I don’t know if it’s an oversight, but in my current research I cannot find a way in iPadOS to center text in the Notes app. The keyboard command that works in MacOS doesn’t work. Not from the Keyboard case and not from a connected Apple Keyboard. One suggestion I found online was to use a table. Alternately, I can copy centered text from another note in a specific way to capture the formatting in iPad Notes.

I really like what Notes can do so far, but there are still things that can get better. At the same time I’m looking at other options that might not have the same concerns, but would require a good amount of re-work.

Was going to keep an old MacBook Air around as a potential additional way to work on my Forever✱Notes scheme. But I forgot that note linking as currently implemented doesn’t work in Monterrey. Clicking links to other notes kept making the Notes app ask for the correct external application. The Web UI for notes behaves better, and if I’m going to have to authenticate to the web site anyway, I can do that without keeping a 9-year-old device alive, as much as it pains me. I will release it to an upcycling program and someone who needs it more than me can take it from here.

"Lonely Avenue (Live)" by Merl Saunders

Listen on Apple Music

This was the last song Shuffle Play hit me with as I closed the last few minutes of my drive to work. It’s a different feel than the usual anxiety and low-key terror that I start my day with.

View Hjalmer Duenow's Crucial Tracks profile

I checked out a book yesterday, from my local library branch. Dan Brown’s The Secret of Secrets was up front on the “Lucky Day” display. It was on my short list and I figured that beat the price of a Kindle ebook new-release. Also, I read it cover to cover.

The author is reminding me of Alan Moore, in the sense that there is a significant of discussion of a topic, in addition to the language that moves the plot forward. This works well for me, as the Robert Langdon books dovetail with my own interests, but I can see how this could get tedious if you’re waiting around for what happens next.

I was entertained. — Finished reading: The Secret of Secrets (Robert Langdon, #6) by Dan Brown 📚

I look forward to Explorator News every week.

Among other special interests, I also am interested in archeology and anthropology

Thinking a lot about data portability again.

Worried about the future.

Worried about businesses deciding I don’t need affordable electronics any longer.

Worried I may not be able to keep using the brand of my choice.

I have an old MacBook Pro that has a failing battery. Or something. It’s failing in such a way that the battery discharges while operating and connected to power. No matter which charger, no matter which port the charger is connected to. When the battery goes to 2% it shuts down—again while connected to mains power and the OS indicating the charger is connected.

I had hoped I might be able to repurpose this machine as an “iTunes” server, replacing a MacBook Air that ended a few OS versions sooner. That one is still chugging.

Battery replacement on one of these has about 38 steps to get the battery out. The battery itself is in six parts. And there is a lot of heating and prying because of adhesive—which has to be replaced on the return journey. I saw a video on YouTube with the process that was an hour and 15 minutes long.

I’m not doing that. My suspicion is that the battery might be failing, but something else has failed, too. If it was a matter of a few different screw types after pulling of the bottom cover, and a knock-off battery from Amazon for 40 bucks, I’d have placed the order already.

Because of the way this is designed, I’m not going to chance it. It breaks my heart. But this one will probably be handed back to Apple for recycling.

I would estimate the amount of money it would cost to have it repaired by Apple would put me pretty close to the price of a NEO.

Even at my standing desk, my watch tells me it’s time to stand

Well, I did it again. Killed an Ubuntu install through experimentation. Re-installing.

A lesson I have to keep re-learning is when to allow notifications, or when to supply my email address. As a person whose attention can easily be re-directed, I have to help myself.