Mighty Mouse

The scroll ball on my Apple Mouse stopped working a couple days ago and no amount of cleaning would get it to work again. So, I did what anyone would do and disassembled it for a more detailed cleaning. I didn't bother taking any pictures or video but it was quite similar to what the guy in the video below did.





Only thing I can add is that you may wish to have a bit of canned air on hand to blow it out since my mouse was filled with dust, lint and hair.

If you like working on electronics and you live in Seoul, the area around Yongsan Station (right of the station proper when you're facing the main entrance) has several small shops with tools and parts. If you find yourself in a redlight district then you're in the wrong place.

EBooks

One thing that has always driven me nuts in my time overseas was the lack of reading material. I love books and in non English speaking countries they tend to be; expensive, hard to find, and there never seems to be much of a selection. So what's a bibliophile to do? Find 'em free on the Internet of course.

Hal Spacejock - Is an Australian series about the misadventures of a space cargo pilot. First book in the series is available for free download. It's a decent read and the price is right.

Baen Books has all of their books available for download in several formats at WebScription including a large number of free books in their Free Library.

Finally; Google Books and Project Gutenberg have a number of old online. (With Google you need to mess with the settings a bit to make it show full books).

I Love this guy

http://rmi.org/

Radioactive Kimchi

Looks like they're going to do that comic about me after all. Damn, I'm smooth.

In other news, I ate some sort of sea snail for lunch today. I'm not sure what it was but it tasted alright.

Politics

Ice Bar Sub-Zero

Went to the Ice Bar Sub-Zero in Seoul last Friday.

Pic of the bartender making our drinks

The whole attraction to this place is that it's a giant walk in freezer with a bar made out of ice.

Another pic of the bar

This gives you an idea of what the place looks like

Ice Sculpture

Cover is 15,000 won and it includes gloves, a drink, and a coat cape type thing. I'd say that it was worth going once but I really can't see making it a regular spot. For one, the place is dead. For another, the prices are much higher then any other establishment in Korea.

Tool Chest

This has nothing to do with Korea or the Ice Bar but it's a cool toolchest.

Fisher Space Pen

I carry one of these things on a daily basis and I frigging love it. Writes every time, has some heft, and the grooves give a surprisingly secure grip.

That said, out of the three models I've tried; the first was annoying, the second sucked, and the third is the only one that gets my endorsement.

The 'Bullet' is the cheapest and probably the most common model. I'm not incredibly fond of it because it's a two piece pen and I hate having to take off the cap.

The CH4 'Shuttle' I own has a weak spring and decided to stop working after about three months of use. As an aside, I'm gonna have to dig it up and send it in for repair one of these days.

The one that lives in my pocket on a daily basis is the AG-7, the pen that went to the moon with the astronauts. The one thing I don't like about this pen is that the chrome finish makes it want to slip out of my pocket.

MSRP is around sixty bucks or so, I'm fairly sure I got mine on Amazon for between twenty to thirty dollars.

It's just nice to have something in this throw away society that was built to last.

New Razor

"The Barber Pole" Hefty-Long (Handled) Classic
MERKUR - Solingen

My new razor arrived the other day after a month in transit. Got into the whole double edge 'grandpa' razor scene when I heard that using them would cut down on the number of ingrown hairs I'd get on my face. As I hate getting ingrown hairs and as I'd have cheerfully killed to eliminate them, I gave it a try. First two razors were cheap Chinese Silo Razors, they worked out well so I decided to upgrade to a Merkhur Hefty-Long Classic (seen above) and I'm glad I did. First thing you notice about this thing is the weight (4oz), second thing is the quality. I have every confidence that this chrome plated brass beast will outlive me.

Purchased along with a few other things from classicshaving.com which has good service and is willing to ship to Korea. Shipping is reasonable despite the fact that it takes forever.

Learned about a site called Latinum which is a podcast that will teach you Latin. Hattip to 'The Marmot's Hole' (one of the best site's on Korea and run by a hell of a nice guy).

Lastly, TREMBLE BEFORE YOUR KING PEASANTS

I'm a Nerd King. What are you?

Vincent Motorcycles

I like Motorcycles, but I've never gotten an endorsement. Haven't even ridden one in years and I'm profoundly shamed by this fact.

I can give the usual excuses; I spend a lot of time out of the United States, I've lost several friends to bike accidents, work, laziness, etc.

That out of the way, I'd like to talk about one of my favorite motorcycle companies of yesteryear.

Vincent was a British brand before and for a few years after the Second World War. They made beautiful bikes but their real claim to fame was the fact that they were the fastest production bike available.

The World's Fastest Standard Motorcycle - This is a fact, not a slogan!

Rollie Free riding across the salt flats at 150.313 mph

The last Vincent was produced in 1955. They were sold for about five hundred pounds new and today command prices above one hundred thousand pounds, fairly good return on an investment.

New Vincent

There are plans to make a modern bike with the old Vincent Brand, but they don't seem to have produced anything but prototypes.

Link to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_Motorcycles

Link to the new Vincent Homepage: http://www.vincentmotors.com/