New York December NYC Meet-Up

MrFujicaman said:
Glad to see you're home, Cal !
Click to expand...

MFM,

Many thanks.

The good, the bad, and the ugly of this trip is because it was structured I got to see a lot, but then again at only a survey level since this was a tour. I learned a lot about German history, and got many different perspectives where I learned that as an American I live in a bubble of sorts.

European cities are small by American standards, but they are mucho clean, calmer, and they all have their own charm. Imagine going to a small city of 100K, but the buildings all date back to the Baroque Period (1400's).

98% of Cologne was destroyed by allied bombing, but a Gothic cathedral still exists that took 600 years to build.

At the Mercedes factory they build a complete car in 24 hours. Amazingly all the different models of compact cars are assemble on the same assembly line. The robots change tools and adapt. The factory had a level of cleanliness of a living room. It was said that it is a 3 year apprenticeship to become a worker at Mercedes.

They value human capitol in Germany. In Heidelburg is a very big university. It costs 500 Euro a semester to attend if one is a member of the EU.

What was very-very rude coming home is to see the disparity of wealth in my face. In Europe it became difficult to see the separations of class and education. In the news is the stabbing death of an 18 year old college student not too far from where I live. The killers were 13-14 year old kids.

"Maggie" is currently in Denver and is sick. The constant nasal drip and sinus irritation came back once we got back to NYC. The poor air quality and pollution assaulted us upon landing. I deem the air quality in NYC as unhealthy.

I knew this from before, because I felt the pollution taxing my body when I left New Mexico and came back to New York. The air quality in Europe was much-much higher, also the cities were clean and not filthy like NYC.

The short story here is that I entered a European bubble and saw a very different life. At this point Amsterdam is on the short list for retirement because of quality of life. For Maggie going to Amsterdam was like going home. The American Hotel and the Cafe Americano for her was a great source of her heritage and pride.

Thursday is another "Camera Vacation" that is compounded by having a "Girlfriend Vacation," as Maggie will still be away. Pretty much the Leica Store in SoHo is having a SL2 workshop. My friend John Kreider, the SL, SL2 and Leica "S" Technical Specialist will be presenting the camera.

I already handled a SL2 display model, but more SL2's will be on hand to demo and go on a photo walk. I bought a pair of 128 GB Type 2 SD cards. The price was $199.98 each. Ouch.

In my preliminary handling and also by scrolling through the menus, Leica really advanced things a huge way. This is a mighty speedy camera that is crazy fast and the advances are a big leap forward over my SL which remains a great camera.

This SL2 workshop begins at 11:00 AM and continues into the evening. An artist presentation is included as well as a reception. One part of this event includes live models.

I was directed to call every workday in the late afternoon to check if they got a SL2 delivery. They say they get 3-4 SL2's a week, and basically I'm on the VIP list for one of them. Hopefully I get my SL2 later today.

Since I already own the APO 35 Cron and the 50 Lux-L, I intend on keeping my SL as to have a two fully rigged 2 camera kit. I have this padded leather bookbag that fits both cameras rigged, but I expect the combined weight is close to 14-15 pounds.

SL with APO 35 Cron: SL2 with 50 Lux-L. This is a pretty serious kit.

Cal
 
I'm honestly quite happy with Europe Cal, although TBH it's been ages I've seen Asia and my only stint with America was back in NYC 2015. Time flies! December tends to be a quick month because it's only 2 weeks worth of workload.


College here is great, I moved to Sweden for my Grad because as an EU citizen one gets no tuition fee. Likewise, better work prospects.

My place is a smaller 200K city with older buildings. For some reason, many of these older cities used to have a large fire in the 18th century so fewer buildings are that old but much more exciting than many Anytown, USA.
Northern Europe is very adapted to Anglosaxon and English is well spoken. I think Dutch may have more English fluency compared to Germans. Below France, not much English.



