The Grey NATO – 312 – Final Notes Greatest Hits Of 2024
Published on Thu, 19 Dec 2024 06:00:00 -0500
Synopsis
In this year-end episode of The Grey NATO (episode 312), hosts James Stacy and Jason Heaton reflect on their favorite "final notes" recommendations from 2024. They discuss various products, documentaries, books, and media they highlighted throughout the year, including Rebecca Struthers' book "Hands of Time," the Netflix documentary "The Greatest Night in Pop," the Barkley Marathons documentary, and various travel/EDC gear like the Hero Clip and Wochi watch straps.
The hosts also cover housekeeping items like their upcoming holiday break schedule, merchandise updates regarding their Pippit 8 collection (available until January 15th), and reflect on the growth of their community, particularly thanking their Slack moderators Chris Soule and Jake T.S.
The episode concludes with their traditional year-end recommendation of the CBC's annual broadcast of "The Shepherd" read by Al Maitland - a Christmas Eve tradition both for the CBC and The Grey NATO podcast. The hosts express gratitude to their listeners and reflect on the successful events and guests they had throughout 2024.
Links
Transcript
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| James Stacy | Hello and welcome to another episode of the Graynado. It's a loose discussion of travel, adventure, diving, driving gear, and most certainly watches. This is episode 312. It's the last episode of 2024 and it's proudly brought to you by the always growing TGN supporter crew. We thank you all so much for your continued support. And if you'd like to support the show, please visit thegraynado.com for more details. My name is James Stacy and I'm joined as ever by my friend and co-host Jason Heaton. Jason, how are you doing here? Last show of the year. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, and I'll admit, I'm kind of ready for a break. It's not like it's been a particularly arduous time, but I think it's sort of cumulative this time of year. You're kind of in that mode of closing stuff down for the year and kind of trying to figure out stuff. And then you got the holidays on top of that. And it just kind of feels nice to be putting the bow on TGN for a while and taking some time off. But other than that, I'm doing fine. Yeah. |
| James Stacy | Yeah, I think it's nice to have a little reset. Obviously, we have, depending on when you're listening to this, two more Q&As to get done for the year, October and November. October is recorded and is in the process of being edited. And then we will start to focus on November, which will be the last one of the year, probably come out just before the end of the year. So we will hit those before the end. But yeah, for today, we're kind of chatting over a new idea that we had, which we haven't done before as far as a series goes. But, you know, we do at least two final notes per episode. and that I think I was told by Bruzzsprout this year's 48 episodes that we publish this year to the main feed so it doesn't include our QAs and all that. And we thought it would be fun to just kind of go back and kind of re-scan, take another peek, bring up some of our faves. So, you know, in the event that you didn't listen to the last 10 minutes of every single episode, which is totally understandable, people are busy, we'll give you a nice little breakdown of some of our favorites. But Look, before we get into that, you know, dealing with the year-end episode, and Jason said we're taking a break, so there won't be a show delivered on December 26th or January 2nd. We'll be back on the 9th with an episode. If you're on the paid side, so either $5 a month or $100 a year, you do have access to the private feed, which of course would include all the Q&A. So you'll get two more episodes before the end of the year, again, depending on when you're listening to this. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, and speaking of the holidays, I'm actually not sure if this would even hit people in time for the holidays, but we're still running the the Pippit 8 collection in the TGN shop. That was our collaboration with Tony from the Illustrated Watch, in which there's a hoodie and a couple of t-shirts and a coaster and an enamelware mug, plus a standard TGN logo mug. But Since this was kind of a capsule collection collaboration that we did with Tony and we have plans for future versions along these lines, this always was intended to be something of a limited run and we are actually going to shut down that collection, the Pippet 8 collection, those items I mentioned, on January 15th. So if you're on the fence or you want to pick something up from that collection, do so before the 15th of January, make your order, and then we will be actually turning that off in the TGN shop. I guess you've been warned and so if you're interested do pick that up soon. Of course some of the other stuff is still in the shop. We have the standard TGN t-shirts in there as well as straps so you can always pick those up. Yeah and if you do order a strap or whatever along with a t-shirt or something from Pippa Dade or the TGN shop like a shirt they will be shipped separately. So I'm doing the straps from my house here in Minneapolis. So I know some people have questioned like why am I getting two shipment orders or notices or I got the strap, but I didn't get the T-shirt or vice versa. That's why. So we always like to give that heads up. But yeah, that's the that's the story from the merch side of things. |
| James Stacy | Yeah. So you've got about a month on that one. And then in January, we'll start working on the next of the capsule collection. I would hope to see by probably March, which should be a fun one. We're just just trying to decide what direction we want to go with that now, but it should be good. And certainly Pippa Date's been amazing. We've been having a really good time with it, and it's super fun to see you know shots of stuff show up on the slack and all that sort of thing so a big thank you to everyone who supported that and of course to the illustrator watch to Tony for the original design which kind of kicked off this idea we have where we hope to be able to do something like this you know once a quarter a few times a year that sort of thing and that's what we're working on but beyond that kind of stuff like with the general sort of housekeeping out of the way how have things been for you how's the week look and how's it been |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, it's been going well. I kind of had a bit of a holiday themed weekend actually. I went to a really fun concert on Friday night. It was a local band called Trailer Trash. They did a concert that they do every year called Trashy Little Christmas. It's these old guys, you know, they're kind of rockabilly, you know, uh, doing a lot of cover songs and stuff, but they, they do a lot of Christmas themed songs and it's a bit of a raucous good time. It was done in a converted firehouse. Um, not actually not too far from where I live. Um, and, uh, I went over there and. You know, just, just had a good time with that, had a, had a drink or two and, and danced it up to, to, you know, some Rudolph and, and, you know, rum pum pum pum, a little drummer boy stuff. Like it was pretty wild. And then, uh, Saturday night, a good friend and actually a TGN listener, Nick, who just lives a few blocks away, hosts a winter solstice party. Um, every year it's actually his 10th, 10th year of doing it where he. kind of shuts down, he's got a big driveway in the back of his house and lays out some food and some boozy hot chocolate and plays some music and builds a bunch of like small fires in little, you know, fire pits that he puts together on his driveway and invites anybody and everybody in the neighborhood to come over. So that's fun and kind of festive. |
