Category Archives: Reviews

Review – Pilot Precise Colors, Green and Purple

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I’ve taken a look at the Pilot Precise V5 pens before, and they’re pretty good pens in the standard compliment of black, red, and blue colors. But they also have a few other colors available, and in this little review I’ll take a look at the purple and green offerings.

Pilot precise green and purple

First the purple, which is much darker and a much truer purple than most, which are more a fuchsia. The color is deep, but not deep enough to be washed out. It could still conceivably be used in an office setting, but might be pushing it. And while there are rarely truer purples, it doesn’t have a very natural look to it. Perhaps it exists in some deeps shades of flowers, but otherwise it is far too dark. Startup with this color is easy, and while it does fade with water, it is still readable.

And second, the green, which again is much darker and much truer than other greens. It is unmistakably green, but darker than what one would usually think of green as being. It doesn’t get close to a forest or hunter, but certainly is far from a light or lime. I couldn’t think of any office uses, unless you’re a teacher who doesn’t want to use red. It is just light enough to stand out and not look professional. In art, though, it is a wonderfully natural color, and it shades a little bit for interesting effects. It has a bit of a startup problem (or a drying out problem) and is the less water-resistant of the two, but it is still adequate.

Is it worth moving over to Pilot Precise pens just to get these colors? Unlikely, but they are great colors that add to an already nice lineup. I enjoy them, and very similar colors are hard to find in disposable rollerballs or gel pens. They might be worth a look.

Book Review – Halo: The Cole Protocol By: Tobias S. Buckell

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Halo: The Cole Protocol is one of the later books in the Halo novel series to feature characters from the games. Later books focused more on aliens from the distant past. Still, the book is more than five years old, and I’m only looking at it because I read it after picking it up second hand, not because it’s relevant.

Kinda generic cover really

Kinda generic cover really

I’m going to try and not focus on the story, because the whole thing sounds silly when you say it out loud; and to avoid confusion, as I’m not the most up on the Halo lore. From what I understand it is cannon, but sometimes it seems to not be.

The book is written decently, though it seems more like a draft. There are some very clunky transitions, and a spelling error here and there. The narrative does flow, and I’m not sure whether I’m just enthralled with the Halo universe, or the book is super good, but I read fast and didn’t want to stop.

It doesn’t interfere with any of the established Halo lore, so people infatuated with the franchise wouldn’t be frustrated reading it. Even so, it deals with quite a bit, and jumps around so much that one-page chapters are more frequent than I’ve seen outside of the work of Michael Crichton.

The point of view is interesting and the narrative compelling. I liked many of the characters, perhaps even the ones I wasn’t supposed to, and empathized with them, but maybe that’s me and not the writer at work. It looks at the world of Halo from a variety of perspectives including that of an alien enemy. Still, it isn’t anything more than a video game tie in. The Spartans of Grey team and the Covenant Elites aren’t any more flushed out or dramatic than their video game counter parts. It’s really just mindless fun (kinda, a lot of characters die, something else similar to Crichton).

If you’re a fan of Halo and missed this one it’s worth at least a look, though new I’m not sure I’d go for it. It was fun, but there isn’t much there. Beyond that I could only really see it appealing to more dedicated science-fiction fans who read any sci fi book they can get their hands on. Anyone looking for a serious book won’t find it here, but if they were looking, they’d be looking in the wrong place.

Review – Scotch Transparent Tape

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If reviewing Scotch Tape means I’m out of ideas, then call me out of ideas (I do have plenty more things to look at, though). But really, who doesn’t have a use for tape? And when buying that tape, couldn’t shaving off several pennies save quite a bit of money over time? Is the brand name really worth it (It’s pretty generic-sounding, now, isn’t it)? Let’s see.

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First thing, the container: Scotch Tape comes with a clear plastic, simple, but quite durable dispenser. The roll of tape is clicked into place on the wheel and at the front are several teeth for separating the tape into strips. Is any of this the best quality? No, but it gets the job done, and very cheaply. If one has a tape dispenser that they like, individual rolls can be bought, so I’d say that this works quite well.

Now onto the tape itself, which certainly isn’t “magic” or “invisible”. The stuff I’m looking at is just labeled “transparent”, and that it is. The tape is easy to see through and sufficiently sticky that it will hold most documents together without a problem in either holding or reading. In fact, the tape itself is very strong, and the adhesive is more likely to break than the tape itself (or perhaps what it’s taped to). Given that it does have a certain rigidness to it, though, it isn’t a tape for repairing any item that, like a tool, will be used, or will move. It is surprisingly strong, but really only good for paper products.

