Good morning! Happy Thursday. Getting my teeth cleaned this morning.🦷 Lucky me. Next Thursday Save the Pine Bush Turns 42 🦋. Been a long time since Dick Patrick and Mayor Erastus Corning had their public hearing on the Lone Pine Development during the 1978 blizzard when all of state government was shut down but not the city’s planning board hearing at the old Herman Bleecker library downtown. 🌲

Bright and sunny and 18 degrees in Delmar, NY. 🌞 Calm wind. 🍃 Things will start to thaw out at around 1 pm. 🌡️ Without the wind and the bright sun pushing thirty degrees altitude by noon time, not too bad. Indeed the latest forecast predicts weather a few degrees above normal by late afternoon. ♨ Seems like the old heater has kept up fine in my apartment and it’s quite comfortable inside. That said, I think I’ll drive to the dentist just because if I miss the bus I can either drive home or wait inside my truck for the next bus 🚍 so I’m not stuck out in the cold ❄.

Today will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 35 degrees at 3pm. Four degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 15th. Light and variable wind. I’ll take that for late January. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, which became light snow by afternoon. The high last year was 28 degrees. The record high of 56 was set in 2013. 11 inches of snow fell back in 1966.❄

Hopefully I’ll survive my dentist appointment. 🦷 I really should floss more and I am a bad person for that but I do brush my teeth regularly and the past few years I’ve been getting biyearly cleanings so hopefully I won’t be buck tooth too soon. I haven’t been drinking as much milk lately 🐮 – maybe a gallon a week in favor of apple juice 🍏 which is terrible for my teeth but I get tired of milk and apple juice at least is healthier than beer or soda. I do drink a lot of florinated water 💦 too. I support science and urban water florination and yes the milk I drink is pasteurized as I don’t own my own cow 🐮 and it only takes a little amount of bacteria of the wrong type in the bulk tank to make you very sick, and despite the iodine teat dip and properly stripping teats, cows do lay in the grass, mud and manure all day.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:09 pm with sun having an altitude of 29.6° from the due south horizon (-41.2° vs. 6/21). I’m thinking tomorrow will be thirty degrees noontime altitude but only if it’s sunny out will it matter much. I heard the mercury could teach fifty on Monday and The golden hour 🏅 starts at 4:24 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (239°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (246°) starting at 5:03 pm and lasts for 3 minutes and 10 seconds with dusk around 5:35 pm, which is one minute and 18 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the First Quarter 🌓 Moon in the south-southwest (204°) at an altitude of 47° from the horizon, 251,535 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:10 pm. At sunset, look for partly cloudy skies 🌃 and temperatures around the freezing point. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 9 hours and 53 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 16 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌤, with a low of 17 degrees at 6am. Two degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around February 11th. South wind 3 to 5 mph. Works for me. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to -3 degrees. The record low of -26 occurred back in 1948.

I briefly checked the fluids in my truck and they’re all good. ⛽ I haven’t had to add oil since the November oil change at the dealership. I’ve also noticed that the lifter that was clicking has stopped. Maybe the sludge in the engine has fixed the problem. I do doing synthetic oil changes and lately been going to the dealer with the long hours and good price for regular maintenance. Maybe I will be able to get several more years out of the truck. I still will need to get new 35 inch tires probably at the end of the year and probably an alignment and that ain’t cheap but it’s been six years by the end of next year since I jacked up my truck. 🚘

Nothing to celebrate this weekend except maybe the Ground Hawg not seeing his shadow. 🐻 Saturday, a slight chance of snow showers before noon, then a slight chance of rain and snow showers between noon and 1pm, then a slight chance of rain showers after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 39. Calm wind. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Sunday, mostly cloudy, with a high near 39. ☁ Typical average high for the weekend is 32 degrees.

🌹🌻🌼Only 49 days remain until the first day of calendar spring!🌹🌻🌼

49 days of winter left, 49 days of winter left. Take one down, pass it around….

As previously noted, next Thursday is Save the Pine Bush Turns 42 🦋 when the sun will be setting at 5:14 pm with dusk at 5:44 pm. On that day in 2019, we had rain and temperatures between 37 and 25 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 33 degrees. We hit a record high of 55 back in 1991.

