Search Results for “photo before we tear er down ” | Page 2

October 14, 2019 Night

Good evening! Partly clear and 43 degrees in Dormansville, NY. Calm wind.

Vacation ends and you move on with your life. 😔 Wasn’t the greatest vacation ever with a lot of cloudy and rainy days and if I had a chance I’d do it differently next time but I you can’t look back. You just have to move forward. 📷 Maybe I had a good time but looking back at the photos I took I see a different impression. But then again I might rethink it later on. Face it, I’m tired 😴 and not happy about going back to work or Albany more generally. But I need money, and while Appalachia and coal country is beautiful, they’re ain’t a lot money there – despite Trump digging coal, whatever that means for that dirty dying industry. 🏭

Drove back wearing my glasses as I misplaced my contacts. 👓 I am not a big fan of wearing glasses but I also didn’t want to waste another pair of cintsc and I figured my hands were pretty dirty despite washing them regularly camping. Really didn’t want to g an eye infection. 👀

The trip back was colorful 🍂with really good foliage especially in the Western Catskills. If I had my way, I would have taken this week off for the road trip but I had family 👪 obligations.

Mount Pisgah County Park was nice with some color but bitterly cold. Missed the turn the first time driving up there, memory fades after two years. ↩The winds were really whipping around making it a little bit cold. 🍃 It was a little nicer at the Marie Antoinette Overlook with fog 🌁 in the valley and some color in the hills but I di not stick around for long because I esnt to head home 🏡 and get unpacked.

Still plenty of burn barrels 🔥 when I es still in Pennsylvania. Saw two households burning garbage on Columbus Day, one outside of Troy and one just south of Vestal NY. More dumpsters and trash services now though as I think people find plastic fires to be kind of noxious.

Tonight will have patchy fog. Otherwise, partly cloudy 🎑, with a low of 36 degrees at 6am. Four degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around October 27th. Calm wind. In 2018, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 39 degrees. The record low of 27 occurred back in 1978.

Tonight will have a Waning Gibbous Moon 🌖 with 95% illuminated. The moon will set at 8:37 am. The Last Quarter Moon is on Sunday night with a showers is likely then chance of showers. The Beaver Moon 🌝 is in 4 weeks. The sun will rise at 7:07 am with the first light at 6:39 am, which is one minute and 9 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 Tonight will have 12 hours and 52 minutes of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 48 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will have patchy fog before 10am. 🌁 Patchy frost before 9am. Otherwise, sunny 🌞, with a high of 59 degrees at 3pm. One degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around October 17th. Light and variable wind. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 61 degrees. The record high of 86 was set in 1897. There was a dusting of snow in 1939.❄

Back to work tomorrow. 💼 It’s important that I make money 💵 so I can pay down my bills. For a nine night, ten day road trip, my biggest expense was gasoline ⛽ and wear and tear on the truck, besides food and cans of beer my only real expense was $10 for last night at the rustic campground.

This next weekend is the Pine Bush hike, 🌲so I can’t go up to the Adirondacks for the weekend but maybe hiking somewhere on Sunday? 🚶In two weekends might take a three day weekend to Burnt Rossman or maybe the Catskills. ⛺ Burnt Rossman will probably still have a bit of color then, could do some squirrel hunting.

In four weeks on November 11 the sun will be setting at 4:37 pm (Standard Time),🌄 which is one hour, 38 minutes and 17 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2018 on that day, we had partly cloudy, snow showers and temperatures between 41 and 26 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 50 and 33 degrees. The record high of 70 degrees was set back in 2002.

Looking ahead, Average High is 55 🍂 is in 2 weeks, Veterans Day 🇺🇸 is in 4 weeks, Cyber Monday 🛍️ is in 7 weeks, First Sunday of Advent ✝️ is in 7 weeks, Earliest Sunset of the Year ⌛️ is in 8 weeks, Festivus 🍖 is in 10 weeks and Coldest Week of the Year 🌬 is in 3 months.

September 18, 2019 Night

Good evening! Clear and 53 degrees at the Delmar. 🌟 Calm wind. Going to be a cold night. I thought about closing my windows but the heat is off and it’s not expected to get below freezing in Albany. I’ll just enjoy the hot coffee ☕ come morning.

Tonight will be mostly clear 🌃, with a low of 42 degrees at 5am. Eight degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around October 8th. Calm wind. In 2018, we had mostly clear 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 32 occurred back in 1959.

