Search Results for “map mount tom state forest 2 ” | Page 3

August 10, 2019 Night

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

June 20, 2019 Morning

Good morning! Happy Summer ️⛱️! Two weeks to Independence Day 🇺🇸. Cloudy and 68 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☁ I brought my umbrella, I’m thinking that may need it later. ☔ Calm wind. The dew point is 64 degrees. A bit muggy. The skies will clear tomorrow around 11 am.

Today will have a chance of showers before noon, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between noon and 3pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 3pm. Cloudy 🌦, with a high of 76 degrees at 5pm. Three degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around June 9th. Maximum dew point of 68 at 2pm. Southeast wind 3 to 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. The high last year was 76 degrees. The record high of 97 was set in 1953.

I’m heading back downtown after a long night at work, part of which I spent napping under my desk. 😴 I thought about catching a Lyft home but I decided I was too tired. Instead I caught the first bus out of the city, cooked breakfast 🍳 took a shower 🚿 and it’s now back downtown. I’m ready for a new day and moving forward. And for the weekend.

The sun will set at 8:36 pm with dusk around 9:11 pm, which is 15 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and thunderstorms 🌩 and temperatures around 72 degrees. The dew point will be 68 degrees. There will be a south-southeast breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 15 hours and 19 minutes of daytime, an increase of 4 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have showers and possibly a thunderstorm before midnight, then showers likely. Some of the storms could produce gusty winds and heavy rain. 🌧 Low of 63 degrees at 3am. Five degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 68 at 6pm. 🏖️ Calm wind becoming north around 6 mph after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between three quarters and one inch possible. In 2018, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 54 degrees. The record low of 41 occurred back in 1970.

All I can say is that I am tired. 😴 But it’s one step towards a better tomorrow. That said I don’t know how many more years I can do what I’m doing now. Getting so darn gray. The money is good but New York is expensive and only to get more expensive. 💵

Should be an excellent weekend to kick off the summer season, although Saturday may be cool for swimming. 😎 Saturday, sunny, with a high near 76. Northwest wind 9 to 13 mph. Maximum dew point of 52 at 10am. Sunday, sunny, with a high near 81. Maximum dew point of 56 at 6pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 80 degrees.

I doubt I’ll have the time to pack today ⛺ so I think most likely I’ll be heading out to Schoharie County for weekend. Maybe hike and fish Saturday, swim on Sunday. Or something like that. I’ve been thinking about visiting more different state forests and just getting pictures to put on the blog to go with the maps. 📷

As previously noted, there are 2 weeks until Independence Day 🇺🇸 when the sun will be setting at 8:36 pm with dusk at 9:10 pm. On that day in 2018, we had hot, humid, mostly sunny and temperatures between 96 and 71 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 82 degrees. We hit a record high of 104 back in 1911.

March 21, 2019 Morning

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

March 18, 2019 Morning

Good morning! Monday’s come back around again. Two weeks to April Fools Day 🤡. Partly sunny and 30 degrees in Elsmere. NY. There is a west breeze at 7 mph. 🍃. Things will start to thaw out at around 10 am. 🌡️ Snow is mostly gone here in the city except for some piles around. ⛄

Cold start this morning but it warmed relatively quickly. Lots of sun which is helping things warm up quickly. ☀ The spring sun is much stronger than the winter sun. I heard the heat 🔥 click on this morning. But all and all, relatively seasonal and dry for most of the week. ☔ Still quite a bit of salt on the roads but at least I have the worse of it washed off my truck. 👌

Eggs again this morning. 🍳 That cleaned up frying pan is fantastic. Nothing like a good omlet in the morning for a filling meal 🍴 that lasts a long time. The low humidity meant my shirt 👚 and pants 👖 was kind of wrinkled this morning which was a bit annoying. I tried to iron it the best I could. The air is just so dry. I probably should have folded the wash as soon as I pulled it out. But usually it’s fine to wait until I get home and put it on the hanger. I guess it’s fire weather once the snow melts away. 🔥 I also need to get my jacket to the dry cleaner.👔 I will have to wear my new jacket tomorrow. I was going to do it today, but I wanted to remove all the labels and stickers before I headed into work. But for today, I’ll look like a college professor. It’s a bad case of a Mondays.

