เคล็ดลับการเลือกนาฬิกาให้ตรงใจ

การซื้อหานาฬิกาข้อมือ หรือพกพาสักเรือน บางครั้งก็ใช่ว่าจะตัดสินใจ หรือเลือกกันง่าย ๆ เนื่องจากแต่ละคนต่างมีเหตุมีผลของตัวเอง ทั้งนี้ ความจริงแล้ว นาฬิกาใช่เป็นเพียงเครื่องบอกเวลาเท่านั้น แต่คนจำนวนไม่น้อยที่ซื้อนาฬิกาเพราะว่ารักในการสะสม ซื้อเพราะให้เหมาะสมกับกิจกรรม หรือมองนาฬิกาเป็นเครื่องประดับที่เสริมบุคลิกเพิ่มความมั่นใจ และสร้างความเชื่อมั่นให้กับผู้ที่พบปะ รวมถึงมองว่าเป็นสื่อแทนใจเมื่อมอบให้บุคคลพิเศษในโอกาสสำคัญต่าง ๆ การพิจารณาเลือกซื้อนาฬิกาให้ตรงตามวัตถุประสงค์ มีความสำคัญอยู่ไม่น้อยเพื่อไม่ให้เสียดายภายหลัง ดังนั้น ลองมาทำความรู้จักประเภท และลักษณะการใช้งานกันสักนิด จะได้ซื้อกันอย่างถูกใจ และถูกต้องเพื่อจะได้ไม่ต้องมานั่งเสียดายในภายหลัง

นาฬิกาสำหรับนักกีฬา อาทิ Tissot, Casio, Seikoจำเป็นอย่างยิ่งที่จะต้องมีคุณสมบัติพิเศษเฉพาะตัวสำหรับกีฬาประเภทนั้น ๆ เช่น นาฬิกาสำหรับการดำน้ำจะต้องสามารถสวมดำน้ำได้ลึก และทนต่อสภาพแรงดันของน้ำ ส่วนกีฬาความเร็วสูง เช่น แข่งรถทั้งมอเตอร์ไซด์ และรถยนต์ควรจะทนต่อแรงสั่นสะเทือน และจับเวลาได้ด้วย

นาฬิกา Stylish อาทิ Gucci, Hermes, Diesel, Fossil, Philippe Starckนาฬิกาที่กล่าวมานี้อาจเรียกได้ว่าเป็นนาฬิกาแบบครีเอทีฟ ควรจะเป็นนาฬิกาที่ทันสมัย ทั้งสีสัน ดีไซน์ และวัสดุ มีเอกลักษณ์เช่นนาฬิกาแฟชั่นแบรนด์ดังต่าง ๆ

นาฬิกา Casual อาทิ Omega, Citizen, Esprit, Guess, Kenneth Coleควรคำนึงถึงความสบายในการสวมเป็นสิ่งแรกเพราะใช้บ่อย และควรจะกันน้ำ และแรงกระแทกได้บ้างเพื่อที่คุณจะไม่ต้องกังวลหากต้องตากฝน หรือลื่นหกล้ม

นาฬิกาสำหรับวันทำงาน อาทิ Tag heuer, Breitling, Longines, DKNYควรมีความเที่ยงตรงในการบอกเวลา ตัวเลขเห็นได้ชัดเจน ถ้าใช้แบตเตอรี่ก็ควรใช้แบบอัตโนมัติจากการเคลื่อนไหวเพื่อที่พลังงานจะไม่หมดระหว่างทำงานสำคัญ หรือขณะติดต่อธุรกิจ

ทำไมนาฬิกาจึงหมุนไปทางขวา

เป็นที่ยอมรับกันว่า “นาฬิกา” ดูจะกลายเป็นส่วนหนึ่งในชีวิตประจำวันของผู้คนทั่วไปนั่นเป็นเพราะ นาฬิกาคือสิ่งเดียวที่ทำให้เรารู้เวลา และสามารถกำหนด วางแผนในการดำเนินชีวิตของอนาคตได้

อย่างไรก็ตาม เรื่องเล็กๆ ที่ชวนให้สงสัยของคนจำนวนไม่น้อย โดยเฉพาะชาววัยใสก็คือ … ทำไมนาฬิกาจึงต้องหมุนไปทางขวาด้วย!!