I feel ironic myself as I shuttle between Scandinavia and Spain, flying over many of these places that I've never visited. Amsterdam, Paris, Milan -- Poland, Czech Republic, Switzerland... I saw the Notre Dame before the disaster, from 10 miles over!



Have a NZ friend who moved back after his exchange and he liked the compactness and excitement of Europe.
 
Prest_400 said:
I'm honestly quite happy with Europe Cal, although TBH it's been ages I've seen Asia and my only stint with America was back in NYC 2015. Time flies! December tends to be a quick month because it's only 2 weeks worth of workload.


College here is great, I moved to Sweden for my Grad because as an EU citizen one gets no tuition fee. Likewise, better work prospects.

My place is a smaller 200K city with older buildings. For some reason, many of these older cities used to have a large fire in the 18th century so fewer buildings are that old but much more exciting than many Anytown, USA.
Northern Europe is very adapted to Anglosaxon and English is well spoken. I think Dutch may have more English fluency compared to Germans. Below France, not much English.



I feel ironic myself as I shuttle between Scandinavia and Spain, flying over many of these places that I've never visited. Amsterdam, Paris, Milan -- Poland, Czech Republic, Switzerland... I saw the Notre Dame before the disaster, from 10 miles over!



Have a NZ friend who moved back after his exchange and he liked the compactness and excitement of Europe.
Click to expand...

Jorde,

Amsterdam has the third highest volume of passengers as far as air travel goes. The two bigger airports in Europe are in London and Paris.

Don't tell my fellow dumb Americans, but since English is taught as a second language in the Netherlands being a dumb American is okay. LOL.

I found the morning light to be best. Not like in New York where it is just before the golden hours of dawn and dusk. It was weird having the glare and high contrast of noon summer light happen around 2:00 PM. My guess is that the sun must glance the ocean just right to cause all that brightness.

The two big attractions are low pollution levels and a higher quality of life. Christian had it right when he said, "Any city is wonderful if you can afford a luxury lifestyle."

It just so happens that the cost of living in Amsterdam is reported to be about 25%-30% lower than NYC.

BTW did you know that the bicycle was a German invention and it was invented due to some plague that killed horses. It was invented very near the Mercedes factory I visited where they built all the Mercedes compacts including the GLA.

Not many realized that this overpass built over a highway that seemed to be out of nowhere built along a ridge on a highway was a "tank trap" to impede a Soviet tank advance in Germany. Basically the overpass ruble would prevent tanks from passing. It would of made a good landscape photo with the contrast on nature and man made. A true "bridge to nowhere" of sorts.

Generally when Maggie and I vacation in a city we have a rule where we literally walk the entire city and avoid all mass transportation. On this trip we took buses supplied by the cruz line into various destinations. We also enjoyed the trollies.

On the boat there were 57 people serving the 135-150 pasengers. Pretty much they spoiled us. I definitely would not have ever purchased a vacation like this because I'm a CF, but for a free vacation I say it is mighty good. I am a richer man for the experience.

I'm glad I got out of my "American Bubble."

Cal
 
Calzone said:
Christian,



I saw no dog turds in Amsterdam. Something must have happened.



I wandered around kinda lost. I somehow discovered this neighborhood called "The Jordan."



Not so sure how these oversized barges that are now houseboats exist because they are too big to fit under the bridges. ???



"The Dutch are mighty clever," I say.



Cal
Click to expand...



Cal,
Welcome back! You were mainly lucky, but I think they keep the tourist areas clean. The Canal houses in the ring around the center used to be very desirable places to live. In the last 10-15 years they have been bought by dodgy foreign capital (tax avoidance etc), so there are fewer people (and dogs),but more tourists.
There are usually some operable bridges that allow house boats to be moved. Some of them may also be built up in situ. Once you have one of the good spots, you don’t give it up. A kid I grew up next door to has a house boat in the north of Amsterdam. It is a Finnish log hut on a concrete floating platform. It even has an upstairs. It is very cool.
De Jordaan is a classic Amsterdam working class area. Now there are also a lot of galleries. It still has a lot of character.
 