| James Stacy | Yeah, that's so sweet. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, it's really turned out to be a fun tradition. And then yesterday I went to, there was like one of these holiday markets kind of themed after, you know, the European style holiday markets where you get food and handcrafted stuff and kind of wandered around that. And it was a bit hit and miss, got some kind of, you know, admittedly some kind of junky stuff there, but interspersed with that was some really great, you know, handcrafted leather goods and people, you know, with wood carving and crafts and some good food and that sort of stuff. Yeah, I'm really kind of working it hard to get into the holiday spirit and it's sort of working. I'm amped up for it. |
| James Stacy | That's great, man. I'm glad to hear it. That's awesome. We did a little bit of the Christmas market thing this weekend and saw some family. And then you and I are actually recording this a day early because I have sort of not quite last minute, but a very short sort of trip to somewhere I've wanted to go for a very long time, and I won't be there long enough to really dig into it. But I'm both happy and a little bit scared to say I'm going to Tokyo. It should be a good time. |
| Jason Heaton | Crazy way to like end the year. Yeah, it's just it's like you're kind of in the thick of shutting things down and Holidays coming and then you're off on this really long trip for a very short time. |
| James Stacy | Actually. Yeah, it's a the total the total duration It was like four days, but I'm only in in Tokyo for you know, two nights and And it's for like the fifth anniversary of Houdinki, Japan and So going out there to kind of give a little talk and support those guys, obviously super proud of what they've accomplished and the way that they've supported what we're up to on the U.S. and the English language side of the Hodinkee experience. So pretty pumped to do that. I'll have a little bit of time. Sadly, when I had originally started looking into it, I thought, oh, maybe there would be a chance to put together a little hangout or something like that. I know we have listeners in Japan and certainly in Tokyo. but it just, it looks like the schedule came together kind of late and at the same time, the itinerary is quite packed. We're shooting some video, we're doing some of this and some of that, and then we have the event as well. So I'm sure I will make it back to Tokyo. It's been number one on my list for a very long time and two nights isn't gonna cut it. So stay tuned. If I can get back more or less on my own schedule, then I would absolutely love to do some sort of a little hangout or something like that. stay tuned for that but yeah i'm headed to tokyo i'm back uh actually just shortly after this episode publishes uh now realizing so weird it's time travel it's super fun because when i fly back i actually return home an hour earlier than i left uh so that that's always fun uh not not common for me to change the date line so That's the next several days for me. That's when I'll finish the Q&A. That's when I'll be editing this one on the 14-hour flight tomorrow, which should be good. But yeah, I'm very excited, just kind of stressing over the normal stuff I like to stress about, packing and what gear to bring and what gear to leave and watches and all this kind of stuff. But pretty pumped to be going there. It's my understanding that currently, probably not Tokyo judging by the temperature, but the northern side is getting a ton of snow. There's a chance somebody listening here might be lucky enough to be up in Nagano or Hokkaido or something like that and going for a ski and I hope that's the case. It's probably a pretty good start to the season if they're already getting dumped on. But yeah, that's about all I'm up to. I've got that and then I get home on the Saturday and I'm just kind of hanging out until the new year. I'm trying to see my family as much as possible. I'm trying to sleep and get back into Some sort of a vacation workout schedule and I've got a lot of TV. I want to I've got a list of Non-productive things. I'm gonna try and do in two weeks. |
| Jason Heaton | So that's a little ticing, isn't it? Yeah, I've got a few things I want to get done to and just some downtime. So it'll be it'll be really nice Yeah, of course, we'll record a Q&A in there, but that's that's kind of fun. |
| James Stacy | That's yeah, we definitely I'm already always look forward to the QA's They're really really no stress and for 2025. We're also going to run a schedule for the Q&A so I don't forget about them and We're very good at knowing exactly when to record the main show and somehow not good at recording these extra ones that are really some of the most fun episodes we do, I think, are the Q&A. So definitely going to double down on that investment for next year. But look, I've got a hard out moving kids around Toronto this afternoon for school and other stuff. So let's jump into some wrist check. What are you wearing for the last episode of 2024? |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, I'm wearing a watch that I wore quite a bit this year, actually. It's the old Navitimer. As we discussed, this is kind of, it's a watch I like to wear this time of year. It just feels kind of warm and leathery and patinaed and just, I don't know, it makes me feel good to wear it. And I'm not going anywhere near water anytime soon. So it's a good one to wear. So yeah, I just enjoy looking down on my wrist and seeing it all the time. So. That's a good one. Yeah, that's what I've got. Yeah. And how about you? Are you wearing something you're going to wear to Japan or? |
| James Stacy | One of the watches I'm gonna take, I'll probably take a GMT, like I'll take the Longines. Oh, yeah. The Hodinkee LE, but then obviously going to Japan, hanging out with some people from Seiko and Grand Seiko, so I figured I would bring a Seiko. And I really kind of hemmed and hawed. I don't have to dress fancy, so I don't have to take the SACM 150, the Dolce. |
| Unknown | Oh, yeah. |
| James Stacy | And finally, I was like, you know what? The one that needs to come with me to Japan, I need the wrist shot of my monster in Japan. So the orange monster's coming. Oh, nice. Perfect. And I'm pretty pumped about it. Yeah. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah. Oh, that's great. Do you think you'll buy a watch while you're there? |
| James Stacy | It's quite possible. I'm going to try and do see what's around their office and that'll be my location. Yeah. Christmas gifts. I still got to figure out. |
| Unknown | Yeah. |
