What’s the National Prayer Breakfast and why do presidents attend every year? : NPR
February 1, 2023 Morning
Good morning! Happy February. We made it through January. ❄ Now the real cold weather is heading towards us though not for long.
Clear except that the south 🌅 and 14 degrees for the morning walk 🚶 in Delmar. That’s normal for this time of year but seems cold after the January that was. Calm wind. There are 2 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ ️Things will start to thaw out at tomorrow around 11 am. 🌡️Then really cold on Friday night relatively speaking.
As February gets underway the mornings are brighter 🔆 especially with the sun out like today. Needs to get a little brighter before I walk at 6:15 but I plan to change back to that time later in February. Early is nice as it’s calm and not a lot of traffic. Plus I generally prefer to walk 🚶 before breakfast.
Today will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 29 degrees at 2pm. Four degrees below normal. Calm wind becoming northwest 5 to 9 mph in the morning. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 25 degrees. The record high of 65 was set in 1989. 15.0 inches of snow fell back in 1898.❄
Yesterday was a Tuesday. 🤯 I mean that’s mind blowing although that’s a pretty ordinary thing. Got home at six 6⃣ reheated half of the soup 🍲 and went for the evening walk 🚶. I was surprised, made it home by 6 pm. Continuing to cut meals 🍴 in half to save money and reduce calories and if I need a little extra I’ll add some veggies or fruit.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:10 pm with sun having an altitude of 30.2° from the due south horizon (-40.6° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 10.3 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 4:27 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (240°). 📸
The sunset is in the west-southwest (247°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:09 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 9 seconds with dusk around 5:38 pm, which is one minute and 18 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Gibbous 🌔 Moon in the east (91°) at an altitude of 44° from the horizon, 249,894 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:12 pm. At sunset, look for partly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 26 degrees. There will be a west-northwest breeze at 8 mph. Tomorrow will have 10 hours and 4 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 23 seconds over today.
I was thinking wow, how fast the year is going. 🗓 I got my third paycheck on Monday and was studying the paystub and I was like wow already saved $2,500 towards retirement that means like a 1/10th of the year is done though that’s just an artifact of it being a werid three paycheck month. Oh, well. 🤷♂️
Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌤, with a low of 16 degrees at 6am. One degree above normal, which is similar to a typical night around February 5th. Maximum wind chill around 15 at 6pm; West wind 5 to 8 mph becoming south after midnight. In 2022, we had snow in the evening, which became light snow by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 20 degrees. The record low of -18 occurred back in 1961.
Cold come Saturday then warm come Sunday. 😕 Saturday, sunny, with a high near 16. Blustery. Sunday, cloudy, with a high near 40. Typical average high for the weekend is 34 degrees. Get kind of everything this weekend.
One month 📅 from now will be March 🌨 when the sun will be setting at 5:45 pm with dusk at 6:12 pm. The average high temperature is 40 degrees, with a record high of 65 in 1991.
