On 23 August 2015 at 17:28, Beartooth <beartooth@comcast.net> wrote:

        I use the number pad a lot, and the number keys below the F-keys
only for the upper case; so I keep my bios set to boot up with it on, and
expect it to stay on, unless I tell it otherwise. Yet lately I've been
being pulled up sharp a dozen times a day and more to sudden large
inconveniences which turn out to mean numlock is off. What could be doing
this? How can I tell my PC that num*lock* means LOCK, e basta!?


I never use the numpad for anything other than typing numbers so I use, rather an extreme, workaround to circumvent the Numlock key altogether.
 
I have a USB keyboard:

$ cat /etc/udev/hwdb.d/70-numpad-always-on.hwdb
keyboard:usb:v*p*
 KEYBOARD_KEY_70062=0
 KEYBOARD_KEY_70059=1
 KEYBOARD_KEY_7005a=2
 KEYBOARD_KEY_7005b=3
 KEYBOARD_KEY_7005c=4
 KEYBOARD_KEY_7005d=5
 KEYBOARD_KEY_7005e=6
 KEYBOARD_KEY_7005f=7
 KEYBOARD_KEY_70060=8
 KEYBOARD_KEY_70061=9
 KEYBOARD_KEY_70063=dot

(there's a space before every KEYBOARD_KEY, .hwdb files are syntax sensitive IIRC).

Then as root:
# udevadm hwdb --update

and unplug/re-plug the keyboard. The only caveat is that you can't turn the Numlock "off" at all. : |

--
Ahmad Samir