NYC Journal

[Calzone]

Having a second breakfast for lunch: 4 eggs without the yokes; and two English muffins with hummus.

Been gardening and moving logs

A licensed pharmacist called to go over the use of the inhibitor and the side effects. One quirk is that I can’t eat any grapefruit because it chemically reacts with the inhibitor.

I also got a call from my radiation oncologist’s personal assistant about getting excused from jury duty. I have to print out the doctor’s note and mail it back to the Commissioner of Jurors along with the jury summons. EZ-PZ.

I got validation that exercise counters the fatigue side effect.

The chemical castration is an injection every 3 months, the inhibitor is a pill, and there is Pregnazone to counter side effect taken separately.

Pretty much I have a 72% chance of surviving 5-years with just the chemical castration and radiation therapy. The inhibitor adds another 6% for a 78% chance of surviving 5 years.

With Cancer you are considered “cured” if the Cancer does not reoccur for 5 years.

The shot I have for surviving 10 years is only 50%.

Anyways these are the statistics, but I am no ordinary man…

Later today I expect an air conditioner to get delivered, a Medea 8000 BTU U-shaped window unit that is kinda built like a mini-split in that it uses inverter technology. This particular unit has quiet operation due to the fact that the mechanicals are outside the window, and pretty much the window is almost closed.

Like a mini-split it runs at a reduced constant speed and does not cycle like a conventional AC unit and because of this enjoys higher efficiency.

I figure better to secure one before “Tare-Ifs” kick in.

So now I don’t know if I’ll get a ride in, but at least I’m getting some exercise working in the yard.

BTW 2.2 cubic feet of compressed peat moss is about equal to 4 cubic feet unpackaged. I compare 4 one cubic foot bags of cow manure in my dump cart to the volume of the un bagged peat moss (from Canada).

“Cal’s” mix is a 50/50 blend of peat moss and cow manure. “Mel’s mix is equal parts of compost, peat moss and vermiculite.
The vermiculite is for good aeration and water retention, but if you turn over the soil I figure the vermiculite is not needed. Last year I spent about $200 or so on a bulk load of vermiculite.

Mel’s mix kinda resemble that loose potting soil.

I control dandy lions by picking the yellow flowers. Basically the dandy lions do not seed, so they do no harm. Also saves money and costs nothing.

Back to work…

Cal

 

[Calzone]

I rescued a turtle near my driveway and put him back in the marsh.

In Asian culture turtles are good luck.

The granddaughter will be 11 soon, and she requested from me a lock for her bedroom door so she can be safe from her little brother (almost 3).

The 8000 BTU u-shaped air conditioner was delivered at 4:15. Not so compact and heavier that the conventional AC unit that it is replacing. The old unit is still fresh, but the noise is loud after we got spoiled by the Mitsubishi mini-splits on the first floor.

They hype “Lowers the noise and your electric bill.”

So it is dawning on me that this ADT hormone therapy is kinda like chemo in pill form. The side effects seem to be the same as the chemical castration, but I guess amped up. Know that I did not suffer any side effects from the chemical castration yet, and they say it takes 6 months to ramp up to full effect. I have the second injection in May.

Additional risks are liver and kidney damage, high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease. Counterintuitively exercise fights fatigue.

Tomorrow we will have the grandson.

Cal

 

[DownUnder]

Interesting to note (as I have so many times seen) that in Indonesia and Malaysia, turtles are sold as food, and eaten.

Not so lucky for the turtles.

I've not eaten one, or for that matter a frog's legs, for more than half my lifetime. Vegetarian and a high plant diet are my way. Tempeh and tofu don't cry when they are being slaughtered at those sad places, abattoirs.

 

[Calzone]

Perhaps it is Chinese superstition, or even possible I made it up.

I think it is the Iroquois Indians who believed the world was built on a turtle’s back.

Anyways I take it as a good sign.

Today I am stiff from yesterday’s exertion. This is part of old age I am learning, stiff, but not really sore. Oh-well.

