欧州自転車レース追っかけ日記

Finland at a glance
Garmin BaseCamp screenshot clip of driving through Finland.


1. Utsjoki
2. Tornio / Kemi
3. Oulu
4. Jyväskylä (https://visitjyvaskyla.fi/en/now/)
5. Helsinki
6. Turku

Utsjoki is the Sami culture center in Finland.

Tornio is the Sweden-Finland border town on the Gulf of Bothnia.

Oulu is a town on the Gulf of Bothnia.

Jyväskylà is a town in so-called the Lakeland.

Helsinki is the capital of Finland, of course.

Turku is a town on the Gulf of Bothnia and Baltic Sea where a lot of ferries come and go.

a. Dark green line: Utsjoki - Tornio (580 km - 8 hours)
b. Yellow line: Torni/Kemi - Jyväskylä (470 km - 7 hours)
c. Dark blue line: Jyväskylä - Helsinki (270 km - 4 hours)
d. Dark pink line: Helsinki - Turku (180 km 2.5 hours)

All estimated hours include inevitable stops (toilet, refueling and photoops) and are minimum needed time.

Ferry rides
a. Helsinki - Stockholm (18 hours - about €230)
b. Turku - Stockholm (11 hours - about €100 - 130)


Sweden at a glance
Garmin BaseCamp screenshot clip of driving through Sweden.


1. Stockholm
2. Malmo

Stockholm is the capital of Sweden, as you may have noticed.

Malmo is the town on the Sound strait. There is a big bridge between Danmark and Sweden. A hefty toll is needed to cross it.

a. Yellow line: Stockholm - Malmo (630 km - 7 hours)

In a nutshell
One overnighting in Tornio, another one in Jyväskylä, yet another one in Helsinki and another one on board a ferry bound to Stockholm are expected. I may spend 4 nights in Finland.

One overnighting in Stockhelm is expected and maybe another one in Malmo?

From here, I will visit Copenhagen and spend one night somewhere in Denmark.

So about one week is expected after leaving Norway till I come home.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Finland and Sweden rough routing]の続きを読む

テーマ:海外旅行 - ジャンル:旅行

1. 2025/01/26(日) 23:18:10|
2. Camping in Europe
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Money Monster 2016
I started watching it without knowing anything about it. It was a good movie. Julia Roberts and George Clooney were on the movie poster (or DVD/Blue-ray covers or whatever) so I knew they were there.

What I did not know until the end of the movie was that it was directed by Jodie Foster. That "Jodie Foster"?

I enjoyed the movie.

Harrison's Flowers (2000)
Croatian War of Independence (1991 - 1995)
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence)

I don't really remember the initial part of this conflict as I was living in the U.S.A. at that time.

I did not notice anything particularly sensational in the news back then. I don't remember President Clinton (at that time he was in office) mentioning this conflict. I think I came back to Japan sometime in 1993 and I don't remember anything special back then either. This conflict was going on but the international community seemed to underestimate the scale of the conflict.

The movies is about a wife (Andie MacDowell) of a journalist who went missing during the conflict and said to be taken to the city of Vukovar (later known to be site of Vukovar massacre) tries to rescue him out of the country against all odds.

The story was not too compelling. The man was slightly hurt (so it seemed but severely shaken mentally) and found to be in a relatively healthy condition in the bombarded and burning hospital in Vukovar. The woman who seemed to have no military trainings of any kind came through and came out of the country without too many scratches.

They (those concerned in the production) could have done it with a touch of reality, maybe? I liked one aspect of the screenplay that the woman did not have to shoot a gun to make her appear too tough. If it involved scenes like that it had totally killed the movie. I don't know.

The story did not have make them (the journalists rescue party) go in the middle of Vukovar as a chance of a loving housewife (no offense, please!) surviving the massacre site would be one in a million. The movie could have shown the scenes of Vukovar but not that way.


Red Right Hand (2024)
I was treated with a nice surprise to see a familiar face when I watched this movie without knowing the cast. I saw this one the next day I watched "Harrison's Flowers (2000)".

I was worried if this horrible experience (Croatian War of Independence) might affect her life psychologically.

It turned out it did mess up her psyche. She became a psycho drug lord in otherwise a rural peaceful sleepy town somewhere. Andie MacDowell plays this brutal gang boss.

Her son (in Harrison's Flowers) seemed to turn out to be OK, too.

Scandinavian Tour: rough routing
I started the rough routing process. From Luxembourg - Germany - Denmark - Norway - Finland - Sweden - Denmark - Germany - Luxembourg.