Good evening! Clear and 20 degrees in Delmar, NY. There is a north breeze at 8 mph. 🍃. The current wind chill is 8. There is a dusting of snow on the ground. ☃ Things will start to thaw out at Friday around 11 am. 🌡️

It was pretty bitterly cold ❄ after going out with some of my colleagues after work and having some drinks and wings 🍻 and then waiting for the bus to go home. 🚍 The 49 cent wings – ten for $4.90 are a great deal 🍗 and are really good tasting at Public House 42. Plus my colleagues picked up the tab for my birthday 🎂 which was really nice of them to do. I offered to pay but they were really nice. I don’t go out much but it was nice especially at the new Pinto and Hobbs where it was pretty quiet. I hate drinking beer where the crowds and noise are so loud you can’t hear a person five feet away. Even Public House 42 was pretty quiet, they were playing Peter Paul and Mary for a walk.

Tonight will be clear 🌃, with a low of 6 degrees at 4am. Nine degrees below normal. Maximum wind chill around -1 at 5am; North wind 3 to 8 mph. In 2019, we had light snow in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 1 degrees. The record low of -12 occurred back in 1965.

There was at least one if not two homeless people on the street last night at the bus stop. 🚏Seemed like an awful cold night to be on the street. I’ve spent a few single digit nights in the wilderness in the single digits but that’s with warm clothes, a rip roaring fire 🔥 and my propane heater in a hot tent 🎪. The homeless action network was giving out blankets and tarps to the people and probably asking them if they wanted to go to the shelter. One was asking if anybody had keys 🔑 or a knife🔪 to open 🔓 the bag that they were blanket they got came in. I said no because I didn’t know if my key would be sharp enough and I didn’t want to have it stolen and not be able to get in my own house. 🏡 The guy flagged down the homeless van and got in any they helped him open it.

Just reminds me how privileged I am even if it seems like I have very little money 💵 in my bank account at the end of the month. My rent check was withdrawn yesterday. That’s good, I hopefully won’t get evicted for at least another month. 🏡 Done so much damage to my landlords building 🏢 although not all of it is my fault – it’s had moisture problems since I moved in and things were old and thread bare ready to wear through. Plus my muddy boots and gear didn’t help. That said, over the past 12 1/2 years I’ve paid like $80k in rent, always on time and only called the landlord over a handful of times. 💰The rent check cleared while I was drinking to remind me how poor I truly am.💸 At least it was my birthday.

The Snow ❄ Moon is on Sunday, February 9. The darkest hour is at 12:09 am, followed by dawn at 6:44 am, and sun starting to rise at 7:14 am in the east-southeast (114°) and last for 3 minutes and 10 seconds. Sunrise is 57 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌄 The golden hour ends at 7:56 am with sun in the east-southeast (121°). Tonight will have 14 hours and 7 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 2 minutes and 16 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will be sunny 🌞, with a high of 32 degrees at 3pm. One degree above normal, which is similar to a typical day around January 31st. Light and variable wind. With the sun it will feel even warmer. Next week might be closer to 50 on Monday. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning, which became light snow by afternoon. The high last year was 28 degrees. The record high of 56 was set in 2013. 11 inches of snow fell back in 1966.❄

Tooth cleaning appointment in the morning. 🦷 I should have done a better job at flossing over the past six months but I’ve been busy and I’m sure I’ll get yelled out gently by my dental hygienist. He’s actually a good guy and very friendly and just tries to nudge me to better dental health. Figuring I didn’t take care of my teeth for a long time it’s good I’m at least getting regular cleanings now.

In four weeks on February 26 the sun will be setting in the west (259°) at 5:40 pm,🌄 which is 36 minutes and 19 seconds later then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had mostly sunny, snow showers and temperatures between 24 and 15 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 38 and 20 degrees. The record high of 63 degrees was set back in 1976.

After I got home I researched the Rensselaer Biotech facility that is supposed to be one of those mechanical biological treatment facilities 🚮that shreds mixed garbage and supposedly breaks it down into compostable materials and recoverable metals. I think the biggest concern is it will process mixed waste rather than source separated organics. I’d rather see much higher prices on mixed waste and that sent to landfills with a priority on source separated organics recovery and dual stream recycling. ♻ Having more bins is a pain but it may be necessary for clean waste recovery.

