Tim

Does anyone know what is going on with Joshua's and Andrew's Web Sites? Both are reporting name resolution issues which usually mean more than just server issues. -Tim

But of course! All I was saying is that the movie has been done before. Someone thought it had been based on 28 Days. Guess you get some of the Romero movies in the list as well, since they are basically variations on the same theme. -T

Rolex's are nice watches; not very cutting edge but nice nonetheless. With other options available today, I would never pay that much for one however. I know some pretty special watches available in the $5K range. -T

Agree with most all you say. Except for lie #3, a clarification. Many (majority?) of Swiss movements are mostly Chinese made at this point as well. That ones that are not probably have a very large percentage of Chinese sourced ebauches. It would probably be better to call anything with ETA on it as "Swiss assembled" these days. Lie #6, while true, I disagree with the statement that the use of 904L steel is "one reason why they are so expensive." Three times the $2.00 (generous) worth of steel in a 316L constructed watch is a very expensive $6.00. Rolex would like for you to believe that is the reason they charge an obscene amount for their watches. The 904L steel has different qualities than 316L steel, largely due to the inclusion of copper in the alloy mixture. But it has no significant advantage other than better resistance to acidic environments. Since we are not in the habit of dropping our watches in vats of sulfuric acid--big deal! It is slightly more difficult to work with but it is all done by automated machine these days, so again who cares? Rolex's are so expensive because people will pay that much for them. No other reason. -T

Are you all that young? I am Legand is a rip off of The Omega Man (1971) starring Charlton Heston. The Omega Man however, was a rip off of The Last Man on Earth (1964) starring Vincent Price. It is a tale told many times already. What can I say, I like my Zombie movies! ...would be nice though if they had some more original material. -T

But of course, TTK is always right! Bauhaus is not the be all and end all of any art movement and I don't think that was implied by anything I wrote. I simply appreciate what it is and where it came from. I own pieces from the brands you mention and others I would add to the list. The majority of my collection consists of asymmetrical watches so I guess I have a fondness for the unusual. You know, I didn't really want to own one until I went to the Bauhaus museum in Berlin. As I understood the style better I appreciated it more and then wanted to buy one of the Silbersteins. I almost bought a little quartz job at the museum but it was vastly overpriced, made in Japan, and the attendant was a grumpy former East German so I passed. I will state as a fact though that the Silberstein gets more notice and compliments than any of my other watches. And it isn't people that say "Oh, look at the pretty colors!" They know it is a Bauhaus design and think it is cool. ...maybe it is just the crowds I hang around in, who knows. What kind of crowds do you hang around in! -T

Whimsy. It is called a whimsical attribute. You, obviously, are not very whimsical. Your loss. Now remember though, you probably are wearing a Seamaster with a monster on the back. But I suppose you never see that monster so it doesn't count. (And you probably never use smiley faces either.) -T

I think there might be a number of things going on with the situation. First, for the most part, I don't think it pays to be explicitly accurate about all that many watches. While you may jump at the chance to buy one, think of the economics of the situation. Making a rep devalues the genuine product. The closer the rep the more the devaluation. As a brand/model becomes more devalued it becomes less desirable. Strike one. Strike two, the whole rep process seems to have many quite fully hooked. If they came out with the perfect Planet O right out of the gate, you'd buy one. But you'd only buy the one. Very few people out there buy more than one of any given genuine watch model. As it is, you have Gen 1, Gen 2, Gen 3, MBW, 1:1, 1:1 with mods, and on and on. At one point I had three different generations of the same PO model. Until I recognized the absurdity of the situation that is. Strike three is what I term the General Chang principle; "[censored] us, do we not bleed? Wrong us, shall we not revenge?" (Anyone get the joke? Perhaps the humor is wasted....) Get too good a rep going and you'll get some CEO on the warpath. Witness the howling of JC Bi-valve over the Big Bang reps out there. China being what it is, I would imagine that it wouldn't pay to be the nail sticking out via your outstanding counterfeiting skills, else you are liable to get pounded. [sidenote: I re-read the message after posting and noted that the software "censored" the word "p r i c k" in the sentance above. I suppose Shakespeare is lost on a computer....] A final issue is that I think everything in the watch world--genuine or reps--is done in multiples of 500. 500 seems to be the magical number for short production runs. Once you decide to order 500 of something or another, it doesn't really matter what object is being produced. The Chinese are very resourceful. Does anyone imagine that they are not using advanced CAD/CAM processes for these short production runs? I would think it would be easier actually to make the watch using a genuine product as the master. A little 3D scanning and a few computer cycles and voila, here is your perfectly reproduced watch part. At that point it just becomes a question of how much time someone is interested in investing in the process (reference the above points as well). While you may be interested in buying a rep of a very popular watch that has some noteworthy flaws, a not so very popular watch would have to be more exact in order to sell. With all the rollies out there, how likely is anyone to notice that the magnification factor of the cyclops is off? If you appreciate a Silberstein, how likely are you to notice that the color or shape is wrong on a part? -T

