Apps
- An account at IFTTT.com
- An account at Dropbox
- A copy of Hazel by Noodlesoft Software
- Our belief in a new category of software
- 4 new features that hint at the next chapter for Arc
- And what we mean by a browser that browses for you
OMG - my Open.AI account finally refunded, meaning I spent $5 since November 29 - with almost daily use of some sort.
How to Send an Email to Your Obsidian Vault
If you are a Mac user who doesn’t mind hacking together a few common services and applications, you can configure a way to use your email client, even on Windows or from iOS or Android, to get emails into your Obsidian vault.
What You’ll Need
Besides an email client and a working copy of Obsidian, you’ll need the following:
IFTTT
Start by enabling Email Integrations - Connect Your Apps with IFTTT. This will give you an email address to which you can forward emails to trigger this sequence of events. The specific applet you’ll need can be access here.
Dropbox
You can use any folder in your Dropbox account, just make sure it’s one where you’ve set up selective sync so the file actually ends up on your hard drive and not in the shadowy netherworld where Apple currently likes to relegate files from cloud services. I like to use a free Dropbox client from Maestral that actually lets me keep my files in the root of my home directory instead in the cloud services folder in the ~/library.
Hazel
If you aren’t familiar with Hazel by Noodlesoft, it is is a utility software for macOS that automates file organization and management tasks based on user-defined rules. It can perform actions like moving, renaming, deleting files, running scripts, and more, based on various criteria such as name, type, date, or content.
The rule you’ll make will rename the text file you created by emailing the IFTTT address. It will give the file a “.md” extension so that Obsidian will recognize it. Then it will move the renamed file into a folder you choose within your Obsidian vault. Mine is originally named “Email”. This works best if you a Mac that’s always on, but if you don’t, Hazel will run the rule as soon as you log in to you device.
See all my Obsidian Tips
Phanpy - A Web-Based Mastodon Client with Features You Have to Pay for Elsewhere - Check it out!
Summary - A web-based Mastodon client with some useful features; 1) Visually separate original posts and re-shared posts (boosted posts), 2) Nested comments thread - Effortlessly follow conversations. Semi-collapsible replies. 3)Similar notifications are grouped and collapsed to reduce clutter. 4) By default, single column for zen-mode seekers. Configurable multi-column for power users. 5)Up to 5 hashtags combined into a single timeline.
App of the Day: Due, a Hybrid Reminders and Alarm Clock App
Due is a hybrid of a reminders app and an alarm clock. You can set one time or persistent reminders for things like moving the trash to the curb, clocking in or out at work, changing the filter in your Britta, the time you need to make a phone call or visit someone’s office. You can’t ignore Due. It’s alarms repeat every minute on the minute until you turn them off, up to five times by default and configurable up to ten times. It also has reusable precise countdown timers for things you repeat constantly like brewing tea. It has natural language input capabilities. It’s a snap to set up a reminder on the fly. It cost $7.99 for all the features it has right now and has an IAP to insure your rights to upgrades. There is even a Mac app that syncs via iCloud. I’ve had Due on my homescreen since iOS 4. You should add it to yours.
Something big is being announced by the Browser Company today #Arc = just got an email full of promises:
# Two Helpful Dataview Snippets for Obsidian
I like to have a note in my vault that shows all the notes created on the current day. I’ve been using a query that I have to update each day with the new date but I recently got a great tip from the Obsidian forum. Now I have a dynamically updated note that resets each day at midnight. You can use the dataview query below to achieve the same thing. (Note - You must have the dataview community plugin installed)
```dataview
LIST WHERE contains(creation-date, date(today))
SORT file.name DESC
```
To further this idea, I decided I’d like to have a section of my daily note listing all the files created on that particular day. Obviously, i can’t use a dynamic variable for this or the data would change depending on what date I opened the note. Returning once again to the Obsidian forum, I got the solution to this problem as well. I use the following dataview query under a level two heading of “Notes Created Today”
```dataview
LIST WHERE creation-date = this.creation-date
```
See all my Obsidian Tips
I knew this day was coming. I’ve been using #Evernote for 16 years. It’s integration with IFTTT, the web clipper and the mail to Evernote feature are all valuable parts of my workflow. I’m trying to rely on #Obsidian these days but I think I’ll bite the bullet and pay for one more year.
The geek in me is celebrating the conversion of a 236-line CSV file to markdown files this morning. Now the quote collection I’ve been piecing together for years is in #Obsidian instead of an iOS app that’s been deprecated since 2016. It’s the little things.
So, IFTTT just raised prices by 33% and you know what, I’m just going to pay it and keep going. I get so much value out of the automations I have set up. I need them to make my emails to #Obsidian work. Another plus, their tech support stays with problems until they are resolved.
