Friday, December 15, 2017
Old stationery at Wilanow Palace
Friday, December 1, 2017
Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Red ink
I got enthusiastic about ink colors and I bought Pelikan 4001 brilliant red. It is not a color that I use regular, but I felt it would be cool for occasional writing and mixing it with other inks from Pelikan.
The conclusion is that I should have read the reviews first.
Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Red Ink is a big no no. The ink has many flaws regarding color, mixing, deposits in the inkwell etc.
Friday, November 24, 2017
Thor using bic 4 colours
Even gods need a pen from time to time, and when they need they go for a Bic 4 colours.
Versatile writing instrument. What can i say, he is a practical god.
Is the Bic mightier than the hammer?
The Bic 4 colors ball point pen appeared in Thor Ragnarok when Thor is explaining the Multiverses.
Related post:
Bic Matic used by Jesse Eisenberg in the movie American Ultra
Saturday, November 18, 2017
Rotring tikky eraser
But like the Tikky it is affordable, good quality and long lasting. It got me through College and it's still going strong.
The Tikky comes in three sizes, 20 being the biggest, then 30 and 40.
What has happened to it in the meantime? I guess it got a makeover.
I do not know if this is an improvement, I really liked the simplicity of the previous design very Google ish for a lack of a better word. I mean it is simple and straightforward.
On the other side, I can see a benefit from the black cover. I have my old eraser since college and in the meantime the white it is not that white, it's kind of dirty yellowish. So the dark cover might add a plus in the long term.
On the Rotring site, the photos of the eraser still feature the white hood. But digging deeper and looking through Rotring catalogs the change was made around 2015.
Sunday, July 16, 2017
Tianhao mechanical pencil
At the last visit at the local supermarket, I saw this mechanical pencil somewhat copying the design of the Pentel Graphgear 500, that came along with a pack of 20 2B leads, all for 0.50 $. If interested you can see some more look-alikes in the post Copy cats.
My thoughts were, I can not go wrong with the package, if the mechanical pencil is crap, at least I get an almost free pack of leads.
The design of the mechanical pencil is interesting, I would call it nice. I like the fact that the grip is a separate piece of plastic with a silver color while the barrel is black.
The mechanical pencil looks ok with the condition you look from a distance. At a closer glance, you see the pencil has a bend in the shaft. The fixed sleeve is a little larger than the diameter of the lead so there is play in the lead, and this causes the lead to break a lot. Also, the lead advances too much at every push. In combination with the soft, easy to break leads it came with it is a disaster to write.
But I found later why the sleeve is so larger, maybe ...
The led it came with branded as microled even though is 0.5 mm it is larger, or at least some of the mines are. I tested various leads in the post "Mechanical pencil lead", including the one that came with this pencil to see if is there a real difference in quality between known brands that have decent quality products and cheap no name leads. Biiiig mistake. I used a Rotring Tikky and first the lead broke. Not a tragedy but it got stuck in the sleeve and I could not get it out. It was stuck like glue in. I had to use a needle and pliers to push the led out. After a bit of struggle, it came out with a plastic bit that is inside the sleeve of the Rotring Tikky which has the role to keep the lead tight with no wobble when you write.
It does not come with an eraser, but this is not a problem for me as I do not like to use the erasers that come with my pencils. Not because they are not capable, but because I do not like the look after use. I always have an eraser block with me.
The clip rotates around the barrel and does not inspire confidence. But I think this is the greatest feature of the mechanical pencil. At least you can have the hope of losing it sooner rather than later. But probably this will not happen as the clip is not that problematic.
In conclusion, the mechanical pencil is bad and it's not usable.
Thursday, July 13, 2017
Copy cats
Rotring Tikky III vs Daco:
Between the two the differences are minor. The lack of the red ring and a grip that is more rhomboid shaped is all the visual difference Daco made to the visual aspect of the Rotring Tikky III
Rotring 600 vs Daco Metalix:
and again Rotring vs Daco, red vs black.Pentel P205 vs Forpus Aztec vs Bic Criterium
Pilot H327 vs Ico
Saturday, July 8, 2017
"Paul" sketch with Pentel Graphgear 500
Wednesday, June 14, 2017
Port Royal board game
I was in doubt if I should purchase this game, as it did not appear to be very fun or addictive from the game plays I found on youtube. I bought it as it got good reviews from everybody and high scores.
