Good morning! Happy Tuesday. Next Tuesday is Election Day 2018 🗳️. Yes it is. Mostly sunny and 39 degrees in North Syracuse. ⛅ There is a west breeze at 9 mph. 🍃. Yes, I see the sun and blue skies, for the first time in weeks. Maybe this is good omen.It’s been a long time since we last saw the sun. 😎  Sun is making some good power on the solar panel, although I wish I had the meter wired to see how much. But rain and clouds is then expected Wednesday through Saturday.🌧

Today will be mostly sunny 🌞 , with a high of 47 degrees at 2pm. Seven degrees below normal. West wind 9 to 11 mph. Kind of a cool but sunny day. That will be good for charging my batteries in the truck, because all these dark and rainy days, with the short trips doesn’t keep things as solidly charged as I would like. A year ago, we had cloudy skies, clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 70 degrees. The record high of 80 was set in 1946. 0.1 inches of snow fell back in 1925.❄

The sun will set at 5:58 pm with dusk around 6:27 pm, which is one minute and 21 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At sunset, look for mostly clear skies and 47 degrees. There will be a west-northwest breeze at 8 mph. Today will have 10 hours and 20 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 38 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have a slight chance of showers after 3am. Increasing clouds ☁, with a low of 39 degrees at 11pm. Four degrees above normal. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2017, we had mostly cloudy skies, clearing in the early hours of the next day. It got down to 40 degrees. The record low of 18 occurred back in 1988. Pretty much a standard late October evening. Tomorrow, if you didn’t notice is Halloween. Trick or Treat? 🍬🎃

There are 7 days, 11 hours and 20 minutes until the poll close on Election Day in New York. 🗳 It’s coming closer. One step at a time. It will be over before you know it, and I will be back on vacation. Looking forward to some nice time camping.🏕

As previously noted, next Tuesday is Election Day 2018 🗳️ when the sun will be setting at 4:49 pm with dusk at 5:19 pm (Standard Time). On that day in 2017, we had rain, mist, cloudy skies and temperatures between 63 and 42 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 52 degrees. We hit a record high of 73 back in 2015.

Good morning! Monday’s come back around again. Two weeks to Veterans Day Observed (Monday) 🇺🇸. Rain showers and 41 degrees in North Syracuse. ☔ There is a west breeze at 5 mph. 🍃. With the late sunrise, dark clouds, and dreary conditions, not a nice morning.

Still some UV light coming through the skies on to my solar panel on the truck creating some voltage, ⬛ but until I install the amp meter on my truck next week, it’s a little hard to know how much power as voltage is only one half of the equation, and but there is enough clearly to maintain the charge on the batteries at 13.1 volts.🔋 The rain takes an intermission tomorrow, with the skies clearing tomorrow around 7 am.

Today will have showers. High of 45 degrees at 1pm. 10 degrees below normal. West wind 5 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. A year ago, we had cloudy skies. The high last year was 65 degrees. The record high of 77 was set in 1946. 3.8 inches of snow fell back in 2011.❄ I remember that snow storm, we got closer to a foot at my parents house, it was when I had Big Red and he was brand new. Amazing to think a seven years has passed by since that time. After seven years, the rust is really starting to show up, but I hope to get another 3-5 years out of it, assuming the oil consumption and other minor annoyances don’t get worse.

The sun will set at 5:59 pm with dusk around 6:29 pm, which is one minute and 24 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and 43 degrees. There will be a west breeze at 13 mph. Today will have 10 hours and 23 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 40 seconds over yesterday. Days have really gotten short quickly. They always do this time of year. That said, I kind of like the long nights in the wilderness, especially next to a hot fire and the big buddy heater, having a nice dinner.

Tonight will rain showers likely before 4am, then a chance of rain and snow showers. Cloudy ☔ , with a low of 37 degrees at 4am. One degree above normal. West wind 6 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Little or no snow accumulation expected. In 2017, we had light rain and mist in the evening, remaining overcast into the early morning. It got down to 47 degrees. The record low of 20 occurred back in 1969. Chilly but not as cold as it will be getting in a month ago.

