Wiser Web Wednesday

/ 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:

 

Coffeelands
An exciting time for the Borderlands coffee project, with the publication of a study in peer-reviewed scientific journal Food Policy, containing data collected from Narino in Colombia.

Linked here is the first in a series of posts looking at some of the key findings relating to specialty coffee certification, which include, amongst others:

Strategies focused narrowly on coffee specialization and coffee income are not likely on their own to foster sustainable growth in rural economies.

Subsequent posts examine the certification further, as well as its impact on farm labour and the subsequent effect on the livelihood of those involved:
New Research from the Borderlands

 

Sprudge
Australia’s 2015 World Barista Champion Sasa Sestic after the big win, with a noble goal for the year ahead:

Before, it was about chasing perfection, having an amazing team with close families. But after winning WBC it’s not about me, or my company, or Canberra anymore. It’s about growing specialty coffee worldwide.

It sounds like we’ll hear a lot more from this talented man in the year ahead:
An Interview With Sasa Sestic, World Barista Champion

 

Jeraff You Tube Channel
Speaking of which, the official trailer to an upcoming documentary looking at Sasa Sestic’s journey to winning the 2015 World Barista Championship.

Very much looking forward to the full feature:
The Coffee Hunter Official Trailer

 

 

The Newsprint
To me, posts such as these are where blogs as a form of media really come into their own. Rather than a “highlights” type tourist brochure, we see the sights of a city through the lens of a keen photographer guided by a local resident.

Both a different perspective and truer reflection of a glimpse into a city’s soul:
24 Hours in Kansas City

 

Fountain Pen Day
Not long now for those of us who lay down ink via our beloved nibs on a daily basis.

Explore the links and follow the countdown to November 6, 2015:
Fountain Pen Day

 

Alt. Haven
We all know what great value Pilot’s Metropolitan series of fountain pens offers, and surely in this “Pop” range there is a colour for just about everyone.

Any suggestions for a mix ’n match?:
Review: Pilot Metropolitan Pop Collection

 

Fountain Pen Economics
I do not personally own any Delta pens, and do not know much about the company to be honest, although that has obviously changed a little after reading this post.

At times for most of us it is probably easy to forget about the business side of things when wrapped up in the emotion of a new pen purchase. At the end of the day though, manufacturers and retailers are in business. Some do it better than others, and certain decisions need to be made. Whether these are right or wrong, often only time will tell:
Delta Drama

 

Too Many Inks
David reflects on things after the inaugural meet up of the Brisbane Chapter of the Fountain Pens Australia Facebook group:

I was especially taken with Patricia’s collection of Omas pens and how that represented to me such focus in collecting.

The result? A set of criteria aimed at creating more specific focus on a particular segment of an already expansive collection of Pelikan fountain pens. An elegant mind map shows us what is in store for future purchase considerations. This mind map did give me an idea though.

Although I’d never ask (given the time it would take to put it together), who would love to see a mind map of David’s ink collection, now in excess of 300 in number?

(looks around room)

I think the ayes have it:
Refining my pen collecting focus

 

The Pelikan’s Perch
While we are on the topic of Pelikan, there is cause for some excitement at what is in store in the coming year if this post is anything to go by:
Rumor: What to Expect in 2016

 

Macworld
I’ve put in my two cents here and there around my move from Evernote, part of which involves the revamped Notes app. All I would say in response to the title of the article I’ve linked to here – is that it doesn’t need to.

For example, lists are easily shared through the Reminders app, tags replaceable by including @keywords in your notes, and I can annotate images in other apps and save them into Notes. The rest? Well, with the web clipper, you’ve got me there (rarely used it), although now with the website “save as PDF” Dropbox share extension, I don’t believe I’d miss it.

OCR? Maybe, and I don’t own an Apple Watch.

