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

 

The Finer Point
A couple of popular A5 notebooks within the fountain pen-friendly sphere. Of the two, I prefer the Rhodia paper slightly — finding a little too much nib glide with the Clairefontaine stock.

Of course this is personal preference, and either of these will suit a fountain pen user well:
Notebook Comparison: Rhodia versus Clairefontaine A5 Notebooks

 

JetPens Blog
A nice round-up of a selection of fountain pens manufactured by Pilot in Japan. Perhaps not news for the long time pen-obsessives, though a good background for the developing pen enthusiast:
Luxury Japanese Fountain Pens

 

The Pen Habit
Coincidentally, I recently received a letter from a friend written with the illustrious broad nib of a Gaston’s Exclusive. Written in Iroshizuku Asa Gao on Tomoe River paper, it came up a treat.

They are super-smooth and deliriously juicy. If you have an ink where you want to highlight its sheening capabilities, then this is the nib for you. It is a marker of a pen, but with a whole lot less feedback

And yes, even just looking at the cursive writing on the page, I reckon I can confidently confirm the above.

Read more about it here:
Bexley Gaston’s Exclusive Review

 

The Pelikan’s Perch
Joshua at The Pelikan’s Perch with a look at the effects of the recent Brexit decision on Pelikan prices.

While exact figures are not yet clear, it is anticipated that Pelikan’s products will see a 10% increase in the UK starting in November

As always I guess it pays to shop around online:
News: Brexit’s Impact on UK Pelikan Pricing

 

Inkophile
With the Platinum Preppy such a great pen, a natural next step might be the Plaisir, which is great value at around AU$30.00. Some great colours available as well.

the medium has a very large sweet spot. It can be rotated and held upright or even at a low angle and will still write well. As a gift to a newbie, the fine is worth considering as it produces a line more comparable in width to the familiar rollerball or gel pen.

A great review which is perhaps just in time for Christmas?
Review: Platinum Plaisir Fountain Pen

 

MacStories
While I don’t use a ton of workflows in the Workflow app, they can be handy at times.

I’d also recommend listening to a series of episodes on the Canvas podcast taking you through the basics of setting up the up the app and creating your own workflows:
Workflow 1.6 Brings Revamped Gallery, Better Tools to Share and Import Workflows

 

Sprudge
As a dedicated listener to a podcast put together by two of the founders of this cafe, I chipped in a very small amount to the Kickstarter campaign referred to in the post.

Although I hear regular updates on how things are proceeding on the podcast, its nice to read an overview of the business itself, and the philosophy taken by the owners towards their staff in terms of entitlements and development.

Oh and they serve great coffee too:
Inside Cat & Cloud’s Santa Cruz Dream Cafe

 

BBC News
The SIAM Journal of Applied Mathematics (full article PDF Link) is not the usual place I turn to for coffee news.

Although the principles of grind size/distribution, and the shape of the filter vessel and coffee bed are often discussed in coffee writing, I think this may be the first time the principles have been looked at from a mathematical modelling standpoint.

If formulas for finding “the constants of integration remaining in the outer solution by using modified Van Dyke matching” is your thing — then I’d suggest clicking through to the full PDF article I’ve linked to above.

Otherwise, try this somewhat lighter summary:
Maths zeroes in on perfect cup of coffee