For the last two weeks the keys in the top left hand corner of my keyboard have been dead. Just the group that includes <tab>, ~, <caps lock> and <esc>. You can actually survive an amazingly long time without those keys. Ctrl-I replaces <tab>, you type out your home directory in full and <esc> can be replaced with Ctrl-C in vim. Caps Lock is of course an abomination and wasn't missed. A broken cluster of keys is of course the classic symptom of a broken track in the keyboard matrix and potentially a bastard to fix.

I finally fixed it today. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Apple keyboard was actually as well made as it is pretty. Well made except for the scratch in the plastic of the circuit board that had let the track arc to the metal back-plate and burnt the track away. A quick job with the conductive marker pen and a bit of tape and she's good-as-new. Except for the crumbs in the hard to reach corners; I really must stop web-surfing during breakfast.

What really impressed me though was the 2.6 kernel. People have gone gaga over how snappy it is, but what I have found really nice is the new input layer and the way it "just works". While testing the keyboard my laptop ended up with three keyboards and two mice. They all worked and I didn't have to touch any software, just plugged things in and pulled them out again. I still haven't figured out why it thought the eject button on the Apple keyboard was Right Super though.

I also fixed the bike's brakes and the A laser, so it has been a good day for fixing things.