Writing

May 10, 2024 ∞
My Favorite Actions for Hazel, the Preeminent File Management Software for the Mac
Hazel, by Noodlesoft Software is a Mac utility for automating file management. You select a folder and provide criteria about what you want to happen to the files and folders in that folder and Hazel periodically checks it and runs the rules. Hazel can move, copy, rename and convert files. Criteria you can use include all of a file’s native attributes and even file contents. A lot of folks use it to scan PDFs of their bills for a specific account number and automatically move the file to a folder in their paperless record management system.
These are my favorite Hazel Actions
1. Unzip any compressed files in my Downloads folder and trash the zip file - This helps keep my downloads folder cleared of the detritus that occurs because I am a compulsive software addict.
2. Install apps inside DMGs in my downloads folder via RapiDMG and then trash the DMG - When I download a disk image file with an app in it, I don’t have to do anything else to get the app moved to my Applications folder. It happens in seconds with no intervention from me unless I have to approve replacing an existing file.
3. Import any image file I place in an Images folder into the Photos app (in the background) - I’m constantly copying photos from Facebook and various web sites. I have them to a folder I have designated in Hazel and they automatically get imported into my photos library with me even opening the app.
4. Change any text file in my Dropbox to a markdown file and move it to my Obsidian vault (useful in sending emails to Obsidian) - I use an IFTTT applet that allows me to forward emails to a specific address. Those emails are save in a specific folder in my Dropbox account that Hazel watches. When a file appears there, Hazel changes the file extension from txt to md and moves the resulting file into my Obsidian vault.
5. Sort all files in my documents folder into subfolders based on file extension. - I currently have 42 sub-folders in my documents folder of different file types ranging from the usual suspects like txt and docx to the more esoteric like saved HoudahSpot searched and Etrecheck Reports.
6. Purge old screenshots - between my day job and my blogging past time, I generate a lot of screenshots. Hazel moves any screenshots more than three days old into an archive folder to help give a semblance of order.
7. Color code any application I haven’t opened in three months - I have 416 apps installed on my mac because, well, I just can’t help myself. Hazel will color an unused app red after not launching it for 90 days to help me decide whether to keep it or remove it with AppCleaner.
8. Keep my desktop clean - I do not like to use my desktop as part of my file system. I rarely even see it since I run apps maximized most of the time. This rule moves any file that ends up on my desktop into a folder in my home directory. I exclude aliases from the rule because there are times when I want to make an app shortcut on the desktop, usually temporarily.
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May 9, 2024 ∞
8 Use cases for Drafts - The First Automation App I Ever Installed, Still on my Dock 10 Years Later

