NYC Journal

Last week someone was stabbed in the late evening hours in downtown Peekskill. That person that was stabbed last week now is reported dead and now it is a murder.

Our Peekskill Herald also reported someone form of prostitution was also happening last week.

If I remember right there were two murders in Peekskill last year. One was a drive-by shooting.

When we lived in Greenpoint Brooklyn our upstairs neighbor said, “Greenpoint is a very safe neighborhood, only one murder a year.” For two consecutive years that one murder per year happen just a few blocks from where I lived in Greenpoint. This was when another neighbor got mugged right in front of our house.

We live on the other side of the city of Peekskill, in a somewhat rural part of the city, and distant from the downtown. Pretty much we are not in the hotspot for crime and murders.

When we lived in Greenpoint the population was about 35K, and here in Peekskill it is only 25K. Hmmm…

The journalist in me demands I report the good, the bad, and the ugly. One business owner who owns a bar and several restaurants suggested to the city government to close down bars at 2:00 AM to curb these crimes. This suggests that the crime up here is alcohol related.

I kinda live in a Republican stronghold in Peekskill. Many of my neighbors speak openly about owning guns. Also all my neighbors have surveillance cameras to the extent that I don’t need any.

A while back I saw an animal scurry that at first I though was a rat. Pretty much a full grown NYC sized adult rat with the hairless tail and chubby butt.

When I set up rat traps I killed a few Voles, so I thought I could of seen a mature Vole that can approach the size of a NYC rat, but it turns out my neighbor caught a NYC sized rat in his Hav-A-Hart trap.

Moral of the story is I was not hallucinating.

We also have rat snakes that are black and about 6 feet long.

The rabbits are eating our lettuce, string beans, and pea plants. I’m cool with feeding the rabbits. Part of country living. BTW the rabbits seem to be tame and they know we intend no harm. I can get to 8-10 feet from them before they run into hiding.

Next year I’m thinking of elevating some beds for the lettuce, peas and string beans.

Live and let live…

Cal
 
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The heat wave presents itself as a pleasant morning, but around lunchtime the mini-splits come on for comfort.

Heat rises, so the upstairs heats up into the 80’s. A window air conditioner gets started around 8:00 PM to get the bedroom under control for bedtime.

Not so bad. The media is hyping the weather, but surely the heat index outside is a bit horrific. Had to do some food shopping, and I could feel the oppressiveness building up. Wasn’t too bad at lunchtime though.

On a map it indicates that Albany is somehow a hot spot, and Albany is pretty far north of us. I see the trees moving so there is a breeze. Likely the moisture from all the surrounding forest is helping moderate the heat-dome. The forest is a reservoir of moisture, and photosynthesis and the tree’s restoration emits moisture for a bit of a moderator and for a cooling effect.

Although a city, I don’t live in a heat Island.

Bought a pair of binoculars 10x47mm for “Maggie’s” birthday. Spent along the lines of middle of the road. High end sets get mucho expensive. I spent enough to get lenses that were highly rated being multi coated and with ED glass. They are not so compact, but Maggie pretty much just wants to do bird watching from our back yard.

Our back yard clearly is a sanctuary for wildlife and especially birds. We have the brook and a frog pond for water, and dense vegetation.

It seems like the drug I’m taking allows me to pee less frequently and with less of a sense of urgency. The fatigue aspect seems to be waning. Last night I woke up at 2:30 and found it hard to fall back asleep, so I went downstairs and practice my scale chord exercises for about an hour. I don’t feel like I lost sleep today although I did. Today will be the fourth day on drugs.

My guess the side effect of the drug might be only initially, and pretty much I will be my old self.

Cal
 
Our rabbits are eating our green beans, peas and lettuce. They also are becoming tame and pretty much will approach you. Even with the kids they do not scatter.

Next year we will have to develope some form of countermeasures to co-exist. Of course the kids love seeing the mighty cute bunnies.

My med seems to have less and less side effect as far as fatigue goes. I think also I’m getting up at night less and sleeping better.

It seems healthcare and doing healthcare maintenance has become a bigger and larger part of my life, and this is despite being in overall good health.

For the past two years we have been putting off our lives for the sake of the grandchildren. Pretty much family first, but we fell behind on the house and too a certain extent our fitness. We gained a little weight…

While I would not have it any other way, pretty much with the kids moving to the southern end of North Carolina we get our lives back.

Today is a lazy day of summer. The kids, both of them love the garden and its surprises. Strawberries are done, but now raspberries are ripening and the blueberries are just starting.

Cal
 
Devil Cal,

I put nylon deer netting around our newly planted maple "Autumn Blaze". The Baby Deer pull on the netting, I've created a deer toy! Landscapers try to tell me they don't eat Hornbeams, the Babies savor them. Surprising so much green is around. Did the Voles rip up a wad of your turf and leave a small baseball sized hole? I'm about ready to get some almond butter and rat traps myself. The joys of living next to a forest. All voles must die!
 
Phil,

Thanks for posting this review.

Fat Chance and IBIS were rivals, but they were also friends that got together and rode together.