Since driving through Norway takes more than 2/3 (two-thirds) of the itinerary, I started with this part. This is the initial rough routing map. I'll talk about this later.




In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Scandinavian Journey is getting solid]の続きを読む

テーマ:海外旅行 - ジャンル:旅行

1. 2025/01/26(日) 16:37:55|
2. Camping in Europe
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Do you know Lillehammer, Norway?
I do. It sounded familiar to me. A Winter Olympics venue if I remember correctly. I checked and found out that I was right.

Lillehammer (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lillehammer) is a municipality in Innlandet, Norway. Innlandet is a relatively new region (I don't know if it should be called canton, county, prefecture, state or else) made of former 4. Hedmark and 5. Oppland.

It hosted 1994 Winter Olympics. I think I was in Japan then.

I did not find the latest version where Innlandet is supposed to appear.

(image Norwegian Regions)


(image Scandinavian Topology map)

I'm now laying out the travel route plan from Larvik port (ferries from Hirtshals port, Denmark arrive here) to the North Cape (the northern end of continental Europe). I'm considering which way to go, Larvik - Oslo - (direction Lillehammer OR direction Lystotn) - Begen - ???.

Lysbotn, Norway
This place seems to be well-known to those visiting Norway.
(https://www.visitnorway.com/places-to-go/fjord-norway/the-stavanger-region/listings-stavanger/lysevegen-road-in-lysebotn/235453/)

I would like to visit this place and climb up the "27 hairpin bends" on my bike. It would be so awesome!

I was wondering why the road seemed to overlap but those magnificent pictures did not show the overlapping loop as shown in the image.





I checked here (https://lysefjorden365.com/lysevegen/) and found that this looping part was "a unique corkscrew tunnel". I need safety lights for this ride.

Killers of The Flower Moon 2023
A relatively new movie featuring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro and was directed by Martin Scorsese.

The story was based on a novel, which is also based on real events. Most characters have the actual people who were involved in this dismal and hideous criminal event.

I enjoyed watching it but the character played by Leonardo DiCaprio seemed to be ambiguous. Did he willingly or unwillingly participated in it?

The character play by Robert De Niro was like Chancellor Palpatine in Star Wars, who successfully hid his true intentions and blended in the surrounding as a benevolent benefactor.

This makes Leonardo DiCaprio character either Darth Maul (malevolent) or Darth Vader (ambiguous between the good and the bad).

That's what I felt after watching the movie.

In English: 続きをどうぞ [Lysebotn, Norway and other topics]の続きを読む

テーマ:海外旅行 - ジャンル:旅行

1. 2025/01/24(金) 13:16:16|
2. Camping in Europe
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Triskaidekaphobia - Fear of 13
Triskaidekaphobia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triskaidekaphobia)

Are Norwegians Triskaidekaphobie (like many others)?

I was doing my homework (working on my itinerary visiting Scandinavian countries) and looking at the Norwegian regionl map and then noticed something, the lack of 13.

There seems to be 19 regions in Norway but the index goes up to 20 because No. 13 is skipped.

(image: Norwegian regions)

If you include this remote islands, it could be 20 regions.

What is Svalbard? It's a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svalbard)

Speaking of "phobia", there are other phobias. A well-known one is the fear of number 666.

It is really phobias, its plural form of phobia? Is it not phobiae (pronounced kinda like Pho-Bee) or something?

In my native country, number 4 in some context is a subject of fear or dread as one of its names is a homophone of "death". You don't want to stay on the fourth floor of a hospital or room No. 4.

What do you mean by "one" of its names? You may have asked. I know so I'll explain.

If you ask a Japanese person to count up from one to ten. This person will start counting like, "1, 2, 3, 4 (she), 5, ..." On the other hand, if asked to count down from ten to one, this person will go, "... 6, 5, 4 (yong), 3, ..." That is why I had to say so. Other numbers (1 to 10 in this case) stay the same but they also have other names, too.

So this fear of 4 is called Tetraphobia. And this fear of 666 is called Hexakosioihexkontahexaphobia.

Mac Pro 2013 Trash Can after the operation
It is working well with the swapped CPU (used Intel Xeon E5 2673v2 8-Core TDP 110Watts). No issues at all. It seems (only I can say 'seems') to be a bit cooler than it was with Intel Xeon E5 1650v2 (6-Core - TDP 130 Watts).

The 20Watts difference only kicks in when they are under some serious load but it's supposed to be a cooler CPU.

FW and LBL 2025
La Flèche-Wallonne 2025 and Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2025 courses have been announced (both men's and women's editions).

