The banality of evil - stationary edition

[WOM]

The banality of evil - stationary edition

Excellent ass-covering there.

[WOM]

The banality of evil - stationary edition

Ginger Yellow wrote:

I'm continually astounded at people paying exorbitant prices for Cross and Montblanc pens and the like. Same with watches.

Status symbols and extravagant consumption, innit?

Oh, absolutely. But the oddest things when you think about it.

[Incandenza]

The banality of evil - stationary edition

WornOldMotorbike wrote:

I don't think Bic pens are poor quality at all, Inca.

Maybe I've just seen the bottom of the line Bics. I'm thinking of these:



Which I think are crap. Part of it is that I hate having to take a cap off of a pen--I much prefer retractable. I'm a big fan of the Pilot Easy Touch:

[WOM]

The banality of evil - stationary edition

Yeah, that's them. Affordable elegance.
You've gone all soft down there in SoCal, man.

[WOM]

The banality of evil - stationary edition

Of course, I'm talking out my ass. I use a Pilot Fineliner felt tip so I can doodle while I'm brainstorming. Ballpoint doodles look like shit.

[Ginger Yellow]

The banality of evil - stationary edition

Retractable pens with quality nibs are great and all, but I lose pens at such a prodigious rate that it would become more expensive than my smoking habit if I used them.

[beak]

The banality of evil - stationary edition

Muji 0.5mm ballpoint pens are the best, my pen of choice for the last decade. Lovely thick ink, that still flows excellently and dries fast enough that lefties with slouched hands (like me) don't have to worry so much about smudging ink everywhere.

And you can leave the lids off and they won't dry out. Unfortunately, if you run them over something you shouldn't run them over, they appear to be fucked for good (none of this run them over a nice piece of rubber business like you can do with a biro.)

I hate biros.

[Guest]

The banality of evil - stationary edition

Biros are shit. This:



is the best non-fountain pen pen, only I don't think they make them any more. I found some on eBay from an office supplies place that was auctioning off old stock.

I bought ten.

I ... I love stationery. There. I've said it.

[WOM]

The banality of evil - stationary edition

I was never, ever one of those "Ooo..I'm going shopping for school supplies" people. I'd head off on day one with a chewed Bic and a half-used notepad. But there is something oddly enjoyable about tromping down to the basement, now, and loading up on a few felt tips, spiral bounds and shrink-wrapped packs of post-its.

[Reed John]

The banality of evil - stationary edition

All the pens I've got here were free from pharmaceutical or medical device companies, physician professional societies or hotels. Perk of the business.

But I've taken to using regular No. 2 pencils for everything. I've got on one of the cool electric sharpeners that my great-grandfather sold, along with check writers, back in the days when check writers and electric pencil sharpeners were the height of office technology.

[WOM]

The banality of evil - stationary edition

I hate pencils with the red hot searing heat of a thousand suns.

I do, however, have a Viagra pen that I love, as it gives me the chance to tell people it was a 'gift with purchase'.

[Reed John]

The banality of evil - stationary edition

I like pencils. I like being able to erase.

These days there's a big movement to crack down on any and all gifts from drug and device manufacturers to doctors so the gravy train of free pens and knick knacks is drying up. It really sucks the joy out of going to conferences for me.

[WOM]

The banality of evil - stationary edition

Maybe they should start with the three-day golf vacations in Vegas and work their way back to pens and canvas tote bags.

[Reed John]

The banality of evil - stationary edition

Contrary to how it's portrayed on House and so forth, they've actually already killed off most of those golf junkets and what not. I've talked to a number of drug reps who talk wistfully about the good old days of the early 1990s when they had control of big piles of money to throw at doctors for stuff like that. It still happens but it's not as common and it's not nearly as flagrant.

So now they're (they being legislators and government prosecutors) are gnawing on the bones of the once-bloated carcass they've already eaten by going after the pens and so forth. The professional societies and industry organizations are adopting their own codes of conduct to minimize this stuff and deprive the Chuck Grassley's of the world of their grandstanding opportunities on this issue.

However, law firms, consultancies, CRO's and groups promoting med-tech investment in a particular place are still free to give out lots of swag. For example. I've got a pen exhorting the user to Invest in Germany. You'd think Germany wouldn't need stuff like that but here it is. If I had room in my already stuffed bag, I could have got a little squishy bison from the Invest in Manitoba people at last year's Lifescience Alley conference in Minneapolis. I'm going to that again this year so I'll bring a bigger bag.

[Guest]

The banality of evil - stationary edition

Oh yes Muji pens. My list of reasons to try to look on the bright side about having to be in London from next week has Muji pens at number about three. I have some stolen 'mitsubishi pencil co' 'uniball eye micro' pens here though that are fabulous, but Muji pens come in green & purple & turquoise.

[Reed John]

The banality of evil - stationary edition

Until this thread, I thought stationery only referred to the paper - specifically paper for writing letters - not the pens or other accoutrements.

[WOM]

The banality of evil - stationary edition

Have I ever mentioned the time I went into the variety store near my house, where the owner had just installed a beautifully hand-lettered sign reading "Milk, cigarettes, magazines, cards, gifts, etc...and stationary." in the front window?

So, of course, I said "they've spelled 'stationery' wrong".

Two days later, the sign still hung, but with one of those horrible aluminum stick-on letters - that people use to spell their surname on rural mailboxes - slapped over the offending 'a'. Almost twenty years on, it's still there.

I didn't mention it? Remind me and I'll tell it some time.