Heuer also produced countdown timers for yacht racing. The Yacht-Timer, Skipper and Regatta are excellent examples of some pretty decent start timers of the era, I reckon they look pretty decent.

As a yachtie, the countdown timers of the early 1970s are very interesting. These days we are wearing digital countdown timers and we mostly hate them. My last one had a plastic strap, it was broken during a jib change and I lost it overboard. I really don’t want to have super expensive timepieces on my wrist during a race, it makes me a little nervous.

I would love to wear a modern chronograph sailing. They are available but are pricey, I would love to wear one though. As long as it was designed for sailing, it requires a programmable countdown timer, we mostly require a 5 minute countdown, sometimes 3 minutes and 10 minutes isn’t unheard of. Getting a good start is important for getting an early advantage, then you need to build on the early advantage and build a lead. Sure, you can catch up and overtake the leaders, but it is better to use that advantage to increase your lead.

Heuer no longer manufactures sailing chronographs, if I want one, I will have to head onto the second hand vintage market. I would be extremely hesitant to wear a vintage Heuer chronograph during a yacht race, the chances of smashing it or losing it overboard are high. Heuer made their reputation producing motor racing chronographs, Heuer were all about chronographs. A yacht timer is a pretty good use of a chronograph function, the tool watch aesthetics really suit my style.

Tudor is a brand created by Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf in 1946 to build a high quality but lower priced watch than Rolex. Wilsdorf founded Rolex in 1908 and Tudor was more of a value proposition, a Rolex at reasonable prices so to speak.

The newly developed inhouse movements such as the MT5602, MT5612 and MT5621 all have a 70 hour power reserve so it is pretty easy to differentiate between the two specifications. What I do like about the Black Bay 36 is the lack of date window, that makes for a nice dial. In the watch community people are raving about Tudor, for me, not so. I took a look and really didn’t like their designs or feel on the wrist. Not that I am saying Tudor produce a bad product, it is just not the styling that appeals to me.

Despite being protected by the Kremlin, Igor Girkin made a horrendous mistake publicly rebuking and criticising Russian President Vladimir Putin. There was no way this type of public outburst was going to go unpunished.

Sure, Igor Girkin was responsible for the downing of Malaysian Airlines MH17 over Ukraine in 2014, but terrorism isn’t an issue in Russia as long as Russia [or their leadership] is not targeted. The Buk missile was launched by pro-Russian separatists in Eastern Ukraine. The 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade of the Russian Federation had been transported from Russia on the day of the terrorist act and returned to Russian territory the very same day.

Shortly after the downing of the commercial aircraft, Igor Girkin, the leader of the Donbas separatists took to social media claiming recognition for shooting down a Ukrainian Antonov An-26 military transport aircraft. The separatists then denied involvement despite just 40 minutes after Prime Minister Alexander Borodai of the Donbas People’s Republic reporting they had just shot down a commercial airliner. So, paradoxically, Igor gherkin has now been arrested for insulting Vladimir Girkin but will not be brought to justice for murdering 283 passengers and 15 crew.

What makes me laugh more than anything is the second rate politics played in the government department I called home for a decade and a half. I let them play their silly games, when it counts, I make sure they feel the pain.

They think I lost, they thought I was frustrated and they thought they have defeated me – they are so wrong. Firstly, I have to thank my former manager, I say former because he was moved on. He had a habit of getting rid of the people he didn’t like – that’s true. He is gone, but I am still there; sure, he sandbagged my career – that’s true. However, what one has to learn to do is to turn defeat into victory. Whilst I won’t use his real name, Larry is the gift that keeps on giving. I chose the name Larry as that is one of the three stooges.

I can’t be fired, he broke the law and I worked it out and that is bad in the state government. What’s worse, he called me into the office and held me accountable for the Corruption and Crime Commission report – big mistake. That’s breaking the law, not only that, if I had reported him, he could be up for a two-year prison sentence. So, that buys me some goodwill; sure, I will never be promoted – I accept that. If they ever want to push the issue, I can defend myself in the Equal Opportunity Commission, the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2003 clearly articulates that requirement.

