New York Greetings From Hill-Billy Calvin, AKA Augie

Bob,

I just used one of your links to have another listen to that front section where the first part of the medley is "While My Guitar Gently Weeps."

Upon second listening it is a singular chord that made me "modulate" and connect to "Here Comes The Sun."

I find this really interesting. This indicates some of my ear training, but then again I mostly play by feel.

Thanks again.

I think it would be a great musical statement though to perform a blended form of these two songs: one so dark; and the other so hopeful.

Calvin-August
 
Cal,

Tommy Emmanual Is truly gifted. “Here Comes The Sun” for sure.
Fantastic guitar. Thanks for sharing.
 
Almost 40 degrees in NYC on my walk to work.

My commute is a minimum of 2 hours 10 minutes of walking, 2 hours and 10 minutes of train ride, plus waiting time. No doubt that this is a long commute, but the day passes in a relaxed manner, and I'm in no particular rush.

The time seems to pass rapidly, and I am not bored. I find myself alone in my daydreams wondering. It is as if I am a child again, it is that protected and peaceful.

So I am pleased with the mild weather and that the polar vortex seems to be descending upon Europe. Generally the first week in January is the coldest time of the year according to the Almanac, but so far another mild winter.

So yesterday I realized my Santa Cruz OM made from old growth Brazilian Rosewood would cost $20K to replace. Over two decades ago I bougth it used for about 1/3rd the current going price. Today I could not afford a new one, unless I am foolish.

So now I'm looking at other Santa Cruz guitars, and also I'm thinking of my friend Cris who builds guitars. I already own a Mirabella archtop, and then there is this guitar that has been a work in progress for 17 years that is a project that Cris calls "Jane" after Jane Mansfield because it will be an 18 inch archtop that is a big blonde.

Currently things sped up a bit because some Japanese rich guy ordered and wants an 18 inch archtop, so the two are being built together.

So the long wait has resulted in many upgrades in wood, and somehow a neck blank from Jimmy DeAquisto's estate became one of the upgrades.

My friend Dave mentioned that the longer I wait, the better the guitar will be. Regardless, my commission to build the first 18 inch "trap-Door" guitar is important history, since Cris is destined to become, The Man" when John Monteleon passes.

Cris also has some flamed claro walnut I secured decades ago. This is another project guitar where Cris wants to replicate a Gibson "Bone Crusher" which is a guitar that Gibson designed to compete against a Martin D sized Herringbone.

This includes a piece of perfectly quartersaw black walnut that was cut from a huge slab that someone gave me that was set aside for a fireplace mantle that perhaps could be and is likely over a hundred years old.

So another big guitar, but as a flattop accoustic.

So it makes sense to start yet another project to add to my Mirabella collection as a fourth guitar, a smaller guitar, perhaps a parlor guitar to be period correct with my Baby-Victorian.

My thinking is along the lines of blues accoustic like a Santa Cruz Triple-O twelve fret, or a H13 styled after a Gibson Nick Lucas, or as a parlor guitar a Santa Cruz "Firefly."

Guitar GAS is the worse. Know that at this level there are long waiting lists, and Cris is the reason where I come up with the expression, "Why do I love him?"

Today I will call to yell at him. LOL. Know that we go back decades, and and knew him when Cris was just a punk-kid.

So to add insult my first Mirabella I bought back to the shop, an before you know it since my guitar was an early prototype, he wants to replace the neck and change the headstock since originally I wanted him to reprofile the neck.

Know that the guitar know as "Red" has a "clubby" neck. Red is like a Gibson L-5 with a carved European Spruce top that has been electrofied with a single neck pickup.

So I upgrade the fretboard for inlays, and because we are friends he says he has "Red" abalone that he has saved. Evidently this stuff is rare. And since he is changing the neck he might as well make a new bridge and tailpiece.

Then I think of changing the pickup, and instead of mounting the volume and tone control built into the pickguard, I suggest mounting the controls to the body since I want to change the pickup to a Jason Lollar Charlie Christion pickup packaged as a humbucker.

