Editing The Pen Addict 331/transcript (section)

== RPG Campaign Discussion ==


'''Brad Dowdy:''' So, Tim did have a baseball comment for me. He said, thanks to MLB's artificially constructed rivalries to drive ratings, I guess we're frenemies thanks to the 1992 World Series. How does it feel going into enemy territory? I love the Blue Jays. One of my fondest memories, actually, baseball memories, was when Joe Carter hit a walk-off homer in the World Series. I know exactly where I was at a bar in Buckhead, Georgia, Pat Hurley's backyard, on the porch, watching a TV while all my friends were inside doing who knows what in the bar and dance floor area. I was bellied up to the bar watching Joe Carter win a World Series. So, there you go. So, go Blue Jays.

'''Myke Hurley:''' You're saying a lot of things I don't understand there, Brad. But I'm going to take your word for it that this is all good.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' All right. Evan has a question for Anna. What pen or stationary product has been discontinued that you expected to have a much longer shelf life? Can you think of anything? I have a go-to answer in this category.

'''Ana Reinert:''' Okay. Tell me what yours is and maybe it'll stir a memory for me. I see so many products come and go.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. That if anyone knows me, I kind of see why this product went away, but I don't think it should. And that's the Pilot Explorer rollerball pen. It's a retractable pen. It had a very interesting design barrel. I talk about it all the time because I have just reverence for the pen design and the quality of the pen. And the tip size, they made extra fine rollerballs at the time where that wasn't the most common thing. And I just remember being able to get them in black, blue, and I think they even had red and green and right with a really fine line like Pilot does, even though it was a rollerball ink. You know, you have the issues you have with liquid ink. And that was a pen that was discontinued well over a decade ago. It lasted probably a decade. I mean, it was around for a good bit of time and it probably just became a cost thing and the G2 and the V5 and all the other popular pen lines were just more popular than that. And it was a weird shape and I understand that everyone didn't like it, but that's the one I wish would come back. So maybe that's the one I wish would not have gone away in the first place because I think it would be a fun option to have, especially if they just release it in the Japanese market and it's just a molded plastic barrel. They could just change the colors on the barrel, make white barrels or blue barrels and do all these different things with this pen. It's just prime for that and I wish it would come back.

'''Ana Reinert:''' Okay. I thought of something.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' All right.

'''Ana Reinert:''' The Paper Mate Black Pearl Eraser.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. That's a good one. I didn't know that wasn't still made, but that was like the eraser.

'''Ana Reinert:''' Because it's not the world's greatest eraser, but people really liked it. And I've had people email me trying to get a hold of one because I did a review of it and they like the shape. It's comfortable. They still make the Pink Pearl, the classic Pink Pearl Eraser, and they still have the white pearl available. But the black pearl, which was sort of shaped like a pebble, people liked it because of the shape and because it was black. It was aesthetically appealing, I think. But I don't know why they stopped making it. And I actually contacted Paper Mate at one point and was like, what is going on? What's the deal? No, seriously, because I had so many people contacting me about my review of like, who's still selling it? Or how can we get a hold of more of them? Or why did you stop making it? And I couldn't get past their PR department to get genuine information about like, was there something in the manufacturing? Was it not selling as well? Why was the black pearl not as successful as the white and the pink? Like, just make it the other shapes, but not like something. Or make the pink pearl or the white pearl in that pebble shape because people just really like the shape. It's comfortable in your hand and it has like the edges are really nice for like kind of erasing in like a line of text or something. But got nothing. I basically got stopped at the door. I was like, okay, fine.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' All right. So Evan continues on. He's got a question for you, Myke. It's along the same line saying how great Brad and Anna are. Like we've created things to fill holes left behind in the market when other products disappeared, like the coloring and the Brasstown, which that's exactly right, Evan. Myke, is there any product that has been discontinued that you would want to bring back? And how would you change it?

'''Myke Hurley:''' Oh man.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I don't know. I can't think of a product that's been discontinued that I would want to change.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Are there existing products that you'd want to change?