The important thing is that I managed to catch the local bus 🚍 on time. ⌚ I expected a fairly busy day at work, maybe a long day as conference may extended into the evening 🌃 as they continue to discuss the budget.

Today will be partly sunny 🌞, with a high of 41 degrees at 4pm. Four degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 9th. I’ll take it. West wind 7 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny. The high last year was 32 degrees. The record high of 69 was set in 2012. 8.0 inches of snow fell back in 1977.❄ Not 1977 this year but fairly cold.

Today marks the second day with more daylight then night or somewhere around it depending where you are in New York State. 🌷🌱🌞 In a month the average high will be 60 degrees as the weather continues to moderate. I’m thinking a month from next Wednesday will be my road trip, camping ⛺ and exploring. More on that later.

The sun will set at 7:05 pm with dusk around 7:33 pm, which is one minute and 10 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At sunset, look for partly cloudy skies 🌃 and temperatures around 35 degrees. There will be a northwest breeze at 8 mph. Today will have 12 hours and 4 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 55 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a low of 22 degrees at 6am. Five degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 7th. Northwest wind 5 to 7 mph. In 2018, we had mostly clear in the evening, which became mostly sunny by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 15 degrees. The record low of -10 occurred back in 1967.

Tomorrow will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 43 degrees at 4pm. Three degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 14th. Not terribly cold, but not super warm either. Northwest wind 6 to 10 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny. The high last year was 35 degrees. The record high of 78 was set in 2012. 9.6 inches of snow fell back in 1971.❄

Sunday was sunny but cold. It was a nice walk down to the Normans Kill gorge and then I had a nice Sunday dinner at the folks house. 🍀 Saint Patricks Day corned beef, 🐂and all the fixings. Good to enjoy it while I still can. I know my parents won’t be around forever. I’m not a big cook myself and I doubt I’d ever make something like that for myself. Definitely felt cold after the seventy degrees weather on Friday and that wind was biting. ❄

After dinner the mercury quickly dropped but the wind stopped and I went for my evening walk. 🌃 Not a terrible not, actually it felt fairly mild with the wind slack and a nearly full moon 🎑 although clouds were crowding things out at times and there is a lot of light pollution locally. Honestly, despite the cold weather it seemed warmer than it was during the day.

Continuing to work on my VMS sign in my bedroom, adding more messages and almanac data. My most recent add involved 📝 adding dusk 🌆 and dawn data, legislative session day and bus schedule countdowns. I am continuing to debug but the bus countdown feature is very helpful. 👏 I still have a few bugs 🐞to fix and I want to change the order of the messages but I can just change that in the source code and ref-lash the memory.

I think on Wednesday, the first day of spring I’ll deactivate my Facebook page. I’m remarkably sad 😔 about leaving Facebook which is stupid although I’ll keep my account open for reading other people’s posts. 💻 I’ve already deleted most of the old posts on my personal Facebook which until August 1st Facebook api restrictions was linked to the the blog. I might occasionally post things to my personal Facebook but that’s not my focus going forward.

Mom 👪 was disapproving of me quitting Facebook as she was wondering how she could continue to keep up with my blog and photos 📷. Just have to do it the old fashioned way visiting the blog a few times a week. I’m fed up with the Facebook platform on so many levels, and rather than deal with stupid comments and the fight for likes and more prominence in the feed, I’d rather focus on my personal blog and keep the pictures and maps here. I have complete editorial control 🎮 over my blog, and I can change the format to however I like. I may pull back from Twitter too but I’m going to keep that link live for now.

It’s just become too much of a game 🎰 with Facebook and too much of a hassle to maintain the code and update Facebook. I don’t want to spend my time trolling for likes and clicks. I really want to focus on my own life and priorities and enjoy the greater freedom and self expression of the blog. I hate to loose the followers and the story I’m telling but I think I can do it better here than elsewhere. 📝

I’m glad that I’m using up the food 🍲 in the refrigerator and cabinets. I’m saving a fair amount of money by not going shopping 🛄 or driving. 🚘 I haven’t gassed up Red since mid February and I have a half tank left. It’s good as it will help me make it through April financially and save for my mid-April trip. I’m looking forward to camping ⛺, hiking 🗻, and fishing. 🎣 Still not sure how far I’ll end up going – maybe the North Country TBD – but it could still be a special trip.

