When you love a song, do you always?

I do.

I horde favorite songs. I retain sentimental affection.

I think without exception.

I realize I’m of a demographic, one that still regularly watches prime-time programming, but it really is cringe to see commercial after commercial for new medications with really alarming side-effects.

Putting this here for posterity. Just updated an HP Elitebook x360 1040 G5 laptop to Ubuntu 25.04.

I used the recommendation here which has resolved an issue where the only sound device was Dummy Audio:

BANG & OLUFSEN speaker no sound on Linux Mint 21.2 on HP ENVY 17

Two take-aways from my one-pager edit, today.

1. I can open an SVG file in BBEdit to get the vector information—no need to find the raw HTML online.
2. I still don’t understand all of the components of the SVG data and how CSS interacts inside of the template I’m customizing.

But? It works.

As an HTML hobbyist, it is excruciating to constantly come up against the difference between what I think I know and what I actually know. This is how I learn best, but it is so humbling. I thought I understood including in-line SVG images. I’m progressing.

I was diagnosed with ADHD back in the late 1900s, and recently I’ve learned enough to strongly suspect a second diagnosis. This knowledge does a lot to explain myself to myself, what I do and why. But let me tell you the gravity of the consequences does not stop revealing itself to me.

I wouldn’t say I’m never satisfied. But I would say that satisfaction with anything I work on is temporary. Today I’m thinking about the design of my vanity one-page website. I’m thinking about the link to it from Micro.blog, and I’m also thinking about a major CSS overhaul of my Micro.blog itself.

I stopped using my real name at restaurants. I have been using “Silver” because my beard is mostly grey. I figure that would help people wondering who was whom. But if I tell people “Silver”, what I see on the receipt is “Siler” and “Sliver”. So, problem not solved.

TIL that adding an RSS source to Micro.blog does require separate settings for replication, and therefore does allow distinct replication options. Micro.blog does not assume you want each source handled identically, even if that is your own intent.

Also?

Micro.blog does not know that a service you wish to replicate to will require an application specific password. Micro.blog does not know you my need an “@” symbol in front of your username.

You have to know.

And you may have forgotten you knew.

Some things just do not work in Safari on iPadOS. Some things just do not work in Safari on MacOS. I do try to stay Apple-native on Apple devices, though I do wish Apple allowed alternate web tech on iOS. But sometimes, I just switch to Firefox to get me over some bumps in the road.

Might need to switch up strategies. My window for reading at bedtime is becoming more variable and shorter.

Aurora visible overhead in St. Paul MN, tonight

Apparently, the mechanics of Animal Crossing New Horizons will allow multiple purchases of a legitimate artwork. So now I have two gotchas when shopping and I need to keep an inventory. Yes, I deeply enjoy ACNH.

That feeling when you pre-order the next book in the series you just finished and the projected availability is not for 10 more months. This is better than not knowing if there is a next book in process, but also anticlimactic. Checks watch: Yep. Still 10 months.

Feeling super snarky at work today. I’m aware that I’m feeling snarky and for the most part it doesn’t get out—but I’m not in the clear. I will apologize to one person as one of those after-the-fact realizations that I could have said the same thing without saying the same thing.

Can I just say I was filled with rage today when I was asked to assist a person with a technical issue, and the first time they suggested was 12PM-1PM? I honestly understand that folks are busy with meetings throughout the work day, but lunch is not a free space. No.

I didn’t expect to enjoy lavender in my coffee as much as I do.

The Big Mash-Up by Airiel.

Five stars. Would recommend.

Somehow I made it to 1PM without needing the Authenticator app on my work phone. Which means I didn’t realize I had left my work phone in my car this morning. My gratitude to the FindMy app which showed me a truth I could hardly believe.

Maybe, if the weather was bad overnight so the commute was a challenge even after a co-worker asked for one more thing before you left the house, and the coffee in your travel mug tastes good, and you’re already late, maybe Rob Zombie can finish his song before you go inside.

In practice, I pick up device so it wakes and shows the Lock Screen. I see a stunning number of notifications. I start swiping and tapping to manage them, and then even though I’m holding the device in front of my face, FaceID doesn’t, and the screen sleeps in mid swipe or between taps.

Now, I have to wake the device a second time, make sure FaceID happens, go the Home Screen where hopefully I’m not completely distracted by icon notifications, hope I’m pulling down from the portion of the screen that will allow me to process the notifications I was trying to process, and start again.

I need to reduce the number of notifications. Almost none of them need to be on my Lock Screen. Most of them aren’t adding value to my life. So noted.

American Dreaming by Dead Can Dance

Five stars, Would Recommend

Well, my Hogwarts Legacy level 16 character has already surpassed my previous level 20 character in terms of ability. And, I was able to defeat the Acromantula that I could not previously get past. A couple of tips I ran across have been invaluable.

Afternoon project and soundtrack:

I’ve been doing technology support for three decades. It is so disappointing after all this time that sometimes what you need for an app to do what it was designed to do is to quit and restart. Not to do something special, just for the app to what its designers intended, that base functionality.