seedsbelize2

I found out, yesterday, what my upcoming surgery will be.. Fiddling with the retina (I now know what it is and what it does) and removing the cataract. I thought it would be scheduled yesterday but there is at least one more step.. It's amazing how these things drag out DougRNS . Looking through my paperwork I see the whole process began in the middle of July. Will the second eye take that long too? Then there's my ears--- I'm practically deaf on the right side
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Velo Vol 

They made watches just for astronauts? That's a very small market. Seems like a basic digital watch like datlas' would have worked just fine.

seedsbelize2

I have one bike with the rear brake cable running through the top tube. I prefer it otherwise

genejockey 

You mean the basic digital watch that didn't exist at the time? I'm sure it would have. The "digital watches" of that era were basic mechanical watch movements with the hour and minute hands replaced by rotating discs, in a case with windows that only showed a small portion at a time. Like this:

Back in the late 50s/early 60s, NASA solicited watches from watch companies to test under a variety of harsh conditions, and the Omega Speedmaster Professional was the one that passed all the tests. Later, Bulova's Accutron also passed the tests, but the Speedy Pro was the one issued to the astronauts in the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs. IIRC, the guts of an Accutron were used as a timekeeping instrument in at least some of the capsules.

Remember, the first battery-powered watches had only been introduced in 1957. There were no quartz watches. There were no real digital watches. There were mechanical watches, electromechanical watches, and the Accutron.

EDIT: Bulova marketed the "Astronaut" series to the public, which at the time was obsessed with space, and space flight. Similarly, Omega has been selling the Speedmaster Professional as the "Moon Watch" for the last 5 decades. People who know very little about watches will buy a Speedmaster Professional because of that. Mind you, it's also an excellent watch, so people who know a lot about watches also buy them (sometimes for much the same reason, though).

Mojo31

There is no market. They get them as part of their kit.

MoAlpha

Rolex et al. keep sponsoring races and marketing watches to sailors, by which they mean rich people who aspire to be yachty. No real sailor would wear a non-expendable watch on a boat, much less a mechanical one and chemically illuminated dials are a complete joke when you really have to know what time it is at night and your eyes are bleary from sleep deprivation or you're old and don't have your glasses on. I assume the same goes for astronauts.

genejockey 

The funny thing, though, is that Rolex and Omega weren't originally luxury, non-expendable watches. They were made to be as dependable and reliable as possible. If you needed to know the time, you needed the most reliable, most waterproof, most rugged watch you could get.That's why people wore Rolexes for sailing and astronauts wore Speedy Pro's - because they were the best "tool watches" they could get.

Now? Sure. You can get a Casio G-shock that will keep better time, and be way more rugged, for a small fraction of the price.

BTW, BITD they were a lot less expensive, in terms of what people made. I don't know about the Speedy Pro, but in 1960 you could get an Omega Seamaster for under $175, which translates to about $1750 today. Nowadays, the cheapest Seamaster looks to be about $6600, almost 4x as much.

LesterOfPuppets

OMG, Shimano stock is off 7.3% so far today.

phrantic09

I was going to go at lunch- but gusting to 30 is just too much, especially with the amount of close passes I’ve got the past few days. Plus, riding into that is no fun

genejockey 

Gives you a chance to test out your aero position.

big john

I live on the lower slope of a 4000 foot mountain. When I ride from here it's a bit of descending unless I go straight up the mountain. Today I started on the climb to try and warm up. I almost turned around to go home. Not warmed up and climbing into that wind, eeek. Managed to stay out for 1.5 hours until I got a slow leak in the rear tire.

rjones28 

The 1960s was still an analog world.

Mojo31

Cheapest current Seamaster is about $5,600 and then the sky is the limit with a platinum/leather Planet Ocean going for $95,000.

Your point doesn't change though.

rjones28 

I have a Fisher space pen. Partly because, space pen duh, but mainly because it's easy to carry in a pants pocket

big john

I don't have an aero position.

bampilot06

I would love another bonus.

I don’t know what new bikes would be instore for me. I could prolly convince the wife to let me get the kanzo at some point or the Echo becuase I can argue it’s a gravel bike.

As far as another road bike? Prolly would have to sell something first. If Ritchey comes out with ti again like the rep hinted then I would buy one of those. I think she would be okay with that, she knows how much I love my ritchey, plus she bought my first one. Plus the Ti ritchey would settle my desire for a Moots.

When we go to Italy I told her I was going up to the Wilier factory and hand picking a bike. She said okay to that, but that’s a souvenir………


A CAAD at some point, but that’s when I can locate a frame for cheap or free. Be another cheap build and lead to another crit bike.

Velo Vol 

I doubt the manufacturer made them for free.
I'd have to previously know that to remember it.
Don't do anything rash.
Boomer alert

Velo Vol 

Evening activity

bampilot06

downward dog.

Mojo31

I would not be surprised if Omega supplied them to NASA for free to get the publicity.

Mojo31

Snotty little sh*t alert.

bampilot06

If any of youse is ever stuck in Terminal 8 JFK, don’t eat. No matter how hungry you are, just suck it up and ask for extra pretzels on the flight. Just ate the worst excuse of baked ziti I have had. Busch Gardens makes a better baked ziti. Everything I ever get in this airport sucks.

Trsnrtr

So are you having retina surgery or lens replacements or both? I had a vitrectomy and a lens implant at the same time back in 2011.

genejockey 

I'd be somewhat surprised if a government agency were allowed to accept them.

Velo Vol 

I don't get it.