Surprise! They (race organiser) changed the courses. Now the girls ride up the Saint-Roch. I think that to accommodate this change (not specially but chronologically), they changed the men's course so that now the boys ride up the Saint-Roch on their way to Bastogne. Traditionally they rode up there on their way back from Bastogne to Liège.

There may be smaller changes but the biggest change will be the one I described above.

Now I want to know what the time tables will be like. I used to watch the peloton both at the Saint-Roch and La Redoute but since women's edition began to take place concurrently with men's it became difficult to do so.

It's like by the time girls approach la Redoute, the boys are climbing the Saint-Roch. I can not split into two. I wish they change the schedule so that I can watch two pelotons at the Saint-Roch and then drive to la Redoute to watch them again.

In English: 続きをどうぞ
[FW and LBL 2025]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車ロードレース - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2025/01/23(木) 01:29:45|
2. Bike Races in Belgium
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Mac Pro 2013 Mac Pro 6,1 or the Trash Can CPU swap done!
Using ifixit.com's repair guide, I successfully swapped the CPUs. Now it is a 8-core CPU loaded beast, or kind of.

It took me about an hour to change the CPUs, clean and change CPU/GPU thermal paste and get rid of all the dust as much as possible.

I ran the Geekbench 6 after it and found out that the Single-Core score had not basically changed but the Multi-Core score had gained accordingly. This was intended. I only ran once but I did not have to run multiple times.

One thing that I had to add is that the thermal paste I had was too old and was not so good. I had to buy new one and re-perform the task again. For the moment, I'll enjoy this beast.

Upgraded CPU
Intel Xeon E5-2673v2 (8-core TDP 110 watts, 3.3 GHz/4.0 GHz-Turbo) - This is what I got as "used" from China

Original CPU
Intel Xeon E5-1650v2 (6-core TDP 130 watts, 3.5 GHz/3.9 GHz-Turbo) - This is the factory installed CPU

About this Mac says



Geekbench 6 says

Note that my Mac Pro (Late2013) is reborn as MacPro6,1! It seems to suggest that Geekbench 6 does recognize that my Mac Pro is tampered (modified).

The top score is the new one and all the ones bellow belong to the old CPU


I was curious so I checked the Geekbench 6 scores. My Mac Pro Late2013 (8-Core) is not that bad! It is comparable to stock 12-Core Mac Pro.


In English: 続きをどうぞ [Mac Pro 2013 Trash Can CPU swap]の続きを読む

テーマ:Mac - ジャンル:コンピュータ

1. 2025/01/21(火) 16:32:39|
2. MacBooks and Macs
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Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland trip
1. Denmark
2. Sweden
3. Norway
4. Finland

Currency or simply money
Norway is not a member of the EU but this is not an issue. While Denmark and Sweden are within the EU but
they don't use Euro instead they have their own currency. I'm going to rely on my credit card while up there. Only Finland uses Euro as its currency.

Prices
I have to assume everything is pricier than it is here in Luxembourg. Maybe the house prices could be lower.

I'll try and save some money by camping and cooking meals on my own.

Gas price
The price of gasoline is the main problem. Even if I start my journey from Luxembourg with a full tank, I don't have nothing left in it by the time I get to German-Danish border.

Food
I would start with a load of food items pasta, rice, dried meat products, some power soup, mineral water and such like in my car.

I will have to visit the local supermarkets to buy fresh products and additional mineral water. I'll try to minimize the shopping expenses as low as possible.

Accommodations
I'll try to sleep in my tent as much and often as possible. Occasional Airbnb stays would be nice. Hotels? Forget them!

Ferries
It's unavoidable to use them occasionally. I have taken them several times and I enjoyed them. In some areas of Norway, riding ferries is a must.

They don't give me any discounts on the ferry ride tickets unfortunately. In Norway, especially EV drivers get some discounts but I have pay the penalty for riding a gasoline motor vehicle.

Gas stations
They still have them. Last summer I met Norwegian people during the Tour de France and I asked them if it's possible to travel by a gasoline engine car. They assured me that I would have no problem.

Pets
As long as I have a valid EU passport for my Hannah, I have no problem taking her with me crossing the borders. They may never inspect the passport but the regulations require it. I have been to France, Belgium, the Netherlands with her but I have never been asked to present her passport by the customs officers or other police officers.

Camping in the wild v.s. at commercial sites
There are many camping sites in these countries. Where they don't exist, you are encouraged (I'm not shitting and it is clearly written on the official tourism office site) to camp in the wild.

You must perform your duties, of course. These duties include keep a certain distance from local people's properties, covering the tracks of your droppings, not trashing and such.

