I do a lot of reading and clicking on ads about low-income services and products. I enjoy figuring out the various products, how they work and how they scam or otherwise defraud the poor. Sometimes for some people in certain situations though they might be a good deal or make sense for them.
I am always looking to save a few bucks or earn a little more money, although most of the things I see marketed are incredibly scammy. But maybe I’m just resistent to change. But I’m always fascinated by how the poor live and get by, especially with everything being as expensive as it is these days.
My budget is always tight and I’m always looking for ways to save a bit of money. I do wish government programs like food stamps or housing assistance were available for me – it would be nice to get some healthy groceries for free or save a bit on rent. Not that I really need it – my rent excluding utilities is under 10% of my income and grocery bill is only a few percent. I’m fortunate compared to some but I wouldn’t mind a little extra to save towards tomorrow.
Most of the tips you find on the internet are marketing scams, silly or things that I do already. I installed energy efficient bulbs in my apartment the day I moved in 13 years ago. I keep the heat low, I don’t have a television, wired internet or television. I unplug everything from the microwave to my computer when I’m not using it. I invest in high interest savings accounts and low cost index funds, do a lot of shopping at Wally World. All things the internet loves but aren’t a savings when that’s your norm.
Some day when I own my own land and live out in the country, I’ll probably be making a lot less money. While I’ll have more savings at that point, the frugal habits I have now will help me in the future. Maybe I’ll have lower expenses, although land and a home can be expensive to manage. But good habits I learn today can lead a healthier future.
I was a bit on the fence about getting a car wash today with so much salt on the roads, but I’m not planning on driving anywhere this weekend, and I needed to get to store to get supplies. The guy in front of me — in a Chinese knock-off Trump MAGA hat and with a blue Silverado — put too much time on in the machine and let me have nearly 7 minutes of his time. So I got a free car wash out of it.
Night before dawn is 6 hours and 27 minutes, Dawn starts at 6:27 am and runs for 29 minutes, Sunrise is at 6:56 am which is 5 hours and 3 minutes before noon, High noon, the transit of the sun, is at 12:09 pm, From twelve noon to the sunset at 5:22 pm is 5 hours and 22 minutes, Dusk lasts for 30 minutes concluding at 5:51 pm, Leaving 6 hours and 8 minutes until midnight.
Good morning! Happy Don’t Cry over Spilled Milk Day ! You gotta dip and strip them before you can milk ’em. That said, milk has a lot of nutrients in it and spill enough of it and it can cause algea blooms. Three weeks to Average High is 40 . We can only hope. Mostly cloudy and 17 degrees in Delmar, NY. Calm wind. There are 6 inches of snow on the ground. ️The skies will clear around noontime. So I hope.
Kind of a cold and gray winter morning for the walk. The air has a tinge of manure, silage and wood smoke on it. Everything in e covered with salt and the snow banks are muddy. Pretty much what you would expect for February in Upstate NY. Going to get cold tomorrow for the holiday weekend. But the days are getting longer and before you know it the temperatures climbing towards spring. They applied de-icer to the sidewalks so they are pretty clear except for a few patches of black ice.
Ended up going down to the library yesterday and getting the books I wanted to read. Two more books are still on reserve but hopefully they’ll arrive soon. Currently reading Paul Grondahl’s Mayor Erastus Corning. While I’m younger than most of the characters in the book, I’ve many of the characters through the Young Democrats and Save the Pine Bush.
I had a work project that I knew would require a fair bit of opening large PDFs so I figured it best to work at the library. It was sunny and fairly warm in my truck with the solar gain. For the most part, the VPN works well over the library network and the encryption should keep everything secure. Still not a lot of solar power as the sun angle is fairly weak.
Today will be cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny , with a high of 28 degrees at 2pm. Six degrees below normal. Light northwest wind increasing to 6 to 11 mph in the morning. A year ago, we had light drizzle in the morning, which became mist by afternoon. The high last year was 39 degrees. The record high of 59 was set in 1981. 9.6 inches of snow fell back in 1933.
Today is the day for the car wash. That’s my plan and shopping . It will be a fairly busy day at work, I have a Zoom meeting in the afternoon. I’d kind of like to do it at the library but I’m not sure if my other laptop with Zoom on it is working – I think I’ve forgotten the password . I would do Zoom on my personal computer but I don’t think my computer is fast enough for the virtual backgrounds.
Solar noon is at 12:11 pm with sun having an altitude of 33.5° from the due south horizon (-37.3° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 9.1 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour starts at 4:43 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (245°). The sunset is in the west-southwest (252°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:23 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 3 seconds with dusk around 5:51 pm, which is one minute and 19 seconds later than yesterday. The best time to look at the stars is after 6:25 pm. At sunset, look for partly clear skies and temperatures around 25 degrees. There will be a northwest breeze at 10 mph. Today will have 10 hours and 28 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 38 seconds over yesterday..
