New York August 2022 Meet-Up

I’m really amazed by the Bertazzoni appliances in my kitchen.

The dishwasher when running is silent. At times I hear water gurgling in the kitchen sink to remind me that its running. The small 4 burner convection oven/stove is an elevated experience in cooking. First off there is a level of precision in the controls, the heat is faster and more even, and cooking is so speedy. I’m spoiled by the ice maker in the fridge.

So the kitchen is pretty amazing. One trophy is the quarter sawn heart pine floor that I rescued under two layers of linoleum and a ceramic tile floor. There are some signs of distress, but having all heart pine floors on the first floor except in the Powder Room is mucho retro. Also the gel staining I did on the wide craftsman style moldings.

Looking forward to the upstairs bath…

Cal
 
So I’m at a point where I have to learn how to relax and life has to have more fun at a daily level.

I use to yell at Snarky Joe that “There’s more to life than work.”

So the crazy thoughts return, and I daydream about modding my bikes, or even crazier buying a crazy IBIS Exie carbon fiber crazy light full suspension bike.

So I discover this guy named Tom from 12Bolt.com who builds crazy I-6’s.

My stock engine is an original 250 Cubic Inch I-6 that makes 155 HP and has 235 foot pounds of torque with a redline of 4200 rpm, meanwhile Tom builds a Chevy 250 that is balanced so it winds out to 6500 rpm to make 320 HP and 285 foot pounds of torque.

The OEM engine needs a valve job and a new rear oil seal. The original oil seal is leaking and this likely destroyed the clutch. Oh-well. This engine has only 61K miles on it so despite the work required the engine still is relatively fresh and likely still has 140K miles on it.

Not a lot of work to swing older engines. Know that the Muncie three speed three on a tree tranny openly weighs 65 pounds, and it is kinda small.

So building a hot rod is never about being practical or economical, but after fixing up the OEM engine it looks like crazy and fun will win out. I feel that being a bit crazy and unsettled somehow is innate and in my genes.

The power band on the 320 HP engine is 2000-6500 RPM. The sound is pretty much like an aircraft because at this level the engine moves lots of air.

Somehow I have the hot rod bug, and I looked into the prices of old Chevy Nova’s, but that is mucho crazy money. I realize that my C10 is a better platform for they money I paid. All things considered having an old retro truck as a rat rod with an engine with a “bumpy” idle that makes a airplane sound. Is calling me.

How hill-billy is that?

Cal
 
I still struggle with identity it seems. I’m 64 and perhaps I never grew up, maybe because I had to grow up fast and was cheated out of my childhood.

I will also say that the 17 years I worked at Grumman likely gave me some stability, a sense of purpose, as well as a sense of “home.” The many veterans I worked with were the role models that my father was not.

So I realize that I’m an aggressive Alpha-Male, and pretty much I like to go on the edge of crazy for fun and entertainment because I don’t want to live a boring life.

I also realize that not only do I annoy other people, but I also need challenges and goals for my life to have meaning. Know that I hate mediocrity. One of my friends here made me think about my struggles with myself. Now that I’m retired I can really get crazy, I try to reel myself in, but I have this need to get bold and crazy that seems to be innate.

Being without a kitchen for many months was a hardship, but now that is behind us. In a ways it was like a hump that was a large obstacle to overcome, and the further build outs seem smaller than the kitchen.

I think the Chevy C10 triggered me because I am reminded of the 84 Jeep Scrambler I owned that had a Corvette engine (ZZ3 Crate Motor), Ford nine-inch rear, NV4500 cast iron tranny… Pretty much I have the opportunity to recreate a different hot rod truck, but this time it will be a rat-rod that is built out as a “cruiser.”

I have a choice of changing the engine to a 292 Ci I-6, but this adds about 100 pounds of weight. This engine is high torque due to a longer stroke, but a 250 Ci I-6 has an expanded power range and will rev higher to 6500 RPM.

I guess I also miss the bumpy idle of the Jeep’s crate motor, and I love the sound of a high reving engine. Did you ever hear the new Ford GT350 with the high reving “flat crank.” Pretty much a scavenging effect of vacuum in the exhaust pulls on the intake in a timed manner to allow for the engine to breath deeper and rev higher. I would say the tone of a Ford GT350 rev’ed to the red-line is musical. I love the tone of a bumpy idle, kinda like a Cigarette boat upon start up that has a chug to it that is uneven and Jazz like that smooths out as it warms up that has this muscular tone at higher RPM’s.

