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A bitterly cold spring morning 🌬️

I am still planning on riding to work as I like the exercise and with the sun it won’t be that cold if I am fully bundled up. Erie Boulevard will be a refrigerator, but by the time I figure I will have worked up a bit of a sweat and be warm enough. The ride against the wind will be good cardio. The afternoon commute will be more difficult, climbing the hill in the face of the wind, but if all else fails, I’ll ride down to the Old Train Station and catch the express bus home from there.

Good morning! Partly sunny and 23 degrees at the Delmar, NY. 🌞 Breezy, ️20 mph breeze from the west-northwest 🌬 with gusts up to 31 mph 💨💨💨. The current wind chill is 9. Things will start to thaw out at around 2 pm. 🌡️

Finished up the first 5 chapters of the Power Broker, 📖 though I’ve been skipping around a bit as I miss a few sections when I fall asleep listening to it. 🎧️ I want to catch up on the parts I missed before returning it, maybe tonight. Listening to the Power Broker is one of many ways I’ve been procrastinating later, as to avoid my anxiety about my housing situation. 😩 That and scrolling through Facebook and complaining about how anxious I am and how I’m avoiding doing research. Maybe because I’m undecided.

Today will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 34 degrees at 4pm. 13 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 8th. Breezy, with a northwest wind 20 to 24 mph, with gusts as high as 38 mph. A year ago, we had sunny skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 59 degrees. The record high of 78 was set in 1921. 6.0 inches of snow fell back in 1905.❄

More fillbustering last night. 🍞 I decided to bake two loafs of bread, one with lots of herbs and spices and other with canned pumpkin, ginger and pumpkin spice and a bit of stevia for added sweetness. Both were baked this morning, after rising in the oven overnight. It’s funny, I think the mice have managed to chew a hole through the rotted oven insulation and firebox, but I have no evidence that they’ve made it up the oven walls to nibble on the rising bread overnight. The two loafs of bread were delicious when baked this morning.

I don’t know why I fear information so much. 📜 It doesn’t cost anything to watch Youtube videos or read library books about buying land and building a house. Maybe it’s not the option I ultimately want to do, but research will make me a more informed consumer if I’m not hiding from it. 🧭 I just got to be very careful about giving my information to sales people, or the harassing phone calls and emails were start, every day. 📞 At least the mortgage officers have abandoned me for now, as I’ve expressed no further interest since them running the credit checks and submitting the paperwork for pre-qualification and most of it for pre-approval.

Starting to learning about some of the downsides of modular construction 🛖 namely how it doesn’t necessarily increase in value, which is good for you when it comes to the taxman but not so much if you plan to sell it. The speed and simplicity of permitting is a big upside, but the downside is the quality of building materials can be less, though often modular buildings have better insulation and fewer air-leaks. Plus far less of a risk of theft of materials on site. But that got me thinking more about whether or not I want to stay in New York State and if I really want the long commute. 🚘️ It’s not like it’s that long before I’m eligible for early retirement at age 55 — 13 years, 10 months, 8 days. The winter of 2011 was further away then that. To build would tie me to New York beyond that date.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:03 pm with sun having an altitude of 47.8° from the due south horizon (-23° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 5.4 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 6:32 pm with the sun in the west (265°). 📸 The sunset is in the west (272°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:09 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 54 seconds with dusk around 7:37 pm, which is one minute and 9 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Full 🌝 Moon in the east-southeast (106°) at an altitude of 41° from the horizon, 250,980 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:11 pm. At sunset, look for partly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 30 degrees. The wind chill around sunset will be 17. ☃️ Breezy, 18 mph breeze ⛅ from the west-northwest with gusts up to 29mph. Tomorrow will have 12 hours and 19 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 55 seconds over today.

All I can say it’s a hell of a situation that I am in these days. ❤️‍🔥 Every dollar I spend today is one that takes away from tomorrow, it’s stealing from my future. The thing about it is I am still living in that dumpy apartment that I’ve had since graduating college, 16 1/2 years ago now, even though I have that swanky office and good salary, that I’ve worked hard to obtain. 13 years and 10 months and 8 days isn’t that long, and it’s a chance to advance my career more, save more money and increase my pension. Then at age 55, I am free to move to a place like the Ozarks of Missouri where I’m free to have whatever fires I want 🔥 and have lots of money for land and stock 🐮 and really build a nice off-grid house, without the somewhat large budgetary restrictions I have. If I have $250k to build now, I’ll probably have a $1 million to buy land and build then, which goes far father outside of New York or any metropolitan area. And then to keep busy, I can find a job shoveling shit 🧹or something along those lines for the health insurance.

Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌃, with a low of 19 degrees at 5am. Nine degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around February 22nd. Maximum wind chill around 19 at 6pm; Northwest wind 13 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. Pretty damn cold. I am going to have to turn on the heat I am afraid. In 2023, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 34 degrees. The record low of 2 occurred back in 1875.

Nothing has happened with my neighbor’s garbage pile 🗑️ except some paper litter blowing along my door stop, but I haven’t been able to talk to him about it as he usually leaves before sunrise and doesn’t return until late into the night. I don’t care if he were just to get some trash cans, or stick in his car. At some point I would imagine the slumlord would notice. We should talk more but he works really long hours. I’m just up early, because I choose to go to bed early, 🛌 but he’s up early to work.

Right now, a split verdict on the weekend. 😕 Saturday, rain and snow, becoming all rain after 11am. High near 42. South wind 6 to 13 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible. Sunday, mostly sunny, with a high near 42. Typical average high for the weekend is 48 degrees.

As previously noted, next Thursday is Average High is 50 🌸 when the sun will be setting at 7:18 pm with dusk at 7:45 pm. On that day in 2023, we had mostly cloudy, rain showers and temperatures between 53 and 33 degrees. We hit a record high of 85 back in 1945.

Not the nicest Hump Day around ever to kick off spring 🌧️

March rain and snow showers bring mud and a lower fire risk and hopefully some green though it will need to warm up a bit. But I’m sure 80 degree days aren’t far off. I am just hoping for nice weather come Easter weekend.

Good morning! What day is it? Hump Day, of course. Rain and snow showers around and 34 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☔ There is a south breeze at 8 mph. 🍃. Temperatures will drop below freezing at around 8 pm. ☃️

While I concede that I probably will get wet, I am going to ride my bike to work today. 🚲 I am nuts 🤪 but hardly that’s a secret – I figure I’m kind of the Charlie Luce of Data Services. You know the former CEO of ConEd who used to ride his bicycle to work and to construction 🚧 sites to view projects in the 1960s. I think the bigger danger is getting soaked at five o’clock 💦 though if it happens I’ll throw my bike on the bus 🚍 and come home and get changed. I like the exercise and saving the bus fare. 🎫

Today will have a slight chance of rain and snow showers before 11am, then a chance of rain showers after noon. Mostly cloudy 🌦, with a high of 47 degrees at 2pm. Typical for today. South wind 8 to 10 mph becoming west in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 50%. Little or no snow accumulation expected. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with sunny skies in the afternoon. The high last year was 52 degrees. The record high of 78 was set in 2012. 7.0 inches of snow fell back in 1944.❄

Last night I got home and was somewhat chilled through from the evening bike ride. 🌬️ It was windy to say the least. Microwaved a sweet potato, chopped it up and fried it with onions and corn. 🍳 Not a half bad dinner, I was fully engulfed in the Power Broker audio book. 🎧️ You know the classic one by Robert Caro on Robert Moses. The politics are intensely fascinating. 🏗️ I was going to read and watch some videos about building green homes, but somehow I was cold so I retired to under my electric blanket and was asleep shortly after 7 PM. I had planned to get up really early — maybe at 4 AM to do more reading, 📚️ but somehow I didn’t get up until some point between 5:30 and 5:45 AM which is late for me. I guess I needed a bit of extra sleep last night. 🛏️

Probably the reason why my sleep is so fucked up 💤 is because I drink like 2-3 large cups of coffee in the morning, ☕️ then I come into the office in and drink two more cups of iced black coffee. 🧊 It keeps me awake, but as my doctor noted last year, it’s kind of excessive to say the least. I should drink more water in the morning, and try to be more in moderation so I’m not pissing all of the time. 🥛 But also by the time I get home I’m just warn out after all those hours of studying data records. Plus I’m spending so much time thinking what my future home would look like, and all the steps to implement it. But what I need the most is a good night in the wilderness with a big fire. 🏕️ 🔥 I’m really hoping next week.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:04 pm with sun having an altitude of 47.5° from the due south horizon (-23.4° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 5.5 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 6:31 pm with the sun in the west (265°). 📸 The sunset is in the west (271°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:08 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 54 seconds with dusk around 7:36 pm, which is one minute and 9 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Gibbous 🌔 Moon in the east-southeast (111°) at an altitude of 51° from the horizon, 249,398 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:09 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and snow 🌨 and temperatures around 35 degrees. There will be a west-northwest breeze at 15 mph. Tomorrow will have 12 hours and 16 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 54 seconds over today.

