New York July NYC Meet-Up

[Calzone]

So July is another month. Someone pick a Sunday.

Last Friday The Rochard was closed due to a plumbing issue. I'm going to reach out to Landrew who has a whole crew of photographers in Astoria.

Let's do the outdoor beer garden in Astoria in July. I'll call Landrew and give him heads up.

Last week "Maggie" shot a video for a client. This involves a 12 hour day.

At this new level the clients are with deep pockets and many are not fashion related like banks, credit card companies, tech companies, wine makers...

It seems that the book proposal with a literary agent is turning green. A new book seems to be emerging about recreation. The academic life was too much of a distraction it seems.

I have the opportunity to be a guest at three different Indian reservations: one in Min-ASS-SODA; another in Oklahoma; and the third in North Dakota. Could be interesting for me. And you know it was Asians that first discovered America.

Also know that I have been shooting the SL with my 28 Cron a lot lately. Finally I got Maggie to like this FOV. Also she is digging into her Iphone 10 and I might get the CL back to use.

Meanwhile-meanwhile I'm shooting film.

Last Thursday and Friday I took off of work. While I was gone my Cyclotron had another vacuum burp and lost vacuum with my boss at the helm. There is a possibility of being furloughed and being forced into an early retirement.

My hope is a year's salary severance and the addition of a year on my pension. I have over a month's vacation in my vacation bank, and my start time was August 20th so technically if I make it to July 20th and my wishful thinking works out I could get two years added onto my pension.

Even better would be if they laid me off in January for tax purposes...

Anyways this is just a possibility, and uncertainty pretty much is happening. Then again that second meeting about the future that was suppose to have happen in the middle of June did not happen. WTF???

Might be about a year before some executive decision gets made, but in the meantime the machine requires an infusion of $750K to be good for the next 15 years for a rebuild. What happens if the machine goes down for the count first?

What will the other hospital do where my lab is located? What will they do is most important because this effects them the most.

The slacker dude in me is cool with a sudden death of my cyclotron and the possibility of a forced retirement. I look upon this possibility as divine intervention and possibly a good/great thing. Oh-well I say.

I'm reminded of driving my Jeep when it had a bad sender, so basically I had to keep track of my mileage to keep from getting stuck. Sometimes I knew I was low on fuel (high test) and I kept on driving anyways, but when the engine sputtered and I got stuck it always remained a surprise. LOL.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Tonight Maggie has some speaking engagement in the West Village. As usual I'm her entourage, and I get some face-time being seen around.

A slow day at work and "bonus vacation" because "How-Wierd" is on vacation. I'm about half way through "A Brief History Of Time." This book involves a lot of abstracted thinking, and I imagine not everyone would be able to read through the complexity.

Interesting to note how some of the terms of "Time-Space" and "Singularity" could be twisted into a context that is useful to photography to describe "events."

My goal is to complete reading the first book and perhaps begin "The Universe In A Nutshell."

This book is great for someone who daydreams and lives in a world full of possibilities.

I also have read this book of profiles of photographers. "How To Read Photographs" provides background smut on notable photographers.

Edward Weston pretty much had a life of poverty being a photographer, and Diane Arbus never was commercially successful within her lifetime. It seems the same MOMA show and Museum Director that supported Garry Winnogran did not elevate their careers that much. Garry taught photography to pay his bills.

Anyways photography to me is one playful "experiment." Pretty much a wait and see...

Cal

 

[Particular]

Cal,
If your cyclotron goes down the sink hole and gets decommissioned, will they sell it for scrap? If you find yourself a place in the Hudson valley with a big basement, you could set up a hobby cyclotron. Someone has to be the pioneer of this pass-time.

I’m back from a week on my little island. Most weekends this month should work ok for me. The Czech beer place is a good idea.

 

[Calzone]

Cal,
If your cyclotron goes down the sink hole and gets decommissioned, will they sell it for scrap? If you find yourself a place in the Hudson valley with a big basement, you could set up a hobby cyclotron. Someone has to be the pioneer of this pass-time.

