Got to spend the weekend in Atlanta having a date night with my sweet wife and helping our friends Knox and Jamie celebrate 10 years of The Popcast as volunteers for their live show. No kids, good friends, great weekend.
Last photo of my Series 7 and first with the Ultra 2. Even in a quick, crappy photo you can see how much brighter the Ultra 2 is outside. I love the Apple Watch, and am really excited to have the screen and battery life of the Ultra.
🖋️ New Pen Day!
I am starting a new role at my company and celebrated with a “work pen”. This is the Pilot Custom 823 in Smoke with a Fine Nib. I have a few Pilot M and an EF, but this is my first plain F, and it writes perfectly.

For as long as I can remember, my Dolly Parton obsessed wife has wanted to make the pilgrimage to Dollywood. Yesterday, we finally made it happen with our oldest 2 kids.
So much fun, and such a well thought out it park.

🖋️ I have so many pens with orange ink in them (I have a problem), I decided to not go matchy matchy with the heat.
I have had Iroshizuku Tsutsuji for a couple years, but wanted a more hot pink. 431 is my first Ink Studio ink, and in my limited writing, it writes great and pairs well with this ECO.

🖋️New Pen Day
The ECO Heat has arrived. I got it with a Fine job because strangely, I have no Fine ECOs. Will ink it up Wednesday when a new ink I want to try is delivered.
The color seems a bit different than the promos, but I still really like it.

🖋️My current mantra: “I don’t need another ECO or another orange pen.”
I don’t know if it will hold true though.

My 7-year-old daughter has always been an animal whisperer. She proved it yet again yesterday at the park when she convinced a butterfly to land on her hand.

🖋️ My Plotter is multiplying. 😬
I’ve consistently used my A5 since last fall, but with some new work responsibilities, I needed some more space. Just received the Bible sized, and am working on setting it up!
Hopefully I can do a full writeup of how I use these soon.
🎵 Between both COVID and moving away from Nashville in 2020, I often have live music withdrawal.
Seeing Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit tonight was good for my soul. Great venue, amazing weather, incredible music.

🎮 I guess I’m a gamer now?
I’ve never been outside of Nintendo, but wanted a way to experience some of the big titles of the last few years. I think this will be perfect for me. Starting with Spiderman Remastered.
17 years ago, I met a pretty girl working at the summer camp I had attended since I was 9. Today, we dropped off our oldest 2 kids for their first stay at that same camp. This full circle moment is making me more thankful than ever for the life God has given us.
Ooni night at the McClellans’.
This post is proof podcast advertising works.

I’ve tried all the popular notes apps with linking, and keep coming back to Apple Notes. With this addition in iOS 17, I may be done with other apps forever. I just hope you can see a list of back links inside a note.

Home from a week at the beach. Vacation isn’t super restful when these 3 are involved, but we had a ton of fun. Dance parties, dolphin tours, and bike rides. So glad we could make the memories together.

I was already ordering some inks from Dromgoole’s, and threw this one in on a whim after hearing @brad talk about it on an episode of The Pen Addict. Again, my photography skills don’t show it off, but I may have a new favorite ink, especially paired with the rose gold pen.

When a Buc-ee’s opens just a few miles from your house, your family can make a Friday night out of visiting for the first time.

🖋️Yesterday, I received one of my grail pens. I had a major work milestone in January, and planned for months to celebrate by ordering this pen. Everything about the experience was perfect. From phone calls with the owner on nib tuning to its appearance and how it sits in my hand. I’m in love.

🖋️Forgot to post my last Atlanta Pen Show Pen! This is a bad picture of a gorgeous pen from the folks at Hinze Pens. My dad and I got matching ones. Mixed with a brown shimmer ink, this thing is incredible. Look at that nib!

🖋️Another ATL Pen Show Acquisition. Not a new pen, but a new nib grind and ink. The grind and ink took this pen from one I liked to one I love. It’s Mark Bacas’s version of a Naginata Togi nib, and it is my first specialty grind. I absolutely love it.

🖋️Next Atlanta Pen Show purchase. I’ve seen pictures of Vanishing Points, but never got the appeal. Seeing them in person, I was immediately drawn to this (hard to photograph) Blue Matte. I’ve read @brad raving about this ink for years, so I had to try it. I love the subdued pen/bright ink combo!

🖋️Atlanta Pen Show Haul items 2 & 3. This is a great example of why shows are great. I wanted to try this nib and an Estie badly. As soon as I walked up to the Kenro booth, this finish called my name, and the nib is great. And this ink! It’s like a shimmery Shin-kai (maybe a shade lighter).

🖋️The first thing I purchased at the Atlanta Pen Show is this gorgeous Charlotte model from Jonathon Brooks’s Carolina Pen Company. I’ve admired his resins for years and am so proud to have this in my collection. The Auburn colors sealed the deal. He was nice enough to ink it up for me as well.
