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

This Friday, November 7 is Fountain Pen Day, which is celebrated on the first Friday of November each year. This WWW is thus flavoured with all things fountain pen.

Fountain Pen Day
I’ll let the official home of Fountain Pen Day set the scene:

Taking place on the first Friday in November each year, Fountain Pen Day is celebrated by enthusiasts worldwide as a time to embrace, promote, and share the use of fountain pens.

Fountain Pen Day Home

The Well Appointed Desk
Looking for some Fountain Pen Day merch or giveaways? Ana at the Desk will point you in the direction of some:
Fountain Pen Day: November 7

Pennaquod
I have previously mentioned this great site created and maintained by Ian Hedley of Pens! Paper! Pencils!, though the context of this post requires its inclusion again.

I had originally planned to highlight some of my favourite pen blogs in this post, only to find a) there are too many; b) it was too hard to choose my favourites; and c) the home page of this site pretty much lists them all anyway:
Pennaquod: The pen blog searcher

Richard Binder Fountain Pens
If you are seeking a little more information on terminology associated with the fountain pen, this is a pretty good place to start:

This Glossopedia is a compact glossary/mini-encyclopedia of words, phrases, and names, with more than 1350 definitions and descriptions, more than 800 illustrations…

Glossopedia of Pen Terms

Pete Denison
Yes, a couple of links from this very blog.

Although I do not consider my site a Pen Blog as such, as far as online communities go there is none better than the kind and helpful folk in the pen world. Many of these people can be found through the front page of the Pennaquod link above.

As a good portion of my spare time does turn to things pen and paper, I like to think I contribute to this community in some small way.

The links below are some of my own fountain pen musings:
My Fountain Pen Day
A Tale of Two Kaweco Sports – Classic and Ice
Pilot Kakuno Fountain Pen – Impressions
My Pelikan M205 Fountain Pen

If you have ever thought you might like to try a fountain pen, there is no better time. My beginner recommendations? A Pilot Metropolitan, Lamy Safari, or Pilot Kakuno for the younger (or younger at heart) writer.

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

The Robservatory
Three simple tweaks to return the Safari URL bar on OS X to an appearance a little more pre-Yosemite if that is what you prefer:
Yosemite: Tweaking Safari’s URL bar settings

Modern Stationer
Doug reviews a great looking pocket notebook, particularly the contrast stitching on the binding. Overall, I think he likes it:

The Apprentice definitely hits that bar. It’s my new pocket notebook of choice.

I must admit, a fountain pen friendly pocket notebook is indeed an attractive proposition:
Baron Fig Apprentice Review

Beanhunter Blog
Have an inclination to roast your own coffee? I’ve written before about how I roast mine, and many begin with a popcorn maker:
Roast Your Own Coffee With A Popcorn Maker

Di Bella Coffee
Linked here for relevance to a term used extensively these days in “Specialty Coffee”, however I can’t help but think that rather than highlight how the description is earned, the tone is perhaps a little too “most of the others (read – our competition) are wrong”:
Demystifying the Term Specialty Coffee

The Brooks Review
An interesting take on the continued survival of the original iPad mini in the current Apple line up, amidst the howls of “why are they still selling that” currently swirling the internet.
The Zombie iPad

On Fountain Pens
Since my son’s birthday earlier this year, I have been consistently and often borrowing his Kakuno. Another example of why that will continue to be the case:
Pilot Kakuno fountain pen – great for kids and beginners

Pens! Paper! Pencils!
A need for some bright ink and seeing this review from Ian sent me off to buy some Noodler’s Apache Sunset. Had both the local pen stores in town not been out of stock, I am sure my pages would be looking something like this – perhaps in colour, though not Ian’s fantastic and unique style:
Noodler’s Apache Sunset ink review

The Tim Ferriss Show
Some real gems in this podcast episode from one of the most prolific and interesting information curators and writers out there. Maria Popova of Brain Pickings talks note taking, indexing, apps, philosophy and more:
Maria Popova on Writing, Workflow, and Workarounds

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

Finer Things in Tech
Clips is a fantastic app which takes full advantage of the new iOS Extensions to assist with better clipboard management. It also contains a feature to build your own templates which make creating posts such as, well… Wiser Web Wednesday style links a far easier and more efficient proposition.
A summary and example from David Chartier:
How to copy a selection + page title + URL all at once with Clips on iOS

Five Senses Coffee

At Five Senses, we look to use all our coffee between six and nine months after processing and drying and if that needs to be further teased out, I would say that we’re not actually chasing ‘seasonality’ as such. It is perhaps more helpfully defined as seasonal mindfulness — and we’re ever mindful of both the seasons and the resulting quality in the cup.

An outline of the seasonal nature of speciality coffee, highlighting the thoughts and practices of Five Senses Coffee. The post also contains a link to a downloadable PDF of the Five Senses Coffee harvest cycle:
Seasonal Coffee and Five Senses

Coffee Contrarian
As is often the case, the comments can be just as entertaining as the original post on many a blog, and this is no exception. This article (based on a presentation from the SCAA symposium) discusses the utilisation of technology in measuring and defining certain aspects of coffee, however also takes a dig at certain segments of the industry:

Sadly I doubt this talk will be viewed by those who most need to see it: specialty coffee folks who think that having a “passion” for quality, or over-paying for small lots of green coffee from farms you’ve visited, has something to do with actual quality, when it does not.

As the fairly robust debate in the comments demonstrates, not all agree, however admittedly much discussion again centres around the oft debated “overly acidic” espresso:
The Science of Crema at Nestlé

Gourmet Pens
A great article on cleaning those fountain pens, which to me, highlights two things. Firstly, beginners should not be afraid of owning and maintaining fountain pens, and further, those of us that do, really have no excuse not to keep them clean:
The Basics: Cleaning a Fountain Pen With a Converter

The Pen Addict
Having used many a Parker ballpoint and rollerball throughout my school and university years, I do enjoy reading reviews from those with much broader experience than myself. Would I ever buy another? With so many other brands out there I intend to explore, perhaps not, however I will always have fond memories of my early pen days:
Parker IM Premium Fountain Pen Review

The Conversation
With my kids growing at an alarming rate, thoughts are beginning to turn to University options, and despite the title, this article on The Conversation does provide more realistic context to the findings of the Grattan Instutute. Unsurprisingly, differences in earnings relate more to the course studied than the University itself:

The study suggests that students should choose their field of interest and ability first, and their institution second.

Graduates from prestigious universities earn more over their lifetime

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