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As Summer 2012 Fades Away

Andy | September 4, 2012

The endless summer has shown it must come to an end. I woke up the other day at Moose Plains, and the temperature was only 46 degrees out. It was a chilly morning out, but only a symbol of what is to come as we fade into winter. Daylight is rapidly dropping every day.

Probably it would not be as big of deal for me, if I didn’t have to work so much during the fall. But I expect this fall to be a very busy season, where I won’t get to spend much time in the wilderness, camping, hiking, and spending time outdoors until mid-November. You know, I got to work and make money for the toys. And by mid-November, the winter will be well among us.

There is nothing to stop to winter from returning. And as soon as winter comes, winter will be on its way out, as we move back towards April and ultimately mid-May when things finally green up and the endless days of summer return once again. It’s the cycle of life.

… It just seems like summer is much too short.

The Demise of Washington Avenue Extension

Andy | April 13, 2012

I suspect Washington Avenue Extension, built in 1968-1973 is reaching the midpoint in its useful lifespan, or maybe even a bit beyond it. It seems unlikely it will have a life much beyond 2050, and certainly not well into the twenty-second century.

Simply said, Washington Avenue Extension is a gasoline alley built into the Albany Pine Bush for the convience of us humans to get to businesses and commerical strips. It was built with the cheapest materials possible, not designed to last more then a few decades. Washington Avenue Extensive lives and dies on cheap energy, as it’s too remote of a location to be pratical for anything besides automobile commuting.

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The automobile and the cheap fossil fuels that make it possible will not be around forever, especially as we as society get concerned about the impacts climate change is having on us all. It’s even located in such a remote location that trollies or other mode of public transit really do not make sense there.

There is often an unwillingness to admit humankind might not be around in the next century, or that the automobile age will end. Technophiles and advocates for the status quo advocate for solar panels, windmills, and electric cars.

Someday cracks in the concrete slab known as Washington Avenue Extension will spring dandelions and weathering will lead to the road to eventually break apart and start to fail. Rebar will rust, and eventually the forces of nature will remake the landscape, someday removing any trace of human action.

The hideous place known as Washington Avenue Extension will someday be entirely gone, a relic of earlier times. It’s quite possible that humanity will strip that road in an effort to restore the Albany Pine Bush, or even just for the materials to meet more contemporary needs in the city.

… I can’t imagine a Washington Avenue any more hideous of place then it is today — it can only get better.

2010 Statewide Elections in Maps

Andy | November 19, 2011

2010 Statewide Elections in Maps A look back at the last election cycle and how things played out.

Here is a map of the Average Democratic Preformance for all Statewide Candidates in 2010.

Here is the Gubernatorial Race. Notice how Andrew Cuomo won most rural and urban communities, with the exception of the most conservative towns in the Southern Adirondacks, Catskill Mountains, and also Western NY, where hometown favorite Carl Paladino snapped up many votes.

In Competitive State Senate Elections (which there many in 2010), Democrats won over many small towns in Upstate New York. That said, the votes that Democrats won, often where not enough to offset the more populated areas where Republicans won. Votes on third party lines (not included) also helped win Republicans over in certain districts.

The same can be said with the State Assembly. Despite winning far fewer towns, they kept a strong majority, in part thanks to their strong New York City base, and fushion candidates, running on multiple lines not shown on this map.