NYC Journal

Evening Cal,

8x10 Deep Tank 15L 1000 AR Octobox Ilford Ortho D23 Replenished by Nokton48, on Flickr


Tweaking the 8x10 Long Norma 1000mm F16 Rodenstock Apo Ronar Ilford Ortho EI 50 F32/45 18 pops of the Octobox 45 Camera Left No Fill. D23 Replenisher in 15 liter Kodak 3F Hard Rubber Tank, Kodak 8x10 Hanger. Eighteen minutes at 70F. Sony Nex7 50mm Zeiss Touit Lightbox. Agitation the Kodak way every 60 seconds, it looks pretty even to my eyes. A first start, the lens definitely passes, it's a rare bird. Developed by inspection under a deep deep red safelight six feet away. I did change the glass cover from a diffused one, to a clear glass one. That increases the specularity of the Octobox up just a teeny bit.

If you set your three tanks up you will want that 8x10 Ebony. Great fun ahead for you. Having a blast here.
 
Mowed the lawn and cut my shims. Watered the garden.

I started packing for a road trip and that includes a surf casting rod, a ten-footer that’s good for 1/2 ounce to 2 ounce lures. The new spinning reel is loaded with 15 pound braid. Pretty sporty…

Cal
 
Getting ready for a “surprise vacation.” Heading to Oak Island.

Pretty much trying to eat as much of the perishable food as I can, and then I’m packing a cooler to bring some of it with me.

The kids were overjoyed to see “Maggie” when they picked her up from the airport. The grandson is expecting me. I’ll be bringing down his retro red tricycle that cost $9.95 in the 70’s.

I have more staining to do on the molding for 3 windows. This stripping, sanding and staining takes a lot of time, and pretty much no contractor would take on the job because it is too time consuming.

I am pleased with the results and it looks great. Because the mouldings are wide and there are a lot of them it would cost a lot to replace also. Cheap-cheap-cheap.

So pretty much a family of four will be invading our small modest home, and it will be crowded. This is until the house is closed. BTW renting is slim pickings and is not cheap.

I wonder if they can call off the sale of their house. They re-fi’ed to a low interest rate.

I will try and get some headway, but I feel like I’m getting dragged underwater.

Kids…

Cal
 
I have two widows done and the pocket door that separates the living room from the dining room. They have a very clean look to them.

Two more windows to do and the doorway to the kitchen. Three windows together form a “walkout.” The remaining moldings need a second coat of gel stain to get darker and browner. I already did all the trimming.

I am very pleased with the results, and it proves I’m stubborn. Very few people would do the work.

The living room has painted moldings and 5 windows. Three are grouped together to form a corner walkout. I already started stripping the living room side of the pocket doors. Luckily the pocket doors are not painted.

I also lucked out and beat the rain. This house is beyond cute and has a lot of beauty.

I plugged in last night and played all my Teles through the Victoria Regal. They all sound different, but all are great. The nice thing is that I get great tone without getting loud or relying on distortion.

I think I get the best piano sound from my hollow bodied guitars. This is interesting because these guitars tend to have a scooped midrange.

Gold is still over $2.4K. Hmmm…

Cal
 
Living with family, renting to family, selling a house to family, are major life decisions. these you must make for yourself, but think it out thoroughly first.

Also see an attorney. Plan for adequate home insurance. There may also be tax implications. Find out, and be sure of everything.

Get it all in writing. To protect all the parties.

From one who has been there before, and who knows.
 
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Back from my surprise vacation. North Carolina heat and humidity is hellish like how New York can be, but the days are longer and the heat builds up faster. An example is generally on a hot high heat index day in New York the heat gets unbearable around noon, but in North Carolina this happens around 10:00 AM.

Over the past 2 weeks I have exercised in the Carolina heat, and pretty much all the bikers and joggers are done by 10:00 AM. I did my heavy hands, I walked water’s edge on the beach in knee deep water for strength workouts, and I did 3 1/2 hour and 4 1/2 hour walks in the heat.

Lost about 3-4 pounds, maybe 5. The grandson had a trip to Urgent Care for a head bump on his forehead. No big deal because baby skulls are pliable. Since one of his knicknames is “Sharky” because he is an aggressive eater, now I call him “Hammerhead.” He will be 2 years old in August.

