Good evening! Partly clear and 33 degrees in Delmar, NY. Calm wind. Nice night but I ended up staying home and working on a project with my soldering iron. 🔬 I’m having a hard time getting good solder joints on the perf board, I think I might need to use some more flux. I haven’t done many electronics projects in a while and my soldering skills are rusty. I did step outside for a bit on the stars and moon were quite pretty.

I want to rebuild my GPS logger I built two years ago and get that mounted in the truck before summer camping season. The earlier version worked okay until I fried the internal voltage regulator in the Arduino powering it. This time I’ll use an external linear regulator. But first I got to practice and get my soldering skills back up. I should have some more time before winter is over I’m hoping to do more electronics projects. ⚡

Tonight will have increasing clouds ☁, with a low of 31 degrees at 11pm. 16 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 29th. Calm wind. In 2019, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 39 degrees. The record low of -13 occurred back in 1978.

Tonight will have a Waxing Gibbous 🌔 Moon with 70% illuminated. At 9 PM, the moon was in the southwest (227°) at an altitude of 60° from the horizon, some 242,969 miles away from where you are looking up from the earth. 🚀 It is pretty high up in the sky tonight. At the state speed limit of 55 mph, you’ll make it there by August 6^th. Being so close to earth 🌎 tonight, you’ll have some time. Buckle up for safety! 💺 Even if your not planning on leaving for the moon tonight, do go out and take a look before it clouds ☁ up again. The Snow ❄ Moon is on Sunday, February 9. The darkest hour is at 12:10 am, followed by dawn at 6:39 am, and sun starting to rise at 7:09 am in the east-southeast (112°) and last for 3 minutes and 8 seconds. Sunrise is one minute and 5 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌄 The golden hour ends at 7:50 am with sun in the east-southeast (119°). Tonight will have 13 hours and 55 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 2 minutes and 26 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will have a chance of freezing rain before 9am, then a chance of rain. Cloudy 🌧, with a high of 44 degrees at 2pm. 12 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 15th. Light and variable wind. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies. The high last year was 56 degrees. The record high of 61 was set in 1991. 15.5 inches of snow fell back in 1926.❄

In four weeks on March 2 the sun will be setting in the west (261°) at 5:46 pm,🌄 which is 35 minutes and 56 seconds later then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had snow showers, cloudy and temperatures between 37 and 25 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 39 and 21 degrees. The record high of 65 degrees was set back in 1991.

Looking ahead, Clean Your Computer Day 🧹 is in 1 week, Presidents Day 👴 is in 2 weeks, Read Across America Day 📚 is in 4 weeks, Worm Moon 🌕 is in 5 weeks, Arbor Day 🌳 is in 12 weeks, 8 PM Sunset 🌇 is in 13 weeks, Flower Moon 🌕 is in 15 weeks, Memorial Day 🇺🇸 is in 16 weeks, June 🍹 is in 17 weeks, Average High is 80 🏖 is in 20 weeks, and Election Day 2020 🗳️ is in 9 months.

🇺🇸🦅Only 108 days remain until the start of Memorial Day Weekend!🦅🇺🇸

Good morning! Monday’s come back around again. Iowa caucus day. I bet Bernie Sanders win Iowa but who knows. Next Monday is Clean Your Computer Day 🧹. I bet in rural Iowa that involves fire and maybe a D5 bulldozer. 👨‍🌾 Iowa rednecks are the best and they have some mad good dirt to show for it! 💩 Light rain and 33 degrees at the Valero. ⛈ I know I wasn’t really expecting rain.  There is a west breeze at 7 mph. 🍃. There is a dusting of snow on the ground. ☃ Temperatures will drop below freezing at around 9 pm. ☃️

Taking an all electric bus downtown. 🚍 Honestly it’s not that different than any other bus although it seems a bit slower at kneeling and electric motor sounds a little different when spinning up and down. Little rougher over the potholes probably because the buses a lot heavier, especially on the roof line. Lacking gears and having strong regen on the hills the stop and go smoother. Do smell a bit of ozone being produced by the motors. ⚡ In a decade it will probably be so ordinary, like the hybrid buses hard to even note these days, except when they blow a lot of black smoke when the engines are malfunctioning.

Today will be partly sunny 🌞, with a high of 45 degrees at 1pm. 13 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 17th. West wind 7 to 13 mph. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies. The high last year was 45 degrees. The record high of 57 was set in 2016. 6.1 inches of snow fell back in 2004.❄

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:10 pm with sun having an altitude of 30.8° from the due south horizon (-40.1° vs. 6/21). The golden hour 🏅 starts at 4:30 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (241°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (248°) starting at 5:08 pm and lasts for 3 minutes and 8 seconds with dusk around 5:40 pm, which is one minute and 19 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Gibbous 🌔 Moon in the southeast (129°) at an altitude of 58° from the horizon, 243,359 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:15 pm. At sunset, look for partly cloudy skies 🌃 and temperatures around 40 degrees. There will be a west breeze at 9 mph. Today will have 10 hours and 3 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 24 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a low of 29 degrees at 5am. 14 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 24th. West wind around 6 mph becoming calm in the evening. In 2019, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 39 degrees. The record low of -13 occurred back in 1978.

