A short review for a small pen

4/3/20 • 3 min read

This post was originally posted on April 4, 2020 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.

The Lamy Pico is a fun, pocket-sized pen

For reference: The Lamy Pico with some random change and my AirPods.

I enjoy using quality pens, but I usually carry them in a case of some sort. That’s not always practical, though, so I picked up a Lamy Pico pocket pen a while ago. Now that I’ve had a chance to use it extensively, I wanted to review it.

I adore the clever design of the Lamy Pico. The pen is a small cylinder that fits easily in your pocket. When you need to use it, you click the end and it telescopes out to a full-sized pen. The aluminum is light and durable. The mechanism to extend the pen feels solid. The little Lamy logo on the side acts as a roll stop, so it doesn’t fall off the table. The pen at full length is a perfect size to write with comfortably.

Back before the Coronavirus forced us all to work from home, I kept the Pico in the front of my bag so I can grab it when I need to jot something down. Sometimes, I’d throw it in my pocket with a Field Notes notebook. But now that I’m home, I’ve got it at my desk in case I need to take some notes on a conference call.*

The Lamy Pico, extended to full length.

My Pico is a red aluminum version which doesn’t seem to be readily available anymore. Lamy offers the Pico in black, white, chrome and a range of other colors. The color lineup changes periodically and currently includes Imperial Blue, Laser Orange, Neon Pink and a new limited edition — and more expensive — Rose Gold.

The Pico uses a proprietary Lamy refill so you are stuck with either blue or black ink. Thankfully, Lamy offers the refill in three thicknesses: fine (0.5), medium (0.7) or broad (1.0). Mine came with the medium black cartridge and it’s nice for jotting notes down. I recently purchased the fine blue refill and prefer the thinner line.

The Lamy Pico is not an inexpensive pen. On Jet Pens and Pen Chalet, the Pico is right around $39. If you have only used disposable pens, that probably seems outrageous, but for the level of quality and engineering, I feel like it’s reasonable.

I’ve been using my Pico for almost two years and it’s great to write with. If you need a pocket pen and want a high quality writing utensil, the Pico is a great choice.

* Bonus: It’s also a great fidget toy during meetings.

Bob Wertz writes about design, technology and pop culture at Sketchbook B. Bob is a Columbia, South Carolina-based designer, researcher, college instructor, husband and dad. He’s particularly obsessed with typography, the creative process and the tools we use to create.

Habits for my new home “office”

3/28/20 • 6 min read

This post was originally posted on March 29, 2020 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.

Defining boundaries for the new normal

Corner office. On/Off

Before we had our second child, we had a home office. Our smallest bedroom in the house had a desk, bookshelves and a big, comfy chair — with plenty of room for Liz and I to work on projects or just read. But when our second child was born, the home office was converted into a nursery. We tried to carve out space for me to have an office somewhere else in the house – in our bedroom, dining room, kitchen, living room… We moved the desk around, but I didn’t use it consistently and we needed the space for the family. When I went back to grad school, I carried my “office” in my Timbuk2 bag and set up wherever I needed, most often in a coffee shop.*

Two weeks ago, with the Coronavirus outbreak, I started to work from home and desperately needed an “office” somewhere in the house. (For me, working from home involves both the day job and grad school.) Our bedroom was the only option. It has a door so I can keep the kids out when I need to be on a conference call.** I set up a folding table in the corner, stole a chair from my son’s room that he didn’t use and scavenged an old lamp from our attic. I found a monitor that I used previously that I could plug into my laptop. A couple of cables and adapters from my bin of discarded tech and I was off and running.

Everything worked, but I quickly realized I needed to make a few changes. Over the next two weeks, my workspace evolved. The square folding table was sturdy, but it was too deep for the corner that it needed to fit into. I was able to order a small, simple desk from Target and pick it up from a local store. I found a taller lamp and a more comfortable chair that worked better with the new desk.*** I used a couple of my wife’s pottery pieces to hold pencils and other stuff and even put up an old shelf so I could display some of my knick-knacks and old toys.

