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New Theme for the Blog. Central Vermont/Green Mountains This Extended Weekend. Lift Kits vs Other Toys. Getting off the Grid.

Good Morning! Happy Wednesday. Yes, folks it’s Wednesday. I think this is the first note I’ve done in a few months, but so be it. It really isn’t that hard to do notes, especially now that I’ve switched WordPress, and everything is pretty much standardized and easy to use. It’s a long one, jotted down over the past week,w with lots of things to talk about.

Working on a New WordPress Theme for the Blog. When I brought the blog over to WordPress, my intent was not to create another generic looking WordPress blog, although in many ways that’s how it ended up. I also messed up some of the code, and didn’t build a proper client theme, instead relying on an adapted theme.

The result was a kind of bland mess. The good news is I am now learning how to build a proper client theme on top of an existing, much nicer WordPress theme — that doesn’t look so much like a generic WordPress theme. One of the reasons I avoided for so long going with WordPress, as I didn’t want to end up with a very generic theme. But somehow it all ended up that way. I think the new theme I am going to — based on the popular Pinboard theme is much nicer.

Hopefully it will be up by the start of September, if all goes well. New maps up are on the blog today.

Sitting in the river until it get really dark

Heading Up to the Northern Half of Green Mountains this Weekend. Probably leave Friday after work, first camp in the Southern Green Mountains near Somerset Reservior, then head North on Vermont 100.  There looks to be a lot of neat places to see in the northern Green Mountains,  and some spectular scenery.

Plan to stay for a long weekend, by also taking off Monday and Tuesday, which promise to be pretty nice weather. As I don’t really know the area, a lot of the trip will be about seeing what is up there, and going from there to figure out what to do. I will bring the kayak and camera, and certainly are keeping my mind open to taking a nice hike somewheres. They are talking about a continuation of the recent low-humidity, temperate climate weather over the weekend, especially as we head into Monday and Tuesday. Supposed to be some good meteor showers.

I’ve decided to do more of these long weekends, rather then take any full weeks off this summer. I guess you could say the July 4th week was technically a week off, although actually July 4th and July 5th were holidays at the office, so they didn’t really count.

I might take a week-long trip in October to Western NY and Pennsylvania during peak foliage season. That said, I also want to do an extended weekend trip to Moose River Plains and also Lake Kushaqua/Jones Pond and recently re-opened Loon Mountain firetower.

Going to Put Off Getting the Lift-Kit Installed Until at Least March. Originally the plan was to have a lift-kit installed on my truck in October. But after giving it more thought, and carefully reviewing the options, I’ve decided the best option is to wait another six months or so. For one, I want to wear down the stock tires more, so I’m not wasting them as much, and also so I’m a bit closer to end of the factory warranty — the lift kit isn’t covered by the truck’s factory warranty, and while it wouldn’t invalidate the whole warranty, certainly any damage (as unlikely as it is) it could cause wouldn’t be warrantied.

But the other part of the rational is partly money-wise, and because I’m not totally sold on the lift-kit idea. I’ve thought about getting  a snowmobile instead this winter, and have been looking at Want Ad Digest. That said, the more I look at it, the more I am not in a rush to get a snowmobile. As much fun as it would be to get deep in the back country in winter — assuming there are groomed trails back there — I worry about break downs and the alike. Not to mention, snowmobiles use a lot of gas, and really aren’t much more efficient then automobiles, because the snow drags them down.

The money-wise issue comes in that things are more expensive then I first estimated a year ago. I think I am going to go with 35s and a 6″ lift kit from a good brand like BDS. Any bigger then that isn’t cost-effective, and non-pratical. That will get me up high enough. The final increase in the height of the truck will be something like 8 inches, because the 35s are 4 inches larger in diameter then factory 31s, and a six-inch lift is half foot higher.

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I also think I will go for full-leaf replacements in the back rather then add-a-leafs, to ensure the weight of the camper shell and equipment in the back won’t cause the nose to be pointing in the air, etc. Going to have it re-geared to save fuel, add some more power, not kill the engine or tranny. And there are some other things like the narrower brake lines that are recommended, among other parts, I would probably spring for when it comes to lift-kit. Plus all that labor cost, which will easily be a grand on it’s own.

