New York March NYC Meet-Up

Cal, auto parts stores carry a gadget called "Perm-a-Coil" that's made for fixing stripped out threaded holes. (used to be called Heli-coils).

I used one on the tripod mount of my Tamron SP 200-500 zoom years ago after the threading on the 1/4-20 hole stripped out.

I modified a Bogen hex quick release plate to take both a 1/4-20 bolt and a 3/8-16. That lens isn't going to get loose from the plate ever again!
 
Cal, auto parts stores carry a gadget called "Perm-a-Coil" that's made for fixing stripped out threaded holes. (used to be called Heli-coils).

I used one on the tripod mount of my Tamron SP 200-500 zoom years ago after the threading on the 1/4-20 hole stripped out.

I modified a Bogen hex quick release plate to take both a 1/4-20 bolt and a 3/8-16. That lens isn't going to get loose from the plate ever again!

MFM,

At my lab we have Heli-coils in stock, but only in standard threads. I think I used all the 4-40 ones on a guitar for using machine screws to mount a pickguard.

There are also these things called "Threadserts" that I have used on Fender guitar necks for when the wood screw holes wear out.

I love that on my Tech V Baby Linhof that I have both a 3/8 and a 1/4-20 tripod mounts.

Today I ordered a Charlie Christian pick-up that has a humbucking mount. Should be mighty cool in this carved top hollow body Tele with a P-90 sounding bridge pick up.

My style is old school Jazz and jump blues. I have retro style.

"Maggie will get dropped off tonight and will be back from Westchester. Meanwhile this week's patient got cancelled. I regened a cryopunp. Pretty easy: close a valve for the liquid helium; let the cold head warm up with a turbopump and roughing pump running; and then open the valve again about two hours later.

Meanwhile I read the Wall Street Journal. Takes about 2 hours to get below minus 20 degrees Kelvin.

I should do some more online training that is required annually. Takes about a year for me to forget all the stuff I'm suppose to know about patient privacy, sex discrimination, fire safety, evacuation, and now even lockdown emergencies in case of an armed intruder.

What is not given in the lockdown training is the fact that if you get shot and are not hit in a vital organ you have about two hours to get to an E.R. before you bleed out; and you have an 80% chance of surviving.

But if you have two gunshot wounds and no vital organs are hit or damaged you basically only have a 20% chance of surviving.

The above is important to know. The most scary thing to know is how a 223 round say from an AK-47 or Mini-15 assault rifle will go through most building materials. I know that a cinder block gets broken, so the second round means "what cinder block?"

Did you know that the one inch thick plexiglass in a bank is only designed to take one round from an assault rifle? A repeated firing means the second or third round breaches the shield.

Also a handgun round will go through a car door no problem.

What a world we live in.

Also if I dip my chin the longest part of my hair reaches my navel. Know that I have to straighten out the curl in my pony tail.

Cal
 
This is what I hate about you Cal..

I got curious because of your statement about "standard" Perma-Coils, and HAD to go see online if they make metric ones. Yup...they do.

I thought about it and since the auto industry went metric back in the 80's, it makes sense.
 
This is what I hate about you Cal..

I got curious because of your statement about "standard" Perma-Coils, and HAD to go see online if they make metric ones. Yup...they do.

I thought about it and since the auto industry went metric back in the 80's, it makes sense.

MFM,

Because I worked at Grumman and three National Labs; Los Alamos, Brookhaven, and Frances Bitter National Lab in Boston (only for a week on field assignment at FBNL) I know all the expensive good stuff.

Of course indirectly this is all taxpayer money. Not a bad way for an artist not to struggle and pay his bills.

Funny thing is how my art background ended up making me a great out of the box problem solver. This talent did not go unoticed or wasted. Also because I was a lazy slacker I found ways to get jobs done quickly so I could goof off.

My boss Joe loved me because I got the job done. Anyways since I knew so many people I knew how and where to get stuff I needed. In a way I was a street thug, and although I was in Research the other building across the street was Development and I would raid their crib for mucho supplies.

One day the boss of Jerry in the Crib gave me a hard time saying I worked for another department and in another building, but pretty much I said, "I don't have time to waste, and If I don't get what I need I'm leaving to go talk to my boss and you will be in deep trouble."

