Image 62: Pen and pencil

Cool: a pen and mechanical pencil to announce your TAM status to the world.

They look nice, but don't feel particularly expensive. In fact, I had another "oh no" moment during the photo shoot: the rubberized surfaces had, over the years, degraded into a disturbing stickiness as rubberized surfaces are prone to do. (I own a pair of binoculars that I just won't touch any more.)

I got a few clean shots here, but the pen and pencil are now encrusted in lint that I don't think will wash off. And they just feel icky now. Lesson learned: Use, don't hoard, cool stuff. It may not last.

The leather case has held up fine, though again, it doesn't have a particularly luxurious feel to it. While perfectly presentable, the leather quality, cut, and stitching suggest a reasonable effort from the lowest Chinese bidder.