The other day I was out walking on a chilly early autumn afternoon outside of Manlius Center and I smelled wood smoke – that wonderful smell of cooler times to come in small-town America.
While wood is mostly just a supplemental source of heat in these more suburban areas it is a necessity for many farms and rural homes that rely on it as a primary source of heat. And it’s a wonderful thing.
It makes me dream about the days to come – not just when I make it to my long term goal of owning an off grid cabin – but also the more short term goal of my road trip and camping in mid November once this election cycle has come to an end as they always do.
Nice long November nights curled up by the fire are always nice, especially if the stars are out and I can also warm myself by the propane heater. Nice evenings to cook and relax. Something so relaxing about having a nice fire.
Indeed there is something nice about the warmth of a woodstove. Beyond November I may be cold in my apartment but the money saved today is money saved for a better tomorrow. I look forward to the days to come.
Geographic Information Services (GIS) – Maps – Cartography
I am an amateur cartographer who designs maps and does a wide variety geospatial analysis using free and open-source geographic information software (GIS) and public sources of data to design quality maps, graphs, charts and datasets. I am looking for new and interesting projects to improve my skills, make connections and expand my portfolio.
Are you looking for my personal blog with it’s hiking, camping and outdoor recreation maps, along with a variety of charts, photos, and stories? Please visit andyarthur.org.
Mapping Avaliable
Tax/Property Mapping
High Resolution Aerial Photography
Recreational Maps – Hunting, Camping, Hiking
Georeference addresses using State Address Mapping service, plot them on a map
Wetlands, Topographic Contours, Land Cover
Compare historical aerial photos or maps to current photography
Web mapping using leaflet (HTML/Javascript file to embed on a website or use at home)
For most projects, there is no fee. I am looking for experience, references, mentors and connections in the geospatial community.
If you have a large project, let’s talk about it. I might be willing to do it for free, if it’s something really interesting or important like fighting suburban sprawl and pollution. I don’t a business or taxes set up, so I can’t really charge at this point.
How to get started?
Please send me an email describing the mapping or data project in as much detail as possible.
US Census – 2019 American Community Survey, 2020 US Census
NYS Tax and Assessment Rolls (2020)
NYSDOT Traffic Counts and Road Data
Historical Aerial Photography (primarily 1952, but earlier and later exist)
ArcGIS REST/Services and WMS Services from state and local agencies
LiDAR Elevation Profiles
USGS Topographic Maps, historic and modern – with overlays if requested
Data Repositories like CUGIR, DataNY.gov and NYSGIS
Recreation data from NYSDEC
Software Used
Quantum GIS (QGIS) including 3D Mapping
Geodata Abstraction Library (GDAL, ogr2ogr)
Python, including the data-science libraries PANDAS and GeoPANDAS
LeafletJS Web Mapping Services
Geographies Avaliable
Primary Capital Region and also much of New York State, also some for Pennsylvania, Vermont, West Virginia
State, county, municipal, school districts – Most data sets
Parks, highways, buffer (distance to) – Most data sets
Election districts – Roughly 75% of NYS counties
Census Tract or Blockgroup – 2019 American Community Survey
Tabulation Block – 2020 US Census
Are printed maps avaliable at this time?
Not currently. I can send you a file based on your specifications to print at your local print shop.
How long do mapping projects take?
Depends on complexity of the project. Many projects only take minutes, however if a project requires georeferencing, data cleaning, or custom shapes or layouts, it might take significantly longer. More revisions lead to better quality output.
Do you make maps professionally?
No! This is just a hobby. But I’m interested in expanding my skills. I do a lot of mapping for my blog and in support of community organizations like Save the Pine Bush.
Are my maps of good quality?
Thats for you to decide. I don’t have formal education in map making, and I don’t have professional tools. But do take a look at the work I’ve done below.
Examples of Maps
This shows a 3D rendering of the Buckville Canal north of Hamilton
This map shows the use of 2020 PL 94-171 data to calculate population density in City of Albany.
This 1985 aerial photo shows Crossgates Mall prior to it’s expansion.
This GIF image shows the change in unemployment during Coronavirus panademic.
This image shows hiking trails near Brooktrout, Falls Pond and Deep Lake.
