Wiser Web Wednesday

September 16, 2015September 16, 2015 / Pete Denison / Leave a comment

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

Mark Hodder Presents
For the past year or so, I have done all of my writing in Ulysses, switching between the Mac and iPad versions at will, with iCloud providing a seamless transition between the two by reliably syncing my work.

Although largely a piece extolling the virtues of Ulysses, there is also a glimpse into the workings and workflows of an author — something I always find particularly fascinating:
This Writing Malarky: How I Work

The New York Review of Books
Elmore Leonard produced forty-five novels in fifty-nine years. That is some career. There were certainly few better than those I was fortunate enough to pick up and read, beginning with 1988’s Freaky Deaky, through Get Shorty (1990); Rum Punch (1992); Out of Sight (1996); Cuba Libre (1998) and Be Cool (1999).

A little back story on the man behind so many marvellous words:
The Elmore Leonard Story

Macdrifter
I too have migrated my Zite feed to Flipboard in the last few weeks, however have been an active Flipboard user for quite some time now. I use my own “Magazines” as read-it-later type services, enjoying the format when I go back and read what I “flip” in there. Probably worth a post at some point, however it would no doubt be somewhat less elegant than this one:
Migrating Zite to Flipboard

Incidentally, my Flipboard magazines unsurprisingly run across two categories — drum roll please: coffee, and pen & paper. What? How could you possibly have guessed?:
Brew – Ways of Coffee
Analogue Station – Pens, Paper & Other Capers

Alt. Haven
A first paper review? You’d never know it, as Junee’s concise yet informative piece flows as well as any. As for the subject matter, the good old Tomoe River paper really does take some beating, and the form factor of these Backpocket journals looks pretty impressive as well.
Review: Blank and Write Backpocket Journal Tomoe River Edition

The Gentleman Stationer
Another Kakuno review and another happy reviewer — certainly no surprise to me. As far as the price point and value for money are concerned, this probably sums it up (a statement you won’t read in a Visconti review):

…so I dropped it into my cart when I was doing my weekly household shopping

Also, I’d agree — there are other “beginner” pens far more “child-like” out there, and I happily abscond with my son’s intermittently:
The Pilot Kakuno: Another Excellent Option for Newbies

Gorgeous.Ink
It is posts such as these which confirm my embrace on the superficial nature of my own — and I’m certainly not complaining. One of the main reasons I write here is to learn, most often from posts like this one. Being somewhat of a Pilot fan – I of course very much enjoyed this one from Paul:
Pilot Pens and the Super Quality Nib & Feed System

Crónicas Estilográficas
Here I refer you to my comments immediately above. I love these posts — always so much to learn (did I say that already?):
Of Nibs and Models. Pilot

Tools & Toys
A Josh Ginter pen review for Tools & Toys is always worth reading — and ogling. I have a couple of Kaweco Sports — both of the plastic variety and have been eyeing those of metal construction for some time, and the Brass looks mighty attractive.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again about Josh’s posts: Great review. Fantastic photography:
The Kaweco BRASS Sport Fountain Pen Review

Field Notes Brand
The Fall 2015 Colors Seasonal release is here, with another great video well worth watching. For the first time, Field Notes have made their own paper. Looking forward to the reviews.

Let the Tweets begin:
“Shenandoah” for Fall 2015

Coffee Strides
I offer this link for obvious reasons, however with minimal basis for comment. As I’ve said many a time — my coffee thoughts and opinions are formed squarely as a consumer, having never worked in the industry. That said, gender equality across an entire industry is both a serious matter, and something worth striving for.

And personally I am not a fan of calling out a high ranking female competitor for being female. Who cares if you are the highest ranking female? The point is to understand why, in general terms, women are not competing as much as men and why, when they compete, they do not seem to win.

Some interesting thoughts here:
Why Women Do Not Compete in Coffee Competitions

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An Apple Morning

September 10, 2015 / Pete Denison / Leave a comment

Of course there are plenty of other sites to give you the run down on this morning’s Apple event, and the following sentiment from Benny Ling writing at AppleTalk Australia summed things up for those in this fair country:

Now if you’ll excuse me, I will proceed to light my credit card on fire, thanks to how poorly the Australian dollar is doing

So, although this is not the blog for in-depth analysis, I did have a few thoughts as things unfolded, and here they are.

