I do a great deal of writing, and I prefer using a pen. In fact, I find it easiest to write fiction when I’m not in front of a computer. And I am very picky about the pens I use. I’ll use anything, but if I’m going to get into the groove, I need a good pen. What does that mean? The pen must posses the following qualities:
- Light weight
- Free flowing ink
- Not prone to smudging
I’m not saying that I would never use a Pilot G-2, but my favorite pen is Precise V5 Rolling Ball Extra Fine. And I’m not alone. Even though I’ve had harsh things to say about him, Chris Hayes is a very smart young man. Need more proof? Check out his pen!
<%image(20120714-chrishayespen.jpg|334|229|Chris Hayes' Pen)%>
If we are going to start using writing implements to gauge a person’s intelligence, we might want to pay closer attention to MItt Romney, as I suspect he may use pencils that always last far longer than their erasers. Of course there is always the possibility that he doesn’t know how to write anything other than his own name, so the method is moot.
I have such terrible handwriting. I stopped using cursive in high school and went with printing. And now that I use computers for so much there are times that my handwriting looks like I used my left foot. But your post reminds me of the research that the American space program put into designing an ink pen that would work in zero gravity. The Soviet solution: use a pencil. The Soviets got a lot of things wrong, but sometimes you need that kind of thinking on the team.
Yeah. Not being a democracy hurt their government badly, but I suspect socialism made for better workplaces. For the people who got to choose their jobs, of course; not always the case there, as it isn’t here.
Yes, but it didn’t hurt their space program!
That’s my point! The people in the Soviet space program were thrilled to be there, and not motivated by financial gain, and so they were creative as hell. But I’m guessing the same couldn’t be said for people who were assigned to jobs they loathed.
My point is that capitalism does the exact same thing. Except we’re not assigned some job we loathe by a government bureaucrat; we get to auction our work off to the lowest bidder. Freedom!
I thought you might take that as an attack. It wasn’t.
The soviet system then was bad, but without it to counterbalance ours, we’ve gotten similarly bad. We’ll see if we can turn it around.
I’ve long been a big cheerleader for the Soviet space program. The US never would have gone to the Moon without it. The first time the US sent a rocket to the Moon — just to crash into it — they missed.
Of course, you know why they spent all that money on that pen: because some rich guy got it mandated in the budget.