New York September 2022 NYC Meet-Up

[Calzone]

Our agent has something brewing for in the fall during NYC Fashion Week. Pretty much a paid interview. Some type of show that will be coming out in 2023. Could be a cool gig.

We had a choice go into NYC, or they will come to Peekskill. So pretty much they want to know the story of “Maggie” the Digital Influencer, but of course my photography made it possible for her to have in total across all platforms about a million followers.

So pretty much we will be interviewed as a couple, so I’m not in the shadows anymore or in the background.

The New York Times ran a feature: Peekskill, New York: An Artist’s “Paradise” on the Hudson River. Pretty much promoted Peekskill as a hip place where many young people from Brooklyn are migrating to: a city of almost 26K packed in 4 square miles.

I disagree with the way the Times mentioned that property sizes are 1/4 and 1/3 acre. Fact is most houses are built on 40x100. Yards are much smaller than what the Times says.

Also know I am lucky to have 40x200. They also make Peekskill out to have mucho Victorian houses, certainly there are some, but there are many more old houses that are not Victorians.

Pretty much the 1/4 and 1/3rd acre properties are in the suburbs of Peekskill, meaning the township of Cortlandt that surrounds Peekskill, but also know that in Cortlandt there is 4 and 5 acre zoning in some areas.

Peekskill has a true urban vibe because the houses are close together and the properties are small/tiny.

Pretty distinct when you leave Peekskill, “Where did all the old houses go,” I say.

I know I exaggerate, but the NYT should not. They are not a persona. They are not doing creative non fiction.

Not sure I like Peekskill being called “Little Beacon” when in fact Peekskill is a bigger city by population.

Initially “Maggie” and I were looking at buying in Beacon, but I’m glad we didn’t because I love Peekskill better.

Cal

 

[jsrockit]

Cal, you are living the good life. Keep being happy. And post a photo of that Robot when you get a chance.

 

[Calzone]

A cool 60 degree night starts the day perfect for pulling Knotweed. I’ll wear long pants and I’ll spray the pant legs with tick repellant, so this practice is horrorable in 90 degree weather. Today is a mix of sun and clouds. I’ve been waiting for a day like today to finish a job I started weeks ago. Knotweed is endless.

I appreciate having a long dead end. The steel IBIS now has a straight bar with a slightly raised stem, the result is a lighter feeling front end with quicker more violent steering because the handlebars are a narrow 21 inches. I practice jumping up and down the curb in my driveway at slow speed, attempting to track stand, meaning balanced at a standstill standing on the peddles, and then peddling suddenly with enough force to lift the front wheel while bracing myself for the impact of the rear wheel so I have a give to soften the blow to be gentle.

This slow maneuvering involves a sequence of timing that involves many physical moves, and is a complicated dance with myself. The need to practice is to develop an innate ability where the thinking is automatic and the sequence becomes ingrained like breathing, as I am trying to install the sharp sense of balance that is combined with stillness, almost kinda like doing Ti Chee on a bike.

The muscles I use or I am developing are the ones for explosive power, those of a sprinter for acceleration. Basically the bike is propelled not by wheels rolling, but by developing skill in “hopping” the bike not unlike a pogo stick.

So living in a cold-ER-Sack or dead end means I can practice and concentrate doing tight figure eights leaning the bike over as if on a banked turn and practice track stands and wheelies with little regard to getting pancaked by a car.

Anyways this type of training is old, and also new to me. The sense of defying gravity and momentum is coming back to me that I once had, but also I am advancing with new skill. This repetition relaxes me and is a form of meditation. The steel IBIS with its single speed, low gearing, aggressive geometry, and UBER short wheelbase is a great bike to have and own for this practice.

I don’t have to travel far to feel free.

Since I now have a kitchen, biking has become a bigger part of my life. Biking and eating well go together. Pretty hard to seriously train if you can’t eat right and you have to try and east healthy eating out.

I ordered some bike parts, and I am excited about making the Ti Basso Mountain bike more into a “Newsboy” with a set of NITTO aluminum handlebars that supports a more upright position. The geometry of this old retro titanium frame is a long wheelbase of 42 inches, relaxed angles, along with a rather short top tube makes this bike great for a “cruiser” with handlebars that promote an upright position like an old retro three speed.

