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Not interested in contemporary society

I am not into contemporary culture or technology.

I don’t have internet or television at home although I do have a basic Straight Talk smartphone. I don’t like how modern society is about burning coal and oil for nearly all energy and landfilling most products only after a short time of use.

Morning update

I like working with low voltage electricity, relays and microprocessors.

There is so much you can do now with inexpensive components bought direct from China. I spent most of the summer weekends back country camping, a lot with my truck camper shell with 100 watts solar and a battery for power. I like having fires, being able to burn my own trash rather than landfill it and would much prefer to cut split and heat with wood rather than oil.

Entering the Forest Preserve

I’m thinking the way I would go off grid eventually is…

To buy a hunting camp and land as my primary residence, make modest improvements to the insulation and add a small scale solar system, under a kilowatt and install a shower for bathing. I’d prefer simple, less things to break and easy enough for a lay person like myself to fix.

Farm Tractor

I want to pay for the property fully with cash.

fix it up, hobby farm it, hunt it, live on it full time. Living in a small town, my income would drop a lot but without paying rent, no utility bills except for my basic cellphone, and only taxes I could make it work. I’d hopefully be able to draw on existing funds I’ve saved for other capital needs for the property like upgrades to the building, UTV, tractor, other implements. I’m saving a lot now and for retirement to make this a reality eventually. It’s going to take a decade or two to get there but with dedication, a plan and meeting goals I can get there.

June 17, 2019 Morning

Good morning! Final week of the Legislative Session. Or so I’m hoping. Sitting downtown at a railway station ๐Ÿš‰ one toke over the line. Or so goes the Brewer and Shipley song on the radio. Next Monday is Latest Sunset of the Year ๐ŸŒ†. About a half week after the first day of summer, due to the shifting transit of the sun. Now if the sun ever came out, we could enjoy that more. Maybe today. Partly sunny and 68 degrees in Delmar, NY. Calm wind. The dew point is 57 degrees. Going to a nice day.

Feeling fairly decent this morning, ๐Ÿ˜€ only with a minor headache that isn’t bothering me too much. DIdn’t feel all that great after going to see my parents house, but then I went home and got to bed fairly early. I was originally planning to spend the night at my parents house in the camper shell, but it was kind of rainy, wet evening, so I decided to go home. ๐Ÿ‘” I think it was a good thing though, because it gave me time last night to get my shirts hung up, and clothes put away before this most busy of weeks at work. I am just allergic to Mondays, or so I think. I did clean up the mildew in the bathroom, especially in the tub, ๐Ÿ›€ so hopefully that will help.

Today will be mostly sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 79 degrees at 4pm. Nice weather, with temperatures typical for today. Maximum dew point of 57 at 8am. Low humidity, nice. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 90 degrees. Much hotter. The record high of 94 was set in 1994.

I fully expect a long day at work. I packed lunch and dinner, and hopefully I will be able to find room in one of multiple mini-refigerators that have in the office to make up for the big dead one. ๐Ÿ—๐ŸŒฏ๐Ÿ˜‹ I am guessing I will be taking the 9:45 or 10:30 bus home tonight, ๐ŸšŒ but the nice thing about the bus, is even if I’m in a daze and tired, I don’t have to worry about the traffic lights or hitting something. Plus, I think most of the drivers know my stop, and I’ll set the alarm on the phone for 5 minutes before I expect to need to get off the bus. I’m going to take each day by day this morning, and only get my truck in evening if I expect to be released between 11:30 PM and 6 AM — which seems unlikely.

The sun will set at 8:35 pm with dusk around 9:10 pm, which is 21 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ At sunset, look for partly clear skies ๐ŸŒ„ and temperatures around 72 degrees. The dew point will be 56 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 15 hours and 18 minutes of daytime, an increase of 15 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have isolated showers after 11pm. Mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒง, with a low of 59 degrees at 4am. Two degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around June 22nd. Maximum dew point of 56 at 7pm. Calm wind. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2018, we had mostly clear skies. It became sticky as the night progressed. It got down to 71 degrees. The record low of 39 occurred back in 1958.

