NYC Journal

[Calzone]

Jorde,

So you did meet Tim, or should I say “The Tim.”

As far as ultrawides go I am kinda known for my Plaubel 69W which is a 6x9 that has shifts. It is a crazy camera that I often shot paired with a Rolliflex 3.5 “Whiteface.” Not a common camera and only 8 shots per roll of 120, although it can also load 220.

Back in 2007-2008 I “froze” my credit. Back then if I maxed out all my credit cards I could of maxed out at 1/8th of a million dollars. Kinda shows how loose credit was around the time of the credit crisis. I was mighty fearful of identity theft. During the credit crisis I had very good credit, no debt, and in fact was sitting on cash.

It was an easy jump to think I was UBER wealthy.

Yesterday “Maggie” had a podcast with two 35 year old women. Maggie tells me that she got quizzed a lot about me. Pretty much they kinda thought of me as a trophy, and dug in wanting to know more about me. They were kinda obsessed…

I guess there are a lot of boring guys out there. LOL. Takeaway is they found me to be mighty cool.

I guess interesting guys are a rare commodity. It is at a point where even middle aged women eye me, and I’m old enough to be their father. Even worse when it is two generations age gap.

I know my place, I’m an old man.

Still crazy things happen to me.

As things play out though, the reality is that just staying and remaining in Peekskill seems like the most practical thing to do.

Don’t tell Maggie, but I love Devil Dan’s idea of building a studio that is detached from the house. Devil Christian tells me that the terra cotta cinder block walls on my garage (20x20 or 400 square feet) are likely not structural enough to build a second floor, and pretty much I’d have to build interior walls inside the garage to support a second floor.

So I could build a second 400 square foot second floor. Hmmm…

This would block the wonderful view from the second story of the house that I have of the valley and hillside that contains a forest and the marsh with the brook, but then I could build a large deck to exploit the view even better plus an expanse of south facing windows on the detached studio.

In effect my garage I would convert into more of a carriage house.

I would still have the back-backyard as a full 40x100 building lot and not extend the footprint of the first building lot except for the raised deck. Anyways likely more cost effective. Know that I already have an underground 100 amp service to the garage. And since this is new construction I could go crazy super insulating it. Of course a mini-split would be in order.

I love the idea of a separate detached workspace. Also I’m still haunted by the three sided windowed atrium that is an inspiration with a cathedral ceiling as an enclosed porch with a cozy wood stove. Pretty much the outdoors and indoors gets blurry. This could be built as an out building, but have all 4 walls windows. A solarium of sorts.

This could get built out in phases: stage one; then stage 2.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Gold set yet another Intra-Day High of $2735.50.

The Banksters are bidding up gold thinking inflation is a problem. At the same time the Central Banks are all lowering interest rates and adding stimulus to prevent the “China Syndrome” which is deflation.

Did the FED overdo things with a half point rate cut? Maybe: maybe not.

Both inflation and deflation are hard to control once rooted, but deflation is worse than inflation, and harder to control once it gets rooted. Then there is the third senario: stagflation, where high inflation exists along with overcapacity.

Understand that the debt levels are kinda high enough for stagflation. The music has to stop sometime…

I grew up during the 1974 gas crisis, I saw double digit inflation along side double digit unemployment. In 1976 when I graduated high school it was difficult just trying to get a minimum wage job. Stagflation persisted till 1982.

Debt levels from social programs and the Vietnam War were big back then. NYC in 1975 almost went bankrupt, and President Ford reluctantly had to bail out NYC or else other cities would of also collapsed.

They kinda play up the Great Recession as being the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, but I believe it likely was the Stagflation of the early 70’s that persisted til 1982. The cost of living kept escalating…

My gut feeling and the history I know and grew up with all feel the same. Things are pointing towards stagflation. Hope I’m wrong.

Cal

 

[Prest_400]

Yes, the Tim! I recall the story of you meeting him with the guitar and being a "kid" to mentor. IIRC

About the Veriwide, I passed over a local auction for one! Just checked and it sold for $700 but had a broken tilt/shift lock mechanism and I would rather at the moment just keep budget for film & processing rather than more projects.

