Just got back from the retinal specialist. Everything fine -- no changes. I asked him about the fuzziness of my vision. Cataracts, as I suspected. But Dr. Horio doesn't think I should have anything done about them. I only have one useful eye and he doesn't think I should take even the small risk of cataract surgery.
listener--I got the Pilot VPen (Varsity with a fine nib), the Platinum Preppy 02, and the handwriting course today. The nib on the VPen is the same as on the Pilot Petit1, which I was using today, and smaller than the same design on the Varsity. The nib is very smooth and easy to use, but even the fine one puts down enough ink that it shows (but doesn't bleed) through 20-lb copy paper, and one has to write quickly if not quite so large. It's not for me.
The Preppy 02 is extra-fine, and on some papers does feel just a bit scratchy, but absolutely no show-through on 20-lb paper, so it is good for a type of form I use at work every day. It also allows me to make corrections in situ that I can't with any other pen I have, so that is good. I installed a converter in one new Preppy 03 and filled it with Noodler's Black Eel (AKA American Eel) ink, which (besides being indelible on paper) gives a darker line that appears wider (or at least more prominent) than the Preppy 03 with a Platinum cartridge. Maybe I will try a Preppy 02 with Black Eel. There is a Preppy 05 (medium) and I am half tempted to try it--well, maybe someday. Or if you give it a whirl, let me know. It took me a while to figure out how to fill the converter with ink--when it gets wet all the way to the plunger it should work better. I had to work it back and forth a number of times to (mostly) fill the pen's feed, and only then did ink start coming into the ink chamber of the converter.
The penmanship course arrived today, and it looks promising. It is basically Palmer, with modernized traditional pedagogy and lots of supplementary material. It looks like it will take about three or four months at a 30-minute lesson per day. It is loose-leaf, so one can remove a sheet at a time either for direct use or to copy and practice. It starts at about second-grade level, if one wants to start there. (I will.) Here's a link: American Cursive Handwriting [Click]
Huzzah for Howard!
ReplyDeleteMother Jones [Click] has what looks like good coverage of the debate, although I haven’t time to read it now.
—Alan
Just got back from the retinal specialist. Everything fine -- no changes. I asked him about the fuzziness of my vision. Cataracts, as I suspected. But Dr. Horio doesn't think I should have anything done about them. I only have one useful eye and he doesn't think I should take even the small risk of cataract surgery.
ReplyDeleteConservative medical treatment is good. Glad things are stable, Bill. I'm due for a new pair of glasses, but haven't gotten around to it yet.
Delete--Alan
listener--I got the Pilot VPen (Varsity with a fine nib), the Platinum Preppy 02, and the handwriting course today. The nib on the VPen is the same as on the Pilot Petit1, which I was using today, and smaller than the same design on the Varsity. The nib is very smooth and easy to use, but even the fine one puts down enough ink that it shows (but doesn't bleed) through 20-lb copy paper, and one has to write quickly if not quite so large. It's not for me.
ReplyDeleteThe Preppy 02 is extra-fine, and on some papers does feel just a bit scratchy, but absolutely no show-through on 20-lb paper, so it is good for a type of form I use at work every day. It also allows me to make corrections in situ that I can't with any other pen I have, so that is good. I installed a converter in one new Preppy 03 and filled it with Noodler's Black Eel (AKA American Eel) ink, which (besides being indelible on paper) gives a darker line that appears wider (or at least more prominent) than the Preppy 03 with a Platinum cartridge. Maybe I will try a Preppy 02 with Black Eel. There is a Preppy 05 (medium) and I am half tempted to try it--well, maybe someday. Or if you give it a whirl, let me know. It took me a while to figure out how to fill the converter with ink--when it gets wet all the way to the plunger it should work better. I had to work it back and forth a number of times to (mostly) fill the pen's feed, and only then did ink start coming into the ink chamber of the converter.
The penmanship course arrived today, and it looks promising. It is basically Palmer, with modernized traditional pedagogy and lots of supplementary material. It looks like it will take about three or four months at a 30-minute lesson per day. It is loose-leaf, so one can remove a sheet at a time either for direct use or to copy and practice. It starts at about second-grade level, if one wants to start there. (I will.)
Here's a link: American Cursive Handwriting [Click]
--Alan