Looks like a really nice weekend. Two options are on the short list for the weekend. โ›บ My preferred option would be to leave after work on Friday for Piseco Powley Road, paddle Lily Lake from Stewart Landing, see the Lilies ๐ŸŒธ, have a nice fire ๐Ÿ”ฅ and maybe do the Potholers on Sunday. I also want to hike back to Dexter Lake but I doubt I’ll be able to do that in a weekend. It would be nice to get back to the Adirondacks — the last time I was up in the area was in early May, and I would like to see Lily Lake before the lilies are gone, like happened last year.

But that all depends on how long the legislative session goes this week. ๐Ÿฏ If I’m at work until 3 AM on Friday I’m not going to drive up to the Adirondacks unless maybe they give us Friday off. I also need time to pack ๐Ÿ’ผ and pick up some supplies although I guess I could stop on my way out there. It’s possible but unlikely that Wednesday will be the very late night. Maybe things could go into Friday daytime but I doubt it. I am not going to kill myself to get up there on a lack of sleep ๐Ÿ˜ด with Friday traffic.

The alternative is a Schoharie County trip. ๐ŸŠ Mine Kill pool opens Saturday so I could hike the trails around there, swim in the pool, โ›บ camp at Burnt Rossman, ๐Ÿšถ hike the Cliffs of Middleburgh or Vromans Nose, fish the Schoharie Creek ๐Ÿ  and swim again. That could be nice alternative. I always like to do a few Schoharie County trips during the summer weekends, especially once that sweet corn is out. But I could get some strawberries ๐Ÿ“ and maybe tomatoes ๐Ÿ… are Boriengers this weekend. If that’s the option I’m stuck with, which really wouldn’t be bad but I’d prefer the Adirondacks.

Wiring projects are done on the truck. ๐Ÿ”‹I’m really interested to see how things preform with the additional battery, andย how much power I’m actually getting out of the solar panel in various conditions. With the clouds yesterday, I only have a total of 82 watt hours from the panel, but to be fair it was cloudy and rainy yesterday, and the solar controlled floated the batteries after I had driven a bit with the alternator doing most of the topping off. I was thinking I am pretty much done with wiring projects, but now I’m thinking about getting an MPPT solar controller. โ˜€ That would help with charging the batteries better in low light conditions, and they’ve certainly come down in price, even if a decent quality one — like the Renology Rover, which I found for sale as low as $80. But not right away, as it would require some moving around of components and cutting new wires, and I’m in no rush to do it, when my existing PWM controller works just fine, and may be more then suitable for all my needs. Plus $80 bucks is money spent today is money that can’t be saved for a future, when I have land and actual need for a real MPPT solar controller for my off-grid home.

It will be interesting to see what happens with marijuana this week. ๐Ÿšฌ For sure. I think it’s an interesting agriculture crop ๐ŸŒพ, especially after reading that article this weekend in the Buffalo News that I shared below about the possibility of home growing. Turns out it’s a pretty easy crop to grow in a backyard flower pot, which is not surprising as you sometimes find it growing in the woods. I think it could get people interested in gardening and agriculture, although I do think there are legitimate concerns about the smoke and odors of people burning it especially in urban areas. It really stinks and the odor lingers around — I can tell when people are smoking pot in the parking lot 100 feet from my place — or when somebody gets on the bus after smoking.๐Ÿ’จ Few things besides mucking a hog or dairy barn are as pungent in the air or on your clothes. ๐Ÿฝ

Hopefully with the majority of the nation’s population legalizing it we can see national action as that would make it easier for growers and avoid potential headaches for gun owners with the existing laws, although I’m not sure how they’d know if you bought legal pot or not. It might be a fun crop to grow in a pot or garden with other herbs and veggies ๐ŸŒฟ and cure when I own land, although I doubt I’d ever pay the high price for it commercially. ๐Ÿ’ฐ Maybe if I got it free at a reception or party, but I’m not going to spend $20 bucks for a hit of it at some fancy-pansy commercial place. I would never use it heavy, but maybe a few times a year, a hit or some pot brownies would be good, especially when I own my own land.๐Ÿฐ

