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Totally agree that walking in that thunderstorm last night wasn’t a great idea ⛈

I didn’t think it would be nice enough to go out walking last night but then I stepped outside it seemed okay, the wind blowing the opposite direction of the clouds to the west. It risk of thunder seemed pretty low, and I wanted to get at least 8 miles in for the day. But the time I was farthest from home the lightening was too close for comfort and five minutes from home the sky opened up. Ultimately I did get in 8 miles for the day, not the ten I normally walk and didn’t make it to the park, but that’s fine.

Good morning! With a few loud cracks of rain and thunder it’s morning. The sun is is rising, the skies are clearing somewhat and let’s call it 66 ⅔ degrees at the 6:30 for the morning walk in the land of the Delmartian. ⛅ Calm wind. The dew point is 64 degrees.

Last night I got home 🏡 from work glad that I didn’t get soaked and figured that the evening walk 🚶 was off the agenda. Then at 6:30 I stepped outside and looked at the radar and decided it would be okay. And it was for a while until the wind shifted and thunder ⚡ pushed closer. In the end it was fine, though I got a bit wet and went to bed early. 🛏 Walked 8 miles for the day plus 39 flights of stairs up and down. I was asleep by around 8 pm and up around 5 am.

As it was still raining out when I awoke 🍳 I decided to have breakfast before walking which was cold black coffee ☕ with cold eggs and spinach from the other day. I also had a half of banana 🍌 from last night. At lunch time yesterday I walked up to Market 32 in Albany and got a bunch of bananas to hold my pantry over until Saturday when I can do a bigger shop 🏪. Cold lunch today with black beans, mushrooms, chopped farmers market tomatoes, peppers. Avoids the line for the microwave at work, though I’ve figured out the technique is to cook lunch at 12:50 PM before the 1 PM rush.

Today will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 5pm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. Patchy fog before 7am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy 🌧, with a high of 83 degrees at 2pm. One degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around July 4th. Independence Day! Maximum dew point of 71 at 2pm. Calm wind becoming south around 6 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies. It was somewhat humid. The high last year was 85 degrees. The record high of 99 was set in 1995.

I’ll have to keep that Market 32 in Albany in mind 🛒 for when I need stocking up of a few ingredients downtown. Much better than the old Ghetto Chopper and really only a few blocks away from work if I take South Swan to Elm Street. They don’t have much in household supplies – I was hoping to get super glue to fix my boots 👢 – but the fresh fruits and vegetables looked good. It’s small so a fast shop. Probably can’t get frozen things there and I decided to skip getting plain non fat Greek yogurt just because of the hot day walking back to the office and the bus ride home but in the winter I think that’s an option.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:02 pm with sun having an altitude of 69.1° from the due south horizon (-1.7° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.3 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:51 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (294°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (301°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:33 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 22 seconds with dusk around 9:06 pm, which is 36 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:50 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and thunderstorms 🌩 and temperatures around 74 degrees. The dew point will be 70 degrees. There will be a south-southeast breeze at 6 mph. Today will have 15 hours and 5 minutes of daytime, a decrease of one minute and 25 seconds over yesterday.

Six months into healthy eating 🍎I am finally starting to notice how much thinner I am. I have a feeling that my BMI is now below 25 though I don’t have a scale so I don’t know but I know I have lost weight since the last time I visited the doctor at the end of May when I was 209 lb and needed to get to 194 lb to be a healthy weight at 6′ 2.5″ though most others say I’m 6′ 4″ or 6′ 5″ with the boots on. My love handles have virtually disappeared and my stomach is much smaller, and I’m pretty sure that size 36 pants 👖 are now the proper size, the smallest since probably I’ve been since elementary school. The problem is finding clothes in my closet that don’t make me look like a clown. Still have a little more belly fat I’d look to loose, not just because of the look but because outer fat is associated with inner muscle fat, especially in the heart which is rather bad. But I feel like I am starting to get in great shape, mostly from eating a nutritious diet but also because I’ve kept up with the walking and stairs. And hopefully cycling too. Steiner, you are biting me with this bicycle thing. 😠

Tonight will have showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before midnight. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 66 degrees at 5am. Three degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 70 at 6pm. Southeast wind around 6 mph becoming calm in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 57 degrees. The record low of 44 occurred back in 1950.

I need to think about getting new boots before vacation. 👟 Or at least rugged sneakers, something I can use for mountain biking and maybe jogging which I tell myself that I’m thinking 💭 about taking up 🏃 maybe half seriously since becoming thinner. Around camp and certainly st the swimming pools and holes the knock off crocks are fun but they’re not appropriate for much else. They have no ankle support, get my feet muddy, and worse of all let in any stones and sticks into my foot 👣 where I can step on them.

On this day in 1969, the $500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 bills are officially withdrawn from circulation. 💵 After this date, if you wanted to buy a large purchase in cash, you needed a lot of hundred dollars in bills. 💰They had last been printed in 1945, and were finally dropped from circulation in 1969, in part as an effort to reduce corruption and money scams. Nowadays a hundred 💯 dollars seems almost a paltry amount with inflation not that I ever carry anything bigger than $5 bills because it’s just easier to use the credit card 💳 for anything bigger.

Tomorrow will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 3pm. Partly sunny 🌞, with a high of 87 degrees at 3pm. Three degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 72 at 11am. Muggy, swamp weather. South wind 3 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies. It was somewhat humid. The high last year was 86 degrees. The record high of 96 was set in 1997.