However, that also makes me immune from dismissal, that’s clearly described in the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2003. Poor judgement got the department in this position, their lack of leadership and management ability created this mess – this is on them. So now I am free to pursue consulting roles in the public sector and retain my role in the government – you can’t fire a whistleblower. After trying to bully me they learned that I fight back and despite defending from a perceived position of weakness – my strategy is far superior to theirs.

I could not help but laugh, the drone attack on the Kremlin in the lead up to Russian World War II celebrations was truly remarkable. Yes, we saw the footage of the drones explode close to the Kremlin, but please – come on. That had to be the smallest drone explosion in the Ukrainian invasion and fightback.

Was this a Ukrainian plot to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin? The Ukrainians have been known to target military assets within Russian borders, but the Kremlin has no military value whatsoever. There seems to be an increase in train derailments including refinery and fuel depot fires attributed to the Russian resistance movement. This is unlikely to be Ukraine though, this is more likely to be an internal uprising.

What was even funnier, there were clearly two people climbing up and onto the roof when the drones approached. Yes, the drones did explode over the Kremlin; however, their explosive force was so weak it didn’t even knock the flagpole over, and the drone exploded right alongside the flagpole. Sure, the flag fluttered a little, but even that wasn’t damaged. So we are supposed to believe the Ukrainian military flew a drone all the way from Ukrainian territory through Russian airspace all the way to the Kremlin, the most heavily guarded building in Moscow, most likely in all of Russia without enough explosives to knock a flag pole over – give it up.

Then, after Ukrainian denials the Kremlin tried to frame this as an American plot to assassinate Putin in the Kremlin. If the US wanted to strike the Kremlin, they would have flattened the entire structure with any one of the stealth weapons they have at their disposal. The Russians did not want to damage the Kremlin, they wanted to put on enough of a show for the camera to justify to an internal audience that they are protecting the people of Russia against the fascists when they really need to fear the fascists in the Kremlin.

I might be fighting a rearguard action against a number of people entrenched in positions. What is saving me is these guys are not so smart, the longer I hold out, the more opportunities I offer them to fail. Instead, what they resort to is the low-brow tactics of abuse and gaslighting. That is iust fine, I am aware of their strategy and tactics, they do not have a lot going on mentally so their strategy is not refined or well planned. 

So, what opportunities do they offer me? Well, they gossip in an open plan office, so it is pretty easy to work out what they are up to. They are not discrete, so I can usually view them yakking away even if I cannot hear them. Then they will break from the group and the abuse begins, it is pretty easy to work out who the organiser is. There are laws in Western Australia to prevent workplace bullying, they have not really been enacted prior to this, they were strengthened with the WHS Act in 2020 and this will drive change.

So, where do we go from here? This will be interesting, they have had one calamity after another, it always involves the same people. So if upper management was to suddenly apply critical thinking principles, deductive reasoning and critical reflection then they might finally work out a pattern of behaviour. There is too much workplace power concentrated in the hands of a few who are abusing these gifted positions. I am not talking about merit based on a rigorous merit selection process, this is the exact reason why cronyism must be eradicated.

As a manufacturer I like Tissot, they have a broad range whilst keeping prices at reasonable levels. As far as I\’m concerned, Tissot is a fairly decent entry-level Swiss watch from Le Locle in Switzerland that is pretty much considered the centre of the Swiss watchmaking industry.

When I look at the high-end luxury retailers such as Rolex, Omega, Panerai and Breitling I see a pretty narrow product range. Tissot on the hand, has a broad line that probably tries to do too much; their product line is too cluttered without a signature timepiece. Tissot does have collections such as the T-Sport, T-Classic and Heritage with individual timepieces assigned to each broad collection.

What I like about a brand such as Tissot is is has a long history that began in 1853, this isn’t an internet driven pop-up brand or fashion watch. Tissot has serious watchmaking heritage but does compete with a number of the fashion watch brands. Whilst the current logo is ok, I really like the old logo used on the heritage collection – it has a certain style.

Tissot also sponsors a number of sports from basketball with the NBA (National Basketball Association), FIBA (International Basketball Federation) and CBA (Chinese Basketball Association). Then there is cycling with the Tour De France, there is the Moto GP, Superbikes along with ice hockey, fencing and the Australian Football League (AFL).

