[Pen/Pencil Review] BIC 4-Color Pen + Stylus
I know I’ve complained loudly about pen manufactures (BIC and Papermate, I’m looking at you) defaulting to larger and larger ballpoint sizes. I’ve been quite vocal about my love of fine points. I’m still NOT a fan of the default 1.0mm ballpoints. However… sometimes you gotta try stuff when it looks interesting. This looked interesting.
Yesterday I picked up a BIC 4 Color + Stylus pen. The BIC 4 color pens have been around for DECADES. I remember getting them mumblety mumblety years ago in school. Little has changed in the BIC 4 color pens. The basic ones all come with red, black, blue, and green ink – the “fashion†ones in some combo of pastels. The barrels might have some different colors, but you knew what you were getting all those years.
Well, they did another design change. This one now has a stylus on the top instead of the typical plastic nub. This is a value add to this pen that hasn’t seen much of a value add in those mumblety mumblety years. The points have gotten bigger but the barrel doesn’t seem that much wider, so yay? This one has a cool black barrel with a lime green grip. There’s seems to be an attempt at ergonomics but that’s all.
Everything about the pen is functional. It’s not so wide that it’s uncomfortable. The length is good at about 6†long (a touch longer with the point extended). The clip is molded plastic but solid and the stylus works on both my phone and iPad. The ink is typical ballpoint – there’s a bit of smearing with the darker colors if it doesn’t sit for a second. The green ink is still the weakest link, but it’s hard to find a green ballpoint ink that is dark and rich like the other primary colors.
The Numbers:
1. How does it work? – 1 It works. It wrote right out of the package in all four colors and the stylus is functional
2. Grip and feel – 0.5 – It’s a, plastic, no frills pen. It’s hard plastic. The green grip is more decorative than ergonomic. But it is smooth with no ridges to dig in.
3. Material – 1 For an inexpensive plastic pen, it’s solidly built. The cap and barrel are secure. The logo doesn’t wear off easily.
4. Overall Design – 1 -It’s a classic BIC4-color pen that hasn’t changed in decades. Except for the stylus. The stylus is a value add, even if you have to flip it to use it, running the risk of marking on yourself if a tip is extended. Something needs to give in green ink.
5. Price Point – 0.5 – I’ve only seen this at Staples – and down with the specialty pens. It’s running $6 there – which isn’t BAD for four colors and a stylus, but it’s also not the world’s most economical pen. But it’s still worth checking out – especially for economy of space.
4 out of 5 Bronze Pencils
[Writing Post][Conventions] FenCon Part 2
My last post seemed to scare the bejeezus out of some folks. Let me ‘splain…no, it will take too long, let me sum up…
I’m not giving up Guest Relations permanently, not even with FenCon. I’m just not going to be in charge. Guest Relations is not just something I do, it’s part of my personality – as evidenced by the Greg Grungberg story. I can’t NOT do it in some capacity.
As for the rest of FenCon, it’s an awesome time. I loved the Yard Dog Press Road Show. We did a parody of Naked and Afraid, with bubble wrap for pixilation over clothes (yeah, I’m getting the credit/blame for that). But it was hysterical because we have MAD IMPROV skillz now.
Naked and Afraid Parody – photo by Michael Braun
Thanks to everyone who came to the Redheads 10th Anniversary party/panel. I managed to get into the dress (with help from friends) that I bought without trying on because it was $6 at Goodwill and stunning. Couldn’t breathe well, but we all suffer for our art, right? And I looked darned good as the Center Square in FenCon Squares the hour before.
ROTA 10th Anniversary – photo by John Husisian
I got to change back to “me†clothes before the Star Trek panel I was on. Which was fun. A short break before FenCon’s SMALLEST art and charity auction to date. We were done with everything – including sitting around nattering by 9 pm. But that’s when stuff got real. Started feeling bad. Made it to a couple of things before saying, “NO! No more!†– the stomach bug hit fast and hard. According to Sherri Dean, I went from fine to pale to green in about 10 minutes.