CNNY said:
Cal,
Welcome back! You were mainly lucky, but I think they keep the tourist areas clean. The Canal houses in the ring around the center used to be very desirable places to live. In the last 10-15 years they have been bought by dodgy foreign capital (tax avoidance etc), so there are fewer people (and dogs),but more tourists.
There are usually some operable bridges that allow house boats to be moved. Some of them may also be built up in situ. Once you have one of the good spots, you don’t give it up. A kid I grew up next door to has a house boat in the north of Amsterdam. It is a Finnish log hut on a concrete floating platform. It even has an upstairs. It is very cool.
De Jordaan is a classic Amsterdam working class area. Now there are also a lot of galleries. It still has a lot of character.
Click to expand...

Christian,

Now I understand why you are a clever devil.

Some of the houseboats were built on top of barges so large that even the flat barge defied how it got there because it would not fit under any fixed bridge unless the barge pre-existed any of the bridges that crossed over the canal.

Kinda funny "Maggies" family legacy of being related and a descendant of August Volmer (Great-Great Grandfather). Maggie's grandfather also was an architect.

Maggie found it amusing that she often got mistaken as a local when people spoke in Dutch to her.

The Pulitzer Amsterdam Hotel was an interesting hotel comprised of 25 row houses that were interconnected. To get to our room there was a hallway that dropped down and went up as we pass though one of the houses.

In Basel we had an entire apartment for our one day layover. The size was comparable to our NYC one bedroom apartment, except the bathroom was supersized and the size of a king sized bedroom complete with a ja-coo-Z.

Growing up poor I thought I would have a problem with all the luxury treatment, but it is pretty nice being so special.

So I come back to work and pretty much there is only one Chemistry Technician, one PhD Chemist, and one Senior Scientist Radiochemist left, with all the others either gone already or short timers that will be gone at the end of the month.

Don't forget that my boss is retiring in the first week in January, and I will be working my job "one-man deep" meaning I can't be sick or take extended vacations without affecting patient schedules in a hospital.

I expect a very light workload for mucho time. It appears it will take at least 6 months before any correction might happen that could easily extend into a year. I presume that I will have to shorten my workweek to comp my month's worth of annual vacation for at least the first six months. I might be able to create a day work week.

It will take some time to fill all the vacancies that are now open, and then some very big decisions need to be made between two very big New York hospitals.

My dream is a what if I make it to August 20th, 2020 my start date; I completed 21 years of service on my pension; and possibly I could get a "package" that would be a year's salary and a year added on my pension for a total of 22 years of service.

Of course generally this takes about 3 months to process and pretty much this brings me to January 2021 when I'll be 63 and the money (severants pay) to cover 2021 is in a bank laddered into CD's. This is how I get a year to figure out things for real for myself and this gets me to the age of 64.

Close enough to 66 1/2 for me... I think I have enough money to bridge not collecting Social Security till age 70. I definitely would not touch my pensions till 66 1/2, and I surely would have enough money, especially if I leave NYC.

There are a lot of possible senarios going on, many of them crazy, but I also could get recalled back to the main campus and simply get retrained into a new job until I hit age 66 1/2 and retire. Financially this makes the most sense financially and creates a richer retirement.

The hospital where my Cyclotron is at learned the hard way that they have to compensate staff in a rewarding way to retain them. I am a key person who if leaves means programs die along with the cyclotron. There are only 1K cyclotrons in the world (one is in Heidelburg, Germany), so how many experienced Cyclotron Engineers are in the wild?

Also when Cyclotrons are shelved or mothballed it is difficult to revive them. I know at Brookhaven National Labs they are trying to make a cyclotron operational again and they are fraught with difficulties because of the layering of systems that all have to work together to function.

I figure that somehow I have to ride out a very rough year before any determination becomes final.