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah. But like, you know, I don't necessarily want to, you know, run anyone down here, you know? Sure, sure, sure. That's true. Fair enough. Right. So, I mean, for me, there's always stuff that can be changed. There's always things that I want. And I feel like this is stuff that I talk about a lot, like changes that I would like to be made for something. But I don't know if I specifically want to call someone out. Maybe I would say, you know what? I think I can do one of these, which is pretty obvious and isn't too bad. I obviously want the M90 to come back, right? Like, obviously, the Pilot M90, I would like to come back. I don't know if there's much I would want to change about this pen. I think the most that I would do, the blue jewel that's in the top, just get rid of that. Like, I would want a new finial. Like, just something that's just completely flat. That would be really nice. And maybe some other material options as well as just the steel that they do. That's probably what I would want to do. Maybe, like, just some slight revisions to the M90 with maybe in some colors. Because, you know, like, it might be nice to do some anodized aluminum ones as well.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So, Anna, he also asked, were there any additional products we'd like to see brought back? I mean, I think we both want the products we talked about. We thought they didn't last long enough, and we want them back, right? It's kind of one and the same.

'''Ana Reinert:''' Yep. Yeah. I mean, I'm sure if I sat and thought about it long enough, I could probably come up with a whole list of things.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah.

'''Ana Reinert:''' But, yeah, it's definitely something else. Mine would be the same. I'll keep thinking about it.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yep. All right. I put this one in here just for Anna, even though it doesn't color out specifically. I know she has experience with this. So, this is from Brianna. Long-time listener, first-time emailer. Thank you, Brianna. I started listening to episode one more than a year ago, and I'm currently up to episode 270. Ooh, it might be a while before she hears this answer. My city has a great fountain pen meetup group, but I find their beautiful collections and their constant need to buy more to be intimidating. At the moment, I'm just enjoying my neon pink Caran d'Ache 849 inked with Robert Oster Fire and Ice, which is, man, that's a perfect setup. And I don't feel the need to spend lots of money on new pens right now. I want to be more active in the community, but how can I balance my more minimalist pen habits with others ever-expanding collections? And Anna, you have a small Kansas City group that sometimes meets up? Because I don't think me and Myke have this, that's something that you have in your local area, right?

'''Ana Reinert:''' We do. We have a pretty active group, and it's a pretty diverse group, from collectors who have large vintage collections to people who are just getting started and have much smaller collections, and in some cases are just getting inexpensive, in some cases eBay, Chinese pens, or Twisbees, that kind of thing. So we have really, like, it's a very diverse group of people. And so that creates, like, a very nice diversity in terms of people's interests in collecting pens. So we do have people who are genuine pen collectors in the way that you think of pen collectors. You know, the older, you know, fishing vest type pen collector. I hate to stereotype, but that's sort of what most people think of, like, the older pen collectors who are genuinely collecting vintage and, you know, a full line of Visconti or something like that. And then we also have people who are collecting pens or using fountain pens to use daily for their journals and that kind of thing, and may only have three or four pens, you know. So I think that you can genuinely have one fountain pen and consider yourself a fountain pen user and participate in your local community. And if one pen is all that you need and all that you want to have, that's awesome. And I think more power to you for not falling victim to the, you know, FOMO and, you know, I mean, the problems that people like Brad and I have, which is we continue to buy more pens, you know, and what your community gives you is the opportunity to try other pens without actually having to buy them. You know, the people in your pen at your, you know, your pen club, I'm sure will let you try their pens and you can experience them and feel what it feels like to write with different pens and different nibs without ever actually having to buy them, which is a great opportunity. It's the same thing of like going over to someone else's house and using their art supplies or, you know, I mean, something like that, where you don't actually have to go out and buy all that, you know, all that equipment, all of those things, and get that experience without spending all the money. You know, it's like the shared, you know, the shared lawnmowers and that kind of thing. Like, you know, it's like, I think that's great. And if your community is supportive of that and doesn't mind that you don't have a bunch of pens because you want to live a very minimal lifestyle and just participate and enjoy being around other people who love pens and ink and writing, I think that's awesome.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. I mean, I couldn't say it better than that. I think it's fantastic that you're going. I think it's amazing that you're 270 episodes into the show and you've held fast. That's impressive. I don't understand how it's possible. So, yeah, that is awesome, Brianna. So, yeah, keep going. You know, enjoy the friendships. Enjoy the conversations. Enjoy the education. You know, there's just so much good to come out of hanging around other fountain pen people and learning about things and never having to worry about spending money on other goods. So, don't even sweat that at all. All right. Next up, Doc Krog from Twitter is going to be starting a new tabletop RPG campaign with a few friends. We're all required to bring three ring binders, paper, and pencils. With erasers would be best. I'm currently looking into Dome Paper, but I was wondering if y'all had any recommendations. So, this is a great question and one I do get from time to time. And I was actually able to spend some time with my friend Dan at the Atlanta Pen Show going over his RPG game analog setup. So, he talked about a bunch of papers that he used. He talked about different printouts that he used for gaming. He talked about the tools he used. And he sent a link over that I'll include in the show notes to Doc Krog as an answer to this question. And he put in the woodcase pencils. He put in the prospector, the cedar point number two or number one, golden bear, some of the mechanical pencils, which I think are great. And he also recommended bringing a fine liner, you know, like an art drawing pen as well. So, the paper is the hardest thing to know what to do with as far as loose leaf and binders. Did you have any, do you know anything about that, Anna?