เดิมทีนาฬิกาที่ประดิษฐ์ขึ้นนั้นเป็นนาฬิกาไขลาน ประดิษฐ์ขึ้นมาในซีกโลกเหนือ ซึ่งเป็นครึ่งโลกซีกที่อยู่เหนือเส้นศูนย์สูตร ทั้งนี้ก่อนที่จะมีนาฬิกาไขลานนั้น คนในยุคก่อนจะใช้นาฬิกาแดดเพื่อบอกเวลา โดยอาศัยเงาที่ทอดจากไม้ปักอยู่ตรงกลาง นาฬิกาแดดเป็นสิ่งบอกเวลาของวัน ซึ่งในซีกโลกเหนือ เงานี้จะเคลื่อนไปในทิศทางที่เราเรียกกันตอนนี้ว่า “ตามเข็มนาฬิกา”

ดังนั้น เมื่อมีการประดิษฐ์นาฬิกาไขลานขึ้นมาเป็นเรือนแรก หน้าปัดและเข็มของมัน จึงได้รับการสร้างขึ้นมาในทิศทางเดียวกันนั่นเอง

Are you a mobile maniac?

Do it first before seeing the answer!!!! (by preparing the paper for note and pen for write)

1. If you get to school and realise you’ve left your mobile phone at home, you:

a. feel lost and disorientated all day.

b. don’t notice — no one calls you anyway.

c. would never do that — mobiles are banned in school.

2. What’s your average number of calls a day?

a. None.

b. One to four.

c. More than five.

3. Your ring tone is:

a. different every week.

b. personalised.

c. standard.

4. You text message:

a. using two thumbs.

b. using one thumb.

c. so fast no one can see your thumbs move.

5. Have you ever broken up with somebody by text?

a. Yes.

b. No.

c. No — but I might one day.

6. When do you get a new mobile phone?

a. When you lose your old one.

b. Every two years.

c. Whenever a new model comes out.

7. Have you ever used your mobile to impress somebody?

a. Yes — all the time.

b. No one would be impressed with my dinosaur model.

c. I did in the beginning.

8. When you go out for a meal with friends, your phone is:

a. in your pocket on vibrate mode.

b. at home — no need for it because your friends are with you.

c. on the table so that you don’t miss a call.

Calculate your score
1. a=3, b=1, c=2
2. a=1, b=2, c=3
3. a=3, b=2, c=1

4. a=1, b=2, b=3

5. a=3, b=1, c=2

6. a=1, b=2, c=3

7. a=3, b=1, c-2

8. a=2, b=1, c=3

How did you do?

8-12: Hello? You’re in the dark ages. You’ll never have a social life if you don’t learn how to use your phone.

13-18: You have a fairly healthy, 21st century relationship with your mobile. You enjoy technology for what it can do for you and certainly aren’t ruled by your phone.

19-24: Your mobile is your life. The trouble is, you might be so obsessed with it you risk missing out on some real life action and conversations. Ease up a little and enjoy the moment.

Living colour

Picking the right colours for your home

You see a fabulous picture of a home in a magazine article. You walk into your friend's fabulous living room. You are bombarded with fabulous images of celebrity homes on television. However, when you try to incorporate these designs into your own home, your home turns out to be miles away from the neighbourhood of fabulous. Are you tired of your home feeling like the before picture? Do you ever feel like there are some secrets everyone else but you knows?

Decorating can be made simple and done without spending a massive fortune by understanding a few basic tenets of design. You do not have to have an artist's touch to create a refined and polished home. Think about those moments where applying a touch of red lipstick instantly dramatises your face, or putting on a blue power suit instantly transforms your mood.

The same rules apply to decorating: Choosing the right colour is the key to embarking upon a home that is stylish and suitable and for you.

Colour is the basic issue that needs to be addressed from the beginning of decorating, says Gunn Yamasmit, managing director of Big Trees Design 39, an experimental and visionary interior design studio in Thailand. The effects of various colours can virtually alter the shape and ambience of a room. Choosing the correct colour for a room depends on the dimensions and purpose of the room.

Interior design experts at a local US company, Valerie DuVall Interiors, differentiate colours between warm and cool tones to reflect various mood. Red, orange and yellow fall into the warm family, while shades of blue, green and purple are classified as cool colours. Designers at Valerie DuVall Interiors suggest that warm colours can be used to create dramatic and passionate feelings.

