The sad passing of common sense.

Not my usual material. This came through in an email and made sense.

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:


- Knowing when to come in out of the rain;

- Why the early bird gets the worm;

- Life isn't always fair;

- and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason.

He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers;

I Know My Rights

I Want It Now

Someone Else Is To Blame

I'm A Victim

I will return to the usual fare shortly, but thought this was worth posting.

Take care,
Damian

Do you know your module from your ebauche?

The bits inside a watch have many names and most people don't know what they are. Unless you are a watchmaker do you really need to know what a click spring or fourth wheel is? There are a few things that are useful to know.

For example, did you know the workings of a mechanical watch are called a movement whereas that of a quartz (battery or the more correct, cell) is called a module?

Calibre is the type or model of a movement from any manufacturer, for example ETA Valjoux 7750. ETA is the company that this very good chronograph (stopwatch and timepiece) movement is made by. Valjoux is the series and 7750 is the particular type. This could just as easily be a Ford (ETA) Focus (Valjoux) Expression (7750). So the calibre is Valjoux 7750.

Ebauche is when someone uses a movement not of their manufacture but give it a "tickle" to make it their own. This can be anything from a different finish to a few upgraded parts. The Valjoux 7750 is found in a Tissot for less than £500. This is a straight forward calibre out of the box. This same movement is also found in the Omega Seamaster although this has had the whole escapement replaced and upgraded as well as having a nice circular grained finish applied to the entire movement, this is ebauche.

Manufacture. When a watch house makes the movement "in house". Parts may be bought in but the movement will be exclusive to the manufacturer. This can mean many things but mostly means that a watch house has the technology and finances to make a manufacture movement. It does not mean it will be better. Hence Omega using the Lemania movement in the "Moonwatch" and Rolex using Zenith's "El Primero" in the Daytona. Some people already make the best.

Quartz modules or "battery movements" have a thin slice of quartz, through which the current from the cell (battery) flows. This causes it to vibrate at 32,768 times per second. This pulse is passed through a small computer chip that divides it in half 15 times to produce one pulse per second, very useful in a watch. Quartz is the only, readily available, crystaline substance that a small voltage can pass through a produce a whole number that relates to timekeeping.

Went into a little more than I intended for this post, but I hope its helpful.

Take care,
Damian

Diamonds from Zimbabwe

There is a bit of a discussion going on in the diamond trade worldwide about Robert Mugabe's plan to release rough diamonds form Zimbabwe onto the open market. Now we're not talking about a small amount here 4.4 million carats is the amount. It's enough to turn a head or two. One thing we have to remember is that historically the quality of rough from Zimbabwe is generally low. An amount of this size would probably only yield 1 to 1.5 millions carats of gem grade Diamonds. But this is still not small fry.

Where the problem arises is whether these stones are classed as "conflict" or "blood" Diamonds. Many bad things have gone on in this country, but these stones are trying to enter the market legitimately. Officials from the Kimberly Process (A process created to try and ensure global diamond sales do not fund war, drugs, oppression and other awful things) have been in talks about Zimbabwe entering the certified pipeline. I have to say that as a world leader, I don't trust this man or his regime, or in any way really. But if there is the opportunity to regulate the flow of these diamonds, it should keep the prices up a little meaning there is more money to benefit his countrymen. If it happens.

I think this is the Kimberly Process' way of keeping friends close and enemies closer. What would be the impact on world trade? Not a lot if regulated. What would happen if it wasn't regulated? Price drops and possibly a crash. If these Diamonds are banned from the market altogether, the people of Zimbabwe have no chance of reaping the benefits, whereas if they were allowed they have a slim chance.

This has left me in a bit of a quandary as to what the best answer is. I'm so glad I'm not one of the decision makers! Be interesting to see your thoughts.

Take care,
Damian