On this day in 1972, Five White House operatives are arrested for burgling the offices of the Democratic National Committee,๐Ÿ‘ฎ in an attempt by some members of the Republican party to illegally wiretap their opposition. ๐Ÿ‘‚This would become the basis for the Watergate scandal. Then Tom Paxton wrote a fun song about it. Had they not burglarized the Watergate, Mr. Paxton would have had to write a different song. The DNC stuck there for decades after, but lately has moved to a newer shiny office building of their own.

As previously noted, next Monday is Latest Sunset ๐ŸŒ† when the sun will be setting at 8:37 pm with dusk at 9:12 pm. On that day in 2018, we had rain and temperatures between 76 and 61 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 80 degrees. We hit a record high of 96 back in 1943.

More Pond Scumb

June 15, 2019 Night

Good evening! Cloudy and 70 degrees in Delmar, NY. โ˜ There is a south breeze at 6 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. The dew point is 54 degrees. Not a whole lot of blue sky expected over the next few days for sure. Forget about seeing the Strawberry ๐Ÿ“ Moon tonight. At least it’s not raining for now.

Sitting out back padding myself on the back for completing my wiring project successfully on the truck. ๐Ÿ”Œ Everything seems to be working well, I’ve been checking the amp meter all day to see how much power I’ve been getting, which admittedly after it clouded up and the sun went down was not much. โ˜ It will be interesting to see tomorrow on a rainy day, especially with the batteries down a bit from sitting out back this evening next to the fan. It’s cool how the meter records total watt and eventually kilowatt hours produced by the panel. At 15 watt hours now input from the panel but the batteries were full so it was floating the batteries and it was clouding up when I first set it up.

It’s definitely been a learning experience, it’s fun to go small and scale things up. That said I have probably as much power as I can hook up with the truck ๐Ÿ’ก but I’m learning a lot when I eventually get a home and live off grid in the country. ๐Ÿฎ Energy โšก is a complicated topic, electricity and electronics is a remarkably fascinating topic – I was for a while when it started to rain sitting inside watching a video on constant current power supplies that are used to efficiently drive many LEDs today. Similar to inverter driven, high frequency 3 phase alternating current motors there is a lot to be gained in efficiency by modern electronics driving equipment to produce more output with less input. People think I’m not about high voltage DC being the future but I there are so many advantages to it once the problems are overcome – like fully reliable bucking and boosting of high current DC.

But regardless I had a great evening walk ๐Ÿšถ and did sit out back for a while and read ๐Ÿ“– this afternoon, well until it started to rain for a bit. I also went down to the library and wasted time on the internet that probably could have been better set getting books out for summer reading. ๐Ÿ“š It’s definitely nice out back by the fan, enjoying some leftover wine ๐Ÿท I got from work, especially now that more fireflies are out.

Tonight will have showers, mainly after 1am. ๐ŸŒง Low of 62 degrees at 5am. Five degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 58 at 4am. ๐Ÿ–๏ธ Southeast wind 5 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. In 2018, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 50 degrees. The record low of 40 occurred back in 1961.

Tonight will have a Waxing Gibbous Moon ๐ŸŒ” with 99% illuminated. Pretty much full. The moon will set at 4:50 am. The Strawberry ๐Ÿ“ Moon ๐ŸŒ• will be tomorrow with a chance of showers. The sun will rise at 5:16 am with the first light at 4:42 am, which is one second later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ„ Tonight will have 8 hours and 41 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 21 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will have showers likely, mainly before 1pm. Cloudy ๐ŸŒฆ, with a high of 69 degrees at 3pm. Nine degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around May 15th. Maximum dew point of 64 at 2pm. South wind 5 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 84 degrees. The record high of 96 was set in 1967.