So if we could just amend that title to 6 reasons why Notes can’t replace Evernote for a subset of users, however for the majority of people it doesn’t need to, and will work far better than you suggest with lists such as this one:
6 reasons Apple Notes still can’t replace Evernote

 

CGP Grey
I think many of us traverse that section of the continuum between enough and overwhelm — perhaps without even realising it. Depending on how important (i.e. related to livelihood in some way) “keeping up” is, will determine how significant a drastic reduction actually is. For someone such as myself, probably no big deal, however for those who have developed a brand around such things, perhaps a little more so.

Where would you fit, and further, how much would it matter?
Dialing Down

 

The Brooks Review
Perhaps something I could have said to my wife and kids 12 months ago:

A thanks in advance to my wife, who will be losing out some time with me this month as I work towards this goal.

This is an interesting idea relating to NaNoWriMo, and one that has fleetingly crossed my mind since writing that fictional novel last year. The problem for me would be in publishing enough words over the course of a month virtually in real-time. I’ve yet to reach the point where I don’t reconsider, rewrite and revise a little too much, just about everything that goes up here.

The real challenge here …will be making sure that I am not just putting down words, to put down words. I need to remain succinct.

A slightly different 50K challenge:
My NaNoWriMo Challenge

 

WhiskyCast
So, apparently whisky producer Compass Box, by disclosing the age statements for all whiskies used in a recent blend:

…violates both the Scotch Whisky Act of 2009 and corresponding European Union legislation banning all spirits producers from disclosing any age-related information other than the age of the youngest spirit that goes into a blend

As I am not your breaking whisky news site, nor even any great authority on the subject other than being a casual observer, I am not about to pass any great judgement on the subject. I did however think this was a valid point:

In short, Robert Merton’s Law of Unintended Consequences has been proven once again. What was originally intended to prevent unethical competition in the whisky industry now prevents the industry from being more transparent

There is some interesting background on why the law was introduced in the first place if you are not already familiar with such things. However whether or not there is anything to be overly excited about is another matter, as it would appear things are unlikely to change:
Why Can’t Scotch Whisky Makers Be More Transparent?

Wiser Web Wednesday

/ 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:

 

Bloomberg Business
There are certainly some interesting concepts here. Clearly the environmental benefits are without question and it looks like a beautiful and smartspace to work.

For all of the technology and advancement on show, two things which stand out to me are:

Since workers at the Edge don’t have assigned desks, lockers serve as home base for the day… Employees are discouraged from keeping a single locker for days or weeks… to break people away from their fixed locations and rigid ways of thinking.

So, its 2500 workers sharing 1000 desks:

The concept is called hot desking, and it’s supposed to encourage new relationships, chance interactions, and, just as important, efficient use of space

Neither are new concepts, however upon speaking with colleagues in other companies, talk often turned to wasting up to half an hour or more a day finding a desk, setting things up, clearing it at the end of the day, and repeating the whole process day after day.

The open plan office? Chance interactions and discussion? Yes, just perfect — no need to try to sell me on that one. When I’m sitting trying to work out exactly which data was deleted from the pivot table in the shared excel spreadsheet and all I hear at high volume is how long its been since the Ben & Jerry’s van was giving out free samples down the street at lunch time?

Chance interactions, discussion, inadvertent collaboration. We’ll just leave it to you to somehow find a way to focus in the mayhem surrounding you. What do you mean? Of course that is what we expect you to do. We’ll promote the former by opening things up, over to you for the latter — can’t be that hard can it? (Apologies — mini rant now over)

Concepts are great, my point is simply there need to be significant resources on hand to make them work. That certainly appears to be the case here.
The Smartest Building in the World

 

David Hewson – Medium
I like this idea. A shorter, more thoughtful writing challenge to offset the crash and dash of NaNoWriMo (which does feel like trying to sprint a marathon). Twelve, 800 word pieces submitted each month over the course of a year:

…a good short story is to be cherished. It’s also bloody hard to write.

Once submitted at the end of each month it is locked. Perhaps a few details to be sorted out, however I’d certainly be interested:
After NaNoWriMo how about NaNoSloMo?

 

Nib & Ink
Matthew Morse takes a look at the Karas Kustoms EDK just released as a Massdrop exclusive. I do not own any of the Karas pens, and this one certainly appeals both in form and intended function.

