Lasted a long time

[GeorgeW]

Yes but don't be downhearted...it is possible to break out of this. For example this week I am weaving a three bedroom bungalow.

[clovissangrail]

this week I am weaving a three bedroom bungalow

Can i rent it to keep my books in?

[Paul L]

It's interesting to see the diversity of comment and I somehow suspected that the, erm, focused nature of us coffee folk meant we might just have a healthy/unhealthy attention to many other things too.

Yep, some things are pride of ownership based on brand, actual or percieved quality, reliability or earning their keep. Others are about an appreciation of the simplicity, quality or cleverness of their design or construction. Others have a personal meaning for us through association and emotion. When I posted earlier, I suppose it was the appreciation of quality which was in my mind but there's no one answer.

I also have a Rolex. I have seen them criticised as the bling brand (in recent years mind you), the choice for the mindless who don't understand the wristwatch market or just dismissed as decadent and plain daft when you can get something as or more accurate for just a few quid/euros/dollars. I bought mine when it was 6 months old from a work collleague in 1990 for £300 and he took the Seiko I had just bought (but immediately disliked) for his Son's 18th Birthday a spart of the exchange. The retail price then was double that and these days it's close to £2000. I did not mention it earlier as I would not describe mine as a tactile relationship with it, more a quiet appreciation for it's quality. It hasn't been serviced for 10 years but is therebaouts on the time at 16 years young and as discrete as ever (it doesn't have that multi-faceted bezel the better-known models have). Unlike cheap watches I buy which come and go as and when they break down, it has never faltered. I know a service these days will be £150+ but when a company like Rolex services a watch for you Dave is right, it's incredible what they do. They strip each and every minor component, clean, replace as necessary, re-brush the case, new face-glass etc. You basically get a new watch back and you sit in amazement mentally comparing (well you can't actually) with what you left with the dealer a few weeks earlier.

In fact, when I realised this in the mid-nineties some colleagues at the time became impressed with brands such as Tag Heuer which were bing dropped into some laps as corporate incentives. I phoned Tag Heuer for the hell of it, asked the price of a service "£90 Sir" at the time and probed them on what they did. Basically watch inners only so you don't get that complete service that one of the truly top brands would give you. I was not impressed.

Anyway, I'n not a watch snob because I do like to keep a cheap sports watch for weekends, roughing it, sports, cycling with my Daughter etc. and Dave also mentioned Swatch. Funnily enough I bought a Awatch today and I se eon the case this afternoon it's called Irony! I like it and I have had a spate of things breaking down on me recently including the stopwatch I bought for noting roasting times in the kitchen. The Swatch has the mini-dials so will do roasting duty too assuming it doesn't break down like so many watches do.

I can't believe I'm posting at length on watches, not really an interest of mine per se. I get fed up with pens of any persuasion breaking down even if some of the expensive ones feel better in the hand. In fact, the biggest difference I have found with pens of the choice of ink to put through them. My favourite is Parker's Writers Ink which got my Mont Blanc going in a way no other ink has. Sounds like name-dropping again but was a present and I rarely use it. I actually like all those £2 to £5 smooth-flowing gel pens you get in stationers and I tend to have them everywhere. In drawers, in jackets, in pen holders, in the car, in cases. I suppose I hate being stuck without something which writes well even though we all spend less time writing than typing these days it seems.

What I really intended posting about was my love of one particular camera which I hope I'm buried with although at no time soon! I have picked up and handled many Leica, Hasselbad (but own neither brand), digital, top AF and older manual cameras and own too many Nikons for my sins. However, my favourite by a long way is the simple, black and mint condition Nikon FM2N which I bought lightly used. No autofocus, no auto exposures, you do it all based on a hand-held lightmeter, or turning the right dials to work with the simple in-built meter, manual focusing, manual film wind and it's all down to you. I am never happier than when quietly at a distance watching my daughter and using this simple camera with a very old, all-metal, scalloped Nikon 105mm f2.5 Ai lens.

We've all got those moments of, well, harmony I guess whether an object of the kind that many of us are describing, a favourite book, chair, item of clothing or something sentimental. I would like to think that some if not most of my coffee set-up can join the ranks too given long enough. I would like to at least kid myself that upgraditis is not going to have it's evil way with me in the coffee world having attempted to get something decent in each of the four M's we talk of. As if....

[clovissangrail]

My favourite is Parker's Writers Ink which got my Mont Blanc going in a way no other ink has

Word to the wise - don't use Quink (not sure if that is what you mean by "Writers Ink") in a plunger Mont Blanc as the Solv-X in it rots the seals over time. If it is the converter type (takes cartridges rather than unscrewing the barrel to move a piston and draw/expel ink). Generally blue ink will flow more freely (less pigment) and leave less mess to be cleaned (ditto).

Apologies for lecture - unhealthy interest in too many things here. And many years ago worked for a specialist F Pen dealer... anyway.

Tim

[Paul L]

I seemed to discover that there was more than one type of Parker ink around and I thought it was called Writer's Ink, I would have to check. Definitely not Quink though which (using in Parker pens) I haven't thought much of. The one I liked seemed to be much better than Mont Blanc's own. Not my area of expertise though. I don't have the patience for pens leaking and working intermittently to get caught up in the jewelry or general appreciation of them.

[CakeBoy]

this week I am weaving a three bedroom bungalow

Can i rent it to keep my books in?

Why not build your own out of books? You could rent it to George so he has somewhere to weave!

[CakeBoy]

Toward the end of last year I became tired of my Seiko "motion wind" watch because it seemed unable to keep good time and frequently stopped if not worn for a day. I decided to get a metal strap Casio Wave Ceptor just because it uses the Rugby time signal and would overcome all of the failures of my Seiko. My Grandmother insisted on buying it as a gift and it has been perfect for the job it was intended ever since.

I am always careful with things and most of my equipment is in mint condition regardless of age. The watch was no exception. My Grandmother passed away in May. Within a few days, I fell top to bottom down the stairs and severely scratched the mineral glass on the watch. I was heartbroken and immediately started to look for a replacement glass. To date, I have not sent it for repair, partly because it is quite a lot of hassle to sort it out and mainly because somehow I don't want to change the watch my Grandmother bought for me. It functions fully and the glass is not broken. The scratch just highlights that nothing in life is perfect and I will probably now just leave it that way.

[bruceb]

You fell top to bottom down the stairs?! I hope the scratched watchglass was the worst of your problems!

By the way, some scratches can be polished out of mineral glass. A good jeweler should be able to do it with diamond polish.

[clovissangrail]

Well, completely off topic now, but just to emphasise to any Mont B owners out there, you are fine with any Parker ink apart from Quink... apologies for any concern caused...

Tim