New York April Nyc Meet-up

Range-rover said:
That sounds good to me I'm not to far but everyone else, that's a early
trip to get up there from Mann. or Brooklyn. It's going to be warm this
week hope to get out and take pictures with my Minolta and Zeiss lens
I got.
Click to expand...

Bob,

Today it is cold, but tomorrow and Wednesday very spring like.

I already put the snow shovel and bucket of salt back in the garage.

Good luck shooting.

Cal
 
Calzone said:
John,

The world is not that big.

Kinda funny how "Maggie" is a celeb in NYC, and 40 miles away she is incognito.
Click to expand...

The suburbs are like that 😉 ... I'm sure she'll be noticed by someone eventually.

Last week CNBC did an interview of her in our front yard: two cameras, two camera men and a corespondant, with a producer Zooming in.

Cal
Click to expand...

Haha, what a scene...and the neighbors weren't nosy?
 
jsrockit said:
The suburbs are like that 😉 ... I'm sure she'll be noticed by someone eventually.



Haha, what a scene...and the neighbors weren't nosy?
Click to expand...

John,

Of course they are. That is part of the game. Do you think I really fit in? LOL.

My across the dead-end neighbor mentioned seeing the news crew, and I mentioned it was for a feature on CNBC, that's all. "I'm a tease," I say.

"Maggie" thinks that they must also notice all the deliveries we get. Also the garbage men because we put out so much cardboard for recycling.

No feuds yet. LOL.

So imagine a small Baby-Victorian that has been stucco'ed with cement and crushed rocks. Kinda bit odd and old hippy. The house is kinda wierd and it has this Japanese Red Maple that has been pruned that without leaves is kinda spooky and scary looking.

The street is only about a block long, our house number is 51, but my next door neighbor's house is 91. Lots of strange stuff I can't explain that is kinda funky.

The City requires a house inspection, and the amount of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors required to pass an inspection is practically one in every room.

My neighbor John explained because being a city of immigrants in the past there were great losses of life in what basically were flop-houses.

I took notice that Peekskill is like Canton China in that the geography is defined by being surrounded by a ring of mountains. I feel at home.

BTW the mountains are only 500-600 feet.

Cal
 
John,

At this point I'm probably more of a celeb than "Maggie." I don't really blend in.

My neighbors John and Iris made a comment about me being so skinny, and it was as if they called me a skinny bitch, but I take no insult because it is kinda true.

Also I get noticed because I get seen walking around. Perhaps not crazy, but a bit unusual because I don't look homeless like your friend Homeless Jeff.

When I bought home the Audi A4 I'm pretty sure it raised some eyebrows. Mucho Japanese cars like Hondas and Toyotas in my new hood, and not so many German luxury cars.

Iris like Maggie thought I bought a brand new car, but I informed her that the A4 is 6 years old, has only 16K miles on it, and likely spent its life in a garage in South Hampton at some beach house.

So more or less the twist is I'm a clever MoFo. LOL.

The big shock for my neighbors is likely my age and that soon I will retire.

I think our neighbors are wondering what will we be doing with the house. I think they are pleased that it seems like we will be dropping money into the house and fixing it up.

Cal
 
Snarky Joe,

I found a box of 13x19 laying around, so I made yet another book. This one is more like a folio of sorts and was designed and spec'ed out to fit into a ready made archival box as a presentation case.

The only one to see this so far is Christian.

Calvin-August
 
jszokoli said:
Cal,


I'm at a loss for local dim sum here in Bayside, I'm wondering if Phil know something I don't.


Joe
Click to expand...

So the story goes that I used to maintain this S Class Mercedes diesel for a real estate agent out in Bayside. I could look up the cross streets, but that will take a bit. I remember there is a park at the end of her block (yes, not specific, I know.) Anyway, after working on the car, she and her husband would take me out to dinner at their favorite dim sum place far out in Queens but I can't remember the name, I do remember it was a really big restaurant. This was back in 2013-2014. After I get done with work today, I'll try to find out where it was.

Phil Forrest
 
I don't want to get too far ahead. I want us all to be safe.

Let's wait till the weather gets warmer because I think it would be safest outside.

Joe's idea of the CZ Beer Garden in Astoria so far seems best for me because of being outdoors.

Also the pattern has been the spread is lower when the weather gets warm.

Anything indoors seems like a bad idea.

This morning I shot using a Lumix DMC-LX7 that was one of "Maggie's" cameras she surplused. You have to love the tiny size. Shot from the train.

Devil Christian suggested starting a body of work, and it helps pass the time.

Also at the age of 63 I am finding that I really-really require 8 hours sleep. I actually feel a lot better and can stay awake at my boring job. My wandering and daydreaming is kinda interesting, and it is like being a child again. So the present experience seems like a regression back into childhood.

I live in a realm of all these possibilities and it is kinda wonderful.

So over the past week I have been looking at all my gear, and I am very pleased that I see continued purpose of all that I have, and that confirms that I have been wise and not foolish.

I look at all that I can do with all that I have, and I realize how much obsessive thinking kept me on track.

I want to convert my Baby-Linhof Master V prototype (no serial number, and oddly no movements making it basically just a Linhof folding rangefinder. How strange and odd is that?) into a nice tiny camera with a 65/6.8 Super Augulon.

I think this will be an important camera for me.

So it seems the added daylight and longer days should lift our spirits. I know Covid has been tough for everyone, but let's be safe and not foolish.

Calvin-August
 
Austintatious said:
Just watched it on the website. They did a nice job. "Maggie" should be proud of the example that she is setting. 😀
Click to expand...

A,

She took a longevity test and has a life expectancy of 103.

Longevity is a mixed blessing because it can be a curse if you can't maintain an active lifestyle and standard of living.

For me at age 63 it is very much like back when I was 17 in high school wondering what I'm going to do for the next 4-5 decades. No less fraught.

Cal
 
Range-rover said:
My Mom and I just saw the video, it was great.
and the house looks great too!
Click to expand...

Bob,

The Baby-Victorian is like many over hundred year old houses: there is the good, the bad and the ugly.

So there are 40 windows on a house that has less than 1500 square feet of living space, the light is amazing, but it cost so far about $2k for oil to heat this not really well insulated house.

The good is that many original details still exist, and that it was not gut renovated like many of my neighbor's homes, but stripping white paint off the original moldings is an ugly job. We are waiting with our resporators to open the windows and start this task.

The layout of the basement could not really be worse. The roof on the garage needs to be replaced to the point where I would replace the rafters. The snow loads indicate the sistered rafters are not enough because there is bowing and sagging.

In the back there is concrete to breakup, and the garage floor is assembled of blocks like patchwork and needs to be removed so a level floor can be poured.

The front stoop has a skim coat that was just a dressing to sell the house, and already the weather has made it shabby.

So the house has good bones, but in many ways the previous owners "cheaped-out" and did not do things that would be enduring.

So "Maggie" is expected to live to 103, and me 111.

Her mom is 94, and it looks like things are opening up and we can visit her again. This is a big deal because of Covid the lockdown was severe, and Maggie was only able to see her twice over the past year.

An old house is a constant project...

Calvin-August
 
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