Friday, March 20, 2015

Partial eclipse of the sun


Today was a partial eclipse of the sun. Approximately 55% percent of the sun was covered by the moon, on my side of the Earth.
To see it I used some dated technology, the eclipse glasses that I have since 1999 eclipse. Unfortunately then the sky was cloudy and I did not see it. It was a total eclipse in '99.
But good things happen to those who wait. Even if it's not a total eclipse, it's still the first eclipse I observe.

The eclipse seen through the glasses with an old compact Fuji.



Share your eclipse pictures.

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Pelikan Erase, erasable pen

I don't understand why is there a need for a pen that can be erased instead of using a pencil, but for the sake of the test let's go on with the Pelikan erase


TEST #1: Writing
pelikan erase, erasable pen


Writing with the pen feels creamy, but the ink is not coming out with consistency. If you take a look at the picture above you can see numerous parts of the text where the pen skipped, or where the line density is different from normal.

Monday, February 2, 2015

Taking apart a Citizen watch

In the previous post, I was writing about a Citizen automatic 21 Jewels day and date watch that I bought on eBay for 11.5 dollars. The watch came with a small problem, the second's hand is not staying in place. At the moment, because the watch was not winded enough, I thought it was keeping horrible time. I found out later it is running very well.
So the only reasonable thing to do was open the watch and see what can be done. The first obstacle was removing the crown and stem to take out the mechanism. For that I didn't need tools, just a steel sheet to open the back, and a Rotring Tikky to press the stem release button. (see previous post)
I put the second's hand but it does not want to stay, it's a two-hand watch now. But this was not all. The manual date/day change was a bit scratchy, so I thought it just needs a few twists to loosen it. I did the day/date change while the hands of the watch were not in the correct position. This caused another problem. The most serious one.
The day/date can't be changed manually anymore. I decided to take the Citizen watch apart, even though I didn't open a watch before.

Step one, buy a set of watch screwdrivers. 
I bought the cheapest set in the world. Under 2 €.
cheap

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Citizen watch from Ebay

The Citizen automatic watch adventure started a couple of months ago when I was browsing on eBay for mechanical vintage watches. I was looking for old soviet watches when I came across a Citizen automatic 21 jewels "reconditioned".
The watch cost me 11.5 $ shipping included.
3 weeks later the watch arrived. It looked just like in pictures.

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween to all of you that enjoy dressing up in weird, scary, sexy, or just grouse costumes. This year the by coincidence I was at Bran Castle (Dracula's Castle according to Bram Stroker) on Halloween night.
dracula castle halloween transilvania romania visit
photo source: www.bran-castle.com

It felt overwhelming, the tourist crowding in where similar to an ant's nest, you couldn't take a step into the castle without stepping on someone's toe. The good thing, I didn't step on Dracula's toes, so I live to see another day.

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Stitching pictures into a panorama


If you want to capture a whole scene in a single picture your digital camera might not be your first choice. Even if you have a wide lens it might not be enough for the entire scene. It is easier to take the phone out of the pocket, set it in panorama mode and just take the photo.
But there is an easy and simple way to do the same thing with your digital camera, even if the camera does not have the panorama function.

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Great small portable games



I'm a user and a big fan of portable apps. Just putting all the useful stuff on a thumb drive an having it everywhere you go is incredible. Between the useful programs, I have on the thumb drive I have also some great games. I sometimes kill time by playing the coolest and smallest games ever made. Being portable makes them more appealing. You don't need to be connected to the internet to enjoy all of the below games presented. You just need to have a thumb drive (nothing fancy).



Friday, August 15, 2014

Better ebook pc reading experience




For a good reading experience on the pc, you first need to find a pc reader software, preferably one that has a library management. To help you choose one or more, take a look at: Best ebook reader software for pc. You can use if you have the ebooks in .pdf or .rtf format, software already installed on the pc like Adobe Reader or Microsoft Word.

To make the experience of reading a book on the screen of the computer you need to make the reading as comfortable as possible for your eyes.


Zenith Z-19, photo by Ajmexio


Thursday, August 7, 2014

Best ebook reader software for pc

To enjoy the experience of reading books on the pc you need first to find a desktop ebook reader that suits your needs. Finding the perfect ebook reader is difficult. The feel of paper in the hands, or the smell, for many readers is something that can’t be replaced.




















The ebook readers for pc that made my list are:
Calibre
Adobe digital edition
Cool reader 3
Sumatra PDF reader

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Bicycle commuting - part two


bicycle commuting urban
Photo by Tejvan Pettinger

What to wear and what to take on the commute:
You can wear business clothes on the commute, but you have to pace yourself to stay dry. If you have to carry things with you a backpack is not the best way to go. It is most likely to sweat a bit with the backpack. A courier or postman bag should be better. A rack on the bike would be the best option. If you can travel light, use a fanny pack or one of the cool running belts.

Thursday, July 10, 2014

DIY Phone and Tablet Stand

I have planned for a long time to build a phone stand. I feel it is very practical: at home or at the office.
Because I was postponing the build of the stand for some time I chose the path of paper. My first origami project. I was ambitious at first but the final result was ... not so good. It was simple to make, it holds the phone in place, it did as was advertised, but after less than a week with the origami stand on my desk, I abandoned the idea of holding the phone with an A4 sheet of paper. I just wanted something more cool and solid.
(If you are interested in an origami stand you can find good tutorials on google and youtube)
Finally, I found the time and willingness to do it.


Prototype #1 is out :
phone tablet stand diy metal


Even though is not perfect I consider it awesome. I just love the metallic feel and look.

Characteristics:
- stands on a desk, table, or flat surface
- it can hold a phone or a tablet in portrait or landscape mode, or two phones in portrait mode
- it keeps the phone at a good angle, which allows you to see the screen without having to raise the phone from the desk

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Bicycles and mustaches

A lot of things have changed in the bicycle industry over the course of history. Now you have bicycles for every type of riding you do, different frame sizes, no more one size will fit all. You get gears, a lot of them, less weight and aero performance but one thing that is still the same ...
















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