jkerouac

I agree, particularly with your final paragraph. I'd love to read a good, nonpartisan analysis of the politics of divisivness and how it evolved. I don't agree that Hollywood and the "mainstream media" are the problem, although at times they make convenient foils. I'd also like to see fresh definitions of what it means to be "conservative" and what it means to be "liberal." HBO ran a biography of Barry Goldwater recently (filmed by his granddaughter, so it is mostly adulatory). Goldwater is considered by many to be the father of modern conservatism, yet it is interesting to note that he was pro freedom of choice in respect to abortion, and he was tolerant (for the time) of gay rights -- both positions that would probably make him anathema to the conservative wing of the Republican party today. And if George Bush is a conservative, then what the !#%* has he done to maintain the sound economic foundation that was handed to him by the previous administration? [censored] it away with reckless financial/tax policies that in my opinion are the farthest thing from conservative (unless, of course, you get to promote your own tortured definition of what conservatism means). I don't consider today's "social conservatives" to be conservative at all. The religious right wants to impose its will on the rest of the country. In my opinion, they are the true 20% as alluded to in Watcher's post. It is ironic at a time when we are fighting Islamic extremists, but in their own way I consider the religious right in the US to be the "American taliban" and much more of a threat to this country than the NY Times, Washington Post, or even Hollywood. Is the religious right conservative? Not in my book. They are the true radical extremists.

I don't recall the "mainstream media" calling this movie a fabrication. I do recall them saying that certain key events were distorted. I also seem to recall the bipartisan chairs of the 911 comission distancing themselves from some of these distortions. Does "mainstream media" distort the truth? Perhaps, but probably no more than "conservative media" such as Fox. (And in my book Fox today is as "mainstream" as NBC or the NY Times, so that "mainstream" label doesn't count for much.) History, especially history that is happening as one speaks, is complex, and I don't believe there is one absolutely true interpretation of that history. Politicans and political parties twist and spin that history to thier advantage. Some politicans and parties have done a better job of twisting than others. That doesn't make them right. The current administration has distinguished itself by twisting and spinning more outrageously than their predecessors. Were opportunities missed by the Clinton administration? Almost certainly, but that in no way diminishes the travesty of decision-making exhibited at almost every point by Bush, Rumsfeld, Chaney, and their cronies. They had the indecent nerve to accuse anyone who disagreed with them of being like apologists for Hitler or Stalin. What unmitigated gall! If anything, I see the administration henchmen as quasi fascists and the people who truly hold them up to scrutiny as the true patriots. In most cases swings from conservative to liberal and vice versal correct these extremes. Unfortunately I fear that this administration has bulloxed the world situation so badly that not even the most brilliant successor administration, whether repub or democrat, can repair the damage. Why did they do it? Because they are heavy on idealogues, and to cement their political power by cultivating fear and arrogance among the American people. Too often we still debate whether we should have gone into Iraq or not. Bucky, that ship has sailed. It's history. Whether we should have gone or not is somewhat irrelevant. The question is, how do we get out with a modicum of grace, minimizing the damage that has been done, and setting the stage for a gradual betterment of the international political scene. Trying to pin the primary blame on Clinton is a grand evasion and beside the point. Politics as usual, in my opinion, and not a very good portent for moving forward toward a better future.

Ditto on the fake chronos. I won't touch them. Mediocre bracelets are also up there, but in this case it depends on how much the rep costs and whether the bracelet can be swapped out for a nice leather band.

Over time I have tended to group my watches in the following categories Work-week: Four watches, which I rotate on a weekly basis Week-end chores and sports -- Two watches, but I tend to wear the less expensive for grungier chores such as gardening. Week-end relaxation: three watches Special occasion, such as dressing up for a night at the opera: One watch There is some movement of watches between these categories, but I find that this system helps me spread the available wrist time as best I can. I have a couple of watches that don't really fit into any of these categorie and receive no wrist time. But I can't bring myself to sell them either because they were fairly inexpensive to begin with and I haven't convinced myself that the hassle of selling and shhipping them is worth their value on the market.