So a 292 would have more “grunt,” but the 250 has the rev’es.

BTW a Chevy Nova weighs about 2900 pounds, and my C10 3460 pounds. 500 pounds is a lot of weight.

Other probable crazy projects: attic pull down stairs; insulating the attic; installing a Mitsubishi Mini-Split for the second floor; building a huge walk in closet in the attic so that our current master bedroom can become my studio.

Connecting the tower room (Maggie’s office) to the front bedroom, eliminating two closets, but creating a third, and connecting the two rooms via French Doors.

Replacing the garage hip roof and insulating the garage.

Ordering and installing a cedar shed kit. Building a dark room that is also a sound proof room in the basement.

Buying a table saw, radial arm saw, drill press, router table for construction and frame building. Should pay for itself through usage.

Building out screen and windows for the front porch. Insulating the porch basement.

So I realize what kind of man I am. I really can’t relax, it is not in my nature even though I try to be a lazy-slacker.

Cal
 
I lent out my steel IBIS to A.J. The local bike shop owner who back in the day was a NORBA downhill racer. He told me he was feeling depressed because his family did not understand his need for getting on a bike every day to feel free. In turn they felt neglected if he did not watch TV with them, and one day when he was working hard all day power washing his house neither his wife or sons didn’t even give him a glass of water.

So I lent him my IBIS which is set up as a trials bike for hopping around. I told A.J. To hold onto the bike until my kitchen is done, so today I picked it up. Pretty much a slow speed bike where 30 inches forward with a single revolution of the crank. The bottom bracket is high to go over obstacles, and the crank’s chain ring has a bash guard, along with an UBER short wheelbase of 39 inches that goes along with steep angles on the geometry.

I mentioned that using the steel IBIS at Blue Mountain would be a great way to learn bike handling skills, and A.J. Responded either it will make you or break you. I kinda agree.

I mentioned how at the Bike Festival at Blue Mountain this year how it seemed I had the only rigid, and A.J said if he went he would probably ride a rigid as well. I also mentioned how I observed that the full suspension bikes did not climb so well, and I found this surprising. Seems like the long wheelbase and slack geometry is really made for excelling downhill.

I kinda like the Ti Basso as a winter bike for when it snows. The wheelbase is kinda long and the geometry is kinda slack for stability. The tires are 2.35 wide, but I wish it had lower gearing than the 20 inch gear for long climbs. Oh-well. I could get an 11-45 XT cassette to gain the bailout gear.

So the 30 inch gear on the steel IBIS would require mucho track standing and intense bursts of strength to muscle up a hill. Pretty much like hopping up a hill on a bike. If I can do that pretty much it would be legendary.

The steel IBIS is powder coated a fluorescent orange. I decided to make the bike loud because back in the day we rode on narrow deer trails in the pine barrens, and we would see hunters in tree stands. On Long Island this involved bow hunting which is worse than getting shot with a gun.

I was able to get IBIS decals. Some dude in California at IBIS asked for my address, and told me to send them $5.00 when I get a chance. How cool is that?

Today the orange powder coat has blistered and rusted in places, but it resembles a “Spatter” finish that IBIS did back in the day. How cool is that?

When A.J. Showed the steel IBIS to another avid biker the customer called the IBIS a “Unicorn.”

BTW A.J. Has a 1955 pickup that is a show car.

Today I pruned my monster Rode-A-DEN-drums, weeded, and mulched them for the heat wave that just begun that will last all week.

My neighbor has a have a heart trap and will relocate the Ground Hog. Pretty much you have to relocate them over 10 miles away or they will return. Yesterday in my backyard I saw him about 6 feet from me. I saw him, but evidently he did not see me. If I had a spiked rake I could have taken him out because he was that close to me. He got lucky.

Cal
 
Phil_F_NM said:
Groundhogs forever!
Click to expand...

Phil,

Ground Hogs are abundant in Peekskill. I’ve seen one as a road kill on Main Street near downtown. I have also seen them wandering around all over Peekskill, including the Peekskill train station.

