RobbieG

Yeah, if a mod sees this move it to off topic. It ain't funny...

No, not off topic at all. That is good insight. I never thought about how streamlined it is now. Kind of like everything else in society that has gotten more so even in the last few years. Everything leans toward instant gratification...

Very passionate. Another one comes out of the woodwork so enamored with himself that he feels the need to give guidance to a guy who has just been messing with everyone for days as if somehow his words will help the rest of the membership better understand the deep dark secrets of RobbieG and his pathological law breaking. Are you serious? God, get over yourself man. So pathetic. The point of the whole thread was to see how many people would encapsulate another without really knowing anything - including if any of the OP was even true as you mentioned. And the number was staggering. A window into the incredible failure that is the human condition. So dramatic are your words. But truthfully, you are WAY late to the party and I'm too bored with the thread to spar with you now. But thanks for stating the same drivel that we have read a hundred times now - all of which are predicated I might add, as were the others, on a seeminly deep understanding of something which you most certainly cannot get from one post which was specifically tailored as it went to elicit these exact emotional responses from the unevolved purely for my sport. Oh and to answer your question. No, I have not led a charmed life. In fact, if you choose to believe it now that you know how much I like to f*ck with people, it is quite the opposite. And trust me, all I write this time is 100% true. I was raised in the woods in New England (not woodstock) by drop out parents in the 60's. I had no running water until I moved to town with my biological Father when I was 12. In other words, I sh*t in an outhouse for the first decade of my life even in winter, wading through snow drifts at 4 years old and knocking down piles of frozen crap with a stick. We heated with wood, which I was tasked with chopping EVERY day after school. We ate only bread which my Mother baked in a wood burning oven and veggies we grew and froze and beans we stashed and stored. I walked 6 miles every day to catch a bus for school as we lived so far from civilization. Oh and there were no other kids around and I played alone in case you want to psychoanalyze me. Oh and we didn't have a car either, which might be why I like them so much now. Note to self to discuss with therapist... At 17 I escaped that life and moved to a large city and got a Bachelors degree from a major University which I payed for myself by playing music and driving a cab. I graduated with a 3.7 GPA and when I wasn't studying I was practiceing my instrument. It payed off eventually when I signed to a major label. I toured the world six times and lived in a variety of exotic places from The Pacifici to Tuscany. Eventually, I got sick of touring and retired from that life. All that remains are the 13 RIAA sales awards from the various records and movie scores I did hanging on the walls in my studio which I never go in anymore. I started a venture capital company raising money for start up companies for fees and supported myself with that and trading my own money to great success. My trading attracted the attention of a few wealthy individuals who eventually talked me into starting a small hedge fund. The company has grown and I no longer trade for individuals but for institutions, investment banks, and fund of funds. We have 20M under management in our immediate group of funds. I have recently launched another arm of my firm and developed an institutional trading software system which is custom tailored for each clients risk models to provide completely automated trading and also automatic hedging of large positions as a productivity tool. Several high profile investment banks and funds that you have heard of are now white labeling the software. Most importantly though, I get up everyday and could care less how much money I make or how many watches or cars or houses I can buy with it. I love what I do and strive to do the best I can everyday. And as for the ticket and the story. I just have a slightly heavy foot and a certain disdain for a very specific certain policeman who has a lousy sense of humor and thinks he is better than me and a few more of my friends who have had run ins with him. So don't twist that into a pathological disdain for the law when you don't know all the facts. Please. I have said more than once that my attitide toward him is not replicated or spread around to others in his field. I have lots of respect for lots of people in lots of fields. Just not for him. And no, I don't think "public servants" deserve anything more than anyone else. You say they are public servants. I say they are just a guy with better job security. They don't do it to be servants of anyone. Just some guy with a job. We all have one. That phrase makes me laugh as does your post... But the bottom line is that you shouldn't encapsulate people from what you read on the internet. I was not born into luxury and I have worked my a*s off to great success in now three different fields. And you know what? A common tale. There is nothing remarkable about any of it. But it is also pretty clear that one doesn't get to where I am by being stupid or having a blatant disregard for anything as you so pronounce. Be the one guy who learns that lesson in this thread. You don't know me and I don't know you. I couldn't imagine forming any opinion of you after reading 20 posts of yours on RWG, let alone one. I find it curious you seem to be able to... Ooops. I guess I sparred with you after all. Let's get JohnG in here and see what he thinks...