Tonight will have a slight chance of snow showers before 9pm, then a slight chance of snow showers after 5am. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly clear 🌧, with a low of 22 degrees at 4am. Six degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 4th. West wind around 17 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2023, we had clear skies in the evening, which became clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 24 degrees. The record low of -01 occurred back in 1956.

This weekend is a mixed bag but generally Saturday is wet and Sunday is sunny but cold again. 🌦️ Saturday, snow, possibly mixed with rain, becoming all rain after 8am. High near 42. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Sunday, partly sunny, with a high near 42. Typical average high for the weekend is 48 degrees.

I am potentially thinking about driving down to Catskill Mountain Cabins in Kingston to learn more 🛖 though I almost want to do more research first as I know as soon as a salesperson gets my phone and email 📱 📧 I will be harassed to buy now. And I’m not sure if that option is right for me. Already since I’ve mentioned to people that I’m interested in building a small solar powered home, I get people sending me pictures of tiny homes and off grid cabins in the wilderness – both which aren’t practical or realistic options for the life I want to live. I want to have good information in my hands 👐 and do what’s right for me before buying 💰 but also I don’t want to delay forever.

As previously noted, there are 3 weeks until 8 PM Dusk 🌆 when the sun will be setting at 7:33 pm. On that day in 2023, we had sunny and temperatures between 67 and 30 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 57 degrees. We hit a record high of 86 back in 1922.

Final Days of Winter 🌨️

Tomorrow officially starts spring on the calendar, but as usually is the case in New York State that doesn’t mean tulips and warm weather is right around the corner — though with El Nino and climate change in control I’m not convinced in a few days it won’t get real warm quickly. Remember, the record books are littered with 80 degrees over the years throughout March. No ninety degree days so far, but the climate is warming.

Good morning! Monday’s come back around again. Mostly sunny 🌞 and 32 degrees in Delmar, NY. There is a west breeze at 7 mph. 🍃.

Up and going a little after 5 AM ☕️ after running to Stewart’s to get more of the moo juice for my coffee. 🐄 Carrot pancakes this morning 🥕🥞 with fresh maple syrup and blueberries that were pretty damn good. It was a beautiful morning when I went out to Stewart’s, and now I’m sitting at my desk here in my apartment looking out the window. As usual, I am going to ride to work today. A bit cool of a day, but so be it. I will wear gloves and a winter jacket if necessary. 🚴‍♂️

Today will have increasing clouds ☁, with a high of 45 degrees at 3pm. One degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 17th. West wind 7 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. The high last year was 44 degrees. The record high of 69 was set in 2012. 8.0 inches of snow fell back in 1977.❄

I’m hoping to talk to my neighbor about the growing pile of garbage bags 🗑️ next to his apartment. I didn’t say anything last week, as I assumed on Saturday he’d be making a trip to the transfer station. ♻️ I assume he doesn’t give a rats ass 🐀 about the landlord at this point because he’s moving out with the rent hike coming in search of greener pastures, but I don’t want rats in my apartment nor do I want the fire risk 🔥 that piles of garbage bring. The new month-to-month agreement is pretty clear that not allowed — I had to ask for special permission to have my kayak outdoors. 🚣 If he doesn’t clean it up soon, I’m going to email the new landlord, and if he doesn’t take action, I’ll call the town. 🏛️

It’s obnoxious to deal with, because I normally wouldn’t care, especially if the garbage was in cans, 🛢️ as sometimes it’s a while before I get it burnt up, taken to my parents trash pickup, or hauled to the transfer station, but I don’t leave it sitting out where animals can get to it. 🐿️ Already I’ve seen some garbage strewn around. I need to get out of this dumpy apartment before it burns or I get evicted in pursuit of redevelopment of the land — but I want to buy myself whatever time I can, especially if I want to build my dream solar homestead. ⏳️🏠️ That said, I won’t complain too much, as I’m kind of loud with my food processor and smoke alarm — to say nothing of cussing out the world when drop a pot on my foot, dirty and generally obnoxious too. 🤬 Trust me I can be vulgar at times, sometimes even a bit downright racist.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:04 pm with sun having an altitude of 46.7° from the due south horizon (-24.2° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 5.7 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 6:29 pm with the sun in the west (264°). 📸 The sunset is in the west (270°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:06 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 54 seconds with dusk around 7:33 pm, which is one minute and 10 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Gibbous 🌔 Moon in the southeast (136°) at an altitude of 70° from the horizon, 244,770 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:07 pm. At sunset, look out for snow showers 🌨 and temperatures around 39 degrees. There will be a west-northwest breeze at 11 mph with gusts up to 21mph. Tomorrow will have 12 hours and 10 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 55 seconds over today.

