when I typed a hashtag
#it did this weird formatting thing
Yes, it was as @Kimmo said: [quote=âKimmo, post:19, topic:10193â]
I wouldnât say that; AFAICT the #firstworldproblem that subversivemomma refers to is the poor diddumses who can presumably no longer find someone to take the piss out of them by charging $35 for a pencil-sharpening.
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Thatâs a Markdown thing.
So as not to be completely offtopic âŚ
I appreciate Mr. Rees dedication to a seemingly unlikely obsession. Iâm tempted to buy one of his pencils. But, like others, Iâd simply display it. Not because I was that fond of it but because I canât stand the sound of #2 lead on paper. Now that the passion has worn thin, I hope he enjoys his next odd thing at least as much. Assuming this âodd thingâ thing of his isnât just a one time lark. Poseur. 
I saw Rees @ Powellâs Books circa 200X and got an awesome copy of MY NEW FIGHTING TECHNIQUE IS UNSTOPPABLE with the inscription: âTo X and X, Best Wishes and always Fight Fair!â I will excerpt one of the stripâs dialogue thusly:
No, I canât. Too much swearing. ITâS AWESOME. Check it out (no politics involved).
$35 for just sharpening them. What would this guy charge, I wonder?
Surely the headline should read âFools pay a person silly money for something that a 4 year old can do in a matter of moments with an item that costs next to nothing.â
Does he carve elborate wangs into the nib or something? WHO PAYS THIS MONEY?
Tempting indeed, but then youâd be falling prey to the whole âpersonal contactâ industry.
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Loved âGet Your War On!â
My first thought on reading this was surprise that a significant number of people actually bought the sharpened pencils. I came across the web site promoting the book â it may have been a link here on BoingBoing â and I thought it sounded like a good satire of middle class âvirtuousâ conspicuous consumption, perhaps with a bit of pleasurable indulgence in geeking out on what appears mundane and uninteresting but actually has a lot of history and technical detail.
This reminds me a bit of what happened with Cow Clicker, a game created by Ian Bogost as a practical criticism of Zyngaâs style of âsocialâ games, Farmville in particular, and their denial of the artistic potential of games. Bogost intended to take that style of game to its absurd extreme. To his surprise, it became popular, but Bogost tired of supporting it, and eventually shut it down.
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Sadly, Iâm not surprised. See, for example, this example from relatively early in the history of iPhone apps.
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