NYC Journal

[Calzone]

My test results are in after one day. One battery of tests suggests I am anemic and my red blood cell production has been compromised. This would explain the lower energy levels I have been experiencing.

So one side effect is clearly anemia. This also effects the CO2 levels in my blood. Usually I’m in the 99% range when they monitor my O2 levels, but now I’m mildly in the high range in respect to CO2 levels.

So this lowered energy level I will be forced to live with for the next two years, and then there is the one year to 18 months wear off. Oh-well…

The second battery of tests signify that my kidneys are stressed, but my liver function thankfully is fine. My Glucose and other liver functions are fine. One of the side effects can be liver damage and Diabetes…

So now the question is will my body compensate and build up a tolerance of sorts to overcome these negative side effects.

Clearly I have Metastatic Cancer, I hope the cost benefit allows for maintaining the high dosage as possible, but I don’t want to damage my kidneys. The fatigue and anemia I can live with, even if it could be 3 to 3 1/2 years.

13 days from now I get the second blood drawn for more data points. Our research says that it takes two-four weeks for the Inhibitor to build up and max out in the blood stream, I am at the max dose presently and understand at 158 pounds I’m kinda like the canary in the coal mine.

I don’t take these early tests being out of range so seriously yet. This is an intense drug, and I figure it is a shock to my body, and my body has not fully made a transition to a new body chemistry yet. I am also like a sensitized paper just placed in the developer…

Pretty much this is just the initial response…

BTW usually it is 12 weeks into taking this Inhibitor that the dose gets locked in. Right now I’m just a living experiment, and everyone is different.

Next doctor’s appointment is with my urologist. I’ll be getting another ADT injection (chemical castration) now on my right side. This dose will last 3 months, but it takes up to 6 months to reach its full effect. This is my second injection. I think I might be getting another PSA test, maybe.

Oh-well…

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Blood Test Update: I just got a call from an oncologist who works under my radiation oncologist. She went over my results.

The takeaway is that my anemia is a normal response. My white blood cell count might also dip further, and pretty much this means/translates into having a compromised immune system.

The important results are two levels of an M-zine that are about double what they should be that involve the liver breaking down the Inhibitor. I’m currently taking the max dose and I was advised to continued to do so.

In 13 days another blood sample will get drawn. I asked/inquired if things might normalize as my body chemistry adapts. My guess was validated.

I was told that my dose level might have to get adjusted.

Also looks like the juror form was received and sent out by my doctor, but I was warned that there have been cases where exclusions were not granted.

I drink mucho liquids, but I was told to drink even more…

As a precaution I will wear a mask when out in public. I’m kind of a chronic hand washer…

Monday I get castrated again. LOL…

Oh-well…

So I need to maintain my strength and cardio health, but also within many constraints for about two years, until I get weened off the Inhibitor and steroid. Also living with a compromised immune system.

I wonder how different is this ADT hormone treatment than chemo?

“Maggie” pointed out that I have a Cancer that metasticised…

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Don’t expect any price relief, even though some tariffs have moderated.

Inflation is being fed, and prices even on cheap goods will go up.

“Moo,” said the Pig.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Gold dropped below $3.2K.

The DOW and S&P are down while the Nasdaq is up. A mixed market.

So a headline is that there is a level of tariff policy impact that has been identified as where there has to be back peddling and policy pivots. We just went through all that. What if this is where we go sideways because of agenda?

Kinda crazy, but less insane that what was originally proposed. I suggest this because it seems where we are now is a kinda halfway point: not totally insane, but still crazy is the point.

I can’t see gold staying this low for long because inflation is real and it is coming. Gold is a store of wealth and as the U.S. Dollar looses value and is debased other assets like real estate and gold will maintain or even appreciate more than paper assets that are based on dollar value.

Right now the stock markets and bonds are of inflated value, as the U.S. Dollar is loosing value.