Language
I have no doubts and everybody (from so-called Scandinavian peninsula) I met (except for small kids) spoke English very well. I'm very confident that I won't have any problems at all.

Local products: Made in ...
Well, I have to find out what I'll expect. You know things like Swiss Army knives from Switzerland.

They have some good knife makers (Helle, Casström to name a few). Trangia is from Sweden. I don't know others for the moment.

Fishing?
I checked the regulations in Norway and turned out fresh water fishing requires purchasing license but fishing in the Fjord doesn't. If I could carry a small fishing kit in my car, I could be able to fish there.

Mountains
Norway has some beautiful high mountains. I won't be climbing high mountains but I'd like to take a short hike in one of the mountains.

Laundry
This could be the one of the biggest chores. I have to check in one of the commercial camp sites to do the laundry. I'd go straight to the laundry machines and get it done.

Bicycling
I'd like to bring my bike on or in my Mazda MX-5. If it's my road bike, I need a rack, Saris Axis 2-bike rack on the trailer hitch. If it's my Brompton, I just put it on the passenger's seat.

Visit Norway site lists "5 badass uphill cycling routes"
From (www.visitnorway.com)
(https://www.visitnorway.com/things-to-do/outdoor-activities/cycling/road-cycling/tough-uphill-routes/)

I'll check them out and try to integrate in my itinerary.

5 badass uphill cycling routes
1. Skykula
2. Stalheimskleiva
3. Galdhøpiggvegen
4. Vestkapp
5. Kaperskaret

I sometimes use this site or others to locate those elusive climbs.
Climb Finder (https://climbfinder.com/)
My Cols (https://mycols.app/)

Arctic zone
White nights baby!

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Here I come, Scandinavian countries!]の続きを読む

テーマ:海外旅行 - ジャンル:旅行

1. 2025/01/21(火) 00:09:48|
2. Camping in Europe
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Hanna (2011)
This movie came out in 2011. I don't know why but I remember clearly hearing and watching a commercial (of sorts) on German TV channels (or just one channel) persistently promoting this particular motion picture "Hanna (2010)".

I lived in Germany until December 31st, 2008 and moved to Luxembourg on New Year's Day. So why do I recall this German ads? I watched German TV in 2011? Yeah, I could watch German, French, Belgium or Dutch TV programs in Luxembourg.

For some reasons this movie (title) was so familiar and now only now I watched it after 13 years.

Saoirse Ronan as Hanna. Her first name is obviously an Irish one and I could not read it correctly without knowing how to read it. These Irish shenanigans (I don't mean in any way disrespect their cultural heritage) of name spelling conundrum dazzle me.

The story takes place in Finland, Morocco, Spain and Germany. The last half of the story takes place in Berlin, Germany and this was why the German TV advertised this movie when it came out or broadcast on the air.


CHPT3 is down and Brompton?
Brompton's profit has plummeted I heard. CHPT3 has ceased to trade and I believe is in the process of liquidating what's left of its former business (Chapter 9 situation?). I don't know if these two events are related but they came about almost at the same time.

There are several reasons for the loss but I have read at least one article analyzing their business. Some seem to suggest it has made too many Bromptons because the COVID-19 brought a steep demand for them (they also expanded their manufacturing capacity to catch up with the demand).

Now the demand for them (bikes and their equipment in general) has subsided, they began to face the consequences.

I don't know how popular Bromptons are in Europe, I mean continental Europe. They are popular in the UK, do doubts.

In my own experience, almost all (90 % or more?) Bromptons on ebay are from the UK (mostly used and some new).

They (Brompton bikes) have avid fans in Asia, too. It does not bother me too much if,... if they went bankrupt. I think I have plenty of replacement parts so I can still maintain my Brompton for long time.

Mine
In December 2023, I bought one from Germany for relarively good conditions at a reasonable price. I purchased cheap train E-tickets (Luxembourg - K&oulm;ln round trip in a day) on my phone and went there to get it back. No import taxes or no shipping charges but the tickets cost me only a bit more than €50 as the seller wanted it to be picked up.

I had seen a lot of candidates when I was searching for one but they were from the UK (outside the EU by then) and I had to pay for the exorbitant import charges if they must be shipped. Some sellers allowed "Pick Up" method but in this case instead of the import charges, I had to pay for the train tickets and spend almost two days crossing the English Channel.

I wanted to have a Brompton with P-stem and least equipped. I was going to swap all the drive train components; new wheels, 7-speed, new shifter, cables and wires, crankset and chainrings, and so on. All I wanted was a P-stem.

