Skip to main content




I got a new phone because my old one was giving out on me. This one is a decided downgrade from the last one, but that's (mostly) fine.

Anyhow, the new phone doesn't support wireless charging. Because of this, I can no longer charge it on the night stand breside my bed. When I wake up in the morning, my impulse in my half-awake state is to just grab my phone and go, forgetting that it's now tethered to the wall. This was not going to end well for anyone, most especially not my charging cable/port.

I charge it in the living room now.



Accidentally melted a plastic container to the burner on the stove. A web search on how to fix this has returned a bunch of AI generated slop.

Does anyone know what the best way to fix this is? I don't trust the search results.

For now, I'm just going to swap that burner for the one at the back of the stove.

Parker51 reshared this.

in reply to Jonathan Lamothe

The one time I had to fix this I used sharp knife to cut as much melted plastic as I could off the burner. Then I turned out all the way up with the fan on and windows open until it stopped smoking. Maybe not the best idea but it did get the burner clean.
in reply to Jonathan Lamothe

It depends on the level of melt.. but most plastics have a solvent.. Acetone attacks most plastics







If anyone posts videos to #YouTube and doesn't want #AI garbage being made from their work, this might be useful:
youtu.be/NEDFUjqA1s8


I really should just set up my own #XMPP server. I've had no end of issues with SDF's lately.
#xmpp

reshared this

in reply to Jonathan Lamothe

yup. Same over here. Idk what's the deal with @SDF #XMPP server but it sure needs some love and care ...

I just got an account on other ( a German based ) server and that was about it. No need to set my own server for the time being πŸ‘



I'm surprised that AWK is so bad at handling CSV out of the box.

Yes, I know about the --csv flag in later versions of gawk, but that isn't an option in this case.



I run a pretty tight budget. Twice a year, I get a fun surprise from my domain registrar (because I have two domains with them). They both come with a "free business card generator" that I have never used, but whatever.

Anyhow, every time a domain comes up for renewal, it's expected, budgeted, and paid for. All is good.

Then, about a month later I open my email and see an unexpected additional "receipt" from them. This sends me into a brief panic until I realize it's a $0 receipt for the business card bullshit.


Unknown parent



in reply to Jonathan Lamothe

I was raised LDS (left a long time ago β€” and, by the way, I'm a vegan) and I didn't know about that quote! So gross.

I do remember a fight amongst family members once my dad announced he wasn't drinking milk anymore. My uncle unleashed some Bible quote about the land of milk and honey.

My dad isn't vegan, or even vegetarian, but simply decided that milk-drinking wasn't healthy. I followed his example and then, to his chagrin, I stopped eating pork and then all animal products.

Shannon Prickett reshared this.

in reply to mibwright

@mibwright You know, the Bible did have something to say about eating pork. πŸ˜‰


Aargh! I thought I'd worked out a system to help with my #ADHD, and it was working for a while. Unfortunately, it involved using the alarm on my watch, which my brain is now just starting to filter out as background noise.
#ADHD

reshared this

in reply to Jonathan Lamothe

good luck! having a reliable solution can be hard to find. You'll figure something out !
in reply to Jonathan Lamothe

Use a different alarm. Possibly something annoying and that you have to move to switch off.



I need to find more excuses to use my glass pen. It's totally not practical as a daily use pen, but it's soooo satisfying to use.

I need to write some fancy letters or something.

#FountainPens

in reply to alexa-488

@alexa-488 I have not. Please tell me more.

Edit: Looked it up. I'm not sure how comfortable I am making my mailing address public, however I have been considering a PO box lately...

in reply to Jonathan Lamothe

@alexa488 You can also just write to the people who do feel comfortable posting. I've made a few good penpals that way.
in reply to Jonathan Lamothe

You don't have to post yours openly. I think there are various forums for sharing in a more limited manner, i.e. direct with someone. You can find addresses and mail to them first.

Pretty sure even short hand written notes count, so you could leave some fancy notes for people in your life who you appreciate.



Who was the genius that decided that Cult Pens' search bar should disappear as you're typing in it on mobile? This person belongs in UX jail.
#FountainPens


Hooray! I finally got my #BaystateBlue #FountainPen flowing properly again. It only took about a month of finicking with it. Now all I have to do is not leave ink to dry out in it for over a year again...
in reply to Jonathan Lamothe

I’m not surprised that it was a Safari. I’ve had similar issues with ink drying out on my LAMY nibs (not as badly as Parker pens tho).

So that nib doesn’t dry out on me, I’ve started using that pen daily for journaling. Justttt in case, I also have a little water container to dip it in if it gets dry.

in reply to Julian Lopez

@Julian Lopez I've now instituted a weekly pen cleaning day. Every inked pen gets cleaned every Sunday whether it needs it or not.





