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You're Crazy! That Costs How Much?!?


MadAsAHatter

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Hi Ruth, just wanted to let you know that the reason that Waffle House has such good prices is that they recycle the morning steaks that people don't finish and serve them to the evening diners!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lticaptd:

:lticaptd: And here I was thinking it was the other way round -- serving the breakfast steaks that people didn't finish to the dinner crowd....

Of course there's donuts and then there's donuts. I tend to not like the really gooey or filled ones. So a lot of times when I'm at DD I'm getting the glazed chocolate, which aren't as icky sweet as some of the other flavors. Or, barring that (if it's lunchtime or they're out of the glazed chocolate) I'm just as likely to get a blueberry muffin from them. Oh, their hot chocolate is pretty good too, although sometimes I'm more likely to get decaf tea.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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Ruth -- You're glad Waffle House has opened up in the north???! We were introduced to the Waffle House when we lived in Charlotte, North Carolina. They did not form a favorable impression.

 

We also got out taste of sweet iced tea. "Would you like your tea now or when we serve the food?" "It's coffee, not tea, and we'll take it now."

For breakfast if I'm traveling? Yeah, I like them. I tend to get either waffles or the French toast, with bacon and coffee. I don't tend to get the really fancy waffles with the nuts in them, but if they have strawberries I'll get them on top.

I think I like them because they're sort of a cross between fast food joints and diners. I grew up on the East Coast, and back when I was a kid vacations involved car trips. So meals tended to be either at Howard Johnson's (remember them?) or diners. They didn't really have places like McDonald's until I was maybe in high school (my mom said once that it was too bad because places like that were relatively inexpensive and had food kids who are picky eaters will get fussy about). And then when I was in college, my friends and I would go out to one of the local diners after the campus coffee house closed for the night, or if we were taking a break from prepping for finals. But it's definitely a regional thing. A friend of mine lived a couple of towns over from me back when we were both still single. She dated a guy for a bit who had gone to the University of Michigan. After going to a concert at West Point, she took him to her favorite diner. And the guy was APPALLED because in the Midwest "nobody goes to diners except truckers!" is what she told me he said. And my response was "Of course truckers go to diners -- they know that's where the good coffee is...."

Mind you, we only went to the HoJo restaurants. We went someplace one time -- I think I was maybe around nine or ten -- and actually STOPPED at one of their "motor hotels" (I was shocked and amazed). My dad went into the office, then came out shaking his head and saying "They want to charge $24 a night for a room!" And he got back behind the wheel and we went someplace else that was cheaper (my brother and I were crushed).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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For doughnuts I pretty much live in Krispy Kreme central where you can get them fresh out the fryer. To me thy're okay when fresh and really not that good when packed and distributed, but for some reason everyone around here loves them. I don't see what the hype is about. For me the best is a local bakery, Port Allen Bakery. If I'm going to go chain I like Mary Lee. A new place that is a mile from my house and on my way to work should be opening pretty soon. They put the sign on the building a couple of weeks ago I think it's called Sunny's. I'll be giving them a try once they open.

 

Waffle House makes me think of that old Larry the Cable Guy joke about ordering smothered and covered and they come out scattered and splattered. I've always thought of Waffle House as the place where the college crowd goes after a night of bar hopping and everything else has closed for the night.

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I think of Waffle House as a place people go after seeing their parole officer.

Dan Kalish

 

Fountain Pens: Pelikan Souveran M805, Pelikan Petrol-Marble M205, Santini Libra Cumberland, Waterman Expert II, Waterman Phileas, Waterman Kultur, Stipula Splash, Sheaffer Sagaris, Sheaffer Prelude, Osmiroid 65

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I'm enjoying the conversation and please by all means continue with it... but how in the world did we go from people's reaction to price of pens to doughnuts & Waffle House??? :lticaptd: :lticaptd: :lticaptd:

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I think it morphed because of what people consider "cheap" vs. "expensive".
I mostly don't go to high end restaurants because of the price. If I'm traveling I've gotten more into the habit of "business class" hotels, mostly because of my husband liking better quality places (if I'm on my own, I will tend to go someplace cheap, especially if I'm going to be there for a couple of days -- such as for a pen show; my attitude is that "I can stay at the site hotel for convenience, or I can stay someplace that's less expensive that isn't too horrible a commute and then spend more money at the show itself; I choose the latter option...."

I mostly don't buy super expensive pens. I do have a few in the $275-$325 range, but only a very few. Most of mine I've paid between $10 and $75, because I'm a cheapskate. And even the few really expensive pens I didn't pay list price for; they were either used or on eBay -- and the two REALLY expensive ones, the two M405s, which were ONLY purchased because at the time I had the budget (something that isn't likely to re-occur any time soon) I got from Rolf Thiel at Missing Pens, so I saved the Chartpak markup costs and he didn't have to charge me VAT.