Drafts was the first app I installed when I became interested in iOS and Mac automation. The power users of the world explained it to me as the universal quick capture app for my phone. I was advised to always enter text into Drafts no matter where I eventually wanted it to end up. I dutifully put it into my dock and it’s been there ever since. In this post I’m going to go over eight different ways I use Drafts. It’s important to note that it pays off to give it a prominent place in your iOS sharing setting for ease of use. On macOS it should show up in the share settings by default.
1. Copy to Obsidian Inbox
I am all in on Obsidian the massively popular note’s app with a robust 1600+ plugin architecture. It does a lot of things amazing well but mobile quick capture is not one of them. To solve that, I use [this Drafts action](Send to Obsidian | Drafts Directory (getdrafts.com)) which saves the text to the default save location in my vault and uses the first line of the text as the note title/file name. I use a couple of other Drafts to Obsidian actions including Add to Obsidian Daily Note and Add to Daily Note Plus which add text to my daily note in different ways using a time stamp and a geolocation.
2. The Things 3, Fantastical, Day One Combo
The Quick Journaling Action Group lets me keep one running note that I can process at day’s end to send the individual lines as entries into Fantastical, Things 3 and Day One.
• Lines starting with “-“ are collected and sent to Day One as a journal entry
• Lines starting with “⁎” are sent to Things inbox
• Lines starting with “@“ are sent to Fantastical
3. Things Parser
Using Task Paper syntax I can create a note in Drafts complete with due dates, areas, projects and tags that get correctly imported into the Things 3 task manager using the Things Parser. I use this with a Drafts template to create daily and weekly checklists for reoccurring tasks. I also use the action group, Things for Things which includes actions for:
• Inbox
• Today
• This Evening
• Tomorrow
• Pick date
• Work
• House
• Personal
• Pick a Project
• Make a Project
• Selection to things
• Bunch of todos
• Process notes from
• Prompt for new task
4. Mail to Evernote
Yep, I still use Evernote for some tasks. Old habits die hard. Evernote eliminated AppleScript a while back and their API has become more and more problematic , but one feature they still support and that works equally well on iOS and macOS is the mail to Evernote feature and this Drafts action accomplishes that without you ever having to use your mail client.
5. Micro.blogging
This blog is hosted by Micro.blog and I can create entries in Drafts and have them posted online by running an action. I use the action Post to Micro.blog with Title by the great blogger Matt Birchler.
6. OMG.LOL Status
I am a big fan of the almost indescribable web community at OMG.LOL. One of the fun features there is a status board you can share with other members, post on your website and cross-post to Mastodon (where all the cool kids hang out). The OMG.LOL Status action does it all.
7. Run Shortcut to Save to Thoughts Inspiration Manager
One of my favorite things to do online is to collect quotes from various sources, I save my quotes in an app called Thoughts Inspiration Manager. I don’t have a Drafts action to write directly to Thoughts but it doesn’t matter because I have a Shortcut that does. I just need to run the Drafts shortcut action explained in the user guide.
8. Personal Assistant
Drafts can serve as an interface with OpenAI by using the Personal Assistant action. (using your own API key) It’s a helpful action to run when you know you are going to use the AI generated text in another app. This action allows the user to get an AI-assisted response to a prompt:
1. The user is prompted to enter input, which can be pasted from the clipboard or manually entered.
2. The input is then sent to the OpenAI API, and the response is inserted into the current draft 3 lines after the cursor.
3. If there is no selected text in the draft, the user is asked if they would like to use text from the clipboard. If the prompt is canceled or the input is empty, the action cancels.
4. If there is no response from the API, the output is set to “No reply received.”
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May 9, 2024 ∞
Nothing too sexy about it, just a day in the life of Mr. and Mrs. Amerpie for WeblogPoMo2024.

May 8, 2024 ∞
The Road to Hell - a book review. I stayed up all night on the day I checked this out of the library to finish it. It hit very close to home. WeblogPoMo2024, Day 8

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May 7, 2024 ∞
#Obsidian Maintenance - The Steps to Take and Plugins to Use to Keep Your Vault Up to Date, Backed Up and Organized

Depending on how you use Obsidian, your maintenance tasks may vary, but these are some good general tips. Set these as recurring tasks in your task manager of choice and keep your setup in good shape all the time.
1. Update your plugins
Click on the settings “Gear” icon > Community Plugins > Check for updates button. I also suggest using the community plugin Plugin Update Tracker. You’ll need to do this on every device where you use Obsidian.
2 Update your themes
Click on the settings “Gear” icon > Appearance > Current Community Themes > Check for Updates. Again, you’ll need to do this on every device where you use Obsidian.
3 Organize your folders and notes
If you use a folder system in your vault, you should periodically do some basic file maintenance. I have a couple of folders that serve as Inboxes for me. One is where the mail I forward ends up (How to forward email to your Obsidian vault) and the other is for clipped web pages and the default location where new notes go. I regularly go through those folders and move the notes in them to their permanent home. You can automate part of this process with the Auto Note Mover community plugin. which will relocate notes based on tags. If you use a calendar based scheme for your periodic notes or read it later imports, go ahead and move notes to the appropriate folders during this step.
4. Clean up your tags
One tip I give to anyone getting started with Obsidian is that if you are going to use tags, start using them from the very beginning. My starter vault contained a couple thousand notes I bought over from Evernote and thankfully they were all tagged. I suggest using the Tag Folder community plugin, because one of the things it does is show you all the notes you have without tags. Tag Wrangler is also good to have because it lets you edit and delete tags in bulk. If you need to add the same tags to multiple notes at one, use the Multi Properties plugin.
5. Download and organize attachments
I prefer to download the images in web pages I clip into my vault and I like to keep those images named according to the note they are in. I also like to have a central attachment repository. The two plugins I use for this are Local Images Plus and Attachment Management. I cover the whole workflow in this blog post.
6. Check your backups
There are several ways to back up your Obsidian vault - folder syncing to a secondary location on your hard drive to upload to a cloud service, GitHub or as part of a whole drive backup like Time Machine on a Mac. Regardless of the method you choose, you should check periodically to make sure all your files are getting added.
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May 7, 2024 ∞
In today’s WeblogPoMo2024 entry, I wrote about five times I’ve taken the streets with like-minded comrades over, well, things that people ought to be in the streets about.

