How to take better notes

When it comes to note taking, most people have their preferred method, being pen and paper or completely digital notes. I use a little bit of both, trying to be efficient in each situation. For example in a meeting I am more inclined to use the pen and paper. Handwriting offers a greater flexibility when taking notes, and is less distracting for the others, no click clacks, and my face is not hidden behind a screen. While reading I found out that pen and paper doesn't work very well for me, and I switched to digital notes. I want to be able to add more information in previous notes, I don't carry the notebook all the time with me, and the fact that I have the habit of starting more than one books makes matters so much difficult. So for books I take notes by making annotations on my phone. Most of my reading is done using Readera and then backing up the notes in Google Drive.

For students on the other hand the pen might be the better option when it comes to taking notes. A recent study shows that handwriting compared with typing results in a more complex brain connectivity which enhances learning and memory. The study used EEG from 36 students comparing brain activity while writing by hand and typing.

The study also reveals that the medium on which you write is not that important, tablet or pen and paper as long as the writing is done by gestures of the hand (cursive).

"We show that when writing by hand, brain connectivity patterns are far more elaborate than when typewriting on a keyboard. Such widespread brain connectivity is known to be crucial for memory formation and for encoding new information and,therefore, is beneficial for learning...

Our findings suggest that visual and movement information obtained through precisely controlled hand movements when using a pen contribute extensively to the brain's connectivity patters that promote learning" 

Professor Audrey van der Meer, brain researcher at the Norway University of Science and Technology, co-author of the study published in the Frontiers in Psychology.

It might take longer to take notes by hand, especially when there are a lot of subjects and a lot of information, but it might help you in the long run, reducing the time needed to acquire the information.

Deli Xtream pen review

This basic plastic pen takes inspiration in its design from the famous Jetstream. The pen is affordable and decent looking. 

The color of the pen indicates the color of the refill, blue in this case and 0.7 mm ball point. The refill is actuated by a click mechanism. The body of the pen is completely made out of plastic including the clip which doesn't inspire too much trust in the security, but on the bright side the pen is not much more expensive than a disposable.

The body of the pen is translucent which allows to see the level of ink inside the refill. And the grip is covered in rubber, making the pen very comfortable to hold and easy to write with.

In this regard the pen did well, having good ergonomics, good price and a somewhat modern, ok looking design. But one of the most important things in a pen is the ball point and how does it write.

Upon first inspection the line of the pen writes thin. I suspect it is under the claimed 0,7 mm, and the blue tone of the ink is appealing. But the smoothness can't be compared to the Jetstream. 

When taking the pen apart it is more clear that the pen uses a more regular refill that can be found in most of the cheap pens.

It is not by any mean a bad pen, but it is in a close competition with the Jetstream either.

Jinhao 80 fountain pen review

Jinhao 80 is a simple and nice pen you can have for a very low price. Buying it is simply a no-brainer. The design of the pen is definitely inspired from one of the most iconic pens in the world having a  minimalist and simple while elegant design. Jinhao 80 is a great addition the the fountain pen collection. With a very low price of 6-7 $.

The pen does not copy one for one the Lamy 2000 with it's iconic Bauhaus look. The Jinhao is more a mix and match of two Lamy pens, the Lamy 2000 (2k) and the Lamy Aion. 

Jinhao 80 is available in several colors. I have bought the almost classic black body with silver trim.

The pen is made out of plastic. It is light and comfortable. The plastic is textured imitating in a way the looks of the Lamy 2000 which has a fiber glass body. The texture is not very prominent and is not that visible. But offers a more "natural" feel to the touch. It is like touching a piece of wood which has been sanded but still retains a little bit of it's natural texture. It is hard to convey it through the pictures, you will just have to take my word.

The pen has somewhat of a cigar shape with flat ends. The top of the cap is just a black plastic with no decoration. The brushed silver clip contrasts very well the black body, offering the pen a "tool" look, industrial, reliable while still looking classy and ready to do business.

While the end of the barrel has a silver metal insert that balances the silver clip on the cap. It ads some character to the very sterile and simple body.

The snap cap is hugging the body well. The fact that the nib doesn't dry out even if left on the desk without use for a few weeks is a testament that the cap does it's job very good. Every time I took the cap off, the pen wrote without any hesitation even after weeks of sitting on the desk being ignored.

