Another short, lazy post. Sigh. I like pocket notebooks, and I like tiny mechanical pencils I can carry with them. This combination is working well for me now, though I will make the next notebook a side-opener. I haven't settled on a final design for the pencil holder yet, so I just taped a length of disposable drinking straw to the back cover for now. I moved the little pocket clip to the eraser cap, to let the pencil hang deeper inside the straw, which meant I had to glue the clip in place or it slipped down and obstructed the lead-advance clearance. There is still a significant risk of losing the pencil if the eraser cap itself detaches, but I can live with that chance, for now. I've been trying for years to store pencils in the spiral binding of notebooks, with little to no success- this slim (less than 1/4 inch in diameter) and short (4.25 inches) pencil may make this possible. I had been trying for a year or more to buy a mostly metal Zebra pencil of similar dimensions (about US$6 and considerably heavier) that I know I saw at an Office Depot, but can't find anywhere- Zebra say it's for Europe only and was never sold in the US. I think they're full of prunes. When I stumbled across this perfectly acceptable (and almost literally featherweight) version for a buck and a half at my favorite toe-sock store (Daiso) I didn't hesitate to buy on the spot. That's still a lot of money for a plastic mechanical pencil no more reliable than the 10 for $2.00 Scriptos, but it's really the size I'm paying for. All right, enough from me- the sun is shining and I want to be outside.

Briefest of Updates:

That short work day (four hours) I mentioned the other day turned out to have been a blessing in disguise- today the head-scratchers at the Internet giant decided our entire 40 person shift could and should bill the company for a full eight hours, so we did. Oh, that reminds me that I must remember to submit my time card before 11 AM Monday or I'll never see a dime of my pay. Not even a thin dime, if I can believe the dire threats that pass for the temp agency's payroll submission guidelines. I guess submission is an important aspect of temp agency protocol.

A milepost passed: Three people who don't work for me have written to say they enjoyed my blog. To date, I have had good reason to say I enjoyed just one of their blogs, because only one of them blogs. If you can't wait to see a link to that blog, too bad- I'm waiting for permission to post a link. That undeniably serious person knows who he/she/it/other is...