Editing The Pen Addict 90/transcript (section)

== Left-Handed Writing ==


'''Brad Dowdy:''' Cool. Well, we got a bunch more feedback. We did a short chat about writing left-handed, left-handers switching to their right hand last week based on an email we got from Josh last week. And you weren't a big fan of the idea. Yeah, so Josh just wanted to clarify that the only reason he tried to switch is because of – he was just getting, you know, the standard left-handed ink smearing and was trying to find a way around it to fix that. But he did like my idea of just, you know, regardless of what hand you're using, it's just, you know, the constant practice of what, you know, of making yourself a better writer and, you know, finding the proper way to write and not have all these smearing problems and things is a good course to go. But it was funny that he wanted to make sure he got in there and said, you know, that people can learn to switch hands with practice and the appropriate motivation. But it was not because he is a proud left-hander, Myke, and he wanted to make sure that was clear.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I read the email and I'm happy.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I'm very happy that Josh decided to get back in contact and just make his case. That's right.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' That's right. And we got another interesting email from a topic that we beat to death and we haven't actually talked about in a while. But our friend, the Visionaire pin, we got a good email. And this was kind of what I was thinking might happen and have kind of seen happen just in ancillary reading of comments and things like that on the Visionaire project on Kickstarter ages back. But I got a good email last week. The subject is a vision and pinmanship. He said he listened to last week's episode and wanted to pass on. He sent me a link about pinmanship because we've been talking about that a lot. And that kind of goes back into the topic we were just talking about, about lefties and pinmanship and all that. But he says, now, why am I here writing this email and listening to your podcast with the very talented Mr. Myke Hurley? That's the way to get your email read. And you suck up to Myke and you get your email read. Sure, too. He says, why is he here? One word. Visionaire. Yep, that's the one. I made it work, recommended it. I jumped in. Haven't played with fountain pens since I was a kid. I've written with space pens and Waterman rollerballs for about 20 years. Now I know you guys like to hear listeners' stories, so here's mine to add to your collection. So he says, so my mate received his Visionaire and I was still waiting. So about a week before mine turned up, I started looking around to see how other people were finding the experience. Found the fountain pen network. Ouch. Met with the same disappointed as many. You said it yourself. It's fine, but it's worth a dollar and not what we all paid. So reading the fountain pen network led me here and led me to this podcast. Then a Lamy Safari and a Vista and I'm waiting for converters and fine nibs in the mail. I've pulled out my old vintage Australian made, I don't know if it's Daisy or Dossy, D-A-S-I, and inked it up. Playing with paper, building a list of ones and needs. He says, I too need a Nakaya someday. And he says, his Ink Pirate moniker is what he's going by. It's a mix of my rekindled love affair with the unique lines and shades the fountain pens leave behind on its journey. And the fact that I'm madly playing Assassin's Creed Black Flag. So he's also a video game pirate. He says, hell, I might even get that Squarespace account out and start documenting the journey and the treasure I find in this new old world of pens. So damn you, Brad, and damn that Myke too for bringing me back to something I was passionate about as a kid and enabling us all along the way.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So I thought that was an interesting email. When we talked about the Visionaire, we were like, well, if anything good will come about it, maybe some people will get into fountain pens and start to understand what makes a good pen, what the quality brands are, and how to sort these things out when they're shopping for pens. So I wanted to read that because that's not the only time I've heard this. But I thought it was a really good mail. And something good has come out of the Visionaire project, even if one person has started to find out all the good things about good pens and legitimate pens and companies out there. So I thought that was very nice.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah, great. If that's what it took to bring him back, if that's what it took to bring Craig back into the pen addict fold, then I'm pleased.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yep. Yep, yep, yep. Now, a random tidbit I wanted to throw out there. I ran across this last week, and I apologize. I didn't save the link. Someone didn't send it to me, but I grabbed it from somewhere, someone's post somewhere. And it was when we were talking about, you know, how Noodler's Inks, it was from the episode where, a few episodes back where we're talking about Noodler's Inks. And some of the big pen shops like Richard Bender and those guys were, you know, talking about not keeping warranties on pens that use Noodler's Inks. But regardless, I mean, I'm still a Noodler's fan. I still use their inks and all that. But I stumbled across this PDF file at Goulet Pens. It's the Noodler's Ink Properties PDF. And I just wanted to put that in the show notes for anyone who questions. The hard thing about Noodler's is Nathan is so prolific in the amount of inks he makes that sometimes the properties of each individual ink gets lost in the shuffle. So this chart tells you about all the properties of each and every ink from Noodler's. And it is fantastic. So if you're looking for a particular ink property, like is it bulletproof, which is, you know, UV resistant, you know, not washable, things like that. You know, they're marked on that. And, you know, it's got waterproof, lubricated. There's even some freezer-resistant inks and things like that. So this is a good resource for anyone. Go check out the show notes at 5x5.tv slash pen addict slash 90. Did I get that right?

'''Myke Hurley:''' You got it right. Does it have a category for destroys pens?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' No. We can make our own list for that. Let's see. What's the one that's – what's the big destroyer? It's one of the blue ones. Bay State Blue, right? Bay State Blue. Let's see what it says about Bay State Blue.