| James Stacy | Last, not quite one last minute just due to the, but I can, I can find them there. And then, I mean, go all that way and not look at a bunch of weird camera lenses. Come on. That's true. That's kind of on the list. Yeah. Watches. I think I'm pretty well sorted for. Yeah. So yeah. Cool. But yeah, looking forward to that. And it feels like the right the right move. Like give give the build that memory with the with the with the orange monster should be fun. Yeah. Yeah. Good call. All right. Well, look, let's jump into the main topic for today. And it's pretty, pretty easy. Each of us picked about a between 10 and a dozen. We'll see how many we get to. It's not like an exhaustive list. It's just the stuff that we really liked. that came up in final notes this year. So like I said, it was probably 40 rounds of final notes. We're going to talk about 20 of the maybe 100, 105 that we picked. Like I said, there's no real order. There's no special format. They're not numbered. And yeah, it's just kind of a rundown of the things we really liked from this year. And who knows, maybe we'll pull up some and say, my opinion kind of changed on this or I finally got a chance to try it and I liked it more and all that kind of stuff. So It probably makes sense just to jump in, but Jason, why don't you kick it off with the first one, one of your favorite final notes of 2024? |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, sure. You know, back in episode 272, we had on the author and watchmaker extraordinaire, Rebecca Struthers. But it was actually four episodes prior to that, episode 268, way back in, I think it was about February of 2024. When I mentioned Rebecca's book, Hands of Time, as a final note, and we both read it. We kind of read it as anticipation of having her on the show, which the show itself was a highlight. So if you get a chance or you haven't heard it, go back and listen to episode 272 with Rebecca. It was a fascinating conversation. But in terms of final notes, her book, Hands of Time, it goes down as one of the top five books I read in this year. And it's one of those books I actually think could merit a reread. And I might just pick that up again this winter because it's really good. But that was my final note in episode 268, Hands of Time by Rebecca Struthers. |
| James Stacy | That's great. Yeah, an absolutely fantastic pick. The book is incredible. I've given it as a gift twice this year. These days, it's just one of my favorite things to do where you meet somebody maybe through another friend in the world or someone who's just getting into watches or maybe somebody who's just kind of getting up to speed on certain types of watches. It's just like the nicest gift. You had a good time, maybe you had a nice dinner with somebody, you want to send a thank you. So I just keep doing that because it's so easy to send a book thanks to Amazon. And yeah, the book is super, super easy to read. I really feel it should just be on the watch interest shelf in anyone's collection alongside Longitude by Dava Sobel and a handful of books that we've talked about in the past. But I definitely think it's a good pick for sure. Yeah. |
| Jason Heaton | All right. |
| James Stacy | What's your first one? My first one is a documentary that I watched earlier this year. And if I remember correctly, back in episode 272, I definitely kind of exalted it. And it's a Netflix documentary called The Greatest Night in Pop. And it's about the recording, the single night recording, with every big ego that existed in music at the time of We Are the World. And I've now watched this twice. I watched it again not too long ago. I actually had found it saved on my iPad. And I was on a flight where the TV thing didn't work. MMI didn't work. So I watched it again. And I stand by it. I absolutely love it. This is I honestly think anybody could enjoy this, maybe with the exception of if you're so young that you don't know most of these people. But I mean this would have been recorded the year before I was born and there's only one person in that whole group I had to look up. But that's my pick, The Greatest Night in Pop, which is still on Netflix and I think absolutely worth your time. |
| Jason Heaton | I feel like I watched that more recently and I'm just wondering if I just delayed watching it after your final note. I didn't realize you talked about it so far back, but definitely worth it and a really good pick. So yeah. Absolutely. Good way to kick off. All right. Next one for you. Yeah. Next one for me is something I'm holding in my hand right now and I probably use it almost every day that I'm sitting at my desk. It is the Oceanus Brass Ship's Wheel Spinner. that I mentioned in episode 293 and I have to give full credit to our good buddy Jeff, Watch Cows Dive. Diver. |
| James Stacy | One of the best teams I was given this year. |
| Jason Heaton | Extraordinary. Yeah, he's, you know, we bumped into him at Windup in Chicago and he gave us these These fidget spinners, I mean, there's really no other good word for it. It's just a gadget. There's no practical use for it in everyday life other than as a distraction and just something to kind of calm you down. Beautifully made, as the name suggests, it's made from brass. It's shaped like a ship's wheel. and it just has this very low friction central hub that you just hold between two fingers and you spin one of the spokes on the wheel and it just goes and goes and goes and it is endless fun and it's so nice like right now when I'm sitting here talking about it I'm just holding it between two fingers and it's just whizzing around silently and it's so satisfying and it's again this could have been in the gift guide in fact I'm kicking myself for not putting it in our holiday gift guide because this would have made a great stocking stuffer. |
| James Stacy | It's insane that it didn't make honorable mentions, at least, because this is also one of the best things I was given this year. And a huge, like you said, a huge shout out to Jeff. I keep it next to my bed, and if I have to do something that I'm finding kind of boring, I like to work from bed occasionally, and certainly in the evenings. And I just love having it. And each one of the spindles is screwed and can be removed. So I wouldn't recommend doing this on a flight, unless you're me. Just sitting at your desk or whatever, you can take the whole thing apart. and then put it back together. Yeah. And I find that as entertaining as like finding new ways of spinning it or kind of enjoying the way that it's the weight of it all. Yeah. That sort of thing. But it's it's an absolutely addictive little thing for sure. Yeah. Yeah. Really good stuff. Alright, what's number two for you? Number two for me is something that Sarah and I found at a store in Stratford, Ontario. I talked about it in episode 274 and it has either been in the Jeep or being used basically definitely every weekend but definitely also throughout points during the week and this is the high tide tarp bag. So this is essentially a collapsible tote that's made out of a tarp-like material. It's very moldable. You can fold it over. It has two handles built into it, like cut into the form. And it's just so handy because if you are packing the car, you can fill it all the way up. And then if you come home with it empty, it takes up no space. So if you bring a box or a plastic bin or something like that, you still have to mitigate that space when you repack, and you just don't with this. I really, really like it. The whole brand is actually quite fascinating, but it's $40 for the mid-sized tarp bag. They have examples here where people fill them with firewood, where they fill them with ice, and then beer, and that's your cooler. People use them as buckets because again, they're water, you know, they can hold water and people use them as buckets when washing the car. They're just like very useful and helpful and not that expensive. So highly recommend a high tide tarp bag. They come in a bunch of different sizes, tons of different colors, just nice product. Yeah. Yeah. That's a good one. |