Tonight will have a Waning Gibbous Moon 🌖 with 70% illuminated. The moon will set at 11:46 am. The Last Quarter Moon is on Friday night. The Hunter Moon 🌝 is on Saturday, October 12th. The sun will rise at 6:38 am with the first light at 6:09 am, which is one minute and 5 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 Tonight will have 11 hours and 38 minutes of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 51 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will have patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, sunny 🌞, with a high of 71 degrees at 3pm. Typical for tomorrow. Calm wind. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. It was sticky. The high last year was 75 degrees. The record high of 90 was set in 1946.

Doug Bullock’s Speech to Save the Pine Bush was quite good. 📢 No bull horn this time. He will be missed in the county legislature – he’s still on the Working Families line but I think most people know it’s time to move on. He can continue his activism in new ways. I helped him out on his first campaign 12 years ago but the democrats in his district apparently wanted a change – and his progressive advocacy never won him much in the way of corporate contributions.🌲I don’t agree with Doug on every issue but he’s a good guy in politics, for all the right reasons. ✊

So it looks like the proposal to re-power the ANSWERS plant and generate electricity is officially dead. 🏭 They’re going to tear it down instead build more solar on the plaza and in Oneida County and replace more of the lighting with solid state fixtures. It was so weird that they announced it during the Save the Pine Bush Dinner 📢 while Doug Bullock was speaking a two days before the climate march. Doug has been very vocal about opposing the plans as has the folks in PAUSE and the No Fracked Gas pipeline people. 🌎 At this point, we really shouldn’t be investing in more fossil infrastructure and the truth is that they didn’t really need the co-generation plant – it was wish list type thing 📃. Can they build the hundreds of acres of solar needed to go 100% solar for the Plaza? Only time will tell. A hundred million dollars once allocated to build the co-generation plant 💵 can buy a lot of panels. I do wonder though about outsourcing the panels to Oneida County.

I probably would have been involved with Doug’s campaign but I don’t get involved in politics much any more. 🏤 Some of its my work takes a lot of my time but also I’m less interested in politics than in years past. I’m more interested in self improvement and investing in my own future. 💰 Those who fight the good fight are doing God’s work but I don’t want to be part of the messy nature of politics. I just want to buffer myself from the harm of climate change and eventually own my own land out in the country in a freer state. 🐷

In four weeks on October 16 the sun will be setting at 6:12 pm,🌄 which is 48 minutes and 27 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2018 on that day, we had partly sunny and temperatures between 56 and 36 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 60 and 39 degrees. The record high of 88 degrees was set back in 1947.

Tomorrow evening I’ll run to the store and get a camp chair, and maybe boots 👢 and get packed up for the weekend. I plan to head north as soon as the Pine Bush hike is over on Saturday. Should be a really nice evening.

I’ve gotten a few maps and done some more research 🗾 on the New River Gorge. Most of the other places in West Virginia I’m quite familiar with so I don’t expect to need much research but I did also get a map for hiking Dolly Sods. I got to get out my big West Virginia Monongahela National Forest map – I think I know where it is in the crawl space – and do some more planning. I have one of those free maps from AAA of West Virginia Roads outside of the National Forest but I’m thinking about getting a better quality Rand McNally map too for better details. This year’s trip I want better planned then in 2017 which was kind of a mess as I was dealing with my mom being in the hospital 🏥.

Looking ahead, More Night then Day 🌌 is in 1 weeks, Average High is 65 🍂 is in 2 weeks, Day After Election Day 🛀 is in 7 weeks, Average Night Below Freezing 🌌 is in 8 weeks, Average High is 40 🌨 is in 11 weeks, Christmas 🎅 is in 14 weeks, New Years Day 2019 🎉 is in 15 weeks, National Bird Day 🐦 is in 17 weeks, Winnie the Pooh Day 🍯 is in 4 months, 37th Birthday 🎉 is in 19 weeks and Inauguration Day 2021 👴🏻 is in 70 weeks.

December 25, 2016 Evening

I hope you had a good Christmas. It was nice seeing my niece and sister today for breakfast. Lots of fresh fruits and waffles with cream. Gifts were exchanged with each other and it was nice. You most likely saw some of the photos from my hike at Five Rivers Environmental Education Center this morning. It was very quiet there. Seeing that big doe up close was neat.