Looking ahead, February Save the Pine Dinner 🦋 is in 3 weeks, Average High is 40 ☀️ is in 5 weeks, April Fools Day 🤡 is in 9 weeks, Pink Moon 🌕 is in 10 weeks, Tax Day 💰 is in 11 weeks, Earth Day 🌎 is in 12 weeks, Latest Sunset 🌆 is in 21 weeks and Inauguration Day 2021 👴🏻 is in 51 weeks.

🇺🇸🦅Only 113 days remain until the start of Memorial Day Weekend!🦅🇺🇸

Good morning! What day is it? A sunny and fresh snow on a Hump Day, of course. Six weeks to 7 PM Sunset 🌆. Partly sunny and 16 degrees in Delmar. Calm wind. Doesn’t feel that cold out with the sun plus I left the heat turned up in my apartment in preparation for the couple of days of cold weather to come. After last night’s snow storm are 9 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ Things will start to thaw out at Sunday around 11 am. 🌡️ Going to be really nice then.

I took the local bus to work this morning 🚌 as I slept in a bit later than normal because I did not sleep well. 😩As expected, yesterday was an awful day at work but I made it through it. Roads are pretty good this morning and the bus is running relatively close to on schedule though. I’ll make it through today with toothpicks holding my eyes open and move forward to tomorrow. At least there should be a lot of sun and blue light in my office, for the first part of the day.

Today will have increasing clouds 🌞➡☁, with a high of 22 degrees at 1pm. Nine degrees below normal. Maximum wind chill around -9 at 6pm; Breezy, with a light west wind increasing to 18 to 23 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 36 mph. Watch for snow showers between 3pm and 5pm. The snow could be heavy at times. Areas of blowing snow after noon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than one inch possible but still could impact our evening commutes. A year ago, we had light snow. The high last year was 28 degrees. The record high of 56 was set in 2013. 11.0 inches of snow fell back in 1966.❄

The sun will set at 5:06 pm with dusk around 5:36 pm, which is one minute and 19 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At sunset, look for mostly cloudy skies ☁ and temperatures around 12 degrees. The wind chill around sunset will be -7. ☃️ Breezy, 21 mph breeze ⛅ from the west with gusts up to 34mph. Yuck. Today will have 9 hours and 56 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 19 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be mostly clear 🌃, with a low of -5 degrees at 5am. 20 degrees below normal. Maximum wind chill around -16 at 11pm; West wind 7 to 15 mph. I’ll definitely have to leave the cabinets open and the heat up tonight if I want a warm shower come the morning. 🚿 In 2018, we had light snow in the evening, which became mostly sunny by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 15 degrees. The record low of -26 occurred back in 1948.

Tomorrow will be sunny 🌞, with a high of 12 degrees at 1pm. 20 degrees below normal. Maximum wind chill around -15 at 6am; West wind 7 to 14 mph. A year ago, we had light snow. The high last year was 30 degrees. The record high of 58 was set in 1913. 6.9 inches of snow fell back in 2000.❄

Yesterday was a tough and crazy day at work. I got 53 work emails in one day, responding back to 33 of them.📨 I had to run over to the Capitol a few times, write many memos and postage requisitions. Some days at work are less pleasant than others. Hopefully I’ll get caught up on work sooner than later. Maybe I should have stayed late last night, but I was so tired after the insanity around the place yesterday.🤪

Despite the crazy day at work, I left at 5:10 and got home a little before six which wasn’t so bad with the snow. The bus was running a little bit late but I still got home earlier than I expected.😁 Normally, it’s closer to 5:40 – 5:45 PM with regular traffic. And despite the snow last night, this mornings commute wasn’t too bad at all, as the roads were pretty good.

My birthday dinner was fish sticks and corn. 🐟 I even cracked open a beer. I could have gone out but I was really tired. I’m not complaining, I got the super-sized bag a few weeks ago do its very economical. This morning I had waffles. Cleaned the counter up well but I still have a problem with ants. I got to get some ant bait, probably tomorrow when I go out to John Wolcott’s house. I hope I can get Big Red out of park in the cold. I think the next time I have Big Red in the shop for his oil change that I no longer do myself I will see if they can replace it at least get working the sensor again.🅿 It’s fine when it’s a bit warmer, so I don’t know.

