Why do I use fountain pens?

Fountain pens cost more than regular ball points and rollerball pens. Many of my peers have asked me why I use fountain pens. I shall take this opportunity to detail the reasons behind my choice.

Zero hand fatigue. Ball pens requires you to press down on the paper to roll the ball in order to write. This introduces unnecessary hand fatigue and may cost issues with your hand muscles and tendons as you grow older. Fountain pens require no downward force to write. You just glide the nib over the paper.

Environmental-friendliness. Instead of supporting consumerism and polluting the environment by throwing away metal and plastic materials every single time you finish a refill or a pen, fountain pens inks come in huge bottles that lasts for months and even years. You no longer pollute the environment by buying a manufactured item that only lasts you a few weeks before you add it to the landfill.

Low cost. While fountain pens are more expensive than ball pens, they are not that much more expensive. Fountain pens can be purchases for under S$10, and the refills which come in huge bottles provide better cost per volume ratio compared to disposable or refillable ball pens. In the long run, you save. Big time.

Freedom of expression. Fountain pen inks come in every single color and shade you can think of. Most big time ink manufactures provide more than 10 shades for just a single color alone. You can choose the exact color and shade that best express your individualism.

Duo-point nibs. Duo-point nibs are special fountain pen nibs that writes with one stroke thickness the normal way (e.g M size) and a different thickness (e.g F size) when you flip the nib over and write with the other side. Most fountain pen nibs can do this out of the box, but specialty duo-point nibs are designed to excel in this. Duo-point nibs are particularly useful when writing notes or drawing, as you can write in different stroke thickness without switching to another pen.

A piece of history. Fountain pens have rich history. I love things with history.

Weikiat January 28, 2011 0 comments full post »

Sudden Death

While talking with Cliff on the topic of sudden death recently, he raised a valid question. Even when you die, the world still moves on. Would you just want to enjoy your life, or would you want to spend your life improving the world or leaving a legacy to others?

For me, I’ll choose the later, and I’ve been thinking and working on ways to do that one step at a time.

Yet, sometimes when death comes calling at you all too sudden, there is nothing much that can be done.

I refer to the death at Jurong Camp this morning.

A FULL-TIME National Serviceman (NSF) was hit and killed by a truck driven by another serviceman in Jurong camp 1 early on Friday morning.

Lance Corporal (LCP) Wee Yong Choon Eugin, a Signal Operator, was about to unload stores from the back of the truck at 7am on Friday morning when it reversed into him.

A Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) medic attended to LCP Wee immediately. At 7.05am, an ambulance was activated to evacuate LCP Wee to the National University Hospital (NUH).

LCP Wee was sent to the hospital at 7.15am and arrived at NUH at about 7.45am. However, he was pronounced dead at 7.59am.

In a statement, the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) and the SAF extended their deepest condolences to the family of the late LCP Wee. Mindef added that they were assisting the family in their time of grief and were investigating the incident.

Full Article

Assuming the worst and that there is no such thing as “heaven”, “hell” and reincarnation, we only live one life on this earth. When its over, its over. Something like this can happen to anyone. How should we live our life?

Yet I see people who only live in the moment. To me, these people only live for themselves, wasting the world’s food, air and water supply.

But in this case, apparently Eugin was not one of these people. He has ambitions. According to the interview broadcast on TV earlier, he was a filial son who goes out of the way to help elderly in need.

We live in the age where people upload bits and pieces of themselves onto the internet. Shocked and saddened by news, I ventured onto his facebook profile. What I saw saddened me even more.

He is an NSF with lots of nights out.
He had barely served a year in army, and freedom is still more than a year off.
He wants to try colored contact lens during Chinese New Year.
Like me, he found stuff from his Primary School days when spring cleaning.
He is an awesome debater.
He just took SAT test and was waiting for the results.
He is dead.

But in his death, he had left a final legacy to all future males in Singapore. Knowing SAF, they would do a full investigation into the matter and perhaps implement proper safety procedures in place to prevent such a stupid incident from happening to others.

Lets live our life not just for ourselves, for we never know when death might strike us. Its people who give up valuable time and parts of their life that bring us to where we are as a society today. Lets live our life in a way as to better that of those who will come after us.

Eugin, although I do not know you in person, rest in peace.

Why do I use fountain pens?

Fountain pens cost more than regular ball points and rollerball pens. Many of my peers...

Sudden Death

While talking with Cliff on the topic of sudden death recently, he raised a valid...