RobbieG

Important to make the distinction of just happening to live in So Cal (which is a great place with some wonderful people), and being a part of the SoCal Family who are kind of a clicky little bunch of scamps from OC. Maybe I have just forgotten the complete roster, but I don't remember you being a part of that crew. Correct me if I am wrong and if not, welcome aboard... And yes, my saintly Mother raised two strapping young boys who have gone on to be quite succesful in most ways anyone could hope for. We both landed beautiful women with hearts of gold, managed lasting friendships, own extremely succesful businesses and my brother even has a healthy and well behaved baby boy now too. I suppose my Mother figures she is shooting par as they say. And you?

Or Jandrew. Look how he always sticks up for them...

A grand for the AT? WOW. Lucky you man. Good score. Let me know how you are likeing the rubber after a bit. I hate the big size DD actually. I think it is very clunky and unrefined if you want to know the truth. I think the smaller is perfect. I will only wear it with sleeves really but outside maybe slightly rolled. Those watches look plenty big really. I think many don't realize that the 36MM is deceiving. They wear much bigger than that. So I will get the original one. It is a tough pill to swallow and a lot of dough but it is just so nice and comfortable and substantial it covers a lot of ground. That I am going for the less is more approach now I have a little more leeway in that I'll just have les pieces so if a few are a little pricy it will be easier to justify. I will of course get rid of my DJ when I get it as there is no reason to have both. To be honest I am tempted to just get the WG watch and swap the dial. Rolex premium for PT is ridiculous but I have just got to have the glacier. Yum...

Just put mine on after reading Noel's new collection thread and seeing his. Man, this thing is so comfortable. Gen or rep, the AT/GST style bracelet is the nuts, although I do want to try the rubber and see how I like it. Anyone know if the rep rubber is good quality and 1:1 pretty much? I would think it should fit the gen no problem. If anyone has the rubber and likes it let me know. No sense getting the gen rubber if so. And even if not it will give me a chance to check it out and if I like it I can always get the gen strap I suppose...

Nice Noel. I never saw all yours at once. I just paired mine down as you know and I'm happy with the decision, but seeing a few of yours is making me want to sniff around again at a few things. As you know I think I'm gonna plunge soon and get a PT DD with the glacier dial I also didn't know you have a Ti AT. I guess we have more than a few in common. Have you had yours for a while now? Like it on rubber? Worth getting - mine is on bracelet now but I was thinking of changing it up for a bit with the rubber? Much wristtime? That is alot of questions, huh? I'll shut up now.. Anyway, my AT sure gets alot of time. I love it more than anything for casual wear. Nothing goes better with shorts and a T-shirt in my box. Again, nice collection and congrats.

Amazing as always my friend. Congrats.

