1st post, inc. obligatory noobish questions.

[Agrippa]

Huh? You mean me? Did I bore you to sleep?

Valerian, apart from being a great forum nick, is also a perennial herb commonly used in concoctions against sleeplessness. I've got a few older ladies at work who swear by it.

[Agrippa]

Thanks for going Platinum agrippa

Sir, my pleasure entirely Mr. Moderator Sir!

[P4GTR]

lol.. Classic.

Agrippa somehow you've defied the laws of forum physics.. the only other time this could happen would be if you were a woman. A woman could come here, post "Who has the best sub" and the thread would be 14 pages long.

So where do you rule the roost? Car forum? Gun forum? my top two guesses.

Do you drink then post or post then drink?

And.. Welcome!

Some before VS after pics for you, to further appeal to the strap comments-

Heres a PAM as delivered with the rep strap, then the same PAM after a strapculture strap.

[Agrippa]

Women have it easy on the 'net, no doubt. Now if I was to register at the L'Oreal or Tupperware forums, as I have so often wanted to do, I somehow suspect that the effect would not be quite the same. Maybe someday I'll get my courage up and find out....

Sadly I must inform you that both your guesses are wrong though, as in fact I don't even have a driver's lisence and haven't touched a gun of any kind for about 14 years. As far as cars go my only interest in them is aesthetic, in as much as I love old Jaguars and such. And guns...., well, I used to be pretty good both with an assault rifle and a hand gun, but for reasons not suited to an open forum I decided I'd had enough of them. Instead I enjoy talking about Hi-Fi and history here and there. I love music and a fascination for the boxes that (almost) allow me to hear the artists perform in my living room when I close my eyes sort of follows naturally from that I guess. History has always been another interest of mine, particularly the ancient era and also in particular ancient military tactics, strategy and organisation. My "specialty", if it can be called that, is the Middle East, where I have a fairly firm grasp on things from ancient Sumer to the fall of the Ottoman Empire, as well as the history of the current conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis. I'm a bit sketchier on the pre-Sumerian civilisations, but then so are the real historians. I also used to write articles for quite a few historical and military journals, or fanzines, back in the day before the internet killed off most such publications.

All of which makes me a big nerd I suppose, but that can only improve now that I have joined RWG, right? Right?? Anyone?

Thanks for the before and after strap-pictures mate, that's something I really wanted to see. The pictures at the dealers' sites rarely give you much of an impression of what the straps are really like, but now I know. Undoubtedly an after-market strap is a necessity and Strap Culture certainly one of the places I'll consider. On the other hand a bespoke strap from Red12 or Savage is even more tempting, but I guess that'll ultimately be decided by the tax man. Until then I'm limited to pouring over pretty pictures, since I'm pretty much flat broke until June.

Anyway, must go and earn my pay I guess (I'm at work right now). Thanks for the friendly welcome!

PS: yeah, I guess it might seem as though much of the above is written under the influence but that's not actually the case. However, another "hobby" of mine are Single Malts and I like to think I'm a little bit of an authority on those. At least that's the way it feels when I'm half way down the bottle....

[valerian]

Valerian, apart from being a great forum nick, is also a perennial herb commonly used in concoctions against sleeplessness. I've got a few older ladies at work who swear by it.

Interesting read, agrippa. Sometimes one learns something totally new about oneself. I might be considered a natural sleeping pill. Makes me mighty proud!

Take care!

Valerian

[valerian]

I think he was referring to the hypnotic gaze of your Mr Peck Mike

Mesmerizing, innit? I plan to use it to stunn the ladies, but until they arrive I will charm the poor noobs.

Yours kindly

Valerian

[siesta181]

Single Malts..... a man of impeccable taste.

[Agrippa]

Thank you kindly Sir. Mine's an Arbeg please; what's yours?

And here's my Single Malt site for reference: Master of Malts. Not quite finished yet (hey, I only started it in 2007....), but who's in a hurry anyway.

[P4GTR]

And here's my Single Malt site for reference: Master of Malts. Not quite finished yet (hey, I only started it in 2007....), but who's in a hurry anyway.

Hopefully not the whiskey makers. I'll drink to that!

Hi-Fi and history.. Not as interested in that as I am the sound of that drink.

So then, I'm logging off and running to the store. Cheers!

[trendsetta]

Congratulations on the best intro thread I have read so far. My original reply was going to be about how I disagree with your original posts, but after reading further I decided it really is a moot point. Anyway, I have really enjoyed this thread, you are obviously a talented writer, articulate, and witty. If we are lucky you will stick around and bless the forum with great reviews on all reps that you aquire. Good luck, this forum is great, except for the time and monetary investment required to play here lol (shoulda read the fine print)

[Agrippa]

Hopefully not the whiskey makers.