I’m going to drive over to John Wolcott’s house before shopping tomorrow ๐Ÿ› and continue to work on his history project. Then I’ll go out to my parents house for Father’s Day and Sunday dinner. I’ll head home after that and prepare for a busy week at work. ๐Ÿ’ผ I was told lots of late nights at work next week but I’ll take the bus and get my truck if I think I’ll be there after 11:30 and will get released before 6 am. Or I’ll just sleep at my desk. Done that a few times before. Regardless, summer will be here next weekend and I’ll either go out to Schoharie or the Adirondacks assuming not a complete wash out. โ›บ

In four weeks on July 13 the sun will be setting at 8:32 pm,๐ŸŒ„ which is 2 minutes and 37 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2018 on that day, we had hot, mostly sunny and temperatures between 88 and 61 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 83 and 62 degrees. The record high of 96 degrees was set back in 1894.

Looking ahead, Average High is 80 ๐Ÿ– is in 1 week, Hottest Time of the Year ๐Ÿ˜… is in 4 weeks, Cow Appreciation Day ๐Ÿ‚ is a month away, Ugly Truck Day ๐Ÿšš is in 5 weeks, Average High Falls To 79 ๏ธDegrees โ›ฑ๏ธ๏ธ๏ธ is in 10 weeks and Average High 70 ๐ŸŽ‘ is in 14 weeks.

I think it’s time โŒš for bed. ๐Ÿ˜ด Good night. Tomorrow is Sunday.

Silo

June 15, 2019 Afternoon

Good afternoon! Mostly cloudy and 83 degrees in Delmar, NY. Light breeze from the south west, almost feels a bit hot and humid๐Ÿ’จ. The dew point is 55 degrees. The morning was beautiful, but it wans’t bound to last. There are already some showers starting to pop up on the radar, and the sky gotten pretty dark. So much for the 78 watts my solar panel was putting out on the truck earlier this morning, until things got put into float mode.

So the big project for day was getting the second accessory battery hooked up to the low-voltage disconnect from the bed. Previously, it was hooked into the bus bar that runs all of the accessories in bed of the truck, but I wanted to make sure I had undervoltage protection on the battery, especially because the other accessory battery already had that and unbalanced batteries like that could be dangerous or at least bad for the life of the batteries. ๐Ÿ”‹ I also cleaned up the wiring in the cab of my truck for accessories, including adding an always on USB outlet for charging things like my USB battery bank, or even my laptop.

It’s now wired for 30 amp, so I have plenty of power for even charging the laptop there, and it’s conveniently located under the driver seat, and doesn’t shut off when the truck is off. I had to move some of the components around — name swap the places of the low voltage disconnect and the solar charger to make the wiring fit, a had to go to Advance Auto to buy a few butt connectors, shrink wrap, romex cable protectors, and then to the Hardware store to get a drill. Sure, there goes another 20 bucks, but I was good this weekend, I stayed in town, although this morning, I kind of wish I had headed out of town because it was so nice — but it’s become cloudy now and rain, so I’m not missing much.๐ŸŒ„

That said, I think the feature I like best in that voltage/amperage/power meter I got last autumn but didn’t wire up until now. I actually got two — only are using one right now though. It’s pretty cool how it not only shows you the voltage but also the amperage, and does the math for the wattage and total power produced (in watt hours or kilowatt hours) โž•โž–โž—. Works with a 50 amp shunt, which I got as a package from China last October on AliExpress. I’m a big fan of AliExpress for small electronic stuff like that — if you can wait, you can save a lot of money ordering direct from the factory in China — and umm, not pay sales tax. I doubt the People’s Republic of China will tell the People’s Democrat of New York about the $10 gadget I bought without tax.ย  Why be sneaky when your going to post it on the Internet?

Tonight will have showers, mainly after 11pm. ๐ŸŒง Low of 63 degrees at 6am. Six degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 58 at 5am. ๐Ÿ–๏ธ South wind 5 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. In 2018, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 50 degrees. The record low of 40 occurred back in 1961.