Now I have an office again, even if it’s just a corner of my bedroom. I’m enjoying having one spot with all my stuff and it makes going to “work” easier. But I’m also concerned about the impact of working from home on my work-school-life balance. I’ve been reading a bunch about intentionality and mindfulness over the last couple of years and I’ve been trying to balance my job, my classwork and my family. Having a full technology set up a couple of feet from my bed isn’t ideal. Given the new situation — and assuming that I’ll be working from home for a little while — I’m trying to create some helpful boundaries and form some good habits:

• Lights out. When my desk lamp is on, I’m working. When it’s off, I’m not. It’s a simple little thing, but I feel like that literal flipping of a switch triggers a mental flipping of the switch.
• Tidy up. At the end of the work day, I take my coffee mug or glass downstairs and put it in the dishwasher. It’s just another attempt at habit formation that indicates the work day is over.
• Intentional spaces. For the last year or so, I’ve been trying to keep my iPhone and iPad out of our bedroom to build better sleep habits. (It was completely working by the way.) Now the challenge is a little different — I’m worried about being connected all the time. I’m intentionally trying to leave all my tech at my desk. This way, when I’m not working, the devices are upstairs and I’m able to be fully present with Liz and kiddos.
• Notifications are off. If I’m at my desk, I’m working and I will see the email or message. If I’m away from my desk, it can wait until I get back. Plus, no random beeps or buzzes in the middle of the night. (I’m still working on my computer’s tendency to wake up in the middle of the night for a few seconds at full brightness. Sigh.)

In addition to these, I’m also trying to reestablish some old habits that have been demolished over the past couple weeks with the Coronavirus pandemic:

• No devices within an hour of bedtime. I can’t help that my computer is parked in my bedroom, but I’m still concerned about a healthy night of sleep. When I’m getting ready to go to sleep, I try to avoid technology and focus instead on reading or sketching.
• Limit social media. I’d really worked hard to build some boundaries for social media. It’s been an ongoing theme for a couple of years, but with the pandemic, it’s gone out the window. I’m actively looking at Twitter and Instagram and even take a look at Facebook sometimes. I’m ignoring all of the iOS Screen Time limits I set up. Those limits were helpful and while I need to recalibrate my expectations given the fact that I’m home all the time, I need to set some new, reasonable limits and stick to them.

I imagine when all this is over and everyone gets back to work, I’ll keep my little corner office. My plan is to move on to a Ph.D after I finish my Masters degree and having a dedicated space for writing will be essential. But establishing some clear boundaries and developing helpful habits will be essential to making this work over the long term.

* I actually miss studying at the Starbucks near my house.

** The door, in reality, does little to stop the kids. And really, that’s fine. No one on the call minds when Ryan pops in to give me a quick hug.

*** When the kids were little, we redecorated several times in a mostly futile attempt to childproof. A few things ended up in the attic or garage that we liked and just couldn’t get rid of. The tall lamp wasn’t steady enough with toddlers around and found its way to the garage. The chair was an old teacher desk chair that someone was going to throw out. Solid wood, sturdy as hell and surprisingly comfortable. I always felt a little foolish for not getting rid of this stuff sooner, but now I’m glad I kept them.

Bob Wertz writes about design, technology and pop culture at Sketchbook B. Bob is a Columbia, South Carolina-based designer, researcher, college instructor, husband and dad. He’s particularly obsessed with typography, the creative process and the tools we use to create.

Working ≠ Thinking

3/24/20 • 3 min read

This post was originally posted on March 25, 2020 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.

Adapting (poorly) to the new flow of things.

A little over a week ago, I made the conversion to working from home because of the Coronavirus outbreak.* Of course, it’s not just me working from home, the whole family is home, too. I have three kids — high school, middle school and elementary — and they are doing school from home, too.** My wife, Liz, is a teacher and she needs a workspace, too.

We’ve somewhat divided the house into zones. My son has the dining room for most of the morning and then it becomes arts-and-crafts central. My high schooler has set up at the small table in the kitchen. My middle schooler has carved out a place to work in the family room. Liz and I have rearranged furniture to fit two desks our bedroom. Our house isn’t particularly large, but we’ve made it work and developed somewhat of a routine.

I’m fortunate that Liz and I have jobs were we can switch to working remotely. I’ve been able to connect with my coworkers through Microsoft Teams and even presented a paper virtually for a conference from my home “office.” Liz is conducting morning meetings and sharing them with her kindergartners via Youtube.

I am working from home.

I’m doing my grad school classwork from home.

But…

I’m struggling to think. In particular, writing has been a challenge. I can do task related things. I’ve baked a red velvet cake and I made some bread, but projects that truly require thinking… I’m struggling.