For example, red can evoke feelings of intimacy or stimulate the appetite, thus can be used in a bedroom or dining room. Orange is also a bold colour, but not as harsh as red, thus is an appropriate choice for a living room to create an inviting feeling. Yellow is perfect to light up a drab room, and has been shown to evoke feelings of happiness.

However, experts at Valerie DuVall Interiors warn that bright yellow can be too strong and may actually cause anxiety in infants, young children and the elderly.

For more appropriate colours for a children's room, Yamasmit suggests using cool and light tones. Designers at Valerie DuVall Interiors suggest that colours such as blue, green and purple create sentiments of serenity and calmness. These colours are reminiscent of beautiful aspects of nature such as oceans, meadows and flowers, and can be used to create soothing effects. Shades of blue are very effective for children's bedrooms.

However, experts say that contrary to red, blue supresses the appetite, so it is not an effective choice for a dining room. Green can be used anywhere in the home, and is very popular as a trimming for kitchens and bathrooms. Purple has not been a popular choice for homes in the past, but at Valerie DuVall Interiors, designers experiment with adding more shades of red to purples to create a softer hue. With a blushing shade of purple, it is an ideal colour for children's play areas or study rooms.

Once colour has been established to set the mood a room, it can also be altered to change the dimensions of a room. Yamasmit states that the basic rules is to always start with a lighter colour for the ceiling than the walls, and darker colours for the floors. The colour that is chosen for the ceilings and walls must blend in and come from the same colour family to create a wholesome effect.

When choosing shades of colours for a room, using a paler or darker version of a colour also makes a difference to the proportions of the room. Pale colours make walls recede, while dark ones bring them in. To make a room bigger, accentuate its width through horizontal bands, says Yamasmit. The same principle that is applied to clothing, where horizontal stripes can make a person look wider, can also be applied to rooms.

In order to receive the best results, experimentation with colour is necessary. Yamasmit advises that if you are not sure about one colour you can experiment by painting just one wall before you decide to do the whole room. You can view the room during the nighttime and daytime to see if it feels right.

If you find yourself panicking while looking at your bright orange walls and green ceiling right now, do not fret! Just cautiously pick up the paint brush and use the helpful tips in this article to guide you.

The Future is Electric!!!

As oil prices rise, the pressure is mounting on the government to articulate a clear energy policy that begins to shift the focus from fossil fuels to environmentally friendly ones that don't increase in price every week. While it is important that a forward-looking energy policy be set in place quickly, it is even more important that it be set wisely.

In Thailand, the current push for E85 (85% ethanol) fuel for up to 60% of all passenger vehicles in Thailand in the near future, and to assure that a healthy percentage of those vehicles are manufactured in Thailand, is an example of a policy that may have been hatched too quickly. For one, major automobile manufacturers already operating in Thailand are not yet satisfied with the government's incentives for them to begin production of E85 cars here. Representatives of the 14 automakers gave this assessment to Industry Minister Suwit Khunkitti at a meeting in Pattaya early in the month. The government has offered to reduce the excise tax on E85 cars made in the country to 25% for small engines.

A bigger obstacle is likely to be the production of enough ethanol to power all those vehicles. At the present time the nation's ethanol producing plants are unable to supply enough fuel for use in E20 vehicles.

If such a dramatic production increase can be accomplished, care will have to be taken that it doesn't come at the cost of a drastic reduction in land available for agricultural production. Then too, studies indicate that the overall environmental benefit - and petrol savings - of biofuels is often negligible or nonexistent due to the "carbon footprint" involved in growing and producing the fuels.

Minister Suwit has indicated that the government would be willing to sweeten the deal for E85 auto manufacturers in order to realise its dream of making Thailand a hub for eco-friendly vehicle production. While this is a highly worthy goal, it might be worthwhile to take another look at the future of automobile manufacturing, which many believe is electric. Hybrid petrol/electric cars which generate their own electricity are already being mass-produced and get the kind of gas mileage that makes them, all things considered, probably more eco-friendly than ethanol vehicles.

