A couple of weeks ago, the New York Times Magazine ran a neat article on one of the last pencil factories in America. Though much of the editing I do these days is done electronically, proofreads for the major publishers are still mostly done with paper proofs and a red pencil. So, for me at least, it was pretty interesting to see how this important tool of my trade is made.
Of perhaps equal importance, today is the anniversary of when the first canned beer went on sale. And much as I enjoy what I do, there are many (many) days when I really (really) need an ice-cold beer at the end of the day.
So, tonight, I'll raise my beer in celebration of two of the editor's most important tools of the trade: the red pencil and the after-work can of beer.