May 6, 2024 ∞
Northern Ireland is like no other place in the English-Speaking World. It’s a beautiful country full of people friendly to outsiders and still suspicious about each other, twenty-six years after the end of The Troubles. What do you know about it? WeblogPoMo2024, Day 6

May 5, 2024 ∞
One Man’s Obsession is Another Man’s Passion - a multi-generational tale of compulsive lawn mowing, incinerated rifles, talking birds and art galleries.

May 4, 2024 ∞
It’s Saturday again, so I have updated my /now page where I talk about WeblogPoMo2024, some good TV, links to the 19 (!) blog posts I wrote this week and one of my favorite subscriptions, Trakt.

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May 4, 2024 ∞
Everyone has their favorite moments, their favorite memories. These are mine. None of them are particularly monumental and thankfully some of them are downright commonplace. Lucky me.

May 3, 2024 ∞
Free and Cheap Web Tools For Bloggers: Graphics, Design Tools, Editors, Analytics and More
Who doesn’t like free stuff? As horrible as the web is supposed to be these days, you can still find an amazing variety of tools to help you accomplish a bunch of different things. Since I started blogging a few months ago, I’ve discovered or been turned on to several useful online services that I use to compose, illustrate and publish on the web.
Picyard

Picyard is a free online tool that allows you to create images for social media, blog posts, presentations, and more. You can use Picyard to create images, testimonials, code snippets, QR codes and then download them as png or jpeg files.
Simple Page Builder

Simple Page Builderwill do everything you need to design a web page, up to and including helping you register for one the free hosting sites Glitch or Neocities. It explains design principals, basic coding and file management.
Hemingway Editor

The Hemingway Editor cuts the dead weight from your writing. It highlights wordy sentences in yellow and more egregious ones in red. Hemingway helps you write with power and clarity by highlighting adverbs, passive voice, and dull, complicated words. It even shows you the reading level required to understand your writing style.
Tinylytics

Tinylytics is an analytics tool for small websites. It’s designed to be simple to use and self explanatory. There is documentation on the site covering:
• Embedding the script
• Showing a hit counter
• Showing kudos
• Showing uptime
• Showing the webring
• Showing countries
• Ignoring your own hits
Canva Color Wheel

If you are advanced enough to write your own CSS, you will probably need a color reference from time to time. The Canva Color Wheel provides not only colors for your code, it also advises you on what colors work well together. I’ve even used it to help with the settings in Obsidian.
Unsplash

Unsplash is my go to web site for royalty-free stock photography. There is no need to steal graphics from Google when so much is available for free from Unsplash. The images are easy to download and they have a huge assortment for you to search by keyword.
Lex

Lex is your AI editor for Google Docs. Not only does it check your spelling and grammar, Lex also brainstorms ideas, helps to come up with titles and will do rewrites of your work in a different style. It features versioning if you need to save what you’ve already written while contemplating the edited version. Like anywhere on Google Docs, you can work with collaborators without them needing to download an app.
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May 3, 2024 ∞
A story from thirty years ago when I was trying to figure out how to keep three adolescents fed without going bankrupt. For WeblogPoMo20224 - Feeding Children

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May 2, 2024 ∞
Automating #Obsidian - Generate Notes About Your Media Consumption via RSS - Books, TV, Movies, Music

Automation
How would you like to have notes automatically created for you in Obsidian to keep track of your media consumption? You could then add your own thoughts, reviews or any other information you wanted to the note. Many apps and services you may already be using generate RSS feeds when you use them to record your habits. Among these are Trakt for television shows, Letterboxd for movies,Last.fm for music and Goodreads for books. There is no need for an intermediate service like IFTTT or Zapier and you don’t even need a subscription to an RSS provider like Feedly.
Just One Plugin
You just need to install the community plugin RSS Copyist and follow the directions to set it up. Basically you create a folder called RSS at the root of your vault with subfolders for each feed you want to follow. Using the provided template, you create a note for each feed that specifies the URL, default tags and other configurable information. The template even contains a prewritten Dataview query to create a MOC for you, complete with images.
There are two other community plugins for RSS. You can experiment with these and see if you prefer them.
• RSS Reader
• Simple RSS
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May 1, 2024 ∞
My Top 10 Keyboard Maestro Macros