Peebles Island, a Comparison 1952
3D Interactive of campsites at Moose River Plains.
import pandas as pd
import geopandas as gpd
# path to overlay shapefile
overlayshp = r'/tmp/dis_to_albany.gpkg'
# summary level -- 750 is tabulation block, 150 is blockgroup
# large areas over about 50 miles much faster to use bg
summaryLevel = 150
#summaryLevel = 750
# path to block or blockgroup file
if summaryLevel == 150:
blockshp = r'/home/andy/Documents/GIS.Data/census.tiger/36_New_York/tl_2020_36_bg20.shp.gpkg'
else:
blockshp = r'/home/andy/Documents/GIS.Data/census.tiger/36_New_York/tl_2020_36_tabblock20.shp.gpkg'
# path to PL 94-171 redistricting geoheader file
pl94171File = '/home/andy/Desktop/nygeo2020.pl'
# field to categorize on (such as Ward -- required!)
catField = 'Name'
# geo header contains 2020 census population in column 90
# per PL 94-171 documentation, low memory chunking disabled
# as it causes issues with the geoid column being mixed types
df=pd.read_csv(pl94171File,delimiter='|',header=None, low_memory=False )
# column 2 is summary level
population=df[(df.iloc[:,2] == summaryLevel)][[9,90]]
# load overlay
overlay = gpd.read_file(overlayshp).to_crs(epsg='3857')
# shapefile of nys 2020 blocks, IMPORTANT (!) mask by output file for speed
blocks = gpd.read_file(blockshp,mask=overlay).to_crs(epsg='3857')
# geoid for linking to shapefile is column 9
joinedBlocks=blocks.set_index('GEOID20').join(population.set_index(9))
# store the size of unbroken blocks
# in case overlay lines break blocks into two
joinedBlocks['area']=joinedBlocks.area
# run union
unionBlocks=gpd.overlay(overlay, joinedBlocks, how='union')
# drop blocks outside of overlay
unionBlocks=unionBlocks.dropna(subset=[catField])
# create population projection when a block crosses
# an overlay line -- avoid double counting -- this isn't perfect
# as we loose a 0.15 percent due to floating point errors
unionBlocks['sublock']=unionBlocks[90]*(unionBlocks.area/unionBlocks['area'])
# sum blocks in category
unionBlocks=pd.DataFrame(unionBlocks.groupby(catField).sum()['sublock'])
# rename columns
unionBlocks=unionBlocks.rename({'sublock': '2020 Census Population'},axis=1)
# calculate cumulative sum as you go out each ring
unionBlocks['millions']=unionBlocks.cumsum(axis=0)['2020 Census Population']/1000000
# each ring is 50 miles
unionBlocks['miles']=unionBlocks.index*50
# output
unionBlocks
Land use in town of Berne (from 2016 National Land Cover Dataset)
Most highly assessed properties in Albany County …
I’m a big of farmers who are essentially Living Off the Earth and think Rednecks are Noble Savages. Dairy Farming are key to our rural landscape. I’d trust a farmer or a hunter in a pile of guts he’s butchered over any ivory-tower scientist.