I remember how all this started. JC Bi-valve was all proud of his plagiarized AP watches and would hang out in the TZ Hublot forum. Every time some sucker would buy one of his watches and then trumpet the purchase on TZ, Bi-valve would promptly send them a letter, personally signed mind you, extending the warranty another year or some such. Then some poor guy came on the forum posting pictures of his new BB purchase. Bi-valve promptly sent him a letter. Then someone pointed out that it was a rep--I think the "tell" was the 10-20 misalignment problem on the 3 o'clock subdial. I do feel for the buyer (assuming he wasn't just trying to play games) since I think it unethical to sell a rep for genuine. Of course since we knowingly buy reps it is a little like the pot calling the kettle black and only ethically differs in degree. But it caused great embarrassment to Bi-valve not being able to even tell the difference between reps of his own watches and the real thing. Bi-valve then promptly threw a sh*t fit and started throwing lawyer this and lawyer that around the whole situation. I personally laughed my a$$ off. -T

Well at least you didn't post a picture of a Watch fait Erotica. There might be hope for you! /Tim

and apparently enough to keep you out of any MOMA! So is the only reason we wear watches simply to tell the time? If so, why spend more than $5 for a Timex because it would be as good as any. We wear the more expensive watches precisely for the style. And there is good taste in style and there is bad taste.... Men just don't like admitting that they are wearing jewelry in an effort to be fashionable. Me, I drive a sports coupe and wear stylish watches because they ultimately say something about me. (And no, wise ass--my tool size is more than adequate!) -T

Hey wait a second! I proudly wear Silbersteins!!! It is the most complimented watch I own. I can understand though how some people just don't get them. Silbersten, as you can tell from the name of this watch, mimics Bauhaus design elements. Specifically he almost plagiarizes Kandinsky's work (google Kandinsky's "On White II' or "Composition VIII" and you'll see what I mean). To me the Silbersteins represent a breath of fresh air in the watch making world. The Swiss on their own are so boringly repetitive that it is mind numbing. They've figured out--finally--that better watch design principles actually sell watches, but in response they come up with monsters like Jean-Claude Biver and Thierry Nataf. My personal opinion is whoever finds Hublot Big Bang and Zenith Defy watches attractive in any design sense whatsoever, are style disasters on two legs. They ought to just be done with pimping themselves out and do it right; may I suggest wearing a Flavor Flav watch around their neck would get them closer to the style they are seeking.... I own and love a Rondo GMT and would hold that model up stylistically against anything in the watch world. Now I will certainly agree with anyone else who thinks that they could have made a better selection for a Silberstein piece to rep. The Bauhaus is not my favorite. I am not a particular fan of the case design, specifically the thickness (reference the BB and Defy models above). One other reason many like Silberstein is that it is one of the few remaining watches marked "Made in France". The same reason many like Panerai because they are made in Italy. Now you and I both know that the movements are all Swiss, and more specifically even those Swiss movements are mostly made in China these days. But at least we can trick ourselves a little easier when it has the words written down. -T

I don't care too much about AR one way or the other, other than if the gen has it the rep should too. But whatever the situation, I definitely dislike the AR on the outside. I many times will buff out any minor scratches or rub marks on the watches I wear. I was really [censored] one time when I took one of the chronographs and tried to buff out a rub and found that the rouge took off a corner of the AR as well. It is just a small corner and you can only tell if you know where it is at and hold the watch at a certain angle. But it still [censored] me off. -T

Just found out about extra off coupons on top of the 15%: The $20 off $200+ was found at: http://www.techbargains.com/news_displayItem.cfm/95612 $60 off 500+ at: http://www.couponseven.com/coupons/Overstock.asp $40 off 350 and an 8% off at: http://www.couponcabin.com/coupons/overstock/index.htm $35 off 300 at: http://www.discounterdeals.com/ $30 off $250 at: http://definitivedeals.com/coupons_a.....;/Overstock.com I hate my addictions.... -T

Overstock.com is running an extra 15% off sale on their watches that ends Sunday night at midnight. I picked up a Valjoux based Hamilton Khaki for $425 which is about 55% off of list. Lots of junk but some brands of note are Concord, IWC, Perregaux, and Oris. An extra 5% off if you are a member of Club O... buy a pricy watch and get the membership ($29) and you'll at least get another 2-3% off. Not trying to shill for Overstock, but it is an awfully good deal. -T

My experience is that the number of people initially noticing any watch one wears is directly related to the overall attractiveness of the wearer. Ugly people never get anything noticed about them on first glance. No one ever notices what I wear but everyone notices what my partner wears. (Though when they find out that I am the one buying all the watches I do get noticed a bit {lot} more! *snicker*) I share your disappointment. And beauty IS in the eye of the beholder. And money DOES make one more attractive!! I'd be curious to see how many old goats are on this board..... -T