Keyboard Maestro by Stairways Software is the preeminent automation application for macOS. It acts on nearly 30 triggers to perform almost any Mac function you can think of. It can launch tasks, control applications and manipulate text and images. It’s easier to demonstrate its powers than to explain them, so I’ll share my top 10 macros.
1. Add Today’s Task
This is an example of a macro that runs an iOS shortcut, in this case one that adds my most important task of the day to my Obsidian daily note. I launch it with a keyboard shortcut.
2. Sync Obsidian Vault
This macro uses a time of day trigger to launch Sync Folders Pro every morning at 2am. That application then runs an automated sync of my Obsidian vault to my Google Drive folder where it gets uploaded automatically into the cloud. Keyboard Maestro shuts the program down five minutes later.
3. Create Daily Checklist in Drafts and Copy to Things 3
Every evening I trigger a macro from my menubar to use a template in Drafts to create my daily checklist in Things 3, complete with the due date, tags and areas. Mike Burke wrote a great piece on how to create the template for Things in Drafts.
4. Eject Backup
My daily driver at home is a M2 MacBook Air. Every night before I go to ned, I plug in a backup drive so that Time Machine can do its thing while I sleep. Every morning, 30 minutes before my alarm goes off, a time of day trigger causes a macro to execute that runs an AppleScript to eject the drive, so that when I start work in the morning, all I have to do is physically disconnect it.
5. Morning Apps
Every morning, right before I wake up, Keyboard Maestro launches my browser, Obsidian, Fantastical and the Photos app. That way I’m ready to start my daily note, keep up with my appointments and post a picture to Pixelfed, a daily habit.
6. Various App Launching Hotkeys
I use a hyperkey (CAPS LOCK) mapped as shift+control+option+command with Karabiner-Elements in combination with a hotkey to launch a variety of my most used apps, Edge, Drafts, Things, Bartender, Path Finder etc. All of that runs through small Keyboard Maestro macros.
7. Quit All Applications
At the end of a work session on my computer, I hit control+shift+Q and it quits all my open apps. That way everything can back up properly and I don’t have to worry about open files.
8. Uninstall Apps
When I launch App Cleaner, it serves as a macro that arranges the windows on my computer automatically so that App cleaner takes up the right of the display and Path Finder, opened to the Applications folder, takes up the left half. Then it’s just a matter of dragging over the app I want to remove.
9. Hide on Unlock
For privacy reasons, unlocking my computer triggers an Apple Script that hides all open applications. That way I don’t have to remember what’s on my screen nor do I have to worry about any prying eyes from nosy neighbors.
10. Window Management
I have mapped control-shift and the arrow keys to control window positions for top, bottom, left and right. I get more granular control using Raycast but for most cases Keyboard Maestro does just fine.
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May 1, 2024 ∞
I decided to start off my participation in WeblogPoMo2024 with a bit of humor, so I wrote A Treatise on Office Decorations. If you are a golfer and sensitive about it, you may want to skip this one. Same for hangers of cheesy posters.

Apr 30, 2024 ∞
I retired in 2020 and it was a huge mistake. I didn’t have a plan to make use of my time and consequently, tried to set a record for the most hours spent napping in a single calendar year. I took a low-key job in a field I enjoy to rescue myself from the torpor. It worked and I’m glad! The story.

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Apr 29, 2024 ∞
Having lived my entire life in the South, I don’t know if pickled eggs are a Southern delicacy, or if they are enjoyed nationwide. (Please feel free to leave a comment enlightening me if you wish). A Recipe

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Apr 29, 2024 ∞
I wrote a review of a 59-year old album because I’m a big old Bob Dylan Fan and maybe some of you have never given him a chance. Well, you ought to. The man is a genius and he’s important and he matters. Bringing It All Back Home