Forest Cover by Catskill Park Unit
| Forest Cover by Catskill Park Unit | |||
| Unit | Deciduous Forest | Evergreen Forest | Mixed Forest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balsam Lake Mountain Wild Forest | 51.3% | 1.7% | 44.4% |
| Beaverkill Campground | 48.2% | 12.2% | 29.9% |
| Belleayre Mountain Day Use Area | 53.4% | 0.3% | 13.1% |
| Belleayre Mountain Ski Center | 43.0% | 1.1% | 47.7% |
| Big Indian Wilderness | 62.1% | 0.7% | 36.6% |
| Bluestone Wild Forest | 47.2% | 7.6% | 37.2% |
| Colgate Lake Wild Forest | 27.7% | 19.2% | 47.8% |
| Delaware Wild Forest | 84.3% | 1.8% | 12.1% |
| Devil’s Tombstone Campground | 87.8% | 0.0% | 0.4% |
| Diamond Notch Primitive Bicycle Corridor | 56.5% | 0.0% | 43.5% |
| Dry Brook Ridge Wild Forest | 61.4% | 4.4% | 33.5% |
| Dutcher Notch Primitive Bicycle Corridor | 34.1% | 2.9% | 50.4% |
| Elm Ridge Wild Forest | 62.4% | 8.7% | 24.9% |
| Esopus Creek Fishing Access | 30.7% | 0.0% | 5.3% |
| Halcott Mountain Wild Forest | 48.1% | 1.1% | 50.4% |
| Hunter-West Kill Wilderness | 60.1% | 5.0% | 34.5% |
| Indian Head Wilderness | 51.3% | 8.1% | 40.1% |
| Kaaterskill Wild Forest | 53.3% | 7.1% | 38.6% |
| Kenneth L. Wilson Campground | 9.6% | 28.8% | 25.5% |
| Little Pond Campground | 79.5% | 0.9% | 10.8% |
| Mink Hollow Primitive Bicycle Corridor | 66.8% | 0.0% | 32.7% |
| Mongaup Pond Campground | 53.8% | 0.8% | 20.6% |
| North/South Lake Campground | 12.9% | 27.0% | 42.7% |
| Overlook Mountain Wild Forest | 65.1% | 1.3% | 33.3% |
| Overlook Turnpike Primitive Bicycle Corridor | 37.9% | 6.3% | 55.7% |
| Phoenicia – Mt. Tobias Wild Forest | 73.5% | 1.6% | 24.2% |
| Rusk Mountain Wild Forest | 62.4% | 2.8% | 34.6% |
| Shandaken Wild Forest | 90.7% | 0.9% | 7.5% |
| Slide Mountain Wilderness | 64.3% | 4.4% | 31.0% |
| Sundown Wild Forest | 64.5% | 3.8% | 27.9% |
| Unclassified | 63.8% | 2.6% | 32.1% |
| Willowemoc Wild Forest | 65.3% | 3.6% | 24.5% |
| Windham-Blackhead Range Wilderness | 47.9% | 5.3% | 46.3% |
| Woodland Valley Campground | 84.0% | 0.7% | 7.6% |
| Andy Arthur, 1/22/23. Data Source: 2019 National Land Cover Dataset. |
|||
Today’s Almanac for Monday January 30
Today’s Almanac
Night before dawn is 6 hours and 41 minutes,
Dawn starts at 6:41 am and runs for 28 minutes,
Sunrise is at 7:09 am which is 4 hours and 50 minutes before noon,
High noon, the transit of the sun, is at 12:08 pm,
From twelve noon to the sunset at 5:07 pm is 5 hours and 7 minutes,
Dusk lasts for 31 minutes concluding at 5:35 pm,
Leaving 6 hours and 24 minutes until midnight.
January 30, 2023 Morning
Good morning! Monday’s come back around again. We all knew it would happen but did we actually believe it on Friday? Mostly cloudy and 30 degrees in Delmar. ☁ There is a west-southwest breeze at 10 mph. 🍃. There are 3 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ ️Things will start to thaw out at around 10 am. 🌡️
Kind of a cold and damp morning. 🌅 Of course we can discuss the meaning of cold come the weekend when the first cold blast of the season really comes. Seems like in recent years the really cold weather happens after the Ground Hog 🐻 see his shadow.