Trust me, there is no one more familiar with the ins and outs of that certainty my friend. By definition in my work I execute perfectly with remarkable consistency for years on end and yet I am only rewarded for that perfection only 40-48% of the time. In all my journeys I have learned one thing which is that the surest path to perfection isn't doing anything 100%. And that is quite a paradox since 100% is precisely what most are striving for and never find. The best edges and rewards are hidden truths found in randomness and differences. Hence life and why it is only remotely interesting because we are all different and only behave like another would expect us to less than half the time. I have a friend who is engaged to a amazing woman in and out, and they are on the outs because she doesn't say and do what he thinks she should often enough. I'll never understand that. I mean, break up with her because she is ugly or has BO or is ignorant, mean or rude, but not because she isn't a "good communicator" or "grown up enough" or whatever. Translation: she doesn't talk or act like he does and until she does he can't be happy. I'll never understand that. I say all this because I want to make it clear that I don't want to change new members or what they are interested in or how they communicate. Again, the post wasn't about looking for rewards, it was about remarking on the environment shifting to more task oriented members from more community focused members over the years. Both are fine by me and as I said in the OP it won't influence my behavior in helping new members. Just wanted to ask if others were seeing the shift and it looks pretty split. Thanks for all of your responses.

Yeah I wasn't really sure whether to put it in the Off Topic forum or Humor forum. I suppose although the idea for the Photoshopped mock up is funny enough, but the content is no laughing matter. Maybe I should have put it in General Discussion with a poll and asked the mods to move it to one of those two based solely on the results of the poll?...

I'm going to hang with Siesta today and represent the Titanium set of the AT gang - although seeing his makes me want the steel one in a big way too...

That may be true up to a certain size, but I doubt a 1600lb rogue Grizzly would fit in that category. There is this Alpha thing that happens in nature that noone can explain. Kind of like sharks. A 14 ft Great White might not eat you if you can posture and get him spooked. But a 20 footer knows he is boss. You have no shot and he knows it. These animals have eyes and they can see when they are WAY bigger than you. And when they start to notice that, typical behavior gets modified...

Yeah, I wouldn't expect many ladies to find much humor in that one, although mine did...

You got that right Fakey!

You are going to love the rubber. I know I speak for both Wheaton and Dluddy as well as myself when I say we all love that strap. It is stiff enough at the lugs to wear slightly loose like a rubber bracelet or you can tighten it all the way for a true dive strap feel...

No doubt about that. Like I keep saying, I'm not complaining, just remarking on how things are a bit different as we have grown. The norms of any forum are bound to change with growth...

Sounds like now more are seeing that of which I speak. I can't imagine having to ever ban someone for spamming rep questions in the old days. And like I said, no sweat for me. I'll still enjoy helping anyone I can just the same, but I think we seem to be all seeing that the quick, curt, and singularly purposed seem to be more plentiful than they used to be and we have less new members hanging in for the long haul and becoming part of the brotherhood so to speak. Actually, I hope all the new members that joined this year all end up being familiar faces or at least a big percentage of them. New blood is the lifeforce of everything worthwhile. Maybe the new blood will become the new old school and the forum will take on a new set of norms and all the old timers will move on as things change? Who knows. In the meantime, I'm happy the way things are, but they are not the same is all I'm saying - for good or bad - just a little different.

I probably didn't get the core of the message right actually. It isn't a thanks so much as I agree it is usually implied if not said outright. I guess I am refering to the fact that less Noobs want to make friends and be a true part of the brotherhood. There used to be many more new members becoming long time members then there are now. I just see people coming more for the purpose of getting info, buying what they need and leaving with less interest in interacting beyond the initial purpose. That is what I see changing and I didn't mean to draw as much attention to the way they handle any individual PM or what kind of manners they have...

That is good to know Dave - that someone is batting a thousand on three forums. And for sure I get some polite people here, but the ratio is s bit smaller than it used to be.

This is exactly how I feel too. The one that really appreciates and becomes a freind makes itg all worth it for sure and keeps me coming back. I guess I'm just observing that things have changed quite a bit since we started. It isn't up to me to decide if it is better or worse, but it is definitely different for sure. And this response is why I wrote the thread - to hopefully hear the positive side of a negative topic. Now that is what makes this place really special...

