Editing The Pen Addict 155/transcript (section)

== Subscription Pencils ==


'''Brad Dowdy:''' And, you know, my first thought was, well, it comes in, you get 12 pencils every quarter. And for me, I would never use that much. So I was thinking, it's kind of cool. I mean, I'm definitely behind it. And they're going, and they admit, they're going straight Field Notes route, inspired by our friends at Field Notes. And they're not even playing around. They're saying, these are going to be limited. These are going to be numbered. And not only do you get the 12 limited edition, you get a box of 12 pencils that'll be one style, limited edition, every quarter. In addition to that, you get one additional collector's pencil of that same set, sealed and labeled for archiving. All right. That's awesome. That's awesome. They're not even messing around. They're saying, we're making these collectible right out the gate. Like, Field Notes just kind of happened organically, right? I mean, there was no plan to say limited edition and rarity and all these things. Blackwing straight up saying that, hey, we're doing this for this reason. So it's 99 bucks a year, which is the same price as Field Notes. And every quarter you get it. And I was pretty hesitant. And also, let me mention that for each subscription, $5 goes to the Blackwing Foundation, which is a child music and arts education program. So you're also helping a good cause with this, which is pretty cool. So I was hesitant. Not because it's not awesome, just because I wouldn't necessarily use the pencils. But I really, there's something about woodcase pencils that I really, really love. I mean, I love holding and using woodcase pencils. I just don't use them every day or every week. So I watched the video. And it's going through. And each 12-pack is going to be kind of a theme around... Oh, how do they word it?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' They're going to do it around... Okay.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Writers, musicians, and craftsmen, you know, what numbers have stories to tell? Like the Blackwing 602, that's a number. That number has a story to tell. So they're going to base it around that. And, you know, I have a feeling, you know, looking at the video, you're going to see like maybe like a Mozart set, you know. And the one that got me, that turned me from I don't need 12 pencils every quarter to I'm buying this is in the video. They popped up number 42 in Dodger Blue, which is Jackie Robinson's number, who is the man who broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball. And that's a big deal for me, as big as a baseball fan as I am. So that number means a lot. Jackie Robinson means a lot to me. And I was like, well, if they're teasing this in the video, there's going to be a Dodger Blue Jackie Robinson number 42 pencil. And I'm going to have to have it. So I'm just going to have to subscribe to this right out the gate.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Are they not going to do like what Field Notes do and sell like sets?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' They will, excuse me, they will have them individually because they list, they say a guarantee to receive each release, even if they sell out to non-subscribers.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Right.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So that makes me say it's going to be exactly like the Field Notes. Subscribers are guaranteed that they'll have X number of sets made to purchase. And when those are gone, they're gone. I mean, really, they're inspired by Field Notes is no kidding. It looks like they're just straight up the same style, which is fine. I mean, for people like us, you know, we like that kind of stuff. We like the lead up. We like what's going to be next. We like the idea of all the cool things that they can do, things like that. So I thought it was pretty neat. So I think I'm going to have to break down and subscribe on this just because their video got me once I dug into it a little bit. So, yeah, it looks pretty cool.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I think that's genius.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, it totally is.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Especially if you straight up say like, you know, I think if you're going to do it, like be open about it and be like, look, we love what Field Notes are doing. We have something that we think people would really love if we did this. So we're like, you know, straight up say we're inspired by them. We're going to do it too. Like I'm on board with that kind of thing.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yep. Yep. And here's how in the theory being that, you know, here's your 12 pencils to use, but you'll always have this one archival one that's sealed that you'll have forever. That'll be your keeper, if you will. Like, you know, people like myself keep one pack of Field Notes sealed and file it away and then use other ones. Right. So that's they're just going ahead and taking care of that right out the gate.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yep.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So pretty cool. All right. Lots more to get to. So why don't we talk about one of our friends real quick and I'm going to get a drink of water.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah, you do that. I'm still looking at Kuru Togos here. I found that one Monsters Inc. one.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, I'm a big Myke Wazowski fan and my daughter always finds the Myke Wazowski stuff for me. She's a nut about just trying to find that stuff for me. So it's pretty funny.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Maybe you can grab it.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, I'd like that.