Enjoy one more mild day. ☺ Today will have a slight chance of rain and snow showers between 1pm and 2pm, then a chance of rain showers. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a high of 37 degrees at 2pm. Four degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 18th. West wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light and variable in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Little or no snow accumulation expected. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning with sunny skies in the afternoon. The high last year was 17 degrees. The record high of 56 was set in 2013. 11.0 inches of snow fell back in 1966.❄
Back to work after turning forty. It’s the usual Monday routine. 🧑🏻💼I boiled my muzzles yesterday while unpacking my camping 🏕 gear and I’m doing the morning walk 🚶 after having biscuits and oranges 🍊for breakfast. My jacket still smells like the weekend that was 🔥 but will air out as the week goes on. Shower, iron put on my politicians suit and take the local downtown to my office 🏢 and water the plants. 🌱 Work, work, work 📄 and get paid Tuesday and invest two thirds of that towards a better tomorrow.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:09 pm with sun having an altitude of 29.7° from the due south horizon (-41.1° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 10.5 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 4:24 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (239°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (247°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:06 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 10 seconds with dusk around 5:35 pm, which is one minute and 18 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇
At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Gibbous 🌔 Moon in the east-southeast (119°) at an altitude of 59° from the horizon, 245,505 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:10 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and snow 🌨 and temperatures around 36 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 9 hours and 59 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 19 seconds over yesterday.
The three day weekend that I invented was nice though nothing that special for my birthday. 🎂 The skiing 🎿 was great especially on Friday and it was mild and sunny 🌞 for Saturday but Rennselearville is only 32 minutes from home so it’s not that much of a trip. But I had my fires 🔥 burned up all that paper and burnables, had a few drinks 🍻 and some nice meals. 🍴 Did a lot of skiing and a nice hike on Sunday though nothing extraordinary.
My phone service keeps dropping out in Delmar 📱 which has been annoying. 📶 Not sure what the problem is though I heard Verizon has had capacity issues lately. I know my cheap service gets the lowest priority and I live on the outskirts of town where service is a bit spotty but it’s been good over the decade and a half I’ve had it. 🤷♂️
Tonight will have a chance of rain and snow showers before 8pm, then a chance of snow showers between 8pm and 2am. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 24 degrees at 6am. Nine degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 8th. Northwest wind 5 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible. In 2022, we had clear skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 7 degrees. The record low of -26 occurred back in 1948.
I don’t think today will be a good one to go to the car wash 🚿 but maybe tomorrow before it gets too cold out. Shopping 🛒 on Friday I tried to get everything I would need for the week but some things inevitably got left off the list 📃. I’ve misplaced my needles and need to pick some up to fix a shirt. 🪡 So maybe Tuesday after work.
Frigid weekend ahead. ❄ Saturday, sunny, with a high near 13. That’s cold. Sunday, a chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 37. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Typical average high for the weekend is 34 degrees. I guess if I don’t want my pipes to freeze I’m going to have to turn the heat above 48 degrees feel like a husky on a hot summer day. 🐺 It’s been such a mild winter though no 70 degrees days like that year a few years ago.
Next Monday Save the Pine Bush Turns 45 🦋 when the sun will be setting at 5:16 pm with dusk at 5:44 pm. Makes me feel young. On that day in 2022, we had mostly sunny and temperatures between 36 and 12 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 34 degrees. We hit a record high of 55 back in 1991.
January 26, 2023 Morning
Good morning! Happy Thursday. Snow fog, cloudy and one degree above freezing for the morning walk. 🌫 There is a southwest breeze at 5 mph. 🍃. There are 5 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ We ended up getting less rain than expected and no snow over night. So things melted but there is still snow around. Things will freeze again tonight. Temperatures will drop below freezing at around 5 pm. ☃️
Kind of damp and chilly for the morning walk 🚶but the lack of ice is nice. Reminds me of the snowy icy day camping at East Otto State Forest in November or that day camping in December in the Vanderwhacker wilderness. Lots of slop for snow. Dawn is now 6:45 which means that except for the cloudest days the start of the walk isn’t pitch black.
Today was a breakfast reheat morning 🥞 which meant it was a quick and easy start to the morning and I set my alarm ⏰ 10 minutes earlier to ensure that I maintain my schedule. I like my calorie reduction program it saves so much food and money 💵. With inflation every dollar is precious, especially if I can invest it while the market is down.
