...Well, just my office. I decided to move it from the front porch to the back room. More space, and I get perfect internet signal back there ever since I bought my Deco 6E mesh system, which has given me trouble-free whole-house (and then some) connectivity for the first time in my internetty life. (Here it is on Amazon, since B&H is closed today). Plus, I'm hoping the dog will get agitated less often, since he won't have a front-row seat to the whole world passing by a few feet from the porch windows. When he does race to the front of the house barking like a maniac, at least I'll be farther away from it.
I'm going to have to take a few days, coming up, because this is going to take a minute.
The crazy quilt of wires on my desk reminds me of a story. In Woodstock, Illinois, where I used to live, there was a plumber who was still working in his mid or late nineties. Unfortunately his real or legal name is unknown to me, so I can't look him up, but he was known in town as "Leaky" Lee. Anyway, when I lived there in the '90s, Leaky had been installing plumbing in the town since the 1930s—I got that straight from the horse's mouth. The downtown area in Woodstock starred in a Hollywood movie once—it was where the movie Groundhog Day was filmed. In addition to the "hotel," really a beautiful 19th-century opera house where Orson Welles got his start in theater as a boy, and the pavilion in the middle of the square where "Phil" brought coffee to the crew every morning—you can see both in the picture below—the town square is lined with 19th-century brick buildings. Many of them had been serviced over the years by Leaky Lee. One large building in particular—it still had a large ballroom on the top floor—had been remodeled, repurposed, and reorganized any number of times. In my day, the ballroom was being used by an antiques dealer, and I'm still glad I didn't succumb to the urge to buy a massive collection of jazz-age 78s I found therefor 10¢ each. Leaky had been rebuilding, fixing, and re-routing the plumbing in that building in resourceful and inventive ways decade after decade. The trouble was that only he knew how it all worked. The system was so complicated, unintuitive, and creative that once he died, no one else could make head or tail of it. The owners of the building soon reached their wits' end, and had to tear out all the old plumbing and start all over from scratch.
Woodstock, Illinois (pronounced ill-i-NOY, for those of
you not from here). Photo from the town website.
I believe the building we're talking about is the big tan one behind the left half of the square, but I might be wrong.
I'm not saying my desk is that bad. But. Like I say, this is going to take a while. I'll probably post tomorrow, but I might be missing in action for a few days next week; the movers come on Tuesday to move furniture. They're also allegedly going to help me build the new standing desk, which arrived in what sounds like 8,000 pieces in a box that looks like it's been on an eternal journey since about the Clinton administration. It is to boxes what Dai Llewelyn is to faces. I'm not saying I'm girding (gurning?) for failure, but I'm feeling trepidatious about the project.
Quick, someone tell me what max aperture this FF lens would be on a.) an 8x10 film camera, and b.) a smartphone sensor. Warning: trick question.
Wide Open update
Still working on that piece about shooting wide open. And could be for a while yet—I'm procrastinating, a mode which is dangerous where I'm concerned. Meanwhile, take a look at this new ƒ/1.2 lens from Sigma. (B&H usually has more complete info.) What do you think? Do lenses like that appeal to you? It's said to weigh less than "competing" lenses. I thought the point of such lenses is to be bigger, heavier, and more expensive, not less of anything. No? What was that Zeiss lens that was as big as a melon? That was the killer app for a while as I recall. Oh yeah, the Otus 55mm. The Nikkor Z lens actually weighs more! Nikon wins. I can see wanting one of these, although I don't. (I'd get this instead of the Otus.) Those big lenses would be a lot of fun, though, for those for whom big and fast is fun.
Tennis update
Lastly: I jinxed poor Jannik Sinner. He lost to Tsitsipas today. @#%! Here's what Andy Roddick has to say about Sinner's year so far. Andy Roddick is a great commentator—he's thoughtful, analytical, articulate, and funny to boot. Roddick was the long-ago last gasp of United States dominance in men's tennis. We once led the world, with Connors and McEnroe in my era, then Sampras and Agassi in the next—but, as of right now, Andy was the last U.S. man to win a major, and that was more than 20 years ago now. France and Australia have suffered longer droughts. The UK was once like the Chicago Cubs of tennis (the Chicago Cubs endured a lack of championships that lasted 108 years, the longest drought in any North American sport), but then the great Scot Sir Andrew Barron Murray OBE came along—and "all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well"*. Britain can go another 40 years now without another men's major winner, just cruising on the glory of Murray. And who knows how long the US will have to go. It's curious that tennis dominance seems to locate distinctly in nations or regions and that these shift around.