Nah, I'm a major douchebag for sure, but let's get the particulars right there Chunkass... - I never wear hats - That guy is too muscular. I kind of have a skinny, borderline gaunt, darkly circled, eurotrashy look to me. Kind of like a herion addict in threadbare Armani... - I have never been in a tanning bed and have no tan despite living on the beach. I take that back, I have a little tan on my face from monitors barbequeing me all day long. - I have no tatoos - never could commit to one design myself but I think many are cool and there is some great art out there for sure. - The caption says something about a low level of intelligence. Actually, I'm quite smart - or so they say in my world anyway. Usually intellect alone is responsible for creating hatred and drawing aggression out of thin air. I'm not sure how else I could accomplish it otherwise so I'll go with that for now. And lastly regarding the GMTIIc, we can start that again if you want - although I thought we left that in the rat alley that is that other forum. Since you are intent on bringing it up though, I still think I can spot it from a gen from 6 feet away in a blind test and the offer still stands that I will bet whatever you or anyone else wants on that. I'm happy to put my money where my big, douchebag mouth is. I mean come on, the AR on the cyclops alone is dead easy to spot from that distance. Just semantics. Has nothing to do with whether I think anyone would ever call any of us out for wearing a fake. You guys in SoCal need to lighten up about that watch. It is a great rep but it doesn't walk on water. In fact, how many watches can we really NOT tell from gens being the anal watch CSI experts we all are? Again, great watch though. I should know, I had the gen for a short time. I'm thinking of getting the rep actually lately so funny you should mention it again. I didn't think the gen was worth the dough for me given limited wristtime, but that rep is awesome. Maybe even the best of the year of something I would wear IMO. You guys kill me though. All that bile still coming over that silly little thread where I dared make an honest comment about a watch you guys were in love with. Foolish then. Foolish now. Then you devoted a whole GTG to talking about me and taking pictures to try and prove your point. Pictures which DOF and viewpoint presented an image nothing like one would experience in person. So then you guys got cut down on that by me, Pug and many more and still couldn't let it rest. That was when I decided I would go to great lengths and risk large sums even just to put an end to it - not my style really but I like to bust mouthy people in wagers when they deserve it. Of course there were no takers for even a small sum because you would all be throwing your money away and you knew it. But I'll post it here as I did there and throw the gauntlet down once more since you feel the need to get nasty with me again. Put your money up and I'll bust you or any of the rest of the Low Cal pikers whenever you want... Hey John, you happy now? Is that the kind of action you were looking for?

Fair enough... Fu*k you John. Polepuffer...

Great stuff Boss. BTW, I didn't know you were from Queensland. Never been, but I will go soon. Interesting story for you: I lived in Hawaii from 86' until 91' and during my time there I spent about a year working for an Austrailian custom sailboat builer from Cairnes and orignially Brisbane. He came to Hawaii by way of sailing 30,000 miles around the world's very nook and cranny on one of his own builds - a 48' concrete hulled ketch. I met him in the Pub at the Chart House at Ala Wai marina and he told me the story of how he came to be in the islands by being caught at the edge of a hurricane and had been dismasted and limping in under jury rig. His terminology was , "My mizzen was missin'" Always loved him and most all Aussies from that day forward. He was a grumpy f*ck but he taught me so much. I was just a kid. We actually did a Transpac race togther in another yacht as well. I had grown up sailing on the coast of Maine but he taught me most of what I know about offshore passagemaking and hardcore ocean racing which I did much of in the islands. Good times. Talk about freedom. I had NOTHING and I was never happier. I lived out of a dufflebag and stayed in the forward cabin of his boat at slip in the marina. He had the master aft stateroom of course and what fun we had. He had a marina yacht caretaking and maintainance company and I worked for him as well. It was kind of part time for both of us really but I made maybe a couple hundred dollars a week and it might have well been a million. All I ever needed was rum, fresh caught Ahi and some sticky rice and that sure doesn't cost much. We also used to be friends with a lot of girls who worked at the strip clubs so we always had a gaggle of spandex laden hussies parading across the gangplank at all hours making a ruckus. Those were the days. He has been dead for years. He was in his early 60's at the time and he died of lung cancer many years ago now. Johnny Main was his name...

Amen to that. Esp skid control. I'm always amazing at how many accidents I see that are the result of not being able to anticipate and correct a car that has lost traction. They seem to do it all wrong - oversteer, understeer, hard braking, rapid deceleration instead of the opposite. At the very least a driver should have to be able to gain control of a skidding car at modest speed in rain or snow. It still won't prevent many accidents but certainly some and will make the unavoidable ones less serious...

Bump for a really good thread. I don't do that much but I think Lani really had a good idea here. I keep checking back to see if more posts have come in but it is a little thin still. I hope more will post their favs or timelines or thoughts about 2008 soon. Hint, hint. I would hate to see this great idea buried and look forward to hearing what all of you have to say... .02

Exactly. And I have had the most fun with you here Boss, mostly because you were the guy who hasn't been taking me seriously at all and we have had both fun and knowledge from debating what most would say is the obvious. You got me thinking about Swans and odds as related to driving which is something I hadn't done in quite some time. For that I thank you brother. Who knows, maybe I can figure out a way to use it to help us trade better. On the flip side, all this concern for safety will certainly slow me down or at the very least make me more aware that the Black Swan is out there at all times and as such, we may not act solely on the risk of ruin, but we have to build its consequence into the model, whether it be a trade or a trip to the grocery store. Cheers...