I hadn’t really hadn’t decided what my afternoon and evening plans were going to be until around 1 pm, but I ended up deciding to go up to Cole Hill State Forest, build a Christmas Campfire and set up a tent and enjoy a nice evening in the wilderness next to the fire.
Tonight is going to be fairly cold with a low around 12, but that’s to be expected for Christmas which occurs in the coldest time of year. I’m not worried about the cold because I brought ample sleeping bags and the propane heater so I can reach over and turn the heater on from time to time and take the chill off the tent.

Right now we are around 21 degrees under very starry skies. The clear skies will allow the mercury to drop to 12 degrees on the hills around Berne. Six degrees below normal. A bit cool but it is Christmas and I’m up I’m the mountains and it’s colder here then I’m the city. Northeast wind 3 to 8 mph. About four inches of snow where I’m camping but dragging the gear up to camp sometime I was dragging the gear through the mud on the plastic sled. As the breeze is light and because I’m dressed in layers next to the fire and the Big Buddy Heater, it’s not that cold. I got the long johns on, coat, sweater and wool socks. Times in the past when it’s been windy, I’ve been much colder in the woods.

Last year on Christmas I was camping at Cherry Ridge at Charles Baker State Forest in Madison County. There was no snow them. In 2015, it got down to 34 degrees under mostly cloudy skies. The record low of -17 occurred back in 1914.

Waning Crescent Moon tonight with 19% illuminated. The moon will rise around 3:27 am. The New Moon is on Wednesday night with chance of snow showers.

Tomorrow will have a slight chance of snow, freezing rain, and sleet before noon, then a chance of freezing rain between noon and 5pm, then a chance of rain or freezing rain after 5pm. Increasing clouds, with a high of 35 degrees at 6pm. Four degrees above normal. South wind 7 to 12 mph increasing to 13 to 18 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 29 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Little or no snow and sleet accumulation expected. A year ago, we had mostly cloudy skies and a high of 49 degrees. The record high of 59 was set in 1895. 13.9 inches of snow fell back in 1969. The sun will rise at 7:25 am with the first light at 6:53 am, which is 20 seconds later then yesterday.

I didn’t pack at camp stove or breakfast, because I plan to tear down the camp first thing and head home. It’s only a 25 minute drive home and I didn’t want to bother with the camp stove. I will have to take down the tent and make several trips back to the truck to bring all the sleep bags and gear back to the truck. The nice thing is it’s down hill to the truck. I hope to be home by 9 or 10 tomorrow. I want to avoid the freezing rain that is expected later in the day. If the weather is okay, I may go down to the laundromat and was up my smokey clothing so the smoke smell doesn’t sit into it all week. I didn’t wear my new coat because I didn’t want to get it dirty or smoky.

Found out why the dash cam and cellphone charger wasn’t getting power in my truck. Ground wire had pulled out of solar charger which provides current to those devices, from the accessory battery. It was just a simple reinserting of the wire and screwing in a screw. Easy. Now I don’t have to worry about forgetting to shut off the dash camera and running down the starting battery. I like leaving the camera running while parked too in case my truck is hit in the parking lot.

I’m also experimenting with dash board camera settings to see if I can improve image quality. It should be interesting to find out what happens. I think I have found the best compression for uploading to YouTube but there are still a lot resolutions, frame rates, and HDR vs no HDR enhancement. It will be interesting to see what happens.

Looking ahead, New Years Day is Next Sunday, My 34th Birthday is in 5 weeks, Daylight Savings Time is in 11 weeks, Palm Sunday is in 15 weeks, Easter is in 16 weeks, Mother’s Day is in 20 weeks and Father’s Day is in 25 weeks.

October 10, 2015 evening

Good evening from the Allegheny National Forest somewhere near Marienville, PA. While I am well aware of where I am via the GPS, I have never been back on this road. Based on map I’m familiar with the road it connects with. It’s labeled a narrow, rough, dirt road, and while I didn’t think it was that bad in Big Red, it certain is narrow. I had to pass a hunter’s pickup, and I think we passed with about 5 inches between our pickups and he had to be 5 inches from the steep drop off from the road. The current temperature is 42 degrees under clear skies. The nice weather is expected to continue through Monday and then turn to rain for Tuesday. The rest of the week look okay after Tuesday. Tomorrow is expected to be 67 and partly sunny and Monday will be 70, at least in Marienville.

