Category — Personal

I have been very busy recently with vacation (too short!) and various other family things to have to be done.   I should be able to get back to writing technical blog posts within a week or two.

Recently I visited San Francisco’s Japantown, and couldn’t resist picking up even more Japanese pens…so here’s what I bought along with some brief commentary (pens described in order from left to right).

All of these pens were made in Japan, although some of the Sailor 0.38 pens (in colors I didn’t buy) were made in Thailand.

Pens from Kinokuniya (Maido) Stationery

Pens from Kinokuniya Stationery (operated by Maido Stationery)

• Uni-ball Signo DX 0.38 Light Blue gel pen.  I love my burgandy red Signo DX, so I had to pick up another DX.  This one is also very sweet.
• Zebra Surari 0.5 Blue emulsion ink pen.  In the past, I haven’t been impressed with Zebra’s pens, but the Surari’s are sweet; I think I like them better than the Uni Jetstream or Pentel Energel.  The 0.5 color range is restricted, but I do like this shade of blue.
  
• Zebra Surari 0.7 Purple emulsion ink pen.  Zebra has an interesting range of colors for their 0.7 mm Surari’s, so I went for purple.  I like this pen.
• Pilot Petit 1 fountain pen.  I’ve been wanting to try a cheap fountain pen, and after extensive testing at Maido, I decided that the Petit 1 is substantially smoother than the Platinum Preppy.  I like the older style better than the new Petit 1.
• Pilot Petit ink (black and red).
• Pilot Petit 3 brush pen (solid tip).  I bought this because it’s cheap, cute, refillable, and uses the same refills as the Petit 1.
• Mitsubishi (Uni-ball) PFK-206 brush pen (solid tip).  It has a fine tip and broad tip.
  

Pens from Ichiban Kan

Pens from Ichiban Kan

• Kuretake brush pen (bristle tip).  I love this playing with this pen, even though I’m not artistic; it’s a steal at $1.75, and I should’ve bought more.
• Uni-ball PIN 01 pen.  I’m not a big fan of felt tip / marker style pens for writing, but I’m interesting in comparing it to the Sakura Pigma Micron.
• Uni-ball Noble Metal Gold pen.  I wanted to check out the Sakura Gelly Roll competition.

Pens from Daiso Japan

Pens from Daiso Japan

• Sailor 0.38 Light Blue gel pen.  It writes well, color is similar to the Signo DX, automatically retracts when put into shirt pocket, but it’s kind of ugly.  Even though I like retractable pens, I think I’d take the Signo DX over this pen.
• Zebra brush pen (solid tip).

Clearance-priced Rhodia Notebooks

I noticed my local Target started carrying Rhodia notebooks a couple months ago.  They were a little pricey for my budget, so I didn’t get any (I’m not  addicted (at least not yet) to pricey notebooks or fountain pens).

Then they disappeared.  Where did they go?  I saw the solution at another Target: they are now on clearance.  I couldn’t resist the clearance prices ($1.31 for the lined notebook, $2.54 for the Reverse square book),  so I bought a bunch.

I’m not sure why the Targets here (Silicon Valley) are dropping Rhodia.  My impression is that my local Target has reduced the size of the paper (notebook, notepad, etc) section by 50% or more, with a corresponding reduction in selection.

Update: I checked another Target, and they have the same clearance deal.  So if you’re interested in these Rhodia notebooks at firesale prices, check your local Target before they’re gone.

After watching the PenAddict’s recent Staples buying spree, it was time for me to visit Staples.  My haul was a bit different:

1. A Pilot G-Tec-C 0.4mm color 5-pack (black, blue, red, green, and purple).  So far I really like these pens.  The black 2-pack was sold out my first visit, but they had a couple on my second visit.
2. I also noticed some Pilot G2 0.38mm packs, which is good (in the past, I’ve only seen these at OfficeMax).
3. I couldn’t resist 5 pads of graph paper for $3.  I haven’t used graph paper in ages (since high school, mainly) so I’m going to see how I like it now.
4. I did get some odds and ends (like a pencil sharpener for $2 for my kids), but nothing else exciting.
5. I passed on the Sharpies; I’ve got a 3 pack of Sharpie pens, but so far don’t like them enough to buy more.

I’m hoping that more fine-line Japanese gel pens make it to the “standard” US stores — G-Tec-Cs and 0.38mm G2′s are a nice start.

Update Feb 2011: at least one local Target has Rhodia pads (graph and lined).  Rhodia might be great, but I’m not ready yet to spend $10 for a notebook (I guess I like pens much more than I like paper).

My Sakura Gelly Roll Gelato Pen

I still haven’t found another Sakura Gelly Roll Gelato pen.  I spent more time and money than I intended on my quest — but I learned a bit, too.

Why do I like the Gelato?  Because it’s at least a bit better than other good pens (e.g. Pilot, Uniball) with a very fine line (Sakura claims 0.26mm line width for the 04 model I have), wonderfully smooth ink flow, comfortable grip, and retractable design.

