Sounds of Silence

It has been 8 days since I last posted, a time of busyness, and of joy. Last Wednesday saw the arrival of my newest grandson Gideon, and the weekend saw me attending a four-church family camp at Baylor University in Waco, with my wife and youngest son, and connecting with old friends.

Most joyous first! Gideon arrived Wednesday afternoon, weighing 10 lb 9 oz at 22 inches tall. When the baby is 22 inches or more, I think it should be listed as tall, rather than long. Mother and baby are doing great, and my bride and I went to see them at the hospital on Thursday, and took several pictures. Gideon has an older sister, age two and a half, who is, typical of that age, somewhat ambivalent about her new baby brother. She loves him, but does not like the division of attention. It is earth-shattering for her that she is no longer the center of the universe. I have provided pictures of Gideon, and of the three generations of Gideon, his father, and me.

It truly is wonderful to have our grandchildren so close by. Gideon and family live two and a half miles away, and my remaining grandschildren are only ten miles away from us. Much easier to build and maintain a loving relationship with grandchildren and adult children when you are a few minutes drive away, than nearly 1500 miles and a two day trip just to say hello, or contact primarily by email and telephone.

Since the blog is about pens, guitars, and coffee, on to pens! On Thursday, my new project arrived by UPS. It is a five drawer jewelry chest which I am converting to a pen chest. I already had acquired some pen trays, and trimmed them to fit inside the drawers; however, I need to get additional trays, and trim to a more exact fit. After trimming and inserting the trays, I sorted out the bulk of my pen collection into the drawers. I was a little surprised to find that I mostly filled it already. I will have to rearrange things, particularly the accessories, to make room for the pens remaining. I was going to convert a cigar humidor into a pen chest, but this came along, and it is much more suitable, so now I need to sell the humidor. If you are interested, email me at dovecreekwinns@sbcglobal.net and I can send pictures and we can discuss price.

Here is a picture of the pen chest loaded. I can't get a single picture with all the drawers open, because they overlap. The chest is likely not a family heirloom, but then I didn't pay an arm and a leg for it. It is nicely built and attractive, however. The top lifts, and there is a mirror inside the lid, which is fine for a jewelry chest, but less functional for a pen chest. The left side of the top is occupied by nonremovable ring rolls. The two bottom drawers are deeper than the other three, and I have put accessories, e.g., pen carriers, ink, silicone grease for my eyedropper fill pens, kleenex to blot the ink after filling, in those drawers.

When I get the pen trays redone, and the project completed, I will post new pictures, with an empty drawer, as well as drawer full of pens, and another with accessories.

Until later. . .

Day of Rest and eBay

Yesterday, Sunday, I took a day of rest. I don't know if I will take the day off blogging every Sunday, but I did yesterday.

Now about eBay. i have been buying things on ebay for several years now, with overwhelmingly positive results. Only one bad guitar deal out of many, one bad deal on a turntable (did you not expect someone who uses fountain pens to also have a penchant for vinyl records?), and one definitely bad deal on pens, and one possibly in process.

The first key to buying on eBay, in my experience anyway, is to always ensure that expectations are very clear from you to the seller, and hopefully from the seller to you. The bad experiences I have had so far have been from sellers who were, shall we say, less than forthright and accurate about the condition of the item being offered.

But Saturday, yesterday and today were banner days in my eBay experience. I won several really good items -- at least I hope they will be, time will tell. Saturday I won a Pelikan level 1 pen for $10.99 including shipping. It usually goes for $25 plus shipping, so that is a definite plus. Sunday I won two desk sets, one a Sheaffer, the other my first Esterbrook, and a Sheaffer 12.50 white dot. Today I won two more Esterbrooks, and six (6) count them, six Pilot Varsity disposable fountain pens, at a price good enough I could easily resell them for a small profit, and still keep one for myself. If you are interested, email me and make me an offer.

The other key is to use a sniping service. I won't discuss my experiences with AuctionSniper today, because I have had several problems with them. But find one you like, and use it. That way you don't drive the price up too early, and you don't have to sit at your computer counting down the seconds to place your bid in the last three seconds.

Until later. . .

Pelikan Grand Prix (Orange!!)

