2D8HP's extended mea culpa and Random Banter #218

[enderlord99]

I always believed you put the watch on the hand you don't write with, so the strap isn't dragging across the paper when you do it. This is why I always wore one on my right hand when I wore one (which I haven't done since the rather nice Roamer watch I bought myself as a Christmas present 25 years ago gave up the ghost).

I don't write on paper; do I need 2 watches?

EDIT: I should probably wear it on my left, because my right hand is my mouse hand.

[Aedilred]

Because I, personally, can read them slightly faster than I can analog. What do you have against them?

I could yak on about how charmless and classless and almost oxymoronically pointless they are in the smartphone era, but Douglas Adams put it better than I ever could:

"Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun. Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninety-two million miles is an utterly insignificant little blue green planet whose ape-descended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea."

[enderlord99]

I could yak on about how charmless and classless and almost oxymoronically pointless they are in the smartphone era, but Douglas Adams put it better than I ever could:

"Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun. Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninety-two million miles is an utterly insignificant little blue green planet whose ape-descended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea."

There's nothing objective about that quote, which could be paraphrased as "It's obvious that humans are generally stupid because they tend to like digital watches, which I don't. Also, we're a cosmic speck."

Also, I can't afford cell service.

[Anonymouswizard]

I always believed you put the watch on the hand you don't write with, so the strap isn't dragging across the paper when you do it. This is why I always wore one on my right hand when I wore one (which I haven't done since the rather nice Roamer watch I bought myself as a Christmas present 25 years ago gave up the ghost).

I don't wear a watch at the moment, because I'm not allowed to at work (it's an infection hazard and I work with the elderly), but I'm firmly in the 'nondominat hand' camp because it's just easier to put on and take off. It also makes it easier to check the time while doing something with my dominant hand. I don't think there's a correct way. I actually own two watches, a fitbit where I almost broke the strap by having it in a pocket during work (I didn't have a locker and needed to keep it safe), and a rather durable solar powered one.

Now I'm going to say that if there is a correct wrist for your watch the only time it'll matter is with a dress watch (which a lot of people I know don't own anyway), and it won't be a faux pas if you use the wrong wrist until you're in a dinner jacket. In practice nobody is going to care what wrist you're wearing it beyond beyond practical concerns.


I've also discovered I have a disturbing habit to launch into Les Miserables while working, generally Do You Hear The People Sing or Stars*. I've not had any complaints yet, probably because I'm not singing loudly, but I'm expected to be asked to stop singing at some point.

* I've also done excerpts from One Day More and Javert's Soliloquy, but I don't know them as well.

[Mith]

I've also discovered I have a disturbing habit to launch into Les Miserables while working, generally Do You Hear The People Sing or Stars*. I've not had any complaints yet, probably because I'm not singing loudly, but I'm expected to be asked to stop singing at some point.

* I've also done excerpts from One Day More and Javert's Soliloquy, but I don't know them as well.

Les Mis. isn't the worst musical. I used "Superstar" from Jesus Christ Superstar at work because one isn't supposed to swear at work.

[enderlord99]

A group of ravens is an unkindness. A group of wyverns is a flight. A group of balors is impossible. A group of spiders is in your sock drawer.

[Qwertystop]

There's nothing objective about that quote, which could be paraphrased as "It's obvious that humans are generally stupid because they tend to like digital watches, which I don't. Also, we're a cosmic speck."

Also, I can't afford cell service.

Or possibly just "digital watches are still new to them", which avoids the value judgement.

[DataNinja]

I could yak on about how charmless and classless and almost oxymoronically pointless they are in the smartphone era

I mean, I still always wear a watch. I find it far more convenient to just glance at my wrist, rather than dig something out of my pocket. (Also, it has the Hylian Wingcrest on the face, which I think is cool.)

[enderlord99]

Or possibly just "digital watches are still new to them", which avoids the value judgement.

It's pretty clear to me that the value judgement was the whole reason it was quoted.

[Knaight]

It's pretty clear to me that the value judgement was the whole reason it was quoted.

The value judgement only really appears when taken out of context though - in context, it's more that digital watches are a new and exciting technology to humans, which makes them a bit of a backwater compared to all the aliens which have had interstellar spaceflight for so long it's not even really considered a technology anymore.

