July 19, 2019 Night

|

Good evening! Cloudy and 74 degrees at the Cherry Ridge Camping Area. ☁ There is a west-southwest breeze at 6 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 73 degrees. Felt cold in the air conditioned truck but it’s so damp outside when I got out. It’s cool enough that it doesn’t feel ungodly hot here but it’s so damp that I struggled to get a fire started even with the bag of kiln dried wood I brought with me here. 🔥

I was busy at work and missed the express bus home 🚍 but Mark from work saw me and gave me a ride home. Which was great until I got home got everything packed up per my list and realized that I forgot to bring my laptop charger. That wouldn’t be a problem except I told Lynne I would continue working on the Save the Pine Bush project during my vacation so I had to run home. 🏡 With the heat too I wasn’t moving that fast I must admit.

I ended up getting up to camp about a quarter before nine or two hours after I left home a second time. ⛺ Driving conditions were better than I expected although I did stop outside of Richfield Springs to close the windows on my truck cap due to rain and it poured ☔ driving through West Winfield. The storm clouds at times made it hard to see out here around dusk 🌆 but I made it to my destination safely. I connected up the accessory batteries to the alternator before I got to camp to ensure they didn’t run low.

I set up a fairly basic campsite, hanging up a few lights and the campstove. Cooked up some hot dogs and corn 🌽 on the cob, built a small fire after laying back in the hammock for a bit. Beautiful country driving out here but I wish I had gotten an earlier start as I was tired 😴 when I arrived.

Tonight will have showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 11pm. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 73 degrees at 2am. 11 degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 73 at 9pm. West wind 6 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. In 2018, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 57 degrees. The record low of 49 occurred back in 1974.

I expect when I retire for the night, I’ll run the fan most of the night 🌃 because it will likely be warmer in the truck cap and the fan can push air around and reduce the dampness.

Tonight will have a Waning Gibbous Moon 🌖 with 84% illuminated. The moon will set at 9:00 am. The Last Quarter Moon is on Tuesday night with mostly clear skies. The Strugeon Moon 🌝 is on Wednesday, August 14th. The sun will rise at 5:40 am with the first light at 5:07 am, which is 55 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 Tonight will have 9 hours and 6 minutes of darkness, an increase of one minute and 42 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will have a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 10am. Partly sunny ☀ , with a high of 88 degrees at 4pm. Five degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 76 at 4pm. Heat index values as high as 99. West wind 6 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. The high last year was 88 degrees. The record high of 97 was set in 1991.

In four weeks on August 16 the sun will be setting at 8:01 pm,🌄 which is 33 minutes and 12 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2018 on that day, we had hot, humid, mostly sunny skies and temperatures between 88 and 69 degrees. Summer can continue on through August for sure. Typically, you have temperatures between 81 and 60 degrees. The record high of 97 degrees was set back in 1936.

Looking ahead, Labor Day Weekend Begins 👨‍🏭 is in 6 weeks and Friday the 13th 👿 is in 8 weeks.

Microwaves Might Never Live Up to Their Potential – The Atlantic

|

Microwaves Might Never Live Up to Their Potential – The Atlantic

For millions of American college students, the first taste of adult freedom comes in a bite of Stouffer’s French Bread Pizza or a salty slurp from a Cup Noodles. Hemmed in by fire-safety rules and tight budgets, dorm dwellers have long embraced such microwaved delicacies, honing cook times in shared lounges with low-powered appliances balanced atop mini fridges. When I was in school, my first microwaved drug of choice was Kraft Easy Mac, a mid-2000s classic, which gave way to Lean Cuisines and Smart Ones dinners once fluorescent cheese powder started weirding me out.

I have to say I like my microwave, but rarely have much in the way of microwave package food, mainly because I'm too cheap to buy it. But the microwave is a fast and easy way to cook food that really doesn't use much power -- although I dislike how my microwave has a 2 watt consumption of power when it's not operating, so I always unplug it when it's not in. While the current draw might be as much as 1200 watts, it's usuall Plus it's quick to use.

MeatEater Conservation – Studies Show 3% of Drivers Swerve to Hit Snakes and Turtles

|

MeatEater Conservation – Studies Show 3% of Drivers Swerve to Hit Snakes and Turtles

Police departments and insurance agencies routinely advise motorists to never swerve to avoid dogs, deer or other animals darting onto roads and highways. Sudden high-speed moves can send vehicles spinning or cause them to strike a tree, guardrail or other cars and trucks. Motorists fare better by bracing, braking, holding straight and letting the animal dictate its fate.

