The main reason that I didn't make it to the Iron Heart party this year was because I got myself a dog. This is Disco, he's a Peruvian Inca Orchid.
He's currently about four months old, and probably about the size of a Whippet. Like his owner, he's also completely bald.
The Aurora Australis was visible from outside my house this evening.
I've still got the Mountain Parka, and occasionally wear it. Here it is being modelled with Flash, who I was walking at the Greyhound Adoption Programme on Saturday.
@neph93 I'm glad to hear that the men in white coats have come for you Norwegian health care system is taking care of you.
Incidentally, ADHD means that you're neurodivergent, though I suspect that you'll prefer the appellation that a friend came up with: Neurodeviant.
(But he read way too much Nemesis the Warlock at an impressionable age...)
As someone whose brain is also not running the standard wiring, I would agree that knowing the underlying causes will help in managing it, and also finding coping strategies.
It's Watches and Wonders this week, which is the biggest show in the horological calendar. Naturally, there are new pieces, and here are a few of them.
Rolex haven't done much with their sports line this year, except to slap a black and grey bezel on the GMT.
Tudor have launched a Black Bay 58 GMT, which is a smaller and slimmer package than their existing GMT. It's also Master Chronometer certified, which I think is Rolex's way of saying, "Our cheap product meets Omega's fancy standard."
Patek has launched a very pretty perpetual calendar with a salmon dial.
Zenith has revived the Defy Diver with a very orange bezel.
Grand Seiko has a new Birch Bark with an equally new 5 Hz hand wound movement.
And, lastly, the LUC XPS Qualitie Fleurier is very, very pretty.
This is Topper, formerly known as Mystify Kick. He's a retired racing dog, you can find his career stats online.
I've got him for a month to help with socialisation and learning manners, but I think that he's learning bad habits instead. He does have excellent taste in blankets, though.
Since no-one has mentioned it, the Indigofera x Iron Heart anniversary blanket looks great.
I resisted the sale. There were a couple of pieces that I was tempted by: The IHDR-502bb and the Big Buck shirt. But I wasn't sure about fit as I keep on changing size and shape, I'm currently unemployed, and I've agreed to spend a chunk of my dwindling savings on a puppy...
Omega has re-released the First Omega in Space, with a nifty sapphire crystal that replicates the original Hesalite, and the 3861 Master Chronometer movement. It looks nice.
Monochrome and Fratello have write-ups.
I'm currently fostering Fergus, a former racing Greyhound.
He's a very low energy dog, despite looking as though he doesn't skip leg day in that photo. Most of the time he's sleeping, and when he's not doing that, he's likely to be lounging around.
I got him straight from the kennels, so he hasn't figured out the pet life yet. After nearly a fortnight, he still prefers to be outside, fortunately it's summer here in Australia. All sorts of things ranging from noisy kids to plate glass windows terrify him, but he's slowly getting better.
@goosehd thanks! I cleared check-in about half an hour ago. Luckily they had a seat for me.
Now I've just got to keep awake for a few hours until I board.
Regular readers of this thread might recognise this establishment from posts by @Kasi...
I'm after a second pair of spectacles and my favourite pair was the Atkins in tropic.
I really liked the Diana, but it's basically a larger version of my current pair.
And, of course, I had to try on the Quentin...
BMW have bored out their R18 boxer to two litres, and then stuck it in a hot pink cafe racer...
Here's hoping that the R20 Concept makes it to production.
I was in Manchester yesterday and I dropped by a couple of watch shops.
If you want a Rolex, you go to the grey market dealer, one of whom had an Oyster Perpetual Celebration Dial at 50% over retail. I really liked the design in the press photos, but it's harder to read in real life.
The Rolex dealer next door had a few watches on display, but all marked "Exhibition Only". It's an interesting business model not making your product available! Still, I got to try on a Deepsea with the James Cameron dial. It felt surprisingly comfortable despite the heft.
Omega have taken a different approach to commerce and actually have watches to sell to customers. In fact, some are available with a discount, like this lovely CK859 which I thought was unavailable.
They also had the Seamaster Diver None So Black, which is probably my favourite variant of that watch. It's easier to read than the Celebration Dial too.
I picked up a pair of Service Boots from the Archive Sale, although the transaction didn't go smoothly. My bank blocked my debit card, and before I could get them to unblock it, the sale was closed. Fortunately, Viberg were keen for me to buy them, so their customer service team emailed me an invoice the following day, and I managed to pay for them.
Then the pair of slides I tagged onto the order were out of stock, Viberg suggested an alternative colour (grey instead of maroon), then they thought those were sold out, before finding them again!
Despite all this, the boots arrived this morning. They've built on the 1035 last with Ridgeway. The uppers are Oryx, which is a South African antelope, and has scars from its life in the wild. It looks a bit like one of those badly distressed leather jackets that were popular in the nineties. They fit comfortably, maybe a bit snug around the little toe, but they'll give and be perfect before too long.
I've still got my Thruxton, but I've not ridden it in ages. I was meaning to pull it out of the shed and recommission it, but I'm heading back to the UK in a week, so I'll do that when I get back. I'll probably try to sell it in September as it's not being used.
I'm tempted by the Moto Guzzi V100. It's got a shaft drive, a reasonably upright position, optional luggage, and all the latest electronics. But that will probably wait until I figure out where I'm going to be living next.
I finally got around to getting my pair of ICUs glazed a couple of weeks ago.
This Huntsman spider was living in the gap around the hinges in my car's door.
And this is a Golden Orb Spider, which I saw last weekend. She was quite big.
@JDelage I saw a preproduction LUC XPS 1860 in Amsterdam on Monday, and it's a lovely piece. It's pretty small, with a 36 mm diameter, but the finishing is probably up there with a Patek. I'd be tempted by one over most of the Calatrava range.
I don't know if I'd go for the 1860 over everything else in the Only Watch auction. The F.P. Journe is really nice.
Last year Chopard put their 8 Hz movement in the Alpine Eagle, albeit in a titanium case. That had a monochrome grey dial and case. They've brought out a new version, this time with a black dial and orange second hand. I didn't like it in the press photos, but when I got to see one in the metal, I preferred it to the original.
Incidentally, the XPS 1860 movement has been put into the Alpine Eagle, which will be a lovely piece. Unfortunately, the Chopard boutique didn't have one in stock.
I dropped by the IWC boutique a couple of doors down and took a look at the Inginieur. It's a nice watch and the case feels solid, in a similar way that a Rolex does.
The issue for me is that in titanium it costs about €16K, whilst the Alpine Eagle Cadence is €22K. The Chopard is better finished and has a more interesting movement, so it'd be worth stumping up the extra for it unless the Gerard Genta connection is important to you.
Lastly, I took a look in the Seiko boutique and found a Grand Seiko SBGJ229. That's a big, blue titanium and ceramic GMT from 2018 or 2019. I thought that they would have sold out years ago.