'''Ana Reinert:''' I know that Rodia does have the Rodia pads with the three ring binder holes. It's the only other option I could think of. You can get the letter, either letter size or A4 size that is pre-punched with the holes. So, that's another option. But that paper is very, very smooth and sometimes isn't the best for a pencil.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, so the DONE stuff is great. Obviously, if the grids work for the game style that you're playing, you know, if it's not too overwhelming for the type of marking that you need to do. And I know usually at these gaming events, Anna, there are some beverages to be had. What would go well with the rest of this kit for your beverages?

'''Ana Reinert:''' My next suggestion would be to make sure that you have some proper coasters to go with.

'''Myke Hurley:''' And where can somebody buy those coasters?

'''Ana Reinert:''' You know, I know this guy. He runs this letterpress print shop and he makes these awesome letterpress coasters. In fact, I am using one right now for my coffee. They have D20 dice printed on them.

'''Myke Hurley:''' This is what we call vertical integration.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' And let me just say, as someone who has experience with these coasters and sell these coasters in their own shop, it's one of my favorite products I've ever done. I love those Panetta coasters. I still use them. I just love the coasters so much. They're on my desks. They're fantastic. So, thanks, Bob. Anna's real husband.

'''Ana Reinert:''' Yeah, no, when I saw this question, I was like, what do you really need for your RPG campaign? You need D20 coasters is what you really need. I know you need paper. I know you need pencils. But you really need these coasters. Let me tell you what you really need. Because they will make you the coolest.

'''Ana Reinert:''' Coolest host. So, I threw those in there. They're just fun. And it just adds a little something to your game.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' They're awesome. Awesome.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So, I wanted to sneak this question in. One, because of the terminology. And two, I actually want to know. So, BewareNinja on Twitter wants to know if the Don has gone back to the Apple Watch Series 4 or is he still on his analog watch kick?

'''Myke Hurley:''' Oh, I'm still on the Nomos. I'm not moving. Yeah. I tried the Series 4 for a day. Like, I tried it out and kind of realized that whilst it is the best, by far and away, the best Apple Watch that's ever been made, I don't live the Apple Watch life anymore.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. All right. So, this next question from Fiatr on Twitter wants to know if Waterman is slowly pulling out of the U.S. market. I ask because their offerings at various retailers seem to be diminishing. I haven't seen an increase or decrease in Waterman's presence in the market for a decade now. Because it's been almost non-existent from my point of view in the first place, especially at major retail. Like, I've seen online retail trickle in a few new brands. But, Ana, have you seen anything just from a major retail perspective that's even remotely interesting from Waterman? I mean, it's kind of non-existent, right?

'''Ana Reinert:''' No. From what I can tell, like, usually I only see Waterman in, like, big box office supply stores. And it's, there isn't much. They seem to be the same pens, like, they haven't really changed their offering. So, I don't know if they're retooling or if, you know, money is tight and they're not redesigning or coming out with anything new. Like, I mean, maybe they've kind of, you know, if there's, like, some reorganization going on in the back.

'''Ana Reinert:''' Because I know, like, Cross and, you know, there's been a lot going on with Cross and Schaefer, right? They're doing a lot of trying to figure out how they're fitting in in the market right now. So, maybe Waterman is trying to figure out where, like, how to find their place. But, yeah. So, it's just, it seems really shaky for them, for all three of them right now.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. And that's the exact group I would place them in with Cross and Schaefer. And Cross and Schaefer are at least trying. I'm not up to speed on if Waterman is trying yet. So, I can't really say definitively. But I don't see it, right? I at least see new stuff from Cross and Schaefer, whether I like it or not. You know, that's a different conversation. But they're trying, right? They're getting out there. They're doing new things. They have different, you know, marketing deals with different things. And, you know, are constantly coming up with something. I don't know what Waterman's coming up with than a couple of very basic types of changes in their ideas over the past, I don't know, decade or more. So, we'll see.

'''Ana Reinert:''' It feels like the only thing that's keeping them going, really, in terms of, like, the fountain pen market is their ink. I mean, because we continue to recommend Waterman Ink.