It is a shame Tissot has been relegated to the entry-level Swiss watch status. However, since Tissot is owned by the Swatch Group, they have a number of prestigious brands in their business and they all need to fit within a market segment. As such, Tissot officially sits in the mid-range of the Swatch Group along with Hamilton, Mido and Certina but I really feel this is a pretty solid entry-level Swiss watch.

Mainland Europe is ill equipped to handle the aggressive expansion of Russia. Poland has determined they have some real issues and are building up their military to defend itself. Germany, France and even the United Kingdom have degraded their military to such an extent that they can no longer act as a deterrent.

The Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have real strategic issues, Russian aggression is real and with the coastal enclave of Kaliningrad along with the Suwałki Gap, that is the security threat for Poland. Putin has long felt NATO is divided and indecisive, the sketchy support of Ukraine supports Putin’s theory, Putin feels he has the right to invade the Baltic countries, he has moved the Russian economy to a wartime footing,.

There is some discussion that Putin will attack NATO countries during or after the US elections when the president elect has yet to take office. That means Putin is banking on Trump deposing Joe Biden and a leadership vacuum appears, Biden has no mandate and Trump undermines his position. Trump does no play a team game and would likely trash talk the departing president, that will create tension in an already divided congress.

If the Baltic nations are attacked, I see Poland tasked with stopping the Russian advance further west, they will have the strongest military in Europe in the next five years. Putin is sensing this also, he may see this as the opportunity before Poland becomes too powerful. Poland has had a patriotic surge in enlistment service, the Polish people see the threat to their nation, they do not want to live under Russian occupation again.

Trump has previously undermined NATO with his isolationist policies, he has publicly stated allies and partners need to pay more. Trump has spoken about closing bases around the world, this is sending a message to Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping and this is the US is retreating worldwide. China has been aggressive against the poorer nations in Asia, even against Japan who is seeking to build up their military to counter the Chinese threat. We will see some interesting posturing by both Russia and China during the US presidential elections.

Every person connected with the Brittany Higgins case has been tarnished. No one has been left unscathed and Senator Katy Gallagher is another person who has left herself open chasing political gain on a flimsy pretense.

Senator Katy Gallagher saw an opportunity at the Senate Estimates Committee when grilling Senator Linda Reynolds. As it turns out after the text messages between David Sharaz and Brittany Higgins were released, they clearly identified Senator Katy Gallagher was informed despite her denials. Senator Linda Reynolds explained to the Senate Estimates Committee that she had been tipped off two weeks prior of what she was intending to do.

Nobody believes you Katy, when she was finally required to come clean after the phone text messages were released, her denials were staggering. Well, yes the evidence is now insurmountable but I never used that ill-gotten information to my political advantage – yeah right. Gallagher told the Senate Estimates Committee that no one had any knowledge of the Brittany Higgins sexual assault allegation. Senator Gallagher needs to drop the attitude, stop hiding behind the Senate and come clean on her knowledge of this sordid affair.

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When I look at two competing watch brands, I see Baume and Mercier and Longines fighting for the same market segment. The Richemont owned Baume and Mercier compete directly with the Swatch Group owned Longines.

As a duty of disclosure, I own Longines but do not own any Baume and Mercier timepieces, I do not own exactly what I wanted in the Longines product line. I own an older Conquest reference L3.677.4.58.6 that is a decent watch. There are some issues with the crown and crown guard, there are plenty of people who have issues with that styling. The 2023 reference has a much more elegant integral crown guard and crown, I can see that. That being said, pretty robust and chunky, for the best part – I like it.

What I like about Baume and Mercier is their styling, this is the entry level offering from Richemont. The advertising is high quality, they are targeting a fairly refined market and I believe they hit their target market. What Baume and Mercier have to offer is pretty good value for money, there is a sophisticated purchaser who has a high enough disposable income for a luxury watch, but not necessarily the budget for a Vacheron Constantin or an A. Lange & Söhne. The Richemont Group offers some exquisite timepieces in their line-up, Baume and Mercier is their entry-level line up, this is impressive.