I settled with this S-stem Brompton (S2L equivalent) made in 2015. I don't like the high handlebar position. Since then I have been looking for a P-stem but it is hard to come by.


A dynamo hub wheel for the Brompton
There are at least three kinds of

I wanted it for mine and have been on the look. If you pay a lot, you can get one with that famous German SON Schimit dynamo. If you pay a bit less than that, you will get one with Taiwanese SP dynamo.

If you pay even a bit less, you will get one with Shimano dyanamo. This is what I'm after.

If I'm correct, this dynamo once belonged to the Shimano Capreo component group. Back in early 2000's Shimano released this component group for small wheel models like Alex Moulton, Brompton, Birdy, Dahon and others. The strong point was the special rear hubs (135 mm wide) with the smallest 9 cogs. I had one on my old Birdy (2003). It has kinda rusted away, though.

I'm not sure if this Shimano dynamo (74 mm wide) is still in production. I can still see them on ebay as new.

I have been watching an auction of Black Shimano Dynamo Hub wheel for the Brompton.

Now I'm a proud winner of an auction. I hope it will come to me in time.

I paid for it as soon as the auction ended.

In English: 続きをどうぞ [A black Brompton Dynamo Hub Wheel]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車（スポーツ用） - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2025/01/18(土) 21:16:55|
2. Bikes and related things
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HRC chart (stainless steel)
I have been considering getting a small knife for my camping trip (no other use what's so ever).

Because it is cheap, Perkin PN101 appealed to me. I liked its form and the size. It is cheap because obviously it is made of cheap stainless steel, namely, 420 stainless steel.

How bad is it? Or how good is it for my purpose? Let's see, shall we?

420 seems to be a generic name a certain alloy consisting of iron, chrome, carbon and some other intended or unintended materials. Its hardness (after proper heat treatment = hardening) is around 50 to 52 and its at the lowest end of a scale (among stainless steel intended to be blades).

On the other hand, its scores high on the scale of rust resistance.

In other words, a blade made of 420 stainless steel is easy to sharpen and rest free. Perfect!

What I don't understand is that it is sold for £48 on Perkin Knife's web site while on Amazon (Germany) it is sold for €23.60. Why? It is either the price on the former is a bit too much or the price on the latter is appropriate.




American Made (2017)
Tom Cruise is doing what he loves, one of his most avid hobbies, flying planes.

In the story an airplane pilot was recruited by CIA and run some errands delivering contrabands, drugs and people.

According to Wikipedia, it is loosely based on actual events and people.

I remember a similar movie with Johnny Depp that I saw. What was the title? Blow (2010)

Mac Pro 2013 or the Trash Can Mac Pro
One and only Mac Pro that is shaped like a trash can. It's running great. The video output distortion that I encountered after a several initial weeks for about two or three weeks is gone. I haven't seen it since. I don't know why. Maybe because the temperature inside the black trash can body is lower?

I'm using an external 12V DC (variable 4 to 12) Fan on top of the opening. It reduces the temperature down significantly so my trash can is running always at lower temperatures. I don't know but I'm happy.

Now it's time for some upgrades. A new CPU (8-core), a macOS upgrade and some cleaning (new thermal paste and goodbye to the accumulation of dust inside) are needed.

Intel Xeon E5-2673v2 (8-core TDP 110 watts, 3.3 GHz/4.0 GHz-Turbo) - This is what I got as "used" from China

Intel Xeon E5-1650v2 (6-core TDP 130 watts, 3.5 GHz/3.9 GHz-Turbo) - This is the factory installed CPU

I've been lazy but now it's time I start moving.

In English: 続きをどうぞ [Is it hard enough?]の続きを読む

テーマ:アウトドア - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2025/01/17(金) 18:39:37|
2. Diary
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Eye of the Beholder 1999
A strange movie I have to say in the least. The protagonist seems to be a British Intelligence agent who is psychologically troubled after the departure of his wife and daughter attached to the Washington D.C. UK Embassy? He is tasked to watch Ambassador's frugal and mischievous son? Then he follows the woman who killed his target of surveillance?

It's already strange in the beginning and the story gets even weirder.

No wonder the critics and general public weren't too excited about it.

Did I like it? I could watch it till the end without a problem but I still have to say it was unrealistic.


Dunkirk 2017
It's a Sir Christopher Nolan movie. I watched it about a year ago and I'm watching it again.

I have visited Dunkirk (French Dunkerque) last Spring and stayed a couple of days (Airbnb host) with my Hannah (girl cat). I walked to the beach and also around the town. A summer resort town.

