Below is a list of peaks within the Catskill Park that are on state land. This is based on the OpenStreetMap data combined with the DEC property data. Click location for a map of the property, or click State Land to get more information about the land the peak is located on.
Good morning! Happy Tax Day 💰! Today the State of New York gets rich and I get poorer. Next Wednesday is Earth Day 🌎. I’ll have to burn extra plastic this weekend and produce more black smoke to make up for it. Keeps it out of the landfill by recycling ♻ the carbon dioxide. After all, if not for Mother Earth where on earth would I be able to sling mud 🐽 in my big jacked up truck. Plus it grows the grass 🌾 to feed the cows 🐮which produce the best beverage 🍵 on earth 🌎. The God bless the grass and the earthy smell of spring 💩 in farm country.
Cold and sunny this morning. Mostly sunny and 40 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☀ There is a northwest breeze at 8 mph. 🍃. I mean if it was February it would be a nice day but it’s chilly out with wind. Temperatures will drop below freezing at around 2 am tonight. ☃️
I am hoping it warms up enough to work part of the day day outside 💻 but only time will tell. I’m not convinced that it will be warm enough to work down by the river this afternoon and truth be told I think it’s going to cloud up later.
Today will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 49 degrees at 3pm. Nine degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 27th. West wind 7 to 17 mph. That’s going to feel kind of cold. A year ago, we had light rain in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. The high last year was 63 degrees. The record high of 86 was set in 2003. 2.4 inches of snow fell back in 2014.❄
Today I really need to get to the store 🏬 that is wearing the banada over my face and maybe the laundromat. 👖I should also gas up for the weekend. ⛽ Going to be a pretty decent weekend even if a bit cold so I should plan some time social isolating in the wilderness. 🌲
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:56 pm with sun having an altitude of 57.4° from the due south horizon (-13.5° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 3.8 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:00 pm with the sun in the west (278°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (285°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:38 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 59 seconds with dusk around 8:07 pm, which is one minute and 9 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:43 pm. At sunset, look for partly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 44 degrees. There will be a west-northwest breeze at 9 mph. Today will have 13 hours and 25 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 46 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will have a slight chance of rain showers before 11pm, then a slight chance of rain and snow showers between 11pm and midnight, then scattered snow showers after midnight. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 29 degrees at 3am. Nine degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 26th. Northwest wind 3 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 37 degrees. The record low of 22 occurred back in 1981.
Cool but fairly sunny this weekend. Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 53. 😎 Sunday, a chance of showers after 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 58. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Typical average high for the weekend is 60 degrees.
All things considered that isn’t too bad for the weekend. ☀ I enjoy lots of sun although I don’t think it will be warm enough to spend much time in the hammock but I can certainly go hiking and get some fresh air. 🚶
As previously noted, next Wednesday is Earth Day 🌎 when the sun will be setting at 7:45 pm with dusk at 8:15 pm. On that day in 2019, we had partly sunny, warm weather and temperatures between 74 and 51 degrees. I’ll take an Earth Day like that but I think that unlikely. Typically, the high temperature is 61 degrees. We hit a record high of 86 back in 1985.
Good evening! Cloudy and 37 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☁ There is a northwest breeze at 9 mph. 🍃. There is a dusting of snow on the ground. ☃ Temperatures will drop below freezing around 3 am. ☃️
I went over to John Wolcott house for a few hours after work 🔎and continued working on his files. 📂 It’s been well over a year, one night most weeks. Learned a lot. I’ve started to tape record the audio 🔉 to capture some of our conversations. Now to just finish up the labels 🔖.
That bus really was smoking 💨 bad this evening. 🚍 I wonder if it’s an issue with the particle trap, I didn’t see it smoking downtown when I got one but I swear I’ve seen that bus smoking before but not all of the time. I was hoping to catch a glimpse of it at the end of my walk but no such luck.
Mild evening, I went for my evening walk 🚶. Not too cold out which is nice. I listened to a bit of President’s State of the Union address before turning it off. Honestly I’m hoping it’s Trump’s final state of the union and we will have a new president giving an inauguration address next year. 📝 I think the delayed results of the democratic caucus in Iowa kind of took all of the air out of the news cycle for the president. I’m sure he will be acquitted of the removal process later this week and hopefully we’ll have a new president soon.