But know that I have this bike set up with a trick 1x11 XTR drivetrain and I have gearing optimized for the steeply pitched inclines like say from the train station on Hudson Avenue that are a strain to walk up. I have a 25 gear inch low, and I can motor a 99 gear inch on the downhills.

The tires I use are Maxxis Cross-Mark which are mountain bike tires that have a 2.1 width, a low rolling resistance, and are superb on hard pack surfaces. They kinda suck though on anything loose of anything wet. Possibly the worst tire ever though under wet or loose conditions.

Oh-well, while not the best for everything, all I have to do is change the wheels and I have another wheel set set up with mucho aggressive Schwable Hans Damph tires that are a fat 2.35 in width. Kinda great for riding in the snow. Riding on or off the road in fresh snow is the ultimate peaceful experience. The snow even muffles the sound and somehow automatically cleans a bike.

Riding on unfresh snow is another experience, and depending on temperatures it can get very sloppy, or be like a huge rock garden.

So EZ-PZ for having two bikes in one, and I recycled something very obsolete into something modern and very cool, but I can take this a step further and change the chain ring on the crank via removing the entire spider to lower the gearing to make and create a 1x11 Fat Tire bike for off road use. Of course I also have to change the chain with the chain ring exchange, not a big deal.

This old titanium bike has an original polished frame, so it looks like a flashy steel frame that has been chrome plated. Kinda loud looking that suggests 1950 styling, but know that Titanium weighs about half the weight of steel. So know that this bike with the new handlebars will look like one of those old retro three speeds…

Pretty much I can use this bike to go to the local vintage car show down at the Peekskill waterfront this Saturday. It will kinda fit right in even without the new handlebars. I’m pretty sure people will take notice of the old guy riding fast on an equally old and retro bike. My agent would love it: old and retro.

We are staking a claim and using the hash-tag “Vintage Hipster” and “Vintage Hipsters.” Pretty much retro that never goes out of style like old film cameras.

Perhaps to be honest “Retro-Nerds” would be a more accurate term, but not so cool as “Vintage Hipsters.”

Time to kill Knotweed…

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Cal, you are living the good life. Keep being happy. And post a photo of that Robot when you get a chance.

John,

I worked literally 40 years or 4 decades to get to this point.

I lived below my means for a long time, and when I spent my money I bought “durable goods” that would be kept and not thrown away. In other words I was a CF.

Anyways, I think you have an interesting life. You embraced risk, and I hope you are equally happy. It makes me proud and happy that your work still is evolving.

I must say that I feel my own work was getting a bit boring. Printing big, high IQ, and doing what I did was a rut, but I developed skill that I can use at any time.

I think editing and making books to present my work will get me out f my rut.

Much of what Devil Dan does interests me too. He is a bit crazy, and I say “Crazy is good.”

Also know that Devil Christian is not normal. They say watch out for the quiet ones…

Also you know my style, I don’t post anything except text on this embedded blog. Pretty much I annoy people, which is one of my trademarks, but I am sure that someone will shoot a shot of the Robot Royal 36 and post it for me. You know that I’m a lazy-slacker.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Knotweed is loosing. Not only little regrow the, but many stalks come up root and all.

My research revealed that using its reproduction need as against itself as a way for it to expend energy. Pretty much it races to grow mature enough to flower in late August, but I interrupt that cycle by pulling out the stalk so it has to rebuild itself again and again.

Armed with this information I can see that I am winning this war.

Sadly there is a report that a man actually killed himself (suicide) over trying to kill Knotweed because it reproduces and spreads so readily.

I figure now that I’m retired I can follow my 3-4 week schedule of doing my Knotweed maintenance. Last summer with working I fell behind, and perhaps the Knotweed took advantage of me, but this summer the Knotweed is displaying weakness and is not able to recover. Less and less growth with each weeding and no ability to spread or reproduce.

They say it takes 5 years to irradiate Knotweed, I’m into year two, and I’m impressed with my results, but the key is to keep at it and finish the job.