The new [Arc Search](https://apps.apple.com/app/id6472513080) app for iOS
The new Arc Search app for iOS is better than just a chatbot on top of a search engine. It builds you a web page (with sources) to answer your search queries. The info it provides is up-to-date and easier to access than scanning a list of possible related links.
The Omnivore to Obsidian Connection Enhanced
Taking Advantage of Omnivore
One of the people I follow on Micro.blog - the prolific creator @numericcitizen had a great idea recently:
I just realized that I could (and should) use Raycast AI to summarize articles saved into Omnivore and save the summary into the article notes. Then, I could finish up the metadata with appropriate tags. I used to do that within Craft before, but the Craft AI assistant uses GPT 3.5, limits the length of the input into the summarize request and doesn’t support “real tags” like in Omnivore.
The Omnivore to Obsidian Connection
Now I have a Raycast Pro subscription so I get to use the AI features and I use the Omnivore plugin for Obsidian. I recently realized that I could edit the plugin settings and have the content of the articles I save to Omnivore automatically imported into Obsidian by changing the default script in the plugin settings. The script is use is:
{{{title}}}
Omnivore
{{{note}}}
[Read on Omnivore]({{{omnivoreUrl}}})
[Read Original]({{{originalUrl}}})
{{{content}}}
I tried a few variations becauseI wanted my notes imported too but I kept breaking things, causing the plugin to stop fetching articles so I left well enough alone.
While I was customizing things, I went ahead and set my YAML properties to a custom set too, also done in the plugin settings (advanced). This brings in my tags from Omnivore so I no longer have to tag articles in Omnivore and Obsidian. I wanted it to automatically populate the original url in the front matter, but it insists in only doing it in the body of the article. Maybe I’ll contact the developer for help with that.
title: >
{{{title}}}
{{#author}}
{{original_url}} >
{{/original_url}}
author: >
{{{author}}}
{{/author}}
{{#labels.length}}
tags:
{{#labels}} - {{{name}}}
{{/labels}}
{{/labels.length}}
date_saved: {{{dateSaved}}}
{{#datePublished}}
date_published: {{{datePublished}}}
{{/datePublished}}
id: {{{id}}}
Introducing Raycast
To get Raycast to write a summary of the web page is simple. I invoke Raycast from the keyboard and issue the AI command - which is also AI. Then I just type “summarize+ THE URL”. Almost immediately it spits out a one paragraph summary which I copy to the clipboard and paste into Obsidian as a quote. I also use the Obsidian callout function to draw attention the the quote.
[!Summary] TL;DR
Summary by ChatGPT
One Last Tip
If, like me, you use the news letter and RSS feed features in Omnivore, you can prevent those from being imported into Obsidian if you want. In the plugin settings set your Filter to Advanced and set a custom type:article and then you’ll get nothing imported but those articles you specifically save to Omnivore.
See all my Obsidian Tips
I found a new website launched yesterday for all the #Obsidian fans out there - Obsidian Addict
found a good Mastodon tool last night - Followgraph. It looks up all the people you follow on Mastodon, and then who they follow. Then it sorts them by the number of mutuals, or otherwise by how popular those accounts are. It then shows the list with Mastodon links to follow them. Followgraph
An update to a classic article on how to make the web less annoying, Full of good tools and tips for escaping the evils of overly commercialized content. How to get around paywalls and overlays and other crap
Married Software
My wife and I both sit at a computer for most of our work day. Our mornings and nights also include a fair amount of screen time. Even our non-technology interests involve technology. Carol is an avid ultra-marathon runner and takes full advantage of various fitness trackers as well as Strava and Training Peaks. Since I bought my first PC thirty years ago, I’ve been a passionate hobbyist and transitioned in my twenties to a career in educational tech. We’ve found apps and services to complement our 21st century lifestyle. I thought I’d share our use cases in hopes that others might find them useful.
Evernote, The OG
In the first six months of our relationship, we kept a shared Evernote notebook where we wrote each other letters. I wrote poems. She wrote explanations of things I didn’t understand. Twelve years later, we don’t add to that notebook any more but you better believe I still have it for a super-sweet way to look back on those days. On our honeymoon, we hiked the Appalachian Trail - the whole thing, 2189.9 miles from Georgia to Maine. We kept a blog of the experience, written in Evernote each night in our tent or shelter. She doesn’t use Evernote any more although despite the sharply rising price, I still have a pro subscription, although most of my note taking happens in Obsidian these days.