The sun will set at 8:35 pm with dusk around 9:09 pm, which is 25 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ At sunset, look for rain showers ๐ŸŒง and temperatures around 72 degrees. The dew point will be 54 degrees. There will be a south-southwest breeze at 9 mph. Today will have 15 hours and 18 minutes of daytime, an increase of 24 seconds over yesterday.

Tomorrow will have showers likely, with thunderstorms also possible after 2pm. Cloudy ๐ŸŒฆ, with a high of 73 degrees at 4pm. Five degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around May 30th. Maximum dew point of 64 at 2pm. South wind around 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 84 degrees. The record high of 96 was set in 1967.

I decided against getting a USB flashlight. I have plenty of flashlights already. I might instead get a battery charger like this oneย and pick up some rechargable nickle metal halide batteries at Walmart. I think it’s pretty cool that those smart chargers not only can do Ni-MH or the newer 18650 LiOn batteries. But then again. it’s not exactly rocket science, just a microprocessor and transistor with PWM that cuts or reduces output as the battery gets close to full charge.

On this day in 1967, The People’s Republic of China tests its first hydrogen bomb. It would be one of the world’s few powers with access to the devestatingly powerful hydrogen bombs.๐Ÿ’ฃ Now everybody except Trump likes inexpensive things you can get on AliExpress in like four weeks, which are fun for the many projects you can build.๐Ÿ“Ÿ

As previously noted, next Saturday is Average High is 80 ๐Ÿ– when the sun will be setting at 8:37 pm with dusk at 9:11 pm. On that day in 2018, we had partly sunny and temperatures between 81 and 50 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 80 degrees. We hit a record high of 95 back in 1954.

Schoharie Valley

June 12, 2019 Night

Good evening! Mostly cloudy and 66 degrees in Delmar, NY. There is a south-southeast breeze at 8 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. The dew point is 50 degrees.

Not a half bad evening and I actually feel half decent. ๐ŸŒƒ A bit of a headache but better than I was feeling on Monday. I just don’t feel sick or achy long enough ever to go to the doctor. I think I’m just allergic to Mondays.๐Ÿ˜ท I shouldn’t be, I mean I like making money and saving for a better tomorrow. Sitting out back watching both the artificial fireflies and the real ones as they buzz along the trees. ๐Ÿ

Tonight will be mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒฅ, with a low of 51 degrees at 6am. Five degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 29th. Maximum dew point of 50 at 9pm. South wind 5 to 8 mph becoming calm in the evening. In 2018, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 60 degrees. The record low of 38 occurred back in 1974.

Tonight will have a Waxing Gibbous Moon ๐ŸŒ” with 88% illuminated. The moon will set at 3:07 am. The Strawberry Moon ๐Ÿ“๐ŸŒ• is on Sunday night. The sun will rise at 5:17 am with the first light at 4:42 am, which is 5 seconds earlier than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ„ Tonight will have 8 hours and 43 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 33 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will rain, with thunderstorms also possible after 5pm. ๐ŸŒง High of 61 degrees at 3pm. 16 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 22nd. Maximum dew point of 53 at 4pm. ๐Ÿ–๏ธ Southeast wind 5 to 13 mph becoming north in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. Cold and wet. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 75 degrees. The record high of 94 was set in 1892.

Still Saturday looks pretty decent for the weekend. ๐Ÿ˜• Saturday, partly sunny, with a high near 78. Maximum dew point of 54 at 5pm. Sunday, showers likely, mainly before 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 76. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Maximum dew point of 65 at 5pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 78 degrees.

I doubt I’ll get out of town this weekend but maybe next weekend. ๐Ÿ˜Ž Too many things with work and I’m not sure the weather will cooperate with me. I’m just hoping the weather will cooperate with me next week. Hopefully by then the rainy pattern will be done and things will warm up. Maybe I’m too optimistic. I’m really looking forward to summer.

