Ferrari Mailing List: Re: Staying firmly OT: Watches and cars and storage, oh my!

[francis newman (francis]

Good response Rick

For me a watch is something that tells me the time, but I want it to be 
accurate and give me some pleasure when I look at it.

I want my daily driver to get me from a to b reliably  in comfort, safely and 
quickly. It does

Sure my Ferrari also gets from a to b, but that is not the point of it. I want 
my Ferrari to be a load of fun on the occasions that I find time to enjoy it. 
Quick and engaging to drive. It is. I love it. It is a thrill every time I get 
in it and start it up.  I still pinch myself that it is mine as I drive down 
the lane where it lives and wait for the temps to come up:-) And eventually I 
can floor it!!!

Then I get in my daily driver, equally quick in a straight line, to go home - 
and it is SO BORING!

F

On 17 Oct 2014, at 23:16, Rick Lindsay wrote:

> Remember, for me watches are machines, not jewelry. And cameras are machines 
> that use optics - a field all but identical to the acoustics of my 30+ year 
> career. And if course, I love cars. People sometimes ask if I drive them or 
> polish them. The answer is, "Very little of either!" I build them and rebuild 
> them.
> 
> My particular interest in older cars is that they solve the same problems of 
> volumetic efficiency and combustion efficiency as modern cars, but they do it 
> with clever mechanical devices rather than computer algorithms.
> 
> -rick
> 
> 
> -------- Original message --------
> From: francis newman
> Date:10/17/2014 11:41 AM (GMT-06:00)
> To: Rick Lindsay
> Cc: francis newman , The FerrariList
> Subject: Re: [Ferrari] Staying firmly OT: Watches and cars and storage, oh my!
> 
> Hi Rick at al
> 
> Unlike some I have no great interest in watches. I can't stand the massive 
> great wrist jewellery that some people go for. I prefer something very slim 
> with a plain face. 
> 
> The most expenisve watch I have ever bought is a Tissot, which cost me 40 
> dollars 20 years ago, and I still wear. I have owned probably only 4 or 5 
> watches during my life. I did particularly like a very slim stainless steel, 
> with stainless steel strap, Seiko with a blue face that I bought in Jeddah in 
> 1978 and wore for about 15 years till it gave up the ghost. I still have it. 
> I also always fancied a much more expensive gold Piaget that my first boss 
> had. It was slim and beautiful and very understated. if I won the lottery 
> that is the sort of thing I would go for.
> 
> So here is a link to the type of watch I might buy if my current one packs 
> up. I would prefer a black leather strap but some sort of plastic one would 
> be OK.
> 
> http://www.watchshop.com/mens-skagen-classic-watch-858xlslb-p99938937.html
> 
> As for cameras. Well I was on tehn photo trade for 25 years so never needed 
> to buy wnything - just boprrowed it from work.
> 
> So I have a big gap between my two Nikon Fs (one Ftn and one plain 
> pentaprism) which I bought when I was at college and my recent digital stuff 
> (plus a few bits of late 19th early 20th century stuff I picked up along the 
> way). But I have used pretty much everything around in the interim, so none 
> of it holds much awe for me. Much the same as if you work in a Ferrari shop I 
> guess.
> 
> Best
> 
> Francis
> 
> On 17 Oct 2014, at 14:57, Rick Lindsay wrote:
> 
> > George, Matt, et al.,
> > 
> > Isn't it a treat to have such wonderful hobbies?! I too enjoy fine watches 
> > - and cameras and cars. Its part of that 'machines' appreciation. 
> > 
> > In the timepiece world I have two old coin silver railroad pocket watches. 
> > Both are key wind. One has an ivory face. The other one's face appears to 
> > be porcelain on a brass substrate. And both came from my grandad. He was a 
> > Pullman Conductor on the Union Pacific railroad's Chicago through Denver to 
> > the west coast run. Perhaps that's where I got my love for trains. Or 
> > perhaps it comes from living just a couple of miles away from where Dr. 
> > Sheldon Cooper grew up!
> > 
> > In 1943 my dad graduated from highschool. To commemorate the event, his 
> > father, the Pullman Conductor with a great respect for the words, "on 
