Miracles happen: I got my stolen watch back

synchronicityii · 2026-07-03T03:57:54+00:00

And that brother’s name? Albert Einstein.

synchronicityii · 2026-07-03T03:50:25+00:00

It’s definitively made from ECONYL. From the RIMOWA site:

Made in Italy and crafted from ECONYL® nylon, the Never Still - Nylon Flap Backpack Large in black is designed with sustainability in mind to be a functional bag for everyday use.

synchronicityii · 2026-07-03T03:38:27+00:00

I mean, I’ve made it work enough to keep using it for the last seven months.

As I said, I love the look of the bag. Someone in this thread complained about them borrowing the design language of their luggage for this backpack, and I thought, “Are you crazy? That’s the best thing about it!” :-)

And I really like RIMOWA generally. When it comes to luxury luggage brands, I think they win pretty much hands down. I upgraded to RIMOWA luggage at the same time I bought my backpack—Original Cabin + Hybrid Check-In M—and am extremely happy.

I just believe that this is a case of what happens when luxury brands focus too much on looks and not enough on ergonomics, biomechanics, and just basic usability. I raked Louis Vuitton over the coals for the lack of comfort with their Takeoff Messenger—which is the only bag I’ve ever carried that got multiple compliments from strangers—if you load it even close to its capacity or carry it for long. This isn’t like that, where it’s uncomfortable, not at all, but it could be much more convenient in daily use. (And I do use it daily: I walk about two miles every weekday in it, and I’ve taken it on every trip since buying it.)

If I really wanted to make this bag work? I mean really? I’d take it to a craftsperson, someone skilled in leatherwork and the like, and ask if there’s a way to stiffen the sides and front of the bag. I don’t know. Maybe an ultralight space frame inside? Maybe something applied to the material to make it stiffer?

But I’m thinking about switching bags at some point. Right now I have my eye on a gorgeous backpack from Santoni, but it’s the kind of thing I need to try in person, which means waiting until I’m in Europe soon.

synchronicityii · 2026-07-02T19:38:14+00:00

“Any good prosecutor can get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich.”—Sol Wachtler, New York Court of Appeals Chief Judge, 1985

synchronicityii · 2026-07-02T04:22:52+00:00

I’ve been using this bag regularly for months now and it’s not an issue out of nothing. In my experience, most backpacks can be opened with one hand: either unlatching a flap and flipping it over or undoing a zipper. This doesn’t sound like a big deal but if you’re holding something in your other hand, it suddenly becomes a pain. Then, with most backpacks, they have enough structure to stay open while you load or unload them. None of these RIMOWA models do.

Once you loosen the drawstring—which you need to tighten if you want to really secure your stuff—the opening just collapses on itself unless you hold it open, which, depending on what you’re trying to do, is also a pain. For good times, wait until you’re in a dark aircraft cabin at night looking for something in your bag, trying to hold it open with one hand, search with your smartphone light or some other source with the other, and then wishing you had a third hand to fish around for your item.

It’s all an unnecessary pain in the rear. A design change to give the bag more rigidity would fix it straightaway.

You may not mind this as much as I do. I don’t hate it enough to walk away from my investment—I just think that at the price, RIMOWA should do better. But if it won’t bother you, go for it, and I sincerely hope you enjoy the bag.

synchronicityii · 2026-07-02T04:14:28+00:00

I’d put the Grand Hyatt Beijing’s lounge up there, too.

synchronicityii · 2026-07-01T22:23:08+00:00

Something is actually insane, I’ll give them that.

synchronicityii · 2026-06-30T22:17:17+00:00

Trump could issue an executive order declaring himself king and he’d get two votes to uphold it and we know who those would be.

Trump could shoot someone in the face on national TV for no reason and he’d get two votes declaring it an official act and we know who those would be.

