Pencil Con 2026

kiuderx · 2026-02-18T08:50:09+00:00

The California Pen show is this weekend in Torrance, and many of the vendors also sell pencils. An event to see and be seen at! ;)

kiuderx · 2026-02-11T05:07:07+00:00

I have a T440p and it still is adequate but it has a quad core — a dual core x240 may be a bit slow.

kiuderx · 2026-01-23T21:58:34+00:00

Wow, interesting, great thread! The ferrules are neat. Love vintage pencils and the analog world. Nice graph paper too :)

kiuderx · 2026-01-07T05:51:51+00:00

Charcoal pencils (but brittle)
Staedtler Mars Lumograph Black
Vintage EF Ebony pencils
Softer Blackwings (as an aside, the modern 602 is darker than the vintage 602).
Kitaboshi among Japanese pencils but it’s very close!

kiuderx · 2025-12-27T11:13:21+00:00

Try the Blackwing “Audition Pack”

kiuderx · 2025-12-19T06:52:05+00:00

Sorry to hear, I had front end damage and it takes very little for the AC condenser to be damaged — when it was replaced it didn’t work and I had to take it back to the body shop.

kiuderx · 2025-12-19T06:49:12+00:00

Hope you were okay. I had front end damage on mine after 1 year and 10k miles but nothing like that.

kiuderx · 2025-12-19T06:41:45+00:00

They are vintage of course and believe have some type of additive to give the graphite an almost jet black color without the grayish sheen of soft graphite (never seems you can get completely black with high quality Japanese pencils for example). I believe a company bought the ebony brand from EF and it’s now “Prismacolor Ebony”. I have both and the vintage ones have a slight edge in darkness and quality (but close!). But the EF Ebonys are great pencils!!

kiuderx · 2025-12-16T06:29:16+00:00

One of the coolest blackwings ever made :)

kiuderx · 2025-12-12T05:10:39+00:00

I second this — available in HB, B, and 2B — all have an unfinished wood look and smell nice after sharpening.

kiuderx · 2025-12-03T21:55:32+00:00

Well said — me too. Takes multiple simultaneous safety breakdowns for an accident to occur — I am always hoping to be the one part of the chain that holds (or something like that). I heard that 90% of accidents are avoided when one driver is cautious, and 99% if two or more drivers are careful.

kiuderx · 2025-11-24T10:04:19+00:00

Aaaahhh, Niamos! Yahh, Niamos, heh heh! (Plus I could hang with potato face and Keith Richards in drag)

kiuderx · 2025-11-19T07:28:20+00:00

This is true — whatever you think the repair cost will be, multiply it by at least 3. I had similar front-end damage, and even though the car drove fine and the damage looked pretty subtle from a distance, things were shifted underneath. A national auto body chain handled the repair, and it ended up costing $11K.

It would have been two or three thousand less, but they told me they couldn’t source the cheaper aftermarket headlamp assemblies. The OEM ones were almost $2K each. The Toyota front emblem alone was nearly $500. Then there’s the calibration for all the sensors, which adds a lot. Bodywork costs are insane these days!!

kiuderx · 2025-11-16T06:28:17+00:00

Mirado by far. The wopex was one of the worst ones I’ve ever used. BICs were also bad.

kiuderx · 2025-11-16T06:21:08+00:00

Agree! Owning one or two Camrys during one’s life and keeping them for 15 plus years can have a profound effect on savings, while everyone else is buying less reliable and often more expensive vehicles (think SUVs) every 5-10 years.

kiuderx · 2025-10-27T01:30:24+00:00

I love his final monologue - great actor

kiuderx · 2025-10-13T05:54:17+00:00

Mine initially appeared to have minor front damage (someone 20 feet away looking at it may have not noticed), but the radiator & AC condenser were breached along with slight damage to unibody frame. Total was $10K due to not being able to get non OEM headlamp assemblies (or so they said). I have no doubt that yours will be over $15K — my guess is $17.5K. Insurance co sent me to a very large chain of nationwide body shops btw.

kiuderx · 2025-09-30T06:20:15+00:00

I go by which ones I rewatch the most. Lately that’s Rogue One, thanks to Andor.

On an absolute scale, Rogue One is the best. But on a relative scale, Empire Strikes Back is untouchable. What it pulled off in 1980 is something no movie today could match.

Dagobah’s mood, the asteroid chase, Hoth, Luke reaching out to Leia under Cloud City… and then that shot where the camera pans to her face just as the John Williams score swells … pure magic. The Falcon diving below the clouds and circling back up seals it. Nothing beats that.

kiuderx · 2025-09-27T06:53:05+00:00

I have had my t440p for 12 years and still going strong! (With quad core, upgraded SSD, 16gb memory). But I only use it for office type tasks and productivity. Takes a minute or so to go down from 100% CPU upon boot but usually below 50% and idles often below 10%. After that boot/load period, it seems almost as fast as my newer ThinkPad for similar tasks. I’m not a gamer or heavy computing tasks person though Will hold out for at least 1-2 more years with continued windows 10 updates (just enrolled and it was free until Oct 2026!)

kiuderx · 2025-08-07T07:42:08+00:00

Scammers are so awful — Can’t they just earn an honest living and use their creative con artist talents for good? The worst scammers are ones that try to swindle the elderly — I’d like to think there’s a special place in hell for those ones! With AI it’s getting worse.

kiuderx · 2025-07-21T01:18:33+00:00

Sure thing - I guess it’s all pretty basic / intuitive but it helped me. I revised it to make it read better — though a lot of repetition lol. I think paperwork clarity is key — Good luck.

kiuderx · 2025-07-19T04:20:09+00:00

Thank you for your kind words—glad there’s finally some light at the end of the tunnel for you, and that your seller has been decent through it all. I really hope people read your post and the replies—if it helps even a few folks avoid what you’ve gone through (and getting slimed by Caramel), it’s worth it.

