NYC Journal

Still stuck at 5 pull-ups…

Tomorrow is my PET-scan…

Will likely see the results electronically before my Tuesday urology appointment. Perhaps Sunday or Monday I’ll get the PET-Scan results.

Then the chemical castration via injection, and oral hormone treatment. The injections are every three months, and the pills 6-months to 2 years…

Hoping radiation treatment is enough…

Cal
 
Last edited:
Listening to Marketplace on NPR, one theory about the stock market keeping it's nose above water day by day, along with consumer spending, is that folks are consuming while the tariffs aren't yet in effect. People are actually buying automobiles before the prices increase between $4k and $12k per vehicle. As you've said, this bubble will eventually burst and for those who spent on credit, the landing is going to be harder.
Meanwhile, closer to home, the regime is looking to cut a program which helps Veterans stay out of foreclosure. The notion of cutting the whole VA home loan program itself has been put on the table, supposedly. This is an insane, evil idea.
Phil
 
Phil_F_NM said:
Listening to Marketplace on NPR, one theory about the stock market keeping it's nose above water day by day, along with consumer spending, is that folks are consuming while the tariffs aren't yet in effect.
Click to expand...
I don't know how tariffs will affect film prices, but I just had a small and unexpected cash windfall. I used it to stock up on film. I now have enough to last until the apocalypse, after which scavenging something to eat will probably take precedence. Maybe I could re-purpose the gelatin into something yummy?
 
Here's a few photos (after my long-winded story), seeing as this is a photography and gear related forum.
This is my 1981 Miyata 610, produced two years before the 610 went to a cantilever brake setup and became regarded as one of the best touring bikes made.
I bought the frame, fork and old headset back in 2011, for $25 and it was one of the best investments I've ever made, ever.
Anyway, I pulled this bike out of service in the fall of 2023 for a complete overhaul and build iteration change. I had come into owning a first generation Jim Blackburn rear rack and wanted to set this bike up more for touring. It needed new rims and really a complete overhaul, so it went into mothball and I've chewed away at it for over a year.
The cranks were changed from the first gen Suntour Superbe jewelery to the excellent workmanlike Cyclone. Rear derailleur was always a Cyclone GT and it got a bath in solvent then evaporust. Front derailleur was changed from a Superbe to a Cyclone. The Cyclone group is a little more touring oriented, as both front and rear derailleurs can handle more gearing difference and the front derailleur cage isn't as narrow as the Superbe. Anyway, over the course of the year, I had come into a matching front Jim Blackburn rack and then really made up my mind about the build. It would get a randonneur bar, front wheel with a dynamo, my Edelux II light and a really wide ratio freewheel.
So last night I had fitted a new-to-me Nitto stem which I traded a longer Nitto Technomic for. Wrapped the bars in my perforated leather tape then sat down and stared at the front of the rack, still trying to figure out how to mount my headlight to the front so I could run panniers front and rear. Then I saw the stainless "sandwich" bracket I had made to mount a Carradice bag to my now repurposed Brooks Conquest saddle. Grabbed the bracket and it looked to be a perfect fit. Then I cobbled together some hardware from a fork mount nutted centerpull caliper and 20 minutes later, I had a fantastic working headlight.
1000018483.jpg
I rode a couple miles to work today and it was fantastic. I was going to take a ride up the Schuylkill after work, but I got to the river and met a 15mph headwind, so I figured I'll wait for a nicer day and not punish myself.
1000018508.jpg

