Posts made by Graeme

@Tobi have you seen how Savotta tests their backpacks?

I've seen a few photos of the Grand Seiko Ushio 300 Diver where the dial and bezel are darker, and I think that it looks a lot better than in the photo I posted earlier.

Maybe it's something I need to see in the metal before I make a judgement.

@Go-For-Chill the dial might look better in the metal than in photos too.

I still prefer the black textured dial to the blue and green though.

@Giles the SLGA015 has a black version of that dial, which I think looks better.

Hopefully they'll offer the new model in that colourway in the near future.

I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned this, but Grand Seiko have shrunk their Ushio 300 Diver to a 40.8 mm diameter and slimmed it down to 12.9 mm, added a micro-adjust to the bracelet, given it 300 metres of water resistance, and fitted their UFA Spring Drive, which is accurate to within twenty seconds per year.

Hodinkee and Monochrome have more details.

Looking good @jdwaid!

The SBD belts that @goosehd mentioned are very good. The other brand to consider is Pioneer.

The top one is a hybrid belt that uses a leather core wrapped in Cordura. The bottom one is in orange crocodile skin...

@Go-For-Chill I read that Rolex has difficulties with the Pepsi ceramic bezel, ranging from fragility, inconsistency in the colours between batches, and having a bleed where the red and blue meet.

Rolex didn't really come up with anything that exciting at Watches and Wonders this year. The new Yacht-Master II is clever, but the original was never (as far as I can tell) a popular model. But I do like the celebration dial.

The Tudor Monarch, despite not being a fully-fledged Rolex, also appeals.

What caught my eye this year were the IWC Pilot's Venturer Vertical Drive, though it's a big chonky at 16 mm thick, the TAG Heuer Monaco Evergraph, and the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Chronometre.

Most of the other releases felt like either existing models in new colours, or limited runs priced for the plutocrats amongst us.

@ManiacLachy I'm working on the assumption that an empty house will make for a quicker sale and higher price, and once the owner realises that, I'll get booted.

I want to move, so it's not a huge imposition, but I'm not sure where I'll go. I'm in northeast Victoria, and it'll probably be down to Melbourne. I'd like to be in Sydney, but I failed to win the lottery last week, so it's probably not affordable.

But I agree that housing is a complete disaster here.

@Brian it's a pain renting, and without a secure tenure, I wouldn't want to drop a couple of thousand on an EV charger for my landlord.

At least the I20N is a cheap midlife crisis, and a reasonably practical car.

I suspect that my car buying plans will depend on when my car breaks down, where I end up living, and just how much of a fuel crisis we have.

@Brian the charging network in rural areas can be patchy. I did a run from Benalla to just outside Bendigo and back. It was about 170 km, and there were no chargers along the route, though I could have found one in Heathcote if I took a different way home.

Some of the longer range EVs would be fine, but they normally involve going up a size class. I'm interested in the Ioniq 3 that's due to be unveiled in late April.

The other issue could be charging. I could use a granny charger in my current house, but the landlady is going into care, so I'll probably be moving. (Something I should have done a while back.) Due to the somewhat excessive prices for property in Australia, I'm likely to be in an apartment, which means that's not an option.

The i20N is a cool little car. I've seen rumours that the next generation will be a hybrid, and it's not too far away.

The other thing I like is the new Honda Prelude, though I think that I have to hand my man card in if I get one.

I'm running an old Ford Fiesta which has 200,000 km, or 125,000 miles. I lost the remote fob a year or two ago, and the aircon compressor melted during a heatwave in January. Here's Tex the Peruvian Hairless Dog struggling with the temperatures in the car.

It's at the point where it's not worth spending money to keep it running, so I'm thinking about a replacement.

I was wondering if anyone else has been thinking about going electric in response to the situation in Iran? Fuel prices around here are up nearly 50% in the last three weeks in Australia.

If I do get an EV, I'm tempted by the Hyundai Inster. My main concern is that I do a lot of miles in rural areas, and the charging network in Australia can be patchy.

I thought that I was having a bad week, but @Kasi and @Luijim78 make mine look like nothing more than a mild bump in the road. I'm sorry to hear of your losses, and I hope that your sister is doing better, Mo.

In my case, I've had a few things this week, the main one was learning that my landlady is going to sell the house I live in. She's 95, not in great health, and she's just gone into residential care. She needs the money to pay for it.

Of course, learning about it when a real estate agent calls to ask when would be a good time to do an appraisal isn't the best way to handle things.

Oh, and I got a speeding ticket for doing an alleged 7 km/h or 4 mph over the limit on the freeway. I might be able to get that downgraded to an official warning, as it's a minor offence and my first.

@Anesthetist that Alpine Luddites pack is lovely and very colour coordinated.

I was in Melbourne today, and I dropped by the IWC boutique to take a look at the new Portugieser in Ceratanium.

I like the aesthetic, it looks very contemporary on a rubber strap, and it's very light.

Unfortunately, the legibility isn't great. The Omega Seamaster in black on black ceramic is clearer because there's a mixture of matt and gloss finishes, along with different textures. I think that the IWC needs a less reflective dial.

To be fair, I was feeling the after-effects of dilating eye drops, and my vision wasn't entirely back to normal it might look better next time.

@Denimhead-0 and @northsouthdenimguy thanks.

The Wills has gussets in the back, so that might help. I'm going to email Ship John to see if they have any advice.

I was offered a Wills jacket in 2XL-Long, and I'm trying to figure out if the sizing will work for me.

I had a size 4XL IHJ-104-BLK Oiled Cotton Chore Coat, which was almost identical in the dimensions, except that the shoulder width of the Iron Heart was (according to the chart) 21.3" and the Wills is (according to the chart) 20.75".

My shoulders and upper chest are the pain point in Iron Heart gear. I gave the chore coat to my brother because it was too tight there, and my IHSH-289 sometimes gapes slightly between the second and third button. The Wills is half an inch narrower through the shoulders, but it has a pleated back, and I was wondering if anyone has any experience with it.

@northsouthdenimguy do you have a Wills? If so, what size? Your chest and arm measurements are the same as mine.

@Pinkpan I've got a pair of unworn 463s in a size 34. Interested?

I'm just catching up on this thread, and here's a late entry to the Cartier Santos posts. This is the titanium model, which is lovely, and, unfortunately, it's not mine.

@GraemeE that doesn't sound like a fun pastime. Get well soon.

Disco enjoying his stay in a hotel.

And since everyone is doing before and afters, here he is at three months old.