It is quite encouraging, therefore, to see the recent announcement from Toyota Thailand that it will begin the production of hybrid petrol/electric Camrys in Thailand later this year, and within three or four years will be producing around 10,000 hybrid cars a year. Especially encouraging is that, according to Toyota Thailand president Mitsuhiro Sonoda, the government is offering a 10% excise tax on the cars, much lower even than the 17% offered to manufacturers of the eco-car. It's not known at this time if the hybrid car will be cheaper than the regular 100% petrol version because of the tax break, but around the globe, wherever they are sold there is a waiting list for hybrid cars, and doubtless this will be the case in Thailand.

Nevertheless, more incentives should be considered; 10,000 hybrid cars a year won't make much of a dent in the country's dependence on foreign oil, nor will it do much to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Conservation and efficiency are probably the best tools in the near term to accomplish these important goals.

Planting the seeds for a hybrid automobile hub in Thailand makes excellent financial and environmental sense. For the longer term, Thailand's leadership should be thinking about attracting makers of 100% electric cars. The key to real success will be in producing the electricity in an environmentally sustainable way.

P.S. Do you agree in this? Is it possible in Thailand to use electric substitution?

If one day we have use it, it's gonna be friendly to our environment for sure. But, it will be at higher price than another because you must pay for new technology.

Energy Bars

Energy bars

Energy bars can give you a needed boost--but they're no replacement for food.

Created to fuel endurance athletes, energy bars have morphed into a confusing array of varieties: protein bars, cereal bars, snack bars, "nutrition for women" bars, and bars aimed at dieters of every persuasion, from low fat to low carb. Americans have recently spent more than $1.4 billon a year on such bars, responding to marketing claims promising world-class energy and less waist.

WHAT'S AVAILABLE

Energy bars we tested can be divided into three categories: higher in protein, moderate in protein and carbohydrates, and higher in carbohydrates.Among the best-selling higher protein bars are Carb Solutions, Atkins Advantage, and Balance. Among bars moderate in protein and carbohydrates, Clif LUNA, Ultra-Slim Fast, and Power Bar Pria lead the market. The top-sellers among higher carbohydrate bars are Power Bar, Clif, and Power Bar Harvest.Makers of cereal and granola bars include Quaker, Kellogg's, Nature Valley, and Kudos.


NUTRITION

Many energy bars are aimed at people on particular weight-loss plans. Bars do offer dieters a few advantages. They provide automatic portion-size control. And if you would otherwise skip a meal, eating a convenient bar can keep you from getting too hungry and bingeing later on.

Not all energy bars live up to their good-for-you image, and marketing labels can be a poor guide to what's actually inside. Contents vary widely even within the category of energy bars, our review of ingredients found. Many bars rely on vitamin and mineral fortification to help distinguish themselves from mere candy, but some overdo it. Several of the bars we looked at provide 100 percent or more of the recommended Daily Value for one or more vitamins or minerals. And check labels for calories and sugar.

Chronic overconsumption of some vitamins and minerals can cause health problems. Check labels and remember that you might be getting additional vitamins and minerals from taking a daily multivitamin and eating other fortified food. To play it safe, don't regularly exceed 100 percent of the Daily Value for any vitamin or mineral.

In addition, the quality of nutrition you get may be inferior to that of real food. For example, in a few bars some protein comes from low-quality sources such as collagen or gelatin, which have fewer essential amino acids. Check the ingredients list for high-quality sources such as milk (whey or casein), egg, or soy. Many bars contain artery-clogging saturated fats such as palm-kernel oil. And some contain partially hydrogenated oils (indicating the possible presence of trans fat, another artery clogger). While the big-brand bars we evaluated did not contain "extras" such as caffeine, ginseng, guarana, or ephedra (the stimulant that's been linked to health problems and fatalities), some products may. So scrutinize labels and avoid bars with unnecessary or questionable additives.

HOW TO CHOOSE
Recommendations. Energy bars do indeed provide energy, although that's just a fancy word for the calories derived from protein, carbohydrates, and fats that our bodies burn to fuel activity. And bars pack plenty of calories for their size. They may also satisfy you less than the larger volume of real food you can eat for the same calories.

If you need an energy boost during the day, or before or after an exercise session, bars won't do anything for you that ordinary food won't do. And real food is apt to be more satisfying.

When it comes to snacks, however, bars can have a nutritional edge over candy. But don't depend heavily on bar foods to supply high-quality nutrition. And remember that most bars have too few calories to really qualify as a meal, so supplement with fruit, vegetables, or low-fat yogurt or cheese.

