Marker Maintenance isn’t a Mystery!

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Marker Maintenance isn’t a Mystery!

"Do you know what happens when a PHMC marker is damaged by a delivery truck, plowed over after a snowstorm or original 1946 blue and gold paint resembles the make-up of a faded movie star? Do you think PHMC throws out the markers and orders a new one?"

"No way! We work in the State Historic Preservation Office so we hire a qualified contractor to hit the roads and highways of Pennsylvania to retrieve the damaged markers, repair them in a shop, and return them to the original location with a “facelift.”

"For a number of years, PHMC has contracted with a vendor to provide historical marker maintenance services. The contract is bid every five years, and the Marker Program recently gained a new maintenance contractor, Craig Wise of Clearfield, PA."

Why billionaires destroy jobs

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Why billionaires destroy jobs

"This is why Republicans have been pursuing union-busting policy with a furious intensity since the 1930s. It might help profits here and there. But it's mainly about keeping labor politically quiescent — frightened of unemployment, and willing to quietly submit to whatever terms — or abuse — the boss feels like dishing out. As Michal Kalecki wrote about why businessmen always, always hate full employment policy, despite the fact that it generally means greater profits: "'[D]iscipline in the factories' and 'political stability' are more appreciated than profits by business leaders."

"That holds doubly for someone like Ricketts, who already made his gigantic fortune. Taking a hit to the tune of a few million bucks to stick it to some workers who won't take dictation is well worth it for the fear it will instill. It's basically just another campaign contribution. But it also sets another example — why unions are needed, now more than ever."

November 8, 2017 8 AM Update

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Heading into the nine o’clock hour, a little more clouds have pushed in and we are around the freezing point. That Tuesday Election Day holiday was nice. I think it’s the first Election Day I’ve ever had off in my life. Sunnier later and 46 degrees.  

Later on today, the sun will set at 4:39 pm with dusk around 5:08 pm, which is one minute and 6 seconds earlier than yesterday. At sunset, look for clear conditions and 44 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Not too bad for November. Today will have 9 hours and 59 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 22 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be mostly clear, with a low of 26 degrees at 6am. Seven degrees below normal. Calm wind. In 2016, we had mostly cloudy skies. It got down to 40 degrees. The record low of 11 occurred back in 1971.

Tomorrow I will drop Big Red off to address the rattle. Today I will order those square washers for the Yakima tracks to tie down the solar panel. For safety purposes I should make sure to ground the panels to the frame and add a fuse. Its a 100 watt panel so only a 10 amp fuse is needed. I’ll have to check the specs sheet.

I am glad that Election Day has come and gone, and it was a relatively quiet one for me staying out of politics until the very end. And now it’s very much November. I thought about heading out of town for Veterans Day Weekend, but it will be so cold on Friday into Saturday especially with the breeze. At least no snow (beyond flurries) is expected for the next few days.

Looking ahead, there are 9 weeks from the Coldest Day of Year (Avg. 14-30 degrees) when the sun will be setting at 4:42 pm with dusk at 5:13 pm. On that day in 2017, we had rain, snow, cloudy skies and temperatures between 38 and 17 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 30 degrees. We hit a record high of 55 back in 2016. I wonder if this will be another rather mild winter. Or we could have some really cold stretches like back in 2014.

November 8, 2017 7 AM Update

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Good morning! I don’t think I’ve heard NPR as cheerful in years as today. They’re jumping up and down upon the news that a Democrat won the governorship in that rather strange, very southern state of Viriginia. I love West Virigina, but as nice Shenandoah National Park and Blue Ridge Parkway are, that state always strikes me as a bit odd with strange cultures and people. Very southern! People ask why the GOP always picks on poor National Public Radio, with their stodgy to-the-facts news reporting. This morning is example “A”. And I’m a liberal.

Cold moring, I woke up and my apartment was 50 degrees so I finally broke down and turned on the heat. Warming up quick now. Outside it’s mostly sunny and 28 degrees in Delmar, NY. There is a north-northwest breeze at 6 mph. A lot of nice brilliant sun, even if the morning is cold.

Today will be sunny, with a high of 46 degrees at 1pm. Five degrees below normal. North wind 3 to 6 mph. A bit chilly but even cooler come Friday into the weekends, when the wind chill will be as low as eight degrees and the mercury in the teens. A year ago, we had mostly cloudy skies. The high last year was 59 degrees. The record high of 75 was set in 1975. 1.7 inches of snow fell back in 1894.