Yeah, 130 in the dark. Now that is excessive and certainly you are very lucky in all resepcts. And yes, I do contribute in the serious sections of our forum here and I think most are aware that the "real" me is not so different than anyone else. I think mostly they don't like that I consistently challenge the way that we all think (myself included) in threads like these. My nature is an inquisitive one and that is really the only thing I am arrogant about. I have very strong beliefs about that and my tone and attitude you menton are related to that and not my nature. And I'm sure it doesn't help when I make it clear that I think that anyone who can't see that is stupid. And I do believe that, but it doesn't come from arrogance. Conviction is not arrogance. I only have to disagree with one thing you said and that is that don't regret posting this story. I still believe I did nothing particularly risky and that anyone not wound too tight has got to be able to recognize a dry sense of humor and someone who is joking with him - cop or not. That is how I live. It has nothing to do with respect for a badge or otherwise. We all deserve respect, but again, I'm not going to make alterations for anyone who is so much of a Neanderthal they need humor and differing personalities to be spelled out for them. There is a price for me choosing not to adapt to that situation - a ticket in this case, two of them actually. Effect of that on any of our lives? Zero. To that end I'm glad I posted it and I'm surprised at how many really are offended by my tone. It is after all just tone, and in the case of this thread it think I have gone way out of my way to make it painfully obvious that I am having fun with it in a very self-depricating way while purposefully making it as obnoxious as possible just to prove the point I am making here. I saddens me that as many didn't have the fun with it that I did and instead took it so obviously seriously. I suppose there will always be those who find it easier to deal with complexities by just finding a reason to hate and judge and easily dismiss, over the alternative which is just to recognize that it may be yourself who is flawed with the inability to accept that others are different from you and that you might even learn something from them. Learn something from RobbieG? See how arrogant this guy is? Yeah right. But I can tell you that every bit of progress I have made in my life (and if you think about it - you too!) was gained by learning from people I most certainly didn't understand and never particularly liked to say the least. From the best college professors to my worst boss to my favorite authors. I couldn't stand any of them, and yet they all made me smarter...

Yeah I mentioned the engraving depth and sloppyness before too but Tourby is right. I forgot about the rhodium. It would look TERRIBLE after refinishing if you didn't plate it after. And you would maybe having a hard time finding someone to do it. Maybe a jewelry store who dips wedding rings for ongoing maintainance could do those bridges for you depending on the "tank" they use and how it is shaped. Ask around and see.

