I was at Albany City Hall at a City Planning Meeting. It was in City Hall chambers but the lights were dimmed to save energy. It was presided over by this 85 year old man, the youngest of the five men on the board had to be no less than 70.
It was an insane proposal they were having a public hearing on – a fireworks factory under 787 between Steamboat Square Towers and the railroad tracks where tanker cars with tens of thousands gallons of gasoline, ethanol and hazardous chemicals regularly sit. Clough Harbour was representing the developer, emphasizing that this would be a modern fireworks factory, so safe that nobody should have any worries. Plus it would be making fireworks in America and employing hundreds of local people many from the local neighborhood.
I and maybe two other people, none from the neighborhood were testifying that this was a truly bad idea – what would happen if this fireworks factory were to explode at rush hour under this major highway. Would it demolish the towers that people were sleeping in late one night? What would happen if the plant caught fire and there was a gasoline tanker caught on fire. I spoke for two minutes, constantly being interrupted by the Planning Board chairman saying, I’m a little hard of hearing please speak up.
After I got done with my testimony, the planning board chairman asked the representative from Clough Harbour, some of these youngsters are suggesting your plant might not be safe. Are you sure? The developer said, yes of course, emphasizing that it was state of the art and engineers had modeled all risks. Plus don’t forget the tax revenue and jobs. And it’s smart reuse of the land under 787. The planning board chairman said, OK, so the engineers of the developer says it’s safe as does city planning staff. And they are the experts so it must be safe. Let’s now have a vote to approve this important economic development project for the future of our city. There was a bright flash and I woke up, it had just been a bad dream.
Living under the Trumpster 2.0, I have to think we are living under a political disaster that is tragic as so many levels, in because it was completely preventable. It is an out of control wildfire that is going to burn everything in it’s path and while some brave firefighters, namely the courts and blue state politicians will try to limit the carnage, it’s going to burn over much of America in coming years.
But I’m not convinced that it’s a complete disaster. Yes, many will get burned and even die – and institutions will be lost – the truth is much like the suburban hoarders’ house maybe the wildfire burning it over wasn’t the worse thing ever. Trump isn’t wrong about the American carnage, so many institutions are broken as the planet cooks, racism and unfairness to colored and poor is the norm. Too much of liberalism was worn on it’s sleeves, many feel good policies but not a lot concrete action to address America’s serious problems of poverty, inequity, racism or pollution.
Some of the greenest grasses and prettiest wildflowers reappear after the landscape is burned over. It certainly gives society a chance to reimagine itself as we head into the 2030s. What comes after the severely charred federal government under Trump? We can’t simply go back, the old ways of doing things were in many cases bad and failing the American people. Some things will revert back, some of Trump’s policies will stick around, and some new things will have to be recreated out of the ashes.
I don’t know what America will look like in 2030s. But it will be different and hopefully better as we rebuild our country and government after four years of destruction. Yet, much like a wildfire, it opens up a blank slate – new agencies to be created, new people to hire, new ways of doing things. It is important we all be thinking and communicating with our next generation of leaders how we want America to look as we rebuild from the Trump years, heading into the 2030s.
“They bathed on the white sand, minutes turned into hours And the children all giggled and gave each other flowers.”
A week from now I will be my last day of work before summer vacation. ☺️ That song by the Kaleidoscope seems like a good one for listening and giggling to during vacation in the hammock. 😁 Listening to the cows 🐮 as they rip the grass 🌾 and moo as the clouds float overhead. ⛅ Dreams of some day having my own land and livestock, watching the flames float out of burn barrel. 🛢️ The news might be all bad, but it’s good for a good laugh and imagine the rainbows as things become more confusing and strange. 🌈 It’s not that long that the decade from hell will come to an end but remember the paranoid is a double sufferer both from their own delusions and the world we all live in. 🤪
Busy, busy, busy at work, 💾 and while a lot of things have automated by scripts there is some data things that can only be fixed manually, and random projects come in throughout the day. Makes time go by quickly as summer vacation ticks closer. It’s funny to think in two weeks it will be August and I’ll be back on August 3rd. Then days will be getting dark much earlier, 🌇 as always happens as we get into August and I travel back east to home, where the sun sets much earlier.
