Photo of Andy Arthur

Andy Arthur

It's the second half of November as the label job I ran today reminds me. 🏷️ The landscape is cold and barren, it's dark out for a good portion of day, and riding home in the dark isn't much fun. But you make the best of it, and I figure the extra sleep and time to learn isn't a bad thing. πŸ›Œ Next adventure after Thanksgiving! πŸ¦ƒ Hopefully the fire risk is down by then as I want to have a big bonfire in wilderness πŸ”₯ after a good day riding trail or hiking. 🚢

Rainy days return 🌧️

It’s been a good run riding to work but the rest of the week it will be the bus. I mean I could drive to work but the bus gets me there without the hassles and cost.

Walking laps in the Plaza and doing the stairs in the LOB this morning. 🚢 Figured get as much exercise as possible if I’m not busing it to work. Didn’t catch the real early bus in due to needing to cut my hair and then traffic downtown was slow with the rain.

Not a real heavy rain so far this morning but still well needed. Checking the web cams to see how much snow in Spectulator but I ain’t seeing much. ❄️ Seems like there will be more in the Catskills. Could turn to snow later up north but it doesn’t seem like much.

I am just thinking about the conditions for next week for heading up north. πŸ•οΈ Really would like to see some of the area around Newcomb, especially the Essex Chain Lakes and Santoni. A lot depends on the weather, a rainy and cold in the wilderness ain’t much fun in early December.

I am starting to thinking I’m mastering build environments, πŸ–₯️ now the thing is just to build the habit of building software and writing πŸ“ code every day in C if I want to be truly good at it. I’m hiking the stairs in the LOB this morning and I’m out of practice. Really do got to practice more, I’m more built these days for riding the bike 🚲. Practice makes all the difference. I miss working in the skyscraper 🏒 with all the stairs.

Muzzeloading 101

I've never owned or shot a muzzleloader, never got my tag. But I know a lot of real old timers and conservationist types love the whole muzzleloading scene after regular rifle season gets done.

Slingerlands Shoprite

Sprawl at work ... paraphrasing from the Times Union:

Four out of the five ShopRite locations opened about ten years ago, and although they initially moved into newly constructed buildings, the actual ownership of these structures lies with limited liability companies (LLCs) rather than ShopRite itself. These LLCs lease the space to the grocery company through long-term agreements. However, there is uncertainty surrounding the current entities managing these LLCs and whether they have any affiliations with ShopRite's parent company, Wakefern Food Corp.

Initially, Columbia Development, based in Albany, owned the buildings in Albany, Bethlehem, Colonie, and Niskayuna when ShopRite established its presence. Subsequently, Columbia Development has sold all these properties. Notably, the Bethlehem ShopRite building's LLCs have been enjoying tax breaks since the agreement's approval in 2011, with last year's tax break amounting to $44,188, as per the town IDA's annual report. It is interesting to observe that these tax breaks are scheduled to conclude next year, although the recent store closure does not impact their continuation, according to Bethlehem IDA Executive Director Catherine Hedgeman. The IDA is yet to receive information on whether a different business will occupy the vacated space.

In Colonie, Columbia Development projected that ShopRite would generate 335 jobs when applying for tax breaks. However, according to the state's WARN notice, only 99 individuals, along with five at the accompanying gas station, were employed when the closure announcement was made last month. Similarly, a decade ago, Bethlehem's location anticipated creating 300 jobs, but at the time of closure, only 114 individuals were employed.

 

John Boyd Thacher Park in 1900

It should be noted that the Berne 1900 quad seems like it is a revised version, as Thacher Park is listed on this map, even though it didn't become a park until 1914.

WMS Mapping

One thing I miss not having internet at home is not having access to web mapping services (WMS). These internet services are handy layers for mapping without downloading individual tiles for aerial photographs, hillshades or topographic maps. I particularly like WMS now that I found the Forest Service topographic WMS service and several state’s hillshades derived from 1m or 2m DEM.

They sure are handy to have access to.