Tomorrow I will walk 🚶 early to best the heat. 😰 Then it’s those oatmeal banana pancakes 🍌 🥞 love with blueberries and maybe some sugar free maple syrup and cold black coffee. So good! Then it’s off to Steiners to check on the status of the bicycle 🚲 they promise to be assembling for me. They don’t have it, I’ll test ride the XXL of the Marlin 5 and order and pay for the Marlin 6 as long as they can give me a set date for delivery. 🚚 Otherwise I will order online with another shop. This purchase needs to be closed down this weekend.

Then the next thing to do is get grocery shopping 🛒. I want to get more red kidney beans for maple syrup 🍘 next week and get them soaking to be cooked come Sunday morning. Plus all the usual, more Greek yogurt, 🐮 frozen fruit 🍓, peppers 🫑🌶️, mushrooms 🍄 and the usuals. I also need shampoo and extra deodorant the later this keep in the office 🏢 after climbing the stairs. Then I’m not totally sure. If it’s hot and looks like thunderstorms will stay away, maybe go to the town pool. I would have to register though to get a pool fob, maybe I should do that and it’s $5.25 to enter. And you have to do that in advance. Seems like a pain. If I get the bike, ride out to Voorheesville and probably the Black Creek Marsh. If it’s hot and I don’t want to spend money, go to the library for a while with my computer, then come home, sit by the fan and get through some more of the stack of library books I have at home.

Looking ahead to Sunday, showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. High near 83. ⛈️ South wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible. Not just a few passing showers. Maximum dew point of 74 at 12pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 84 degrees.

And so is the weekend forecast. 😖 But if I can get this damn bicycle 🚲 thing closed down, I’ll be happy. I am thinking about taking off at least one day next week, where and what to do is to be decided but I need to get a few things ready for my vacation, I’ve taken fewer days off this summer than expected. Maybe it will be to get the rack on the bicycle, break it in or pick it up. Maybe the Potholers or Schoharie the second half of the week.

Two weeks from now, God willing, 🏖 I will be well on my way to the Finger Lakes. I really want to leave by eight AM on that Friday to get the campsite I want in the National Forest ⛺ and then have the afternoon to set up and relax. 🎣 Do some fishing, a nice bicycle 🚲 ride and maybe watch a Finger Lakes sunset 🌇 across a cow pasture in the National Forest.

After vacation, August 11th I have a dentist appointment at 10:15 AM which I will follow up probably with a long weekend. Maybe Schoharie or the Adirondacks. Have to be strategic at this point as there are only three weeks left in August at that point before Labor Day Weekend, and I want to have at least a few more long weekends before summer is done. That said, except for the Mine Kill Pool there is no reason I can’t take lots of long weekends come September and October. I am not doing a West Virginia trip — or even a week-long trip at this point this autumn, so that leaves other days to allocate. I would like to do some kayaking, fishing, hunting, and bike riding this autumn. Charles Baker State Forest roads probably would be wonderful for autumn bike riding, as would the Chenango Canal Trail and others.

Looking ahead, there are 7 weeks until September 1st when the sun will be setting at 7:31 pm with dusk at 7:59 pm. That’s the start of Labor Day Weekend. On that day in 2022, we had mostly sunny skies with rain showers and temperatures between 73 and 55 degrees. Cool day. The average high is 79 degrees. We hit a record high of 96 back in 1953. I might do Spectulator that weekend, especially if they have fire tower lighting that I could observe from I don’t know, Watch Hill (?). Some of those truck trails through the Conservation Easement might be nice on the mountain bike, as would be camping up on Hardwood Hill, looking at the stars, lighting off ground fireworks and sparklers.

August 10, 2019 Night

Good evening! Mostly clear and 55 degrees at the Burnt-Rossman State Forest. ☔ There is a west-northwest breeze occasionally reaching 9 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 49 degrees. A pretty nice evening maybe a bit cool but we are starting to get towards autumn and it’s expected to warm up more come Sunday.

Hiking Hunter Mountain was nice 🗼 and there are some really great views from the tower. As I noted earlier, the restored old Rangers Cabin is amazing and the view is great. A lot of people there but the Spruce Horse Trail was relatively quiet. It’s a nice hike from that direction especially figuring I’m a bit out of shape these days as I’ve not been doing as much walking 🚶 recently but I plan to do more in the coming weeks.

Then I enjoyed visiting Pratt Rock which despite spending so much time in the Northern Catskills ⛲ I had never visited. It’s a short but very steep and somewhat slippery – dangerous hike to the top but great views from the summit and the historic carvings are neat although the whole area is a bit shabby and could use some rehab and maybe some blazes on the trail and a hike map.

This morning I went out to breakfast 🍳 with the parents and didn’t have much packed so I didn’t get a real early start. I am a slow hiker and I spent a lot of time at Hunter Mountain overlook do by time I was off Pratt Rock it was after 7 pm with camp more than a half hour away so it was a bit of hurry to get up there but I got the campsite I wanted and had enough time to gather firewood before dark so it all worked out.

Tonight will have isolated showers before 10pm. Partly cloudy 🌃, with a low of 49 degrees at 4am. 12 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around September 22nd. West wind 6 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2018, we had partly cloudy skies in the evening, which became light rain by the early hours of the morning. It was somewhat humid. It got down to 64 degrees. The record low of 46 occurred back in 1941.