I have the new battery 🔋 in my phone 📱. Seems to last quite a bit longer. It’s good because I’m hoping to get at least six months to a year more out of this phone. Not bad for a phone I use constantly but only spent $50 for it. I’m quite happy not having on of those fancy phones all the kids use nowadays. 😂

Finally we might get a nice early spring weekend. 😎 Saturday, sunny, with a high near 42. Sunday, sunny, with a high near 57. Typical average high for the weekend is 47 degrees. I will take it. I want to get out and enjoy the weather, while it’s nice.

If it’s in the fifties and sixties next weekend I want to unpack my truck and inventory the camping gear. ⛺ I like to get everything ready for the first trip of the year. Plus I’m running out of room in the outside trash cans and want to start loading bottles and cans into the back of my truck to eventually take to the transfer station. ♻Seems like all the lighting 💡 is working fine in the cap, but I still want to replace the upper led tape which has multiple sections failed with a brighter and more energy efficient model.

Saturday I am going up to Saratoga for my niece’s birthday party. On Sunday, I’m thinking of going hiking somewhere, ⛰ though maybe not the Catskills as I don’t feel like hiking in the snow at this point, and the snow will be crap for skiing if it’s near 60 degrees. Maybe Cole Hill State Forest or Partridge Run.

Looking ahead, there are 4 weeks until Tax Day 💰 when the sun will be setting at 7:37 pm with dusk at 8:06 pm. On that day in 2018, we had freezing rain showers and mostly cloudy skies and temperatures between 36 and 28 degrees. Pretty damn cold day last year to enjoy my government imposed poverty. 💸Typically, the high temperature is 58 degrees. We hit a record high of 86 back in 2003.

According to the message board on my wall there are 100 days until Primary Day. ☑ I see a lot of local candidates are posting about it as they work to collect signatures. I’ve volunteered a few times to collect petitions and I’ve scrubbed and reviewed petitions 📜more than a few times at work. It’s hard work for sure. I often think holding elected office is kind of a madness, they’re are better ways to make money for a whole lot less work. 💵 I guess somebody has to do it. 👔

Looking ahead, Tax Day 💰 is in 4 weeks, Average High is 60 🌼 is a month away, Pink Moon 🌕 is a month away, Earth Day 🌎 is in 5 weeks, Flower Moon 🌕 is in 2 months, Memorial Day 🇺🇸 is in 10 weeks, July 🏊🏿 is in 15 weeks, Labor Day 👨‍🏭 is in 24 weeks and Columbus Day 🛥️ is in 29 weeks.

October 10, 2018 Morning

Good morning! What day is it? Hump Day, of course. Three weeks to Halloween 🎃. Trick or treat? Mostly sunny and 76 degrees in North Syracuse. There is a south breeze at 6 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 66 degrees. A beautiful morning, although a bit sticky! The muggy weather ends tomorrow around 6 pm. 😓

I started out this morning with a nice walk at Long Branch County Park in Baldwinsville, although maybe it’s better to call it Liverpool as the village is closer, and I think i was in the town of Salina. Nice to see a different part of the Onondoga Lake Park, beautiful day walking along the canal up there.🚶 Next week or maybe the week after, I’ll have to explore some of the trails on the west side of the lake. There is a bit of noise pollution 🔇 from the Thruway 🚛🚚🚓🚗🏎🚌🚐 but it looks like a great park to explore. 🍁

Today will be mostly sunny 🌞 , with a high of 84 degrees at 3pm. 22 degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 67 at 10am. Not half bad weather for being at the swimming pool in mid-July. 🏊 Southwest wind 6 to 9 mph. Don’t worry, it will be much colder on Thursday and Friday. 😰 A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies. The high last year was 76 degrees. The record high of 89 was set in 1939. 0.8 inches of snow fell back in 1925.❄

The sun will set at 6:29 pm with dusk around 6:57 pm, which is one minute and 42 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At sunset, look for partly cloudy skies ⛅ and 81 degrees. The dew point will be 65 degrees. A bit sticky. There will be a south breeze at 8 mph. Today will have 11 hours and 16 minutes of daytime, an decrease of 2 minutes and 52 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have a chance of showers before 2am, then a chance of rain and thunderstorms between 2am and 3am, then rain likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 3am. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 67 degrees at 6am. 26 degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 65 at 6pm. South wind 7 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. In 2017, we had mostly clear skies with more clouds in the early hours of the next day. It got down to 47 degrees. The record low of 22 occurred back in 1943.