Tea and the Tea Ceremony

"The simple elegance and subdued beauty of celadon tea ware adds quiet peace to a relaxing moment with a cup of your favorite tea."

Tea History

Tea was fist discovered about 2700BC and was first cultivated around 350AD in China. The first recorded tea ceremony was held in China about 800AD but in Korea the first offering of tea to an ancestral god was believed to have been performed in the year 661. Since then tea culture in Korea developed initially as a way to make Buddhist offerings during ancestral worship, but eventually was embraced by the Confucian scholars, and the Taoists as well. The Buddhists felt the stimulating effect of the tea helped to bring them closer to the gods or ancestors. Later, the Confucian scholars during the Chosun Dynasty embraced the tea ceremony both as a way to make offerings to the ancestors, but also as a formal rite to be used during meditation and to help them relax and focus the mind. In fact, the use of the tea ceremony was so prevalent among the literati or scholars of the time (who were frequently also government officials) that it became a common practice during meetings of government officials and became almost a part of the job. We can see the lingering effect of that today in modern Korea in which most business meetings are accompanied by a mandatory cup of tea or coffee. The Taoists also embraced tea drinking and the tea ceremony as a way of helping them find the "way" - the way to spiritual enlightenment - and to purify the mind. Today it is still used as a way to help one meditate, purify the mind, and reach spiritual enlightenment.

Types of Korean Green Tea

Korean green tea can be roughly classified into three categories based primarily on the time the tea leaves were picked. The fist category is called U-jeon (우전) and consists of the first tea leaf buds that appear around April 21. Of course the time varies slightly each year, but these first buds of the leaves are picked before they become too large and are used to make tea with the most delicate flavor and fragrance. The second classification is called Se-jak (세작) and are the slightly larger leaves that appear about 14 days after the first harvest. The third picking, Jung-jak (중작) are picked about 14 days after the second and all consecutive pickings for the rest of the year are classified as Dae-jak (대작). These last pickings are what is used to make most of green tea supplied in tea bags. It consists of pieces of larger tea leaves and has a stronger, somewhat harsher flavor than the first three pickings.

Caffeine in Green Tea

While it is widely believed that green tea has less caffeine than other teas such as oolong, that is not necessarily true, and studies have found that all teas have about the same amount of caffeine. Green tea in teabags, however, does have slightly less caffeine than the more expensive teas and this can be attributed to the larger, lower quality leaves used in teabags. If caffeine is a concern for you, there is a method for removing a great deal of the caffeine in green tea. After steeping the leaves for the first time for several minutes, throw away the first batch of tea and you will be throwing away about 50% of the caffeine contained in the leaves as well.

Preparing Green Tea

Korea has eight provinces and while each province has its own unique method of preparing green tea, below is a common method that is familiar to all the provinces. The most basic equipment needed is a tea pot and cups. And while it is also nice to have a cooling bowl, it is not a necessity. Great tea can also be made using a teacup set with a internal strainers. It is also nice to have a tea container, but again, it is not a necessity.

Using a tea set with a cooling bowl: Boiling water is too hot to make green tea - the extreme heat can burn the leaves and it tends to draw the bitter flavors out of the leaves. Boiling water should first be poured from the tea kettle into the cooling bowl where it should sit for a several minutes to attain the desired temperature. While the water cools, place the tea leaves into the pot. The chart below shows the amount of tea that should be used based on the number of cups of tea to be served (there are many different types of green teas, the chart below is a generalization based on the most common types). Refer to the instructions for your particular type of tea for the amount of tea and steeping time that best suits your tea.

Once the water is cooled, it is ready to be poured into the pot. After letting it steep for 2 ½ minutes, it should then be poured equally into the cups, and sipped slowly for maximum enjoyment. For a teapot set without a cooling bowl, the boiling water may first be poured into the cups and then left to cool in them for several minutes before it is poured into the teapot. The tea leaves should be used three times, and then washed out of the teapot with water.
Using a cup set with strainers: Again boiling water is too hot to make green tea so the water can either be let to cool some in the kettle, or poured into the cups with the strainers removed. The strainer can be placed on its lid and the tea can be put into the strainer while the water is cooling in the cup. After the water is cooled the strainer can be lowered into the water and then removed and placed back on the lid after steeping.

