At 2:40am my AppleWatch got a notification from “com.apple.pow…” saying “Optimized Battery Charging” scheduled to finish by 4am. Seemed quite strange since I was wearing the watch not charging it. Had to search find out what it’s about. Odd it started today, was for my iPhone.

So far I’ve been able to keep up with creating my posts for #mbnov and been reading through what others have posted on my Timeline and in Discover. Best I can say about my posts is I get a star for participation if not creativity. ❤️ out to the creative ones.

Just now:

Wife: Honey, set a timer for 10 minutes
Me: Siri, set a timer for 10 minutes

🤷🏻‍♂️

Mark my words the key to staying safe in 22F cold is to not touch your tongue to anything (frightening!), not worry about fancy clothes, to avoid loitering in the street staring into space at the stars, and to stick to inside activities. I mean better safe than sorry. #mbnov

I find ‘touch’ to be a simple yet extremely powerful word. A touch can be very healing and comforting. Keeping in touch also provides many benefits. Touch interfaces have transformed human-computer interaction. And so on.

As something of a weather geek today was fun. I was outside when the weather went from 64F and calm to 47F, 20 mph winds and rain in a matter of a couple minutes. 🌧 Headed for a low of 23F tonight which will not be so enjoyable… 🌡

Today’s high was 75F. Tomorrow’s low will be 24F. With possible sleet in the evening. I predict a lot of people will have the sniffles after that.

I was giving my 10 year old a bit of help documenting his science project when out of the blue he asked my opinion: one space after a period or two? I was shocked he’d even heard of the two space rule. I said one worked for me. He prefers two! 🤷🏻‍♂️ #mbnov

For over a week I couldn’t drink or eat anything hot or cold. Thanks to yesterday’s root canal I am once again able to enjoy those small pleasures, nay necessities, like a hot cup of coffee in the morning. 🦷 ☕️ 😃

I’ve been moving my HomePod to a few different spots/surfaces in my office. Each has rather unique characteristics. I’ve found a spot where the stereo effect of a single speaker is more acceptable but I don’t have a table/stand there. 🤔

With the demise of the old iTunes I’m remembering when I’d import music from CDs and spend an hour assigning star ratings to the songs to populate auto-playlists. I haven’t bought a CD in years and the star ratings aren’t even visible. For me, it’s an AI win. #mbnov

My HomePod arrived yesterday and I set it up today. It does sound good and Siri is very attentive. But I’m missing stereo so now it’s decision time: keep it as is for mono? Return it? Buy a second one to pair? 🔊

I had my first root canal about a year and a half ago. I will admit it was a slightly frightening prospect at the time, having heard some horror stories. The good thing is I now know what to expect so I’m not particularly worried about my second one. #mbnov

I’ve had a pain in my jaw that has been building for the past week. Turns out I need a root canal. The appointment isn’t until Friday afternoon so I’ll I have to stick with doses of Advil until then. 🦷 💊 #mbnov

Recently I see “driver’s ed” cars going up and down our street fairly often. The new batch of teenage drivers is going to make me nervous.😬 #mbnov

I think cars and the internet have this in common - they both provide a veil of anonymity which unfortunately makes it easy for people to be mean to each other. The natural restraint that is there when people know you is missing. #mbnov

“Slug bug” used to be a thing (punch someone when you see a VW bug). Now that the bug is canceled I’ve learned some are doing a “slug Tesla”. Just doesn’t have the right sound though.

Our 10 year old is definitely a born planner. He didn’t fancy at all that a friend of ours and her kids dropped by yesterday and couldn’t answer his “how long are you staying” question. He asked at least 5 times. He just doesn’t get the idea of “hanging out for awhile”. #mbnov

Be sure and mark your calendar for tonight - here in the US we ‘fall back’ for Daylight Savings Time. I still have two clocks that don’t change automatically. #mbnov

I hate DST.

OWC has HomePods on sale for $229 right now. I’ve seen a few good deals in the past but units were always sold out by the time I heard about the sale. Not this time so I finally caved in and bought one. Merry Christmas to me. 🎄

HomePod sale

I believe having and setting reasonable expectations is a key to a happy and successful life. #mbnov

In two days our teenage daughter’s Halloween plan went from “I wanna stay home” to “I’m going trick or treating with my friends and then we’re having a party at our house”.

Parent life 🎃

We’re glad Halloween is here. We dislike the ‘holiday’ but its arrival means we can finally amp ourselves up for real holidays. 🎃

Pollen 📷

One of my great aggravations since updating to iPadOS is the Mail app. And amongst the annoyances is its insistence on showing the Mailboxes list on the left side in landscape mode. No matter how many times I close that list it reappears. Am I the only one? Is it a ‘feature’ now?