I have been doing more day job routines but always grew to try at least to live a fulfilling life. Just came back from some business meetings and everyone was back to the "commute X hours, suburban life". Again, short term memory and I somehow mourn that it seems pandemic leaps to the future were incomplete and some learnings were not.

I should be a bit ashamed lately because I went to Business College and forgot a bit my macroeconomics, when now it is practical learning in real life. In the time of Quantitative Easing what has been happening now just basically appeared theorical, ditto here it is.
Hey, but given the menu, why not some Deflation to at least spice up things in variety.

Have to give word to an estranged friend that feared high inflation, back in 2021. He gets a point for that at least. As of stagflation, it is most probable that we in Europe might be starting to be in it given the worries of how Germany is faring.

My late getaway from the cold climate basically has me mentally at the end of the year. Rather apalling that 2025 is about here, and it could be quite interesting in too many aspects...

 

[Calzone]

Yet another Intra-Day High for gold: $2737.90 near the close.

I suspect by the several Intra-Day Highs that some bank is accumulating… Someone is buying big time.

There seems to be a glut on both new and used cars here in the U.S. Deflation. I also mentioned in another two posts that dealers say they have too many Harleys in stock.

Germany is the big engine of Europe and is an export economy. When I was in Germany 5-6 years ago, it was explained to me that Germany made a lot of the tooling for Chinese manufacturing. That business is mostly done at this point.

Saved $10.00 using a coupon and bought a very stylish pair of Vans that were a tan suede with a brown stripe. The Vans also were marked down 30% on clearance. Final price was $48.00 including tax.

Used the $33.00 savings plus $5.00 to buy the grandson a bulldozer with a back-hoe that is 1/16th scale. There also was a dump truck to match, but that was $80.00. Th Con Ed contractor has a bull dozer with a back-hoe that they park in my dead end. The grandson is obsessed with that machine.

Harvested two gallons of tomato’s today. I’m drowning in them.

Only a faint discomfort in the hip. Improvement every day, even without physical therapy. I think the plan moving forward is to use Melanie as a personal trainer at the mall gym. She is the real deal and already through “Maggie” has proven her worth. I don’t want to get injured again.

Still using the heat pad and stretching.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

SMUT: It seems the explaination for Calvin August from Colorado is just a wrong E-mail address, but why twice: once from a probation officer; and then from a Workman’s Comp Representative?

Hmmm…

My hip is feeling almost normal. Had to sprint across a busy road to avoid getting pancaked as well as an entrance ramp onto Route 9 to go to a pizza place and CVS. Not a problem.

I’m babying my hip. By the time I go for my first physical therapy session I should be very close to healed.

We had a very nice day with the grandson.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

They say home prices have gone up 50% since 2021. That’s three years ago and we bought our Baby-Victorian almost 4 years ago. The current real estate estimates coincide with the 50% headlined elsewhere.

We actually did a lot of improvements and remodeling. We did not cheap out and just do a Home Cheapo special, but we kinda know you don’t really get the money you spent back.

Point is that our house is likely worth more than the current estimate. Kinda crazy.

I don’t think I would want to go through a cycle of remodeling again. On HGTV they make it appear like fun, but it is not. Doing demo work for example is not fun or nice.

At this point, pretty much there would have to be a pretty big reason to move. I kinda am bonded with the house we own, and I put a lot of my own sweat into making it a home. A move further north would have to offer something kinda big.

I’m kinda comfortable here. Also I realize having great medical care very nearby is a big asset when you are old. I am healthy, but there is a lot of screenings now and maintenance. There are advantages to living in a small city: services, a Motor Vehicle Office, a Social Security Office, an art community… Then there is Metro North so I don’t have to drive into NYC.

Building a second floor to convert my garage into a carriage house would be my dream come true. 400 square feet, 20x20 with a gable roof with cathedral ceilings. A cantilevered deck with no posts overlooking the back-backyard. I imagine a small loft built in so I can utilize the library ladder I found being thrown out from a health food store on the east side of Madhattan.