Tonight will be cloudy ☁, with a low of 29 degrees at 6am. 14 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 24th. Northwest wind around 10 mph. 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 32 degrees. The record low of -15 occurred back in 1918.
Tonight will have a Waxing Gibbous 🌔 Moon with 79% illuminated. At 9 PM, the moon was in the south-southwest (205°) at an altitude of 68° from the horizon, some 240,057 miles away from where you are looking up from the earth. 🚀 At the state speed limit of 55 mph, you’ll make it there by August 4th. Buckle up for safety! 💺 The Snow ❄ Moon is on Sunday, February 9. The darkest hour is at 12:10 am, followed by dawn at 6:38 am, and sun starting to rise at 7:08 am in the east-southeast (112°) and last for 3 minutes and 8 seconds. Sunrise is one minute and 7 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌄 The golden hour ends at 7:49 am with sun in the east-southeast (119°). Tonight will have 13 hours and 53 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 2 minutes and 27 seconds over last night.
Tomorrow will be partly sunny 🌞, with a high of 33 degrees at 2pm. One degree above normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 6th. Northwest wind 6 to 9 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 57 degrees. The record high of 59 was set in 1890. 10.4 inches of snow fell back in 2014.❄
In four weeks on March 3 the sun will be setting in the west (262°) at 5:47 pm,🌄 which is 35 minutes and 50 seconds later then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had partly cloudy, snow showers and temperatures between 39 and 29 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 39 and 21 degrees. The record high of 64 degrees was set back in 2002.
Looking ahead, Don’t Cry over Spilled Milk Day 🥛 is in 1 week, National Drink Wine Day 🍷 is in 2 weeks, Average High is 40 ☀️ is a month away, St. Patrick’s Day 🍀 is in 6 weeks, 7:30 PM Sunset 🌇 is in 9 weeks, 8 PM Sunset 🌇 is in 3 months, Cinco de Mayo 🤠 is in 13 weeks, Primary Day 🗳️ is in 20 weeks, Election Day 2020 🗳️ is in 39 weeks and Election Day 2020 🗳️ is in 39 weeks.
🇺🇸🦅Only 107 days remain until the start of Memorial Day Weekend!🦅🇺🇸
Good evening! Mostly cloudy and 33 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☁ There is a west breeze at 5 mph. 🍃. The skies will clear around 11 pm.
Not a half bad evening for early January, I went out for the evening walk and then laid back in my bed catching up on my YouTube. 📹Mostly just the latest kind of silly update from Keith Fink dairy farm and their silly Jersey cows 🐮.
I had a nice New Years Day fondue with the parents and did my wash out there before coming home. 🍲 There was a crash on Route 32 so it was closed and I ended up being detoured over through Clarksville on the way home. It was fine but the road was dark after my exhaustion from last night I found the driving hard 🚘. Since adjusting my headlights night driving isn’t as bad but I still don’t really enjoy it.
It’s nice to be back home but I did enjoy my night out during the first night of the new year. 🎇 Granted that I only stayed out by the fire until quarter to eleven, then retiring to the warmth of the tent until midnight. Still not sure if I dosed off a bit in the tent before waking up shortly before midnight but it was watching the clock flip over to midnight and then shut off the heater and lights and retire to bed just like I plan to do shortly.
Tonight will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a low of 26 degrees at 5am. 10 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 16th. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. 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 20 degrees. The record low of -20 occurred back in 1970.
Tonight will have a Waxing Crescent 🌒 Moon with 40% illuminated. At dusk you’ll see the moon in the south (178°) at an altitude of 42° from the horizon, some 252,272 miles away from where you are looking up from the earth. 🚀 Keeps getting farther away. Before you know it, you’ll have to plan an extra vacation day to dance on the moon. 🌕 The moon will set in the west (264°) at 11:04 pm. The darkest hour is at 11:59 pm, followed by dawn at 6:54 am, and sun starting to rise at 7:26 am in the east-southeast (121°) and last for 3 minutes and 24 seconds. Sunrise is 7 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 The golden hour ends at 8:12 am with sun in the southeast (129°) at an altitude of 6°. Tonight will have 14 hours and 53 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 46 seconds over last night.
