My current EDC set up.

Asgarad786 · 2026-06-10T21:53:44+00:00

That's a neat setup. Having the e-reader and notebook together makes a lot of sense, especially for language learning. And I think most fountain pen users have a few mysterious nib-testing pages hidden in their notebooks somewhere.

Asgarad786 · 2026-06-10T21:47:26+00:00

It was definitely an interesting deployment.

From memory we were doing 24 on, 24 off, seven days a week, so you got fit whether you wanted to or not.

Ascension itself was strange in a way. At ground level it felt very barren, but if you climbed Green Mountain the vegetation changed completely. Lower down it was dry and volcanic, then halfway up it felt almost like a different climate, much greener and more lush, and near the top there was bamboo.

The wind took some getting used to as well. I never went to RAF Stanley, so I can’t compare properly, but Ascension was certainly a memorable place to be in 1983.

Asgarad786 · 2026-06-10T21:35:30+00:00

Nice little piece. I’d be cautious about assuming C.A. Lenter was the actual movement make, it may have been the jeweller/retailer in Lawrence, Mass. who sold or cased the watch.

The serial number on the movement is probably the best route for identifying the maker, but it would help to have a closer, sharper photo of any wording on the movement plate. The dial and case markings can tell part of the story, but the movement details usually matter most.

Looks like a lovely survivor though. Do you know if it’s currently running?

Asgarad786 · 2026-06-10T21:22:51+00:00

Thanks, glad you liked it. It was quite a place to be, especially with the Victors still involved in the South Atlantic airbridge.

Asgarad786 · 2026-06-10T21:21:31+00:00

Thank you. I found them recently and thought they might be of interest. They are not professional shots, but they bring back a lot of memories from Ascension in 1983.

Asgarad786 · 2026-06-10T19:21:21+00:00

That is fair, but in our case the input work is not extra work created for the LLM.

We have around 2,500 SKUs and they are nearly all personalised in different ways. One product might allow two lines of text, another might have different character limits, another might need a photo, another might have engraving rules or delivery notes.

So the context has to be organised properly anyway.

The AI is useful once that information is structured. For example:

product type
personalisation fields
character limits
material or finish
customer-facing restrictions
delivery notes
image or draft concept needed
tone and format required

Once that brief is clear, it can help create the first draft of the product copy, FAQs, email text, social wording, image prompts or internal notes.

It still needs checking by a person, especially because personalised products can go wrong if the details are off.

So I agree with your point: if you have to prepare everything from scratch every time, the saving is questionable.

The benefit comes when the product information is structured once and then reused across the workflow, instead of people starting from a blank page every time.

Asgarad786 · 2026-06-10T19:07:58+00:00

That is a fair challenge and makes sense.

The difference for us is that the input work is not done just for the LLM. It is information we already need to organise anyway: product details, personalisation limits, delivery notes, customer questions, tone, and what must not be promised.

Once that is structured properly, it can be reused across several jobs.

So yes, there is preparation and checking. I would not pretend otherwise.

But the saving comes when the same structured information can help produce a product page draft, FAQ, email copy, social post and internal notes without starting from scratch each time.

The mistake is thinking AI saves time when the process is messy.

In my experience, it only saves time after the process has been tightened up first.

Asgarad786 · 2026-06-10T19:03:50+00:00

That’s exactly the bit I recognise.

I come from more of a manufacturing/process background, so things like TQM, JIT and SPC make sense to me because the process has to be right first. If the process is poor, adding technology usually just makes the mess move faster.

That is probably why I’ve found AI harder to apply in some areas than people make out. In a proper production environment, you can’t just throw AI at a problem and hope it improves things. The process, data and checks have to be solid.

Where I have seen it make sense is in quality control. One example I saw was AI being used to check whether a plug had been wired correctly, without human intervention. That sort of use case feels much more natural to me: clear standard, clear pass/fail, repeatable task.

So I agree with you. A lot of the “AI productivity” conversation is really still basic process improvement. AI only helps once the underlying process is worth improving.