Today was a sucky day, but nothing went bad that will screw up the rest of the week. The main two things that went wrong was I simply planned to go too many miles in one day, and traffic was very heavy being Columbus Day. I think 90% of the time when I was on US 6, I was in a line of traffic. I like the open road, I hate to get stuck in a line of cars, keeping my eye on the road at all times to watch for stopped traffic. I-88 had the most traffic on it that I could remember, I spent most of the time either getting passed or passing cars. The foliage was wonderful most of the way across, although around Wellsboro it was green, and when I stopped at Kinzua Bridge the foliage was already past peak. With fall it always seems like you have either greens or foliage past done.

Getting started this morning I knew I wouldn’t get an early start. I did a lot of packing last night and shopping but I was dog tired after a long and stressful week. Work lately has been challenging. I’m glad I’m getting out of the office for the week. Rotating the tires on my truck and getting a state inspection proved to be a lot more of a process then I ever expected. The Quicky Lube I first tried to take my inspection at turned me away, because they said Big Red wouldn’t fit in the garage. Then I went to Gochee’s garage during the week, which did the inspection and rotated the tires, but forgot to do recalibrate the TPMS and left off one of the hub centric rings off of one of the wheels. It involved two trips back there, because I didn’t discover the TPMS error until I had driven 15 miles – the TPMS took a while to figure it was reading the spare tire and not one of the wheels that was actually rotating. Stupid shit, but it was early in the morning. I would be a little more concerned if it was something that could have left me broken down along the road – I’ll give them another try in the future, but if they screw up again, I will have to find yet another shop in Delmar. On top of all this, I was commuting out to my parents house every day, which meant I had little time to get ready at home during the week.

This morning I had to pack the food, the clothes, and few other things. I did do the water and most of the equipment last night. I decided to go to the laundromat in the morning, so I would have closer to the number of shirts and jeans I need for the week – I previously bought two additional pairs of jeans and shirts at Walmart – but I need 8 changes of clothes for the week, as I don’t want to have to visit some random laundromat in West Virgina or Virginia. I had to go to the bank, check the oil and fluids in the car, and top off the pressure in the tires, so they would be a nice 45 PSI, so I got a firm ride and not waste fuel or have excessive wear. Then I had to go to the bank, to pick up $200 in petty cash. I didn’t want to pick it up in advance, because I worried about losing it. I keep most of the petty cash in a locked box in my truck, until I need it, doling out when I get to firewood vendors, farm markets, tag sales, or campsites that requirement payments.

I have to admit I’ve gotten a bit bored with taking US 6 across Pennsylvania. I used like the trip and all the scenic vista and farm towns along the way, but I’ve made the trip a few too many times, and really need to come up with other places to go. Allegheny National Forest is fun, but I think I’ve done it a lot before. It seemed like a perfect stop over on paper on the way to West Virgina, although now I’m starting to think I’m a bit too far and will have to backtrack, even if I take US 219 south to West Virgina. I’m thinking the place I was originally planning to camp in West Virgina isn’t what I want, so I may have to head a bit farther east. Taking I-99 might have been a better choice. Driving all the way to Allegheny National Forest is a haul, especially on the way home. I have made this trip many times before in one day, heading back home, but never out to camp. Heading home, it’s a haul, but once you get on I-88 you set the cruise control on it and cue up a podcast, and nod off for about two hours. In contrast, going to Allegheny National Forest from Albany, puts all the small hick towns and the bulk of the trip after that long trip on I-88. When heading home, if you get home late, you can just collapse in your bed once reach home, the opposite is not true when you have to search for a campsite, as darkness is rapidly approaching.

I reached the Pine Creek Gorge at 3 PM today. Which sounds late, but it’s actually how long it takes after leaving Albany at 9:15 AM and stopping at the bank and Stewart’s for firewood plus multiple piss breaks because I drank too much coffee then water in the truck on the way over. I wanted to drive up to Colton Point, because in places the color looked perfect out there – and other hills it still looked green – but time wouldn’t let me. I knew I had a choice between Pine Creek George and Kinzua Bridge, and I chose later as I knew after today there was no chance I would get to Kinzua Bridge. The colors unfortunately were fairly dull and past peak on the bridge. Sunset was coming too fast, and even when I got to Kinzua Bridge at 5 PM, I knew I had only a half-hour because it was at minimum a half-hour to Kane, and whatever time I would take to find a campsite from there. I felt most of the day I was flying from place to place, and despite all the amazing color I saw, I didn’t get many pictures. It didn’t help that the best colors were along the expressways with no parking or on roads with absolutely no shoulder. Tomorrow may also be a rushed, long day – but not quite as many miles as today. But once I’m down in West Virgina, I don’t expect to be nearly as rushed for the rest of the week.

