Tim's Bits and Pieces: Gadgets

Shortwave

TimP — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 23:03:54 +0200

Normally bloggers get excited about the latest and greatest gadgets like the iPad or the latest netbook; me I'm excited about about technology that was invented in the 1920's. I was recently looking around for a battery powered radio receiver in case of emergencies, and I noticed some of the more expensive ones had Shortwave, so I ordered one. Today it arrived by courier, and it's really neat. I can receive transmissions from different parts of Asia, and all over Australia. Plus it seems to be a fairly good FM radio, which is what I actually got it for. I've already learnt a couple of things as well: 1, Sports news isn't any more interesting in a Chinese accent, and 2, there is no chance of me understanding spoken Indonesian unless I improve a lot. :-)

Pilot 78G

TimP — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 23:03:54 +0200

Based on a recommendation from Marko Kloos (Down the bottom) I've purchased myself a fountain pen, a Pilot 78G, plus a bottle of Parker Quink ink. All in all this set me back about $28 including pen, ink, and postage on the pen.

As an aside you can tell I'm new to the concept of fountain pens, since it didn't even occur to me to order some ink at the same time, and I had to rush out to the local stationary store on Saturday to acquire some. Unfortunately it turns out the inconsiderate sods who run the place don't open on the weekend :-), so I had to wait the whole weekend before I could get some ink.

Now on to the pen itself:

As you can see it's a fairly plain looking green pen, with subtle gold highlights. I feel that the plain look, with a few highlights strikes the right balance between looks and functionality for an everyday pen. The fancy gold-plated pens (example) are more of a status symbol that an tool, and a status symbol wasn't what I wanted. Plus the gold-plated ones are kind of expensive. :-)

What you may not be able to see in the above picture is that it is a fine point. (An Asian fine point, which is apparently extra fine by western standards) For some reason I find the narrower text of fine point pens more attractive.

The only problem with the pen itself I've had so far is that it's a screw cap which isn't as convenient for taking quick notes as a normal clip on cap, but that's minor.

I've also had some problems adjusting to the slightly different technique between fountain pens and the more typical ballpoints, but just writing this post out longhand before typing it has helped. Which is a bit of a different experience for me as well, since I haven't wrote anything, but quick notes since highschool, and even then it was normally with a pencil.

See below for an example of the writing with this pen. The Pilot 78G is on the top with a cheap ballpoint next and a Bic 537R rollerball at the bottom. The Bic's the only other pen I have that competes with with the Pilot, since it's a little less scratchy (to be expected with a fine nib), but it's a much broader line, and has significant bleedthrough. Unfortunately this image doesn't really capture it very well, but scanning in some text is the done thing. ;-)

P.S. There is also no real bleedthrough on the paper with the new fountain pen, just incase you where wondering.

Swiss Army Knives

TimP — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 23:03:54 +0200

My first knife was one of those cheap, nasty Swiss Army Knife clones. I loved it when I first got it, but I grew out of it and it was such low quality that it put me of the whole idea of "Swiss Army Knives". I'm pleased to say I'm now cured of this dislike; I recently saw a cheap ($22.45) Victorinox Tinker on eBay. I'm glad I did; it's currently my very favourite knife, though so far I've avoided the temptation to name it "Vera". :-)

So if you're like me and don't like Swiss Army Knives because you got a cheap one once, do yourself a favour and go buy a cheaper Victorinox or Wenger knife Today, preferably one of the ones without a hundred and one tools. The Tinker is good in that regard, I can actually see myself using all the tools (except maybe the bottle opener), and the only tool it's really missing is a pair of scissors (perhaps the Super Tinker would be a bit better)