Forgive me if this has already been discussed, but I have something I would like to bring up. When I first came here, which was in the alpha year there was a sense of courtesy amongst us that I feel may be waning now. It used to be that we would freely PM each other and ask detailed questions and sort of enjoyed not just sharing our knowledge but also getting to know each other. Guys like By-tor and Cornerstone and Lani and Pugwash and V and TT and Laz come to mind. Anyway, back then if a new member thought I knew something about a brand or whatever and got steered to me they might ask some detailed questions and I would give a detailed answer and it would always seem to be appreciated on both sides. If I ever asked questions - which I did a LOT, I was always very gracious and aware of making sure I showed it and the member I asked knew that I cared that they bothered to take the time to teach me something. In other words, I always took the time to send a return PM after I "got what I was looking for" thanking whoever it was for the effort and more importantly, started to enjoy interacting with them and kindof making friends in as much that is possible in a place like this. That said, lately I guess maybe I have become one of those guys that for whatever reason Noobs have identified as someone that may have earned some knowledge in certain areas and like to PM and ask questions about present and past watches, my opinions about dealers/movements whatever. Believe me, I am both honored and grateful that anyone would respect me enough to value my opinion. Here and in life I take that sort of thing very seriously and do my best to provide qualified and unbiased answers and if I can't, I'll refer them to someone who I think can. But lately, I feel like most of the PM's or emails I get seem to be from guys who don't really want to carry out that tradition of taking AND giving as it used to be. They will ask questions (usually with 4 or more parts - lol) and I will provide a detailed answer, many times searching posts for pics and links and even uploading pics to my Bucket so I can give them a visual example. But after sending it, not only do I not get a return PM thanking me for taking the time to do it, but I get no response at all and never hear from them again. I guess I really take giving back seriously and enjoy helping others as I was helped once upon a time and it saddens me that the sense of brotherhood and respect isn't quite what we all used to be like back in the day. Oh well, there are exceptions but I just wanted to see what the rest of the old timers thought about it. Some of you must be experiencing the same thing, given a lot of the qualifying info I see in your signatures designed to filter PM's out that I never used to see before. For the record, it won't ever change me or how I handle it. I'll still give every new member more than the benefit of the doubt and give my all on every PM or email I get and try to help them. But I just felt the need to mention it to the rest of the older members mostly to vent but also to see if any of you ever have the same experience.

Yeah sure. I think it is bad enough us guys go through all the detail stuff, but you have to figure for the ladies reps maybe they won't be that picky? I would probably want to know if the cases and more importtantly the ceramic was all the same. Good quality ceraminc material is really the key to this piece. My sister in law has the gen and it is really nice quality to the touch. You would defintely want to ask the dealer that at least. And as for movements, I honestly don't know if there really is a noticeable difference between the Swiss and Jap movements that is worth paying for. To my eye, the Jap version does look cheaper though all around. The dial, case and bracelet - at least in these realtively macro pics - look to be of higher fit/finish spec in the Swiss version, flaws aside...

I have had several reps with the Seagull ST19 movement & it is totally bulletproof. Actually, Adrenalin has one of those watches now. Also, it is very often incorrectly refered to as a a Lemania copy. It does share some characteristics of certain handwound Lemania movements such as many of those used by Vacheron and others over the years, but the ST19 is really just like the venerable Venus 175 movement which is a classic handwound column wheel chronograph used by many brands to great success. And the replication by Seagull is pretty much spot on visually as you can see... Seagull ST19 in Vacheron Malte Chronograph replica: Venus 175 in Vintage 1946 Breitling Chronomat:

There are pros and cons to each version and there is no one version that is accurate to the gen in all respects... http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showto...t=0#entry578326

The main issues for tells are the bezel numbers and the date window at a glance, but the hands and second hand spear tip are others. The Swiss version has a bezel most like the gen and the datewindow is closer to the middle of the dial like the gen. The Japanese movement version has a datewindow which is too far out towards the edge of the case and the bezel fonts and positioning are way off. However, the Japanese version has more slender hands like the gen and the spear tip of the second hand is more like the gen. So in typical rep factory fashion, the only way to get what you want is to buy two watches and swap parts between them to get the most accurate version. The Swiss movement version that Josh sells is $458 with box set. The Japanese version is less at $208. Hope this helps... Gen: Swiss Rep: Jap Rep:

The pics are priceless. It happens to all of us. One day you are rocking out with long hair and rail thin from not be able to afford anything but PB&J. Then one day you wake up with short hair, a middle aged gut and an Armani bag in your hand. Even Metallica can't escape middle age...

Seriously though, tell us about that water shot. Did you take that? How big was that one? Were you in the water? Repost in this thread maybe too?