Order of Appearance

Apple Watch

The Apple Watch is a non starter for me at the current time, therefore no big excitement here. With my current priorities and the status of my tech world, it just doesn’t really have a place. Of course that doesn’t necessarily infer it isn’t a great product, with some love given by Apple in the form of watchOS 2 and some updated watch colours and bands. I’m sure watch owners – current and future – will be pleased come OS 2.

iPad

Well the iPad Pro looks like a powerful monster, however is just a little on the large side for how I tend to use mine. All that power? Well, probably wasted on my text editor, web browsing, email, social media and an episode of The Americans on my afternoon commute. As I do write more and more on my iPad, an Air 2 is looking like a reasonable upgrade from my iPad mini 2 for a little more screen and iOS 9’s split view.. I’d imagine going from mini to Pro would be rather…well…jarring. Not a common transition path in any event though I expect.

Apple TV

The new Apple TV? Yes, thank you. Our second TV has been crying out for some content assistance in the form of a little streaming, and what better opportunity than to grab a new model Apple TV. The Siri remote looks pretty handy, as does the revamped UI which will now include Apps. I can confidently say this will definitely be a starter in our household in the not too distant future.

iPhone

Then there were the iPhones of course. Having upgraded to an iPhone 6 last year – that is where I’ll stay, however my wife’s 5s is due for handing down to the kids, so I certainly had an interest in what is in store. The usual improvements in camera and phone internals, along with more enticing features such as 3D Touch (with an awful lot of Peek and Pop going on) and Live Photos¹. Of course the new Rose Gold colour also made its debut, so eloquently described on a special early morning edition (by geographical necessity) of the Reckoner Podcast:

…the new colour pink – they call it Rose Gold but its pink

And finally, lets face it – my complexion is crying out…just crying out I say, for the new Retina Flash on the front facing camera. I’m sure I’ll look a lovely shade of rose gold.

So in the end, given the pre-event rumours, you’d probably say not a lot of surprises, however nice to see it all finally unleashed.

In Short

Australian Release Dates:

September 12; 5:01pm: iPhone Pre Orders
September 16: iOS 9² & watchOS 2
September 25: iPhone on sale
September 30: OS X El Capitan (?)
October: New Apple TV
November: iPad Pro

Pricing? Well apart from the iPhones, nothing to report here as yet, although I would add the paid iCloud storage tiers will improve in value — though where exactly they will land in $AUD per tier is still to be announced.

Wiser Web Wednesday

September 9, 2015September 9, 2015 / Pete Denison / Leave a comment

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

Perfect Daily Grind
A little too late for a career change? Perhaps, however if I were to do it, a reasonable pathway might be something like this:
How YOU Can Make a Career Out of Coffee Roasting

Daily Coffee News
Of course the link above just wouldn’t do without this follow-up. The first in a four-part series by the Craft Coffee Institute’s Andrew Russo on launching a small commercial roasting operation:
Roastery Planning and Pitfalls Part 1: Equipment

The Sweet Setup
Although not exactly pushed for space on my Mac at home, unnecessary files such as these are always high on my list to clear out:
Quick Tip: Control how many backups Day One stores

Reckoner
What’s not to love about an article on backup strategies that begins with:

But most of you are playing fast and loose with valuable 1s and 0s. You’re pretty much Vincent D’Onofrio in Full Metal Jacket.

Of course the moral of the story being the vital importance of backing up your data in the form of three different copies, in two formats, with one copy in the cloud: aka the 3-2-1 strategy. Anthony Agius as only he can:
How I Keep My Precious Data Safe

The Pen Habit
I of course read the DC Pen Show wrap ups as I’m sure many of you did, and thoroughly enjoyed them all. I was surprised to learn this was Matt Armstrong’s first pen show, however far from it that he wrote such a great series of posts on the experience:
2015 DC Pen Show Report – Thursday and Friday
2015 DC Pen Show Report – Saturday and Sunday
2015 DC Pen Show: Wrap-up

Art of Manliness
I have been known to share the occasional podcast recommendation on these pages, however for a quite a few more suggestions, the Art of Manliness will happily help you out:
24 Podcast Suggestions for Men

Gear Patrol
Gear Patrol with the morning routines of some notable individuals, including DDC’s Aaron Draplin:

Wake up, check for heartbeat.