My allergies are bad, likely tree pollen.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Oil and gold are being sold off. Gold is trading below $3.3K and oil under $60.00 is a bad sign.

The rest of the screen is red except for a slight toehold of the DOW slightly in the green.

Another volatile day where anything can happen.

Cal

 

[Phil_F_NM]

My commute is 11.31 miles from my house to work. I just passed 79 miles this week so far with today's commute to work. I work Sunday through Thursday, so by tomorrow evening I will have done just over 110 miles. I'm using the Miyata right now and have found that while I'm getting back into riding shape, I would be comfortable with one more gear in the middle of my freewheel as the jump is pretty big. My freewheel is set up in a "pyramid" with even spacing, 5 speeds from 15-34 teeth. I don't need anymore on the top or bottom end, just an intermediate gear which would effectively be a near cross-gear or duplicate from my 52 tooth chainring and my second largest cog. I'm not a fan of cross gearing, nor the hazards it can pose and the wear it can cause, so adding another cog and respacing my freewheel will be the way it goes.
On Sunday I began this full time commute and did the ride in 55 minutes. Monday 54 minutes with a 15mph sustained headwind, Tuesday 51 minutes, and today's ride was 51 minutes. I'm starting to feel the wear of fatigue and needing rest, so Friday and Saturday will be no riding or only soft pedaling around the neighborhood and to a VA appointment I have. If I rest up appropriately and eat enough protein, I'm expecting that next week I'll see my morning commute approaching 45 minutes. I may begin to use a fixed gear path racer.
Phil

 

[Calzone]

Getting rid of rust is hard work. Kinda tough…

Keep it up Phil.

For me I have a choice. No exercise leads to fatigue as a side effect, but Counterintuitively if I am active I suffer no fatigue. Like the Greeks: mind; and body…

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Cancer Update: My total paid by my provider through the end of March for just 2025 (first quarter) is over $207K. This does not include drug costs…

I got delivery of the “inhibitor” that was delivered by courier and had to be signed for. I also got a call from my radiation oncologist’s office to reschedule my visit for bloodwork 20 days from now to two weeks from now, and then an added second bloodwork, as well as an office visit, all squeezed into the month of May.

I’m starting on the max dose, and pretty much it is an experiment to see how my body will react. Everyone is different, but some of the side effects lead to damaged organs or chronic diseases.

This is a very serious drug, and pregnant women are warned not to even touch a pill. So pretty much I am taking a leap of faith and hoping for the best…

To counter the side effects I’m prescribed a steroid. “Prednisone is used to treat conditions as arthritis, blood disorders, breathing problems, severe allergies, skin diseases, Cancer, eye problems, and immune system disorders.”

Pretty much it interferes with my immune system response, so for the next two years I’ll have a compromised immune system. The flu or Covid would be worse for me. AI’m thinking I will have to mask up.

It is reported that “many people using this medication do not suffer serious side effects.” I hope I am one of them.

So I am “living” dangerously.

The inhibitor clearly is a dangerous drug…

Cal

 

[Calzone]

I think I’m a role model for the grandson. When I blow my nose it is forceful and loud. He imitates me.

He has this fascination with tools, and he knows I build and fix things. His dad has sausage fingers, meaning he is not handy at all.

Then he loves guitars…

As noted in another post he annoys the hell out of his older sister. Who does this remind you of? He also knows he is cute.

So I kinda have a “Mini-Me.” He will be three in August.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

WOW. Oil dipping to $56.00 range this morning is alarming and is indicating an economic slowdown, but what is unusual is that again the markets were rallying in the pre-markets this morning.

Yesterday oil dropped, and a slowdown in magnitude of the beginning of the Pandemic, 2020, will get repeated.

Pretty much something has to give…

To me the senario is very much loaded to be a repeat of 2020, the beginning of the Pandemic. Oil prices went down to the $50.00 range back then. Understand that stimulus softened that slowdown, and then overuse of stimulus that bloated and pumped up the markets as well as igniting inflation.

