NYC Journal

[Calzone]

The world is insane. Gold is approaching $3.2K, as if the world economy is alright.

A lot of risk is being discounted, and the markets are still are getting bidded up into new higher-highs. Now a gold sell off. Mucho crazy. Makes no sense.

Cal

 

[oldhaven]

Medium/long term project, lots of exciting innovation, lots of rewarding but difficult grunt work over a couple of years versus almost immediate satisfaction and no or few repercussions or disappointments. At my age and with uncertain long term future, no question what I would choose. At your age, I might choose differently, and I have before. Tough decision. Hardest thing about getting older and facing health challenges is being realistic without giving up what you really care about.

 

[Calzone]

Old haven,

Thanks for sharing wisdom. Lots of thinking going on.

I understand no right or wrong decision when you just have to hope for the best.

The thing though is being cool with the consequences.

On one hand the truck (1966 C-10) would be like living the dream, but in practicality a nice S3 or RS3 is something I think “Maggie” would be more into, and that would involve traveling.

The C-10 no matter what I do will always be a trophy of sorts with “you-suck” factor because it is a rare survivor that remains very close to OEM. It really does not need a new suspension or new drivetrain to be mucho cool.

Anyways as far as uncertainty goes, I’m perfectly happy and fine with the A4. It remains a great comfortable car, and both “Maggie” and I are greatly attached with very strong feelings about this car. We are kinda bonded to the car and also the Audi brand.

“Don’t tell Maggie” though I want a performance version of an A3.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Perhaps in a decade or so when my 2014 Audi A4 with 54K miles is old/tired and ready to be retired this notion of a S3 or RS3 will be rather faded and dated.

Also who knows about my 1966 C-10?

It is estimated that in about a decade I too will need cataract surgery to correct night blindness and the fogging of the lens in my eyes. Then again the average age when most people no longer drive is only 75, and for me that is only 8 years away. How crazy is that?

The old truck might be better suited for an old man than a low to the ground sporty sub-compact. Hmmm…

The point I’m making here is the pickup truck might have “long-legs” and become more important as I age. My friend Andrew and his wife Joan both drive taller minivans. Andrew getting into my A4 is difficult for him. He’s 77. I mentioned this to “Maggie…”

The original idea of recreating the C-10 into a Limo ride is still viable, and if I do no mods and keep the truck as a “survivor” I could always update the suspension and drivetrain at a later date… Keeping the C-10 as a survivor lets my dream stew, and also buys me time.

Hard to tell which is the better idea…

Anyways still living the dream…

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Last time this happened I bought a built out neck for no-money that was a custom build with many expensive options. It was the roasted bird’s eye baritone maple neck with turquoise inlays and a Strat reverse headstock.

So lightning struck again on a Tele built neck that has high grade flamed maple figure, a satin nitro finis, with am ivory TUSQ nut, with a 9 1/2 inch radius, and a “D” rear profile that emulates the chunky fat necks I love.

So pretty much another gift. Remember I still have a one-piece Tele body I got as a discount. Today the lighter weight bodies are getting scarce and now the lighter weight bodies have a rather stiff premium. Glad I did the buying when I did.

So another remarkable deal…

Time is my friend, and it pays to not be in any rush. Patience works for me.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Off to the guitars…

Cal

 

[DownUnder]

The world is insane. Gold is approaching $3.2K, as if the world economy is alright.

A lot of risk is being discounted, and the markets are still are getting bidded up into new higher-highs. Now a gold sell off. Mucho crazy. Makes no sense.

Cal

Profiteering. Buy low, sell high. Or buy high, sell low. Depending on the buyer's/seller's level of anxiety, which from all the bad news coming out of NA these days must be at an all-time high.

Many thanks to Warren Buffet for this basic but eminently sensible advice. Elon's brother did the same with his Tesla shares when the going got rough. I wonder if he bought up big when those shares hit rock bottom, or are they still going down like a floater in a flusher?

As for me, well, if I had a billion or two in the bank to spare for game-playing, I would surely be typing this from a 24 karat gold MacBook in a chauffeur-driven Bentley...

 

[Calzone]

DU,

Never knew anyone with a complicated life that was really happy.