It was cloudy and sprinkling a bit when I set up camp but it’s cleared up a bit now. ✨ Fair number of stars although the moon is blocking some out with its light. 🎑 Full moon isn’t that far off – next week. 🌕 Having a beer or two 🍻 and soon I’m going to retire to my truck for the night. 🌃 Didn’t do the hammock tonight because its a bit cool tonight and this site which was recently logged doesn’t have a lot of places to hang a hammock. I also wanted to keep camp simple as I want to sleep in tomorrow but have camp that’s relatively easy to take down so I have time to fish 🐠 before heading to Mine Kill to swim. 🏊

Tonight will have a Waxing Gibbous Moon 🌔 with 89% illuminated. The moon will set at 2:13 am. The 🌕 is on Wednesday night with partly cloudy skies. The sun will rise at 6:00 am with the first light at 5:29 am, which is one minute and 4 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 Tonight will have 9 hours and 55 minutes of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 25 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 73 degrees at 3pm. Eight degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around September 13th. Maximum dew point of 55 at 6pm. Northwest wind 7 to 10 mph. Might actually be a bit cool tomorrow at Mine Kill State Park. 🏊 Good though for hiking. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. It was humid. The high last year was 71 degrees. The record high of 98 was set in 1944.

In four weeks on September 7 the sun will be setting at 7:21 pm,🌄 which is 44 minutes and 42 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2018 on that day, we had partly sunny and temperatures between 77 and 63 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 76 and 55 degrees. The record high of 96 degrees was set back in 1945.

If I had known how cloudy today would have been I’d probably stay home 🏡 but I enjoyed Hunter and Pratt Rock regardless. Summer is rapidly fading away so I should maximize it before it’s gone. 😔 It was kind of fun to drive through Greenville and Durham again but it kind of saddens me how much it’s changed in two decades and maybe how much I’ve changed. Every time I visit my old hometown I feel like Rip Van Winkle. 👴 The are so beautiful overlooking the hick town I grew up in. Unfortunately the world 🌍 of my childhood no longer exists. Maybe I should stop by the old Town Park and watch the ducks from the gazebo as I once did years ago at lunch.

I do like the small towns and the rural poor at least by the economic standards of the urban elite. I really like the dirty life, the hobby farmer in the trailer or rundown house. 🏡 It’s so much better of a life than the surburbanite life with the vinyl siding and perfect chemical treated lawn. Poor people don’t waste as much as the comfortable surburbanite.

Looking ahead, Average High Falls To 79 ️Degrees ⛱️️️ is in 2 weeks and Average High 70 🎑 is in 6 weeks.

March 21, 2019 Morning

Good morning! Happy Thursday. Today is the first full day of spring. Next Thursday the Average High is 50 󞀮 Mostly cloudy skies and 38 degrees at the Elm Ave Park & Ride – CDTA. ☁ There is a south-southeast breeze at 7 mph. 🍃. Nice morning walking down to the Park and Ride. Temperatures will drop below freezing at tomorrow around 11 pm. ☃️

Definitely seems like the weather has moderated a bit and the walk to the express bus was pleasant. 🚏The bus was on time. Hit some traffic going into city on the old 787 but I really don’t have that many complaints. I’m not driving. Kind of gray though for sure. I thought the news on NPR 📰 was kind of depressing 😔 but what bleeds leads. I guess. I think the democratic party 🎉 is shooting itself in the foot 👣for 2020 but that’s to be seen.

Lately I’ve had very few complaints about the bus service 🚍, the buses are nearly always on time ⌚ it close to it. The real time bus info has gotten better in recent years as drivers properly key 🔑 in the block numbers 🔢 into the buses and the radio GPS units work better. Transit information ℹ in Google Maps 🌐 has gotten better in recent years.

Definitely nice not having to wear a suit and tie to work today. 👔I could walk down to the express bus 🚶 and it’s a lot more comfortable and more myself than the alternative. It just makes for a much more relaxing day and easier to walk during my lunch hour.

Today will rain likely, mainly after 2pm. Cloudy 🌧, with a high of 46 degrees at 2pm. Typical for today. South wind 7 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had cloudy in the morning, which became partly cloudy by afternoon. The high last year was 37 degrees. The record high of 78 was set in 1921. 6.0 inches of snow fell back in 1905.❄

The sun will set at 7:09 pm with dusk around 7:37 pm, which is one minute and 10 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At sunset, look for rain showers 🌧 and temperatures around 43 degrees. There will be a southeast breeze at 7 mph. Today will have 12 hours and 13 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 55 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will rain. 🌧 Low of 35 degrees at 6am. Five degrees above normal, which is similiar to a typical night around April 3rd. Southeast wind around 6 mph becoming north after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible. In 2018, we had cloudy. It got down to 27 degrees. The record low of 2 occurred back in 1875.

Tomorrow will rain and snow, becoming all rain after 9am. 🌧 High of 42 degrees at 3pm. Three degrees below normal, which is similiar to a typical day around March 16th. West wind 9 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. A year ago, we had cloudy in the morning, which became partly cloudy by afternoon. The high last year was 45 degrees. The record high of 81 was set in 2012. 7.0 inches of snow fell back in 1887.❄

I thought 💭 about turning off the heat 🔥 in my apartment but it still gets fairly cold at night and the start of the weekend is expected to be pretty cold. But soon I should be able kill it for the year, well until November most likely. Looking forward to the fresh air in the morning and also getting out, camping, traveling and exploring again.

As I noted yesterday, the Pine Bush Dinner was fascinating but depressing last night. 💥There are so many dangers out there in the world 🌍, especially impacting people of color and the poor. And there are no good solutions but to do everything you can to avoid getting into those situations – social class isn’t as guaranteed as one might imagine.😩 Maybe I should live more of a high consumption life for today but I see so many scary storm clouds in the distance tomorrow. ☁ At least the lasagna was really good and I could take a bunch home to reheat for lunch. 🍲

I sat out back for a while when I got home last night. 🌕 The full worm moon was nice although I didn’t stay out back for long as with the breeze it wasn’t that warm. It’s still March. By the pink moon next month I’ll probably be able to sit out back for longer and enjoy the night 🌃. Inside it was a very comfortable 62 degrees for sleeping. I just wish it was a bit warmer to enjoy the fresh air with the windows open.

