It was a rough drive home last night in the pouring rain ☔

It was a pretty nice day, the first half of the day, but then it clouded up and then the rain came down as I was riding trail in Albany Pine Bush after dark. I am sure half of the neighbors called out the state militia to investigate who was jacking deer. But it was fun at least until the sky really opened up, especially as I left Wally World in Albany.

There was still some nice color from the tammarcks, rhododendrons, and maples left at the Pine Hollow Arboretum when I visited yesterday. 🍁 It seems like just yesterday, I was there on Juneteenth dodging the bugs, looking at the rhododendrons and magnolia trees in flower. 🌸 How fast the days come and go. Then I rode out to the Bender Melon 🍈 Farms Preserve. They’ve done a lot cleaning up the old barn and improving the trails over the summer. I was, as I noted yesterday, so annoyed about how the new Cherry Avenue Extension Bike Trail does not havee a connection over to McCormick Road and the New Scotland Avenue where the Arboretum is located. I guess the engineers didn’t think such a crossing is safe but I normally ride my bike on Cherry Avenue Extension. 🚸 There actually is a decent shoulder, though narrower now. Regardless, I’m happy about the new Cherry Avenue ramp to the bike trail, it’s my new route for commuting. 🚲

Boiling down the beans yesterday morning, the smoke detector went off and I could not shut it off despite repeatly hitting the nuisance alarm reset. I tried blowing the dust out of it unsuccessfully but it just kept chirping and chirping. I put it in my truck, thinking the warmth from the heater and being away from my steamy apartment would get it to stop unsuccessfully.  But it kept sounding even after hittingthe reset. I ended up pulling the emergency kill switch on the smoke detector then stuck it in white garbage bag to never be thought of again except maybe when the built in battery goes pop the next time I have a roaring fire in the wilderness. 🔥 I thought about seeing if it would reset itself eventually, but it’s not worth the stress when I can just spend a few bucks and turn the old unit into carbon dioxide and some bright yellow flames. The beeping just was grating out my brain 🧠 all day, and to hear it continuing to beep as I returned to my truck after riding all evening, annoyed me even more. Some garbage makes me so happy to watch burn and never have to think about it again. I tossed it inside a wrapper bag as I didn’t even want to look at in the trash.

The thirty year plus old smoke wired-in detector stopped working probably a decade ago, so I got a series of battery ones that seem to work for a while before quiting due to dust, moisture and often cold conditions in my apartment. 🚒 Years ago it was leaky pipes that I wasn’t on top of landlord to get fixed quick enough, in part due to a pipe leaking in the wall after I lost power for three days in the ice storm of 2008, then there is issues with the building shifting off the slab foundation and the bathroom vent being plugged by house wrens. Among other issues. I could be on my landlords ass but part of reason why my rent is so cheap is I pay every month and never flag any issues unless it’s critical – like the water heater leaking (I’m on the third water heater since moving here), the rusty refrigerator dying, dripping sinks (landlord always asks about that due to “high” cost of water bills). I could have asked the landlord to replace the existing unit, but I like being able to place the smoke detector outside or in the closet during smokey conditions. 💧

Hearing that alarm go off 🛎️ repeatly through the day had me so stressed out. As did spending $28 to replace it with the mandated 10-year battery and other multi-mode detection that the state firefighters association mandated into he code. I could have asked the landlord to replace the old 30-plus year old non-functional wired unit but as I noted, I wanted to be able to remove the detector whenever I burn something on the stove and things get really smokey inside. I just hate spending money on shit like this, but it’s important for safety, and as noted, I avoid calling the landlord unless it’s something critical that I can’t fix myself, as I know it will just go into my future rent if I request more repairs. And I like it cheap, as it means more money for saving for that off-grid cabin. 🏡 I figure what I can do for $28 is far less then calling the maintance man, paying him several hours of labor plus the part. 🛠️ Honestly, if I owned my own house, I’d take far better care of it, but alas that’s the conflict – landlords nor tenants really want to invest much money in the place the I’ve. It’s pretty rare for tenants to stay to 18-years in a building, but I’m mostly happy here, though I still want that off-grid homestead 🐐 in the woods with livestock, a garden, a burn barrel and the right to won whatever handguns and black rifle I want 🔫 without having to ask for special government permission. Fuck the woke liberals.

I was so stress out about it, I felt every creak and grown of my big jacked up truck 🛻 as I was heading out to Pine Bush 🌲 to ride trail and get some shirts at Goodwill and Salvation Army. It just seemed like the ride was wallowly and bumpier then usual but then again, when I get focused on it, I reminded how shit the ride is in my big jacked up truck and it’s only gotten worse after the decade of riding though rough roads. Shop looked at it last summer, nothing is wrong. 🔎 State inspection in a month, and then I can pay up if there is anything critically wrong. Otherwise, it’s another winter then junking it. The it’s off to the landfill and scrap yard – I’m sure they’ll probably send it to action and maybe somebody else will get a few more years out of it before the boneyard. Truth is it’s not just the suspension that’s crap on the roads, the pavement is falling apart, which is why the ride is such crap. It was the smoke detector that kept sounding off in  my truck as I drove over the roads, that had me on edge. And on godly amount of traffic both on US 20 and State Farm Road.