I was really rooting for Sinner, but Tsitsipas cracked the code somehow. Any given day, and all that. It was Sinner's second loss of 2024. So funny that when you're a sports fan, you actually care enough that you can feel it. That's a mystery of the human psyche if there ever was one. I'm like a Greek foot soldier cheering Achilles. But why? My life doesn't depend on Sinner being a winner. Speaking of droughts, my friend Eddie, before his Red Sox broke their long drought (86 years), used to have to leave the room whenever the opposing team was at bat. He could only bear to watch when the Sox were up. When the Yankees were up and there was crowd noise, he would yell to his wife from the next room: "What happened? What happened?!"
When I teased him about it he would say, "you don't know the power of the curse," somber as a judge**.
Well, I guess I have to get back to work on the big move now...rats....
Mike
[CORRECTION: There was a glitch in the upload of both illustrations on Friday. Only part of each illustration was visible. Both should be fixed now. Sorry for the error.]
*That's from The Revelations of Divine Love by Mother Julian of Norwich, repurposed by T.S. Eliot in Four Quartets. One of those incantatory memes that pops to mind often for me, for whatever unknown reason.
**Baseball references for Darlene.
Original contents copyright 2024 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. (To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below or on the title of this post.)
Featured Comments from:
Albert Smith: "I had an experience with movie filming using local locations that would be lost on anyone but the people who lived there, and it became pretty meta. There was an '80s movie with Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase called Spies Like Us. In the middle was a scene involving a drive-in theater which was cover for a secret underground facility. I was living in the desert outside of Los Angeles and went to see this movie at the Lancaster Drive-In, without knowing that it was the filmed location for this scene. Even in a car in a full parking area, you could hear the audible gasps followed by car horns when the people realized they were in the very drive-in that they were seeing on the screen."
Mike replies: That's one of those serendipitous stories I've always liked...wonderful...."
David Drake: "Mike, the lens would have the same max aperture on both. Hah! All the best on your big move."
Mike replies: You are correct sir.
darlene: "Lovely story, Mike. Best wishes with everything, and I trust your desk will meet all your expectations and requirements.
"As for the Red Sox...I photographed Jason Varitek's first wedding. Varitek, the Red Sox captain from 2005 to 2011, played for the Seattle Mariners when I met him. He tied the knot with a gal from Atlanta."
[Ed. note: See Darlene's followup in the full Comments Section.]
Keith: "It might be too late for this advice. Whenever taking apart some wired system that is currently working, with the plan to move it elsewhere and set it up again, there is a sanity-saving trick. Before you unplug anything, get a roll of tape and a pen. Label each wire with a number on a piece of tape. Put that number on a piece of tape beside where the wire plugs in. If necessary draw a little map or take a photo of the place where the wires go. Do all the wires, even the ones that you think you will obviously remember, because you won't. Bonus points if you mention which end plugs in to what component, just so you don't get all panicky because the plug doesn't go."
Mike replies: Not only is it not too late, but you (I believe it was you—I haven't checked) gave me the same advice last time I moved my office, and I remember it from then.
Couldn't resist this comparison, 9/1956 release Canon LTM 50/1.2 and 60 years later release Oly 25/1.2.

The new Sigma Art is fascinatingly similar to the Oly 25/1.2 Pro. They are the same price. The Oly has more elements, fewer blades, is smaller and weighs half as much. Both designed for artful rendering.
