b16a2

@Teejay - it was your post a few weeks back that inspired me to post the pictures. It's nice to see different areas of the world from the point of view of regular tourists rather than through the eyes of independant internet sites (and some not so independant)

@Steve52 - it is definitely a very nice place. The great thing is, if you want a cheapish holiday, you can stay in somewhere like Qawra which is slightly cheaper than staying in somewhere like St Julians, Valletta, or Sliema, but still only be 20 minutes or so away from these places. It is ideal. We spent

Last week I set off on my first expedition of the summer. The destination of choice was Malta. I had heard great things about this picturesque island, and I was very excited to be visiting it.

When you first arrive at the island you can see the heavy influence of the UK during its reign. In 1964, Malta gained independence from the UK, but most of the road sign are English, and most of the population speak English.

Malta is now a member of the EU, and no longer uses Lira, the currency is now the Euro. The main industries of the tiny island are shipping, electronics, and of course

@b16a2, actually it's been fairly well documented that it was actually MJ who provided the enquirer with the story and pics of the hyperbolic chamber. He actually went out of his way to promote his bizarre behavior.

But this proves my point completely......different sources, different slants on what happened.

Anyway, I'm not looking to preach and convert people here, I just wanted to put forward my opinions.....basically that the media industry really annoys me

Hopefully we can all come together as one and agree that for the music and entertainment industry, this is a sad day, and we have lost a unique talent who revolutionised how people perceive entertainment.

Over and out

I am not a parent myself, but I can imagine the bond that one has with a son or daughter. If someone genuinely believed that their son or daughter had been molested, an out of court settlement would not suffice to get justice. The allegations were brought by parasites who wanted a portion of his fortune.

Michael was acquitted by a jury who was under the pressure of stereotypical media coverage, and were probably also parents themselves. As a someone who has studied law, I have had first hand experience of people who have been affected by paedophiles. Even if people haven't been directly affected, it is quite possibly the one type of person that human nature resents. A jury would not have acquitted him if there was any shade of evidence showing he had acted inappropriately with children.

The media ruined this man. The Martin Bashir documentary was heavily biased and once Michael released the unedited frames, it showed the real context of some of his comments. Stories such as him sleeping in a air tight container are all fabrications by employees of coroporate media companies who have nothing better to do than make money out of selling rubbish. He got in there for a laugh, and they construed his comments completely out of context to portray him as a strange person.

I choose to form my views from articles published by people who have nothing to gain from Michael's wealth. Reputable people who knew him well, Diana Ross, Uri Gellar, Quincy Jones....they all stated what a genuine and sincere man he was. It is a dangerous thing to form your opinions based on media coverage by companies that thrive on placing someone on a pedastal and then finding anything they can to bring them down. That's what the media does, if they didn't, they wouldn't make money. They fabricate STORIES. They don't report facts, they report news.

The media has now done a complete 360, reporting what a terrible tragedy his death is and how talented he was. If anything has made me realise just what a fickle place the world can be, then the death of Michael Jackson is that catalyst to my realisation.

Rant over, I'm off to bed now

Having been a Michael Jackson fan from a very young age, I am absoultely devastated at this. I don't care what anyone says, he was the best entertainer the world has ever seen. No one else will have such a far reaching impact on the world that he has had.

As for the controversy in his life, the media is an absolute @rse. People should not condemn him based on reports in the news. If you don't read the news you are uninformed, if you read the news you are misinformed. We cannot and should not make conclusions on his life, nor conclude thoughts about his life on what we read in the papers.

I hate the way the media has treated him over the years and have now done a complete 360 by celebrating what a fabulous talent he was. If they had recognised this and focused on his talents over the past few years rather than condemn him and spread vicious rubbish around like he is a play thing, he might still be with us today.

RIP Michael, my thoughts and prayers aree with your family, you are going to be missed by the world!

Love it! Breitling Avengers look so good on a NATO!

There are 3 makers of this watch. The one that you quote is the inferior product. Go for the 400USD model. That's the best on the market.

Cheers T!

I think this is the one by the looks of it....

http://ptswiss.com/product_info.php?cPath=...3a3b11bfc943414

Currently in discussions for an order

Thanks for all of the input, I am on the cusp of buying one. Takashi, I now have to make a choice between two though

Can I just confirm that this is the predecessor to the 'Ultimate'. The case looks shiny, and the datefont doesn't look correct....don't want to order the wrong one

http://www.timeshops.net/IWC5389_-_IWC_CER...0_1907-3766.htm

J what a great review..i wish i could post reviews like yours mate!!!

Although i am not a great fan of the AP i read the review cause i know

you always deliver well documented reviews.