“Maggie” as a Digital Influencer had a frenetic life, and was so unhappy. The attention and standing out was an ego boost, but it basically was like being on a hamster wheel going nowhere.

As far as trading goes it is a Zero-Sum-Game. Overtime only 10% remain winners, and that translates into 90% being losers.

I knew this and quit my swing and position trading. It was in 2007 I sold and closed my margin account. During the credit crisis I was flush with cash. That led me into Leica and this forum.

I see a lot of show boating going on. There is a lot of pretense and nonsense going on here. From the outside one see’s prosperity, but underneath is a load of debt.

All the new cars I see, most I think are leases and people living beyond their means. If I ever buy a brand new car it will be with cash. That would be my goal.

Here in the U.S. many are poor.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Fidel,

Just make a weekend date to see Diane Arbus.

We are waiting for you to set the date.

Some new interesting shooters.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

A lot of memories happened today with my walking around NYC. Funny thing isI had my Leica Monochrom with me and I only took a few shots.

Perhaps because it was pretty much the same as when I left and I didn’t see anything new.

I though I would be inspired…

How odd…

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Hot flashes as a side effect are worse now. When I get up in the night to pee, it takes a while for them to dissipate, so it involves disrupted sleep. At times it takes half an hour.

Then there is Monday through Thursday doctor’s or medical appointments. I have a disrupted retirement. On one of those days next week I get another chemical castration injection. A new monthly dose of Inhibitor will also get delivered.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

The broken up half marathon walk did me good yesterday. The thing with all the accumulated side effects of drugs and treatments is fatigue. I really have to pace myself and not over do things.

This week an optioned up Tele neck that would be custom ordered for $550.00 I secured for $250.00. Time is my friend, and I have been waiting for a neck like this with specs I can use.

I’m kinda fussy, and I know what I like. I like necks that have some chunk. I love medium to big frets that have mucho height, and I need the wider 1 11/16th wide neck.

Now I think keeping the 1966 C-10 as a “survivor” that remains OEM and period correct as mucho cool. It truly is an old-man’s truck. There is no rush to spend money, and at anytime I could do a suspension and drivetrain upgrade.

The optimist in me says why not say a Audi S3 and an updated truck. Given time that is a reasonable goal. Then I think the truck could easily lead to a side hustle. Did you know I love driving on open road? I can see me driving to North Carolina where we have northerners who went red neck, loading up on antiques, and bringing them to New York where they would fetch big dollars.

“Maggie” has an eye you know…

Then I could find rust free southern cars and remoter then with a “turnkey” brand new trans with a GM 2 year/50K mile warrentee.

You know me: clever; but a lazy slacker.

One think I noticed yesterday in NYC. Somehow I drawn to industrial areas and run down areas. I somehow drawn into the past and history. The new does not interest me, kinda boring…

So a big step in growth…

Cal

 

[Calzone]

I have to fess up. I carried my Leica Monochrom and really did almost no shooting.

In the past I shot lots of urban decay and the gritty industrial remnants of NYC. When I went back I just did not see what I saw in the past, and I lacked inspiration.

I did shoot some shots though on my walk to the Peekskill train station. Along South Street is an industrial zone.

I guess I might be somewhat finished shooting in NYC. A lack of inspiration, maybe because I did enough shooting in NYC when I lived there. Seems like I’m missing my mojo, perhaps rural decay…

Cal

 

[Calzone]

One of the side effects of hormone therapy is bloating and weight gain. I just came back from having blood drawn. Know that I am being carefully monitored. One of the side effects of the inhibitor, no joke, is death.

I admit I am a vain man, and I kinda know I get away with a lot because I’m like my grandson: mighty cute. I did my weigh in and somehow am 158 pounds. I blame the weight gain on the pastrami on rye from Katz’s Deli. An overdose of meat and of course mucho salt.

What a way to kill yourself.

So in a day or so electronically I’ll get the results. Know I’m getting the max dose of inhibitor, and I’m given a steroid to help with the side effects.

Cal

 

[ASA 32]

Hope you get a good result!

 

[Calzone]

ASA,

A lot will be happening very soon: Radiation treatment; 39 doses.

I can feel my limitations as far as strength and energy levels. In particular I feel the susceptibility to heat stress and heat exhaustion. My anemia makes my heart work harder.

