NYC Journal

Been busy with family stuff. Today assembled a loft bed for “Creature-Junior” the 8 year old grand daughter.

Also the plumbing inspector came by with the plumber to sign off on the job.

A new/old kitchen table that is arts and crafts era was delivered yesterday from California, another “Maggie” lucky find that fits in our small kitchen that adds beauty.

Also been doing pancakes and cooking a lot.

Retirement has actually been busy, and I think life has more meaning because I really can take in a day in a relaxed manner that is very much like being on vacation. Also I believe that taking the time to think and wonder about things is wonderful. They say when you buy an old house that it is best to live in it for a year or so before remodeling. The idea is that you don’t make rash decisions and you allow things to stew for a while. So I guess my retirement is kinda that way.

Anyways, all the planning, and plans we made, none of them happened, and I find that remarkable. I feel more truly alive than ever.

Cal
 
The “short interest rate” is predicting a drop in the stock market. Basically these are the professionals betting that the markets will go down that are shorting stocks.

The dropping a span on the Kerch Bridge is a big deal in the War in the Ukraine. Not sure how that happened, but it does not seem like a missile strike. This destroys a lot of logistics for Russia. Seems like it will be a tough cruel winter for both sides and rather costly. The will to fight and get revenge though supports the Ukraine, and I believe many Russians will die.

As this story unfolds, I wonder if this response comes tit-for-tat for some of the Russian targeting. So far the destruction can be seen as limited to the boundaries of the original Ukraine, but when the war tips outside that boundary then it escalates into what I see as a World War even though through proxy (no foreign troops).

If nuclear weapons come into service, even unilaterally, pretty much the fallout over Europe will likely involve a very severe NATO response. I’m not a war monger, I want peoples to live in peace, but pretty much there is a point where a hair-trigger has some huge consequences. One scenario would be a non nuclear NATO response that basically would destroy mucho Russian military capabilities and render them defenseless and very vulnerable.

This also is dangerous and there likely could be a Russian response or even further escalation. I hope this does not happen, but this is a game of Chess and I’m thinking of three to four moves ahead. Understand that even though Chess is a big national pastime in Russia that evidently the Russian Generals and Putin himself don’t understand the game or are lousy players.

I am learning that I’m at a huge tipping point where getting spokes to build 24 inch wheels that are double-butted are not available anymore. Then I have stockpiled all this retro drivetrain that also is obsolete. I’m embracing and considering 3x8 and 3x9 to get wide gear range, and in fact I like the gearing for chainring jumps as well as having smaller jumps in gearing, so there are some very real advantages to the old school technology.

The old drivetrains don’t have clutches to fail, and the rear cogs are smaller to a point where the risk of chain dropping is less because the chains are shorter and chain slack is less.

Understand that there is a reason why there is a cult following for the old 8 and 9 speed.

Then for eight-speed I have the two best shifters: 8-speed XTR; and Suntour 7-speed XC Pro thumb shifters that have an eighth click to function for 8-speed even though first made for 7-speed. How cool is that?

So many new bikes, and pretty much the same spin. I find my old bikes and their sense of history much more interesting. Very cool that I bought them all back in the day and somehow held onto them. The only exception is the Ti IBIS which is likely a one-off prototype that was built before 1994 (pre-V brake). My 8-speed XTR is period correct for my newest bike (Ti IBIS).

Kinda crazy that IBIS is coming out with an E-bike. I find this odd.

So my bikes emulate the 1966 Chevy C-10 long-bed in that they are resto-mod, and I could build out the Ti-IBIS as a vintage restoration.

For me this is way cooler than buying a new bike.

Anyways, “Maggie” says I have no style, but she follows fashion, meanwhile I follow things that are “classic” and “timeless” that never really go out of style. I think “Maggie” is really wrong, I have mucho style, and basically because it is my own it goes unrecognized. I’m very cool that my style does not go mainstream. Back when I bought my bikes I had the wisdom to see the long-term value and the value added.

I take it as a great compliment that Snarky Joe and Devil Christian say, “No one does that,” in response to the things I do.