| Jason Heaton | You know, as you were mentioning that, I was kind of going through my list and looking at your list and, you know, our kind of guiding principles for Final Notes have always been inexpensive or free, something you can watch, listen to, download, or buy relatively inexpensively. And I think we're kind of hitting all those things. You know, we've got a mix of products and Podcasts and videos and music and and things to read and books and things so it's kind of fun to sprinkle all this stuff in there totally I'm gonna go back and forth a bit here because my first one was a book the next one was a inexpensive gadget you can buy Now I'm gonna mention something I brought up in episode 278 and that is the Barkley Marathons the race that eats its young which was a 2014 documentary that we both enjoyed about this just incredibly quirky and epic race that is, you know, running race. It's a series of marathons actually done in alternating directions in the woods in a park in Tennessee. And it's grueling. It's fascinating. The rules are Very arcane. It's just worth it. This was a documentary from 2014, but it recently kind of came up, I guess in my world, because I was reading about this incredible woman, Jasmine Paris, who became the first woman to actually complete the Barkley Marathons this year. And it kind of made a lot of news in some of the outdoor publications and things. But the documentary is great, and it's on YouTube, so you can check that out. The Barkley Marathons, The Race That Eats Its Young, and I had brought that up as a final note in episode 278. |
| James Stacy | Yeah, that's a must watch. Don't skip that one. I would say that's actually a really fun doubleheader with the Netflix doc for Greatest Night in Pop. Oh yeah, yeah. You can put them both down. Two entirely different worlds on display there. So the next one for me is something I spoke about in 277, which was a gift I got for my birthday. 277 was pretty close to my birthday. And the gift is a salt cellar, which is essentially just a little glass dish that you're supposed to put salt in. I keep spring bars in. joysticks from drones and a spare memory card adapter in it. So yeah, the Salt Cellar is essentially a little glass bowl made by somebody named Morgan Gilbreath, which I can, of course, put in the show notes. I have one that's in sort of a light greenish blue. It's translucent in terms of the way the light goes through, but it's this gorgeous sort of faceted jewelry style cut, but then it's in some cases quite rough and a little bit asymmetrical. I absolutely adore this. It's $70, so it's not cheap. But I think if you're looking for a great gift, I don't know, this is one of the coolest things I was given this year. That's why it ended up on on this, it was a gift from my wife, and I just really like it. It's a simple little thing, it's quite pretty, they come in a ton of different colors, and the same artist, Morgan Gilbreth, makes a ton of different versions of these things, so different colors of the glass cellars, but then tons of other options as well. So, you know, I spoke about it back when I first got it and I wanted to kind of re-explore it as I've really enjoyed having it on my desk as a little extra small catch-all. I find the bigger the catch-all, the more I use it to catch everything, which ends up being not really useful for sorting purposes, but this being able to hold a few spring bars and, you know, an SD adapter in case I need it is perfect. And I just absolutely love the way it looks. So yeah, highly recommend pretty much anything from Gilbreth, but definitely the Salt Cellars. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, that's a really good pick. And I couldn't remember this one. I had to click and look. And it's funny because I mentioned earlier that I was at this holiday market and there was somebody selling things like this, these little tiny little bowls. And I was like, what do you need these things for? What are they for? They're so small. But as I'm sitting here at my desk, I have a little something like that, a little bowl and I've got spring bars and I've got an Allen wrench and I've got I don't know what else is in here, but you know, just like little odds and ends. Yeah. Micro SD card, et cetera. So, um, they're more useful than you think. And you're right. The smaller, the better in many cases. And this is a good, good example of that. So that's a good one. |
| James Stacy | Yeah, absolutely. So a fun one. And I just think like a sweet little gift, there's no gender for something like this. My daughters would love this. I think it's also one of these things where, you know, I feel like this will be part of my life indefinitely. And then when I pass it on or get old enough that I don't want it anymore or whatever, and I give it to somebody, it'll be like a little piece of like something that, oh, I've had this on my desk for 20 years or something like that. I really like it. Cool. Good one. Yeah. What have you got next? |
| Jason Heaton | My next one is, it's another product and this defies our rules, I guess, because it is not terribly inexpensive. It's such a superb watch nerd kind of wink wink gift or something by yourself. And it is the Connery belt from Zulu Alpha straps. I'm actually wearing mine right now. I wear it a lot. This is a combination bridal leather with woven nylon belt to hold your pants up in case you weren't clear on what I was talking about here with this beautiful polished steel buckle, adjusting slider, etc. But then woven nylon part of it is the exact pattern of the Connery NATO strap. So it's the that sort of greenish gray with the thin red and then the navy blue alternating stripes done by Zulu Alpha. So our buddy Darren over in the UK who makes some pretty amazing watch straps and has collaborated with watches of espionage among others. I just love this. I'm not, you know, not typically a In the past few years, I haven't worn a belt a ton, but this is just fun. And it, you know, having lost some weight over the past few years, I still like to wear some of my older pants and I do require a belt on those. And it's just a, it's a comfortable belt. It looks good. And you know, for those in the know about what this pattern is all about, it's just a really fun kind of insider sort of token. So yeah, the Connery Belt Zulu Alpha straps currently Currently available and for sale on his website for 165 British pounds. So check that out. |
| James Stacy | Yeah. Yeah. That's a good one. And I'm glad you're still liking it. I remember when you first brought that one up. Yeah. Yeah. It's a good one. Next one for me is actually a video that I spoke about on episode 281. And since then, I think I've sent it to about 25 more people. a couple on the Slack and definitely different friends. Hopefully they do another version of this video next year as it's a nice option when someone says, hey, I want to upgrade from my Samsung or my iPhone or whatever to a different camera. And I was thinking about getting, you know, a Fuji X100 and it turns out you can't buy them. because they were so popular that you'll remember version six came out this past year. So Kai W on YouTube, he did a great video called can't get an x 106 still worth waiting for. Here's 11 alternatives. And it's just 11 cameras that might scratch the same itch or provide the same creative tool. And I think it's a winner. I think they do a nice job. I'm a big fan of this channel in general. It's equal parts silly and kind of rooted in reality, but also really is dedicated to the person who might actually buy the camera. And I think they do a nice job. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, that was a good one. I think, um, you know, we, I remember in the early days of TGN, we used to talk cameras quite a bit more. Um, but we still have a healthy kind of appetite for camera related content, um, among our audience. So, uh, always good to throw in some, some photography based stuff into final notes. That's a good one. |