I’m back from a week on my little island. Most weekends this month should work ok for me. The Czech beer place is a good idea.

Christian,

When I first got hired we had an old Cyclotron that was given to the hospital as a gift from the DOE (Department of Energy). At that time I was hired it was the oldest running Cyclotron in the U.S.

Cyclotrons become radioactive due to "scraping" (inadvertant collisions that transmute materials by adding protons and neutrons). Pretty much the machine was placed at a nuclear waste site to decay.

So there was this dude from Anchorage Alaska that wanted our old cyclotron. He owned two adjoining houses and wanted to install the cyclotron in one of the houses. Pretty much he would be responsible for removal, transport, and all the regulatory requirements and it would of been sold to him for the cost of one dollar.

Lots of entertainment value here because this guy was going to train his wife to be a Cyclotron Engineer and he was not considering radioactive shielding to operate this machine.

Know that I have a 30K pound door filled with lead bricks and two foot thick Boriated concrete as shielding to moderate a huge neutron field I produce when bombarding a target with a proton beam.

Eventually people in Alaska found out about this and this wack job's dream was quashed.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Cal,
If your cyclotron goes down the sink hole and gets decommissioned, will they sell it for scrap? If you find yourself a place in the Hudson valley with a big basement, you could set up a hobby cyclotron. Someone has to be the pioneer of this pass-time.

I’m back from a week on my little island. Most weekends this month should work ok for me. The Czech beer place is a good idea.

Christian,

Do you have a skyscrapper crane you can lend me? This Cyclotron only weighs 50 tonnes.

Unless someone comes up with $750K it more or less is a big paperweight. My worry is that the vacuum could crap-out at any time. Pretty much a sudden death.

This kinda reminds me of this 1967 Ford Falcon I had, AKA the "Ratmobile." This car was half maroon and half surface rust. It had a $300 roof bike rake which was worth more than the car. It was also known as the "Flintstone Mobile" because it lacked a floorboard on the passenger side. When it rained I actually would get splashed with water going through puddles. It was also know as the "Dirtbag Moble" because of the owner.

This Falcon had a weird rear tire that worked like a pressure relief valve. It was stable at 20 PSI, but once you got it over 25 PSI the tire would bleed off and revert back to a set 20 PSI.

I took it to a tire place, and evidently the rust on the steel rim did not create a good seal and worked like a pressure relief valve, releasing excess pressure when 25 PSI was exceeded. The tire technician cleaned off some of the rust and added some "bead seal" to solve the problem.

The Ratmoble was famous in the Hamptons because Iron Mike and I would have two high end titanium road bikes mounted on a throwaway car. Much cooler than the Porshe or Mercedes with a bike rack.

Anyways somewhere on my Cyclotron is an o-ring that is working lke a pressure relief valve. BTW taking apart a 50 ton machine is no fun and will take about 3 months, but there is also a 6 month lead time for procurement and manufacturing of replacement parts.

"Moo," said the pig.

When ramped up to power the energy required for operation is 80 Kilowatts, the main magnet (one tesla in strength) alone takes almost 500 amps. The RF has 50 kilovolts.

Pretty much I could electrocute people two ways, or I can nuke them.

Joe, do you really want to have me as your neighbor?

Cal

 

[jszokoli]

Cal, sure you can be my neighbor, but leave your Cyclotron where it is...
Joe

 

[Calzone]

Cal, sure you can be my neighbor, but leave your Cyclotron where it is...
Joe

Joe,

At the end of the Cold War one of my friends accused me of single handedly downsizing an aerospace company.

Pretty much I was just recycling stuff that was being thrown out and surplused that cost lots of tax payers money. This was part of "Reaganomics."

In a ways I was like a modern day "Robinhood" stealing from a large corporation and helping small businesses and individuals. For a while it was Christmas every day.

My friend Cris, the guitar builder, has all this aircraft parts to build a drag race car. Not only does he own two vintage Harleys, but also owns a historic vintage funny car.

With me comes some odd friends. LOL.