That's also one of the reasons I like vintage pens. They're from when "fountain pens" were just "pens". They were designed to be used. They are not, for the most part, big heavy bling-y pieces of tacky looking "art" that live in a display case. They fit my hand better, they were designed to be working tools, they're often lighter weight (even the Sheaffer Balance Oversize that was my husband's grandfather's pen is light weight even though "big"). And they're often way less expensive than modern "good" pens are.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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I've mostly seen negative reactions. When I got deeper into FP's about 15 years ago, I'd be excited to show people my pens but nowadays I'd rather not.

 

"THAT GUY HAS A MONTHS SALARY IN THERE" and they'd point at my pen case. It's more like 3 months but still, it's a big case.

 

Many times some guy would whip out a Bic and be like "THIS IS A FEW CENTS" and scoff and people would look at me like I'm some sort of criminal. Generally people, when they see me, immediately start looking for a reason to hate me because I don't share their skin colour.

 

Nowadays I only use my pens at home or at the office so I'm not forced to use them among regular civilians who may be rowdy and envious of my treasures.

>8[ This is a grumpy. Get it? Grumpy smiley? Huehue >8[

 

I tend to ramble and write wallotexts. I do that.

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Oh well, I suppose that there are worse addictions... :)

I must admit sometimes I look at my pens and my bank balance and ask myself the same question.

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Having a superior writing instrument is all the justification I need. That said, you dont have to spend much.

I just received a Conway Stewart 84 that cost about $70 and then shipping from Scotland. I didnt buy it because it writes wonderfully, but because I am also a collector of experiences and enjoy the hobby which I dont need to justify to anyone. :)

Edited by Estycollector

"Respect science, respect nature, respect all people (s),"

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Since pens are seen as something that you get for free and belong to everyone any pen with price tag seems to be expensive to some people.

 

I usually explain that a nice fountain pen is an accessory and that I have them instead of jewelry. And since I write with them they actually serves more than one purpose. Then it is easier for people to handle information about price. A common anwer to that is "I don't like writing." Eh, well, you don't have to... I'm sure you put your money on something you like.

Edited by Tanzanite
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You need a Lamborghini for the trifecta

 

I am a car nut and have always owned multiple cars, some for driving, some for restoring while I drove the others and some for future restoration. The classic cars are on a special license where I live, which restricts use to pleasure only - you were not allowed to use them to or from work.

 

In order to be able to enjoy my older cars, I always drove them on weekends to do chores so I'd be able to get some use out of them. I was at the local garden centre once and was buying various materials including fertilizer. The young chap who offered to help haul my purchases out asked where I wanted them and I just said without thinking "Put the sacks of manure at the rear of the Lamborghini" He thought I was pulling his leg and I had to tell him which car it was (it was a 1969 model, before they started to look like spaceships so he really didn't know what one would look like).

 

I hate talking about what I paid for anything - it is no one's business, and I sometimes tell them exactly that if they ask me. My most expensive pen is probably a Waterman that retailed at $3K (I am cheap and would never pay more than a fraction of new prices) but when someone noticed it when I was writing with it and nosily ask, I did tell him that if he could find a new one that was what it would cost him. At least it shut them up.

 

I don't mind chatting about values if I am talking to another collector or enthusiast, but it annoys me to have people with no interest in the object under discussion other than the value inquire out of the blue what I paid for something. If they are an acquaintance I might say something like "Didn't your mother teach you any manners? How very impolite to ask such a question". My response to any more casual inquiry would be even more terse.

Bill Spohn

Vancouver BC

"Music is the wine that fills the cup of silence"

 

Robert Fripp

https://www.rhodoworld.com/fountain-pens.html

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True - we use our phones more than our pens.....

and the world is a worse place for it.

 

.

 

I'm so stealing this phrase!

---------------------------------------------------------

We use our phones more than our pens.....

and the world is a worse place for it. - markh

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How much did you pay for that???

 

Response: More than loaf of bread and less than a Ferrari!

PAKMAN

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:lol:

Even my husband laughed at that. Good one, Pakman.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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You can get a Hot Wheels Ferrari for about $5.00 and a Sheaffer Ferrari for under $100.

Dan Kalish

 

Fountain Pens: Pelikan Souveran M805, Pelikan Petrol-Marble M205, Santini Libra Cumberland, Waterman Expert II, Waterman Phileas, Waterman Kultur, Stipula Splash, Sheaffer Sagaris, Sheaffer Prelude, Osmiroid 65

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You can get a Hot Wheels Ferrari for about $5.00 and a Sheaffer Ferrari for under $100.

:lticaptd:

Except of course that they're now Cross Ferraris. I don't remember what those run.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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  • 3 weeks later...

I used to run a company with a vendor that gave away MONT BLANCS routinely at year end and CROSS pens like they were bubble gum, so I have a decent collection but have bought not a lot myself, and those I have bought are on the lower price end that just struck my fancy for some reason.

 

Actually one of my very best writers ... and maybe I just got lucky ... is this $10.00 JINHAO GOLDEN DRAGON:

 

 

 

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"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed ..."

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