While not perfect this weekend looks much better than recent. 🙂 Saturday, partly sunny, with a high near 33. Sunday, a chance of rain and snow. Partly sunny, with a high near 37. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Typical average high for the weekend is 33 degrees.

I am a bit undecided on my weekend plans at this point, 💭 a lot depends on how much snow we get this week. I kind of want to go to the Johnstown Outdoors Show but if the weekend is really nice and only a small amount of snow I might go to Madison County and truck cap camp at the horse camp ⛺. I could go to the Adirondacks if the snow banks aren’t too high but in that case it would certainly be snow tent camping dragging the tent and gear back in the woods.

🌹🌻🌼Only 45 days remain until the first day of calendar spring!🌹🌻🌼

As previously noted, next Monday is Clean Your Computer Day 🧹 when the sun will be setting at 5:20 pm with dusk at 5:49 pm. On that day in 2019, we had mostly cloudy, snow showers and temperatures between 33 and 17 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 33 degrees. We hit a record high of 53 back in 1955.

Good evening! Snow flurries and 32 degrees in Delmar, NY. ❄ Calm wind.There is a dusting of snow on the ground. ☃ Things will start to thaw out at tomorrow around 8 am. 🌡️ Snow won’t last but maybe more later in the week.

Dinner was good at the folks house 🍲 with bean stews although I left right after dinner to avoid the snow. No snow coming home but it certainly looked like it was close by from the radar. It was nice getting to Five Rivers Environmental Education Center both days this weekend, got lots of walking in plus some nature study. I have to say I’m lucky to live within walking distance of a cute little preserve like that. 🐸

Tonight will have a chance of light snow before midnight, then scattered snow showers between midnight and 3am. Cloudy 🌨, with a low of 29 degrees at 11pm. 14 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 24th. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Total nighttime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. In 2019, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 31 degrees. The record low of -18 occurred back in 1955.

Tonight will have a Waxing Gibbous 🌔 Moon with 61% illuminated. At 9 PM, the moon was in the west-southwest (239°) at an altitude of 51° from the horizon, some 245,690 miles away from where you are looking up from the earth. 🚀 At the state speed limit of 55 mph, you’ll make it there by August 7^th. Buckle up for safety! 💺 The Snow ❄ Moon is on Sunday, February 9. The darkest hour is at 12:10 am, followed by dawn at 6:40 am, and sun starting to rise at 7:10 am in the east-southeast (113°) and last for 3 minutes and 9 seconds. Sunrise is one minute and 3 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌄 The golden hour ends at 7:51 am with sun in the east-southeast (120°). Tonight will have 13 hours and 58 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 2 minutes and 25 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 44 degrees at 2pm. 12 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 15th. West wind 7 to 13 mph. Nice warm day for a change. February thaw. Ground Hog didn’t see his shadow. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 45 degrees. Well, warmer last year. Even warmer four years ago. The record high of 57 was set in 2016. 6.1 inches of snow fell back in 2004.❄

After reading about spy equipment in hotels and Air BNB I’ve become fascinated by all the little inexpensive recording devices Ali Express. I discovered how many small audio recorders 🎤 there are out there – I was thinking that would be perfect for history interviews I do with John Wolcott and others but for now I think I can just use my phone. 📱 Then I got into the rat hole 🐀 of trying to find an inexpensive GPS logger that saves to text files similar to the one I built with an Arduino until it broke with no luck. I should rebuild the one I previously built and mount it again in my truck, this time using an external regulator so that the higher charging voltage in my truck doesn’t fry it in short order. I got to practice and do more electronic projects again. Maybe tomorrow.

I’ve been working on some new physical terrain maps – more like artwork 🎨 then useful maps to put on the blog. I had forgotten about the ones I had previously created and how nice they came out until somebody emailed me asking about the techniques I used. I couldn’t find the old QGIS project files so I had to recreate them and I exported the style files and emailed 📧 them over. 🌐

In four weeks on March 1 the sun will be setting in the west (261°) at 5:45 pm,🌄 which is 36 minutes and one second later then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had partly cloudy and temperatures between 39 and 14 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 39 and 21 degrees. The record high of 66 degrees was set back in 2017.

