June 14, 2020 Night

Good evening! Mostly clear and 62 degrees in Delmar, NY. There is a north breeze at 5 mph. πŸƒ. The dew point is 46 degrees. Not a bad night but still another fully kind of chilly night before the heat wave later in the week.

Today I did some hiking around Holt Preserve, 🚢 went out to my folks house 🏑 for Sunday dinner 🍲 and did an evening hike up Bennett Hill. Really quiet up there on a Sunday evening. I saw only one person hiking up there the other rest of the time it was quiet. What’s funny is this time of year it actually gets dark earlier at dusk πŸŒ† then in the winter due to the leaves on the trees. 🌲🌳🌳

Tonight will be mostly clear πŸŒƒ, with a low of 49 degrees at 4am. Eight degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 23rd. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 54 degrees. The record low of 42 occurred back in 1985.

Tonight will have a Waining Crescent 🌘 Moon with 33% illuminated. The darkest hour is at 12:57 am, followed by dawn at 4:43 am, and sun starting to rise at 5:18 am in the east-northeast (57Β°) and last for 3 minutes and 27 seconds. Sunrise is one second earlier than yesterday. πŸŒ„ The golden hour ends at 6:01 am with sun in the east-northeast (64Β°). Tonight will have 8 hours and 42 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 26 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 75 degrees at 3pm. Three degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around June 6th. Maximum dew point of 50 at 6pm. Light north wind. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 81 degrees. The record high of 96 was set in 1988.

Tomorrow I drop off Big Red at the shop to find out why the back tire is wearing so unevenly. πŸ”§ I’m betting it was that rock I hit back in September 2017 that broke the shock boot but I’m no mechanic. I probably should have done it years ago but I had to have them put it on the lift and find all the stuff that is broken. πŸ˜•Better to repair than break down in the wilderness. That said, I’m hoping they can just bang or adjust whatever is bent back into alignment. And then rotate the tires.

I’m undecided but I’m thinking about heading up to the Adirondacks for the second half of the week β›Ί to camp and work remotely, assuming my office doesn’t reopen for in person work. It’s going to be hot plus bass season opens on Saturday. 🎣 Haven’t decided if I should bring my kayak – that kind of interferes with the solar panel I need for electricity πŸ”Œ to power my laptop for work. Not to mention it would be fun to camp the first day of summer.

For the forth of July I was originally thinking about Moose River Plains πŸŽ‡ but maybe I’ll go to the upper part of Powley Road instead. I’d like to see it even though it’s a much longer trip with the road closure. I’m curious to see how much of the road has been rebuilt and how much has changed. The week before then I might go to Schoharie County to try out the pool assuming it opens June 28th as promised. 🏊

In four weeks on July 12 the sun will be setting in the west-northwest (301Β°) at 8:32 pm,πŸŒ„ which is one minute and 44 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had humid, partly sunny and temperatures between 81 and 69 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 82 and 62 degrees. The record high of 96 degrees was set back in 1935.

Looking ahead,

North

The Wonder Years

The other day up at camp I was listening to the Joe Cocker’s With a Little Help from My Friends which to a certain generation in the early nineties is remembered as the theme song for the Wonder Years.

I honestly don’t remember much about that show except for the opening credits full of shots made on grainy 35 mm film of a mid century home and 1960s cars but I think the gist of the show was a bygone era that was somewhat troublesome but also simple compared to the modern times we are currently living in today.

Rain Soon

I sometimes wonder if I’ll look back at these days with the same kind of rose colored glasses that the Wonder Years looked back at the sixties. The seemingly simple world of the past, with the bad parts discarded into the bin of forgotten history. I’ll remember the good times but not the bad. I’ll think back on the stupid things I’ve done, winch just be glad I’m still alive.

Distant

But alas nostalgia is just a colorful imagination of a world that never really existed. There is no time but the present and things really are better in nearly all ways compared to the past. I might not be a fan of all the changes but with time we must accept both the good and the bad.

It Can Happen Here

It Can Happen Here

Liberal democracy has enjoyed much better days. Vladimir Putin has entrenched authoritarian rule and is firmly in charge of a resurgent Russia. In global influence, China may have surpassed the United States, and Chinese president Xi Jinping is now empowered to remain in office indefinitely. In light of recent turns toward authoritarianism in Turkey, Poland, Hungary, and the Philippines, there is widespread talk of a “democratic recession.” In the United States, President Donald Trump may not be sufficiently committed to constitutional principles of democratic government.