Good morning! What day is it? A soon to be very wet Hump Day, of course. ๐ช โ ๐ฅ But maybe only briefly, looks like a fast moving front out front of snow out west, which will hit warm air and be rain here. I’m sure that dairy camel in Vermont won’t be happy. Five weeks to Flower Moon ๐ . Put a flower in your hair. ๐ผ Those days of daisies can’t be that far away. Rain and 39 degrees in Delmar, NY. โ There is a north breeze at 5 mph. ๐. Temperatures will drop below freezing at tomorrow around 1 am. โ๏ธ
Out for the morning walk with a rain coat on, โ because while it looks like the rain has passed everything is wet for now. But I think is more is coming, and while it might be dun for now, it will return. ๐ง But it at least will be done for the weekend, at least Saturday. ๐ฒ Listening to Puff the Magic Dragon, a song that might have been more appropriate for 420. That said, despite being perfectly legal, I didn’t smell much cannabis smoke yesterday. ๐พ I always thought restrictions on marijuana were awful silly and racist, mostly used to go after the colored and poor. A good agricultural crop, even though I’m too cheap to smoke. ๐ฌ
“A dragon lives forever, but not so little boys Painted wings and giant’s rings make way for other toys One gray night it happened, Jackie Paper came no more And Puff, that mighty dragon, he ceased his fearless roar”
“His head was bent in sorrow, green scales fell like rain Puff no longer went to play along the cherry lane Without his lifelong friend, Puff could not be brave So Puff, that mighty dragon, sadly slipped into his cave”
A bit chilly for the morning walk ๐ถ๐ป in my t-shirt ๐ and vest and the air is damp with a taste of cattle and manure on it. ๐ฎ. I’ve spent enough time in the Finger Lakes National Forest to know that taste well. That said when the sun โ peaks out its pretty nice. Going to miss my morning walks ๐ถ๐ป when I go back to working downtown. ๐ But on nice days when I don’t have to dress up for clients ๐จ๐ปโ๐ซ I’ll walk down to the express bus stop ๐, assuming they restore that service at some point. Then I can do my walks on the Emperor’s Plaza or in the Concourse. ๐ข
This morning will rain, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 2pm. Some of the storms could produce gusty winds. ๐ฆ High of 51 degrees at 1pm. 10 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 31st. Maximum dew point of 44 at 12pm. ๐๏ธ Okay, maybe not beach weather. But don’t worry, the muggers are waiting with their dew points in the seventies. North wind 5 to 11 mph becoming south in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A year ago, we had light rain in the morning, which became mostly sunny by afternoon. The high last year was 52 degrees. The record high of 89 was set in 1923. 0.6 inches of snow fell back in 1947.โ
Solar noon ๐ is at 12:55 pm with sun having an altitude of 59.4ยฐ from the due south horizon (-11.5ยฐ vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 3.6 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐ starts at 7:06 pm with the sun in the west (281ยฐ). ๐ธ The sunset is in the west-northwest (287ยฐ) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:44 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 2 seconds with dusk around 8:14 pm, which is one minute and 8 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Gibbous ๐ Moon in the south-southeast (160ยฐ) at an altitude of 64ยฐ from the horizon, 236,948 miles away. ๐ The best time to look at the stars is after 8:50 pm. At sunset, look for rain ๐ง and temperatures around 39 degrees. There will be a west-northwest breeze at 14 mph. Today will have 13 hours and 40 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 41 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will rain showers likely before 10pm, then a chance of rain and snow showers between 10pm and 1am, then a chance of snow showers after 1am. Mostly cloudy ๐ง, with a low of 31 degrees at 3am. Nine degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 31st. Northwest wind around 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. In 2020, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became light snow by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 30 degrees. The record low of 20 occurred back in 1947.
Weekend forecast remains true, great weather Saturday, showers Sunday. Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 66. Maximum dew point of 40 at 8pm. ๐ Sunday, showers likely, mainly before 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 57. Chance of precipitation is 60%. โ Typical average high for the weekend is 62 degrees. I am thinking I will get packed on Thursday and Friday, and do my laundry then before heading up north for the weekend, probably Friday or maybe Saturday. Not totally sure.
Like so many Americans I wonder when life returns back to normal. ๐ข I watch the building traffic on the road in front of my apartment, keep checking the Twitter and bus schedule. ๐ I have a meeting this afternoon and I wonder if I’ll get the news ๐ฐ about when the building downtown reopens. I’m a bit anxious. Tomorrow I renew my cell phone plan ๐ฑ and I suspect this will be the last month I’ll need the data plan but I’m fine with that as I like the walk down to the library. ๐ I’m sure it won’t be long before that’s fully re-opened. Kind of wanted to do a remote work trip to the Finger Lakes but I’m not sure if that’s going to happen before I return downtown.
As previously noted, there are 2 weeks until Cinco de Mayo ๐ค when the sun will be setting at 8:00 pm with dusk at 8:31 pm. With the COVID mostly in the rear view mirror, it might be more typical Cinco de Mayo, although I’m not sure if all the watering holes will be open if they exist anymore. On that day in 2020, we had sunny and temperatures between 59 and 38 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 66 degrees. We hit a record high of 91 back in 1944.