Tomorrow will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 43 degrees at 2pm. 12 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 12th. I’ll take a sunny mid March like day in January. Too bad it couldn’t happen when I had it off. South wind 6 to 9 mph. A year ago, we had cloudy skies. The high last year was 34 degrees. The record high of 61 was set in 1890. 7.1 inches of snow fell back in 2014.❄
I am thinking about washing my truck 🚿 tomorrow and going to the store although maybe if it’s going to rain on Friday or Saturday those would be better days once the salt is off the roads. The truck is so muddy from Madison County and so salty from driving up to Cole Hill. It really was a fun trip between the two nights but certainly different than the Finger Lakes trip I had originally envisioned. ⛺
Somehow that said, I really liked getting away to Madison County. 🐮 It was just so muddy and brown this time of year but I kind of liked the rural character and how different it is from Albany. I just like seeing all the run down houses and farms, they’re real compared to the city, even if the farm country did have a very distinctive barnyard and wood smoke smell this time of year. Plus I like having my truck for camping – it’s a lot of work to drag my gear back to camp that half mile back I was camping last night. 💡 Plus I like all the pretty Christmas lights although with my fully working gas lantern 🏮 it’s not that bad. That said camping last night was more fun than staying home. I really should think about getting back to Moscow Hill later in the winter, especially if they don’t have a ton of snow out there.
I did have quite a bit of trouble with the sled flipping hauling gear out. 💥Not sure the problem, I’m thinking I didn’t have the center of gravity low enough and the snow was cold and icy this morning unlike last night 🌃. Plus the tent poles were icy and I might have been a bit out of it from the previous late night. The propane tank is about half full now so it was sloshing around quite a bit. I got a late start too as I’ve been enjoying sleeping in lately.
I did notice some aching in my knee again today and my arm where I got the tick bite🙋. Mom thinks I should call 📞 the doctor 😷 and see about an appointment now and if I feel better before the visit cancel it. I’ve not been as sick as before I had the course of doxycycline but I do feel like at times I have the residuals of Lyme. I think I should make my health care a greater priority in the coming year – I really need to overcome the Lyme disease and start getting regular physicals and maybe start doing more high intensity exercises besides riding the exercise bike and walking. 🚲 I like the idea of doing more backpacking and back country camping ⛺.
I’m also thinking about getting some mental healthcare this year. 💭 I’m learning more about how having good mental health can improve productivity and mood, plus it would be good to have somebody to bounce idea off of – what to do with my truck when tires wear out – do I keep having a truck, do I stay in Albany, do I go somewhere else and do something new in my life? My dreary basement office 🏢 is just so depressing. I keep learning about how many interesting opportunities there is out west, but am I too afraid to take the jump? 😐 People have told me that I have depression and some of my frustration with the way things are going are due to it. Plus if the Lyme gets worse, rather than better counseling may be helpful. Just a stupid tick bite. 🐜
In four weeks on January 29 the sun will be setting in the west-southwest (246°) at 5:04 pm,🌄 which is 31 minutes and 55 seconds later then tonight. That’s my 37th birthday. In 2019 on that day, we had snow and temperatures between 29 and 5 degrees. That was kind of busy, long day for me last year at work, hopefully now with my new 9-5 job it won’t be such a late night. Heck, maybe even get some of those drink specials after work. Typically, you have temperatures between 31 and 15 degrees. The record high of 54 degrees was set back in 2002.
Looking ahead, Bubble Bath Day 🧼 is in 1 week, 37th Birthday 🎉 is in 4 weeks, February 🌧 is a month away, March 🌨 is in 2 months, Average High is 40 ☀️ is in 9 weeks, April Fools Day 🤡 is in 3 months, Pink Moon 🌕 is in 14 weeks, Tax Day 💰 is in 15 weeks, Earth Day 🌎 is in 16 weeks, May 🕊 is in 4 months, June 🍹 is in 5 months, Latest Sunset 🌆 is in 25 weeks and Inauguration Day 2021 👴🏻 is in 55 weeks.
Good morning! Happy Saturday. Finally the weekend! Next Saturday is First Day of Winter ☃️. Pine Bush Hike next too, supposed to be a ski trip from Madison Avenue Extension 🎿but I got my doubts that we will have much snow left by then. Rain, drizzle and fog 🌁 and 39 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☔ There is a north-northwest breeze at 6 mph. 🍃. Temperatures will drop below freezing at tomorrow around 4 pm. ☃️
Not a real nice morning, it’s not only foggy outside but also in my head. 🌁 I woke up early again this morning and had trouble getting back to sleep until I wandered downstairs and took a pee. 🚽 Little achy in my knees too but maybe that because I’ve been spending do much time on the exercise bike. 🚲 Then I got looking at some numbers and stats in Excel and the DEC data. I do have some new data with the DEC latest dump to update a few maps but honestly my map collection 🗾is pretty complete on the blog.