“Maggie” also had to go to Urgent Care for a splinter in her hand from a railing. Separately she also got bitten by Fire Ants.

We learned that pretty much the rapid development and the hot housing market translates into infrastructure shortages, basic things like health care, and water pressure.

Food prices though are cheap. Premium gas for $3.99 and regular gas $2.99. The also sold non ethanol Premium 93 octane for $4.79.

The schools down there are non Union, and pretty much one could get “black-listed,” meaning someone has the power to end your career in North Carolina. TV surveillance in classrooms is also used.

Pretty high risk to buy a house without real job security. Pay is proportional somewhat to the cost of living, but a fraction of a New York salary.

Then there is the house being sold that still does not yet have a closing date. The expiration and time envelope to close is running out, so pretty much there is a good possibility if things don’t pan out very-very soon that pretty much the contract to buy the house will expire, and our homeless family will just move back into their unsold house, until they figure out what their next move might be: sell again to a different buyer; stay put; and meanwhile look for other jobs…

The basically still have their old jobs and have not officially resigned.

So things are messy right now, but there is the deadline when the contract expires, job interviews are happening, and pretty much everything is unsettled. Pretty much the family is moving back to New York.

Pretty much I drove down to NC to support Maggie, who in turn was there to support her daughter, the “Creature.” I did things like cook, but I had time to read, practice guitar, and exercise. My guitar playing advanced significantly. I read a book by Mick Dawson who not only rowed across the Atlantic, but also rowed the Pacific as part of a two man team. This was a book my friend Andrew lent me.

After learning that cooking peppers and onions separately to achieve perfection, I tried this technic on my version of a chicken prem-A-vera pasta using penne. What a feast I made.

Separately at a relative of Maggie’s house they had a Low Land Boil which is a seafood boil in spiced water. The pot used was about a 30 gallon pot, used to cook shrimp, crabs, corn, potatoes, hot sausage, and Ko-bah-C.

The ocean was the temperature of bath water. The beaches are shallow and the undertow serious. Maggie’s daughter actually saved a 5-6 year old from drowning. The boy’s parents were unaware what was happening. Kinda crazy.

Oak Island pretty much is a high concentration of white people. In fact one of the highest concentrations in NC. I kinda stood out like a sore thumb. I got really-really dark and I was wearing my thick black sunglasses (Expensive Italian frames with polarized lenses) and Maggie made the comment that I look like Stevie Wonder. When I looked in a mirror at the beach house, I certainly did with my ponytail and dark skin.

The guitar I brought down to NC was a guitar I call “Worm” because it is a “Snakehead,” pretty much a 1949 style prototype single pickup Telecaster that preceded the Fender “Esquire.” I really bonded with this simple guitar, and my playing really advanced in a significant manner. Great tone, dynamics, and more fluidity. I basically dug into chord scales, transposition, and integrating scales.

The strings need changing because I kinda wore them out from all my practicing.

It was great coming home. I missed our home. My intrusive neighbor cut our lawn. Our garden grew a lot. Lots of flowers emerged. I saw one of our wild rabbits.

Cal
 
Welcome back. I know I speak for many of us when I say we've missed you.

Good to know things in NC are slowly but steadily sorting themselves out.

Those of us who think (or try to) for themselves know it's good to have a Plan B in our back pocket, just in case. Often as not it gets used and with luck and a degree of hard work it turn out as good as if not better than the original Plan A. To plan is to be prepared. Like good Boy Scouts.

Looking forward to reading more about your time Down South and how things are there. I've not been to NC (do your kin live anywhere near Raleigh?) for several decades, I had an aunt who was a nun in Charlotte for thirty years and I used to visit her in my time, but that's south not north. Visits to Fort Sumter were always a highlight of my times there, so much significant history. Raleigh I saw a few times, not a bad place in the 1970s and 1980s, not sure about now. I don't recall it was as hot then as it seems to be now.

Ah, them memories.
 
Back from my surprise vacation. North Carolina heat and humidity is hellish like how New York can be, but the days are longer and the heat builds up faster. An example is generally on a hot high heat index day in New York the heat gets unbearable around noon, but in North Carolina this happens around 10:00 AM.