Good morning! Happy Tuesday. ๐ท Back to work after the long Martin Luther King Day Weekend. At least it’s not a big deal working from home — work is just around the corner from my bedroom. Two weeks to Ground Hog Day ๐ป . Cloudy and 28 degrees on my morning walk past the Bethlehem Central High School. โ There is a southwest breeze at 5 mph. ๐. I decided it was decent enough that I would just wear my vest out walking. There are 1/2 inch or so of icy snow on the ground. โ ๏ธThings will start to thaw out at around 11 am. ๐ก๏ธ A few breaks of sun but not a lot.
Sunday wasn’t too bad, had dinner out at the folks house. ๐ Mom made baked ziti, it was pretty good. I didn’t end up going out hiking yesterday because my toe is a bit sore and the weather was rather crappy, but I did end up going out for both my evening walk last night and I’m walking today. ๐ถ Today I think I am going to bundle up and go down to the library to work, as I’m hoping to finish getting my cleaned up install of Windows 10 working ๐ป and also watch the Governor’s budget address. I was hoping for more sun ๐ค at least later in the week, but at least today will be relatively mild. I guess tomorrow might be a bit more sunny for a while but it looks like it will be getting cold later in the day. ๐ฎ Going to need to get milk later today so I have it for the coffee tomorrow.
Today will have a slight chance of snow showers between noon and 3pm. Most cloudy ๐ฆ, with a high of 37 degrees at 2pm. Seven degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 23rd. West wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had light snow in the morning, which became mostly sunny by afternoon. The high last year was 38 degrees. The record high of 62 was set in 1929. 8.5 inches of snow fell back in 1886.โ
Tonight will have a First Quarter ๐ Moon with 38% illuminated. The moon will set in the west (277ยฐ) at 11:47 pm. The moon will rise at 11:00 am. The Wolf ๐บ Moon is on Friday, January 29. My birthday. The darkest hour is at 12:07 am, followed by dawn at 6:50 am, and sun starting to rise at 7:21 am in the east-southeast (117ยฐ) and last for 3 minutes and 16 seconds. Sunrise is 37 seconds earlier than yesterday. ๐ The golden hour ends at 8:04 am with sun in the southeast (125ยฐ).Tonight will have 14 hours and 26 minutes of darkness, a decrease of one minute and 53 seconds over last night.
Tonight will have a slight chance of snow showers between 11pm and 3am. Mostly cloudy ๐ง, with a low of 23 degrees at 6am. Nine degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 8th. Southwest wind 3 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2020, we had light snow in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 9 degrees. The record low of -22 occurred back in 1970.
In four weeks on February 16 the sun will be setting in the west-southwest (254ยฐ) at 5:28 pm,๐ which is 36 minutes and 22 seconds later then today. In 2020 on that day, we had cloudy, snow showers and temperatures between 38 and 25 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 35 and 17 degrees. The record high of 61 degrees was set back in 2006.
Looking ahead, Ground Hog Day ๐ป is Next Tuesday, Read Across America Day ๐ is in 6 weeks, Last Day of Winter ๐ is in 2 months, Pink Moon ๐ is in 14 weeks, Arbor Day ๐ณ is in 14 weeks, 8 PM Sunset ๐ is in 15 weeks, 8:30 PM Dusk ๐ is in 15 weeks, June ๐น is in 19 weeks, 9 PM Dusk ๐ is in 19 weeks, 8:30 PM Sunset ๐ is in 20 weeks, Primary Day ๐ณ๏ธ is in 21 weeks, Average High is 80 ๐ is in 22 weeks, Hottest Time of the Year ๐ is in 25 weeks, Ugly Truck Day ๐ is in 26 weeks, Campfire Day ๐ฅ is in 28 weeks, Average High Falls To 79 ๏ธDegrees โฑ๏ธ๏ธ๏ธ is in 31 weeks, Average High 70 ๐ is in 35 weeks, Columbus Day ๐ฅ๏ธ is in 38 weeks, Election Day ๐ณ๏ธ is in 42 weeks, Beaver Moon ๐ is in 10 months, Cold Moon ๐ is in 11 months, First Day of Winter โ๏ธ is in 48 weeks and 4:30 PM Sunset ๐ is in 49 weeks.