| James Stacy | For sure. I think anything for in my world, like anything that that has some sort of a foundation in like in value for photography, because I think it's really easy, even if you're in a professional to be very focused on like whatever the brand new gear is or new lens or the next thing, the next spec. And look, I fall down that rabbit hole too. I'm not throwing shade on. I'm not like a higher evolution at all. lower in many ways, but I do like this ability to consider alternatives to cameras because there isn't really a lot of new ideas in cameras. It's a lot of very fragmented sort of ideas where you might be 5% better at this, but 10% worse at this or that sort of thing. And I think it's good to know what's available on the market, especially if you're submitting real money, like an X106 is not an inexpensive camera. It might be cheaper than other cameras, but it also means it's gonna be more than others. And you see the popularity of secondhand cameras on Reddit and on you know Craigslist and that kind of thing I think there's a whole world out there and this is a nice way of getting started to realize how many cameras are out there that could be great for Kind of you know day-to-day travel and street photography, which I think is what most people are doing Yeah, I think that's a that's a great pick and I'm gonna follow that one up with my next pick is actually also from YouTube and it's |
| Jason Heaton | It's from our friends over at Teddy, the watch content platform and retailer, I guess. And they've done a series of video kind of interviews or segments with various personalities in the watch space or adjacent to the watch space. And this one happens to be our good buddy, Matt Ludvigsen, who was on, I mentioned this during our episode 277, and it's a link out to the Teddy video called The Watches of a Graphic Designer. And there you have it. There's our buddy Matt, good friend, local guy here. There's this source of pride when you get friends of TGN or our own friends doing cool stuff. And Matt's one of the good guys and it was really fun to see him able to show off He has a pretty amazing collection of watches. He's got really good taste. He's a great designer and a good friend and a consummate watch nerd and knows what he's talking about. So it was fun to see him on Teddy. I guess that was close to nine months ago. Matt Ludvigsen on Teddy Baldessar, the watches of a graphic designer on YouTube. |
| James Stacy | It's great great pick solid recommendations great video. I mean look Teddy's The whole team at Teddy's doing a great job in general, and they're definitely branching out more and more into written They've got my former colleague Danny. They've got my former colleague Jonathan. They've got Bilal. They're doing a great job over there But video is definitely their kind of their core foundation, and I thought this is a great one. Yeah yeah all right next up i've got one which is also a video it's when we spoke about on episode 285 one of the most special episodes of the year because that's where we got to speak with richie kohler still something i can't quite believe we got to do but we did have a really good time and at the end of that episode i recommended a handful of covers by a woman named Meg Mac for Triple J, the Australian YouTube channel and radio show and that sort of thing. And I think I've explained like a version before, but the idea is that if somebody comes in to do one or two of their own songs for the YouTube, they also prepare a cover. And in this case, we have Meg Mac covering Let It Happen by Tame Impala, and it's just... It's so good. When I thought up the idea of, we should go back and do a greatest hits or whatever for Final Notes, this is one of those ones that immediately left to mind. I listened to it this weekend, just hanging out, and I'm just such a fan of this track. She does a great cover of the other one we spoke about, in the episode was the theme from No Time to Die, Billie Eilish's theme. And she does such a good job with that, still manages to make her own while respecting the original. And then it's the exact same take as far as let it happen. It's just awesome. |
| Unknown | ♪ Let it happen, let it happen ♪ ♪ It's gonna feel so good, let it happen ♪ it's running around trying to cover my shadow an ocean growing inside all the others |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, this was good and it kind of introduced me to the like a version sort of series from Triple J. It's the best rabbit hole. And then we watched a few when I was visiting you in Toronto. And yeah, once you go down the rabbit hole here, even kicking off with this one, you can just go on and on. So it's good stuff. Yeah, for sure. |
| James Stacy | All right. So what have you got next? What's your next pick? |
| Jason Heaton | Next one is a note I mentioned in episode 280. And actually, I'm embarrassed to admit, I think I also mentioned it as a final note in a different episode. So it's there twice from last year. It must have been good. And it was the documentary After Antarctica. which was a documentary made by a friend about a friend, and a real hero of mine, Will Steger, the polar explorer. For a long time, this was not even available. I had seen it in the theater, kind of in a special showing here a couple of years ago, and then just recently it became available. on streaming platforms, you know, Apple TV, Amazon, et cetera. Documentary film after Antarctica, you know, you got to see it. Will Steger's kind of, he's up there with Sylvia Earle and Dick Prenike and, you know, a few others. Stan Waterman is people that I have admired greatly over the years. And I just, I really highly recommend this film. And now that it's streaming for not much money, there's really no excuse to not see this. It's a, it's a must watch. |
| James Stacy | Yeah, great pick. This is incredible. It's absolutely a must watch. I love that it's mostly documentaries. Maybe that's because we don't really do movies in Final Notes. We save those for film club episodes. I also love watching a documentary on the holidays. It's two in the afternoon on a Tuesday. And you don't have any Zoom meetings and Google Calendar, for all you know, has been deleted. Yeah, yeah. For a couple more days anyways. And yeah, you just you sit down and this is when I like catch up on Blue Planet 2 and all that kind of stuff and just like I lost four hours learning about Jaguars. I'm doing pretty good today. Keep it rolling. What do you got? Yeah, next up for me is a podcast. I first came across in 2019. Yeah, I believe these episodes started in 2018 and I've talked about it several times on the show. So I think this is also one that's probably been a final note more than once in the arc of the show. And this is called the podcast is called dissect. It's done by the ringer. and basically they do a season will be an album or sometimes two albums and each episode is a song and they break down the song the song writing the musical elements the lyrics it's awesome my suggestion would be go in and pick a band group album that you like he's done uh you know kendrick lamar's to pimp a butterfly he's done both of the the frank ocean albums channel orange and blonde i those that's what i would recommend that's how i found it and frank's albums are incredibly dense and full of representation and illustration and and the rest of it all in the lyrics so these are just they're really beautiful things to actually sit and really listen to like this isn't like when i listen to a are you garbage or something like that like where it's just to make me giggle while i wash the dishes yeah these are ones that i was like saving for airplane rides where i was going to just be looking out the window yeah and so i could really dig in and i'd absolutely love that So I'll be doing a re-listen this coming year and I wanted to at least get them on the list because they're still making it. I believe the show's grown and all that kind of thing and hit the show notes to check that out. But I think if you either pick an album you really love or if it happens, if I happen to be lucky enough to speaking to someone who doesn't know and hasn't gotten into any Frank Ocean, Yeah. Please start there. I'd be surprised if there's anybody who wouldn't look. I don't love every Frank song. Some of it's crazy. Uh, the Facebook song, that sort of thing, but the other stuff, like these are some of my favorite songs made in the last 20 years for sure. Yeah. Highly recommend. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah. Cool. All right. What have you got? Great. I mean, I'm loving these ones that are like the, the, the, the entryway to rabbit holes. And I think, uh, you know, this one and the last one you mentioned are both in that, in that category. So, My next one is, again, another documentary film that I brought up in episode 294. I think it's very relevant this week, given you're off to Japan. |
