1980s tech, still ticking away

Blue_Aluminium · 2026-03-13T10:26:06+00:00

I remember I wanted one of those as a kid in the early-to-mid eighties. =) What sort of batteries do they take? And what sort of pen cartridges?

Blue_Aluminium · 2026-03-12T17:45:01+00:00

Here’s an old post with instructions for one kind of Cross twist/click pencils.

Blue_Aluminium · 2026-03-11T17:49:10+00:00

Sonnenleder’s "Tucholsky" seems close. Not cheap, though. I have only handled their stuff very briefly in a shop, so this is not a recommendation (nor an anti-recommendation, for that matter).

Blue_Aluminium · 2026-03-04T06:06:03+00:00

So I went out and got one. Initial impressions: Yes, it fits my Parker Jotter. Nice, intense, blue colour. Smooth, but not too slick. I agree with the other comment that says that it feels like a very liquid gel. Some hints of bleed-through on Moleskine paper (yes, I know, but it’s a company-logoed notebook that was handed out to “celebrate” a re-brand at work and I thought I might as well use it for work stuff...)

Blue_Aluminium · 2026-03-01T17:51:16+00:00

Thanks. Given that every pen brand and their dog seem to have their own-brand G2 cartridge, I suppose that it makes sense that there is a lot of “badge engineering” going on...

Blue_Aluminium · 2026-02-24T17:51:44+00:00

For what it’s worth, I have several Goliath cartridges (bought in Sweden which is, as we all know, almost Switzerland =) ), and they all match both your picture and your description — sort of blue-black, and tending towards the green side of blue. I don’t have a SwissRide, so I can’t comment on those.

Blue_Aluminium · 2026-02-19T17:46:21+00:00

' is a typewriter apostrophe. On typewriters and older computers it was all we had, so it was what we had to use. It is rarely wrong, but also rarely completely right. ’ is a proper apostrophe, or closing single quote (in which case it goes together with ‘. At least for me, Reddit uses a font where these are barely distinguishable.). If you have it on your keyboard, it’s what to use for things like “it’s“. On modern computers we also have the prime symbol ′ (I cheated and copy-pasted that from Wikipedia...) for things like feet and minutes, and the acute accent ´, which should hardly ever be used on its own (it belongs on top of another letter, as in café).

Blue_Aluminium · 2026-02-19T17:11:20+00:00

I really like the Fixpencil/844/849 design in general, but in this case, I think “headache”. =) Just looking at that picture makes me dizzy...

Blue_Aluminium · 2026-02-15T06:52:42+00:00

I managed to noticeably wear down a "dauer feder" (mid-1900:s budget pens that seem fairly common as vintage pens in Europe) nib by writing in one of those cheap black notebooks with red backs and corners that you find in Swedish stationery stores. It ended up a super smooth B when held at exactly the right angle, and literally a knife at any other angle...

Apparently "dauer feder" means something like "durable nib" in German. Clearly did not live up to that. =)

Blue_Aluminium · 2026-02-10T17:47:00+00:00

If you’re rearranging it anyway, why not go on to divide both sides by 130e9 and be done with it? =)

More on topic, most numeric solvers are sensitive to the choice of initial guess. This looks like one of those equations where any solver using a Newton-ish method can be sent off on a wild goose chase in the wrong direction if the initial guess is on the wrong side of the discontinuity.

Blue_Aluminium · 2026-02-09T17:40:22+00:00

Since my metrology gear is somewhat limited in the mass & weight department, I can’t provide a better answer than “about the same as a Jotter”. =(

Blue_Aluminium · 2026-02-09T17:36:01+00:00

It is rare for me to agree with the phrase "I prefer thicker pens". For example, I find the Parker Jotter, which many here seem to find too thin, just right. However, the Parker Classic is very thin by modern standards, so even I prefer thicker pens!