If its bacon and eggs. I love a coke with ice

Fuel for Field Notes indeed:
How 9 Notable People Eat Breakfast

On Fountain Pens
Maybelline shares her five fountain pen recommendations for beginners. One through three on the list I own, and would certainly agree with their inclusion here. The Ohto I’ve not tried, and aren’t quite taken with the design, whereas the Plasir is a great looking pen, and if it writes as well as the Preppy, is on my list of future purchases:
5 Fountain Pens for Beginners

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Fountain Pen Nibs: Of Steel and Gold

September 6, 2015 / Pete Denison / 6 Comments

We’ve all read them, and I’ve certainly written them. Words in praise of the gold fountain pen nib. Certainly not without foundation, however a great writing experience — in my opinion at least, is not the exclusive domain of 14k and beyond.

I should note at the outset what this post is not — in part because of my intention in writing it, and in part because I do not possess the knowledge, nor experience to go deeply into the technical aspects of the subject at hand.

This post is certainly not an in-depth look at nib construction and manufacturing, or the development these aspects as modern pens have evolved. I have also not addressed how things might differ if you prefer very broad, wet nibs as opposed to the medium to fine bunch which make up the majority of my collection. Also, none of the pens I own have had any custom nib work done nor been purchased with specialised nibs (i.e. italic, stub and the like).

No — this post essentially came from a curiosity of mine as to how many of each type of nib I did have, and whether, upon more considered thought, a pattern based on that nib material was evident in the pens preferred writing with.

A little background

If it can be suggested there is a “usual” trajectory in nib experience and acquisition, it would most likely begin with steel in the “low end” or “entry level” pens, and progress along to gold as the user experience, desire, and budget expand a little (or a lot).

Of course there are always outliers or exceptions to the rule. The first fountain pen I bought — a Montblanc Meisterstück Classique, with a 14k nib. It is still my most prized pen possession, for many reasons, most of which are outlined here. Thinking back, that purchase was an exercise in naïvety of the most extreme kind, but boy I’m glad it was made. Anyway, that is another story.

Plenty has been written on the topic of gold versus steel nibs, and for a sound basis of what we talking about in this post, I refer you to a piece by Brian Gray of the Edison Pen Company. Written in 2010, it lays out many of the questions (and answers) that arise when discussion is had around gold and stainless steel nibs.

In the post, Brian outlines the biggest difference between modern stainless steel and gold nibs: flex. If we define flex as a causing line width variation due to spreading of the tines in a nib, gold will generally provide a greater degree of this. Irrespective of flex, I personally find most of my gold nibs to be softer, or possessing more “give” as Brian describes in his post.

As far as the actual tip material on the nib, this is often identical in any event, whether gold or steel is used in the construction. Both have a “tipping” material, often referred to as iridium, which is common for either type of nib for either type of nib, and is what comes into direct contact with the page. Here I’d recommend a little further reading on this in another of Brian’s articles:

Please regard iridium as a synonym for tipping material. The tip of a pen nib is rarely iridium, and almost never pure iridium. It is usually plathenium, osmiridium, or a various mixture of metals. So in the pen industry, understand that iridium is a term used to refer to tipping material, even though there is usually no iridium present.

Aside from the above, most specification pages you might care to look up of the pens you see here will also state the nibs are “rhodium plated” gold or steel — hence the silver appearance of many of the gold nibs, or part thereof. You can probably now see why anything other than a cursory mention of these aspects about nib construction is way beyond both the scope of this post and my knowledge and expertise in such matters.

In summary, if we were to grossly over-generalise things, gold nibs you could say, generally provide more flex, have a little more give (independent of flex), and are usually found on more expensive pens. Clearly they also play a role in the overall aesthetics of a pen — particularly if the gold nib is actually gold in colour as well, remembering not all of them are.