| James Stacy | Oh yeah, look at that. |
| Jason Heaton | It's behind the scenes, the story of cult films, colon, lost in translation. You know, Lost in Translation, a really formative film in my life. I adore that movie with Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray, directed by Sofia Coppola. Just a beautifully made movie. And I love this documentary that went behind the scenes and talked about the creation of it. Just, you know, looking at the arc of Scarlett Johansson's career since this movie, um, and Sofia Coppola's and of course, you know, Bill Murray, I think this was a really transformative role for him as well. And yeah, this, uh, this documentary was great. Um, you know, again, going behind the scenes is always fun, whether it's, uh, you know, we are the world or, um, lost in translation or whatever. It's just, uh, it's, it's just such good stuff to, to dig into. And that's, uh, that's one that I liked and still like and mentioned in episode 294. So check that one out. |
| James Stacy | That's great. I remember you mentioning this and I remember adding it to pocket and then I never watched it. So this one's for me. Yeah, I have to go back and watch it. Actually, you could watch it while you're while you're suffering from insomnia in your hotel room. Oh, exactly. Yeah, for sure. Or jet lag. Yeah. Well, look, speaking of insomnia in the darkness. gives us a little crossover here. In episode 291, I talked about one of my favorite inexpensive products this year. And so far, I've bought a bag, and I think I've used all of them. And they come in 12s. They're $9 currently on amazon.com, and this is the Yochi Mango Glow-in-the-Dark Zipper Pull. It's a big, chunky zipper pull. I now put it on pretty much all of my bags, and it glows brightly in the dark. And I would say nine times out of 10, it's just something you kind of smile at. Yeah, look at that. It glows in the dark. But man, on an airplane or in a hotel room in the dark where you're not even sure where you left your computer bag, but you also don't know where the light switch is because it's a hotel room. you can find it. It's a decent size. They're probably the better part of nearly an inch, like a decent chunk block of loom with a little piece of paracord in there. They work really well. They don't cost that much money. I really like these. I bought them. I have them, like I said, on pretty much all of my bags now that have you know, the ability to add or modify the zipper pull and I'll probably buy another bag for future bags, future, you know, carry things with zippers. |
| Jason Heaton | Cool, good one and very relevant to me because I'm always walking the dog in the dark these days. I like this idea. There you go. |
| Unknown | Yeah, cool. |
| Jason Heaton | All right, next up for you. Yeah, this is one that came from a good friend of mine, Chris, who, you know, isn't necessarily a watch nerd himself, but he certainly knows I am and he, we're both kind of Cold War nerds and this was kind of a crossover for us and it was called mechanical movements of the Cold War, how the Soviets revolutionized wristwatches. This was something he sent me off of Pocket and came from Collectors Weekly. I guess that's a publication for people who collect stuff. And it was this long form article about kind of the the development of the Soviet watch industry based on what they learned from American watch manufacturing and Swiss, etc. And it really goes into a lot of detail. I think when I brought this up on the show, you know, back in episode 304, I kind of said, okay, the early stuff you can probably skip over because it's kind of rudimentary stuff that all of us watch nerds know about. But then once you get through the first half and start digging into it, it's really some fascinating history about Soviet era watchmaking. So yeah, check that out. It's still available. It's still click through on pocket and takes you to collectorsweekly.com and the article. So check that out. |
| James Stacy | Yeah. That's a goodie. Yeah. I like that one a lot. Good, good pull for sure. Next up for me is another inexpensive product that's available on Amazon that I talked about a lot this year. It was probably a final note at least twice. or at least it was definitely a final note once and then probably mentioned another time. And that's the Wochi watch strap, W-O-C-C-I. I bought one on a whim just before Chicago for windup, and it was like a perfect match for my Aqualand. And then I've since, for any watch that doesn't have a normal steel case, I pretty much pick one of these up. so if it has a colored case or a black case i'll pick it up i've got that's what i have kind of i installed and have not removed off of my momentum udt the 2024 udt i just love this strap it's essentially like a riff on the apple fabric strap yeah you get two plastic lug ends that click in and then the one sort of feeds through the other like a seat belt and then Velcros back down. It's super comfortable, easy to keep clean, and it's very inexpensive. You can't ask for a lot more from a non-leather strap. They come in everything from 16 up to 24 millimeters, including now in 21. So if you're hoping to get one for a watch that has now more common but still not that common sizing of 21, And it's just made out of woven nylon. So it's very comfortable. It's like I said, it's easy to wash doesn't weigh anything. I'm a big fan of these for $7 like goodness sakes. |
| Jason Heaton | I remember that was a real revelation. I remember seeing seeing it on your watch when I visited you and it is a good match, especially for the momentum or for the aqualand for that matter. If you can get something that matches that end link. |
| James Stacy | Yeah. Yeah. And because that like colored end link, I talked about this when we, when we talked about on the show, but if you missed it, the colored end link is well colored. Yeah. So if your watch has a sort of greenish case, you could go with the green one. If it was a black one, you go with a black one, but like, there's not a great option to match a steel case. Cause it doesn't match the luster or the finish of the steel. And it actually kind of looks cheaper than you would have thought granted again, $7 strap. I know what you're saying, but |
| Jason Heaton | uh it works pretty well if you're going black or green or something in that so i mean you know save it to a bookmark and the next time you're searching for a strap see if there's a color way that that seems like it would suit the watch well i'm going to piggyback on that and um and go to another watch strap that i recommended um during episode 283 very similar style watch strap it's it's the hook and loop kind of fold over one this is the step up essentially yeah and and this is this one comes from garmin and it's their ultra fit velcro straps and nylon, super long, they have it's actually so it doesn't have end links, you actually it works with fixed bar watches. And yet it does not ride under the watch because it's made for garments and you want to be able to have the heart rate monitor sit against your skin. So it's kind of a clever way of using Velcro and kind of this hard piece that kind of holds it in place under one of the one of your strap bars. and then loops around and it comes in various widths. I have a few. I think I've gotten 20, 22 and 24. I actually use the 24 on my Garmin Descent, but the 22 looks great. I've used it on my FXD among other watches and they're $39. So not horrible when it comes to kind of a good quality watch strap. |
