Notes

Making Progress But Not Enough.

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While I am doing fine and have stuck towards my savings goals for the year, a year in the future, I’m really noticing how difficult it can be to save for tomorrow. I do put a lot of money away each month, and certainly my retirement savings has grown significantly, it still often feels like I’m treading water, barely moving the needle. Goals take time, and as this past year has shown, time goes by much quickly, and there never really is enough time.

My new job was a bit of a leap, it’s a bit scary jumping into the unknown, and there are definite tax disadvantages to me. But I’m working hard, and trying to do what’s best for my organization, so I can make new connections and fine ways to better myself. It gets tough to squeeze more out of my budget, but I can still definitely find ways to earn more money, and save more for tomorrow.

Saving alone won’t get me there, but it will help open options for better tomorrow. I need to continue to read and learn, think and expand my knowledge. I need to keep an open mind, always be focused on my future, and think more about what my options are. I have a lot more opportunities then many, and ultimately a lot of my future will be defined by what I choose.

That rain sounded so good on the roof last night ☔

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I won’t say it was wonderful to be riding back in rain from Lionheart on the Green to downtown in the rain on my mountain bike to catch the bus home, but it’s good we got some much needed rain.

Up early as I have to head up to Menands first thing to do some state work and then head over to the dungeon supposedly by nine o’clock 🐲 to keep processing those early voters, absentees and other data to keep the whole system running along like a smoothly well oiled machine, that is until I run into a bad UTF-16 character that causes R Studio to bomb out.  💣

I got to say Lionheart on the Green is a nice place, 🦁 though like everything, the pints are kind of expensive. 🍻 But I only had one before hoping on my bike and heading downtown in the rain back home. I am just glad it rained to reduce the fire 🔥 danger so hopefully over Veterans Day Weekend 🇺🇸 I can have a big ol’ fire, drink some beer, smoke some grass and sing along with the Dire  Wolf. 🐺 Pumpkin 🎃 pancakes 🥞 fore breakfast, getting an early start with lots of coffee ☕ and caffine as I got to cover a lot of miles this morning on the bike before I get my sugar high at the campaign committee. 🍬 But first IOI Codes need to be tagged and reports run 📝 at the State Offices.

Riding back downtown wasn’t too bad in the near darkness, 🌃 I plan to keep extra bike lights in the office to be safe. Won’t do it all winter long, but when it’s reasonably nice, I do plan to continue riding in all winter assuming the bike trail is mostly free of snow. I don’t think this year I’ll do the Corning Hill to avoid the snow, ☃️ though my mind could certainly change, as I don’t love busing it to work 🚌 but I like driving even less. I’m just glad it’s going to be in the seventies today, and I won’t need to have my windows closed or even the heat on for what looks to be a few weeks, based on the 8-14 day outlook. ☀️ That said, probably over the weekend I will have to close the windows 🪟 but at least won’t need the heat. I think it’s funny how I got the heated blanket out earlier this morning but haven’t had to use it but one day. Good, it saves money 💰 having it off. Money is tight these days after the auto insurance payment, and I didn’t make enough ad revenue last month on the blog to get a check this month. Oh, well.

BFG to Berlin

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What it was like to drive from West Germany to Berlin via East German roads in the 1989 before the wall came down.

One week to Election Day 2024 🗳️

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Vote Early! Vote Often! As they say. It’s not like you don’t get enough chance to vote these days, if you want to. Don’t like the outcome of the election next Tuesday? Don’t forget you have the opportunity to express your views once again in a month at your local Fire Department Election and at least in Delmar, your Library Election.

It gets me how melodramatic people get about the Election. ❎ One candidate or the other is going to win. They’ll be there for two to four years, though their power will vary based on how popular they are and what party congress and state houses will be. Honestly, I don’t expect whomever to be elected to be that popular, and if they do dumb shit, they’ll be quickly marginalized and ignored by society except for calls for them to step down. I could totally see FBI agents turning against Trump, and dumping all the crap they have on him to media 📰 which fully eats it up.