Also know that I outgrew my ratty car collecting. At one time I owned 5 cars, about half were not running. Kinda funny that I lived in an exclusive part of Oakdale that formally was a Vanderbuilt estate.

They say you are a "hillbilly" when half the cars you own are not running. One of my neighbors kindly asked me not to park my car (1960 Ford Falcon) in front of his house. I took no offense. LOL.

When I was jetting a carb (4 barrel double pumper Holley) on my Jeep with the Corvette engine pretty much I would have to do full accelleration testing to test my tuning and timing adjustments. With a 2 1/2 inch dual exhaust with FlowMaster mufflers my Jeep kinda sounded like a Nascar on a straightaway.

Anyways I promise to only have only one either crazy car or only one ratty car.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Joe,

Also be aware that I'm an animal lover. Even though I'm allergic to cats I had three: one was from a shelter; another was a stray; and another I rescued because this married couple were having a baby and were going to euthanize a ten year old cat.

Then I rescued Beagle-Face who was a vicious dog.

I also grew a school of Koi and had my own version of Sea World.

I also had a tank of Brazilian Pirana and now illegal snakeheads.

Just want to let you know that there is a possibility of a herd of animals might be your neighborhood.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

The book "A Brief History Of Time" by Stephen Hawking somehow has spilled over into my life. Uncertainty and the size of my universe has vastly grown and the possibilities are now infinite.

Yesterday only had about an hour's worth of work to do and I did some research on how bonds work to gain an understanding. I also did some research on Hudson which is 120 miles north of New York Harbor in the Hudson River.

Don't tell "Maggie" but for $39K I could buy a two bedroom one bath house that is a foreclosure and create my work studio. Pretty much an HGTV episode where I gut a small house, open it up, and make it perhaps a one bedroom with mucho studio space and a darkroom that rivals Dan's.

This small house is listed as Hudson, but the street suggests it is close by in the outskirts of a neighboring village. Pretty much I think for spending perhaps $60K and a lot of sweat equity I could create a work space where I could also crash, live and work for about $100K. Know I pretty much built out lofts in SoHo in the late 70's and early 80's.

So like I say, I know why men have shorter lifespans: woman factor. "Maggie" feels constrained by our one bedroom "luxury" apartment. Of course because I'm a CF I don't want to move, and besides I hopefully have a job and can work for a few more years. She is retired and I'm not there yet.

So in Hudson I could rent a one bedroom apartment in Hudson for $1K, but in Hudson a one bedroom is like 1K square feet instead of 650 Square feet. I have to come up with $500.00 a month for my half, but basically we could have a get away/weekend/vacation home. It is also testing the waters to see if living in Hudson is good for us and practical.

I could also downsize our one bedroom NYC apartment down to a studio. The Upper Eastside works for me, and it seems NYC built the "Q" train especially for me to go to Penn Station for the Amtrack to Hudson.

The luxury housing in Hudson is centered on and near Warren Street a historic district that has many homes, buildings, and storefronts that date back to the 1800's. At this point places like Beacon where development involves tear-downs and brand new buildings is of no interest to me.

In Hudson near Warren Street I found a self standing historic home available for $159K that requires gutting. Also available is a vacant adjoining lot if I have the balls to go really crazy. The Amtrack station is a walk away, and NYC is a two hour trainride. The property is zone residential/commercial.

So somehow after reading "A Brief History Of Time" I can somehow see the future. Getting Maggie a getaway space works as a test and transition. If my career goes away, I think it would be a no brainer to gut/restore a place where I could live eventually. Also if the work studio house is no longer needed, I think it could turn out to be an investment property that basically cost "no money."

So today at work I have "Bonus Vacation." How-Wierd has the day off so pretty much I have no supervision. I had an hour's worth of work to fill my day, but the Cyclotron run was cancelled this morning, and I have nothing to do. My task today is to somehow stay awake, perhaps read a book, and daydream some more.

Kinda funny how my retirement is like being 17-18 all over again. Back then I wondered, *** am I going to do the rest of my life for say the next 40 years. It was a mystery way back then, but now at age 61 I'm in the same situation wondering about the next 40 years.