After that I never had a problem. Pretty much I mugged Development for anything I ever needed. Moral of the story is people are afraid of aggressive thugs. LOL.

There were 30K employees working at Grumman and it was Long Island's largest employer. I could get anything done because I knew so many people.

A funny story is how I got a Bolex 16 mm film camera. It was being excessed and I caught it being loaded onto a pallet to be disposed of. I approached Sandra the Stock girl and inquired, and that is how I found out about its status.

Then I turned on the charm and asked Sandra if I could have it because I could use it and otherwise it would go to waste. Then I did the the pretty boy thing and moved in closer and fluttered my eyes open and closed three times in a row, tilted my head, and asked, "Please."

She was annoyed and yelled at me, "Take it and get out of here before I get in trouble." LOL.

Anyways it pays to be good looking because bad behavior is mucho tolerated and some people actually think its "cute."

Towards the end of the Cold War my boss sent me to a lab being dismantled at a remote facility in Great River. I was given basically a UPS truck to take home (The UPS Trucks and Postal Vehicles were made by Grumman Allied a susidiary of Grumman Aerospace. I worked for the Space and Electronics Division) so I could load up the truck as I say with anything useful.

I was even given a helper, Jack who was loaned to my department. So we trashed the place as we looted and rand sacked. A lot of the stuff we set aside for our own personal use. Anyways this free for all was lots of fun. There was a massive amount of loot and enough for all.

Cal
 
My friend and neighbor next door and his gal moved out. Ray is an interesting guy who is a bankster who went to Harvard and played football for them as a cornerback. His gal also went to Harvard and is in Med School at Columbia..

So this is part of the trend. Seeing a lot of moving going on, but it is mostly young people moving out to the burbs. The game changer is working remotely. The trend of more young people leaving NYC rather than coming has been going on for a few years, and know that it was young people that brought most of the proserity, new ideas, and the youthful energy that NYC is known for.

In local news they pushed out the eviction freeze another two months which was suppose to end July 31st, so in the fall I expect to see a jump in homelessness and for some new reality to descend.

Some of the buying in Beacon is likely due to pent up demand, but once that subsides I expect the market to soften up a bit. Another cute small house we like sold and is off the market.

With lost income and persistent high unemployment I would expect a distressed housing market eventually, but that might take about a year to kick in.

My thinking is that I have an office and ample space to actually come into work mucho early and use the time to woodshed. This eliminates stress and racing around during rush hours when I begin a long commute.

I will enjoy my solitude. Also could begin a body of work walking around and shooting NYC around dusk, making the best of the city and making this good opportunity for me. Being a loner works for me.

Cal
 
I wonder about taking the hit and retiring about a year from now, and leaving NYC.

Last week there was a news report of 19 people getting shot here, and pretty much this is too much like Chicago.

Realistically even if they come out with a vacination it would take about a year to get it distributed, and then it will take years to actually experience an economic recovery.

Is it worth the risk to stay in NYC?

"Maggie" went walking around with her daughter and grand daughter, and realized how nice it would be to have a yard, a garden, and an outdoor space upstate. So a loft is no longer in the picture.

When we rented a row house in Greenpoint we had a backyard and a really nice sancuary that included Koi, a swamp garden, and herb garden, a flower garden... It was interesting how we created all these different spaces/enviornments. About the only thing we didn't grow was vegtables. Lots of containers used for landscaping were used, and I grew a butterfly bush from seed.

So now we are looking at small houses with oversized yards. A half acre would be nice. Learned that deer don't like butterfly bushes, onions, garlic, eggplants, cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers.

There are a few places available that we like. Two are small old houses that has been updated and are turnkey smart homes, one in particular has an oversized garage that could be a great studio. The way these two cottages were upgraded it is as if they are new homes, but they have the old charm.

There is a gate house, but it is kinda tiny at sub 800 square feet, but the land skirts a sanctuary and has nearly a half acre. The area is a bit remote though, and perhaps not the best for commuting. The price is right though to build a studio.

The next year seems like a turning point. So far the new guy that is suppose to be my backup has not been trained at all to back me up. Meanwhile there is a grant application for $2M to upgrade overhaul my nearly 20 year old machine.

I suspect that my institution might not want to keep this "collaboration" going with another big institution. The possibilities I think are evident for keeping things very open, but then again nothing seems to be moving forward either. Lots of uncertainty still lingers.