So Cris says that a good reason to make a new pickguard.

Now all this work is for free, except $300.00 for the red abalone inlays, but finally Cris proposes that since he is doing all this work, he might as well upgrade the bindings and refinish the entire guitar.

So this all happens one afternoon hanging out in a guitar shop wher basically I leave "Red" with Cris to get "gut" renovated like a house. All I know is that it has been about a year and a half, and I know that Red is all apart, and I have no idea when she will be a guitar again.

Back in 2005 I went to the Long Island Guitar Show. My friend Dave invited me, and Cris had a booth. On display were about half a dozen guitars that Cris built, and one of them was "Red."

Red was built for this great Jazz player named Steve, but teve was an OCD kinda guy, extra fussy, and mucho fickle. Cris complained that he kept changing the design as the guitar got built.

I told Cris that I wanted to orde an exact copy of Red "as-is."

So a day later my friend Dave calls and says if I want that red guitar that I should call Cris right now.

So the smut is that Steve wanted to redesign the guitar, so Cris told Steve that he could sell the red guitar and just make Steve a new guitar, and that would be easier.

Of course this deal annoyed my friend Dave who whined, "You had the shortest wait, I've been waiting years for Cris to build me my guitar."

I literally had securd "Red" and owned a new Mirabella guitar within a week. The serial number is 0007.

So every time I brought Red back to Cris' shop of course Steve the player who commissioned the guitar would pop in. Of course "Red" opened up a lot, and the red faded slightly and got a cool orange patina.

So every time Steve played Red, I saw agony. You always want what you can't have, and this was the one that got away.

"I should of kept this guitar and just have Cris make the changes," he said, but one day he even offered to buy it. How rude was I when I tore "Red" from his hands.

Was I mean? LOL. You bet-cha. You can't make this stuff up.

In today's call to Cris I'm going to try and push him a bit. I also want to get an update. It would be great to have at least one of my Mirabellas at home in Peekskill.

Also know that in a way I am a patron of the arts. Back in 2005 I realized and recognized that Cris was being "groomed" by Larry Wexler a serious high end guitar dealer, and John Monteleon The Man" himself.

The concept of "Jane" led to the building of a prototype 17 inch archtop with "Trap-Doors" for adjusting projection and resonance. "Carmella" had a brown burst finish and led to selling many trap-door guitars.

It all started with "Red" and quickly esculated to "Jane," the "Bone Crusher" and now a smaller flattop acoustic.

Know that for doing guitar shows and having display models to allow playing time to prospective clients is why Red is being gut renovated into a show guitar as a sample. I subsidize an artist, but I kinda get a crazy good deal because of our relationship and friendship.

In a ways I'm constructing a Mirabella Guitar Portfolio.

Calvin-August
 
Had a good "yelling" session with my friend Cris. Seems like we are on the same page.

I forgot to mention before that he also has a Telecastor that he is also reshaping the neck for me. This guitar will get back on the bench. Like all my other guitars it is apart.

The 18 inch guitar called Jane and her sister 18 inch for that wealthy Japanese guy have been built out into kits that need to be assembled and finished. Repairs became a priority to pay the bills for a while sidelining building.

So we made a deadline for a year from now that the "Bonecrusher" will be completed, and I'll be prepared for full payment next January. "Don't tell Maggie," but I bought myelf a retirement present, an expensive one.

The idea here is I'm cracking the whip so he has a group of guitars to show when Covid breaks. Smut is that gigs are getting booked for 2022, and that this year there is little chance to showcase guitars in 2021.

So if you can imagine these Guitar Shows are like PhotoPlusExpo in a way, except for guitar and amp nerds instead of cameras and photography. Many of the same impulsive and OCD qualities as well as collecting.

Going to Cris' shop is like a NYC Meet-Up because its the usual same guys that are like a crew.

