Disqus - Latest Comments for John_the_Monkey

Re: Fibitches : The May Run Down

John_the_Monkey — Sun, 04 Jun 2017 16:36:38 -0000

Not too bad thanks - road rash and a heck of a thump for my knee and elbow. I did the slowest 5km I've ever done on Saturday!

Re: Fibitches : The May Run Down

John_the_Monkey — Fri, 02 Jun 2017 06:32:45 -0000

I have a couple of programmes on the app I use that are intentionally slow 5 or 10ks - having the app tell me to do a slow run is easier than letting my brain try to keep me in recovery mode, and can remove some of that "I should be working harder" feeling, for me at least.

I hope your mojo comes back, anyway. I've been sidelined because of injuries after a bike accident - not looking forward to my first run after so long a break!

Re: Gourmet Pens: Review: @Lamy Safari 2017 Petrol Fountain Pen @Fontolpum0

John_the_Monkey — Wed, 03 May 2017 08:42:31 -0000

It's a nicer colour in person than it looks in pictures, I think, and I'm glad that it's another matte finish LE (I like them better than the gloss finish).

At the risk of jinxing myself, I've yet to have a bad nib from any of the Safari "Family". From EF to broad, they've all been good, at least, so far! The fine on my Petrol LE is very good.

Re: Girls With Slingshots - GWS Chaser #523

John_the_Monkey — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 04:47:59 -0000

Remember the first rule, That's why no one knew.

Re: So I got an Olympus Pen F(V) finally

John_the_Monkey — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 05:34:33 -0000

They are lovely things. I never shot with a Pen-F, but did have a couple of half frame cameras. I tried to think in terms of diptychs while using them, aiming to create a full frame picture comprising two half frame images.

I hope you enjoy using yours!

Re: Minolta VC-9 battery grip for the Dynax 9

John_the_Monkey — Tue, 12 Jul 2016 05:46:53 -0000

I feel similarly about my F90x - although I do like the more manual experience of the F3Hp or FE2 at times :)

Re: Gourmet Pens: Ink Shot Review: Diamine 150th Anniversary 1864 Blue Black @AppelboomLaren

John_the_Monkey — Thu, 09 Jun 2016 03:45:23 -0000

I read the title and thought "Really? A special edition of a Blue-black?"

But I *love* the colour in your scans - I think I'll try to grab a bottle of this.

Re: Review: Caran d’Ache Grafwood

John_the_Monkey — Thu, 24 Mar 2016 14:05:57 -0000

I'm a big fan too, although the range of grades gives the thrifty completist pause. If you'ré already committing to a knife sharpen, the Blackwood is worth trying too. Not quite jumbo, but comparable in size to the discontinued Rowley Black Beauty, and nearly as nice, graphite wise.

Re: User, Collector, or Stockpiler Part 3

John_the_Monkey — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 09:19:15 -0000

RE: Fear of the White page, I suffer from that (and the nicer the sketchbook, the worse it is).

I had a friend who made a habit of dashing off the quickest, most raggedy sketch he could on the first page of every sketchbook he ever bought, as soon as he was able to. Once the book had been so "ruined", he felt free to use it without guilt or fear from then on.

The point about screens is well made - I doodle occasionally on a Samsung Note 4, using the included "S Pen" and its glassy smoothness is a world away from the friction of pencil/pen/brush on even the smoothest paper.

Re: Win A Lamy Safari Fountain Pen of Your Choice!

John_the_Monkey — Fri, 25 Sep 2015 08:44:50 -0000

Good luck all!

The Neon lime would be excellent for being spotted in large Q&A sessions :)

I can highly recommend the EF nibs - the one on my Vista is lovely and smooth!

Re: The Pencilcase Blog | Fountain pen, Pencil, Ink and Paper reviews: INEXPENSIVE: PILOT VPEN

John_the_Monkey — Mon, 08 Jun 2015 14:13:29 -0000

I was given one of these a while ago - I concur with your review, and I'd add that the purple is a very nice colour indeed, reminding me of Diamine's Imperial Purple. I've left mine for weeks at a time, and it always writes straight away, with no hard starts or skips.

I think, although I wouldn't swear to it, that it's marketed as the "Varsity" in the US.

Re: Review: Ohto Sharp Pencil 2.0mm

John_the_Monkey — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 07:13:28 -0000

That really looks like a fun leadholder - the Toison D'Or (Koh I Noor) is another 2mm leadholder that looks like a pencil ("normal" rather than jumbo size), although its body is plastic, I think.

Re: Gourmet Pens: Review: J. Herbin Fountain Pen @BureauDirect

John_the_Monkey — Tue, 02 Jun 2015 05:08:06 -0000

It came with a tin of Pousserie de Lune carthridges?!?

