Vinland Saga
“I have no enemies.” It’s an anime with two seasons so far. The manga is getting close to complete. Takes place around 1000 ad with the wars between the Vikings and the English. Basically the first season is about revenge while the second pivots hard to redemption. It’s ultimately a story about pacifism.
I just beat Outer Wilds a few months ago and the DLC last week. It’s easily one of my favorite games but once you know the secrets there’s no going back. I’m so glad I never had anything spoiled and went in on a random recommendation.
Even though I loved the base game the DLC doesn’t have quite the same feel. I got legitimately frustrated at certain parts too. But it’s also more outer wilds and is nearly it’s own game so can’t really complain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qg1ckCkm8YI
I randomly remembered the Will it Blend? videos the other day. Such a simple premise. Also “Don’t breathe this.”
Rhythmbox for me. I was using Spotify for a long time but I’ve been dialing that usage back a lot this year. Another factor was that I have an older PC and when I play games it uses more resources than I’d like. I took the time and setup my playlists in Rhythmbox and I’ve been happy. It’s not winning any design awards but it does the job.
I have one A2 and Two A1s. The A2 dries out quickly if not used frequently or with wet enough ink. The A2s are great though and I usually have one of the group always inked up since they are so convenient to write with.
I also have a VP with a medium nib. It’s a bit broad for my everyday writing bit I ink it up anyway since it’s so nice. I’d like to get a grind on it someday. I say that first, its a pilot nib. They are soft and as smooth as butter. And two, the action is smoother and the way the nib unit fits ends up seating a lot better. I also don’t worry about dry out nearly as much. If you like these, you’ll love a VP.
Clones can get a bad reputation but sometimes they hit the right mix of cheap, quality, and functionality: moonman A1/A2, jinhao 82, Junlai 630. They may not be what they imitate but for ~$20-40 they are still solid pens.
We read The Room by Jonas Karlsson for my works book club. I’m so glad it was only a 3-hour audiobook. I was done after the first hour. It was labeled as “magical realism” and a " dark comedy" but it was just some guy with mental issues trying to adjust and fail in an office setting. The main character is just an asshole so it makes it hard to relate to them, because of that you can’t take their side when people start to question his Room. It just ends with a whole lot of nothing and I thought it was a total waste of time.
Ya, Tchaikovsky made bangers, plain and simple. 1812 Overture, Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, the list goes on…
I’m glad you’re making progress at least! Hopefully you find one that works. I don’t need anymore pocket pens but still want to pickup an M2 every time I see it.
Youre’re probably right about a generic converter too. They probably designed one to work for multiple pens. I just meant they might not make the converters in-house but sub it out to a company that specializes in injection molding which could have led to a mistake. It’s usually a cost saving measure for companies. Higher quantity, lower cost.
I will also mention that it’s generally the conventional wisdom not to eyedropper metal pens. From what I’ve heard, the water and/or chemicals in the ink can react with the metals to contaminate the ink and/or accelerate rusting or corrosion in the pen.
Interesting, I’d never heard that one before. I’m familiar with the pens but not the converters. Unfortunately, the converters were probably chosen just for the dimensions and aren’t actually made by Hongdian. It would probably take some trial and error to find one that works better than the one you have. From a quick search they look like a few I have for some other Chinese brands.
My 2 cents is that either a) that small amount of empty space isn’t really going to make a difference in the long run. Fill it, write with it, have fun, enjoy the pen.
Or b) if it does bother you, a blunt-tipped syringe could be used to fill the converter instead. In some cases I will just fill the converter directly from the bottle/sample then plug it into the pen. It’s a lot cleaner but you’ll have to wait for the ink to flow to the tip. But there is potentially more ink in the flooded feed than the small amount lost by the odd converter fit. So to get a truly “full fill”, you’d need to fill as usual then take the converter off the rest. But that sounds messier than its really worth in my opinion.
If you’re feeling handy and it really bother’s you, c) It might be an assembly error. You might be able to disassemble the converter and setup the piston so it doesn’t press on the feed. On some converters you can uncrew the upper silver collar and pull the whole piston out. This would be a last resort since it could mess up the converter completely. For context of a similar situation, I was cleaning my TWSBI 580 and removed the piston to really clean out the barrel. When I put it all back together the piston wouldn’t go back all the way. The piston needed to be set at the proper length before tightening it all down. I have a feeling it was something similar from the factory. Unfortunately, quality control is the first to go on these cheaper pens.
I’ll add The Well Appointed Desk to your radar.
Also someone already mentioned the Pen Addict but I’ll add that they do have a list of other resources under “Pen Friends” all the way at the bottom.
Very interesting! I tried serching them up but there’s not a lot of information for that particular brand. From what I gather they are nibs for dip calligraphy pens. You may be able to find a nib holder and a bottle of ink to use them. If I recall, you go through calligraphy nibs over time due to the harsher chemicals in the ink corroding the steel, typically with India ink. But you can use regular fountain pen ink instead. Just don’t put India ink in a fountain pen!
100% the best off the shelf rollerball. I use one often.
Ya ballpoints are really the workhorse of the pen world. Even with all the advancements in writing tech, a standard ballpoint will always get the job done. I have Fisher space pen refills in a few of my work pens because I know they will always write whenever and wherever I need them.
These days there is a pretty good consensus around the Uni Jetstream as the “best writing” ballpoint ink. Its a hybrid oil-based ink formulation with lubricants that really flows. Other brands have started to get on the hybrid wagon too so it’s been great for budget pens all around.
Pens
Its such a common thing that we’ve all used and have opinions. And the rabbit hole goes as deep as you want.
You’re good with a Bic and shitty notebook paper? Cool. You have a $3,000 custom built fountain pen that’s been handcrafted to fit your grip and is based on a sketch you made from a dream with a 21k gold nib? Also cool.
The first one that comes to mind is Jared Leto. Can’t stand him in any role but I will tolerate him in Requiem for a Dream. And even then I’ve only seen that movie once which is more than enough.
Recently,
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. I think the soundtrack was the best part of the game.
All time,
Anything Final Fantasy or Elder Scrolls is timeless.
On a second look it actually came with one of these cards. It just wasn’t connected. The cable setup unfortunately only let’s me hook up half the drives for now but that works for the time being.
I’m glad I asked! Thank you all, I’ll have to make some changes.
Ya the first season reminded me a lot of Berserk. You’re following along with a character whose sole purpose is to kill and survive.
But you see his father in the first few episodes, a man who moved his family far away from the Danes, a man who runs a village and is beloved, a man who despite being a master with a sword is shown trying to lean new skills and grow. He was a man who couldve led the Vikings and lived in luxury but wanted his kids to grow up away from the battlefield. The story is the unfortunate journey of Thorfinn having to realize what his father was trying to teach him but the hard way. Even though the first season is a lot of fighting, there is very little in the second.