147 Comments

European appliances are one thing I certainly don't miss from my time living in Europe.

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I intentionally stopped wearing a watch once smartphones came out. Is that a rare thing? Do most people still purchase a watch?

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I am currently rocking a black Timex made out of the finest plastic and cheap metal. It tells time perfectly. However I have never owned a smartphone.

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I changed to a smartwatch when the non-Apple ones reached an acceptable level of quality, and will stay with it until something better comes along. I like the additional information, features, and sensors, along with what I always liked best about a watch: knowing what time it is, handsfree, with just a flick of the wrist. Since they keep making them, somebody must be buying them.

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JVL: smart, very insightful and mostly useful opinions/ data.

Much more so than, TM. [TM more funny (e.g. glib comparisons)]

IMO this wasn't useful or funny.

(born, raised nyc -- now in cowTown[DMV]

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Somehow I lucked into Jeff Jacksons updates starting with his 1st one. I am not in his district so have direct connection to his reports. Nevertheless I find them excellent and always informative. I suspect he has the potential to become a significant player and political leader. Totally agree with your recommendation.

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Jeff Jackson is my rep and he is the real deal. The NC GOP knows it too, and they are going to do everything they can to redistrict him out of his seat.

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Not a watch guy by any stretch, but I love this summary of the "three stages of Rolex." As someone with... a lot of interests and hobbies that I probably spend too much time on, the stages of Rolex are I think, pretty universal among enthusiasts of various types about certain big kahunas of their enthusiasm or hobby. Superman for comics people, Corvettes for car people, you can find that progression all over the place.

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That’s a really good point.

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Holly's parody was hilarious - she got Sarah spot on :) :) :)

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Japan and South Korea seem to have manufacturing that wants to make appliances that work well vs Europe and USA where “it works” is good enough (there is value in that though) There are exceptions of course: northern Italy has great engineers, designers and machinists producing the worlds best bicycles and parts (i have a weird attachment to cold forged campagnolo crank arms. It’s the extra attention to finish work, polish, etc that makes them a pleasure to hold).

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Shimano makes great stuff. It’s more focused on function and reliability though. The sponsorship fight between Campagnolo and Shimano in the 70s was a mini version of the battle over F-1.

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I am going to start the Sunday wash here soon, and be done with it by 3 or so...the old washing machine will crash bang a little but everything will be done and folded up. I can't imagine doing my laundry in a microwave.

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I love watches and shoes. Shoes for me are a struggle because I wear a 14 or 15 depending on the cut. But even re watches. I want a durable watch but also one that is quietly dignified and not showy. I have a 20 year old Kenneth Cole watch that I received as a gift from my wife. The safire crystal is indestructible. I have a Seiko I purchased maybe 25 years ago.

The ridiculously expensive watches are ok the the really well to do. For me, I am happy with my Seiko and my Kenneth Cole. I only were the Cole if wearing a suit or sport coat - its a bit dressy.

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The kabuki thing is something I’ve lamented for a while. If you have more than two neurons and you watch this stuff for long enough - 5 years, a decade - you’ll eventually come to the conclusion that it’s all fake and just calibrated to make you angry.

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Omg, that Holly is a keen listener. Also, something something IKEA. And ignore what you read, it is not pronounced Hoo-Gah.

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I have been a Jeff Jackson fan since he was the snow-day state senator (https://www.dailytarheel.com/blog/view-from-the-hill/2015/02/nc-lawmaker-snow-day). He's well known in NC for running positive campaigns and communicating with constituents. His was a trustworthy voice to follow during both covid and the marches/protests following the murder of George Floyd. Hope we get him into higher office one day.

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I’m on Reddit, and he posts short videos to all the major NC city subreddits, even though he’s not our congressman. He’s a great communicator and I always watch his videos.

He had a video recently saying that a lot of the loudmouth congress members were putting in a show. That they were far different when they were in closed doored rooms with no camera.

Edited to add: I didn’t click on the link until after I posted, but the video I was referring to was the one transcript JVL linked to. I think it’s awesome Jeff is putting these out!

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That's " deep", not ' derp..sorry..fat fingers

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Wonderful..not because it's ' baby kittens' or something equally darling ..but it's just " quality communication between harassed humans, trying to remain sane in this increasingly..not so sane world.

With derp thanks for this...and all you at Bulwark are doing.

Howard Bunte

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