400 more square feet adds up to 1900 square feet of living space, but the workspace would be big, open and airy with a view of nature. A man can dream…

I think the heating pad is dying. I think I killed it.

POST SCRIPT: Fixed the heating pad. Loose connection. Evidently the pad has a connector because it is washable.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

A headline expresses that government debt and interest payments might be at the tipping point. Pretty much the reason why Central Banks are gathering and hoarding gold.

They also predict $3K gold by the end of next year, and that is an increase over 11% over last Thursday’s price.

Pretty much this has been going on for a while and already is a very-very crowded play. Pretty much Central Banks are exchanging paper currency for gold to store wealth as a “safe-haven.” Pretty much thy are reducing their exposure to paper reserves, meaning currencies, in exchange for physical gold.

No new news to me, and pretty much a very crowded play.

At a certain point buying government bonds becomes too risky, and governments because of debt loads and interest payments will default.

In a separate report the Chinese have lent money to countries that otherwise would of gone the route of default. Pretty much they are borrowing from China and rolling over debt. This can’t go on forever. Also pretty much a dumb move that has mucho risk and can lead to a huge loss.

The goal by the Chinese was to help undermine the dollar and help establish their currency as a reserve currency like the U.S. Dollar, the Euro, the Japanese Yen. Instead thy compromised a reserve status in the long-game. Mucho dumb.

Pretty much this is like lending money, lots of money, to a party that has bad credit, and now being trapped into lending even more money to prevent claiming a loss. When will these countries default? When will these losses be counted? How long can this go on? How dumb is this? Is this beyond mucho dumb that it ould be called insane?

Point is yet another bad Chinese policy. China is its own worse enemy…

Kaa-Boom can happen at any time. Be aware of the risks of paper assets.

Fact is though there is no real safe haven, only water bars to slow erosion and flooding. The world is drowning in debt…

Cal

 

[Nokton48]

Morning Devil Cal,

SONY DSC by Nokton48, on Flickr

A venerable Olde Studio Light comes to me, providing me with beautiful light indeed. A retro FOBA F1000, relamped by me to 120 voltage, 100 Watt Globe Bulb makes it look right out of the catalog, and quite useful to me. It's mounted to a FOBA Combitube for sturdiness. Gorgeous soft light, the bulb can be moved forwards and backwards to focus and fine tune the lighting. This unit is designed to take up to a 220V 1000 Watt Bulb, just way too much light and heat for my needs. But it is made to take it!

Not Broncolor but from Switzerland, and they were hooked in with Broncolor. BTW FOBA has sold it's factory machines, and is closing up shop end of this year, the end of a very long history. Sniff.

 

[Phil_F_NM]

Lots of bike changes here.
1949 Rotrax track bike is built, just needs decals and a headbadge. I'll order them one day when I have that disposable $$.
My boss at the shop told me on Saturday that he's giving me a Santana tandem as a wedding gift. More info and photos to come later.
Job at the hospital in Cherry Hill didn't work out to my advantage, so I left. I knew I was leaving into one of the worst job markets in over two decades, but I couldn't ethically be a part of that system.
So it was back to being a bike mechanic until I find something different. It's the job that I've always been able to do regardless where I was living, since 1995.
Phil

 

[Retro-Grouch]

Lots of bike changes here.
1949 Rotrax track bike is built, just needs decals and a headbadge. I'll order them one day when I have that disposable $$.
My boss at the shop told me on Saturday that he's giving me a Santana tandem as a wedding gift. More info and photos to come later.
Job at the hospital in Cherry Hill didn't work out to my advantage, so I left. I knew I was leaving into one of the worst job markets in over two decades, but I couldn't ethically be a part of that system.
So it was back to being a bike mechanic until I find something different. It's the job that I've always been able to do regardless where I was living, since 1995.
Phil

Good for you for having the cojones to walk! The lack of ethics in the medical field, where ethics should be the primary driver, is appalling. I speak from experience, having had to walk from a management position in the mental health field when I was being asked to do things that would have put clients at serious risk. And, like you, spinning a wrench in a bike shop was my fall back, as it had been throughout most of my working life. I hope you've stayed abreast of all the changes in bike tech in the past few years; much like the auto industry, there's no longer room for a grease monkey with a pair of vise grips. Skill, training, and intelligence are mandatory, though I'm sure you have what's needed. Fortunately, being retired, these issues are a thing of the past for me. Best of luck!