Sigma - Olympus
50mm f/1.2, 25mm f/1.2
Art Lens, PRO Lens
Price $ 1,399, 1,399
Focal Length 50mm, 25mm (35mm Equivalent: 50mm)
Maximum Aperture f/1.2, f/1.2
Minimum Aperture f/16, f/16
Lens Format Coverage Full-Frame, Micro Four Thirds
Angle of View 46.8°, 47°
Minimum Focus 15.7" / 40 cm, 11.81" / 30 cm
Maximum Mag 0.16x, 0.11x (FF eq 0.22x)
Optical Design 17/12, 19/14
Diaphragm Blades 13, Rounded, 9, Rounded
Focus Type Autofocus , Autofocus
Image Stabilization No, No
Filter Size 72 mm (Front), 62 mm (Front)
Dimensions (ø x L) 81 x 108.8 mm, 70 x 87 mm
Weight 745 g, 410 g
Posted by: Moose | Saturday, 13 April 2024 at 07:21 PM
I know the White Sox mean nothing to you North (far North in your case); but the Sox did win the World Series in 1917 and then in 2005. It is a bit disingenuous to say “Chicago endured a lack of championships that lasted 108 years.”
Posted by: Kosch | Saturday, 13 April 2024 at 09:56 PM
What a great opportunity to simplify that rats nest of cables down to one.
When my wife wants to 'go mobile', I just unplug a single USB-C cable from her laptop and her fully featured desktop system is now untethered.
That one cable charges her laptop, connects monitors, keyboard, conference camera and on and on.
Such an elegant, well built solution.
For a paltry AUD$65 (what, like $42 US?)
WAVLINK USB C Hub Triple Monitor - Laptop 12-in-1 Docking Station, Multiport Adapter with 4K HDMI, Dual 8K DP, 100W PD, 10Gbps USB3.1, USB2.0, RJ45, SD/TF Slots, Audio/Mic, for MacBook/Dell/HP/Lenovo
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0CQNCZZSZ?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1
Posted by: Kye Wood | Sunday, 14 April 2024 at 03:50 AM
Regarding the trick question, it is my belief that the max aperture of the 50mm Sigma 1:1.2 lens is 41.66 mm. This will not change irrespective of the sensor size.
In its strict sense, aperture means physical size.
With all due respect, it is a poorly worded question, IMHO.
[Yes, this was a reference to a discussion from a week or two ago. See the post "f/1.7 is f/1.7 (Don't Be a Looser)" from April 2. --Mike]
Posted by: Nick Reith | Sunday, 14 April 2024 at 05:27 AM
There was a glitch in my previous response. All I can say about being Jason and Karen's wedding photographer is that I am so glad it did not happen when he played for the Red Sox. Knowing The Curse of the Bambino may appear, I cannot imagine how I would have felt being responsible for their Wedding Storybook. Can you imagine the pressure? Me, trying to capture their magical moments while constantly looking over my shoulder for any specter of The Curse sneaking into their wedding album? I dodged a curveball!
I reckon I'm what you'd call a crazed baseball fanatic who's about as composed as a squirrel in a jar of peanuts. I'm a die-hard supporter of the Phillies, Braves, Rays, and my beloved FSU! Go Noles! If you need me during game time, look for the gal painting her face in team colors and yelling at the TV screen—it's likely yours truly! I blame it on genetics, as my Gramps was a Phillies fanatic who spent his afternoons glued to the radio, screaming at the players as if they could hear him. I idolized Gramps, so it's in my blood. At least I don't do drugs!
Posted by: darlene | Sunday, 14 April 2024 at 11:02 AM
f1.2 - the physical characteristics of a lens do not change based on what it is shining on.
Posted by: Steve Deutsch | Sunday, 14 April 2024 at 11:15 AM
PS - don't be a looser haha
Posted by: Steve Deutsch | Sunday, 14 April 2024 at 11:21 AM
Hi Mike. Good luck with the move. It’s a well known fact that cables clone themselves. I’ve reorganised my workplace three times in past year or so and each time I’ve had multiple leads left over. 3 printers, midi/dac and audio amplifier (Hifi) setup, streamdeck, Wacom, 2 monitors, usb hub with charging ports, Ethernet switch and so on. Then the temporary things like monitor calibrator and backup drives. Various chargers for cameras etc. Wireless, paperless office-hah! Please et us know how many spare cables you end up with.
Posted by: Ger Lawlor | Sunday, 14 April 2024 at 06:01 PM
That lens will be a f/1.2 lens. But I'm waiting for paragraphs of drivel from the equivalence guys.
Posted by: BG | Monday, 15 April 2024 at 12:11 AM