I find it amusing the current retro trends, because in fact things that are timeless and classic never go out of style and that is why I consider myself a “Vintage Hipster.”

Another example: when did a ponytail and arrogant chin beard ever go out of style?

Cal
 
“I was just minding my own business,” I say when some how I met this criminal defense lawyer in a pizza shop on 72d Street near York Avenue (now out of business due to Covid).

I don’t remember, who approached who, or who engaged first, but he was from Jersey and was in NYC to have a visit at The Hospital For Special Surgery.

He touted himself as a very good criminal defense lawyer, and I think he even stated, “One of the best.” In fact he even gave me one of his cards, and I wonder if he had me profiled as a possible client. Maybe that suggests that maybe he approached me.

He told me a story about needing a continuance to get a client off on a technicality, but the judge refuse, then he faked a heart attack to force the issue. The next day he appeared before the judge, and he got his guilty client off the hook, but he got called to the bench.

The judge said, “I know you faked the emergency.”

Then the lawyer said, “Prove it.”

So did you know that President Obama use mucho “Black-Ops” that went on in secrete to assassinate enemies of the U.S. extensively? Mucho covert activity happened over the eight years of two terms…

So imagine we are in a big Chess game. Hyper-thet-ick-ally speaking this is my imagination, but also know I am trained as a journalist (M.A.) so I was taught to create narratives and explore possibilities by connecting the dots. I am also trained as a researcher… and investigator… and an explorer of sorts…

So no-one knows who sabotaged the Nord Stream pipeline…

We have some suspicions, but nothing is proven…

Then we have this kinda key bridge breached where a railway bridge is taken out as well as a adjoining second bridge that is a roadway. Fact is that not only is it hard to “drop a span” on a modern reinforced concrete structure, but it happened precisely on Putin’s 70th birthday. Then how did effectively two adjoining bridges get destroyed? I don’t think this was luck or an accident, and if it was perhaps more likely divine intervention.

Coincedance? Irony? Kinda funny? Really dangerous? An escalation? A response? A warning?

Where do we go from here? Is this the last straw?

Then I wonder if this job was performed by U.S. Navy SEAL’s. Pretty much it has their signature… Could be… Who else is that good?

You gotta know that all the planning was made well in advance, and pretty much the mission just lay on a self to be activated when and if needed. Or the time was right.

Did I mention that this event happened on Putin’s 70th birthday? Oh-yeah I did. Was this done on purpose and as an exclamation point? Anyways I’m just guessing… Well maybe the message might be clear to me, but can I prove it?

So the point is lots of covert stuff happens in the world that is mucho crazy that goes unexplained.

Also my analogy, “PROVE IT!!!” Means there is a lot of finger pointing that has no meaning unless there is proof.

So these thoughts disturb me, but since Iranian drones are being used to hit civilian infrastructure, and all the signs of torture and indiscriminate killing perhaps a stern warning is being made, and perhaps a military warning of who has the best weapons and military is made on point and purpose.

No doubt in my mind that there is an escalation going on, but how crazy is this going to get?

