The cheap office

[PATAX]

Found some old paper clips and they were much stronger than the ones they sell now. I have at least a half dozen mechanical pencils here on my desk that don't work properly, some of them never worked. May have to go back to the old wooden pencil if my last good one here gives out. And then there is the accounting column paper, try taking one out of the columnar pad without getting the edge all jagged and ripped up. And the lamp on my desk, I'm waiting for the switch to go, as my experience is they don't last long. I have an old antique lamp probably over 100 years old and still the original switch. Back to work now.

[IRonMaN · Accepted solution]

"I have an old antique lamp probably over 100 years old"

Based on that post, you sound like someone that is close to being as old as that lamp 😜

[PATAX]

@IRonMaN 👍 lamp has Greco-Roman figures around it. Maybe I'll take it to the Antique Roadshow, and the proceeds I can use to update my office.

[IRonMaN]

I would like to help in determining its value, but my knowledge of Greo-Roman is limited to a type of wrestling, not a type of lamp.

[PATAX]

@IRonMaN 👍I can't tell if they are ancient Greeks or Romans. Greco means Greek in Italian.

[Jim-from-Ohio]

When I first started out in public accounting, everyone was using I think either a .5 or a .7 Pentil mechanical pencil with that tiny eraser under an end cap.. I did not like them.. lead too thin and eraser too small. over the years I found .9 mechancial pencils and now I use these 1.3 Paper Mate pencils.. almost impossible to break the lead even with a heavy hand.. 

[IRonMaN]

But those look like a set of Crayola crayons. 😬

When I started out, we had what was known as the super ticker - a mechanical pencil with black lead on one end and red on the other.  You were then properly armed to go out and audit with a fail safe way to create proper tick marks. 

[PATAX]

@Jim-from-Ohio 👍 thanks Jim I'm going to look into that 1.3.

[PATAX]

@IRonMaN 👍 when Brother Cooley started out, he was using a quill.😉

[IRonMaN]

Actually, I believe he was using stone and a chisel. 😁

[abctax55]

OMG... Jeff, the memories you bring back.  I still have mine, and some replacement leads too.

I have a nice silver pen given to me by my Uncle at least 30 years ago.  It has a University of Alabama emblem attached to it.  It is VERY special to me; I've used it to sign every single tax return since I received it (before efile days) and I initial the paper client copies with it.   It obviously gets a lot less use these days; I don't have to replace the ink cartridge as often anymore.  I probably should buy a dozen of the cartridges as they may become obsolete.  Maybe they already are 😉  

[qbteachmt]

Based on the title, I thought you meant Cheap. It seems you are discussing BIFL = buy it for life.

Cheap Office is my office. Nearly every pen, ruler, pencil, eraser, etc is branded; they're all give-aways. And I have one of those really old brass lamps with a toga-wrapped child Cupid on it, that was storage booty. We used to run self-storage units seasonally, and everyone ever associated with that operation has storage booty in the house. The laptop used only for Quicken is from my dead father.

If it ain't free, it had better be cheap. My favorite item is a travel mug I got at Goodwill. In the Intuit QB book I used to teach, there was a customer in the lessons = Melton Dental Office. I found a metal insulated tall mug at GW that is a local provider: Felton Dental Office. I love it.

[PATAX]

@qbteachmt 👍👍👍 I have a few freebies too from clients, broker, Etc I try to buy quality American made products but unfortunately there are some items that you just can't find. So now we're left with buying foreign cheap stuff that is half the price. But the American products used to last four times longer.

[PATAX]

@Jim-from-Ohio I just got in the mail via the Internet the same exact mechanical pencils in your picture. They work pretty good thanks

[IRonMaN]

Hopefully there wasn't a big learning curve for the new pencils 😉

[Jim-from-Ohio]

@PATAXawesome. almost impossible to break the lead on these beasts

[Jim-from-Ohio]

speaking of upgrades, just met with my client that is also my IT person.. going to swap out the spinning hard drive this summer and go to this: 

and next summer switch to Win 11

[PATAX]

@IRonMaN I hope the guy that invented the mechanical pencil received a copyright/patent on it, if possible. If he did he should be a billionaire.

[PATAX]

@Jim-from-Ohio I have Windows 11 on my newer computer and it is great. Very fast. My older computer is on Windows 10, and that computer is slow because I think the backup memory drive on it is filled.

[PATAX]

Speaking of office, I found at the bottom of my bookshelf an old emergency radio that I bought years ago still in the box. So I brought it out and it worked. It has a hand crank on it that recharges the battery.

[The_AntiTax_Man]

I use the .9mm mechanical pencils with soft lead.  The writing shows up thicker and darker on the paper and shows up so much better on the times that you need a photocopy.

I was not aware 1.3mm existed.  If the lead is near impossible to break is it soft enough to make dark writing?

[Jim-from-Ohio]

that 1.3 pencil works great,, can press hard as you want.. ask @PATAX how he likes them.. he just snagged a package of them I think. 

[PATAX]

Jim is right they are great. I'm using one right now. The print is darker and clearer than the other mechanical pencils.

[IRonMaN]

I hope everyone realizes that if this post is still floating around on the internet in a few years, some kid is going to find this and ask his parents - "what's a pencil?".