I am coming to realize how abusive Rosa the substitute dental hygienist was on Friday. 🦷I am not going to pay somebody to get abused — even if my insurance covered the visit. I appreciate constructive criticism 🪥 and I’m thinking about getting an electric toothbrush for better cleaning, but Rosa was downright abusive. I get she had her new toy that showed how bad my teeth were in high-resolution colored pictures, but I did not deserve to be berated for a half hour about how bad my oral care is despite my attempts to each healthy 🍎 and floss regularly. 😁 She scheduled with me for a follow up visit, but I am the customer so I have every right to cancel that appointment 🛑 and find a hygienist who is professional.

Tonight will have a slight chance of snow showers before 3am. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 29 degrees at 6am. Two degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 24th. Northwest wind 10 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2023, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 22 degrees. The record low of -10 occurred back in 1967.

More reading and studying about building a house tonight. 🏠️ The usual of checking Zillow and Landwatch for new parcels and houses to come on them market, expanding my circle out a bit 🛞 looking at different acreage and locations to determine what would be the best place to live. I mean if I see a small house on acreage, I would be willing to consider it, it as it’s greener to reuse an existing structure and not develop new land, but the flip side is such a property would be likely very poorly insulated and grid-tied. 🏚️Plus if at all possible, I want to avoid vinyl siding, which I despise to no end.

Right now, a split verdict on the weekend. 😕 Maybe it’s too early to really determine for sure. Saturday, a chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 44. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Sunday, mostly sunny, with a high near 41. I have some other places I want to check out this weekend, plus find time for some hiking and fun, as I have to keep living while building my dream homestead. 🏃‍♂️ Typical average high for the weekend is 48 degrees. 🌻 There is hope for spring. The following weekend — Thursday evening through Easter Sunday I’m hoping to camp in the Adirondacks unless there is a shit ton of snow or rain is promised all weekend.

As previously noted, there are 2 weeks until April Fools Day 🤡 when the sun will be setting at 7:23 pm with dusk at 7:50 pm. On that day in 2023, we had rain and temperatures between 74 and 41 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 52 degrees. We hit a record high of 77 back in 1986.

Back from Grandma Moses Country 👵🏽🎨

You know it was worth an exploration, I tell myself even if it didn’t have the right feel for me. Pointed Rocks on the Batten Kill had been on my bucket list for a long time to hike – it’s a surprisingly long and steep hike outside of Adirondack and Catskill Park and the whole area around the Batten Kill is quite spectacular, full of birds and nature if not a pungent this time of year from the manuring. Shits gotta grow come the summer.

Good morning! Rain and 44 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☔ There is a south breeze at 7 mph. 🍃. Temperatures will drop below freezing at tomorrow around 4 am. ☃️

Honest, I wasn’t planning on going to Washington County yesterday 🏞 but I ended up that way after looking at some houses, properties and land in Hoosic, Pittstown and Valley Falls. Rural country out that way but it didn’t have the right feel in my mind. I totally get why that former Research Services director used to live out in White Creek but that’s a bit too far away from work especially having to drive through Troy and all those other little speed traps and hick towns. 🚓 Of course he did move to Pennsylvania as soon as he could retire.

I had wanted to hike Pointed Rocks and explore the area along the Batten Kill for some time now. 🚶 🏞️ but somehow I never got up that way as there isn’t any place right nearby to camp, except maybe for the Green Mountain National Forest on the other side of Bennington. Nice country up along the Batten Kill State Forest and along NY 313, but certainly too far from Albany too commute. 🚦🚙🚗🚚🛻 There was an interesting property along NY 22 that was 20 acres of moutainside and woods, with a steep creek for micro-hydro that looked quite attractive from the road and on paper, if not for all those damn traffic lights, hick towns and NY 7 traffic cluster. Had a nice little mobile-home sized site on a ledge over the road, with a somewhat steep driveway but partially cleared. I think it was a former hunting camp. 🏠️ Looked like the neighbors would have been good, they’re distance away, have horses and a small pre-fab house. Price was good, but it’s all about the location.