'''Myke Hurley:''' This week's episode of The Pen Addict is brought to you by lynda.com, the online learning platform. We have over 3,000 on-demand video courses to help you strengthen your business, technology and creative skills. For a free 10-day trial, visit lynda.com slash penaddict. That's lynda.com slash penaddict. So lynda.com, they are a service that will help you learn incredible things. You can sign up and you'll be able to watch and learn from these fantastic experts who create these really awesome videos with excellent production values. And they make it so you can learn new stuff. It's to help you solve problems. You know, maybe you've got something you're trying to fix. You've got something you need a solution for. Or maybe you're curious to learn a new hobby. Or maybe you just want to help make things happen in your life. Maybe you want a promotion at work. Maybe you want to change your career path. lynda.com is a way to help you get trained up in this sort of stuff. Maybe you want to learn Excel. Maybe you want to learn negotiation tactics. I was listening to one of our shows, Rocket, earlier. And Simone and Rocket had found humor in the workplace as a course on lynda.com. You know, I just love stuff like that, right? So they teach you all these. You can learn all these interesting things. You can learn about marketing. You can learn about how to bootstrap a business. You know, maybe you've got a business idea. lynda.com can help you, like, from start to finish. And, like, thinking about how to bootstrap it. How to market it. Like, if maybe you need to set up a website. That kind of stuff. They can help you do all of that. lynda.com is incredible. You can watch these thousands of video courses on demand. You can learn at your own pace and in your own way. You can watch them on your Android and iOS device. You can create and save your own playlists. You can, like, they have these great transcripts as well that you can read whilst you're watching so you can follow along. They have downloadable resources that you can have and stuff like that. It is really, really cool. So, your lynda.com membership is going to give you unlimited access to training on hundreds of topics, all for one flat rate. Whether you're looking to become an industry expert, you're passionate about a hobby, or you just want to learn something new, I want you to go ahead and visit lynda.com, that's lynda.com, slash penaddict, and sign up. And you'll be getting yourself a free 10-day trial and also help support this show. So, thank you so much, lynda.com, for sponsoring the Pen Addict this week.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Awesome. Thank you, Lynda. And you mentioned Rocket in your read there. If our listeners do not listen to Rocket, they need to add it to their podcatchers immediately. Gotcha. Pen Addict should be number one in your queue, and Rocket should be number two. Brianna, Simone, and Christina do a wonderful job, and they crack me up every week. So, I love that show.

'''Myke Hurley:''' This week's episode is also really, really good.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Okay. I haven't listened to that yet. All right. So, we have a link from our good friend, friend of the show, friend of the community, J. Robert Lennon. And I'm guilty that I didn't listen to this beforehand. I kept trying to listen to it last night, and I kept getting sidetracked. But he did a bit for Marketplace.org called The Perfect Writing Service. He did an audio interview with them about his Tomoe River notebook. And I bring this up for two reasons. One, you should go listen to this because John is awesome. And two, it's mine and yours reason he got this gig, right? Let's be honest.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I wondered if you were going to say that.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So, John, if you're listening, you're welcome. But no, they actually contacted us. They're doing this series about people. It's called Pro Tools, Tools of the Professional. And so, they wanted to have someone talk about pens that used them for their daily work. And I was like, well, they contacted me and wanted to talk with you and I about the podcast. And we're like, well, it's not our day job, right? So, they wanted someone whose day job was in this. I said, I got the perfect guy for you because I know he has the perfect tool that he uses when he writes his novels. So, I got them in touch with John, and he's an awesome dude. So, be sure to go listen to this and go buy John's latest book, See You in Paradise, which I have broken back out now that it's almost summertime and I'm outside more. And I just broke it back out this weekend before I even knew this was coming up. And it's great to read. And it's in kind of short story format. So, you get all kinds of new stories. And he's a really good writer. So, check that out.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' We got a pen blog of the week, Myke. And this is a new blog, which is a resurrection of an old blog that I never linked to before. But a bunch of people always send us links. We might have even talked about it in the podcast called The Fountain Pen Physicist. There was a blog called that. And this woman, Amanda, she has moved that blog into her new blog called The Pearl Bug. P-U-R-L. And we'll have that linked to the show notes. And she does videos and pen reviews. She does really good pen reviews. And being the physicist that she is, you know, like if she does an ink review, she, you know, kind of takes them to the task and does all the water tests and things like that. So, I'm enjoying reading her new content and watching her videos. She's reviewed the Pilot Custom Heritage 92 recently, which is one of my favorite pens. So, check that out as the pen blog of the week. And hopefully, she'll be doing some more cool physicist stuff, you know, with her reviews. And she's really done some cool tests and things in the past. So, hopefully, we'll see more there. And this will give her the push to go forth and do that. So, it's very cool.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Awesome.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Awesome. So, we kind of have a mini topic today. And I just want to start down this path. And we can elaborate more in future episodes because this isn't really a one episode kind of deal. There's no way we can cover everything.