They helped each other also as friends do, and then there were practical jokes. One was they held a feast where they ate fresh Salmon that Scot Nicole had caught in Alaska. Someone from IBIS though it would be funny to take fish remnants and hide them in the Fat Chance bikes that were going to be shipped back to Boston after they had gotten together for some epic riding.

Back in Boston they did not unpack the bikes right away, and everyone back in the shop were asking each other, “What’s with that smell.” Evidently it took a while to discover the joke.

Payback is a bitch. There was of course a response. I won’t ruin the story…

Anyways this is a mighty fine bike. My bike is sized for me and I would call it a 17 inch frame with Sun Tour XC Pro 7-speed freewheel and not cassette. I would agree with the reviewer that the bike is stiff and not a flyweight, but for someone that hammers it is a very responsive bike, especially for someone that likes to stand on the peddles.

The bike is mucho pretty also. I think a very lucky find. I’m a lucky man to have an IBIS collection as well as two Fat Chances. No doubt that the Yo Betty is a rare bike. Very cool that it is outfitted and built with XTR 9-speed and all retro period correct retro boutique parts.

My Yo Eddy is my suspension bike. The rear could not accommodate a 2.5 wide Maxxis Minion, but I run a 2.5 version on the front with a Rock Shox SID.

Thanks again.

Cal
 
Devil Dan,

Peanut butter will work. No need for almond butter.

Our rabbits are our mascots, as are the chipmunks.

Yesterday some bird swooped along the side of the house not flapping its wings. I don’t think it was a hawk because it was not a dive. I think this swooping bird was an owl. Did not flap it’s wings and it’s flight was silent. It’s wingspan was not so wide.

Hmmm…

I’m so pleased that nature is right here in my back yard.

Cal
 
Spent last night tweaking and setting up guitars. Two string changes were involved and lots of adjustments.

I am pleased with the results. I’ll have to plug in where I can to adjust the pickups.

The single pickup Cabronita Tele has a short scale neck and I discovered that a wound “G” string has a higher tension and more overtones. Pretty much for Jazz a wound third (G-string) is the way to go.

Today is a nefew’s graduation from High School. Jack will be attending Penn State.

Saw a headline that the Battleship New Jersey has returned back to its port after a ten million dollar maintenance that included a new teak deck.

I was surprised that our Baby-Victorian appreciated a lot. Getting towards crazy money.

It hit me hard yesterday, the sadness of the grand kids moving south 750 miles away. The grandson has been a big part of our life and the bonds are strong. I think it will be difficult for him as well as us. Looks like they might close on selling their house around July first…

Cal
 
Graduation class of Dobbs Ferry 2024 was 86. Mucho tiny. Attended a family BBQ.

Situation is part of my summer got hijacked by daycare. Also got a late start because of book events. No real biking got done.

On my guitars I’m pleased.

There evidently was another murder in the Peekskill downtown within the past month. A social worker knocked on a wrong address and was beaten, then she died.

So now “Maggie” says if things go further south then perhaps we should move further north, and she shows me a small cute cottage in Woodstock that is sized like a Madhattan two bedroom apartment. She is thinking of downsizing…

These killings would match the two reported last year, and we thought they were an anomaly.

Also Maggie has really connected to nature, so this leaves open a possible opportunity to live more remotely, more rural, and in a less densely populated area. Woodstock is only s about 6K people, but not far away is Kingston a city about 30K people.

For me colder winters are a concern.

Anyways things are evolving. I could see buying a small cottage like the one she showed me. It was actually cute, but I would have to build out a studio, ideally the size of my two car garage., about 400 square feet.

It could be an addition, or it could be detatched.

Because the value of our Baby-Victorian went up so much we have a sizable amount of equity, and I expect when we make our home more turnkey it will be getting close to double what we paid.

Selling points: location-location-location; privacy; curb appeal; landscaping; She shack 3 season outdoor detached workspace; good school district; low taxes and lux upgraded kitchen and bathrooms.

What remains are pretty much the finishing details, but there are a lot of them.

I thought this might be my forever home. Retirement is turning out to be a real adventure.

These are just open thoughts being expressed at this point, but we are going with the flow. Anything is possible, even if its a bit crazy.

Cal
 
My dump cart recorded an inch and a half of rain last night. I’ll skip the garden watering today. I heard a lot of thunder even though it was bright and sunny, and it still may rain later tonight.

Some of the cottages “Maggie” likes are too small for my needs. I don’t want to feel cramped and cluttered. The thing is that she is not so great in putting things away, or throwing away things, meanwhile she thinks the stuff I keep is junk. Pretty much she is a constant hot mess and too busy to keep up after herself.

She mistakenly believes a smaller place would be easier to keep up.

It will be 4 years into the new house, and for the most part I can find the tools and supplies I need in my kinda massive clutter spread throughout the basement. The key here is the absence of any of Maggie’s clutter and chaos.

I’m at a point where I need my own space where Maggie is not allowed. The Baby-Victorian is not conducive to the dedicated space I need, unless I build out the garage. This is a problem for me: first I want to protect my car and truck because I want to own both a long-long time; and the other is cost. A mini-split and insulating the garage into a tight energy efficient space adds up. Then there is the utility bill…

Wish I had a dry basement like Devil Dan that was buildable.

