Just a couple of things I wanted to share before they fled my mind (for if there’s one thing readers of the blog will be all too familiar with, it’s that I can’t let a thought – no matter how irrelevant and trivial – pass through my mind without sharing it):

THING THE FIRST: In meetings at work, I frequently find that people will do presentations using either papers or slides projected on the wall, and this often seems to be referred to as ‘talking to the paper’ or ‘talking to the presentation’. My natural instinct in such a sentence would be to use the word ‘about’.

I only ever hear this in a work context, so it might well be one of those buzz-word type things, but I find it kind of odd, as it suggests someone is, literally, talking to some bits of paper or Powerpoint images projected on a wall. Then again, it does have a faintly Middle English ring about it, like something out of Gawain And The Green Knight, I guess.

“He didde talke to his presentationne, and didde Powerpoint use”, as Chaucer wrote in The Project Manager’s Tale.

THING THE SECOND: I’ve recently started using a new pen, and I rather like it. It’s a Pilot VPen, and is a strange mix between a fountain pen (it has a nib) and a gel pen (the ink flows smoothly).

It gives a slightly scratchy interaction with the paper, which I actually find slightly satisfying as it proves to me that yes, I actually am writing, but without the hassles of changing the cartridge or carrying round a bottle of ink… but, yes, there’s a but. I’m not any kind of scientist, but as the pen is disposable and has loads of working parts, surely it’s a nightmare in environmental terms? Can anyone advise?

Or, to put it another way, can anyone talk to this post?