24 hours is plenty fair to him, and to you. If I really want a watch, I wouldn't want to lose it. So I would send payment ASAP. And if there is a delay on my end, I would find a way to contact you with an explanation and asking for an extension. For example, last weekend I saw a new listing that I decided to go for. I got the seller's information, but realized I had (once again) forgotten my paypal password. So I asked them to send me a reminder or password reset link. It didn't come right away, so I decided to try yet antoher password combo -- bingo, I was able to log into paypal. But then my credit card info was not current, so I had to resubmit that information before I was able to send payment. If there had been any longer delay in logging onto paypal, or if there had been a more significant problem with my payment account information (i.e., I was unable to update this info right away) I would have contacted the seller to reassure him that I wasn't just sitting on my hands. Or, if I had to go go away from my computer for whatever reason and would be unable to complete the deal in x amount of time, I would have told him. On the other hand, if I waited two days without contacting him, I would not have been surprised to learn that he had accepted an alternate bid. It would have been fair. Take an extreme example: say my power went out for two-three days. Sure, I would be disappointed to lose my purchase to someone else, but I would not blame the seller.

The Zigmeister, I got to D and realized how much studying I have to do! Thank you very, very much......ah, I think.

They screw on. If they are loose, a tiny bit of locktite might be in order. The first few times I just tried to tighten it by hand without any assist -- the pusher button just worked its way loose again until I finally did the job properly. There are threads on the board that indicate others were not so lucky.... and the dealers were not able to assist them with parts, at least at that time (a few months ago). Cheers.

CC, I have the same watch and love it. Be sure to check that the pushers are securely on their posts. One of mine was loose and fell off several times before I secure them properly. Others have reported the same problem and even lost pushers. Apparently they are not easy to replace, so it is much better to take preventive measures rather than play the odds. In any case, I look forward to hearing your followup review comments.

I'm coming up on my second anniversary in RWG I and II (next month, to be exact)and I have to admit that I'm probably still a lot closer to newbie status in knowledge than "expert." What is interesting to me is how much I learn by going back to old threads that I probably read a year or more ago but that I am better able to appreciate today. I recently went back and read some pinned threads and thought "Man, this is incredible stuff!" I wonder if true noobies to the neighborhood even appreciate the valuable content that is already here? It's important for veterans to remember this: the number of threads and posts since many of us "old timers" joined is rather imposing (the mods would have the statistics on this). If there were a few thousand threads then, there might be 100,000 or more now. How do you go back through that kind of archive? And models in the rep world evolve rather quickly -- the Sub/YM/Seamaster/110/Santos/etc. that was dissected in detail a year ago may not even be available any more, or has gotten significantly better/worse in the meantime. So how much of the year-old or two-year-old content will even be valid any more? Plus we all live in a fast-paced world. I already spend a lot more time here than I should. When I went on vacation for two weeks, how far do you think I checked back for interesting posts or threads? A: Not very far at all. So if a newbie lands here and sees posts flying every which way, I can well imagine them asking why not just post my question and see what happens. As for pinned posts or links in signatures: Some get more action than others. For example, I read By-Tor's Seamaster thread several times before purchasing my Seamaster GMT, and I've referred back to it several times since. Some information links are more user friendly than others. For example, Pugwash's links are very user friendly. The Zigmeister, although I read every one of your new posts closely, I have to admit that I never read the text or links in your signature until today. I suggest you edit them down to make them more amenable to a quick browse. One final thought: As the forum grows, perhaps we need to think of better ways to capture valuable information and make it accessible to newcomers and veterans alike.

You guys are getting me stoked for tomorrow. But what is the proper watch to wear on Talk Like a Pirate Day?.... A Seamaster? An Overseas? Certainly not a Yachtmaster, nor a Planet Ocean? Perhaps a Portugese or Royal Oak?

All too often it is in some peoples' interests to deliberately misunderstand or misrepresent comments such as the Pope's. It happens internationally, with the radical mullahs, for example, and it can happen within countries, such as when US conservatives misrepresent liberal positions, and vice versa. It's hard to sift through all the misrepresentation and posturing to get to the truth, even when the truth is not hidden in a dense academic speech such as the Pope's. Even reading a newspaper or watching a 30-minute newscast requires a very critical attitude, not unlike when people scrutinize new reps for the tiniest of discrepancies.

