August 19, 2018 Night

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Good evening! Mostly clear and 65 degrees in Westerlo. There is a south-southeast breeze at 6 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 56 degrees.

Laying back in the hammock at my parents house, probably going to head to bed pretty soon so I get my eight hours. 💤 I mean I could probably just lower the back and sleep in my hammock tonight but I’ll probably sleep in my truck just because it’s going to be fairly cool and I think I’ll want some blankets by morning. Lots of moon light and the crickets are singing tonight.

Tonight will be mostly clear 🌞 , with a low of 58 degrees at 4am. Two degrees below normal. Maximum dew point of 56 at 10pm. Southeast wind around 6 mph becoming light and variable after midnight. Should be great sleeping weather. In 2017, we had mostly clear skies. It was somewhat humid. It got down to 63 degrees. The record low of 45 occurred back in 1998.

Tonight will have a Waxing Gibbous Moon 🌔 with 68% illuminated with the moon setting at 12:58 am. The moon will set at 1:00 am. The Sturgeon Moon 🌕 is on Saturday night with partly cloudy skies. The sun will rise at 6:07 am with the first light at 5:37 am, which is one minute and 5 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 Tonight will have 10 hours and 18 minutes of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 36 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will have patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, mostly sunny 🌞 , with a high of 75 degrees at 3pm. Five degrees below normal. Maximum dew point of 60 at 4pm. Light and variable wind becoming east around 6 mph in the morning. A year ago, we had mostly cloudy skies with some clearing in the afternoon. It was humid. The high last year was 81 degrees. The record high of 97 was set in 1937.

Next weekend looks like it might be perfect weather-wise. 😎 Next Saturday, sunny, with a high near 77. Maximum dew point of 58 at 7pm. Next Sunday, mostly sunny, with a high near 80. Maximum dew point of 66 at 8pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 79 degrees.

Definitely planning to head out of town next weekend. I’m hoping to get Friday off, β›Ίand despite all ruminating about it I’m leaning towards Moose River this weekend and maybe Pisceo Powley for Labor Day Weekend if the weather is good. I would love to be in the plains at one of the sandy campsites, looking up at the stars, laying back in the hammock all weekend. It’s a long trip but I doubt I’ll get back to the plains before it closes for the winter. ❄

In four weeks on September 16 the sun will be setting at 7:03 pm,🌄 which is 47 minutes and 35 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2017 on that day, we had fog, patches of fog, mist, partly cloudy skies and temperatures between 83 and 64 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 72 and 52 degrees. The record high of 92 degrees was set back in 1939.

Looking ahead, Daylight Savings Time Ends 🛥️ is in 11 weeks, Veterans Day (Sunday) 🇺🇸 is in 12 weeks and First Sunday of Advent ✝️ is in 15 weeks.

Phil Ochs – Here’s to the State of Richard Nixon (Live) – YouTube

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"And here's to the government of Richard Nixon
In the swamp of their bureaucracy
They're always bogging down
And criminals are posing
As advisors to the crown
And they hope that no one sees the sights
And no one hears the sounds
And the speeches of the president
Are the ravings of a clown"

"Oh here's to the land you've torn out the heart of
Richard Nixon: find yourself another country to be part of"

Malvina Reynolds – God bless the grass – YouTube

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"God bless the grass that grows thru the crack.
They roll the concrete over it to try and keep it back.
The concrete gets tired of what it has to do,
It breaks and it buckles and the grass grows thru,
And God bless the grass."

Moose River Plains vs. Piesco-Powley Road for Next Weekend

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Moose River Plains vs. Piesco-Powley Road for Next Weekend

It looks like next weekend will be a nice one. I may take off Friday. I am still chewing over whether or not to go up to Moose River Plains or Piseco-Powley Road. Here is what I’m thinking the pros and cons of both would be.

Cedar River Flow Past the Island

Moose River Plains – Pro

– I don’t think I will back up there again this year, it would be nice to get up there once this summer.