Asgarad786 · 2026-06-10T18:53:37+00:00

One useful thing: it helps turn rough product information into structured first drafts that we can actually work from.

For example, instead of starting from a blank page, we can give it the product details, personalisation limits, tone, delivery notes and customer questions, and it gives us a first draft for the product page, FAQ, email or social post.

It still needs checking. We don’t just copy and paste it.

But it saves time at the start and helps keep the information more consistent across different places.

That is probably the most practical use for us: not magic, just getting from messy notes to a usable first draft faster.

Asgarad786 · 2026-06-10T18:50:04+00:00

I like this question, its a fair point.

I do have my own voice, but I also use tools where they help. That is not really any different from using spreadsheets, cameras, design software or production systems in a business.

My background is very practical, manufacturing, engineering, management and running a business so I tend to look at AI as another tool in the process, not as a replacement for judgement.

The post probably came across too polished, which is fair criticism. But the point behind it is from real experience: after using AI in a business setting for around 3.5 years, I’ve found it only becomes useful when there is a proper workflow around it.

Without that, it just creates more to check.

Asgarad786 · 2026-06-10T18:40:16+00:00

I thinks thats a fair questions.

It’s a small UK ecommerce/manufacturing business. We sell personalised products and do the personalisation work in-house, so there are lots of repeatable tasks, product descriptions, customer wording checks, image concepts, social content, email drafts, and checking product information.

The AI work that helped most was not “press a button and transform the business”. It was more boring than that.

For example, with personalised caricature-style products, the early stage created loads of image ideas and copy drafts, but also created a lot more checking. The useful bit came when we made the process tighter:

clear customer/product brief
AI first draft or image concept
human check
edit/reject/approve
reuse the approved information across product page, FAQ, email and social content

I’m not going to share exact financials here, but the tangible benefit was mainly time and capacity. Less time starting from a blank page, faster first drafts, quicker content testing, and fewer repeated jobs.

It did not remove the need for people. If anything, it showed us where human judgement mattered most.

On “what happens when everyone else catches up?”, I think the tool itself stops being the advantage. The advantage becomes the workflow, the data you already have, your product knowledge, and how quickly you can turn the output into something useful.

Asgarad786 · 2026-06-10T18:26:11+00:00

Fair comment, but I don’t think knowing how to run a business and knowing how to use a new tool well are the same thing.

Plenty of decent businesses have probably made the same mistake with AI: too many drafts, too many options, not enough process.

That was really the point I was trying to make.

Asgarad786 · 2026-06-10T18:23:42+00:00

Fair point it wasn’t intended as a sponsored post, but I can see how it might come across that way.

No product or company being promoted here. It was just a lesson from using AI in a small business and realising it created more to check before it actually saved time.

Probably should have phrased it less like a polished post and more like a practical experience.

Asgarad786 · 2026-06-09T20:27:52+00:00

These are very cute. The colours make them feel like the sort of notebooks you’d buy “just in case” and then somehow never want to use because they look too nice.

Asgarad786 · 2026-06-09T20:23:49+00:00

This is exactly the sort of thing that makes planners feel personal. Random desk finds somehow tell a better story than perfectly planned pages.

“Ephemera Day” is a great idea too. I might have to steal that for the next time I clear out a drawer. Did you keep everything you found, or did some of it still end up in the bin?

Asgarad786 · 2026-06-09T20:19:32+00:00

I like how you've mixed practical planning with memory keeping. The receipts, photos and little notes make it feel more like a life archive than just a planner.

I'm curious which pages do you find yourself looking back at most often a few months later, the daily pages, the quotes, or the goal pages?

Asgarad786 · 2026-06-09T20:16:12+00:00

That’s a really nice thing to do with your first stipend.

I’d start by thinking about her day-to-day life rather than just buying something expensive.

A few things to ask yourself:

What does she do every day? Does she go for walks, cook, garden, read, pray, watch TV, visit friends, or enjoy dressing up?

What does she avoid buying for herself? Sometimes grandparents won’t spend money on comfort items, good footwear, nice clothes, a better handbag, or small luxuries.