This second round or Deja Vu won’t be softened though by stimulus without evil outcomes… When downturns can’t get stopped, crashes happen. Watch the price of oil…

I am officially on drugs: serious drugs at large doses. The two inhibitor pills I have to take on an empty stomach are mucho big, and the steroid to dampen the side effects mucho small, but the steroid I have to ingest with food.

Best strategy is to take the inhibitor as soon as I get up along with a glass of water (recommended). Then an hour later I can eat, but it is also recommended to take the steroid with food. One side effect can be disturbed sleep from the steroid, so it is recommended to take the steroid early.

So now my life is taking a structured pattern…

Watering cans are no longer cheap. New ones sell for $50.00, and used ones are a gamble from flea markets running the risk of abbreviated lifespan or leaking. Our 5 year old galvanized watering can only lasted 5 years. I’m a cheap-FXXK, and I refuse to pay $50.00 for a watering can.

So my improv’s are interesting: one is that I took home an unused plastic urinal from one of my emergency room stays figuring that it would end up in a landfill otherwise. Capacity is a bit mour than a quart.

Then similarly I reclaimed a plastic 5 gallon water bottle from the Con Ed contractors that replaced the gas lines in our neighborhood. Water weighs about 8 pounds a gallon so using this as a watering can involves some strength.

I am proud to say that muscle tone and a cut torso is emerging. I now resemble a UFC fighter with a lethal amount of upper body strength. The only thing girly is perhaps my skinny waist. I’m getting close to pushing a 9-inch “drop” that Paul Smith uses to describe his suits that are made for skinny, but muscular guys. The drop is the differential from an expanded chest and a man’s waist.

Abs and Bruce Lee “three-fingers” are emerging, that’s how cut I’m getting.

Call me vain, but I love it. Medically Cancer is leaning me out (less body fat), getting me more muscular, and yet I’m not really loosing weight. I figure I’m range bound at 157-158 pounds. Strength training, yard work, and some prison labor.

Back in the day I was a “weight weenie,” a term for a guy who rides bikes that weigh little. This kinda exploited my strength to weight ration when I only weighed 145 pounds when I was younger. Back then I often was mistaken for a girl from behind: long hair, no pony tail, tight butt, small waist, narrow shoulders.

One way to brag and show off a Ti bike is to make them even lighter. There are trade-offs like loosing durability, Ti bolts tend to self loosen, bottom brackets can creak, more flexing and less rigid. I also found out that a mountain bike sub 21 pounds tends to catch too much “air” and tends to loose contact with the ground too much.

But the laws of physics and inertia make a lighter bike efficient for climbing and acceleration.

So now I think I will build out the Ti IBIS as a 3x9 Micro-Drive (Compact Drive) 42/32/20 a Suntour development to shave weight, along with a 9-speed Dura-Ace rear drivetrain. Because of Phil I loaded up on Dura-Ace 9-speed cassettes that use titanium cogs for weight savings.

I have mucho NIB 12-21T, 12-23T, and 12-25T, along with spare ganged cogs, especially the 17-19 ganged cogs used on a 12-25T where most of the wear happens near the middle of the cassette.

The thing I love about Middleburn cranks is the variety of interchangeable spiders that are available that I have on hand. I have an ATB spider and also a 52/40 NOS chainrings for that ATB triple spider. If this fits on the IBIS Ti Mountain Trials with a 24 inch rear wheel pretty much I can make a hyper agile fitness bike that resembles a mountain bike but can keep up with a road bike.

I would utilize the 12-21T almost a “corn-cob” except for the 21T on the fitness bike for gearing with smooth jumps in gearing. Because my rear wheel is small the jumps in gearing will be small. The big jumps and needing an extra gear like Phil talks about is not present.

Today was a “Maggie” doctor’s appointment in the morning, Trader Joe’s and I moved the lawn for the first time this year. Seems like we have some salt die off on the dead end on our side yard.