It seems like an odd regression of sorts. I hope I don't wet my bed tonight. LOL. Somehow I have re-entered the time of my childhood where I daydreamed a lot and wondered about things in a carefree manner.

My high school gym coach, Norm, once called me a big screw-up. Pretty much accurate. I'm reminded by this artist Timothy, that Maggie met at the Visa/Chase Bank event that had Eli Manning, Sterling Shepard and Tiffany Channel the Super Model.

Basically Timothy was a misfit/screw-up like me, and basically today he is almost 40 and a financially successful painter who still looks like a duffy, funny looking, awkward skate boarder.

In many a ways I already retired. My friend Dave said, "I only go to work to rest." LOL.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

I just checked on my foreclosure. Price reduced to $35K from $39K. 1500 square foot house on 10,000 square foot of land.

For "Maggie" likely not fancy or glamorous enough. I was correct that it is in the adjoining surrounds of Hudson. In fact Hudson broke off this town to become the "City" of Hudson.

I can see the charm of living in homes that go back to 1810 in Hudson, especially on Warren Street. The $1k rents are not on Warren Street though, but are within walking distance.

Discovered some commercial space on Warren Street that would make a great digital print studio. Second floor, all windows facing Warren street.

Hmmm...

Cal

 

[MrBern]

obituary

obituary

Obituary for John Shearer. One of the youngest Staff Photogs at LOOK magazine
Nice shot of him hauling several cameras on assignment, one seems to be a Black Leica in 1971


https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/27/arts/john-shearer-dead.html?


direct to that shot of Mr Shearer in action
https://static01.nyt.com/images/2019/06/28/obituaries/27Shearer1/27Shearer1-superJumbo.jpg

 

[Calzone]

I got PM'ed by Landrew.

Looks like Sunday July 14th for the Meet-Up at the Bohemian Beer Garden in Astoria.

The "M" train to Astoria-Ditmars Blvd 31st Street. Walk a few blocks down 31st Street to 24th Avenue. Street address is 2919 24th Avenue.

I'll be bringing the knapsack full of free photobooks.

Cal

 

[Nokton48]

Morning Cal. Have you seen this?

https://www.lodima.org/digital-negative-workshop


E3 Ready for Restoration 1 by Nokton48, on Flickr

New equipment arrived from CT. 5x7 Omega E3 autofocus enlarger. I build the baseboard this weekend from two sheets of two by four 3/4" MTF

 

[jszokoli]

I got PM'ed by Landrew.

Looks like Sunday July 14th for the Meet-Up at the Bohemian Beer Garden in Astoria.

The "M" train to Astoria-Ditmars Blvd 31st Street. Walk a few blocks down 31st Street to 24th Avenue. Street address is 2919 24th Avenue.

I'll be bringing the knapsack full of free photobooks.

Cal

Cal,

N or W, not the M...

Joe

 

[Calzone]

Cal,

N or W, not the M...

Joe

Joe,

The GoogleMap indicated "M."

Thanks for the correction.

BTW I was looking at the Putz Book. It is the Third Edition which only 600 copies were made. Likely the most limited edition of the three. Could be the most valuable because it was printed in the smallest edition.

This book is useful when culling down. Could of also saved me a lot of money and prevented me from buying lots of gear to test on my own.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Morning Cal. Have you seen this?

https://www.lodima.org/digital-negative-workshop


E3 Ready for Restoration 1 by Nokton48, on Flickr

New equipment arrived from CT. 5x7 Omega E3 autofocus enlarger. I build the baseboard this weekend from two sheets of two by four 3/4" MTF

Dan,

Thanks for the links.

The Silver Cloride/digital negative workshop is a good workshop for me. A friend in Austin also told me to take a Jon Cone workshop to best get an understanding to calibrate and profile my Piezography system.

BTW both John Cone and Lodima use the Quadtone Rip. Seems like a merging and crossover...

I don't know if you saw my post "Don't tell Maggie" of where I come up with the inspiring idea of buying a foreclosed house for $35K that needs to be gutted to create a studio/darkroom. I would have to have a municipal sewer connection.