Yeah sure but as you say all of this can happpen at any speed. Kind of like people saying motorcycles are only dangerous if you are going fast without a helmet. Meanwhile most accidents are not at high speeds on bikes or cars. I know three people who were killed in accidents this year. Two on bikes, one in a car and they were all going about 30MPH. When it is your time, it is your time. In any event I don't dispute a word of what you say. It can be dangerous out there and going faster increases the risk. But life to me sort of imitates my work. Risk/Reward is a pretty perfect curve in all things. No risk is no reward. In this case it starts with never leaving the garage and ends with maybe doing 190 on a bike path. Just like trading. I have asset classes that are fairly likely to draw down 30% in anyone month in most years. Ouch. But when it works it works. hat one returned around 170% this year because of its structure feeding off the volatility in the S&P lately. Meanwhile, my bread and butter class is fixed to never draw down by more than 5%, Black Swans not withstanding (actual is just over three) and it has never made more than 30% in any year and never will, with typical returns running 16-24%. Basically just mirroring the cash index gain or loss for the year plus the leverage minus an entry/exit premium of sorts. The point being, in all things risk is equated to reward in a fairly predictable fashion. And you are right, you can't predict what will happen, but you can calcuate the risk. Even the simplest things are affected. Like most of us would agree that going 0-60 in three and a half seconds is exciting, but even in that there is more risk than not doing it. But if you don't assume those risks you will never feel the pleasure of that acceleration. So why drive at 90MPH instead of 45? Because I felt at the time that the pleaure I gained from it came with an acceptable level of risk. Meanwhile, I can tell you that i wouldn't have ever done that particular stretch at say 120MPH. Too much risk and the reward was no higher in my eyes so I don't do it. We all make decisions like those every day and they may sound trivial to some but risk/reward calculation is what shapes our lives and the workings of the entire world - including the financial crisis we are in right now. At one time the rewards were great so the banks felt the risk was acceptable when meansured against the trillions that were pouring in. Oops. But just like a car crash if they didn't do what they did there were no rewards for all those years. The same people who are complaining the loudest right now about how these banks fu*ked the whole world made tons of money from owning the stock of those banks in the heyday and enjoyed spending the money immensely. Meanwhile, out of one side of their mouths they are berating them and out of the other side they are saying they wish the stock price would come back up so they don't have to be losing money. Meanwhile what made them money before was exactly the actions they are condemning. The bottom line is most people are both hypocritical and ignorant at the same time without even knowing it. And that is because they don't really understand that ANY reward is tied to some risk in all things. The funny thing is, most investors really do believe that there must be some way in life to make huge returns with no chance of anything ever going wrong. They want FDIC type security and to make decent returns. Don't we all. It is kind of funny really. For that reason I thank my stars everyday that I only deal with institutions now who are very aware of the risk/reward curve and realize that returns are not something you decide on. You decide on how to manage risk to the level of comfort and the returns or lack of will naturally follow commensurate with that like magic. And driving is no different. The Black Swans, which is the risk related term I use to describe what you mentioned above are always out there, but it is incorrect to focus on them. The banking crash was a Swan. Beyond the realm of likelyhood. Even Greenspan admitted he had no evidence to show him that the model which has functioned in the same way for all that time would unravel. But that is a diamond (or a zirconia at least) which has many facets that I don't wnat to get ito here. Another example: Every light switch in your house is capable of killing you. Dead if a certain set of events occurs simultaneously. And the odds of that happening are about equal to the odds of a black horse, a cow, a light malfunction and an anti-lock problem at the same time happening. In the billions. That is the essence of the Black Swan. Adapting actions to them is 100% mathmatically incorrect, as is adapting any decison to an outlier. Everytime you fly in a plane the Black Swan risk is certain death on failure, but the real risk is that you are safer up there than in a car on a busy street. If it were a trade (and it is) which way do you bet? If someone proposed a wager to you that said you get 10 to 1 on $1000 against any commercial jet crashing in the next week would you take it? How about at 5:1? 2:1? Everyone reading this should know the correct answer to all those questions based on true odds if they were to ever bet any of them. It isn't an emotional decision. There is one correct answer. And they should bet them BTW. All of them. Risk/Reward is a mathmatical concern. How do you think life insurance companies stay in business? They know exactly when you are going to die based on odds calcuations and it works flawlessly in the long run with a large enough sample size. The odds of me wrecking on that four lane road at that speed in broad daylight with visibility extending ahead and behind here in flat-ass Florida is well into the millions. Actually, the true odds when calculated correctly without the Swans are probably just about the same as at the speed limit. Therefore, there was only one real consequece of going 88 in a 45 there. A ticket... But with all respect, I do take what you say to heart Boss. I have even received some PM's from freinds who truly don't want to see me wrapped around a tree. But don't forget, I'm not a madman and very much of this thread has been Trumped up for effect to get the trolls out and playing. I realize I take risks on the road sometimes, but probably not as much as I made it seem in this thread. I don't have a death wish and I have a lot to live for. Now let's get Jake in here again and get back to figuring out whether I really am Jetmid or not...