In four weeks on July 10 the sun will be setting at 8:34 pm,๐ŸŒ„ which is 19 seconds later then tonight. In 2018 on that day, we had hot, humid, mostly sunny skies, a thunderstorm and temperatures between 92 and 62 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 82 and 61 degrees. The record high of 100 degrees was set back in 1936.

Looking ahead, Last Day of Session ๐Ÿ› is in 1 weeks, Last Sunset After 8 PM ๐ŸŒ† is in 2 months, Altamont Fair Opens ๐ŸŽก is in 9 weeks, State Fair Opens ๐ŸŽก is in 10 weeks, September 11th ๐Ÿ‡ธ is in 13 weeks, More Night then Day ๐ŸŒŒ is in 15 weeks and Inauguration Day 2021 ๐Ÿ‘ด๐Ÿป is in 84 weeks.

Amtrak Bridge Over Stockport Creek

June 9, 2019 Night

Good evening! Partly clear and 71 degrees in Delmar, NY. There is a south breeze at 7 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. The dew point is 48 degrees.

So far this is the most pleasant evening of the year for sitting out back. ๐ŸŽ‘Not too hot or cold and lots of moonlight while I watch a mixture of artificial and real fireflies outback. Maybe I’m stupid but I sure like watching those laser light fireflies. I didn’t see any ground fireworks at Walmart but they must be selling them as I’m hearing occasional bangs around. Not that lighting off fireworks is an appropriate activity in the suburbs but America. ๐ŸŽ‡ Crickets are chirping as is a very noisy heat pump groaning from the high end apartment down the road.

Everything on my list got done this weekend ๐Ÿ“ƒ. Well except maybe for working on John Wolcott’s history project but I’ve put in a lot of time in that so it can wait a few weeks until I have more free time besides work. The truck got washed ๐Ÿ›€ , groceries bought. Including a a special treat for the hot weather – orange juice. ๐ŸŠI get that orange juice is super sugary but it’s better than drinking beer or eating too much ice cream. I also try to drink lots of water with a drop of lemon juice or cider vinegar.

I also bought more drain solvent and my bathroom sink is working again for now. ๐Ÿ˜Š All the plumbing in my relatively cheap apartment is problematic, plungers and drain solvent are just part of life. Shower gas never gone more than a week or two without needing the plunger as long as I’ve lived here for the decade plus. Maybe it’s because I’m so dirty always bringing mud in. Yet another reason I prefer outhouses and very simple plumbing. ๐Ÿšฝ

Tonight will be partly cloudy ๐ŸŒค, with a low of 51 degrees at 5am. Four degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 29th. Not surprising with the low humidity. But good sleeping at least for tonight Maximum dew point of 48 at 9pm. South wind 5 to 7 mph. In 2018, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 54 degrees. The record low of 36 occurred back in 1975.

Tonight will have a First Quarter with 60% illuminated. The moon will set at 1:40 am. Little bit of haze around the moon though. The Strawberry Moon ๐ŸŒ is next Sunday. Been so cold and wet not many strawberry ๐Ÿ“ for sale yet. Or even daisies ๐ŸŒผ along the roadside. For you early risers, the sun will rise at 5:17 am with the first light at 4:42 am, which is 11 seconds earlier than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ„ I was watching a farm channel the other day, recorded at 5:30 in the morning and it was pretty bright out then. ๐Ÿ”† I really watch too much agriculture YouTube these days. But farming is such interesting business. Tonight will have 8 hours and 45 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 44 seconds over last night. Not going to loose much more night time from where we are now as summer is coming. And 15 weeks from today will be autumn. ๐Ÿ Even though the black flies are bad now in 12-14 weeks it will be peak color in the Moose River Plains.

Tomorrow will rain likely, mainly after 2pm. Increasing clouds ๐ŸŒง, with a high of 68 degrees at 11am. Nine degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around May 12th. Maximum dew point of 60 at 6pm. South wind 6 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 78 degrees. The record high of 96 was set in 2008.

