> Notes...

“Don’t put it in your pocket, sir. Don’t put it in your pocket. It’s your lucky quarter. Where do you want me to put it? Anywhere not in your pocket. Where it’ll get mixed in with the others and become just a coin. Which it is.”

I came across this sentence—and quote—today on the Fediverse, and the more I think about it, the more I realise how much truth it carries.

“All cruelty springs from weakness.” — Seneca

From Claudine’s last entry (as I type this):

“Today in thoughts triggered by doing laundry: I have enough. I have what it takes to live an operable life that I actually enjoy.”

Such a wonderful, liberating though: “I have enough”. Wow, that ought to make my Sunday better. No, really. Because that’s the thing: I, too, have more than enough. And it’s not just socks!

It has been quite a while since I came by. Right now sick. A cold, or a flu (feels like the second). Didn’t get either for the last 4 years or so. Hurrah for not using masks anymore.

Holidays are fastly approaching, and I have been experiencing that mixed happy/melancholic feeling that comes with them. There are always ups and downs, but when extra—as in, non-expected—downs come around this season, my melancholy increases.

I wish all that come around the very best for that next round we call 2025. For those I know, please know I care about you, and keep you in my thoughts daily.

I am so very sorry! Going to be quiet around here for a little bit.

Update: 20 Feb 2026 @ 18:22:26

Before I truly go quiet, I wanted to reply to this oldie, which I quote:

“If a dictator’s son wins this year’s elections, our country will be one of the saddest jokes in history, ever.”

Dear Claud, hold my beer. :-(

Three days from today, towards the end of the day, we in the US will have an idea of who the nation’s presiding person will be for the next four years. In the 32 years I have lived here, I have never been more worried about an election outcome.

Apple has announced their latest Mac mini, and it’s everything I wanted to see. The task ahead is to convince partner that we need one (note that’s a need, not a want), which we do (well, we need a computer, not an Apple computer per se, but I wouldn’t have it any other way). Yet, I need to do the convincing without adding any stress. Let’s see how I can engineer to do so. Certainly with extreme finesse.

Yesterday was Claudine birthday and, even though I reached out to congratulate her, I didn’t make a note here as I have done on previous years. But never too late!

Happy birthday, Claud! 🎂🥳🎁 May you celebrate many more in good health, and happiness, surrounded by your loved ones! I also wish you a quick recovery from what ails you now. ❤️🌹

There is so much misery in the world, so much pain, so much suffering, so much need. How can we ignore if not all of it, most of it?

We were lucky, and Milton didn’t affect us much. Yes, boarding and off-boarding windows ain’t fun. Yes, cleaning up little debris ain’t fun either. But we didn’t lose power, nor Internet, and nothing was broken. No complains, absolutely!

Helene is now behind (she hasn’t been long gone, but behind us, nevertheless). Enter Milton. Ay Dios! 😅

Regarding this, I am also considering a format change. Leaning more towards a “bullet blog”. What is a bullet blog?

• Well, something like this, where one writes the things one wants to write using a bulleted list (maybe specially styled for the purpose?).
• More than one thing can be writen, either at once (when post is made), or added (by editing it) throughout the day.
  • Sometimes bullets can be children to parents, depending on their relationship. This isn’t needed, but it is there if suits purpose.
• Some entries might not have bullet entries at all. It is totally optional.

Feeling the desire to change these notes website altogether. I am not sure to which direction. Comes to prove that we, humans, never settle. Let’s see.

It took me till now to install it, but worth it: bat is better than cat (and, arguably, less) in, for what I can see, almost every single way. The only thing that makes the last two “better” is that they are normally installed per default.

Should I be sad because the weekend is coming to an end, or happy for having enjoyed it? Some will say “why not both?”, but not me. Thus I choose to pick the second.

“It’s always like this, says Yumiko Ukon, who has run this modest rice ball shop and restaurant in the Otsuka neighbourhood of Tokyo for almost half a century. “But we never run out of rice,” she adds, seated in her office near a wall clock in the shape of a rice ball with a bite taken out.”

Onigiri is awesome. Rice is everything. Rice is life.

I miss RadioShack, Circuit City, Computer City, CompUSA, Fry’s… all those “old” computer/electronics stores, and what they used to be. No store these days compare. None. Oof, I am getting old.

I will leave this here with a LOL. And nothing else.

Hurricane Helene is coming and, as her path will come nearby, she is granting us a day off tomorrow. Thank you Ma’am!

Not having fun. Actually, having the total opposite, whatever that might be. It all started yesterday, because I am lucky enough to do things that bring plenty of the opposity of fun.

I have decided to use Apple’s Journal app more. Towards that aim I have placed it on my mobile device home screen. That will not interfere with any of my public interactions, as Journal will simply be that, a personal journal, and thus not for public comsumption.