It will be very-very rude when the markets realize this rally is smoke and mirrors (an illusion) and that a real slowdown is happening with consumers sitting on loads of debt. When it gets ugly it will be very ugly.

Think the market rebounded, but really what has changed? Tariffs got moderated a bit, but in the future everything will cost more…

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Now they are saying that it will be sometime in the summer that we will actually see the effects of tariffs and a slowdown.

Part of the reason why the CPI dropped to a 4 year low is demand already dropped, so prices moderated. Consumer confidence dropped and so did purchases. Pretty much a slowdown is already underway.

The FED they also say will likely have rate cuts in the fall. Anyways this is what the markets predict…

So why did the markets bubble up to escape correction territory? Pretty much moderated tariffs still kick in less than 90 days from now, and prices and costs to produce and manufacture items will be more expensive. Am I the only person who sees an eventual contraction?

Insane policy seems to breed more insanity. The definition of insanity is repeating behavior and expecting a different outcome.

Cal

 

[Phil_F_NM]

While that "definition" of insanity may be the colloquial go-to, it's not even close. Seeing as I work with and as an advocate of the seriously mentally ill, to include serious persistent psychosis, I'm just going to quash this one right here. Repetition of a behavior is actually closer to OCD than a psychotic disorder, though persons living with something like schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder with psychotic features, et al., may exhibit particular actions termed perseveration, in that the action was completed then is repeated many times. We see this in art therapy as extraordinary detail in fine, repeated patterns. I first saw this in my first graduate practicum, during an intensive outpatient art group. One of the participants had a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder and drew several thousand perfectly formed raindrops across a page. At my last job I saw it a few times, but it really was a near daily occurrence when I was working in the locked ward residence. The issue is that the people making those drawings are not expecting anything different, they are almost a kind of perfectionist. That's really the closest that "insanity" gets to repetitive behavior. Then again, we the "normal" observers may think that the mad are expecting something different, but in reality, they often don't tell us or more often than not, we don't bother to ask.
So, it may be a saying that the behavior of repeating something and expecting a different outcome is insanity, but it could be brain damage, and it is more likely just a "wive's tale."
Phil

 

[Calzone]

I use the word insanity in a broad sense. I also say “Crazy is good.”

I think most people understand the context I use.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

A red screen today. Seems like United Health Care will take the DOW lower as a big supporter is selling, the CEO just quit, and momentum continues.

Pretty much rainy weather persists through next week except one day.

Unstable weather and an unstable economy…

Cal

 

[Calzone]

United Health Care is being investigated by the Justice Department for Medicaid fraud. This will kill the stock and also take down the DOW again.

Not good.

Gold is attempting to cross $3.2K. When you expand the gold chart it becomes clear the trend is an upward climb and the fluctuations, dips, and retractions is just a consolidation before a move higher. Seems like just below $3.2K is attracting bids and is where to set a buy order.

For me the long-term for gold and real estate will be sustained long-term gains. I think a better bet than the equities or bond markets, also safer with less volatility.

Right now the markets are defying inflation signals, Dollar loss of purchasing power, higher prices, and eventually a slower economy. In other words I see a downtrend that eventually will happen, an economic slowdown, and a FED that has a very limited envelope to operate in.

High debt levels by the government and households will compound any slowdown or downturn. From experience I know that paying down debt is a crushing experience.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Walmart is not going to eat the price increases: the consumer will.

600 tonnes of gold were imported in the first two months of 2025. Banksters filled their vaults from inventories stored in London and Switzerland. The banks know about gold as a store of value and how inflation will kill Dollar assets.

There was fear that policies or even Tariffs would be placed on Gold imports… BTW most of this gold went to banks in New York.

The old CEO of United Health Care who retired in 2019 is coming back to rescue the company, a DOW component.

Did our last trip to the periodontist on Lawn-Guy-Land. We are going to secure a dentist and periodontist up here in Westchester. Driving through the Bronx is hellish.

Monday I get the second chemical castration injection. It takes up to six months or two injections to have the full effect.