[LaZodiac]

The value judgement only really appears when taken out of context though - in context, it's more that digital watches are a new and exciting technology to humans, which makes them a bit of a backwater compared to all the aliens which have had interstellar spaceflight for so long it's not even really considered a technology anymore.

This, basically.

Bitch we got tiny boxes that let me talk to someone on the otherside of the world and we just casually throw these at each other some times we're so completely dead to how impressive the magical talk box is.

[HalfTangible]

This, basically.

Bitch we got tiny boxes that let me talk to someone on the otherside of the world and we just casually throw these at each other some times we're so completely dead to how impressive the magical talk box is.

...... Yours is tiny?

[Peelee]

...... Yours is tiny?

And fits in a pocket, and arguably has planned obsolescence built in. And why the hell is roaming a thing, the entire point of them is that you can move around with them!

Anyway, Corner Gas is always worth watching.

[factotum]

This, basically.

It's also quite important to remember when that quote was written. The book, and the radio series it was based on, came out in the late 70s, when digital watches actually *were* a new and novel technology--the infamously terrible Sinclair "black watch" was launched in 1975, and I'm pretty sure it was one of the first digital watches around. So, it's comparing the super technology of the rest of the galaxy to what was, at the time, one of the newest commercial technologies to be created by humans. If the book had been written a couple of years later it probably would have mentioned the personal computer rather than the digital watch, because Douglas Adams really liked his new tech and was one of the first people in the UK to own an Apple Mac.

[LaZodiac]

...... Yours is tiny?

I mean my phone is a flip phone, so yeah. Also to be honest anything that's hand held counts as tiny.

And fits in a pocket, and arguably has planned obsolescence built in. And why the hell is roaming a thing, the entire point of them is that you can move around with them!

Anyway, Corner Gas is always worth watching.

Aah, rampant consumerism. I've had my previous form for 10+ years, and only have a new one because the cell tower changes made it so that my old phone would not actually work so they gave me a new one for free.

God I forgot how ****ing vicious Lacy can be. What a good show.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Douglas Adams really liked his new tech and was one of the first people in the UK to own an Apple Mac.

If Stephen Fry is to be believed, Douglas was literally the first person in Europe to own a Mac (Fry being the second).

Both of them being comedians, though, I agree the "one of the" disclaimer is likely warranted (not to mention Fry himself admits as much).

Grey Wolf

[HalfTangible]

I mean my phone is a flip phone, so yeah. Also to be honest anything that's hand held counts as tiny.

My magic box isn't handheld. It's (roughly) the size of my torso.

[Peelee]

God I forgot how ****ing vicious Lacy can be. What a good show.

Well, Dog River certainly dumped on her enough, she deserved to get her shots in.

[Anonymouswizard]

If Stephen Fry is to be believed, Douglas was literally the first person in Europe to own a Mac (Fry being the second).

And according to Adams Fry was the first person. But yeah, probably both exaggerating for comedic effect.

My magic box isn't handheld. It's (roughly) the size of my torso.

I've honestly come to stop thinking of my phone as a device for contacting people (I rarely even call people on it anymore, I mainly communicate with my friends via instant messenger when I can't meet them face to face), and started thinking of it as what it is, a small semi-specialised computer. I mean I wouldn't use it to type anything up, but I essentially use it as one compared to the phones of ye olde dayse.

Then again my phone is probably close to three years old now, and I refuse to get rid of it because it's still perfectly functional.

[Knaight]

I used to have a flip phone, but then it broke right along the flipping hinge, so I decided to switch to something without that glaring structural weakness.

So now I have a brick phone. No internet capability, I turned off extraneous features like color and backlighting, and it's tiny and unobtrusive. Plus the battery lasts for a week.

[Aedilred]

OK, on the digital watches thing...

I don't have a problem with a watch. These days pretty much everyone has a timepiece with them all the time, either on the computer they're sitting at or the phone in their pocket, and there are clocks everywhere you go, so wearing something just to tell the time is a little redundant. But it's jewellery. And functional jewellery at that. And you can read it at a glance, which is more convenient than hoiking a device from your pocket (this is, after all, the reason wristwatches superseded pocketwatches), so they do still just about have a justifiable function on their own merits.

A good, elegant, classic watch is a great fashion accessory.

