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 is the best and most fun game you can play, and you have to try it now. Why? Because it's hilarious, fast-paced, everyone in the group is involved, and in the end there are no losers. Everyone wins because everyone will have a great time.
If you are interested in trying Telestration yourself but you do not have the game, don't worry. Just follow the suggestions in this short guide of how to make and play DIY Telestration.
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. The game is fun for everyone. Children and adults alike will enjoy playing it. You can play with the family during game nights and holidays or with friends.
How to play Telestration without the game?
Here is a list of things needed to create your own game, in case you don't own it.
First step is to get a bunch of cards on which to write words that you will have to draw. Abstract things can be fun as well, as most likely it will lead to funny and unpredictable art later in the game. Also, you want to have a fair number of cards, so you do not draw the same card over and over again.
A good starting point is Cards Against Humanity (white cards). If you do not have this game either, you can print the cards from the internet. Just do a Google search, and you will find free to print PDFs. Then just print them on standard paper and cut them at the appropriate size. Of course, you can add your own cards in or create your own personalized set of cards.
If you want to be fancy, you can print on cardboard 200-250 grams paper. Usually standard laser printers won't be able to print on this thickness, so your best bet is an ink jet printer which usually can do this type of job.
The second thing needed is paper to draw on, a notebook would be great. One notebook for every person playing the game. If you enjoy it and want to play over and over again, I suggest buying a whiteboard foil and making notebooks out of it. You will draw with whiteboard markers on it, and you will be able after the round ends to erase the notebooks and reuse them for another round. 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. At least this was the price I paid, your mileage might vary.
The third thing, you will need something to draw with. Pencil, pen if you draw on normal paper is just fine and white board markers if you opt to make a reusable set of notebooks.
How do you play Telestration?
The more, the merrier. The game starts with a drawing round. Everyone starts with a notebook and draws a card from the pack without showing it to anybody else. This is the only time you will draw a card, right at the beginning of a round.
You start a timer for 1 minute, it can be a phone placed in the middle of the table, and then everyone has to draw what is written on the card, without using letters or numbers that would give a clue to the next person what it represents.
Once the timer runs up, everyone will put their name on the drawing and pass it to the left, or right, 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.
Let's pass the notebooks to the left for this imaginary game. The player on your left, that receives the notebook from you, will see your drawing and only that. After looking at the drawing, he/she will flip the page and will write what the drawing represents. At the same time, you will receive a notebook from your right and will do the same thing, using the 1-minute timer for each of these rounds of drawing or guessing.
Then the notebooks are passed once more for a drawing round. 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 after each drawing or guessing rounds, 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 then they will flip through the pages, showing to everyone the evolution of 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.
Resources:
Download link for cards against humanity: download
Whiteboard: double sided 9x12" (can be cut smaller) / with adhesive, A4 or large size (cut to size and stick it to a small notepad)
Makers: erasable makers for whiteboard
Eraser: whiteboard eraser
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)
Wednesday, December 28, 2016
Pentel Energel on Doctor Who
Doctor Who Christmas Special 2016 - The return of Doctor Mysterio |
It is hard to see as the pen is not the main focus of the scene.
It seems that the Pentel is a popular pen, as it was spotted on an episode of Better Call Saul as well.
Monday, December 26, 2016
Party games, cheap and fun
I have found 3 great games, 2 of them are card games, Coup and Get bit. And the last of the 3 is a dice rolling game, Roll for it.
Of course, there are other great fun short card games, like Munchkin, Exploding kittens, Saboteur, and the list can go on.
But I was interested in finding a game that can be played with a standard deck of cards or do it yourself kind.
COUP
Coup is a poker like game with a lot of bluffing about the cards you have in your hands. The deck is composed of 15 cards 5 characters. Each character appears 3 times in the deck. I use an ace, jack, queen, king, and joker. Up to 6 players can play. If you would use a second deck, 10 12 players could play.Each of the characters has an ability, but nothing stops you lying about what you hold in your hand.
The characters are
Assassin - Ace
Ambassador - Joker
Captain - Jack
Contessa - Queen
Duke - King
The characters have different abilities
The Assassin can assassinate a character
The Ambassador allows you to exchange the cards that you have in your hand
Capitan can steal 2 coins from another player
Duke can collect tax
The Ambassador and the Captain can block a steal
Contessa can block an assassinate
The Duke can block a foreign aid
Each player is dealt 2 cards, face down. Clockwise each player takes an action. If you get caught bluffing, get a card assassinated or are subject of a coup, you have to turn a card face up (the card is out of the game). When you lose both cards, you are out of the game. The winner is the player that still has a playing card. One more thing you need is coins. I use real ones as they are easy to find and cheaper than fake plastic ones :)
coup rules and actions
GET BIT
Roll for it
rules
Remember, have fun!
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Uni Kuru Toga mechanical pencil
The Uni Kuru Toga, by Mitsubishi Pencil Co, is a mechanical pencil with an engine inside, according to Mitsubishi. The Kuru Toga has a mechanism inside that rotates the lead when you write. This creates an even line without the need of spinning the pencil while you write for longer periods of time. You could say it is a pencil for lazy people. I would say it's an interesting innovation in the field of mechanical pencils.
Unfortunately, the shop only had 0.5 and 0.7 mm in this dark blue color (similar in color with the uni jetstream ballpoint), with a transparent grip and a dark gray "engine". I would have liked something more contrasting and more joyful.