Cal
 
Cal, remember that indexing between Suntour and Shimano are different, you can use the Suntour shifters with a Shimano derailleur but you will not get the range for a full 8 speed cassette due to the diameter of the shifters being different, therefore changing the rate of pull. The Suntour is about the thickness of a cable narrower which will not pull the Shimano derailleur through its full range. The pivot point of the Suntour derailleur was closer to the cable anchor bolt, thereby taking up the difference in leverage. This can be fudged by moving the cable anchor position on the rear derailleur to the opposite side of the bolt, but the shifter can only be used on friction. Once all the Suntour micro-drive freewheels and cassettes were used up, there was nothing out there with the proper spacing between cogs to allow the Suntour shifters to accurately index.
I used to rebuild freewheels for two different bike shops here in Philly and the Suntour gear is what I cut my teeth on back in the early 90s when learning the profession. It really worked better than Shimano, but all of the bike manufacturers went with the lower price point Shimano parts and by 1996 Suntour was off all but the most esoteric bikes. It was dissolved and bought up by SunRace eventually, but the quality just is no longer there for many of their products. Most consumables like shifters, cassettes, freewheels, etc., are made to Shimano spacing standards, and there is nothing left of the real Suntour anymore.
My 1981 Miyata has a 100% Suntour Superbe/cyclone group, including their "Symmetric" downtube shifters which automatically trim the front derailleur when the rear is shifted. It's a brilliant system. The freewheel is a New Winner 6-speed and it's fantastic. I have enough 6 and 7-speed freewheels to probably last the rest of my life since Suntour used hardened steel with a good amount of chromium in the alloy, reducing the amount of rust but not making them with soft stainless steel. When they introduced the original micro-drive 7-speed freewheel with indexed shifters, the cogs were made of aluminum and it helped to create one of the lightest drivetrains ever (even up to this day.) The problem is that a strong rider will literally wear out a freewheel in one race. The Suntour freewheel system was really one of the best innovations in cycling since the invention of the derailleur. Completely modular and nearly infinitely customizable. One day I'm hoping to find a full "Suntour board" which is the big blue freewheel builder board with a key to which cogs and spacers properly fit which freewheels. When fully stocked, the board has the ability to create a custom freewheel from 5 to 7 speeds. I used to modify these with extra spacers to bring them into Shimano index spec so a rider could use a top-quality freewheel with new index shifters. I could still do this even up to 9-speed if I wanted, Shimano or Campy, doesn't matter, it's all spacing between the cogs. Biggest problem is that most freewheel hubs don't have axles strong enough to suspend the drive-side of the wheel (with the exception of original Suntour Cyclone/XC, Phil Wood and American Classic). This modular, customizable feature is something completely impossible today with off-the-shelf parts because we live in a world where everything is based upon consumerism, and durable, custom-fitted goods do not allow for this throwaway consumer mindset.
I should stop writing before I start ranting.

Phil Forrest
 
Update is that some demo experts think a boat exploded underneath the bridge, the Russians say it was a truck that exploded.

Maybe the truck an train cars carrying fuel oil was just lucky collateral damage.

So maybe just a lucky strike.

Fact check is that Putin’s birthday was Friday by some reports. A funny coincidence anyways.

An ugly war.

Cal
 
Morning Cal,

Building out my dream 70s vintage commercial studio continues. Hanging rollup via chains, my James Bright canvas backrounds, and three types of seamless paper, and three David Maheu Tim Kelly 8x8' muslins he recently painted for me. Each rolls up and down in fifteen seconds so its pretty cool IMO. Rebuilding olde Broncolor strobes, just bought a 2K new Broncolor Minipuls 1500 watt seconds (Pulso Pro line). Cant wait to get it, I made up adapters by metalworking adapters and cobbling together really decent units. the idea is to put my olde Broncolor reflectors and boxes etc, on the way newer 2001 Pulso Monolights. Last model made with knobs, right before they went to microprocessor controls, which can poof out where these will go for quite a long time. It is better to get the very best for no money. $229 LOL

Makiflex Auto 270 Tele Arton Mammo 9x12cm MicX by Nokton48, on Flickr

A photo I made recently. Kodak Mammography film is no money and can be cut down from French metric size to 4x5s. Got 500 sheets at $29 each

I want to put down simple black and white 12" linoleum squares to finish the basement concrete floors. Kinda retro 70s vibe

For camera with Graflok Back (Makifex and Sinar) I prefer the Graflex RH-50 70mm backs. Will load three of them this afternoon with three types of 70mm.
You can shoot 70mm 6x7cm eighteen exposures/220 length 90mm with Devil Christian, right? Paid $20 for my third RH-50. Who shoots 70mm film? LOL 1500WS = F64 so great for larger format
 