Digital watches are rarely any of those things. I'm sure there are some good ones out there, somewhere, but I don't think I've ever seen one. They tend to be chunky, boxy, made of plastic and with rubber straps. Visibility of the display is usually a problem too.

There is something to be said for the sleek minimalist lines of the Apple watch and its ilk if you're into that sort of thing, but that's really a miniature computer you wear on your wrist rather than a digital watch. Old-school 70s-80s digital watches are just about old enough to be retro, but not many people can pull that look off. They're not classy and they're not classic. Even hipsters would approach with severe caution.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that in 2018, where wearing a watch is all about making a statement, the statement a digital watch tends to make is "NERRRRRRRD" and not in a 2018 "hey, nerds are cool now" sort of way but more of a 1988 "hey, I'm a loner with terrible hygiene; please take my lunch money" sort of way.

Or to put it another way, digital watches are like tape cassettes. They are something that our civilisation has survived.

[enderlord99]

OK, on the digital watches thing...

I don't have a problem with a watch. These days pretty much everyone has a timepiece with them all the time, either on the computer they're sitting at or the phone in their pocket, and there are clocks everywhere you go, so wearing something just to tell the time is a little redundant. But it's jewellery. And functional jewellery at that. And you can read it at a glance, which is more convenient than hoiking a device from your pocket (this is, after all, the reason wristwatches superseded pocketwatches), so they do still just about have a justifiable function on their own merits.

A good, elegant, classic watch is a great fashion accessory.

Digital watches are rarely any of those things. I'm sure there are some good ones out there, somewhere, but I don't think I've ever seen one. They tend to be chunky, boxy, made of plastic and with rubber straps. Visibility of the display is usually a problem too.

There is something to be said for the sleek minimalist lines of the Apple watch and its ilk if you're into that sort of thing, but that's really a miniature computer you wear on your wrist rather than a digital watch. Old-school 70s-80s digital watches are just about old enough to be retro, but not many people can pull that look off. They're not classy and they're not classic. Even hipsters would approach with severe caution.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that in 2018, where wearing a watch is all about making a statement, the statement a digital watch tends to make is "NERRRRRRRD" and not in a 2018 "hey, nerds are cool now" sort of way but more of a 1988 "hey, I'm a loner with terrible hygiene; please take my lunch money" sort of way.

Or to put it another way, digital watches are like tape cassettes. They are something that our civilisation has survived.

You don't like them because they're ugly. Got it.

[Peelee]

My Gear S3 watch, with one of the more elegant watchfaces and a nice magnetic metal band, is plenty fashionable. IMO, of course. The fancy features it has more than makes up for the bulk, since I normally hate bulky watches.

[Anonymouswizard]

OK, on the digital watches thing...

I don't have a problem with a watch. These days pretty much everyone has a timepiece with them all the time, either on the computer they're sitting at or the phone in their pocket, and there are clocks everywhere you go, so wearing something just to tell the time is a little redundant. But it's jewellery. And functional jewellery at that. And you can read it at a glance, which is more convenient than hoiking a device from your pocket (this is, after all, the reason wristwatches superseded pocketwatches), so they do still just about have a justifiable function on their own merits.

A good, elegant, classic watch is a great fashion accessory.

Digital watches are rarely any of those things. I'm sure there are some good ones out there, somewhere, but I don't think I've ever seen one. They tend to be chunky, boxy, made of plastic and with rubber straps. Visibility of the display is usually a problem too.

There is something to be said for the sleek minimalist lines of the Apple watch and its ilk if you're into that sort of thing, but that's really a miniature computer you wear on your wrist rather than a digital watch. Old-school 70s-80s digital watches are just about old enough to be retro, but not many people can pull that look off. They're not classy and they're not classic. Even hipsters would approach with severe caution.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that in 2018, where wearing a watch is all about making a statement, the statement a digital watch tends to make is "NERRRRRRRD" and not in a 2018 "hey, nerds are cool now" sort of way but more of a 1988 "hey, I'm a loner with terrible hygiene; please take my lunch money" sort of way.

Or to put it another way, digital watches are like tape cassettes. They are something that our civilisation has survived.