Water

While many think the quality of the water cannot have an impact on the taste of the tea, nothing could be farther from the truth. The taste and fragrance of the better teas are so delicate that the wrong water - that is water containing chlorine, hard minerals, or other additives - can destroy the delicate aroma and taste of the tea. The best water to use for tea is fresh spring water or a good quality bottled spring water. The water can be boiled in any vessel but a non-reactive one is the best. Ceramic coated pots or teapots, are the best, while bare aluminum vessels are the worst as the aluminum is very reactive and tends to add a metallic flavor to the water.

Laying out the Tea Ware

The tea ware should be laid out on a small low tea table or a Gyo-ja-sang (교자상). Though the placement of the various pieces is different for each province and school of thought, below is listed a general guide that is the most common. As shown in the photo below, the teapot is placed on the right side of the table near the front (the side nearest the server). The cooling bowl directly beyond it, the tea container is placed in the center of the table, towards the back, and the cups placed on the left towards the back and usually face down. A small spoon and a small scoop are usually placed either between the teapot and the cooling bowl, as shown here, or beyond the cooling bowl on the back edge of the table. To the right of the table is either a kettle with boiling water, a thermos with hot water, or as in this case, both. Prior to the ceremony beginning the entire table and the tea ware should be covered with a cloth. There is also usually a waste water bowl to the side for discarding the unused water and used tea leaves.

Preparing the Tea

Drinking green tea is an art in itself, and the rhythm and ritual of the ceremony is an aid to help the mind relax and achieve a higher level of spiritual enlightenment. In order to achieve that, the following movements are all performed with slow grace, and in a very smooth, controlled and artful motion. First the cloth cover is removed from the top of the table and the tea ware. Next with the right hand the lid of the tea container is removed and placed on a stand (not shown) or on the table in front of the container, and then the lid of the teapot is removed in the same manner. Then with the left hand the tea container is picked up, and with the right hand the spoon is used to place the proper amount of tea in the teapot. The tea container is then returned to its place and the lid restored At this time, hot water from the kettle is poured into the cooling bowl and one must wait the appropriate amount of time for the water to cool sufficiently - generally one to two minutes. After the water is cooled, the bowl should be lifted with two hands and the water poured gently into the teapot, then the cooling bowl placed back on the table. The lid is then placed on the teapot, and the tea is allowed to steep for the proper amount of time (in some cases, water from the cooling bowl is also poured into the teacups to pre-heat them, and then poured out into the waste water bowl). The tea is then poured into the cups and served. After drinking the first cup of tea, the last steps of pouring the water into the cooling bowl, then into the teapot, and then into the cups is repeated two more times. Each time a serving of tea leaves is placed in the teapot they are steeped three times.

Drinking Green Tea

As mentioned above, the tea leaves should be steeped three times, and each time a cup of tea is served, the cup should be sipped from three times, sipping about a third of the cup each time. The tea drinkers should be seated on the floor either on their legs, or cross-legged in front of the serving table. After the tea is poured into the cups, the cup should be picked up with the right hand and the left hand placed flat under the cup and then with the elbows slightly out to ones side, the hands and cup are brought up together to the mouth. Prior to sipping the tea, the delicate fragrance of the tea should first be enjoyed by holding the cup under your nose and inhaling deeply. After a moment, the tea should be sipped lightly and rolled over the tongue while savoring the fragrance and taste. After the tea is swallowed there remains an aftertaste that should be enjoyed for its own unique flavor before taking your next sip of tea. After the first sip, the cup is then brought down to the level of the belly and held there while the drinker breathes and clears the mind of thoughts while focusing ones energy into the area of the body behind the belly button. After the second sip of tea the cup should be brought to the middle of the torso, and again, one should breathe, clear the mind of thoughts and feel the energy flow from the middle of the chest. The third and last sip should drain the cup, and then the cup is brought down to the upper part of the chest and the breathing, mind clearing and energy focusing repeated.

Enjoying the Experience

Green tea is said to be an aid to digestion after a meal and some claim it helps the complexion as well. It has no calories and is much lower in caffeine than coffee. But the real joy in drinking green tea is the experience. Drinking green tea should be a calming experience that brings peace to your soul, and calms your nerves while allowing you time to think, dream or simply enjoy the fragrance and taste of the tea.

Watch Buying Guide

The first thing to consider when buying a watch is, what is its purpose? Will you use it to time your lap speed, your flying speed, or your lunch hour? The wide availability of watch styles and features allows you to pick the watch that fits your needs, style, and taste perfectly.

