Playing with Toys

I guess it's something we hold onto from childhood.  Some of us, anyway.

There are just times when I like playing with some toys.  Especially when I'm sort of down.  Maybe it's a distraction.  Maybe it's just raw materialism.  I don't know.  But I find it relaxing.

I collect fountain pens.  It's a more widespread hobby than most people realize.  Like all hobbies, it has it's ups and downs.  There are times when I walk away from it for varying periods.  I always seem to come back, though.

The nice thing about collecting pens is that they're usable.  In fact, I can use them every day in my line of work, where I'm often taking notes all day while researching titles.  It's a kind of little known fact that fountain pens are more comfortable to write with than your average ballpoints and rollerballs.  Granted, there is a learning curve to using them.  You don't hold them like a ballpoint, and you don't write as fast with them.  It slows you down, which (yes) is a good thing.

Three vintage pens.  (Top to Bottom) A Waterman Taperite, a Wahl-Eversharp Doric, and a Parker "Striped" Duofold.  The latter is a family pen, given me by a late uncle.

I collect both vintage and modern pens.  Vintage pens are, on the whole, usually cheaper to get and easier to fix up and maintain.  While some modern pens are excellent practical writers, others are meant more to be pocket jewelry than anything else.  (The Visconti Romanica pen I showed not long ago is about as far in that direction as I usually go.)  Vintage pens were, for the most part, meant to be practical, day-to-day writers.  After all, they were the writing tool of choice "back in the day."

A 1920s "red hard rubber" Wahl pen set, with it's distinctive "Greek Key" machined-turned engraving.

Vintage or modern, I enjoy writing with my pens.  I'm not a particular grand writer, and my handwriting is atrocious, but there is something about picking up and pen and putting it to paper...

However, much as I like the zen-calmness of my pens, I do also have to occasionally give some play time to my electronic toys.  I mentioned last time that I collect old Mac laptops.  And, like my pens, I take to both old and new.

A MacBook Pro, three Powerbooks, and a real book...

However, I definitely tend to lean on the side of vintage here.  I like my Apples, but I'll be the first to say that collecting new models is a wee bit rich for my blood.  Vintage can be both affordable (all my older Powerbooks came to me from eBay), and cool to use.  Believe me, firing up a G3 Pismo in the local coffee shop can still get you some looks.  (I once had a cable repair guy go rapturous when he saw my old Powerbook 3400c.  "I've never actually seen one before..!")

Start up MacWrite or NisusWriter under the old Classic Mac OS...  There's just something different about it...

But that's for another entry...