My aim is to document the mundane, “what did I eat last night?” kind of thing, to recollect, and preserve, daily happenings and thoughts at day’s end.

And… the first two are here! Took a little over 1 hour to transfer data to mine. Kid’s will have to wait until after pickleball. The 16 Pro’s soooo buttery smooth. Oh my!

Tomorrow is the day. Cases are already here, all that’s missing is the VIP. 🤣 Oh, and I will have to buy new cables too (USB-C), but that will be easy, and paintless (Amazon for the win!).

Today, for no reason at all, memories of the many times the kid and I saw “Monsters, Inc.” (★★★★★) when he was growing up came to mind. It was one of our favourite movies, one on which we bonded together. Good times!

This might be quite unpopular, but I truly dislike Wordle. The reason isn’t rooted on any psychological issue, it is much, much more simple: people share their Wordle result(s)—I figure they feel good about themselves—and for me it is only uneven, unaligned, wasteful noise. I don’t even want to show you an example, but I am sure you know what I am talking about.

Don’t get me wrong, the Atkinson Hyperlegible font is a great font. Like, truly, truly good. I know, I know, there comes the “but”. But I have seeing it on Hacker News many times. Like 9 tailed foxes times.

Based on this Hacker News submission, see below for how long you have been iddle. You move your mouse, it stops the counter. Don’t. Even. Breathe! (kidding, kidding, breathe, damn it! 😅)

You have been idle for 000 seconds.

My little experiment with hardcore gaming—as in, if you die you lose the toon, and everything it was in it—has come to an end. In the last three days I created 10 toons, taking the highest one to level 70 (out of 100 maximum possible). Each one of them died at certain stage. I’ve had enough now. 😅

Update: 03 Oct 2025 @ 22:21:33

As Kim just told me, “it is time for you [me] to get a new hobby”. LOL. I don’t think I need to, I just need a break.

This last minute meeting popping up on my calendar was an unexpected “gift”, especially when I was ready to call it quits early after having had a 30 minutes lunch. Oh well.

For the first time in 10 years I am paying someone to mow the front lawn, and trim the bushes. All that hard work for $100. I don’t mind doing it, but I need a new mower, trimmer, and blower ($1000+), so, yeah.

Update: 20 Feb 2026 @ 18:22:26

I feel bad for this guy, he is still working on the lawn, and rain is coming. He is doing a good job, though.

This is good news. I can’t help thinking of my father, as he could have benefitted from a device like this.

“Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the first over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aid software device, Hearing Aid Feature, intended to be used with compatible versions of the Apple AirPods Pro headphones. Once installed and customized to the user’s hearing needs, the Hearing Aid Feature enables compatible versions of the AirPods Pro to serve as an OTC hearing aid, intended to amplify sounds for individuals 18 years or older with perceived mild to moderate hearing impairment.”

Well, “that” deed is done! 🥳 Now the wait starts. Some will deliver on 20th September, other will not arrive until October! 😩😂

Oh, I just realised is is Friday 13th! Just one (the first), of the two this year will have. Will, let’s seize it, right? Break a leg! 😅

Partner managed to break, for the second time, her SUV passenger’s side mirror. Granted, the mirror itself wasn’t shattered. Will it count for that “breaking a mirror brings back luck” superstition?

AT&T and Microsoft (because I have no way to know for certain whose fault was) regaled us today with a couple of hours of downtime. The perfect way to start the penultimate working day of the week, right?

This is also ridiculous. On the Change Healthcare breach they, like all others, are offering free credit monitoring:

“A dedicated call center is available to offer free credit monitoring and identity theft protections for two years to anyone who believes they may have been impacted.”

Two years, are they kidding us? At the very minimum it should be 10 years, if not lifetime. And with IDX, better known by no one. An utter rubbish company.

Every single person in the United States—with the exception of those that were born, say, a month ago (and it’s only a matter of time)—has had their PII data leaked. Between the many breaches, everyone, and I mean everyone is exposed, and should have their credit frozen. Those Change Healthcare letters we are getting are part of this. But before those, there was AT&T, T-Mobile, the many banks, the many others. An almost endless list. Did I say you are exposed? Because you are!

“Face with bags under eyes” is the Emoji I didn’t know I needed, and can’t wait to abuse the bejesus out of it once arrives. Though not Emoji, Apple is going to take this to the next level on iOS 18. I am all for rich, international, ways to communicate!

On last night’s debate Trump didn’t answer any questions, didn’t outline any plans. He rambled, lied, and trolled, every single time. In case there was any doubt, and though my vote—living in a red state—might seem worthless, I am voting for Kamala Harris.