After buying it and playing a few rounds of the game I have to say it is a great card game. A lot of fun. Even those that were very skeptic at the beginning, after just a round, the Russian roulette style card turning game offered instant fun and thrills.
Let's play just one more round. In conclusion, everyone had a lot of fun playing the game.
The game is a bunch of cards with different icons characters or ships. At the same time, the cards have two rolls when they are face up they are used according to the picture on them when face down they are used as gold coins. The goal is to gather victory points either by completing quests or by collecting character cards that have victory points.
I recommend this game even after half a year since I own it. It is an easy fun game for everybody.
Related posts:
1. Secret Hitler board game DIY (a game that you can print at home and have a lot of fun, "mafia style game")
2. Party games, cheap and fun (3 short and fun games, 2 can be played with a standard deck of cards, the third dice rolling game)
Sunday, April 23, 2017
Mechanical pencil lead
Thursday, April 13, 2017
Platinum Preppy, first fountain pen
The Preppy is my first fountain pen .. sort of. I had used fountain pens in the elementary school and I stopped using them as soon as I finished it. The use of a fountain pen was not a requirement in higher grades. I switched to a ballpoint without looking back.
I can say I was traumatized by the fountain pen in my early school years. Ok traumatized is a bit much but I did not like the constant need of refilling it, I always had dirty hands, the ink smudged, and many times drips of ink were in the cap because of the handling.
For some time I wanted to test a fountain pen, and after a bit of research, i went for the Platinum Preppy. It is a nice looking pen, demonstrator style. In the shops, most fountain pens are for kids but this one is great for everyone.
The pen comes in a plastic bag, nothing fancy.
The first thing I did was to remove the writing from the barrel. I tried to use a rag and alcohol. It works but it is not easy, so I used the back of the Opinel blade. I managed not to scratch the plastic while removing the writing, but you need to be careful.
Now instead of the ugly logo plus a ton of fine print, I can see the ink and the inside. I like the clear plastic look. It's modern, convenient as you can see if you are running low on ink plus it is not too flashy.
Friday, February 24, 2017
DIY Party game Telestration
This one is the bomb of party games. Why? Because it's hilarious.
What is Telestration?
It is a game that is a combination between telephone and illustration, so the name Telestration.
You draw, guess, draw guess and at the end of the round, you will find that laughing can be painful.
What do I need to play Telestration?
Because this is a DIY here is a list of things needed for the game.
First, you require a bunch of cards with things that you have to draw. The more abstract the definition, the more fun the game will be.
A good starting point is Cards Against Humanity (white cards). If you do not have the game, you can print the cards on standard paper and cut them. You can find the .pdf on the internet. Of course, you can add your own cards in or create your set of cards.
Second thing needed is paper, a notebook would be great. One for every person playing. If you really like the game and want to play over and over again, I suggest buying a whiteboard foil and making notebooks out of it, so you can reuse it every game. The cost of the whiteboard foil, markers, notebook on which to stick the foil, cutter, and other small things will be around $30 for 10 notebooks.
Third thing, you will need something to draw with
How do you play Telestration?
The more, the merrier. Everyone starts with a notebook and takes a card from the pack without showing it to anybody else. You start a timer for 1 minute, and everyone has to draw what is on the card, without using letters or numbers. Once the timer runs up, you sign the drawing and pass it to the left, or right for that matter, as it doesn't make a difference. The notebooks will travel in a circle, reaching each player. Just keep the same direction for the entire game.
The player next to you will see your drawing, then will flip the page and will write what the drawing represents. At the same time, you will receive a notebook and will do the same thing, using the 1-minute timer for each of these rounds of drawing or guessing. Then the notebook is passed to the next player in line. The next player in line will only see the thing the previous person wrote, not the initial drawing, and will have to make a drawing based on the previous person guess. The notebooks are passed like this, each time the players will see only what the player before them wrote or drew, and each of these rounds will be timed, 1 minute. You will keep guessing and drawing until finally the notebook you started with will end up in your possession again.
Once you have your starting notebook, the game is over and each player tells the story of his notebook. Taking turns, players will reveal to the group the card they started with, and they based the drawing on and the evolution of the guessing and drawing.
This is the real fun part of the game, laughing and making fun of the drawings and guesses.
There are no losers to the game, only winners because everyone will have a great time.
Related posts:
1. Secred Hitler board game DIY (a game that you can print at home and have a lot of fun, "mafia-style game")
2. Party games, cheap and fun (3 short and fun games, 2 can be played with a standard deck of cards, the third dice rolling game)