 

[Calzone]

Phil,

All the best as always. Having dignity and honor are two great assets.

Also congrats with the bike. Moving forward…

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Devil Dan,

Brutal over-kill and engineering-factor is always great.

When I worked at Brookhaven National Labs on the Superconductor Super Collider know as RHIC (relativistic Heavy Ion Collider) that was 2.7 miles in circumference the acceleration of charged particles was so great that the amount of radiation produced as X-rays was great enough to “drop” you and cause instant death. Pretty much enough radiation to kill all your cells.

One physicist said pretty much like getting killed twice.

Pretty much two guys on bikes would ride the inner and outer ring to make sure no one was in the tunnel, and there are also red flashing lights to indicate. That beam was imminent.

The tunnel had been “swept” and there are physical gates that are interlocked to secure the tunnel, but there also was an incidence where someone was working in between the two beam lines and went undetected. The red lights gave a warning and “Charles” hit the “scram button before getting killed.

Before I worked at Brookhaven a guy killed his friend by accident. Pretty much someone pancaked his friend with a back hoe.

BTW the 2.7 mile ring/tunnel is visible from outer space with the naked eye.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Just got back fro the Brattleboro Literary Festival.

Drive is 180 miles away and takes about 3 hours. Lots of 70-80 MPH driving. At one point I was doing close to a hundred because the road in Vermont was that open. There was lots of construction though.

Pretty much a tank of gas does the round trip, and Moble Premium in Vermont is only $3.86 a gallon. I filled up 3/4’ers of a tank for $43.00. WOW In New York it would be about $60.00.

We stayed at a lovely Inn that dates back to 1929. Our suite was half of a carriage house, and the free breakfast was mucho great.

We drove up early on Saturday. The Festival paid for two nights of accommodations. We attended some of the presentations, and Saturday night there was a dinner for the writers’ that were presenting and their guests.

The Brattleboro Literary Festival is a lot bigger, more grand, and I would say is close to being twice the size as the Saratoga event we attended earlier in the month. Much more elevated and better organized. Pretty much a wonderful event.

“Maggie” and I skipped the cocktail reception because we both don’t drink. On Main Street is the Latchis Hotel that also is a theater. This is where the dinner was. So pretty much we stroll in late to the partly just for the writers’ dinner, and pretty much there was really only one round table close to the salad bar that had free seats that could seat 8 people and across from us sat two women and a man.

So I’m just minding my own business, and I run into Pablo Medina, a writer/poet who was my thesis advisor for my MFA that I received in 2005. Pretty much I had not seen him in 19 years, he gained a little weight and was still recognizable, but he told me that I look the same and didn’t change at all.

Actually that is pretty honest, except for the dab of grey hair and my now white chin beard. I think if I died out the grey hair I could pass for being in my 40’s.

Pretty much I made his day. He was happy to see me, and instantly remembered me. Almost 20 years is a long time, and I had wondered if he would remember me.

So I go back to our table and Maggie is in conversation with one of the women who was sitting at our table. Melissa is the middle daughter of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. I get engaged with her husband Ray in conversation.

The other woman at our table is Moon Unit Zappa.

So pretty much this chance encounter turns out to be eventful. I learned all kinds of smut, and I will reveal that Paul Newman was 5’10” my same height. This came up in some wager where Paul Newman offered a million dollar bet to be donated to charity over some published remark against a certain party, but the gauntlet was not taken.

So fast forward to 8:00 AM Sunday where we are scheduled for our breakfast. Maggie and I seat ourselves on the bigger table that has two place settings, but could seat 4. Pretty much we are the first to be served.

Then a woman comes in by herself and sits at the corner square table: it is Moon Unit Zappa. We say good morning and re-engage. Then shortly thereafter Melissa and Ray enter, pretty much immediately seat themselves at our table, and then Moon Unit pulls over her chair to be seated to my right.