| James Stacy | No, it's very reasonable. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, I raved about it. I still love it. I just move it around from watch to watch and Yeah, it's it's nice if you if you like a soft highly adjustable Velcro style watch strap kind of for your sports watches check that out and especially a strong shout out for like scenarios where you that color the color problem I just mentioned |
| James Stacy | This works a lot more like a NATO where it's the nylon that's essentially integrating and matching up against the lugs. So that gives you another option. It's, you know, sure, it's almost five times the price. 40 bucks is very fair. These are really nice straps. Garmin, I would say, actually, I've only ever come across really nice straps from Garmin. I'm very used to their rubber. And then up onto the Mark series, the leather straps are very impressive, very well-made, high quality sort of stuff that was meant to deal with The elements and moisture and the rest of it. So they do a good job. Yeah. All right next up I've got yet another kind of recommendation of a little gadget or Trinket a thing I picked up this year that I really like and we've talked about it before obviously because this is a greatest hits and then I've seen it pop up on the slack a few times so I know I'm not alone and And this is made by a company called Gear Aid. And the product is called the Hero Clip. And it's essentially a strong carabiner that has an integrated hanger hook for it. So you could use it to hang something on a tree when you're camping. I think the example I gave is every now and then you have to use a public bathroom, but you might have a bag with you. And I don't like putting the bag on the floor in the bathroom for reasons that feel most obvious. And then along with that, sometimes you go into the room and the little hook on the back of the bathroom door looks like it couldn't handle, you know, your hat, let alone a bag with your laptop and cameras and the rest of it in it. And this allows you to just pop the clip open and I'll run the handles of a bag or the, you know, the back loop for the bag and hook it right on the door. So it's just a really helpful, simple, not heavy. They're 20 bucks, a hero clip. They come in a few different sizes. They come in a few different colors. I think like my extreme love of like night eyes stuff extends all the way up into the HeroClip where it's quite a large, I bought like a fairly large one. But yeah, I highly recommend it. It's just very handy, not that expensive and nice to use, I think would be a really nice thing to just have in your car or have in your travel bag, that sort of thing. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, that's a really good one. I should pick one of these up. I'm glad we're revisiting these because I've forgotten about all of them and to go back and remember some of these handy little gadgets is a little tricky, so it's nice to summarize everything here. You got anything left on your list? I do, yeah. This comes from another friend of the show, good buddy Mike Canfield with his company Dogwatch. He has a podcast, he has a blog, he has a little shop. Fun thing, could have been a great holiday stocking stuffer. Who knows, maybe if you're quick and Mike is quick, he might still be able to salvage that and get one in time. But if not, just a fun kind of gift EDC sort of thing for people. It is the Dogwatch Travel Shaving and Signal Mirror. It's this highly polished steel signal mirror that comes in a beautiful little leather case. I think the beauty of this product is that it's the whole package. It's the whole Um, care in which Mike kind of put into the development of this. I mean, just right down to the label and his description and that sort of thing. So, um, always fun to support a friend of the show and again, another local guy, uh, shout out to Mike. Um, but, uh, yeah, certainly not something I would say is a. daily necessity or a need. It's something that is just pure fun and kind of a throwback piece that appeals to watch nerds like us. So check it out. The Dog Watch Travel Shaving and Signal Mirror from the Dog Watch Company. |
| James Stacy | That's a good one. I like it. I thought it was cool when you brought it up on a recent episode, and I think it's a good one to have on the list. Definitely an interesting thing, but for the right person, probably deeply useful, right? Yeah. Yeah, right. Yeah. Alright, I'm gonna I'm gonna round mine out. I've got one more to go with. And this one was actually kind of a weird one, because I don't even remember offering this as a final notes. So I just don't recall, but it is probably my favorite, what I'll call professional reel of 2024. So this comes from a guy named Andrew Russo. And he does a lot of these videos. I mean, to be clear, this video I'm about to mention, I know a lot of you have seen he is almost three quarters of a million likes on TikTok. I didn't look up the Instagram numbers. I believe he operates out of TikTok and then kind of cross posts. So I wanted to respect where I think is his main home. But he does a ton of these videos where it's essentially him talking with another version of himself, having a funny conversation. And this one, the idea is it's when two guys brag about their everyday carry items. And you know what? Because we can, and I don't think I'm going to get anyone in trouble. Let's just play a little bit of the audio. |
| Unknown | You know, I'll throw in a flashlight in there. Sometimes. You gotta be able to see. But for me, if I'm just popping outside, it's like tourniquet, pocket knife, glass breaker. Okay, you know how it is. But you know, I like to keep a field notebook and a tactical pen on me so that I can jot down ideas on how to optimize my EDC. You know, I mean, it's an EDC for an EDC. You don't? I do. But for me, you know, I'm more of an 18 feet of good rope on my carry at all times type of guy. That's my speed. 18 feet every day. Whenever I need to repel, You too. Yeah, I do. |
| James Stacy | So I just absolutely love the way I love the way this was shot. I love that it's very clear that he must enjoy or have a friend who really enjoys EDC. But the whole premise of these and he does these for a bunch of different topics. It's not just EDC. He has tons and tons of super successful kind of meme videos or funny comedy videos. but they just ratchet it up where it's you know aerial reconnaissance edc and rebuilding food chains and and and all this sort so it just gets totally insane i can i don't want to ruin the last five ten seconds of the video i highly recommend you hit the show notes and check it out you know there's there's maybe other dumb meme videos from the internet or like random clips that weren't ever meant to be that weren't produced to be say a real or a tick tock or whatever that i loved this year but for one that was like produced and ran And for all I know, this came out the previous year. I found it in twenty twenty four. I just absolutely love this. It makes me giggle. I love showing it to people when you get into the EDC conversation and because sometimes you'll be typing and I'll be texting with somebody and you go back and forth and you're like, oh yeah, sometimes I like to carry this or that and you start thinking like wow, this really is that mean like it's definitely the first twenty thirty seconds of the video. Yeah, it's to fully reality. Yeah, yeah, but it's a it's very funny and I highly suggest it and that's kind of where I wanted to wanted to finish the year. We don't like to take ourselves Too seriously and certainly EDC on the web can be taken way too seriously at times But it's it's some very fun stuff, and I think it's important to sometimes remember that We're largely doing this because you know it was what brought us joy when we were five or six You know to have to have the right gear and leave the house feeling you know ready for the world And this video just makes me laugh pretty hard so |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, that was a good one. And it brings back a good memory of chuckling about it in our drive from the Toronto timepiece show over to our marathon party. I think we were talking about this, and I think you were playing at the backseat of the Uber. We had a bunch of us in the car, and we were laughing about it. Yeah, really, really good one. Love this. |