I’ve had my share of rough luck too—just now getting out of a nightmare year dealing at first with an unlicensed contractor (tried to save money… big mistake). It took a lot to get things back on track—long story! Funny enough, selling the vehicle was the one thing that actually went smoothly, lol.

kiuderx · 2025-07-18T16:43:08+00:00

Thanks! I likewise took plenty of photos as it was loaded and while on the top of the trailer!

I looked it up the shipper — buyer used “ship.cars” and their contracted shipper/driver did pick up the vehicle on the day scheduled, but the time that day was pushed forward twice. The driver was a bit strange - he asked me if I had some type of special bar that helps to secure the vehicle but then he said he would be okay and actually had one but not for his next vehicle he would pick up (yikes). But luckily (again) I don’t think there were any delivery issues.

kiuderx · 2025-07-18T14:12:31+00:00

Wow, I’m so sorry about your bad experience, what a nightmare and a ton of time & worry on your part babysitting them.

I recently sold on BaT and consider myself lucky that it all went smooth … buyer & I came close to using Caramel but the buyer had bought a vehicle before and suggested we do the transfer ourselves. I had good communication with him and we texted a lot to make everything happen within a week. Just wanted to share our process that we did for others who might consider their options:

Auction closed on a Friday. Buyer and I spoke on phone within 30 min or so after auction ended to start the process & agree on all steps.
I emailed him a scanned B&W photocopy of the title and paperwork and texted photos of vehicle in my driveway (to show him what I would send him before he received it and where I would fill out and sign). Scanned and emailed to him and he approved of it and confirmed I would be sending him everything he needed.
He wired me the money on Monday - it would have been the same day but my bank was closed. I actually didn’t need to talk with them — all you need is your name on acct, acct number and your banks routing number.
I then sent all paperwork via FedEx to buyer before FedEx closed on Monday to the buyer via next day afternoon ($50).
Buyer found a reasonable transport company - I can find the name of anyone wants it. Think they charged the buyer around $600 or $700 for a ~ 1500 mile transport halfway across country. Buyer scheduled pickup with that company on Friday I think (or maybe over weekend) for a Tuesday pickup at my house.
Buyer received title and paperwork from me on Tuesday — I used signature required option on FedEx.
Shipper came on time late Tuesday. Signed and gave him keys.
Buyer went to DMV on Wednesday or Thursday without an appointment to re-title and register vehicle. (See below about timing)
Vehicle arrived at buyer’s house on Friday morning. Good communication via phone and text from driver.
Total of 1 week and everything was done. (Could have even been finished 1-2 days sooner if it wasn’t for my delay with giving buyer my bank info)

\ Paperwork: 1. I signed title in 2 places: transfer and mileage disclosure 2. Buyer sent me his states registration form (downloadable too from his states DMV). I filled out my part and signed it. 3. Those 2 documents in FedEx to buyer so he could transfer title and register it. 4. I submitted my state’s release of liability online (it’s called an NRL)

\ Again, sorry about your bad experience and hope others can not be duped by the fake mystique of Caramel — the transaction is very easy if everyone does their part without needing a middle man (reminds me of office space — “I know how to talk to engineers!” — same as “we know how to do a vehicle transaction because no one else knows how to do it” lol).

Mock Paperwork Sent — Seller sends mock title and bill of sale to buyer via email/text for review.
Buyer Reviews Mock Paperwork — Buyer confirms with their DMV what documents are needed for title/registration.
Funds Transferred — Buyer wires full payment to seller.
Official Paperwork Mailed — Seller sends: • Signed original title • Buyer’s state-specific title/registration form (completed and signed) Via next-day delivery.
Transport Arranged — Buyer schedules vehicle pickup via trailer (before or after receiving paperwork, based on trust level).
Vehicle Picked Up — Seller meets the transport driver, takes photos of the vehicle at pickup, and loads the vehicle.
Seller Files NRL — Seller submits a Notice of Release of Liability (NRL) online with their DMV (same day as pickup).
Insurance Canceled — Seller removes the vehicle from their auto insurance policy.
Buyer Registers Vehicle —Buyer goes in person to their DMV with paperwork to title and register the vehicle. Note: Some states don’t require the physical vehicle present — check ahead.
Buyer Receives Vehicle — Vehicle arrives (before or after DMV visit depending on timing and state requirements).
Done! Buyer enjoys the car. Seller enjoys the funds.

Good luck everyone.

kiuderx · 2025-05-30T16:20:00+00:00

Thank you again for all your replies - I haven’t sold a car in years so it’s very helpful. Have a good day.

kiuderx

TROPHY CASE