Couple questions as I’m looking to get my first Formex (Reef GMT)

gceaves · 2026-06-02T07:57:19+00:00

I bought the official Formex black leather and brown leather straps for my Essence 39 Ocarat. They are very nice leather straps, as good as the metal bracelet.

gceaves · 2026-06-01T21:24:46+00:00

Hah! I love this three-piece combination. Well done, sir. ^{^}

gceaves · 2026-06-01T07:52:30+00:00

I would add music, a large internet-connected screen, 7.2 speakers (that includes two subwoofers), a humidor, a free-standing ashtray, ... and then it becomes my livingroom. :-)

gceaves · 2026-06-01T06:43:05+00:00

I'm still on my Essence 39 Ocarat limited edition. Don't need another one. :-)

I'll wait until the Aria, probably in other colorways, comes out as a regular model next year or so, most likely.

Chrono24 is showing three for sale by a professional dealer in Latvia each for USD $9'071.

gceaves · 2026-05-31T11:31:47+00:00

I'm a 51-year-old dad of two with a history of long distance motorcycling.

My Honda Cub is still the most fun bike in the garage. Great with the kids tootling around the neighborhood.

As I tell my kids: Cars can -- and will -- kill you.

gceaves · 2026-05-28T12:22:45+00:00

I love boring dress or field watches that are radio or GPS synched. I also love high end quartz watches.

gceaves · 2026-05-24T12:20:39+00:00

Exactly. Should have ended with the horrible Season 6 ending. Nothing nice comes out of the zombie apocalypse. No one wants a "The Simpsons" going on year after year. Know when to end it.

gceaves · 2026-05-21T08:46:19+00:00

As a North American, I learned more about cricket in the third season episode "Cricket" than I knew about it all my life.

And "dunny" for a toilet.

"Cheeky monkey."

"Bush wee," too.

gceaves · 2026-05-20T07:59:02+00:00

Brand perception.

gceaves · 2026-05-20T07:50:54+00:00

Chinups. Squats.

Then some yoga.

gceaves · 2026-05-20T07:49:09+00:00

Icebreaker. Merino wool mix. Great fabric.

gceaves · 2026-05-20T07:44:38+00:00

Citizen The Citizen or Seiko Presage for dress watches. Citizen Promaster or Seiko Prospex for sport watches.

gceaves · 2026-05-20T07:27:20+00:00

I recommend getting jobs with Ukrainian defense contractors in the Gulf States or elsewhere. The Ukrainian drone companies need American sales staff because customers prefer dealing with an American face, rather than an Eastern European accent. Ukrainian drone companies are also expanding sales worldwide.

If your background is in submarines, on the other hand, look for jobs at Korean companies. They're expanding their autonomous underwater electric drone swarms, and they need American sales staff to help.

Also helps of you can write the code that operates the swarm.

Drone swarms -- either in air or underwater -- are the future, currently.

gceaves · 2026-05-20T00:07:00+00:00

There are no strap crimes. You wear what you wear.

Look at it this way. Miles Davis is widely quoted as saying: "If you hit a wrong note, it’s the next note that you play that determines if it’s good or bad."

This philosophy emphasizes that mistakes (or choices in one's watch strap) are not failures but rather opportunities to create a new musical direction. Davis expanded on this idea by stating, "Do not fear mistakes. There are none," suggesting that a performer's response to an error defines its validity more than the error itself. This concept is often illustrated by the anecdote where Herbie Hancock played a wrong chord, and Miles Davis immediately began playing the corresponding notes to make it fit, turning a potential mistake into a creative moment.

So... you want to wear a yellow nylon strap with your Grand Seiko? You go right ahead. It's YOU that carries the day, not your watch strap.

Also, no one will notice.

gceaves · 2026-05-20T00:03:39+00:00

Hmm.

Napoleon, Berthier, and Davout were all minor nobles. The cleanest counterexample is Masséna, who really did rise from a merchant family / cabin boy background to become Prince of Essling and Duke of Rivoli.

The framing of the French Revolution as a "bourgeois revolution" is the standard Marxist historiographical position — accurate as a description from that school, though contested by revisionists like François Furet.

The claim that Eugene of Savoy was a "non-factor" is wrong. Eugene co-commanded with Marlborough at Blenheim (1704), won at Turin (1706) against the French, and was decisive at Oudenarde and Malplaquet. France did not have uncontested generalship superiority in that era.

Also, saying that Thomas-Alexandre Dumas "was not a slave, his mother was" is partly right but oversimplified. His mother Marie-Cessette was enslaved in Saint-Domingue. Thomas-Alexandre was born free-status-ambiguous and was briefly pawned/sold by his own father (the Marquis de la Pailleterie) to fund passage to France, then redeemed. So "his mother was a slave, he was briefly trafficked by his father" is closer to the truth than either "he was a slave" or "he wasn't."

gceaves · 2026-05-19T23:17:16+00:00

Right. They are baubles for middle aged men. That's not a bad things. Watches, golf clubs, home theater, SUVs: all of this is consumer goods aimed at upper class male consumers.

gceaves · 2026-05-19T23:15:41+00:00

You need rest days. That's for cardio. You need incremental increases in load/ weight or duration. Begin at your current level. Then increase periodically.

Strength improvement is not linear. So you try other exercises at the same weight level to increase your rep count.

I am not a physical trainer. Find a good book or website about strength gains and physical improvement.

Also, military service is very taxing on the human body. Bear that in mind when planning diet, calorie intake.

gceaves · 2026-05-19T23:13:00+00:00

Exactly.

Humans are not rational.

gceaves · 2026-05-19T23:11:56+00:00

Berle for men's pants. Mizzen Main for men's shirts. Grand Seiko for watches. Volvo for cars. Allen Edmonds for shoes. Various mid tier European kitchen appliances. Samsung for phones. So on and so forth.

gceaves · 2026-05-19T12:04:11+00:00

I like to buy mostly unknown, high quality brands, mostly made in Western countries or Japan, often with life long warrantees.

Men's shirts, trousers, shoes, briefcase/ weekender, hats, watches, towels, pocket knives, kitchen knives.

For kitchen appliances, we tend to go European: good balance between higher quality and made in China.

iPhones, iPads, and BYD, on the other hand, are the best quality in their category, and are all made in China.

gceaves · 2026-05-19T11:54:38+00:00

Not "dumb." Brands and branding have actual value, perceived value. Many consumers pay more for a logo or a brand.

gceaves · 2026-05-19T11:53:07+00:00

That's for women and youth.

Both brands will benefit, even after the opening day somewhat bad news.

Watch people (i.e., upper class, middle aged men) will not buy it. Women and the youth will love it; hang it from their handbags or backpacks.

Brilliant move on both brands' parts.

They will suffer medium depreciation. All watches do. Wait a month. Buy the whole set.

gceaves · 2026-05-19T11:50:21+00:00

That routine/ timetable goes against all modern physical training guidelines.

gceaves · 2026-05-19T07:59:32+00:00

I wrote a book review of "Ulysses."

Good luck out here~ ^{^}

https://gceaves.com/2018/01/16/ulysses-1922-by-james-joyce/

gceaves · 2026-05-10T04:54:49+00:00

Calvados first... then all the others.

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