At Coudersport I stopped at McDonalds and got a coffee, which helped keep me awake as I headed to Kinzua Bridge and ultimately to Kane and then camp. I also stopped at a farm stand at Coudersport, and got some mushrooms and peppers. They didn’t have sweet corn, which was a disappointed. Probably the frost has ended the corn season in the Coudersport-area which is fairly high in elevation. I have a bit of Appalachian accent, but nothing like the farmer from Coudersport. Mid-western, Appalachian accent. Not like the more southern accents I expect to here once I reach the Virginas tomorrow. He seemed like a good guy, and had very affordable prices.

I got to Allegheny National Forest and wanted to camp near Kane or somewheres south. I remember the campsites along Forest Road 133 near Kane, but ended up deciding to take Forest Road 152 south from there, because I figured the farther south I went, the last south I had to go tomorrow. But it turns out there were no campsites on Forest Road 152 – despite driving 15 miles at the sky got darker and darker. Then I got on a forest road near Marienville, and ended up driving like 10 miles further south, not finding any campsites, until it was almost pitch black, and I found a campsite. Just in the nick of time. I had the firewood I bought at Stewart’s, so I got a fire started and got going.

And then stuff didn’t work. The 12-volt extension I have hooked from the deep cycle battery to my cellphone charger didn’t work when I plugged it in this morning. Total surprise. I think the fuse blew in the cord, but I don’t know. I will have to test it with a volt meter later in the week. I just plugged the cellphone charger into one of the main battery outlets, which works fine, but I like to have it run the accessory battery, in case I forget about it. Then later on the day, the brand new Halloween ghost lights I picked up at Walmart worked for 10 minutes until I bumped the string. $10 for 10 minutes of use seemed to suck. Then the string went dark. Eventually though the string started working again, once I played with the string. But it didn’t come back until I played every socket.

I am taking most of the photos on my Digital SLR or point and shoot camera, so I won’t be uploading most of the pictures until the evening each night, or when ever I have cellphone service. I’m not crazy about the quality of my new cellphone camera, so I have to download the photos from my other cameras to my laptop, then to the phone. But I will try to keep up with the photos as much as possible.

It was a crazy first day of vacation. Tomorrow is going to be another crazy day. I’m setting my alarm clock for 6:30 AM, which is coming fast. Unforutnately, out in Western Pennsylvania the sun doesn’t rise until 7:25 AM, so it will be a dark morning. But at least I have lights to help light the woods as I make breakfast and get going. I might just get coffee on the road, to speed camp tear down.

Good night! Sleep well.

The Beautiful Springtime Sunday Isn’t Expected to Last 🌸

I guess enjoy it while you still can. It will be a nice morning for driving to the Glenmont to get groceries and supplies, maybe fill the propane tank in preparation of traveling next weekend should the weather be decent. I adjusted my bike derailleur and aired up the tires but who knows if I’ll get a chance to ride before the rain returns. I should also replace at least one of the bad windshield wipers too.

Good morning! Happy Sunday. Partly sunny and 44 degrees in Delmar. 🌤️ There is a west breeze at 6 mph. 🍃.

Out to Walmart this morning 🛒 to by food and the plastic packaging it comes in for fire starters 🔥 then over to Tractor Supply 🏮 to get propane so I’m ready to get out camping. 🌧️ As rain is coming later on today, I should also look at getting a windshield wiper blade for my truck. ⛽️ Then gas things up as I want to keep my truck full because with the Middle East going to all shit and summer coming, prices are only going to go up. Hello, inflation my old friend, how are you doing? Unfortunately I am concerned the Middle East situation causing inflation is going to mean elderly Joe Biden is going to get his clocked cleaned this November by the soon-to-be-convicted felon, Donald John Trump. But maybe it’s good, as government really needs to get knocked down a peg or two.

