Short notes

Note posted 6 September 2026

The next Apple event is on Wednesday and I will be watching, as always, even if I found them much more enjoyable when they were live, rather than just a 1-hour polished commercial.

This time, though, I’m not so much looking at what they are releasing as what they are not. I’m looking to buy an iPad very soon (the basic one), and am just waiting for the event to pass to make sure they don’t release a new one the day after I buy mine.

Note posted 5 September 2026

This blog now has a search page 🔎

Note posted 3 September 2026

It’s a new month, so I have updated my now page.

Note posted 1 September 2026

The husband said he won’t eat sugar in September, and having put on a bit of weight lately, I decided to join him.

That means last night was the last ice cream in a while 😬

Wake me up when September ends.

Note posted 31 August 2026

For mortgage reasons, I’ve had to return to my old bank after many years with newer banks, and I’d forgotten quite how crap they are.

How can banks still be incapable of paying standing orders on the weekend or, as in the case of today, on a bank holiday? 💩

Note posted 29 August 2026

As I hinted when I posted the throwback photo the other day, I am a bit tempted to get a non-phone camera again 📷

I tell myself it would make perfect sense, since I could go for the standard iPhone next time if I no longer need the Pro for the best camera. But honestly, it’s probably more about the feeling of having a camera 😅 That, and avoiding some of the phone’s automatic photo processing.

Note posted 23 August 2026

After using DuckDuckGo for a while, I’ve decided to take Kagi for a spin instead.

As opposed to DuckDuckGo, Kagi is completely free from ads, and there’s no AI summary unless you ask for it. If it works, I’ll happily pay the $5/month they charge.

Note posted 16 August 2026

A Golden Mole, Protected Species (oil and gold paint on canvas)

Georg Baselitz at White Cube Gallery

Note posted 16 August 2026

ZX81 character map

I thought I was nostalgic for ZX81 graphics but looking into it, they were even more simplistic than I remembered. This may not have been when computers peaked, after all.

Note posted 15 August 2026

I’ve been finding Grammarly extremely useful for keeping an eye on my grammar when I write. However, once my half-price offer ended, it’s just way too expensive for what it is.

For that reason, I’m now trying LanguageTool instead. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Note posted 9 August 2026

London Graphic Centre suddenly have a lot of Japanese stationery in store, including my favourite sticky dots from Stalogy.

It was hard not to buy anything, but I had to stay strong as I’ll be going to Tokyo in the autumn.

🔜 🇯🇵

Note posted 6 August 2026

One downside of having my life packed in boxes at the moment is straining my back from moving the boxes around to get something out! 😖

Note posted 28 July 2026

One sad thing about the state of the internet in 2026 is how SEO means that it’s genuinely rare to find anything useful on the first page of search results when googling a problem 🤬

If anyone launches a search engine that punishes so-called good SEO practices, I’ll be the first in line to sign up for the waiting list!

Note posted 25 July 2026

It’s good fun updating the script that generates my blog pages, adding or changing features. It’s fair to say I spend a lot more time doing that than creating the content! 😅

Note posted 15 July 2026

Note to Google: I, the owner of this blog called “MXGNS”, am not an artist and music producer. I am a UK-based guy who blogs. More than one person can have the same name. Plus, as far as I know, I used the name MXGNS before they did.

🙃

Note posted 7 July 2026

Notion — The AI workspace that works for you

Miro — AI Innovation Workspace

Slack — AI Work Platform & Productivity Tools

Why does it feel as if every single company has lost track of why we use their products in the first place?

🤮

Note posted 7 July 2026

My biggest frustration with how AI is eating the world is perhaps the hijacking of the sparkle emoji.

✨ used to mean a bit of sparkle. Now it means literally the opposite.

Note posted 6 July 2026

My holiday is over and it’s time to get back to work! 💪🏻

Note posted 19 June 2026

When you’ve finished work for the week, but it’s so hot outside that you stay in the office eating ice cream instead of heading out ☀️🥵

Note posted 17 June 2026

Our next flat is progressing very slowly, but today has an important gate to pass, so fingers crossed 🤞

Note posted 16 June 2026

The fact that we have 24 moving boxes we haven’t unpacked yet suggests that even in the tiny flat we had before, we had a lot more stuff than necessary!

Note posted 13 June 2026

Saturday night means pick & mix sweets 😋

Note posted 12 June 2026

On the radio, they said the best part of a world cup is just before a single ball has been kicked and anything is still possible. Hopefully including Belgium winning, as I got them in the office sweepstake!

🇧🇪⚽️🏆🥇

Note posted 8 June 2026

It’s amusing/annoying how the Apple devices at home respond whenever anyone says “Hey Siri” in the video stream during the WWDC keynote.

Aside from that, I’d say it was a bit of a yawn this year 😴

Note posted 7 June 2026

I just realised I’ve moved to a different hemisphere! I’ve gone all the way from 0.05° W to 0.001° E, about 60 metres across the Prime Meridian!

Note posted 7 June 2026

I’d forgotten quite how old old-style banks are. A standing order can’t go out on the weekend? Does a clerk need to print it out, take it to the accounts department, and hand it to another clerk? 🤨

Note posted 5 June 2026

Why are the doors inside UK flats self-closing, so you need to bend down and remove a doorstop whenever you actually want to close the door? 🤔

Note posted 4 June 2026

Note to self: Remember to go to the new flat, not the old one, after work tonight.