Lately I’ve spent quite some time down at the local bowling alley and today it finally paid of. 200 points in one game have been a personal goal of mine for several weeks but I keep beating myself up for not making that last spare.
Next up: 300
August 1, 2012.
Magnus Uggla live at Solgården, Tylösand.
Perfect weather, joyful atmosphere.
A night worthy of remembrance.
EDC Update, May 2012
What does EDC stand for, one might ask. EDC means Everyday Carry, simply the things that you usually carry around with you to get through even the most challenging day. Here’s a list of my EDC gear, as of May 2012.
- Moleskine Ruled Notebook. Always the hard cover ones, sometimes the 3½”x5½” pocket version and sometimes the larger 5”x8¼”.
Yes, in time I’ll give Rite in the Rain a try. And Rhodia for that matter.
- Zebra 7401 stainless steel pen (or if you say so, tactical pen). I.e. a heavily modified Zebra F-701 with the clip and metal clicker from the Zebra F-402 along with a Fisher Space Pen Refill with black ink and a medium point. Sometimes, just for looks, I go with the Fisher 400 Chrome Bullet Space Pen or the Waterman Graduate Ball Pen instead.
- I pretty much always wear a watch. I have a few, but in the picture I chose to reveal my latest addition to my watch rotation, the Timex Weekender.
A nice, classical looking watch indeed but I must say, the nylon slip through strap that came with it went right in the bin. Seriously, what a piece of crap strap. So the very same day that I bought the watch, I took it down to the local watchmaker and had the strap replaced with a german, hand made leather strap.
- Leatherman Juice S2. Compact, light and useful.
- Corsair Flash Survivor USB 3.0 32GB. Probably the most durable consumer class USB flash drive in the world. Waterproof, shockproof.. Bulletproof? A note perhaps worth mentioning is that for a long time, I solely used first generation Kingston DataTravelers. I once put one in the washing machine by accident and to my surprise, it survived.
- 4Sevens Quark Mini 123. Awesome flashlight, not bigger than my thumb. It runs on a single 3V CR123A battery and at its maximum output the Cree XP-G R5 LED delivers 180 lumens.
- Standard leather wallet, nothing fancy. I am looking for something more stylish, but it’ll have to do for now.
- iPhone 4S in its Case Mate Brushed Aluminum Case (that by the way looks awesome on the white 4S). At work I use a modified Otterbox Defender Case, simply for the higher level of protection. I admit, it’s not the most beautiful case in the world, but it sure keeps my 4S protected. Actually, the first week I used it I dropped my phone from about waist level right into the asphalt. What happened? -Absolutely nothing!
- Keys on a 6mm stainless shackle, decorated with a home-made paracord key fob. Sometimes, when I want to be absolutely sure not to drop the keys, I use a standard carabiner to clip the keys unto my belt.
- Victorinox Classic. Once again compact, light and useful. Almost too light if you ask me. Because it’s so easy to misplace I usually attach it to a lanyard of some kind.
Live at the Apollo
Once in a while I watch Live at the Apollo on BBC Entertainment.
Here’s a clip from one of my favorite episodes.
BEHOLD!
5000kg of Volvo awesomeness!
A friend came over the other night to show of his tractor, a 1974 BM Volvo 810. Just thought I might share a picture.
Making a Zebra F-7401
It all started when my brother bought me three Zebra F-701:s on Ebay. I was fascinated by the quality of the pens and as always I wanted to know everything there was to know about my new toys. So I googled it like crazy for about half an hour, and found out that that exact model, the F-701, is a very popular EDC pen. Some have even called it “the poor mans tactical pen”. Most reviews I read were positive, but one small detail made people go through the trouble of modifying the pen to make it even better.
The F-701 is all metal, accept for the clicker which is plastic.
However, the F-402 model has a metal clicker which can be removed and be used to replace the crappy plastic 701 clicker. Problem solved. Note: the Zebra F-402 is sold in a M/F-402 pen & pencil set. Note: You can not use any parts from the M-402 pencil, so don’t bother taking it apart.
Unscrewing the 402 clicker is pretty tricky. First of all it’s screwed on tight as hell, and just to make things interesting, Zebra has sealed the threads with some sort of glue.
To break the seal I put mine in the freezer for about 15 minutes to make the plastic pipe inside shrink. Then I heated the exterior metal pipe with a lighter just a bit, squeezed around the clicker as hard as I could, and twisted. I believe this is the easiest way to break the seal. Do not be fooled if you can rotate the clip, it has no threads. The clicker however has very fine threads, so you have to rotate it three or four turns before you actually see it unscrewing.
WARNING:
-Do not use pliers of any kind trying to remove the F-402 clicker! You will either damage or scratch the clicker and I can assure you, you will get mad.
I sure was the first time I tried.
Besides the clicker, I also used the metal clip from the F-402, simply because it looks better. It’s just as strong but it has a bit more rounded edges, and here’s the best part: it has no logos!
To make the pen even better, I replaced the ink cartridge with a Fisher SPR4 Space Pen Refill. Medium point, black ink, just the way I like it. The first time you put the cartridge through the F-701 tip, you kind of have to force it through.
If you pull it off, this minor modification transforms your $6 F-701 into a “F-7401”.
Interested? Check out “streetfair” on Ebay.