Today will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a high of 40 degrees at 11am. Seven degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 28th. West wind 5 to 10 mph increasing to 12 to 17 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning, which became snow by afternoon. The high last year was 24 degrees. The record high of 59 was set in 1950. 8.5 inches of snow fell back in 1949.❄
Taking the express bus 🚍 in as today isn’t a session day. Looks like they’re running the big articulated bus this morning 🚏which means that the driver will likely leave right on time or even a bit early as those pusher buses are slower to drive through traffic. So I have to put my phone down, shower 🚿 quickly leave right on time for the express.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:09 pm with sun having an altitude of 28.6° from the due south horizon (-42.2° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 11 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 4:18 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (238°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (245°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:01 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 12 seconds with dusk around 5:30 pm, which is one minute and 17 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the First Quarter 🌓 Moon in the south-southwest (204°) at an altitude of 48° from the horizon, 234,063 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:05 pm. At sunset, look for partly cloudy skies 🌃 and temperatures around 33 degrees. The wind chill around sunset will be 22. ☃️ Breezy, 17 mph breeze from the west with gusts up to 29mph. Tomorrow will have 9 hours and 50 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 10 seconds over today.
I got milk 🥛 at Stewart’s yesterday and was disappointed that the expiration date is a week from Friday. Compared to the grocery store that’s good but it’s not as fresh as it used to be. Plus with my calorie reduction program I’m not drinking as much milk as it once did.
Tonight will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a low of 24 degrees at 4am. Nine degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 8th. Maximum wind chill around 20 at 6am; West wind 11 to 16 mph decreasing to 5 to 10 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 28 mph. In 2022, we had light snow. It got down to 23 degrees. The record low of -23 occurred back in 1994.
Clouds and mild for the weekend 🌥 Saturday, mostly cloudy, with a high near 41. South wind 10 to 14 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Sunday, a chance of snow before 10am, then a chance of rain and snow between 10am and 1pm, then a chance of rain after 1pm. Cloudy, with a high near 39. Chance of precipitation is 50%. Typical average high for the weekend is 33 degrees.
As previously noted, next Thursday is Ground Hog Day 🐻 when the sun will be setting at 5:11 pm with dusk at 5:39 pm. On that day in 2022, we had snow, mostly cloudy and temperatures between 27 and 20 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 33 degrees. We hit a record high of 53 back in 1981.
What does it mean to buy quality products and not just a label?
What does it mean to buy quality products and not just a label ? 🔖
I was hearing that as a suggestion on the video I posted earlier about rather than buying the cheapest products, buying things that are long lasting and will serve you for many years. Buy fewer things but of higher quality. But what does that mean, when so much of what we consume these days is defined by the chrome trim and brand name slapped on it, rather than real quality? Heck even Cahartt jackets are made in Mexico and aren’t the quality they once were.
I was fortunate to inherit a lot of my grandparents old furniture when I moved into my apartment. It has served me well. I rarely buy any kind of appliance or device, most of them are part of my apartment or I don’t have them. I don’t have internet or television so I’m not exposed to all that marketing crap.
I do buy a lot of my clothing at Walmart – wrangler shirts, jeans, etc. I guess their not super high quality but I get several years out of them. Work clothes I get at Sears and JC Pennies although recently I bought a dress shirt at Macy’s as the old stand buys are closing down. I’ve tried expensive and cheap boots and in my experience the cheap ones last basically as long. One of the best shirts I’ve ever owned was a blue denenium work shirt like mechanics wear – I finally tore it up for rags to use around the apartment after wearing it fifteen years. A blue dress shirt I got from Walmart years ago similarly lasted for seven or eight years. Good stuff can be sold at discounted retailers.
Honestly, I think many of the branded products that suburbanites talk about as being superior products are just labels and chrome covering up the crap underneath. It’s been at least since the 1950s that so much in our lives is cheap disposable shit, the higher end versions covered with lots of chrome to look more sophisticated. So much so called high quality stuff is just crap.