–Took Grace shopping at Bel Air. Spent > $200 for not a ton of groceries.
–Painted the Leica “soft touch” shutter button with Krylon black lacquer. Came out fine, but not as glossy as I had hoped.
Month: February 2024 (Page 3 of 3)
–Another rainy day.
–While trying (and failing) to use a diamond-loaded strop to hone a Shamwari, I put a couple of large scratches on the blade rubbing it with a cloth that had picked up some diamonds. Tried half-heartedly to save the blade, but ruined it. This was the Shamwari that came with issues, was “repaired” by Bull, and re-anodized by Ted Rooney. Good riddance.
–Frozen dinners tonight.
–Went to the dentist for “cleaning.” One month after 2 crowns and a cavity, 2 more cavities (one of which may need a crown) and filling replacement. Grrr…
–Put gas in the Honda.
–Took Grace shopping at Smart & Final.
–Red Baron for dinner.
–Rain and wind all day. Back gate blew open, breaking the tree branch with the bungee cord. I put three bungee cords around the tree trunk; it’s holding.
–Was reminded again that the M9 won’t focus with adapted lenses that don’t couple with the rangefinder–Biotar and Zeiss 85mm, for example. They would focus on the M11 using live view, but not in the viewfinder. Decided (for now, as usual) to go with the CL, which offers magnified viewfinder focus for any lens, native or adapted. Hoping the Paul Smith CL is as mint as was claimed in the eBay ad.
–Took a shower and shave. N of 1, but the Gillette Spoiler blade that came with a razor was pretty darn nice.
–Picked up leather strop at UPS. Quick test did nothing. Also got the third GE toaster oven. This one is in extremely nice shape AND IT WORKS! With a bell even when toast is done.
–Cleaned up paperwork, scuba stuff. Did some quick testing of small Leicas. The 007 D-Lux 7 seems fine compared with another D-Lux 7 and a C-Lux.
–Picked up the chromed Tekna regulators from Sherm’s. Nice work. Spent a LONG time this evening putting them together–lots of free-flow issues. Had to use parts from the eBay plastic Tekna that came in today–body was cracked, but innards were okay. Lost a circlip.
–Second set of Jubilee links for the Datejust came from Wholesale Outlet on eBay. Like the first, they didn’t fit. Might have to give up.
–Took the Beemer to Hooverville Orchards to get jam and pastries.
–Played with Shamwaris. Turns out you can get just about any Sham (washers or bearings) to have great action if you tighten the pivot properly.
–Got the Leica M9 out (giving up on the M11 for now: seems to be the worst of both worlds: no magic M9 sensor, no DSLR advantages (anti-shake, auto-focus)). Took another “in my room” photo and started working it in Capture One. Disturbingly choppy, especially for a not-that-large file. Dropped Capture One (again), brought back RAW Power and Affinity.
–Got the seller to accept return of the Leica M10-R. Boxed it and mailed it out.
–Left hearing aid battery died around 8 PM (5+ days).