New York August NYC Meet-Up 2021

Yesterday by my garage I saw "Big-Bird" a stork like wading bird with long legs, a crane like neck but thicker, with a stout thick body like a Canadian goose.

What makes me think it is not a stork is that it did not have a long beak.

The color was grey and Big-Bird was perhaps just shy of three feet tall.

I have seen many cranes before, but this bird is much larger and has a not so sleek body.

I wonder what I saw. I took some shots with my SL2.

Cal
 
Over a decade or so ago, I think on late night TV, someone made a joke about running for President and that their platform was Global Warming.

The premise of the joke was that here in the U.S. we should just create a huge dome so we basically could live in a bubble and that we would just run A.C. to counter Global Warming.

At the time this was funny, but here I am in 2021 considering basically how to build out my own personal "life-support" system, and it is no joke.

The Mitsubishi heat and A.C. heads don't cycle like a conventional heating or cooling system, and pretty much they run steady state using some "inverter" technology. It is said that a heat pump system uses only 25% of the energy of a conventional oil or gas heating system.

The system is pretty modular and in some of the heads they also have built in air purifiers. This is a bonus.

I figured out that my ground floor is about 650 square feet in my Baby-Victorian if I exclude the hallway that also includes the staircase leading up to the second floor.

Originally the hallway had a kitchen and living room doors, I have one of the original vintage doors, so if I seal off the hallway I figure one big unit could provide my lazy-slacker HVAC.

As global warming accelerates and worsens I can predict rising costs for electricity and energy in the future. Rolling brown-out and rolling blackouts I think will be coming.

I'm glad my house is small. Looks like I'm building a bunker of sorts where I will be safe.

Sadly for many there is no safe place.

Augie.
 
In a lazy-slacker fashion I removed two motorized lead screw assemblies: one trashed; one still good but missing nylon bushings.

At my hospital we have a machine shop, so I handed off the tasks of dissassembly and reassembly. The nylon bushings I'm recycling off the trashed lead screw and having them installed onto the lead screw that has missing bushings.

This gives me the time to post here on RFF instead of having to work. LOL.

I also ordered an inner tube and a spare for my Gorilla Cart. I should have the inner tubes tomorrow.

It seems I fixed the vacuum leak. Time is my friend. January is not so far away.

Cal
 
"Maggie" has some local feed that blogs about our neighborhood.

The town just south of us is called Buchanan and that is where Indian Point is where there is a now decommissioned nuclear reactor.

My Baby-Victorian is on the southern fringe of Peekskill and Dickey Brook which is basically just beyond my back-backyard is what separates Peekskill from Buchanan.

What I see from my cliff like overlook is perhaps 40-50 acres of marsh grass and then a hill with a forest. I see no houses in Buchanan, and anyways the camps or bungalows are about a quarter mile away and remain hidden by the forest. This one way-in-one-way-out to Buchanan is a camp where people only own the structures and not the land. This road also leads to "The Hot Rod Hotel."

I reported that Maggie saw a Bobcat, and there is a report of someone in Buchanan who found a mutilated dead deer in his back yard that had body parts strewn about. The homeowner stated he thinks it was either a Bobcat or coyote.

I mention to Maggie that a lone coyote is unlikely to be able to down a deer alone, and if it was coyotes then is likely was a pack of them, but a Bobcat can down a deer alone.

Made an appointment to have an estimate made for Andersen replacement windows for the front porch. We want French casements with no screens for that open vibe.

My wish is for Maggie to get on board to have a pair/set of Andersen french doors also installed along with "side-lites." I don't want the delay of hunting down an old vintage door that will fit. I have plenty of things I want to do, and improving the front porch will help winterize the house.

Yesterday I opened the porch basement door, and that was like opening a window because the humidity in the basement increased. It showed how in the winter how much heat gets lost through my front porch. Only a porch floor and the leaky porch basement door in my cellar keeps the cold air outside.

I'm pretty excited. Next I will be calling a mason to build out my semicircular stoop and new sidewalk. My old house will be getting fancy. My street is called an avenue even though it only has 13 houses. Our house is the "old lady."

Cal
 
Calzone said:
I got an e-mail blast from my friend John Kreidler who is the Leica "S" and SL specialist.

In his post, "Freedom To Focus" he explains why using M-lenses on the SL is better for him than a rangefinder due to being able to move the focus patch and for focus accuracy.

He also mentions the SL2S as being better for low light conditions, but the resolution of the SL2 gives him the medium format look he pursues.

His go to lens is the 75/1.2 Noctilux.

So my spin on this is I love my 58/1.2 Noct-Nikkor on my SL. The SL2S would be nice to have as an upgrade, due to the bigger buffer, user interface, but the biggest asset would be IBIS.

I get it that for low light it is not how many pixels, but how big are your pixels. Anyways my 6 year old SL is still a great camera.

John and I have similar thinking. BTW John got Leica to lend me a 24-90 zoom to cover NYC Fashion Week. I was suppose to only borrow the lens for two weeks, but I held onto it for three.