My Gelly Roll Bonanza (L->R: Pigma Micron, Regular, Metallic, Gold Shadow, Stardust, Moonlight)

Basically, what’s available at retail are the “artsy” Sakura pens, such as the metallic Gelly Roll models.  The Gelly Rolls are nice pens, but they  are best for fun; for writing, I prefer the feel, thinner line, and retractable design of the Gelato.  My results:

• Michael’s had a few packages of various Gelly Roll types and Pigma Micron pens.  They did not have any individual pens.
• Jo-ann Fabrics had a similar, but larger, selection of Sakura Gelly Roll and Pigma Micron packages.  They did not have any individual pens.
  • Jo-ann does have a much wider range available on-line, including individual pens.
  • Jo-ann’s web and retail selection is much better than Michael’s.
• Aaron Brothers is changing: they had individual Gelly Roll and Pigma pens, but were closing them out.  You can see in the picture that I went a little crazy buying Gelly Rolls.  (It’s for my kids, of course.)
  • Aaron Brothers did not have any multi-pen packages.  It appears they are closing out their more technical and artistic products (e.g. Sakura pens, Faber Castell pencils) in favor of a greatly expanded children’s selection.  The children’s area is pretty nice; I’ll check it out again when it’s close to my kids’ birthdays.

I haven’t had a chance to visit the stationery stores in San Jose or Palo Alto.  But I did find a very nice (but pricey) stationery store while having fun in San Francisco: Maido Stationery.  Actually, the Japantown store is called Kinokuniya Stationery, but it’s run by Maido.  Their other stores are in downtown San Francisco, Santana Row in San Jose, Los Angeles (with Kinokuniya) and New York (with Kinokuniya)

Pilot HI-TEC-C 0.3mm Pen

Basically, Maido is a JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) store — everything is direct from Japan.  They have good selection of Sakura products, including individual pens, along with Pilot, Mitsubishi (Uniball), and such.

If you like pens, you should definitely visit sometime.  They have a wide variety of pens I’ve never seen before, down to 0.25mm width, in all kinds of cool colors.  I ended up buying the finest-line pen that I felt wrote well, a 0.3mm blue Pilot HI-TEC-C (and was lucky I didn’t spend a lot more).  Maido has the hard to find 0.3mm and 0.4mm mechanical pencils — and leads.  I was intrigued by them (I had a Staedtler 0.3mm pencil many years ago), but they were quite pricey, the  real world results weren’t much finer than a 0.5mm pencil, and it’s very easy to break the leads.

But Maido doesn’t have the Sakura Gelato.  The saleslady said it looked like an export model meant for Western countries.  The Sakura America web site says the entire Gelly Roll line was originally intended for export to the US.  In Japan Sakura sells a lot of normal writing pens, but Sakura decided it would be very hard to compete with the US market leaders, so they created a new market with the Gelly Rolls.

Apparently, Sakura was right; in 2003, they introduced the Gelato, and in 2004 some additional models, but it looks like all Gelatos have been discontinued, which is a shame.  The Gelato 04 model has a claimed line width (0.26mm) almost as fine as anything in Maido (0.25mm, 0.28mm) but it writes much more smoothly than any of the super-fine models I tried; I’d say it even writes better than my 0.3mm Hi-Tec-C.  Also, I prefer the retractable pen design; however, if Maido’s selection is any indication, I’d say Japanese prefer pens with caps over retractable models.

So it looks like I won’t get any more Gelatos.  Oh, well, I had fun — and ended up with a lot of cool pens.

I’ve been very busy the last month or so with family matters, so I haven’t had much time for blogging.

But new posts will be becoming this week, and I have a practical, automation focused series planned.

I enjoy reading mysteries, especially the classics (“Golden Age”).  I have no interest in police procedural novels.  Most of the time I’m not interested in hard-boiled detectives (e.g. Mickey Spillane).  I remember one time listening on XM radio to a old time radio detective show – it was filled with over the top metaphors and cliches.

But the best hard-boiled writers are good.  To be exact, Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett are good, and I’ve read most of their stories.  Recently, I bought Chandler’s The Simple Art of Murder — and of course I read it immediately, and enjoyed it.  Those short stories are a nice change from the Marlowe novels.

But I don’t agree with his introductory essay on detective novels.  Chandler says the goal of fiction is realism — but it’s not: fiction exists to tell a story, whether sung by a bard, recited by a poet, printed in a novel, or shown on a movie screen.  Ideally, fiction should tell a story about interesting characters with style, and illuminate part of the fascinating world we live in, a world filled with all kinds of people (I strongly agree with Chandler that there is no such thing as a boring topic).

No fiction is realistic: Chandler and Hammett are not exceptions.  Hammett’s The Gutting of Couffignal is no more realistic than The Red House.  Chandler’s stories, set in Los Angeles, make Los Angeles sound like what I imagine Las Vegas was like in its gangster days.   If Chandler was realistic, his stories would’ve ended quickly, because his detective would’ve been shot and killed, or retired with multiple concussions, instead of persisting through many narrow escapes and thorough beatings.

And I don’t doubt that LA has had, and still has, many problems with gangsters, gangs, and murder, but I don’t think his stories ever matched the typical life of most inhabitants of Los Angeles.   Frankly, I suspect Las Vegas was never really like its gangster image for most people, either.