“Maggie” progresses a good amount every day. She has some arthritis in her right hip. The left hip was replaced almost 20 years ago and is still good. Basically she jammed her hip socket and inflamed it. A different kinda bursitis…

Rest and taking it easy. The takeaway is learning that part of aging is learning to live with real limitations. Pretty much because of my Cancer I easily accept that, now I’m trying to maintain my fitness, good health, and weight along with these limitations.

I’m thinking I could use a 63 gear inch single speed to do laps through Blue Mountain. Pretty much not the dirt trails, but the roadways to the parking lots, and an asphalt pedestrian pathway. I need to burn calories, elevate my heart rate, and pump blood.

EZ-PZ because Blue Mountain is nearby, and with the gloomy moody mountain weather being close to home is a wise thing. Not an exciting ride, but there are enough climbs to involve some challenge and strength training to do intervals. I can attach the hills and use the pedestrian path to recover.

This is an underutilized park. I have to do make doing this every day as easy as possible.

I’m off to visit AJ.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Having AJ build me a single speed wheel set using some polished welded Ringley Rhyno Lite rims.n Front hub is a Suntour XC Pro with Grease Guard and the rear is a black White Industries ENO elliptical hub. Both hubs are 32-hole.

I had him look at the rear wheel on the Fat Chance Yo Eddy, and as I suspected a bad bearing on these old retro Rolm wheels. Not really worth overhauling, and the rims display mucho-mucho brake wear. Oh-well…

Perhaps time for new wheels…

Spent some time socializing. This kid “Mo” stopped by. He is a kid that just graduated high school and he kinda lives to ride. This kid is a bike dude. He got a job at Hunter Mountain being a instructor/guide.

Cal

 

[Phil_F_NM]

Sun Rhyno Lites seem to build themselves. Always a pleasant build as they just go together well and the rims aren't "soft" so they aren't as sensitive to spoke tension as other rims. As they are bombproof, they are definitely not light. That said, my Breezer is still one of the lightest bikes I own, and it's mostly XT/XTR, with a Suntour XC Pro crankset and Magura hydraulic rim brakes.
Phil

 

[Calzone]

Phil,

I realize these are not flyweight rims. They are also wide. Pretty much they will likely outlast me.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Sometime before Memorial Day I’ll get a call to be prepped for radiation treatment. I’ll get tattooed for alignment purposes, three dots, then a mold will get made to also position me, and finally the capacity of my bladder will get calculated.

Pretty much I have to hold a full bladder for about 20 minutes while getting a treatment.

Generally a radiation treatment is 4-6 weeks 5-days a week except holidays, but in my case I get 8-weeks of treatment.

My bladder and bowels will get irritated, and it is good I’m not on Eloquis the blood thinner anymore because sometimes there is bleeding.

For alignment a CT is performed, so really the three dots are not really needed. There kinda rough you into position.

Figure June and July will be radiation treatment.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

FED Chair Powell, the lawyer, announced he will favor fighting inflation over full employment. This translates that when a slowdown occurs, expected this summer due to inflation, price increases on imports due to tariffs, and a cautious business environment, that likely rates will not get lowered to help stimulate the economy.

Of course this means unemployment will likely increase and high interest rates to slow the economy will persist, meaning that any slowdown will likely endure.

I’m pretty sure this runs counter to what the executive branch wants.

IMHO inflation is the bigger problem: not only is inflation entrenched; but it is also being emboldened and encouraged by the executive branch.

So drama and conflict.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Home builders and home buyers face a “bleak” future. In summery the housing shortage got worse because of government policy and the added expense of tariffs.

Part of this are the “input” cost increases on raw materials like lumber, sheet rock, and even steel and aluminum. Pretty much these real cost increases get added to the price of construction and also to the cost to the consumers in the end as a buyer.

So existing housing will be more precious. Simple supply and demand, so existing home prices will be firm and tend to escalate. This is bad for buyers, but great for households that own homes, and especially for households that locked in historical record low 30 year mortgage interest rates.