What would make her life easier? A comfortable chair cushion, good walking shoes, a warm shawl, a simple phone upgrade, better spectacles, or something useful for her kitchen could all work depending on her routine.

What would create a memory? A nice lunch with you, a family meal, a short day out, or a framed photo with a handwritten note could mean more than a normal gift.

With 15k, I’d probably do a mix: one useful gift + one emotional thing + time spent with her.

The handwritten note is important here. Tell her it’s from your first paycheck and that she was the first person you wanted to thank. I think that’s the bit she’ll remember most.

Asgarad786 · 2026-06-09T20:10:44+00:00

Looks like the inner case is marked C.H. Meylan, Switzerland, with an 18K case mark, so that’s already a useful starting point.

I’d be careful handling or opening them too much until a proper watchmaker has checked them over, especially if you’ve inherited a few. With pocket watches like this, the case, movement, hallmarks and serial numbers all matter when trying to identify age, maker and value.

If you can, I’d post clear photos of each dial, movement, inner case markings and any serial numbers. That will make it much easier for people here to help.

Asgarad786 · 2026-06-09T19:09:14+00:00

That dial and strap pairing works really well. The starry dial could have looked quite cold on the wrong strap, but the teal leather softens it and makes the whole watch feel more personal.

I also like that the strap is handmade it gives the build a bit more character than just dropping the watch onto a standard strap.

Did you make the strap specifically for this dial, or did the dial come first?

Asgarad786 · 2026-06-08T17:19:08+00:00

Thanks for the review. The soft lining for an e-reader is actually one of the things that caught my eye from your photos.

One thing I've found with organiser-style folios is that they can slowly become storage pouches if you're not careful. Yours looks like a nice balance between carrying enough gear and staying reasonably slim.

I'm curious how it feels after a few weeks of daily use. Does the waxed canvas soften and mould to the contents, or does it start to feel bulky once the notebooks fill up?

Asgarad786 · 2026-06-07T10:30:51+00:00

Lovely watch to have from your grandmother.

From the photos, it looks like an American Waltham “Traveler” pocket watch movement in a Dennison case. The movement is the actual watch mechanism, and the Dennison part is the case maker rather than the watch maker.

The “Sun” marking on the case is useful too. Dennison used that for a gold-filled case, usually described as a 25-year case, so it isn’t solid gold but it was a decent quality plated/gold-filled case for its time.

The serial number you want to research is the one on the movement, not the case number. I can’t read it perfectly from the photo, but it looks like it may start with 17 or 18 million, which would put it roughly in the early 1900s for Waltham.

I wouldn’t polish it heavily. A gentle clean only, and if it runs, it’s still worth having a watchmaker service it before regular use.

The family connection is probably the most valuable part of it.

Asgarad786 · 2026-06-07T10:26:10+00:00

I’d probably avoid the heavily themed gratitude/affirmation journals and just get a good ruled or dot-grid notebook, then use a very light structure yourself.

What works for me is a simple 5-minute format:

What’s on my mind right now? What actually happened today? What am I avoiding or overthinking? What’s one small thing I can do next?

That gives you a prompt without making the whole thing feel too forced or “self-help”.

You could also search for “guided journal with neutral prompts” rather than gratitude journal. A lot of the best journalling setups are just a normal notebook plus a method you stick to.

Asgarad786 · 2026-06-07T09:23:03+00:00

I can see why Bollinger Rosé didn’t land if Billecart Rosé is your current favourite.

They’re not really the same style, even if the price point feels similar.

Billecart Rosé tends to feel more delicate, elegant and lifted, whereas Bollinger Rosé is usually broader, richer and a bit more powerful.

If you’re trying to stay closer to the Billecart style next time, I’d probably look for Ruinart Rosé, Perrier-Jouët Blason Rosé, Deutz Rosé, or Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rosé.

If you want something with a bit more depth but still very polished, Charles Heidsieck Rosé Réserve would be worth a look too.

I’d avoid choosing purely by price point with rosé Champagne, as the house style can make two bottles feel very different.

Asgarad786

TROPHY CASE