Sadly a major guitar amp guru and friend Richie blew out his heart and collapsed one day. There is no one to who could replace him. Richie will be missed. Richie was a heavy smoker.

An interesting story is that Richie was a treasure hunter. He researched out old houses that pre-dated indoor plumbing and would excavate where outhouses were formally located. Richie explained that these spaces were early places where garbage was thrown as landfill.

So every weekend Richie would do these excavations and they had a crew. They would talk with home owners and split up the treasure. On occasion they would find an item and sell it at auction at Sotheby's where the found item sold for tens of thousands of dollars.

One weekend they figured out where a house once was, and it happen to be in a paved road next to a construction site. So they took a pick ax and broke through the pavement and acted as if they were just part of the construction crew.

BTW this was all done in NYC, no permits, and basically it was all their attitude that got them to get away with pretty much do as they pleased.

Richie would show me old books of urban planning that somehow he got.

You can't make this stuff up.

Calvin-August
 
My hair officially hits my waist/belt-line and know that because I'm a skinny bitch that my pants ride low near ghetto style.

This is the longest my hair has ever been. I am starting to look like a Hill-Billy meaning more feral than normal.

Partially because I'm a lazy-slacker, but also because I would rather be safe and socially distant than get a haircut. Without my hair ponytailed with my hair down I look like a savage.

Also a little crazy. LOL.

Cal
 
Yesterday I drove into the city so "Maggie" could get her first injection of Covid Vaccine.

Next Friday I will get my second injection at work.

It is a bit chaotic, there initially was some shuffling, but it seems that in NYC it is easier than the rest of New York State.

I got my vaccine because I work at a hospital, and Maggie got hers because she is older than 65.

A word of warning is that the shoulder where they inject will be really sore. Maggie reported chills and some disorientation.

So on February 15th I will have to drive her in again to get her second injection.

I kinda love having a car, especially the Audi A4. I know that it is the econobox version, and having a S4 would be cooler, but the A4 has enough performance, comfort, and balanced handling.

I can't see living without a car, even though since December 4th I only have put on 650 miles in a little more than 6 weeks. Over that same time period I put in about 285 miles of walking just doing my commute. Every week 47.5 miles of walking and about 100 miles of driving on average.

It seems like the A4 gets about 25 MPG, even though it involves an ethanol blend.

So now I'm spoiled by comfort.

Somehow we got snookered into having the "Creature" (Maggie's daughter) and "Creature-Junior" (Maggie's Daughter) over for dinner every Sunday. They live in the next town.

So I'm a big fan of Jane Austin, the writer. "Creature" was a term that goes back to Victorian times in England where the nobility called people from the lower classes creatures because they were less civilized. When I got to first know Maggie's daughter she was an out of control teenager.

So Creature-Junior in so many ways is just like her mom, but only 6 1/2 years old. This kid is a handful. LOL. "Revenge," I say.

So Creature-Junior is in love with our Baby-Victorian. One day it likely will be hers.

Cal
 
This morning I came upon a racoon on my walk to Metro North. He watched as I approached and then scurried into the street drain, but then he peered out to check me out. Pretty much I was standing over him and he was not skittish.

Today my walking will exceed another half-marathon. I walked to my old apartment to pick up yet another parcel for "Maggie."

Enrique the Super gave me some smut that my old apartment is still unrented, but many have come to view it.

I did a quick search and discovered that two other one bedrooms in my old building are listed, and in another listing there was a third, but none of the listings included my old apartment, meaning 3-4 one bedrooms are available.

The rent came down $250.00 seems to be the present going rate.

At my hospital 11K employees have received their first injection of the vaccine, but 5K have failed to schedule an appointment or have decided to pass. How crazy is that? Will we ever get herd immunity? Will Covid take advantage of this and increase the spread and mutate further?

Now this is in a medical enviornment and a hospital setting. Wow.

Now I also have the worry that vaccinated people will become careless and reckless and forget about hand washing, mask wearing, and maintaining social distancing.