And I didn’t have the natural attraction to Grandma Moses country that I have to the Heldebergs, and I don’t know anybody who currently lives out that way. 👨‍🚒 I’m sure if I got involved in the community, maybe became a volunteer firefighter I could make friends, but it’s still tough. Plus, despite all the kitsch Grandma Moses Painting, that area of state is quite poor. 🐐 But I kind of like that, those are probably good friendly people who work hard, not yuppies.

Today will have showers likely, mainly before 8am. Mostly cloudy with some clearing later on 🌦, with a high of 51 degrees at 4pm. Six degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 29th. South wind 7 to 15 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning, which became light rain by afternoon. The high last year was 47 degrees. The record high of 75 was set in 1990. 4.1 inches of snow fell back in 1982.❄

The major plan for today is to go to the grocery store and get more groceries 🛒 fairly early on. I am as shocked as anyone that it’s already Sunday again and my pantry is fairly bare, although not as bad as some weeks in part because I stopped and got a few more things on the way home when driving in on Friday, as that was when I had my dentist appointment with that mean hygienist.🦷 I am not going to put up with her abuse, she was abusive in that dentist chair how she treated me. I am going to cancel my next appointment and see if I can reschedule with my usual dental hygentist Hamid.

I might head out to Coeymans to do some more poking around later on the back roads. 🛻 That said, I’ve checked out many of the listings, and I’m kind of tired after all the driving and exploring yesterday. Hell of it is because I decided to head up to Washington County to hike, 🚶 never made it down to southern Rensselaer County to explore some of the homes and properties around Lebanon Valley that are for sale. The thing is down there, you’re getting into the Taconics ⛰️ which are quite nice, but land prices go up there, and you start mixing with a lot NYC pukey-pukes down that way. Get south of the Berskshire Spur Thruway and there is some shit ton of NYC money that way, thanks to the Taconic Parkway. Not only is land is expensive, you know who is going to be living next door, people closer to Elliot Spitzer who is responsible for the burn ban, then some dirt-farming goat-rising good ol’ boy. 👛

Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:04 pm with sun having an altitude of 46.3° from the due south horizon (-24.6° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 5.7 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 6:28 pm with the sun in the west (263°). 📸 The sunset is in the west (269°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:05 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 54 seconds with dusk around 7:32 pm, which is one minute and 10 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Gibbous 🌔 Moon in the south (172°) at an altitude of 75° from the horizon, 241,964 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:06 pm. At sunset, look for partly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 45 degrees. There will be a west-northwest breeze at 10 mph. Today will have 12 hours and 4 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 54 seconds over yesterday.

Another work week ahead, 👨‍💼 back to being a professional rather then a cowboy-hat wearing good ol’ boy or so I play on the weekends. One more week until the long Easter Weekend when I’m hoping to get to the Adirondacks to camp 🏕️ and have a big ol’ fire 🔥 with flames mostly less then 3 feet high and not too much plastic, because you know the burn ban and stuff. 🤣 Ah, New York State. I should bring my .22 rifle and make some noise too while I’m up in the wilderness. It’s been too long since I’ve spent much time in the woods. 🌲

Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌃 , with a low of 31 degrees at 5am. Four degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 30th. West wind around 8 mph. In 2023, we had light rain in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 28 degrees. The record low of -08 occurred back in 1900.

As previously noted, there are 3 weeks until 7:30 PM Sunset 🌇 when the sun will be setting at 7:30 pm with dusk at 7:57 pm. On that day in 2023, we had mostly sunny and temperatures between 48 and 34 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 55 degrees. We hit a record high of 87 back in 2010.

Going to be a beautiful Saturday for a drive out in Rensselaer County 🛻

Get your motor running, head out on the highway, looking for adventure and whatever comes my way.

Good morning! Happy Saturday. Going to be a beautiful start to the weekend for doing some driving around. Partly cloudy and 39 degrees in Delmar, NY. ⛅ There is a west-northwest breeze at 6 mph. 🍃. Temperatures will drop below freezing at Monday around 2 am. ☃️ I do wish I could go out camping, but things are going to be muddy after the rain, plus I’m thinking a week from next Thursday of heading up to the Adirondacks for a three-day weekend, assuming they don’t get a shit ton of snow up north in the meantime or it’s pouring rain all Easter weekend. 🐇