I did not think it was that hot out but when I got home and got out of the shade of the Norman’s Kill Gorge it got hot. I cooked dinner and sat by the fan for a while, I’m tired. I took care of fixing up a rope for tying up my kayak. 🛶 That should be be good now for summer vacation, the old rope was in pretty rough shape. I was looking around for my portable air pump, couldn’t find it but I see Walmart has an replacement for $9 so I might just get that along with a spare bike tube in case I get a flat while out riding on vacation. Also going to carry a few hex keys on me. Don’t want to break down especially when I’m riding the Pine Creek Gorge trail in Pennsylvania.
Sixty eight more days left wearing contacts. Then it’s two days of glasses then the big snip for my eyes. 👀 I will be glad when it’s over, and I think by then I’ll pretty much have used up my contacts. I haven’t had many issues with eye irration this week, but it was so bad up at camp last weekend. I think it’ s grass that dries my eyes up so much at camp. Not getting any more Jack Diesel any more, I just got to get my usual shop in Menands before summer vacation as I’m almost out. 🌈
Probably heading out to Schoharie for the weekend to swim 🏊, get veggies 🌽, do some floating ⭕ and riding. 🚲 I was worried about having enough time get prepared for summer vacation but how much stuff do I really need over every other trip? Just pack more clothes I guess. I have a Save the Pine Bush meeting next Thursday before leaving on vacation, which I’ll have to figure out packing around that and maybe getting to the laundromat but I guess I can always go to the laundromat in Watkins Glen if essential or maybe I’ll just wear a lot of dirty clothes or t-shirts and bathing suits. 🩲 I really have quite a bit of things to wear, especially if I wear some of the worn out stuff that is a bit too large on me.
T11 siding is a manifactured wood siding, that has vertical grooves and is made out of pulverized wood scraps and glue. Not as durable as vinyl siding, it’s still a wood based product compared to toxic plastic siding. Trust me, I’d rather be standing up wind of burning off scraps of T11 siding then the scraps of vinyl siding like my old neighbors burnt in their bonfire after delivery of their prefab home.
T11 doesn’t look like vinyl. It has to be painted occasionally and kept from being completed saturated with water. But it’s cheaper and lighter then traditional board and batten siding or even pig-pen (wavy, sometimes locally called Adirondack) siding made from rough cut boards that are commonly seen on cabins and other rustic buildings – such as those constructed by state conservation department.
Pig pen siding really is nice if you own a forest and have a portable sawmill. You can make it yourself. Or get it at most saw mills It looks rustic but nice. But it’s also a fair bit more expensive then T11. In the suburbs, T11 siding is commonly used for sheds, and it’s also seen on hunting camps and some rural residences – usually built by working class folks on a limited budget.
But I’m really okay with T11 siding. I get the glues might not be perfect – they may have formaldehyde and other chemicals in it. Stay up wind when burning in your bonfire! But it’s also not plastic, it doesn’t show the mud and dust, it blends in with the rural landscape, and is quite durable compared to vinyl – even if it requires occasional painting and replacement as parts rot from excessive water exposure.
Well moo! It’s what powers soil and the silage and everything else that grows in it to make good ice cream. That’s what the Morning Ag Clips email said in it’s headlines when it popped up at 3 AM just in time for rising and shining of the Teat Strippers. I was up by around 5 AM, which is much too early when I’m going to bed around 10 PM most nights, but I like getting a jump on the day when it’s still cool out.
Getting up early is good ⏰ as I had been falling out of the routine lately with staying up later and later with the long summer nights. But the truth is early to bed and forcing yourself to get up early with the assistance of an alarm makes for a better day, especially when it’s so hot out during the middle of summer. And so is manure. 💩 Really running a few tons of grain and food scraps through hogs can really rebuild a piece of worn out ground good. 🐽 That Morning Ag Clips story was about yet another study about how nitrogen is stored and multi-year implications of spreading manure on fields.