Things were so picked over at both Salvation Army and Goodwill. 👚 Maybe I should have gone earlier in the day, and honestly thrift stores usually are pretty picked over and what you find there is unique, admitly other people’s trash they sell you for $3-6. But I kind of like the funky, kind of hillbilly but professional look of the clothes I get thrifting. I got a shirt at both places, was hoping for a pin-stripe dress shirts as I think they make me look my best as a Data Services director, 🤓 you know lord of computing division, if I’m not a database administrator or a programmer, but just a hick who studied political science at a two-bit college in North Country that smells like paper plant and cow shit knows a bit about computers. Both the parking lots and stores were packed at both places, maybe I didn’t go until mid-day, and because with inflation people are looking for deals. I guess poor people shop at thrift shops, not those who make the low-six figures, 💵 but I hate spending money at the Maul or even Walmart when I can keep garbage out of landfill or smoke stack for a bit longer by buying used.  🏭

It was great riding in the Pine Bush, 🚲 🐦 🌲 🦋 lots of people were using the preserve. Always surprises me how many bow hunters you’ll see parked there on the first day of rifle season, 🏹🦌 but they probably figure the rifle blasts drive the deer into the suburbs seeking protection so it’s good to hunt there. Hell of it is you never actually see the bow hunters, as their in full cammo and shoot silently unlike those doing the rifle or shotgun thing. Probably glassing me as I had to piss on the tree. There also were horse back riders, 🐴 bicyclists, 🚲 bird watchers 🐦 and gangs of hikers of  there, though they filtered out as the day passed by plus I was riding part of the trail that was closed for mechanical removal of trees with a buncher feller and brush hog, but of course I didn’t see that sign or something like that. I spend a  lot of time studying that John Wolcott Pine Bush Hiker’s Underpass sign and then I rode the underpass on my bike, then rode out to the King’s Road Barrens then out to King’s Highway to Schenectady County line, then back to where I was parked on Madison Avenue Extension before doing the loop trail 🚴 well into the darkness when the rain picked up.

Went to Wally World, laid down my cash for a new smoke detector and pantry refreshments, 💵 bitching about the money all the way to the cash register but it’s good to keep my diet varied and pantry full of healthy eats so I’m not relying on cornmeal onions, and beans for every meal. Plus I wanted to make sure I had plenty of whole-wheat flour so I can bake bread tonight. 🍞 In both directions the shopping cart 🛒 got stuck on the escalator which was annoying, and I had to get the clerk to unlock the cabinet with soap in it so I add that to my cart. 🧼 I should be good for supplies all week but once again I’m running low on maple syrup. Fuck, that should have been on list. Check out was slow too.

Walking out to my truck, the sky just opened up. ⛈️ Pretty wicked thunderstorm on the way back home. Traffic was moving slowly on the expressway and then New Scotland Bypass (NY 85). Got stuck behind this very slow-moving car, that was all over the road. I think it was a drunk driver, 🍻 🚗 I wasn’t going to pass him and risk getting hit. Driver was going so slow, but I kept my distant. Got to Delaware and Cherry, and the driver didn’t navigate the turn and their car ended up pointing towards Stewart’s, as they intended to turn right but didn’t turn sharp enough. The driver didn’t crash but was blocked by other cars and curb. Not sure what happened beyond that, but I was happy to pull past the driver and get away from what was certain soon to be a bad situation. Maybe the driver backed up, or other drivers backed up to let him or her turn, but it was obvious the driver was black out drunk. Or maybe just confused by the rain and the dark. Could have been a very elderly driver, or just one with very bad vision or windshield wipers. The rain at times was very heavy. I forget how difficult night driving used to be for me prior to getting LASIK. 👀 Now I have such good night vision. Another driver was on NY 85 with their headlights off to, at 6 PM at night in pouring rain, but they did have daytime running lights. Could have been another elderly, 👴🏻 but I think that driver also was drunk. Little scary driving these days.

Got home, installed the smoke detector🧑‍🚒 in a location hopefully less likely to be set off my cooking and steam from showers, ready for me to return to sanity and quiet. I cooked up some more onions and beans and said, what a hell of a day between the sound of alarm ringing in my ears, 🔔 riding trail in the rain then the craziness that was Albany Wally World, then driving home in the wicked thunderstorm. ⛈️ The thunder rang out and the rain pounded down and I collapsed under the warmth of my heated blanket as I listened to an old recording to Rezsin Adam’s being interviewed, remembering the days spent with her folding and stamping newsletters, and trying to remember more about John Wolcott before passing out in warmth of my bed. I still have to turn on my heat but the heated blanket is good for now. Some day, I keep saving and investing, and I’ll have that off-grid cabin heated by wood, and I won’t have to worry so much about saving every penny 🪙 for the future life that is to be.

I might go out to Five Rivers Environmental Education Center later on today, but it’s kind of windy and cold this morning, 🌬️especially after all that heavy rain last night. 🌞 Sun is coming out now but everything is so damp, and just raw. Maybe I’ll read in bed for a while, and then true up the wheel on my bike and take it from there on this Sunday morning. Later on it’s out to visit with the folks.