Good morning! Merry but very wet Christmas ๐ ! It could have been a blizzard like a few years back, but instead too warm. Actually it looks like Next Friday, New Years Day 2021 ๐, will be far more wintery. Heavy rain and 62 degrees in Delmar, NY. โ There is a south breeze at 15 mph. ๐ with gusts up to 31 mph ๐จ๐จ๐จ. The dew point is 57 degrees. With temperatures in the 60s, there is abut 5 inches of snow on the ground and I just saw a jogger in shorts and spandex run down Elm Avenue. โ It’s Delmar, yuppies like their physical fitness. ๏ธBut it will get colder as the day progresses, although not until late. Temperatures will drop below freezing at around 10 pm. โ๏ธ
Yesterday had a nice Christmas dinner with the folks. ๐ฆ Turkey and all the fixings. We decided on Christmas Eve this year, as I wasn’t sure if I was going to be out of town this year for Christmas Day for camping. Today I’ll probably stay home, work on some projects I have around, do some writing and reading, ๐ and maybe watch some of the videos I downloaded yesterday and the day before. ๐ ๐I don’t have any big Christmas plans, as I think it will be much to wet to head up north today.
A White Christmas? โ That point is debatable. We have snow but it’s disappearing fast. It actually looks kind of muddy and mucky, and I’m sure it’s even worse in farm country with the dirt roads. Christmas Day will rain before noon, then showers likely, mainly between noon and 2pm. The rain could be heavy at times. Areas of fog before noon. Temperature falling to around 47 by 5pm. Breezy, with a south wind 20 to 25 mph becoming light in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 41 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 39 degrees. The record high of 66 was set in 1889. 19.2 inches of snow fell back in 2002.โ
Solar noon ๐ is at 11:56 am with sun having an altitude of 24ยฐ from the due south horizon (-46.8ยฐ vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 13.5 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐ starts at 3:42 pm with the sun in the southwest (230ยฐ). ๐ธ The sunset is in the west-southwest (238ยฐ) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:28 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 25 seconds with dusk around 4:59 pm, which is 38 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Gibbous ๐ Moon in the east-southeast (105ยฐ) at an altitude of 36ยฐ from the horizon, 252,054 miles away. ๐ The best time to look at the stars is after 5:36 pm. At sunset, look for rain ๐ง and temperatures around 50 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 9 hours and 3 minutes of daytime, an increase of 16 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will be scattered rain and snow showers before 9pm, then scattered snow showers between 9pm and 2am. Mostly cloudy ๐ง, with a low of 24 degrees at 6am. Six degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around December 9th. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 27 degrees. The record low of -17 occurred back in 1914.
Tomorrow will be partly sunny ๐, with a high of 31 degrees at 1pm. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical Southwest wind 8 to 11 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 41 degrees. The record high of 59 was set in 1895. 13.9 inches of snow fell back in 1969.โ
Originally my plan was to head up to the Adirondacks this weekend, ๐ and do some winter camping but now it looks like today will be very wet, and then tomorrow will be cloudy up north and pretty cold.โ Honestly, I find a cloudy day to be more depressing and cold then a cold but clear day. I have the propane and fuel in my truck and enough supplies, ๐ and it looks like it will be snow-free but the weather down here looks much nicer then up north. I guess Brookfield is another alternative but there is probably still snow and ice on Cherry Ridge and even the lower Assembly area is still probably muddy and smelly after all the rain, even if the sites are hardened for horses and trailers in the summer. I do like Madison County and agricultural landscape, but also the Adirondack wilderness is nice too. Now the next weekend forecast looks nicer, but I’m sure that certainly subject to change too.
Looking ahead to Sunday, mostly sunny, ๐ with a high near 34. West wind around 6 mph becoming light and variable in the afternoon. Typical average high for the weekend is 33 degrees. Not a half bad day, but I expect in the
So maybe I need to figure out alternative plans for the weekend. ๐ถIt seems like things will be quite snow free in most locations, and it will be cold enough that the ground is relatively frozen for walking on, although I certainly wouldn’t want to drive anywhere the ground is not well hardened by asphalt or gravel. But it could be good for hiking. That said, I think there may still be snow in some higher elevation locations.
