Lots of high-end to ludicrously high-end stuff, via Horological Meandering – The 2018 Basel Report
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Best BaselWorld 2018 roundup
Author: Paul Hubbard
Computer engineer from San Diego. Obsessed with hardware, software, timekeeping and elegance.
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As phubbard, I am miffed
‘Phubbing’ Is Hurting Your Relationships. Here’s What It Is
via What Is Phubbing? Why It’s Bad for Relationships and Mental Health | Time
phubbing is just too close to my usual phubbard.
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Ratcheting/extensible clasps
I was reading OceanicTime: ORIS ProDiver GMT and the last image reminded me:
That’s a nice clasp. If you look close, it has two side buttons, and when pressed you can lengthen or shorten the strap by about 1cm.
This is a brilliant feature and every strap and bracelet should have it.
Here are the ones I’ve seen, reviewed or coveted:
That’s the Girard-Perregaux Sea Hawk II, from my review on ABlogToWatch.com. That was the first time I had ever seen one, as as noted in the review, they’re a damned fine idea.
Rolex introduced their Glidelock (details here) and it’s on several of their models now:
I owned a Tudor Pelagos for a while; it has a superb clasp and adds a spring-tensioned mode; probably the best of any design I’ve used:
That’s not a great picture, here’s a better one found via Pinterest:
It’s more complicated but works better.
The Seiko Marinemaster SBDX001 I owned had one but I disliked it; too thick, sharp bits that poke the wrist and awkward to use:
Omega makes one too, part number 117stz001154, has quite a few fans:
Now, with all of those (and others that I’ve missed, IWC for example), you’d think that buying one would be easy.
Or at least possible. Nope. This is one of the very few that I’ve found:
It’s just OK, compared to the others, and they want $63 for it, more if you want it in PVD black.
Hey watch companies: Please add these to every bracelet you sell! And the dive straps too.
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OWC 6538 today
Soprod A10 (high end stuff) movement, killer anti reflective coatings on both sides of the sapphire, lumed ceramic bezel, beautiful machining and at 40 by 12.9mm, wears great. The 6538 big crown from my friend Dan at OWC. Band is a Toxic Shiznit, modified to remove the extra layer and cut to length.
Both are awesome.
I mean, look at how clean the knurling is and the polish on the sides. The value proposition here is tremendous. I’ve been wearing Dan’s watches for close to a decade, and consider him a close friend, so I’m biased as heck, but damn he makes fine watches.
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Two aphorisms
208.
If you change your mind, you are free. Or you were.
and
174.
Debts of a certain immensity demand betrayal.
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Free* ebook on distributed systems
If you are willing to fork over an email address, then Microsoft is giving away copies of the O’Reilly book “Designing Distributed Systems” and from the first chapter I’ve read it seems good. The ‘sidecar pattern’ already matches how we use nginx at work, for example.
Head on over to Designing Distributed Systems E-Book | Microsoft Azure to get a copy.
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Wyze camera
This thing is awesome. Think cheap machine vision experiments, doorbells, baby monitors, time-lapse, home security. 1080p, wireless, with sound and more.
The hardware is a small cube, here on the shelf:
The iOS app is good, here’s a screenshot:
And it saves to device with a click:
Pros
Night vision works pretty well with four 0.5W IR LEDs. And you can even use it as a webcam/intercom or baby cam. And an SD card to record.
It can trigger based on motion and send push notifications but I’ve yet to try that.
Drawbacks
Limited to about 10 fps.
Needs WiFi and power.
No Ethernet.
Frequently out of stock on Amazon.
But damn, at $30 who cares? Head on over to Amazon and buy one to try.
After a few years of practice, I’m pretty happy with my skills at breakfasts. Ten minute oats, fruit, nuts and some strong coffee.
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‘Vectors’, by James Richardson
146.
Seizing on a piece of business, I become tiny, eager, efficient: roiled water I cannot see into. But to really live is to expand like a pupil in the dark, like a pool gradually seen into. If I do not waste time, I am wasting my time.
I am a huge fan of James Richardson, so I’ll be posting some of his aphorisms and poetry now and then. Link below goes to Amazon (non-affiliate, just a plain link). He’s an astounding author and I highly recommend Vectors for aphorisms and Reservations as an intro to his poetry.
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Coming soon to a WIS near you
So there was a thread on the Seiko forum on WatchUSeek, and these two images turned up, four as-yet-unreleased Grand Seiko quartz watches, 9F calibre, sporting a new GMT complication in a case seemingly identical to the SBGM series. SBGN001G in yellow, B8T007 LE minus the bezel, and SBGN007 for black. Blue is clipped.
A stint of diligent googling and watching the Basel 2018 feeds and there’s no more news yet. Soon, I expect, as part of the anniversary releases this year. Need it? No, but I am super interested anyway, enough to sell one or two to get one… Soon, my pretty, soon…
Update: 007/001 typo, oops.
Update: Timeless has placeholder pages for the SBGN001 and SBGN007, listing the color of the SBGN007 as green. Interesting! List prices are given as $3,500 and $3,200 respectively.
Update 7/30/18: Timeless has pulled their pages, but here’s a German retailer listing the SBGN003, SBGN005 and SBGN007. Soon….
Update 8/31/18: Grand Seiko 9F GMTs are out!
Update 10/30/18: More pictures and details