So I was ready to order a 4x8 cedar shed that will lean against the garage to store my garden carts, but I considered getting a larger shed to store wood working tools like a table saw. This did not go so well with “Woman-Factor,” but it seems That I will be going modular and down the road we will get another 4x8 shed to place in the back-backyard.

The idea is to keep and maintain the openness of the yards, and two small sheds minimizes obscuring views and also seems to have a smaller footprint than a larger structure.

Anyways these will be set on top of a bed of gravel to avoid Skunks and Ground Hogs from tunneling.

The garage shed will be for tools, an engine hoist, and engines. “Don’t tell Maggie.”

Did you know that Devil Dan has albino skunks nested under his shed?

Cal
 
Getting quotes for garage doors. I’m going with Cloplay’s doors. My garage has a hip roof that I would like to replace myself. I have done roofs on houses before.

I’m looking into “Coachman” which are insulated to R18.4.

There is a lightly insulated Grand Harbor door that has the same look, but is only lightly insulated. I think I favor the more heavily insulated door because I can see using a space heater to have a winter workspace/studio, and I think eventually I will insulate the garage because it makes sense for me to have a raw work space.

Anyways the design is “Design 12” which has 4 panels, and each door will have a SQ24 set of windows that support a mud retro look of a carriage house. The Baby-Victorian already looks cute, but making the garage look like a carriage house adds mucho curb appeal.

BTW I hate to be vain, but the Black Audi A4 looks evil, the patina of the 1966 Chevy C10 looks too cool with the house. The C10 will look great in the driveway and parked out in front by the monster 100 year old Japanese Maple.

Down the one way in- one way out and only a house away is the street that leads to a communal enclave where the land is shared, and owners only own the structures. Pretty much at one time only summer residences, but now are winterized. This community that is tucked away is actually part of Buchanan, which is part of the township of Cortlandt. You can also think of Peekskill being the “City” and Cortlandt as the suburbs.

So down this one way in-one way out is the “Hot Rod Hotel.” Basically some people store their vintage cars, muscle cars, and even super cars at the Hot Rod Hotel. I see all kinds of cool expensive cars coming and going. The cost is about $250.00 a month to store a car. To me this is crazy money.

Anyways, I’m mucho glad that my 1400-1500 square foot house came with two building lots and a two car garage. Pretty ideal for me. Happy-Happy…

Cal
 
Ordered a 4x8 cedar shed to set up against the garage. My garage is loaded with the Chevy C-10 and the Audi.

Eventually this shed will be for wood working power tools, but in the meantime it will house garden equipment. I ordered it with a simple plywood roof because I will shingle it to match the new garage roof.

I watched a video of this guy who has trials skills and uses track stands and trials moves to climb. I started doing some exercises to begin to learn the balance required that I never acquired. Saw some positive signs and progress. Also worked on developing my left leg to lead since I’m right dominant. Since the IBIS is such an unstable bike with a short wheelbase, tall bottom bracket, and aggressive geometry I already have some skill already developed.

It is a bit ambitious though because it takes lots of practice and skill to hop a bike around from a standstill. A different kind of strength is required that utilizes quick twitch muscles.

Nice thing is that I can practice right in my back yard. The curb along my driveway right now is enough to practice on. Then I have a lawn to perfect my wheelie skills.

The heat here in New York is oppressive. Suppose to be in the 90’s till the weekend. The predicted rain will not cool off or break this heat wave.

I have the air handlers for a mini-split, but lack the compressor required to have basically central AC on my first floor. This really sucks. I hate shortages…

Cal
 
Range-rover said:
Hi all, I've haven't been on for awhile so just reading this, Cal feel better!
Click to expand...

Bob,

I am currently fine. Still taking it easy with the heat. Now they say the above 90 degree temperatures extend to Monday.

I have another visit Monday to the wound doctor for a look-see. First time I have been admitted into a hospital in 60 years…

Really enjoying having the house back. The new kitchen is amazing. To have deluxe, custom and luxury is so nice. “One and done” was our policy where we spent our money once. Also the design is retro styled so it is timeless and will never be outdated. This is what is so nice about fixing up an old house.

Our house is so cute.

The upstairs bath is next. We got the house cheap because it needed updating and some maintenance.