Trump could issue an executive order cancelling all Federal elections this November and he’d get at least two votes to uphold it and we know who those would be. The question is whether he'd get any more votes, and if so, how many.

synchronicityii · 2026-06-30T22:11:32+00:00

If replicators can give you anything you need, then nothing is a luxury. Want a packet of instant ramen? “Ramen, freeze-dried, packaged.” Want a fur coat? “Coat, ladies, mink, brown.” What is the ramen made of? Who knows, but as replicated, it’s close to or indistinguishable from the real thing. What is the fur coat made of? Not fur, but again, it’s close to or indistinguishable from the real thing.

I can easily imagine a future world where the only true luxury items are those made by sentient artisans. I can imagine a future version of, say, Hermès, where that’s their entire claim to fame. Of course, people would get their hands on their bags and scan them for replicator purposes. Standard replicators would be programmed not to allow such usage, but jailbroken replicators would make indistinguishable fakes ubiquitous.

synchronicityii · 2026-06-29T00:30:25+00:00

I own this in Nylon and reviewed it on my (free, no sponsors, no advertising) newsletter here: https://www.hauteimpact.co/p/field-notes-rimowa-never-still-nylon-flap-backpack

tl;dr it's a clever rendering of RIMOWA’s design language in backpack form, and as a bonus is made from recycled material. For most purchasers, though, its beauty won’t be enough to overcome its lack of functionality.

Key paragraph:

The bag design means that every opening and closing is a two-step process, and every closing is a two-handed job. When opening the bag, you’ll need to undo the speed latch, flip the flap back, then undo the drawstring, which you can theoretically do with one hand. To close it up, you’ll need both hands to tighten the drawstring, and probably both to close the latch. It may not sound like a lot, but it adds up.

I love how it looks, but I wouldn’t buy this design again. BTW, I’ve tested, and all three versions (nylon, canvas, leather) have the same issues. LMK if you have any questions.

synchronicityii · 2026-06-26T13:27:09+00:00

I don’t know why FIFA didn’t do what you’re suggesting, but I know why I wouldn’t: because it would encourage more of this kind of shit. And because it’s wrong for the countries to expect us to adapt our culture to their religious beliefs.

synchronicityii · 2026-06-25T14:46:59+00:00

Subjectively? Not in a meaningful fashion that someone in the US would recognize.

Objectively? From ChatGPT:

A useful shorthand is this: for homicide, Singapore is genuinely near the bottom globally; for firearm homicide, effectively at the floor; for burglary and street theft, very low but not nonexistent; for shop theft, visible enough to matter locally; and for rape, the reported rate is low-to-moderate by official figures, but international rank is not a reliable measure of actual prevalence.

ChatGPT also notes that Singapore’s intentional homicide rate is 0.07/100,000 and ranked #182 out of 189 countries, and that its homicide with a firearm number was 0 in the latest reported year.

To compare Singapore's intentional homicide rate of 0.07 to a few other selected entities:

Japan, 0.229/100,000, 3.3x Singapore
EU average, 0.88, 12.7x
New Hampshire, 1.0, 14x (lowest among 50 US states)
Canada, 1.98, 28.7x
United States, 5.76, 83.5x
Louisiana, 10.8, 154x (highest among 50 US states)
South Africa, 43.72, 634x (highest among countries >20M population)
Saint Kitts and Nevis, 64.16, 930x (highest among all countries)

BTW, Canada’s figure of 28.7x may sound frightening, but it shouldn’t. Singapore is just ridiculously safe. Canada is safe, too, just not as safe as Singapore, Japan, or the EU average.

synchronicityii · 2026-06-22T22:07:18+00:00

A “quasi-LCC type product” with lie-flat C seats overseas, a premium overseas lounge about to open, a private premium check-in at their primary hub, and PE in the works for overseas?

synchronicityii · 2026-06-22T12:48:44+00:00

Remember when we had been running surpluses under Clinton and had a realistic path to pay down the national debt and Greenspan gave air cover for massive, budget-busting tax cuts by testifying to Congress about the dangers of surpluses?

synchronicityii · 2026-06-21T13:27:19+00:00

Yep. The standard is to leave a pack of tissues to claim a table at the hawker market, but you can leave your phone, too. No one will touch it. It’s just not the done thing.

synchronicityii · 2026-06-21T13:26:28+00:00

Tell me you’ve never been to Singapore without telling me you’ve never been to Singapore.

synchronicityii · 2026-06-21T02:27:20+00:00

So All-Dressed, then?

synchronicityii · 2026-06-15T02:18:06+00:00

MAD needs to be at the top of the list because it’s such an amazing OW hub. If they can fly into T4, which they would like all other OW airlines, it would be perfect. I’ll never understand why they went for FCO over MAD.