FenCon Squares – photo by Michael Braun
Sunday I did somethings I’ve never done. I cancelled coffee delivery, and I bailed on my SECOND Star Trek panel. I did my solo signing and my reading (because those can directly sell books). I had lovely conversations, and to date I haven’t seen a record of sharing the bug. I had to do the reading because it was my Ed story, and it was kind of a final FenCon farewell to him. Robyn was in the front row. Other friends who knew him better were there. I broke down toward the end and nearly didn’t make it through my own story. But I’m a pro, darn it! I did it!
I also handed off my end of con duties to next year’s Guest Relations director and stopped. I was put to bed about 7 pm on Sunday and passed out until nearly 7 am the next morning. I don’t give up responsibility easily, and I’m happy for the slack being taken on my behalf. Next year, my duties will be a lot more passive and pre-show. Hopefully, I’ll be able to do more writerly panels and enjoy it more.
The people are always great. So many people asked how my writing is going, what I’m working on, how we can do things better as a writing community. So now, it’s time to make it all work. Deadlines, darn it! I haz them! Time to do something about them, think about some future projects. I have nothing on my event calendar until December, which makes me super happy. Time for a refresh and kick start to the productivity.
[Pen/Pencil Review] BIC Cristal Bold Rerun with Explanation
This is going to be a rerun post, because I totally left a bunch of pens at home that I might still need to do, and it’s yoga night. HOWEVER… I’ve been drawn today to a basic BIC Cristal stick pen – which I believe is the 1.0mm in the writing sample at the end of this post. So, I’m picking this one to rerun until 1) I can check my inventory (and may come back to the 1.0mm); and 2) my JetPens order comes in this week – because back up plan to missing the Dallas Pen Show. So, until then…
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I know I’ve complained loudly about pen manufactures (BIC and Papermate, I’m looking at you) defaulting to larger and larger ballpoint sizes. I’ve been quite vocal about my love of fine points. But to be fair, I hadn’t actually used one of the “new” 1.6mm “Bold” points. I needed to give them a try. So taking advantage of “Back-to-School” sales, I picked up a package of Bic Cristal Classic BOLD ball point pens…18 count in 7 colors – black, blue, green, red, purple, light blue, light green, and pink.
I used them all, because I like seeing colorful longhand manuscripts. I also wanted to make sure my evaluation was on pretty much all of them. The writing sample is the basic blue–because for comparison, it’s the one that I had all three point sizes for. Those are my disclaimers/explanations.
The Bic Cristal Bold Classic 1.6 mm is about 5.75″ capped and 6.5″ long with the cap posted, which is normal for this kind of pen. On first glance you can see just how big a 1.6mm pen point is. The tip is coated in a hard wax to prevent leaking in the package. It’s difficult to remove completely and does affect writing ability until the wax is completely removed.
Being 1.6 mm, the ballpoint has a lot more surface area to use as a writing surface. You’d think that would be a good thing, but in fact, it causes a lot more clumping and smearing of the ink. I had to be careful not to get anything on me as I used the pens. That’s not a ringing endorsement for me. However, in terms of fairness, the color does come out richer and darker than in other point sizes, but that’s not enough to win me over.
I don’t know if it’s psychological thing, or really an aspect of the larger point size, but I found myself getting less material on a written page with the larger point. In my normal, “comfortable” writing, I felt like I do get fewer “characters per inch” with the bold. I’m sure there would be a much more analytical or scientific way of measuring, but I think even the writing sample shows a significant difference.
The Numbers:
1. How does it work? – 0.5 It works. It wrote right out of the package, once you got the wax off the tip. It didn’t fade down the page. The ink clumps and smears.
2. Grip and feel – 0.5 – It’s an inexpensive, plastic, no frills pen. It’s hard plastic. No grips. It’s not an “all day” pen.