Things are going better since I’ve been doing more research 🛖 on housing options, and realizing I have to be more flexible on my thinking — even if it means a longer commute then is ideal to live rural. 👨‍🌾Spending a lot of money on gas ⛽️ and burning through cars 🚗 every 8-10 years ain’t fun, but I may have to push closer to 35 mile commute rather then the less 30 mile commute I was going for. The thing is in 8 years from my next car purchase in 2025, I’ll have built up my solar system and there will be far more options for electric vehicles. 🔌 I really like some of the options for modular cabins, especially the smaller ones built to code for residential use at a factory and delivered to the site with full interior built. Right now I’m quite enthralled by the Zook Settler and similar style small-one floor code-compliant pre-built residential cabins. I am thinking one floor, no basement, smallest size for a smallest possible electrical and heating demand. I like the wood-walls, that won’t sure the dirt like drywall, and the metal roof for fire safety and insurance savings, lest an ember fall on the roof.

Then get an EPA-certified, efficient wood stove and a small heat pump and use one of the bedrooms as a mechanical room — for batteries, split-phase inverter, well pressure tank, and maybe eventually a washing machine and computer equipment. 🔋 If I get serious about the map making business, I might eventually get an used plotter. I am thinking the heat pump can be used when I’m not there to keep things from freezing in winter. ♨️ Wouldn’t run much though, as I’d keep the temperature low on the heat pump in the winter, 🌨️ and the thing is a cabin built to 2018 federal energy standards, as required by NY State, passing blower efficiency tests, 🌬️is going to have minimal heat loss. I am going to need a quality gasoline generator like a Honda, which will have remote start, which can be triggered off inverter on low battery, which can keep things from freezing up in winter if I’m away for an extended time. Plus as much as I personally loathe air conditioning, the climate is warming 🌎️ and it sure would be nice to come home to on that sultry summer nights, especially when the batteries are full and it makes sense to be keeping the cabin cold rather then wasting the solar energy. 🧊 Use a standard electric refrigerator and probably a gas stove converted to use propane — and in winter, sometimes use the wood stove to atop. If I’m only using propane for the stove, I can get away with 30 lb propane tanks, that I can throw in the pickup and get filled at any propane retailer rather then paying a big truck to come out there and be dependent on one supplier. That said, it’s going to be a lot of money, but I’ve saved for a long time, done well in the markets. What I’m building is far smaller then your typical suburban home and will consume far less energy, especially fossil energy.

Today will be partly sunny 🌞, with a high of 54 degrees at 5pm. Nine degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 5th. West wind 5 to 8 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 51 degrees. The record high of 82 was set in 1990. 13.4 inches of snow fell back in 1956.❄

At any rate, that’s all fun and games, 🕹️ though first I have to find land that I love ❤️‍🔥and is a good fit for me. The commute thing sucks, but I want to find a place that feels like and will be my home for the rest of my life. 🚗 I am exploring Rensselaer County today, not because that’s necessarily where I will move, as I’m biased towards the Hilltowns of Albany County, but as far as birds eye distance goes 🦜 there’s more remote country, closer to work then in the Hilltowns, being that work in Menands. 🐐 The roads kind of suck and traffic in Rensselaer County, (Hoosick Street and NY 7) but as a property owner, the conservative politics of land of Joe Bruno would suit me well. 😃 What’s good for my business, as I like to say, might not necessarily always be good for myself. Not only do I want to look at a list of parcels I’ve seen listed in Hoosick Falls, Petersburg and Grafton, I also want to explore some of Petersburg State Forest for mountain biking, hiking and camping 🏕️ 🥾 in the future. It’s fun to drive the back roads.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:05 pm with sun having an altitude of 45.9° from the due south horizon (-25° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 5.8 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 6:26 pm with the sun in the west (263°). 📸 The sunset is in the west (269°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:04 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 53 seconds with dusk around 7:31 pm, which is one minute and 10 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the First Quarter 🌓 Moon in the southwest (215°) at an altitude of 73° from the horizon, 239,018 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:05 pm. At sunset, look for partly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 50 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Tomorrow will have 12 hours and 4 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 54 seconds over today.

For the Easter weekend, 🐰 as I was noting, I really want to get out of town to go to the Adirondacks. The burn ban doesn’t apply to small campfires, and I don’t think it’s going to be bone dry up north at that point based on the forecast. 🔥 Plus I really want a good fire to help myself sleep better 🛌 and burn up some of the accumulated papers. I have nothing but disdain for the burn ban, but I understand the fire risk this time of year, as I know how easy it can be set your yard on fire, and as a future property owner I don’t want that to happen. 😐️ You can say what you want about New York State, but it pays my bills and it’s my home. Building standards mean I will end up with a quality, energy efficient building even if I have my views on the gun laws and open burning restrictions. Happy March 16th.