> > time", gave him an Elgin tank watch. When dad died, I got the watch and own 
> > it still. Somewhere along the way, probably in the '60s, it was repaired 
> > and a replacement stem was installed. The 'crown' of the stem is too large, 
> > this being a generic part that fit rather than a correct Elgin replacement 
> > part. I am torn between finding a correct stem and leaving the watch as dad 
> > last wore it. At present, the latter case is winning. I occasionally wear 
> > the watch and it 'keeps time' just fine.
> > 
> > Having come of age in the '60s and being fascinated by NASA and the 
> > Mercury/Gemini/Apollo program, I just had to have a Bulova Accutron - the 
> > first watch of the Magnificent Seven. I bought mine in 1970.  It is a 
> > second generation Accutron in about the cheapest gold plated brass case 
> > available, at the time. First generation Accutrons had a setting mechanism 
> > on the back of the watch and no 'stem', per se. This was to emphasize that 
> > it was an electric watch, using a tuning fork motor. Quartz watches were 
> > yet to be invented! Second generation Accutrons had a conventional stem, 
> > making them easier to set, but the stem was offset 45 degrees from the 
> > typical location - again to emphasize that this was no 'ordinary' hand 
> > wound watch.
> > 
> > I also have a stainless and gold TAG Heuer with mother of pearl dial, that 
> > I bought 25 years ago. The case is wear-worn but the 'motor', to use the 
> > watchmaker's term, is still flawless. It has gone through the TAG repair 
> > facility for cleaning and a full restoration, EXCEPT for the case and 
> > bracelet. I have kept the 25 years of external patina unchanged.
> > 
> > That's it for the older watches. In the newer category are a Ferrari 
> > Rattrapante Tachymeter and a Breitling Navitimer 01 - and a couple of Timex 
> > beater watches for the garage.
> > 
> > I also like cameras and own quite a few. Some are simple and old, others 
> > are newer and quality machines but not in the Hasselblad or Leica class. 
> > Sadly my original Nikon F with the Photomic light meter head, was stolen. 
> > That was a long time ago. Today in addition to the antiques, I have two 
> > FMs, one silver and one black. Also have an FG and a plethora of Nikkor 
> > lenses - some automatic, some completely manual. None are autofocus. And of 
> > course there a several digitals laying around, mostly Nikons.
> > 
> > Disclaimer: Recall that I have never claimed to be a photographer. Better 
> > said; I am a camera owner. 
> > 
> > The current scuderia in age order is;
> > 
> > '53 MG TD
> > '62 Triumph TR3b
> > '69 R-R Silver Shadow
> > '73 Jaguar E-Type
> > '73 Volvo 1800ES
> > '78 Lotus Esprit S2
> > '79 Ferrari 308GTB
> > '85 Ferrari Testarossa
> > '08 Porsche Cayman
> > '09 Toyota Highlander
> > 
> > There is a logic to these seemingly random cars. First of all, the later 
> > model 21st century cars, are the daily drivers. I don't even change the oil 
> > in these cars. They are major appliances, if expertly functioning 
> > appliances. The older cars are all cars that can mostly be maintained and 
> > serviced at home in the garage. The 308GTB uses electronic ignition but 
> > that's plug-n-play should anything go wrong. The Testarossa is the youngest 
> > of the lot and the least home garage friendly. Where clutch and cam belts 
> > on the 308GTB are Saturday afternoon sitting on the garage floor jobs, the 
> > Testarossa cam belt is engine-out, and God only knows what it takes to 
> > change a clutch! I don't care for that. My friend Neil's Mondial T, with 
> > the 348 drivetrain is a strong performer but I wouldn't want to own it. Too 
> > many NLA parts and almost beyond simple garage maintenance. Yea, I'm 
> > opinionated that way and I don't ask anyone else to agree. And just like my 
> > Timex garage watches are more precise than the older mechanical ones, and 
> > the digital cameras take higher resolution pictures than the old 35mm SLRs, 
> > the later model Ferraris (or whatever marque one wishes to insert there) 
> > are more reliable, quicker, safer, or whatever - and I just don't care for 
> > them, except perhaps as major appliances.
> > 
> > Happy Saturday,
> > 
> > -rick
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