The Powers That Be over at Palimpsest are accepting submissions for their Pick-a-Pen and Post-a-Stub page! If you have a story to share about your favorite writing instrument, and don’t have a blog, or simply want to diversify your byline, check it out. Tell ’em Andy sent you. I think I’ll be submitting something too, as soon as I figure out what to talk about. I do have some good pen stories… Continue reading
Month: September 2010
Save a tree, write with a newspaper
Editor’s Note: I originally wrote a review of these two products for the now-defunct PencilThings.com blog in December, 2007. Nearly 3 years later, I am re-reviewing them. Check out the original review at the Internet Archive. (warning — there is a jarring lack of CSS styling. Scroll down for the article)
Left: The TreeSmart HB Right: The O'Bon Protect Wildlife 2B
Here’s something I have never resolved in my love of pencils: the wood consumption. Although I would not consider myself an environmental activist, I try to live my life in a green manner — I drive a fuel-efficient small car. I recycle. I use the blank backsides of paper. I use travel mugs, not paper cups. Et cetera, et cetera.
So when I watched this video, sure — it makes me feel guilty: Continue reading
Open Thread Tuesdays: Best way to photograph pencils
On other blogs that I’ve been part of, we’ve occasionally set aside a post every once in a while for discussion. I would love to get a dialog going between all of the online pencil bloggers, users, and collectors, because I think we can all benefit from sharing advice, tips, specific interests, etc.
So here goes: I’ll post a topic to get us started, and feel free to keep us on my topic, or start your own. No real guidelines, just keep it clean (as I know you will).
Image shamelessly copied from Blackwing Pages. Seriously, check him out.
TOPIC: I am not the best photographer in the world. But I want to get some really good pictures of some of my pencils, like Blackwing Pages, or get amazingly detailed pics like the monthly wallpaper from Pencil Revolution. Am I better off putting them on a flatbed scanner, or using a camera? If so, what sort of light is best? Any tips on creating a good depth-of-field?
The Everlasting Gobstopper of pencils
I saw a post a few days ago on the Wired Gadget Lab, a friend of gadgetry high-tech and low-tech alike, about “the continuous pencil“, which is a really cool concept. It is still a concept, mind you, but the design is pretty genius. You have a series of wooden pencils that are slotted. When one wears down until it’s too small to hold, just pop a new one on the back and continue. Continue reading
It’s a mystery!
I got a beautiful Rhodia academic planner in the mail, and I don’t know where it came from! I may have to try it out and review it…
Woodclinched 