Tonight will have showers, mainly after 2am. 🌧 Low of 41 degrees at 6am. 14 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 22nd. Light southeast wind becoming south 6 to 11 mph in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2023, we had partly cloudy skies. It got down to 32 degrees. The record low of -1 occurred back in 1916.

One month 📅 from now will be Average High is 60 🌷 when the sun will be setting at 7:40 pm with dusk at 8:08 pm.

The mornings quickly haven’t been so dark 🌅

When the time change first hit with that power outage on Monday things were quite dark. But we are gaining daylight quickly in the morning in part because the transit of the sun is shifting earlier due to earth wobble and because spring is approaching rapidly adding daylight to both ends of the day.

Good morning! Happy Thursday. Can you believe it? I can’t. Partly cloudy and 42 degrees at the land of the Delmaritian. 🌤️ Calm wind. Temperatures will drop below freezing at Monday around 11 pm. ☃️ I can probably leave my windows open in the meantime though today was a bit chilly to start out.

Going to really enjoy that bike 🚲 ride in today. It was a cold start with the windows open but it’s warming up quickly with the sun out. 🐦 Those red winged black birds are loud this morning, along with the song sparrows. I got to get back into bird watching again like during the pandemic. I was up at around 4:30 AM but that’s not surprising as I was alseep before 8 PM last night. Got a good nights sleep 🛌 thanks to having the windows open. But I was dog tired before I went to bed. 🐶

Another really nice late winter day ahead. Not record breaking but still. Today will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 67 degrees at 3pm. 23 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around May 2nd. Light and variable wind becoming northwest 5 to 7 mph in the morning. A year ago, we had light snow in the morning, which became heavy snow by afternoon. The high last year was 35 degrees. The record high of 75 was set in 1946. 17.0 inches of snow fell back in 2017.❄

Last night I cooked up a sweet potato in the microwave, 🍠 mixed in some turmeric and nutritional yeast, and had some more of the black beans 🍲 and tomatoes that I cooked up in the morning. It was going to be good meal before for a walk in the park, 🏃 but after dinner I was tired and decided to sit out back and read for a while until it get dark 🔖 and then I went straight to bed. I’ve been so tired lately in evening, because I wake up so early. That said, most mornings I’m not pissing away, but instead after eating breakfast I will read or listen to a podcast — or jot down my thoughts while I watch the sun rise. 🌅

Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:05 pm with sun having an altitude of 45.1° from the due south horizon (-25.7° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 6 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 6:24 pm with the sun in the west (262°). 📸 The sunset is in the west (268°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:01 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 54 seconds with dusk around 7:29 pm, which is one minute and 11 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the First Quarter 🌓 Moon in the west-southwest (249°) at an altitude of 53° from the horizon, 233,320 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:02 pm. At sunset, look for partly cloudy skies 🌃 and temperatures around 58 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Tomorrow will have 11 hours and 59 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 54 seconds over today.

Tonight will have showers, mainly after 9pm. 🌧 Low of 47 degrees at 5am. 20 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 8th. East wind 3 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2023, we had light snow in the evening. It got down to 29 degrees. The record low of 1 occurred back in 1993.

I am going to bring my laptop home tonight, 👩‍💻 and will walk down to the library 📚 and work down there. I want to research a few more properties, plan out my exploring property from the backroads trip for the weekend, and look more at what options are out there for cabin kits and plans. 🛖 I keep learning more things and discovering more things I don’t know much about.

Today in 1900, the Gold Standard Act is ratified, placing United States currency on the gold standard. 🪙 Did that lead to inflation after it ended in the seventies? Pundits have debated that for decades but with the growing world economy it proved to be unworkable. It kind of had to fade away.

Weekend looks nice for March. ☀ Saturday, partly sunny, with a high near 56. Northwest wind 6 to 9 mph. Sunday, showers likely, mainly between 8am and 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 51. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Typical average high for the weekend is 45 degrees. If Easter wasn’t two weeks away and were things not during the fire season I’d love to have a night or two in the wilderness. Maybe it will rain and snow for Easter Weekend 🐰 but that’s still my best hope for getting out of town with the Good Friday holiday ☦️.