Next Thursday I plan to wire up the shunts and meters to monitoring the voltage and amperage on produced by the solar panel and battery on my truck. 🔋 I don’t expect this to be a big deal, it involves only relocating a handful of ground wires with the shunts, and providing power to the meter itself. For now, I think I may just mount the physical meters in the cab of the truck, although eventually I want to have them back in the cap where I can read them while camping. Probably use like a telephone wire to run power back there. I’ll have to look around to see if I have some telephone wire around, otherwise, I think my best bet may be a dollar store or maybe Wally World.🛍

The plan is on next Thursday, to get packed for the camping trip, check the oil and make other minor adjustments to the truck. 🚛 I will check for loose wires, make sure everything it working, and get all the junk out of my truck after 2 months out here in North Syracuse. Everything is well organized in the attic, so hopefully getting things set up shouldn’t be too hard, although being that it will be mid to late November when I return from my road trip, I should make sure to have plenty of warm stuff, the propane heater ready, etc. I will also want to go shopping, as I probably won’t get by a grocery store for the first few nights camping, although I may visit that new Aldi’s when I’m camping at Stoney Pond in Nelson.

There are 8 days, 12 hours and 52 minutes until the poll close on Election Day in New York. 🗳 It’s creeping closer each day. Tomorrow will be a week out from Election Day. I’ve done my civic duty or whatever you want to call it, filling out the scan-tron slip and mailing it back to Albany, to be counted assuming there is a very close election. 📬 I honestly don’t get all the hubbub about elections, because when it comes down it’s just a slip of paper with a bunch of bubbles filled out on it. I am not convinced that voting makes all that much of a difference in most people’s lives, but it’s a relatively low cost thing for most people — probably around $10-20 when you figure the cost of your time, gas to drive or bus fare to get to the polling place, or postage for the absentee ballot.💰

Probably the only place it really matters is the Town Board, with Maureen Cunningham running for a vacant seat. 🌲I think she will be a good town board person, and I think a Democratic board will be a good thing for the town — somewhat slowing the sprawl, and certainly making Delmar more pedestrian-friendly.🚴 Despite the complaints of rush hour commuters, making Delaware Avenue into a three-lane road with parking and bicycle lanes, will be great for the community, especially if they add more plantings and trees, to absorb some of the noise and pollution. We have to get beyond out dated thinking about urban planning. 🚃

As previously noted, there are 2 weeks until Veterans Day Observed (Monday) 🇺🇸 when the sun will be setting at 4:43 pm with dusk at 5:13 pm (Standard Time). On that day in 2017, we had mostly sunny skies and temperatures between 44 and 22 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 49 degrees. We hit a record high of 68 back in 1909.

Good evening! A rainy night around 38 degrees in North Syracuse. ☔ There is a north-northeast breeze at 7 mph. 🍃. 0.61 inches of rain is expected before it ends around 7 am. The commute back home wasn’t too bad, as the rain was modest plus my headlights are so much better aimed on the truck then they were before.

Tonight will rain likely before 2am, then showers likely after 2am. Cloudy ☔ , with a low of 37 degrees at 4am. Typical for tonight. North wind 5 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. In 2017, we had mostly cloudy skies, clearing in the early hours of the next day. It got down to 37 degrees. The record low of 18 occurred back in 1974. It looks like the rain will taper off later on tonight.

Tonight will have a Waning Gibbous Moon 🌖 with 86% illuminated. The moon will set at 11:27 am. The Last Quarter Moon is on Tuesday night with a chance of showers. The Beaver Moon 🌝 is on Thursday, November 22nd. The sun will rise at 7:34 am with the first light at 7:04 am, which is one minute and 16 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 Tonight will have 13 hours and 32 minutes of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 41 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will have a chance of rain showers before 7am, then a chance of rain and snow showers between 7am and 8am, then a chance of rain showers after 8am. Cloudy ☔ , with a high of 44 degrees at 4pm. 11 degrees below normal. West wind 5 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Little or no snow accumulation expected. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies. The high last year was 67 degrees. The record high of 78 was set in 1971. 2 inches of snow fell back in 1952.❄

I thought today was a good one. Busy and somewhat controlled chaos but that is expected. You can’t get to heaven without going through hell, or something like that is lyric to the country music song. One week left until the time change. ⏲ It will definitely be dark in the evening when that change occurs, but that’s necessary as the mornings are so dark at this point. Lots of time in the woods in the evening to cook though, which is nice, and I kind of like looking at the Christmas lights. With the solar panel doing a good job topping off the battery, I doubt the low voltage disconnect will kick in much even in the cold of November.

Single digits now until Election Day. 🗳 It was 50 days when it all got underway, with nearly 6 months of planning. But all I can say is I will be glad when it is over and I can focus on my road trip and camping without distraction. 🏕 Today there wasn’t a lot of sun to excite the solar panel, although most of the day the battery voltage was kept above 13 volts, so that was good. I have the meter I ordered from China, so it will be interesting to see how much amperage is flowing through the panel once I get the meter wired up. ♒️

In four weeks on November 24 the sun will be setting at 4:33 pm (Standard Time),🌄 which is one hour, 29 minutes and 6 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2017 on that day, we had mostly sunny skies and temperatures between 48 and 29 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 44 and 29 degrees. The record high of 70 degrees was set back in 2014.

