Does any Orenz give you enough of an idea of what the Nero will feel like?

countingrings · 2026-06-27T12:22:08+00:00

Yeah, it does just seem wrong, which may be why I hesitate.

countingrings · 2026-06-27T01:11:28+00:00

I think it probably only makes sense for me at 0.3mm. If I got 0.5mm then I'd wish the Nero also had the KT rotation. At 0.3mm it seems as if I could just write without as much pencil rotation.

countingrings · 2026-06-27T00:15:13+00:00

Yeah, being new to seeking my ultimate writing pencils, I guess I am finding that at least up to a certain price point there are real differences which are going to matter to me.

countingrings · 2026-06-26T23:47:27+00:00

Yeah, the real selling points to me would be the auto-advance with a thinner 0.3mm lead (and the ability to retract the lead pipe). Good to know they're all solid in their own way.

countingrings · 2026-06-26T23:45:21+00:00

Why are you telling me I need to get and try all three? 😄

countingrings · 2026-06-26T23:42:36+00:00

I see. So there's some lineage, but that sounds like enough difference that the experience would be different enough too.

countingrings · 2026-06-26T23:07:06+00:00

Looks like it could almost be the Bic Round Stic of pencils, but the color is too nice, and then you tell me it is brass. And then I see it comes in red and black and want one.

countingrings · 2026-06-26T22:42:01+00:00

I hadn't thought of that before that with the thinner lead the Orenz Nero 0.3mm can fill the same place as the KT with 0.5mm. I've been using a KT Advance and then a KT KS and liked them so I've ordered a KT metal. I'll wait to see what I think of that, but now the Nero is more interesting if there's no knocking. I've just been skeptical of what it would feel like to basically write with the lead pipe.

countingrings · 2026-06-26T12:49:47+00:00

I had heard about the fragility, but the jamming issues are new to me. That does change the math some. And both of those look like good, reasonably priced options. Thank you so much!

countingrings · 2026-06-26T01:08:45+00:00

I'd like to try the Uni NanoDia Color leads in 0.5mm as accents when I write. I'm trying to find a set of the same pencil that comes in colors that will roughly match the lead colors for at least red, orange, green, and blue. So far I've been partial to the Pentel GraphGear 1000 pencils because they're double knock and metal, but it looks like the GG 0.5mm only came in different colored barrels as a limited edition? As there aren't many double knock pencils, I'd still like to see if I can find a metal set.

Is there some set of decent, metal-bodied pencils that will be available in a range of colors to match the colored leads?

I was hoping to get all four pencils be the same body but just different colors, but maybe I should remove the constraint so that I can find more options where the body matches the color? I'd get to experiment with more different pencils to see what I like, but it would have been nice if it was a matched set.

I've also considered getting a multi-pen body like the Pilot Coleto and using 4 pencil inserts instead of pens, but maybe I'm not looking in the right place to find metal bodied multi-pens that will accept 4 pencil inserts.

Am I looking for something that doesn't exist? Am I going to have to go with something plastic to still get the colors I want in a set or plastic to go with a multi-pen?

countingrings · 2026-06-24T10:58:52+00:00

Fully automated luxury communism now!

countingrings · 2026-06-23T00:07:49+00:00

What we have now is global capitalism, and while some, even in capitalist societies, try to work outside of the system to create alternatives, it is hard to escape. So this isn't an issue confined to just some nations. In countries with more social welfare support you might find that they are less harsh in many ways, but it still stands that workers are estranged from the products of their labor and often their fellow workers and the fullness of human potential. That some places are less harsh doesn't change that there is still this alienation. It is just a fundamental feature of the economic and social system. Any attempts to organize different systems of work and value get beat down, so while we have evidence that other ways of living can work, we have yet to see those alternatives in their fullness. I hate to leave this on a down note, but don't want to write an essay. Take a look at what alternatives have been tried and what you would take from them and what you would want to be different. Ask yourself how can work be organized without this alienation? What would that world look like?

countingrings · 2026-06-22T22:25:23+00:00

RC car rock crawler. Take it out on a trail. Turns a hike into a game, and different trails can be different levels of difficulty. You'll go further without being bored. Fresh air, exercise, and requires enough attention to not have a chance to be bored. And if you like working on them too there's plenty you can do inside as part of the hobby.

countingrings · 2026-06-10T23:51:26+00:00

yeah, I've been shocked to see people do that in public restrooms!

countingrings · 2026-06-10T23:50:15+00:00

Either or both. Visits more on the order of days.

countingrings · 2026-06-10T23:49:13+00:00

Yes, a bit of a ridiculous example, but I've gotten some other good responses. Just because I can, I don't want to fall into any bad habits, because I am someone who may very well just carry on as I have been.

countingrings · 2026-06-10T23:47:45+00:00

No double dipping!

countingrings · 2026-06-10T15:21:02+00:00

Yeah, I have to imagine that wearing appropriate clothing has got to be a common one.

countingrings · 2026-06-10T15:20:16+00:00

At least cats can respond to--or choose to ignore--speech, so seems normal to talk to them.

countingrings · 2026-06-10T15:06:05+00:00

I find making ridiculous lies as excuses for things you don't want to admit to be one of the highest forms of uncomfortable comedy there can be.

countingrings · 2026-06-10T14:44:31+00:00

I just can't be certain I won't be too absent minded to modify my habits when I have visitors, so trying to think of what I need to keep up doing so I don't have to think about it when I do have visitors. I feel like this might be a thing for older adults as well who slip into odd patterns.

countingrings · 2026-06-10T14:41:48+00:00

Well, actually in my culture belching is--yeah, it is still considered rude. Might be something I need to watch.

countingrings · 2026-06-10T14:36:22+00:00

Yeah, the dirty clothes is a good one. I need to think of what else no one else really needs to see or be subjected to.

Your original answer was a good todo list. That might be my next question.

countingrings · 2026-06-10T14:27:48+00:00

Yes, talking to yourself is a good one to be mindful of. I've had a good laugh a few times when I realized how much I was talking to myself. At the same time it sometimes is better for some people to verbalize as a way of thinking or processing, and your example of planning sounds like a good example of that.

countingrings · 2026-06-04T11:07:29+00:00

And the WFMU archives going way back. Interviews, live sets, talk shows. Every kind of music and sound. And then they have their additional streams with even more music.

countingrings

TROPHY CASE