 |
| Apropos that a frozen puddle at Blick Art Materials should be art. |
Actually, I found that, too, but passed it by. A black spiral
notebook lay frosted on the lawn outside Blick Art Materials, or maybe it was
Galesburg Sign Co. I figured it would be too defiled by moisture to be of any
use, though curiosity had me wondering if it might contain some titillating
secrets, the personal confessions of some heartbroken diarist.
But I already had a
pencil sticking out of my right glove and a package of wrapping paper in the
same hand; I really didn’t need anything else encumbering me. After all, I didn’t
take a bag along Wednesday because I had no intention of stopping to pick up
stuff – too much of a drain on my pace (thank you, Nike+ watch).
The pencil came
early, when I turned west off Seminary to Fifth Street. I’ve scavenged other
pencils, just because they are useful. But, hell, I don’t even use pencils
much. I’m a pen man. The recipients of my letters can tell you I should use a
pencil and eraser instead, but I like the feel of a pen, the ease of its
stroke. Yet, it’s hard to pass up a useful object, even if it’s not exactly
useful to me.
As soon as I picked
it up, noted the traditional No. 2 on its shaft, and stuck it into my glove, I
began to ponder the point of the No. 2. First, I pondered the possibility that
said point might puncture my flesh should I stumble and throw my hands out to
catch my fall. Surely that would have happened. I thought to reverse the
position of the pencil, but, frankly, the point slid in easier than the eraser
would have – or so I assumed. So I left it.
 |
After carrying the wrapping paper a few
blocks, I decided to stuff it under my jacket. |
So my pondering
progressed to the specificity of the No. 2. Why are students advised, nay,
required, to use No. 2 pencils when filling in the bubbles on standardized
tests? Let us explore that.
The site responds to its own
question: “Most of us pick up pencils and lose them without giving it a second
thought. Pencils are a bit more interesting than you might, think, though.”
We then learn that the American No.
2 – HB elsewhere – is not too light, not too dark, not too hard, not too soft.
Fucking Goldilocks of the writing implement world.
Here’s the full story: What Makes #2
Pencils So Special?
My favorite bit from that is this:
Ack!
I used a #3 pencil on the SAT! Is my life over?
No, but you're probably destined for
a life of hard labor rather than college. Just kidding. It's hard to get a
straight answer on this question, but there are quite a few reports from people
online who messed up by using the wrong grade of pencil and still did just fine
on their SAT. The general consensus seems to be that the SAT's scanners will
read a #3 pencil's mark just the same as it would read one from a #2 pencil.
Consider yourselves forewarned…
Today’s Stats (Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2013)
Temp: 15 degrees F
Distance: 4.68 miles
Weekly Total:
8.18 miles
Treasure: 1 No. 2 pencil (Target); 1 pack Hallmark
All Occasion Wrapping Paper (2 sheets, 20x30”)
iPod Playlist (Shuffle)
Save A Prayer – Duran
Duran
Come Go With Me –
Expose
American Honey – Lady
Antebellum
Outro – Ryan Adams
live in the XM Studios
Perfect Blue
Buildings – Counting Crows
The Grand Illusion –
Styx
Comfortable (live) –
John Mayer
Because I cans, cans, cans
Today was a mix of
cans, some pop, some beer and some trash.
Today's Stats (Monday, Nov. 25, 2013)
Temp: 31 degrees F
Distance: 3.5 miles
Weekly Total: 3.5 miles
Treasure: 7 cans; removed three trash cans from the
street.
iPod Playlist (Shuffle):
She’s Got A Way
(live) – Billy Joel
All Night Long –
Billy Squier
Stranger Here … Than
Over There – Robert Plant
Father Figure – George
Michael
Armageddon It – Def Leppard
My Favorite Mistake –
Sheryl Crow
Every Day Is A
Winding Road – Sheryl Crow
A Last Request (I
Want Your Sex Part III) – George Michael