Looking ahead, Regular Deer Season in Southern Zone 🦌 is in 3 weeks.

Good evening! Mostly cloudy and 39 degrees in North Syracuse. ☁ There is a east breeze at 6 mph. 🍃. Not a terribly cold late October evening but hardly a great one either. Going to be a downright bad weekend. The skies will clear Tuesday around 11 am.

Tonight will have a chance of rain, mainly after 2am. Cloudy ☔ , with a low of 35 degrees at 6am. Two degrees below normal. East wind 6 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. Going to be all rain here. In 2017, we had cloudy skies. It got down to 42 degrees. The record low of 21 occurred back in 1950.

Tonight will have a Waning Gibbous Moon 🌖 with 92% illuminated. The moon will set at 10:20 am. The Last Quarter Moon is on Tuesday night with a chance of showers. The Beaver Moon 🌝 is on Thursday, November 22nd. The sun will rise at 7:32 am with the first light at 7:03 am, which is one minute and 15 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 Mornings this time of year, especially with the clouds are so dark. I’m kind of glad that the time change is next week. Tonight will have 13 hours and 29 minutes of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 43 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will rain. ☔ High of 39 degrees at 4pm. 17 degrees below normal. Northeast wind around 11 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible. Definitely going to be a cold and wet day tomorrow. Glad I’m not camping. A year ago, we had light rain in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. The high last year was 60 degrees. The record high of 79 was set in 1963. 1.7 inches of snow fell back in 2016.❄ The past few years have been all over the map.

Looking ahead to Sunday, snow likely before 7am, then rain showers likely. 💧❄ Cloudy, with a high near 45. West wind 3 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. Typical average high for the weekend is 56 degrees.

In four weeks on November 23 the sun will be setting at 4:34 pm (Standard Time),🌄 which is one hour, 29 minutes and 57 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2017 on that day, we had mostly cloudy skies and temperatures between 37 and 27 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 45 and 30 degrees. The record high of 72 degrees was set back in 1931.

Today wasn’t a bad day but a busy one. This evening in the office after hours while I was preparing for tomorrow I was watching some videos on muskrat trapping and prepping the furs. 🐀 I really should get some more trapping gear. It’s a great way to pass time in the woods and make a few bucks on the side too. Regulated trapping is a great way to help protect our natural resources. It’s key to understanding local history too.

I made my final purchase from Ali Express for a while or so I tell myself – an very inexpensive $1.50 Bluetooth dongle 🎧 – the idea being that the built in Bluetooth on my laptop doesn’t work very well and I would like to be able to lay in bed watching movies on my screen🎥 across the room without bothering my neighbors with the audio being potentially too loud. I also want to build some electronics projects controlled by Bluetooth from my laptop and the built-in Bluetooth just doesn’t work reliably.

I’m also starting to look at getting a good quality electric drill that I can use for various projects. 🔩 Although honestly maybe a handheld non electric drill might be better for making those LED signs through the board because it’s quieter and less likely to disturb my neighbors.

Two weeks from now if the weather is good I’ll be out on my first night of my camping trip. ⛺ It should be great assuming it’s not too wet, cold or dreary. I guess I don’t mind some cloudy days but I would much rather have blue skies when more wildlife is out, the solar panel charges, and my mood is better.:D My goal is to relax on this trip, get to know the land and spend less time rushing from point a to point b.

Looking ahead, Buy Nothing Day 🛍️ is in 4 weeks, Cyber Monday 🛍️ is a month away and Boxing Day 🥊 is in 2 months.

Good afternoon! What day is it? Hump Day, of course. Next Wednesday is Halloween 🎃👻. Cloudy, damp with maybe a few drops of light drizzle and 46 degrees in North Syracuse. ☁ There is a northwest breeze at 8 mph. 🍃. It looks like we won’t have to worry about any ice for a while, as temperatures are not expected to drop below freezing until Friday around 4 am. ☃️

Not a real nice day, but so it seems like we’ve had a lot of unsettled gray, cool days lately. ☁ Just damp and not real nice. i guess that’s not real uncommon in late October, although I would hope for at least a few nice days. 🌥 Maybe later in the week? Then light snow this weekend? 🌨 Fortunately though, the snow seems to be trending further east that this point. I hope we have better weather come November for camping. The 8-14 day outlook issued yesterday, points to warmer but wetter weather. Probably not going to be dealing with snow, but some sun would be nice.