I agree the P8126 refill is a winner, however funnily enough, I also have a bit of a “thing” for how far a refill extends at the tip of a pen. That said, I think the only thing I’ll really have to decide on is which finish combination:
First Look: Karas Kustoms EDK Retractable Pen

And why stop there:

Ed Jelley: Karas Kustoms EDK Everyday Carry Pen Review
Pens! Paper! Pencils!: Karas Kustoms EDK Pen Review
The Pen Addict: Karas Kustoms EDK Review
The Clicky Post: Karas Kustoms EDK Pen – Massdrop Exclusive

 

Pens! Paper! Pencils!
The sets of 3 mini Iroshizuku bottles on offer from various retailers simply present me with a conundrum. Reviews such as these certainly help my cause:
Pilot Iroshizuku Asa-Gao Ink Review

 

Sprudge
I’ve never been there, and only see what you see in these images, however certain designs and layouts just grab me. This being one of those:
Verve West 3rd: The Latest Coffee Bar From Verve Los Angeles

 

DR Wakefield
As my natural coffee processing experiment rolls on, I am beginning to collate some information for an introductory post to kick things off. Outlining the various types of processing methods is obviously part of that:
The difference between semi-washed and fully-washed methods

 

The Guardian
I enjoy the application of nerdy concepts to some of my every day things, however could I humbly suggest before you consider adding a pinch of salt to coffee you consider overly bitter — perhaps take steps to avoid ending up with a bitter brew in the first place. It isn’t as difficult as you might think:
A chemistry teacher’s guide to the perfect cup of coffee

 

Lucky Peach
Speaking of nerdiness — away we go on another beverage I am somewhat fond of — in moderation of course. Those flavours in your whisky? To a large extent they depend on plant matter in the peat which is broken down when burned to dry and halt germination of the barley:

More lignin and you’ll get spicier, vanilla-ier, smokier flavors; more cellulose/hemicellulose and you’ll get more caramel-y, toasty flavors.

Cheers:
The Science of Scotch

 

Chambers Daily
Following up on last week’s link from Bradley Chambers about leaving Evernote, here he offers a few thoughts on what might fix the ailments. Not surprisingly, a greater focus on what made it successful in the first place permeates the list:
Fixing Evernote

 

Pax Coffea
This is a great viewpoint on taste descriptors in coffee. I often find I can detect certain flavours from a description, where I may not have been able to put words to the flavours myself. The power of suggestion? Perhaps, however with experience, I think it becomes more like Rule 1 in this post:

If you describe it, I better taste it

I’d also agree that this can often be the case:

People who feel alienated by tasting notes react in a variety of ways, many of which lead people away from great coffee rather than toward it

Very much enjoyed this post:
A Meditation on the Importance- and Danger- of Tasting Notes

November is Coming

/ Pete Denison / 1 Comment

 

Have you got 50,000 words in you?

You might say you don’t. Personally, I’m inclined to disagree, and I’m sure those committed to undertake NaNoWriMo for another year might be on my side of the fence.

Yes, it’s that time of year again, and here I am with another post about National Novel Writing Month. Although not participating this year, having managed some twelve months ago to come up with a 55,000 word tale I was fairly proud of (albeit a little less so upon re-reading), it seemed timely as we near the end of October to share a few thoughts on some of the things that helped me stumble across the line in 2014.

I offer these observations clearly not as a seasoned novelist, with a bio inclusive of numerous published works, but perhaps like some of you. Someone who thought: ”you know, I think I might be able to do that… but that’s over 1600 words a day for a month… but… ohh… gee… maybe I can’t — no, damn it, I actually think I can. Wait… I’m really not sure… ahhhhh!

That of course, is exactly my point.

Although every seasoned novelist started somewhere (perhaps even with NaNoWriMo), it can sometimes be a little difficult to conceptualise expert tips and tricks into your own situation, as valid and well-tested as they are.

So, after reading two posts recently containing such tips from a professional author, I will endeavour to pass on some advice of my own, in the hope they might assist in some way to lead you headlong into NaNoWriMo greatness.