Slowly moving snakes and turtles, however, seldom trigger panicky reactions. In fact, they sometimes do the opposite. Whether the reptiles are straddling centerlines, sunning themselves on paved shoulders, or laying eggs in soft roadside sand and gravel, they provoke some drivers to attack, not evade.

Several studies and experiments over the past three decades found that roughly 3% of motorists intentionally steer off course to Goodyear reptiles on roadways.

July 19, 2019 Morning

|

Good morning! I’m Happy, it’s the start of my Summer Vacation after work 🏊🏿! Going to be a hot one to-day but once the coolers are packed I’ll be on my way after work. Six weeks to Labor Day Weekend Begins 👨‍🏭. Then reality sets in. But first some hot weather. Mostly cloudy and 74 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☁ There is a south-southeast breeze at 6 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 67 degrees. But it will get hot later on. The skies will clear around 10 am.

The plan is to be on the road by six-ish and out to Brookfield well before dark. I’m a bit concerned about severe weather driving out there but if I have to pull off due to blinding rain and wait out the storm so be it. 💦I have a small bag of leftover kiln-dried firewood 🔥if I decide to have a fire but it might be too hot for that. I want to get an early start tomorrow from Brookfield, I packed cereal so after my coffee ☕ I hope to be on the road by 8 am before the heat hits then stop briefly at the Montezuma winery 🍷 and get a few bottles for mom and then head down to Taughannock State Park to swim 🏊 in Cayuga Lake before heading up to the National Forest, hanging up a hammock and drifting asleep to the mooing of the cows. 🐮

Today will be partly sunny and hot 🔥☀, with a high of 93 degrees at 4pm. 10 degrees above normal. But that’s not the whole story. Maximum dew point of 72 at 12pm. Heat index values as high as 101. Don’t let the ice melt in your beer 🍻 cooler. South wind 6 to 13 mph becoming west in the afternoon. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. The high last year was 83 degrees. The record high of 97 was set in 1904. I’m not sure if we will break the record set downtown 116 beers ago.

The sun will set at 8:28 pm with dusk around 9:01 pm, which is 46 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At sunset, look for partly cloudy skies 🌃 and temperatures around 86 degrees. The dew point will be 73 degrees. The heat index around sunset will be 73. ⛱ There will be a west breeze at 13 mph. Today will have 14 hours and 53 minutes of daytime, an increase of one minute and 40 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have isolated showers and thunderstorms between 9pm and 2am. Some of the storms could produce gusty winds and heavy rain. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 74 degrees at 4am. 12 degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 73 at 7pm. West wind 5 to 13 mph becoming south after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2018, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 57 degrees. The record low of 49 occurred back in 1974.

On this day, there was the Great New York City Fire of 1845: 🔥 The last great fire to affect Manhattan began early in the morning and was subdued that afternoon. The fire killed 4 firefighters, 26 civilians, and destroyed 345 buildings. Always be careful with matches, in densely packed urban areas with lots of wooden buildings. In Manhattan, Penna just don’t tick your neighbors off by burning too much plastic. 😂 Hah.

Tomorrow will be mostly sunny and hot 🔥☀, with a high of 96 degrees at 2pm. 13 degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 74 at 6pm. Heat index values as high as 106. Won’t be that hot in the Finger Lakes and Cayuga Lake might be downright cold ❄. Remember snow, it’s coming, enjoy the hot weather. Light west wind increasing to 8 to 13 mph in the morning. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. The high last year was 88 degrees. The record high of 97 was set in 1991.

Looking ahead to Sunday, scattered showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Partly sunny and hot 🔥☀, with a high near 95. West wind 5 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Maximum dew point of 73 at 8am. Typical average high for the weekend is 83 degrees.

I’m going to play it day by day ⛺ but I have ambitious plans for the week if the weather is nice, which I’m hoping it will be by the latest models. ☀ Should be nice swimming 🏊 with the hot weather for the first half of the week, the only really bad day so far on the forecast is Monday with some rain but then sun balls and a lot cooler for the second half of the week. 😎

Sleepy for the fourth