Autumn Is Coming
Green Lakes State Park at 10/7/16 8:03 am
Good morning. 55 degrees and sunny with the colors starting to change at Green Lakes.
October 7, 2016 Morning
Good morning! Yeah, it’s Friday! 85 days remain in 2016. Sunny with some fog rising off of Green Lake and 58 degrees at Green Lakes State Park in Fayetteville. Calm wind. The dew point is 48 degrees. Color are starting to peak out a bit along the lake.
Today will be sunny, with a high of 75 degrees at 2pm. A very pleasant autumn day for sure. 14 degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 53 at 11am. South wind 3 to 7 mph. The record high of 89 was set in 1963. The sun will set at 6:33 pm with dusk around 7:01 pm, which is 1 minutes and 43 seconds earlier than yesterday. Today will have 11 hours and 23 minutes of daylight, a decrease of 2 minutes and 53 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will have a chance of showers, mainly after 4am. Increasing clouds, with a low of 60 degrees at 5am. 16 degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 54 at 8pm. South wind 6 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. The record low of 21 occurred back in 1964, back when the cars had tail fins.
Twenty years ago today, Fox News signed on for the first time. It was the start of partisan television news and lead to the revival of partisan news, along with the rise of Facebook, social media and the Internet.
Also I’m 1993, the great Midwestern flood came to an end after 130 days of the Missouri River having unusually high river levels. Much of the river’s natural flood plain with its fertile soils had gotten built up and when you mess with mother nature at times, she can be a bitch.
32 days until Election Day when our long national nightmare comes to an end. Big game regular season begins two Saturdays after that. Honestly we all know what is going to happen. Hillary Clinton will be coronated as our first woman president, a big step forward at least on paper. The preponderance of evidence suggests that this will embolden Republicans and it will mean more Washington grid lock. At least our second amendment rights will be protected on the federal level, assuming the GOP doesn’t cave too easily.
There are 3 weeks until National Chocolate Day when the sun will be setting at 6:00 pm with dusk at 6:29 pm. Talk about a sweet day. The average high temperature is 55 degrees, with a record high of 78 in 1971.
Donald Trump’s Taxes
I do not have a problem with Donald Trump writing off $960 million from his taxes on year, if he legitimately took a risk and lost money that year — and even rolling over that loss to other years. But if he made future profits, and he regained his money, he sure as hell should be paying taxes on that money. Many business people have very good and very bad years. Ask any farmer for sure.
We want people to invest money and take responsible risks.Β When they lose money in a particular year, they shouldn’t have to pay taxes on their loses.Β There should be a smoothing mechanism so that one’s one year loss can be balanced about by future gains. But you shouldn’t be able to avoid to pay any taxes, when you have a net gain in assets and wealth over time.
The bigger the investor you are, and the bigger your wealth, the bigger losses and gains.Β But you still should pay your fair share in taxes.Β I have some serious questions about how Donald Trump has deducted expenses and exploited the tax code to his advantage.
Trump really should release his tax returns before the election.
Stop a Criminal. Record Everything.
People often consider getting a concealed carry permit and carrying a firearm for personal protection. But there are many restrictions on that in many states. One thing people don’t often consider for personal protection is carrying a concealed or largely hidden audio and/or video recording device.
Now an audio or video recording device won’t defend yourself against an attacker but it can help keep you safe and get criminals and other lawbreakers off the street. It can however protect your own rights, help track down criminals, and keep people honest.Β While it’s great that police are wearing cameras to protect their rights, so should private citizens wear recording devices to ensure police and other individuals are treating them fairly.
Nowadays with cheap memory cards, and tiny electronics, it’sΒ more and more possible to record all of your everyday interactions.Β Most are pretty boring for sure. But sometimes, an audio and/or video recording can literally save your life or take a crook off the streets. Covertly recording a police officer at a traffic stop in your defense — or for purposes of you seeking justice through a trial jury — could very much protect your rights.
There really isn’t any reason in our modern era, why ordinary people shouldn’t be “wearing wires” in their day-to-day life. Granted, hooking up wiring and charging devices can be a pain —Β but the recording devices are so small and covert todayΒ — that recording more rather then less can be as life saving choice.
Google County Maps Reminder
Today when I was at Green Lakes State Park, I didn’t know the area very well. Fortunately, I had my Onondaga County GPX Track file on my phone that I was able to pull up in the US Topo Maps app. it was handy.
You can preview Google County Maps – Region 7 North atΒ https://andyarthur.org/google-county-maps-dec-region-7-north.htmlΒ or see the whole state coverage https://andyarthur.org/google-county-maps
KML for Google Earth: https://andyarthur.org/data/lands/kmz.zip
GPX Tracks for GPS: https://andyarthur.org/data/lands/tracks.zip
GPX Waypoints for GPS: https://andyarthur.org/data/lands/waypoints.zip
October 2, 2016 Morning
Good morning! Happy Sunday. Cloudy, damp and 57 degrees out hiking in the fields of Green Lakes State Park in Fayetteville. Calm wind. The dew point is 55 degrees. The skies will clear Tuesday around 7 am.
The colors are starting to come out a bit, although the trees are still mostly green with some yellow popping in locations. Columbus Day will be close to peak color, although it may be fairly late in these lower elevations. On a cloudy day like this you get better pictures if you set the white balance set properly on the camera, although that can be fixed on post processing if the photos aren’t over exposed. I’m afraid I didn’t get a good picture of the buck that ran out in the field.
Joggers on the trails are pretty annoying but it is still pretty quiet on the open meadows that dominate the hilltops up here.
Today will have a chance of showers, mainly after 4pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high of 69 degrees at 3pm. Four degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 59 at 4pm. South wind 3 to 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. The record high of 85 was set in 1927. The sun will set at 6:41 pm with dusk around 7:10 pm, which is 1 minutes and 46 seconds earlier than yesterday.
As we head towards the winter solstice, our days quickly get shorter. Today will have 11 hours and 37 minutes of daylight, a decrease of 2 minutes and 54 seconds over yesterday.I remember back to the 26th when we had 12 hours of light and day. Thank God for coal fired power plants, electric lamps, and headlights.
Tonight will have showers and possibly a thunderstorm before midnight, then a chance of showers. Low around 53, with a low of 53 degrees at 6am. Another mild evening. Nine degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 59 at 6pm. Light and variable wind. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. The record low of 29 occurred back in 1945.
There are 2 weeks until the Hunter’s Moon when the sun will be setting at 6:18 pm with dusk at 6:46 pm. The average high temperature is 60 degrees, with a record high of 88 in 1947. Autumn always comes and goes so quickly.