Still mostly cloudy and we are now a muggy 75 degrees in Delmar, NY. Sun is breaking through the clouds and the humidity. There is a west breeze at 6 mph. The dew point is 68 degrees. Even the muggers downtown are complaining about the humidity. The skies will clear around 7 pm. Mugginess will continue into evening but will drop as head into the night. Thunderstorms and clouds later, 89 degrees with a dew point pushing up to an oppressive 71 degrees by mid day. It’s called summer. 

The sun will set at 8:34 pm with dusk around 9:09 pm, which is 27 seconds later than yesterday. At sunset, look for partly cloudy conditions and 80 degrees. The dew point will be a sticky 66 degrees. There will be a north-northwest breeze at 8 mph. Today will have 15 hours and 17 minutes of daytime, an increase of 29 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be partly cloudy, with a low of 58 degrees at 5am. Two degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 68 at 6pm. North wind 6 to 8 mph. In 2016, it got down to 47 degrees with mostly clear skies. The record low of 39 occurred back in 1970.

On this day in 1966, the United States Supreme Court rules in Miranda v. Arizona that the police must inform suspects of their rights before questioning them. Happy Miranda Day! Also in 1970, “The Long and Winding Road” becomes The Beatles’ last U.S. number one song. And in 1977, Convicted Martin Luther King Jr. assassin James Earl Ray is recaptured after escaping from prison three days before.

As previously noted, there are 3 weeks until Independence Day when the sun will be setting at 8:36 pm with dusk at 9:10 pm. On that day in 2016, we had mostly sunny skies and temperatures between 87 and 54 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 82 degrees. We hit a record high of 104 back in 1911.

The heat and humidity is just part of summer. I still don’t believe in air conditioning because I think it would make me stay indoors rather than enjoying the fresh air outdoors. Having air conditioning in my truck is nice but it doesn’t require me to stay home. Not having AC encourages me to hit up swimming pools, beaches, and camp during in the summer rather than sitting in stuffy but air conditioned building. I could just envision spending my summer indoors if I had internet and air conditioning at home, rather then spending nights on the tailgate of my truck, going down to the park, and enjoying the wilderness.

Eventually when I own land and a house, I doubt I will ever get utility service but instead rely 12 volt electricity, batteries and solar panels.  I just hate paying money for invisible thing that while beneficial seems to come from the ethers. There are so many neat things you can do with LEDs and automotive relays. I think so much in the contemporary suburban house is overbuilt and too greedy with the amount of electricity and resources it uses. I’d rather spend my money on land where I can shoot guns and burn whatever I want then a fancy house. So air conditioning, with it’s high amperage demands probably is off the table. But plenty of air circulation, insulation, and smart planning really mitigates the need for air conditioning.

Enjoy this warm summer day. Stay cool, drink lots of fluids.