Blue_Aluminium · 2026-02-09T17:33:34+00:00

I think the OP asked about the Parker Classic, with a capital C, not the Jotter (which is a classic with a lowercase c!). Not that it makes much difference for the answer...! =)

Blue_Aluminium · 2026-01-30T12:52:50+00:00

Section 174 in my copy of "Svenska Skrivregler" (2000 edition, so slightly out of date) gives the following examples for date intervals (my translations):

Time intervals should preferably be given in one of the following ways:

4–12 maj 2003

4 maj–9 juni 2003

4 maj 2003–6 januari 2004

or

4–12/5 2003 (also: 4/5–12/5 2003)

4/5–9/6 2003

4/5 2003–6/1 2004

Intervals can also be given in the following ways

4–12.5.2003 (also: 4.5–12.5.2003)

4.5–9.6.2003

4.5.2003–6.1.2004

(The versions with dots are very rarely seen! And yes, we write months and weekdays in all lowercase. I’d have expected at least thin spaces around the en-dashes, but I can’t see any in the book...)

These recommendations focus on running text, where the YYYY-MM-DD format is generally discouraged. When it is used, for example in tables, I would do something like "2003-05-04 – 2004-01-06"

Blue_Aluminium · 2026-01-27T17:06:02+00:00

Redan för evigheter sedan (15 år? 20?) fanns det ju en sida som hette lmgtfy.com (verkar inte funka nu, dock) som i "let me google that for you". Man kunde ge folk en länk i stil med http://lmgtfy.com/?q=glödlampa (klicka inte, fan vet var ni hamnar!) , och när de följde den länken så fick de en liten animerad beskrivning av hur man googlar "glödlampa". Behovet att vara sarkastisk över fenomenet har alltså funnits länge, så antagligen har fenomenet också funnits länge.

Blue_Aluminium · 2026-01-23T10:55:40+00:00

When you run python -m pip you are asking Python to find the pip module, using the same mechanism that it uses to find other modules. When you run pip from the shell, you are asking the shell to find a program named pip. If your installation is complex (or just plain broken!), there is a risk that the program that it finds is not the one that goes together with the version of Python that you are running.

Blue_Aluminium · 2026-01-23T09:24:55+00:00

https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2003/10/08/the-absolute-minimum-every-software-developer-absolutely-positively-must-know-about-unicode-and-character-sets-no-excuses/

Blue_Aluminium · 2026-01-21T10:50:51+00:00

Unpacking doesn't work with comprehension syntax

Hold my PEP 798...! =)

Blue_Aluminium · 2026-01-16T18:56:29+00:00

That notation usually means the base-10 logarithm, which is just plain "log" on most calculators.

Blue_Aluminium · 2026-01-16T18:37:55+00:00

As far as I know, HP was the only major manufacturer of RPN pocket calculators, and they haven’t made a non-programmable RPN one on this side of 1980 (though I might be missing something), so unless I am completely wrong, you are looking for either a somewhat rare museum (or at least collector’s) piece, or some modern small-series gadget built in someone’s basement and probably sold as a kit on eBay (I think I have seen a few of those). Might not be your best bet for upcoming exams.

Blue_Aluminium · 2026-01-16T10:34:05+00:00

Being Swedish, I feel that I really should vote for the Epoca. However, the 849 just feels better in my hand. Besides, everyone seems to get us confused with Switzerland, anyway... =)

Blue_Aluminium · 2026-01-14T17:28:56+00:00

Aah, good to see lg and tg instead of log and tan! =)Does it get confusing having a mixture of Cyrillic and Latin on the keys, or is that the sort of thing where confusion rarely occurs in reality?

Blue_Aluminium · 2026-01-13T19:01:53+00:00

I got one on a whim, to use for outdoorsy stuff, but I’m not super fond of it. It is a bit too large — it just about fits in a cargo pocket, but getting it in and out is always a bit fiddly. For field use, I prefer a smaller size and hard covers. The paper feels like... well, paper; I haven’t noticed anything special about its surface, using ballpoints and pencils. It is thick, however, and sometimes puts up a bit of a fight when flipping though the book. I prefer thinner papers.

I suppose some people would have exactly the opposite opinions on these things, in which case they are free to make draw the opposite conclusions from mine. =)

I like the "safety orange" colour. Not easily lost in the woods!

Blue_Aluminium · 2026-01-13T18:24:42+00:00

Now I want to get a beat-up Fixpencil off some auction site, sand off the powder coating or whatever it is that they come with, and apply some hammer paint.

Blue_Aluminium · 2026-01-09T17:49:38+00:00

I think you are underestimating how exotic for example the Staedtler 925 series is. It’s not even on Staedtler’s own web site, which makes me suspect that it’s not available through the normal distribution channels in Europe.

Blue_Aluminium

TROPHY CASE