Month: August 2020

–Bergeon bezel tool came in. Nice.

–Called 42nd Street Photo, and they said they’d send an email with return label. (!)

–Saw algae in pool; decided not to swim. Took a shower. Gotta chlorinate every other day, so put it on google calendar.

–Roasted caf and decaf beans.

–Took a swim.

–Went to Sunrise farmers market for grapes, pears, tomatoes, melon, etc.

–The Leica C-Lux, in addition to not writing readable RAW files, seems to have issues with jpegs. Plus you can’t put it it in macro mode if it’s set to any RAW output. The C (for example) puts out readable RAW and jpeg files, and you can switch to macro any time. This really sucks, since 20 MP is very nice for zooming and cropping. Further, the tiny C-Lux 3 has to be put in Program mode for macro shots. Thought about reviving the C-Lux 2, but apparently I tossed it along with the Casio Exilim. When will I learn?

–Took a 12-mile bike ride. Bike is sweet.

–Heard from ON1 regarding C-LUX RWL files. Their solution (delete ON1 settings) didn’t work, so sent them a photo for their research. They do seem responsive.

–Took a swim.

–1680 crystal came in. Installed it, and it really improves the watch.

–Celebrated Grace’s 70th birthday with presents and Edible Arrangements stuff from Jan (?).

–Spent much of the day trying to find a photo editor that recognize RWL files from the C-Lux–which produces really sharp photos even at max zoom. Capture One works, but is really sluggish. A couple of others didn’t work. Finally bought ON1 RAW, which claims to handle C-LUX. It doesn’t, though one can set up a preset with a Leica lens correction that seems to work okay. Sent a query to customer support to see if they’ll fully incorporate the camera.

–Took a swim; took a shower.

–Bike stem spacer came in. Way too narrow, though it could be an issue of bizarre steering tube on the Turbo. I just clamped the stem on as high as it would go, and left it open below. Should be fine.

–Put gas in the Honda, got apples and yogurt at Bel Air, got some take-out at Jack’s Urban Eats. Decent food, but a long wait outside.

–Installed new hearing aid batteries around 8 AM.

–Heard beeping while in garage, eventually noticed that the freezer was “in alarm” at 34 degrees. Pushed buttons, unplugged/replugged, and it seems okay (16 degrees after 40 minutes or so. Close one.

–Another do-nothing day.

–Left hearing battery went out around 6 PM.

–Back is still bad.

–Got pork chops, corn, heirloom tomatoes and a portabella mushroom; barbecued them. Dee-lish.

–42nd Street camera is bad, bad news. Leica ordered on the 15th with USPS shipping is now due on the 26th via UPS. Looking for a way to leave lots of negative feedback.

–Took a swim and shower, after taking a painkiller.

–Went to Home Depot for weed/feed and a spreader.

–Made pizza for dinner.

–Got some gout in right second toe, due no doubt to dehydration.

–Swam .5 miles.

–Aztec guy came by at 8:00, repaired leak.

–Took a swim.

–Revived the “great white” Rolex 1680. Swapped the LAWW new hands with the hands from the 5513, successfully, to my great surprise. Don’t know why I was going to abandon it. It did have a newer bezel with luminova pearl, but I put the period-correct bezel on it that I bought recently on eBay. The case is really nice–a little wear, a little polish, but thick crown guards. It also has a same-year (1984) rivet bracelet. And it runs great.

–Went to Bel Air for pork chops, corn, apple strudel. Put some farmers market rub on the chops, ate with a farmers market heirloom tomato–what a feast!

–Repotted a couple of cacti.

–Took a swim in the newly-arrived rash guard sun shirt.

–Bought tomatoes, pears, peppers, onions, artichokes at Sunrise Mall farmers market.

–Read “Heart of Darkness.” Apocalypse Now is almost a scene-for-scene, word-for-word takeoff. The horror, the horror…

–Hot, lazy day.

–1971 Rolex rhodium Datejust was running super-bad. Banged it around some, and it now seems to be running fine. Had thought the rhodium dial was newer, but noticed it said “O T SWISS T O” at the bottom. There’s some controversy about this–could be a “sigma” dial, could just be short for “Or” which is French for gold. For sure, markers, hands and (maybe) bezel are white gold, and these dials only existed in the early 70s. This does not explain why the tritium markers and hands glow like crazy under UV, and fade slowly, as the watch is nearly 50 years old. A mystery…

–Took a swim.

