Life | Wilson Knut's Witticisms

Cross Ion Review

Dec 052008

The Cross Ion gel pen was my absolute favorite for a long time, and it still would be if the ink cartridges were reliable. As a teacher who is constantly moving around the room, I wanted a pen I could stick in my front pocket and not notice it was there. I also wanted a gel pen that laid down a nice, smooth, and dark line. The Ion was perfect. There is even a red ink cartridge that lays down a nice bright red ink.

The pen has a triangular ergonomic grip. It feels very natural in my hand, but it is a unique feel. A coworker used it once to sign something and didn’t like the way it felt. He said it didn’t feel like a “real pen,” which I took to mean it wasn’t skinny and long. Although, people have always been impressed when I pulled it out of my pocket to use it. The pens I have came with lanyards and a clip that attaches to the tip of the pen.

I was so impressed with these pens I bought several and a bulk lot of the ink cartridges in different colors. Once my original cartridges ran out, I quickly found that the replacement cartridges were not reliable. It is difficult to get the ink to flow in the cartridges. I have to scribble for what seems like an eternity to get the ink to start. Some fade in and out unexplainably. The ink stops flowing in others when the cartridge is half full. I thought maybe I got a bad batch, so I bought some individual replacement cartridges and had the same problems. I can’t stand it when I need a pen and it doesn’t work.

Bottom line: I love everything about the pen, but the unreliable ink cartridges ruin it for me. Cross does not makes these any more, but they still make the replacement ink cartridges. If anyone knows of a cartridge that will work in these, I would greatly appreciate you letting me know.

Write in My Journal

Culture (or lack thereof), Life 1 Response »

Oct 102008

A link to this site was featured on the Notebookism blog: http://www.writeinmyjournal.com/. It’s a phenomenal idea. Here’s an explanation from the about page:

I approach people who look interesting – like they have a story to tell – and ask them if they, knowing they’ll most likely never see me again, will write in my journal.

They’re free to write whatever they want. I may give them a prompt to start but ultimately it’s up to them.

There are so many people out there with such diverse backgrounds and perspectives! It’s absolutely fascinating to me. Have you ever looked at a person and thought, “I wonder what their story is? How did they get to where they are? What are their dreams?” I do. All the time. (Is that weird?) This is my chance to get to know some of them, even if it’s just a glimpse, and share their stories that would otherwise go untold.

Economic Bail Out on This Week: or America is a spoiled brat or George Will for President

Culture (or lack thereof), Life 2 Responses »

Sep 282008

I heard the best discussion and explanation of the economic crisis today on This Week. We have all heard that the problem is greed on Wall Street and in Washington, but no one wants to talk about what underlies that. Wall Street and Washington have always been greedy. One of the panelists says, “If you take the greed out of Wall Street, your left with pavement.” Something else has been going on for a long time that no one wants to admit, especially the average family in America.

THE MIDDLE CLASS IN THIS COUNTRY HAS BEEN LIVING BEYOND ITS MEANS FOR OVER A DECADE. “Seriously beyond its means,” as one panelist says. That is why no one has been paying attention to or regulating Wall Street. The average middle class family doesn’t regulate its own budget, much less pay attention to what the government or Wall Street is doing. America has a lifestyle based on debt, and no one wants to gives us credit anymore.

George Will has the best statement on the show:

You’re coming dangerously close to the truth, which is the sainted American people are the problem here. That is they have 105 billion credit cards. That’s nine per card holder. Self-reporting, they have about $12,000 credit card debt per household. Household debt is 139 percent of household income. I mean, they can’t go on like this. The refusal to defer gratification is a fundamental attribute of childishness. For as long as I can remember the slogan has been in this town, in political rhetoric, the federal government ought to behave more like families, because families balance their budgets. It turns out that families looked around and said, “You know what? Let’s behave more like the government.”

I’m voting George Will for president. Tell the country the truth. Stop blowing sunshine up our asses telling us we’re so great. If we’re acting like spoiled brats, let us take our spanking so we learn from it. Instead the government is going to prop up the failures, so we can all continue our narcissistic national masturbation ceremony until our proverbial genitals fall off. And then we’ll want to know who we can blame. Let’s not forget that while we’re doing this crap, China and Russia are brainstorming how to take advantage of our ignorance.