I mounted the old hard drive in the DVD slot on my laptop. 💾 Worked great although I think I might have gave cracked some of the bezel clips when I removed the bezel from the DVD drive. I know they do sell them on eBay for not that much money so if I decide to get one — I’ve seen them listed for as low as $5 including shipping. I don’t necessary need a new one, just one without broken clips to replace the broken one, and also one to put on the DVD drive for when I swap them — although I can’t remember the last time I actually used the DVD drive.💿

I had a nice evening walk, lots of snow outside for sure. I was really surprised how much snow was on the ground when I went for my evening walk last night around 8:30 PM, ❄ almost 6 inches at that point. Didn’t get much more snow though late into the night, maybe a another two inches. It was deep walking through the snow, especially the sections of the sidewalk out past Adams Station Apartment Complex later in the night. 👢

Looking ahead, there are 6 weeks until 7 PM Sunset 🌆 when the sun will be setting at 6:59 pm with dusk at 7:27 pm (Daylight Savings Time). On that day in 2018, we had snow and temperatures between 34 and 30 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 43 degrees. We hit a record high of 70 back in 2012.

Lots of sun this weekend, and actually relatively nice and warm on Sunday for a change. 😎 Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 27. Sunday, partly sunny, with a high near 37. Typical average high for the weekend is 32 degrees. I want to get some glue so I can fix my ski boots and skis again before heading out on Sunday to maybe do some cross country skiing, maybe in the backcountry of Partridge Run. ⛷Should be a great time skiing, assuming the snow isn’t too sloppy with the warmer weather although in the hill-towns I can’t imagine it will be that high above freezing.

In four weeks on February 27 the sun will be setting at 5:42 pm,🌄 which is 36 minutes and 12 seconds later then today. The later sunset will be nice, especially as dusk is much later. In 2018 on that day, we had sunny and mild day with temperatures between 56 and 28 degrees.  An early taste of spring. I do remember that last year, I walked outside to the Capitol. Typically, you have temperatures between 38 and 20 degrees. The record high of 61 degrees was set back in 1997.

Looking ahead, 7 PM Sunset 🌆 is in 6 weeks, May 🕊 is in 13 weeks, 8:30 PM Sunset ⛱️ is in 18 weeks and Inauguration Day 2021 👴🏻 is in 103 weeks. I am almost looking forward to the black flies at this point.

Good morning! Happy 36th Birthday to Me 🎉! Ain’t I special. I don’t know I still had to pay my bus fare and go to work. As CDTA likes to say, “if you worked for us, today would be a paid holiday.” They have people’s birthdays as paid as they have to have drivers every day of the year including Christmas. Three weeks to 5:30 PM Sunset 🌆. Clouds in this salt encrusted world and 19 degrees in Delmar. ❄ There is a south-southeast breeze at 10 mph. 🍃. There are 4.5 inches of snow on the ground. I’ll have more to report on that front come tomorrow. ☃ ️Things will start to thaw out at Sunday around 11 am. 🌡️

Today will snow, mainly after noon. 🌨 High of 32 degrees at 3pm. One degree above normal, which is similiar to a typical day around January 31st. Southeast wind 10 to 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 39 degrees. The record high of 54 was set in 2002. 8.3 inches of snow fell back in 1990.❄

The sun will set at 5:05 pm with dusk around 5:35 pm, which is one minute and 18 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At sunset, look for snow 🌨 and temperatures around 31 degrees. There will be a south-southeast breeze at 9 mph. Today will have 9 hours and 53 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 16 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will snow, mainly before 1am. 🌨 Low of 17 degrees at 6am. One degree above normal, which is similiar to a typical night around February 6th. Southeast wind 6 to 9 mph becoming northwest after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible. In 2018, we had cloudy in the evening, which became light snow by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 18 degrees. The record low of -12 occurred back in 1965.

