Yes, especially if you're offering up random trinkets from underneath your car seats and between couch cushions. 30 year old ballpoint pens from your bank. An old matchbook. Maybe a lens cleaner, or the stylus from an early PalmPilot. Anything to enhance my lifestyle!!
I have followed you and your writing for years. I always thought you are a true pollymath. Today you proved to to me. From sundials to metslirgy from design to marketing, you bring a wide eyed interest in all things, both close and far.
Thanks so much! I suppose one of the main values of martial arts practice is that it can offer you, sometimes, insights into things that have nothing to do with the martial arts per se. Kind of like watches, come to think of it.
Great piece. Expertise in any trade takes time and commitment. It isn’t magic, it is hard work.
Recently, I have been involved in a couple of presentations (it’s what happens when you become a geezer and are too old to do a trade). Often the first question is “Why did you have so many jobs in your 20s?” I say, “Because I failed at all of them.”
Those who don’t get up and leave at that point get to have a conversation that I hope is worthwhile.
Thanks for taking the time to embed a little Taoism and a little Zen into our day.
Thanks JR. When I was in my 20s I failed at a lot of things too (in fact there were a couple of situations which I think probably resulted in my becoming unalive as the euphemism has it, in some parallel universe). It is fun and even sometimes useful to look back at those days although my at the time, the struggle was real 😉
Hi Jack, Another most interesting read. It immediately brought to mind Ben Graham's "The Intelligent Investor" Appendix 1 written by Warren Buffet pages 291-294 in my edition, but YMMV. To summarise and paraphrase somewhat...Imagine a dollar coin-flipping competition in the USA. (At the time of Warren's writing the US population was 225M.) Flip a head and you keep your dollar and win one from someone who called wrong. After about 20 flips there will be around 215 people who have turned one dollar into around $1M. Now further imagine you interview all 215 and 40 or so state that they had all read Ben Graham's "The Intelligent Coin Tosser". You might now think that this Ben Graham guy might be onto something. You decide to grab a copy. The book is quite short. It turns out to be a rather long set of instructions though and a rather dry read. Hardly a page-turner. Very few people have had the patience to follow it accurately. It's a recipe for Ben's Secret Sauce. Well, that's what Warren thinks about value investing. I'm not sure any of that was relevant, but it was brought to mind.
Really enjoyed the excursion through the divergent schools of martial arts here. This essay is a terrific defenestration of that ubiquitous internet meme "THEY don't want you to know this ONE weird trick!!!" I've always appreciated your ability to use watches as an initial jumping off point to discuss math, philosophy, economics, society, art history, and beyond. HODINKEE is not the same without your writing and editorial leadership.
En garde, MF’er.
😂
Now that I have your attention can I interest you in some merch😀
Yes, especially if you're offering up random trinkets from underneath your car seats and between couch cushions. 30 year old ballpoint pens from your bank. An old matchbook. Maybe a lens cleaner, or the stylus from an early PalmPilot. Anything to enhance my lifestyle!!
By the way, I'm still waiting for an eShop to open up for Shteyngart's Mist Tanned Watch Straps.
Jack,
I have followed you and your writing for years. I always thought you are a true pollymath. Today you proved to to me. From sundials to metslirgy from design to marketing, you bring a wide eyed interest in all things, both close and far.
I cannot thank you enough.
Thank YOU very much sir. It's a pleasure to know there are readers out there like you, and a comfort too.
Definitely the most entertaining thing I’ve read all week. The martial arts analogy was 🎯
Thanks so much! I suppose one of the main values of martial arts practice is that it can offer you, sometimes, insights into things that have nothing to do with the martial arts per se. Kind of like watches, come to think of it.
I really enjoyed this piece. I hope you'll keep straying further afield here on Substack.
Of all the famous people I met at Bennington, Jack, you're the one I regret not getting to know better.
Cheers.
Aw, that is too kind of you. In true Bennington fashion I guess, I have managed to find a weird little niche and I'm milking it for all it's worth 😉
Jack,
Great piece. Expertise in any trade takes time and commitment. It isn’t magic, it is hard work.
Recently, I have been involved in a couple of presentations (it’s what happens when you become a geezer and are too old to do a trade). Often the first question is “Why did you have so many jobs in your 20s?” I say, “Because I failed at all of them.”
Those who don’t get up and leave at that point get to have a conversation that I hope is worthwhile.
Thanks for taking the time to embed a little Taoism and a little Zen into our day.
The oxen are slow but the earth is patient. 🤣
JR
old warrior and even older writer
Thanks JR. When I was in my 20s I failed at a lot of things too (in fact there were a couple of situations which I think probably resulted in my becoming unalive as the euphemism has it, in some parallel universe). It is fun and even sometimes useful to look back at those days although my at the time, the struggle was real 😉
The “secret sauce” is a quote from Winston Churchill: Never,never,never give up!
Hi Jack, Another most interesting read. It immediately brought to mind Ben Graham's "The Intelligent Investor" Appendix 1 written by Warren Buffet pages 291-294 in my edition, but YMMV. To summarise and paraphrase somewhat...Imagine a dollar coin-flipping competition in the USA. (At the time of Warren's writing the US population was 225M.) Flip a head and you keep your dollar and win one from someone who called wrong. After about 20 flips there will be around 215 people who have turned one dollar into around $1M. Now further imagine you interview all 215 and 40 or so state that they had all read Ben Graham's "The Intelligent Coin Tosser". You might now think that this Ben Graham guy might be onto something. You decide to grab a copy. The book is quite short. It turns out to be a rather long set of instructions though and a rather dry read. Hardly a page-turner. Very few people have had the patience to follow it accurately. It's a recipe for Ben's Secret Sauce. Well, that's what Warren thinks about value investing. I'm not sure any of that was relevant, but it was brought to mind.
As someone who’s puffed many hard blows, I approve of this message.
Somehow I walked away from this article utterly re-convinced that Jack really does have the “secret sauce.”
Seriously though, this is a breath of fresh air. No one takes true journalism and horology as seriously as Jack, and the results speak for themselves.
Really enjoyed the excursion through the divergent schools of martial arts here. This essay is a terrific defenestration of that ubiquitous internet meme "THEY don't want you to know this ONE weird trick!!!" I've always appreciated your ability to use watches as an initial jumping off point to discuss math, philosophy, economics, society, art history, and beyond. HODINKEE is not the same without your writing and editorial leadership.