Ever since I retired my Facebook account more and more people are talking about missing it. 💻 I don’t know if I’m now popping up in people’s feeds more now that I’ve stopped posting there or people are just noticing my absence. That said I really enjoy not being bombarded with so much news 📰 and memes, and so much divisiveness. I like the solitude that is my blog. If I see something worth sharing on Facebook I can always embed it in the blog – a venue that is free of advertising – and I control the placement of content.

The bathroom sink was plugged again yesterday but I poured in some drain cleaner and it’s moving again. 🚿 Plumbing has always been problematic in my apartment, I always keep a plunger handy for the bath tub and drain cleaner for the sink. Part of living in an affordable apartment is not everything is perfect.

It looks like like Sunday will be the best weather for the weekend. 😎 Saturday, a chance of snow before 8am, then a chance of snow showers between 8am and 11am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 37. Breezy, with a northwest wind 22 to 25 mph, with gusts as high as 45 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Sunday, sunny, with a high near 54. Typical average high for the weekend is 47 degrees.

People where asking if I was thinking about going camping this weekend ⛺, which would be more of a possibility now that my niece’s birthday party is postponed 🎂, as she has a cold. But I’ll think I’ll wait and save the money until it’s a bit warmer. I might go to John’s house on Saturday 📃 or maybe a hike out to Five Rivers Environmental Education Center 🌲and Sunday do a bigger hike somewhere there isn’t much snow. I’d like to get up to the Adirondacks to camp but I’m waiting for the snow to go up along NY 8 East Branch before I head up that way. 🗻

This autumn I’m still considering my options for a fall trip.🍁West Virginia sounds appealing as does the national forest in Southern Ohio, although the later is a lot longer trip. 🌎I do like the Monongahela National Forest a lot, and I could see spending more time around Dolly Sods and the Cannan Mountain. 🗻 On the other hand I kind of want to spend some time poking around Western NY, it’s been a while since I’ve spent much time out there.

Looking ahead, Pink Moon 🌕 is in 4 weeks, Easter 🐰 is a month away, Average High is 70 🐮 is in 8 weeks, Independence Day 🇺🇸 is in 15 weeks, August 🌻 is in 19 weeks, State Fair Opens 🎡 is in 5 months, Average High 70 🎑 is in 6 months and Last Sunset After 7 PM 🌆 is in 28 weeks.

November 11, 2017 Morning

Good morning! Happy Armistice Day! The holiday was commemorate the ending of World War I, the war to end all wars. Except it wasn’t the war to end all wars, as we had World War II then the Korean War, Vietnam, ans several wars thereafter.

Idealism shattered like a infant burning in napalm, the Republican Congress renamed Armistice Day to Veterans Day in 1954 to commerate those who have served in the many foolish conflicts the United States has found themselves dragged into by their elected political leaders. I guess because the United States is rich and powerful we have to be the world’s policeman and stop evil doers the world over, but I have to ask, do we need to be involved in so many conflicts, leaving so many dead and broken individuals both of American and other enthicities? Is it too little to ask for peace, and to focus on the problems that are facing our country back here at home? There are a lot of folks struggling in the hills and hollows, quality healthcare remains unafforable and we still have a climate crisis to face — money that is too often being burnt up as bombs, ammunition, and caring for those who return. Serving our nation is a noable cause. I thank our nation’s veterans and I pray for peace. I’ve said this many times, as have millions of Americans, but it seems like at times no one in Washington is listening.

Cold but sunny this morning. Partly sunny and 20 degrees in Delmar, NY. There is a northwest breeze at 6 mph. 61 degrees inside and I’m considering going out hiking and camping tonight, but the evening might sure be cold. I worry a bit about ice and snow tonight, not to mention difficulties getting started in the morning with the mercury around 10 degrees or lower in the mountains. It might also be cold by the fire, even with the heater and again in the morning.

Today, Veterans Day will be sunny, with a high of 33 degrees at 1pm. 16 degrees below normal. North wind 3 to 8 mph. Pretty bitterly cold for mid-November but not as windy as yesterday. After walking back from the library yesterday, I decided to retire to my bedroom and work on maps it was so cold. A year ago, we had mostly cloudy skies. The high last year was 54 degrees. The record high of 70 was set in 2002. 3 inches of snow fell back in 1906.

The sun will set at 4:35 pm with dusk around 5:05 pm, which is one minute and one second earlier than yesterday. At sunset, look for mostly clear conditions and 31 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 9 hours and 52 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 17 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be mostly cloudy, with a low of 11 degrees at 6am. 22 degrees below normal. Calm wind. In 2016, we had mostly cloudy skies with some clearing in the early hours of the next day. It got down to 27 degrees. The record low of 15 occurred back in 1976. It will likely be the coldest Veterans Day on record, especially this evening going into tomorrow.

This morning with the sun and minimal breeze in Delmar, it probably feels a lot warmer then the mercury would suggest, even though it’s only about 20 degrees. Just a lot of bright sun out there to make it feel warmer, especially behind a window with the greenhouse effect. Or in a heated room. My bedroom doesn’t have any south facing windows, so it seems remarkably dark out there, because of the sun angle at this time of year in November.