I will drop my truck off at the dealership tomorrow for the oil change and tire rotation. ๐Ÿš˜ Easy enough to do for sure, they’re the cheapest place around and I’m not lifting those 35 inch tires myself. Last oil change was in August because I drive so few miles during the winter. I do make sure though to keep the oil topped off when it is low. I used to do my own oil changes but it’s not worth the hassle. If I had my own land I might do it and it’s not a big deal on small engines or even tractors but it’s a pain crawling under my truck. I shouldn’t speak. I do remember that diasterous oil change on a $100,000 big John Deere farm tractor ๐Ÿšœ (bigger tractor than nearly any farmer in New York would use outside of the Genesee Valley) on Millennial MN Farmers YouTube with the filter they couldn’t get off except with a grinder and a tap and die. Instead tomorrow, I’ll just drop it off before work and take the bus downtown. Let the experts do it.

While it’s a long ways off, NOAA is pretty optimistic about the weekend. ๐Ÿ˜• Saturday, scattered showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 76. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Maximum dew point of 56 at 6pm. Sunday, partly sunny, with a high near 77. Maximum dew point of 57 at 11am. Typical average high for the weekend is 78 degrees.

If the weather is nice I may head up to the Adirondacks next weekend. ๐Ÿ—ป There is a possibility that I may have to work, physically in the office next weekend but I’m hoping that I can just camp somewhere I have cellphone ๐Ÿ“ฑ reception and just work from my phone with a cold beer in one hand, laying back in the hammock.

This week I’ll order the wire to run the hot from the battery in the bed of my truck directly to the non switched terminal of the low voltage disconnect โšก so it is protected from under voltage by the LVD. I’m also going to hook up the shunt and meter on the panel so that I can monitor how much solar power I’m producing. Also plan to hook up another always on USB outlet back there to keep my little battery I ordered fully charged so I can charge my phone when I’m backpacking or at a swimming pool. I really want to do at least some back country camping this summer. โ›บ Lean-to or hammock. So many damn wires but I try to keep them neat with ties and things are properly fused. I’m learning a lot and while the panels, batteries and inverters are much bigger for an off grid cabin, at some point I’ll be blessed by living out in the country again. ๐Ÿฎ

In four weeks on July 7 the sun will be setting at 8:35 pm,๐ŸŒ„ which is 3 minutes and 12 seconds later then tonight. In 2018 on that day, we had sunny skies and temperatures between 80 and 51 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 82 and 61 degrees. The record high of 97 degrees was set back in 1988.

Looking ahead, Fathers Day ๐Ÿ‘จ is in 1 week, National Nude Day ๐Ÿ‘ฑ is in 5 weeks (hopefully warm enough by then for skinny dipping), Sunset Before 7:30 PM ๐ŸŒ† is in 12 weeks, Autumn ๐Ÿ‚ is in 15 weeks and Average High is 60 ๐Ÿ‚ is in 18 weeks.

 East Canada Creek

June 1, 2019 Evening

Good evening! Clearing a bit with rain showers and a few rumbles of thunder around and 74 degrees in Delmar, NY. โ˜ There is a south breeze at 8 mph. ๐Ÿƒ. The dew point is 58 degrees. The skies will clear tomorrow around 9 pm. A few fireflies around. Not a lot, they’ve been tardy with the cold spring. ๐Ÿ

We had some heavy rain for a while. I got caught out walking in the rain. โ˜” But now it has stopped and I’m sitting out back. ๐ŸšถI bought some milk and ice cream and are now sitting out back as the rain has stopped. ๐ŸจHappy Dairy Month! ๐Ÿฎ It wasn’t that bad of a day but pretty busy. Lot of little things to get done.

Tonight will be scattered showers and thunderstorms before 2am, then isolated showers between 2am and 5am. Patchy fog after 5am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒง, with a low of 61 degrees at 5am. Eight degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around July 3rd. Maximum dew point of 60 at 10pm. South wind 5 to 8 mph becoming calm after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. In 2018, we had partly cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It was somewhat humid. It got down to 60 degrees. The record low of 39 occurred back in 1971.