Form & Function

This list below will help you choose the right features for your purposes:

Casual

Look for casual features that ensure you can keep your mind on taking it easy. Choose a watch with a comfortable band and higher water resistance so you don't have to worry about your watch when you're reaching in the cooler for a drink or slipping in for a swim. View our casual Skagen watches for men and women.

Dressy

For a more formal look, choose a watch that matches your attire. A stainless steel bracelet band and a black face perfectly match a black sweater and gray pants. Or if you wear a leather belt, choose a watch with a matching black or brown leather band. Michele and Bulova watches for women feature luxury touches like diamond and gemstone bezels, and Skagen offers watches for men and women with cutting-edge Scandinavian design.

Diving
Look for screw-down crowns and casebacks and extreme water resistance. Also, a unidirectional bezel helps you keep an eye on how long you've been underwater. View our Seiko and Chase-Durer watches for men featuring screw-down casebacks and crowns, and water resistance to at least 330 feet or deeper.

Racing

Whether you're in a car, a plane, on a bicycle, or on foot, these watches will help you measure your time. To find your miles per hour, rotate the tachymeter to target your exact speed, then set the elapsed timer to pinpoint the distance you covered. Some watches even store lap times and split times. View our men's racing watches by Festina, the official racing watch of the Tour de France, and our Chase-Durer watches for men, built specifically for racing and flying with navigational slide rule bezels and tachymeters that help you measure speed over time.

Euro Craze

As the Euro marches on, the need to stay up and watch late games increases. It seems like an overwhelming feeling that takes over the whole Thai population. Soccer, or football in its earliest term is one of, if not, the most popular sport in Thailand and it is not a surprise that we are such fanatics about it. With England not qualifying, the hype does go down a bit with the premier league being the top league in Thailand, broadcasting over frequently.
That being said, there are still many teams keeping the hype up, including the likes of Portugal, Germany, Spain (I’d like to mention Italy, with them being my favorite team and the current world champions, but their first round defeat was just so overwhelming that I don’t want to mention it). As of now, Germany and Holland are probably the top two ranked teams to win this tournament with Portugal and Spain a close second. It’s not easy to predict the winner of the Euro, especially when your favorite team is probably going to be knocked out soon, but I’ll stick my neck out and say that I think it’s going to be a tossup between Germany and Spain.
As for the past games this week, every team has played their 1 match and we’ve seen the teams classified as follows:
“Fun to watch” – Germany, Spain and Netherlands
“Boring to watch” – Switzerland, France, Romania
“Not good enough to be in the tournament” – Austria
“THE MOST BORING TEAM OF THE TOURNAMENT” – Greece without a shadow of a doubt. If anyone had seen the last game they played against Sweden, everyone would understand what I mean. Basically they kept 3 guys at the back, standing there, just not moving at all. They were stationary players who would pass the ball around back and forth until the opposition came to take the ball. The worst half I’d seen in a long time that Sweden VS Greece game!
Either ways, to cut a long story short, we’re looking at quite a competitive Euro to come and lets all pray and hope that Italy make it through, because in the end (and of course I’m being biased here), what’s a tournament without Italy in the deeper rounds J.

P.S. – good luck to all the bet-ters around as well. You’re all going to need it! It’s definitely going to get harder to predict the winners as the round goes on.

SATC = Sex And The City

ถ้าพูดถึง SATC หลายคนอาจจะไม่รู้ว่าหมายถึงอะไร แต่ถ้าเป็น fan series เรื่อง sex and the city หล่ะก็ต้องร้องอ๋อแน่นอน เราเองก็เป็นแฟนของ serie เรื่องนี้และได้มีโอกาสไปดูหนังเรื่องนี้ตั้งแต่วันแรกที่เข้า (5 มิ.ย)



Sex And The City เรื่องราวความรัก ความผูกพัน ระหว่างเพื่อนสาว 4 คน ซึ่งใช้ชีวิตอยู่ในมหานคร New York



สาวคนแรกซึ่งเป็นตัวเด่นของเรื่องนี้คือ Carrie Bradshaw มีอาชีพเป็นนักเขียนคอลัมน์โดยอาศัยเรื่องราวประสบการณ์จากชีวิตรักของเพื่อนๆของเธอ