Assuming the barber shop is open on Veterans Day, which it may not be, I plan to get a hair cut. That’s my major thing to do today. I also want to stop by the library and upload the 15 or so maps I made up. I am back to making New York State DEC land maps, mostly of state forests, becauses that’s where I have best and most refined GIS data for. I also need to go grocery shopping, whether or not I stay home or go hiking then camping.

I looked at several places to go hiking today in Southern Vermont. I don’t want to go much farther then that. If I go hiking this moring into the afternoon, I would probably camp after that, but it sure it going to be quite cold for this time of year. Sure I’ve camped in colder weather, but I don’t really like to do it that much, in part because I worry about getting started in the morning, after opening and closing the doors.

I can idle the truck in the evening to bring the battery voltage up, but honestly it doesn’t charge that well at idle. The battery is fine, and I’ve never had problems since I replaced it and no longer use it for listening to the radio with the engine off, but still I am not that much of a fan of camping when it’s this cold. Of course I say that and I will go camping in the Adirondacks in mid-January when things are much colder. I also worry about ice and snow, even though if I were to go to Vermont I probably wouldn’t camp that far from all-year maintained roads.

I also don’t want to spend the money on beer, food, gasoline and other camping supplies today if I can avoid it. I’ve had a lot of expenses lately, including paying down my vacation and maintance to the truck and would rather conserve money. But it is a fairly nice day, and it might turn to snow by next weekend. On the other hand, if it’s nice next weekend I might take a long weekend, and either head for a big trip up to the North Country or maybe just the Adirondacks.

I guess I probably should stay in town this weekend. It’s a lot of work to pack and unpack things for just one night camping, and opening and closing the door will let a lot of heat out of my apartment. And it is pretty darn cold out there — even with the heated tent it will be cold start tomorrow. And cold by the fire even with the Big Buddy heater. I don’t like the cold as much as I once did. I really should save money, my bank account is kind of in rough shape after vacation. I could take money out of savings but I’m avoiding that. Plus heating costs with this cold weather. Winter isn’t over yet.

I order the LED strips I will need for building my Arduino powered room lighting. I also ordered the MOSFET tranistors and a 10 amp power supply. The later is over kill — I had read that the 2,700 lumen RGB 5050 LED strips require 6 amps but that’s for both of them that come in the box. I will likely use only one. The Arduino itself only uses less then 50 milliamps. Each strip is 15 feet and has 150 5050 LEDs, each of which puts out around 18 lumen or 2,700 lumen total, which at maximum brightness is more then a 150 watt light bulb. I doubt I will drive them anywhere near maximum brightness, which is good because that will help maximize their lives.

The strips are about 15 feet each, which is much too long for my purposes. I may cut them into three 5 foot strips and mount them in parallel. LED tape can be easily cut. I will eventually use the sticky tape to mount them to the wall. If a little paint peels off when I eventually remove them, that’s fine, I’m sure the landlord will be repainting my apartment once I move out as paint has pealed in multiple locations over the past ten years. Right now I am going to use the breadboard to wire them up for testing but eventually I will use perf board and 28 gauge (control) or 20 gauge wire (power) and solder things together. I will use a hot glue gun and eventually mount everything into a small plastic box. Then hook up a button to trigger the various mode — warm white for reading, a red fading mode for getting to sleep and a red to yellow to blue-white mode for waking int he morning. I’ve sketeched the basic code to make this work in Arduino IDE, but I have to have the actual strip to make it all work. This will be one of many projects I plan to build. The generic non-name Arduino Unos are under $5, so I can use these microcontroller boards for many projects.

November 10, 2017 8 AM Update

Good morning! Happy Blustery Friday. Today for many people is Veterans Day holiday observed, although tomorrow is actually Veterans Day aka Armstice Day. That’s a day we hope for peace and honor those who have served in our military — and pray for an end to war. War really is a horrific thing, destroying lives and communities, it steals billions from our economy that could be better spent addressing real human needs in our community, and the climate crisis. But while the climate is being cooked by increasing levels of carbon it’s freaking cold out today.

Right now, it’s mostly cloudy and 31 degrees in Delmar, NY. I am not sure if we will be above freezing today. November sometimes sure feels like winter. I got the heat on before the big cool down yesterday, so it’s a comfortable 60 odd degrees inside. I don’t think I would want it any warmer. Outside it’s quite blustery, with a stiff breeze at 26 mph the west-northwest with gusts up to 51 mph. I saw one of the garbage can tops belowing away. I ran outside without any more then a t-shirt on to grab it. Fortunately none of the milk bottles in that bin I use for recycling didn’t blow anywhere. I may have to get the transfer station soon though, because I’m starting to run low on room at least in recycling contianer. The current wind chill is 16. It’s freaking cold out. At least I’m not so sick today as I’ve been the past few days with a horrific sinus infection.

Partly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, and we are at today’s high of 31 degrees. Only going to get colder as the day progresses. 19 degrees below normal. Windy, with a northwest wind 20 to 26 mph, with gusts as high as 50 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. We might have some snow today. Not a big deal but it’s cold enough that the roads may have snow on them and get slick briefly. Snow squalls are around. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly cloudy skies. The high last year was 50 degrees. Nothing like today. The record high of 72 was set in 1931. 3.2 inches of snow fell back in 1987.