Nokton48 said:
Morning Cal,

Building out my dream 70s vintage commercial studio continues. Hanging rollup via chains, my James Bright canvas backrounds, and three types of seamless paper, and three David Maheu Tim Kelly 8x8' muslins he recently painted for me. Each rolls up and down in fifteen seconds so its pretty cool IMO. Rebuilding olde Broncolor strobes, just bought a 2K new Broncolor Minipuls 1500 watt seconds (Pulso Pro line). Cant wait to get it, I made up adapters by metalworking adapters and cobbling together really decent units. the idea is to put my olde Broncolor reflectors and boxes etc, on the way newer 2001 Pulso Monolights. Last model made with knobs, right before they went to microprocessor controls, which can poof out where these will go for quite a long time. It is better to get the very best for no money. $229 LOL

Makiflex Auto 270 Tele Arton Mammo 9x12cm MicX by Nokton48, on Flickr

A photo I made recently. Kodak Mammography film is no money and can be cut down from French metric size to 4x5s. Got 500 sheets at $29 each

I want to put down simple black and white 12" linoleum squares to finish the basement concrete floors. Kinda retro 70s vibe

For camera with Graflok Back (Makifex and Sinar) I prefer the Graflex RH-50 70mm backs. Will load three of them this afternoon with three types of 70mm.
You can shoot 70mm 6x7cm eighteen exposures/220 length 90mm with Devil Christian, right? Paid $20 for my third RH-50. Who shoots 70mm film? LOL 1500WS = F64 so great for larger format
Click to expand...

Devil Dan,

The 70’s…

I removed two layers of linoleum underneath a ceramic tile floor in my kitchen to reveal the original quarter sawn heart pine floors. What dog work, and all I can say is that I’m mighty stubborn. LOL.

Sounds like you will have enough strobes to set up a runway for a commercial jet. Be careful that a plane does not try an approach thinking you are the runway beacon.

You seem to have a real talent to get things to work for you. I guess all those years of experience amount to this skill. I think I would be easily overwhelmed trying to be a Dan Junior in all your experimental developing of films, and then to get that large format gradation and tonality.

Cal
 
After being sick with Covid, and having some long Covid carryover of cough and fatigue, I kinda decided I needed some adventure.

A friend recommended these Rene Herse tires that are very thin sidewall, are kinda squishy because they are specifically designed to run on lower than typical pressures and have very low rolling resistance.

So I loaded up the truck and bought a bunch of tires to try.

It all started out as a field test. I change out a Schwable 1.35 wide tire of a Rene Herse Natches Pass tire that is suppose to be 41mm wide but really is only 38mm or 1 1/2 inches wide. This worked out good on the Ti IBIS because it has a “Kojak” slick that measures 1.5 wide.

Took the IBIS on a Washington Avenue series of rolling hills, went to the tiny villages of Montrose and Buchanan and then home.

Pretty much just the front tire made the IBIS roll better and faster. The idea of the tire is to have less deflection and energy wasted that kills momentum. Anyways now I’m into these tires. I’m able to accelerate up climbs and stay on top of gears better.

Don’t forget that I have not been on a bike in three weeks because of illness (Covid), and certainly there is mucho rust.

So then I bring out the newsboy that has a pair of these 1 1/2 inch wide tires. Pretty much these are like oversized/fat road tires with a similar tread pattern that have a somewhat soft ride. I also changed the pedals to XC Pro from back in the day, changed to lighter wheels that happen to be more modern and bladed. So now the Newsboy lost about 1/2 a pound and weighs only 19 pounds.

My intent was to just do a field trial and then break off and add in some time in the saddle, but somehow I ended up in Croton, and then hooked around to Katona not so far from Connecticut, and then somehow I ended up in some unknown location where it is pretty much just watershed, highways and lake after lake. This was pretty far from home. I have driven through this area many times, very pretty, but of course it is different on a bike.

Somehow I find Route 202, this is the way home, and in what I believe is Mahopac, very near Trader Joe’s, my rear tire goes flat. Pretty much its about a 5-6 mile walk just to get to Peekskill, and then pretty much from there I have to cut into Peekskill proper and get to the other end of Peekskill. So now I’m looking at pretty near walking a half-marathon and at least 10 miles.

