In the newsroom where I work  cost-cutting measures have led the brain trust there to buy the worst pens on the planet. Since I spend a big chunk of my work week furiously scribbling down what people say to me,  I hate bad pens. You have to press hard. The ink often skips and you lose precious seconds while someone has moved on from one brilliant thought to the next, which you only caught half of because of the stupid pen. (Audio recordings require more time to transcribe, so reporters on tight deadlines don’t use them.)

I launched my own search for a decent pen and found a surprisingly good one. Who knew Sharpie, maker of those big fat markers, had a lovely little fine point? The pen feels good in my hand, the ink flows quickly and doesn’t skip. Sharpie’s claims that it doesn’t bleed through aren’t quite accurate. It mostly doesn’t.