It’s just a dark and fairly cold morning out. ⛅ At some point the sun will rise and it won’t be quite as dark out, but I wasn’t out of bed until quarter after six and it’s after 7 o’clock and still pretty dark out. I need to stop by the store 🏪 on the way into work, so I should shower 🚿 and get ready to go soon.

New neighbor moved into the unit next door 🏘️ that they’ve been renovating over the past six months. He was busy moving and it was dark out by the time I got home, so I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself, but he seemed like a nice younger person. 👧🏼 I’ll have to do that tonight, though it’s weird to talk to strangers in the dark. I took the long way home, riding up through Slingerlands and then past the High School and Town Park 🚴 after actually leaving work until around 5:20 PM.

I ordered extra rechargable tail-lights for my bike along with a second matching headlight. 🔦 This way I can always have a light fully charged ready for the evening bike ride home. Once the time changes on Sunday, I won’t be riding all the way home, but I do want enough light to safely to ride from office in Menands to the Express Bus at old train station. I also going to add some more DOT tape to my bike to make it even more visible to automobiles. This way, I can at least ride in even if I’m stuck riding the bus home in the evening.

Things are quieting down at work, 🏢 although as soon as I saw that it seems like new tasks come into the office. I really underestimated how much work processing all those Early Vote lists were, I was hoping to get more legislative time in do state work. I have a work event outdoors this afternoon 🎪 and it was going to be a beautiful afternoon, but now they’re talking about rain. 🌧️ Go figure.

That said, I’m hoping for rain, ☔ even this weekend. The Norman’s Kill is so dry currently due to the lack of rain, the falls are mostly exposed rock. They’re is a bunch of wildfires in Eastern Massachusetts and I want some rain before I head back out to the woods, preferably on Veterans Day Weekend, to reduce the fire 🔥 risk. I don’t plan to camp after Veterans Day until after rifle season is well underway, probably go out that Friday after Thanksgiving. 🦃 And who knows, by then we might have snow. ☃️ They already got snow up North in the Adirondacks.

The steel rail hasn’t heard the news 🗞️

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Good morning, America! How are you? 614 days until America turns 250! Probably as soon as next autumn you’ll be able once again to buy Spirit of America branded smog bletching unreliable automobiles and all kinds of products celebrating America’s big birthday, showcased between the garbage heaps and grimy city streets.

Fun times, focus on the future 🔮 as they say. I don’t care about the election, I voted weeks ago. Somebody is going to win, life will go on, winter will come and go, then summer and the Sestercentennial and yet another election. And it will be one more year closer to retirement or at least figuring out what I really want to do with my life. 🤷‍♂️

Another really dark morning with apple 🍏 pancakes 🥞 and much too much caffeine. ☕ As apparently I need more jitters. Heading into the suburban office 🏢 as I start working on updating the database for 2025. Singing 🎤 along with Arlo Guthrie’s City of New Orleans. Big pot with 2 lb of black beans and chickpeas boiling down on the stove, which will provide many good eats for the coming week.

Riding off to work once the sun rise, ⛅ though like many autumn mornings it will be fairly cloudy. I do wish we would get some rain ☔ as it would be good for things to be a bit wetter before the next time I head up to the wilderness for a big ol fire and some cold beer and marijuana. I mean, I could return the used motor oil for recycling ♻️ or heat generation, but what fun is that? As we dream in the red, white blue, dream as a big as we want to, as Brooks and Dunn sing. But won’t America be over if my preferred candidate doesn’t win? 🇺🇸 Doubt it, the air will still taste like silage and manure, winter will still come, and then summer then there will be the 2026 elections to play this silly game all over. 🤡 That said, I’m still a bit sad about the news of Phil Lesh’s death, I’ ve gotten so into the Grateful Dead 🎸 these days. It’s all about the grass. Fun times, at least after my two or three reset for maximum fun between traveling.