New York March NYC Meet-Up

[Calzone]

641K followers.

We learned yesterday that NBC World News Tonight and Good Morning Joe ran a feature that included "Maggie" with Glen Close and Ruth B. Ginsberg and others for International Woman's Day.

The feature was about staying power, fortitude, and staying relevant despite advanced age.

Interesting how NBC uses the interview and the footage they made as stock footage that they have used for now three segments.

Cal

 

[chipgreenberg]

I kinda do the same CAL. Been riding for 40 years. My standard line is I should be a lot better at it.

I do the same. More strength in the winter, more riding in the summer even though NM has a pretty mild winter and I've become a wuss and don't really like riding outside if its not 50. It usually is 🙂

Chip,

Women are starting to notice.

"Maggie" said, "You look skinny," but actually I have gained weight and am more muscular.

Yesterday I put on a suit to go to an awards presentation. Maggie got a medal for 20 years of service as a Graduate Professor. Also her dean gave her the honor and asked her to be the keynote speaker at graduation this year.

Maggie's grand daughter whispers in my ear (almost 5 years old), "Don't tell Coco (Maggie) or mommy, but you are really handsome." LOL.

I expect this spring and summer when the weather moderates that I will likely get skinnier by all the cardio on my bike and running. Right now I'm concentrating on mostly strength.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

I kinda do the same CAL. Been riding for 40 years. My standard line is I should be a lot better at it.

I do the same. More strength in the winter, more riding in the summer even though NM has a pretty mild winter and I've become a wuss and don't really like riding outside if its not 50. It usually is 🙂

Chip,

What is really amazing is how little I have aged.

I'm pretty certain that the best medicine is diet and exercise.

Also muscle memory from decades of training allows for a youthful rebound. The ability to get to three sets of 55 push-ups in a little more than a week of effort is amazing.

I'm looking forward to enjoying a great quality of life. At this point I'm sure when the weather gets milder we will be both hammering away.

All the best.

Cal

POSTSCRIPT: Today I hit 60 in a set and will likely do two more sets of 60. Goal is to be able to do 100 sloppy/fast push ups in one set as a display of power.

 

[chipgreenberg]

Hey Cal.

I'm impressed. In my karate days I used to regularly do 100 push ups. For my 60th b'day 3 years ago I targeted doing 60. And found out my shoulder is kinda shot. Physical therapy is helping, not quite there yet.

That said, overall I'm healthier than 30 years ago. I attribute that to diet, exercise, and a good attitude.

At 63 my hair is just kinda starting to turn white. But my wife's turned white in her 30's. She blames me of course 🙂

 

[Dan]

Women are starting to notice

That's funny, Cal, because my theory is us old guys are invisible to (younger) women!

 

[Calzone]

Hey Cal.

I'm impressed. In my karate days I used to regularly do 100 push ups. For my 60th b'day 3 years ago I targeted doing 60. And found out my shoulder is kinda shot. Physical therapy is helping, not quite there yet.

That said, overall I'm healthier than 30 years ago. I attribute that to diet, exercise, and a good attitude.

At 63 my hair is just kinda starting to turn white. But my wife's turned white in her 30's. She blames me of course 🙂

Chip,

"Maggie" is 5 years older than me, and she has white hair. If I dyed my arrogant chin beard and sideburns I could pass for 40.

Stress is a killer, that's why I'm a self proclaimed "lazy-slacker." I never knew anyone who was overly occupied and busy that was happy. Call me a simple guy who has the attention span of an annoying lap dog.

I wish my gal could learn to relax. In the world of fashion the pace is hammer all the time, and everything is last minute, which I absolutely hate. Always a crisis.

I lived in La Cueva off of Highway 4 in the Santa Fe National Forest. New Mexico is the Land of Manana, and I perhaps was the only New Yorker out of a group of twenty working at Los Alamos that embraced the relaxed attitude and lifestyle. I enjoyed a life without all the distractions and noise of New York. I miss New Mexico...

Cal

 

[Calzone]

That's funny, Cal, because my theory is us old guys are invisible to (younger) women!

Saul,

I should start the "Me-Three" movement due to unwanted sexual attention.

It was really bad when I was young. In my mid 20's I was an Associate Technical Writer at Grumman. The Senior Technical Writers were just that, meaning old guys. So pretty much I was the only young "stud" around.

I took notice that whenever I walked to the bathroom I would hear a cascade of pens and pencils dropping. This was the signal that the women made so they could admire me as I walked by.

