Living near a superhighway can be convenient, but it's also can be unhealthy. Noise pollution and air emissions can lead to a shorter lifespan. The greatest impacts of highway pollution are felt by people who live, work, or recreate within 1,000 feet of a limited-access road.
Data Source: Open Street Map, Motorway and Motorway_Links, with a 1,000 feet buffer.
While this will shock no one, it is expected to rain by mid-afternoon. I guess that’s the story of the weather in recent months. A few minutes of sunshine then some rain. At least it’s not as cold as it was only a few days ago, and it looks like most of the week I’ll be able to sleep with the windows open.
Good morning! Partly sunny with clouds around and 45 degrees 🌤️ here in Delmar. There is a south breeze at 5 mph. 🍃. The rain shower that was overhead a few minutes ago has passed along, and hopefully we will have more sun going on today.
Just the usual things are on tap for a Sunday. 🛒 Starting out by taking a shower, then heading over to Walmart for some groceries then back home, I think. Or maybe I should wait to get groceries until I run to the bike shop at 11 AM. 🚲 Honestly, that option probably makes the most sense.
I called Stiener Sports Up yesterday, 🚲 and they said I should bring the bike in and they’ll look at the issue of it skipping gears on hard pedaling right away and I don’t need an appointment though depending on what is wrong I’ll either have to drop it off or make an appointment for later on for repairs. 🛠 I want to get the derailer and the bike into top condition for summer riding, especially before summer vacation in the Finger Lakes ⛺ but also for riding trail up at Charles Baker State Forest. It’s fine as it is now for commuting, though the griding gears at hard acceleration is both annoying, and dangerous.
That said, I don’t really like the crowds 👪 that are a normal part of shopping mid-day at the store, though actually my list is pretty short as I only need the basics, especially fresh fruit and vegetables 🍏 🥦 as that’s what I am out of because I went to Walmart on Tuesday when I drove in 🚘 because that was the day I had the flat tire on my bicycle and it was too late to catch the bus downtown. That said, if the repairs are simple, maybe I can just drop my bike off and they’ll wrench it while I run to the supermarket. That would work out well.
Today will have increasing clouds ☁, with a high of 64 degrees at 2pm. One degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 26th. South wind 5 to 13 mph. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies. The high last year was 62 degrees. The record high of 91 was set in 1962. There was a dusting of snow in 2020.❄
Yesterday was a quite day for me, 📚 full of reading and nature observation 🐸 out at the Five Rivers Environmental Education Center. I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately, trying to learn whatever I can about permaculture, land, livestock, architecture, housing and off-grid systems 🐐 – – trying to plan out my off-grid homestead. I am staying away from reaching out to businesses and getting quotes on various things, just because there is such pressure to do now, buy now build now. And I want to build right. Not spend a lot of money on a project that turns out to be shit. 💩
It was a nice day day out yesterday, 🌸 quite spring like and beautiful to say the least. I could have gone out hiking somewhere far away or gone for a bike ride but I wanted to keep things simple and when you bicycle commute every day, the last thing you necessarily want to do is go for a bike ride. 🚶 Sometimes a simple walk just really hits the spot. Moving your legs, going at a slower pace. 🐸 Spending some more time observing nature.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:54 pm with sun having an altitude of 61.4° from the due south horizon (-9.4° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 3.3 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:13 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (284°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (290°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:52 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 5 seconds with dusk around 8:21 pm, which is one minute and 8 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:59 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and temperatures around 58 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 11 mph. Today will have 13 hours and 59 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 34 seconds over yesterday.
I’ve been looking at replacing my cellphone, 📱 as I’ve been having more and more problems with the touch screen behaving badly. I have a lot of options, though I’d rather have a simple basic sub-$50 phone if possible so if I break it not a big expense. I’ve been struggling with my phone for a long time now, 😤 and it really annoys me after a while. 🖥 This morning, I’m actually using my keyboard and mouse attached to my phone to write this blog post – – I’ve been thinking about getting a USB-C to HDMI adapter – – they’re under $10 or so which would allow me to connect my phone to my monitor along with my keyboard and mouse, and be almost like having a full computer at home without actually having to bring my computer home on the weekends.