Not a lot to do once the upstairs bath is done. Pretty much the heavy lifting will be done and I will be less of a house slave.

Today’s goal is to get rid of the 4-burner gas stove that is stored under a tarp in the driveway. I will clean off the construction crude buildup with Fantastic and move it to the corner of the dead end with a for “Free” sign so it will get recycled. Part of the process of cleaning up the mini Home Cheapo that I have assembled in half the driveway.

In about two weeks the 4x8 cedar shed will get delivered that is coming from British Columbia. I’ll need a clear driveway. I’ll have gravel delivered also to create a drainage bed and to prevent the Ground Hog or any other critter from nesting under my new shed. Even though it is durable cedar, Maggie wants it painted white, so extra work is involved.

I might as well order the shingles I need for the garage.

Life is rich right now. I figure it is cheaper to pay taxes now rather than later before I’m 70. Pretty much I figured out that I don’t need my Social Security or my Grumman pension until then. Wish I didn’t have to collect my hospital pension next year at age 65. So for the next few years I live in abundance and of course I have to spend my money wisely in a “one and done” manner.

Pretty much I’m training “Maggie” not to be cheap, and to think very long term. Actually another thing I have to do is call General, a company that makes commercial generators, because I want to get a natural gas generator that can power the whole house. I figure at some point in the future air conditioning and heat is really “life support” as I advance in age.

Maggie being Irish, English and Dutch has all the Northern European genes that make here unsuited for heat waves. She is prone to dehydration and heat stroke. Meanwhile I am well suited for heat and humidity, but I have a limited tolerance for the cold. Pretty much I have a medical reason to have a generator.

I know our grid is in sad shape, and it is a matter of time before there is a collapse…

Cal
 
There is a 14 week just to get a garage door on hand I learned. No price increase so far, but work and jobs are all backed up. Pretty much lots of curb appeal because the garage will be styled as a carriage house.

I took the stove that came with the house from under the tarp that was stored in the driveway. It was a 30 inch 4 burner natural gas stove with a convection oven for baking. I took some “Fantastic” to sanitize it a bit. There was a lot of construction residue to get rid of, but it cleaned up nice and looked fresh.

I put it on a dolly and wheeled it to the corner of my dead end with a “FREE” sign at 11:00 AM and by 3:30 PM it was gone. I left it on a dolly with a note to please return the dolly if they needed to borrow it. Anyways EZ-PZ and I did not want it to go into a landfill, especially if it could of helped someone.

My ten year old fridge went to my diagonal neighbor who will use it in his basement. Already my basement is kinda full.

Hard to imagine how the economy is expanding when everything is going in slow motion. Could the slowdown in production and supply lines really responsible for the proclaimed worker shortage? I wonder if businesses are trying to speed things up by increasing the labor force, but really the bottlenecks are elsewhere.

There are reports of a mass retirement, and there are other reports that many of these recent retirees went back to work. The fact is that only about a third of Americans have enough assets and savings to actually retire. I think many of this mass retirement actually had to go back to work because of financial reasons. I don’t think the reports or the numbers are untrue, but I believe what I’m thinking supports these reports and my spin is a good insight. Basically many Americans were not really prepared for retirement.

Even though I have been preparing for more than a decade for retirement, still I’m unprepared.

So I’m not so keen on spending $12K on a IBIS Exie carbon fiber XC (Cross Country) bike. Better to spend money on the C10. I just ordered a pair of 30 tooth elliptical chainrings from Wolf Tooth that will provide a mucho low granny gear for climbing. I figure I will specialize and trick out the steel IBIS as a rock crawler for Blue Mountain. I have a 1x11 11-42T XTR kit that will provide 17.14” low to a 65.45” high.

From the Mountain Bike Festival I learned how heavy bikes are a liability on climbs, and because I’m a skinny bitch I do well climbing. The real advantage of a full suspension bike is in the rough and rocky downhills. Anyways to avoid injury I want to avoid speed on the downhills. Pretty easy to go too fast and crash.

Cal
 
Now I’m looking into getting a Generac whole house generator. 18K Watts is big enough.

Evidently generator hook ups are not part of the gas moratorium. I need my licensed plumber to do the paperwork. Within the next two weeks I’ll have an appointment for a consult.