Tomorrow will have a slight chance of snow before 7am, then a chance of snow after 11am. Partly sunny 🌨, with a high of 19 degrees at 1pm. 12 degrees below normal. Maximum wind chill around -8 at 6pm; West wind 6 to 11 mph increasing to 12 to 17 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny. The high last year was 28 degrees. The record high of 56 was set in 2013. 11.0 inches of snow fell back in 1966.❄

It’s officially now my 36th birthday, so it’s been a decade and a half since I could legally drink beer, although I rarely drink nowadays because of the cost and because I worry about the health implications of drinking.🍺 Maybe occasionally at camp but that’s about it. I look at getting older as not just more gray hair 👴but also an opportunity to save more money 💰 and get one day closer to my goals. Savings grows slowly but a constant rate means that your growing them and things are getting better slowly but surely.

Going to get cold after the snow the next few days. I’ve found my hat and scarf, I know I’ll probably need to be bundled up after work tonight. ❄With the cold weather coming I’ll probably not turn the heat down nearly as much in the day or at bedtime. The more constant heat means it stays more comfortable both when I’m home and away.

Yesterday was a pretty long day, although not that bad. By mid evening I had a bit of a migraine and still have a bit of cough. I’ve also achy on in off for like two weeks now. 😵 Maybe it’s just getting old. Or a cold and I’ve been so busy so not enough time to recover or maybe I didn’t get enough sleep on Sunday night. Not sure what it was, I felt better when they got us sandwiches at work for staying late. I was able to catch the eight fifteen bus home.

When I got home, I went to work sewing the button that had popped off my blazer at work. That happens every year or two, not a big deal, I always make sure to sew it on with heavy carpet threads.👔I’ve done it many times before. Finally wore my new dress shoes to work and they are really comfortable. Next up I need to see if I can order more dress pants as the ones have are starting to get a bit worn, especially in the style I really like.

Bought some milk at the store last night. I didn’t have much milk for coffee yesterday which didn’t make me happy. ☕This morning with milk for my coffee it was much better. I also had waffles and frozen pineapple on top of it. 🐜 Found a few more ants around, so I cleaned up again and will get some ant bait later in the week. But not that bad, all things said and done. I just got to make sure to keep things cleaner, and be careful if I drop things on the floor to quickly sweep them up.

Ordered a replacement logic board connector to fix the broken headphone jack on my laptop. Only going to cost me $12 and the swapping out the part should be easy so I won’t have to worry about hauling around that USB audio dongle anymore.🔊 Then I won’t have issues with the internal speaker not working due to it thinking the headphone is plugged in, and the sound quality will be better then the dongles which in my experience seem to be lacking in bass and clarity compared to the built in sound.

The lights in my bedroom continue to work good. 💡I like controlling them with my phone compared to using the TV remote, as I have much better control over the brightness and color then I did with the old set up. I just need to finish the code, 🔢 so I can have the lights come on automatically in the morning, but the classes and structure are almost done so it’s just a matter of finding the time to write the methods.

As previously noted, there are 3 weeks until 5:30 PM Sunset 🌆 when the sun will be setting at 5:32 pm with dusk at 6:01 pm. On that day in 2018, we had rain showers, partly cloudy and temperatures between 44 and 23 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 36 degrees. We hit a record high of 66 back in 1981.

A picture perfect weekend on tap. 😎 Oh, wow! I thought it was supposed to be colder than the president. Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 22. Sunday, partly sunny, with a high near 38. Typical average high for the weekend is 32 degrees.

With February coming hoping to get out winter camping again but it depends on the weather, work and family obligations.⛺ I think have too much to do this weekend but maybe next week. I’m leading the Pine Bush hike on the 23rd as I never got around to recruiting a leader. I will definitely have to find a leader though for March as I may have to work weekends during that month on state budget shit. 💩

In four weeks on February 26 the sun will be setting at 5:41 pm,🌄 which is 36 minutes and 16 seconds later then today. In 2018 on that day, we had sunny, mild and temperatures between 51 and 32 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 38 and 20 degrees. The record high of 63 degrees was set back in 1976.

Looking ahead, 5:30 PM Sunset 🌆 is in 3 weeks, Last Sunset After 8:30 PM 🌆 is in 24 weeks and Election Day 2020 🗳️ is in 92 weeks.