Tonight will have a New Moon. The Strawberry Moon ๐ŸŒ is on Sunday, June 16th. The sun will rise at 5:19 am with the first light at 4:45 am, which is 28 seconds earlier than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ„ Tonight will have 8 hours and 52 minutes of darkness, a decrease of one minute and 14 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will be scattered showers and thunderstorms, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 1pm. Some of the storms could produce small hail and gusty winds. ๐ŸŒฆ High of 77 degrees at 3pm. Three degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around June 10th. Maximum dew point of 61 at 12pm. ๐Ÿ–๏ธ South wind 8 to 17 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning with more sun in the afternoon. It was very sticky. The high last year was 78 degrees. The record high of 94 was set in 1895.

I accomplished everything I planned on doing today which was good. ๐Ÿ‘ The big thing was buying the battery ๐Ÿ”‹ and getting that hooked up, so I’ve doubled my storage for camping. The solar works well on the truck except during long cloudy periods and I’m producing enough power to really float the batteries relatively quickly. It was easy enough to tap into the bus bar although I had to exchange the first battery I got because I got the wrong size and when you get batteries to run in parallel you want the same size so they charge properly. But I got that battery returned and ended up having to go to Glenmont Walmart for the battery as only one in Albany was over a year old. The Glenmont store had a battery dated 6/19 so it must be pretty new. Granted a few things about set up isn’t perfect but I plan to experiment and with costs under $120 it’s not the end of the world. I’m continuing to learn a lot.

It was a nice walk ๐Ÿšถ today at the Albany Pine Bush Preserve with lots of lupine around. It really was fields of purple. I didn’t spend a lot of time hiking there but enough to enjoy it. Didn’t see any Karner Blues unlike I did a few weeks back but I was hiking in a different location. ๐ŸŒฒ

I tried warranting the hammock but because the rip wasn’t at seem they wouldn’t exchange it. The hammocks aren’t expensive so I’m going to try to get one online somewhere. They are a lot of fun and for under $50 are worth it. ๐Ÿ˜ That said, it won’t be an LL Bean hammock as I don’t use that credit card ๐Ÿ’ณ anymore in favor of the cash back card I have with my bank. I don’t mind that much, that LL Bean hammock was shitty from the day I got it and with my rewards card only spent $4 and the hammock straps are still good.

Hooked up the outside temperature probe for my display, ๐Ÿ“ˆ and used thin wires to sneak it out past the window screen so I can keep it hooked up with the windows closed. Unfortunately I can’t test it because I don’t have the necessary libraries to make it work. I’ll have to download them tomorrow. In the process I accidentally disconnected a wire and things stopped working but they are good now. It will be interesting to monitor the outside temperature especially as cooler weather approaches come the autumn.

Tomorrow I’m planning on going to over John Wolcott’s house ๐Ÿก to keep going through his files. ๐Ÿ“‚ I found some interesting documents from the Erastus Corning Era. Then I’ll head over to my parents house for Sunday evening dinner. ๐Ÿ—

In four weeks on June 29 the sun will be setting at 8:37 pm,๐ŸŒ„ which is 10 minutes and 29 seconds later then today. In 2018 on that day, we had hot, mostly sunny, shallow fog and temperatures between 89 and 62 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 81 and 60 degrees. The record high of 96 degrees was set back in 1944.

Looking ahead, Average High is 80 ๐Ÿ– is in 3 weeks, July ๐ŸŠ๐Ÿฟ is a month away, Hottest Time of the Year ๐Ÿ˜… is in 6 weeks, Ugly Truck Day ๐Ÿšš is in 7 weeks, August ๐ŸŒป is in 2 months, Average High Falls To 79 ๏ธDegrees โ›ฑ๏ธ๏ธ๏ธ is in 12 weeks, Sunset Before 7:30 PM ๐ŸŒ† is in 3 months, Average High 70 ๐ŸŽ‘ is in 16 weeks and October ๐Ÿ›ฅ is in 4 months.

Looking Up at the Clouds