Dr. B's Finest Kind Medical clinic and Fish Market

Isaac Asimov, who always wrote stories on typewriters or early word processors with noisy printers, once was stuck far from either, and decided to write with an old fashioned pen and ink...and was delighted to find it not only was easy, but it was QUIET.

I prefer computers, since I touch type, and can type faster than I can write, even with speedwriting, which is the ink alternative.

The Christian Science Monitor has a couple articles on these old fashioned methods of communication on their "Home Forum" pages:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0923/p18s03-hfes.html

is a delightful teacher's story about children, etiquette and a pencil sharpener.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0921/p18s02-hfks.html

is about making ink.

A centuries-old recipe for ink

Around AD 300 the Chinese developed a solid ink that could be stored as a stick or cake. When you wanted to do some writing, you shaved some ink off the stick and mixed it with water. This type of ink is still used today through East Asia. In the United States, these sticks are often called Chinese ink or Japanese ink. Black ink made from carbon is often called India ink in the US, even though it was developed in China.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0921/csmimg/p19a.pdf

has photos of pens from quills and from bamboo.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0923/p18s02-hfes.html

is an amusing essay about pencil sharpener design.

Virginia Postrel, call your office

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