Over the past 2 weeks I have exercised in the Carolina heat, and pretty much all the bikers and joggers are done by 10:00 AM. I did my heavy hands, I walked water’s edge on the beach in knee deep water for strength workouts, and I did 3 1/2 hour and 4 1/2 hour walks in the heat.

Lost about 3-4 pounds, maybe 5. The grandson had a trip to Urgent Care for a head bump on his forehead. No big deal because baby skulls are pliable. Since one of his knicknames is “Sharky” because he is an aggressive eater, now I call him “Hammerhead.” He will be 2 years old in August.

“Maggie” also had to go to Urgent Care for a splinter in her hand from a railing. Separately she also got bitten by Fire Ants.

We learned that pretty much the rapid development and the hot housing market translates into infrastructure shortages, basic things like health care, and water pressure.

Food prices though are cheap. Premium gas for $3.99 and regular gas $2.99. The also sold non ethanol Premium 93 octane for $4.79.

The schools down there are non Union, and pretty much one could get “black-listed,” meaning someone has the power to end your career in North Carolina. TV surveillance in classrooms is also used.

Pretty high risk to buy a house without real job security. Pay is proportional somewhat to the cost of living, but a fraction of a New York salary.
(...)

Oak Island pretty much is a high concentration of white people. In fact one of the highest concentrations in NC. I kinda stood out like a sore thumb. I got really-really dark and I was wearing my thick black sunglasses (Expensive Italian frames with polarized lenses) and Maggie made the comment that I look like Stevie Wonder. When I looked in a mirror at the beach house, I certainly did with my ponytail and dark skin.


It was great coming home. I missed our home. My intrusive neighbor cut our lawn. Our garden grew a lot. Lots of flowers emerged. I saw one of our wild rabbits.

Cal
Been lurking around and got a notification.

Sometimes I do miss the summer heat beach vacation in the sea, being the other side of what you did, the kid just enjoying beaches, sea and those long relaxed summer holidays. A friend asked me some coastal routes and such walking by the sea is very pleasant, with the occasional dip. Heck I am a bit nostalgic-melancholic as you age time flies faster, and we are heading to the tail end of an "Upstate summer".

Lately I have seen the term "coolcation" being swung around quite a bit in Europe. I moved my long work vacation to November for SE Asia; Meanwhile both enjoying the 70F maximums of Scandinavia and getting out when things will go cold and dark. I definitely have the ambition to be a snowbird. Work didn't really like the idea of working July because... there is no work. I am slacking and last week could watch all the Alien classic films and a bunch more. Unless staying with family as you did, I avoid the summer vacations and trips.

As of NC. In my European romantic I rarely think about the East coast. Maybe NE because of Geographical similarities to Scandinavia. Met an American from NE that concluded in saying that Hollywood sold me California well; Definitely pop culture did well.

I totally see the Stevie Wonder lookalike!
 
DU,

I appreciate your concern as far as protecting oneself from dysfunctional family matters. Pretty much a sudden transition into a family of six will be residing in our Baby-Victorian.

We feel bad that the move did not work out. This move I think would of benefited the “Creature” (Maggie’s daughter) and “Creature-Junior” (the 10 year old).

There were some fraught concerns: pay cut; adjusting to living within their means (a lesson not really learned yet by the over 40 year old adult children); job security; and the risk of living with great insecurity.

Pretty much I’m a live and let live, and as in the world of theater “in their own time” people have to learn their own lessons. I minded my own business, and they really did not have a Plan “B” as a hedge. For me the “baby-step” would of been seek better employment here in New York instead of jumping the shark. Less risk and more of a sure thing. Actually minimal risk.

The amount of family support expected down in NC was/is less than required. Child care is in short supply. The expanded family has two cousins who have not only kids around the grandson’s age, but also babies are in the oven as they say. I think there was a realization that the non-working mothers might have been a source of daycare.

The location and area was outside the city of Wilmington which is the most southeast part of North Carolina that is kinda close to Murtle Beach which is South Carolina. The area is rapidly being developed. They do things like clear cutting forests and burning that resembles the slash and burning that happened during colonial times.

This is a “red” state so environmental conscern is not a consideration only economic growth.

