It disturbed me that the Filofax pen loop diameter really only fits thin pens and their own slim pen, which I have since thrown out. It’s also odd that you can’t find any information. For the record, Lamy Safari pens won’t fit either.

I thought about it for awhile, and tried to figure out a way to get this nice pen to fit. I dug around my desk drawer and found:

• a uniball vision pen
• a long, wooden golf tee

No, I’m not much of a golfer. If golfing means getting the lowest score, then the only way I can accomplish that is by not playing.

Simply, I stuck the uniball pen in the loop (which fits very well, albeit a tad tighter than slimmer pens), and plied the golf tee underneath. I then let the stretching duo sit overnight.

The result: a perfect fit for the Montblanc. Slides in and out easily, but lots of tension to keep the pen secure.

Yes, the pen does hang a bit out over the top edge, but it fits well, and is plenty compact enough for portability, using the Pocket-size Filofax. Additionally, a U.S. Passport fits snugly in this version of the Filofax.

Happy writing!

I bought this iPod device in hopes of downloading imagery without a computer while traveling, and while it does work, there are some clear caveats. I recall finding a Wiki site some years ago that listed compatibility with media readers; alas I have no luck currently in locating that information. I had purchased a Belkin Hi-Speed USB 2.0 15-in-1 Media Reader & Writer for that purpose some years ago with an older iPod (Photo, I believe) to offload JPG files from a digital camera, and confirmed that indeed worked.

However, using that setup—with a card reader—did not work for either of my cameras: a Canon G9 and a Leica M8. Though the reader did not help (the fifth-generation iPod simply showed no photos available for download, and imported nothing), I did find that connecting the cameras directly to the iPod connector resulted in complete file downloads.

From there, you can easily copy over files from a disk-enabled iPod (check “Enable disk use” in iTunes), or import from a photo-editing application. There are a few caveats to this approach, namely, the speed of transfers from camera to iPod is fairly slow; transfers for four 10MP DNG file took approximately 1-2 minutes. Yes, four (4) pictures. That severely impacts camera battery life, and additionally, this process also requires power from the iPod. Although an issue, I pack an iGo charger with dual power connectors to charge most of the devices I tend to bring along. The upside is, importing from a computer is fairly quick.

Here’s another fairly extensive review of the connector. Also, here’s an interesting write-up on another storage technique.

One of my favorite apps (besides Phone, naturally), I constantly use is Planetarium, especially with Night Mode turned on. This astronomical tool (in the literal sense) has a host of fabulous features, including a compass view to ferret out exactly where a heavenly body may lie. This is an essential tool for photography, as well as stargazing. Why? It has the schedules of sunrises and sunsets, as well as moon phases and horizon times practically in perpetuity. I love it, and I love taking it camping on a crisp, clear night. I really should install KB LightsOff or finally get ProfileCare to shut off the backlight at night.

As great as the Treo is at one-handed operation, life wouldn’t be complete if you didn’t utilize the included stylus, right? One such application that does help in that area is MobiSystems Paint. A very full-featured, bitmap-based drawing tool for jotting ideas, and even some decent sketches. You can output to JPG and bitmap format, making for easy export, though a 320×320 square, however more resolution than your typical Win Mobile screen, is still a bit cramped for a masterpiece.

Another great program for your burgeoning music career is PhonTuner, a cochleal (spiral-shaped) visual tuner that’s very accurate, useful and fun. Tune your voice, guitar, or select your own octave range. “Can you give me an ‘E’?”

For traveling, one great piece of software is WorldMate. It combines weather reports and satellite imagery, time and alarm, time calculator, sizing charts and travel (air) itineraries, and a lot more into one great-looking app. The program retrieves the latest weather data and flight itineraries right over the phone’s internet (GPRS/EDGE) connection. Granted, it hasn’t been updated in some time (it could use an updated alarm system, enabling day selections, for instance), but it works now, and works great.

I haven’t mentioned TomTom here, although it’s been reported version 5 does work with the Treo 680, the latest version 6, as of this writing, does not function correctly. I have used TomTom 5 with the 650, and it’s safe to say it’s one of the better applications out there. I would recommend getting the maps on the card; although you’ll pay a higher price, you’ll be installing maps from CDs, and that’s definitely no fun.

So, I guess, to really push the limits of this phone, I’d like to know if there are more applications out there that really are incredible. Comment if you do.