How did the same table arrangement happen twice in a row, dinner, then breakfast, all by chance? Divine intervention?

So it kinda became a 2 1/2 hour breakfast. Kinda crazy.

BTW I’m a huge fan of Frank Zappa.

We have friends in Brattleboro and pretty much we missed a lot of the presentations because we were kinda distracted by social obligations of coffee and a dinner.

More later…

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Over the three days in Vermont the foliage changed dramatically and noticeably every day. I would say that Sunday was the peak, and today the leaves were falling and blanketing my Audi. There was a huge change overnight from Saturday to Sunday.

Brattleboro has a population of only about 11K so it is les than half the size of Peekskill. Our friend Wendy told us that they have about 1-2 murders a year, about the same as Peekskill. The Connecticut River separates Brattleboro from New Hampshire.

Mountains and a river make it resemble Peekskill to a large extent. The vibe is lots of old hippies. The displays of wealth are more understated, but wealth, education and affluence surely is present. We kinda love the vibe, but for retirement all income gets taxed full boat. Pretty much no tax breaks.

Pretty much the Inn On Pitney was a expensive bed and breakfast, and surely was the best I ever experienced. The Inn is on a bluff, and it borders on a preserve and an estuary that connects to the river. Today before leaving and checking out we hiked the trails. Pretty much this was a free vacation.

Wendy is a friend who does TV interviews/profiles of Brattleboro residents. She pretty much has her own TV show. These are taped shows, not live, and Wendy says they get edited. Wendy was going to interview “Maggie” for the presentation at “The Stone Church” on Main Street. Pretty much no longer a Church, but now a performance space for live music.

Anyways previous to this event Maggie and Wendy bonded as friends, and the rooted friendship grew even more after the presentation because of a 3 hour dinner. We met Dave her husband. Dave is a writer, and also not only went to collage with Ken Burns, but likely is one of Ken Burns best friends.

Gaining the friendship of some children of celebrities, family insights, and all this privileged information of family dynamics was quite an honor.

I would suggest buying Moon Unit’s Book if you want to know more, but I kinda learned of the woman that grew out of the experience told in her memoir. It is actually a funny spin on things about a very unconventional upbringing, by very-very unconventional parents.

Melissa complained of a first book about her father, Paul Newman, that was published that was a horror for her. This second book though is a coffee table book that has many photographs and artifacts that display the love relationship between her mother Joann Woodward and her father Paul Newman. Melissa is very proud and happy how this second book turned out.

Anyways pretty much that is all I want to say. I won’t speak of the family dysfunctions…

So pretty much I’m a confused artist. My writing, my history, and my story was of great interest. Things got animated and involved. I revealed a lot of intimate things that were powerful. I realized it was a bit of a performance, and Moon saw it that way.

I said some things that surprised myself of how my childhood experiences kinda made me a better man that holds more compassion, more understanding, is more alive, and has more capacity in so many ways…

A bit of an epiphany that kinda happened through an acquaintance and then grew into friendship.

I want to move forward, and not be defined or framed by my past so pretty much I blog here, but the MFA and my memoir was just an exercise to reassemble myself after September 11th to grieve other loses.

Writers’ say if you write you are a writer, but that is not my identity or my objective. Perhaps my true self is to be a student of Jazz guitar. I want to live in the present moment, not the past.

So some things became clearer, but that was until I heard writing that is lyrical and poetic. So know I was a performance artist, and Moon offered support and recommended a voice coach. Pretty much she saw my stories as being performed, not written text.

So pretty much a weekend of crazy immersion.

Another development is we talked about keeping the Baby-Victorian and just buying a “camp” somewhere to have a getaway and retreat into nature. Our Peekskill home already has to much sentimental value, and pretty much we have other means of buying something with cash sooner.

Anyways a lot of growth happened over the weekend. Know it was odd and difficult not getting in my practice. The guitar is a big part of my life.

A pretty rewarding weekend, but there still are a lot of questions to be answered.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

After a weekend like this I just have to ask myself, “What does it all mean?”

How unusual to have random events to involve the same 5 people?

