In this week's issue of The Economist is an article about the future of the pencil, of all things. Count Anton Wolfgang von Faber-Castell is interviewed; his family's been making pencils since 1761.

Faber-Castell pencils are my favorites. I once had a set of four pitch-black pencils, with silver-capped ends. Those pencils gave such a rich black, it was astounding; so unlike those crap No.2 pencils I was plagued with in school. I've been looking for replacements for years, but been unable to find them. Until now:

It's called 'The Perfect Pencil,' and I cannot wait to buy one. I don't know that I strictly need the platinum-plated pencil extender/sharpener version. But ooh, I want one. And once I have them, I will not stick them up my nose, like Blackadder's doing above. Not even if I do want to be considered insane to get out of being sent to the front.