Cute cat. I have one that looks just like it except he's got a belly from lying around too much. Odell (a.k.a. Kitten) got himself in trouble just the other day. We keep having to chase him away from pushing on the window screens. We end up getting tired of it all and just crack the windows open a little to prevent him from pushing out all the screens with his fat a$$. So he goes to a window upstairs on the second floor and squeezes his fat cat a$$ through the 5 inch crack in the window, and somehow in the process pops the screen out and he apparently followed the screen out the window. There were claws mark on the window sill and down the side of the house. This was before I got up in the morning mind you--when the twittering birds are especially active and driving Kitten nuts. I get up and go downstairs to get coffee and he is sitting on the other side of the glass back door looking in and peeping (he doesn't meow, but instead peeps) with a dumb a$$ look on his face. He was unharmed (surprisingly--it's two stories) and we figure that his butt took the brunt of the fall. -T

Dry vegetation plus wind equals fire eventually. True, the idiot with a cigarette might have started it, but it just as well could have been a back firing car or a lightning strike. Fire is nature's way of clearing out the dead overgrowth and it is going to happen. The problem is that we've encroached upon so many forests and natural fields that our houses are endangered whenever a fire happens. When many of the raging wild fires were happening out in the inner-Western areas I read it was exacerbated by the fact that we prevented so many fires in the past that a build up of old and rotting vegetation made a conflagration inevitable. What ya going to do? You want to live in a natural area but do not want to put up with natural processes. -T

I agree with that. I think I mostly choose to live in ingnorance on these subjects thinking the best of my fellow humans; that they are good people at heart. Because when I learn how people really think it is so depressing to me and fills me with a sense of hoplessness that we as a species are doomed. -T

I'll tell you in all honesty, the most bigoted people I've ever met are highly educated PhD types. I am not saying that to just get a rise out of you. Perhaps from your perspective, if that is the crowd you normally hang with, you in all probabilty do not see it. I work in probably one of the most educated cities in the US, spent a number of years working at a major university here in town, and it was incredible to me how people so advanced in their position in life and education could possible be so dumb. I am not just talking about simple prejudice either but out and out white-supremist style racism. God's chosen so to speak, simply a better class of genetics in their own mind. -T

You. Diversity training. NOW! Diversity is a wonderful thing. The only outcome is people learning how to get along with each other. Reverse discrimination and racial quotas, please where do you live that these are problems? -T

Pshaw! I was in the Air Force and I saw you guys down there. Bunch of wussies! -T

Iran having a nuclear weapon is a threat to the world but Pakistan is A-OK? Sponsoring terriorism is entirely predictable--in asymetrical warfare. -T

I am not so quick to throw Iran in the toilet over this. Yes, they probably are working on a nuclear bomb. They feel they have just cause to provide for their own defense and nukes are the only thing that seems to command the US's respect. I bet if the US agreed to sign an internationally recognized nonaggression treaty with Iran that the Iranians would be happy to drop the plans for nuclear power. I think Iran has even said this publically. We backed Iraq in the Iran-Iraq War. We along with many other western countries supplied Iraq with the weapons needed and, when Saddam started loosing the war, the US provided Saddam with WMD and winked when he started to use the WMD against Iran. Kuwait lent him all the money for the war and in the process both Iran and Iraq managed to destroy all their oil production facilities. We sailed our aircraft carriers into the Gulf and actively secured the waterways and coastlines for Iraq getting into a number of clashes with Iran. Remember all that? Generally accepted numbers show Iran alone lost ONE MILLION people to this war and Iraq 500,000. But some estimates go as high as 2 million total losses. It is hard to determine because the war lasted just short of eight years resulting in catastrophic destruction in both countries. Additionally both Iran and Iraq used irregular military units and freely attacked civilian populations. Just slightly before that was the Iranian hostage crisis where the Iranians overthrew a brutal despot that the British, with American blessings, had previously installed as the leader of Iran after his father Reza Shah, wanting to maintain Iran's declared neutrality during WWII, refused to allow the Allies to re-supply Russia over Iranian territory. And the Iran-Iraq War precipitated Gulf War I when the Kuwaitis would not forgive the loans made to Iraq even though there were made because Kuwait feared invasion by Iran. Kuwait would not forgive the debt, but they were also causing a glut in world oil supplies depressing the prices. So Iraq could not amass the funds to repay the loans. Then on top of all that the Kuwaitis were cross drilling under their border with Iraq into Iraqi oil fields. And here we come in the Gulf War II bumbling into two of Iran

Oh my, you need to stop. You are doing an Imus. The concept that some people in the US walk around with concerning marriage, family and community is a Ozzy & Harriet fantasy best left back when it occurred--the 50s. It was an aberration based upon the polarizing affect of a war that mobilized an entire nation. To say that the problems in any community are caused by the breakdown of marriage, family, and community is simplistic and, though you don't want to claim him, you ought to sit in a corner and play blocks with George. -T