I wonder if I might be offered a "package" to retire early, something like a year's salary and a year added onto my pension. Anyways this would be ideal for me. I would take the money and run.

Cal
 
I wonder about taking the hit and retiring about a year from now, and leaving NYC.
Only you can make that decision..
I'm 64 and thinking the same thing..
I was brought up in NYC but adios-ed for good at 17..
Bottom line..
Things are not looking good these days for the country...esp in cities..
If you can change your mind set from action packed NYC craziness..
To mellow..country life and such..
You may want to consider it..esp at your age..
 
Only you can make that decision..
I'm 64 and thinking the same thing..
I was brought up in NYC but adios-ed for good at 17..
Bottom line..
Things are not looking good these days for the country...esp in cities..
If you can change your mind set from action packed NYC craziness..
To mellow..country life and such..
You may want to consider it..esp at your age..

Emile,

I am adaptable. When Ronald Raygun was President I lived 47 miles from civilization in a log cabin in the Santa Fe National Forest. I was so remote that I got no TV reception.

The problem and sense of urgency is for my gal who just turned 67 and has been locked down. This is no way to live for her. While I can live in isolation and be happy-happy, know that my gal is a celeb and has over 700K followers.

I agree with you that the U.S. and cities look pretty bad where you can't really be an optimist. The cops are demoralized really badly, and people are angry.

It seems like this next year will be a turning point where things likely will become evident of how they plan on keeping things going or not at work.

Right now the plan is to buy something in the lower Hudson Valley and for me to commute next year. The train travel will likely be a killer of my weeks, but worse case is about 4 more years to full retirement.

My biological age is only 38, even though I'm 62. I learned once I hit 50 that a decade is not a long time anymore, so I figure 4 more years isn't too bad a sentence. Once I make the move, I'll be a short-timer, and I could retire on three month's notice (This is the time required to process).

Basically the only tie to NYC would be for financial reasons, but who on fixed income, even a generous amount, could use the security of extra income?

Call me a Ho, but I'm only doing it only for the money. If I'm able to do the commute for three years after I leave NYC, the bonus is mucho extra fixed income to buy assets and to invest. This is for a very rich retirement.

Know that the biological age test I took suggests my life expectancy will be 107 years.

BTW the home I purchase will be modest and not large. I want a reasonable amount of comfort, but not the expense.

Cal
 
Cal,
NYC is still the safest large city in the USA and one of the safest in the world.
Philadelphia has a murder rate 7x higher per-100,000 than NYC, and just slightly under Chicago.
We would love to get out to some place more rural but we are just entering our careers as mental health clinicians, amidst a very questionable job market. People keep saying that we will be needed but on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, mental health is not even close to a priority. Add to that the fact that we're just getting by right now. We don't have the money to move properly, but if we needed to flee, we could do it safely.
We can only hope for the best and move when we have the resources to do so. This is the state of affairs that most of the nation is in right now.

Phil Forrest
 
Cal,
NYC is still the safest large city in the USA and one of the safest in the world.
Philadelphia has a murder rate 7x higher per-100,000 than NYC, and just slightly under Chicago.
We would love to get out to some place more rural but we are just entering our careers as mental health clinicians, amidst a very questionable job market. People keep saying that we will be needed but on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, mental health is not even close to a priority. Add to that the fact that we're just getting by right now. We don't have the money to move properly, but if we needed to flee, we could do it safely.
We can only hope for the best and move when we have the resources to do so. This is the state of affairs that most of the nation is in right now.

Phil Forrest

Phil,

Generally I'm an optimist, but because of compassion I can't but help being tainted by sadness. Life is interupted, and I don't have to look far to see bad things happening all around me in NYC.

I would agree with you that among big cities that NYC is likely and perhaps the safest.

"Maggie" had a career as a Social Worker and dedicated her life to helping people and trying to build a better tomorrow for many. It seems that now as we age out that now is the time to foster our own future and take care of ourselves in a sustainable manner.

So as an example, it was really only in 2007-2008 (less than 15 years ago) that I really made the move into having more than I needed and some level of comfort, but I was not foolish and waste the opportunity to save and invest.