There are 27 days, 11 hours and 26 minutes until the poll close on Election Day in New York. 🗳 Each day we get one day closer. I will be glad once it’s over, because I get tired of spending all of this time in the office, and I am very much so looking forward to my November Road Trip. 🏕 I don’t know why but I still am really looking forward to Allegany County. I mean I guess it’s not that fantastic — it’s just more state forest, but it’s lands I’ve only spent a limited time exploring. Plus all those delicious camp meals.

Lately, I’ve been watching more videos about bushcrafting,🌲 hunting, and trapping 🏹 on my phone in the evening before bed. 📱I kind of like learning more about how people are using the woods and the back country. So many ideas to learn. It’s kind of nice having Internet where I’m staying, because it gives me a lot more opportunities to watch video on the Youtube. 📽 When I return back to Albany in late November, I’ll have to start downloading more videos at the library to bring back home and watch. ⤵️ There is so much more I could be doing on my adventures in the wilderness and back country. It just seems summer is so short — but then I like winter camping, especially when there isn’t too much snow to park my truck in the back-country.

Before going out camping this autumn, I want to buy a resist flag, to add to my collection. I really don’t like much of the Trump agenda, and it will look nice next to my Gadsen Flag and Molon Labe flag. Even if I only a few of my flags, it adds a lot of light and color to my campsite, especially when they are lit up on the long winter nights.

After my November Road trip, I will probably do one or two more trips to the Adirondacks before the snow sets in. It might be nice to do a North Country trip I’ve been talking about for a while, 🌨 but I doubt I will have time to do it before the snow comes in. There is a lot of great things to see up North, but it’s such a long drive, and I don’t really like those really long drives. Maybe in the spring. 🌿 I’ll have to think about it some more. Maybe it will be a quite mild winter so I can get out most of the winter.

On the toy front, I continue to study M.2 SSD drives for upgrading my laptop. I am going to wait until the Black Friday or Cyber Monday sales, then order something online. 💾 I guess I will go with a 1 TB drive, as that will double my space, and give me plenty of fast space for doing video and my disk-intensive GIS work that I do. I am hoping to get something for under $150, which on sale seems reasonable as I’ve started to see a lot of deals in that range, and they typically are even better before the holiday season. I also need to figure out the process of getting my laptop apart, 🖥 but i don’t think that’s too big of a deal. But it’s best done mid-winter when it’s too icky to spend traveling. I don’t have a lot of fancy electronic toys besides my year and a half old $50 smartphone and my laptop which I use for making all my maps.

Still thinking about what kind of meter to measure the output of the solar panel. I do like the GT Power meter I mention yesterday, but I do worry about the 20 mA they consume 24/7 plus loses in the wire from being too thin. 📟 This is more of a concern at night when the solar panel isn’t feeding any power into the line, especially on the long winter lines. 🔌 And sometimes the quality of China equipment is less then you would hope. But I guess at $10 a piece they won’t break the bank. I will also need more crimp connector ends to tie them, especially for the meter I mount between the battery and the load. I wonder what the meter will read when I back feed current from the panel into the battery? Will it show zero or the amount of back fed current (with no negative sign?) My guess is the later, as I assume it reads current via a hall-effect sensor. 🔋 As things take a long while to arrive from China — and I would like to have a meter at least for the panel installed before my November road trip — I probably should do it soon.

Last year, because I got Big Red inspected on November 1st, I don’t have to get another state inspection until the end of November this year. 🔍 That’s good because I don’t like to have to get the truck inspected at some random shop that I am unfamiliar with. I will probably do it sometimes around the Thanksgiving Holiday, once camping season is all but over — unless for some reason I have some other pressing maintenance need, but I doubt it.

As previously noted, there are 3 weeks until Halloween 🎃 when the sun will be setting at 5:57 pm with dusk at 6:26 pm. On that day in 2017, we had mostly cloudy skies and temperatures between 54 and 40 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 54 degrees. We hit a record high of 73 back in 1946. 😲

August 2, 2018 Morning

Good morning! Happy Thursday. How fast those days of vacation are passing by. Maybe if I didn’t stay up so late and didn’t spend so much time sleeping in the hammock there would be more time.😎

Mostly cloudy, with the sun peaking out and 69 degrees at the Finger Lakes National Forest in Hector. ☔ There is a south-southwest breeze at 5 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 67 degrees. With the breeze and the sun peaking out at times, it is a pretty nice morning.

