Mark527

It's pretty good. Will need more spins to make a final verdict.

That Ocean7 is badass. I think my 6.5 inch wrist would be better suited for the Blackwater than the LM-7 unfortunately. $799 is a good deal for a watch of that quality. 1000 meter WR! I would never be able to test that, but good to know it can do it.

Do you still have the Blackwater? I just picked one up off WUS. It has the Benrus style Type I dial though, so it's like a hybrid of your two with a Blackwater case and Paradive dial. Wish I could afford a Paradive, but I'm hoping I will be happy with the Blackwater. And last week I picked this up: It's a Sandoz Sub with an ETA 2824-2. That picture was taken by the man who just finished installing the mods yesterday (MKII Plongeur dial, Yobokies Plongeur hands, dome sapphire crystal, and black date wheel). It's my attempt at re-creating the current MKII Sea Fighter on the cheap: http://boutique.mkii...0470-1291690049 I know many WIS scoff at these homages (not fakes!), but I just love the classic designs and some of these companies are doing it with great quality. I also have a Steinhart Ocean One Vintage Red (homage to the "Double Red" Sea Dweller) and the bang for the buck is just awesome IMO. So now I've got three 70's vintage homage divers (Double Red, Benrus Type I, and Omega PloProf) and waiting to complete my Seiko, which is an homage to the 50's Blancpain Fifty Fathoms. The Hamilton Khaki will be the only watch I have with an original design, and I may have to sell it to recoup some costs for these homages.

^ Nice Sumo. I would get that watch if my wrist weren't so skinny. I really like the Samurai as well but it is also too big for my wrist. 42mm is my limit.

I'm looking forward to a new album from Feist. Right now there is just a teaser video on her website, but at the bottom there are several windows with locks that are not viewable. One says 7/25/11 so I'm guessing tomorrow that video will be available. Hopefully it's an announcement of some sort or a more in depth peek at her next LP.

You are correct. I believe the first vintage style ones in gold were done on some Spanish and Polish watch forums. I think archosman's is one of those or the version done through WUS and Harold/Yobokies. I really like this newest edition from Jake B because it's a contemporary version of the Fifty Fathoms and it maintains the date wheel. Apparently Jake went through a company that does dials for some Swiss brands so it is high quality and there are 8 layers of Super-Luminova applied to it. I like that Helson Skin Diver you posted as well. Very cool homage to this vintage version of the Fifty Fathoms:

Nice watch! I just ordered the silver version (SNZH55) and put down an order for one of the newest dials from Jake B on WUS. Mine will look like this in a couple of weeks: I will also pick up a Brady Straps sailcloth in black to match this version of the Blancpain: Cannot wait.

The Stowa is more historically accurate (sterile dial, one of the original 5 during WWII) if you're into that aspect. But the Damasko is a nice update to the classic flieger design. Either watch is a winner.

Bon Iver - Bon Iver [2011]

I'm really interested to see how Living Social/Amazon handles this deal. They're at over 600k sold, mostly from individuals doing multiple orders. People were using "deal bucks" to get them for $5 and some of them become free after referrals. I ordered a couple for $5 with deal bucks late last night, but I'm almost certain I won't get them so I stopped going for more. But I didn't want to be the only one not getting in on the action just in case it does go through. Fingers crossed.

You can also buy a replacement pickup from MCM Electronics in the US here: Original Philips Optical Pickup | VAM1202 | Distributed By MCM The thing is it's only the laser assembly and housing. You will need to remove the corresponding part from the original wagon in your E5 and solder the wiring of the new one in its place. I dropped by a TV/VCR repair shop and had someone do the soldering for me and she didn't even charge because it was so simple. A 5 minute job. I had to do it this way because when I sent my transport to drarthurwells (whom Cattylink referred me to in the US), he told me nothing was wrong with it. I asked him to replace the transport anyway and he refused and sent mine back. It was still defective when it came back so I had to figure it out for myself. The player sounded good, but I was happy to get rid of it after all the hassle.

Someone sold one on HF a while back and posted an interior pic: Hopefully Alex can provide more detailed pics.

She & Him - Volume Two

Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - The Brutalist Bricks

I came across a deal for an eMachines notebook from Wal-Mart (I know) for $298 that everyone is talking about on the deal sites. I figured I was too late and they would probably be all snatched up, but to my surprise there were several at my local WM so I picked one up this morning. Here's a thread discussing it with the specs: eMachines Laptop: Intel Pentium Dual Core T4400 2.2GHz, 15.6" LCD (1366x768), 3GB DDR2, 250GB HDD, DVDRW, WiFi, 6-cell, Win 7 Prem 64-bit $298 - SlickDeals.net Forums It has a dual core Intel Pentium T4400 2.2 Ghz and Windows 7. The rest of the specs are not mindblowing (no HDMI, no webcam, no LED backlit screen), but I guess it's good for this price. Plus it's brand new and not refurbished. I haven't opened it yet because I haven't made a final decision. But I wanted to get it before it sold out just in case. They have a 15 day return policy. The cons are the notebook itself isn't as attractive or slim as the Acer Timeline. It's definitely not as portable and the battery life pales in comparison. Pros are with the dual core Pentium, I would never have to worry if my computer would be too slow. Also it's new and already comes loaded with Win7. After taxes/env fee, this laptop is about $33 cheaper than my two options from Circuit City/Tiger Direct. It's funny because all 3 of these notebooks are made by Acer, just rebranded in the case of the other two. Do you think I should keep it or return it for the Acer Timeline? Is the dual core processor and Windows 7 pre-installed of the eMachine enough to put it over the 8 hour battery life, LED screen, webcam, 1 more gig of RAM, HDMI output of the Acer Timeline? Mostly I'm just stuck on the difference in the processors. I have no idea about the real world performance gap between a Core 2 Solo SU3500 single core processor vs. a Pentium T4400 dual core. Do I even need a Pentium dual core if I'm not gaming? Believe me I've tried to research this. I've heard many opinions saying either a) have to get dual core or if you don't do gaming and other intensive apps, single core is fine. I guess the Core 2 Solo scores a 3.5 on the Windows Experience and the Pentium T4400 has a 5.5. Again, I'm not really sure what that means for my uses.