Now, is it worth it to buy Scotch Tape and not some other tape? Given how inexpensive Scotch Tape is already, I’d say yes. And if it isn’t right where you’re shopping, I’d even hunt around for it. The two rolls that come in a pack for around a dollar will last for quite some time. And I’ve seen other brands for around the same price that cease to be sticky once they came off the roll. In short, there’s a reason we say “Scotch Tape” and not “transparent adhesive tape”.

To Review or Not to Review

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My original title for this was something along the lines of why I think reviewing something that has already been reviewed is a pointless endeavor. Then, of course, I remembered that I review quite a lot of things that have already been reviewed. I have an entire blog that is designated almost solely to that purpose, and if someone hasn’t reviewed the art supplies I have reviewed there, I would be very surprised.

That being said, in my video reviews I try to do things that are a bit more obscure. Perhaps that’s because I personally enjoy watching video reviews as a form of entertainment, and things that are much more obscure make for a better viewing experience as opposed to a product that has been reviewed by a ton of people.

When I have just “joined” a hobby (in quotes because I don’t go on forums and post, or sign up for related memberships, or anything) I quite enjoy finding all of the reviews of every product that I can, no matter how common they are. Eventually, though, I find myself not searching for those reviews anymore, for obvious reasons. Now, if someone I enjoy watching has a video on something I’ve seen before, I’ll likely watch it just to see their take, but that would be after I’ve watched many other videos of theirs.

Translating this to my reviews, I know that very few people are going to come to my youtube channel or my website looking for a review on something that has been looked at by tens (possibly hundreds, but unlikely) of other people. So I make the type of video that I would watch if I were more into the hobby and looking for something more obscure, just for entertainment purposes.

That doesn’t mean that I won’t review something that has been looked at before, possibly by quite a few people, but it will be lower on my priority list than my looking at some more obscure items.

In written reviews, my opinions vary a bit. I feel that they are absorbed by fewer people for pleasure and more by people actually looking to buy the product in question. Therefore, I think that a different opinion is a good one, and I have no “problems” reviewing an item that has been reviewed many times before. Even then some of the items I review are so common that most people haven’t thought to review them.

So I think my original idea was problematic. I have no trouble reviewing things that have already been reviewed, but I would rather review other things. When it comes to the question of to review or not to review, I will always prefer the review option if I think there will be some substance to it (it’s hard to review a paperclip), and I would love to do a review of everything in the world. I just want to look at the less common things first.

Review – Papermate Mirado Black Warrior

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There are a lot of pencils out there, and it seems there are even more cheap pencils (that isn’t possible, I realize, but it made sense when I was typing it). How good can some of these pencils be? Today I’ll be taking a look at the Paper:mate Mirado Black Warrior Pencil.

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The pencil body is simple and round, which is surprisingly not a standard pencil shape. I always had round pencils at school (a set of leftovers from my father), and people always liked the way they felt when I loaned them out (which is why I lost so many). The shape is quite comfortable, and just that little bit better than a hexagonal pencil. The set of pencils that I received have a satiny finish that make them fairly grippy even with sweaty hands (from what I understand, they used to be more shiny and slippery). The rest of the body is a plain black with “Mirado Black Warrior” in gold on it in a poorly chosen font, as well as HB 2 and the Papermate logo, the hearts of which take away from the “warrior”-ness.

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The back of the pencil has a standard pink eraser, which does its job and hasn’t dried out in the time I’ve had it. I’d guess it isn’t the best quality and if you always want to erase what you wrote I’d recommend getting a dedicated eraser, but these work fine for most of us. The lead is HB, but feels much softer than most HBs I’ve used. Perhaps that is just me, but I’d say it is at least a little softer and it covers smoothly and well. A good pencil for filling in scantrons or shadows. Because it is so soft it is not too great at holding a point, though.
Is it a good pencil? Definitely, and for the money it’s really just a matter of preference.

There are loads of good pencils in this price range, so if one that is round (make sure your desk isn’t slanted) and has a slightly softer lead sounds good to you; or maybe you just like the “stealth” idea of an all-black pencil, this one is at least worth looking at. And like I said, for the price almost anyone could afford to pick up a box to compare to any other pencil they happen to be using.