I also stayed at an adjacent town in Belgium for a couple of nights. Basically the beach is the same. A bit of dunes and summer vacation resident building along the beach. A lot of them. In March they seemed empty and the beach was quiet.

The movie is about a young British soldier trying to escape from advancing German soldiers. The only escape route is the sea but there are no ships waiting for them (fellow soldiers).

A thrilling suspense history drama, it is but not an SF movie.


Blackkklansman (2018) and Full Metal Jacket (1987)

Some bad words considered to be racial slurs.

Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Gunnery Sergent Hartman: I do not look down on niggers, kikes, wops or greasers.

Blackkklansman (2018)
Rob Stallworth: I hate niggers. I hate Jews. Spics and Micks. Dagos and Chinks.

Dunkirk (2017)
Alex: A bloody frog
jerry

I'm not collecting these bad words.
niggers (African descendants)
jews (Jewish)
spics (Hispanics)
micks (Irish descendants)
dagos (Italian, Spanish, Portuguese descendants)
chinks (Chinese descendants)

kikes (Jewish)
wops (Italian descendants)
greasers (Hispanics)

frog (French national)
jerry (German National)


Legends Of The Fall 1994
Anthony Hopkins and Brad Pitt. It made a big splash back then but I did not have the chance to watch it. I have known the title of the movie since then. River Runs Through It (1992) was also well known back then.

Now I'm watching it. I'll be watching RRTI, too.


Some knives
This is Perkin PN101 that I'm considering buying. It is made of soft stainless steel.


This is the one I purchased a year ago and then abandoned because the blade was bent. This knife is made of some carbon steel and the seller claims its HRC is 57-59 or something.


In English: 続きをどうぞ [Some movies and some knives]の続きを読む

テーマ:日記 - ジャンル:日記

1. 2025/01/16(木) 20:56:48|
2. Diary
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4. | コメント：0

Perkin PN101
I found it on Amazon (Germany) while looking at (not 'for') Joker Corzo.

They looked similar and I was drawn to it because of the price tag it had.

Joker Corzo CR25 costs €54 and no shipping charges (I live in the EU zone) while Perkin PN101 costs €23. Less than half the price! It must be because of the material difference.

The Perkin PN101 is of 420 stainless steel while the Joker Corzo is of better stainless steel. Uh-huh!

420 stainless steel if not really for serious knives, I think. According to the information of the material, it is more for knives and forks on the table.

According to their web site (UK Perkin site), it is a hunting knife with HRC 50 - 52. I was a bit surprised when I saw the price on this site, 48 pounds.

The price on the Amazon does not reflect the recent inflation effect in the UK?

According to one of the customer reviews, Perkin sources its knives from (not all maybe but) Pakistan. This particular one (PN101) definitely is suspicious.

PN means Pakistan? 101 means the raw basic as in Physics 101?

I'm not here to say anything malicious about Pakistan. I know there are so many clever skilled workers there to accomplish marvels. I see a lot of those on YouTube.

I found an Italian man reviewing this Perkin PN101. He spoke in Italian (I could not blame him for it) and I could not understand what he was telling us. He used it for bushcrafting, shaving twigs and batoning thin logs. In the end he tried to make fire with some magnesium fire starter with it. He failed as (it seemed) the edge on the back of the blade was not sharp or hard enough.

Should I get it? I'm not going to hack some woods with it and I don't own a fire starter.

In English: 続きをどうぞ
[Perkin PN101 for my camping?]の続きを読む

テーマ:アウトドア - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2025/01/14(火) 14:19:19|
2. Diary
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Joker Corzo Cr25
I have been looking for some good-looking knife that I can bring on my camping tour. I often travel in my beloved Mazda Miata (MX-5) with my beloved Hannah (female cat). To save money, I stay at camping sites as much as possible and I don't eat out.

A handy knife is needed to cut open some packages (containing salamis or others).

I recently bought a small (but heavy) knife that I found on Amazon. It is a nice knife but I could not help keep looking for another.

I kept watching YouTube videos about bushcraft (or hunting) knives. I learned about the grinds and some materials. Now I found this one.

A Joker Corzo from Spain. Luckily I live in EU and getting it is easy and the shipping charge is almost nothing. Should I get it?

This one is not too expensive. The blade material is not a high class alloy metal. It is small. And most importantly I will never hew some logs with it.

In English: 続きをどうぞ [Joker knives, are they good?]の続きを読む

テーマ:アウトドア - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2025/01/13(月) 23:45:48|
2. Camping in Europe
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AliExpress shopping
What have I ordered from AliExpress this time? Mostly bike parts, I think.