Apple Family Sharing
At home we are an Apple family through away. We’re armed with Macbooks, iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches and an Apple TV. It only makes sense to use the Apple Family Sharing plan to get more use out of the apps we (I) buy, a joint Apple Music subscription and 2TB of shared iCloud storage. We also rely on iMessage as our main text communication. We keep separate iCloud photo libraries because we use Amazon Photos for unlimited joint storage of not only our phone pics and videos but also shots she takes with her DSLR.
Anylist
For more than a decade, we’ve used Anylistto manage our grocery shopping. It’s got an iOS app, a Mac app and a web interface for when we are at work forced to use a PC. As the chief cook at our house I also use it’s recipe import and storage capability, which rivals that of the better known Paprika. We even use Anylist to keep our reusable packing lists for trips to her races, camping trips and other travel. Anylist integrates with Amazon’s Alexa app on the Echo so we can just tell her to add things to the shopping list while we are in the kitchen. It also integrates with Apple Reminders so I can tell Siri to add things to lists as well.
All Aboard
I discovered the Aboard app in a blog post by Chris Huerta. This free app is the medium we use to share information that use to get lost in a sea of texts. When I find an app, restaurant, movie or TV show to suggest, I use the iOS share sheet to add it to Aboard. My wife gets a notification and the app provides a way to comment on the link. We can also share photos and documents to Aboard. It even has a browser extension so we can both add things while we work on our PCs.
Amazon and Alexa
As I mentioned, we use an Amazon Echo, specifically an Echo Show 15, in our kitchen. It’s the digital message board for our house with a visual representation of our family shopping list, our joint todo list, a collection of family photos and a constantly updated weather report. We use a joint Amazon account, which allows us to also share Kindle e-books and Audible audio books. We’ve been using those services so heavily and for so long that we have hundreds of each.
Surviving Passwords
Before Apple implemented shared passwords in Mac OS 14 (Sonoma) and iOS 17, we already had a method of securely keping and sharing passwords and other sensitive date with a LastPass Family Sharing Plan.It’s more full-featured than Keychain since it has the capability of storing secure notes and documents as well as passwords. One thing we’ve done is made sure that we both have access to each other’s LastPass vault if we become the lone survivor of our marriage. We’ve done the same with Apple and Google. Please make sure you do the same!
That’s Entertainment
We are 100% cord cutters. We’ve never subscribed to cable during an entire marriage. That doesn’t necessarily mean we’ve saved a lot of money because we subscibed to just about all the major streaming services: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Max, AppleTV+, Hulu and Disney. Of course we have the apps on our iOS devices and have been known to download shows to watch while we travel. Additionally we have digital subscriptions to The New York Times and Washington Post for news. This also gives me access to the NYT Cooking app and gives her a chance to play Wordle and other games.
Finance
No discussion of married life would be complete without bringing up finances. My wife is a CPA so she handles that side of our house. I get a budget for my app addiction. We were avid Mint users for years but sadly that service is at end of life. After much research, we decided to switch to Monarch Money. We both have the app on our phones. It tracks our balances, our credit cards and our investments.
Conclusion
It’s clear that technology plays a significant role in our daily lives, from work to play. As a couple with a shared passion for all things tech, we’ve found various apps and services that have seamlessly integrated into our 21st-century lifestyle. From the OG Evernote to Apple Family Sharing, Anylist, Aboard, Amazon and Alexa, shared passwords, entertainment, and finance, we’ve used these tools to enhance our efficiency and organization. We hope that by sharing our use cases, you may find these resources as valuable as we have. Embracing technology has undoubtedly enriched our lives, and we look forward to discovering even more cool solutions in the future. Here’s to a tech-savvy and connected future for all! If you have any tech-savvy tips or tools you’d like to share with us, we’d love to hear from you.
I’d use #KeyboardMaestro or #Raycast for snippets but #TextExpander is cross platform with #Windows and #iOS. The same snippets work everywhere. The new iOS version is currently in Beta on TestFlight.
One reason I love Inoreader as my RSS service is the filters they offer. I just stopped 107 articles about the Apple Vision Pro from appearing in my feed.
If you like the floating notes concept in Raycast on the Mac, you’ll love this. Call it with a hotkey or menu bar click, have it stay on top of other apps and on all screens. Sync it with iCloud to access on your phone/iPad. Super useful as a scratch pad, text converter, clipboard extender etc. Scrap Paper
I dusted off an iPad Air2 to use as a server for #Pushcut, an Apple #Shortcuts automation app. It’s maxed out at iOS 15.8 but I’m interested to see what fancy tricks I can figure out how to accomplish.Automation is such a time suck LOL
For all my fellow #Obsidian fans looking for resources, the Discord page has a post with nominations Obsidian related plugins, articles, videos, software etc bit.ly/48PxacE