Because of the explosive growth and building a certain kind of gentrification is happening. Pretty much the economic squeeze via inflation and cost of living is forcing out locals that are on the lower end of the social economic scale. At the Creature’s job as a teacher in a charter school there was talk about the increases in the costs of living and rapid inflation.

Simple economics involved here of supply and demand. Increased demand causes short supply and then price increases.

One coworker who relocated from Pennsylvania regrets moving/relocating, and wishes they could go back, but now is stuck.

Already one of Maggie’s brothers has remorse after one year and misses New York. I believe he is depressed. The positive side is was he could afford to buy a brand new house in a development with a HOA. In New York he would have remained a renter.

One thing that is recommended when relocating is to rent rather than buy for at least a year. Anyways that is what I would have done, but most would buy. In Maggie’s brother’s case the building is so rampant that his one year old brand new house gets devalued instantly and depreciated like a new car driven off a dealer’s lot. Instantly an immediate loss…

The coasts of North Carolina and South Carolina are the lowlands and are basically large costal swamps that extend inland. The elevation on Oak Island where we could hear the surf and see the Atlantic Ocean from the second floor had only an elevation of 10 feet on the Audi’s GPS. Many homes were built on stilts.

As you drive inland the elevation gain was minimal…

Many people from New England states, New York and New Jersey are fueling the expansion in the economy with their “Yankee dollars, but pretty much the infrastructure is being taxed, from water pressure, medical care; daycare, and teachers.

Right now it is booming, fueled by yankee-dollars, but when will this become a bust? The big draw is being close to the ocean for no-money and the risks from flooding and wind damage is played low. It is a herd mentality and people are not thinking.

On Oak Island I saw a vast availability of summer rentals, many homes for sale, and many new construction. Oak Island is a long narrow barrier Island. Wilmington has the Cape Fear River and a good part of it is in a flood zone.

Wilmington has a few incubators happening trying to draw in young people to gentrify the city. The neighborhoods they are trying to make hip and trendy are in fact tiny and involve literally only a few blocks. This is not Brooklyn. Not enough art or culture. So limited that I told Maggie that if I had to choose between death and living in Wilmington I would have to think.

In driving through the expansive low country I saw lots of rural poverty. Pretty much swampland, but more inland is the high country and a whole different life.

I am only sharing here my spin on the low country. I say there is a good reason why this area was not developed, and with global warming and the increase in storms I think this will be a huge man made disaster.

I am now actually glad the grandkids and the Creature are returning to New York.

BTW I saw no other old Chinese hippy down there. This part of the Carolinas seemed mighty white. I saw few African Americans, but I only got an occasional glacé that made me uncomfortable. Point is that I kinda stood out.

Cal
 
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Jorde,

I thought I would love the beach life more, but I guess I’m just a fisherman. Part of me is antisocial and I don’t appreciate crowds. Kinda funny after living in NYC for over 25 years.

The surf fishing in NC is basically bait soaking, and my rig was a lightweight rod and reel for casting lures. Most days the beach feature a strong wind blowing inland in my face making casting required long distances challenging. Beach goers required shelter from the intense sun.

“Maggie” and I talked a lot. Pretty much the thing that we don’t like is that Peekskill is suburban even though it is a city. I guess we would like to be a step closer to nature, but then again it was great coming home and realizing we have a wonderful home that in many ways is ideal.

The thing is we are just an hours drive to Hudson or Woodstock if that’s the vibe we want further up in the Hudson Valley.

Cal
 
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“Maggie” and I talked a lot. Pretty much the thing that we don’t like is that Peekskill is suburban even though it is a city. I guess we would like to be a step closer to nature, but then again it was great coming home and realizing we have a wonderful home that in many ways is ideal.
"You can't always get what you want.
But if you try sometimes.....you just might find,
You'll get what you NEED ! "

Welcome home Cal :D
 
From my readings about extreme sports I learned about the limits of the human body. It takes about 2 weeks to acclimate to high altitude, and I learned it takes about 2 weeks to acclimate to high heat indexes and extreme humidity.

Upon returning to New York I find the 80 degree temperatures that are occurring presently to be like spring. The effect of heat on me is very-very mild.

