Non-musical musings

A while back the New York Times had an exhaustive survey of the best notebooks. They also had a section on the best pens and pencils, but completely omitted fountain pens. This was even though two fountain pens, a Lamy Safari and a TWSBI Eco were prominently shown in the photo illustration at the head of the article. They even talk about how some papers perform poorly with fountain pens. Whassamatta NYT? No love for the fountain pen? They probably decided that getting into fountain pens was too complicated considering how few people use them these days. Fie, I say! Look, it's simple. The Platinum Preppy is a terrific and very cheap fountain pen from Japan as is the Pilot Kaküno. Alas, it looks like Amazon is having a real problem carrying them right now. But they should cost between $5 and $10. Both use cartridges, but you can get converters so you can fill from a bottle. Moving up a step, I recommend pens from Lamy, made in Germany. They start about $20 and Amazon has a few in stock. Another great pen is the Platinum Prefounte which Amazon also seems out of. Goulet Pens would be a good alternate source. There are a host of Chinese pens out there, some good, like Moonman, but most unsatisfactory with scratchy nibs, leaking barrels or just poor ink flow.

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I have just about every coffee making equipment know to humanity, but I have ended up with a very simple system. The real secret is to grind your beans fresh every morning in a ceramic burr grinder. For brewing I use something like this, but I think it was cheaper when I bought it. The lid helps keep the coffee warm while it brews: https://www.amazon.com/Clever-Coffee-Dripper-Baristas-Choice/dp/B07RV3JJBG/ref=sr_1_80?crid=2R34IFNGOTGX9&dchild=1&keywords=drip%2Bcoffee%2Bmaker%2Bpour%2Bover&qid=1635780835&sprefix=drip%2Bcoffee%2Caps%2C126&sr=8-80&th=1

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Oh, speaking of notebooks, I like the Leuchtturm 1917, but it is rather expensive. "Leuchtturm" means "lighthouse" by the way. A good minimalist notebook for much less is the Midori from Japan. They both have nice paper that stands up well to fountain pens.

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Here is today's livestream from Wigmore Hall: Mischa Maisky, cello and his daughter, Lily Maisky, piano:

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If you have ever wondered how some corporations manage to pay almost nothing in tax even though they are very profitable, here is the explanation from a very entertaining Australian economist in which you will learn what a "Double Irish with a Dutch Sandwich" is, and no, it isn't naughty.

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And that concludes our public service announcements for today.