The cap will also reveal a polished silver nib and a silver ring that delimits the barrel from the grip position. The ring is almost flat and not noticeable when you write even if your hand crosses over it. I would give the pen an extra point for design if it would come with a black nib or a brushed silver nib that matches the clip.

Jinhao 80 has a Lamy style silver nib, and I suspect that an original Lamy nib will fit onto the feed without any issues. I can't confirm as I haven't tested this yet but is a good future project. 

The nib has Jinhao written on it along side with the logo and the F marking the width of the nib.

The grip is comfortable and tapers a little bit. The barrel is separated from the grip visually by a silver metal ring. 

I am happy to see that the barrel and the grip have metal threads. This will assure a longer life to the pen. It will prevent cross threading or plastic cracking from over tightening the parts.

The pen comes with a Jinaho converter, which is not the best. As all of the Jinhao's converters I have used so far due to the lack of an agitator inside the surface tension of the ink stops it from flowing. Many times it requires to prime the feed again as you can feel the pen is struggling for the precious ink.

The pen comes with a fine nib that is no surprise. It is a very common size for Chinese pens. The flow is ok, a little on the dry side. The pencil will perform great on any kind of paper, without much feathering and see trough on the other side due to the reserved ink flow and thin lines.

I can see a tiny bit of difference in the thickness of the horizontal lines compared to the vertical ones, but not that noticeable when you write.

It writes smooth, with a hint of feed back. This has a fraction more feedback compared to the number 8 nib on the Jinhao X159.

Great decor idea pencil and some artificial flowers

This was quite a nice surprise, to see that a restaurant has opted for pencil sets to create great looking decor. Some pencils, some artificial flowers/feathers, bright colors and you are done.

I realize that it might involve some elbow grease DYI. But a glue gun or some other kind of glue would help to do such decor in no time,it does look very good, simple and fresh.

It was a even nicer surprise as I ended up randomly at this restaurant after a great day road trip.

Very dramatic scene close to the mountains having their peaks covered with snow while the city is covered in fog and drama.

Bic mechanical pencil in TV Series Gen V

 As I enjoyed the unique approach and presentation of superhero movies in "The Boys" I started watching the Gen V spin-off while waiting for a new The Boys season.

It didn't take long for a Bic mechanical pencil to makes it's way in the hands of a super hero in the becoming.

It is not the first time a super hero chose a Bic, check out Thor

Celebrating a Decade, Paper and Digital Turns 10!

The story of the blog started 10 years ago, when I decided to share with the world my passion for pens and pencils, a journey not just to celebrate their charm and allure but to immerse myself in the world of analog tools in a time overrun by digital. I started the blog with a few ideas and with the hopes that it will be mildly interesting for others with similar interest as mine. 

Besides pens and pencils I do have other hobbies, like erasers for example 😊. Once in a while my other hobbies peak in the posts of the blog, but I try keeping them to a minimum as I don't want to divert too much from the main topic.

I haven't started the blog with a goal. Perhaps this was not the most productive way, and certainly not the best way to reach more readers. But by doing things at my own speed and without too many sacrifices has helped me to keep the passion vivid and made me share my experiences for this long.

Even though I didn't start the journey with much hope the results in the first years were even less than expected. There were one or two hundred visits per month in the first three or four years, and this in good months. I asume a part of those numbers were not real readers but some bots doing bot things. After the first grueling years I started seeing some traction, which I guess made me a bit more prolific in posting more regularly in that period. Now after 10 years I roughly get 10k visits per month (in the more recent months, less at the beginning of the year). In the end I try not too focus too much on this metrics. Even though they are a good way to judge the success and analize what people are drawn too, which can help focus more attention on particular subjects I find it too "job" like to analyze, plan, forecast, etc. Also from my observation the randomness factor sometimes is too big. Wild spikes in traffic due to bots, google algorithms or cosmic rays.

A lot of inspiration for starting the blog came from two blogs that I was reading regularly Dave's Mechanical Pencil and Bleistift. In case you don't know them (slim chance) check them out.