So my friend John knows that I can walk and cover lots of ground, and I don’t mind walking on a very nice fall day. A little windy, sunny, and kinda pleasant, even though Crompond Road is flanked on both sides most of the way with swamps.

I got pretty close to nearly downtown Peekskill when a SUV with a bike rack stopped to see if I needed a ride. At that point I was about halfway home. I was great full for the ride by my new friend Jason.

So these Rene Herse tires kinda made me not curb my riding. They made me feel fresh, and on downhills the way they picked up speed was remarkable. Truth be told if I used some sealant in the tubes or went tubeless I likely would not have flatted out. These tires made me faster. They roll smooth.

Tomorrow I’ll look into the flat. Also time to do some maintenance.

Also one of the reasons why I had no spare tube is because I have to order some. Since I had no tools, not sure the Newsboy would of fit in an UBER.

Anyways, even though I had rust from being off the bike I did good.

Cal
 
Cal....are tired all day from COVID fatigue or are you fine to a certain point in the day and then..BLAMMO ! it hits you all at once? I'm now convinced that the illness that sent me to the hospital for a week in October of 2019 was COVID. I had trouble breathing and felt like I"d been run over by a semi.

I just saw a news report that COVID cases were found to have happened in late 2019 and that the chinese were busy buying up PPE in August and September of 2019. Now, why would they have been doing that if they didn't know COVID was on the loose before they told the rest of the world in December of 2019?
 
MrFujicaman said:
Cal....are tired all day from COVID fatigue or are you fine to a certain point in the day and then..BLAMMO ! it hits you all at once? I'm now convinced that the illness that sent me to the hospital for a week in October of 2019 was COVID. I had trouble breathing and felt like I"d been run over by a semi.

I just saw a news report that COVID cases were found to have happened in late 2019 and that the chinese were busy buying up PPE in August and September of 2019. Now, why would they have been doing that if they didn't know COVID was on the loose before they told the rest of the world in December of 2019?
Click to expand...

MFM,

Sorry to hear you were taken down. I’m kinda with you that Covid was around very early. In NYC pretty much it was an epicenter for Covid and there were so many deaths. This was because it went undetected and spread…

The earlier strains seem to have attacked the upper respiratory system and had a high fatality rate. I’m so glad you did not get taken out.

It was over two years ago I had “Maggie” locked down in our 650 square foot apartment, then we bought the Baby-Victorian, which led me to early retirement at age 63.

A friend at Grumman said, “You step in shit, and then open a fertilizer factory,” meaning that somehow good fortune comes naturally to me for some reason. So even with Covid I bought a house and retired early.

As far as the fatigue, it was some of both. I slept a lot, woke up tired, then in the late afternoon I was ready for bed again. Know that I was fully vaccinated and had the booster.

Maggie might have this side effect from the vaccine where she has “dry-mouth.”

I was vaccinated early on because I worked at a hospital, and I got Covid tested every two weeks. Maggie because she is 5 years older than me was among the first non-essential that got the vaccine. Pretty much a big research experiment.

Thankfully Covid seems less fatal now, but it took over a year to get all the dental and medical maintenance back up to date. In my case (retirement) it took a prolonged and constant effort to catch up, and my worries are that for many the time and effort required will be too much, and the result is that screenings, early detection that either prevents disease or progression won’t happen. Pretty much many more people will die, but of other causes.

Death from Covid is one number, but how many Covid related deaths…

I guess yesterday for me was a good day. I think part of me has a problem with being vulnerable physically. I don’t think of myself as a weak man, so yesterday was a test. I likely rode about 40 miles, and perhaps walked 5-7 miles after I kinda used up most of my strength and glycogen (sugars stored in my muscle). I was worried that I might have long-Covid, but evidently I don’t.

I was expecting to be stiff and sore today because I pushed myself, and then got pushed, but pretty much I’m ready to go for another ride.

Cal
 
The flat yesterday was due to a small thorn.

Learning about how to navigate the new tubeless technology is not so easy. I learned that Stan’s no tubes, while likely the best performing sealant, creates these “Boogers” that are a head ache I can’t deal with. Meanwhile this other product called Orange Seal “Regular” works really well, but requires more maintenance, meaning replacing more frequently or needing additions to maintain performance.