I could argue that for a murder novel, you need to talk about those who are likely to deal with murder, such as detectives, gangsters, and the police.  But I don’t believe most murder and violence were (or are) caused by gangsters.

And it’s definitely not realistic today.  Where I live, most murders aren’t gang related; none of them sound at at all like something from Chandler or Hammett.  There aren’t any gambling joints.  Frankly, Jane Austen is a lot more realistic — I know several people who sure act a lot of characters in her novels.

But realistic ficture isn’t what we want.  Heck, even look at “reality” TV — of course, it’s time compressed to only show the more interesting interactions, and the producers try to set the show up to generate conflict.   I know most of my life wouldn’t make for a interesting novel.

If you like beautiful food pictures , you should visit Little Bear (xiao xiong)’s blog (note that you need Chinese character support to see the site properly)  She is a Taiwanese lady currently living in Britain who loves to cook, and certainly takes great pictures — I get hungry just looking at the pictures.

Of course, it’s much better if you can can read Chinese, although many of her creations have titles in English (as does her book, The Taste of My Life).  But even if you can’t (like me), it’s still worth checking out for the always great pictures and sometimes very creative recipes.  Just don’t expect to be able to recreate the dishes without knowing Chinese — for example, the green layer at the bottom of her luscious looking desert on the cover of The Taste Of My Life is made from peas.

Another good food site is Clove Garden — the pictures aren’t as artistic, but it’s in English.

Me getting old?  Not so good.  Wine getting old?  Very good.

I’ve been enjoying drinking some wine I bought some years ago, back when I visited the Sonoma wine country often.  Then I didn’t drink much wine for 3-4 years.  It’s interesting to taste the difference the years make.

Some say that wines have a peak age — they don’t taste as good before or after that time.  I agree — and I love the taste of properly aged red wines.

So what have I been drinking?

• 1999 J Fritz Old Vine Zinfandel — an excellent wine even when new (~2001), it’s even better now; smoother, more mellow but still with a strong tannic afterbite.
• 2001 Beringer Nouveau red table wine — pretty nice now.  Again, it’s mellow and smooth; I suspect it’s at its peak.
• 1999 Pinot white wine — didn’t age well, I only ended up drinking a bit.  In general, whites don’t age well.

I’m looking forward to tasting how my other wines have aged (such as a Rabbit Ridge Barbera).

My favorite coffee, Lavazza Qualita Rossa, brought back from Italy by a co-worker.  Lavazza does not sell whole bean Qualita Rossa in the US.  They do sell Qualita Oro in whole bean, but I prefer the Qualita Rossa.

A close up of green tea.  A special friend brought back packages of loose green tea and jasmine tea (my favorite) from China.  Part of the tea is very fine, and doesn’t work well in a typical American tea ball.

The solution?  A good tea pot.  Here is mine; it’s a 900 ml Chinese model from 99 Ranch (it was on sale for $5).  It’s not a surprise that it works very well with Chinese tea. The fine mesh keeps the tea in, and I like that the mesh goes all the way to the bottom – I typically only make 12-16 oz of tea at a time; 12 oz of water is just over the bottom of the strainer.  The quality is acceptable – workmanlike, but nothing extraordinary. The handle is a little wobbly, and you can see weldmarks on the strainer. I think it will last at least a few years, but not a few decades.

Bodum makes designer tea pots. Most of the Bodum tea pots are actually tea presses designed to work with tea bags (supposedly the Bodum design eliminates any bitterness); I don’t think it would work as well with my Chinese tea.  The holes look a little large, allowing tea leaves to get into the tea drink, and the holes don’t go all the way down.

I don’t care for most of Bodum’s designs, and they can be very pricey (the Bora Bora is nice, but $150 for a tea pot?).  But I do really like the Assam Line I (shown above; photos re-arranged from the Bodum web site).  It’s a nice size for me (16 oz), the quality is definitely better than my Chinese pot, and the price (about $25), while pricey compared to my tea pot, is much less than the others I like (the $50 Classic or the Bora Bora).  From the boxes I’ve been able to examine, it appears the Assam Line I is made in Germany, and the Assam Line III (about $35) is made in China.  If I’m going to buy an expensive, fancy European brand tea pot, I want it to be made in Europe, not China.  I haven’t seen any reasonable prices for the Assam on eBay, so while I might get one (new or used) eventually, it’s not going to be anytime soon.

I do like Bodum’s Chocolatiere.  It’s a simple, reliable, non-electrical design that’s classic. It’s occasionally seen on eBay, at both reasonable (<$15 with shipping) and unreasonable prices.

Tony

Notes 8/24/2011: sometime I’ll write more on tea and teapots, but I’ll just add a few quick notes for now.  I’ve had a Bodum Classic teapot for a couple years now.  It really is very nice, with great style, quality construction, wonderful pouring, and a fine mesh that works great with loose teas — but it wasn’t cheap (~$40).  A friend uses a substantially cheaper (~$20) — and more compact — Bodum coffee press with loose teas, and is very happy with it.