It blows my mind how the exact same ink can look so completely different between two different #FountainPens.
in reply to Jonathan Lamothe

It's the magical alchemy of pen, ink and paper that has many of us chasing that dragon into fountain pen and stationary stores to find the inky fix.
in reply to D. B. Stuck

@D. B. Stuck I may or may not have spent $200 on new inks today.

I'd say not to tell my partner, but she was the instigator. We're really bad at keeping eachother accountable for this stuff.

Good thing it's a three paycheque month. πŸ™ƒ



Hmm... the server fell over on me this morning. Odd, but I figured maybe it was just a one-off. It just happened again. 🀬


Okay, so I've seen a thing were people will send a box of #FountainPen ink samples around by mail from person to person. Individuals will add and remove inks from this box, recording the changes in a log book. It seems like a really cool way to get exposed to new inks, and I'd really like to participate in one of these. Is anyone doing this in Canada?

This is an example of what I'm talking about.

reshared this

in reply to Kevin Davy

@Kevin Davy Maybe that's the route to go. I wish I personally knew enough people who were into the hobby locally to be able to bootstrap such a thing.
in reply to Jonathan Lamothe

Put the word out, see what happens and then work out the logistics, if anything comes from it.


When you have a vernier caliper, #OpenSCAD, and access to a #3DPrinter, a lot of things suddenly become possible.


Shaved my beard off for the first time in a while. I was definitely carrying a little less weight the last time I was smooth-faced. The beard was concealing it more than I realized.

This might've been a mistake.




Does anyone in the #FountainPen community know how to dismantle a LAMY Z28 converter for cleaning? I found a video on YouTube that supposedly demonstrates this

but my converters look different than theirs. I suspect mine are of an older design. I suspect they're just missing the metal part, but I want to make sure I'm not going to break them by trying this.

This is what all of my converters look like:

in reply to Jonathan Lamothe

It seems they are the same design after all, it's just that the metal ring has some sort of coating on it for some reason. I've gotten the offending converter apart and am running it through the cleaner. We'll see if I can get it back together again afterward.

Fortunately, I have a few converters and don't usually ink up all of my LAMYs at once.

in reply to Jonathan Lamothe

I got it cleaned, dried and put back together without incident. Probably not something I'd want to do on a regular basis, but a good thing to know how to do when necessary.
in reply to Jonathan Lamothe

If the black band doesn't unscrew, it may be glued. Soaking and shaking with it half full of water should get it clean. Pen flush if it's stubborn. DIY flush is a cup of water, a drop of dish detergent, and a few drops of ammonia.


Katy got me some chocolates that are only 4g of sugar each. They're really good.

This seemed like a good idea at the time, bit not so much when I eat a dozen of them in a single sitting.







One of the things nobody tells you about wearing #glasses is how annoying it is to keep them clean. I had resigned myself to the fact that there would just always be some degree of smearing in my field of vision. Try as I might, I could never get them quite as clean as the day I got them.

Then I got an ultrasonic cleaner for my #FountainPen hobby and realized I could use it to clean my glasses as well.

10/10 would recommend. Seriously, if you wear glasses, I highly recommend investing in one. It was one of the best purchases I've ever made.

in reply to Jonathan Lamothe

yeah actually most I know who have one of these use it to clean glasses or jewelry
Unknown parent

Jonathan Lamothe
@FRONTINE LeFEVRE That's what I had been using. They do an okay job, but not quite as good.


How did I get green ink on my hands? I don't even have any #FountainPens currently inked with green.
in reply to Jonathan Lamothe

Could be a component of a dark color. Try some paper chromatography with a dot of ink. See if any green shows up. I use coffee filters but paper towel will work.
in reply to Tallastro πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡¦

@Tallastro πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡¦ I had two pens inked up with dark inks. One with Parker Quink Black and the other with Diamine Chilly Nights. I hadn't really handled either, but they were both in the same bag with the pen I was using. I see no evidence of leaking.

Interestingly enough, the pen I was using had previously been filled with green ink, but I'd cleaned* and re-inked it with something else a couple days prior. Maybe it was a leftover ink stain from when I did that? They usually don't hang around that long though.

* There was an ultrasonic cleaner involved, so it should've been really clean.





stupid complaint about English language
So this is entirely a "me" problem, but it makes me crazy when people say "a fourth cup". It sounds so clunky. Do they not know the word "quarter"?
in reply to Jonathan Lamothe

stupid complaint about English language

Sensitive content






Okay, I'm now playing the game of "what else can I put in the ultrasonic cleaner". Just put my glasses in them. I haven't been able to see this clearly in a long time.

This website uses cookies. If you continue browsing this website, you agree to the usage of cookies.

⇧