August 1

Wednesday August 1, 2007 6:35 am Lethbridge

It is +12 C with a high forecast of +27 C. Sunrise 6:01 Sunset 21:14 Hours of daylight: 15:13

A. Morning Musings

6:40 am

It is cloudy this morning and the air is quite cool and refreshing. It feels great after the hot weather of the last month. We will be driving up to Calgary this morning and one of the planned events will be to visit a stationery store that has been recommended as having a good selection of fountain pens. Hopefully I will be able to find one to my liking.

Reviewing my chronology tables for the first seven months is a bit sobering. I appear to be spread a bit too thin. All of the categories are genuine interests, but I clearly do not have time to give much effort to them all. I still think it makes sense to keep the categories, if only to remind me of activities I might engage in. But at any one point in time it seems that I can only manage about 3 or 4. Literature is always there. Technology also - as long as I continue to play with this web site. The mathematics is picking up speed: I am enjoying getting back to calculus but the abstract algebra is struggling. The fourth category is simply to be reading a non-fiction book that looks interesting. Overall, I am pleased with what has happened so far this year.

Immediate	Description	Time
Literature	Begin reading "Howards End" by E. M. Forster	1 hr
Mathematics	Continue ch. 1 of "Abstract Algebra" by Herstein	1 hr
Mathematics	Complete problems 4.11 - 4.? of "The Humongous Book of Calculus Problems"	1 hr
Mathematics	Continue reading "The Black Swan" by Nassim Taleb	1 hr

C. Actual Learning Activities

10:00 PM

I am back from Calgary and my first visit to a stationery store that caters to people with a fountain pen fetish. I knew I was in foreign territory as soon as I saw the Mont Blanc display with pens valued at over a couple of thousand dollars. I explained that I was new to fountain pens although I had once used one about 40 years ago. The clerk was very patient and was very helpful in answering a number of questions, but we started off poorly. I explained that I had visited a number of web sites and had a short list of possible pens that I might be interested in. So far, so good. "Would you happen to have a Waterman Phileas?"
"No, I'm sorry but we are out of those at the moment."
"Okay. Do you have a Lamy 2000?"
"No. We are out of those too. This is the off season and our inventory is rather low at the moment."
"I realize that this is an older pen, but would you have any Parker 51 Aerometrics?"
"You are right. It is an older pen and we don't stock those models."
"Let's try this again, from a different angle. I am interested in a fountain pen that would be appropriate for doing mathematics. That likely would mean a fine nib. Do you have anything like that for about $100.?"
"Yes. Why don't you try a Schaeffer Javelin?" This turned out to be a good suggestion, and it was only about $30. After trying it out with a fine nib and comparing it with a Pilot Vanishing Point with a medium nib (they didn't have one with a fine nib) and writing out a few mathematical expressions, I clearly preferred the Javelin. The Pilot Vanishing Point was a beautiful pen but the nib was simply too wide. I asked them to set the Javelin aside and moved on to ink.

"Do you have Waterman's Florida Blue?"
"Yes, that is an excellent choice."
Great. Clearly ink is a bit easier to buy than a pen. I also bought some red ink to replenish a pad for my Japanese signature stamp.

While browsing the shelves I noticed a Moleskine notebook. I asked about these and learned that they came in a variety of sizes and lines (unlined, lined & quad). I decided to try the smallest one in a lined format. They are a bit expensive but the cover says that they were used by Hemingway, Picasso and Chatwin. I never had a chance.

We also talked about pads of paper that would be suitable for making mathematics notes. They recommended a pad by Rhodia with lined sheets, 3-hole punched, and an easy tear-out capability. They said the quality of paper was excellent for fountain pens. Who am I to disagree?

Overall I was doing well. I had a pen, ink, a notebook, and a pad of paper. Everything I was looking for. Then I remembered the very first photo of a pen that began this odyssey a couple of weeks ago.
"Would you happen to have any Pelikan pens in my price range of $100 - $200. ?
"Yes, but the nib is either a bold or a medium. We don't have any fine nibs."
"May I try one, just to see how it compares with the Javelin?"
"Certainly."
It was exactly what I was looking for. So I switched pens from the Javelin to the Pelikan Tradition M250. I am extremely pleased. I never suspected that I would own one of these as my first pen, but it feels great. I have already filled it with ink, which turned out to be very easy after the fellow at the store demonstrated how the vacuum piston system worked. My first try and I don't even have any ink on my hands. I must try to avoid sounding cocky. Tomorrow I will see if my mathematics improves.

stationery

pelikan