The packaging was not something to brag about. Actually is putting the pen in a bad light. For the price of 2.21 €, the pencil came with a pack of 12 leads and another 6 inside the barrel. This is actually the starter pack in a not so nice way of presenting it.
Expectation
The reality was different. The mechanical pencil came with a case of HB leads, that was strapped to the pencil with tape. The package did not contain extra erasers. I guess this is the doing of the shop.
Anyway moving on..
The look of the pencil is interesting in my opinion. When I look at the tip and the transparent grip my mind makes me think of a Rotring roller. This is a good thing as I really like Rotring design. The barrel looks like the Uni Jetstream ballpoint. On the grip is written "kuru toga engine"
The clip is made of plastic and is kind of flimsy and it will probably snap really easy and really soon. On it, is written uni Kuru Toga 0.7
On the barrel, there is a sticker with the lead size, a picture that indicates that the lead rotates and a text that says "Revolving action keeps the lead Sharp!" The plastic from which the barrel is made does not inspire confidence in terms of durability.
Under the cap, there is a small white eraser. A weird design is the part where you load the leads. If you remove the eraser you will notice that the lead tank is slimmer (at least the part just under the eraser). So you can only load one lead at a time. A benefit is if you do not have the cap and the eraser on the leads will probably stay in, as you have to shake the pencil around to take out a lead from the barrel. This feature is just weird for me. I prefer to have easy access to the lead compartment.
The writing experience with the Kuru Toga is nice. The engine works for me. At first, I was skeptical as I imagine that the engine needs extra pressure to work, but it works in normal writing conditions. You can feel it working as the line remains constant without the need of rotating the pencil in hand if you write for longer, and you can see it spinning due to the transparent grip. The "engine" has a logo on it, so it is easy to see it spin. It actually spins fast, it needs around 20 pushes (touches of paper) to rotate the lead 360 degrees.
The only concern, for now, is the longevity of the mechanism (and maybe the color).
The grip has very small waves. It has a slippery feel to it but it sits just fine in the hand.
For other people, the pencil might not work. This is because of the way the pencil is designed. What do I mean? Well .. if the lead is pushed the "engine" turns the lead 1 step. To efficiently push the lead you need to have a grip that is closer to vertical, the less step the angle is between the writing surface and the pencil the higher the force needed to put the engine to work. If you hold the pencil at a smaller angle you have to exert high pressure which can be impractical.
I hold a writing instrument in hand the barrel of it rests on the index finger, giving a very high angle (around 70 degrees). So all of you who have "fountain pen hold" might be disappointed.
In other words, your mileage might vary.
Saturday, October 29, 2016
Secret Hitler board game DIY
Sunday, September 4, 2016
Opinel No 8
For some time now I am looking for a hiking, general purpose knife. Of course, first time I started searching for one my mind went directly to Crocodile Dundee -That is not a knife, this is a knife..
but using reason I managed to pick an Opinel no 8.
What I want from a hiking knife is to carry it safely (folding is a good starting point), to have a decent size blade (8 cm is good enough) for cutting food with not too much trouble, stainless steel blade because I will be using it to prepare food, a locking system so the blade doe not close on me.
I found in the Opinel all of the requirements above.
Of course, a folding knife is not as strong as a fixed blade, but I will not be alone with my knife in the jungle where I have to hunt to survive. So opting for a folding blade is more practical. A 30 cm blade would be great if I would hunt for bears or crocodiles. But for cutting the bread and buttering it, it makes more sense to use a smaller blade.
I found a lot of fans of the brand and a lot of reviews of the knife. A lot of them say you can not beat the knife at this price point. (I paid 10 dollars for a stainless steel 8 cm blade Opinel).
First, when I opened the package and got my hand on the knife I said, it's priced according to what it offers. The folding mechanism is encased in wood, and this is not a good thing in my opinion. The wood shrinks or expands and this affects the blade unfolding force needed. It can jump from hard to open it (going to break my nails and fingers) to if it's not locked the blade will just swing around.
It is an old design, farmers knife. In my opinion, the company should work a little on the design.
Opinel No 8 |
The knife didn't come very sharp. So the first thing was to sharpen the blade to an acceptable level. Second thing was putting mineral oil at in the pivoting mechanism several times and braking it in. Several days of opening and closing.
Another thing that I do not like is the finish of the fishtail handle. It is too rough on the hand, so I might just sand it down and maybe reshape the back of the handle.
But after a week of having this knife, I started to like it. And I like it for its simplicity the same reason I didn't like it at first. The wood handle, the simple locking system, the classic and beautiful design that survived over all these years.
Saturday, August 13, 2016
Bic matic grip in cinema
In the movie American Ultra, Mike Howell played by Jesse Eisenberg likes doodling and sketching.
The results... Bic Matic will draw*
At some point in time, probably in the 3rd or 4th grade, I had a Bic Matic, the older version (classic by today's standards).
It had a white barrel with black clip and black front part, 0.7 mm. From my memories, it was my first (or second) mechanical pencil I ever owned. After seeing it in the movie American Ultra I am starting to get nostalgic, maybe I will get a new Bic Grip Matic.
It seems Thor is a fan of Bic as well. If you want to see Bic appearance in other movies view this post as well.
* reference to "Forged in fire"
Saturday, February 13, 2016
Penac Chubby and Faber Castell Grip Plus
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