Cal

 

[DownUnder]

An el cheapo plastic water bucket and a dipper from Ye Olde Rejected Shoppe or some place similar. $5-$7.

Even two dippers. One for you and one for the grandson. It's good to put the sprogs to work as soon as they are able to hold whatever tool you want them to use. Or a dipper.

There, fixed it for you. Cheapskates unite!!

 

[Phil_F_NM]

I think the contrary is more true regarding a light bike and getting airborne. Yes, the light bike may be able to get off the ground easier, but it's less dangerous because it's easier to manipulate while in the air to control your landing. A lighter bike also has less mass to carry it via inertia. So, I'll give it partially true. The wheels and tires are really the deciding factor; if you have greater gyroscopic force to contend with, any change will be harder to effect.
When I built the Raleigh Mountain Trials, I made bombproof wheels, and they are heavy. There's not many options out there for really lightweight rims in both 559 and 507 ETRTO. The rims I happened to use were Ryde Andras which happen to be the strongest rims you can get, but with the penalty of weight. Therefore, I just need to build up my upper body strength. I wish I could find a pair of Mavic 121 SUP rims. They also made them for tubular tires which would be incredible to ride on.
There might not be much mountain biking for me this summer since my MTB buddy crashed last weekend, broke two ribs and tore up a side of his body. He's fine but in a good amount of soreness and pride pain, for a 50 year old man who's been mountain biking and racing for 40 years. I'll keep pushing him to get out on the road bike so he keeps breathing and doesn't develop pneumonia. He and I had matching blood clots coincidentally, due to fitness and low blood pressure.
Yesterday morning, I came to a stop at 38th and Spruce and my front wheel decided to take a stab at becoming a trolley (streetcar) wheel. I crashed at a standstill which was actually more immediate pain of pride than anything, but when I got to work I felt my SI joint was a little tweaked or possibly overstretched and I've got soreness in my left pelvic area of my back. It'll work out fine. Today I'll ride the Breezer over to the cemetery to soft pedal around then get to my VA appointment which is basically next door.
I completed a week of a full time bike commute which I haven't done in a long time, clocking in just over 110 miles. Next week we have rain in the forecast and I may be doing some train + folding bike commuting, we'll see.

Phil

 

[Calzone]

Friday’s April job report will denote the impact of tariffs. Currently the market futures are in the green. Gold is rebounding but is under $3.3K.

Saudi’s are opening the oil facet. This hurts Russia, but at a certain point fracking U.S. oil becomes economically unprofitable. Saudi oil is easier to extract and is close to the surface. Fracking oil is not as cheap.

I took my dose of inhibitor at 6:00 AM. Kinda important to keep a regular schedule. I can eat at 7:00 AM and it is time for me to take my steroid.

I think it has been a dry April, but here we are in May and the next few days it is expected to rain. I am suffering badly from allergies. My eyes are scratchy, but I really should avoid any further medication because of drug interaction. The rain will settle the tree pollen.

Today I’m thinking of doing the 9-speed on the Fat Chance Yo Eddy. If I just get an XTR right shifter I can use the left XT intergrated shifter and brake lever along with the existing XTR right brake lever.

Back in 1999 Fat Chance was a failing business. Basically cheap imported bikes undermined their business and undercut them.

It seems my bike advanced with using a standard non pressed in bottom bracket, and is suspension corrected geometry. This is mighty great, but the group used to assemble my bike is a mix of stuff laying around. Whatever was on hand and laying around was used.

My brakes are XTR and the right brake lever. Oddly the left brake lever is an XT with integrated shifter. The front and rear derailleurs are both XT. The thing that swings to going into a micro-drive is the XT crank which has compact-drive gearing.

The XT rear derailleur is oddly a long cage…

The Ti IBIS does well as a 2x11 and weighs just under 20 pounds with a Go-Pro camera.

