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A hot and sweaty start to July 😰
It was not a good night for sleeping. It didn’t seem so bad when I left the office but by the time I rode up the hill out of the hollar back to Delmar it was just hot and sticky.
As I had my laptop at home, 💻 and I had a conservation mapping project I was working on for a City Counciler, I went down to the cool of the library to work. Rarely do I have my laptop home, but I worked remote on Friday and had that mapping project, so I’ve my computer home but I’m going to take the bus in today, 🚌 and bring my laptop in. It would be miserable to ride in with the humidity, and I think there is a good chance of rain by evening. Or even getting caught in rain for the commute in.
So it’s back to the bus.
Truth is the bus is kind of a pain with the transfer to the shuttle to the suburban office in Menands, But the air conditioning on the bus feels so nice after the sweltering night last night. 
I like the exercise riding the bike it 
but maybe tomorrow. I haven’t yet taken Thursday off but I’m still pretty inclined to do such thing. Maybe it won’t rain today, but regardless I do need to bring my laptop in and I don’t want to beat the shit out of it anymore then neccessary riding the bike in.
Last night and this morning almost wish I had air conditioning, 
though it was bareable by the air conditioning and I was at the library until closing time. If I didn’t have that project, I’d probably gone out to Five Rivers. Got my remaining borrows done for June on Hoopla, I’ll probably read through most of them during the long weekend, along with renewing some books on Libby. The thing about libby is it can be funky when you’re away from cell reception and app closes or crashes, and then it requires you to resynchronize with the network before it will let you have access to your books. 
After ruining too many paper library books, I only do electronic books now.
It will be good to get away. 
Do I spend too much time thinking about escapism and floating down the creek? Yes, but I get tired of my dirty old apartment and spending time working on data structures all day long in the suburban office building on the outskirts of the city. It will be fun, with the fireworks, a properly working phone, flip flops and hopefully the House Pond Campsite once again this weekend.
It’s a Happening Thing …
Maybe it’s the heat or the times we all live in, but I can help think there is a deep confusion in my mind fueled by absurd news articles in the newspaper, all the cups of coffee, caffeine pills and memories of fueled by days of marijuana in wilderness.
What the hell is happening is the only question I keep asking myself. Is it mental illness, madness? And if so, is the madness in me or society? Why is everything so much a celebration of suburbia and white vinyl siding and so many modern maintance-free products designed to isolate us from reality?
I was reading about the news that Gavin Newsome, the scumbag governor of California is rolling back that’s state’s environmental laws as the state embraces the policies of President Donald Trump. As I read the latest news about how the Trumpster is only making things worse and worse, as he grabs all the levers of power to make conspiracy theories the law of land.
If you don’t like the direction that Donald Trump is taking our country, why don’t you embrace on your-sleeve wokeness from under the eves of white vinyl and white-gypsum board cathedral cielings as you snack on organic-cookies wrapped in plastic? I mentioned the issues with my truck camper battery wire becoming disconnected, and all I see is ads for Chinese Jack-off battery boxes and grid-tied solar to woke energy to a Tesla.
I was looking at Google Maps the other day at the back roads of Pennsylvania, and an old run-down farmstead with a century and half old house and barn with beef cows mashing through the mud and well-blacked burn barrel from burning garbage next to the driveway. The old Ford 8N tractor from fifties sits in the background and a much newer Ford F-250 has a load of hay. I can smell the cows, diesel smoke and burnt plastic, it was on a real back road, in middle of BFE Pennsylvania.
I read yet more book about homesteading, sustainable building, and off-grid solar. I find sustainability to be a deeply confusing topic, like so many things in this world. I don’t think just because you eat organic food, wash out plastic bottles rather then have a blackened trash burner out back makes you more sustainable. But I also don’t think government should be allowing billion dollar companies to rape and pillage even more of our country for greater profit. Muddy cows in some hick town isn’t what is ruining our country.