I'm going to say you've got it wrong. There are certainly nice (enough) looking digital watches. I own one myself (and as I said it's solar powered, which is convinient). The acceptability of watch styles also varies based on the group of people you're with. In my experience having an analog watch marks you as behind the times, while nobody cares if you're wearing a digital watch.

Then again my digital watch is very much not retro style, and it would look better if it was smaller. But in terms of everyday wear it's fine, if I'm planning to look nice I'll dig out my dress watch.

[factotum]

Then again my phone is probably close to three years old now, and I refuse to get rid of it because it's still perfectly functional.

I have a Nokia e63 (released in 2008) and I think it was already obsolete when I got it seven or eight years ago, but you can take it from me when you prise it from my cold, dead fingers. For the two primary functions a phone has, calling people and texting, it's fantastic, and I only need to plug it in to charge every few days, rather than every few minutes like it seems modern smartphones need.

[2D8HP]

I've got two Seiko 7S26C watches,

Spoiler: Like this

Show

one with a metal band that I wear at work, and one with a leather band that I wear on the weekend (because of how dirty my work is).

Both have lasted longer than most of my watches (there was a time that I breaking one a month), and I've had them for a few years now, though I did get the glass of one replaced after the first couple of years.

They're the mechanical type that you wind by moving your arm/shaking them, and my work one will typically keep running into Sunday after I take it off Friday evening, but my weekend one often doesn't stay wound through the night 'cause I move so little (or don't wear it as much), though if I wear it while doing yard work on the weekend it will keep ticking til Tuesday or Wednesday.

[halfeye]

I had a Timex watch as a kid, it was pretty terrible. Then a self winding Sekonda (Russian I think), that eventually died.

Since then I've used digital watches, they're much more accurate and reliable, usually waterproof, and as cheap if not cheaper.

[Peelee]

I've got two Seiko 7S26C watches,

Spoiler: Like this

Show

one with a metal band that I wear at work, and one with a leather band that I wear on the weekend (because of how dirty my work is).

Both have lasted longer than most of my watches (there was a time that I breaking one a month), and I've had them for a few years now, though I did get the glass of one replaced after the first couple of years.

They're the mechanical type that you wind by moving your arm/shaking them, and my work one will typically keep running into Sunday after I take it off Friday evening, but my weekend one often doesn't stay wound through the night 'cause I move so little (or don't wear it as much), though if I wear it while doing yard work on the weekend it will keep ticking til Tuesday or Wednesday.

Hey, I got a Seiko SNE042! High five, Seiko-friend!

Anyway, I love that watch. Really thin, solar, clean design, and a grey face. Hits every box for me.

[TaiLiu]

I checked your sig-link for updates a few weeks back. Garret is no longer desperate. He still needs help, but not a much as he once did.

Good to see you again, enderlord99! I appreciate the alert - my signature is very much outdated and needs updating.

I'm also glad you're around I just forgot to say it because of aforementioned life stuff!

Hey, LaZodiac! Glad to hear from you, too. No worries about acknowledging me, and my apologies for failing to say hello to you and the other Random Banter members that I know. You have my condolences and sympathies regarding your situation with your mother. It must've been extremely hard to give up your life savings, and that you did so for the good of someone else speaks volumes about your moral character.

It's going well, at least for my employer. I'm delivering my parts, applying my knack for picking up cross-diciplinary knowledge to discover errors in others work which otherwise could have enormous amounts of time to find and straighten out, and the design responsible for the software as a whole has picked me as the person to lob design ideas against, which makes me happy. That said, the commute clashes pretty badly with my need for a lot of free time doing nothing productive to recuperate, and I've pretty much had to put my private life on pause to keep my working life stable. On a good day, this doesn't bother me, but not all days are good days, especially when you regularly get too little sleep due to the aforementioned need for free time...

I'm planning on asking for some kind of leave of absence to finish my graduation and then figure out what I want to do with my life, but I'm not very good at breaking the status quo, and finding the right time, place and way of expressing such a request has been a source of great procrastination already for some time. I've told myself I'll do it after the summer vacation, so we'll see how it works out in three weeks time...

Ah, that's real. I definitely struggle with the same problems that you do, and I can empathize especially with the lack of free time. I didn't know you never graduated, though! You're working on a computer engineering degree, right?

[WarKitty]

What about carrying an actual pocketwatch on your belt?