I’ve been quite interested lately in composting toilets and humanure, 🚽 as it seems like so much of a waste that it’s all getting burnt or send to landfills in cities, and septic systems just hold the solids until their sent to sewage treatment plant and then landfilled. Some of it is eaten by bacteria, but a lot of it becomes just part of mounds on outskirts of town. When it could be fertilizer when used properly. Despite the ick factor, there is actually little evidence that composting toilets 🚻 spread disease when studies have looked at park workers who deal with composting toilets and outhouses year round. You don’t want people shitting in creeks and raw spreading of shit but once it’s rotted and gotten hot, there isn’t much less. Helps if you keep the urine separated out, and mix in lots of sawdust and some lime. Green sawdust is normally bad news for compost, but it’s great when you have lots of nitrogen to bind to. 👃
Started out the day with cornmeal and onion pancakes 🥞 with some broccoli, oatmeal mixed in and topped off with Greek yogurt and hot sauce. Not a bad way to start the morning, and it includes some protein too. Apparently the health newsletter I’m subscribe in is pushing the narrative that Americans aren’t eating enough protein, which is basically a lie 🤥 unless maybe you’re a very strict vegetarian. I’m not though the only time I really eat meat is when I’m out visiting people – I swear half of America that’s all they eat is meat every day 🍖 – and I do like that occasional slice of bacon 🥓 up at camp fried up with zucchini and onions. I’m not opposed to protein, but I think eating lots of fiber is far more important for a healthy diet. 💪 It’s so easy to get enough protein in your diet if your American, but it’s not always easy to get enough fiber. While fiber mostly comes out the other end, if you are getting it from natural sources 🥕 🍏 🥦 it almost always is loaded with essential vitamins, fills you up quickly, and keeps things moving along well. And just think of all that humanure if you compost it.
Finally going to get the chance to ride in today. 🚴 Last week I rode in all five days, but this week with the Save the Pine Bush hearings to attend, I haven’t really ridden my bike since Friday. The weekend was too hot and stormy. ☀️ Maybe I was just lazy. Friday I’ll probably drive in again if I’m planning to go out to Schoharie to camp 🏕️, have a fire 🔥, swim 🏊 and stock up at farm stands. 🌽 Last weekend before vacation, it’s a chance to check up on my equipment before I head out to the Finger Lakes. Red will do good once I get over my own mental issues. 🧠 See what you need is a Better Help and a new truck, even if I’ do like my Big Jacked Up Rust Bucket Truck. 🛻
I still have take off that week for summer vacation, 🏖️ it’s going to be a week from Friday July 25 through Sunday August 2nd. It will be nice, I was worried about tying myself down that weekend in case it’s crap weather but that’s the last one I have left to do it in this summer as the following weekend is NASCAR weekend at Watkins Glen and I want nothing to do with that. 🏎️ It’s really too hard to know about the weather for vacation, but I have to commit to it and if it’s rainy, 🌥️ I’ll just hang out at camp, do a lot of reading and relaxing as I watch the wet grass puppies do their thing. 🐄 And maybe enjoy some grass myself.
I was thinking I need to replace the rope 🪢for the front line that my kayak uses to tie to my truck. While this rope rarely gets much load, it’s mostly there are as a safety line it’s pretty well shot after probably 15 years of use at this point. I’ve never replaced it as it has a bike-tube sleeve over it to minimize abrasion. I left it out, I have the rope, just have to cut it to size. The old rope can be used for tarps or hanging flags at camp. 🚩 I also need to switch the cable over for the front derailuer of the bike. Pick up a spare tube so I have it as a back up and either get that hand pump or buy one as an emergency while riding on vacation. I also want to replace that back tire on the bike, 🚲 I should swing by the bike shop and see if they have one. Or maybe I can order online? I should look and see what the Amazon has. I had consumerism but I want my bike in top shape if I plan to do a lot of riding on vacation, especially if I decide to do more of the Pine Creek Rail Trail.
