capnahab (u/capnahab)

capnahab commented on The Golden Age of Japanese Pencils (2022) notes.stlartsupply.com/th... · Posted by u/apokryptein

I tried a plastic body light one a long time back but haven’t returned to it. I think in part because I found the roller ball point pens to be smoother writing and less ‘scratchy’. But maybe I am not using it properly or didn’t get the right model.

capnahab · 6 months ago

I have found the Pilot Kakuno (about ¥1000, so inexpensive) - just IMO, - pilot ink is very easy flowing, the nibs are great for my writing style, pull off cap not screw, so much easier and readier to use, easy to clean. I work in the UK health service which is not a good place for stationery lovers.

capnahab commented on The Golden Age of Japanese Pencils (2022) notes.stlartsupply.com/th... · Posted by u/apokryptein

GuB-42 · 6 months ago

In general, I find Japan to be unmatched when it comes to stationery. Pens, pencils, notebooks, etc... Everything is just better: the simple stuff, like what you can find in "konbini" and "100 yen shops", entire floors in department stores like "Hands", and all the way up to luxury. As you might expect, Japanese brands of stationery are popular worldwide.

So it is not surprising that Japan had a golden age of pencils, and that you can still buy the products today and that they are still the best.

capnahab · 6 months ago

Amazing

capnahab commented on Donald Knuth's 2024 Christmas Lecture: Strong and Weak Components [video] youtube.com/watch?v=Hi8r_... · Posted by u/esbudylin

jagged-chisel · 7 months ago

Looks like a recent move or temporary office. Box of random items, basic paper name “plate,” stacks on the desk …

capnahab · 7 months ago

Nice that he has a slide rule on the desk (under the front basket) looks like a K&E Deci-Lon case.

capnahab commented on Show HN: Markwhen: Markdown for Timelines markwhen.com... · Posted by u/koch

wild_egg · 9 months ago

Seems not right for the comments here to be empty but I don't have much to say other than this looks incredibly nice. Hope I have an excuse to use it at some point.

Thanks for sharing!

capnahab · 9 months ago

seconded.

capnahab commented on AAA Gaming on Asahi Linux asahilinux.org/2024/10/aa... · Posted by u/todsacerdoti

capnahab · a year ago

This link is not about gaming on asahilinux.

capnahab commented on DNSViz: A DNS Visualization Tool dnsviz.net/... · Posted by u/aragonite

capnahab · a year ago

Wow, but what does it mean?

capnahab commented on 3M Glass Cloth Tape 361 3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/b4006... · Posted by u/tosh

genericone · 3 years ago

Definitely one more tape to add to my bin of tapes: various widths of kapton, various vhb mounting tapes, anisotropic electrically conductive 9703, and ultra-slippery rulon tape... all of which I never use of course.

capnahab · 3 years ago

and the helicopter leading edge tape, I have a 50m roll I have used 3 iches of.

capnahab commented on The Mathematics of Escalators on the London Underground (2013) [pdf] raeng.org.uk/publications... · Posted by u/carschno

capnahab · 3 years ago

Fascinating and something to think about as I ride the Piccadilly line escalators with my mind in neutral. Thanks.

capnahab commented on HistoEnder: A 3D printer-based histological slide autostainer github.com/Ponz91/HistoEn... · Posted by u/yread

codekansas · 4 years ago

This is cool. I frequently find that medical people (at least in America) are intentionally ambivalent towards how much things cost - charitably, for patient care at least, you want the highest quality care for everyone, and skimping on cost could compromise someone's health. The idea that something being more expensive makes it more scarce, as obvious as it would seem, is often a secondary consideration.

Example: My wife is in surgery, and has told me how surgical tools often come billed as a set. Rather than being able to bill for a single tool, if an operation requires another duplicate of the same tool the surgeon will often just open an entire new set.

Another example: In college I build a tDCS machine [1] for about $20. I knew a doctor from the VA who was working in the area who showed me one with essentially the same circuit which sold for $80,000 - essentially for the stamp of approval from the FDA to use it in a clinical research setting.

There are reasonable-sounding explanations for both things I guess, but the obvious consequence is that the number of people able to receive care is dramatically lower. I feel like there are probably similar analogies in technology, but maybe they are more easily disrupted because of lower regulatory barriers.

[1] https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/psychiatry/specialty_areas/b...

capnahab · 4 years ago

"Example: My wife is in surgery, and has told me how surgical tools often come billed as a set. Rather than being able to bill for a single tool, if an operation requires another duplicate of the same tool the surgeon will often just open an entire new set." That could be because the instrument required has been sterilised as part of a set and is not sterilised individually. This is a common problem in the UK where I work (as a surgeon), - the logistics of individually tracking all single packaged instruments would be unworkable and hugely costly.So they are grouped as a set for a particular operation.