“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of our favorite content, watch or otherwise, from around the internet. Here, we support other creators, explore interesting content that inspires us, and put a spotlight on causes we believe in. Oh, and any gear we happen to be digging on this week. We love gear.
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Header Image Via: New York Times
What if we told you that you could purchase your very own “Rolex” for 1,500 Ugandan Shillings, or roughly 40 U.S. cents? And then what if we followed that up by saying you can even make a “Rolex” within the confines of your very own home? If you haven’t figured it out by now, we’re not talking about the privately-owned Swiss powerhouse watch company commonly known as the “The Crown,” but a popular Ugandan street food that has adopted the Rolex name.
The hearty Ugandan snack’s nickname is actually derived from what the meal actually is – “rolled eggs” (say that a few times fast, and you can see how it gets the name) and it even has its own dedicated annual festival in Uganda. Essentially, it’s a vegetable omelet rolled up in chapati, a form of bread similar to that of roti. The omelet seems to be the straightforward part of the recipe, but the chapati however, is a bit more tricky. Although chapati is traditionally made up of only four ingredients, the type of flour you use, as well as your preference for the proportions of milk or water will determine the texture of your Rolex’s omelet vector.
For once, it’s quite amusing to talk about Rolex without having to encounter serious discussions about attainability, gray market pricing or subtle (and not so subtle) changes to current models in the current collection. As for the Ugandan street snack that’s enjoying some time in the limelight, it’s a “Rolex” that we’re sure you all won’t mind getting behind.
The Ricoh GR III is a compact, point and shoot camera that packs a serious punch. It has already developed a solid reputation for its use in street and travel photography anchored by several well-grounded specs that include a 24MP APS-C sensor, an 18.3mm F2.8 lens, 3-axis image stabilization, and 6 element lens construction. The new Ricoh GR III Diary limited edition retains these features, but in an attractive warm gray-metallic housing with silver accents that presents similarly to the earthy tones titanium gives off in certain lighting. The Ricoh GR III Diary Edition is limited to just 2,000 units worldwide and comes with a price tag of €1,299.00. For more information on this latest release from GR, head on over here.
Speaking of cameras, this week we came across a promising camera accessory that is sure to grab your attention as well. It’s a smart tripod and it’s called the Benro Theta. So what makes it so smart? Well for starters the Benro Theta has a built-in one-button auto-leveling system. That’s right, with one push of a button, the tripod can adjust by itself so that the camera’s frame is exactly leveled. The Benro Theta also features an in-house system that allows the photographer to remotely access the camera through his or her phone via the Theta app. In addition to these two nifty features, the Benro Theta has everything you would want in a proper tripod – a sturdy structure capable of withstanding all types of environments, convenient portability, and compatible Arca Swiss plates and L brackets. The Kickstarter product already has close to 5,000 backers and has approximately $2.5 million in pledged backing. If that doesn’t already speak to what type of product Benro is putting out, then the video above will.
April has been a great book release month, and with the change in seasons quickly approaching which will inevitably include long days at the beach and loads of down time, having a couple of solid reading options might not be a bad idea. If you happen to be a James Bond fan too, then rest assured, double “0” seven is going to double the reading fun. We featured the fictional novel, Double Or Nothing, by Kim Sherwood late last year here in WSG, however at the time of publishing, the book was unavailable to those who wanted to purchase it in the United States. Well now, the wait is over – head on over to your nearest bookstore or order it online, and find out how the other double “0” agents at MI6 step up in the wake of James Bond mysteriously disappearing.
The other book that just released this week is entitled The James Bond Archives “No Time To Die” Edition and is written by Paul Duncan. This comprehensive look at the history of James Bond covers the gamut including previously unpublished photography, set designs, and an oral history from over 150 cast and crew members. This particular updated special edition includes exclusive photography and fresh interviews from Daniel Craig, director Cary Fukunaga, and many more. At the time of this writing, you can head on over to Amazon to purchase this must-have James Bond dedicated opus to your library at a discounted price of $62.99.
This past Thursday marked the first time SpaceX was going to launch their Starship rocket from the company’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas. The Starship is the most powerful launch system ever developed and is capable of carrying over 100 people on long-duration, interplanetary flights. With lofty goals already assigned to SpaceX’s crown jewel rocket, the objective was quite simple for the Starship during Thursday’s launch, just clear the launch pad, and it did exactly that.
However, after just minutes into the Starship’s flight, there was a clear issue during the planned stage separation. With the boosters still attached to the Starship, the rocket made several 360° turns before exploding in midair, before the first stage could even separate to make its maneuver back to Earth. According to SpaceX, the Starship explosion was not planned, and was due to the spaceship’s autonomous flight termination system when it deems that the rocket performance is unsafe. So therein lies the question, was this launch a success, or a failure? Check out this Ars Technica article written by Senior Space Editor Eric Berger as he breaks down the entire thing.
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