I would expect delays…

Cal
 
Morning Cal

My Mother in Law just hooked up a Generac and it took about six months.

This just arrived from Mumbai India. 350 feet of 5 inch wide Plus-X Aero 2402. I have been shooting this in respooled 120 from 70mm and I love it.

1,050 4x5 exposures in this can. About 23 cents per 4x5 sheet net cost. Easy Peasy to cut in the dark with my 30" Rototrim

SONY DSC by Nokton48, on Flickr

4 inch wide strip fits tightly in holders by Nokton48, on Flickr

A four inch strip slides right into a 4x5 Graphmatic or Fidelity 4x5 holder. What a snag

120 Respooled 70mm Plus-X Aero 2402 Nik N Trik by Nokton48, on Flickr
 
Phil_F_NM said:
The economy is only expanding at the very top. For the rest of the population who provide most of the labor force, the economy is in the toilet.
Click to expand...

Phil,

No doubt I live in a bubble of sorts economically.

Yet I see empty strip malls, empty storefronts and many closed small businesses. When I shop for food I imagine how hard it must be for a working family. Between gas and food prices something has to give.

What you say disturbs me. Pretty much most of the population does not count or matter is one way of reading the data and the spin on the economy. My guess about 2/3rds of the population are suffering pretty badly.

I lived below my means for a long-long time, and I have mucho dry ammo stockpiled to blunt any economic effect.

I can see many Americans falling further behind for sure. That is pretty evident.

Cal
 
Nokton48 said:
Morning Cal

My Mother in Law just hooked up a Generac and it took about six months.

This just arrived from Mumbai India. 350 feet of 5 inch wide Plus-X Aero 2402. I have been shooting this in respooled 120 from 70mm and I love it.

1,050 4x5 exposures in this can. About 23 cents per 4x5 sheet net cost. Easy Peasy to cut in the dark with my 30" Rototrim

SONY DSC by Nokton48, on Flickr

4 inch wide strip fits tightly in holders by Nokton48, on Flickr

A four inch strip slides right into a 4x5 Graphmatic or Fidelity 4x5 holder. What a snag

120 Respooled 70mm Plus-X Aero 2402 Nik N Trik by Nokton48, on Flickr
Click to expand...

Devil Dan,

WOW. Mighty clever. Over a thousand exposures of 4x5 for $0.23 is cheap-cheap-cheap.

Does not get better than that. Also results like Kodak Plus X is not too shabby.

These long lead times are kinda brutal. All I can do is keep on keeping on…

Cal
 
Today had a 90 minute zoom call with a lawyer as a consult for creating a will/trust and estate planing.

Pretty much we are avoiding the possible bad outcome of our neighbor who was ill prepared for the loss of his female partner who he was not married to.

”Maggie” and I have been living in sin (unmarried) for 22 years. Pretty much things get complicated fast without a will, power of attorney, and a living will. Anyways this is what we are working on today. Pretty much we talked the talk and know what we want already, but making it legal is the real deal.

My neighbor is kinda ruined, his future is not good, and there is little help that he or I can do at this point. The end is near and it is not looking pretty or good…

Like I said, I live on a dead end and the situation is like the book “Rich Dad/Poor Dad” except it is “Rich House/Poor House.”

I moved the seat back 1/4 inch on the steel IBIS and it profoundly changed the way the bike handles. A small change made the front wheel lighter, and made the bike more stable and balanced. Kinda funny how a tiny change can be so dramatic.

Been watering the garden every morning of this heat wave. Did some further clean up of the driveway to stage for when the new shed kit arrives. Later today we will go to Home Cheapo to by two new security motion detection lights for the driveway and front backyard. The old ones are in need of replacement. I also have to kit up to rebuild the screens on the 40 windows on the house. I figure these are light jobs that need to be done that can be performed during this heat wave.

Cal
 
A surprise headline for me is Monarch Butterflies are now considered endangered.

I have a few patches of Milkweed on my property that I cultivate to support them. Destruction of habitat and loss of Milkweed, the Monarch’s food source, is the stated reasons for their endangerment.

Cal
 
Cal,

This year is flying along, the meet-up is the weekend after next. What time are you thinking of showing up...

Joe
 
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