I want to ride up higher. I am a tall guy. It also will give me a chance to “freshen” up the look of my truck, which after 2 1/2 years will be getting kind of boring and old. I want something I can get 10 years or more out of without getting totally bored with. After I do the lift kit, there are other projects for future years, such as getting the rocker panels Line-X’d, and replacing the bumpers with those awesome Ranch bumpers, that can actually be used for parallel parking without being damaged.

Or maybe I’ll find other toys to spend my money on. It’s good having some extra disposable money kicking around, as I’m sure future jobs won’t nearly pay as much.

Been Reading and Watching More Videos About Getting Off the Grid. Being somebody who camps most weekends from April to November in the back of my pickup truck, and relies heavily on my inverter and the deep cycle battery to keep things lighted up all evening long. I cook my own food in the woods, clean dishes using bottled water, burn my garbage, and dig a whole in  woods when I need to go to the bathroom. Heck, with my laptop and the wireless card, I can be up in woods and surfing the web, doing work, and even fielding calls over my cellphone.

I have a pretty decent working understanding of electricity, and how all the off-the-grid thing too. I grew up in the country, are comfortable in woods, and know how to build a good fire in woodstove. I am fascinated to learn more about some of the relatively inexpensive and simplistic living arrangement many-off-the-griders live with, without all costs and hassles of an on-grid house.

My grandfather had one of those absorption-cooler refigerators/freezers in his RV at his campsite in Warrensburg. They’re neat, as one needs more then just a cooler when you live somewhere permanently, rather then wondering the wilderness in your pickup truck. They burn like 5-10 gallons of propane a month. But there also is these high-efficiency refrigerators that are electric and have a lot of insulation, so they don’t strain batteries in a PV/micro-hydro/wind system as much.

But a bigger issue for me is the ability to take showers and get cleaned up properly wherever I live. For that purpose, there are amazingly small tankless-water heaters that use a small amount of propane, but can get water very hot quickly. If you think small, you don’t really need that much flow, compared to a full-scale modern house with a massive-tanked water heater. Hot showers, and hot water for dishes is a necessity to keep clean. If I can get away with it from the code inspectors, I’d be fine with composting toilets or even just a plain old outhouse. That’s a luxury in woods.

Woodstoves, radiant flooring, and other familiar technology is self-explanatory. Having good insulation is a must in this part of the country. I don’t want to have trash pickup — I’m happy enough burning what can be burnt, and taking the glass and metals for proper recycling in the normal industrial fashion.

I like small houses. Smaller is better. I would rather spend my money on land, that could not only be used for recreation like riding quads, shooting guns, and hunting, but also for money by grazing livestock and timber. I am not a greeny, I don’t got a problem with using styrofoam plates for dinner and disposing them in an open fire. I just hate the whole upper-middle class, fancy house living style in the suburbs.

All this reading library books gots me thinking …

But for now I’m fine. As a transition though, I think I would next like to live in a small, handsome, downtown, one that is walkable to a bar and a store, but also provides ample-off-street parking. I think it would be a lot of fun to have an apartment on the second or third floor, above a shop, and be able to sit out and look at my window and watch the traffic go by.

Anywhere I live, I want to be near a National Forest or State Forest that allows free, primitive camping, in a remote-roadside fashion. Not to mention scenic vistas, places to hunt, fish, hike, and spend time outdoors. But I really want to get out of New York, at least eventually. I think it would be fun to own an AR-15, and eventually get a concealed carry permit from a must-issue state, without any pesky questions about whatever stupid things I did decades ago back in college — that hurt nothing but folks egos. To say nothing of not being in a state that’s totally anti-rural and not into the philosophical nature thing.

Far off I guess. Things aren’t that bad right now.

The Alternative to the Empire State Plaza was the W. Averell Harriman Suburban Office Campus

It’s a popular thing to complain about the Empire State Plaza, and say the 1960s “modern” office complex in Downtown Albany is out of place or was overly destructive to the city. But was there really much of an alternative to building the Empire State Plaza? Could the state have just put up conventional office buildings along city streets in vacant lots?

Empire Plaza

But the reality is Nelson Rockefeller helped slow and ultimately reverse the decline of Downtown of Albany. By the early 1960s, state government was leaving downtown, as witnessed by the construction of the then modern W. Averell Harriman State Office Campus on lands of a former golf course on the outskirts of the city.


View Larger Map

The W. Averell Harriman State Office Campus was a perfect example of what many people saw as the future — an office campus where commuters came in their private automobiles via a series of ring roads where there were no stop lights — just ramps and merge lanes. At the W. Averell Harriman State Campus there was ample parking for the cars that most middle-class state workers possessed, and wanted to use to get back and forth to work.