Looking ahead, Snow Moon 🌕 is in 1 week, March 🌨 is in 4 weeks, Read Across America Day 📚 is a month away, Daylight Savings Time 🌆 is in 5 weeks, Ides of March ✝ is in 6 weeks, Palm Sunday 🌴 is in 9 weeks, Easter 🐰 is in 10 weeks, Mothers Day 👩‍ is in 14 weeks, Pack Rat Day 🐀 is in 15 weeks, Strawberry Moon 🌕 is in 18 weeks and Fathers Day 👨 is in 19 weeks.

🇺🇸🦅Only 109 days remain until the start of Memorial Day Weekend!🦅🇺🇸

Good morning! Happy Ground Hog Day 🐻! Like a true Ground Hog Day I decided to walk out to Five Rivers Environmental Education Center 🐸 two days in a row. The rail trail is fine but there is more nature and bathrooms 🚽 at Five Rivers to take a piss. Plus hiking along 443, is always an adventure in its own right. Next Sunday is the Snow Moon. 🌕 Partly cloudy and 33 degrees at the Five Rivers Environmental Education Center. ⛅ There is a west-northwest breeze at 5 mph. 🍃.

Been feeling a lot better lately 👍 ever since the Lyme Disease symptoms have gone away. They didn’t disappear instantly when I got off the medication 💊 but two or three months out they’re totally gone and I’m enjoying doing a lot more walking. 🚶 The bicycle is fine 🚲 but walking is better for the whole body. 💪

Had some really blue skies and sun ☀ around 8 AM but by the time I started hiking out to Five Rivers for the second time this weekend it started to cloud up. But I like listening 👂 to the birds 🐦 and observing nature. I figure it might not be that nice come this afternoon. I also have some stuff I want to work on at the Bethlehem library before going out to the folks house this afternoon. 👪

Today will have a slight chance of snow before noon, then a chance of rain and snow after 2pm. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a high of 38 degrees at 1pm. Six degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 26th. Southwest wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 32 degrees. The record high of 53 was set in 1981. 11.9 inches of snow fell back in 2015.❄

I went shopping 🏪 yesterday and washed my truck in the evening 🚘 so I don’t have to do that today. Also got gas for Big Red, ⛽ thirstier than I thought but I haven’t gotten gas in about three weeks. As I said earlier, I do want to get down to the library books later on to do some work on the internet but I guess I can do it at my parents house 🏡 if it looks like it will pour this afternoon.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:10 pm with sun having an altitude of 30.5° from the due south horizon (-40.4° vs. 6/21). The golden hour 🏅 starts at 4:29 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (241°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (248°) starting at 5:07 pm and lasts for 3 minutes and 9 seconds with dusk around 5:39 pm, which is one minute and 18 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Gibbous 🌔 Moon in the south-southeast (151°) at an altitude of 61° from the horizon, 246,044 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:14 pm. At sunset, look for possible rain showers 🌧 and snow showers 🌨 and temperatures around 35 degrees. Won’t freeze on the road most likely. There will be a southwest breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 10 hours of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 21 seconds over yesterday.

Yesterday I was in the Five Rivers discovery center, studying the bird 🐦 name display. All of the birds listed are incredibly common locally and I probably could identify most by memory but I’m not sure if I would be able to do it as part of a quiz show. 💭 I really should study up on bird and plant 🌿 identification.

I didn’t do a blog post last night as I was tired 😴 and there is a bug in the code that is keeping me from using the blog template at the first and last quarter 🌗 moon. I upgraded to a new library for moon phase predictions after the Navy stopped posting their moon tables as part of their website redesign. Plus I got reading 📖 that book about the loosing presidential candidates and how their losses changed America.

Tonight will snow likely, mainly before 11pm. Mostly cloudy 🌨, with a low of 30 degrees at 9pm. 15 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 27th. South wind 5 to 8 mph becoming west after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. I think it’s going to mostly be a nuisance snow if even that. In 2019, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 31 degrees. The record low of -18 occurred back in 1955.

🌹🌻🌼Only 46 days remain until the first day of calendar spring!🌹🌻🌼

That’s roughly six weeks away but the Ground Hog 🐻 is calling for an early spring. I have my doubts, I bet it will get cold by late February or early March but things could change. Varmints have a mixed record on predicting the weather, they’re much better at breaking tractor axles 🚜 and legs. Kind of like the mafia but more agricultural, digging holes in farm fields and eating crops. 🌽

Been continuing to research picnic table tents 🎪 to use during Memorial Day Weekend and my summer camping trip. While I hate to acquire more gear to store, maintain and ultimately dispose of – it would be nice to have a good sheltered place from the black flies in the spring and rainy days in the summer. Or even for camping in a site with limited shade and trees to hang stuff from. Where I can sit with a book or cook sheltered. 💭

As previously noted, next Sunday is the Snow Moon 🌕 when the sun will be setting at 5:18 pm with dusk at 5:48 pm. On that day in 2019, we had mostly sunny, snow showers and temperatures between 31 and 20 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 33 degrees. We hit a record high of 57 back in 1925.