I had a thicket about 40x40, then add onto that another 40x40 that is the dead end. Marsh grass is my southern border. As I removed Knotweed the marsh grass advances to invade the space where the knotweed was. On my steep hillside I have all this new invasive plants coming in. Lots of Milkweed, cornflowers, and other wild flowers where basically Knotweed was a monoculture that choked out other plants.

Also know that this summer more animal diversity appeared in my backyard. Now I have squirrels, and chipmunks that I never had before reestablishing themselves. Pretty much diversity has returned. It is rewarding being an environmentalist. I refuse to use Roundup for fear of damaging the frogs. They are very sensitive to pollution.

Also I learned that the shade from trees can keep Knotweed in check. It like disturbed open areas to invade. I planted and transplanted saplings that were growing feral around my yard, and I planted the dead end with a small forest of Maple saplings. I have three white oak trees that I am cultivating as shade trees to cover my flanks. Oak trees support bio diversity in a great way. Slow growing though, but one day I can show the grand children what I did, and the oak trees will be a living monument.

Pretty much part of my legacy.

So our agent’s assistant keeps prodding us for things to move things along. Not a problem or big deal, but pretty much everything is last minute and ASAP which gets annoying because it is intrusive and invasive.

So I talked with “Maggie” and made a 15-20 minute rule. When given tasks at the last minute, I can only afford about 15 minutes to waste, perhaps 20 the most. I’m not going to allow intrusions to break my stride or kill momentum of me having a nice stress less day.

They want pictures to post pronto. We have plans, so I will do some modeling work, which is take some photos. So if I’m a model how did I become a photographer who is basically working for free.

If I am going to do photography without pay then just let me do my own work. “Maggie” made lots of money using me as her photo-slave.

I love my SL and SL2 (digital) as well as the “L”-glass, but since these expensive pieces are color cameras, pretty much I would have spent my ammo elsewhere since I’m a B&W kinda guy.

I’m retired and no longer a whore or slave.

Cal

 

[Range-rover]

Yep Cal, I really know what you mean about loving the SL and SL2, I myself is having a love fest with the M8 is just great to get back to Leica again.

 

[Calzone]

Yep Cal, I really know what you mean about loving the SL and SL2, I myself is having a love fest with the M8 is just great to get back to Leica again.

Bob,

Hopefully modeling gigs will be a nice payback.

Building out my garage studio and a basement darkroom can get crazy expensive.

As I always say, “The money has to come from somewhere.”

Don’t tell “Maggie,” but if I had my way the Audi would be parked in the driveway so I could have the entire garage as one big studio.

After the upstairs bathroom gets done, the garage is next.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

I got a few deliveries coming in next week and I’m mucho excited. The Robot Royal 36 I bought is ex/mint condition. These cameras are known to be mighty sturdy and are called clockwork cameras because of the precision in their build. I learned that the spring motor is good for up to 12 exposures in the Royal 36.

I have a new pair of handlebars coming in for the Ti Basso to make it even more of a “Newsboy.” With the retro polished titanium finish it is a loud looking and perhaps a bit ghetto in look, so it already has a lot of “Calzone Factor.” Pretty much the new handlebars is over the top. Although tricked out with an 11 speed XTR drivetrain it looks and resembles very much a 1950’s bike due to the 26 inch wheels. Today 29’ers dominate the mountain bike arena.

I have some new latex tubes coming to get the Ti IBIS back on the road, but I dropped off a rim from my bike warehouse at A.J.’s to have him build me a 24 inch rear wheel using a White Industry ENO single speed hub I had laying around as a spare. The idea is to do something kinda crazy and unconventional and basically build a 3x1 or 2x1 mountain bike. It is a spin on a joke I said to this girl in the Hamptons on a ride, somehow in conversation I called my steel IBIS my “Slow Bike” which I kinda presented as a luxury. It was a funny moment.

In the past I created a 42/32/22 3x1. It shifted rather well and was mucho sturdy and I had a nice range of gears. The steel IBIS presently has a 31.25 inch gear, which is comparable to gentle walking speed. Kinda like taking short steps there is a serious limit to top speed. As we go higher with gearing the “stride” increases. On road bikes top gear can exceed 120 inches, meaning each turn of the peddles moves you forward more than ten feet.