It did not matter that I had pictures of my wife and kids on my desk, these women were carnavores, I was a big sausage hero, and they were hungry.

Olga pretty much leaned over my desk and the view was like the Grand Canyon as far as being able to look down her shirt. Even my boss who sat behind me got a view.

Countless times when I did not respond to advances I got asked, "Are you gay?" LOL.

People would gawk at my daughter. My ex-wife was a trophy as far as looks and my daughter had that Eurasian blend. My guess is that it is my genes that still has an appeal, although I still have a body that resembles an athletic kid in high school.

Interesting to note that "Baby-Dog" was a Beagle Miniture Pinachuer mix who thought he was Brad Pitt. This dog was abused by one owner, and neglected by another, so he had lots of personality and problems. He was chick bait and women loved him, especially since he was a bad boy.

This dog had special needs, and outside I would have to use a muzzle because he could attack anyone who got near me. My gal never figured out why he never displayed this behavior when she took him out.

I have a theory, and it is basically the "Guppy with the Orange Tail theory." In an aquarium of Guppies, all the females will ignore all the other male Guppies, except the one with the flamboyant orange tail. All the females want to mate with the one lucky Guppy it seems that stands out.

I'm a lucky Guppy it seems. LOL. Also know that pretty much sex has become a spectator sport at my age... LOL.

Cal

 

[chipgreenberg]

Cal my hair should be a lot grayer 🙂 I'm a type A self employed New Yorker. I deal with stress well and and either mellowed with age or from living here 25 years. Or both.

It is the Land of Manana, especially rural NM

 

[chipgreenberg]

BTW Cal I can relate to the hyper, always frenzied, always last minute NY fashion thing. In my previous life I shot commercial in the NYC area. It was the same. OMG we need to reshoot the shot was on Pantone 12456 and we should have done it on 12457. It's a disaster . Everyone work till midnight. Keep the lab open.

Come on guys. We're photographing a bone screw used in hip replacement. It's not a national emergency.

 

[Calzone]

Cal my hair should be a lot grayer 🙂 I'm a type A self employed New Yorker. I deal with stress well and and either mellowed with age or from living here 25 years. Or both.

It is the Land of Manana, especially rural NM

Chip,

How to advize my gal into a calm life outside of NYC nonsense.

I'm a fisherman who hasn't fished in two decades. Pretty much I have had enough stress in my life and I don't need it. I'm cool with sitting on a beach and reading a book. Pretty much I don't have to be doing anything to be happy.

Maggie is retiring in May, but this is a hard transition for her.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

BTW Cal I can relate to the hyper, always frenzied, always last minute NY fashion thing. In my previous life I shot commercial in the NYC area. It was the same. OMG we need to reshoot the shot was on Pantone 12456 and we should have done it on 12457. It's a disaster . Everyone work till midnight. Keep the lab open.

Come on guys. We're photographing a bone screw used in hip replacement. It's not a national emergency.

Chip,

Kinda funny and exactly what I'm talking about. Everything does not have to be at the last moment and a crisis that involves life and death.

Likely I'm spoiled because I went to art school and I developed a bad attitude. To really do a good job it takes time... to be really innovative it takes time... to really think things through it takes time... to do develop skill and talent it takes time... It takes time to be thoughful.

I really hate "Spackle Jobs" and work that is just a hack-job. Since when is a rush job the best? Since when have I unknowingly become a factory worker just pushing out a quantity of product as fast as I can?

One thing I notice is that in our culture is there is a lack of patience. I don't think "Maggie" understands how much time is required to develop a craft or skill. She basically is impatient with herself.

I know that I can do things that others can't. I have skills that have been developed, I can begin and finish a project by myself, and achieve an accomplishment and fulfillment without collaboration or help of others. All this really amounts to though is being patient with myself. Call me a bit of a loner, but that is when I'm happiest.

The concept of "flow" requires a precise concentration, whether biking, playing guitar, or doing photography. Pretty much life is like inside a self contained bubble without any distraction or noise.

Cal

 

[chipgreenberg]

Cal I'm older and maybe a little wiser. I couldn't say, "come on guys it's a picture of a bone screw" while in the game. You get all caught up in the frenzy. After being out of the game for a long time it's easy to look back and say, "Come join guys, it's just advertising." We didn't find life on alpha centuri.