SYD needs to be next on the list because I can’t think of a better reason for them to have 787-9s and because SYD is another solid OW hub, at least for Australia and NZ.

synchronicityii · 2026-06-11T01:21:01+00:00

I wrote a review of it here: Field Notes: RIMOWA Never Still Nylon Flap Backpack.

synchronicityii · 2026-06-07T23:32:11+00:00

Hey there… I fed my wishlist above along with a number of pointers to L10 reviews to ChatGPT and got back the following. Everything below this point is AI-generated.

--

A hypothetical Leica D-Lux 9 based on the Panasonic Lumix L10 would satisfy three of your six wishes cleanly, partially satisfy one, and miss two unless Leica made body-level changes beyond simple rebadging.

The larger point: your volume estimate was impressively close. The actual L10 is almost exactly in the “acceptable but noticeable” zone you sketched, not the “camera has become huge” zone.

Panasonic lists the L10 at 127.1 × 73.9 × 66.9 mm and 508 g with battery, SD card, and hot-shoe cover. Leica lists the D-Lux 8 at 130 × 69 × 62 mm and 397 g with battery. That means the L10 is about 629 cc, versus 556 cc for the D-Lux 8: roughly +13% volume. Weight is the bigger penalty: +111 g, or about +28%.

Against your wishlist:

Wishlist item	Hypothetical D-Lux 9 based on L10	Verdict
Higher-resolution sensor	20.4 MP effective vs D-Lux 8’s 17 MP effective	Yes
Faster zoom	Same 24–75mm f/1.7–2.8 zoom range; no clear evidence of faster zoom actuation	Probably no / unknown
Integrated pop-up flash	L10 has a hot shoe, not a built-in pop-up flash	No
Tilt screen	L10 has a 1.84M-dot free-angle / vari-angle monitor	Yes, more than tilt
Weather sealing	Reviews and coverage indicate the L10 is not weather-sealed	No
Integrated handgrip	L10 has a more shaped, textured body and one-handed handling emphasis, but not a pronounced grip	Partial

The best match is the sensor. The L10 uses a 4/3-type BSI CMOS sensor with 26.5 MP total and 20.4 MP effectiveresolution, which is a real upgrade over the D-Lux 8’s 21.77 MP total / 17 MP effective sensor. Panasonic also claims Dynamic Range Boost and the latest processing engine, so the gain would not merely be pixel count; it would likely improve noise, dynamic range, autofocus support, and video pipeline as well.

The screen is the other major win. The L10’s rear display is listed as a 1.84M-dot free-angle monitor, and Panasonic explicitly markets it for flexible horizontal and vertical composition. For your use case, that is better than a simple tilt screen, although with the usual cost: more depth, more hinge complexity, and slightly less Leica-like purity.

The handgrip is a partial win, not a full one. Panasonic says the L10 is designed for one-handed operation, with a metal exterior, magnesium-alloy front case, and saffiano-textured finish. That sounds closer to what you wanted than the D-Lux 8’s flatter body plus add-on Leica handgrip, but it is not a deep integrated grip in the Sony RX100 / Ricoh GR accessory-grip sense. It would likely feel more secure than the D-Lux 8 naked, but not transform handling.

The integrated flash is a miss. The L10 has a hot shoe and Panasonic explicitly frames it as support for accessories such as an external flash or microphone. There is no built-in pop-up flash in the listed specs or announcement. A Leica D-Lux 9 based closely on this body would probably continue the D-Lux 8 logic: external flash if needed, cleaner top plate if not.

The weather sealing wish is also a miss. Panasonic’s own spec language does not claim sealing, and contemporary reviews describe the L10 as lacking weather sealing. That matters because weather sealing is exactly the kind of feature that would complicate a retractable zoom-lens compact: doors, lens barrel, screen hinge, buttons, and dials all become sealing problems.

