoy at the Wine Bar.”
Discrimination is a real problem in the wino community, according to Wino Lives activists. Recently, winos sitting out on the porch recorded police ticketing three cars on the street with their cellphone camera. A white, a gray, and a black car were ticketed for overtime. The red car parked on the street was not ticketed. It’s not clear from the video how long the red car was parked on the street compared the other cars. The red car owner, interviewed by the media, says he was only parked on the street for 9 minutes while he picked up his pizza, and that’s why he wasn’t ticketed. His story could not independently verified.
In an effort to reduce the number of tickets given to patrons of the Wine Bar, new, larger signs have been placed on the street by town officials. Additionally, the Wine Bar owner has agreed to place signs in their restaurant, reminding patrons of the parking limit – and urging them to park in designated lots. Police have been instructed to give out warnings for the first time they see a car illegally parked in front of the Wine Bar, and to give people a few minutes of grace time beyond the 30 minutes posted on the sign. Bus schedules, and information on local taxi services are now available at the front desk of the Wine Bar.
Still, Wino Lives Activists are not satisfied. “By putting up more obnoxious signs saying no long-term parking, they’re just further discriminating against us lovers of the wine,” said Smith. “We are good, hard-working citizens who just like drinking a high quality beverage after work. We shouldn’t have to walk a block or park our cars in the back of the Wine Bar, just because we want to enjoy a quality glass of organic wine, rather then wash our dirty underwear or eat cheap Lo Mein out of a cardboard box.”
July 23, 2016 Evening
Good evening! Mostly sunny and 82 degrees in Burdett at the Finger Lakes National Forest. Breezy, 17 mph breeze from the northwest. The dew point is 55 degrees. With that steady breeze it actually feels quite nice.
Been setting up camp. Pitched a tent and tarp because figuring I’ll be at this campsite for at least five days, it’s bound to rain from a thunderstorm, and I wanted somewhere to put gear where it could remain dry besides in the truck. I have a heavy gauge security cable and lock for locking up the propane tank, stove, lantern and table for when I spend my days at the beach. It’s a pain to bleed out the lines so I plan to just leave things connected up while camping.
Should be a nice night. I do need to get some firewood together and start getting ready for the night. Been kind of a lazy day after I got most of the campsite set up.
Tonight will be mostly clear, with a low of 61 degrees at 5am. One degrees below normal. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph becoming light north after midnight. Maximum dew point of 60 at 6am. The record low of 45 occurred back in 1985. Waning Gibbous Moon tonight with 70% illuminated. The moon will rise around 10:41 pm. The Last Quarter Moon is on Tuesday with mostly clear skies expected. The Full “Strugeon” Moon is on Thursday, August 18th.
Tomorrow will be sunny, with a high of 88 degrees at 3pm and generally low humidity. Five degrees above normal. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph in the afternoon. Maximum dew point of 60 at 6am. The record high of 96 was set in 1941. The sun will rise at 5:51 am with the first light at 5:19 am, which is 57 seconds later then yesterday.
0.3 inch of rain expected between Monday 2am and Tuesday 1am. Within the next four days, a total of 0.3 inches of rain is expected. Most of that rain will be from the scattered We have some muggy weather coming up. Monday 7am – Monday 11pm. Maximum temperature will be 87 degrees, a heat index reaching 91, and a maximum dew point of 68. The rest of the week should be relatively low humidity.
Looking ahead, National Cheese Cake Day is in 1 weeks, First Day with Average High Below 80 is in 4 weeks, Last Day of At Least 13 Hours of Daylight is in 6 weeks, Citizenship Day is in 8 weeks, First Day with Average High Below 70 is in 9 weeks, October 1st is in 10 weeks, Make a Difference Day is in 13 weeks, First Day of Sunset Before 6 PM in Albany is in 3 months and New Years Eve is in 23 weeks.
While thunderstorms will remain a risk for most of the week, except for Monday low humidity conditions will prevail here in the Finger Lakes. Warm but not outrageously warm for late July.
Sunday Night. Partly Cloudy then Slight Chance of T-storms and 71 degrees, 64 max dew point, 5:53 sunrise.
Monday. Chance of T-storms then Showers is likely and 87 degrees, 68 max dew point, 8:33 sunset.
Monday Night. Showers is likely then Slight Chance of T-storms and 65 degrees, 65 max dew point, 5:54 sunrise.
Tuesday. Sunny and 81 degrees, 62 max dew point, 8:32 sunset.
Tuesday Night. Mostly Clear and 64 degrees, 59 max dew point, 5:55 sunrise.
Wednesday. Sunny and 85 degrees, 59 max dew point, 8:31 sunset.
Wednesday Night. Partly Cloudy and 66 degrees, 59 max dew point, 5:56 sunrise.
Thursday. Partly Sunny and 85 degrees, 60 max dew point, 8:30 sunset.
Thursday Night. Chance of T-storms and 66 degrees, 63 max dew point, 5:57 sunrise.
Friday. Chance of T-storms and 81 degrees, 63 max dew point, 8:29 sunset.
July 23, 2016 6 PM Update
Bigotry is defined as intolerance toward those who hold different opinions from oneself.
Do you consider yourself to be a bigot?