Stewart’s

Some more than others. That statement is true on so many levels. I’ve never had air conditioning at home. Maybe this is morning is not a good one to be listening to the Stones’ Paint It Black. Of course the that doesn’t count all the hours lately I’ve been sweating climbing the stairs in the office and out walking, 40 flights including in the LOB and 10 ½ miles again yesterday. And the thing I’m really sweating about these days – funding the perfect bicycle. A nice problem to be sweating a lot about.

Good morning! Yeah, it’s Friday! A three day work week doesn’t seem so bad after a four day weekend. 🙃 Partly cloudy and 69 degrees in Delmar for the morning walk. ⛅ There is a south-southeast breeze at 6 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 66 degrees. The muggy weather ends next Wednesday around 7 pm. 😓 Or is that just when the weather model ends?

Last night was sticky for sleeping 😴 and the evening walk. 🚶 By any standards it’s bed hot and muggy, I’m starting to see black mold pop up in my apartment again. I better clean that this weekend before it gets worse. I did not sleep well at all last night despite getting to bed 🛏 a little after nine. 9⃣ Mostly because of the heat but also because so much of my life has been consumed by trying to figure out what would be the perfect 👌 bicycle 🚲 for me. More urban commuter or mountain bicycle? 🚵🚴

Today will have showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 5pm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. It’s summer, I just hope Piseco-Powley Road doesn’t wash out. Partly sunny 🌞, with a high of 88 degrees at 1pm. Four degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 73 at 12pm. South wind 6 to 8 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. The high last year was 85 degrees. The record high of 97 was set in 1988.

This morning I decided to do scrambled eggs with red kidney beans run through the food processor to make a paste and fried, with also a sauce of tomatoes and jalapeños made in the food processor. 🍳 Made a good filling meal for two breakfasts 😋 without preservatives or much unhealthy. I wanted something protein rich but limited sugar to help make up for my rough night sleeping. 🦐 Yesterday’s shrimp and rice 🍚 was good for dinner.

All electric bus 🚍 ⚡ that was running on time until we hit the construction 🚧 detour due to them once again trying to fix the on ramp from US 9W to Downtown Albany and 787. Big delays on Southern Boulevard. The air conditioning wasn’t super cranked up on the bus either, though it was reasonably cool but not as refreshing as yesterday morning on bus. I’m going to be late in the office 🏢 but I don’t care, it’s summer and I’m often early. Getting off at the Plaza and will walk in the Concourse as it’s cooler there. Might do the same as lunch time too to beat the heat. 😰

Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:01 pm with sun having an altitude of 70° from the due south horizon (-0.8° vs. 6/21). The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:54 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (295°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (302°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:36 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 26 seconds with dusk around 9:09 pm, which is 20 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:55 pm. At sunset, look out for rain 🌧 and thunderstorms 🌩 and temperatures around 76 degrees. The dew point will be 70 degrees. Sticky There will be a calm wind. Today will have 15 hours and 13 minutes of daytime, a decrease of one minute over yesterday.

It’s going to be a hot evening so I might delay my evening walk 🚶 for a while to study bicycles some more. 🚲 I need to test ride more but I’m really thinking basic mountain bike especially for puncture resistance and tubed tires for easier repair for inevitable flats. I’m willing to trade up efficiency for commute to work for better gravel and dirt road performance. ⚙ I would rather peddle harder then be off the road waiting for parts.

Tonight will have showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 11pm. Patchy fog after 3am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy 🌃, with a low of 67 degrees at 4am. Five degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 71 at 6pm. Light and variable wind. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. In 2022, we had partly cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It was somewhat humid. It got down to 67 degrees. The record low of 43 occurred back in 1969.

On this day in 1981, U.S. President Ronald Reagan appoints Sandra Day O’Connor 👩🏻‍⚖️to become the first female member of the Supreme Court of the United States. 🥪 That’s almost as cool as sliced bread, which is sold for the first time by the Chillico the Baking Company in 1921. It’s actually amazing to think it was so long that the Supreme Court was all male, only forty odd years ago was there any women on the court. Now if they could only get come young people on the court and less of the old white bread. 🥐 I haven’t had bread in ages, mostly as it’s a lot of more carbs and while whole grain has more fiber I generally just stick with brown rice as a durable, preservative free form of carbs to use in many meals. 🍴

Tomorrow will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 2pm. Patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, partly sunny 🌞 , with a high of 87 degrees at 3pm. Three degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 72 at 12pm. Light and variable wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. The high last year was 85 degrees. The record high of 100 was set in 1936.

I fully concede that this would be the perfect weekend for the Potholers 🏊‍♂️ or Mine Kill Pool if I wasn’t planning on test riding and hopefully buying a bicycle 🚲 this weekend. I feel like this whole process has dragged on for much too long but it’s taken me a while to figure out that I would be best off with a new rather than used or rebuilt bicycle. Then the trade offs of efficency of a road bicycle vs durability of a mountain bike 🚵 have been in my mind plus what I’m willing to spend. You know I’m the boy that looked at getting a Toyota Prius for cheap, reliable environmentally friendly transportation before settling on a big jacked up truck. I have a feeling my bicycle buying process is going that way, especially as I play through all the disadvantages of riding a bike to work over taking the bus – theft, car crashes, pollution. That air conditioning feels so good on the bus in the sweltering heat.

I will try to leave by 10:30 tomorrow to test ride more bicycles. 🔎🚲. I really want to settle on something this weekend and either take delivery or at least have it on order for next week. I am going to start at Steiner’s Sports in Glenmont, as they have more mountain bikes it seems, and then try Downtube next. If I like what they have at Steiner’s Sports in Glenmont but they don’t have it at their local shop, but I can get it at their main shop in Hudson, I am more then willing to drive down there on Saturday afternoon or Sunday. Downtube wants to charge $50 destination fee on top of the MSRP, which is reasonable but if I can save some money, that’s even more reasonable. I think I finally have a better idea of what I want.

Then the other thing I need is grocery shopping. 🍏 🍄 With the blueberries I got at the farmer’s market on Wednesday I have enough of a grocery haul to make it to the weekend, but things are starting to get a bit low and I want to maintain a nutritious, diverse and tasty diet. 😋 I worry if I let my pantry get too bare then I will start going for less healthy calories.

Looking ahead to Sunday, a chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 2pm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Mostly cloudy, 🌥 with a high near 79. South wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. Maximum dew point of 70 at 12pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 84 degrees.

Looking ahead, next Friday is National Nude Day 👱 when the sun will be setting at 8:33 pm with dusk at 9:06 pm. It’s when my dentist appointment is. 🦷 I’ll wear clothing though when I get my teeth cleaned. At least that’s when I think it is. On that day in 2022, we had partly cloudy and temperatures between 85 and 65 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 84 degrees. We hit a record high of 99 back in 1995.

I am hoping that National Nude Day is one that I can get out of town, for the weekend. Maybe just Schoharie County but I could also see the Potholers 🏊‍♀️ as it’s been a while since I’ve spent a few nights in the wilderness. Hopefully with a bicycle to ride too. At this point I’m trying to save money, and Schoharie might be better for just two nights, and it would be good to improve my swimming skills. Heading up mid-day on Friday is no guarantee that I’ll get the House Pond Campsite for easy access to the East Canada Creek for floating and walk to the Potholers. I haven’t done the Mine Kill Pool in a long time, I don’t recall if I ever made it out there in 2022 or not.