John Sullivan

Former shipper and executive director at the Free Software Foundation, now https://alliterativeadvising.com, https://crazyalansemporium.com, and board of directors for https://f-droid.org.

pronouns: he/him
Matrix: John Sullivan (npub1ras…fswq):librem.one
Turntables: Two
Microphones: One

Last Notes

2026-04-16 17:01:17 UTC

The latest Field Notes ("Lucky") work pretty well with #fountainpens. Not the best for showing ink properties of course, but that's because it soaks in immediately and without feathering or noticeable show-through. And that's great, because it means 0 problems with smearing. I've been using a LAMY 2000 F with Diamine Velvet Emerald and now Teranishi Smoky Navy. Line width is a bit inflated but still clean.

2026-02-03 21:07:17 UTC

I didn't think there was any chance that Erebus Crater would get picked as one of the 3 #fountainpen inks from the 2025 Colorvent for Colorverse to keep producing. I'm over the moon that it did! One of my favorite inks right now and I was afraid I was going to run out.

2026-01-21 05:07:26 UTC

NPR: "The Aurora Borealis was visible in much of the US last night due to a solar storm"
How many Diamine #fountainpen ink names can you fit in a headline?
https://www.npr.org/2026/01/20/nx-s1-5683125/the-aurora-borealis-was-visible-in-much-of-the-u-s-last-night-due-to-a-solar-storm

2025-12-02 22:03:30 UTC

Annual PSA to please put your #fountainpen #inkvent posts behind a cut warning, including the names and descriptions of the inks.

2025-12-02 22:03:00 UTC

Annual PSA to please put your #fountainpen #inkvent posts behind a cut warning, including the names of the inks.

2025-10-17 04:05:48 UTC

It's very interesting to me how many people coming into our stationery / #fountainpen shop have said to me, "hey, is that a Framework laptop?"

2025-09-22 13:57:54 UTC

Thoughts about / experiences with https://furilabs.com/ ? What's different about it? I have the usual veteran questions, ie, do phone calls work, is the kernel work upstream, does mute work, will it burn you...

2025-09-02 03:45:09 UTC

2 years ago today that we were handed the keys to a #fountainpen store.

2025-08-21 18:19:41 UTC

sheening #fountainpen ink as opsec -- it's really hard to shoulder surf anything being written in LAMY Violet Blackberry with that blinding gold sheen.

2025-07-23 17:44:21 UTC

Someone the other day was insistent with me that Sailor Kiwaguro #fountainpen ink was not water resistant (smeared easily) even after drying for over half an hour. They might as well have told me the sky was ivy green. It was coming out of a fine nib pen, was on watercolor paper, and the amount of water was just drops from a brush. Any theories / corroborating experiences? It has to be the paper, right? But I know a lot of people who use it on watercolor paper generally.

2025-07-17 03:39:53 UTC

Fraud on my credit card to buy... GEICO auto insurance? This is some seriously risk averse risk taking behavior.

2025-03-24 18:03:24 UTC

- reply

Well, other way, the Realo has the H-M, the Pro Gear has the M. And the nibs feel very different. I'm wondering if the H-M has been ground/modified, and also wondering if the M is a fake (but I like it better..)! I haven't yet tested with identical ink.

2025-03-21 15:28:07 UTC

- reply

Okay, that's what I thought, I'm understanding now that the pen that I thought had the updated nib markings actually has the older ones, which is surprising to me based on when I purchased it.

2025-03-21 15:18:26 UTC

What does it mean if I have a Sailor Pro Gear 21k #fountainpen with just "M" on the nib, vs one (Realo 1911) that has "H-M"? I thought all of Sailor's Ms these days were H-Ms..? The M was bought within the last 5 years; the H-M I have no way of knowing but the other nib markings look contemporary.

2025-01-06 01:21:33 UTC

Of all the companies slapping "plant-based" on stuff that contains milk and eggs, Morning Star is one that should really know better.

2025-01-02 04:28:53 UTC

OR SOMETHING'S ADDED, NPR
https://social.librem.one/system/media_attachments/files/018/997/542/original/378d07154cd05439.jpg

2024-12-10 01:54:43 UTC

Finished Accabadora by Michaela Murgia -- thanks @npub1ev4…xe5p . Started The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Murakami -- multiple mentions of #fountainpens in the first 30 pages and echoes of Invisible Cities so of course I'm happy.

2024-12-03 21:26:12 UTC

Please put your #fountainpen #Inkvent and #Colorvent spoilers behind cut warnings, thanks!