Absolutely one of my favourite purple inks, I hope you tried it!

Re: The Pencilcase Blog | Fountain pen, Pencil, Ink and Paper reviews: KARASKUSTOMS RETRAKT TU-TONE REVIEW

John_the_Monkey — Mon, 01 Jun 2015 05:23:56 -0000

It reminds me of a much beefed-up Parker Jotter - very nice!

Re: Pencil tentative conclusions

John_the_Monkey — Thu, 28 May 2015 07:55:57 -0000

I find the "Tradition" a bit scratchy, personally - I think the Noris is the better budget choice.

For sheer, smooth luxury, Caran D'Ache's "Grafwood" range are just lovely, although they're even more expensive than the Blackwing, at least in the shops I use!

(I should add that I'm quite fond of the WOPEX (and Noris ECO) though - I like the extra heft, and their rubbery coating, and can live with the lighter line :) ).

Re: Gourmet Pens: Ink Shot Review: Diamine Marine @CouronneDuComte

John_the_Monkey — Tue, 28 Apr 2015 09:33:01 -0000

Beautiful! More green than the Turquoises I'm used to, I think (I like Turquoise) - that looks like a must buy to me.

Re: Episode 8: To-Do Lists and Awkward Internet Hugs

John_the_Monkey — Fri, 24 Apr 2015 06:41:07 -0000

Is the XKCD you're thinking of this one?

https://xkcd.com/1205/

Re: ALL THE STATIONERY THINGS!! ~ Typecast

John_the_Monkey — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 09:02:51 -0000

Those carpenter pencils in the first thumbnail will knife sharpen to a useful/interesting chisel tip (apologies if you do/know this already!) Like an italic nib for graphite :)

Re: Typecast: 101 Books That Are Classics To Me

John_the_Monkey — Fri, 06 Mar 2015 04:41:08 -0000

I have Tom Wolfe (and I have "A Man in Full", but I'd choose "The Right Stuff" or "Bonfire of the Vanities" over that, I think. I have "The Curious Incident...." as well, which my daughter and wife read recently, before and after seeing the play respectively :)

I think there's at least one Thomas Hardy, and one W. Somerset Maugham missing, just for their approach to characters (I'd choose either "Far From the Madding Crowd" or "The Mayor of Casterbridge" for Hardy, and "Of Human Bondage" for Maugham). Everyone should have a copy of Hammett's "Red Harvest" too.

Re: What Do You Do With The Books You Have Read On Your Kindle? ~ Typecast

John_the_Monkey — Tue, 03 Mar 2015 05:51:59 -0000

I'm not sure whether Amazon's DRM allows it with their files, but I use a programme called Calibre to manage ePub files.

I can tag them "read", and use Calibre to back them up to the disk on my PC. (Calbre can search by tags, and create virtual libraries from the search, so it's possible to get all the read books in one "library". I can also see at a glance what's on the eReader that's currently connected.

In the Kindle app on my 'phone (the place I usually read Kindle content, although I have read on PC, I don't do that much), I tend to "archive" read books, although I freely admit that I don't know what that does with the file!

Re: Gourmet Pens: SBREBrown's Birthday Giveaway @Lamy @LamyUSA @AppelboomLaren @Fontoplum0 @NockCo

John_the_Monkey — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 08:41:26 -0000

Many Happy Returns - I agree with the calls for a Purple Safari. Re: the Kaweco, I think the current Burgundy is just about perfect...as long as they don't discontinue that, I'm happy :)

Re: Couch To 5K Update (plus win Adidas Trainers!!) ~ Typecast

John_the_Monkey — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 03:27:46 -0000

Doing the programme as a group is a great idea - both Mrs M and I have gone through it (not at the same time) and I'm languishing in week 8 at the moment. (Mrs M does a regular 5 - 6kms every other day now, having completed couch to 5k a few years ago. I start the programme every winter anew, after the end of the cycling season).

Solo, the tricky part is keeping the motivation as the running portions get longer, I find.

Re: For reals this time, the 2015 Lamy Safari is Neon Lime

John_the_Monkey — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 08:14:18 -0000

In the minority, admittedly, but whilst I didn't like the last two Neons, I rather like this.

Re: This Month In Comics: January 2015

John_the_Monkey — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 07:53:13 -0000

High Crimes is just great - and, amazingly, the issues are 99 cents each, with the first often being available for free (usually around the release of the current issue).

Re: #StationeryWednesday - 7 Signs I Am A Stationery Addict ~ Typecast

John_the_Monkey — Sat, 20 Dec 2014 15:47:47 -0000

Yes!

Not only am I a stationery addict, I'm an art supply addict, with a penchant for different formats of sketchbook with different types of paper, as well as being committed to a search for ever more paints and pencils :)