Inklings

Category: observations

  • Utility

    Pencils and pens are like tools to me, so I get pretty particular about which ones I use. Most artists utilize a range of specialized drawing pencils with varying grades of lead from hard (2H) to soft (B) and each is used to execute certain tasks in pencil illustration. But consider the common pencil. You know, the tall, hexagonal, yellow graphite stick with a pink eraser tip. They serve a common purpose: to write with.

    Teachers the world over have always prescribed the number two pencil – and with good reason. The number two pencil’s lead is softer making writing much less of a chore. Pencil manufacturers also make a number three pencil and if you’ve never used one, don’t be fooled, it is NOT the same. The lead is so hard, that you seldom can even see when you write with it. I’ve yet to see a yellow number one or four pencil, so it would seem that it’s just three and two out there. If you’re a fan of the number three pencil, I apologize, but if Faber Castell decided to discontinue making the number three I would not miss it one bit.

  • ‘Please, Pull Your Pants Up’

    I realize I’m not as young as I used to be, but what’s up with fashion these days? Every generation is subject to its trends. From the saddle-shoed, poodle-skirted teens of the 1950s to the tight-rolled, shoulder-padded, acid-washed youth of the 80s.

    The one trend I see having an influence on my oldest is the ‘pants on the ground’ method of wearing jeans. Surely you’ve seen it. It involves wearing a pair of jeans that are a little roomier and then letting them fall off your backside. To keep them from draping your ankles you need to cinch ’em with a belt (usually around the upper thighs). I think the whole idea behind it is to share your boxers with the world.

    We, of course, don’t tolerate it and have to constantly remind him to ‘please, pull your pants up.’ I’ve even threatened him with adjusting my own pants in the same manner when with him in public. For some reason he thinks that doing so would not only be embarrassing to him, but would make me look ridiculous. With my point subtly made, I can’t help but agree with him.

  • Curse of ‘Twilight’

    I’m going on record to say that I’m one of the millions of men who doesn’t get ‘Twilight’. And before the ladies stand up to defend the literary phenomenon, let me just say that I haven’t, nor do I plan to, read the series. No ma’ams, I choose to remain blissfully ignorant of Stephanie Meyer’s brilliant, sparkling, teen-heartthrob, vampire romance.

    For those guys out there whose spouse or significant other is circling these books on their ‘to read’ list — STOP THEM! She will spend the next several weeks in an Edward/Jacob-infatuated coma induced by reading these works into the wee witching hours of the morning. Don’t think that it will stop with the first book, either. It won’t. The combined series is as thick as the Encyclopedia Brittanica volumes A through M, so if you thought you felt alone during the first book, get used to it.

    And whatever you do, don’t encourage them to see the movies as a way to get their ‘Twilight’ fix in a shorter span of time. They may just suggest you see it with them. It will be their way to entice you into accepting all things ‘Twilight’ and thus condone their further indulgence in this franchise. If you should happen to catch a viewing of either film, seek immediate treatment by watching a good western shoot ’em up or tune in to Spike.

    Beware, men, these vampires are nearly impossible to kill, so if she gets bitten you can forget about the stakes, crucifixes and garlic. Just accept the fact that you’ve been bested by a blood-loving romantic by the name of Edward Cullen.

  • Balance

    Some days it can be a real challenge to find the balance I need in my life. There are only so many hours in a day and a lot that I’d like to accomplish, so naturally devoting the amount of time I’d like to some things will steal time away from others. I’d like to think I do a pretty decent job allocating my time equally, but every so often I have something that I’ve been neglecting come crashing down like the hapless kid on a playground teeter-totter. I hate when that happens.

  • Cold Cereal

    My kids hate breakfast. Well, at least cold cereal. There isn’t much, besides Frosted Mini Wheats, that they’ll tolerate. At first I thought it was because our line-up included bland fare like Cheerios and Oatmeal Squares, but they don’t even get excited about Froot Loops or Trix! As a kid, we lived on cereal. It was the one meal that we didn’t need any prodding to eat. I can appreciate the fact that it’s a low maintenance, quick meal. I just wish my kids would reconsider – I get tired of preparing granny omelets and french toast every morning.

  • Salespeople

    In my experience there is no more strained relationship than that of a salesperson and a creative. With some rare exceptions the two rarely see eye-to-eye which almost guarantees communication problems. I view the salesperson as a privileged liaison – the deliverer of the client’s wishes to the designer and the designer’s solution to the client. If either the designer or client is misrepresented by the salesperson nobody wins. Consequently the creative may lack the charisma and experience of a salesperson who’s closed a few deals, but give the creative a chance to “sell” you his idea and you may discover that you have a powerful sales ally. Fortunately I’ve had the honor of working with salespeople that actually go to bat for me, selling the ideas that I come up with. Don’t fool yourself, it’s a beautiful thing!

  • Inflation

    What’s a dollar worth these days? Just Tuesday, we met with our new financial adviser (for the record – we didn’t fire our last one, he quit the firm) and looked over some of our retirement accounts and investments. It’s crazy to see what the past year of recession economics has done to our portfolio. We were assured that as a nation we’re on the way out, but we still have a ways to go. The president was quoted recently stating that the answer is to “spend our way out” of this downturn. I wasn’t an economics major, but I realize that when times are tough people tend to spend LESS and save MORE. I even heard that because so many people are saving, it’s destroying the credit card industry (I find it ironic that this is viewed as a problem, but then I’m not in the credit card business). So, do we spend money we don’t have to get out of debt? It’s an interesting premise. I’ll let the econ geniuses wrestle with that one.

  • Energy Efficient Escalator

    My soon-to-be seven-year old son, Chase, has always been fascinated with the escalators at the downtown Wells Fargo Bank Building (what kid isn’t?). But he’s concerned about the fact that they are always running – “wasting power”, as he puts it – even when people aren’t using them. His invention: a motion-activated escalator that would power up or down when someone walks by the sensors at either end. There would obviously be a point in the day when it would run continuously, but think of the “down-times” when no one is using it. I thought it was a pretty clever idea. I’m no mechanical engineer, but I’m guessing there would likely be some logistic wrinkles to iron out. I figure if they can do it with lights, it wouldn’t be so far off for escalators. Now if we could just get our budding young conservative to take shorter showers.