The Expert

I have previously mentioned author David Hewson and his book Writing a Novel With Ulysses. The book itself is about creative writing using text editor Ulysses for Mac and iPad, in which I wrote my 55k words in last November (the Mac app at least, with the iPad version coming later from developer The Soulmen).

Ok, to get this out of the way. Firstly, Ulysses. I absolutely love it, and use it for every piece of writing I do for this blog. The above guide by Hewson provides fantastic advice guiding the efficient use of Ulysses in a fairly large writing project (certainly larger than anything I had attempted at the time). While there are cheaper word processor/text editors out there (at the time of writing: $AU69.99 on the Mac app store; $AU30.99 on the iOS app store), Ulysses worked for me and I have not looked back.

ulysses_nano

Image courtesy Ulysses

Ulysses currently has a free trial running through to December 7 for the brave souls who may want to embark on NanoWriMo with it, and there is no better time to give it a run – NaNo or not. I remember thinking to myself half way through the free trial last November, if I manage to finish this damn thing and get to 50,000 words — I’m going to reward myself and buy this app. Just a thought.

Now, remember the three paragraphs immediately above when we come to the tip “the tools don’t matter”. Let’s get to it.

The tips

I’d encourage you to read the two posts by Mr Hewson, which I found myself nodding along with as I read, and if you’ve done any writing yourself you will probably do the same:

8 Tips for Writing a Novel this November – The NaNoWriMo Blog

Five ways to help you finish that book – Medium: David Hewson

However the stimulus for this post comes because, as well as reading and nodding, I also found myself thinking: yes I’d agree with that, however as a complete amateur, I’d also add…

So here I am… ”also adding”, to a small few of the thirteen tips contained in those original posts.

(Unless stated otherwise, quoted text is from either of the two posts linked above)

On considering your book as a journey

Hewson points out:

Yes, it’s a story with a beginning, middle, and end. But it’s also a journey, from life to death, ignorance to knowledge, love to hate or vice versa.

and:

When you think of a book as a journey you then realise you need waypoints, movement, progress.

Of course a lot more detail and a good example of the above can be seen in the 8 Tips post, we see how an “inciting incident” and a further seven or eight scenes might provide 10,000 words.

To that I say boom! You’re a fifth of the way there! Well, perhaps not, although I do agree that a journey with a few stops along the way is a great way to look at it. Further, once you get rolling, it can be surprising how quickly the words tally up.

On sticking with the right tools

Here I’d add, this is really only going to work with the right tool(s) for you. I don’t necessarily mean Ulysses, Scrivener (also a 30 day free trial available), Byword, or heaven forbid even Word. It might be anything.

I get it — the tools matter, but not as much as the words.

However, remember you will need to be writing — a lot, over the course of November. Where will that writing take place? Will it be one place? Your desk? Many different places? Set yourself up to work whenever and wherever you can.

Are you going to need a companion iOS or Android app, or at least something that can access your Dropbox, iCloud or Google Drive easily and efficiently — and more importantly do so reliably? Or perhaps you will be writing on the one device you can take anywhere with you.

I think a some planning here might make things just a little less stressful if you are well set up to pick up your story just about anywhere you are.

However, if things aren’t quite working in the first few days and you do have an epiphany about changing something that will see things work far more effectively — I say go for it. Within the first few days my iOS solutions were not quite where I needed them, and a little tweaking of apps and syncing worked a treat.

So, tweak a little if needed, but please, have back ups and just don’t keep tweaking.

On time management

Manage your time effectively — you won’t have as much as you want or need. Keep the book alive by making notes … when you have spare moments.

Of course in relation to the previous point about the right tools — it is great to be able to work anywhere, but you most likely won’t be able to work everywhere. When you are not specifically writing is often when the best ideas come to you. Notebooks, a sheet of paper, a phone — all perfect tools for that killer scene, idea, or great line from one of the main characters. Anything you’d really prefer not to forget.