BTW I still love my Baby-Victorian. I have a lot invested here as far as sweat equity, and of course we got a sweet deal on the price and an UBER low interest rate. The thing is if we downsized we probably have almost enough equity to buy something like that small cottage with cash if we sold our house when it is turnkey to the right buyer.

No mortgage means I could build my 400 square foot studio, even as a separate dwelling, or buy another property.

Cal
 
On a national level Crime and Violent Crime in Peekskill is below the national average for Cities over 5K people.

Two other facts are that incidence of crime is increasing, but so has the police force (from 44 to 53). From a Peekskill cop they are going to hire even more.

Our neighbor is right: the hot spot for crime is the downtown.

Cal
 
Makiflex Copy 45 Two Cross Polarized Impact 300J Monolight by Nokton48, on Flickr


Minolta SRT Copy Stand Sony Nex-7 8x10 Arista #2 RC Multigrade Developer. Zeiss 50mm F2.8 Touit lens AWESOME optic. Two Cross Polarized Broncolor Impact Monolights 300J at 45 camera left and right, pointed 45 down. Plaubel Makiflex on Sinar Norma Optical Bench, Foma 200 developed in D23.
My new copy setup for digitiziing silver gelatin prints.
 
Tonight a salid with chicken, the lettuce and radishes are from our garden.

I did not work on the dining room moldings as planed, instead ran errands, added lacing to a trellis, and did some Knotweeding.

One of the errands was visiting a nursery and we developed more plans for gardening. A southern fence wall that would be a hanging garden for flowers.

Another conversation we are having is buying a vacation home further upstate. I would want easy access to the Empire State Trailway, so biking would be a big priority. I figure something on the west side of the Hudson. Up there the trailway is gravel or crushed stone they say.

Peekskill still has legs…

The weatherman was correct rain about 5:00 PM. On the dot it is raining now, and this saves me from having to water the garden.

Cal
 
Delving into triads and seventh chords in a diatonic manner along with chord scales and scales. Lots of fluidity happening and of course smoothness. Pretty much full emersion in a profound manner.

It seems the grandson at 22 months is a guitar freak. Let’s see if he turns out to be a prodogy. Julian Lage started playing at age 5 and by age 6 he was playing publically.

Basically he is in love with my Teles. I don’t want him to get exposed to my Santa Cruzes yet.

Cal
 
“Maggie” discovered that there are some people who do not like retirement. Some of the reasons are boredom, lack of money or financial strain.

My friend Dave says his wife liked more when he was working and was not “underfoot.”

For me having a partner like Maggie and her dysfunctional family life is never boring. Also because of high maintenance I have plenty of work to do.

Pretty much I still don’t have enough time.

Last night I pounded in the Santa Cruz HOG with a heavy pick. It as usual opened up a lot, and became a different guitar as I played. Instruments seem to go to sleep and have to be waken. It takes little time for a guitar to wake up when broken in. By then the openness also requires a lighter touch, and the volume and depth of overtones becomes surprisingly vast.

Last night a new deeper bass came out. Really great for blues shuffles. I also found the two-turns piano tuner trick really balanced the tonal range of the guitar. I think I’m riding a sweet spot as far as balanced tone. I do have to play a bit closer to the bridge to bring out the treble, but this aids in pick articulation. It kinda exaggerates the attack and requires more strength which reinforces muscle memory and accuracy.

Like I have said in other posts things are advancing at a rapid pace. I am surprised, and perhaps I do have some talent. The Diatonics I’m internalizing involved a lot of music theory, and the building of scales and chords. Seems like I’m further along than I though.

I also think the every day approach is building up. This week is the last week of taking care of the grandkids. We will get our lives back. Morning practice and exercise every day. Maggie and I have an understanding and contract to keep mornings free and uninterrupted.

I enjoy the comfort and silence of the mini-split. A high ambient noise level of a standard air conditioner is so awful.

Paradise is starting to happen… I love having time as an asset.

Cal
 
Part of me speculates, part of me is curious, and part of me is a dreamer…

I started to investigate where further north might be a good place to have access to the Empire State Trailway. Pretty much 293 million dollars was spent to build out this rails to trails, and I think it could be an asset, or even a personal asset for me. Where I’m looking is pretty much gravel or crushed stone.

Then I noticed on a big road map that the Catskill State park is somewhat centered in between Albany the State Capitol and NYC. Hmmm…

Then on this map I get a sense of scale how large Catskill Park is when compared to Bear Mountain State Park and Harrimon State Park combined. Catskill State Park is about ten times the size.

Adirondack State Park is about 10-12 times the size of Catskill Park, and is the largest state park in the lower 48.

There are small tiny communities within these state parks. Hmmm…

Pretty much refuge where future and further development won’t happen.

So I’m seeing the price points, and looking for a value that suits me.

A somewhat important area is Kingston, a city that has a bridge that spans the Hudson. I’m keying on the west side of the Hudson.

Cal
 
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