1. 2 bearings
2. 1 RISK bike cable set
3. 1 set (10 pieces) of RISK plastic cable ends
4. 1 bike stand
5. 50 pieces of rubber O rings (1 x 20 x 22)
6. 10 pieces of rubber O rings (2.5 x 55 x 60)
7. 1 Chainring 56 teeth
8. 1 Chainring 36 teeth
9. 1 Chainring 38 teeth
10. 1 set (of 2 brake/2 shift) wires
11. 2 bottle cages
12. 1 set (10 pieces) of RISK silicon frame protectors
13. 1 portable foldable pet enclosure
14. 1 set titanium cutlery

Wow! I ordered a lot of things.

1. 2 bearings
These bearings are for the front fork of my Cervélo bike.

2. 1 RISK bike cable set
I bought two of them a while ago. I just wanted one more.

3. 1 set (10 pieces) of RISK plastic cable ends
Plastic cable ends might be useful than the aliminum ones that came in the kit above.

4. 1 bike stand
It a mini acrylic piece that goes under the pedal.

5. 50 pieces of rubber O rings (1 x 20 x 22)
They could (if my measurement is correct) be used on the bottom cap of my Streamlight Stinger flashlights.
(1 mm width, inner diameter 20 mm and outer 22 mm)

6. 10 pieces of rubber O rings (2.5 x 55 x 60)
They could (ditto) be used on the race humber holder on the seat post.

7. 1 Chainring 56 teeth
8. 1 Chainring 36 teeth
9. 1 Chainring 38 teeth
They will be used on my Birdy. (110 BCD)

10. 1 set (of 2 brake/2 shift wires)
They will be used on my Cervélo bike.

11. 2 bottle cages
(ditto) Of carbon composite material

12. 1 set (10 pieces) of RISK silicon frame protectors
(ditto)

13. 1 portable folding pet enclosure
My Hannah will stretch herself inside during some bike race events beside me (outdoor use).

14. 1 set titanium cutlery
For my camping tour. (knife, spoon, fork, chopsticks)

EV share in European countries

(click to enlarge)

In English: 続きをどうぞ [EV (BEV / PHEV) share in European countries]の続きを読む

テーマ:日記 - ジャンル:日記

1. 2025/01/13(月) 21:06:31|
2. Bike Races
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Enough is enough!: Ragnarok 2013 a Norwegian film
I was watching it with an English subtitle on the screen, of course. There was a brief line where a man said "Enough is enough" in Norwegian. It sounded like "knock knock to me. It got me curious. So I had to ask Google translate to translate (this is what it does the best) enough is enough into Norwegian.

It came out as "nok er nok." It made sense to me. As I had known the German word for enough "genug" pronounced like "ge(t)-gnu-k" (please treat (t) as silent as g before nu is).

This GE- prefix existed in old English (and it seems that still exist in Dutch) but was at some point of time in English language history "systematically dropped".

I guess it dawned upon the English speaking people that this systematic ge- prefix (attached to verb's past participle) had no effect what's so ever as it was just systematically attached even though almost all verb's past participle had different ending forms (like -ed, -en or something similar) from its present or infinitive ending forms to help the speaker distinguish the difference.

Do you consider it difficult to know the difference between 'smoked' and 'smoke' and also between　'smoke' and 'gesmoked' (I'm just saying this for argumentation's sake and I don't know if in any time past gesmoked ever existed). They are different enough.

Something systematic can be dropped all together when you deem it redundant and they (such things) are not missed. The wisdom of the day!

If you need an example, in old days people (like you see in movies and dramas of, say, Sherlock Homes or Al Capone) had a hat on their head whenever they went out systematically. Today, almost nobody does so systematically but some do so for reasons of their own. This social system (a.k.a. practice) has been dropped all together.

Today, I learned a Norwegian phrase, nok er nok and I'm happy.

In English: 続きをどうぞ [Enough is enough in Norwegian]の続きを読む

テーマ:洋画 - ジャンル:映画

1. 2025/01/12(日) 23:43:32|
2. Diary
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I don't know how long I can shop at aliexpress
Chinese real estate bubble has already burst, right? You may not notice any significant events in your respective countries just because those legacy media don't tell you about those horrific events that are taking place in China.

The bubble has burst just like the subprime loan (real estate) problem surfaced. In normal or advanced democratic countries one thing leads to another like the domino tile falls and triggers a chain reaction sending a tripple of waves around.

