Modern Vespa

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We are much more diverse in healthcare nowadays.

And that cheers me up.

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It's a tradition thing that goes way back. I wore white every day I worked as a plasterer for 47+ years. Want to guess why it started and the before mention people followed this?

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First, I'll mention that I was a 6th generation plasterer, so I had stories passed down - this was one of them that made sense and actually is for the most part true. From what I remember from my Grandfather, he said the tradition started in Paris. After the bubonic plague started hitting some of the nicer parts of the city, areas were blocked off to try to keep the disease from spreading. The only ones allowed in were health care personal - doctor, nurses, ambulance personnel, etc... They were identified by wearing white and could get past the road blocks. Maybe the fact that bleach was used to manufacture the cloth may have also something to do with it, but I'm not sure about that. So why did painters and plasterers wear white too? After a section of the city was abandoned because of plague, the inside of the houses would but gutted because it was deemed to be a safe way to purge the house of any lingering effects of the disease. So with blockades still up, the plasterers and painters were also identified by their white garments and considered to be essential to the city. The houses were then replastered and painted. Which plague this goes back to, I'm not sure. Western Europe was hit in the 14th, 15th, 17th and 18th century by the black death. I am inclined to think this tradition started after the last one, around 1720.

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I found Heidi and compared manes.

Mine is far more majestic and full-bodied.

Hers is less susceptible to looking wind-blown.

I think I posted about pens somewhere before ... maybe not.

A few years back I started buying and rebuilding old fountain pens. Cleaned, new bladders, etc. Even rebuilt one of the old piston style. That was fun.

My favorite is actually an old Sheaffer white dot from the 1940s. It was one of my first (and best) rebuilds. I see they're going for around $200 on eBay. Not that I'm selling.

My Sorels are at least 30 years old. I've had them longer than I've had kids. I've tossed around the idea of replacing the liners every year because, let's face it, they're felt.

I looked again a couple of weeks ago, and direct from Sorel they were about $45. I decided to shop a little first and came across a price from - of all places - Grainger of slightly under six bucks. In no way did I think it was legit, but sure enough, they were a closeout item, one left and amazingly they were the size I needed.

Ten dollars shipping, but still a third of the cost. First morning with them today.

Don't get me started on fountain pens.

My wife got into them a few years ago when she started bullet journalling, then she encouraged me to try them, and I enjoyed using them. I started with cheap ones (cheaper than Pilot Metropolitans), and have worked my way up to a few really nice ones. The closets I have to a vintage FP is a Rotring 600, which also happens to be my most expensive pen. I bought it and a Rotring 600 roller ball at the Dallas Pen Show a couple years ago. I really like the rollerball version.

Currently at work I have:
• the aforementioned Rotring 600 with Fine nib
• TWSBI Precision with stub nib
• Matte Black Pilot Vanishing Point with Fine nib
• Monteverde Tool Pen with Extra Fine nib
• Retro 51 Tornado Lincoln with Extra Fine nib

I also have several nice rollerballs here:
• the Rotring 600
• three Retro 51 Tornados: Raw Copper, Raw Brass, Roosevelt, and Chicago
• ACME #2 Pencil rollerball

At home I have way more than I can easily list here. Off the top of my head I have a Karas Kustoms Fountain K in copper, several TWSBIs, several Pilots, several Lamys, and lots off one-offs.

Edit to add pics.

My favorite pen, although not my favorite for writing, is an older Montblanc StarWalker I inherited from my BIL. It was just sitting in a desk drawer. It's my favorite because it belonged to Richard and I would never spend $400+ on a pen.

In a loaner car we had recently I found a Zebra G-750 that I really like. I have it with me today. I like the weight. A little skinny for my tastes, but pretty comfortable.

My daily driver is the mate to that Pilot Metropolitan, but the ballpoint flavor.

You have a nice selection of pens. I know some folks who are big fans of those Rotrings.

This current thread in the "for sale" forum cheers me.

[Boston] [WTB] Vintage Junk Speedos

"Vintage Speedos" evoked memories of the Speedos I used to wear on the swim team some 50 years ago - not sure how well that old nylon (or whatever synthetic) would hold up over time. I know that that fabric eventually wears out and if you happen to be wearing it when that happens, it's not a pretty sight.

Well, just realized I'm a day late getting around to my post.

Nice to know I'm not the only weirdo here. I may have you beat...I think a good 40 on mine. Liners are still workable though...maybe it's that for quite a few years they've been my snowblowing and deep snow go-tos, and with a changing climate, not much of either of that!
Anyway, great find....and fancy cuffs!

ETA: I forgot to mention - I made these little guys with my laser.

I've got my transportation and hauling needs met for the foreseeable future, cheering me up considerably.

(The ten-wheeler reminds me of the duece-and-a-halves we had in 'Nam. I got out mostly intact, which cheers me up immeasurably.)

MONOGODO,

I was intrigued by your discussion of pens. I sit at a desk all day writing notes into different files. So, I am kind of also into writing instruments. After having a customer walk off with my Mont Blanc Roller Ball, I have kind of went cheap throw away plastic pens. I really like the bold 1.0 roller ball. (photo below).