And I would sum up the 10 years with a few numbers

Blog Posts so far: 168
Blog Post on average per month: 1.4
Top 3 most prolific years (when it comes to writing): 2018, 2019, 2020
Top 3 average most prolific months: April, July, December
Total words so far: 66.497 words
Total pictures posted: 716 pictures
Total videos posted: 2 videos
Longest blog post: 2442 words
Most pictures in a post: 55 pictures
Average blog post length: 396 words
Average number of photos per post: 4 pictures
Total read time for the entire blog (225 words / min average): 4 hours 55 minutes 32 seconds
Longest blog post read time: 10 minutes 51 seconds
Average blog post read time: 3 minutes 58 seconds

If I would start again what would I do differently? Probably not much. I guess a little more strictness in posting regularly and increasing the content quality would be a good idea. 

Because this is not a resolution I am not going to make promises that will be abandoned sooner rather than later. What can I say is that I will keep doing it as long as it is fun.

Develop skills that are so good, that they can't ignore you

A little while ago I went through the book So Good They Can't Ignore You, and why skills trump passion in the quest for work you love by Cal Newport, and these are the main ideas and the lessons I took from the book:

    The book has a few simple rules that can create a successful work life while enjoying what you do. Besides the rules there will be a lot of examples of how different people used these rules in their lives and how they managed to succeed, also at the end is the authors experience with the rules.

The #1 rule as stated in the book So Good They Can't Ignore You is don't follow your passion. Unpopular opinion in these days. When it seems that everyone thinks that ditching their current job and pursuing their greatest passion will give the bliss. Usually "follow your passion" approach applies to very few individuals, as passion in general is hard to monetize and tricky to do as a job. Less than 4% of people have passions that are related to work or education, while the rest of 96% are describing hobby style interests like sports or arts.

The type of work done does not predict how much people enjoy it. Other attributes are more important. According to Wrzesniewski the happiest, and most passionate employees are those who have enough experience and are good at what they do. A good example here could be people who seem to have the perfect job, like gamers or youtubers, who seem to have the perfect job. After a while finding a subjects for new videos, filming them and editing begins to feel more like a chore and a real job. Same with gamers who have to play for hours daily, stream, increase views etc.

People thrive by focusing on question of who they really are. If you focus only on what you don't like about the work, you are on a path of chronic unhappiness, especially in entry level positions, where the projects you will tackle will not be challenging, with little to no autonomy. Being stuck in a job as a junior might not be fun, but as time passes and you accumulate knowledge that is rares and desirable (people are willing to pay for it) you can climb the ladder, while accumulating "career capital". This way you can get a better job that has more benefits, and more control. This will help you create the work you love.

Where these rules don't apply? In jobs where with few opportunities to distinguish yourself by developing relevant skills, job's that focuses on something useless or even bad for the world, and jobs that forces you to work with people you really dislike.

Start with positions that gives you an inside clear look of how things work and are done. Jobs that are allow you to grow and understand the business from end to end. Getting god at something will mean you have to put in the hours of work, you will have to do deliberate practice and real study (practice that is purposeful and systematic, with problems that are at an appropriate challenge level for allowing you to increase your abilities, with consistency and preferably feedback)

Most people will not go through all of the work needed to become really good. They will put in just sufficient work to reach an acceptable level of abilities and knowledge. Doing things that you know to do will be enjoyable but will not allow you to grow. If you are not uncomfortable (mentally) then probably you are stuck at an "acceptable level". If you want to really love what you do you will have to go the extra mile to outshine the average person.

Once you accumulate enough "career capital", and there is evidence that people are willing to pay for it, you can negotiate for more control in your work life. This will create some conflict with the employer, who will resist you most likely. Because it is not in the company's interest for you to gain more control over your work life, but rather reinvest the career capital back in your career to obtain more money and prestige while producing more for the company. Instead of loosing a good employee most companies will choose to negotiate. For example negotiating for more free time to pursue what you love, cherry pick projects to work on and so on.

The final step in truly loving what you do is finding a mission, an organizing purpose to your work life. Every week expose yourself to new stuff in your field, and keep track of the stuff (read a paper, attend a talk, have a meeting). An effective strategy for making the leap from a tentative mission idea to a compelling accomplishments is to use small projects called little bets. A little bet in the setting of mission exploration has the following characteristics.
     It's a project small enough to e completed in less than a month
    It forces you to create new value (example master a new skill and produce new results that didn't exist before)
     It produces concrete results that allow you to gather feedback

Use these bets to explore new ideas, keep only a couple of bets active at a time so they can receive the needed attention. Also it is a good idea to use deadline to keep the urgency of their completion high. Don't procrastinate on this work by turning your attention on more urgent but less important matters.