One of the main benefits in taking notes one my iPhone is the ability to send text to whatever digital tool you might be doing your writing in (assuming it is digital — I acknowledge some brave souls do this with pen and paper in longhand). I found this useful on a couple of occasions where a note became several hundred words, and it was far more efficient to drop them into the story than rewrite from handwritten notes.

Whatever you use here doesn’t matter. Just get those thoughts down.

While we’re talking about managing your time effectively, I would also add a comment about the lead in to the November 1 kickoff. Only making the final decision to participate in last years event a couple of days before it commenced, left a less than ideal lead in as far as planning and organisation are concerned. I had the bare bones of a plot outline in my head, however my point is, even if you are feeling rather less than prepared — it can be done. The rest of my planning and organisation came along as the story progressed.

When in doubt and the calendar clicks over to November 1 — just get going and let your characters take you at least the first part of the way. Now is a good time to glance at your calendar though — see that? There are still a few good planning days left before this mayhem begins.

On writing your way out of it

Mr Hewson sir, if only I had enough talent to write my way into it in the first place!

But here’s the hard truth: the most dangerous place any writer can find him or herself is the moment you think, ‘I can find out what I want to write by writing it.’

All right then — point taken. I guess the last thing you want to do is waste a few thousand words on a scene which takes you in entirely the wrong direction. Perhaps something to remember from our expert about taking a break to reassess:

Writing’s also sitting in a bar with a beer daydreaming about the book

Is it? Is it really? Of course it is — remember what we said about when those great ideas are going to come to you?

Probably wise words indeed. Just don’t make that the thicker end of the writing wedge — sit in that bar for too long and those ideas eventually will make no sense at all. Might I suggest a calming single malt could be an even better way to go about it, however I restate one of the original points — the tools don’t matter!

Back on track with my two cents here: Resist the urge to rewrite at all costs! Mostly. Absolutely, stop, think and perhaps head in another direction — but do anything you can to avoid rewriting too much as you go along.

Just remember — this is NaNoWriMo, and if it is your first, perhaps this is also your first full draft. You will likely write more words in the coming month than perhaps you’ve written in the past twelve — maybe longer. You just don’t have the time to make this perfect. This is not putting the finishing touches to your life’s work. It is not your masterpiece — not yet.

In the words of six-time participant/three-time winner Katie Maguire on her blog I Have Things to Say:

First drafts are shit

And there it is. The honest truth. If you’ll pardon me repeating that, my first draft is sitting in a draw with a couple of initial annotations made, and is still, well… shit (apologies again, I’m done with the language — it’s just that sometimes there is only one way to describe something, particularly if that is also the very word I said aloud upon first reading back over my draft).

If you get part, half or just about all the way through and begin to think: you know, this probably really isn’t that great. Guess what? Probably half of the other millions of WriMos are thinking the exact same thing. Others might be lying to themselves, and still others might (after many revisions) get published, however as the month goes on, everyone’s eyes are on the same prize — that 50k finish line.

Just. Keep. Going. Get it done.

On simple being better

Written in bold, with the suggestion to print out and keep, Hewson gives us the following:

Simplicity is always harder than complexity.

The point here is simple. A story told in a simple, straightforward way is far easier to understand than something overly complex simply for complexity’s sake. How to recognise it? Try this example:

You’ve just decided part way through this is actually a two-era story, part of which will take place in the modern day and the rest in Regency England featuring a mirror cast.

Thank you Mr Hewson, with that laugh out loud example above, we are just about done.

I would add here that the same rules apply to individual scenes or pieces of dialogue from your beloved characters. That said, sometimes you just need complex. An example? I give you, that classic piece of cinematography, Wayne’s World, where one of our heroes, Garth Algar hatches the “simplest” of plans:

OK… First I’ll access the secret military spy satellite that’s in a geosynchronous orbit over the Midwest. Then, I’ll ID the limo by the vanity plate “MR. BIGGG” and get his approximate position. Then, I’ll reposition the transmitter dish on the remote truck to 17.32 degrees east, hit WESTAR 4 over the Atlantic, bounce the signal down into the Azores, up to COMSAT 6, beam it back to SATCOM 2 transmitter number 137, and down on the dish on the back of Mr. Big’s limo… It’s almost too easy.