This is healthy. If your employer skips your salary for one month, you complain and if it does not work, you step up and take legal measures. If your company can't find enough resources to pay its employees, it faces bankruptcy (chapter 9) and so on.

In China, any sign of a domino tile gets suppressed by the local government and by the big government (the Chinese Communist Party). Some workers don't get paid for months but they have no where to sue your company. The legal system doe not work because the C/C/P is simply above everything and anything.

This kind of suppression applies to anything. Huge companies can not file bankruptcies because the government won't accept them. The government forces banks to lend enough load to survive.

If a local government has a huge debt, the central government make it like a 100-year bond and the first payment begins in ten years. This makes both the local government and creditors survive like zombies.

By now so many tiles have in reality already fallen but we don't really recognize that them have because authorities won't let them. It is like this so-called Zen proposition, "If a tree falls in the forest and nobody hears it, has the tree really made a sound?"

I don't know how long we can pretend that nothing has happened there and continue as before.

What they (top rulers) are doing is like sending time bombs in the future. If the future like described in "Tenet (2020)" existed, they (the future people) would definitely send them different kinds of bombs back to them. Since I haven't seen any, the inversion technology won't be invented in China. Somewhere else maybe.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [If a tree falls ]の続きを読む

テーマ:日記 - ジャンル:日記

1. 2025/01/12(日) 01:43:41|
2. Diary
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It's time I start repairing my Birdy (2003 model)
At least I bought it as new way back in spring of 2003. It came with Shimano Caprio component set.

I haven't ridden it more than two years as the shifter began to slip (ratchet gears worn out?). I knew I had to swap them. I knew I would swap the shifter, cables, rear hub, sprocket, deraileur and some others. I bought Shimano Deore XT parts.

Shimano has discontinued its Caprio component line since long time ago. The Caprio rear hub has special measurements (smallest cog 9 teeth).

I have already accumulated enough material to revive it but I have been too lazy.

I'm also planning to renew the front wheel. I'm thinking of making a wheel with the Shimano dynamo-hub using the old rim. I need properly cut spokes.

Making the rear wheel is easier as the hub measurements, as long as the wheel making is concerned, are exactly the same whether it is a Caprio rear hub or almost any other Shimano mountain bike rear hub. I can recycle the spokes without any problems.

Let's start, shall we?

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Birdy 2003 to be resurrected]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車（スポーツ用） - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2025/01/10(金) 21:22:29|
2. Bikes and related things
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How popular is Tenet 2020 among other Sir Christopher Nolan's movies?

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [How popular is Tenet 2020 among other Sir Christopher Nolan's movies?]の続きを読む

テーマ:洋画 - ジャンル:映画

1. 2025/01/06(月) 17:02:40|
2. Diary
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Tenet 2020 Tallinn car chase scene: raiders of the algorithm
The Raiders of the algorithm scene is really confusing. this is the first real scene where forwarders and reversers interact (the second scene would be the Stalsk-12 battle).

Earlier, the Protagonist witnesses a reverse soldier shoot (backward) and leave at the opera house in Kiev, Ukraine but no real interaction.

I'm reading the screenplay and comparing the lines between those of the screenplay and English subtitle. I'm also paying attention to the backgrounds provided in the screenplay. Usually the lines in the screenplay are longer. Obviously some of the lines did not make it in the final cut.

Some of those that did not make it in the final cut seem to me essential or indisposable for understanding the deep underlying themes and plots that combine the whole story.

Obviously those in the know and savvy did not need any of those revealing lines and understood the underlying themes and plots with the lines in the final cut.

For example, I did not know that cold-blooded nature of the covert operation in the story. Neil was repeatedly told by the Protagonist that he (Neil) would be killed if he knew too much. Kat was a target of removal by Priya in the end.

I understood it when I read some of the lines by Priya telling the Protagonist the Tenet policies.

She tells the Protagonist things like:
"This was always a suicide mission - that's why they recruited a corpse."

This line did not make it in the final cut. The whole operation was a suicide mission all the way and no one was supposed to outlive the operation.

I was hopeful to see a happy end but I was wrong. No one absolutely no one was supposed to live happily ever after. Maybe that was why this Priya's line did not make it.

Now I'm tackling the raiders scene and hopefully I'll get it right.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Amalfi, Italy and The IPCRESS File 1965]の続きを読む

テーマ:洋画 - ジャンル:映画

1. 2025/01/05(日) 01:21:30|
2. Diary
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A Happy New Year!
I wish you all a happy new year!

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Happy New Year, 2025!]の続きを読む

テーマ:洋画 - ジャンル:映画

1. 2025/01/02(木) 02:28:34|
2. Diary
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