Today will rain likely, mainly after 3pm. Cloudy 🌧, with a high of 46 degrees at 1pm. 10 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around November 21st. Northwest wind 5 to 8 mph becoming calm in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. Going to be a real dreary day but hopefully that will eat away at the snow. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 45 degrees. The record high of 63 was set in 1901. 12.5 inches of snow fell back in 1956.❄
Today I am going to my parents house for their Christmas decorating party 🎄. Not going out tomorrow as I have the Save the Pine Bush benefit to go to tomorrow night. It’s kind of in the middle of the city which is annoying because there isn’t much bus service on Sunday night to take me there, so I’m going to have to drive there avoiding the red light camera intersections somehow. 🚦 I really hate driving in the city, my truck gets awful gas mileage on city streets and I might have to fuel ⛽ up tomorrow as I haven’t bought gas since the last time I was camping the week before Thanksgiving.
The sun will set at 4:22 pm with dusk around 4:54 pm, which is 12 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and temperatures around 42 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 9 hours and 4 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 34 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will rain likely, mainly before midnight. Cloudy 🌧, with a low of 36 degrees at 5am. 15 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around October 30th. Breezy, with a south wind 6 to 11 mph becoming west 18 to 23 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 34 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2018, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 32 degrees. The record low of -8 occurred back in 1874.
Probably won’t be walking tonight 🚶
but instead riding the exercise bike 🚲 and watching some YouTube videos. At least I won’t have to worry about slipping and falling on the bike compared to walking on icy sidewalks. Two nights ago there was a fair amount of black ice in parts.
Today in 1994, started construction begins on the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze river. ⛲ The Three Gorges Dam has been the world’s largest power station in terms of installed capacity (22,500 MW) since 2012. In 2014, the dam generated 98.8 terawatt-hours (TWh) and had the world record, but was surpassed by the Itaipú Dam, which set the new world record in 2016, producing 103.1 TWh.
Also, today was a notable date in civil rights history, with the release of the Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States, 379 U.S. 241 (1964), 💖a landmark United States Supreme Court case holding that the Commerce Clause gave the U.S. Congress power to force private businesses to abide by Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination in public accommodations.🏰
One month 📅 from now will be Coldest Week of the Year 🌬 when the sun will be setting at 4:45 pm with dusk at 5:16 pm. The average high temperature is 30 degrees, with a record high of 61 in 1895. It’s already pretty cold ❄ in my book 📙 but it could be colder and will get colder. And I’m half seriously thinking about eventually living off-grid in the much colder Wisconsin, a bit in a world where the climate has warmed a fair amount more over the next ten to 15 years.
Here is a brief chart that shows the climate normals, sunset times, and length of day for next four months in 15 Elm Avenue…
| Week | Date | Dawn | Sun- rise |
Sun- set |
Dusk | Day | Avg High | Avg Low | Record Hi | Record Low |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Aug 10 | 5:26 am | 5:57 am | 8:03 pm | 8:34 pm | 14:06 | 81 | 61 | 96 (1949) | 48 (1955) |
| 1 | Aug 17 | 5:34 am | 6:04 am | 7:53 pm | 8:23 pm | 13:48 | 81 | 60 | 97 (1913) | 40 (1979) |
| 2 | Aug 24 | 5:42 am | 6:12 am | 7:42 pm | 8:12 pm | 13:30 | 79 | 59 | 95 (1947) | 42 (1971) |
| 3 | Aug 31 | 5:50 am | 6:19 am | 7:31 pm | 8:00 pm | 13:11 | 78 | 57 | 93 (1953) | 37 (1965) |
| 4 | Sep 7 | 5:58 am | 6:27 am | 7:19 pm | 7:47 pm | 12:51 | 76 | 55 | 96 (1945) | 36 (1962) |
| 5 | Sep 14 | 6:06 am | 6:34 am | 7:06 pm | 7:34 pm | 12:31 | 73 | 52 | 93 (1931) | 32 (1963) |