During that time I owned only my Nikon F3P as my only camera. I had gamed the market and was sitting on a pile of cash during the Credit Crisis. That is when I started getting into Leica. I bought a 75 Lux Version 2 and a 35 Cron V.4 that were in mint condition at bargain prices. Both lenses were German versions which held about a $100.00 premium when I sold them years later.

There was about a year delay until I purchased my unusual Wetzlar M6 with the zinc top plate that preceeded the Ti M6 limited edition by 5 years and is a prototype of sorts. So it was about a year later when I could actually use these lenses. When I sold them I came close to doubling my money. There is this Chinese expression, "Time is the best weapon." Pretty valuable to understand timing and opportunity.

Pretty much before the credit crisis I lived paycheck to paycheck. Anyways the point here is that it took 15 years of discipline to get to the point where I have built a retirement, and I started at the age of 47.

They say only about 30% of Americans actually have enough money to retire. I guess this line is where 30% have some degree of freedom and choice in their lifestyle, and that 70% pretty much don't have but few choices.

They say that if you don't plan at least a decade ahead you won't have a retirement, and I say, "Once you hit 50 a decade is not a long time."

Just know the luxuries I enjoy like printing (expensive) and of course my cameras and guitars, are more like hard assets I intend on keeping the rest of my life, and that I feel I have enough "treasures" to remind me I am no longer poor.

Know that growing up I knew poverty...

Since you have a military background I think you know and understand the goal orientation required for victory in earning a true retirement where money and finances are no worry.

If I'm able to work till 66 years 8 months, at age 70 when I collect Social Security, basically that fixed income I will not need to live on. My two pensions are more than enough to sustain me along with just Maggie's Social Security, when she collects it three years from now when she is 70.

Pretty much a comfortable sustainable retirement on just my two pensions and social security, plus the nest eggs we have in our 403B's.

My Social Security will go into a "slush-fund" where I will buy assets and investments to build wealth as a money manager of sorts. I never imagined that I would become wealthy, but perhaps that is the result of renting, not being a typical American consumer, and the required discipline to build capitol by saving (delayed gratification).

Eventually the forced paying of taxes and minimum required distributions of our 403B's will also have to be invested in taxed accounts. Pretty much I will have to become a money manager (Bankster).

All the best. BTW your education I believe will be a great asset in the long-game.

Cal
 
Today another Covid-19 "spit-test."

Since I work in a hospital setting I get tested every two weeks. The blood antibody test was a one time event that came back negative.

In my walking to and from work on the UES I see many people carrying their masks and some without. The casual aspect of this behavior I find disturbing. I would say at least 25% of people I see on the street don't have a mask or if they do they are not effectively covering their mouth and nose.

One opinion given was that the virus is like a "Forest Fire" that will burn and smolder in an ongoing manner as long as there is fuel. This is likely the situation until either there is "herd immunity" or a vacine.

I got a preliminary approval for a mortgage, next step is the formal application process. Things will get more serious after Thanksgiving. For some reason "Maggie" wants to wait until maybe/perhaps I get some indication of my job status to establish some certainty.

????

I only work 37.5 hours a week, I get a month's vacation every year, and I have my vacation bank nearly maxed out (195 hours max which is 26 work days). I figure if I could work out a schedule that pretty much between my vaction time I earn and the amount saved in my bank that pretty much I might be able to do a 4 day work week for a year.

I expect the commute from Beacon to be a bit brutal, but its only for about 3 years... At least one year would be rather soft.

Looks like public sewer for the houses I'm interested in. No problem for having a darkroom.

Last night played around with my old SL rigged with my Noct-Nikkor. Seems best if the lens is used F2.0, F1.4, or wide open at F1.2 for focus snap utilized with the zoom in. Works really great. The extra 8mm reach (58/1.2) of the Noct-Nikkor over the 50 Lux E60 provides a very strong focus snap.

Cal
 
You are buying a house in Beacon Cal?

John,

I looked into a mortgage yesterday to see if I qualify on just my salary.

Basically it was to settle an argument about my debt to income ratio, my outstanding credit rating, and how banks use the same criterion to approve mortgages.

I already knew the answer, but my at times know it all woman who sucks in math, loves to argue.