Kinda exciting in a dangerous way when you get to about 50 MPH say on a paved road on a road bike in an aero position on skinny tires. Consider that you could be sitting on a bike that weighs 15-16 pounds and at high speeds things can start to resonate and become unglued in a surprising way. Most of the time resonance can be removed by shifting your weight backwards slightly. Pretty easy to do 50 MPH on a long downhill, drag limits your speed, so I consider 50 MPH as “Terminal Velocity.”

On mountain bikes say on a dirt road the fatter tires, less aerodynamics, and increased rolling resistance drops down the terminal velocity down to around 45 MPH, still pretty fast.

So imagine on having to turn on a bike at high speed. Pretty easy to crash and burn. A pothole, a patch of gravel, some accumulated sand, some dead road kill…

So I’m going in the opposite direction and am building a “slow bike.” Anyways the steel IBIS already is a slow bike, and the fun and challenge is to clean climbs and obstructions by staying on the peddles while defying gravity and momentum with balance. These types of rides involve fast twitch muscles and strength to apply high torque and power abruptly.

So some obsessive thinking got involved. About 50 gear inches is a BMX race gear, and for mountain bike single speed racing about 52 inch gear is favored. Meanwhile trials gearing generally is 30 inch gear, so I figure if I use a 20 tooth rear freewheel I can get a 52.5/40/30 three speed on the steel IBIS using a 42/32/24 chainring setup. Mucho clever in a Devil Christian kinda way.

So pretty much I am making a bike to ride at Blue Mountain. It will be a sturdy bike. In the past the earlier experiment with a 42/32/22 maxed out my chain tensioner, and pretty much the geometry created a slack/loose chain condition where on occasion would cause dropping the chain. Not a good thing, and for safety, I abandoned this gearing. I figure the next size up chain ring will not be at the limit of capacity and will also provide a tighter chain.

When the bike is leaned the actual weight of the chain moves either towards the tire or away from the tire, and this movement can cause the chain to get dropped. Loosing a chain can cause a crash or injury, not good. Anyways I hope I can work this out because a 3x1 is very low maintenance and very simple.

If the three speed does not work out, I kinda know then a two-speed 34/24 will give me a 42.5 to 30 inch gear spread. Not too shabby.

Anyways still kinda crazy riding an old retro rigid at Blue Mountain because it is so rocky and technical. “Crazy is good,” I say.

I wonder how many of us photographers are OCD? Anyways we create our own universe to dwell in, and I think this tendency can be an asset.

I apologize to anyone who struggled with reading this post. The purpose was not to give you a headache, and understand this was just an expression of both creativity and madness.

Also know I wanted to polish my chops because formally back at Grumman my second job there was as a technical writer. Pretty much I worked on mostly the A6 Intruder and EA6 electronic jamming weapon systems. How crazy is that?

Cal

 

[Range-rover]

Wow I've been busy on the Audio front I kinda finished my restoration of the Fisher X202-C I have, had to get a new power transformer made
for it and it pretty much done, still have to clean the RCA jacks in the rear and adding vintage 7591 tubes all original Westinghouse, so far the
sound with analog is in another world, next is my solid state system separate amp, preamp should be good different than the all tube Fisher.

 

[jsrockit]

I got a few deliveries coming in next week and I’m mucho excited. The Robot Royal 36 I bought is ex/mint condition. These cameras are known to be mighty sturdy and are called clockwork cameras because of the precision in their build. I learned that the spring motor is good for up to 12 exposures in the Royal 36.
Cal

More Robots, Less Bikes! 😉 Joking... I'm just excited to hear more about the Robot once you have it.

 

[Calzone]

More Robots, Less Bikes! 😉 Joking... I'm just excited to hear more about the Robot once you have it.

John,

I’m excited about the Robot also. I have to deplete my stockpile of film, which is my next goal.