Looking ahead to next week next Thursday is First Day of Spring 💮 when the sun will be setting at 7:10 pm with dusk at 7:37 pm. On that day in 2023, we had partly sunny and temperatures between 59 and 24 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 47 degrees. We hit a record high of 78 back in 1921. Still looking about a month to a month and a half until a shit ton of black flies 🐜 and tulips 🌷 around. We’re still in the month of the manure spreaders. 💩

Carrot 🥕 pancakes 🥞 are good way to start a morning

Last night it was Johnny Cakes with onions and spinach and a bunch of Ms Dash salt-free seasonings, this morning its carrot pancakes with cherries and maple syrup. Salt is bad news, I am trying to stay away from it more these days.

Good morning! What day is it? Jumping the Hump Day, of course. Mostly sunny ☀ and 32 degrees in Delmar, NY. Calm wind. Cold start to the morning but it’s not expected to last.

While it got cool last night and I had to close my windows 😴 which made sleeping a bit hard but they’re back open this morning. Should be a beautiful day for riding to work today 🚲 and it shouldn’t be as dang windy as yesterday. 🌬️ That wind was pushing hard against my face yesterday riding out of the gorge especially when I reached the level in Elsmere.

Today will be sunny 🌞, with a high of 68 degrees at 4pm. 24 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around May 4th. Calm wind becoming south 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon. A year ago, we had light rain. The high last year was 43 degrees. The record high of 70 was set in 2012. 22.0 inches of snow fell back in 1993.❄

I do like my carrot pancakes 🥞. Carrots are healthy and relatively cheap. It’s hard to get enough fiber in your diet, especially in America these days. Carrots when cooked are slightly sweet and excellent filler as part of hardy but soft pancakes. 🥕 I grind oatmeal and then carrots in my food processor. Add one egg and milk. Add Baking powder. Add cinnamon, ginger and sometimes vanilla. 😋 For sweetness I’ll sometimes add a whole orange, peel and all or a banana. Then a little bit of whole red wheat flour and some water to smooth out the mixture. Top with fruit, honey or real maple syrup. 🍯

Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:06 pm with sun having an altitude of 44.7° from the due south horizon (-26.1° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 6.1 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 6:23 pm with the sun in the west (261°). 📸 The sunset is in the west (267°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:00 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 54 seconds with dusk around 7:27 pm, which is one minute and 11 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Crescent 🌒 Moon in the west-southwest (255°) at an altitude of 40° from the horizon, 230,863 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 8:01 pm. At sunset, look for partly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 63 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 5 mph. Tomorrow will have 11 hours and 56 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 55 seconds over today.

I have my dental cleaning on Friday 🪥🦷 so I’ll probably end up driving to work that day. If it wasn’t like most of the roads are closed and possibly snow covered I’d consider going to the Green Mountains to camp after work. ⛺ I really could use a good fire 🔥 to burn up some paper and things and to clear my mind. If I stay in town I’m thinking of cruising some roads in Coeymans and New Baltimore looking at land. 🏞 Some places down there might fit what I’m looking for based on my geospatial analysis.

Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌃 , with a low of 40 degrees at 6am. 15 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 22nd. South wind 3 to 5 mph. In 2023, we had light rain in the evening, which became light snow by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 32 degrees. The record low of -6 occurred back in 1948.

I am thinking about bringing my laptop home tonight 👨‍💻 so I can continue to do some more research about land and property. That said, it’s going to be such a nice evening, I almost want to go to the park instead. 🏞 Maybe tomorrow I’ll bring it home. I don’t like to ride too much with my laptop on my bicycle due to the bumps, but I could bring it home tomorrow, work down at the library 📚 and then I’m driving in on Friday it seems most likely after my dental cleaning.

Today in 1991, the Justice Department announces that Exxon has agreed to pay $1 billion for the clean-up of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska. 🛢 Dawn dish soap made out well by donating some surfactants to clean off the oil soaked ducks 🦆.

Looks like a fairly nice spring weekend though showers come Sunday. 🌦️Saturday, partly sunny, with a high near 53. Sunday, showers likely after 8am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 54. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Typical average high for the weekend is 45 degrees. Maybe I’ll head out of town but I’m more thinking 💭 about it for the Easter Holiday. 🐰

Looking ahead, there are 4 weeks until 8 PM Dusk 🌆 when the sun will be setting at 7:33 pm. On that day in 2023, we had sunny skies and temperatures between 67 and 30 degrees. Kind of like today. Typically, the high temperature is 57 degrees. We hit a record high of 86 back in 1922. Before my time. But certainly the weather records for this time of year is littered with examples of temperatures in the upper 80s.

Andy Arthur.org

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