8/4/20 by Diane Rehm
Web player: https://podcastaddict.com/episode/110636514
Episodes: https://downloads.wamu.org/mp3/dr/20/08/r1200804.mp3
Diane talks to Robert P. Jones, author of the new book, “White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity.”
Fresh Air also had him on last week and this is a very interesting topic and interviewer.
State officials confirmed Tuesday night that emerald ash borer has infested some trees in the Town of Chester.
The invasive bug has been documented all around the outskirts of the Adirondack Park, but this is the first time the state Department of Environmental Conservation has confirmed an infestation within the park.
Emerald ash borers are metallic, green-winged beetles whose larvae feed on an inner layer of an ash tree. Once they’re grown, the adults exit the tree, leaving behind a D-shaped hole. Over time, the beetle’s lifecycle ends up killing the tree. They’re not great at flying, either, and typically get spread through people transporting wood shipping pallets or firewood.
The history books show the Dutch Elm disease quarantine was more successful than SLAM but I think that has more to the vector of disease - fungus versus insects. Dutch Elm disease did spread quicker during World War II when restrictions were lifted but it wasnt until the 1980s until it really got to devestating Upstate and further decades before got a serious hold in Ontario - really not until the beginning of the 21st century before Toronto lost its beautiful Elm lined streets.
The point is that humans might be an important vector but that doesn't mean that humans can necessarily break the chain. We are more helpless as a society to stop bad things from happening then the politicians want us to believe.
Good evening! Mostly clear and 70 degrees in Delmar, NY. 🌌 There is a northwest breeze at 5 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 57 degrees. It’s a very pleasant evening. Lots of stars ✨ out back and the crickets 🦗 are singing 🎶 their song.
I went over to John Wolcott’s house 🔎and we went through the most interesting file 📂 of old photos and documents relating to preservation or lack therefore of the Fort Orange site now buried ⚰ under Interstate 787. 🌉 I took some pictures of the files and I’ve posted some and will continue to post more in coming days. 🖼
It was a pretty quiet day at work 💻and I was able to get the quick photo 📸 uploader up and working. This allows me to quickly upload photos from my smartphone 📱 to the blog and some of the other content as an alternative to the traditional uploader which is better for uploading several maps or photos at once. 👆 Combined with the better camera on my new phone I should be able to post high quality pictures from my trips on the fly.
I got next week off from work 🏖️ and I’m heading out to the Finger Lakes this weekend for a week or socially distant vacationing. It’s a real vacation, none of this remote work from the wilderness. 💻🌲🌲 This year I don’t expect to spend every day at a state park 🏞 but instead will do more hiking and kayaking 🛶 away from the crowds. The first half of the week looks pretty nice ☀ but if the second half kind of is rainy ☔ I have lots of books to read 📖.
Might try to camp at that site with more limited cell reception as I kind of want more quiet. 🔕 I’m not saying I won’t visit the Glen Dairy Bar 🍨🍦 a few times or maybe get up early one or two mornings and get a spot to swim 🏊 at the Watkins Glen pool but it’s not going to be the focus of some years. 🌻I want to do different things, more hiking and paddling and less crowded gorges or touristy places during the pandemic. 👾 Nothing wrong with staying in camp a few days with a book 📙 or watching the cows graze on the pastures 🐮. I really do get tired of all the emails 📧 and social media 😜 especially the trolls send emails that are downright harassing.🤬
I picked up most of the supplies and food 🍲 I will need for the first few days of my Finger Lakes trip. I also got two waterproof cases for my phone and camera 📸 should I decide to bring them kayaking 🛶. I also have a knock off Go Pro camera 📹 which I should figure out how to attach to my kayak. I’ll need some night crawlers 🐛 for fishing 🎣 but I’ll get them once I get out there. I’m also looking at getting another water container with a spigot that I can put on a table and turn the spout 💧 for water.
Tonight will be mostly clear 🌃, with a low of 56 degrees at 4am. Five degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around September 3rd. Maximum dew point of 57 at 9pm. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies. It became sticky as the night progressed. It got down to 63 degrees. The record low of 45 occurred back in 1994.
Tonight will have a Waining Gibbous 🌖 Moon with 93% illuminated. The darkest hour is at 1:02 am, followed by dawn at 5:21 am, and sun starting to rise at 5:53 am in the east-northeast (66°) and last for 3 minutes and 10 seconds. Sunrise is one minute and 3 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 The golden hour ends at 6:32 am with sun in the east-northeast (73°). Tonight will have 9 hours and 42 minutes of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 19 seconds over last night.
Tomorrow will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 80 degrees at 3pm. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around August 18th. Maximum dew point of 58 at 8am. Light northwest wind. Hell, that’s going to feel like a an autumn day. 🍂 Low due point, cool temperatures and deep blue skies. 🗻 A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 84 degrees. The record high of 98 was set in 1900.
Tomorrow as downtime allows I’m going to pack 💼 and clean my apartment 🚿getting ready to leave probably early Friday and working remotely from camp in Madison County. I could change my mind depending on how busy Thursday and Friday are but actually prefer to get up early rather than making the evening slog especially with the sun setting earlier now. 🌇 I also need to go to the laundromat, 👚 probably work from my truck there plus the atm 🏧 although I guess I could do that in Friday morning.
I got two more books out of the library today. 📙 Some how with the online ordering I ended up with more books than expected – I kept ordering things I thought I wanted to read 📖 and with delays I kept ordering more. Kind of like AliExpress 📦 but only free. Most of the books are on farming and homesteading – it’s a topic I’ve been doing a lot of reading about this summer plus one book on solar power and off grid living. 🏡 Also got Storey’s Guide to Raising Pigs 🐖. My fascination with pig farming started with Cam Edwards and maybe my neighbors raising pigs growing up and has only grown since learning about the grazing breeds like this Idaho Pasture Pig 🐽 that is so trendy these days at least on the internet.
In four weeks on September 2 the sun will be setting in the west (281°) at 7:27 pm,🌄 which is 42 minutes and 51 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had rain and temperatures between 76 and 62 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 77 and 57 degrees. The record high of 100 degrees was set back in 1953. It’s funny to think we’re talking about September so soon. I should see about updating the countdown clock, it’s been a while since I’ve done that. 🕒 Maybe tomorrow – got to find the dates of all the upcoming autumn holidays. 🍂
A letter about the discovery of Fort Orange that was was written to downplay John Wolcott's discovery of the Fort Orange ruins under 787.
Wednesday August 5, 2020 — I-787
Summer 2020 has brought with it the spectacular comet Neowise, the visibility of five planets and a full moon at once and a number of breathtaking meteor showers. But it saved the best for last — the Perseids meteor shower peaks next week, and it'll be the best one all year.