Orange Seal makes a longer lasting version, but it does not seal as well as the regular… Also Orange Seal when it creates “Boogers” is more like dry rubber cement in that the skin created peels off easily which for me is less work over the long run.

Then there is a skill in mounting and dismounting tires. On tubeless ready rims the fit is tight, and if you don’t exploit the narrower channel or learn how to exploit the narrow channel to get the slack required pretty much you might get frustrated enough to give up.

I was stubborn figuring that the old school way of just changing a tube, and be on your way was a smart approach, but I guess I’m dumb because I learned that removing tubeless tires from tubeless rims is not so easy. Perhaps on non tubeless ready rims/wheels the tube might be the easy way and the way to go.

Know that I could still add some sealant to the tube for small puncture and leaks, or keep some handy on the road for a quick fix that might work.

There are these small CO2 cartridges made for different tire sizes I need to stock up on that are emergency inflators: small and light; I still likely have this CO2 cartridge holder that allows moderating volume and allows for control from back in the day.

So I already sealed the flat tire, and converted/switched over to tubeless. There is a benefit where I save about 2 ounces on each wheel, so pretty much saving about a quarter pound of rotating mass, means that the Newsboy will be faster, more hyper, and more responsive. The bike could drop down to 18 3/4 pounds.

So I learned my lesson, which carries over to life. I hear so many stories about how in old people how one thing kinda takes them down. One was a guy who was doing fine, and then a car accident started a beginning of an end of a more limited life. Another was a required surgery that led to a weight gain and a path to other problems.

So the concept and lesson I learned is that one small thorn can take you down, and not to be so carefree and reckless, even though it was fun.

I will convert all the wheels that are UST or Tubeless read if they use tubeless tires.

The sealant is pretty good insurance for small punctures. Like I said carrying some sealant for possible small puncture repair on the road/trail is not a bad idea, and then for full coverage at least carry a spare tube. Know that on tubeless tires you can always use a tube.

Back to work.

Cal
 
Mounting tubeless tires utilizes mucho hand strength, especially the thumbs. Kinda funny how I used so much energy in my hands that I broke into a sweat as if I were pumping iron.

So tubeless on tubeless rims only. I’m not going hill-billy and converting to tubeless unless I am using tubeless tires on tubeless rims.

It is still EZ-PZ to just replace a tube the old fashion conventional way. Know that tubeless tire removal is not so easy or speedy.

Great news is that the Newsboy lost some eight and measures only 18 2/3 to 18 3/4 ponds on my el Cheapo luggage scale, down from a flat 19 pounds.

The Ti IBIS weighs a silly 16 1/2 pounds as a single speed.

The bonus is that the tubeless ride is more compliant and even smoother.

Life got better, and I got faster. LOL.

Cal
 
I’m going to go ghetto here. Today is Columbus Day, a Federal Holiday, but for some people it is Indigenous People’s Day.

So who really discovered America?

I’m ethnically southern Chinese, but specifically Cantonese; and to be Cantonese is kinda like how New Yorkers are distinguished as a different kind of American.

One of my many defects is what one dentist calls this bifurcated two teeth that are fused together to share a root and crown as one big “super tooth” is kinda rare and about one in a million. In a way in my mouth is a tourist attraction because it stands out and is very unusual.

So on one hand I’m Chinese, so I’m one in a billion, and with this birth defect one in a million.

Understand that this genetic rare defect is only found in Asians, Native Americans, and Polynesians. From this genetic deformity it shows and indicates that in my blood is exploration, adventure, and migration and it would not be incorrect to say that Asians discovered America.

My tooth is genetic evidence.