– Cedar River Flow would be a nice paddle and fish on Friday if the weather is nice.

– I could drive up early on Friday morning, this way I wouldn’t have to drive in the dark or fight rush-hour traffic.

– Friday or Saturday night I could camp in the plains, go for an after-dark hike along the roads, maybe hike back to Icehouse Lake after dark to enjoy the stars.

– I love camping in the open campsites, with the sand.

– If I get a campsite in the plains, I can take the kayak off my truck, park it in the sun and have ample power for the remaining portion of the weekend.

– Maybe Sunday leave relatively early, come back through Old Forge, maybe stop and visit Woodhull Lake as I haven’t been back that way in years.

– If I go up to Moose River this weekend, I could always go up to Piseco-Powley Road next weekend.

– Every campsite has an outhouse and picnic table which is always nice.

– Wild blueberries in the plains!

Setting Sun

Moose River Plains – Con

– If I drive up on Friday morning, that’s still only two nights of camping, and really only one full day back in the plains.

– Everything takes longer to drive to in Moose River plains, it seems like you spend half your time there driving from point a to point b.

– I’ve done most of the hikes before at Moose River Plains.

– It’s a long haul to Inlet if for some reason I need a supply, and everything is very expensive there, and I don’t really like the Northern Lights Ice Cream place.

– I hate all the potholes and bumps on Moose River Plains, I don’t want to risk damaging my truck, especially as I will be driving a lot more of the next few weeks for work.

– It’s a long haul there and an even longer haul back along NY 28, and I probably would have to drive the Northway at least going up there.

– Both a lot of Friday and Sunday will be devoted to driving rather then camping and enjoying the back country.

Theodore Wind Bridge

Piseco-Powley Road – Pro

– Piseco-Powley Road is not that far from Albany, I could easily leave on Thursday night and set up camp. Granted I probably will have to stop and buy groceries on the way up and it may be dark before camp is fully set up, but it would most certainly mean one more night of camping.

– Whether I take the Thruway or I-890/NY 5 through Schenectady out to Amsterdam, there won’t be the traffic or hassles of the Northway. It’s also only about a 90 minute drive, or maybe a bit less.

– If I get up there on a Thursday night, there is a good chance I could get the Powley Bridge site or maybe even one of the nice sandy sites out in Powley Place. The bridge site I could kayak right from camp.

– Friday or Saturday I could drive down to Little Falls and hike around Moss Island then paddle in the Mohawk River.

– Powley Road is well maintained, much less bumpy then Cedar River – Limekiln Lake Road.

– The potholers are a great place to cool down on a hot day. Sure the Moose River offers a place to cool down but it’s not nearly as nice as the potholers.

– Not so far from civilization if I need to get supplies, especially if I’m thinking of heading down to Little Falls.

Piseco-Powley Road – Con

– I’ve been to Piseco-Powley Road two times already this year. If the weather is also nice for Labor Day Weekend — or even in September I might go back there a third or fourth time. I go up there a lot.

– Hardly a special trip, something I’ve done many times before. Might even be boring.

– If I camp in the plains, or even at the bridge site, it won’t be as isolated or quiet as camping at some of the sites at Moose River area.

Westinghouse 1,500 kilowatt Rotary Converter – YouTube

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Most trolley and subway systems used 600 VDC. Yet the power grid and most stand-alone power plants use turbo-alternators to generate AC power. One way to convert AC to DC is to physically bolt an alternating current motor to a DC generator. Obviously this is inefficient, and DC generators are brushed-motors, and the brushes would wear out and regularly have to be replaced.

By the 1930s, these rotary converters were replaced with mercury vapor arc rectifiers, which where large glass vats of mercury, that allowed current to only flow one way. In many ways they are much cooler looking as they glow -- almost something from a sci-fi movie. Being solid state without moving parts, mercury vapor arc rectifiers often saw service for many decades, well into the 2000s. See here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QY6V2syGnZAI