Today will have a chance of showers, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 2pm. 🌦 High of 55 degrees at 4pm. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 11th. Maximum dew point of 46 at 6pm. 🏖️ West wind 6 to 9 mph becoming south in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 89 degrees. The record high of 83 was set in 1968. 1.4 inches of snow fell back in 1950.❄

While this morning is real nice, 🌞👉️🌧️ it’s going to turn to rain much too early this afternoon it seems. Getting shopping though before the rain will be nice, and I might try to squeeze in a bike ride later on now that I’ve adjusted the derailleur on my bike and aired up the tires. 🚴‍♂️ It should be a good for riding in at least the first half of the work week. Heading out to the parents house this evening, 👨‍👩‍👦 It’s good to visit the family, as you never know how many times you’ll get another chance to do it. If the rain holds off, I’d like a chance to get some exercise — be it a bike ride or an evening walk 🚶 but based on the latest forecast I’m not that hopeful.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:56 pm with sun having an altitude of 57° from the due south horizon (-13.8° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 3.9 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 6:59 pm with the sun in the west (278°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (284°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:37 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 59 seconds with dusk around 8:05 pm, which is one minute and 9 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the First Quarter 🌓 Moon in the west-southwest (239°) at an altitude of 66° from the horizon, 243,304 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:41 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and thunderstorms 🌩 and temperatures around 54 degrees. The dew point will be 47 degrees. There will be a southwest breeze at 6 mph. Today will have 13 hours and 25 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 47 seconds over yesterday.

Yesterday ended up staying home 🏠️spending a lot of the day reading and thinking 💭 or maybe better said dreaming. I finished up a book on permaculture 🧑‍🌾 and one on beef farming 🐂 and was doing another book on Java programming 🖥️ and ended up digging into writing C code and working with CSV and Excel files 🤓, as I want to improve my C programming skills as a lot of the code we work with at work is written in C.

Tonight will have showers and thunderstorms before 10pm, then a chance of showers between 10pm and 11pm. 🌧 Low of 47 degrees at 4am. Eight degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 5th. Northwest wind around 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. In 2023, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 52 degrees. The record low of 21 occurred back in 1940.

Been watching as the landlord works on the unit next door. 👷‍♂️ Been doing quite the gutting of the next door apartment, but I realize it’s been a least a decade since that unit was overhauled and I think it needed a lot of work as does my unit. 🧹 I don’t feel nearly as guilty for all the wear and tear in my apartment, things wear out and building materials — especially cheap ones like my apartment is made up — have a fairly limited lifespan. The refigerator in my apartment is more then 30 years old, and I am sure the carpets and floor are probably at least that old if not older. The mold issues aren’t my problem, or the water that is everywhere due to issues with the foundation not being properly insulated and the building not properly vented. 🏚️ It’s a cheap, dumpy apartment but despite all my complaints I kind of love it and hope to stay here until I find a permanent home.

Looking ahead to May, which isn’t that far away, there are 3 weeks until Cinco de Mayo 🤠 when the sun will be setting at 8:01 pm with dusk at 8:31 pm. On that day in 2023, we had partly sunny, rain showers and temperatures between 64 and 40 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 68 degrees. We hit a record high of 91 back in 1944.

Happy J6 Day!

The bad behavior of three years ago is still on the news, but I think they make too big of a deal out of an rollicking, out of control protest. Joe Biden won the election, fair and square, and no disruption of pomp and circumstance of the electoral count in Congress was going to change it. It wasn’t unlike the Black Lives Matter movement or so many other crazy protests from people rightfully frustrated about the lockdowns and pandemic, that hurt many in our country. It’s not like we as a society aren’t constantly smashing glass and tearing down buildings in the name of progress, both lawfully and otherwise. The government needs more people urinating on it, too many politicians believe they are too self-important. I just remember how cold that day was, working from home, staying warm with the heating pad and space heater. What a shit storm, by a shitty President in shitty times on a cold winter’s day.

Good morning! Happy Saturday. Finally the weekend as we wait for the snow to arrive! Cloudy and 26 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☁ Calm wind. Things will start to thaw out at Monday around 11 am. 🌡️ And then all the snow will start melting. Going to be in the fifties with rain come Wednesday. I don’t expect the roads to be particularly bad for the Monday commute, though what do I care, I’m taking the bus in. 🚌 Between the shitty weather and being session days next week, I doubt I’ll be doing much riding to work this week. 🚳 Unlike this past week, when I rode to work three out of four days, with only the one day being a session day when I went for a 6:45 AM bike ride before work.