How many hundreds of thousands will die?

Next week I get my second injection, but I still am at risk till then.

Because I work at a hospital, every year at work I get a flu shot, and this has happened for 21 years, but one year I still caught the flu anyways.

Granted that the flu was mild and only took me out for two days instead of a week. This is about the 95% rate that the vaccine is touted to prevent Covid.

The next two months look bad as the spread continues. The new mutated virus is expected to be widespread.

Cal
 
Calzone said:
At my hospital 11K employees have received their first injection of the vaccine, but 5K have failed to schedule an appointment or have decided to pass. How crazy is that? Will we ever get herd immunity? Will Covid take advantage of this and increase the spread and mutate further?

Now this is in a medical enviornment and a hospital setting. Wow.

Now I also have the worry that vaccinated people will become careless and reckless and forget about hand washing, mask wearing, and maintaining social distancing.

How many hundreds of thousands will die?

Next week I get my second injection, but I still am at risk till then.

Because I work at a hospital, every year at work I get a flu shot, and this has happened for 21 years, but one year I still caught the flu anyways.

Granted that the flu was mild and only took me out for two days instead of a week. This is about the 95% rate that the vaccine is touted to prevent Covid.

The next two months look bad as the spread continues. The new mutated virus is expected to be widespread.

Cal
Click to expand...
I am not postive about the initial part of 2021, looking at the hard data where the new strain spread in Spain with record contagion numbers.

"Be hopeful" some say. But not even being vaccined and people are not behaving well. I am honestly pissed off about a good friend not being responsible at all, and feels like one's care is moot.
People got fatigued of the situation. It kinda got to me lately. As you usually quote from the SEALs "95% of survival is attitude" and keeping the motto day to day in mind.

If the European countries get that 70% vaccined in summer, things could ofc improve quite a bit during spring. I do oftentimes think there is a good bubble in my environment, as I go every day to work and commute.

Pretty much house in the country with hobbies is the best way to let time pass. Ironically I find weekends too short lately and have a bit of a darkroom printing backlong. It's 35F here and haven't been shooting that much.
 
Jorde,

I surely have mucho things to do with a new house and garage.

I have photography, guitars, bass'es, amps, sewing (don't forget I still own a Juki commercial sewing machine, and gardening to keep me busy.

The building administrator at work reported that his side effects from his second vaccine injection had more profound side effects. The soreness of the injection site progressed rapidly was more pronounced, and then he had mild flu like symptoms for two days. Today is the third day and he feels better, but still not 100%.

So a second thought is why about 1/3rd eligible might not want to get the vaccine. First off to a certain degree I am an human experiment, and the long term effects are unknown. We don't even know how long immunity might last. So yesterday's post played this down, and today I can understand the one-third that might not want to get vaccinated. Respectfully I see their side.

Next week on Friday I will get my second injection. Word is out that if you are well rested, are eating right, and are exercising that your immune system will be stronger and the side effects less.

"Maggie" had the same soreness and some gentle flu like symptoms with her first injection; I had none other than the local soreness where I was injected.

Because of the mutant strain is in New York I expect an increased chance of spread, I am now wearing a N95 mask. I have a small stockpile I reserved that will get me through the next two months.

On the train I see people walking onto the train without their masks, and I see the tips of people's noses. Since the train is an enclosed space, I feel I am at risk.

Walking in Madhattan, even though it is not crowded because I purposely come in early to avoid rush hour, and I avoid the subway and bus, it is impossible to socially distance myself because of smokers, eaters, drinkers, and people not wearing masks.

I have to say "Oh-well" to other people's decisions and bad behavior.

Cal
 
Things take time to distill, and delayed gratification often leads to the ultimate best results.

The restrictions of the basement are big constraints: there is low ceiling height; there is a centered chimney and oil burner breaking up the space; there is an oil tank; and then there is a hot water manifold to distribute hot water to radiators around the perimeter.