When a little bet finishes, use the feedback it generates to guide the research efforts going forward.

Conclusion

Don't obsess over finding your true calling, instead master rare and valuable skills. Once you build up career capital invest it wisely. Use it  to acquire control over what you do and how you do it, identify and act o a life changing mission.

Factis OV 12 eraser review

 

Trying out another eraser from Factis. This Factis OV 12 is a large oval shape eraser that looks simple and elegant at the same time. The eraser comes with no wrap. The branding and the bar code is written directly on the eraser with a thin black font while the model is a punchy red font. Also a Made in Spain is written just below the model name.

The shape and size sits very comfortably in the hand. And like the other Factis erasers I have tested it is made out of a soft compound. The size of the eraser is about 6.5 cm in length and around 2.5 cm.

But what really counts about an eraser it how well it erases. So I will test the OV 12 against a standard HB lead (rotring). I will test how well it does against standard pressure pencil marks and high pressure pencil marks, one pass of the eraser versus multiple passes.

As you can see the eraser leaves a fair bit of eraser dust behind. It was expected from the fact it is a soft eraser.

Cleaning the dust off the page and I am left with a pretty good result from the Factis eraser. Even in the case of a single pass the pencil marks are almost entirely gone.

I have tested how it fairs against a standard wooden pencil lead. Using multiple strokes the lead is almost completely gone. You can still see some marks just below "test" but it is minor.

In conclusion I can say that this 0.75 $ eraser does a good job. If you are not bothered with the eraser dust you will be pleased with this budget eraser, that is a good performer..

Most popular office pencil

 

I went through the pen holders on my colleagues desks, and found that the most popular pencil in the office is ... the Rotring Tikky 3. Four out of seven people, or just a bit over 57% of the people in the office use the Rotring Tikky. Affordable, reliable and available in a multitude of colors, this Rotring is the perfect companion in the office, school or anywhere for that matter.

Starting with my 0.7 mm Light Blue pencil. The color was introduced by Rotring in 2017 (code 2007252 for 0.7 mm and 2007253 for 0.5 mm pencil). It is a pale, almost pastel blue color. To my eyes, it looks a lot like baby blue.

The second pencil is the Rotring Tikky 3 Blue 0.5 mm (code 1904701 for 0.5 mm and 1904508 for 0.7 mm). This shade of blue is much darker and more saturated and vibrant looking. A classic royal blue never gets old.

Third pencil in the lineup is the Tikky 3 Red 0.5 mm (code 1904699 for 0.5 mm and 1904507 for 0.7 mm)

The last one in the bunch is the updated Red 0.7 mm. The updated color was introduced in 2017 (code for the updated version remain the same as for the previous red, 1904699 for 0.5 mm and 1904507 for 0.7 mm). Comparing the updated red to the old red, the new color is a bit brighter and more vibrant. Also, the color of the rubber grip has changed to a darker gray.

The love for 0.5 and 0.7 mm lead is equal, 2 of the pencils being 0.5 mm and the other 2 0.7 mm. The same thing can be said about the colors, half of the pencils being blue and half being red.

Comparing the shades to each other.

All the colors look very nice. It is hard to pick a winner. Both blues are interesting in their own way, and both reds look very nice.

Do you have a favorite color? It doesn't have to be one of these.

 

More on the Rotring Tikky

Fountain pen nib sizes, #8 Nib vs #5 Nib

When I reviewed the Jinhao X159 I kept saying how big is a number 8 nib compared to a standard fountain pen nib. Here are a few sample shots comparing the Jinhao X159 with #8 nib and the Jinhao 922 with #5 more standard nib.

 

Even though the design of the two fountain pens is quite similar, the classic cigar shape, due to the size difference, the feel of the two is quite different.

On the left is the Jinaho X159 and on the right is the Jinhao 992. 

Both nibs are size F, and both write well. The X159 with dual tone nib is dwarfing the 992. The number 8 nib is taller and a lot wider than the number 5.

To accommodate the large nib, the grip section has to be a lot thicker.

Also, the feed is massive