Editing The Pen Addict 61/transcript (section)

== Pen Reviews ==


'''Brad Dowdy:''' I haven't. I haven't. You know, the more I work on, like, my top five list, the more I realize how many pens I have not reviewed. So, yeah, I need to get a review done on that, too.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I mean, it's as beautiful as I expected. Like, you know, there's no way to doubt that. Like, I was wondering before I received it if it was going to be, like, a sticker or whatever. But this is actually made of wood, you know. And, I mean, it's not entirely wood. Right. But there's, you know, there's another wooden version, the bamboo edition, which I really love as well. And, yeah, I'm really, really happy with it. Quite a nice touch on these is they're numbered. They're all individually numbered. Yeah.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah. So, I've got number 91 etched into the top of mine. Nice. And they made 100, right?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' 500. 500.

'''Myke Hurley:''' 500.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. So, Dan, you actually, you know, being the machine pen master, you actually have one of these as well.

'''Dan Bishop:''' Right. And it's number 66. Nice number.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. That's real good. Yeah. Mine's up in the three something. Mine's just some, like, random, like, 368 or 349, something like that. Yeah. I like y'all's numbers better. Yeah. Yeah. So, what do you think about a pen like this, Dan? That's, it's, it's a little bit different than, you know, what you're, what you're manufacturing or what you've been using there.

'''Dan Bishop:''' Um, it's, it's pretty fantastic. In fact, uh, you know, Myke, Myke, the dude, Dudek, and I went to, cause he's local. We went to, uh, our local, uh, pen shop, Scottsdale pen. And the, he had one and I had planned on picking one up, uh, a, any retro 51, but he had one of the surfs. And, and we both kind of looked at each other and I saw that it was number 66 and I have a 1966 Volkswagen Beetle that I drive. So, I had to have it. Yeah. That was fate. It was fate. No, but it's, it's really nice. Um, uh, I didn't know what to expect cause I, I'd never had a retro 51 before, but the, the walnut on the pen is, is really, really nice. And, uh, the, the refill that they use is, is, is beautiful and I'm, I'm really happy with it.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Um, yeah, I think, I think I'm not, I don't have as many or as a huge a variety as Myke does, but, um, I think this is easily, easily my favorite one so far. Um, it's, it's extremely well done and it's, it's, it's just cool. It's just a cool pen and, um, they, they did a good job on that.

'''Myke Hurley:''' So, yeah, I really liked the styling of it. I mean, it's, it's a really classy pen. I, I, I think it's very, it's, it's beautiful in its own way. Like I really like the, um, the, they, they have a top on each of the pens. So on the top, they have like a little circular disc and usually they're plastic and they, they have a color underneath. But on this one, they, it's all, um, I assume it's aluminum, um, aluminum as I would typically say. Um, some metal, I actually don't know what the metal is, but it's the metal. It's like a metal disc instead of a plastic disc, which I thought was a really nice touch as well. It's got a real great weight to it because the, the, the metal gives it a nice balance, but the wood keeps it light. Yeah, exactly. As opposed to the other ones, which are slightly heavier.

'''Dan Bishop:''' Well, no, this was my first retro 51 and I was excited because I was hoping it would come in one of the aluminum tubes, but it came in one of the cardboard tubes. Yeah.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I prefer the cardboard tube and I think that this is new packaging because the ACE came in a cardboard tube as well.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. I think they've switched up a bunch of the packaging. I think Mary Collis was talking about that. Um, when she, she ordered something else recently and it didn't come at the show, I think she was disappointed. It didn't come in the aluminum package or somewhat someone was. And I think they're just, I think they're switching up the packaging nowadays or it might've been Anna from a well appointed desk. What someone was, uh, you know, looking forward to, you know, the, the cool tube and the pop sound that it makes. And yeah, but the last snapper I bought and the retro 51 surf I bought both came. Yeah. And the cardboard tube, which is fine. I mean, I don't have a super problem with that. I mean, they, they're still keeping the same, you know, the retro style branding, but yeah, it doesn't come in those cool aluminum tubes anymore. But I bet you could still find some.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I like how they, they have the foam in though. So when you take the top off, it's just like presented there. Um, and that wasn't the case before. I mean, they were kind of in like a, um, like a felt sleeve, which was just inside the, the, like the, the, uh, the metal tube. I think, I mean, naturally I have too many of those tubes. So I was happy to have some new packaging.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. Yeah. It's basically like if you, if you pop the cardboard tube now, it's almost like a stand. It's almost like a pin, individual pin stand. It stands up vertically in the bottom, bottom foam section and just kind of, kind of stands up and you could display it like that if you were so inclined. But yeah, cool. Well, what else, what else you got going on, Mr. Hurley? I know you, uh, we talked recently about, uh, you wanted to make some, some changes to your, to your field notes repertoire. So what do you got going on?