So plan "B" is build out half the garage, but this gives me only about a raw 10x20 space, granted that I would insulate the piss out of the floor, roof and walls and loose some square footage.

So I think I can "snooker" "Maggie" into allowing me to expand the footprint by doubling my studio footprint from just a meager 10x20 of raw space into say a 20x20 space.

My garage doors are an odd 8 foot tall, there is a squat hip roof, and the 10x20 extension would still be within the perimeter of the first and front building lot leaving the "back-backyard" as a complete and separate building lot.

The tall walls will allow the extension to have a three sides hip roof, and my plan is for this to be on the south side. My ambition is to add a bathroom as far as my pitch, and to add "Maggie" factor even going lux and installing a retro claw foot tub.

To complement this the claw foot tub would get windowed out like a greenhouse. The existing south-side window would be a doorway to the addition to be EZ-PZ.

The original 10x20 garage space that will be finished is to be left as one big space opened up by a vaulted ceiling that is the squat hip roof. Since the garage is made of terra cota modular blocks that are like concrete cinder blocks it provides dense sound proofing that I will insulate further. I'll level the floor by building a platform and add insulation. The idea here is to have a loft space.

The second 10x20 addition will be for a bath with mucho windows and for a wet darkroom. The sewer pipe runs from the front of the Baby-Victorian to the rear along the center of the house along the load bearing beam. The idea here is to satisfy Maggie's notion for a claw foot tub, and then in the upstairs I can get rid of a cheesy fiberglass tub and open up a small bathroom by installing a corner shower.

Understand that the house was listed as a "4 bedroom" which is like a joke because two of the rooms all you could fit would be perhaps a twin bed and maybe a small side table in one and perhaps a crib, hamper, and basonette in the other.

Presently one "bed room" is used as a walk in closet, and the tower room with the walk-out makes a cool office, especially with dainty Victorian furnishings that are petite.

So honestly this 1400 square foot house is really only a humble two bedroom.

I'm kinda writing off the basement as just a utility and storage area. I will likely just build a 7x11 sound room that is basically an isolation booth.

In the big plan will be a 10 kilo watt solar array. I expect a Biden/taxpayer subsidy to help defray costs. Hot water for the garage bathroom/darkroom will likely be an instant on electric, although I also have natural gas. I'll have a Mitsubishi heat pump for energy efficientcy. heating, and central air.

Perhaps I will get a Murphy bed so my studio could be a guest house. My 300B single-ended triode monoblocks (8 watts) with the speakers that Maggie says "are really big" need some space to breath. This system sounded great in my loft in Williamsburg.

The sound (soundstage) was so real that basically I replicated the studio that the recordings were made in. You could perceive a horn player tilting his head towards the ceiling, of even get a startled response when you were along because at times you could sense the vocalist standing right next to you.

At this level sound is three dimensional and is sculptural because it recreates a space.

I don't know if I have enough pitch to avoid needing a sump and a pump, but if required I'll get it.

So imagine a doorway that opens into a greenhouse filled with plants that overlooks a lawn and then trees and the valley where Dickey Brook is that is secluded. Off to the right is another door for the toilet and vanity.

Hidden from sight is a modest wet darkroom that can print 20x24.

So this is no longer a dream and will become reality. Happy-Happy...

Double bonus is that as a detached and separate work space the money spent adds mucho value to the home.

I still need somewhere to put a table saw, drill press, and other woodworking equipment though, but that might become the basement. I have Bilco Doors as an exterior entrance. Hmmm.

The isolation booth I should build so it can be disassembled and can be moved. Could make a great control room for a board if I set up the studio/loft up for recording.

The Baby-Victorian already has a 200 amp service, and the garage already has an 80 amp service with its own breaker panel. Perfect.