I get it, white vinyl plastic is maintance free. It looks clean. Modern suburban houses don’t smell like cow shit and are pretended to be free of toxic chemicals that are spewed out of rednecks’ burn barrel. They are perfectly comfortable in winter and summer, with supposedly good insulation, heat pumps and air conditioning. The solar panels on the roof and Tesla in the driveway, are status symbols of how greenie the person really is. As the organic food containers ever so carefully cleaned that overflow the special blue bin that might get diverted from the landfill, but only if the MRF can find a market.
I am just confused. So confused by the world today that celebrates white vinyl and white bread. And says it’s not bad if you buy organic and put yogurt containers in the overflowing recycling bin. All while Trump is blowing through everything good or bad, woke or otherwise to remake the world into a series of conservative conspiracies. And I’m just watching and imagining the vibrant colors all around, like a lava lamp or other hot-oil projection lamp floating colors all around.
Summer Monday, Monday ⭐
Last day of June, Independence Day Week. I haven’t taken off Thursday yet but I’m leaning that way but it depends on the weather. I would like to get north that day.
Last night I noticed the alternator wasn’t charging the starting battery. 
Found it was the wire that excites the relay that connects the starting battery and accessory batteries under the hood. One of the splices I made years ago had failed and needed to be re-done. Got it done this morning before work. Made me late to work, but it was good for my mental sanity to know it was back and working and ready to go to camp. 
I want this weekend up at Piseco-Powley to go smoother then last weekend up there, with my hammock, 
sandals 
and waterproof holder for my phone. 
And maybe less deer fly would be nice, as would getting the House Pond Campsite.
Yesterday, I started the morning at Five Rivers until mid-day, 
then worked on a mapping project for a while, 
visited with the parents for a while and had Sunday dinner 
went for a paddle on Lawson’s Lake in Coeymans, and then slept over at my parents house in Big Red. 🛻 Had breakfast with them this morning, 
and then came home, unloaded the kayak, fixed the broken wire on my truck, and rode my bike to work. 
With the sun things should quickly charge with just the sun today, and probably even top off the starting battery for good balance.
Spending time at Lawsons Lake made me think, 
I should plan somewhere I can do a much longer canoe adventure. Maybe rather then go out to Allegheny National Forest to ride trail at Jakes Rocks this autumn 
I should consider the Adirondacks and the St. Regis Canoe Area. 
Maybe combine that with an exploration of the Adirondack Rail Trail. I think I will go down to Penna this summer when I’m in the Finger Lakes, though I had kind of hoped to do Jakes Rocks Trails later on in the autumn. But I also don’t want to use up too much vacation time, and it’s a lot of miles out to Western Penna. 
Truth is I just want to go dirty ol’ PA to see the run down farms with their burn barrels that smell like burnt trash and silage. 
Haven’t taken off Thursday yet, 
I want to wait and see based on the forecast if I should take off the full day or part of it or call it off if the weekend turns out to be complete crap. Right now it looks like there could be some strong thunderstorms mid-day on Thursday but Independence Day 
through Sunday looks pretty good. Probably won’t bring the kayak up north, just because I’d rather swim and ride, 
though I could change my mind if it looks like Sunday is good and do Stewart Landing up to East Canada Lakes. I would kind of like to poke around Little Falls and maybe Herkimer Home, and then back up through Rollaway up to Illion on the Canalway. Moss Island really is a special place.
Has Trump lead me to loose interest in everything? 💭
President Trump has made everything into a debate about Trump versus wokeness. I am not convinced that wokeness is the answer to society’s problems even if Trumpism is built on lies and mistruths. But so many of the experts and activists these days seem removed from reality, more interested in being woke then using the power of science and knowledge to move society forward.
What is there to do but in many cases just toss up your hands. To drop out, focus on what’s right for you while the world around you is going to shit and falling apart? I’d you can’t save your country, at least try to save your own life. We are all victims to the times we live but there is no need to be a double sufferer. Maybe it’s that amotivational thinking kicking in or being a victim of the times but I believe you shouldn’t be pulled down by the Trumpster even if he is pulling down society.