Cal
Click to expand...

I love the IBIS in my Sony A7II and I have a Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 on it sometimes and works better in manual focus mode on the A7 than the Fuji
X-T1.
 
Range-rover said:
I love the IBIS in my Sony A7II and I have a Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 on it sometimes and works better in manual focus mode on the A7 than the Fuji
X-T1.
Click to expand...

Bob,

IBIS is a very big deal.

The thing with IS in lenses is that the IS is even more refined and higher performance. In the SL system all the longer zooms starting with the 24-90 L-mount have in lense IS, and it works remarkably well.

Cal
 
We had an Andersen window quote Saturday performed to replace 6 windows with Andersen Renewal casement windows.

Currently there are Jello-C windows that date from the 1950's that enclose our front porch.

Also asked for quote for a pair of Andersen French doors that "in-swing" along with side-lites.

The grills we like are this design called "Prarie" that are arts and craft style.

With this new entrance, along with a new stoop with steps that form concentric arcs our Baby-Victorian will not look so run down and shabby. Call me vain, but it will be strikingly good looking and mighty handsome.

Later Saturday we went to our local masonary supply and bought pavers and 6 cubic yards of sand to build out our patio. Instead of going big into Flagstone, we scaled down the size. We got the last two pallets of a paver that is being no longer made, and likely we got it at the old original pricing pre-covid for not much money.

The six cubic yards of sand with the pavers will be delivered on Wednesday. My worries would be that the sand would just be dump trucked in my driveway, and then basically my Audi would be trapped in the garage.

The workaround was to also purchase these construction bags that I call "Man-Bags" that are about the same size as a 4x4 pallet that have handles for a fork lift. The sand will be delivered on pallets with the sand contained in Man-bags.

Sunday did a lot of cement rubble mining and top soil excavation to use as landfill to stabilize the erosion and back fill the gully by my next door neighbor's property. The new Gorilla Cart that has the dumpster tray got a lot of use.

I'm going crazy with Milwaukee M12 and M18 tools. Bought an edger attachment for the string-cutter head. Ordered a M18 8 amp-hour battery. I think I will next buy a M12 "Pruner" which is really a 6 inch chainsaw to cut Knotweed. Much faster than swinging a machete.

Since we can't smother the Knotweed due to erosion, the other way is to "cut-cut-cut" and exploit the growing cycle and timing to damage the rye-zome and deplete the energy stored in the roots. Because Knotweed is so fast growing a chain saw will be a great tool.

Tuesday a rep from Mitsubishi will be coming by to advise about getting a heat pump and mini-split. My new friends Laura and Josh, refugees from Astoria, have a mini-split system on their house, and they love it. Saves them lots of money. Primarily for AC and as a supplement to there primary heating system which is a gas furnace.

Today I'm still waiting for parts. Since Friday the shipment from Canada has been in Jamaica, New York. Is it in "Customs" and languishing there? Oh-well...

Same goes with the other lead screw/motor assembly. Oh-well...

I'm in no rush, and I'm still getting paid.

Augie
 
Cal, a cordless Sawzall with a pruning blade is also good for cutting up roots and small stumps. Just make sure to oil the blade with chainsaw bar oil every so often to keep it from loosing it's temper.
 
Phil_F_NM said:
Cal, are you making a beach? 6 cubic yards is a lot of sand.

Phil Forrest
Click to expand...

Phil,

I have a foot of topsoil that I'm excavating in a traditional vintage manner, meaning with a shovel and manual labor.

Remember I risked injury/death by overloading my flatbed Gorilla Cart. I repaired the blown out innertube, and now I have a heavier duty Gorilla Cart that has the dumpster top.

The patio is scaled down from 20x20 flagstone to a 11x14 pavers, and I think you are correct, 6 cubic yards was for the larger patio, and now I'm thinking I only had to buy 4 man-bags for 4 cubic yards.

That's still a lot of sand. So now I think one yard of the 4 is crushed stone for the top layer.

So now you have me thinking that I best park my Audi on the street because half my driveway is only 10x20 feet and 6 pallets if the driver/delivery dude just does a drop and run that the Audi could get trapped in the garage.

One day in Madhattan I was just walking along "Minding my own business," when I see a brand new "Man-Bag" just laying on the curb, so I picked it up and took it to work where I stored it in my locker.

I ended giving it away, but then I bought this house, and many times I wish I still had it. This Wednesday I'll own 4 Man-Bags. LOL.

Still 3 cubic yards of sand and one cubic yard of crushed stone is still a lot. Know that I would agree with "Maggie" I'm too skinny. I have the muscle and lean build of a 15 year old kid, and perhaps on a 63 1/2 year old that is not good.

Cal
 
Eat more protein! Also plenty of fiber and complex carbs. But increased protein above age 40 is more important.