Decided to make Johnny Cakes this morning, with corn meal, baking powder, whole-wheat flour, milk, some water and salt. 🥞 No sugar like is common in the cornbread mixes. Topped them with Greek yogurt, mango and honey. Next time I want to try a more savory version, with chopped onions, some garlic, and maybe some spinach in the mixture. But this was pretty good, though I wish there was a bit more fiber involved in the meal. I like my breakfasts to be packed with protein and fiber for an all day punch — and not too much sugar. 🤪 Sugar makes me crazy, it gives me anxiety. I am happier when I avoid it, though I have to say pancakes in general are much better with true maple sap, then imitation sugar-free syrup. But honey is good for a change.

Today will have a chance of snow, mainly after 4pm. Cloudy 🌨, with a high of 32 degrees at 1pm. One degree below normal, which is similar to a typical Southeast wind 3 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. A year ago, we had light rain in the morning with more sun in the afternoon. The high last year was 44 degrees. The record high of 71 was set in 2007. 12.7 inches of snow fell back in 2002.❄

Today after my bike ride 🚲 out to Voorheesville, going with the folks up to see my sister, niece and nephew, the later for the first time. 👶 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Then hopefully before the snow starts too hard, I’m going to head to the laundromat 👕 and wash my clothes and run to Hannaford for bananas 🍌 and a few other things I didn’t get at Walmart. Pea soup for dinner. 🥗 Should be good, mom got me a handheld blender which I was used to blend the peas nice and smooth, so it should go down nice and smooth. Add some balsamic vinegar and get the bread I have in the freezer out and I’ll be eating good. And then just enjoy the snow as it comes down. 🌨

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:02 pm with sun having an altitude of 24.8° from the due south horizon (-46° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 13 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 3:52 pm with the sun in the southwest (232°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (240°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:37 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 22 seconds with dusk around 5:08 pm, which is 58 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 5:44 pm. At sunset, look for snow 🌨 and temperatures around 32 degrees. There will be a east-southeast breeze at 8 mph. Today will have 9 hours and 14 minutes of daytime, an increase of one minute and 3 seconds over yesterday.

My office is basically all packed up and cleaned 🏢 📦 and I brought home everything except my mug, phone charger and USB hub/monitor cable, so I’m ready to move to the suburban office as soon as they’re ready in my office. It’s not going to be on Monday, though I thought it might be so I wanted to be prepared. ⚠️ Whenever I get the heads up, I’ll be ready to move. I’m ready and excited to take on the new tasks, but I’m willing to serve in whatever capacity my business needs me to do.

Tonight will snow. The snow could be heavy at times. 🌨 Low of 28 degrees at 9pm. 11 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 21st. East wind 7 to 10 mph becoming north after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 7 to 11 inches possible. Most of snow will fall on the overnight, In 2023, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 27 degrees. The record low of -12 occurred back in 1878.

As previously noted, next Saturday is Make Your Dream Come True Day 🏡 🤠 🐮 when the sun will be setting at 4:45 pm with dusk at 5:15 pm. On that day in 2023, we had rain showers, mostly cloudy, mild and temperatures between 43 and 30 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 33 degrees. We hit a record high of 71 back in 1932.

Seventeen years …

I was thinking this morning that it’s been 17 years now since I was a bushy-eyed intern for now-Congressman Joe Morelle back at the Assembly. Many years have come and gone since then, lots of hard work, fun and some tears. Soon I’ll be moving to the suburban office to take over as Director of Data Services for Assembly, though this week I’ll be training the person who is taking over my position in Research Services. Lots of Lists of Lists (LOL), as they called it back when I was working in college at Higher Education Services Corporation. But first a nice bike ride to work, probably for the only time this week.

Good morning! Happy Tuesday. Mostly cloudy and 26 degrees at the in Delmar, NY. ☁ Calm wind. Things will start to thaw out at around 11 am. 🌡️ Not a terrible morning for the bike ride in but I was hoping for more sun earlier on. That said with session tomorrow and rain on Thursday and Friday, it will likely be the last bike ride in of the week.