So I might be able to do a "Dan" and go extreme.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Morning Cal. Have you seen this?

https://www.lodima.org/digital-negative-workshop


E3 Ready for Restoration 1 by Nokton48, on Flickr

New equipment arrived from CT. 5x7 Omega E3 autofocus enlarger. I build the baseboard this weekend from two sheets of two by four 3/4" MTF

Dan,

That enlarger is a big boy. My friend Christian would love it. He shoots a 5x7 Linhof.

Christian is kinda humble and modest, but you know what they say, "Look out for the quiet ones..." In his own way he is a wack-job. LOL.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

I was near Peekskill over the weekend babysitting a 5 year old. Pretty much the town gets crowded on the weekends with cyclists and day-trippers from NYC. One cyclist told me on the train platform that Blue Mountain State Park has singletrack that requires fat tires.

He had a gravel bike and his group of riders started the day by getting off the train at Garrison one stop further north. They crossed over to Bear Mountain State Park and came back to Peekskill basically for a better selection of food.

Just north of Garrison is Cold Spring and Hudson Highlands State Park. Here the trails are for hiking. Breakneck ridge is there, and many hikers use walking sticks to deal with the steepness.

The historical luxury housing in Hudson is rather lovely, but not far away is my foreclosed house for "no-money" on the outskirts of the city of Hudson. The wealth though is concentrated in Hudson it seems. About 120 miles from NYC Harbor.

Maggie now uses the senior rates for the train fare. $8.50 to Peekskill and it does not matter if off-peak or rush hour. On Friday I bought a rush hour ticket and it set me back $17.50. Ouch. The CF in me thinks there is an advantage here for being 65 or older.

The train fair from Hudson on Amtrack can't be inexpensive, but there is a senior discount.

Maggie's latest promotion did very well for a wine maker. Also Go-Daddy bought an extension because the promo she did is doing well. Pretty much a big check for permission to keep using the ad they created.

Cal

 

[MrFujicaman]

Cal...If you're seriously thinking about the foreclosed house, call the city offices and see if it's on the municipal sewer system. If it is, they'd have a record of it.


I'd offer 32.5K for the house-banks don't like keeping foreclosed properties on the books.

Calzone sez : I don't know if you saw my post "Don't tell Maggie" of where I come up with the inspiring idea of buying a foreclosed house for $35K that needs to be gutted to create a studio/darkroom. I would have to have a municipal sewer connection

 

[Calzone]

Cal...If you're seriously thinking about the foreclosed house, call the city offices and see if it's on the municipal sewer system. If it is, they'd have a record of it.


I'd offer 32.5K for the house-banks don't like keeping foreclosed properties on the books.

Calzone sez : I don't know if you saw my post "Don't tell Maggie" of where I come up with the inspiring idea of buying a foreclosed house for $35K that needs to be gutted to create a studio/darkroom. I would have to have a municipal sewer connection

MFM,

I'm not that serious yet. You got to remember that deep down I'm a CF.

Without a sewer connection any property would be useless to me.

They already dropped 10%, and the property has not been listed so long. Also in that community neighboring homes only sell and are valued around $175K. A somewhat depressed areas with schools that are not rated highly and are actually rated "poor." Your $32.5K I think would be an offer that would be taken seriously. If outbid: oh-well...

I would only do an undertaking of this sorts if I didn't have a job. I would do a lot of sweat equity and kinda work as the contractor overseeing the appropriate trades peoples. I would do the demo, scutwork, drywall, painting... In the past I had experience doing roofs, but perhaps I'm getting too old for that kinda brutal work.

Know that I'm such a CF that I would love to live without owning a car. Amtrack and the subway is cool with me. The money has to come from somewhere.

Also if rigged out properly I could see how my studio while not say a typical house would be an asset that I could always turn back to cash, especially if I can control costs. Cheap-cheap-cheap...

Thinking aloud and thinking things through. It might be cost effective to have a car, although I would rather not own one.

Cal