Phil Forrest
 
With all this physical work you are doing, don't forget to hydrate. I recommend lots of cold beer ! You may also gain a pound or three. You must remember, in Heaven, there is NO BEER, that's why we drink it while we're here :D
 
Phil_F_NM said:
Eat more protein! Also plenty of fiber and complex carbs. But increased protein above age 40 is more important.

Phil Forrest
Click to expand...

Phil,

I don't think I'm loosing muscle mass, but eating more protein is still a good idea.

"Maggie" had C-Diff in March last year where I had to take her to to the E.R.

Cronic over usage of prescribed anti-biotics messed up her immune system. For over twenty years I told her about my friend Joan who was prescribed anti-biotics as a child, and now she has a messed up immune system like my friend Joan.

So now Maggie is on a more plant based diet, and that's when I started to lean out. Low fat, minimal animal products, and not a lot of carbs.

Because I do work to compound things I don't think I eat enough complex carbs. Maggie's new diet definitely is healthy, but I likely need more fat and carbs. Also I think eating more fresh fruit and vegitables is not a bad thing.

The way I see it is in 2022 I'll be mucho busy getting all these renovations done before I turn 65 and have to sign up for MediCare. I won't collect my pensions either till 65, and it looks like all I need is one pension because for tax reasons in makes sense to pay taxes on my 403B before I'm 70 while I can try to keep my income below a threshold.

Another forensic surprise is on the kitchen floor. I already knew that there are two layers of linoleum under a tile floor. Also whoever installed the floor put down only a quarter inch layer of plywood under the tile with no concrete mud.

So in digging in we broke a tile and started pealing through the layers to discover that no screws or nails are holding down the underlayment. Everything is a glue job and glued together. You got to know that all this adhesive is decades old.

At this point we wonder if we can rescue a quartersawn heart pine floor that is underneath. I know that this is a lot of work, but in the end the result would be worth it. The entire first floor would be quarter sawn heart pine.

I have yet to pull out my heat gun...

Upstairs they put a modern oak floor, and I don't know what is underneath, but I can tell the floor was doubled up.

Cal
 
Austintatious said:
With all this physical work you are doing, don't forget to hydrate. I recommend lots of cold beer ! You may also gain a pound or three. You must remember, in Heaven, there is NO BEER, that's why we drink it while we're here :D
Click to expand...

Austin,

My friend Billie says alcohol is a devil's tool, but he also says the devil also has the best tools. LOL.

BTW I'm in the pool of 30% of Asians that don't have the M-zign to break down alcohol. For me alcohol is a crappy high, but I love the taste of beer. I only drink non alcoholic beers.

So since I don't drink, I believe it is likely the main reason why I look so young, and also why I'm a skinny bitch.

At times I do abuse coffee though.

I have a sister who I would deem an alcoholic. What a waste. I can think of better ways that are more fun to try and kill yourself.

I entered a drawing to win one of 850 T-shirts from Milwaukee tools, also a once a month drawing for a ten-piece tool kit. This would be encouragement.

Also I need to run or bike more, or use my Concept 2 rowing machine, but the commute and working around the house burns too much of my time. In January I start a whole new life where crazy will be good.

This rather modest not so costly house will allow for rather expensive improvements. Even just the front porch with new stoop will be mucho costly, but this house eventually will be rather advanced in comfort and display mucho style.

Using a heat pump and a mini-split will allow for more floor space as we intend on using a ceiling mount if we can, or second choice a wall mount mounted high so it is like a sofit in the kitchen.

Getting rid of a floor mounted radiator is a really great idea. The ideas I get on the long train rides...

Cal
 
Tonight we meet with a rep from Mitsubishi about getting a Mini-split for HVAC for our living room, dining room and kitchen.

The layout of the house with the ability to isolate the large hallway with doors (have one of the original doors stored in the basement) allows for the 650-700 square feet to cooled as one space.

Also the living room and dinning room can be looked as one big long room with a pair of pocket doors that can isolate the living room and block it off if unused or unoccupied.

There is a bonus of air filtering and purification built into each unit.

There is a EZ Fit ductless air handler that fits in between 16 inch joists, and a new product called Hyper-Heating Inverter (H2i) that runs as low as 5 degrees F with a -13 degree F limit.

Let's see how a single unit works for this space. If things work out well I might have to do a multizone mini split for the second floor.

BTW July's Con Ed bill was big and was more than triple June's bill due to AC costs, especially "Maggie-factor."

Maggie forgets to turn things down or off, or she might turn off the AC, but leave the window closed so that the bedroom heats up to 90 degrees, she might have the AC on but leave open the door...

Cal
 
The endearment "Snarky Joe" holds true. In the end Joe forecast and knew that a mini-split was the way to go for HVAC.

Back when he posted about "mini-splits" I did not realize he was talking heat-pumps.

All I can add is that things have advanced to the point where they are effective down to polar vortex temps now if I get a Mitsubishi H2i (Hyper-Heat Inverter) that exploits the latest technology.

In the end Snarky Joe is correct again. LOL.

Cal
 
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