How did my life turn into a game of Chess where I have to think three moves ahead?

Cal
 
SMUT from the Smut Queen:

Are you aware that Leica will be raising prices in January 10% on all lenses?

Seems like pain from the 25% tariff will be shared: 10% consummer; and a 15% "haircut" by Leica.

I was lucky to buy my APO 35 Cron for $4495.00 because the new price currently at B&H and Adorama is $5095.00, a $600.00 increase already and it is not even January. I wonder if there will be yet another price increase on top of this in January.

In the Leica Forums there was a post that mentioned a price of $5695.00 at Adorama for an APO 35 Cron, but it seems that Adorama was doing some price gouging with a $1200.00 increase. A full 25% price increase on the full pre-tariff price would be $5618.75. Ouch.

Also know that the insider smut says that the price of the SL2 and Q2 will not increase. I was worried that I would have had to pay a $1.5K premium due to the 25% tariff.

So far my calls to the Leica Store indicated no SL2 deliveries so far this week. They mention that every week they get 3-4 SL2's. Would be great to buy my camera after work today so I would have it for the SL2 launch event tomorrow.

I already have the pair of 128 GB type II SD cards required. I was surprised how costly they were, but basically I'll need the capacity for video.

I'm starting my strength training. In a few weeks I'll be 62. How many 62 year old's do you know that have abs?

Cal
 
What I just reported just came up in "Leica Rumors."

The price of my 50 Lux-L went up $600.00.

To buy the CL and the 23 Cron would cost me $500.00 more due to the tariffs. The cost of a CL exceeds $3K starting in January.

So far the tariffs has not cost me any premium, but this surely will curb my GAS after I purchase a SL2 which is not effected by the tariffs.

Cal

POSTSCRIPT: I just loaded up the truck again buying oil and creams again that filled a knapsack. Saved $37.00 by hosing Bed Bath and Beyond with mucho coupons. Somehow I still have over 60 coupons left. Know that even though there is an experation date that coupons when used in stores never expire.

Bought cleaning supplies and a new cartridge for my second humidifier. I already have one 650 square foot unit running. Come January and February one humidifier is not enough. Very important for my health (breathing and skin) as well as for my printing. I maintain a 50-60% humidity.
 
I started my New Year's resolution, and will always carry a camera when I go out.

I own a CL with a 23 Cron (35mm FOV). Pretty much this camera does not get used that much, but it is mighty small and is a fast shooter. No reason not to leave the apartment without it, unless I'm carrying another camera.

The SL2 Launch was great. At the December Meet-Up I'll be bringing a SL2 Chocolate bar. I got a total of three yesterday. I also got in a "Goodie Bag" a SL2 pin and a SL2 metal water bottle.

Cannot wait to get a SL2. The IBIS is a big deal. I can see the added resolution on my EIZO. Kinda like tripod shots.

The Maestro III processor is twice as fast as the Maestro II processor used on my SL and the M10. The SL2 feels smaller and lighter than the SL, even though it is slightly heavier. It seems mor optimized for use with manual focus lenses.

"Crazy-good," I say.

Cal
 
"Maggie" just got invited (all expenses paid) to attend Paris Fashion Week as a guest by a big time UBER luxury fashion brand.

This is the big time, and as far as luxury goes this is likely the biggest and best brand to be associated with. Big Euros/dollars, UBER luxury.

Too bad no "plus-one." Maggie needs her ontourage. LOL.

702K followers. A picture I took on the cruise where Maggie is on out balcony relaxing wearing a loud orange sweater got 40K likes within 24 hours.

BTW Leica AG is one of her followers.

Cal
 
So after Paris Fashion Week, which opens the doors, in the following year things advance to where there will be expense paid multiple guest invites to attend London, Paris, and Milan Fashion Weeks.

Pretty much will be attended by hair and make-up artists, dressers, stylists to sit front row center for some mighty big shows in these cities.