I’m excited about moving things into the attic, and going through things in the basement warehouse. Pretty much my treasures have been buried for over 4 years.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

In my experience gravity has less effect in keeping my bike on the ground. The gyroscopic effect though is profound, and of course that depends on wheel diameter and mass.

Cal

 

[Phil_F_NM]

Brexit shortened the tenures of three PMs, one in a record setting kind of way. We don't have the luxury of referendum nor are we responsible enough in the US to manage one. We're like petulant children who are dealing with a prepubescent growth spurt, but not wanting to eat a healthy diet. The trade minister from China made his hilarious remark about how China doesn't care how powerful and old the US is because China has been around for thousands of years and knows it. Like you always say Cal, China knows time is on their side.

Cal, if you need a suspension fork for "Maggie's" bike, I have a 1" threadless Judy XC completely overhauled with upgraded springs, hardware, and with the CNC brace from the SLX fork. I don't recall if her headset is 1" or 1 1/8". The steerer tube is too short for any of my bikes. I'm thinking of finding a crown with a longer steerer, but don't really want to build up another mountain bike.
I have the better part of a bike shop in my basement and garage. I'm not sure what to do with it all right now. The used bike market is dead, and the new bike market is floundering. It doesn't hurt to have 15-20 used bikes on hand for a few bucks cash when times get harder and people don't want to buy gas but use a bike to get to work so they can feed their kids.
Some of my high end parts only have boutique value to collectors or riders who know what actually works and is durable.
I still have a few projects I need to finish. Now that I have a full time job and an income, my depression is lifting so I feel like I have a bit of mobility to finish these restorations.
Phil

 

[Calzone]

Phil,

Thanks for the offer, but “Maggie’s” Yo Betty is 1 1/8”. It is a 97 and being a 10 inch frame and now has a suspension corrected rigid fork.

Weighs 19 pounds and it is a steel bike. The wheelbase is short making it an exciting bike to ride. This frame was made in Sarasota, New York and not in Mass.

I fitted it out with all period correct XTR 9-speed on the drivetrain.

Thanks to you again I loaded up the truck with cassettes on sale. I went with Paul’s for brake levers and V-brakes.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

I’m a sweaty mess. Installed the Medea 8000 BTU u-shaped air conditioner. It was involved doing a good job sealing the window. Good thing is I had on hand some pipe insulation that made a great gasket for the bottom of the window.

Pretty much it works like a mini-split and has an inverter to regulate speed. They hype lower electric bills and lower noise.

My install is remarkably quiet. I highly recommend this Media 8000.

So I took apart an ELFA assembly I had in the basement and recreated it in my attic. From cool and dank to a hot box. Moved a lot of stuff to unload the free standing 7 foot tall double sided clothes rack with wire shelves.

So I did well in climbing all the stairs and all the lugging.

The smallest room upstairs right now is like a walk in closet that has a small shallow closet and two windows. “Maggie” has 4 clothes racks and pretty much it is a hot mess.

Pretty much we want to empty this room and set up this small “bedroom” into a sewing room. Will be mighty cool moving my JUKI (commercial sewing machine, made in Japan and not China).

I bought some wall hangers so I can hang a dozen guitars in my music room. Also bought a Wolber Profile 18 32-hole rim to build out a single speed rear wheel for the Ti Basso (Lightspeed Classic rebranded). The Ti Basso weighs 17 1/2 pounds now with 8-speed Dura-Ace using the first edition Shimano XTR shifter/levers for 8-speed.

I imagine this Ti Basso could weigh in as a 15 pounder as as a single speed. I have an elliptical White Industries Black ENO, and happen to have the spacers for both 130 mm and 135 mm,

So pretty much I can’t hammer, but I surely can work hard. I have to slow down a little. I’m on day two of the inhibitor along with a steroid. So far no serious side effects.