3. Material – 1 For an inexpensive plastic pen, it’s solidly built. The cap and barrel are secure. The logo doesn’t wear off easily.
4. Overall Design – 0.5 -It’s a classic BIC pen that hasn’t changed in decades. I can see globs of ink on the point, which I don’t care for. The tip actually seems overly large for the design of the pen.
5. Price Point – 0.5 – You can get them anywhere, but only in bulk. I haven’t seen just 3 or 4 They’re in large numbers. I suppose when you look at it that way the $5-$8 isn’t bad when you’re getting 18, 24, or 48 (depending on which store you purchase them). You’re investing a lot on of resources for something that will probably not be a long term investment.
3 out of 5 Bronze Pencils
[Pen/Pencil Review][Writer Post] Dallas Pen Show/FenCon Part 1
I may end up breaking this blog post up into two parts because of length. There’s so much to talk about. FenCon week is always a challenge since I’m both writer chick and staff chick. This year seemed especially challenging and bittersweet because next year I’m taking a step back and letting someone else take over the guest liaison/guest relations department I spent 10 years (I think) developing. It’s time to let someone else drive the bus for a while. It’s not that I don’t love what I’ve done/built, but there’s always one of those 1) there needs to be a next gen, and 2)I need a break before what I love becomes something I don’t (the job not the people).
There were indicators the last couple of years that this was coming, and this year clinched it, so YAY for having one of the greatest sets of GOH’s EVER! These people made it all worthwhile. I loved being around our GOHs, at least the one’s I was able to interact with, at least. When you have TEN, one or two sail by in passing. But I am so glad to have worked with them. They flowed with my hiccups in astonishing ways. Such as Esther Friesner and Kristina Carroll getting to meet Loki and Freya before going to lunch on Thursday. Or…managing to provide Jim Hines with evening soda because I totally anticipated his unspoken need for CAFFEINE FREE Diet DR Pepper (can’t even type that with a straight face). I totally bought the absolutely WRONG soda, but hey, it worked for him.
That was a sign. For me, the working part of FenCon was the Con of Thousand Paper Cuts. Stuff was late, or early (all the flights but one), forgotten, mislaid, or in the wrong place at the wrong time. Little things that don’t matter kept piling up. I’m better than that. I’m smoother than that. Nothing went completely wrong, but nothing went completely right, either.
Everything was off just enough that I didn’t go to the Dallas Pen Show. Let me repeat that. I. Did Not. Go To. The Dallas Pen Show for the first time since I knew it existed. There just wasn’t enough time. There wasn’t enough me. Something had to give. I gave up the pen show. Fortunately, I have a backlog of pens, etc. to write about (so the blog is safe, Jim!). But man, that hurt and next year…all my responsibility is background and pre-show. So hopefully next year… I can go more than a half-hour!
But for all the paper cuts? FenCon was awesome – until the stomach bug. I actually handed off my job to my successor early because yowza. I’ll talk about the awesomeness in the next post, because, yes running long. But yes, in spite of the papercuts…in spite of my stomach going on strike, and IN SPITE of missing the Pen Show…I can’t stop smiling about FenCon. It’s a kick butt con. We’ve built something awesome here. We’ll talk about that more on Friday.
[Pen/Pencil Review][Conventions][Writing] COMBO POST!!!!!
YAY! COMBO POST! Pens, writing, and conventions because it’s just that week. Heck, it’s just that month. September is my most busy and stressful month of the year – and this week is the biggest week in the month. Day Job has a big event. FenCon starts (for staff) technically Wednesday. Parents 50th Anniversary is this weekend. And to top it off, I had jury duty yesterday. WHEEEEE!!!!!!!!!! So you get a combo post.
This weekend is also the Dallas Pen Show. I will, once again, bail out of FenCon Friday morning at 9:30 (sharpish) to get to THAT show when it opens at 10 am (but no one gets to the show the minute it’s open! WRONG) so I can spend about 30-45 minutes there drooling over things I cannot afford and talking to pen makers and chocolate makers and then fly back to do FenCon duties. It’s my small window of opportunity. I WILL TAKE IT. You will see the effects next week.