I don't seem to be able to find an expensive pen with the wider 1.0 roller ball. Fewer people come into the office (most business conducted by phone), so, I may want to go back to Mont Blanc or another - but I can only find 0.7 roller balls. Any suggestions.

Bob Copeland

Sorels! I love mine. Well over 20 years old. Like wearing slippers, but they're snow boots!

Progress on my transmission rebuild has cheered me up today.

Am I the only one or are there others out there...
I print all my checks on a computer and then sign them with a fountain pen.
Seems a little anachronistic, no?

Chrimmus markets.

Snausage time.

I am not a pen expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I have decent Google skills.

From doing some quick research, I found that there are a few manufacturers of rollerballs with tips wider than 0.7 mm. Schmidt makes a refill with a Broad point size. They actually make quite a few different ones in 0.8 mm, 1.0 mm, and 1.2 mm sizes. The thing to be aware of with Schmidt, though, is that there are two different designs, and some designs fit some pens, but not others. My ACME and Retro 51 pens take the Schmidt P8126 refill, while my Rotring takes the Schmidt 888 refill.

Lamy makes two pens that will take their proprietary refill that is available in a broad size, the Tipo and the Swift.

I also found some Pilot rollerballs with a 1.0 mm tip: a 2-pack of the Precise V-10 with black ink, and a 4-pack of the same pen in four colors.

I tried to find rollerballs with broad/1.0 mm tips that take converters, so you can simply refill them as you run out rather than having to replace the entire pen or the refill unit, like the J. Herbin Cartridge Rollerball, but the widest tips they have are medium/0.7 mm.

Edit to add:

I really like how the Rotring rollerball writes. It has a spring-loaded mechanism, so there is feedback when I press hard on carbonless forms - the tip actually slightly retracts into the body of the pen. None of the other rollerballs I use do that.

I also prefer using rollerball pens at work because I have to write on carbonless forms a lot, and fountain pens just won't work on them due to the pressure needed to make the carbonless work. FPs tend to be more prone to smearing, depending on what ink is being used. I have a couple pens inked up with fast drying ink to minimize it, so that helps.

I found a Pilot V7 rollerball that is refillable: https://tinyurl.com/254cxw7g

The refills are, themselves, refillable using a syringe and your own ink. I use Noodler's Blue-Black. https://tinyurl.com/2cuju7ll

For a retractable rollerball I really like the TUL: https://tinyurl.com/2bey8bfg

I also found some refills for the TUL pens that I really like. I don't like throwing away a perfectly good pen, no matter how inexpensive, if I don't have to. They are Japanese pigment ink rather than gel. https://tinyurl.com/24kvbnyz

Overall, I prefer a 0.5mm extra-fine point.

I'm left handed. My experience of fountain pens is they are just horrible to use because you smear the ink far more than you do with a ball point.

Then again, my handwriting is rubbish as well. Probably due to teachers not understanding that what they were teaching wasnt massively transferable to the other hand.

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My mother was left handed. She described the frustration of early teachers trying to "fix" her. Pretty sure she used a pen with inkwell. To avoid inevitable smudges, she started curling her wrist over the top of her writing. Looked awkward, but it worked!

My younger brother is left-handed, and is an artist. He does the same thing when writing or drawing.

I have quite a few left-handers in my life. My late uncle was left-handed. His twin brother married a left-handed woman. My MIL is left-handed. My former step-mom's older brother is left-handed.

I'm right-handed, but am able to do plenty of things lefty. Part of the reason why is I had to adapt when I broke my right wrist. I shoot pool better lefty than righty. And I'm fairly accurate when throwing darts lefty.

I've known a lot of left handers with different techniques. My friend Sean curls his wrist and writes nearly vertically to avoid the ink smudges.

Merry AND spicy.

I have the same Sorels, now going on 40+ years in service, and I love them. New liners are a treat, like a renovated pair. Thanks for this reminder!

Bob

Well, kind of mixed emotions today. Last day at work, letting my license expire, so last day as a chiropractor too.

One of the staff here loves doing this stuff...decorated my room a week ago already, but today had snacks, a superb cake "Scootin' off to Retirement" ...the works. I think they're wanting to make me regret leaving.

Anyway, this photo from a year or two ago was part of the decoration....

Oh god. We know what happens when MVers retire.

Brace yourselves for a posting tsunami!

Have a great retirement! I'm loving mine.

Haven't you suffered enough?

Congratulations on reaching this milestone!

Congratulations! You won't regret it with the only down side being weekends aren't such a big deal anymore. A few years in, and you probably won't know what day it is. And won't care.

True.

I'm 18 months in and installed a clock in the garage to tell me the day of the week. 😂

I do miss the fact that holidays are no big deal anymore. No more 3-day weekends, etc. 😆

Congratulations, and welcome to the club!

Before I retired, my mom said I should be looking forward to a life where "every day is Saturday". Now having reached retirement, though, I disagree with her assessment. Because (as stated by others) weekends are now irrelevant, it's more like every day is Wednesday.

Wait, I'm not selling this very well.