Random Ruminations: Writing

Sailor Sei Boku Ink Review

Posted Wed Dec 21, 2011 in Writing

I recently received a sample of Sailor Sei Boku (blue-black) ink. I’m on the search for the perfect blue-black ink. Blue-black is one of my favorite colors because it’s not just black, but looks good when used at the office. The trick is finding an ink that looks good (to me) and behaves well.

I’m in the process of trying several new inks. I have a (too-large) bottle of Noodler’s Blue-Black. I love the color, but the ink will not dry on good-quality paper. On cheap copy paper it’s fine; but in my Rhodia journal it will not dry.

This ink is good. It dries much faster than the Noodler’s Blue-Black and is better behaved than Bad Belted Kingfisher. I have a sample of Bad Blue Heron that will be tested sometime over the next couple of weeks. I’ll post a review here (and on Fountain Pen Network).

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Green Esterbrook J Model

Posted Mon Dec 19, 2011 in Writing

This green Esterbrook J model is a pen I picked up off eBay a few months ago. When it came to me, the nib wasn’t in very good condition and the ink sac was “ossified” — which is a ten-dollar word for useless because it is no longer pliable. The pen was not in usable condition.

The next thing I noticed is the mismatch between the colors of the cap and the barrel. I thought that there was some aging of the plastic cap (the pen was probably made in the 1950s). But, on further reflection I think it’s a mismatched cap and body. Either the owner messed up and had two greens or there was a problem with the cap and it was replaced by the seller.

In some sense it doesn’t matter much to me. I replaced the ink sac, cleaned up the pressure bar, and replaced the nib with a new Esterbrook 9556 (firm fine) nib. The pen is my daily writer. I use a green-black ink (Noodler’s Zhivago) that has strong water-resistant characteristics, but doesn’t look too green in this pen. The writing in the image is the ink.

It’s a good pen, fits me well, and writes reliably. The end jewels are in good condition and so is the cap and barrel. So, regardless of the color mismatch, I’m going to continue using this pen. It’s a good writer.

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Noodler's Texas Bluebonnet Ink

Posted Wed Nov 9, 2011 in Writing

A few days ago I posted a review of Noodler’s Bad Belted Kingfisher ink. It’s a great color and works well in my pens.

I received a sample of Texas Bluebonnet from a FPN a few weeks ago. I love bluebonnets! I loaded my Lamy Al-Star with the ink and played with it until the pen went dry. I then flushed the pen and stowed it for the next sample.

After I wrote my BBK review, one of the FPN members asked about TB. So, I wrote this review last weekend.

Texas Bluebonnet meets a lot of my needs with the exception of water resistance. Therefore, although I love the color, it will not be in my regular rotation of inks.

Still, it’s a good color…

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Noodler's Bad Belted Kingfisher Ink

Posted Sun Nov 6, 2011 in Writing

I write with a fountain pen every day. Some of that writing is just for me in my notes and journals. Some is for work where I have to communicate. So, my fountain pens receive daily use.

One of the things I like about fountain pens is the selection of ink. There is a mind-bending variety of inks available for fountain pens — far more than available for pre-filled rollerballs and ballpoints. This is part of the fun/interest and also can be daunting.

My requirements for an ink are pretty simple. The ink must work in my pens. That’s not generally a problem. The ink must be waterproof and permanent. I don’t want my ink to smear if a drop of water falls on it. I want my ink to last in my notes and journals longer than the thermal printing on a credit card receipt. Finally, the ink must have a color that pleases me.

Therein is the rub. There are many colors (too many) and finding the right shade is a challenge. However, I’m working on that. The image is of my review of Noodler’s Bad Belted Kingfisher. It’s a medium blue that has some turquoise in it (at least to my eye). I could use this ink in my daily writing, at least as far as the color is concerned.

It will disperse if wet, but doesn’t wash off. I think the wet-smearing is acceptable for a routine-use ink. It would probably work for signing documents as well because tampering would be evident.

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(Mostly Free) Math Fonts

Posted Fri Jan 7, 2011 in Writing

I like mathematics and I like the appearance of text and mathematics typeset using Don Knuth’s TeX system (with Leslie Lamport’s LaTeX macros). I’m always on the lookout for beautiful fonts to express the things I write, even if I’m saddled with a crappy sans-serif font for work-related publications.

Michael Sharpe posted this sampler on the OS X TeX mailing list today. It’s worth looking at. Some of the fonts are strikingly beautiful.

Enjoy.

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The Muse

Posted Sun Oct 24, 2010 in Writing

Moleskine Journal In a recent post, Deb writes about writing and encourages some of her readers to write. I follow Deb’s Twitter feed and noticed the post. I like her writing, so I followed the link.

I started writing professionally in graduate school. My Master’s thesis was written on yellow legal pads by hand. I knew about cut-and-paste, but it was the scissors and Scotch tape kind (Scotch Magic Tape rocks!), not with a pointing device and a computer. My poor advisor had to read my hen-scratching. At my first post-college job, reports were written by hand or dictated, then edited once the word processor (a person) finished preparing a draft.