The Pelikan Grand Prix, currently available in the US by parallel import (gray market) only in orange, is an entry-level fountain pen, aimed at the youth market. That would explain its "in your face" image in bright orange. I am no spring chicken, so I am not even close to the target demographic. My youngest son, age 16, is barely still in the target demographic. However, I wanted an introduction to Pelikan pens at a minimum cost, and this seemed to fit the bill, at $8.99 plus $5.00 shipping on eBay from ebay seller zerocoo01 pens.

The Grand Prix is a cartridge filler, unlike most Pelikans. It came with a Medium nib, and blue ink. The pen is rather large diameter for its length, made of plastic, with a rubber cover over the body of the pen. Grand Prix is inscribed in white on the plastic cap, which, like the section is gray, with no rubber cover. The pen body has "racing stripes" running most of the length
of the pen, with a white plastic raised oval with the raised capital letters GP in the center. Photo is stock photo from eBay site mentioned previously.

The nib is steel, and broader than the medium on a Waterman Phileas. I understand that most Pelikan nibs run broader than other brands. The nib is a nicely wet writer, and the overused cliche "writes like butter" is more than applicable to it. Zero pressure is required to get the pen to start, even after it has been sitting for over a month, as mine has. It is so smooth, in fact, that unless you either exert downward pressure, or watch the pen in progress, you have no tactile clues as to whether the pen is actually writing and putting ink on the paper.

A coworker of mine, who shares my penchant for pens, liked mine so much she got one of her own. When she figured out she really was not going to talk me into selling her mine, she got one on eBay, with a roller ball, and an orange knit vinyl case. If you are looking for a relatively low cost knockaround pen, which coworkers are unlikely to try to snatch (the orange puts many people off big time), this could be a winner for you. It certainly is for me. I use it only occasionally, for signatures, as the line is too broad for my tastes for any other use.

Johnson Herringbone 000 JG-030EN

I bought a Johnson JG-030EN a couple of years ago. I ordered it through a local shop in San Diego, and paid a little more than I could have bought it for online, because I like to support local business, especially that which is not owned by a mega corporation. I have nothing against mega corporations, but they tend not to truly tend to the needs and wants of musicians.

Enough of a rant; on to the review. The reason I ordered this guitar, a 000 size, is that I like the sound of a smaller bodied guitar, for its bass and treble balance with the midrange. Not too boomy like a dreadnaught, and not too trebly like a Grand Auditorium. I believe it is no accident that Eric Clapton selected a 000 size (Martin 000-28) for his unplugged concert. When I picked up the guitar and played it for the first time, I knew it was a winner. The solid spruce top has that wonderful snap that a laminate top cannot give, as well as the octave to octave balance typical of the 000 size. I also own a JG-420, which is a laminate top Johnson, without the pickup, but the same body style. My youngest son, 16, now plays that one, and was shocked when he picked up and played a Jasmine dreadnought, at how large is is. He had become used to the smaller, more easily handled 000 size.


Add the nicely wide string spacing and wide fingerboard, which makes it ideal for fingerstyle guitar, and you get a guitar with something for everyone. Smaller body for smaller people, male or female, low action with no buzz for ease of play, wide fingerboard to make fingerpicking a joy, and, almost as an afterthought a pickup for reinforced volume.

And not just any pickup; it's a b-Band pickup. The b-Band is not a piezoelectric pickup, so it does not have that piezo quack so common in acoustic-electrics. It is in fact an electret pickup, sort of a contact condenser microphone. It gives that pure tone which only a condenser mike can. It solves the problem most acoustic electrics have in that with a piezoelectric, what makes a guitar sound good acoustically makes it sound bad amplified, and vice versa. This one sounds great acoustically, and the same, only louder, amplified.

I usually play the guitar acoustically only, because I am not a perfomer; however, I did test it with my Epiphone Galaxie 10 and my Carvin MTS 3200 2 X 12. The Galaxie 10 is a 10 watt, 12AX7 and 6L6 fueled tube amp with a 10 inch speaker, and the Carvin is a 12AX7 and 5881 fueled switchable 100/50 watt 2 X 12 powerhouse. The Galaxie 10 sounds a lot like a tweed deluxe, and doesn't get very loud while staying clean, but the Carvin's clean channel goes on not just for miles, but for light years. I had to keep the volume below 2 on the 50W setting at my home in San Diego to prevent it from causing structural damage. But that headroom is really perfect for an acoustic. It just sings.