The parental anniversary (and it was a big anniversary) has been celebrated. There’s some bleed over that will happen in my absence before they take off for a short trip. So that’s handled. Jury Duty lasted about half a day which allowed me to make headway on some convention prep that I was struggling to make sure got done. So a bit of a relief.
We’re doing the last run through of prep for the Day Job Event that I will not be participating in but have done tons of prep for this afternoon. I have one more day in the office, then it’s all about FenCon for realz (yeah, I can’t pull that off).
Evenings are booked with all things FenCon. Thursday through Monday is all things FenCon. And Redheads of the Apocalypse. And weird redheaded blurs that could be Rhonda, but who knows for sure. So you see this craziness? Do you know what that means for writing or developing panels for Nerd Years Eve? Yeah, I’m going to be lucky to eek out a few words here and there. I’m muddling through that.
The convention crazy? That’s part of the job. The job gets done. If there are new words, YAY. If there are not? Well, occasionally that happens. It’s not a permanent thing. Back on the horse next week (I have short story edits/rewrites to work on – need to find out when that’s due…) Now… allons-y.
[Writer Post] Wednesday a Day for Rambling
It’s Wednesday. Yay. This month is astonishingly busy. It’s a really big month at the Day Job with National Preparedness Month. It’s FenCon month. LISTS! To Dos! Errands! Allons-y!
The preliminary schedule for FenCon has gone out – but not the final one. I’ll post the link when it’s available. There’s a very big chunk of time in which I’m booked…in formal wear. So yay? We have the Redheads of the Apocalypse 10th Anniversary and the new Redheads of the Apocalypse: Scarlet Women Tea (from Tea Punk Teas) debuting there. It’s going to be very Redhead-erific.
Writing is moving right along. I’ve got to finish developing out a series of panels I’m doing at Marvelous Nerd Year’s Eve (a media con over New Years Weekend) because it’s been announced on a Facebook Live video. Hopefully I’ll be on the website in the not too distant future. That’s still a bit of a sting, but I have hope when they add the next set of guests I might be one of them. There’s been progress – the author page actually has more than one person on it.
Now, I need to go and continue to be a Responsible Adult. Yes, I know it’s a scary thought, but I know it needs to be done.
[Pen/Pencil Blog] EB Felt Tip Pen
Starting my inventory and looking through to see what pens I might’ve missed over time. This is one of them. The EF Felt Tip pen in black – EF stands for Eberhard Faber. This pen is old – so old, I can’t find it online much. Even Amazon says it’s Out of Stock with no date on restocking. The site is geared toward kids’ art supplies.
This pen runs about 5.6″ long with the cap on. It’s a snap on cap that’s pretty darn secure, which is good because fiber tips will dry out if you’re not careful. It’s 6.25″ long with the cap posted. It’s light but well-balanced. It has a good diameter with no frills. The tip is a 0.85mm – which is a bold line – good making signs or when you need your writing to be truly noticed. The black ink really is bold and rich – just be careful, it’s a water-based ink – so it will wash out of clothes, hands and smear if you drip on it.
Yet, overall, if you’re an artist, or someone who likes a bold fiber tip? This is something you should definitely check out. If you can find them. I have a couple, but I don’t know if you can find them anymore. There’s a similar one on Overstock.com but it’s got a different point. They look like they run about $8 a dozen if you can find them.
The numbers:
1. How does it work? – 0.5 It’s decent. No frills. The bold line to the fiber tip makes me think I’m going to hurt the tip, because I’m heavy handed, but some people might like that.
2. Grip and feel – 1 – For being a no-frills pen, it’s pretty comfortable. It doesn’t have a cushioned grip, but it has decent diameter and balance.
3. Material – 1 It is what it is. A disposable, non-refillable “marker” type pen, but made with 80% recycled plastic, so there’s not as much guilt for throwing it away when it’s empty.
