This evening is 75 degrees with a muggy dewpoint of 64 degrees. When I got out of work, it was much cooler with the dewpoint only about 59 degrees but it had crept up noticeably around the 9 o’clock hour. Clear skies with fireflies around and stars above. Crickets are making their noise.

Tommorow will be the warmest day in a while with temperatures in the mid-80s and a dewpoint expected to reach 71. It’s going to be muggy with only thunderstorms and downpours to break the heat.

While I was cooking I started playing with some new GIS campsite data I got from the DEC. I discovered my laptop had automatically upgraded to QGIS 2.10 which has all kinds of new features, including being able to finally place latitude and longitude lines on a UTM map. A much needed features, especially if you’re trying to make professional quality maps. QGIS isn’t perfect or able to make maps quite as nice as the professional software but it’s still free as is the data I use. I wish they would more to deal with colliding icons but other than that, it’s finally gotten much better. Those programmers that volunteer so much time on perfecting it, really deserve a lot of acclaim.

With the new DEC data I will need to re-run the script I use to make the county Waypoints and Tracks. It’s pretty simple task to do, but it does take the computer like new hour to fully run the script. Hopefully this week.

Learning QGIS has had a lot of benefits including helping me learn where many of the campsites are along the back roads of the state forests. But beyond that I’ve learned a great variety of mapping skills and knowledge, including using Census data for mapping and a basic understanding of the redistricting process, and how to build districts out of census blocks. I have no formal training but I can do some pretty amazing stuff with QGIS. Still there is a lot to learn but the Internet often has good answers with a quick Google search. Maybe at some point I can turn my knowledge into a career, or at least make my self more marketable. I’d love to move to a laid-back small town in a less strict state and live out in the country off-grid at some point.

Kind of wish I got out to the park this evening but I totally lost track of time. It’s fine, as the days will remain long for a while and we are certain to have more nice evenings before the short days of fall are upon us. If I go up to Powley Place this weekend, reading will be part of the agenda. Best to enjoy summer before it’s gone.

I guess that’s all I have to say for tonight.  I’m off to bed. Everybody sleep well, tommorow is going to be a hot one.