'''Myke Hurley:''' For the last week, um, I've been carrying, um, a field notes, dark sky and the space pen around with me, um, on a daily basis. Um, and I've kind of, I filled up a good chunk of, of a book already. Like, but I've found that what I'm putting in here is exactly the type of thing that I feel should be going in, um, a field notes book. So like I've got, um, I've written down, um, some definitions for success. I'm literally going through what this is now. Yeah. What I've got in here, I've got a little drawing that I did, um, for just random doodling. Um, an outline of a blog post, um, a new business idea, some notes for a business idea I'm thinking about, um, a to-do list for that business idea. Um, notes from a telephone call that I made, um, the network, the monthly network download numbers, um, for me to track our sponsorships with. Um, some technical stuff about recordings. I need to try and change some of our recording stuff. I have some, uh, purchase order numbers for work, um, and a wireframe of an email. Um, and basically, I've also got my Wi-Fi password in here because I had to restore my phone. That's right. And this feels like I've finally using a field notes for what it's kind of intended to. They have a great, like, motto, um, like a slogan, and I'll probably butcher this, but it's, I'm not writing it down to remember it later. I'm writing it down to remember it now. Mm-hmm. Um, and that always spoke to me because I've, I take notes a lot, um, especially for work, but I very rarely refer back to the notes because I find that if I write something down, I'm more inclined to remember it, or it just helps me, um, to think about things in a deeper way if I'm able to take notes at the same time. Um, so the types of things that I'm taking notes in field notes for, uh, most of the time, you know, things that I don't need to keep forever, but I'm enjoying having it in my pocket, and carrying around a book, it gives a book a totally different character. Like, the corner's afraid, like, it's battered, um, you know, because I'm just taking it in and out of my pocket all day, um, and it's just going around with me, and I'm finding that, like, the warmth of it being there as well is, like, sort of just softening the book. It's very strange. Mm-hmm. Um, but, you know, none of my field notes have looked like this before. They've always been pristine because they've either been in the box or they've been on my desk. Right. But no, I'm, I'm, and I think that the space pen is the right choice, in all honesty. So it's very simple, it's very light, and it's very small, and I actually don't even notice it being in my pocket. So where I appreciate all of the suggestions that people were sending in, and we've got a bunch of them, I didn't actually find that any were really, um, what I was looking for. So, like, they either didn't come with, um, uh, like, clips, or there wasn't easily, easily, like, buyable clips and addable clips onto them, or they were, like, too long, um, or too wide, and none of them really seemed to fit the purpose like the space pen does, in all honesty. So I'm really enjoying it, and I'm, I'm pleased because I'm, you know, I have a lot of notebooks here, um, so I should start using them.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, and I, from what it sounds like the, the contents are, and what you're using it for, that's exactly what it should be used for, and that sounds, I mean, almost verbatim of, like, what's in, what's in mind, and, you know, just carrying it around, like you said, it, it, it makes it more personal, you know, in the, in the, the, the carry of it, you know, just the wear, and, and, and, you know, how the, the, the patina on the notebook, and then the, the contents are more personal when you, you were carrying it around, you know, more frequently getting those, you know, ideas at the time you have the ideas, and, and, and putting them down, and just, um, you know, keeping track of it.

'''Myke Hurley:''' You know, there are some notes that I still take on my phone, because I feel that they're best there. Um, like, I'm, you know, I'm thinking about, um, writing something about how to take good interviews, like an interview 101. Right. And I don't really know where I put it, but, you know, I, I feel like I've amassed some knowledge now. Um, so that's on my phone, because that's like a, just, it just seems like the right place for it, and I have, like, people I want to interview on, on Command Space. Um, stuff like, so I, I, there are some things that I feel need, that are longer term. Um, because, like, when that Field Notes book's done, anything that's in that book won't be with me every day anymore, and that, they're the sort of things that I want to have around all the time in their, you know, in their, their original form.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Right. Yeah, a lot of my stuff goes in the Field Notes first, and then, and then some of the things, like, you're talking about, um, that I need some more permanents, I'll, I'll transfer, you know, digitally in my phone or, or somewhere else.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah, so, like, one thing that I've been doing, um, was, like, sometimes I, you know, I, I will take, like, some of the business-y stuff I've got in there, I will take out, and I will write that into something, um, at some point. But, like, with some stuff, I just take a picture of the note.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, I've done that, too. I've done that, too, for sure.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I needed those numbers, the number, like, the download numbers to put into the spreadsheet that I keep, um, so I just took a picture of it, so I wouldn't, in case I lost it or whatever.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. Dan, do you, do you carry any paper around with you? Like, if you're in the shop, or going home, or going, or going out, do you, do you carry anything? You, are you, uh, as, as, uh, as crazy as us?

'''Dan Bishop:''' Um, yes and no. At the shop, uh, come, coming from, um, school and stuff, we did a lot of sketching and, and note writing on loose paper, just blank, like, copy paper. So, at work, my desk is, uh, in a, in a sordid pile of that. Some of it's folded in half for convenience sake, but I have, uh, a moleskin and a, uh, oh, I can't remember the name of it. It's a spiral bound, uh, sketchbook that I carry. I don't, I don't carry any lined, um, notebooks because most of the time, uh, I'll be doodling or if I do write, I, I don't feel like I need the lines. So, um, but the field notes, I have a few of them and, uh, I feel very constrained to write within the height of the grid in the one that I have. And so, it's great for, I have a list for my Volkswagen, actually, of stuff that I want to fix or repair or maintain on it. And, um, it works great for that because I can take a, you know, like a high-tech C or something and I can write out very, very small and, and very neat and then check things off the list, which makes me feel good. But, uh, otherwise I, I just carry, uh, uh, some type