Empire Plaza

Downtown was the opposite. There was few parking opportunities around the downtown office buildings. Traffic congestion was heavy, and commuters were forced to stop at every traffic light. There was no smooth flowing traffic, as even express traffic going in and around the city was forced to take city streets. Commuters who worked downtown, and the many people who came to the Capitol, didn’t want to have to fight traffic or spend hours looking for a parking spot — especially when such a convenient and sensible alternative as the W. Averell Harriman State Office Campus.

Stack

Nelson Rockefeller in many ways was visionary. He argued that State Government could build a modern, suburban style office campus, with limited access, stop light free convenience,  and parking lot parking, in the middle of a dense city. Parking would be hidden in an underground garage at the Empire State Plaza, and connected to an Expressway system, that by using bridges would allow cars to “fly-over” city streets.

Old Capitol and Less Old Plaza

There are those who say the state could have instead built a series of tower buildings along vacant lots on State Street and other locations. Parking garages could be built behind the office buildings. That is how it was done in later years, often decades after the Empire Plaza was built. But that ignores the competition that the Empire Plaza was up against in it’s early years — the W. Averell Harriman, with it’s suburban ring-road, and traffic-light free commuting, and acres of easy parking.

Impact of Air Pollution

The state could have chosen to abandon downtown Albany in the early 1960s. After the Governor’s Mansion burned in 1963, it was proposed that it be moved to the W. Averell Harriman State Office Campus. Likewise, had the W. Averell Harriman campus been fully built out, many if not most of the offices in downtown, would have been moved to campus — rather then investing in downtown, and bringing thousands of state workers downtown every day.

Tannersville

This is downtown Tannersville looking off from Plateau Mountain from Danny's Lookout.

Taken on Sunday April 12, 2009 at Plateau Mountain.

Riding in early to hopefully avoid the rain 🚵

I think there is a good chance I’ll be able to ride to work today, five days in a row. Not too bad. I was on the fence about the weekend, but evidently it seems unlikely I’ll head ot to Schoharie for just an overnight. I’d prefer to do two or three nights camping, after all the work to set up and take down camp. Maybe next weekend, or Memorial Day Weekend. That’s coming quickly.

Good morning! Cloudy, the rain has stopped briefly and 52 degrees in Delmar. ☁ There is a southeast breeze at 5 mph. 🍃 with gusts up to 7 mph 💨💨💨. The dew point is 44 degrees.

To ride in or not to ride in. 🚵 That’s the question on my mind. I really don’t feel like busing it to work,  🚍️ it’s such a pain with the transfer to the shuttle ↔️ and I enjoy the ride and not paying the $2.60 in bus fare for the day. Plus I like the exercise and how I feel getting all pumped up 🦾 but I also don’t want to get soaked. 💦 It’s a risk to ride in this morning as there is showers all around.

Didn’t get a real early start this morning, 🛌 as I’ve been staying up a bit later with the additional daylight in the evening, and it was a kind of dark morning and I don’t want to become too sleep deprived and cranky. 🥹 I was having trouble with the food processor chopping up the carrots and bananas for the pancakes, but it turns out things were just kind of plugged up and when I cleaned it out things were good again. 🥕 Carrot pancakes again this morning, pretty good. Only one cup of coffee  ☕️ not because I was being good but because I didn’t have milk and coffee with plain Kefier isn’t the same as real coffee.

Today will have a chance of showers, mainly after 5pm. Cloudy 🌦, with a high of 62 degrees at 2pm. Eight degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 21st. East wind 5 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 77 degrees. The record high of 92 was set in 1970. 5.0 inches of snow fell back in 1945.❄

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:53 pm with sun having an altitude of 65.2° from the due south horizon (-5.7° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.8 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:26 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (289°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (296°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:06 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 12 seconds with dusk around 8:37 pm, which is one minute and 5 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Crescent 🌒 Moon in the west-northwest (283°) at an altitude of 29° from the horizon, 238,831 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:18 pm. At sunset, look for rain showers 🌧 and temperatures around 62 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 14 hours and 31 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 14 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have a chance of showers, mainly before 9pm. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 44 degrees at 9pm. Three degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 4th. South wind 3 to 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2023, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 40 degrees. The record low of 29 occurred back in 2010.