I have the hotspot service hooked up to my laptop and it working fine, ๐ฒ although I will have to keep an eye on the bandwidth it will use and avoid streaming on my laptop, as I have a 20 GB monthly cap but it should get me through the winter okay for basic work tasks without having to go down to the library parking lot in frigid weather to do work. I have data use monitoring tools on my computer, and I might use wondershaper to limit bandwidth further. It certainly is a lot cheaper then getting Verizon or Spectrum cable service and a lot more flexible as I can travel. It’s pretty fast, and it’s month to month, so come the summer months and the end of the pandemic, I can drop the service and go back to my normal level of cell service, saving like $17 or so bucks a month. Truth be told, I use my phone for most work things these days, so the laptop really is just going to be for things that I can’t do from my phone — a handful of websites or some research may be easier on the laptop.
And while I get that Americans love an all you can eat buffet, ๐ truth be told I like having to conserve and working in a somewhat constrained environment. It makes you think about what your using, and not be so wasteful. I like paying for things in advance, and watching as they get used up and things creep down towards an empty tank. It just is a much more thoughtful of a form of consumption, then the standard of consume now without worries, pay later. ๐คย That honestly may be the reason I am most interested in owning an off-grid property when I own my own land — it’s much more fun to watch the battery bank drain down or propane tanks get used or wood pile to get burnt up, then just use whatever this month and then have to end up mailing a check to the utility company.
As previously noted, next Friday is New Years Day 2021 ๐ when the sun will be setting at 4:32 pm with dusk at 5:04 pm. On that day in 2020, we had cloudy, mild, snow showers and temperatures between 40 and 34 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 31 degrees. We hit a record high of 57 back in 1966.
Good morning! Happy Sunday. โช Third Sunday of advent, last day of autumn 2020. Winter 2021 starts tomorrow. That said it’s going to warm up a lot this week with possibly heavy rain on Christmas Eve. ๐ โ Two weeks to Latest Sunrise of the Winter ๐๏ธ. Mostly cloudy and 21 degrees in Delmar, NY. โ There is a south breeze at 6 mph. ๐. The current wind chill is 10. There are 21 inches of snow on the ground. โ ๏ธThings will start to thaw out at tomorrow around 10 am. ๐ก๏ธ
Yesterday was nice cross country skiing ๐ฟ at Schodack Island. That said I really enjoyed the Christmas ๐คถ๐ป Spice Cookies ๐ช they have at Aldi’s. Cheap too and so good. I really need to get over to Rennselear more often. Well with winter I probably will ski more at Schodack Island as there isn’t the hills there to fall on as my skiis are fairly aggressive, designed for groomed trails. I saw a fair number of bright red robins and Blue Jays out there and lots of eastern sparrows. ๐ฆ Kind of a pretty sunset ๐ and I ran into one of Albany’s most chatty insiders there ๐ฃ๏ธ and we chatted for a while until right before the park was locked ๐ for the evening. Fun though, and I got to learn all the gossips about Albany.
I tell you when I own my own land, ๐ I hope to live near enough a town that has an Aldi’s – they’re cheap, fun and so convenient. While they don’t have the selection of a Wally World or the bulk goods, ๐ฑ I like their product selection. True, sometimes the lower their prices by smaller packages ๐ฆ but as they say, the burn barrel gotta eat too. ๐ฅ Plus a good library to download podcasts, ๐ง and a laundromat. ๐ I wouldn’t mind living out in the sticks ๐ฎ in a town that smells like silage and manure some of the year but it’s nice to have access to the basics. Good gun shop ๐ซ too.
You can forget what an agricultural county Rennselear is but while I was shopping ๐ at Aldi, I spotted a Toyota Tundra with a big metal flask in the backseat. It caught my eye ๐โ๐จ and it turned out to be a bucket milker. ๐ฎ Dairy farmer, maybe a small scale operation or maybe they’re using it to milk a cow that is on the withdrawal period from antibiotics or for feeding calves. Big unit though, must be heavy when it’s full of milk but then again Holstein do produce a lot of milk ๐ฅ. Upstate NY may have fewer farms but there are still a lot of people who homestead and live off the land – and Aldi’s is such an affordable option.