Cal
 
Hi Cal

Developing some WL 70mm Surveillance Film. Thought you might like to see it

Kingswood Gardens Hassy 30mm Distagon Fisheye 1 by Nokton48, on Flickr

Frog Pond, Kingswood Gardens, Mansfield Ohio. Kodak 70mm Surveillance Film, ADOX Borax MQ dev, Hasselblad 500C/M 30mm T* Distagon, Handheld exposure. Arista #2 8x10 Matte RC paper, Multigrade dev. Processed in 70mm Kindermann Dev Tank

Kodak Surveillance reminds me a lot of the older Tri-X emulsion.
The sun was just out of the frame upper left corner. The circular garden works well with the Hassy Fishy lens.

This was a fun shoot! 🙂
 
Nokton48 said:
Hi Cal

Developing some WL 70mm Surveillance Film. Thought you might like to see it

Kingswood Gardens Hassy 30mm Distagon Fisheye 1 by Nokton48, on Flickr

Frog Pond, Kingswood Gardens, Mansfield Ohio. Kodak 70mm Surveillance Film, ADOX Borax MQ dev, Hasselblad 500C/M 30mm T* Distagon, Handheld exposure. Arista #2 8x10 Matte RC paper, Multigrade dev. Processed in 70mm Kindermann Dev Tank

Kodak Surveillance reminds me a lot of the older Tri-X emulsion.
The sun was just out of the frame upper left corner. The circular garden works well with the Hassy Fishy lens.

This was a fun shoot! 🙂
Click to expand...

Crazy Dan,

In the laundry room in my former apartment someone left behind an almost full box of Mule Team Borax. Add to that is that I already have the formula, a triple beam balance, weights, and mucho graduated glassware to do mucho home brewed developers.

This is all surplused lab equipment collected over the decades. I have an ultrasonic cleaner, and several magnetic stirring hot plates. How crazy is that? Only the best for me. Ha-Ha...

I could not stand all the limitations of my basement, so I stepped out a little to come up with building out a 10x10 darkroom as part of my garage loft "secret mission." "Don't tell Maggie."

I kinda have an agenda. A few weeks ago we both kinda agreed that the stand up shower in the bathroom off the kitchen should go. This 3/4 bath will become just a nice "power room" with a toilet and vanity. Some of the added space will be for a utility closet.

This cordless Dyson vacuum I bought is just the right size for the Baby-Victorian, and it was money well spent, but in this house there are no closets on the first floor. This utility closet will be for a mop and the Dyson.

On the second floor I have a narrow thin closet that has a short cubby door. Since I'm mighty clever I figured out how to exploit the skinny door because behind this narrow opening the closet is about 5 feet deep. I bought this four foot long clothes rack that basically I wheel out to get at all my Paul Smith clothing.

In the basement I built out a wonderful laundry area recycling a lot of the hardware that formally was used to construct a "high-rise" in the bedroom where according to Devil Christian I went "vertical." I already built out a second closet area that is freestanding and a third built out along the wall under the stairs. Maggie intends on moving down a clothes rack to store coats.

The old bedroom in my old apartment room was like being in a submarine though. The clutter bothered Maggie a lot, but somehow I was able to print large and have all this gear and the Epson 7800 known as the "Jersey Barrier" contained in that room even with some of my guitars, a bass, and amplifiers.

So it was kinda crazy.

So this 10x20 annex I will build off the outh side of the garage will have a 10x10 bathroom that also will be a greenhouse that includes a lux claw foot tub, with a private toilet and vanity.

Then a 10x10 that I will add a ventilation system to dedicated as my wet darkroom.

My diagonal neighbor is an architect who knows a plumber who would be great for the job. Also you can't beat stucco and cement for density which is a huge part of sound proofing.

I imagine the loft/studio with vaulted ceilings to be a great area to have on display my work and some of my "Monster Books."

A heat pump is an efficient way to both heat and cool a space. Of course I'll insulate the piss out of this space. The basement is not so clean and will always be a bit raw, but I imagine this will be a clean space, although I think I will use the loft/studio also as a sewing area. Remember that I own a JUKI commercial sewing machine.

I think the basement is best served for woodworking and guitar and amp building. I will likely also set up this shop for frame building.

