TannieSpace

geekery, drawing and then some

Oh yeah, btw...

I got a little tired from the issues I had with WordPress . Not because WordPress doesn’t do what it says it does — it does actually — but because I don’t write that much here anymore and I felt that I only consistently kept the site up-to-date WordPress-wise, and not content-wise. I felt I spent more time on updating than on anything else.

Which — naturally — meant I started fiddling. First, I tried Pelican which I liked and really wanted to use. Then, I stumbled on Nikola

I tried them both and they both seemed to work for me. In the end, I went for Nikola. It seems faster and better at not rebuilding posts unnecessarily.

The migration required the following steps:

  1. Export an xml-file of my WordPress-data (posts and pages).

    Easy enough through the ‘Tools > Export > All Content’ in the WordPress Admin pane (although I must admit it went horribly wrong for me, but in the end, I managed to get a usable file).

  2. Import in Nikola with nikola import_wordpress file.xml

    This did not work for me, it got stuck or crashed even though I checked the file with xmllint. Instead, I downloaded WordPress to Markdown Exporter and converted the xml-file that way. I lost some info, but nothing very dramatic.

  3. Mess around until everything works and looks okay.

    This took the most time because I got distracted by lots of new stuff like Python and RestructeredText. Had fun.

Pretty sure some things didn’t work as expected and I’ve possibly broken some links. However, I delved into my .htaccess file which should redirect old links to their new place. This mattered even more because at the same time I decided to switch domains 1 from http://tanniespace.com to http://tannie.nl . Apparently, when I decide to mess with things, I mess with them thoroughly.


  1. Yes, I love breaking the internet. 


Tilburg Penshow

Today I went to the Tilburg Penshow and had a blast. I hung out and tried pens with a bunch of great people, always a pleasant experience.

Before I went, I decided I had to keep a tight budget. Nano’s surgery certainly put a dent in my pen-budget (or any of my budgets, really) and my idea of finding a nice Lamy 2000 for maybe €120 (new, retail, €200) went down the drain quickly. I figured I could squeeze out enough money to buy a cheaper pen and maybe some ink.

I looked around (no ink), browsed, picked up a few pens and then it happened. The heavens opened, angels sang, light shone down on a table, and there I saw it. A Lamy 2000! 1

After checking it out with other people and asking the price, it seemed like a very good deal, too good to pass up, even. So I paid, and will eat nothing but ramen the next few months, obviously.

We inked it up MacGuyver-style: unscrewing the section and dripping ink from my Pelikan into the barrel. When I wrote with it, the angels started singing again 2

[Lamy2000][]

Footnotes

[Lamy2000]: http://tannie.nl/photos/pens/2014-09-27_162055.jpg


  1. Two, actually, but I only wanted one. For now. 

  2. Or maybe I had low bloodsugar and started hallucinating again. It happens. 


Nano after surgery

nano with bandage

Nano had her surgery today. It went well, the vet managed to remove the lump and keep the toe functional. She had her teeth cleaned too. She seems a bit groggy but otherwise fine.


The recovery of my hand

On September 8, 2014 I went to make myself some tea and while pouring the steaming hot water in a cup, the lid fell off the kettle and released a cloud off steam. My fingers – holding the handle – got the biggest blow. I immediately released the kettle – or rather, I threw it, onto my kitchen scale which promptly broke. After cooling the hand for an hour it still caused a lot of pain. At this point I decided that a visit to the GP sounded really good.

My doctor took one look at my hand and said “Ok, let’s wrap that up and I’ll give you some morphine.” She used some kind of cream that helped with the pain and cooling, and then wrapped up my fingers separately, then the hand. The pills helped a lot with the pain.

Initially, I didn’t get any blisters, which sounded really good. On day 3 and 4, however, they started to appear on three fingers. I visited the GP office nearly every day for the rest of the week to have the fingers checked, just in case. It went pretty well, after the blisters decreased in size, and on Saturday I took the last painkiller. On Monday I went back for a last checkup, and could stop using the cream and bandages.

On Thursday the skin broke and started scraping off. It looked more uncomfortable and painful than it felt. Thoroughly impressed by the healing powers of my fingers.


Review: The Joy of Less

The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide: How to Declutter, Organize, and Simplify Your LifeThe Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide: How to Declutter, Organize, and Simplify Your Life by [Francine Jay](http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3234359.thumbnail.jpg "The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide: How to Declutter, Organize, and Simplify Your Life The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide: How to Declutter, Organize, and Simplify Your Life by Francine Jay")

My rating: ★★★★☆

I read this book in preparation for a massive declutter/clean-up planned for my tiny but overflowing flat.

It did have some redundant info in it, which I read about before starting so I felt prepared. I like the enthusiasm and kindness of the book. The 10-step STREAMLINE process sounds very attractive to try out (I'll add my experience with it as soon as I've tried it out).

Part three of the book mostly consists of redundant parts, however, I do not mind. It goes through the most common rooms according to the streamline principle with some specific advice for the specific rooms. I have not read all the rooms as I plan to go through them as I tackle the rooms, as a reminder and a re-motivator.

All in all an easy read that left me motivated to declutter/minimalise promptly. I've already used my goodreads account to see what books I will part with ;)

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Review: The War of the Worlds

The War of the WorldsThe War of the Worlds by [H.G. Wells](http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/880695.thumbnail.jpg "The War of the Worlds The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells") My rating: ★★★★☆

Even though the story takes place in the 1890s and the language sometimes seemed outdated, I had no problem getting into it and it didn't read as a very outdated story. Sure, nobody had cellphones and cars, but the cellphones would have stopped working soon anyway when the Martians take down the power lines. (because they would, of course) I liked the analytical descriptions the main character made and how he still didn't come across as a cold hard scientist. He did care deeply for his wife and most of the book actually deals with him trying to get back to her, as he promised (without getting killed, so it takes him a while).