1000018509.jpg
I love this new iteration. Suntour Power Ratchet shifters, commanding first Generation Cyclone derailleurs; it's simply meant to be. I think I'm going to switch my freewheel to a 6 speed, though I really do like the way this 5 speed Suntour Pro Compe shifts with the cyclone derailleur and the nice shifters. It's pure friction, but it's intuitive and almost like index.
I cheated on a few places, which may bother me, but I'll survive. The rear hub is a Campagnolo Nuovo Record, donated from another project bike. I really wanted a Suntour, and I actually have a Suzue hub which is the same quality hub as the Superbe first gen low flange, but I thought I didn't have the correct spoke length. Upon measuring the hub, it turns out that the Suzue is perfect, so one of these days soon I'll rebuild the wheel. The other place I cheated is the chain, it's a Shimano IG70 and again, the chain I had on hand, brand new. If I had a SedisSport or an older SRAM 7 speed chain, I could do the 6 speed freewheel swap and still have that awesome shifting. The Shimano chains can deflect side to side too much when running a Suntour Ultra spaced freewheel, which can lead to a bit of hunting between cogs and I can't deal with that nonsense. So one day, I'll get a SRAM chain, or find a beloved NOS SedisSport, and then run a 6 speed 15-34 instead of the same range 5 speed as I have now. The nice thing about Pro Compe freewheels is that they usually have no wobble and also have true two-pawl engagement. My favorite freewheels are the New Winners which also have pawls and dogs truly aligned 180 degrees apart, so the freewheel engagement is stronger. The only fault is that the New Winners can develop a slight amount of wobble which can reduce the precision of pawl engagement and possibly lead to chipping. It happens in abused and neglected freewheels, but these are the best ever made, so if I take care of them, I should be fine. I mentioned at the shop today that I have more Suntour freewheels than I could conceivably wear out for the rest of my life. I mean, if I have another 50 years, I'll be 98, hopefully I'll be able to ride that long; but I have 6 NOS New Winner freewheel bodies, and 5 that I have overhauled and rebuilt. I have about 20lbs of cogs from 34 teeth down to 12, and I have 5 freewheels worth of spacers to build either standard or Ultra spaced clusters.
1000018507.jpg
Finally, I have to mention that this bike is nothing special in the bike world. It is butted but not splined Miyata chromoly tubing, originally made for 27" wheels. It came from the tail end of the bike boom, and there are probably a few hundred thousand of these out there. It's drilled for caliper brakes, not the later touring oriented cantis, so again not special. But what is special is that it fits like a well broken in, calfskin glove, and it rides so smoothly. Out of all of the bikes I have, some quite rare, some holy grail bikes, this is the one that is simply perfect for me, somehow. So that's rare, I suppose, but only because I'm the one person who found the one bike that has all the measurements and geometry to perfectly suit my riding style and comfort. If I were to have a custom frame built, or when I build my own, I can simply point to this one and say it's perfect for me.

Phil
 
Last edited:
Calzone said:
....

An interesting response happened during that intimate chance breakfast with the middle daughter of Paul Newman and Moon Unit Zappa in Brattleboro Vermont. In conversation came up my background and past that involved deep trauma and a decade in Foster Care.

Pretty much an epiphany of sorts, that my bad experiences and where I came from actually defines who I am, and because of those horrible experiences I actually became a better man who has more feeling and deeper experiences that actually make me more animated and alive.
....

Cal
Click to expand...
Hi Cal,

you are the sum of all your experiences, things you have seen, you have learned, that happened to you good and bad.

There are examples in art, esp. music where certain bad/hard circumstances supposedly came in the way of artists.
People fantasize about "what if" Beethoven didn't become deaf or "what if" the small piano that Keith Jarrett had to play on in that night (01/25/75) in Köln had been a freshly babied Steinway Grand.
I say that's BS. The music of Beethoven is what is exactly because the condition he had to endure. He had to "speak" a musically bold language in his compositions in order to get through to himself. Keith Jarrett doesn't like the Köln concert although it is histories best selling solo piano Jazz record so far. He didn't allow his music be used for a newly released docu movie about the concert promoter (Vera Brandes, 18 y. at the time) who arranged the historic concert. He was mostly limited to the white keys and in range so he stayed in the middle range avoiding the very highs and very lows. Because of theses limitations the results is special, even after 50 years. Otherwise it would have been just another standard nice concert played on a standard instrument. Harsh conditions force you to leave your comfort zone.

"You need to get out of your comfort zone to achieve great things" Ralph Gibson (Aug. 2017, NYC)

There are people complaining about sub par conditions, at home, at childhood, bad parents, bad teachers, bad bosses.
Whatever... they need to get on with life, as they can't change the past but make the best from all their experiences.
It's a chance not an obstacle. At least that's how I see it.

I keep my fingers crossed for the results of you scans.
Possibly the treatment doesn't have to be a full force attack.

All the best.
Cheers from the woods.
Klaus
 
Klaus,

I definitely lived outside my comfort zone. I flipped the switch and know I am a fierce man.

Snarky Joe told me, “That a guy like me can do anything.” Kinda true, but that is a kinda curse that leads to mucho wandering.

I have met so many great men that have seen great potential and talent in me. I have had many mentors, but I likely disappointed all of them because of my mucho disruptive life.

BTW I love Keith Jarrett. What a great improviser.

Cal
 
There currently “death crosses” in the markets. Pretty much this is when a short-term moving average crosses a longer-term moving average. Pretty much a bearish signal.

Some indexes are 10% down or went 10% down denoting a correction. 60% of the time these corrections statistically stay just corrections, but 40% of the time they go down a second 10% to become a 20% down bear market.

With Team-Orange it looks more likely that there is a 60% chance of a bear market. Uncertainty, tariffs, inflation, layoffs/firings, and mucho bad policy.

The U.S. is a rogue state that surely will get punished and sanctioned economically. Many Americans will suffer greatly, especially those carrying credit card balances and have high debt levels.

The effects of tariffs, meaning price increases passed onto consumers and businesses, has not really filtered into the economy yet.

