February 4, 2016 Night

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Good evening. Currently overcast and 37 degrees in Delmar. Tonight will be mostly cloudy, with a low around 30. Northwest wind around 7 mph.

Went down to the library and for my evening walk. Ended up reading about Mac OS Copeland and the history of Mac OS 7 and 8. Pretty nice evening, not too cold. A good 4 miles of walking is healthy after work. The warm winter means the sidewalks are pretty much been snow and ice free, making for better walking after work.

Started looking at Digital TV to HDMI adapters. I didn’t know they were a thing but they allow you to access over the air Digital TV signals over your HDMI computer monitor, and they’re only $30-40. One of my colleagues mentioned it at work. You do have to buy an antenna but for an urban area like where I live, a $20 antenna should work. I might need one other adapter to hook up the speakers. But then I could watch the 20 or so HDTV stations broadcast locally. HDTV offers a lot more channels then conventional over the air television. I’ve never had much interest in television, certainly not paid cable TV, but a one time purchase for the price of a tank of gas might be worthwhile for the few times there is something like the Democratic debate that I want to watch on TV.

My 23″ HDMI monitor I use for mapping would be excellent for watching TV. Bigger than most TVs a few years ago. I am still hesitate to bring TV into my apartment but if I could do it without adding a lot of new junk, and do it inexpensively with mostly existing technology I could spring for it. We will see. I previously looked at adapters for watching TV on my laptop but decided against it due to the complexity of setting up with my Linux based laptop. I don’t have a lot of free time available for watching TV, so I don’t know how worthwhile it would be. I’m also concerned about the impact of all that advertising and violence in my home. But PBS has such great documentaries and the PBS News Hour with Jim Laher. I know this is a radical change in perspective from last week. I’ll think about it more. Maybe, despite the low cost, TV is too evil to have at home.

Tonight we will have a Waining Crescent Moon with 22% illuminated. It will rise at 4:00 am. Tomorrow’s sunrise will be at 7:04 am with first light at 6:34 am, which is 2 minutes and 10 seconds earlier then today.

I hope you had a good day. Tomorrow is Friday. Sleep well!

Penna. the Abbreviation

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The official abbreviation for Pennsylvania prior to 1963 was Penna.
 
Unlike New York, which has always used N.Y., the use of Penna was common until the post office started requiring two letter abbreviations in the post office as part of the Zip Code plan. The AP Style book requires old-style abbreviations for some states (such as Wash. and Wis.), but not Pennsylvania — articles written per the AP Style book must use Pa. as an abbreviation for the state.
 
Pennsylvania still uses Penna in a few locations. The signs for the Pennsylvania Turnpike all say “Penna Turn Pike”, and lifeguards wear shirts that say “Penna Life Guard”. Generally Penna is still used in places where the Penna. is put in the Keystone. But not always. The modern logos of the Pennsylvania DCNR and Pennsylvania State Forests almost always write out Pennsylvania in small text in the top of the keystone.

February 4, 2016 Evening

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Good evening. Currently we have a beautiful sunset and 43 degrees at the Nation’s Most Ethical Capital. Tonight will have a slight chance of snow after 3am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 30. Northwest wind 6 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Friday will gradually become sunny, with a high near 37. Northwest wind 8 to 13 mph. Not a terrible day for Upstate NY in early February.

The sunset is remarkably beautiful tonight. A pretty good ending to a good day at work. The amazing sunset reminds me a lot of some of the sunsets that are common in November, especially in the North Country. The longer days are a clear reminder that summer must be coming.