Tonight will have a chance of showers, mainly after 8pm. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 44 degrees at 4am. Two degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 3rd. South wind around 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2023, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 39 degrees. The record low of 25 occurred back in 1947.
Looking ahead to the long early summer nights, next Saturday is 8:30 PM Dusk 🌆 when the sun will be setting at 8:00 pm with dusk at 8:30 pm. Now it just has to warm up a bit more and the black flies not take over the world, lol. 🐜 On that day in 2023, we had partly sunny, rain showers and temperatures between 60 and 45 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 68 degrees. We hit a record high of 91 back in 1944.
A $50/ton carbon tax would bring in $1,265 billion a year. In contrast, entire corporate income tax brings in only about $350 billion.
For many years I’ve put much too much emphasis on the things I own, often loathing to get of them. Some of it was I’ve never had trash pickup and what I couldn’t burn up in the woods, I had to haul to the transfer station and pay to get rid of. And then I thought about the crushed debris sitting in the landfill – the growing mound sitting outside my office window, whether it was when I was working in the Pine Bush or downtown in the Alfred E Smith skyscraper.
But the truth ultimately is that it doesn’t matter. Landfill space remains remarkably cheap, as large highly engineered dumping grounds have been built across America, mostly these days in more rural areas due to regulation, nimbyism and the high cost of urban land. Trash disposal is cheap, in many cases between $50-100 a ton at least if you self haul. And that’s a lot of trash, especially uncompacted – it’s 2,000 lbs of anything you’d want to get rid of with only a few narrow exceptions for the most toxic materials like lead acid car batteries, tires and highly radio active crap. I doubt I really own even 2,000 lb of stuff.
While I have nothing but disdain for consumerism and curbside trash pickup (I’d rather burn it or at least haul to the transfer station) , it’s also kind of libertating to now how cheaper garbage disposal really is. How you don’t have to feel trapped by all of your junk, how it’s relatively easy and inexpensive to get rid of if you don’t want it any more. Obviously though, the best solution is to own as little junk as possible.
I thought about going somewhere special or for a ride somewhere on the bike but I like the simplicity of just a walk out to Five Rivers Environmental Education Center and enjoying the day before inevitably the clouds and rain re-appear.
Good morning! Partly sunny and 54 degrees at the Phillipen Kill Preserve. 🌤️ There is a south-southeast breeze at 9 mph. 🍃.
No ambitious plans for today, ☺️ just a quiet simple walk out to Five Rivers to observe nature 🐦 🐸 and take in the sounds and smells of spring. The birds and the frogs, the kids screaming and lawn mowers running, the flowers, the pollen and the manure on the air. A brief respite before the clouds return.
Today will be partly sunny 🌞, with a high of 65 degrees at 3pm. Typical for today. South wind 9 to 13 mph. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies. The high last year was 62 degrees. The record high of 91 was set in 1962. There was a dusting of snow in 2020.❄
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:54 pm with sun having an altitude of 61.4° from the due south horizon (-9.4° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 3.3 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:13 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (284°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (290°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:52 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 5 seconds with dusk around 8:21 pm, which is one minute and 9 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:59 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and temperatures around 58 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 11 mph. Today will have 13 hours and 59 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 35 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will have a chance of showers, mainly after 8pm. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 44 degrees at 4am. Two degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 3rd. Southeast wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2023, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 39 degrees. The record low of 25 occurred back in 1947.
As previously noted, next Saturday is 8:30 PM Dusk 🌆 when the sun will be setting at 8:00 pm with dusk at 8:30 pm. On that day in 2023, we had partly sunny, rain showers and temperatures between 60 and 45 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 68 degrees. We hit a record high of 91 back in 1944.