I use D'Addario EXP coated extra light strings on the guitar, .010 .014 .023 .030 .039 .047 high to low, and it really rings nicely, and provides good volume. It came with Martin Marquis light strings, which are nice, but I got a good price on the EXPs, and they actually sound a little better, and last a lot longer.

If you are interested in a smaller bodied guitar, with or without pickup, which will not require a second mortage, you could not go wrong with the Johnson JG-30 or JG-030EN.

Until later. . .

Sick Today, hopefully back tomorrow with a guitar

Sorry, fighting a really bad cold.

Cross Solo Fine Point in Green

The Cross Solo has unfortunately been discontinued; however, it is widely available on eBay, and through various online retailers. I find the pen quite attractive, in a subdued green plastic. 

Fit and Finish: The pen appears sturdy, and well put together. I am careful with my pens, and it is unlikely I will drop one from any height; however, this pen gives the impression it would survive a fall, if it did not land nib-first. I give F/F a 4.5/5 I am providing a stock photo. My digital camera does not do justice to the pen.



The nib is reported to be outsourced to Namiki/Pilot, and possibly the same nib as the Pilot 78G previously reviewed. As I own both types, I believe it is possible. The smoothness of the surface of the nib, and the measured flow (not too wet, nor too dry) are very similar, enough that, if no sisters (or brothers) they are at least first cousins. I give the nib a 5/5.

The filling system is somewhat problematic. It is a cartridge/converter (converter at additional cost), which gives you options; however, both the cartridges and the converter are proprietary. The variety of ink available in cartridges is very limited, but the converter works very well, and opens up new vistas of expression, if you are tired of blue, black, or blue/black for ink colors.  Filling system gets a 3/5.

In size, the pen is medium size, roughly the same as the Pilot 78G, or a Pilot G3 ball/gel point. It is lightweight, being plastic, and well balanced. It posts nicely, and is comfortable to write with posted or not. Its diameter might be a little large for those with tiny hands, but small hands and larger will find it comfortable for long-term writing. Size and comfort get a 5/5.

I purchased the pen from eBay, for very little. The price is still excellent, based on a recent survey and search of eBay. It would make an excellent introductory pen to give someone to get them hooked on fountain pens, or for a knockaround pen for work. It is generally available in XF, F, M and B. I have used only the F, but then I really like a fine point. A pen with broader than a fine point has to be really special to convince me to purchase and continue using it.

Until Later. . .

Imitation Frappuccino

Do you have a serious Starbucks habit? I used to. I could hardly believe how much I spent at the place. The Cuban origin/Puerto Rico grown coffee I reviewed a few days ago broke me of most of the habit, but summer is now in full swing, and the lure of the Frappuccino was growing stronger.

Enter my lovely bride of just under 35 years, to save the day with a recipe for a home grown substitute. Today I will share with you two versions -- one regular, and one low-carb guilt free.

Start either version by making double-strength coffee. If you make coffee like I do, it will require putting enough grounds for a 12 cup pot, and 6 cups of water, because the basket won't hold twice as much coffee grounds for a 12 cup pot. Chill the resulting coffee until you are ready to make your frozen beverage. 

For low-carb, 

* 3/4 cup double-strength coffee, cold
* 3 tablespoons granulated Splenda (or equivalent in sweetener of choice)
* 1 cup Hood Calorie Countdown Dairy Beverage
* 2 cups ice

To make drink, combine all ingredients in a blender and blend on high speed until ice is crushed and drink is smooth. Pour into two 16-ounce glasses, and serve with straws.

For Regular, substitute sugar for artificial sweetener, and 2% or whole milk for Hood Calorie Countdown.

CARAMEL

For this variation, omit (or reduce) Splenda, and add 3 tablespoons of caramel sugar-free Da Vinci syrup or 2 tablespoons of Walden Farms Caramel Dip to the original recipe and prepare as described.

Regular: Use regular caramel syrup, and drizzle some on top after you pour it.



MOCHA
For this variation, you have two options. The simplest is just to use Hood Calorie Countdown Chocolate Dairy Beverage in place of the regular white kind.
Or, omit (or reduce) the Splenda, and add 3 tablespoons sugar-free Da Vinci chocolate syrup or 2 tablespoons of Walden Farms Chocolate Dip to the original recipe and prepare as described. 

Regular Use regular chocolate milk in place of white milk, or add 3 tablespoons chocolate syrup to the original recipe.

If you are interested in more low carb or weight loss strategies, you can go Here

Until Later. . .