This week's written snapshots.
atelier
The kids helped Pikachu make a little candy shack, turned off the lights, and lit the room with a red plastic cup over a flashlight.
.
.
.
.
.
As the first letter of the alphabet I have a lot of A’s. There won’t be as many for future letters, and even less when I hit the numbers. But hey, let’s start with a bAng!
.
One of the best firm names I’ve come across is “Atelier One”, a British structural engineering company. Why? Cause I still remember it nineteen years after I saw them give a lecture at Rice. Can I remember anything they did? Nope. But what a sticky name to stay in my consciousness after all these years.
11 Nov 2023
~
Why I write (and publish)
- So I don’t forget. To crystalize a moment.
- It sharpens my thinking. Writing squeezes out the slop in a stray notion.
- Sharing for the future. My work isn’t best-in-class, but it’s not worthless. A future reader might find threads of silver amongst the dross. That person might be me.
- To get better at writing. Posting publicly hones the craft. Leveling up can be its own joy (and help with work emails and memos.)
- For the company, to be part of a conversation and contribute to the zeitgeist. It’s fun to get responses and comments.
Blogging is an exercise of whispering into the hurricane. My practice is more about self improvement than broadcasting. The reception of others are a fickle shadow. The privilege is in doing work.
In the moment it isn’t easy fun like watching a video, but I find a deeper joy through all parts of the process, drafting, editing, posting. Why else would I do this for fifteen years?
~231109
10 Nov 2023
~
Five Pens
If I had to start over, here are the pens I’d get in order.
- Pilot Kakuno, Extra Fine
- Pilot Parallel, 3.8mm
- FPR Muft, Ultraflex nib
- Sailor Fude De Mannen, 40 degrees
- FPR Muft, Architect Nib
Notes:
- I love the smiley face on the nib. Just need to get a Kaweco Sport clip for my shirt pocket. The Kakuno beat out the Platinum Preppy because of cartridge compatibility with the Parallel if I was to take them both on the road. The Japanese Extra Fine nib takes the top slot because it’s perfect for everyday carry and sketching.
- The Parallel is in a Pilot Sign Pen Body and has been used as an eyedropper at home for months without leaks, but I’d use a cartridge if I was traveling (just to be safe).
- The FPR Muft had been perfect at home (love the clear eyedropper body) but leaked on the road. I’m curious about the Osprey Madison with a Zebra G nib, but worried about rust. If the road-ability is important I could just use the ultraflex in my FPR Guru (a piston filling pen that didn’t leak when we went on a trip in summer).
- The Fude is screwed in a Sailor Compass body. Even though it’s clear, it isn’t eyedropper convertible without epoxy to plug up the body. I like the 40 degree nib slightly better than the 55 degree nib but I’m exploring other Fude Pens, so this may change.
- This Architect nib lays a beautiful bold line that goes skinny on a dime. And yes, it’s great for architectural lettering.
08 Nov 2023
~
Journal Notes (11/5, 11/6)
I’m still trying to figure out what to do with my morning pages. Or even whether to bother.
It’s good to just blather. Get shit off my chest like the day after 10/7. Maybe it’s self therapy? And there’s always the ubiquitous Things To Do list.
But sometimes it’s a chore to hit three pages. So I just shoot for two. The first flip between the first and second pages is a great mind wipe, but I feel like I’m just burning ink and killing trees to fill up page three.
Julia Cameron says you shouldn’t package the journal for public consumption, but I’ve started roughing out blog posts some mornings. And the last couple of days I jotted some half-baked thoughts that want to be recorded somewhere.
Expectation is the thief of joy.
Not a new concept, just a variation of the Buddhist origin of suffering. My personal insight is that comparison and optimization are also expectations (against others and an idealized perfect). These are all bandits against internal peace.
With work and home being so hectic, I need to be more present with the kids. I’m trying out a new pair of personal rules. Our parents never had to wrestle against the allure of a pocket computer.
- No Youtube when they’re awake!
- Leave the phone upstairs (in the home office)
This also applies to life in general. I need to reduce stream of outside words being implanted into my brain. More jazz, less podcasts.
What is the difference between Craft and Connoisseurship?
Both entail a dissatisfaction with the status quo. But Connoisseurship is unhappiness with others, while Craft is the continual striving for personal improvement. Maybe that’s why I value Craft as a practice while being suspicious of Connoisseurship as a sneaky form of optimization.
Making is an act of faith.
Faith that something “good” will pop out. Or that I’ll learn something for next time.
07 Nov 2023
~
Thanks for reading!
Justus