This Paris invite opens the floodgates.

Cal
 
Calzone said:
I started my New Year's resolution, and will always carry a camera when I go out.

I own a CL with a 23 Cron (35mm FOV). Pretty much this camera does not get used that much, but it is mighty small and is a fast shooter. No reason not to leave the apartment without it, unless I'm carrying another camera.

The SL2 Launch was great. At the December Meet-Up I'll be bringing a SL2 Chocolate bar. I got a total of three yesterday. I also got in a "Goodie Bag" a SL2 pin and a SL2 metal water bottle.

Cannot wait to get a SL2. The IBIS is a big deal. I can see the added resolution on my EIZO. Kinda like tripod shots.

The Maestro III processor is twice as fast as the Maestro II processor used on my SL and the M10. The SL2 feels smaller and lighter than the SL, even though it is slightly heavier. It seems mor optimized for use with manual focus lenses.

"Crazy-good," I say.

Cal
Click to expand...

That's what I love about the Sony Cal, the IBIS is so helpful in getting that
extra bit of detail that you miss with camera shake. I did pick up another
lens a Samyang 24mm f2.8 it's a little soft sometimes at 2.8 but closed
down it's pretty nice.
 
Calzone said:
It seems that the only possible time for a December Meet-Up is Sunday December 22d.

Seems like a great time to bring out a Lloyd's Carrot Cake to feast on.

No lie that this is the best. I figure why not share it with everyone at Sharlene's, including Greg the bartender.

Cal
Click to expand...

Just a reminder, that this is happening tomorrow at 1pm at
Sharlene’s
353 Flatbush Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11238
 
Ethan showed me the 7th Avenue stop. Just around the corner.

Welcome back Steve.

Where was "Snarky Joe?"

Another good Meet-Up. Glad I could squeeze it in.

I suspect that after today's call, that a SL2 delivery is kinda remote. I believe in Germany they kinda have a Christmas to New Year's break. Likely in January deliveries will begin to trickle in. Brutal.

Now I have to deal with the trickle in of supply it seems. Last week there were no SL2 deliveries to the Leica Store in SoHo. I'll be calling my other dealer later today to get a feel on the other end of the supply.

I was inspired by my friend J. in Basel. J. and I have been Internet friends for perhaps 4-5 years, and on the Luxury European Cruise/vacation we finally met up.

Kinda funny how similar we are in personality, taste, and attitude. Pretty much he and I are clones. LOL. We even embrace the same gear.

So for "Maggie" I kinda rig the SL as a DSLR for speed, but I realized this enforced a certain laziness; and now I also set the SL up as a fully manual camera so it is more rangefinder like with the benefits of a movable rangefinder and accurate framing.

I isolate the shutter release to only one function and rely on depressing the toggle joystick for autofocus. I take back full control by using manual exposure.

I really love how easy and intuitive the SL is to allow this flexibility to emulate a DSLR and a rangefinder.

The SL2 GAS is killing me.

Cal
 
dshfoto said:
Cal,
FYI
online resources at www.internationalliving.com, www.topretirements.com and www.expatinfodesk.com, https://www.expat.com/
Also, https://www.kiplinger.com/article/retirement/T037-C000-S002-how-to-retire-abroad.html

Steve
Click to expand...

Steve,

Many thanks.

For those lurking Steve has lived as an ex-pat.

Kinda funny how I had become so obsessed with shooting New York. I realize my behavior was to have a sense of home to take with me when I leave/retire. Pretty much took about a decade to figure out the motivation.

So I have a sense of closure and decided that I will utilize the IBIS in the SL2 to help me shoot NYC at night for a new body of work.

With "Maggie" I got lazy exploiting the automation of the SL, but with this new NYC at night shooting I will be pretty much reconfiguring the SL2 function as a more manual camera that will be very much emulating a rangefinger rather than a DSLR.

I have been waiting over 3 years for a SL2.

Cal
 
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