4. Overall Design – 0.5 -It’s a basic fiber point pen. It’s not a full on marker, but it’s not an everyday writing pen – unless you like really bold lines, then GO FOR IT. It’s all plastic, so if you’re a fidgeter, it’s likely you’ll snap off the pocket clip.
5. Price Point – 0 – They run less than a dollar to just over IF YOU CAN FIND THEM. Apparently they’ve been discontinued… so…oops.
3 out of 5 Bronze Pencils
[Conventions] Geekinomicon Pt. 2 – Human Interest Side
There is a part 2 to Geekinomicon. This is the more “human interest†side (aka the Greg Grunberg story) – and a few other celebrity mentions. There were a lot of fun/exciting things that happened in OKC – not the least of which falls under “exciting†= “interesting†(Chinese version) when we were ALL awakened on Saturday morning at 7 am (which is when most of us needed to be up anyway) by a 5.6M (maybe upgraded to 5.8M) earthquake. Rock and roll took on a WHOLE new meaning.
So, many saw the cookie adventures. I plied most of them with cookies. It’s an ice breaker beside, “LOVE your work!†Like with Katrina Law – gave her a cookie AND talked to her about Hallmark movies (where she doesn’t die AND gets the guy – but still want her to kick butt… hmmm plot bunny? Maybe…) Eric Roberts (a fine gentleman) took a BUNCH of them, and his wife, Eliza? BOTH of them are AWESOME. Daphne Ashbrook and I had a great conversation at the bar about calling folks “darling†or “sweetie†because we have NO IDEA what your name is. Glenn Morshower is is always a treat. And Jimmy and I ended up talking to Felix Silla in the lobby of the hotel Friday night for about an hour.
But this year’s celebrity awesome story is Greg Grunberg (which I keep trying to call him Greg GUNDERSON – don’t know why). First, he loved the butterscotch triple chocolate chip cookies – which means he’s a man of great taste. We chatted about him crossing all the great franchises and the graphic novel he has through Scholastic. That was it – on Saturday.
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On Sunday, we ran into him on the hotel elevator – along with a family. We were all cool, small talk and cookie mention (no big deal about an actor in the elevator!). Jimmy took our keys to the desk while I directed him into the hotel store/coffee bar. We kinda followed him in because it was the best way to the convention center to find out he was looking for a phone charger brick since his died. I gave him one of mine – the good one. The one that also charges iPods. Because, once a guest relations person, ALWAYS a guest relations person.
Went through to chat with folks after my panel on Sunday, bought Greg’s book because the dream world scenarios are something I like. He signed the book. All good. Went back later in the day with cookies – to find out Greg’s assistant gave my charger to some other female who said it was hers. Apparently associated with some other celebrity who was already gone. OOPS. Greg, being awesome, asked immediately for my address so he could send me a new one. Then he did the cute selfie pic with me (I SUCK at selfies). I gave him the address, he made a note. Even if the charger brick doesn’t show back up in my mailbox, I DON’T CARE…the STORY is enough. 😎 The fact he was all “I’m sending you a new one! I promise. I’m making a note!†was adorable and pretty much guarantees that I will support anything he does professionally from now on.
SO… see… on the human interest side, Geekinomicon was awesome. Besides all the people I love that were involved with the show. Can’t wait for Marvelous Nerd Year’s Eve! It’s going to be a huge blast.
[Writer Post] Geekinomicon Report
It’s Wednesday. Blog day…and Geekinomicon report day (or maybe report day 1 depending on how long this goes). Geekinomicon is/was a First Year Media Con. The group that owns the show has two more dates this year – one in St. Louis and one here in Dallas. And being a first year show, there were strengths and weaknesses – or as we call them at a portion on my job “OFIs” (Opportunities For Improvement).