Complexity, when used for effect, can be quite powerful, however unless you have a real knack for clarity, it can certainly weigh things down over time.

My advice? Just write it as you’d think it or say it. Speak the scene out loud — even just in your head. Simple just works, and is an efficient way to plough on with the story. It also makes the whole thing much more readable for those who might eventually be on the other side of this situation. That’s right — your readers.

In conclusion

Truth be told, I’ve probably written almost as many words about NaNoWriMo as I’ve written in it. Who knows, last year may have been my one and only shot. If so, I am happy with how it turned out, and is something I would recommend to anyone considering having a go. It is indeed an exhilarating ride.

If that is you, then I hope some of what I’ve written here might help a little, or a lot. Perhaps it won’t help at all, and you’ll get “stuck in” and come out a winner in precisely your own way. In all honesty it will likely be the latter, given how different we all are, which is of course the best part of it. I’ll look forward to hearing how you went, what you found most useful, and if you don’t mind, perhaps use a few of your tips next time I find myself knee-deep in words one November.

So, November is indeed coming, and so is a flurry of words. Good luck with that word count, have fun, and be sure to raise your arms when you pass the 50,000.

I’ll certainly be cheering for you.

Decent Human Beings

/ Pete Denison / 1 Comment

Two nights ago I stood during the opening of my children’s high school awards night.1 During the convocation by the school chaplain, we stood in prayer, which included: “we pray that we shall walk with integrity and act as decent human beings”.

Those familiar with a certain disagreement recently played out online may immediately conclude this is simply another post about such matters. In many ways I guess it must be about that — yet at the same time it isn’t. While the impetus for this post may in some way be related to those events, it is in large part due to the simple, yet powerful message I relayed in the introductory paragraph.

Every day I am thankful for the wonderful people I interact with online through the communities I am lucky enough to be a part of. I wouldn’t say I know those I interact with in the traditional sense of the word. Lets face it, most of them live on continents distant from my own, although thankfully at least a few are a little closer than that. We pop in and out of each others timelines, in boxes and lives. We offer and receive advice, encouragement, maybe a little ribbing — and are perhaps even set straight about things every once in a while.

This is all in a way which conveys the utmost respect for each other. We act with integrity. We act as decent human beings.

I cannot imagine turning up to an online world in which I am constantly in conflict with others in it. Perhaps that is in large part why many opinions I keep to myself. That is a personal decision. If you can make your point well enough in 140 characters for example, by all means do so. The number of draft tweets I delete suggests there are many times I don’t believe I can — or at least be clear enough about what I am intending to convey.

Speaking of what I am intending to convey, I can sense I am now heading towards where I did not intend to go with this post, so let me finish by saying this: I teach my children to act with integrity and as decent human beings, and the school I choose to send them to shares those values. In my own life, whether online or off, surely — surely, the very least I can do is the same.

So I am grateful to those of you who make this online place a positive one for me. Those who also share these same values. Thank you for acting as decent human beings.

 

  1. A proud father indeed, both earning academic excellence awards for their efforts throughout the year. ↩︎

 

Wiser Web Wednesday

/ 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:

 

Covered Podcast Blog
Covered is bi-weekly podcast about writers and their books.

In this post, creator and host Harry C. Marks reflects on what he has learned over the past year in producing what is easily one of my favourite podcasts.

There are six great points here, most relate to podcasting, however there is also one about reading and writing — Don’t Just Read What You Know. My attempts to get back into reading more over the past 12 months have been in no small way influenced by Covered, and for that reason, I am especially grateful.

A fantastic, tightly edited and superbly produced show — very much looking forward to Season 2:
One Year Later

 

TOW Centre For Digital Journalism
As I’m sure regular readers will know — the Lore podcast by Aaron Mahnke is another of my favourites. Following along on Twitter (and the iTunes charts) over the past 6 months or so, it has become clear that Lore’s popularity has trended upwards fairly sharply.