My collection

When the idea struck to take a quick inventory of my own collection, I did so and posted an image to Instagram. I’ve also included images of some of my pens below.

Even from that simple Instagram photo, it is fairly evident pens with gold nibs are almost as numerous in my collection as their steel counterparts. Of the eight in that image however, six were kindly passed on from another fountain pen enthusiast’s collection. I’ll be honest — there is simply no way I would have as many in my collection without this generosity — purely and simply from a financial point of view. The pens? I love each and every one of them — the Custom Heritage 92 (FM) an absolute standout favourite, along with the Meisterstück Classique, as I mentioned above.

We struck gold – from (L): 1&4 Pelikan; 2 Lamy; 3&5 Pilot; 6 Montblanc

The steel nib pens? These were where I began to build my collection after owning that sole Meisterstück for around 16 years. Was I disappointed with the Kaweco Ice Sport, Pelikan M205, Pilot Metropolitan, Lamy Safari or even the Pilot Petit1? Not in the slightest. One of my absolute favourites — the Pilot Kakuno I bought for my son’s birthday a couple of years ago. The steel nib on that thing is absolutely amazing, and it cost me all of $AUD14.95. The reason it isn’t in the image below is my habit of forgetting to raid my son’s stationery drawer when I take pen photos!

Pen of steel – from (L) 1 Kaweco; 2,4&6 Pelikan; 3&5 Pilot; 7 Lamy.

In conclusion

If you have made it this far, and are still looking for a definitive answer on whether to shell out a few (perhaps quite a few) more dollars for a gold nib on that pen you are considering, I’m probably going to disappoint.

My honest opinion? I would not advise you to spend more money on gold simply for gold’s sake. Will the writing experience be better if you do? Not necessarily, however it will certainly be different. Would I say any of my steel nibs offer a better writing experience than the gold? Probably not. Asking the same question of the gold however — I’d say probably yes — some of my gold nibs do write more smoothly and effortlessly than the steel.

Bear in mind though, if you are talking day-to-day use, posing this question and seeking a somewhat useful answer, relies on so many other factors, a definitive conclusion might be pretty hard to come by. Am I trying to best show off a new ink for an Instagram post, or scrawling a few hundred words of notes in a meeting? Add to this the numerous other situations in which you may find your fountain pen wielding self and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

In wrapping up — did I answer my (selfish I know) original question about whether there is a preference or pattern in the nibs I prefer? Looking back I believe I have — and it is a fairly resounding no. As my collection continues to grow, both steel and gold nibs will be part of any additions. The difference? The almighty dollar will perhaps see the steel side of the ledger increase a little faster.¹

So, I certainly have a definitive answer about steel versus gold when reflecting on my collection and preference. Whether or not any of the above has helped you in any way I’d certainly be less certain. That said, if a steel nib pen has a good reputation, and is at a price you are prepared to pay, I’d be fairly certain you won’t be disappointed.

Of course any arguments around quality versus quantity and saving for a more expensive pen are certainly not irrelevant here. ↩︎

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Wiser Web Wednesday

September 2, 2015September 2, 2015 / Pete Denison / Leave a comment

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

Jim Seven
A considerable number of posts have popped up in my social media feeds highlighting one of the section headings from this report on a survey of commercial and home user espresso by James Hoffmann:

The Ristretto is Dead

Perhaps more telling though is another one:

A Death of Diversity

I dutifully responded to the survey from the home user perspective, subsequently learning from the results I am perhaps either part of a shift towards best practice or simply following a convenient majority rule:

I don’t believe we all have the same tastes, same ideals, and same goals for our espresso. I don’t believe, even for a second, all consumers want the same thing.

I guess I can at least take heart in the fact that when brewing at home, generally the only “consumer” is myself:
The State of Espresso in 2015

Perfect Daily Grind
I wholeheartedly agree:

…what’s not to like about fika?

