Individual No. 68

It's a rather snowy day

out there it would appear. It looks like we are expecting somewhere between 3-6 in the Albany-area, although in the hilltowns and the areas east to the city, there will likely be much more snow.

It's winter. It's suppost to snow in winter and not have warm rain like last week. Many of us have forgotten what the meaning of January is these days. It's suppost to be bitterly cold out with lots of snow in Albany. It's just that such weather is becoming more rare.

Today is a session day at the state legislature, with both houses back in town to do some opening business today, and move some bills on Tuesday. It's also Barabra Bruno's funeral today, for the Senate Majority Leader's wife. Best wishes to him.

Appologizes for the quality photograph today. Apparently I didn't realize how out of focus it was when I post-processed and uploaded it. I have half a dozen other photos that will work fine as replacements, and there will be a new one up tommorow. I don't have the photos to work on at work today.

Cold and Clear Out There.

The view of my mountains, the Heldebergs is amazing as usual. It's fairly cold out around 16 °F in the city and much colder in the mountains.

If your driving give your poor little horses a few minutes to warm out before making them work on the highway. Of course, I still haven't even thought about scraping the ice off my windshield. I'll leave it until Friday or maybe Thursday depending on when I decide to go to the laundrymat.

I went to the bike repair shop to get a new back wheel (I've broken and repaired too many spokes and I now need a new wheel), and to get the derailleur hanger replaced, as it snapped off when the out of round wheel was pushed against the derailleur carriage hitting a boulder at Partridge Run WMA.

I look forward to having a bike as an easier way to get around town, rather then having to walk everywhere, catch a bus, or even fire up the old truck. I really hate driving, particularly in the city, although I'm all for going out on long pleasure drives on the weekend.

My truck's going to be in the garage next weekend. Still need to call Lou about this today after the State of the Upstate Speech.

Stay warm, enjoy the beautiful weather by looking out the window.

I just got back from

the Save the Pine Bush dinner. It was a great experience, with a lecture on the dramatic snow melt on Kilamajoro Mountain near Kenya from Global Warming was fascinating. A couple who had recently climed the mountain showed dramatic pictures, how our changing climate has totally reworked a formally icy landscape.

It was a bit cold standing out for the 9 PM bus which didn't arrive until 9:11 PM. It didn't help I got out there several minutes early, as I didn't want to miss the last bus leaving the city. Then it was a mile walk on Delaware Ave in Delmar from the end of the bus line to my apartment. It doesn't run all the way out after the 5:45 bus leaves the city.

I don't mind waiting for the bus or the walk. Not only does it save a little bit of money in gas, and keeps me from having to scrap ice off my windshield (ick !), it's healthier for both me and the planet. Every little bit I do to help to reduce climate change is good for the planet that is in such pearl if we don't start rethinking how we do urban and suburban life.

I often struggle to figure out

to how to live. There are often times when there is something I want at the store, only to find out it's not in a recycable plastic or made out of vinyl (!), so I have to pass it on up. It sometimes would be more convient to drive to work or run for an errand, but if I don't have a list of things to get, then I won't take my truck out.

I leave my gas heat at 50 °F except for the rare cases when I'm cold. Then, and only then, do I turn on the electric heat for a couple of minutes in my bedroom jus to take off the chill. But I'm pretty use to 50 °F, so I almost never get very cold these days. I use lights frugally, and have all flourcents everywhere. I pay extra for wind energy or hopefully will be soon.

I walk everywhere nearby—the store, the library, even the distant late evening bus stop. Soon I will have my bike repaired, that will make it possible to go even farther including to the Hannaford and Price Chopper supermarkets about 3 miles away. I also will ride my bike to work in nice weather on non-session days, rather then carpool or take the CDTA bus.