Pugwash

Don't worry, I'm not that stupid.

He's lost 400 already and another 400 would make it 800.

It's ok, I've already been to third-world and developing countries. I don't need my eyes opening.

That has to be the worst understanding of American history I've ever seen, and I'm British! You introduced the right to bear arms in 1789, well over a decade after you stopped being a colony.

Well, thanks for wishing me harm. How many did you have to shoot?

It's called Europe and a lack of right-to-bear-arms means that our criminals don't all have guns. You need them because anyone can get them. It's a proliferation issue. In Europe, if you have a gun, you're either in the armed forces, law-enforcement or you're a criminal. It's really that simple. The penalty for carrying a gun is so high that it turns a petty crime into a potential life sentence, even if you don't use the gun. If you never had a right-to-bear-arms, you'd not be in this situation right now. But, because you have that right, you need to exercise it.

Ah, but Neil was not in MBK. He was on the end of a phone.

Ok, for those who have been missing my photos for the last few weeks, you may have been aware that I was in Thailand for a few weeks. For anyone that cares, here's my "What I did on me holidays me" secondary-schoolesque holiday report. My Planet-Ocean-Owning Brother lives in Bangkok, which gives me the prime opportunity to visit every couple of years and call it a family thing. This is my second visit and my first since I've got into replica watches. The first visit (Oct 2004) was when I got my taste of reps with a shitty patpong datejust that I actually liked and that eventually led me here. - Bangkok - So, I arrived and heard we were off to see the bridge on the River Kwai. Nothing like forced labour to show what man is capable of, even if it's just a train bridge. - The Bridge On The River Kwai - We then took a high-speed trip on the river in a Long-Tailed Boat and saw a monkey school, some other boats, our lives flashing before our eyes, some gorgeous forests and finally dry land. - A local shop - We spent a night in a gorgeous hotel and had a great dinner. Cheap, good, etc. Upon returning to Bangkok, we planned our next trip which was to Pattaya and my brother took me to MBK, a large shopping centre with loads of watch stalls; replicas, imports, second-hand ... and there I saw a MoonWatch and a few other fancy watches, and as I was at the good stall, there was a farang (western) bloke next to me looking at an Orange Monster, which I liked. He then called his pal to see if the price was good and decided against buying it. I bought some 20mm and 22mm spring bars and some cheap straps. Next, we went to Pattaya for some beach fun. Day one, we arrived, I crashed out from jet-lag and we never made it to the girly shows or Walking Street. Day two, we got in a boat and went to an island ... - an island, yesterday - Swimming in the sea with my Seiko 100M diver's watch was fun, but upon getting out of the sea, I realised it wasn't at all water-tight and it had let water in. Bugger. That night, I got in touch with Narikaa and arranged to have a couple of beers. Upon meeting him, we chatted and chatted and sank some beers. He's a decent bloke and doesn't look anything like you expect him to. Something was niggling me about him though, like I recognised him from somewhere. Then, later on, he mentioned he was looking at a Seiko Monster recently once I'd told him my sad Seiko story. That's when it hit me. Two days previously, in a different city, I was standing right next to him. The friend he was calling for the price? Obviously, it was TTK, as anyone lesser wouldn't have been as incredibly unlikely. - Pattaya sweatshop workers cheer and smile - After another day doing ... stuff, My brother and I met up with TTK himself and had a great banter on about all manner of things, including the selection of amazing replicas Neil had brought in a briefcase. These were to be the only decent replicas I'd see throughout my entire Thailand holiday. You'll notice that I have no photos of either Reg or Neil. This is intentional as it's not my place to 'out' contraband dealers on the internet. Needless to say, Reg is distinctive and Neil is distinguished and both of them are thoroughly decent blokes I'd be happy to call my friends. - More Bangkok - Upon returning to Bangkok without having seen any of the rude bits of Pattaya, I had to go watch shopping to replace the diver and I decided to get the Orange Monster that Reg turned down as a reminder of the whole coincidence. - Monster! - I wore the Orange Monster to the Seiko Service Centre when I took my SKX031 in to be waterproofed. - Seiko Cuties! - ... and that's part-one of my trip. I'm sure part-two, with its tales of crappy market stalls, temples and amazing genuines will be less interesting as I've just told you everything that happens.

I'll bring mine to the next Paris meet ...

Not bad at all!

I have decided: I don't regret getting mine at all. It's a good-looking watch and it keeps good time in spite of the seconds hand. In fact, the second hand appears to be less jerky than it was a few weeks ago when I first got it. Sure, it's potentially problematic, but it's gorgeous! I had a genuine on my wrist a week ago and the replica is damned close. I'm not going to worry about mine until it dies.

I think you're the one doing the filling in.

I'm more interested than I thought I would be! If they're not horrendously priced, I may need one.

Richard, come on down. Your video has been discovered again.

The AR is the biggest tell. The gen dial looks so black because of it, and the hint of blue coating is quite noticeable.

I just spent two weeks with my brother and his gen 45mm PO. I assure you that anyone worth their salt can spot a replica from a mile away.

I've been waiting for this review and it's a little depressing as I have one that's working ok and I'm now concerned about longevity. Mine runs ok, but the second-hand sometimes drags.

If you're looking at your own messages, you don't get the menu as you can't reward your own posts.

See? Something we agree on at last. I still don't see the appeal of big guns at home or pet attack dogs, let alone the need, yet I see BSL as stupid as well.

It pains me to adblock that but ... plonk!

Reposted from RWI (Thu Mar 23, 2006), the thread where I first coined the term Noobmariner: http://replica-watch.info/forum/viewtopic.php?t=486

I'd do it apart from the fact I don't like modern PAMs ... oh, and I know nothing about them.

Rolex make 850,000 watches a year, most of which are day-dates, datejusts, etc. The non-datejustesque watches are made in tiny qualtities compared.

It was originally bred as a fighting dog. The American Pit Bull Terrier was bred from English and Irish Terriers and Bulls. Bulldogs were not only farm dogs but were bred for Bull-Baiting. Pit Bulls were bred for pit-fighting, adding terrier to the bulldog as bulldogs diodn't want to fight each other. The name really does say it all. Once the US started to expand west, the dogs were then taken to the farms where they had the owner-killing beaten and culled out of them, as is the norm with all breeds. Now, this very history is what makes the kind of person you don't want owning this kind of dog want to own this kind of dog. Sure, BSL is stupid, but we put the killer in the breed and have been trying to dial it out and back in and out again for centuries.

Yes. That's half the point.