I inquired with Paul the Inn keeper about booking for next year and how much advanced time needed in advance. Paul informed me that the entire Inn is reserved for the book festival and their guests, so there was little possibility, but he gave us a name of someone on the festival committee where we could inquire further.

So that perhaps could explain how we all ended up in the Inn for breakfast, but the dinner is unexplainable and was totally random and by chance.

Same 5 people?

Divine intervention?

It is at a point where I wonder what is happening to me? This was no chance event.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

In February they have a winter festival in Brattleboro. Part of that festival is a ski jumping completion.

Paul the Inn keeper mentioned the Wide World Of Sports programe, and the part that shows the ski jump crash, “The Agony Of Defeat.” Pretty much that footage was in Brattleboro.

So there is your Brattleboro smut.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

“A Love AffairI Words And Pictures” has photographs done by Richard Avedon, Bruce Davidson, Gordon Parks and many others. Many photos are rare or never published.

Melissa, the middle daughter in this book says, “It wasn’t always a fairy tail, but I wanted to remember the best, the dreamiest, most sublime part, and that part happens to be true.”

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Gold’s new Intra-Day High $2752.50. The estimate for gold to hit $2.8 by the end of the year seems to be lowball at the rate things are going. The election either way paves the way to deficits. I would think that gold would be around $3K-$3.2K or worse depending on the election.

Know in Russia they have high interest rates to draw buyers of their bonds, and also they have double digit inflation.

The FED kinda hit a ceiling with the U.S. deficit, where higher rates also drew higher interest on our debt. There was a reason why there was a pause in interest rate hikes, even though inflation persisted. Some of the CPI was manipulated lower and offset by energy prices. Pretty much you can only live on a credit card for so long…

With debt, managing debt requires austerity, and payback is a bitch. Understand that our deficit is not getting paid down and is increasing, and also that old debt at low interest rates instead of being paid off when due, gets “rolled-over” into new bonds at higher interest rates. As time goes on the debt not only gets bigger, it actually explodes.

When will things go Kaa-boom, I can’t tell you, but pretty much a debt crisis lays ahead. Debt is a weapon of mass destruction.

We are getting close to a tipping point, and any downturn we cannot afford. Currency debasement lies ahead, that is the reason why gold is increasing in value, and why banks are hoarding gold as a store of wealth.

My hip is slowly healing, and every day is an improvement. I have less disturbed sleep.

Yesterday I was surprised by the 80 degree weather in New York. Brattleboro is about as far north as perhaps Troy or Albany, but further east. Crisp weather at night, and definitely more of a temperature range with a lower low.

Usually mid October is the first frost and the end of the growing season. Last year the growing season was extended, and it seems like the same is happening this year as last. Will I still be harvesting my garden in November? Not so far away.

I have and appointment with my urologist later in the week. Likely will get scheduled a date for a prostate biopsy.

Cal

 

[Prest_400]

Good luck Phil!

I will be a few weeks out traveling and it feels as if the year ends quick and abrupt.

the three days in Vermont the foliage changed dramatically and noticeably every day. I would say that Sunday was the peak, and today the leaves were falling and blanketing my Audi. There was a huge change overnight from Saturday to Sunday.

I recall seeing some news of overtourism in VT due to people going to see fall colors. Anyways here, and while y'all discussed bikes, I could just bike around some really nice fall landscape nearby. Shot some Kodak Gold in 120, but basically have been saving all the film for the trip so it has been a rather casual fall color shooting and mostly digital. This and the spring blossoms are the couple times I really wish to have some Fuji Velvia.

Have a former mental institution with fantastic rows of maples planted around. On all the last topics, it is nice that the contemporary northern europe is just quiet (well, sans gang organised crime around Scandinavia) and the Medical system here has a more non-profit alignment.

 

[Calzone]

Gold new Intra-Day High: $2753.70.

I say gold likely north of $2.3K by the time of the election.

Un stability, tariffs, and a trade war escalation could inflate gold in an insane manner. Pretty much economic destruction.

The world is crazy enough, but now we could enter an episode of insanity.

Cal