Tomorrow will be partly sunny 🌞, with a high of 64 degrees at 9am. Six degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 26th. Maximum dew point of 56 at 9am. Southeast wind 3 to 7 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 82 degrees. The record high of 90 was set in 1911. 0.5 inches of snow fell back in 1907.❄

Looking ahead to Sunday, showers likely, mainly before 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 61. Southeast wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. Maximum dew point of 43 at 8am. Typical average high for the weekend is 70 degrees.

As previously noted, next Friday is Pack Rat Day 🐀 when the sun will be setting at 8:14 pm with dusk at 8:45 pm. On that day in 2023, we had partly cloudy and temperatures between 67 and 50 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 72 degrees. We hit a record high of 92 back in 2017.

North River Mountains

Back to the Monday routine on this cloudy morning ☁️

Back to work today, hopefully with all the repairs and parts put into my bike it should be good for a while now. Probably not but usually mechanical problems all happen at once.

Good morning! Monday’s come back around again. Cloudy and 52 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☁️ Calm wind. Not as cold today but also not a beautiful day. Probably tomorrow will be the best day of the week but that’s not saying much.

Johnny cakes with onion, spinach, brocoli and corn this morning. 🥞 Used some cumin as a spice this morning which gave it a real earthy flavor. Topped with some cottage cheese and drank way too much coffee ☕ as is common these days.

Bike should be ready to be back on the road today, 🚲 with a new tire and tube on the front and 8 oz of tire sealant between the two wheels. I bought two tires but installed only one as I found the front new tire to be a bitch to install without the bead fully formed into position due to being a new tire. I figured the rear tire – – which I rotated to the back two weeks ago has a fair amount of tread life on it, on and the rear wears faster at any rate but in many ways is less important for control while riding trail then the front one. 🚵 And the thing of it is realistically I don’t do that many miles riding trail, it’s mostly commuting and gravel like truck trails and dirt roads.

I actually ordered a speedometer / odometer 📦 – – just a real basic model to better track my milage on the bike. I was using a phone app but it’s a pain to have to reset it all the time and sometimes the GPS track is lost when I open the photo app. 💾 It would be good to have better milage tracking for maintence needs, like changing out the chain before it gets to be complete slop and wear out the gears or to rotate the tires. Plus I have a rough idea of how many miles I’m riding – – it’s 8 3/4 mile the most direct way to work but that ignores detours and other side trips, and I’m curious to get an exact milage count. Also would be interesting on road trips and the alike.

Today will have isolated showers between 9am and 1pm. Mostly cloudy 🌦, with a high of 72 degrees at 7am. Four degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around May 17th. Southeast wind 3 to 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 63 degrees. The record high of 89 was set in 1930. There was a dusting of snow in 1994.❄

Made a big pot of rice and beans up for the week.🍲 Should make some good meals for the upcoming week. I’m hoping if it’s nice enough that later on I can go out to Five Rivers Environmental Education Center and read for an hour or so 📚 before it gets too dark out. Those e-books are great for that, plus having the bike makes a quick trip out to Five Rivers.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:53 pm with sun having an altitude of 64.1° from the due south horizon (-6.7° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.9 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:22 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (287°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (294°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:02 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 10 seconds with dusk around 8:32 pm, which is one minute and 6 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:12 pm. At sunset, look for clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 14 hours and 22 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 21 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a low of 47 degrees at 7am. Two degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 11th. Calm wind. In 2023, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 45 degrees. The record low of 29 occurred back in 1874.

Last night I had a big fight with my mama, 👪 she was being a big jerk and teasing me. I am really not going to put up with her abuse – – I don’t feel like it’s required for me to visit her every week plus I wasn’t planning on going over this weekend at any rate. Next weekend might be Schohiare. Plus it’s not like the food I have there is ever healthy, and their laundry machine never works right. I’d be better off saving my weekends for fun, and going to the laundromat and avoiding the stress of visiting. 👚

Right now, a split verdict on the weekend. 😕 Saturday, partly sunny, with a high near 60. Sunday, a chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 65. Chance of precipitation is 50%. Maximum dew point of at 7am. Typical average high for the weekend is 70 degrees.

I would like to get out of town this weekend, ⛺ but as of right now I’m not hopeful, though things could change. I guess it’s good I’m saving money with rent going up in a few weeks, and everything so expensive lately. There are still a few more weeks left in May, and maybe the following weekend I could do a long a weekend to do the Catskill Scenic Trail on my bike and find ramps to enjoy into the woods.