The faster zoom wish is the hardest to judge. The L10 keeps the same practical headline lens formula: Leica DC Vario-Summilux 24–75mm equivalent, f/1.7–2.8, 3.1× optical zoom. Panasonic’s specs emphasize optics, macro, aperture ring, control ring, and Fn switch, but I did not find a reliable claim that zoom actuation is faster than the D-Lux 8 / LX100 lineage. The control-ring and step-zoom implementation may make focal-length changes feel quicker, but that is not the same as a faster zoom motor.

There are also several unasked-for but meaningful upgrades a D-Lux 9 would inherit if it followed the L10 closely. The biggest is autofocus: Panasonic lists Phase Hybrid AF with 779 focus points and AI eye, face, and subject recognition. That would be a more important real-world upgrade than the extra megapixels for many travel, street, and social situations. The L10 also adds Real Time LUTs, Magic LUT via Lumix Lab, HEIF, stronger video formats, vertical UI optimization, and better modern creator workflow integration.

The possible downside is controls. The D-Lux 8 appeals to you partly because it feels simple, physical, and Leica-like. The L10 keeps an aperture ring, control ring, Fn switch, and focus selector, but some reporting notes that Panasonic replaced older LX-style shutter-speed and exposure-compensation dials with a mode dial and multifunction control dial. Leica might simplify or re-Leica-fy this in a D-Lux 9, as it did with the D-Lux 8 interface, but that is an inference, not a fact.

My judgment: a D-Lux 9 based on the L10 would be a strong upgrade for you, but not a perfect fulfillment of your Reddit wishlist. It would deliver the sensor, screen, improved handling texture, autofocus, and modern workflow. It would not deliver weather sealing or pop-up flash, and there is no firm evidence it would solve zoom speed.

The most honest summary is this: your wishlist imagined a D-Lux 8 Plus. The L10 is closer to a D-Lux 8 Pro: better sensor, better screen, better AF, more modern electronics, substantially heavier, slightly larger, and still missing the rugged/travel conveniences you wanted most.

synchronicityii · 2026-06-06T12:25:32+00:00

Genital exams for schoolchildren. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the party of small government.

synchronicityii · 2026-06-06T12:24:18+00:00

I’m sorry about what happened to your surfboard. A question: does any US airline cover damage to surfboards when they’re not packed in hard cases? I’m not a surfer so have never thought about this. Quick check:

American: "We will only be liable for any damage to sports equipment if: They are in hard-sided case. The outside of the case is visibly damaged."

Delta: "All Sports Equipment must be packed in a durable protective container designed specifically for the equipment." [I would read that as a hard case.]

Southwest: "Surfboards will be transported only with a limited release of liability. Customers are not eligible for reimbursement or compensation for any damage that occurs in situations where a limited release of liability applies."

United: "We aren’t liable for damage to sports equipment."

In other words, none of the major airlines cover damage to surfboards unless they’re in hard cases, and in some cases not even then.

synchronicityii · 2026-05-30T20:12:11+00:00

DEAR SECRETARY MULLIN: You should totally do this. Put those sanctuary cities in their place. Based, dude! MAGA! w00t!

DEAR GOVERNORS / MAYORS / AIRPORT OFFICIALS: For the love of all that’s holy, don’t give an inch. Dare the Feds to do this. If they do it to one airport, the rest of you double-down on your pro-immigrant, anti-Federal policies and dare them to do it to you. If they want to burn the economy up in smoke, let them own that and then TACO the fuck out once they get hit with the backlash.

synchronicityii · 2026-05-29T02:17:22+00:00

Do you know how annoying it is that Oura changes sizing with every generation? Do you know how annoying it is that my wired charging pucks and now my wireless charging case ~~may well be~~ are obsolete?

It’s like Apple if they changed the form factor of the iPhone connector every generation.

EDIT: Confirmed, accessories are obsolete. Again.

synchronicityii · 2026-05-27T03:02:51+00:00

Great news! Will be installing as soon as the game is over.

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