Sorry for my long absence.
This new site hurts my eyes and is difficult for me to figure out. To be honest I like the old retro site better. The difficulties made me stay off for a while.
Been mucho busy getting ready for retirement. By Wednesday November 24th I'll be somewhat retired because effectively that will be my last day of work-work. On Wednesday December 22d is my official last day where I basically go to work to say good bye after 22 years.
In the meantime I have had to get lots of stuff done to prepare including training two chemists how to run a cyclotron. One PhD chemist who is my age (63) is a rigid thinker and a bit of a numb-skull; the young girl seems to have all the right stuff and is way ahead of the old man. Still I expect the smallest problem or glitch to trip them up because they don't have the proper background or enough experience to figure things out.
My cyclotron is 20 years old, and the rebuild/overhaul/upgrade was suppose to happen the summer of 2022, but now it looks more like September 2022. A year without problems is unlikely, and also within that year maintenance has to be performed to keep things operational. If anything goes wrong there is no one to fix the machine.
Oh-well. I find the sich-E-A-tion amusing because the future is so fraught and fragile.
We signed a contract with a GC to remodel the kitchen and kitchen bath. A solar array evaluation canned any likelyhood of a solar array on a hundred year old house. The curb appeal would of been destroyed of an otherwise cute old house. What a "spackle-job" was being proposed.
One good outcome though is saving money by installing a natural gas 18 KW generator instead of having a solar array and battery backup like say a Teslar Power Wall. The pergola is still not installed and I only got as far as setting the footings. A building permit cost me $335.00 and took a month to get. "Moo," said the Pig.
So planning out the next 40-50 years is fraught with details, and I have been dealing with all of them. That is how I'm explaining my absence.
Know that I have a very strong sense of achievement because of my retirement. I know I am financially secure, and that I have too much money as far as taxes go. Rich people say, "No one ever got rich by paying taxes." I have spent much of my time crunching numbers trying to figure out the best strategy to keep my savings, pensions and Social Security. Of course this gets complicated fast, and all the tax laws are rather tricky with thresholds and trip wires to basically hose you.
I feel kinda smug going to work now because the end of my working life will be over. Next year the house will get transformed, first the kitchen and kitchen bath will get done, then there is the garage/studio...
The new ideas is to divide the garage in half. One section as a utility area and a place to park the Audi, the other half will be my "clean room" (10x20), and off the Clean Room for my music gear and digital printing will be what the British call a "Conservatory" which will be a second room (10x20) that embraces a wall of windows overlooking the lawn of the back-backyard (second building lot), the cliff where the steep roll-off begins, the 40 acres of marsh grass (frog ghetto), and then a forest hillside. The idea for the conservatory is to have one long shelf as a deskspace that embraces the panoramic view. There likely would be some plants, but only for decoration, this is not a greenhouse.
I changed my mind again and will build a wet darkroom in the basement proper. Originally I thought the "porch basement" would be good, but I don't want to be limited of constrained.
The Baby-Victorian with the new enlarged front stoop, custom wrought iron railings, new sidewalk made of pavers, as well as a new patio of pavers now are making the once run down hill-billy house look rather cute with some sparkle.
Next year a lot of things will get built out, and then the fun begins with photography again.
I should be biking again and getting mucho fit and hard-bodied because I'll have the time.
Lately I've bee playing guitar, and I have GAS for an expensive Santa Cruz acoustic. I already have a crazy good Santa Cruz OM with Brazilian back and sides and an old growth Adirondack Spruce top that basically is a modern recreation of a 1930's Martin. Something is happening in my playing because I play every night, and a very different style is happening. I kinda do pick and fingerstyle at the same time and my approach and sound is more like a piano.
Maggie got a book contract. Instead of doing a "Round-Robin" which would of been a bidding war, her literary agent did a "best bid" where Maggie selected the publisher/editor she liked. Her book will be titled "How To Get Old."
She is leaving the world of fashion behind. This makes me happy-happy. Less work for Calvin. You know me: I'm a lazy-slacker.
Augie