At any rate, yesterday was nice โ and pretty sunny although a bit cold but nice when I was moving. Getting off the trails though was a bit of slog with the skiis though. ๐ฟ I thought about going up to Partridge Run but it’s still black powder season ๐ฆ and I’d be drowned out probably by the noise of snow machines.
Today will snow showers likely, mainly after 3pm. Cloudy ๐ฆ, with a high of 32 degrees at 5pm. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around December 27th. South wind 6 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 21 degrees. The record high of 61 was set in 1957. 8.4 inches of snow fell back in 1975.โ
Not a super nice day out today ๐จ๏ธ just very gray. I told mom and dad I’d be out for Sunday dinner assuming that it doesn’t snow too much. ๐ฒ It will be nice to see them. I’m really not out and about in the community lately and we’ll stay socially distant. I do go to the supermarket ๐ from time but I wear a mask ๐ท and any COVID positive person I might be near its very passing at that.
Dash cam hasn’t been working right for some time now. ๐น It looked like it was crashing. I am going to try reformatting the memory cards ๐ด and installing the latest firmware update and clean the lens off. I really like capturing some scenes from my trips on the dash cam but it hasn’t been working reliaby all autumn. It is about four years old and though is exposed to all the heat and cold in the windshield so maybe a capictor or the alike is failing.
Solar noon ๐ is at 11:54 am with sun having an altitude of 24ยฐ from the due south horizon (-46.9ยฐ vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 13.5 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour ๐ starts at 3:40 pm with the sun in the southwest (230ยฐ). ๐ธ The sunset is in the west-southwest (238ยฐ) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:25 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 25 seconds with dusk around 4:56 pm, which is 27 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ At dusk you’ll see the First Quarter ๐ Moon in the south (174ยฐ) at an altitude of 37ยฐ from the horizon, 246,764 miles away. ๐ The best time to look at the stars is after 5:33 pm. At sunset, look for snow ๐จ and temperatures around 31 degrees. There will be a south-southeast breeze at 9 mph. Today will have 9 hours and 2 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 6 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will have a slight chance of snow showers before 9pm. Mostly cloudy ๐ง, with a low of 26 degrees at 4am. Seven degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around December 4th. Maximum wind chill around 24 at 4am; South wind 3 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2019, we had light rain. It got down to 8 degrees. The record low of -18 occurred back in 1942.
They still haven’t done the sidewalks near where I live โ which is super obnoxious. I thought about a day time walk ๐ถ๐ป – it’s plowed on the Bypass sidewalks but not Elm at this point. I guess it’s just a lot of snow, there has been budget cuts and probably workers are quarrentined with COVID. ๐พ I don’t know, it’s frustrating ๐ค as I sure miss my morning and evening walks, especially as I work from home these days.
Today a train moved very fast in America — that is relatively speaking. ๐ In 1967, a Pennsylvania Railroad Budd Metroliner exceeds 155 mph on their New York Division, now Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor. But they would never operate that fast and frequently broke down and would be scrapped by the late 1980s or used as coaches towed by diesel locomotives. But the truth is that Penn Central was in bad shape by the 1960s, and while the Northeast Corridor was still profitable to the system, the entire railroad suffered from Penn Central decades of neglect.
Tuesday I am thinking I’ll work down at the library parking lot ๐ ฟ for probably the balance of the day. It’s going to be in the upper 30s and sunny โ so it should be warm enough. I have a Zoom meeting then and I have plenty of cellular bandwidth I still prefer to use the library wifi ๐ as then I can do the Zoom from my laptop do other things while the meeting drags on. Plus I want to do some things with WMS map services and I don’t want to use too much of my limited Hotspot data on my phone. ๐ฑ
It looks like Christmas Eve ๐ ๐ป is going to be warm and rainy, โ so I’m hoping that I can go up to the Adirondacks for a long weekend of winter camping ๐ with the hot tent starting Christmas Day. Its been a while since I’ve slept outside and that really does wonders for my sleep.
As previously noted, there are 2 weeks until Latest Sunrise of the Winter ๐๏ธ when the sun will be setting at 4:34 pm with dusk at 5:06 pm. On that day in 2020, we had mostly cloudy, mild, rain showers and temperatures between 47 and 39 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 31 degrees. We hit a record high of 61 back in 1913.