| James Stacy | I do remember that. |
| Jason Heaton | That was a good time for sure. |
| James Stacy | Well, look, there it is. That's our best of for 2024. Hopefully, this sort of episode hits your heart squarely, and you enjoy it. And this is something we can do in 2025. Jason, we both have a final note for this episode, but I'm realizing that the only correct final note for this episode is the one that you picked. So we just did like 22 final notes. So I'm going to let Jason wrap it up with a single final note. And if you've been listening for a while or even as much as this time last year, you know exactly where we're going. But Jason, why don't you close out the year in the most perfect way possible? |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, it's become an annual thing for TGN. It's the Canadian Broadcast Corporation's annual playing of a recording of one of their legendary voices, Fireside Al Maitland, reading a short story by Frederick Forsyth called The Shepherd. It's about a RAF pilot who's heading home from Germany for Christmas. He's flying his de Havilland Vampire across the North Sea to get back to England, encounters a little trouble and gets a little help along the way. It's a very evocative story. It's told well. Al Maitland has just a great voice and I love how he kind of voices the different characters and there's some mild sound effects going on through it. And I don't know, I love listening to this multiple times around the holidays, but particularly on Christmas Eve, it's just kind of a nice way to finish out the evening, turn the lights low. Maybe you got some lights twinkling on the Christmas tree and you're dozing, you know, sleeping off your hot toddy or whatever and just listen to this. It's just excellent. And the CBC always plays this every year as kind of an honorary thing that they do for the holidays and a tribute to Al Maitland. But we'll throw a link in the show notes in case you don't actually catch it on the CBC. They just have it permanently fixed on their website. And it's just a great listen. It takes about half an hour to listen to, which is a good amount of time to settle in and enjoy it. |
| James Stacy | Yeah, it blows right by. I also think it's a great one to run. Maybe you're driving home from a family hangout or a Christmas dinner or something and the kids are in the backseat and you can put this on and may put the younger ones to sleep, which is good, but it's a great story. It's very well told and it feels like a tradition. both for the CBC but now also for TGN. And I like it a lot. So I think that's the best way to leave it. Highly recommend you check it out if you haven't in past years. It is the most TGN thing you can do on Christmas Eve, is to listen to The Shepherd from the CBC and just kind of enjoy the great story. So yeah. Look 2024 man. It was a big year. We got a lot done. We did a lot of things. We had a good time put out a lot of episodes. I thought it was a good year. I thought it was a year of learning and that sort of thing and good opportunities and obviously some big moments like wind up went really well Toronto timepiece show went really well already looking towards the calendar for Vancouver. for next year and that sort of thing. But, you know, Jason, by all means, take your opportunity to enjoy this moment at the end of the year. But I wanted to say a big thank you first, Jason, to you for, you know, doing another year of the show with me. And then, of course, for all the supporters and all the listeners, everybody who Yeah, supported the show financially or picked up a piece of merch, hung out on the slack, you know, sent in kind words with, you know, all the stuff that went on for us this year. Saw us at Windup, saw us at Toronto. Big thanks to my mom for, you know, being a yet another co-host for the show to intro the show in Toronto. It was a great year, and I'm very proud of how things went this year. And I think that in many ways, the TGN crew came together and really seemed to get pretty close. And the Slack continues to be this beautiful, fun, safe part of the internet that I really enjoy. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, I'd echo that and thanks to you as well and also to the entire crew and a lot of the friendships that I have forged through the years through TGN. Just too many to even name here. You know, it was a year of a lot of ups and downs and a lot of activity. I mean, we had some amazing guests. You know, you talk about Richie Kohler and we talk about Rebecca Struthers and Callum Robinson and many, many others. Thanks to all of them for coming on and making TGN a great place to be. And, you know, you and I have both had a lot going on in our own lives this year. And I always come back to the fact that TGN is this sort of steady rock in my life that just kind of sustains me. And I enjoy doing it every week. And it is fun to get to the end of the year here and just bask in kind of the afterglow of what was yet another great year for the show. So, yeah, looking forward to next year. |
| James Stacy | Yeah, and the last thing I would say is, on the topic of the Slack, we do have some special thank yous. And that would be to our illustrious, very talented, exceedingly handsome moderators, Chris Soule and Jake T.S. Quite literally couldn't have held it down without you guys this year. We are just eternally grateful for you two guys and all you've done for the for the TGN Slack and for us and always having a sounding board for new ideas and all that sort of stuff. So a huge thank you to the mods. And if you're listening and you love the Slack, please take a moment to say thank you to those fellas as they're in there on the weekend, they're trying to figure out when there's problems, they're trying to find solutions. They both have full-time jobs and families and lives and the rest of it. So I did want to say a big thank you to those guys because like I said, the Slack means a lot and it wouldn't be the same without them. So definitely. Yeah, good shout out. Sappy enough? Sappy enough to close out the year? |
| Jason Heaton | Appropriately sappy, yeah. |
| James Stacy | Just happy to be doing this. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, yeah, me too. And as always, thanks so much for listening to this episode and all year long. If you want to subscribe to the show notes, get into the comments for each episode, or consider supporting the show directly, and maybe even grab a new TGN signed NATO, please visit TheGreyNATO.com. Music throughout is Siesta by Jazzar. via the Free Music Archive, and on behalf of James and myself, we wish you happy holidays and a wonderful new year, and we'll catch you in January. |
| James Stacy | Absolutely. And we'll leave you with this quote from Alex Morit, who said, New year, a new chapter, new verse, or just the same old story. Ultimately, we write it. The choice is ours. |