–Sent defective Leica V-Lux 40 back to Russia.

–Got some burger patties and corn at Bel Air for barbecue. Harris Ranch patties were terrible.

–Got scuba tanks filled at Dolphin.

–Took a swim.

–Took a ride. Bike remains sweet.

–Leica V-Lux 40 came in. Could be a nice camera, but has a noticeable dent on the front and (I later noticed) a scratch through the paint on the side. Told seller I want to return it, he’s resisting mightily.

–Took a swim and a shower.

–Got a stiff neck.

–Took a swim.

–Went for a 9-mile ride around the neighborhood.

–Found out that one should release the clutch on the Turbo before trying to get the rear wheel off. It loosens the chain a bit. Also verified there’s no mechanism to lock the derailleur down, as there is in SRAM products (and maybe some Shimanos, just not mine, though the locking pin is there).

–Decided to keep the Leica C-Lux 3. Yes it comes on in snapshot mode, but it takes good pics in that mode (bigger than the 2, perhaps better metered), and program mode is there if needed.

–Made a pizza for dinner with tomatoes and basil. Kinda mushy.

–Took a bike ride, used Turbo on return, averaged > 14 MPH!

–Went to Sunrise Mall farmers market, got lots of tomatoes (and stuff).

–Got some corn at Bel Air, made some good turkey burgers.

–Took Grace shopping at Smart & Final.

–Leica C-Lux 3 came in. Dead mint, but turns out it was (allegedly) designed for a camera-naive segment: it ALWAYS comes on in Snapshot mode, and must be switched to Program mode manually. Unbelievable. Its metering also seems slightly inferior to the C-Lux 2, which is the one I’ll keep.

–Barbecued some chicken and corn. Turned out pretty good.

–Took Sirrus to Mike’s Bike’s Folsom for consignment. They don’t consign. I could have gotten trade-in value the day I bought the Turbo Vado, but now I can only get store credit. This was not well explained at the time. Dropped the Sirrus off at Goodwill.

–Took a swim; took a shower. The Gillette Fat Boy (plus Proraso) with Derby blade continues to shave closer than a Mach 3 and without nicks. I don’t get it: double-edged blades used to cut me to ribbons, and never seemed to shave close.

–Rode the Turbo on JSMBT. No creaks or rattles; 14-15 mph out, 12-13 back. Onboard computer and Mission Control app worked nicely, with slight disagreement on mileage. The nose of the seat rose up, so I degreased the split seatpost and re-tightened. Should not be a problem going forward.

–Took a swim.

–Rode the New Specialized Turbo Vado SL EQ  with Tom in El Dorado Hills. No problem staying up with him. Put the Ritchey adjustable stem on and realized I couldn’t use the Specialized Turbo Connect Display, so took it off and re-mounted the original stem with TCD. There exists a TCD mount for the Ritchey stem, but it’s such a pain to adjust–requires re-aligning the stem every time. Might look for a stem that can be adjusted without loosening the whole thing.

–Took a swim.

–Mowed the lawn.

–Went to Mike’s Bikes in Folsom and bought a Specialized Turbo Vado SL EQ (super-light equipped). Oozes quality compared to the Sirrus X 5.0–cable sheathing and routing, for example. And it gets up and goes. No more hill limitations, or struggling to keep up with Tom.

–Made a pizza with Bel Air refrigerated dough. Quite good.

–Made some strawberry jam. Used Instant Clear Jel, but cooked briefly. Tried to cut sugar, but still too sweet. Also thick, maybe too thick. Will keep adjusting recipe.

–Left hearing aid went out around 8 PM.

–Went to a couple of farm stands and the Sunrise Mall farmers market. Jackpot! Also got some pork chops and potato salad at Bel Air to barbecue. Good stuff.

–Was going to raise the temp on the Cremina, but it seemed to be cycling between .75 and 1 bar, so I left it alone. Somehow can’t get excited about the machine, so will likely sell.

Ordered a Leica from Tamarkind in Chicago and a large gift basket from Corralitos Meats.

–Saw four rats under the (absent) bird feeder behind the pool. Yow!