I was half expecting a law suit to cease and desist, but it hasn't materialised so far. Possibly because no-one's aware of the site, as I've never publicised it anywhere, ever. Just a little thing I did for my own enjoyment.

Hi-Fi and history.. Not as interested in that as I am the sound of that drink.

Fair 'nuff. And what a dull and dreary world it would be if we were all interested in the same things....

So then, I'm logging off and running to the store. Cheers!

Hope you got an Islay one, and that you enjoyed it!

Congratulations on the best intro thread I have read so far. My original reply was going to be about how I disagree with your original posts, but after reading further I decided it really is a moot point. Anyway, I have really enjoyed this thread, you are obviously a talented writer, articulate, and witty. If we are lucky you will stick around and bless the forum with great reviews on all reps that you aquire. Good luck, this forum is great, except for the time and monetary investment required to play here lol (shoulda read the fine print)

Thank you so much for those flattering words. With luck I'll be able to make some slight contribution myself in due course, but for now I'm content with hoovering up all the knowledge already lodged on these pages. Hopefully by the time I get around to actually doing some shopping I'll be able to make an informed choice.

[Toadtorrent]

Hopefully by the time I get around to actually doing some shopping I'll be able to make an informed choice.

...informed choice on how to manage credit card debt.

[Agrippa]

Unfortunately I doubt anyone here or elsewhere has anything new to teach me on that particular subject....

[iamlet]

hoping to learn from you guys

[nhspike]

As an "interweb" early bird, back from the BBS days, and no stranger to being the newest, or the oldest cat on the forum, I must nominate this as the "Reply of the century":

@ maxman: no disappointment here, whatsoever. In fact, I went to bed shortly after posting and when I got up just now you folks had all answered. As for your points, a agree entirely....and disagree entirely too. As to the former, I have felt exactly as you write myself, on a number of forums dealing with various things. The number of times I've thought "learn to use the f***ing search button for f***'s sake, you dimwit f***tard", or stuff to that general effect, can be counted only by someone with at least a higher degree in mathematics.

In an ideal world (ideal for you that is, here, and for me elsewhere) everyone would of course carry out exhaustive searches before asking questions and otherwise never post superfluously, but this world ain't that world and never will be I suspect. For noobs and people with a casual and passing interest it isn't ideal though and until such become endangered species we're both likely left with imperfection. Personally I subscribe both to the noobish persuation and to having only a casual interest in the subject matter, but to my defence I did carry out a few fruitless searches before posting. Said fruitlessness and a certain message designed to nag us noobs into posting at least once then resulted in the original post.

Since I have nothing better to du right now, let me ramble on a bit longer: if no one had answered my first post; at all, ever; then maybe I would have tried again here sometime later, or perhaps I'd have tried somewhere else. Probably not though, given the casual manner of my interest in replicas. The same casualness would have precluded any deeper research as well and given my uncertainty about the quality and reliability of these things I would probably have decided not to go shopping either, thereby (maybe) forever removing any possibility of my being sufficiently impressed by the quality and reliability of a replica to be bitten by the bug and become an enthusiast myself and, in time, someone who might contribute constructively to the community. That's all a bit of a long shot of course, but you get my point I'm sure.

Anyway, in case you think I was offended by your very slight rebuke of my noobish abandon of good forum etiquette; I wasn't, in the least. Your language was far kinder than that used by myself on innumerable occasions and you should really view the above more as a "note to self" from me to me. I'm so seldom on the receiving end these days, so it was most useful in fact.

@ greg_r: thanks a lot for the information regarding the reliability of the Lemania and 21J movements, which convinced me that I will indeed go and get one just as soon as my tax rebate (yes, apparently miracles do still happen) arrives. I had a look at the "Top 10 replicas" (or something) thread and I might just see if I can find one there that I like the look of as well.

As far as being spotted wearing a replica, that's really of no concern at all. I've never seen a Breguet in real life, whether genuine or fake, so the chance of being denounced in public is really, really slim I think. Nor do I intend to try to pass it off as a real one - I just want a really nice watch to wear now and again. Like you say nothing beats the genuine article, but unless I should decide to turn to a life of crime I fear the likelyhood of owning a watch in that kind of price bracket is next to nonexistant.

@ everyone: Thanks for the info and the welcome folks, much appreciated! And please try to pardon my longwindedness and instead take pity on me, for I have a full week off work and nothing much to do with my time except chilling, listening to music and rambling on the internet. Woe is me.

- Agrippa