So basically we could buy a modest home tomorrow. Now "Maggie" wants to wait until there is some certainty as far as my job. This might never happen, but it does seem like time is my friend, and right now there is a bit of pent up demand bolstering prices.

About 4-5 properties we liked sold over the past two weeks. These are small, but turnkey homes that would be ideal for some New Yorkers to have an out of town weekend place. I expect to be doing some serious looking after Thanksgiving, and perhaps in January or February we will be closing/moving.

The numbers are good. The mortgage, taxes and insurance will literally be about half of what we pay in rent now. Cheap-cheap-cheap. The sooner we do this the more money we save. I currently have no lease, and perhaps for the past two years I have been just paying my rent month-to-month.

One of the particulars is an oversized yard if possible, a half acre would be good. I want to basically garden, and grow some food also.

We have a pretty big down payment, but the idea is to do a thirty year mortgage to have low costs for flexibility, but I could easily make it into a 10 or 15 year by dropping in extra payments to apply against the principle.

There is an interesting "smart" house that is a house from 1920, but effectively is a new house. The new heating system is a heatpump, but this is an air version and not a well water version, so the heating and cooling should be about 25% of a conventional oil or gas heating system, but the trade off is that under extreme conditions like polar vortexes or 100 degree heat waves the heat pumps don't do so well because their efficientcy drops. The yard is nothing special, otherwise I would suppliment the heating and cooling somehow, otherwise this house would be great for me.

The well water heat pump HVAC systems is the way to go, but only cost effective with say a new construction.

You know me well, just think of how I will obsess over buying a house.

So here is a bit of crazy. Trying not to have to buy a car, but if I do I might go electric. Volvo in the fall will be releasing an electric version of the XC40. "Don't tell Maggie."

Trying to avoid a Teslar, even though they have the best range. Maggie does not like Elon Musk.

So all those years of being a CF are paying off. BTW I still own all those cameras you know. The M3-DS I sold to Brian that had been day traded away for thos Bruce Davidson vintage prints is back in my posession. The shutter curtains let go, so it now needs service.

Cal
 
Cal,
NYC is still the safest large city in the USA and one of the safest in the world.
Philadelphia has a murder rate 7x higher per-100,000 than NYC, and just slightly under Chicago.
We would love to get out to some place more rural but we are just entering our careers as mental health clinicians, amidst a very questionable job market. People keep saying that we will be needed but on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, mental health is not even close to a priority. Add to that the fact that we're just getting by right now. We don't have the money to move properly, but if we needed to flee, we could do it safely.
We can only hope for the best and move when we have the resources to do so. This is the state of affairs that most of the nation is in right now.

Phil Forrest


Phil, I don't know what criteria are used to rank cities. But Chicago with 500 shooting deaths/yr and New York with 300/year seem to appear high on the list which puzzles me. Personally I feel safer in major European cities and certainly in Japan, than anywhere in the USA.
 
Phil, I don't know what criteria are used to rank cities. But Chicago with 500 shooting deaths/yr and New York with 300/year seem to appear high on the list which puzzles me. Personally I feel safer in major European cities and certainly in Japan, than anywhere in the USA.
I'm not arguing that many other cities are safer than some large cities in the US, but looking at the murder rate in US cities larger than 100,000 in population, NYC is quite low compared to other US cities. Chicago, Philadelphia, Baltimore, even my home town of Albuquerque, New Mexico; all are far more dangerous than NYC. That is just the murder rate though, if you remove the criteria murder, and count all violent crime, NYC is safer than many cities around the world.
I only brought this up because NYC is still very safe in comparison to many other places in the USA, in spite of a recent uptick in violent crime. It's not the NYC of the 90s and doesn't even come close to St. Louis, Philly or Chicago right now. I would feel safer on any block in Manhattan and *most* blocks in Brooklyn than I do anywhere in Philadelphia, outside of what is considered "Center City" from South St. to Spring Garden, and the Schuylkill River to the Delaware River.
Phil Forrest
 