Basically I'm building a bubble to live in. About 12-18 feet of my property drops off a 10-12 foot ledge beyond the back fence. I think I will terrace this section and fortify it by cultivating thorny wild berries on the public land that surrounds it. I'm 30 feet above sea level and Dickey Brook runs 20 feet below.

"Maggie" likes the level lawn in the "back-backyard." The view from the clawfoot tub is all green. When I pitch this idea to Maggie I think she will love the idea, and then I can update the second story bath with a walk-in shower and open up a rather skinny and tiny bath that has this fiberglass tub that I full dislike.

Actually updating this upstairs bath is not a lot of work. I like the old toilets as fixtures. If you ever saw "Squaty Potty" from Shark Tank the idea existed on these older toilets that have a low seat height instead of the "Throne" like heights of modern toilets.

So not only am I a skinny bitch, but what annoys people the most is that I also eat a lot. This translates into what goes in must come out, and "Maggie" says I can destroy a clean toilet in a week. Not so with these old toilets that use a good amount of water. In a ways they are self cleaning.

So with money saved by just replacing the vanity and sink, and retiling myself I will get a new bath that is both retro and modern.

Pretty sure the open space of the loft studio will get used as a clean area for darkroom work.

Cal
 
We rebuilt two bathrooms recently and we went retro Euro and I'm content with that.
Clean open vaulted space is a great luxury but I'm sure you won't cheese out. Don't be in too big of a hurry as you say. You've got plenty of time to get it exactly the way you want it. It will never be completely finished.
 
Today, on my walk to work, I found a eyeglass case with the branding "Prada" so I picked it up. This was on the Upper Eastside near work. Inside were a pair of wire framed sunglasses in the style of John Lennon glasses, meaning two round circles, but these were oversized in a "Calzone" manner and bold.

The case alone would be great to recycle into a container to store and carry 35mm films.

Irridium mirrored coating also, but the eye glasses were made in China and not Italy.

I only recognized the case because I own Prada glasses. So now it becomes even more practical to recycle these cases for film storage, and transport.

Doubtful that the glasses are Prada, but they surely are cool and I will keep them. I kinda look mucho crazy wearing them, to the point strangers might be scared of me. I love it. You know me: a guy who claims to be shy, but who is a Drama Queen. The bold look is so over the top that I suppose that "Maggie" could hate it because they are so loud and exaggerated. Funny thing though is if they were properly the Prada brand they she would think they were UBER cool and would likely steal them from me. LOL.

Being a street photographer means I am very alert to my surroundings. I see many things that others don't see, and that does not mean I am hallucinating, even though that too can happen. Imagination i kinda funny that way. LOL.

When I lived in New Mexico and basically lived remotely 47 miles from civilization in the Santa Fe National Forest. I was so remote that I got no TV reception.

I would hear the phone (landline) ring, and every time I ran to pick up the phone after the first ring, I would get a dial tone. It took me a while to realize I was hallucinating and only imagined the phone ringing. At first I got angry because I thought someone was messing with me, but eventually I got use to the quiet and solitude.

Have anyone seen owls in the wild?

I've seen two. Not easy to noticed perched in a tree while driving on a parkway. Another time in the woods I saw an owl being harassed by black birds.

Some minds I say are detail oriented, and I think I'm one of them.

Speaking of recycling "Maggie" mentioned changing the door that leads outside from the kitchen. I happen to like this metal exterior door with its glass storm door and upper half that is windowed with this cool built in set of louvered blinds. I can see recycling this door on my garage to replace the beat-up wood raise panel door that exists presently. Hmmm. It is the right size.

Cal
 
If the wild is the ravine in my city, I have seen 3 owls. One flew over my head in complete silence, which is quite a weird experience. It also followed the path down the slight hill, rather than fly in a straight line- which was also a neat thing to see.


Last week, saw a bald eagle get a drink on some open water in the frozen river, in the midst of many other birds. The eagle had a bunch of magpies harassing it in flight as I lost sight..


