Not so optimistic no more

As I'm sure some of you have noted, EeeUser is down again. Last I got from the forum before it went belly up was that there is something not right about the database and/or server setup.

Wish I had the contact information for Ant - the Admin / Owner - so I could learn more what is going on, but I don't.

Oh well, life does go on... just as my Eee keeps soldiering on after several years of hard use, including a year in Africa.

Traditional wetshaving starter kit for less than 10$

Despite my somewhat funny tagline in the header of my other blog, traditional wetshaving can be had on the cheap without sacrificing much in the way of quality. To prove it, here is one suggestion for a starter kit costing less than 10$ (if bought from my favorite Turkish wetshaving webshop), consisting of items I have tried and enjoyed myself:

• A Racer razor, which is a good if slightly aggressive razor - 3.75$
• A Turkish No6 horse hair brush, which makes up in performance what it lacks in quality - 2.45$
• A tube of Arko shaving cream, which lathers easily and abundantly - 2.49$
• Ten Shark Super Chrome DE blades, which I've found rather well in the Racer razor - 0.85$

Total cost as listed is a whooping 9.54$! In addition an newbie wetshaver might want a bowl from the kitchen for lathering in - unless s/he wants to make lather directly on the skin - and perhaps an after shave or balm. And off course some pointers on how to use a traditional DE razor, which can be had for free all over the Web - I recommend the friendly forum at The Shave Nook.

With a kit like this, and a steady hand, you can get about ten weeks worth of traditional wetshaving under your belt before you'll need to stock up on more supplies - and when you need more you'll need blades and perhaps more shaving cream. The razor and brush will last forever, if you take care of it.

So what you say? Is it worth a dollar a week to try traditional wetshaving?

Carefully optimistic

EeeUser is back up and running - and Ant (the owner/admin) have given an explanation for why it has been down. I'm not going to pop any champagne, but I'm happy to see the place back up.

Pocket sized computing devices

Not new-new, but new to me... handy little pocket sized devices for crunching numbers, more than good enough for generations of engineers: slide rules!

Super excited to have gotten these - not only are they cool and geeky, but got some history there as well. Top one can be used both as a regular slide rule and to calculate pitch for maritime propellers - how awesome is that?

Scoooooooooter!

50cc, 50km/h - and lots of fun. Going to take me a little while to get used to it, but that's how it is with new toys.

All but given up...

EeeUser is still pining for the fjords as it were - it's passed on, ceased to be expired and gone to meets it's maker. Or so I presume; while Ant (the owner of the site) may still bring it back, I'm not going to hold my breath and check daily no more. It would be a damn shame if it was gone forever - since it's was a goldmine of information - but I don't have access to the database nor do I have Ant's contact information.

In more happy news I have both found a very nice shaving forum online, and gotten to ride my new scooter back and forth to work all week. Life is good.

It's definitely hardware...

... although not of the computer kind. Well, almost not: apparently the engine control unit - the brain, as it were - has a 32 bit CPU in it.

It's my latest piece of hardware - a Honda Zoomer, aka Ruckus in the US - so late that I haven't actually gotten it yet. The dealership will have it ready for me next Tuesday, and I'm very much excited about it. Off course, once I have it I'll tinker a bit; got to put on a mount for my GPS and see about getting a bag to go on the front load carrier for my Eee, phone and hypothetical tablet.

Up and down like the Assyrian Empire

Yeah, it's EeeUser again. Seems there is something funny in the database, it keeps throwing errors. it's really, really frustrating :(

EeeUser down again

To quote:
An error occured with the SQL server:

This is not a problem with IP.Board but rather with your SQL server. Please contact your host and copy the message shown above.

No, I don't know any more. If anyone does, please let me know in the comments :(

Tiny computer that wont break the bank

As I'm sure some of you is already aware, there is a tiny little computer that is about to hit the market any minute now; the Raspberry Pi. Quite possible it's the only PC available today that is as big as the credit card that wont put much of a strain on the card - just 25$ for the basic version and 35$ for the high end model (with more memory and an Ethernet jack).

I have to admit that I do want... WANT! Must have new toy!

I can sort of, kind of see a use for one too; I have an old 15" LCD display with a DVI-D input... the Pi should fit inside the case, and a HDMI-DVI adapter should let me output to the screen with no trouble. A couple of patch cables should let me plug in the network and USB drives. I already have a wireless keyboard and mouse that isn't in use, so no need to spend money on that. End result would be a compact and self contained little Linux Box for casual surfing and streaming media.

If I do decide to do it, you'll be able to read all about it here :)