So far I think I am mitigating and handling the side effects well.

Thanks for your post.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

If anything I think Helen Hill saw some of the effects of the fem-out. We were happy to see each other and it was a mutual tearful reunion.

Helen made a comment about me being more emotional/less constrained. I kinda agree that the fem-out has changed me. I wonder how much more this will continue, but I also know everyone is different.

There is a takeaway here in that as I ponder all that is happening to me, the experience really is not so bad in the context and within the context of the state of the world and our country. I am making this a real opportunity to thoughtfully consider a new and better future.

I’m fortunate that I am secure enough to go through all these changes and knowing that in the end the outcome will be good.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

I did not get the results from my blood tests yet electronically, but my radiation oncologist had one of his assistants E-mail me to send the early update that the lab work today indicates I am stable.

Remember I’m on a inhibitor that has serious side effects, and so far I’m still doing the max does. Also as a 158 pound man at 5’10” you would figure I kinda would be the canary in the coal mine.

I tolerate the max dose for the maximum benefit.

I expect the electronic notification of the lab work sometime tomorrow. That’s generally how it happens.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

I used the user interface on the SL2 to set it up to shoot the square. The SL2 interface is so user friendly that someone who is numb and dumb like me can love it.

What you see in the VF’er is the square and the unused is masked off by being blackened out. Then I set up 4 different assists that is blank, meaning none, 3x3 grid, a level, and shooting parameters for exposure.

The APO 35 Cron, a remarkable lens, for the square becomes a normal lens. This lens being APO has remarkable sharpness and contrast, but it also was purposely designed to have mucho pretty bokeh. The transition from sharp to OOF is crazy-good.

The way I shoot I utilize a single point focus, and that is movable with the joystick.

The 48.7 MP sensor gets cropped down to about 32 MP, still plenty and enough. Also know the full frame is recorded, so pretty much in Lightroom I can do a vertical or horizontal shift so in effect the SL2 functions like my Plaubel 69W Proshift. How cool is that?

I’m in a funk. Lost my mojo, and I think, creating a new camera, shooting the square digitally, and seeing 450 Diane Arbus prints at the Armory should be a big refresh.

Diane Arbus carried 3 Rollies in a knapsack to be able to not miss shots because of reloading. 12 shots are easy to blow through, and we all know the experience of a missed shot due to the end of a roll.

I have my SL2 rigged with a “monster” SD-card so there is no reason to miss a shot. The buffer is also mighty big and the processor fast to overcome the limitations of the first generation SL that I owned. I was an early adopter…

The SL2 has two card slots, and the way I have it configured is I also use a small capacity card that gets JPEG’ed, and the Monster-Card gets the raw file which is huge.

I weighed the SL2 with the APO 35 Cron with a luggage scale: around 4 pounds. The SL2 is weather sealed, so I really don’t need to use the expensive padded bag, unless I want to tote the Monster 50 Lux, which kinda becomes a short Tele, perhaps like a 75 mm in 35 mm full frame to have a long-short kit.

Know at one time I carried a 3.5 Whiteface and a Tele-Rolliflex.

Rigged camera with the APO 35 Cron, 50 Lux and the bag is around 11 pounds. Enough to slow and weigh me down. I know I’m a lazy slacker, and I’m getting old, so pretty much I think I’ll just carry the SL2 rigged with the APO 35 Cron. Four pounds is not a lot.

I still get a free gym membership in my book because the camera is kinda heavy.

Also know that the APO Cron and the 50 Lux do well shot wide open, and the SL2 has 5 axis image stabilization.

I know I can do lots of photography with this kit, and I’m using what I have on hand in a mucho clever manner.

I know from a post our friend John is shooting the square, but with a medium format camera. Kinda funny that he called my cameras “Monsters.”

Cal

 

[Calzone]

A mild red screen today in the markets.

Meanwhile gold seems to be rebounding, still pretty far away from the $3.5K high.

Just know that the U.S. dollar has about a 10% drop in purchasing power when compared to a basket of currencies. Of course this isn’t being recorded as “inflation.”

Is not inflation by definition a loss in purchasing power? Do you feel 10% poorer?

Cal