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

 

The Finer Point
Not the first time I’ve heard it, though I do like the idea of a photo a day as part of a journaling approach. If I ever managed to do so, digitally via Day One would be the way I’d probably go.

A nice idea here though for placing a physical copy in the Hobonichi Techo, along with a couple of other noble aims for 2016 as well:
New Things for 2016

 

The Fountain Pen Quest
Indeed it is:

It’s a lot easier to avoid impulse purchases when I have so many good pens to chose from and can only use one fountain pen at a time

Although not the focus of the article, again some serious numbers pop up in posts such as these as far as collections go —indicative in part of how long other enthusiasts have been in this game:
Fountain Pen Contentment

 

Pens! Paper! Pencils!
I’ve enjoyed seeing Ian’s drawings on the PPP blog and also Instagram for some time now. I would also be happily guided in my choice of pencils, were to find I had some sort of ability in this area, and was inclined to pursue it. Sadly, the former is not the case, and heavily influences the likelihood of the latter.

One other thing, the image under the Selection heading is a simple one, though one of the best I’ve seen in a while — fabulous:
Guide to Pencils for Drawing

 

The Gentleman Stationer
Funny how we get caught up in our own day-to-day inks. Well, that and the fact I tend to go for long periods without buying any new ones to try.

The result? I’ve not used any of these, however have heard good things both here and elsewhere. Yes, they’ll go on the list, though I cannot guarantee when I might get to them:
My Five Best Fountain Pen Inks for Everyday Writing

 

Pen Economics
I recall a robust debate with my senior high school economics teacher about this principle, the main thrust of my argument (in attempting to refute the notion) being that each subsequent Golden Gaytime ice cream was in fact better than the previous one. Although my argument was probably a bit thin and I may have embellished the number of Golden Gaytimes I could eat, I thought I made some pretty compelling points (loved those ice creams).

Onto matters more relevant:

The underlying problem seems to be a classic case of what economists call diminishing marginal utility. That’s a technical name for something we all experience, and it’s so common that it’s baked right into our most fundamental tools. It refers to how we find ourselves less and less satisfied with each additional purchase of something.

In reality, there are probably many perspectives on this, and personally I am fairly liberal with my definition of collector or user, and would suggest most of us are both:

But, at least for those of us who are pen users rather than pen collectors, we reach a point where each new purchase isn’t any more exciting than the last one. They’re still great pens, still pleasant to use, but that level of excitement and pleasure has diminished somewhat. And once you’re past that point, it becomes something of a downhill road.

Something like this may work for you, or it may not, however if you are quite content with your collection and how you manage it, don’t overthink it:
Capping Your Collection

 

Fourfiftytwo
Another example of some Hobonichi Techo goodness:

Putting the drawings and text in before I journal is really helpful in getting over blank page syndrome. I don’t find myself stare at the page, afraid to ruin the pristine blank space, overwhelmed by expectations for what could be written

Some more fantastic images in this post too:
How I use my Hobonichi Techo

 

The Pelikan’s Perch
A great review of a fantastic looking and equally well performing pen from Pelikan.

With the Grand Place and the Vibrant Blue on the horizon, I think Pelikan is really showing that they can turn out some truly stunning pens. I only hope that the company will pace itself and not saturate us with too many of these high-end beauties in such a short span of time.

If Pelikan cannot pace themselves then I guess its up to each of us:
Review: M800 Burnt Orange (2015)

 

MacStories
Some new, or perhaps simply new to you (or me) apps for 2016.

I might poke around Airtable, and Liquid Text looks an interesting way to view sections of long documents (also recently mentioned on an episode of Mac Power Users as worth considering).

Box? I’ve been increasingly using this for storing documents in PDF format over the past 6 months or so, though I suspect it is due to the free 50GB in my account (one of those early sign up bonuses some time ago) rather than any collaboration features. That said, it seems equal to Dropbox in terms of sync and app integration, and I like the interface a little better.

Whatever you might be looking for, a few more apps for your consideration:
New Apps for 2016

 

Macdrifter
A fairly common comment by those who use the iOS app Drafts:

What about words? Where do you go if you have something to write? I’m sure a lot of people worry about where they want the words to go before they decide how to even start writing. This is a waste of attention. The most important part of writing is the act of writing, not the act of processing. This is why I start almost everything in Drafts for iOS.

This app deserves inclusion primarily because the linked post is a good one, but also because each Wednesday’s links on this blog are put together via the Drafts web capture template — set up to give me the source, title, URL and any highlighted text with simple tap of the share sheet button on my phone or iPad.

Captured information is appended to one of three current notes: Pen, Coffee, or General. Once the gathering is complete, the note in its entirety is either pasted into Ulysses (iPad) or sent with one tap to nvAlt on my Mac, depending on where I’ll be for the final clean up.

Simply an app that never gets old — or most likely fully utilised for that matter:
Getting Drafts Right For 2016

 

Scotchwhisky.com
A wishlist from the editors at scotchwhisky.com for the new year, of which this is one:

Let 2016 be the year where blends fight back. They are fascinating, and flexible; they are the product of amazing creativity, they have history, yet they are never talked about with any of the same reverence or detail that is applied to malts.

I second that motion:
New Year’s Wishlist

 

Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine
Reading these articles always reminds me of how lucky I am to live where I live.

In short, these climatic, economic and political factors have snowballed into a perfect storm of influence dissuading young Salvadorans from the pursuit of a life in coffee farming

For many on this planet, it is just a constant struggle, and it is not hard to see why it appears there would be little hope in sight:
El Salvador’s Coffee Industry at a Crossroads

 

Cafe Culture
An amazing story. What started with this:

In March 2011 a seedling was planted 1,900 metres above sea level on a mountain on the west range of Los Farallones de Cali, Colombia.

It was the first of 18,000 seedlings to be planted on what would come to be known as Finca Las Nubes, “the farm in the clouds”.

Culminated in something pretty special late last year for the tireless workers of that particular coffee farm in Colombia:

Sasa called “time”, and with that simple word began to deliver the same performance to the workers and owners of Finca Las Nubes as he did to the WBC judges just three months earlier.

Australia’s 2015 World Barista Champion, Sasa Sestic continues his relentless drive to promote specialty coffee, and more importantly, recognise those who produce it:
Sasa Returns

 

Handground
No, I don’t expect you to read (let alone apply) all 47, however there are some interesting and helpful tips here for manual brewing based on the Speciality Coffee Association of America’s 7 Pillars of Coffee Preparation:
47 Tips to Make Pour Over Coffee Like a Barista

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