A script that creates a note with a specified, date stamped file name in a defined location, appends a divider and timestamp, then opens the file with TextEdit (macOS). This is what I'm reduced to now that Notational Velocity doesn't work so hot.

qn.rb

#!/usr/bin/env ruby

#
# qn stands for 'Quick Note.' This app quickly creates a text file
# in a hardcoded or specified directory with a default filename.
#
# The filename is {project}_YYYY-MM-DD.txt
#
# One file per day, per project is created. If the file exist, the
# new note is appended.
#

require 'slop'
require 'date'

@version    = 0.1

@directory  = "/Users/dbreunig/Dropbox/Library/Notational_Data/"
@project    = "PIQ"

# Helper to clean the project name
def sanitize_filename(filename)
    return filename.strip do |name|
        # General Cleaning
        name.gsub!(/^.*(\\|\/)/, '')
        # Strip out the non-ascii character
        name.gsub!(/[^0-9A-Za-z.\-]/, '_') 
    end
end

# Argument handling
opts = Slop.parse do |o|
    o.string '-d', '--dir', 'the target directory'
    o.on '-v', '--version', 'print the version' do
        puts @version
    end
    o.on '-h', '--help', 'provide help' do
        puts "usage: qn [-d/--dir YOUR-DIRECTORY] your-project"
        puts "If a project name is not provided, the default will be used."
    end
end

# Set the directory if present
@directory = opts[:dir] if opts[:dir]

# Set the project name if present
@project = opts.arguments.first.upcase unless opts.arguments.empty?

# Generate the file name
today       = Date.today
filename    = "#{sanitize_filename(@project)}_#{today.strftime('%Y-%m-%d')}.txt"
path        = File.join(@directory, filename)

# Check if the file exists before opening
file_exists = File.exist?(path)

open(path, 'a') do |f|
    if file_exists
        f << "\n\n"
    end
    f << "———————————\n"
    f << Time.now.strftime('%l:%M %p').strip # Not a fan of the space padded hour
    f << "\n\n"
end

exec( "open -a TextEdit #{path}" )