Merlins Tower

Fountain Pen Use and Schools

Posted on December 13th, 2006 by Merlin.
Categories: Notetaking.

Saw this story that I had to share about fountain pens. It seems there is a school located in Edinburgh Scottland that REQUIRES their students to use a fountain pen for their work. Yes, the Mary Erskine and Stewart's Melville Junior School in Scotland has returned to teaching students the neglected art of writing with a fountain pen, though the school does still teaches computer and other high tech skills the school teaches the use and handwriting skills. The schools principal stated that the 1200 students have better academic scores and more self-esteem - also stated was that the students concentration and handwriting skills have improved. 

Principal Bryan Lewis stated that "The pens improve the quality of work because they force the children to take care, and better work improves self-esteem, Proper handwriting is as relevant today as it ever has been." And the students seem to agree. And it is not just the students using the Fountain Pens all new teachers are required to take a handwriting and fountain pen usage class.

It was mentioned in the article that they teach a handwriting style that was developed to help prevent smudging for both left and right handed writers. I would really love to see a sample sheet or guide to this style of writing. Anyone have a link - I could not find one anywhere.

To Read the whole article just click your mouse button here. 

Link to Mary Erskine and Stewart School 

TAGS: Fountain Pens Fountain+Pens School Handwriting Required

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Stikkit - A New Way to Organize Online

Posted on December 3rd, 2006 by Merlin.
Categories: Communication, Computing, Consulting, Email, Freeware, GTD, Hack, Notetaking, Web Service.

Stikkit.com - A new online organizer in Beta testing.

First a little Blurb from Stikkit:

Stikkit gives you the digital equivalent of a sticky note: the easiest thing you can grab to jot down an idea or reminder. As you type, Stikkit watches for appointments, to-dos, people, bookmarks and more, magically extracting and organizing the important details. It's like having a personal assistant following along after you.

What does this mean to you? Well after taking the 2 mins that it took to signup and activate your account you can start using it right away - Press the Shift-ALT-N and you get a nice blank note to type something in?

Meeting with Vet for Java for Shots on Jan 22 2007 3pm @VET @JAVA @APPOINTMENT

This created a Appointment (1-22-2007 @ 3pm) And Tagged the note with 3 different TAGS VET, JAVA, Appointment  

Whats nice it that it integrated the Notes with Appointments and  Tagging System

BOB SMITH 212-555-1212 bobsmith@yeahright.com 

This Created a Peep (Contact) with his contact info in there.

You can also visit the setting page for your Stikkit Account and they will give you a Secret Email address that you can add to your cellphone and then when out on the road you can Text an Apointment, Note, etc to your account.

Plus say you are visiting a webpage and wanted to jot a note about something you saw? Well if you already created a shortcut on your bookmark toolbar  you can press it and it will automatically note the page/time and Whatever notes you want to store on stikkit page.

Each Section of your stikkit has its own RSS feed. So you can read your contacts, appointments or general Notes in your RSS Reader.

Plus if you turned on the SMS feature of Stikkit it can sent you an SMS message when you have an appointment. 

TAGS: STIKKIT stickit note todo calendar organizer online sms email organization

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New Levengers Product - Wallet Writers

Posted on November 19th, 2006 by Merlin.
Categories: Communication, GTD, Gadgets, Journaling, Leather, Notetaking.

They have done it again - Another innovative product from Levengers. The Wallet Writer - It gives your wallet a place for you to write on. Basically it look like it is a mini version of the International Shirt Pocket Briefcase that now fits in your back pocket.

I really like this idea as there are times I don't carry my International Shirt Pocket Briefcase with me. It is rare but there are times that it is just not necessary to have with me. But then I need to take a few notes - Too hard to do on a napkin and way too easy to loose, Can't write on my business card as they are double sided and full color glossy. Now this products comes to the rescue. You are now guaranteed a place and means to write down the notes you needed to remember - Such as a book you wanted to read, a persons name and email, a street address or what ever strikes you at the moment of revelation. I know I find it much easier to use this analog way - Pencil / Pen and paper then taking notes or tidbits of info and putting it into an electronic device.

From what I read the cards are the same stock as their cards for the Shirt Pocket Briefcase - Which in my humble opinion are really nice quality and I use them all the time. These cards have a grid design on one side and rule lines on the other. I would prefer they were grid design on both sides. - The wallet comes with 50 cards and the refills are 300 cards for $18 dollars - again not a bad price for the quality of the cards.

Levenger's makes the wallet in three different styles - Billfod style for men, a compact snap style for women, and a business card holder for unisex. Of course these are made of their high quality soft full-grain leather in a range of different colors (Black, Red and Toffee). The prices for these range from $42 to $58 - $42 for the Card Wallet Writer, and $58 for either of the men's or women's wallet version. The Photo above is of the Card Wallet Writer.

If anyone is using one of these please use the comment section as I would love to hear what you think of yours.  Or if you have any other suggestions or ideas on this let me know.

Merlin

Tags:  Levenger wallet briefcase business+card Index+Card index card business note notetaking portable analog

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