And here is his Myspace page. Best troll job I have ever seen. Really complete in every way... http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fusea...endid=118833657

The wedding cake made of Twinkies is the best part. You know you're a redneck when...

I was just thinking the same thing Boss. Now I know why the speedlimit changed there. See, the fu*kin' forum is awesome. I get tickets, tell the tale, admit my wrongs and then learn why at RWG. Why couldn't one of those cops told me that? I'll never speed there again in the same way. All kidding aside... A. If you speed there you are asking for it because you might t-bone some piker making an illegal U-Turn. B*stard. What are they thinking? B. However, don't they know people are coming through there at a hundred and it isn't safe? Maybe they should pick another spot for a U-Turn instead? What are they thinking? But who is right, God*mmit? Surely somebody has to be able to bend one law without consequence...

Sorry about the handle twister there Chink. Not assuming anything: Chinkiechunkie=Chunkster. Why are you fat or something? I don't get why Chunk would mean anything otherwise. Maybe you might tell be where your handle came from BTW. I'm sure it is an interesting story. Anyway, just abreviating - term of endearment bro. And regarding the pic I'm kind of surprised that became such a hard pill for some to swallow. Yeah, I had posted a certain pic alot and many were via upload as opposed to linking. I licenced it to a regional luxury/real estate/style type magazine and since they did pay me for it (wasn't much) I did have to comply with and sign off on a policy that the photo would not be in print anywhere for a certain amount of time. Since then TeeJay has actually used it to make a great piece of wall art as well. It is partly in my signature now too. I'm happy that something I created could have ever garnered that much respect and interest, especially since the pic and crop were more of an accident than a studio masterpiece. So now you have that straight and you know I wasn't calling you names. Feel better? Here is the pic BTW...

Yeah, the gold color looks pretty true on that one I must say. A liitle more on the yellow side just like the gen. Only the pushers are a bit red but not so much as you would notice on the wrist...

Yeah this was a great old joke that had been running around for some time. I had heard about this one before somewhere but I forget where. This is exactly why I love the internet forums. You can post just about anything no matter how absurd and sit back and watch as more often than not the masses will believe it tooth and nail and then passionately debate it for days no matter how big of a whopper it is. I think it sort of teaches us all not to just blindly allow things to go unquestioned if they seem absurd or too good to be true or to bad to be true as it were. Here is the post from the guy admitting it was a hoax... 11-27-2008, 09:51 PM #221 TheRealMarkNieb Join Date: Nov 2008 Vehicle: notta Location: ohio Posts: 1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well to everyone thats sending me messages, the jokes on you for actually believing this and still talking about it over a year later. Was just a big joke started by OneFastEclipes just to see peoples reactions, and apparently its reached just about every car forum around so guess its safe to say we won. I dont own a mustang nor have ever owned one, so no i dont have a cobra to sell you. The account almost got banned for him having two accounts on same ip but he gave them some story about why and they let him go.

I'm not familiar with the rep, but the gen is really nice as you say for sure. IWC rose gold is a bit like UN rose gold in that it is a little more yellow/green than red/pink though and it is important to take not of the color of the gen gold. Some people prefer rose gold that isn't quite so pink and some don't. By contrast, both Hublot and Rolex rose gold is quite red/pink. In my experience all rep rose gold I have seen is usually either too red in general or otherwise not brand specific color wise - not that we would expect the rep process to be varied for each watch, but I just wanted to point that out as sometimes the pics don't do them justice and they can be disappointing in person in some cases.

That is the way you do it right there. If anyone wants to know what a complete replica collection looks like you just found it. But delta, please humor us and give us a group shot if you would. That will be a sight to see!

Oh, and I forgot one detail too. The illegal U-Turn was in the little turnout in the exact same spot captain humourless was sitting when he gave me the original speeding ticket. That didn't even register until I was telling my buddy on the phone just now and he asked where she got me...