Effectively the housing shortage got extended and worsened.

Don’t forget the impact of a labor shortage…

Of course home buying is a big stimulus to the overall economy. Another indication of an economic slowdown. Anyways the way it is looking is that any economic slowdown looks to be looking like a lengthy and long one reinforced by economic policies that compromise or undermine growth.

Prosperity or opportunity is being quelled.

So the big message here is that any slowdown could be lengthy, and debt at this point will get compounded.

Who will buy all the foreclosed houses? Hedge funds? REIT’s?

What I’m suggesting here is that the housing shortage could make an exaggerated jump for the worse, and home ownership will be more difficult and harder.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

The FED “Stealthfully” has been buying bonds over the past 4-days hoping no one would notice. Effectively this is QE, a form of stimulas.

So the FED understands, like the readers of this thread, that the economy is slowing. No surprise to the average Joe.

Hmmm…

Cal

 

[Calzone]

The U.S. just lost its last AAA bond rating from Moody’s. U.S. bonds are now only rated aa1.

This is because of all the deficit spending.

Back in 1992 Canada lost it’s Triple “A” bond rating. They had a liberal government, but they went into austerity mode cutting their budget line by line and eventually their deficit. Took them about a decade to recover their Triple “A” rating.

Canada is a big country, with a much smaller population than the U.S., but they did what I don’t think is possible to do here in the U.S.

A lower bond rating also means possibly higher interest rates to pay for risk of default. Anyways that’s where we are heading. You can’t live on credit forever.

So now lending money to the U.S. has more risk, and pretty much the wake-up call is that not will borrowing money be more costly, but also at a certain point you have a “debt-spiral” where just paying the interest is a problem.

“Look out below,” I say…

This is a big deal.

Question is who will lend us money and buy our bonds? Also how does this effect the value and purchasing power of the U.S. Dollar?

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Our yard is mobbed with rabbits and today I saw a baby rabbit scampering around.

To bring in the recycling garbage cans I went out of my way as not to disrupt all the rabbits that were feeding on my lawns. Saw a rabbit feeding on my front lawn yesterday, and a few on the side yard.

While eating dinner (roasted turkey breast) I saw three through the kitchen glass door.

I don’t use any weed killers or fertilizers, but I mulch the lawn with clippings. My lawn also has lots of clover.

Meanwhile Snoopy and JJ use all kinds of chemicals, but I have to say their lawn resembles a well groomed golf course.

It does seem like my yards are favored over my neighbor’s yards. In fact last year my across the street neighbor pointed to a fat rabbit hanging out on my front lawn that was waiting for her to go in the house so he/she could invade my neighbor’s garden.

She called the rabbit on my front lawn, “Your rabbit.” LOL.

The rabbits also torment Snoopy and JJ’s dogs. Basically the rabbits come right up to the kennel fence to drive the dogs crazy.

The rabbits kinda know we do no harm and are rather tame. At times they give me a look like “Why are you in my yard,” like they own the place.

I suspect that this is only the first litter of babies. So somehow I have a rabbit ghetto.

I pulled Knotweed today, and dug out the roots of Poke weed that “Maggie” says is toxic. I’m seeing lots of poison Sumac and poison ivy growing all over. Been pulling it up.

The Rode-A-DEN-Drums and bearded Iris’s are blooming. Our climbing roses that now have formed a partial canopy over the pergola has a few buds opening.

Through my kitchen mulch somehow I have cantaloupes geminating in various beds. I also planted watermelons for the granddaughter.

Have not seen any chipmunks yet.

Cal

 

[Phil_F_NM]

Ms. Gillott got a set of era appropriate Bluemels Populaire mudguards tonight. I have a Britannialloy pump, Adie bell, and a more appropriate bottle cage with aluminum bottle and cork stopper all on the way.
I need to wax the frame before taking it out again, since I didn't clear coat it.
Phil