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April 2012

I started my blog back in December 2010 and it's still going strong. I've posted at least once post a month since then, so feel free to browse through the archives.

Uni Brush Pens

Posted on April 12, 2012 at 09:02 by Julian Kay

Recently I’ve been making a lot of notes on A4 notepads rather than my usual Moleskines, and my usual Jetstream pens are a little to thin for what I’m looking for. So I’ve taken to using a Uni Double Sided Pocket Brush Pen – which I purchased a while ago from JetPens.

I’ve not really been using the fine tip, but it’s good to know it is there… it has a nice feel when you use it but right now I’m all about the big strokes of the medium tip. I guess it does depend on what you are looking for.

I also have a medium tip brush pen as well, and I have not used it as much as the double and you can really feel the difference in the two – the one I have been using feels a lot softer now.

Personally I prefer the single medium brush pen overall, rather than the double. But I guess it depends if you’re going to use that thinner tip.

Pros

  • Feels fantastic to write with
  • Nice thick bold lines
  • Great ink that doesn’t go through the paper

Cons

  • Brush pens go soft after lots of use
  • Looks like they’ve been out of stock a while

Emma’s Video Game Reviews

Posted on April 10, 2012 at 09:00 by Julian Kay

My friend Emma writes a fantastic blog called Gaming Memoirs about computer games, and she’s written a series of reviews on games that I’ve given to her. Here they are in the order she’s reviewed them (and also in alphabetical order, apparently!)

Oh and I’ll be sure to update this post as more get added…

Photographing the colours of a star’s twinkle

Posted on April 1, 2012 at 19:07 by Julian Kay

Here’s a very cool photograph of the colours that Spica twinkles.

Want to do it yourself? Just simply follow these instructions as shown to me by fellow astronomer Conna Bramley…

  1. Point your camera at the brightest star you can see, maybe Sirius or Spica.
  2. Set up for a long exposure, maybe 5 to 10 seconds.
  3. Open the shutter and move the camera around in various ways.
  4. Enjoy awesome colour lines like the one above!

I have no idea why I hadn’t thought of this before! Very cool.