Jaeger LeCoultre 8 Days Baguette Clock - My Favourite Clock

The Jaeger-LeCoultre is one of the few Manufactures who has a wide range of clocks on top of their extensive range of watches. And they all use in-house movements. What intrigued me are the Baguette 8 Days clocks and the Atmos.

The Baguette 8 Days Clock houses the Calibre 210, sixteen (16) jewels. I believe it was developed after the 1930s. Comes in several shapes and designs but I was lucky enough to find this specimen in the US.

Measuring 7 x 3.5 x 11cm (L x W x H), this specimen winds from the back and looks suspended from afar. I have seen larger round shaped types which are easily 20cm across.

This particular clock is in very good condition as evident in the movement. The sapphire glass is bevelled, hence the reflection.

There are some that are signed as LeCoultre but this one I have is signed Jaeger LeCoultre. Some are decorated but I like mine just simple and totally see through. I had once asked former JLC CEO Jerome Lambert if they would consider remaking these clocks and the answer was a firm NO.

And another look at the see through clock.

Sits proudly in my living room right beside the Atmos - more on the Atmos in another post.

It's Time - My Pebble Smartwatch

Smartwatches are probably the next craze that will hit gadget hunters much like myself. And while I am lucky enough to get one of the KickStarter Edition Red Pebble, many are still waiting for theirs. But it was a long wait for my Red Pebble. But is it worth the wait and hype?

I received the Pebble through Registered Mail and it came in a small flat box and it was received by my wife. I rushed back that evening to open the package and this was what greeted me.

Just two items in the box - the watch and the connecting cable. Simple and fuss free. No manuals just instructions printed on the box that says "Get started at go.getpebble.com". Simple enough. The Pebble works with both iOS as well as Android.

I put an iPod Nano side by side just for size comparison - decent wearable size but notice the smaller screen as compared to the Nano. I hope the people at Pebble can consider a larger screen much like that of the Nano.

I connected the Pebble to my MacBook Pro and allowed it to charge overnight. Following the instructions on the Pebble Webpage was a piece of cake and pairing with my iPhone 4S was easy. I tested the Pebble with an sms - it worked. I tested with a phone call - it displayed the number and also displayed the caller's name as listed in my Contact. But no such luck with a Whatsapp message. It worked on and off - mostly off actually.

Now for the watch itself - I don't like the push buttons as the feel is stiff. One button on the left side and three on the right side of the watch. Unfortunately, I don't rate the push button as being responsive and one has to push real hard to get it to react. The screen was alright when fired up and in the first few hours of testing the watch, was actually pretty sharp. Display is crisp and easy to read. When I went for my evening jog and I turned on my Runkeeper app on my iPhone, the watch displayed the essential information like elapsed time, distance achieved and average pace. Impressive or so I thought. Then the trouble began...

The screen turned fuzzy for no apparent reason and the display was hard to read. Much as I tried to reset by hitting the "back" button, the screen still displayed a fuzzy screen. Disappointment to say the least. Up until now, I was rather happy with my Pebble. I have since written to Pebble Support asking them what I should do. I wrote to them 2 days ago and I received an automated response telling me that they are experiencing a higher-than-average amount of emails. So I wait patiently for their response.

Picture of my KickStarter Edition Red Pebble. And I still have one Arctic White to come. So for now, I have to contend with a Fuzzy screen that comes on and off. Let see what the good people at Pebble say about this apparent fault. Stay tuned.

Update on 3rd July 2013 - Pebble has responded and they have offered a swap for my Pebble. I will be missing my Pebble for awhile. Thanks Pebble!

Its Durian Season Again!

Its that time of the year where Singaporeans go crazy over the thorny King of Fruits - Durians! Mine started today with supply from my regular who drives in when I order. Thanks to Peter for the recommendation.

Instead of the Mao Shan Wang varietal that we all know about, he came in with a different varietal called Wang Zhong Wang - or loosely translated King of Kings. And this we love - for the bitterness as opposed to the sweeter style. First a look at the fruit.

You can tell the fresh durian from the not so fresh from several indicators - the stem, the colour of the fruit etc. Typically, the fruits are picked in the early morning and brought in to Singapore by the afternoon. Mine arrived round about 1pm today.

You can see the green shell - evidence of freshness.

Then the stem - looks moist like it has just dropped from the tree - another tell tale sign of the freshness of the fruit. Now on to the fruit and flesh itself...

Yummy creamy stuff! Delightfully bitter with a hint of sweetness. Small seeds, plenty of flesh.

Somehow, one look at the crumpled skin of the durian flesh can tell the quality - this is one bitter fruit. It is a good thing when the whole family likes durians and I am lucky my sons are durian eaters. If it were just us two, I guess it would have been more difficult to buy durians. And by the way, we prefer if it came in the fruit and not in styrofoam boxes. Rest for two weeks before we order our next batch. Bon appetit!