G-Tec Mistakes and Leuchturm Love

Perhaps I ought to name this blog Pen Blunders because lately I've had more than my fair share of them. First I broke the nib of my new Noodler Flex Pen and now I've ordered (and received) the wrong pens! I wanted Hi-Tec-C pens to see why everyone raves about them but what I actually ordered was G-Tec pens. From looking on the internet, it seems that it is the same pen with inferior ink.

Still I like the pens. I have the size 4mm but probably I would like the 5mm better. It is true that my handwriting is a lot smaller with the narrow nibs but I like the wider ones myself.

Leuchturm 1917 notebook which came is fabulous. I hope I can work up my courage to put a mark in the beautiful thing! What a lovely notebook. I like the way that the dots barely show up on the paper, the pagination and the attention to detail. It makes me wish I was on the board of some important company or an artist. I'm not worthy!

Zuretake Zig Letter Pen CocoIro

Today I finally made friends with my Kuretake Zig Letter Pen CocoIro. I received it from JetPens some time ago but this is a pen that takes some getting used to, at least for me. It has an odd flexible tip, you see. Suddenly today I found myself reaching for it instead of other pens and thinking I quite liked the way it felt on paper and the way I could make the line thicker or finer by the amount of pressure. I'll be ordering some more colors both for the pen body and the refills. I have a pink body and blue ink right now.

Basic Suri Tips

My nephew recently got his first iPhone and turned to me as a long time user with the question "What apps should I download?" I'm sorry to say that he got a blank stare and the counter question in return, "What do you want to do with it?"

He didn't know mainly because he has no idea what a smart phone does and, it turns out, I didn't know much more. Sure, I bought my first iPhone 3 or 4 years ago but I haven't kept up and I'm no businessman, like he is. So, sitting outside on the porch, we explored Suri first.

Tip #1- Fill in the data for yourself and your contacts so that Suri will know basics.

Tip #2 - Rather than flail around with commands hold down the home button (this brings up Suri) and tap on the i in the right hand lower corner. Up pops a list of suggested commands and questions and if you tap on each one, more suggestions about phrasing or things Suri can do. Until our back porch session, I did not know that.

I thought, in the enthusiasm of discovering pen and paper blogs and podcasts, that I wished to write one of my own. After listening to and reading a bunch of blogs, however, I find I am bored by pen reviews. Paper and notebooks are still interesting to me as are the blogs of people who draw. Tech blogs have moved to the forefront but only a certain kind. I've become a little more discriminating and that is a good thing.

I'm trying to help my nephew learn to use his new iPhone, something which I felt comfortable about since I have used one for three or four years. It has been what is called a lowering experience because I don't use it to its full capability or (as it turns out) even know how much it will do! Why have such a spiffy phone if I don't at least try to use its features?

So I am going to change the name of this blog (something I can do because it isn't being read by anyone except the dear Russian bots) and post about my experience and anything else I wish to post about instead of limiting it to pens and paper.

Cutting the Cord

...and now for a short break from pens and paper.

Last month Comcast upped their charges one more time and I decided to cut the cord, go cable-less. It was the tipping point for me. I bought an Apple TV - and that certainly is a tiny thing, a whole lot smaller than the monstrous cable box, by the way - and registered for a Netflix account.

After that, I realized that I had been mindlessly flipping on the tv just for noise in the house which, if you have to deliberately choose a program, is too much trouble, for me anyway. So, the television only went on when I really wanted to watch it. Refreshing. Plus I began listening to podcasts while washing the dishes and cooking. Or an audiobook. I think my IQ rose a couple of points.

But something was missing, namely House Hunters International. It turns out I really like to see apartments and houses, the way people live, in different parts of the world and I missed it. So I discovered AirPlay, an incredibly easy way to watch PBS, HGTV, ABC and the Discovery Channel. By downloading those channel's apps to the iPad, and pushing a button, suddenly I was able to watch Sherlock Holmes and other television shows. So far I am not sorry I cut the cord.

Doane Notebooks

This is not really a review of a Doane Paper Notebook, more my impressions after using it for a day. Thing I instantly liked: the rough sturdy pressed paper cover in grey. It looks like something that I imagine an architect or tech person would carry, suitable not just for notes but technical drawings. Thing I wasn't so certain about: the gridline paper. I wasn't at all sure about the darker lines and the contrast with the white paper. It seemed too busy for me.

Now that I've used it a day or so, I like the darker lines. I like having all that space divided into three more spaces. I can write tiny and large, put my glyphs on top, center them, at the bottom or use the whole space. It gives me so many choices and then I can add color without worrying that it is going to bleed through. Only the red-orangy Platinum Preppy highlighter can be seen on the other side and that is to be expected: I am not using highlighter ink in it. Even so, it doesn't bleed through or feather. Fountain pen ink doesn't either. And did I mention how smooth the paper is? It is. I'm liking this notebook a lot so far.

Sad Pen News

How quick was that? The Goulet Pen Company couldn't have been faster. The package arrived yesterday on my doorstep at noon when I was home for lunch. I took the Noodler's Flex Pen and a bottle of ink back to work with me to play with when I had time. I ordered a pretty bright pink pen and no disappointment there. It is as lovely as I could wish. I now have two pink pens... although the Noodlers isn't usable right now.

This is is first for me. I broke it. Yes, I did. I read a bit of the instructions, loaded the pen with Diamine Florida Blue and began writing. It was scratchy. This is my very first flex pen and I should have done some research about it. Instead I messed with the nib trying to get it to not be so scratchy, then I messed with it more to get the ink to come out right. In the end, the pen wouldn't write at all. My fault, all of it, because I took my frustration out on the pen rather than step back and do some reading. I'll try to get a replacement nib and this time do the research before I wreck the nib.