Thanks for your time and effort James

Don't stop keeping us all informed and educated with your

thing!!!

John

John, thank you for the such kind words! I really enjoy writing reviews of watches, and unfortuantely I have run out of incoming watches, so I won't be able to write any for a while....best get that plastic out

As for the durability, I don't have any first hand experience of the before and after results. However, from much reading, I could confidently say that there has been an improvement from the old peeling rubber bezel that first came on the Rubberclad. I don't know how much more durable it is, but since they updated it, there haven't been as many (if any) problems of the bezel peeling away.

The Review

I remember first setting my eyes on the Rubberclad AP ROO and actually enjoying the sight. The contrast of the black rubber with the stainless steel gives it a very rugged look, whilst the lighter coloured subdials give it a slightly retro look, similar to the Navitimer (which I adore) and the porthole shape gives it a really unique look.

One thread a while ago asked us to put photos of our grail sports watches in there. If money were no object, the AP ROO would be my daily sports watch. Unfortunately, the list price being at approximately $21,000 doesn

@ By-tor thanks for clarifying that. I agree with your comments too, it is a much more classy watch in comparison to the other two in my collection!

@ Ammandel - yes the polished rim on the bezel looks great, it's something I never noticed until you pointed it out! A subtle, but nice touch to add an air of presence to the watch!

@ JMarin - I reall ylook forward to seeing the finshed product And thank you once again for letting me use that picture!

@ Stephane - Thanks It is a shame as the non engraved ones are harder to get hold of now, but they do crop up now and again. I'l keep my eyes peeled for one for you!

Another excellent review and another potential watch for my wrist!

Do it, it is a great watch! If you want to 'try before you buy' shoot me a PM and Il pop into town with it if you like!

superb ! thanks a lot !

how would you rate the overall feel / quality

between WM2 and Noobfactory ?

cheers,

Frank

I was hoping no one would ask me this question

I find myself much more attracted to the Submariner purely from an aesthetical point of view.

In terms of quality and build quality they are very close. The WM9's clasp is much better, and the SEL's feel more secure to the case and Im not sure if it's because I prefer the Sub, but the WM9 does have an air of genuiness about it (I would put this down more to psychology than build quality though). Apart from that, if I were to rate the WM9 at 10/10 as a benchmark, the Noob Explorer would come in at 9/10.

The Noob is amazing, but the WM9 is just about perfect.

Its an ETA IHS. It originally came from Bk with the full package including the datewheel being reglued. Just needs a gen crown and it's good to go!

The movement is running very nicely. I unwrapped it, set the time and as soon as it was on my wrist the movement was already ticking without a hand wind.

First of all, a big thanks to Boston (RWI) for a flawless transaction. Posted in the US on Saturday, arrives in the UK on Wednesday morning

Well Il join all the Explorer dwellers with this. It arrived today, and I'm loving it. My second Rolex in three years! (both bought within two weeks of each other )

I would see if you can contact the seller and arrange e return and refund.

If they refuse, go straight to Ebay. opefully you'll have records of the conversations between you and the seller which you can provide as proof.

Fingers crossed for you Laz!

Hi Mate,

I see you have found yourself a nice seamaster. She looks great, I hope you will wear her well. You're ex. PO 45mm shines at me almost every day.

Br. JHM

Hey, yes I got one in the end. Hope you're enjoying the PO

I use a

Feels like a day to brandish the Omega

Like Hooky has mentioned, it might just need a little more time. If he has other work on at the moment too, it might just be a case of time constraints.

If not, we have a pretty good UK standing now, so Im sure we could arrange for a member to meet and get the goods back if it does hit the fan .

Hopefully it won't come to this though.

Sorry to hear of this, it is such a shame when this happens.

I think more often that not it is because the modders underestimate what an influx of work they will get, and how time consuming it will actually be.

Does anyone know where he is actually based - no publishing of addresses btw please, just wondering whereabouts in the UK he is, as in North, South etc...

Nice shot! What have you placed the Skyland on? There is a touch of a reflection in the surface, but not an obvious one..I like that alot

lol that means we can go to the moon by just stacking all the waiting lists together? ok i dont make sense but still i just finished 10 hrs worth of studying today (for an exam) if i dont make sense u can forgive me

I know what you mean, hope the studying and exams are going well!

the 4th gens are hard to come by...most of the versions out now have He valve positioning problems.

I hear that Sead over at repgeek may have the 4th gen but its >300.

I saw a few pictures of Sead's by a member who had just bought one, it's definitely the same as the 4th gen that was originally available. So Im not sure if they have started making them again, or maybe there was a stock room with some in there or not, as I was under the impression they had stopped making them?

Ubi you read my mind At the OP, you have a PM!