October 30, 2017 10 PM Update

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Good evening! Partly clear and 46 degrees in Delmar, NY. There is a south-southwest breeze at 11 mph.

Tonight will be partly cloudy, with a low of 38 degrees at 6am. Three degrees above normal. Southwest wind 9 to 11 mph. With the breeze and the dampness, it feels a bit a cool but then again, November is just around the corner. In 2016, we had light rain in the evening, remaining overcast into the early morning. It got down to 29 degrees. The record low of 18 occurred back in 1988.

Tonight will have a waxing crescent moon with 81% illuminated. The moon will set tonight at 3:03 am. You can see it occassionally under the clouds. The Beaver Moon is on Friday night with showers likely. The sun will rise at 7:28 am with the first light at 6:58 am, which is one minute and 15 seconds later than yesterday. Tonight will have 13 hours and 39 minutes of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 35 seconds over last night. Nights are rapidly getting quite long. But so is to be expected as November approaches.

Tomorrow which is Halloween will be mostly sunny, with a high of 53 degrees at 2pm. One degree below normal. West wind 8 to 13 mph. A year ago, we had mostly cloudy skies. The high last year was 50 degrees. The record high of 73 was set in 1946. 0.1 inches of snow fell back in 1913.

I have no real plans for halloween, and indeed by the time I get home usually the trick-or-treaters are already gone. My apartment is set back from the road, and I don’t normally leave my lights on for the trick or treaters. I probably will just stay home tomorrow after work and let the kids od their thing.

Right now, a split verdict on the weekend. Saturday, partly sunny, with a high near 52. Sunday, a chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 51. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Around normal for the first weekend of November. Typical average high for the weekend is 53 degrees.

Looking at my calendar I realized I have both next Tuesday and Friday off next week. Tuesday is Election Day and Veterans Day Observedis Friday. I want to get my truck to the off-road shop that week sometime to get that bolt tightened, and then maybe for Veterans Day, I’ll think about a road trip somewhere. With the nights so long though, I’d strongly prefer to camp somewhere I have good cellphone service to keep my entertained at night and in case of emergencies.

Eight weeks from now will be Christmas Day and we will be in some of the bleakest winter weather of the year. The holiday season is nice, but then they turn off the Christmas lights and frigid days of January with all their road salt is upon us. It is what it is. We have a few months of cold and snowy weather then it starts to get nice again. I’m hoping though that the snow holds off for most of the month of November so I can do some hiking, hunting, and camping trips. 2018 is going tobe a busy one at work, so hopefully summer will come quickly.

In four weeks on November 27 the sun will be setting at 4:24 pm (Standard Time), which is one hour, 25 minutes and 41 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2016 on that day, we had cloudy skies and temperatures between 42 and 30 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 43 and 28 degrees. The record high of 66 degrees was set back in 1896.

Looking ahead, Christmas is in 8 weeks, January 1, 2018 is in 9 weeks and 35th Birthday is in 13 weeks.

Sleepy time folks. Good night!

Dashcam Photos

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This past autumn I’ve discovered I have a button on my dash camera that lets me snap a photo. I can reach up to my windshield and tap a button and have a picture saved. I’ve been trying to capture more of the ordinary parts of countryside, especially rural homes, small towns, and farms along the road. Maybe boring, maybe not. I think it’s important to capture some of the landscape, before it changes. And for my own memory.

Colorado Solar Firms Anxiously Await Trade Commission, Trump Moves On Imports

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Colorado Solar Firms Anxiously Await Trade Commission, Trump Moves On Imports

"Rebecca Cantwell of the Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association said they’ve never seen anything like this, with a few U.S. solar panel manufacturers now pitted against the remainder of the industry. Domestic panel makers want imports to cost more, providing protection for their products. That could hurt the rest of the industry which has grown because of — and grown accustomed to — cheaper goods manufactured in South Korea, Malaysia and Mexico. One Oregon company supports the trade case and wants import taxes to level its playing field. Tim Brightbill, who represents SolarWorld, said a surge of foreign panels has put more than 30 U.S. solar cell and module manufacturers out of business in the last five years." “These remedies would help strengthen the industry not only bring it back to where it was, but make it a world leader for decades to come,” Brightbill said.

"So why is most of the American solar industry taking a stand against the trade case (The two U.S. firms that initiated the case are subsidiaries of foreign-based companies), the tariffs on imported panels and other companies like SolarWorld? It’s because the bulk of the domestic solar industry focuses on everything but making black shiny slabs of solar cells. They make the wires, electrical equipment and racking. They install large systems for municipalities or utility companies and smaller systems on household roofs. "It’s those large-scale projects that stand to lose the most right now. John Hereford at Oak Leaf Energy Partners said he hasn’t closed many deals on projects past December — just when a tariff decision could kick up prices."

What Is Money Laundering? And Why Does It Matter To Robert Mueller?

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What Is Money Laundering? And Why Does It Matter To Robert Mueller?

"Put simply: Money laundering turns "dirty" money "clean" — making proceeds from criminal activity usable without drawing the attention of law enforcement. John Cassara, a money laundering expert who worked for the State Department and the Department of Treasury for more than 25 years, says money launderers work through a three-step system."

Moorefield WV

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Winchester Avenue in Moorefield. A town in West Virginia that smells a lot like raw chicken, like you might get from the store, as it's home to the Pilgrims' Pride factory that turns the many live chickens from local farms into the styrofoam and plastic chicken you get at the store.

Taken on Saturday October 21, 2017 at Moorefield, WV.