I talked with a volunteer who asked the question: “How can people who’ve run shows before have issues with a show?” Um… lots of reasons two key ones: 1) those people ran a different KIND of show (Media shows are a TOTALLY different kind of show than fan run, toy shows, etc.); 2) some of the crew may have done PIECES of shows but never the whole thing so there could be knowledge gaps (just because I can run guest relations doesn’t mean I can negotiate a contract or put together programming).
Let’s do the strengths first – even if they seem small in number – they’re good, they’re the backbone of the convention.
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The Crew – the owners, investors, staff, and volunteers worked their absolute behinds off to bring this show to fruition, to make it a good show, and to pull off so many minor miracles. They were helpful, courteous, professional, and made a point to listen to concerns. With a great crew, a show can do so much.
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Programming – there was a wider variety of panels than I’ve seen at many media conventions. They really are trying hard to be a more inclusive to appeal to more fans. None of the panels (except the VIP stuff that was quite clear) were any extra cost.
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Fan Good Will – the celebrities and panelists were there to do a job, and I think we did it if not with a full on smile (but we tried) then professionalism and relative decorum.
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Facilities – the convention center was an awesome space that gave vendors and artists plenty of room. We were not crushed or crowded – which sounds like it means they were undersold, but that’s not the case. I LOVE not being claustrophobic or worried about bumping into the people next to me or behind me. The panel rooms were well-equipped and ready for everything.
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Small but heartfelt – I didn’t have many people at my panels. But the people who did come, came with good questions and ideas. One even said she’d stopped writing for a while, but now wanted to write again. BEST COMPLIMENT EVER!
Now the OFIs…
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Communication/Information – this was the big thing. Reports were that there were people with information that did not share the information. This is big deal – but it’s now a known deal. I believe wholeheartedly that this is one of the issues that they are working on. Learning Curves.
- Social Media/Website – could use some beefing up with retweets/shares – even likes. Especially about upcoming programming. The website search function was limited to titles only and programming details were lacking. I’m sure this is also being addressed by both the convention and potential panelists.
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Facilities/Signage – though good, the convention center was too big, too dark, and the escalators didn’t work. Not sure what all that means, but I’m sure they’re evaluating. Signage showed up on Saturday, for all but one room. Simple enough to fix.
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Attendance – I don’t know how to fix this. They had a great projection. Not sure how outside advertising was done or where, but sometimes even when all that goes well – the people just aren’t there. Which makes it difficult for everyone to make the show financially successful.
The last thing, and I’ll be done. This is what I call the “All Things Being Equal” thing – which isn’t a thing. I know celebrities are the draw. They’re the money guests. I get it. Not arguing that point. BUT… BUT, but… if you’re doing an “all inclusive” show with authors and artists (which does come from the information sharing bit) – having them on the website as attending and providing paneling isn’t a DETRIMENT. We can help if you let us. I struggled with this a lot the two weeks before the show.
Now that I know the show staff is willing to listen – and they are – I feel better about the show. They were visible, they were engaged, they were THERE. I know they were dealing with a lot, but they came and talked with artists who had issues. They put out a lot of fires. The show has a ton of potential and I can’t wait to see what happens with Marvelous Nerd Year’s Eve.
[Pen/Pencil Review] Oh, Hey, Labor Day!
Happy Labor Day! Love having a Federal Holiday right after a convention – it’s awesome. We got back from Geekinomicon last night. It was awesome and exhausting, and we’ll talk about that on Wednesday.
It’s also the day we celebrate my Mom’s birthday — tonight we GRILL! (Actually in about 45 min!) There’s an amazing meal in our future! Pedicures were on the list — but have rescheduled that for later this week.
Trying to get some other stuff together – because September is the busiest month of our year. Here comes FenCon! And the Dallas Pen Show!
Yes, friends, this is Dallas Pen Show time. Hope to find out more about pens I can’t either don’t have or can’t afford. But it’s one of the best times of my crazy, insane month. So, nothing new today – mostly because I have no brain on me.
We return you to your regularly scheduled Holiday Monday.