Not a bird person, but there you go!
 
benlees said:
If the wild is the ravine in my city, I have seen 3 owls. One flew over my head in complete silence, which is quite a weird experience. It also followed the path down the slight hill, rather than fly in a straight line- which was also a neat thing to see.


Last week, saw a bald eagle get a drink on some open water in the frozen river, in the midst of many other birds. The eagle had a bunch of magpies harassing it in flight as I lost sight..


Not a bird person, but there you go!
Click to expand...

Ben,

Very cool. I had a Bald Eagle fly over me while driving my 84 Jeep Scrambler with the top off and no doors. What made this swoop so dramatic is that the eagle was flying so low that I could gage its wingspan to be as wide as the lane I was driving in.

This was out in eastern Long Island, pronounced locally as Lawn-Guy-Land as Fran Drexler fron "The Nanny" would say.

Cal
 
Nokton48 said:
We rebuilt two bathrooms recently and we went retro Euro and I'm content with that.
Clean open vaulted space is a great luxury but I'm sure you won't cheese out. Don't be in too big of a hurry as you say. You've got plenty of time to get it exactly the way you want it. It will never be completely finished.
Click to expand...

Devil Dan,

While I can't do a "Crazy Dan" I still can do some crazy things.

What I like about this method and project is that I best use what I have. I know building this out won't be inexpensive, but then again I can do mucho printing with a 10x10 darkroom, especially when I will have a loft/studio for overflow. BTW the loft/studio will be for my digital printing, which includes the printer known as "The Jersey Barrier" that I will be doing Piezography with. I'm certain that I will also gear up to do digital negatives and contact printing so the loft/studio is just a large dry darkroom where I can contact print. I can imagine wet printing a 20x30 image using a huge vacuum frame using files from my MM, SL, and SL2.

How crazy is that?

I gladly gave up the three extra "bedrooms" out of the four that were listed in the house. Maggie uses one as a walk in closet, and then this magical second story tower room as her office. What I would call the second bedroom that really is of a bedroom size (at least a full sized bed) she wants as a guest room. I'm cool with all of that.

So poor Calvin gets banished to the basement and garage as punishment for having "lots of stuff."

So "Maggie" my fashion blogger gal with over 3/4'er of a million followers shows me this floor standing lamp. In the photo it looks kinda cool and looks to fit right into the Victorian era and looks to be period correct, but when it gets delivered she is kinda disappointed because it is kinda massive and looks like it belongs in some S&M dungeon.

You should know that period correct Victorian furniture is rather dainty, but this lamp is a brute, I say.

Pretty much looks pure evil, and I get commanded to put it in the basement with my stuff. So we both originally liked this lamp, but we had no idea of its size. Pretty heavy to boot. So I bring it down into my space.

With the upward funnel glass shade it barely clears my 7 foot ceiling height, but "Maggie" is a bit upset, so I console her that I'll use it. No one will visit me in my dungeon I say to make light of our mistake.

So now with my studio/loft this "Monster" lamp will kinda fit in. If it wards off women that would be a bonus, no offense to Helen. LOL.

So anyways I'm sure this lamp will add to my legacy of annoying people. Now I kinda like that it looks evil. "Evil Calvin," I say. LOL.

Cal
 
Today I am reforming the caps on some old Broncolor strobes I bought for no money that arrived today.

I have stuff coming from Germany that I still haven't received since ordering it in late November. DHL must be overwhelmed by all this covid crap.

We have a couple of owls living in one of the hundreds of hollow trees behind our house. Often in Summer we hear them hooting. My Wife got a great digital photo whilst sitting on our back deck. They are curious and hungry. Beautiful Grey and about a foot tall. I believe they are "Bard Owls".

Itchy Bucks have scraped the bark off of the expensive ornamental trees I planted all over the lot. ARRRGGG Munch about everything too. Joys of home ownership LOL
 
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