Looking ahead, there are 7 weeks until Latest Sunset 🌆 when the sun will be setting at 8:38 pm with dusk at 9:12 pm. On that day in 2023, we had partly cloudy and temperatures between 86 and 61 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 82 degrees. We hit a record high of 96 back in 1943.

State Street

A rainy Cinco de Mayo 🌮

Why are the weekends such complete shit lately I have to ask myself? It’s kind of lame. Yesterday wasn’t bad and Friday was pretty nice, but if I had gone out of town this weekend, it would have been a pretty wet morning taking down gear and driving home in the rain.

Good morning! Rain and 54 degrees in Delmar, NY. 🌧️ 15 mph southernly breeze. Not only is it wet, the wind is now whipping around. As they say, the sun ain’t going to shine anymore, at least not for two days straight on weekend.

This morning was eggs and hashbrowns 🍳 with lots of onions, garlic, and broccoli. Not a half bad breakfast. Last night was red lentil soup with loads of shredded carrot and spices, and a little bit of cornmeal just for that rich taste of cornmeal. Amazing how quickly a big pot of that can disappear. 🍲 Super tasty. Pantry is getting bare but I’ll go shopping soon after I shower. :🚿

Today will have showers before noon, then rain after noon. 🌦 High of 55 degrees at 9am. 14 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 5th. Maximum dew point of at 9am. 🏖️ South wind around 16 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 64 degrees. The record high of 91 was set in 1944. There was a dusting of snow in 1900.❄

I honestly didn’t have high hopes for today, and the weather didn’t disappoint. 😔 I am putting off shopping for a bit 🛒 as I want to visit Steiner’s and get bike tires this morning and a spare tube, 🚲 so I can be back on road by Monday hopefully and be good if the weather isn’t as shitty as predicted for next weekend to ride the Catskill Scenic Trail without fear of getting a flat. I could probably get away with replacing just one tire but I think I’ll spring for two so they’re matching tires, plus even the one that isn’t totally shot is pretty worn. ⚫

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:53 pm with sun having an altitude of 63.8° from the due south horizon (-7° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 3 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:21 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (287°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (294°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:01 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 9 seconds with dusk around 8:31 pm, which is one minute and 7 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:11 pm. At sunset, look for clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 48 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 14 hours and 19 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 24 seconds over yesterday.

Going out to see the folks this afternoon, 👪 but probably won’t stay that late as I want to get the new tires mounted on the bike and the tube re-installed – – and the old tube patched if possible. Hopefully with the new tires I won’t have so many problems, but it’s been bad with the amount of broken glass there has been on the roads lately. Apparently spring comes, and everybody is tossing their beer bottles 🍾 out their car windows.

Tonight will have showers, mainly before midnight. 🌧 Low of 41 degrees at 9am. Five degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 20th. South wind 7 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. In 2023, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 49 degrees. The record low of 29 occurred back in 1969.

I’ve just been doing a lot of reading 📚 and learning lately. A lot of it is as a distraction to pass time, but it’s also been as I’ve been trying to learn as much as possible about land and building a cabin. 📖 It was remarkably quiet 🤫 around here, no construction 🚧 on the unit next door yesterday at least while I was home – – I was at Five Rivers 🐦 from 8 AM through 4 PM – – and no sports games 🏈 being played at the school 🚸 next door. I was surprised how truly quiet it was yesterday around here. Even the evening was nice, took a nap 🛏 and enjoyed that red Lentil soup.

Still a bit bummed out about that cabin I saw go on sale on May 1st, it would have been perfect if not for the access issues. I’m not saying something like that wouldn’t need improvement, but it would have been a great start, but I would want the parcel connected to a public roadway, 🏡 so I wouldn’t have to ever worry about access or improving the road.

Looking ahead, next Sunday is Mothers Day 👩‍ when the sun will be setting at 8:09 pm with dusk at 8:40 pm. On that day in 2023, we had a pretty hot day for May, with mostly sunny skies and temperatures between 87 and 44 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 70 degrees. I bet the black flies liked that. We hit a record high of 91 back in 1881.

I am still hoping to take off next Friday and spend a long weekend in the woods, 🌲but the forecast can’t be as shitty as it currently looks for next weekend. I guess there is still five days for it to change but so far I’m not impressed.

Placid