And yes I wanted to make it the best picture of a bone screw I could, but it still wasn't life on alpha centuri. (the bone screw thing is a true story, biggest client was Howmedica making hip and knee replacement stuff."

But commercial obviously always had deadlines and budgets. That was part of the game. You need to do great work under a deadline and budget. Part of the stress.

Now shooting what I want when I want/can is relaxing. A whole different thing.

 

[Calzone]

Chip,

I see your point. You had clients that you had to satisfy and make happy.

That is not an easy job and perhaps that is why that kind of work is not for me. LOL.

I guess it has been good to have a mindless day-job that is boring, so I can pursue my projects fully to have my identity.

My guess is that I have a really hard time working to make other people happy when I could be making myself happy instead.

With my gal Maggie some of the work involves brands and clients, so in a way she is like I said working hard to make other people happy.

Now that I think of it she also has a literary agent and has been writing book proposals. Again this has involved deadlines, created stress, and so far in a way has been a waste of time. Even Maggie realizes that this requires more time and consideration to do right. Pretty much about 4-5 iterations of proposals and still nowhere.

Then there are all these other things going on that are distractions that compromise concentrating on the bigger prize.

Call me a cave man, but when I go fishing, the only thing important is fishing. The same goes with biking or photography. I guess a woman's mindset is different. There is "flow" because of concentrated focus.

Also the crazy busy pace was for when I was younger.

I always say, "I never knew of anyone with a complicated life that was happy."

Cal

 

[chipgreenberg]

Chip,


I guess it has been good to have a mindless day-job that is boring, so I can pursue my projects fully to have my identity.



This is kinda interesting. My wife and I were talking about this during coffee. She was reading an article on the high rate of suicide attempts for amazon warehouse workers. Seemed boring warehouse jobs didn't agree with them.

But different strokes and all....

During the summer at college I took a job at Saunders Easels. I was stoked. The Cadillac of easels. How cool. The reality of punching in, standing at a bench and making the same easel all day (to a standard with a quota) wasn't what I pictured. I did not do well.

I still remember talking to this woman Kathy who had been there forever and was one of two people who could make this high priced, multi format sliding easel. I said, Kathy, how do you do this? You've been here 15 years? I'm here a month and I'm bored to tears and going nuts.

She said she loved it. Best job ever! She knew when she had to work. When she'd be home. What was expected of her. How much money she'd make.

I didn't get it as an on the edge photo student. I did as I got older, but that's never been my life. My life has always been complicated. But yes I'm happy 🙂

 

[Calzone]

Chip,

Although I work in a physics lab, the work is routine and mindless almost like a factory job, except I'm not really busy or doing anything for most of the day. Some days it is hard to stay awake because there is so little to do, and as you know I waste a good part of my day here on RFF.

"Maggie" is a PhD academic, and she mentions how my job is the polar opposite of hers. She at times wishes that she had a simple job like mine. It seems like all these outside responsibilities encroach and the workload is endless for her. Even though she has the summers off, well not really. Her day-job is demanding and never ending.

I actually only work 37.5 hours a week, but I always show up no earlier than 15-20 minutes late. With all the holidays and a month's vacation it really is like just an annoying part-time job.

I am not challenged, I use none of my creativity, and I kinda cope with working with some strange people who make no sense and are anxious. Any expression of individuality is not appreciated and overall it is like living in a place in the world where an oppressive centralized government reigns.

Like a whore I only do it for the money and benefits; and I get no pleasure, reward or self esteem from this job, although it is high status because of pay, benefits and security.

Anyways I cope and have learned how to make it work for me. Know that my boss is a bully and things are kinda hostile between us, but lately since perhaps he will retire he has relaxed a bit. I have dealt with this deadly oppressive work situation for twenty years.

On a positive note: I have my creative freedom; and I thankfully have been able to sustain and develop the creative part of me to a very high level that is both rewarding and satisfying.

Cal

 

[Range-rover]

Camera Smut: Seems that the 35 Cron-SL is expected to be released in April. My dealer inquired if I would like to "pre-order."

I still have to do my taxes... so no pre-ordering for me at this time.

You know the deal, the lens is released, but not readily available.

The 35 Cron and other SL Crons take a 67mm filter so all the lenses are still big and heavy. I already have two Heliopan "Digtal" 67mm filters I picked up used at B&H in anticipation.

Cal

BTW Leica Camera is one of "Maggie's" followers. Would be really great if Leica "gifted" me this lens.