Today we shot using the self timer on the CL and a tripod. Pretty much even in Peekskill I can find a gritty spot with character. Not as much filth and litter like NYC though, but I still live in a city.

I mentioned how the township of Cortlandt which comprises of many small towns that surround Peekskill to a friend, are really the suburbs of Peekskill which clearly is a city because of its population density.

Housing stock in Peekskill now is slim pickings, and many condos are being offered as an unload. Pretty much low taxes or lower taxes in Peekskill which I love. When I mention how low my taxes to others who live in Westchester it creates “You-suck-factor.”

25K-26K people in 4 square miles is pretty dense, but I have two building lots and privacy on the southern end of the city. Dickey Brook, public land, and wilderness is literally one house away, because that is the end of the city.

I had to set some ground rules about shooting. Pretty much we have to have photo’s to post, so this is work. So pretty much we could jump in the car and do basically a drive by shooting where we find a scene with nice light and pretty much maintain a stockpile of images so there is little stress.

Makes sense to me not to have last minute stress and deadlines. Just trying to uncomplicated things. I think I will bring my camera and shoot for myself, because Maggie does not like to do three-four shots so that she can edit from a small grouping. She ends up getting upset because the wind messed up her hair or that she blinked or closed her eyes when the shutter fired.

She also does not martini glass, meaning shot a wide shot, move closer, and then move closer again. Also she does not move around, bend down, or do some of the climbing I do to get a fresh perspective. I’ll keep these images for me.

I’ll use the excuse of the SL2’s huge files to keep my work private. Another good camera to exclude and privatize my work is my Monochrom

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Wow I've been busy on the Audio front I kinda finished my restoration of the Fisher X202-C I have, had to get a new power transformer made
for it and it pretty much done, still have to clean the RCA jacks in the rear and adding vintage 7591 tubes all original Westinghouse, so far the
sound with analog is in another world, next is my solid state system separate amp, preamp should be good different than the all tube Fisher.

Bob,

I’m a big tube head and analog man. In my garage I’ll surely be setting up my 300B Single-Ended Triode HiFi. Digital printing and music go together.

Cal

 

[Range-rover]

Hey guy's the Create show 2022 has been canceled until 2023 next year, they need more time to make a better experience.

 

[Calzone]

Hey guy's the Create show 2022 has been canceled until 2023 next year, they need more time to make a better experience.

Bob,

What is the “Create Show?”

Cal

 

[jsrockit]

Bob,

What is the “Create Show?”

Cal

Formerly photoplus

 

[Range-rover]

Thanks John it was photoplus and now it's not.

 

[Particular]

Thanks John it was photoplus and now it's not.

They were going to have it in the Navy Yard. I figured I would walk there.

 

[Range-rover]

They were going to have it in the Navy Yard. I figured I would walk there.

Nope, don't walk there. I looked it up when I got the emails and all it was, was ton's of guy's and girls who do tick-tok and other video's on how
the do it.

 

[Calzone]

My research indicates while the Robot Royal 24 was produced from 1957-1969, the Robot Royaly 36 was only made for 4 years from 1955-1959.

So I think I kinda bought a rare camera. So now I’m mighty glad I bought a clean one that is graded at IGOR’s at Exc/mint. It seems I also paid a premium for the 50/2.0 Zeus’s Sonnar. Most Robots come with Schneider lenses.

I kinda knew that my Royal 36 was kinda rare, but now I know it had a rather short production run. When you talk about “Clockwork Cameras” pretty much it is another name for a Robot Camera. Many say that they are undervalued cameras and the quality is up there with Leica.

I am revamping the steel IBIS. I’m going to fit a Rock Shox Judy SL. Kinda funny how the Judy has a loud bright yellow, and know that I had the steel frame of the IBIS powder coated fluorescent orange. My loud color preceded the loud yellow from Rock Shox by a few years back in the day.

The reason I had it powder coated a loud color was not to get shot by deer hunters because we rode on deer trails in the pine barrens.

I’m also using the el cheapo 24 inch rear wheel to build out a 1x11 XTR drivetrain. Somehow I found a 30T chainring that allows me to have a bailout gear around 18 inches for rock crawling gears and steep climbing.