Regarding property values, this is a crazy time right now. Bethanne and I were looking at houses all over the country two nights ago, since we don't want to stay in Philly, now that we're done with our degrees. Anyway, we browsed Colorado, which is pretty stable, along with New Mexico and Wyoming. I'm really thinking that one of the Rocky Mountain states will be where we end up, maybe outside of Denver, Colorado Springs, Cheyenne, or even Santa Fe. I also looked at California, on a whim and it is a total buyer's market, it seems. I found a half acre of unimproved land with sewer service, in a little coastal town that I love, for pennies on the foot. I could take out a small signature loan from my credit union and buy this parcel CASH. The kicker is that it is about 1000ft from the Pacific Ocean. Neighborhood homeowner's assn. doesn't allow parking RVs on the lot while a house is built, so that is out. Looking at other properties in California, I saw foreclosures and short sales everywhere. Houses discounted by 70%. These are very weird times and I wish I had the capital to buy just a bit of property here and there, then sell it if and when the world returns to some semblance of normalcy. If not, at least I'd have a nice view at the end of it all.
Phil Forrest
 
One of the particulars is an oversized yard if possible, a half acre would be good. I want to basically garden, and grow some food also.

My wife just bought her 4th apartment... the one we will live in soon. 3 bedrooms, two baths, etc. Brand new... she will sell the one we live in to a friend and a small 1 bedroom apartment to me (which I plan to rent). She'll have two left. Now, she wants to buy a house in Santiago in case there's another pandemic... because being stuck in apartment building sucks. The yard comes in handy in that scenario... or living towards the Andes. I was totally against this until Covid-19 hit... now, I'm kind of thinking it could be a good idea. I wouldn't mind walking in the Andes instead of being stuck inside. The great thing is...it's all her $$ ... she asks me for nothing. Of course, I don't own any of it either if we divorce. Well, except the apartment I'm buying from her...

Anyway, I can't wait until you run into my friend "homeless" Jeff in Beacon.
 
Phil, I don't know what criteria are used to rank cities. But Chicago with 500 shooting deaths/yr and New York with 300/year seem to appear high on the list which puzzles me. Personally I feel safer in major European cities and certainly in Japan, than anywhere in the USA.

Deardorff,

NYC when compared to Philly is low crime. Center City in Philly is a haven, exception, but is kinda living in a bubble. In NYC the safe spaces are more vast and spread out as Phil describes.

NYC would have to kinda return/regress to the 70's to be in the neighborhood of crime and violence of Philly. Unfortunately I believe that a return of the 1970's is kinda evident.

In 1968 there were race riots and looting in NYC and Newark. Then the backlash thereafter led to the 70's where NYC was kinda abandoned and almost became a Detroit (bankrupt city).

On my 2 1/2 mile walk to work this morning I see what would be called "Hoovervilles" starting to be erected as if the Great Depression. This scale of homelessness is where I saw improvised shelters being erected under construction scafolding and in doorways of shuttered and bordered up businesses on the Upper East Side.

One homeless person utilizes a public bench as a Public Storage site of all his belongings. His "encampment" has been around for about three weeks, meanwhile I see more springing up.

I see many people who can moving out. Certainly working remotely for many means they can escape. I don't see or can't believe there will be a return to normal that can really begin until there is a vacine, and realistically that development will happen in 2021 about a year from now.

My POV is that the spiking in the U.S. and community spread is still the first wave. Also know that the second wave during the Spanish Flu killed more people than the first wave.

Cal
 
Anyway, I can't wait until you run into my friend "homeless" Jeff in Beacon.

John,

That will be funny.

I always say, "The world is not that big."

I'm thinking the "smart" house would be cool if I bought today. Yesterday the small house on a half acre with a built in pool was removed as a listing. This house was a bit small though.

Since heat pumps provide both heating and cooling, and are so efficient (utilizes only 25% of the energy of a conventional heating or cooling system) I think I could offset the heating required during a Polar Vortex even with suplimental electric heaters as backups, and also a conventional air conditioner if needed. The smart house would be perfect if it had a garage included, and a spacious yard.

The yard is not emphisized, so this might be a week point, but I love the idea of taking an old house and making it totally like a new house.

BTW if I dip my chin my hair reaches my navel. Like Jeff I look a bit scruffy too. I guess that is the "Beacon look." LOL.

Also Homeless Jeff is a skinny muscular bitch like me.

For those that don't know, John showed me this portrait of Jeff, and I mistakenly though Jeff was a homeless guy. "I asked how did you get so close to that homeless guy to get that shot?"

Anyways John told Jeff about my mistake, which Jeff thought was funny.

Cal
 
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