The sun will set at 4:36 pm with dusk around 5:06 pm, which is one minute and 2 seconds earlier than yesterday. At sunset, look for mostly clear conditions and 27 degrees. The wind chill around sunset will be 14. Yuck. Breezy, 20 mph breeze from the northwest with gusts up to 33mph. Today will have 9 hours and 55 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 17 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be clear, with a low of 11 degrees at 6am. 22 degrees below normal. Maximum wind chill around 8 at 6pm; Northwest wind 9 to 15 mph. In 2016, we had mostly clear skies with more clouds in the early hours of the next day. It got down to 35 degrees. The record low of 15 occurred back in 1956. I think it’s safe to say we will break that 1956 record with that arctic cold blasting in this morning.

Finally feeling better. I was so sick on Wednesday night from a sinus infection. I don’t know how I made it through Wednesday at work, but somehow I did. I closed my eyes on the bus ride home on Wednesday night, and set an alarm so I would be awake by my stop. For a while on Wednesday I literally felt like I was going to die. I was about a sick as one could get. Then I slept for 12 hours, and pulled myself out of bed for Thursday mainly because I wanted to get my truck fixed. The Sudafed made Thursday barable at work, but several people at work noticed I was pretty sick. But I think it was just mildew in my nose passage, not something I was likely to spread to others. By Thursday evening I was feeling better, maybe in part because the fix to my truck was only $90. That noise was really bothering me, and stressing me out even though it wasn’t a big fix. I’m tired of feeding Big Red $1,000 bills.

Big Red is back from the off-road shop. It turns out that one of the shock absorber bushings had failed. It was $90 plus tax to replace the bushing. I probably could have done that myself for a quarter of the price, but I don’t do my own repairs anymore, and apparently things were corroded as fuck down there. I would probably bugger shit up trying to get the rust off, and that’s why I am not a mechanic. But now it doesn’t ride as rough as shit over the bumps, and doesn’t make that obnoxious noise. I think it probably the best $90 I’ve ever spent, because that noise was literally driving me insane and made it pretty undrivable over washboarded roads. I actually am shocked that it passed state inspection. I guess they really don’t look that carefully.

If you hadn’t noticed by this point in the blog post, it’s very cold out today with that whipping wind and temperatures below freezing. I think the library is open until 9 PM, so I will probably walk down there to update the blog and play on the Internet. I do need to make up some more maps, but I don’t know if I neccessarily need Internet for that. I will need that though to do more West Virigina maps. I don’t know if I will do much too hiking, although I guess if it clears out I might go out to Five Rivers. I should also think about getting a hair cut.

I am toying with the idea of going up to the Adirondacks tomorrow, but I’m afraid it might be quite cold. I would like to do some hiking though, maybe Moxham Mountain or somewhere else, but it might quite cold. If I did go up north, I would camp out over Saturday nigth with the heated tent. But I may skip that with the cold coming. But I do want to get out before there is a lot of snow up there for the winter. The La Nina pattern suggests we could have a rather snowy winter.

I am toying with the idea of next weekend taking a long weekend and going up to the North Country. That is if it’s not too cold, and most importantly that there isn’t a major threat of lake effect snow. It’s the opening weekend of gun season inthe southern zone, but it’s open for a while up north. Probably camp up at Brasher Falls State Forest, visit the usual Massena places. There is something so charming about the rough country of the North Country. I haven’t been up there in two years, and it’s trip I like taking. Maybe take off two days next week. Although I don’t know, it might be difficult if a lot of people are taking a long week with the Thanksigving holiday.

My neighbor is gone to work today, so I’m able to listen to music using my desk speakers. I have misplaced my headphones after coming home. I think they are somewhere in Big Red. I’ll have to look around a bit. Not being able to listen to music at home except through the headphones kind of sucks being in an apartment. That’s one big advantage about camping out in the wilderness — you can listen to music and shoot guns and nobody gives a fuck. For the most part. Occassionally a ranger will stop by to confirm your not destroying state property but other then that, it’s great. Owning my own land and property would be great for that reason among many others.

I tell you on a day today, I sure wish Ihad a small cabin in the wilderness with a wood stove. It would be so cozy rather then this undersize gas heat in a somewhat drafty apartment. Wood is nice, especically if you can harvest it off your own land. Honestly, I hate all the trappings of modern living, although I definately would want some kind of 12 volt power supply from solar for LEDlighting and running my smartphone, which is what I’m typing on. Plus probably a propane instant-on heating for a hot shower. I don’t care about dumping out a shitter bucket, and I certainly wouldn’t mind not having television or Internet at home, because those last to things I’ve never had. Smartphones make it easy to live without Internet today. And they work great with a 12 volt supply, and don’t consume much power.

The other day, at work we were talking about buying homes and all that stuff. But honestly I’m quite happy with my mildew infested cheap apartment in the suburbs and taking the bus to work. Bleach keeps things under control. I hate driving in the city, especially with my big jacked up truck. It’s too difficult navigating around those little cars folks drive in the city. I would rather save my money, buy a lot of land eventually so I can shoot guns whenver and burn whatever I want. Having neighbors that don’t give a fuck as long as you leave them alone are the best. I just hate vinyl siding, marble counter tops, big houses with fancy lighting and all those trappings of suburban living, even with those plug-in hybrid cars and solar panels and big recycling bin next to their full landfill trash bin that are supposed to make you green. I’m just too much of an rough, country boy to support any of that upper middle class living. I’m quite happy for the federal government to take a swipe at those yuppies with by taking away their precious SALT exemption.

And if you think today is cold, there are 2 months until Coldest Day of Year (Avg. 14-30 degrees) when the sun will be setting at 4:42 pm with dusk at 5:13 pm. Then again, that is pratically the weather forecast today. Hopefully we won’t have wind chills like today in January. But if we do that’s not shocking, because it’s January in Albany when it’s cold.