One of the engineers in my office (a senior-level engineer) bought an Osborne computer in 1983. I saw the utility of the machine immediately, but it wasn’t until 1984 that I bought my first computer. That story is told in other places, such as here. That was when I started writing using a computer and I’ll never go back.

Well, that’s not entirely true… I write daily in a Moleskine journal. But, that’s another part of the story.

Once I finished my Ph.D., my professional writing took a stronger tone. I wrote reports, papers for publication, and much correspondence. That’s all business writing, but it does help hone skills. The practice of assembling nouns, verbs, and modifiers into complete sentences, paragraphs, and sections is common to all writing tasks. Writing (and reading your copy) is practice regardless of the purpose.

Almost ten years ago I stumbled on my first weblogs. I thought it would be interesting to have a non-professional forum for some of my thoughts. Random Ruminations was born from that notion. About the same time I was dealing with a clinical depression and began writing journals as part of my way of dealing with my struggles. Journal writing became part of my routine.

I wrote for awhile for About This Particular Macintosh, a monthly periodical run by volunteers. That was a good experience and if my life settles down a bit I might pick it up again, if they’ll have me. The discipline of writing for a deadline is good discipline.

Why is this important? What does it have to do with my answer to Deb’s request? Well, I think history is a big part of why I do what I do. My preference is to write early in the morning. If I’m going to write a weblog essary (as this morning), I prefer to do it when I’m relatively fresh and my subconscious mind has had a chance to “ruminate.” I also write in the evening after work, but that is usually when I’m working in my paper (Moleskine) journal. I sometimes pick up my journal during the day and scratch a few notes or a some fragments of thoughts to go back and track down later. But, the real writing, where I write about what I’m thinking and feeling, as well as what I observe, is done either first thing in the morning or near the last of the day.

The former allows me to collect my subconscious work — the collection and processing of data from the last day or few days, or just something I’m thinking about. The latter allows me to analyze the day’s activities and thoughts and provides fodder for the larger part of my mind (my subconscious) to process while I sleep and do other things.

I think that answers the “how” and “when” questions. The bigger question is “why?” and it is more difficult to answer. I recall reading what others wrote about why they write. I think most writers write because they must. There is something within them that drives them to put words in the computer or strike pen to paper.

I’m not sure I can quantify why I write. Much of my writing is part of my professional life. People who hire me need a written report to move their project forward. I put a lot of effort into my reports. They are not perfect, but they approach the best I can do. The remainder of my writing — what is published here and what is unpublished in my paper journals — is for me. That writing constitutes my viewpoint on things that interest me, things that happen to me, and is something I intended (from the beginning) to leave for my children and grandchildren so they would have some “Dad words” when I die.

In my world, “Dad words” are akin to “God words,” although they obviously don’t carry the same import. I remember a lot of my dad’s words and the wisdom and life experience they carried. I always thought of those a “God words” provided through my dad. I wish I had more “Dad words” in my conscious collection, because dad had a lot of good things to say. He also had a lot of funny aphorisms that carried wisdom, and a lot of those are still with me (as well as with my kids, I’ve come to learn).

Perhaps it is the nature of things for dads to miss their dads. I can’t really say. I know I miss mine and think he died too soon before I was old enough to fully appreciate him. It isn’t that I didn’t appreciate him when I was younger, but my understanding of him and my appreciation for his thinking and wisdom grows as I age.

I think that’s my motivation, but who really knows what goes on in this biological computer that sits on my shoulders. Who really understands the motivation of a writer or artist of any kind. I know I don’t.

But I appreciate what they do… and I appreciate that they do.

N.B. There is another bit (not much) on The Muse in my weblog. I forgot!

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Ebooks

Posted Tue Jan 19, 2010 in Writing

I’m seriously thinking about taking some of my writings and compiling an ebook. Smashwords is a potential outlet for ebooks. I know I can produce the text. The question is whether it will sell or languish.

One of the reasons I’m interested is because I think I finally understand that the way to build a good business is to sell a product and not a service. The income from selling my time is limited because my time is a finite quantity. However, the potential income from a product is not limited by my time, but by the number of potential end-users of the product.

I don’t know why I’m so dense that I didn’t think about this years ago. But it’s the truth.

So, I wonder if there’s enough market for what I do best to provide an income stream that will help me out when I retire.

I think I have a couple of how-to books that I could write pretty quickly. There should be three, I think, that are related, but sufficiently different that they justify a different treatment. The first would be on writing a Master’s thesis (and a bit on the supporting research), the second would be on writing a dissertation (and also a bit on the research), and the final would be on writing an engineering report. I have direct experience with all three and have overseen a buttload of them as well.

I’m just thinking at the moment, but those three things really come to mind quickly. Any comments?

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