Called my friend Cris. With warmer weather spraying lacquer means the guitar known as “Red” will get finished. I mentioned to Cris that I prefer a 7 1/2 straight radius on the fingerboard because I play chords up the neck.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

A thunder storm was welcomed, made it so I didn’t have to water the garden. You know me I’m a lazy slacker, and this water is free. Tomorrow is a birthday party for the granddaughter, 11 years old.

Just before lunch was a soccer game, and the rain/storm held off. The granddaughter’s team lost 3-1.

I’ll be busy installing a lock on her door tomorrow to inhibit intrusion by the grandson who is almost three. Will wall mount a TV for the kids, assemble a fishing rod ( the kid’s dad has sausage fingers), and will inspect the damage done by a fallen tree limb.

I moved my wardrobe from the odd closet that is long like a tunnel. I best exploited this closet, that has a low door, by cutting down a industrial/commercial wire cart and adapting it into a clothes rack with four legs. The long cart wheels into the closet and pretty much you pull out the rack as if it were a drawer.

Kinda genius, mighty clever, and also funky, but mucho cool. Somehow I made a closet into a drawer…

I moved all my clothing on hangers into the attic onto the ELFA free standing double sided clothes rack. About a fifth of my clothes on this rack is vintage T-shirts, another 5th are mucho expensive dress shirts, many are $300.00 well tailored Paul Smith shirts made from Italian Cotten that was custom made for Paul Smith.

I also have my muy ghetto Hawaiian shirts, and don’t forget my mix of Paul Smith suits that also include a Paul Smith Tux.

Basically I have a lot of expensive clothes, but then again I wear my “rags” which are well worn items like Patagonia rock climbing knickers that I wear all the time.

Pretty much I save my good clothes, and otherwise I wear my “rags” which I call my everyday clothing.

In the basement I now have some breathing room to move things around and sort through things.

Went to Home Cheapo and bought some bike hanger hooks and a pair of hooks to hold a long extension ladder.

Organizing, sorting through, and moving my stuff around is kinda fun. The basement has been a warehouse of sorts for 4 1/2 years. We moved into the Baby-Victorian and pretty much there they stayed where I left them all this time. WOW…

Cal

 

[Calzone]

The rain helped settle the tree pollen. The next few days rain is expected every day. Good for the garden and good for my allergies.

Today is the fourth day of medication, so far no side effects. No disturbed sleep… It might take a while for levels to build up. I have a regular schedule: get up at six; take the inhibitor with water; then wait an hour and eat and take the steroid.

I seem to get winded easily, so I have to go at a pace. Staying active somehow combats the fatigue side effect. I seem to need more rest and sleep. I feel my legs are my weak point. Perhaps I’ll start doing burpee’s with my 30 pound dumbells.

The hanging bikes and extension ladder off the floor frees up a lot of space, and the basement is not such a sloppy mess.

Cal

 

[Phil_F_NM]

A day of shooting with my "new" (old shutter speeds) Minolta Autocord, has got me inspired again to begin more super wide modifications.

The first is going to be a highly modified Zeiss Ikonta (not a Super Ikonta) on which I will remove the door/lens track then create a front plate with a Nikon flange grafted on. On this I will attach my 28mm f/3.5 P.C. Nikkor (shift lens) which has a 72mm diameter image circle before the hard mechanical vignetting. This will give me a home-hacked "SWC" with effectively an 18mm field of view. I just grabbed a 19mm Canon auxiliary viewfinder here in the classifieds, which will give me my rough guide for composition.

The second mod will be my home-hacked X-Pan, using a broken Kodak David White Stereo camera. This one will be more difficult, as the film transport needs to be modified so proper frame spacing is maintained. The width across the whole film gate is about 90mm, and this is where I come to a crossroads. I could make it modular to use the same 28mm shift lens but would need to constrain the gate to about 70mm.

I still need to worry about a shutter on both of these though and would need to inset the lens mount into a very large shutter. Or I could use a medium or large format wide lens in a shutter, but I want to go wider than 47mm, which is the least expensive Super Angulon available.

Phil