What we are seeing now is some sideways movement, but make no mistake there is a serious level of negative bias to these levels, and over time things will racket lower and lower in baby steps.

Cal
 
Phil_F_NM said:
Here's a few photos (after my long-winded story), seeing as this is a photography and gear related forum.
This is my 1981 Miyata 610, produced two years before the 610 went to a cantilever brake setup and became regarded as one of the best touring bikes made.
I bought the frame, fork and old headset back in 2011, for $25 and it was one of the best investments I've ever made, ever.
Anyway, I pulled this bike out of service in the fall of 2023 for a complete overhaul and build iteration change. I had come into owning a first generation Jim Blackburn rear rack and wanted to set this bike up more for touring. It needed new rims and really a complete overhaul, so it went into mothball and I've chewed away at it for over a year.
The cranks were changed from the first gen Suntour Superbe jewelery to the excellent workmanlike Cyclone. Rear derailleur was always a Cyclone GT and it got a bath in solvent then evaporust. Front derailleur was changed from a Superbe to a Cyclone. The Cyclone group is a little more touring oriented, as both front and rear derailleurs can handle more gearing difference and the front derailleur cage isn't as narrow as the Superbe. Anyway, over the course of the year, I had come into a matching front Jim Blackburn rack and then really made up my mind about the build. It would get a randonneur bar, front wheel with a dynamo, my Edelux II light and a really wide ratio freewheel.
So last night I had fitted a new-to-me Nitto stem which I traded a longer Nitto Technomic for. Wrapped the bars in my perforated leather tape then sat down and stared at the front of the rack, still trying to figure out how to mount my headlight to the front so I could run panniers front and rear. Then I saw the stainless "sandwich" bracket I had made to mount a Carradice bag to my now repurposed Brooks Conquest saddle. Grabbed the bracket and it looked to be a perfect fit. Then I cobbled together some hardware from a fork mount nutted centerpull caliper and 20 minutes later, I had a fantastic working headlight.
View attachment 4859055
I rode a couple miles to work today and it was fantastic. I was going to take a ride up the Schuylkill after work, but I got to the river and met a 15mph headwind, so I figured I'll wait for a nicer day and not punish myself.
View attachment 4859056

View attachment 4859057
I love this new iteration. Suntour Power Ratchet shifters, commanding first Generation Cyclone derailleurs; it's simply meant to be. I think I'm going to switch my freewheel to a 6 speed, though I really do like the way this 5 speed Suntour Pro Compe shifts with the cyclone derailleur and the nice shifters. It's pure friction, but it's intuitive and almost like index.
I cheated on a few places, which may bother me, but I'll survive. The rear hub is a Campagnolo Nuovo Record, donated from another project bike. I really wanted a Suntour, and I actually have a Suzue hub which is the same quality hub as the Superbe first gen low flange, but I thought I didn't have the correct spoke length. Upon measuring the hub, it turns out that the Suzue is perfect, so one of these days soon I'll rebuild the wheel. The other place I cheated is the chain, it's a Shimano IG70 and again, the chain I had on hand, brand new. If I had a SedisSport or an older SRAM 7 speed chain, I could do the 6 speed freewheel swap and still have that awesome shifting. The Shimano chains can deflect side to side too much when running a Suntour Ultra spaced freewheel, which can lead to a bit of hunting between cogs and I can't deal with that nonsense. So one day, I'll get a SRAM chain, or find a beloved NOS SedisSport, and then run a 6 speed 15-34 instead of the same range 5 speed as I have now. The nice thing about Pro Compe freewheels is that they usually have no wobble and also have true two-pawl engagement. My favorite freewheels are the New Winners which also have pawls and dogs truly aligned 180 degrees apart, so the freewheel engagement is stronger. The only fault is that the New Winners can develop a slight amount of wobble which can reduce the precision of pawl engagement and possibly lead to chipping. It happens in abused and neglected freewheels, but these are the best ever made, so if I take care of them, I should be fine. I mentioned at the shop today that I have more Suntour freewheels than I could conceivably wear out for the rest of my life. I mean, if I have another 50 years, I'll be 98, hopefully I'll be able to ride that long; but I have 6 NOS New Winner freewheel bodies, and 5 that I have overhauled and rebuilt. I have about 20lbs of cogs from 34 teeth down to 12, and I have 5 freewheels worth of spacers to build either standard or Ultra spaced clusters.
View attachment 4859058
Finally, I have to mention that this bike is nothing special in the bike world. It is butted but not splined Miyata chromoly tubing, originally made for 27" wheels. It came from the tail end of the bike boom, and there are probably a few hundred thousand of these out there. It's drilled for caliper brakes, not the later touring oriented cantis, so again not special. But what is special is that it fits like a well broken in, calfskin glove, and it rides so smoothly. Out of all of the bikes I have, some quite rare, some holy grail bikes, this is the one that is simply perfect for me, somehow. So that's rare, I suppose, but only because I'm the one person who found the one bike that has all the measurements and geometry to perfectly suit my riding style and comfort. If I were to have a custom frame built, or when I build my own, I can simply point to this one and say it's perfect for me.

