Pens and stuff

I went to the word detective site (www.word-detective.com) today and added a favorite word (www.myfavoriteword.com). I forgot about "decoupled." That is a word I like. And I was thinking about it because of a pen I have.

I recently started a new job, and one of the great unsung benefits of changing jobs is that you get to raid a whole new office supply cabinet. And I love pens. Maybe "love" isn't the right word. I adore pens.

One of the new pens I grabbed, and the one I use the most, is a Bic Accountant Fine Pt. This is a really nice pen. However, it has one perplexing design feature. The tip of the pen is decoupled from the clip-thingy (not sure what it is really called). That is, the tip of the pen, which is removable, is not attached to the part that clips it to your pocket, or to the pen holder of your briefcase/laptop case.

In every ballpoint pen I've had (those that have removable tips), the tip has a peninsula-like thing hanging down that acts as the clip when attached to either end of the pen. Except this one. Why is it decoupled? What is the point of this "feature?" I find it really annoying, and would like to talk to a Bic designer to figure out the reasoning behind this design.

In order to use the pen, the clip-thingy has to be attached near the bottom end, otherwise it interferes with writing. Thus, when I clip the pen to my laptop pen holder, it is pointing down, and the tip invariably falls off and gets stuck down in the bottom of the holder area.

I'd like to talk with a co-worker about the issue: the problem is, if the person I accost is not a penophile (is there a real word for "pen-lover" -- one that isn't so close to "pedophile"?), then I run the risk of being identified in the work place as a loony. I need to first figure out who, if anyone, in the office would be interested in discussing pen minutia.

July 06 2005

Haven't blogged in 7 months or so. Don't know why; guess the urge just wasn't there.

I was listening to the cinecast podcast, and went to their webpage, and clicked on the bios of the show's hosts. They took me to the blogger website, and reminded me I should blog.

They're did a top five sci-fi movies list, so I'll do mine:

1. Blade Runner: For many of the reasons they mentioned. Awesome visuals of the the future LA. Harrison Ford's gritty performance. Rutger Hauer and his existentialist comments. All the characters are strong; lots of cool violence, and a touch of nudity -- what more could you ask for?


2. Brazil: Great theme song. One of the best "quirky" performances ever by De Niro. Kim Griest was an amazing beauty in the film, and a dream girl by any definition of the word; I certainly had dreams about her after seeing the film.


3. Alien: A young Sigourney Weaver in her underwear. The entire cast was strong, plus the erotic sets and designs by Giger. Lots of suspense and scares, and the classic scene where John Hurt gets the worst case of indigestion in history.


4. Back to the Future: Just a roaring good yarn. Sad sack Michael J. Fox and his downtrodden family, and they get a happy ending. The classic scene for me is when Fox is in his mom's house and he bends down to a playpen containing the baby that is his ex-con uncle, and utters the best line of the film, "Better get used to these bars, kid." As others, I never wanted to see number 2 and 3 for the fear they'd ruin the original. And as most have said, those films are quite bade.


5. The Thing (1984): The one with Kurt Russell. Kept me on the edge of my seat, as they Kurt does his test to see whose blood is "infected" with the alien. The head moving around on its tentacles; the hand that gets sliced off in the dead man's chest; the partial alien out in the snow wailing to the sky. The oppressive environment of Antarctica as another character.