Before there was a Santos 100 there was a regular Santos. Is that, perhaps, what you were looking at?

Also, is that a green date wheel?

The best thing this watch has going for it is the Patek name. Otherwise you wouldn't look at it a second time. I examined the Nautilus at an AD that had surprisingly few watches (by rep or advertising I expected them to have a great selection) and the finish was high quality. But I wonder how many people would even look at this watch if it didn't have the PP name. Compare that to many of today's Omegas or IWCs or other top lines where the watches would still look awesome, no matter what brand name it carried.

I asked Joshua about this variation. Here is his response: Hi Rxxx, Have not heard of it yet...Good chance since everything is there already...

I refer to my watch fascination as my "Swiss disease." There aren't a lot of high quality ADs in middle America, where I mostly grew up, but I remember requesting a diver-style watch out of a German "Quelle" catalog (or similar) for my confirmation present. I then received a nice Omega Geneve Dynamic for high school graduation. And the lust for more watches was rekindled every time we visited relatives in Switzerland and Germany. But I couldn't bring myself to spend the money needed for the nicest watches. I came very, very, very close during my last visit to Switzerland two years ago. But I decided to wait until I was home and would be able to shop for the right watch at the best price over the Internet. Alas, I found RWG I and TRC, and instead of saving money on one pretty good genuine, I've spent at leat two, three, or four times that amount on a small drawerful of quality reps. Thanks in part to you, my companions in sin, my watch lust has only grown, not diminished.

[Message deleted]

Seamaster SMP Pro GMT IWC GST chrono Pam 192 VC Overseas RWG Railmaster

Congrats, BP. Both look like great choices and should put a smile on your face for years to come. The Pam is on my candidate list as well, also thanks to Clive. His influence helped sway me to buy an Omega SMP GMT, which has become my primary weekday and travel favorite.

I've been scoping out my next purchase and have been leaning toward something in rose gold or two tone. The most likely candidates have been one of the new two tone Royal Oaks, a rose gold Radiomir, and the rose gold IWC Jones. The Jones is a strong contender and a beauty, but I kind of don't want this watch to have a white dial. So I did a bit more exploring, and came upon a rose gold version of the Portugese Chrono with a black dial. It's Reference IW371415 from IWC: I'm wondering when, or if, our dealers will grace us with this beautiful version of the extremely popular Portugese chrono?

I picked up this strap for my Planet Ocean, but ended up putting it on my Speedmaster instead. But it would still make a great match with the PO. Rallye Strap Nice price, too.

Just to satisfy my own curiosity, I decided to share the genres that are represented on my MP3 player. So here is the rundown: Alt Country: 271 tracks Blues: 249 Books: 262 Brazilian: 125 Chamber Music: 515 Choral: 205 Classic Rock: 314 Classical: 553 Classical Vocals: 291 Flamenco/Gypsy: 72 Folk: 163 Folk Rock: 319 Free/Avant Jazz: 28 French: 38 Jazz: 484 Jazz Vocals: 419 Latin: 96 New Age: 273 Opera: 327 Oriental: 12 Reggae: 12 Rock: 513 Soft Rock: 372 Soundtrack: 95 Symphony: 144 World: 89 This is a 30 gig player, and I usually have to delete something in order to put something else on. The books category right now includes two unabridged novels because I was flying internationally recently. I had to bump a couple of operas and other things to make room. Normally I'd only have one novel, or a portion of a novel, on at any one time. Some genres groupings are somewhat arbitrary, but based on what groupings of music I might like to listen to in shuffle mode. For example, at work I sometimes like to listen to jazz with or without vocals, hence that category breakdown. Also, how do you separate artists between folk rock and soft rock, for example? On the other hand, I think getting too granular with genre breakdowns is nuts. Next time, I want a 40G or 60G player so I can get even more music on there. But what I really need is an 80G or 100G!!!

How could you leave jazz out of your little survey? And there are as many subvariants in jazz as in the rock/pop world.

Finally a definitive answer, and toast, to the great water debate of 2006.

Excellent reasons to be assimilated. But is that last picture from an actual episode, or was it photoshopped? I don't recall seeing any episode where Sirtis' character becomes part of the Borg?