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Review: The Moomins and the Great Flood

The Moomins and the Great FloodThe Moomins and the Great Flood by [Tove Jansson](http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/45230.thumbnail.jpg "The Moomins and the Great Flood The Moomins and the Great Flood by Tove Jansson")

My rating: ★★★☆☆

The first of the Moomin books. It reads a bit clunky but I found it charming nonetheless. It introduces the main characters of books, their house and why they live in the valley. Promising enough to read the other books too. Wouldn't recommend it as the first Moomin book to read. Book 3 (Finn Family Moomintroll) would probably work better as an introduction.

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Review: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Curious Case of Benjamin ButtonThe Curious Case of Benjamin Button by [F. Scott Fitzgerald](http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3190.thumbnail.jpg "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald")

My rating: ★★★★☆

Nice short story. Interesting how the people around Benjamin told him he had to simply try harder at not growing younger.

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Review: The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4 by [Sue Townsend](http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/28707.thumbnail.jpg "The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4 The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4 by Sue Townsend")

My rating: ★★★☆☆

I probably would have liked this book more as a teenager because I could have related to it more. The character seemed a bit silly at times, however, his behaviour does seem to fit the weirdness of teenagers. Even if it didn't sweep me away, I did enjoy it, it made me laugh several times.

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How to hold a bat

batman the mega-bat

“Supercute bat!”

How I did it: Visited a petting zoo that had bats. They let us touch and pet the animals and I also touched a skunk and an armadillo. It helps that he knew ‘people’ and only eats fruit.

It took me 1 day.

It made me Happy

See more progress on: hold a bat


Plannerism planner (tests)

Earlier this year I bought the Plannerism Planner because I liked the idea of having a planner that helped me set goals. I used it for a few months and enjoyed it, but found the paper not working quite well with my fountain pens and ink. So I strayed.

I bought a Leuchtturm1917 Academic Week Planner because I got hooked on the columns. And Leuchtturms have paper that works well with fountain pens and inks.

both planners

But that didn't do it for me either. Sure, the paper works great, I get excellent shading, I don't have to look at what pen I grab 'cause they all 'work'. The drying time started to annoy me after the short Saturday / Sunday columns did. I have plans on Saturday and Sunday too, people! Do other people not do anything in the weekend? Of course they do, they make plans too (some even with me). I really don't understand why planner/agenda-makers insist on keeping the weekend short, and tiny.

I figured, because I loved the Plannerism format so much, I should spend some times testing inks and pens and work out a system for me. I don't mind having dedicated planner-pens, and as I colour-code my type of appointments I could do with a fixed set of inks. In fact, that seemed best anyway, just one red, one orange, one blue. Not switching them around every week. Helps me to not have to think about what colour means what. Saving some brain-bandwidth for more important things, yay!

The winners!

The colours/inks that worked best for me:

the winners

All these inks performed well (or well enough ;) ) on the paper, with little to no bleed-through. I like the colours too.I had some issues with the Iroshizuku, which I think has more to do with the pen than the ink. I've tried several Iroshizuku inks and they all flow easily, but this one in this pen just won't write well. It flowed fine in another pen, so I think I'll just take out the ink, thoroughly clean the pen and try again.

The other side:

The other side of the page.

Noodler's Habanero bled more than it did in my earlier tests. The pen did also write a bit wetter than before. I did have it in my bag and tossed it around, which may explain it. I don't mind this level of bleedthrough with one of the colours.The Platinum Preppy Purple shows similar point-bleedthrough, also not a problem for me.

More inks

The Sheaffer Turquoise writes pretty wet. In general I don't notice much difference between the TWSBi 580 and vac700 nib-size-wise, but you can clearly see the differences between the two inks. The Platinum Rose Red writes dry, not unusual in my experience for a pigmented ink. Fox Red also writes pretty wet, similar to the Sheaffer Turquoise.

On the second photo can clearly see the bleedthrough of Sheaffer Turquoise, as expected. I don't feel comfortable with this level of bleedthrough, it makes writing on both sides more difficult. The Fox Red behaves only slightly better. I won't use these pens / inks in my planner. In all fairness, Fox Red also bled through in my Leuchtturm1917 planner, in a similar way, so all in all, not too bad.

More inks.

The entire page, front and back.

Sheaffer Turquoise clearly bleeding through, as does Diamine Aqua Lagoon (in a wet pen). Noodler's BSiAR does surprisingly well for an italic nib, and of course, bleeds through. Some of the others do as well (or as bad) as Habanero, but still a bit too much for me. As expected, Scabiosa performs well. Even though I used F/FA/EF some inks still bled through too much (Navajo Turquoise, Syrah, Ambre de Birmanie, Bouquet d'Antan). R&K Alt-bordeaux in the Studio with M-nib performed better, it would most likely work fine in an F.

Random pens from my inked up set.

Previous page.

Patches

As an extra test, I made little patches of each colour. The Iroshizuku had start issues even though I had used it minutes before (suspected pen-issue, not the ink). The patches did not bleed.

Little patches.

More, more!

Glitter pink gelly rolls have their place too. Also used the Sheaffer Turquoise with the EF-nib I have for the 580. Worked better, but I think the colour looks less cool.

More inks