I guess this isn’t really a surprise. Uninterrupted time is limited because everyone is home. I can’t slide out to the coffee shop if I need to get away. My schedule and my routines are off. My good habits are disintegrating. Let’s be honest, there’s a freaking global pandemic. It’s scary. I’m paying more attention to the news and social media than I normally do, and that’s not always helpful.

In time, I hope I can develop and form better habits for working from home. I know it’s only been a week and a half, but this is going to be the new normal for a little while. There are definitely aspects of working from home that I enjoy — like not having a commute — and I think that after a little while, as I settle into to new rhythms and routines, I’ll become more productive and creative. But right now, just thinking is a challenge.

* I’ll be direct. If you can stay home, stay home.

** My two oldest go to schools where they are assigned their own Chromebooks and use Google Classroom for everything. Their transition has been relatively seamless.

Bob Wertz writes about design, technology and pop culture at Sketchbook B. Bob is a Columbia, South Carolina-based designer, researcher, college instructor, husband and dad. He’s particularly obsessed with typography, the creative process and the tools we use to create.

Presenting virtually

3/24/20 • 4 min read

This post was originally posted on March 25, 2020 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.

Reflections from presenting at a virtual conference

Last spring, I wrote a paper that looked at the impact of the Linotype on newspapers in rural South Carolina in the early 1900s. The Linotype brought the industrial revolution to the news industry and changed the newspaper industry radically over a couple of decades. I was proud of how the paper turned out and started to edit and revise, and prepare for the next step.

For those of you are aren’t familiar with the academic world, the next step is either presenting the paper at a conference or submitting it to a journal or publication. I submitted my paper in December to the AEJMC Southeast Colloquium and found out in February that it had been accepted. This year’s event was scheduled to be in Memphis and I was looking forward to checking out the city. I booked my flight and my hotel and started to research restaurants in Memphis.

Of course, plans changed.

Two weeks before the conference, the team at the University of Memphis announced that because of the spread of Coronavirus, they were going to conduct the conference online.

Last weekend, the Southeast Colloquium did indeed happen virtually, via Zoom. It’s really amazing how the team at Memphis was able to pivot from a physical gathering to a virtual one in just two weeks. I know that there were some bumps for some of the sessions, but the ones I attended all went perfectly.

I was happy with how my presentation turned out. I had 12 minutes and stayed under my allotted time. After I was done, I was thinking that it might be helpful to reflect on a few of the things that are different when presenting virtually.

• Practice in the app. The night before the conference, I tested out presenting with Zoom. I set up at my desk upstairs and presented to my wife and son downstairs. I was able to try sharing my screen and get the feel of what it was like to present in Zoom. The first time through didn’t go well. It took a couple of times through to get comfortable. Spend the time to become familiar with the presenting software.
• No audience feedback. I’m used to moving around when I present and trying to engage the audience, but when the audience mics are muted and their video is turned off, there is no audience feedback. It feels wrong. I couldn’t tell if the attendees were connecting with my presentation, or patiently waiting for it to end. My presentation was a little dry so I added a joke in the middle of the presentation and… no one laughed… or at least I couldn’t hear anyone laugh because everyone’s mic were muted.
• Close everything you don’t need. If you are like me, you typically have a dozen apps open on your computer and a bunch of windows. My recommendation is that you close everything except your presentation and Zoom. When you go to share your screen, all of your open windows get presented as an option to share and it’s really easy to get flustered. You don’t want to start your presentation feeling rattled, do you? Plus, it eliminates the possibility that your email app will chime loudly at the most awkward time.
• It was better than I thought. I was really nervous about this presentation — more nervous than I should have been — but I’ve never done a virtual presentation like this before. I was pleasantly surprised with how well it went. (I haven’t seen the recording and I may change my mind after I see it.) And people understand if things don’t go perfectly. We’re all learning together.

The next step for my paper involves revisions and probably another conference, AEJMC’s national convention in San Francisco in August. I’m hoping that everything is back to normal by then — I love San Fran — but if things are not back to normal, and if the conference is converted to an online event, I’ll be ready.

Bob Wertz writes about design, technology and pop culture at Sketchbook B. Bob is a Columbia, South Carolina-based designer, researcher, college instructor, husband and dad. He’s particularly obsessed with typography, the creative process and the tools we use to create.