I read a book written by a historian who reframed a lot of history in terms of Gang-Gus Kahn, who invented a common currency way before the EURO, who invented the idea of a bliz-creed form of battle (not the Germans), that invented the military formation of a Calvery (Not the Americans), that first used rockets as a weapon, that used and inter grated technology to make better weapons, that used “Free-Trade” as a concept for a means of trading, that advanced civilization by a free exchange of ideas…

So I have not come up with a good name to stake my claim to celebrate how Asians discovered America, and to enforce my ethnocentric culture upon others to oppress them. Maybe a good thing, but know the truth: Asians discovered America; Indigenous People inhabited the Americas; and Columbus only rediscovered America.

Kinda funny that my wealthy older brother strongly resembled Pancho Villa.

So anyways, Columbus Day is built on a bad idea that not only oppresses indigenous people, and others…

Cal
 
The Viking's by 100 years or the knight's Templar, even earlier than that, there's even stories of the Egyptians may of traveled from there to
Central America for a certain plant they used for embalming.
 
I forgot about the Vikings.

In an aside, horses evolved in North America and then became extinct, but they had migrated into Asia, and then the Spanish reintroduced them back into America.

The point is that there have been many migrations and explorations of the Americas.

At this point I don’t discount even UFO sightings.

Cal
 
I went to downtown Peekskill to the Social Security office to apply for Medicare. EZ-PZ.

On Friday at 9:00 AM someone will call and then my application will get processed. Today I brought my birth certificate, and they made a copy for my file. Took a total of 15 minutes.

Pretty much about a three minute wait as a walk in.

The motor vehicle experience when renewing my license also was without long lines, head aches, and was actually pleasant a year ago.

Anyways I have to broadcast these great experiences because I remember wasting a day trying to register a car, or killing a day at the Social Security Office for my dad and getting totally depleted. The DMV and Social Security offices pretty much kill your will to live and were horrible experiences on Long Island. Manhattan was no bargain for the DMV either.

Also so convenient because both offices are on the other side of the 4 square mile city of 25K people in the downtown area. I love my small city.

Now I am spoiled.

Today starts baby care for the grandson. This little man just eats and sleeps. He is not high maintenance like the grand daughter.

I have our plumber coming by this afternoon to replace and update the outside water facet. Doing this as maintenance because the valves are heading south and are mucho old.

Cal
 
A deadline to get a first draft done in three weeks (book contract) is compounded by our home becoming a daycare for the now 7-week old “Critter” meaning grandson.

Anyways from a man’s perspective I see how pretty much these are two full time jobs and a source of mucho stress.

I’m in this game as a support roll. I don’t mind the responsibility or the commitment, and it kinda makes me happy being able to step up and enjoy the experience, but meanwhile I am concerned about “Maggie” getting overwhelmed.

Anyways why does she have to be occupied and distracted almost all the time with pretty much to much going on and creating mucho stress.

I think I will dig and set the 4x8 pressure treated gravel frame into position. Next will be about getting about a cubic yard of gravel to fill the frame to get ready to erect the cedar shed I ordered from Canada that sits as a kit on a skid in my driveway.

Anyways, I have a simple and uncomplicated life, although I think I will sort through some things in the basement to get organized and ready. One task is to get rid of the unused gas water heater/tank to make some room.

Cal
 
Time to order a cubic yard of gravel. Good thing I have a Gorilla dump cart to make it easy to get the gravel from the driveway to the Back-Backyard.

”Maggie” is going to get up at 4:00 AM to write. The “Critter” comes around 6:00 AM. Pretty hard to concentrate with a 7 week old baby around.

I sorted through three totes and have all this Arts and Crafts supplies that Maggie bought and does not use. In Peekskill is a place where I can donate these art materials so they can be recycled. A non-profit runs this program, and the woman was actually involved with the one in NYC.

I stripped out a lot of tools and stuff that might be useful for me.

So now I’m ready for a drop off.

I also have to hit Home Cheapo and get some long lag bolts to unify my foundation of 4x6’s for my 4x8 foot cedar shed from Canada. The idea is to get the shed well above the ground using pressure treated lumber and not counting on just a gravel bed for moisture control.

I also need to get some more pressure treated lumber to build out my gravel bed.

Anyways each day is kinda satisfying. Today the Critter was fussy. Hope he is not high maintenance like our grand daughter.

Cal
 
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