Wiser Web Wednesday – a semi-regular link to posts of interest from around the web, by those far wiser than myself:

Away we go with the last one for the year:

 

Writer’s Bloc Blog
With a 0.3 mm tip, these will get you into the tightest of corners in those adult colouring books piled up ready for action this holiday season — just don’t let any unattended young children open Pigment and try them on your iPad Pro:
Staedtler Triplus Fineliners Review

 

Pen Economics
A great overall roundup of the year in pens, inks, and the community, along with a little on what might be coming in 2016:
The Year in Review

 

The Finer Point
This post was timely, as I had recently added a couple of sealed three-packs of the Baron Fig produced Apprentice Time Traveller and Lightbulb Editions to the Christmas gifts of family members.

Many people will have a problem of hoarding notebooks so I am not alone, and my stack is probably much much smaller than most, but to get a real idea on how bad it was I decided to write a post on the number of used and un-used notebooks I own

I’m sure none of us are under the illusion a shortage of pocket notebooks will occur any time soon (limited editions aside I guess):
Used versus Un-used pocket notebooks

 

The Pen Company Blog
Mental illness is a widespread issue that thankfully has seen a little more recognition and discussion in recent times.

Mind suggest ‘shifting your focus‘ as one of several self-help solutions, and creative hobbies are great for this in the combat of stress, anxiety and depression in some people. Using fine motor skills is excellent too, as it requires such accuracy and concentration.

I myself have not dived into the adult colouring phenomenon (finding writing here the perfect relaxation), however there are many who have. While the management of stress, anxiety, and depression isn’t the only benefit of such an activity, if it is of assistance for some, that can only be a good thing:
Why is Adult Colouring So Popular?

 

The Well-Appointed Desk
Another look in the rear-view mirror to 2015 and some thoughts on what’s ahead from The Desk.

Holler, if there’s something particular you’d like to see more.

Nothing in particular Ana – just keep doing what you do best — gettin’ “it” done:
Looking Back and Moving Forward

 

Leigh Reyes. My Life As a Verb.
Were I a casual observer — and compared to some in this hobby, sometimes I feel I might as well be – I’d agree with the following sentiment:

When a market is diversifying, it’s thriving. On that basis, 2015 was a healthy year for pen addicts everywhere — an especially happy observation to make in the fountain pen segment, which is almost two centuries old.

Another view on the pen year gone by, with only a couple of days for the ink to dry before we turn the page to 2016:
2015: the pen year in review

 

Pen Addict
Another one? Yes indeed, and why not – this time a few of the Pen Addict’s faves from 2015:

These are the products I got the most enjoyment out of this year. They didn’t have to be new this year, just goods that I used and loved and stood out in a very crowded desk

As good a time as any to think about what stood out for you over the past year perhaps:
My Favorite Products Of 2015

 

Perfect Daily Grind
The highlight of my coffee consuming year came in the form of the Elida Estate Green-tip Geisha from Panama.

Here, the producer of that fantastic coffee talks about some of the challenges in growing the all-conquering Geisha varietal:
Geisha Coffee according to a 4th Generation Panama Producer

…flowing nicely into our next link, also from Perfect Daily Grind, looking at the rewards that come from growing at altitude.

The main reason that higher elevation coffee is more sought after is the taste. When well-cared for, high elevation coffee will produce the more acidic, aromatic and flavorful cup of coffee that we love, while lower elevation coffee tends to have a lower acidity with little character in the cup

Although not the only component of developing flavour, altitude certainly plays its part:
How Does Altitude Affect Coffee and its Taste in the Cup?

 

Colonna and Smalls
The coffee capsule market. There is no denying its presence or effect on the coffee landscape. From a specialty coffee purveyor on the students in some of the classes they run:

More often than not we discuss how they have an Aeropress and buy coffee from such and such, and use scales etc. Then comes an apology.

I’m sorry but for the office and for espresso type drinks I have a Nespresso machine. I am not overly enamoured with the results but there is a lot about it I like.

A common sentiment across the globe I’d say. Here, said specialty purveyor is entering the capsule market. The results? We’ll have to wait and see:
Capsules

 

Interconnected
An argument for plain text as much as a nod to the possibilities of Ulysses depending on your particular requirements.

But I’m a purist: Since losing a bunch of data in the 1990s, I’m distrustful of other people’s file formats. Plain text is the way to go, no Word docs. I want formats that I can extract words from, even when I’m down at the level of reading bytes retrieved from broken hard drive platters. It’s happened.

I for one am looking forward to the release of the Ulysses iPhone version to complete the picture. Then, Wiser Web Wednesday could be produced entirely on the bus. Actually that’s not true, as I could be doing that already, but prefer listening to podcasts, taking a few notes and generally daydreaming — which incidentally appears to be what I am doing now — it’s about the link, not me:
Ulysses and other apps for writing

 

John D Cook
An interesting take on the positive effects of automation:

Suppose it takes you an hour to write a script that only saves you two minutes later. If that two minutes would have derailed your concentration at a critical moment, but it didn’t because you had the script, writing the script may have paid for itself, even though you invested 60 minutes to save 2 minutes

Eventually reaping rewards through time saving is one thing; mental energy at critical moments is another — and one that I had not really considered. If you do consider it a little, this provides an even more compelling reason than merely saving time:
Automate to save mental energy, not time

 

MacStories
This is a great piece on screenshots and the apps we use to enhance or manage them.

Regardless of the context, every screenshot is fundamentally about communication. But sometimes, a quick screenshot isn’t enough — you want to call out a feature or perhaps you have so many screenshots you need a tool to manage them.

Also, it again highlights the fickle nature of the app market now that Skitch for iOS (my annotator of choice) will soon no longer be supported by Evernote (reportedly most features will be available within the main Evernote app I won’t be using). An alternative being just a few taps and a download away:
A Screenshot Is Worth a Thousand Words

 

Larry Salibra
This is not new, however I’ve included it here because it works a treat.

Whatever the reason, you’ve got a lot of Evernote notes and you want to move them to Apple Notes and you don’t want to do it by hand.

As my migration from Evernote to the native Notes app continues, I had been manually clearing things out and deleting many I no longer need or have never referred back to. I am now pretty much left with a few hundred I’d like to export over.

Did I say this works a treat?:
How to move notes from Evernote to iCloud Notes

 

Roads & Kingdoms
As the year wears on, at times I fleetingly wonder about my overall energy and productivity. At least I have time to wonder:

The standard work day of a Japanese lawyer starts at around 10:00 a.m. and ends around 3:00 a.m. the next day, Monday to Friday. That’s already an 85-hour workweek, but it’s also usual for lawyers to work an additional ten hours on each Saturday and Sunday

Although, I’d have to question the effectiveness and efficiency produced in at least some of those hours:
Japan’s 105-Hour Workweek

---

Follow @petedenison