Today I am thinking about going to Taughannock State Park in Trumansburg.🏃 Probably will hike around the rim than visit the falls and then if the weather holds up go for a swim in Cayuga Lake. 🏊 Probably still a lot of water going over those falls.

So far this week, despite the cloudy skies,☁ we’ve been largely rain free with some exceptions in the evenings. More sun and warmer temperatures might be better for swimming but so be it.

Yesterday I spent the morning in the hammock reading about the changes to the Facebook API along with reading a new book I got out about the history of electricity.📕 It was another cool and cloudy day, hard to get inspired to do much of anything.

Later on yesterday, I went down to Watkins Glen and down to the library, 💻working to update my blog to adapt to the new rules relating to the Facebook API. I should have made the changes months ago, but honestly I’m not that up on the technology, and the API is complicated to use and constantly changing. I guess automated posts from blogs is impossible with the new API but at least I can still pull my personal profile posts and use them on the blog automatically. I thought that was broken too but it turns out that still works with the changed API.

After that I power walked the Watkins Glen Gorge which proved difficult with all the tourists. 📷 Grabbed a few quick pictures then went to the pool for a swim. 🏊 Ordered a large Maple Walnut sundae from the Glen Dairy Bar. It was so big. 🍧

Got back to camp and decided to skip dinner as I wasn’t at all hungry after that sundae. 🔥Replaced the mantel in the lantern. At first I thought it would be a nice night to look at the stars at Foster Lake but it clouded up. I started a fire to burn up the camp garbage I had including some rancid meat that had spoiled in the cooler. Built a nice fire but it was a muggy evening and wood was still wet and the fire smokey.

Sat by the fire under the lantern reading until nine thirty when it started to rain. 💦Unfortunately my tarp is not where the lantern is so I decided to throw a tarp over the truck and read in there until around eleven when the rain stopped. I went back outside to read some more and then it started to rain again.:idea: Ended up heading back into the truck with my USB reading lamp and reading until quarter until two AM. 📚Between drinking coffee earlier in the day, reading a book I was totally engrossed in, and the blue light from the reading lamp I was wide awake until early the next morning. ☕Heck, I’m on vacation. 💤I’ll do whatever I please and between driving to Watkins Glen and the sun hitting the solar panel on had ample power for the night. Plus I snooze a lot in the hammock.

Today will have a chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after noon. Cloudy ☁, with a high of 78 degrees at 3pm. Four degrees below normal. Maximum dew point of 68 at 4pm. South wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies. It was somewhat humid. The high last year was 85 degrees. The record high of 97 was set in 1975. Pretty much a broken record.

The sun will set at 8:25 pm with dusk around 8:56 pm, which is one minute and 10 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At sunset, look for cloudy skies with possible thunderstorms ☁ and 74 degrees. The dew point will be 68 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 14 hours and 23 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 12 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms before 7pm, then a slight chance of showers between 7pm and 8pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 8pm. Cloudy ☁, with a low of 66 degrees at 5am. Five degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 68 at 6pm. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. In 2017, we had mostly clear skies with more clouds in the early hours of the next day. It was somewhat humid. It got down to 65 degrees. The record low of 44 occurred back in 1976.

In the rain lately, I’ve been throwing a tarp over the truck as the cap has a small window leak when there is heavy rain. 💧Looking around I’ve found the source of the leak – the window frame in part has a small gap from the cap. I think I can probably seal it quite easily with some fine clear caulk of some sort when I get home. That said, a tarp over the truck cap also works fine in heavy rain and lets me keep the windows open for some ventilation.

Looking ahead, there are 6 weeks until State Primary Day 🗳️ when the sun will be setting at 7:19 pm with dusk at 7:48 pm in the Finger Lakes. On that day in 2017, we had rain, fog, shallow fog, patches of fog, mist, mostly cloudy skies and temperatures between 79 and 50 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 73 degrees. We hit a record high of 92 back in 1948.

November 11, 2017 Morning

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Andy Arthur.org

Search Results for: map mount tom state forest 2