| 6 | Sep 21 | 6:14 am | 6:42 am | 6:54 pm | 7:22 pm | 12:11 | 70 | 50 | 95 (1895) | 29 (1973) |
| 7 | Sep 28 | 6:21 am | 6:49 am | 6:41 pm | 7:09 pm | 11:51 | 67 | 46 | 83 (2014) | 24 (1947) |
| 8 | Oct 5 | 6:29 am | 6:57 am | 6:29 pm | 6:57 pm | 11:31 | 64 | 43 | 91 (1941) | 26 (1965) |
| 9 | Oct 12 | 6:37 am | 7:05 am | 6:17 pm | 6:46 pm | 11:12 | 61 | 41 | 85 (1954) | 22 (1964) |
| 10 | Oct 19 | 6:45 am | 7:13 am | 6:06 pm | 6:35 pm | 10:52 | 59 | 38 | 79 (1963) | 20 (1974) |
| 11 | Oct 26 | 6:53 am | 7:22 am | 5:56 pm | 6:25 pm | 10:33 | 56 | 37 | 78 (1963) | 20 (1952) |
| 12 | Nov 2 | 7:01 am | 7:31 am | 5:46 pm | 6:16 pm | 10:15 | 53 | 35 | 82 (1950) | 19 (2002) |
| 13 | Nov 9 | 6:10 am | 6:40 am | 4:38 pm | 5:08 pm | 9:58 | 51 | 33 | 71 (1975) | 11 (1971) |
| 14 | Nov 16 | 6:18 am | 6:48 am | 4:31 pm | 5:02 pm | 9:42 | 48 | 32 | 71 (2006) | 7 (1972) |
| 15 | Nov 23 | 6:26 am | 6:57 am | 4:26 pm | 4:57 pm | 9:29 | 45 | 30 | 72 (1931) | 5 (1972) |
| 16 | Nov 30 | 6:33 am | 7:05 am | 4:23 pm | 4:54 pm | 9:18 | 42 | 27 | 67 (1933) | -10 (1875) |
Good morning! Happy Tuesday. Two weeks to 5:30 PM Sunset 🌆. Cloudy, damp, muddy and 46 degrees in Delmar. ☔ There is a south breeze at 8 mph. 🍃. There are 1.25 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ Temperatures will drop below freezing at around 10 pm. ☃️
One more mild day today. Then February weather returns for the second half of the week, although honestly a bit above average until the weekend when it will be closer to average. 🌞Today will again be relatively busy but still not too insane or so I hope. 💼But maybe I’ll be able to catch the five o’clock home.🚌
I was running late again but fortunately so was the bus ⌚ so I made it with time to spare to the bus stop. 🚏I’ve been trying to get to bed earlier but I’ve been bad at that. I wake up at the normal time but then delay getting out of bed. That and I was planning on wearing the same pants as yesterday but I stopped when I discovered that there was mud on them from just walking around the city streets, kicking it up. I don’t care about mud that much, but I’m supposed to look nice for work. 👔It pays the bills and let’s me save for a better tomorrow, owning my own land in the wilderness. 🗻
Today will have isolated showers before 11am. Mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 53 degrees at 12pm. 21 degrees above normal, which is similiar to a typical day around April 3rd. I’ll take April weather in early February. Not all warm days are a result of climate change I tell myself. South wind 7 to 15 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 26 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had cloudy in the morning, which became sunny by afternoon. The high last year was 34 degrees. The record high of 59 was set in 1890. 10.4 inches of snow fell back in 2014.❄
Snow has been doing a lot of melting yesterday, it was quite damp but mild. 💧I’m glad it’s been warm enough to give the heat a break – I’ve left the thermostat at fifty since yesterday and with the solar radiation hitting the building yesterday it was 63 degrees inside by the time I got home.🔥 I’m not going to pay to keep the heat warm when it’s above freezing, I’d much prefer to keep it colder. Money is always tight, my heating bills this year seem a lot steeper than years past. But then again, I don’t hesitate to turn up the heat like I did years ago when I was younger. 💸
The sun will set at 5:14 pm with dusk around 5:44 pm, which is one minute and 19 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At sunset, look for mostly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 44 degrees. There will be a west-northwest breeze at 15 mph with gusts up to 26mph. Today will have 10 hours and 10 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 29 seconds over yesterday. Even longer, getting closer to twelve hours of daylight in a month.
Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌤, with a low of 22 degrees at 6am. Six degrees above normal, which is similiar to a typical night around March 4th. Northwest wind 6 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. In 2018, we had clear in the evening, which became light snow by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 15 degrees. The record low of -20 occurred back in 1948.
