SamUpstate
sam.upstate.blog
SamUpstate
@sam.upstate.blog
A suburban dad enjoying and celebrating life in New York's Capital District.

Working to improve the world by supporting public education and strong, walkable communities.

He/him

https://sam.upstate.blog

🚴🏻‍♂️🌳🥃🖋🏳️‍🌈
It's stroopwafel season again ☺️
October 4, 2025 at 12:28 PM
We see this even in our upstate NY suburb. Our neighborhood is far less shady than when we moved here a decade ago. It's particularly noticeable when walking the kids to and from school.

https://newrepublic.com/article/198364/america-shade-inequality-public-health-climate
August 6, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Rugosa roses on the Maine coast just before sunrise.
July 31, 2025 at 11:44 AM
A pair of pileated woodpeckers in a tree outside my office window.
July 23, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Sharing a few notes on vehicular law in New York State, after my bike ride today.

There's no "bicycle" exception for crossing a solid yellow to pass. The fact that everyone does it doesn't make it legal.

There _is_ an exception allowing bikes to move left to avoid hazards (like potholes).
July 7, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Does anyone know what these flowers are? They seem to only bloom in the morning, and then they close up again by midday.
June 24, 2025 at 11:00 AM
It's been a while since he perched himself here ☺️
June 18, 2025 at 3:23 PM
It was easy to carry groceries for dinner for my family of six on the back of my road bike (plus a little something for the grownups 🙄). Bicycles FTW!

(And for any local followers no, Price Chopper doesn't carry New Scotland whisky—it's from the store next door)

cc @americanfietser.bsky.social
June 13, 2025 at 9:17 PM
One of the great benefits of working from home is that you can use your lunch break to get started on dinner.

Prepping some sauce for chicken marsala with linguine tonight 😋
June 10, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Fuchsia is such a bizarre plant 🙂
June 4, 2025 at 1:27 PM
Happy #Caturday
May 24, 2025 at 12:30 PM
One of my favorite ways to start a Saturday morning ☺️
May 24, 2025 at 12:07 PM
Our feline elder statesman (our other cats are a decade younger).
May 14, 2025 at 12:23 PM
I was happy with how this photo came out.
May 13, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Wallflower (we think) growing where my wife scattered a wildflower mix last year.

#BloomScrolling
May 13, 2025 at 3:38 PM
A segment of my lunchtime ride today on the Hudson Mohawk "Hike Bike" Trail. It's gorgeous out.

#Bicycles #BikePath
May 12, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Our young serviceberry is in flower ☺️
April 28, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Movie you've watched more than six times using gifs.
April 28, 2025 at 1:27 AM
I found a couple of interesting books today at @goldenleafbooks.bsky.social (my new favorite local bookstore). It was good to be able to observe #IndependentBookstoreDay
April 26, 2025 at 8:54 PM
Reading about the wifi and the Ring camera reminds of that scene in The Matrix where Cypher explains why they have to view it in code—the translators work for the machines.

It's important for us in infosec to remind laypeople that "smart" devices work for Capitalism, not their "owners."
April 25, 2025 at 3:06 PM
We have a single blossom on our baby peach tree. Hopefully there will be more, but it had a very rough first season in the ground last year, so who knows.
April 25, 2025 at 2:48 PM
I've been reading _Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance_, and a chapter I read last night really stuck out. I'm continually surprised by how current this book is, despite being written more than a half century ago.
April 25, 2025 at 12:08 PM
It's a great afternoon to sit in an Adirondack chair and enjoy a beer after work.
April 24, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Our young serviceberry tree is budding ☺️
April 22, 2025 at 10:34 PM
From _Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance_ by Robert M. Persig.

It was written fifty years ago.
April 20, 2025 at 11:58 AM