If you’ve listened to the show yourself, you’ll know there is nothing curious about Lore’s success, however in today’s podcast market, it is indeed rare:
The Curious Success of Lore: A Case Study

 

512 Pixels
Stephen Hackett with some good points to consider, if, like myself, you are moving from Evernote to the native Mac and iOS Notes apps (also check out the follow-up piece here).

Given the major overhaul of Notes which occurred with the introduction of iOS 9, I am hopeful of further improvements coming in the future. I can live with the UI, however it would indeed be great to have better sorting options and tagging.

Having never quite been 100% happy with Evernote, I am particularly enjoying the ability to efficiently send notes to the app from anywhere which has access to the share sheet, along with the ability to add what I am sending to a current note.

I am also hopeful (and somewhat optimistic) Apple will never repeatedly yell at me about features within the app which I had repeatedly declined (read the footnotes):
Notes on Notes.app

 

Chambers Daily
There is also this:

Evernote hasn’t added a feature in a long time that I cared about. It was a platform that was standing still for me. It was a platform that I was invested in with my time and my money, and I felt less and less confident about its future.

Not an insignificant move from someone who wrote Learning to Love Evernote a few short years ago:
Learning to Leave Evernote

 

Fountain Pen Economics
You know a post is going to be interesting when my name is mentioned in it. Ha!

In all seriousness, you know a post is going to be interesting when you think to yourself — wow, that hits the nail on the head about many of the reasons why I write this blog, but I had never really thought about in that way.

Another great post yet again from the pen community’s resident economist:
Blogging and Human Capital

 

Brewing Coffee Manually
Hat tip to Brian Renshaw for this one.

A list of terms worth scanning through if you are inclined to increase your coffee vocabulary. For example:

Cascara – Spanish for “husk,” cascara refers to a coffee tea that is made from the dried coffee fruit that is removed from the green coffee seed.

While you’re there, be sure to click on the Mugshots menu at the top of the page:
Manual Brewing Coffee Glossary

 

The Pen Habit
The publication of this great review by The Pen Habit coincides with my own post from a couple of days ago on the Pilot Prera. Whenever I read reviews on pens I have written about, I invariably tend to see all of the things I’ve left out of my own.

In considering that point though, experience and time in this game count for much, and I’m happy to tell you about what I like or don’t like — leaving some of the finer points for those more expert than myself, as is the case here.

By the way – I liked the Prera too:
Pen Review: Pilot Prera

 

Pens! Paper! Pencils!
More than simply another great review of a pretty attractive pen. With the reference to another review of the same pen (the link to which I highly recommend clicking), Ian highlights the variations in opinion which occur in something like pen reviews. I say this not as a negative — but something to be expected, and why there are always enough links to share around.

This one has a price tag which is a little more than I’d be prepared to pay:
Bespoke British Pens Conway-Stewart Winston Fountain Pen Review

 

Alt. Haven
This is a truly impressive looking pen. From the matte black finish, the 21K nib, right through to the name.

I mean, it even sounds impressive:
Review: Sailor Pro Gear Imperial Black

 

Pax Coffea
Although seemingly obvious on its own:

The point of all this is that our perception of coffee and our description of coffee flavors is very dependent on the culture we learn about tasting in. Two tasters, tasting the very same thing, will use different language to describe it.

This is a fascinating read about why the blackcurrant and blackberry flavour descriptors exist in the UK and the US respectively, and what role White Pine trees have in all this:
Why Kenyan Coffee Tastes Different in the UK and the US – or How the Government Controls Your Flavor Descriptors

 

Matt Gemmell
I have written, rewritten and subsequently  scrapped links to, and short posts on what has been going on regarding this online “discussion” around app pricing and business models — well, that is what it should have been about, however quickly turned to people, not issues.

I strongly recommend reading this, and clicking the links contained therein for context. In the absence of linking to posts documenting the whole saga here, this is a considered piece which sums up much of my thinking as I looked on at developments over the past week or so.

Putting anything together even half as eloquent as the words in Matt’s piece being well and truly beyond me, you should definitely read the post. Me? I’m just enjoying Pocket Casts again:
Responsibility