Columbus Day Road Trip Ideas

Over the past couple of days I’ve been thinking about what I want do for my Columbus Day Week Road Trip. While it feels like I just got back from my five-day August eclipse trip, that is really a fading memory, and I’m ready for another big trip.

One option, mostly discounted would be a Vermont Northern New York trip. This would be good if I don’t think I could spend the full nine days on the road due to bad weather, some issue with the truck (unlikely), having to do work (also unlikely), or family needs.

That trip if I do it would consist of overnight in in Southern Green Mountain National Forest, then heading up to Mid-State outside of Middlebury then head north and drive through Smugglers Notch. I’ve never driven through Smuggler Notch and that would be interesting. From there head east to the Northern Adirondacks or maybe outside of Malone to the Deer River State Forest then to some of the state forests I’ve long wanted to explore in Saint Lawrence County, like Wolf Lake State Forest and Frank Jadwin State Forest. Then come down through the Tug Hill Plateau. That might be an interesting trip, but that’s not the one I really want to take.

The October trip I really want to do is the multi-state trip that I did to years ago to West Virginia and Virigina. But with some different destinations then two years ago. I think I want to actually see the Blackwater Falls in West Virigina, visit Ohiopyle State Park in Pennsylvania, drive through more of the farm country in the Shenandoah Valley and do more of the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virigina. This year, I’m much less interested in Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive, as I feel like I’ve done that before, and I’m not interested in the constrained forms of recreation that parks provide. I’d rather spend more time seeing the Blue Ridge Parkway, where the speed limit is 45 MPH and the curves in general are much less sharp and hills are smoother. The Blue Ridge Parkway is such a nice drive compared to so many other roads these days, especially the steep hills of West Virginia.

The one thing about this trip option is it will have me staying more in developed campgrounds then I would like. Yes, most of the $10 or even $20 fees are nuisance fees in the grand scheme of things, but I like having my space while camping. It’s just not the same to camp when you have somebody else 20 feet away and you have to keep the noise down. That said, showers are nice.

The places I would camp in West Virigina in the Mongehella National Forest, along with the George Washington National Forest are dispersed camping areas and are remote enough I probably wouldn’t see many people around except for a passing pickup. I like West VIrigina, but those roads sure are steep, twisty, and narrow. I don’t want to overheat my brakes again or worry about that.

One thing that Northern West Virginia has going for it this year with my new phone is that the AT&T GSM network has much better coverage up there, especially outside of the hollows. On the long autumn nights, I like to be connected to the Internet, surf the web, update my blog, and no I can summon emergency services should I run into mechanical problems. I’ll take a long gun and extra food but I don’t like having zero service for multiple days on end. I just hate being totally off grid, especially in such remote country. The lack of cell service with my Verizon network CDMA phone more then anything else bugged me a lot about camping in West Virigina.

This year though, if I go down, I probably won’t first visit the Alleghany National Forest but will instead stay at Asaph Run or more likely County Bridge Primitive Campgrounds. They are $10/night but they are worth it as they closer to being on the way, and I can then hop on US 15/US 220/Interstate 99 and head straighter for Cumberland, Maryland then West Virigina and either to Forest Road 13 outside of Thomas, WV or Camp Run in Fort Seybert, WV. I liked the dispersed camping a lot along the high-elevation swamps on Forest Road 13, although I always worry about their being enough campsites up there because it’s somewhat limited along the road. That would bring me close to Blackwater Falls for visiting the net day, and also along Corridor “H” which is a newer expressway to Thomas. It passes by a massive coal fired power plant, which might be interesting to drive by just to see what is like in person. Another option down in the corner of Pennsylvania by West Viriginia is the aforementioned Ohiopyle State Park, which I’ve been interested in a while but are more interested since that hunter last autumn that I ran into on the trail told me what beautiful country it is up there.

Dolly Sods Wilderness is quite scenic but it’s a way up and I’ve been there before so I may skip that. Same thing with Gandy Run Camping Area and Spruce Mountian, the highest elevation in the Mountain State. I’d rather hurry down to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

I would at some point crossover to Viriginia — I’m thinking US 250 — then drive down in the Shenandoah Valley for a bit before heading up to the Blue Ridge Parkway. I’ve seen the Shenandoah Valley from Shenandoah Parkway but never spent much time down in it.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is a nice drive. The North Creek Campground in Bucchan, VA is quite nice, for $10/night and even had a bit of CMDA cell service there. No showers though. The next overnight would be the Flat Rock or whatever the developed campground is on the Blue Ridge Parkway is south of Ronoake. I think that one is like $25/night but they they have showers and maybe even electricity at campsites.

At that point, I would almost be to the Tennessee line and I doubt I would go further south. I would probably come back part of the way I came, then more of the Shenandoah Valley, camping over again at North Creek Campground in Buchanan then probably heading up to West Virigina and camping over at Camp Run in Fort Seybert. I might then drive home from there or maybe overnight at County Bridge or Asaph Run in Wellsboro, because I really don’t like driving that much, and it gets dark so early in October.

I don’t have everything planned out and I need to study maps some more. But that’s fine. I’ll work on that tomorrow, and realize there is more to plan. That said, next Saturday, October 7th will be here before you know it.

April 5, 2017 Morning

Good morning! The rain is gone but clouds are lingering for a while around 43 degrees in Delmar, NY. Calm wind. Damp outside and chilly inside from last night’s rain. My heat is turned off. The skies will clear around 3 pm.

Today will be mostly cloudy mixing with more sunshine come the afternoon, with a high of 57 degrees at 4pm. Three degrees above normal. Light and variable wind becoming west 5 to 10 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies and a high of 36 degrees. The record high of 82 was set in 1928. 1.1 inches of snow fell back in 1914.