On one hand I learned about death from heat stroke from my reading, but then I experienced the kinda weather that would induce heat stroke for two weeks.

I did a lot of exercising during my surprise vacation, and pretty much “Maggie” was compelled to sit it out. The one time she went for a walk with me it was very early, and it ended before 10:00 AM.

Meanwhile the heat of day is when I performed my marathon walks of 10-12 miles during the heat of day. I also saw how my body burned glycogen stored in my muscles for energy for perhaps the first 2 hours, but the second 2 hours was burning calories from my fat metabolism. The second 2 hours suffered a drop in intensity though.

I had two pairs of shoes that suffered and gained a swampy odor I would call “Stinkfoot.” Washing theses shoes with dish washing liquid only moderated the odor of a festering swamp. The grand daughter thought someone farted when I took off my shoes. A kinda cheesy smell…

Today I used a full box of baking soda in a 5 gallon bucket of water to soak out the stench. Wearing no socks promotes stinkfoot. Oh-well…

One pair of shoes are meshed Merrill’s, and the others are a pair of “Driving Shoes” made from recycled plastic that look like and resemble penny loafers that were given to me for free via some Maggie online promotion.

Pretty much a full rescue of some mighty cool shoes. Seems like the baking soda trick worked.

Upon my return I discovered that the vines growing in the back-backyard on the “table” are in fact surprise cantaloupes that grew out our mulch pile. We also have some feral tomato plants. In addition to that we also have a baby watermelon patch that I purposely grew from seed for the grand daughter.

The cantaloupe patch has mucho flowers and already a few cantaloupes that are about the size of my hand that have not rounded out yet. The watermelons are tiny with the largest so far being about the size of a ping pong ball.

Pretty much I now have a melon farm. There is expected rain over the next few days.

Pretty exciting… Also there is a wild rabbit that kinda is tame. He pretty much hangs out and is not skittish. I yield leeway and now he seems to have an attitude of what are you doing in my yard. For some crazy reason my lawn has become a field of clover.

Cal
 
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Within 5 years we'll see a huge storm like Hugo or Andrew, hit the Carolina coast and wipe the area clean. It's ridiculous that folks are just reaping in the quick bucks for what will amount to disposable housing.
Phil
 
Phil,

I agree. I have also observed that pretty much the “persistence of memory” is about 5 years.

After a natural disaster costal home prices drop, and within 5 years not only is there a total recovery, but it is as if no natural disaster ever happened.

Human nature is to be foolish and stupid.

There has been good reason why the Carolina lowlands have not been developed. Also all the clear cutting promotes and exacerbates flooding and wind damage.

Pretty much the Atlantic water temperatures are what I experienced in Miami FLA. This bolds evil for mucho destruction.

Cal
 
I agree. I have also observed that pretty much the “persistence of memory” is about 5 years.

After a natural disaster costal home prices drop, and within 5 years not only is there a total recovery, but it is as if no natural disaster ever happened.

Human nature is to be foolish and stupid.
It is, and pretty much in general. Some people I know are surprised and compliment my memory when I point to cyclical past events

Weather wise I recently noted and learned about ENSO niño-niña phenomenons. Pretty interesting. Not looking forward to a niña Autumn event while traveling to a typhoon/hurricane prone area. As Phil says, it can very well happen within a few years. Stronger Tropical cyclones are also more common.
 
I learned from the “Creature” “Maggie’s” daughter, that the culture of southern rentals are Saturday-to-Saturday, and this explains all the congestion on the beltway.

Supposedly going on Route 95 is quicker, but it ended up being a 13 hour drive that was fraught with congestion. This is the second time we have been snared into major congestion.

As the bird flies Route 95 is less distance, but in the future I will avoid this route at all costs. Lots of high speed to full-stops. Mucho crazy drivers that don’t know how to deal with congestion. Lots of congestion unexplained…

The costal route is longer and also takes 13 hours. Less dangerous, less tedious, and most of all better for the brakes and engine on the car. Also less fatiguing.

I believe in Montreal rental leases all begin and end on only one day a year. Pretty much this is a man made engineered disaster. This Saturday-to-Saturday summer rental policy/culture ensures a bad beginning and ending of any summer beach rental if Route 95 is taken.