Tomorrow will have a slight chance of rain and sleet between 3pm and 4pm, then a chance of rain. Increasing clouds 🌞, with a high of 35 degrees at 1pm. Two degrees above normal, which is similiar to a typical day around February 15th. Light and variable wind becoming southeast 5 to 8 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Little or no sleet accumulation expected. A year ago, we had cloudy in the morning, which became sunny by afternoon. The high last year was 30 degrees. The record high of 55 was set in 1991. 10.8 inches of snow fell back in 1978.❄
Monday wasn’t too bad of a day, work got out around 7:40, I ended up taking the 8:15 bus 🚌 home and having a quick bite to eat before going on my evening walk around the block.🌯 A nice starry night, warm enough that I could walk with just a t-shirt and my vest.👕
I ordered some micro USB cables from AliExpress. I ordered the UGreen brand which if they are anything like the latest ones I ordered are built to be very high quality, durable, heavy while in minimal but professional looking plastic envelopes. 🔌Not a lot of waste.♻ I ordered a 3 meter and two 1.5 meter cables for $10, which if they are like the last two I ordered from them are a very good deal. I know that you can get cheap USB cables from Amazon but they aren’t as nice as the UGreen cables. The 3 meter cable is nine feet long which means that I can reach either microcontroller mounted on the wall from my laptop without moving it from where it sits by my desk.
For simple components, I swear by most of the things I have gotten from AliExpress. Only one or two things have either gotten lost in the mail✉ or been below expectations but most components arrive within two weeks and are all within specs, same quality as if you ordered from a United States retailer.📦
While I was on AliExpress I also bought some 5 volt linear regulators. I am thinking about building a smart switch for the solar panel and the dual batteries so that when I have a lot of sun I can not only top off the accessory battery 🔋but also the starting battery while automatically disconnecting them when there is little sun to avoid the batteries fighting or over discharging. I could use the built-in linear regulator of the Arduino Nano but I fried one last year with the 15.4 volts of the alternator output at times and the summer heat. I’ve 3.3 volt regulators in my toolbox but no 5 volt ones.
As previously noted, there are 2 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 bit cool but sunny this time weekend. 😎 Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 28. Sunday, mostly sunny, with a high near 31. Typical average high for the weekend is 33 degrees. Should be nice, certainly not frigid. I’ll take it.
I am still chewing over my weekend plans. Maybe I’ll go up to Johnstown or maybe not. It’s still quite a bit of a drive for a relatively small outdoors show and I’m still thinking about heading out of town for Presidents Day Weekend.⛺ Weather depending of course. This weekend doesn’t look that bad but kind of chilly but that’s expected for February. I should see when the Adirondack Ice Races on Lake Algonquin are – if they were this weekend – that would increase my incentive for going north. Of course the other problem is finding a pull off where I can park and hike back to a campsite along route 8 this time of year. Maybe I should just wait and save my mileage and gas expenses until it gets warmer.⛽ Two months from now will be early April after all. But in the mean time, the only weather is expected to moderate a bit…
In four weeks on March 5 the sun will be setting at 5:50 pm,🌄 which is 35 minutes and 39 seconds later then today. In 2018 on that day, we had cloudy, snow showers and temperatures between 38 and 31 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 40 and 22 degrees. The record high of 71 degrees was set back in 1964.
The ants seem to have disappeared from the counter. I’m glad about that. I don’t know if it took a while for the ant bait to work or just spraying the area where they were coming from was enough. It’s been over 24 hours since I saw the last ant so I’m hopeful.🐜 I have this big bottle of spray now so I may use it when and if I see them again. Much like mice and other pests,🐭 they tend to come and go in cycles – you have mice until you catch them all and then they are gone for months if not years.
Looking ahead, 5:30 PM Sunset 🌆 is in 2 weeks, Cinco de Mayo 🤠 is in 3 months, 8:30 PM Sunset ️⛱️ is in 4 months, Dog Days of Summer 🌻 is in 5 months, Last Sunset After 8:30 PM 🌆 is in 23 weeks and Election Day 2020 🗳️ is in 91 weeks.
91 weeks until presidential Election Day! Now you know. I’ll already be thinking my post election November road trip at that point. The bus is almost downtown, it’s off to work. Have a great day for sure on this Tuesday!
