@CoastRiderBill i agree fully, if you understand pc you can do wonders around apple (due to open source and closed source os systems) apple is great so long as you are uninterested in computers themselves. If you are the kind of person that wants to get to know why your car drives - pc. If you are only interested in getting to where you want to go and are willing to for air in your tires - apple...

I used my own (Mac) experience as an example; I wouldn't be surprised if higher end PCs worked just as well in terms of length of use, etc., even for laptops. Obviously, a Mac isn't for everyone and if you can build your one or need specialized software (and running Windows on a Mac is out of the question or too much of a hassle for whatever issue) then a PC is the way to go.

@Redcupcoffee There is an entire subculture of fountain pen people A great starter and everyday pen is a Lamy Safari. They are inexpensive ($25 or so). One of my four fountain pens is a Safari and it gets the most use of my pens. I'd go with a Fine nib. Most of the Safari pens will come with a pack of 4 ink cartridges - likely in black. The Safari also has a triangular grip which is nice and sort of "teaches" the right way to hold a fountain pen. Safaris come in many different colors and each year there is a 'special' color released. My Safari is a very unexciting dark gray. OH - the Safari clip is sturdy -- if a Safari is clipped in a pocket or on to something else - it will not be going anywhere.

Ink...…. I would also recommend a Lamy converter - an ink cartridge that can be filled from bottled ink. There a zillion inks out there - all with different kind of properties but I love Waterman Serenity Blue Ink as a great writing ink. Inks are available in any imaginable color - an incredible variety! There are some very pretty reds, greens, etc. out there. With a fountain pen, you can clean the pen when it needs to be re-inked and switch to another color/brand of ink.

I have 'nice' fountain pens and another 'every day' one. But I've been working from home mostly since 2014, so I have found myself using my 'nice' pens less..... (for me, my fountain pen is like a watch - I have an every day watch and a couple of dressier watches.... I don't wear my dress watches much either these days!).. But I am wandering off on a tangent/rabbit hole here....

I also have a Visconti Rembrandt fountain pen - nicely weighted, medium nib, very pretty. It was my most used pen previously when I worked in an office environment. My fanciest pen is a Montegrappa nerouno linea that I picked up at a crazy fire sale price when the only good fountain pen store in Omaha closed due to the death of the owner. I also have a copper Fountain-K from Karaskustoms pens (they make very nice pens that sort of have an industrial feel - from aluminum, brass, or copper). This pen is my other "every day" pen but doesn't get much use.... I've given assorted Karaskustoms pens as gifts over the years (not their fountain pens) -- they are a good company.

I do like fountain pens.... Perhaps just a wee bit When I started getting into fountain pens I was worried that I would lose them... However, I found myself keeping up with them because they are not 'throw away' pens. Also nobody will borrow your fountain pen because so few people know how to write with them.....

@Redcupcoffee you are most welcome ! It is an adventure of sorts with fountain pens. It also makes me really appreciate good paper - good paper handles writing with a fountain pen very well. Not so good paper will get all smeary and have some bleed through. But some inks also handle the same paper differently. So lots of variables in the mix to explore and many good resources and reviews out there ! Lots of fun to be had (for a somewhat off-the-beaten-path definition of fun !).

@Redcupcoffee You will enjoy it !

@Redcupcoffee A good place to start is the Well Appointed Desk (https://www.wellappointeddesk.com/). Her latest review is on composition books bought at back-to-school sales. She also has paper and ink reviews (and pencils, and stuff in general). The author works at Hallmark in KC, and she always has interesting articles, IMHO.

The Pen Addict site (https://www.penaddict.com/) also has lots of reviews of pens, inks, etc. and a podcast.....

jetpens.com is great online store - with lots of helpful articles and FAQs. They have a nice article on paper (https://www.jetpens.com/blog/the-best-fountain-pen-paper/pt/730). They also have all kinds of pens, paper, pencils (mechanical and wooden - including lots of Japanese pencils) I've bought quite a bit from them over the years. The have articles about using a converter, etc. etc.

I mostly use Doane paper notebooks (https://www.doanepaper.com/products/). Their main paper is grid+lines. You can download a PDF and print it out to look at it the pattern. They had a limited run of 'Moon Camera' notebooks that mimic the crosshatches the Hasselblad/film of the Apollo missions showed. I think Doane paper is a KC company too.

@Redcupcoffee personally I won't use anything except Dawn dish soap. Nothing else has ever seemed to clean as well, especially with grease

I'm like 80-90% with you on the guitar thing.

@Redcupcoffee I saw that tissues came about due to TB, as well as shorter dresses and porches. Was a great documentary!

@Redcupcoffee Here in Houston. I guess I like Beck's Prime the best, followed by a bunch of local places. Haven't tried them all. As I've gotten older I'm 'supposed' to limit my intake. But as mom always said "too much of this or that is bad for you" or "you are what you eat" -- me, I'm a cheeseburger and proud of it.

@Redcupcoffee
Let's put it this way. You don't stop eating because you are full. You stop eating because there is none left.

Perhaps in the age of dslr or dl photography, but in the golden age of film I've seen pretty clever built cameras take amazing shots. Technology has ruined the craft of what photography once was.

Don't I know it. I started out in the film world where I could charge $1500 - $2000/day plus expenses because you have to know how to expose a piece of film properly and the clients needed perfect images for all their marketing stuff. Nowadays, good enough is good enough and a $500 dSLR can give them that. Consequently, I'm just one of the many blokes that's no longer a working photographer.