Cal do you see a difference using the Heliopan digital filters compared to B&W's?

 

[Phil_F_NM]

Cal do you see a difference using the Heliopan digital filters compared to B&W's?

I can say that Heliopans have nicer brass rings and have never galled up on me.
Phil Forrest

Sent from my LG-V530 using Tapatalk

 

[Calzone]

Cal do you see a difference using the Heliopan digital filters compared to B&W's?

Bob,

In a controlled experiment I A-B'ed Heliopan "Digital" against B&W using the same camera (Monochrom), same scene, same lighting, same lens and I saw a huge difference.

First off I use 2x yellow for capturing contrast at time of image capture when using my Monochrom. There is a differerence in the yellows, and I would say the B&W is darker, but the big deal is that the Heliopan filters marked "Digital" also have both additional UV and IR filtering.

This additional IR and UV filtering masks out signal that otherwise contributes to blown out highlights and masks shadow detail that I would say is noise: unwanted signal that does not contribute to the visual image.

The histograms show and indicate a signifigant difference in the ten zone histogram. Less contrast, enhanced mids, highlights are curbed to the extent that any blowout is gone or severely moderated, shadows display more detail, and overall dynamic range is much improved.

The difference is dramatic and the histogram does not lie. Pretty much HDR like results.

On my SL I use a Heliopan UV filter marked "Digital" to mask the UV and IR signals. Really cleans up the histogram.

I figure the UV and IR signals otherwise contribute to highlights to blow them out, and shadow detail is removed because of excessive contrast. This makes sense to me.

Wonder why my prints look a bit like HDR? It is because I have better dynamic range, less noise, and a better signal to noise ratio. That is why I'm able to print so big/huge.

Also I find that the histogram has the mids of a larger format, especially in larger prints.

For film I see no discernible difference.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

OFF TOPIC: I remember being told about an experiment that my Safety Officer told when giving a course at Brookhaven National Labs.

Somehow he stole a two pound brick of pure Sodium. On the MSDS they warn that any contact with water will cause a violent explosion, but I guess seeing is believing, so he sets up this "experiment" where he builds a platform on a little raft so he can float this 2 pound brick into the middle of the lake.

It took a lot of thought, because he had to wait for a somewhat calm day, and the idea was to throw rocks to kinda tip the solid brick of sodium into the water to see what would happen.

Eventually, somehow, he either splashes some water or tips the sodium into the water. Boom a massive explosion that basically propells the brick of sodium into the air, and when it comes into contact with the water again another violent explosion, and then another, and another...

Pretty much was described as being like the end of the world.

Ended up being a dumb thing to do. LOL. I do understand the mindset though, and I admit to doing mucho dumb things like the above.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

NEWS WORTHY: Today I walked past the Islamic Cultural Center on the corner of 96th Street and Third Avenue. The NYPD secured the location and were out in force to protect this Mosque after the domestic terrorist attack in New Zealand that killed 49 people. Really sad that there is no safe place.

In the news has been this elite college scandle. In other off-topic posts I mention Gary Helfrich a guy who made history by throwing away an elite education and scholarship at MIT to basically be a roady for Aerosmith.

Gary's biggest claim to fame though is from working at Fat Chance and developing bikes well suited for East Coast mountain biking where it is more twisty, rocky and rooty. He is also the founder of Merlin Cycles and the Godfather of the titanium bicycle.

So today I realized that I too also did a Gary Helfrich. When I was 15 I took the PSAT and had a remarkably high score, and soon thereafter I received a full scholarship to the Coast Guard Academy. I did not know at the time that this was a big honor and also an institution like West Point where you kinda have to be invited to get in.

So being an angry and disturbed kid I can see two highly probable outcomes: either I would have advanced rapidly and excelled; or I would have washed out. I often wonder what and where I would be if I had taken that opportunity.

So I went to a state school, and it took me 10 years to get my 4 year degree, perhaps 11 years because I worked a year to buy a used car to be able to go to college.

Today I also have a M.A. and a MFA. I paid off school loans, but this last one I figure will be paid off when I'm in my early 70's.

So I find this current news story disturbing, because it devalues my education, my struggle, and all my hard work.

In the end though I realize that as far as wealth goes the Coast Guard Academy would of led to a higher level of income and financial security; but all my art degrees provided a different wealth and richness of experience.

I think I made the right choice for the long run, meaning greater happiness.

Cal