Walking past the express bus stop I have to wonder when the express bus will be returning if ever. I guess at some point in the future hopefully before I’m working downtown again. I have a feeling it will be before the weather gets really nice or maybe not – the vaccine roll out seems rather slow. Now that I’ve mostly worked out the technical issues on my end, working remotely is kind of fun, especially when I’m up in the woods and not waiting for buses in the cold.
Tonight will be partly cloudy , with a low of 3 degrees at 6am. 14 degrees below normal. Maximum wind chill around -5 at 6am; Northwest wind 6 to 8 mph. In 2020, we had partly cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 31 degrees. The record low of -16 occurred back in 1979.
Going to be another cold night in Biden’s America. Landlord will want me to keep the kitchen cabinets open to keep the pipes unfrozen which I will certainly stumble into in the darkness. At least the heat now works good.
Right now, a split verdict on the weekend. Saturday, a slight chance of snow after 4pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 21. North wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Sunday, a chance of snow before 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 29. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Typical average high for the weekend is 34 degrees.
No ambitious plans for the weekend but I might walk out to Five Rivers to see the birds and get some exercise. I like the farm scenery along Meads Lane too and walking is free and healthy. Maybe President’s Day I’ll go skiing somewhere.
Only 37 days remain until the first day of calendar spring! Six days until one month until the start of spring. That’s a way to look at it I guess. March is nice but no guarantees. But then again comes April when you at the calendar.
As previously noted, next Thursday is 6 PM Dusk when the sun will be setting at 5:31 pm with dusk at 6:00 pm. On that day in 2020, we had rain showers, mostly cloudy and temperatures between 41 and 23 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 35 degrees. We hit a record high of 63 back in 1981.
! You gotta dip and strip them before you can milk ’em. That said, milk has a lot of nutrients in it and spill enough of it and it can cause algea blooms. Three weeks to Average High is 40 
. We can only hope. Mostly cloudy and 17 degrees in Delmar, NY. 
Calm wind. There are 6 inches of snow on the ground. 
️The skies will clear around noontime. So I hope.
The air has a tinge of manure, silage and wood smoke on it. 
Everything in e covered with salt and the snow banks are muddy. 
Pretty much what you would expect for February in Upstate NY. Going to get cold tomorrow for the holiday weekend. But the days are getting longer and before you know it the temperatures climbing towards spring. 
They applied de-icer to the sidewalks so they are pretty clear except for a few patches of black ice. 
and getting the books I wanted to read. 
Two more books are still on reserve but hopefully they’ll arrive soon. Currently reading Paul Grondahl’s Mayor Erastus Corning. While I’m younger than most of the characters in the book, I’ve many of the characters through the Young Democrats and Save the Pine Bush.
that I knew would require a fair bit of opening large PDFs so I figured it best to work at the library. It was sunny and fairly warm in my truck 
with the solar gain. For the most part, the VPN works well over the library network and the encryption should keep everything secure. 
Still not a lot of solar power 
That’s my plan and shopping 
. It will be a fairly busy day at work, I have a Zoom meeting in the afternoon. I’d kind of like to do it at the library but I’m not sure if my other laptop with Zoom on it is working – I think I’ve forgotten the password 
. I would do Zoom on my personal computer but I don’t think my computer is fast enough for the virtual backgrounds. 
is at 12:11 pm with sun having an altitude of 33.5° from the due south horizon (-37.3° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 9.1 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 
starts at 4:43 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (245°). 
The sunset is in the west-southwest (252°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:23 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 3 seconds with dusk around 5:51 pm, which is one minute and 19 seconds later than yesterday. 
The best time to look at the stars is after 6:25 pm. At sunset, look for partly clear skies 
and temperatures around 25 degrees. There will be a northwest breeze at 10 mph. Today will have 10 hours and 28 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 38 seconds over yesterday..
I have to wonder when the express bus will be returning if ever. I guess at some point in the future 
hopefully before I’m working downtown again. I have a feeling it will be before the weather gets really nice or maybe not – the vaccine roll out seems rather slow. 
Now that I’ve mostly worked out the technical issues on my end, working remotely is kind of fun, especially when I’m up in the woods and not waiting for buses 
in the cold. 
, with a low of 3 degrees at 6am. 14 degrees below normal. Maximum wind chill around -5 at 6am; Northwest wind 6 to 8 mph. In 2020, we had partly cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 31 degrees. The record low of -16 occurred back in 1979.
Saturday, a slight chance of snow after 4pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 21. North wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Sunday, a chance of snow before 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 29. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Typical average high for the weekend is 34 degrees.
but I might walk out to Five Rivers to see the birds and get some exercise. I like the farm scenery along Meads Lane too and walking is free and healthy. Maybe President’s Day I’ll go skiing 
somewhere. 
Only 37 days remain until the first day of calendar spring!
when the sun will be setting at 5:31 pm with dusk at 6:00 pm. On that day in 2020, we had rain showers, mostly cloudy and temperatures between 41 and 23 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 35 degrees. We hit a record high of 63 back in 1981.