Phil
Click to expand...
Absolutely beautiful! Some folks would just see this as wallowing in nostalgia, but really, it's about well made, functional designs that do what you want them to, no more and no less. That's what makes for a timeless classic.
 
I am mucho glad for acquiring the Tele and Strat bodies recently before the light weight stock of swamp ask and alder dried up.

A bit irresponsible considering the economy, the bad policies, and the likely doomed economy…

What is available now are bodies that are a bit porky, I’m talking about a half pound of bloat. I didn’t expect this to happen suddenly, but I knew it would eventually happen. My guess is that the manufacturers that cut and finished bodies decided not to pay the premiums for the higher cost inputs.

Higher input costs in this case were not passed onto the consumer, but were bypassed altogether… Hmmm…

In conversation with “Maggie,” if I need chemo looks like I will revert to smoking the evil weed. She says she would partake also if I do.

Weed and guitar is a great relaxation and pretty much a doorway into a complete universe. Maybe weed will be a way for Maggie to learn how to chill and relax.

In a few days I will get the results of the PET-scan and learn how far the Prostate Cancer has spread, and its location or locations. I will finally know with clarity what lays ahead.

I’m hoping for the best…

BTW back in the day I was a big pot-head, but I grew up and gave it up when I was around 22-23. A few times that I did smoke again happened in my 30’s and it was weird. LOL.

A warning from “The Complete Worse-Case Scenario Survival Handbook:” When life is imperiled or a dire situation is at hand, safe alternatives may not exist.”

I feel like a man without a country, I do not feel safe, and in fact I know we and our existence is at risk. There seems to be a lack of choices, or in the least any safe ones.

So I acknowledge that perhaps reckless behaviors might be the key here to survive.

Just a thought to share…

Cal
 
“Maggie” has been watching a HGTV series “Hometown Takeover.”

Ben the husband is a cabinet maker with a great industrial studio set up for his shop. He also I would learn is a vintage Chevy shortbed fanatic. So pretty much Maggie is getting brain washed into seeing mucho cool in driving around an old vintage truck. Of course in the show the 1962 shortbed is uses as eye-candy and a trademark.

Then the second series I see him driving a different year vintage Chevy shortbed.

Hmmm… Maggie I think is softening up to my 1966 C-10 longbed I have stored in the garage…

Then an issue comes up where an artist needs space, and all the time wasted setting up and breaking down a workspace. A very strong point comes across of how ineffective an artist is without a workspace.

Hmmm…

So it seems time is my friend here. This show is really softening up Maggie in my favor.

That second story 400 square foot studio with a deck with a wonderful view has to be primed in her mind…

Cal
 
Markets are slightly in the green after 4 days of losses.

At one point today the DOW was down over 400 points.

Volatility and uncertainty are moving the markets.

Looks like “Maggie” has a gig at the University of Albany. An honorarium, accommodations and pretty much giving a presentation. William Kennedy, the author of a book called “Ironweed” about depression era New York is setting this up. He is reported to be in his 90’s.

The story of “Ironweed” was made into a film. Jack Nickerson plays the main role, and he is a homeless bum.

Tentatively this would be in the fall.

Free-fun. What’s not to like.

Cal
 
The DOW ended up only 32 points on the close. Pretty much traders sold into the rally I think to bail on the market.

I’m kinda finishing up my last hurrah by a big Callahan order. I’ll be lurking to by a baritone neck, and a vintage Tele neck.

I have a new vintage Tele neck on hand to try out a 7 1/2 fingerboard radius. For a modern player who does large bends or for fast playing this tight radius perhaps is not the best. The tighter radius best serves someone who does chords or who limits perhaps their string bending to only a full-step like I do.

Rockers and perhaps blues players love flatter radiuses for speed and savage bending.

So I’m kinda old school. Nothing wrong with that. Also playing big strings 12’s is not really common.

Cal
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

C
New York Annual NYC Camera Beauty Contest 2026 (early 2026)
Replies
14
Views
578
Calzone
C
A
Your unexplained experiences
Replies
1
Views
335
valdas
V
nightlight
Arles 2025
Replies
8
Views
1K
luuca
luuca
A
Testprinter for a 10,5 f4 Nikon RF lenshood wanted
Replies
3
Views
195
Alpsman
A
p.giannakis
Internet is dead (and a couple of HCB pictures)
2
Replies
32
Views
2K
Archiver
A
Back
Top Bottom