This afternoon will have a chance of showers. Cloudy and damp, with us now reaching the high of 48 degrees. ☁Nine degrees below normal. Northwest wind 8 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had cloudy skies with some clearing in the afternoon. It was sticky. The high last year was 75 degrees. The record high of 75 was set in 2017. There was a dusting of snow in 1962.❄

The sun will set at 6:06 pm with dusk around 6:36 pm, which is one minute and 30 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and 45 degrees. There will be a west-northwest breeze at 10 mph. Today will have 10 hours and 36 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 44 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have a chance of rain showers before 1am, then a chance of rain and snow showers. Cloudy ☔ , with a low of 33 degrees at 6am. Four degrees below normal. Northwest wind around 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Little or no snow accumulation expected. In 2017, we had mostly cloudy skies. It was somewhat humid. It got down to 53 degrees. The record low of 19 occurred back in 1981.

Today in 1977, pursuant to National Holiday Law, Veterans Day is observed on the fourth Monday in October for the seventh and last time. 🇺🇸 The holiday is once again observed on Armistice Day, November 11 beginning the following year. The change was prompted by World War I Veterans and anti-war groups who thought it was more meaningful to celebrate the holiday during the commemoration of Armistice Day, which was supposed to represent the end of all war.

There are 13 days, 8 hours and 57 minutes until the poll close on Election Day in New York. 🗳 Today my feeling is I’m just tired. I kind of miss home, and most of all the miss the wilderness. It will be nice to get back into the Albany routine, catching the bus to work every day, enjoying the relaxing bus ride in while I work on my daily blog post. 🚌 I really hate driving to work, and dealing with the traffic, especially now that the temperature has cooled down and my cruise control doesn’t work until the engine is warmed up (this has been an issue in recent years). I also miss my regular office and the nice view from my office at work. ⛰

So it won’t be that long until my big November trip. I am really looking forward to it. 😃 I just hope it’s not as bitterly cold as it’s been the past few days in Syracuse with the gray skies. That said between the driving around and the UV light that’s getting through the clouds, the accessory battery in the truck remains really healthy, 🔋almost always most of the day at a maintenance voltage of 13.1 volts or higher. Many days it has been at float by mid-morning. This is good because, last cycle traveling for work, I kind of trashed the battery, although I also didn’t have the low-voltage disconnect hooked up back then to protect the battery.

Still thinking about heading up to check out the Chimney Bluffs State Park in November, 🌊although not until to my vacation. I just don’t think I will be a good nice day to do it before then. On vacation, I would do it the same day as I visit Montezuma, 🐦 so it would be a pretty busy day, as I have to be to the Finger Lakes National Forest probably by 4 PM to start getting set up before dusk concludes, as I don’t want to drive after dark. I would probably get up before dawn camping at Stony Pond State Forest, to make sure I have the time to do both. Montezuma is basically just 30 miles south of Chimney Bluffs. It’ will be fun to see more of rural Wayne county. 🚜 Each night for camping, I am planning to spend at least two nights, so there is less taking down and setting up, especially with the solar panel to help keep things charged up, especially if I have a reasonable amount of sun. This will give me more time to explore the land, get to know it better and feel less rushed between sunrise and sunset.

I ordered a few more electronic project components from AliExpress. I got some 5mm (large) Ultra Violet and Warm White LEDs, and a $8 basic Bluetooth to FM transmitter to use in the truck. 📡While my truck has bluetooth for the phone,🔷 it does not have it for the radio, and I would like to be able to listen to podcasts and maybe music through my phone on the radio. Sure I could use a headphone wire, but that’s a pain to hook up every time and having buttons to control my phone without touching it is a good thing. I normally use my USB stick drive for playing music in the truck, but it’s not up-to-date or has all the podcasts I like to listen on long trips, especially boring ones on the expressway.

The LEDs are going to be used for various projects. This winter I want to build some signs with LEDs. 💡Last year, I tried doing it with foam board without much luck — the results just sucked. I am going to invest in a quality corded drill and use drilled press board to make the signs and fixatures. It would be fund to have an animated sign for camp and other projects. The UV LEDs would be fun to use for various projects — UV-A light on anything florescent glows brightly and shows things you might not otherwise see glowing under normal light. It’s 390-400 NM LEDs so they aren’t real harmful to skin or eyes, although you wouldn’t want to stare into them or hold your hands under them for many hours at end.

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