Been cleaning out the basement and organizing the warehouse I assembled down there. Sorting through boxes, getting organized, and condensing space is really productive. Been finding stuff that was lost.

The Creature Junior is coming for breakfast tomorrow. We are all excited about the Critter being born soon. They might have to induce labor early because he already is kinda big.

Yesterday we went to Mount Kisco to pick up some Brown and Jordan old retro lounge chairs for the back-backyard. Mount Kisco where we went has 2 acre zoning and the husband and wife are lawyers. An affluent neighborhood with wonderful country roads that sweep all around. We could only fit one lounger at a time, so I did two trips. Anyways we got a good deal on some old stuff that sells for big dollars. Mucho comfortable and not cheaply built. They likely date back to the 60’s and 70’s.

I love it, especially for no money.

”Maggie” sent 6-7 shots of us using the CL’s self timer to our agent. Pretty much to add to our “book” which is shown to perspective clients. We also made arrangements to use our friend’s store as one of the locations for the interview gig coming up in September.

So now retirement is fun. I kinda “doodle” around kinda playing around with stuff. I looked at my film inventory to try and figure out a plan.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Music set the pace for a relaxing day. September like weather made it pleasant. All I did was work on the steel IBIS rebuilding it into a 1x11 XTR bike with rock crawler gearing, my low gearing with a 30 tooth chainring, and remember it only has a 24 inch rear wheel.

So like the modern bikes it now looks more and more like a motorcycle. Actually it looks kinda crazy and cool at the same time.

Normally the wheels are a 24 inch rear and a 26 inch front, but because I somehow managed to fit wide tires the diameters increased to 25 inch rear and 27 inch front. Considering that my old retro bike has a mucho short wheelbase the larger diameter tires are exaggerated, especially since modern full suspension bikes are elongated.

So this bike kinda looks radical, and is mucho different than anyone ever seen or ever will see pure crazy with an XTR 11-speed drivetrain.

The additional drivetrain and suspension added a lot of weight, remember the bike was a single speed with Trials gearing. I used the $8.00 luggage scale I got at a discount and on sale to weigh the bike without a chain and it is just under 26 pounds, a porker.

So the music made me slow down and removed any sense of urgency. Pretty much I left the “New York State Of Mind” behind. So anyways I learned how to really and totally relax. Total decompression. I felt like a little kid again just playing in my front backyard. Pretty much I was under the pergola using the table on the patio as my workbench. The time passed and before you know it it was time to get ready for dinner.

I cooked up my last batch of ground wild boar and had it some Tort-al-E-knee. Pretty great meal.

Meantime when I checked the mail, I discovered that my new retro 3-speed style handlebars arrived for the Ti Basso Newsboy. I like them mucho. After dinner I’ll see if I need to replace all the control cables for the brakes and shifting. This is highly likely, so it was good I held off on my other buying.

The grand daughter (Creature-Junior) is growing up fast. We see her often and it is a treasure because what we are experiencing are precious moments. In a decade she will be 18 and graduating high school. The days of her being just a child will be in the past rather soon, I realize how fast she is growing up because I see her often and take notice of all the changes.

She still wants me to pick her up and carry her around, but she is not so little anymore. She is small though for an eight year old.

Tomorrow the carpenter will come to finish the kitchen. Not sure he will have enough time to install the new kitchen outside door, perhaps another day…

Seems like all the bike Internet retailers are starting their Labor Day sales early. Thinking about stocking up. A spare rear XTR deraileur is likely a good idea, I’ll buy an extra short cage, but it seems the long cage versions are back ordered or not available. I want a long cage to have a 2x11 capability. More gears is good on long/epic rides.

How about this as a prediction: a long slow motion recession that drags on for a long time that defies anything we have ever experienced. High energy costs could be around for a while, meanwhile global warming gets worse, and heat waves and polar vortexes become worse and more frequent. Pretty much our country, others and the entire world can’t outpace the change that is occurring, and pretty much we are beyond the tipping point and are just spinning our wheels. In fact energy production speeds up global warming…

Did you see that report about the “heat-belts” that are expected to happen?

Cal