The costal route has a good share of emptiness and vast areas of rural poverty and abandonment. I will take this drive anytime over the beltway.

I also have a newly found fondness for the Hudson Valley, it’s scenic and serene beauty, and its standard of living.

The food prices in NC were a fraction of the food costs in New York. We bought huge packs of chicken breasts for $1.99 a pound. Pretty much no-money. Here in New York the price is about $6.00 a pound easily.

I went to SmartAsset.com and punched in the numbers into their retirement calculator. In New York you get a $20K exemption on pension or 403B income, and Social Security is not taxed. In NC they have a flat tax, and they also don’t tax Social Security.

As far as these taxes go it pretty much was an even coin toss. Really no benefit for me to ever relocate because of state taxes, but of course property taxes are mucho lower in NC. The trade off though is a much lower of quality of services in areas of health care, urgent care, and medical services. I would also say that this also would extend to day care, although less expensive proportionally in NC.

Anyways in summery you kinda get what you pay for, and I expect that simple economics will ensure an expected increase in the cost of living and tax increases to pay for newly developing services. In the end and over time I think it will be fair to say that these new costs will exceed and accelerate to a level that broaches New York, especially since the transplants bring with them a certain amount of Yankee Entitlement and service expectations.

I think Oak Island’s disproportionate and high population of whites is due to the affordability of barrier Island living, and when I say affordability I am framing affordability coming from a Yankee New England, New York and New Jersey sense of privilege and purchasing power.

I predict that eventually the hyper-development will eventually cool, and in the end as Phil and I predict a natural disaster og Katrina proportions will eventually happen.

They now say that the term 100 year storm is now a misnomer because with global warming the odds have increased to the point that 100 year events are now 25 year events. In other words what happened in the past is now 4 more times as likely to happen.

I worry for “Maggie’s” family. Know that I do not impose my logic or thinking onto others. I’m a live and let live person, but also I am a “Don’t Tread On Me.” Certainly if you are looking for a hassle you will regret it if you mess with me. Pretty much I promote openness, freedom and choice.

People have to take responsibility for their choices in a free society. Unfortunately this is not the case for many…

Cal
 
Jorde,

At this point they might have to make a new Category 6 storm.

Here in the Hudson Valley just north of Peekskill is the beginning of the Hudson Highlands. West Point is where the Hudson River seriously narrows to make a flood choke point. The 100 year event that happened last year in my mind is now at least a 25 year event, and that does not mean it will happen again in 25 years, it can happen anytime within the next 25 years.

The water gets concentrated and collected by the surrounding mountains, and even water percolates underground.

Peekskill is somewhat sheltered because below the Bear Mountain Bridge, which is just north of Peekskill, There is a “bay” where the Hudson rapidly widens.

Pretty much it is more realistic to expect increased risks of intense storms, higher wind speeds, more destruction, and more flooding. A few of my neighbors experience basement flooding via water that collects and percolates underground. They have sump pumps in their basements.

We so far have a dry basement, but I’m thinking that might not last.

Parts of Asia and India are getting uninhabitable. I expect this to continue.

On the Audi GPS it calculates that we are 75-80 feet above sea level at the Baby-Victorian. 40 miles north of NYC the Hudson River has a tide of about 5-6 feet. The water is brackish.

The Baby-Victorian is nested in a small valley within a larger valley, and there is a bit of a significant elevation change that begins just north of Peekskill. Under the Bear Mountain Bridge weather depths exceed 130 feet. Boating in a small power boat with Andrew I took note that the currents are strong and to that point my thinking that wind and currents are big enough to make trying to navigate a Hobie peddle kayak a pick and choose situation, and might not be safe.

Know that the Hobie peddle kayak has off shore capabilities and is very sea worthy.

I feel secure where we choose to locate, but no one is free from being vulnerable to severe weather and flooding. I minimized risks, but still I remain vulnerable. Pretty much I have witnessed localized tornados that have cause wind damage just a few blocks away from the Baby-Victorian. Mucho downed trees…

The old roof open my garage that needs replacement lost many roof shingles from wind damage.

Also I reported a rather serious wild fire that jumped Washington Street near Blue Mountain Preserve. Know that there is a major natural gas pipeline that is nearby.

Cal
 
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