A short history of coffee, snacks, and conspiracies in Sweden:
Fika: The Social Ritual of Coffee

Macdrifter
If you scan a lot, a little, or somewhere in between – Scanbot (iOS or Android) is definitely worth a look, and has been one of my most used apps for about a year now. Version 4 brings a workflows feature, allowing a single tap for customisable common actions, or selection of upload destinations from an ever-increasing number of on-line storage services. Extremely handy indeed.

A nice round-up of a fantastic app:
Scanbot 4 With Workflows

Productivityist

You can’t multitask. If you tell yourself you can, you are lying to yourself.

It’s amazing we still need reminding of the productivity drop off with multitasking. I guess it’s because there are so many who still grandstand about how good they are at it.

Focus. One of my favourite words that:
Essentialism: Focus on Less Tasks to Get More Work Done

The Pen Addict
Many have felt it, and those who haven’t — well unfortunately there’s still time. The trials and tribulations of growing a pen collection — and no doubt not confined to pens alone. Susan has taken a hit or two, for the collective pen buying team, and we would all do well to learn from her experiences:
Buyer’s Remorse, Impulse Buys, and Shady Sellers: The Vagaries of Buying Fountain Pens Online

Brett Terpstra
There is every likelihood this site might never have hit its stride without Markdown, and although my use does not really stretch towards the edges of its capabilities nor compatibilities, it nevertheless remains very much of interest to me. It is, after all, how every post is written, and I use it every day.

Given the choices in cloud syncing text editors these days, Markdown formatted text is the perfect marriage of readability, portability and future proofing. Some level of consistency in its application will go along way towards a life of writing pleasure:

This post isn’t about proposing any standard or new flavors, it’s just about common sense guidelines that allow you to work with any processor.

Use whatever Markdown flavor you like (or need), just keep these notes in mind to save yourself some pain. Now go write.

Who better to provide their two cents on the subject than Brett Terpstra:
Write better Markdown

Pens! Paper! Pencils!
Yes, a TWSBI Eco review also graced these links last week, however these WWW posts are as much my stream of consciousness as links I’d like to share with you, and I am indeed interested in reading opinions on the Eco from those I trust.

The question of durability can of course not be answered in these early reviews, but at this price point, by the time it is, you could have already had your money’s worth:
TWSBI Eco Fountain Pen Review

The Well-Appointed Desk
Though hopeless at it, sketchnoting has always fascinated me. Well Peter, I guess that is why workshops exist – funny that. Ana sums up the idea nicely:

The idea behind sketchnoting is that simple drawings, bold lettering, icons and symbols can help improve your note-taking and thereby improve your understanding and memory retention from a lecture, class, presentation or meeting.

And of course also sums up the workshop nicely:
Recap: Sketchnotes Workshop with Mike Rohde

Three Staples
Jinnie earning the full three out of three staples (again) for another fantastic post.

Item Numbers. This is some next-level Field Notes nerdery you’re about to witness. All in good fun, of course.

Field Notes. Nerdery. Fun.

Jinnie, you had me at “FN-##”:
Field Notes: Item Numbers

Sprudge
Even if you consider a post title with the words ”weird, delicious uncle” a little weird in itself, the content here certainly isn’t. Hailing from Finca Inmaculada in the municipality of Cali, Colombia, is the Eugenioides species of coffee.

Flavours? Well… various tasters from around the world have come up with:

…genmaicha tea, purple yam ice cream, rose milk, brown butter, marshmallow, jabuticaba, Sugar Smacks cereal, lychee, popcorn, basil, sweet tea, jackfruit, cream, and raisin bran.

Also with about half the caffeine content of the average Arabica bean, it is apparently very hard to grow, and quite low in yield. In praise of diversity — oh… and weirdness:
Meet The Species Eugenioides, Coffee’s Weird Delicious Uncle

Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine
Researchers report on some very encouraging insights from working with small farm owners and their workers, not the least of which:

…simply the act of delivering these kits and having discussions with farmers at origin about their needs and desires yielded critical intelligence about how best to assist in production and processing in other ways going forward

Encouraging stuff:
Sustainable Harvest Presents Initial Findings of Fermentation Research Project at Origin

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Pete Denison

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Author: Pete Denison

Wiser Web Wednesday

An Apple Morning