คนต่อมาคือ Miranda Hobes ทนายสาวที่ประสบความสำเร็จในชีวิตการงาน แต่ค่อนข้างมีอุปสรรคในเรื่องราวของความรัก มักมีปัญหามาจากความไม่เข้าใจกันในครอบครัว



คนที่สาม Samantha Jones สาวเปรี้ยว เปรี้ยวมากๆ เป็นคนที่มั่นใจในตัวสูงสุดขีด และเป็นผู้หญิงที่เก่งทุกเรื่อง หลายคนอยากเป็น Samantha เพราะบุคคลิกที่เก๋ โฉบเฉี่ยว เก่งทุกเรื่อง ที่สำคัญ Samantha มีแฟนอายุน้อยกว่า (มีแฟนเด็กนั่นเอง)



สาวคนสุดท้าย Charlotte York สาวหวาน เรียบร้อยมากกก (กรุณาลากเสียงตาม) จนคิดว่าไม่น่าจะมารวมกลุ่มกับสามสาวด้านบนได้



สำหรับหนังเรื่องนี้ถือว่าทำออกมาใช้ได้เลยทีเดียว ดีกว่า The Devil Wears Prada

SATC The Movie เรื่องมีชื่อตอนด้วย ชื่อว่า Get Carrie Away เพราะว่าในเรื่องนี้ Carrie จะแต่งงาน การดำเนินเรื่องส่วนใหญ่ จะนำโดย Carrie ซึ่งเป็นตัวเอกของเรื่องนี้



หนังเรื่องนี้อาจจะดูไร้สาระสำหรับผู้ชายบางคน แต่เรื่องนี้ตั้งใจจะสื่อออกมาคือ มิตรภาพระหว่างเพื่อน ทั้งสี่สาวถึงแม้ว่าอะไรหลายๆอย่างที่ต่างกัน แต่ทุกคนก็รักกันมาก พร้อมที่จะเผชิญปัญหาไปพร้อมๆกัน คอยช่วยเหลือกันตลอดเวลาที่เพื่อนมีปัญหา พร้อมที่จะร่วมทั้งทุกข์และสุขไปพร้อมกัน เวลาเศร้า เสียใจ ก็ร้องไห้ไปพร้อมๆกัน ไม่มีการแทงข้างหลัง ไม่มีการเอาไปนินทาด่าว่าเสียๆหายๆลับหลัง



ในหนังจะสังเกตได้ว่า จะมีฉากที่ Miranda เข้าไปพูดกับ Big ซึ่งกำลังจะแต่งงานกับ Carrie แล้วเกิดทำให้ Big เปลี่ยนใจไม่แต่งงาน จนกลายเป็นเรื่องราวใหญ่โตนั้น ภายหลัง Miranda ก็เอ่ยปากพูดกับ Carrie ตรงๆว่า เธอมีส่วนทำให้ Big เปลี่ยนใจไม่แต่งงาน ถึงแม้ว่า Carrie จะโกรธมากๆ แต่ด้วยความที่ Miranda เปิดปากพูดออกมา อย่างน้อยก็ทำให้ Carrie ได้รู้ถึงสาเหตุในการยกเลิกการแต่งงานในครั้งนั้น และก็เข้าใจกันในที่สุด และตอนที่ Carrie เสียใจ อกหัก ผิดหวัง เพื่อนทุกคนก็คอยปกป้อง คอยให้กำลังใจตลอดเวลา



ในชีวิตนี้จะมีสักกี่คนที่จะเข้าใจเราจริงๆ รักเราจริงๆ คอยเป็นห่วงเป็นใย ดูแลเราตลอดเวลา เวลามีปัญหาหรือต้องการคำปรึกษา เราสามารถคุยกับเค้าได้ในทุกๆเรื่อง ไม่มีเรื่องอะไรที่ปิดบังกัน คนคนนั้นอาจจะไม่จำเป็นว่าจะต้องเป็นแฟนหรือเพื่อน ขอแค่มีความรักและเข้าใจเราเท่านั้นก็เกินพอแล้วไม่ใช่เหรอ



สำหรับเรา เราได้เจอคนคนนั้นแล้ว คนที่ไปดูหนังเรื่องนี้กับเรา แล้วคุณหล่ะเจอคนดีๆกับมิตรภาพดีๆ แล้วหรือยัง....?