The sun will set at 7:26 pm with dusk around 7:55 pm, which is one minute and 9 seconds later than yesterday. Today will have 12 hours and 58 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 51 seconds over yesterday. Almost 13 hours a day. Tomorrow.

Tonight will have a chance of rain, mainly after 3am. Mostly cloudy, with a low of 40 degrees at 5am. Six degrees above normal. Maximum wind chill around 33 at 5am; Southeast wind 5 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. More rain tomorrow. In 2016, it got down to 17 degrees under mostly cloudy skies. The record low of 14 occurred back in 1943.

Looking ahead, there are 2 weeks until Average High is 60 when the sun will be setting at 7:42 pm with dusk at 8:12 pm. On that day in 2016, we had rain and temperatures between 65 and 44 degrees. We hit a record high of 92 back in 1976.

That rain we got last night was good, especially in light of the warm and dry weather expected next week. It might reach 77 degrees with a stiff dry breeze on next Tuesday, and thats wildfire weather but the heavy rains of late should help. The lack of freezing temperatures should make the grass green up a lot in the city with rain. Might be a bit farther away in the mountains though. That said I hope the woods doesn’t get too dried up because I want to be able to have a big ass campfire and burn shit when I’m up in woods. I hate living in the city.

Just a good ole boy… Making their way the only way they now how. I’m just glad in the Trump era we can now watch Dukes of Hazard Again.

Ended up walking down to the library last night. It wasn’t raining much on the walk down there but on the way back I was glad I brought my umbrella and rain coat. Raining fairly hard but things weren’t that flooded on the sidewalks and without the wind I remained fairly dry.

More waffles this morning. I couldn’t get the whole grain waffle mix at Hannaford on Saturday so I’m going to have to get to Shoprite. They have a nice selection of waffle mixes. I am going to need to get shopping on Thursday I guess because I really didn’t get enough supplies at Hannaford. I guess I can make it to the weekend but it will be stretching it.

Bought two new, inexpensive flags for camp. One is an Earth (Blue Marble) and the other is a Gadsden (Don’t Tread on Me Flag). I’m sure the later will horrify my liberal friends but that’s okay because I’ve always kind of liked the Tea Party message of defending the second amendment, individual empowerment and less government interference with the lives of private citizens. I guess my views are closer to Malcom X and Huey Newton then Donald Trump or Paul Ryan but I couldn’t find an inexpensive Black Panther flag that I liked. The Panthers Flag while nice isn’t as pretty as the yellow tea party flag. I thought about getting a Molon Labe flag but I didn’t like the colors or the military undertones. I’m not a war monger but I believe in citizen empowerment and the right of self defense and self reliance. Red white and blue 4×6 foot American flag goes well with the yellow 3×5 Gadsden flag and the 3×5 blue marble earth flag. I need not explain why I have an Earth flag, except that I believe in conservation and protecting our planet, even while i enjoy slinging mud in my big jacked up truck. I’m more concerned with air pollution from coal power plants and large landfills then marginal farmers in the mountains grazing cattle and rednecks burning trash and riding quads in the woods. Right now they are hung in my bedroom and look quite nice. I forgot how enormous my American flag really is, especially when it’s not hung high in the big wilderness but in my tiny apartment. The colors complement well.

Now just to finish wiring up the truck cap and inverter and replace the accessory battery so I can have another great summer camping with all those colorful flags in many great backcountry campsites. I also need to replace one of the propane hoses that sprung a leak and ever so frighteningly was leaking liquid propane until I turned off the lantern and tank as quickly as I safely could. Many great summer adventures are ahead. 51 days from now will be the start of Memorial Day Weekend.

Today I’m driving Big Red into work. Going to be a long day with final budget passage but hopefully not that late into the early morning, but I’ll bring a pillow so I can get some sleep on the office and take some five hours energy shots to wake up when it’s time to drive home. As long as I get a few hours of sleep and I have a energy shot and Frank Zappa’s Peaches En Regeta cued up I should be fine. I could leave Big Red home and take the bus but if we are released at 1 AM, I want to get home and sleep in my bed. Next year I’ll have the option of paying like $15 and the security of taking an Uber or Lyft home.

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the Schoharie Creek Thruway Bridge disaster. I was still a preschooler when it happened but I vaguely remember hearing about it and seeing it on my grandfather’s television. You can still see the scars of the emergency temporary bypass driving along NY 5S they built after the bridge collapsed and people had to detour onto an old rail bridge. Kind of a sad story, but we learned how to build better bridges. I have some graphs, videos and maps on the status of New York’s bridges that I will share later today.

Ordered another pair of dress pants online that I’m on the fence about returning. They are super comfortable but seem a bit more casual than what I normally wear with my blazer. I have to think about it more. I might return them or I might not. They are I think mostly cotton and I worry they might shrink when I wash them and the color doesn’t quite match. I do have free returns and they came with a pre printed return label so I might send them back. I’ll have to think about it some more.

Hearing on the radio about yet another massive industrial solar facility. I think it’s just madness to invest in these dubious large solar farms when it better to add the land to the state forests or wildlife management areas. Or sell development rights of these farms to prevent suburbanite developments. We have existing fossil plants that can be run at a higher capacity level and engage in more energy efficiency. I’m all for roof top solar panels and wind turbines but covering the land with semiconductor panels just doesn’t make much sense to me. At least the politicians aren’t advocating for a coal fired power plant there and a coal ash landfill.

Andy Arthur.org

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