A new year, the same ol’ deja moo. 🐮 Except it’s framed in a new way. As the more things change, the more things stay the same. Gotta dig out my politician suit for tomorrow, which doesn’t fit the way it once did now that I’ve lost so much weight. 🕴 But first today it’s riding the bike to work, 🚲 listening to some Oliver Anthony. 🎤 🎻 And then time to chase the money, 💸 because your dollar ain’t shit and it ain’t tied to no hen, as he would sing. I have a bit of an obsession with Oliver Anthony, mainly because his life is my life goal. 🥅 You know that $750 trailer on the 96-acres in West Virginia, though I heard he actually lives in Farmville, Virginia, down the way from Cam Edwards. But first I need to make some money, because I have to pay those bills, especially all that food 🍏 and gasoline ⛽ I’ve been buying. At least calling off the camping trip this weekend, my propane tank is full 🏮 so I won’t need more propane before the next time camp.

Today will be cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny ☁, with a high of 36 degrees at 2pm. Kind of like yesterday. Two degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 14th. Northwest wind 5 to 7 mph becoming calm in the afternoon. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 51 degrees. The record high of 61 was set in 1890. 7.1 inches of snow fell back in 2014.❄

While I will say I’m blessed to ride in today, I do wish there had been more sun. That said it is supposed to get sunnier as the day progresses but then more clouds tonight and over the next few days. Often winter days are kind of cloudy and depressing, especially in years as mild as it’s been. As much as I like the reduced heating bills, I do not love how cloudy the days have been as of recent.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:00 pm with sun having an altitude of 24.4° from the due south horizon (-46.4° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 13.2 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 3:48 pm with the sun in the southwest (231°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (239°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:33 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 24 seconds with dusk around 5:05 pm, which is 52 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 5:41 pm. At sunset, look for partly sunny skies 🌃 and temperatures around 35 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Tomorrow will have 9 hours and 11 minutes of daytime, an increase of 52 seconds over today.

Yesterday was New Years Eve Fondue with the family. 🫕 It was delicious, a nice treat. I figure enjoy these special moments with the family as it’s been three weeks since I last visited my parents before the holidays when we went and saw the Nutcracker as both of my parents the past few weeks have been really sick with a bad cold, which is particularly serious with them getting up there in the years. It’s been over a decade now since Mom retired, dad turns 77 years old. They also gave me some Christmas presents, which I always think is silly as an adult, but I think I’ll find uses for the immersion blender, and not just for smoothies, which I tend to think are kind of silly and unhealthy. 🥤

To make up for all that unhealthy saturated fat, I decided to start my New Years Day out with a 5-mile bike ride to Five Rivers, then another 15-miles riding out to Voorheesville, then down to Elsemere and along some of the side streets in Delmar. Then I hiked up Bennett Hill and then did an evening walk, for a total of 7 1/2 miles walked. I made sure to have a healthy lunch with lots of peas, corn, spinach, and tofu with spices and skipped desert at the end of the day for a glass with apple cider vinegar. I figure if you’re going to eat crap you should make sure your at least including a fat-soluble vitamins from natural sources to mop up all that fat. Breakfast yesterday was apple-oatmeal-cake baked in the oven. No sugar, but some whole-wheat flour, an egg, bananas and several chopped up apples with cinnamon.

Tonight will have increasing clouds ☁, with a low of 26 degrees at 5am. Eight degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 15th. Calm wind. In 2023, we had clear skies in the evening, which became mist by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 27 degrees. The record low of -14 occurred back in 1970.

The thing we’re watching is the snow storm possible on Saturday or Sunday. 🌨 No guarantees at this point though. NOAA is leaning heavily on GFS model, which is showing the storm hitting the west coast hitting West Virginia and pushing out to see and we just having cold and cloudy weather. Seems like Appalachians have been hogging all of the snow this year. 🐷 ❄️ Saturday, mostly cloudy, with a high near 33. Sunday, snow likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 32. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Typical average high for the weekend is 33 degrees. Maybe not that cold, as next weekend is one of the coldest on average in Albany, though it seems like lately winter has been coming later and later. I expect the really frigid weather to come February, about the time the record man says it should be warming up.

Looking ahead, next Tuesday is Static Electric Shock Day 🧼 when the sun will be setting at 4:41 pm with dusk at 5:11 pm. But to more static electricity, we need it to be colder and drier. This year hasn’t been that shocking by any measure of that. On that day in 2023, we had cloudy, snow showers and temperatures between 36 and 18 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 33 degrees. We hit a record high of 62 back in 2008.

Two weeks until Martin Luther King Day. 🖤 I am hoping things will be cooler and drier by then for good camping. That’s my next adventure on the agenda.

Andy Arthur.org

Search Results for: photo before we tear er down