Apr 28, 2024 ∞
77 Types of Notes to Keep in #Obsidian


1. A scratchpad for temporary text snippets
2. Published blog posts
3. Bookmarks via Raindrop.io
4. People you work with (co-workers)
5. Customers/Clients
6. A record of your daily appointments
7. Weather reports
8. Restaurants where you’ve eaten
9. Recipes
10. Watched YouTube videos
11. Watched movies
12. Watched TV shows
13. Music you’ve listened to
14. Games you’ve played/bought
15. Apps you want to buy
16. Receipts via email
17. Apps you own
18. Analytics reports from your web site or blog
19. Registration info for software you’ve purchased
20. A record of interactions with your family members who live separately
21. Random photos
22. Saved blog posts from writers you like
23. Phone numbers and contact information
24. Two Factor Authentication backup codes
25. Copies of your insurance cards
26. Lyrics to your favorite songs
27. Profile pictures to use on web sites
28. Your bank routing number
29. Podcasts you want to subscribe to
30. Books you’ve read/want to read
31. Vacation plans
32. Your favorite memes
33. Copies of vital documents like birth certificates, marriage licenses etc.
34. A copy of your resume
35. Your current and past goals
36. A copy of your will
37. A copy of your healthcare power of attorney
38. The random poem you’ve written
39. Cue sheets for long bicycle rides
40. Jokes you want to remember
41. A list of things you love
42. A record of completed tasks from your task manager
43. Your favorite quotes
44. Transcripts of your Q&As with ChatGPT or Google Gemini
45. Saved emails
46. Notes from training you’ve attended
47. The encryption key for Bitlocker or File Vault
48. A brag document for your job
49. Technical “How to” documents for computer related tasks
50. Non-vital passwords
51. Wifi passwords
52. Imported web pages from your read it later service
53. RSS feeds from your favorite blogs
54. Software manuals
55. Appliance manuals
56. Default settings for your computer
57. A record of your Amazon purchases
58. End of the year “Best of” articles to check out on books, TV, podcasts, movies, articles
59. Screenshots of social media posts you like
60. Purchasing wish list
61. Templates for various dataview queries
62. Terminal or Powershell commands too complicated to remember
63. How to write in Markdown
64. Search tips, syntax and operators for your favorite search engine or AI
65. API Keys for various web services
66. Templates for your Obsidian plugins
67. Templater snippets
68. All the topics in your quotes collection
69. Drafts blog posts
70. A history of your social media posts
71. A “To Watch” list for YouTube and television
72. A daily gratitude list
73. A record of new things you’ve learned
74. Alarm codes for your relative’s houses
75. A dataview query for notes created today
76. A dataview query for notes modified today
77. Waypoint Folder Notes for your important folders of notes
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Apr 26, 2024 ∞
Subscriptions - Not as much as I thought...and worth it

So Worth It!
I finally bit the bullet and added up all my subscriptions and I must say that I’m relieved. I thought I was spending much more than I actually am. My TV spending (which includes the total price of Amazon Prime) is still less than my cable bill was when I cut the cord. I can’t imagine living without some of these apps and services. This is what I pay to stay entertained, informed and to keep my digital memories backed up.
Subscriptions
Subscriptions
| Televison | per month | per year | | Netflix | $15.49 | | | Amazon Prime | $14.57 | | | Acorn | $6.99 | | | BritBox | $8.99 | | | Max | $9.21 | $110.49 | | Hulu | $17.99 | | | AppleTV+ | $9.99 | | | Peacock | $13.99 | | | Paramount+ | $5.00 | $60.00 | | | $102.22 | | | | | | | News | | | | Washington Post | $10.00 | | | | $10.00 | | | | | | | Software and Services | | | | Inoreader | | | | TextExpander | | | | GoogleOne AI | $19.99 | | | iCloud | $9.99 | | | Carrot Weather | $0.83 | $9.99 | | Day One | $2.08 | $24.99 | | Drafts | $1.67 | $19.99 | | Due | $0.42 | $4.99 | | iTunes Match | $2.08 | $24.99 | | Ivory | $2.08 | $24.99 | | Listy | $0.92 | $10.99 | | Overcast | $0.83 | $9.99 | | Parcel | $0.42 | $4.99 | | Play | $1.67 | $19.99 | | Reddit | $6.99 | | | Subscriptions | $0.17 | $1.99 | | Micro.blog | $10.00 | | | Scribbles | $2.50 | | | Tinylytics | $5.00 | | | Setapp | $11.24 | | | Monarch Money | $8.33 | | | Murmel | $1.99 | | | BearBlog | $5.00 | | | Contacts Sync | $0.83 | $9.99 | | MyTracks | $0.42 | $4.99 | | Sequel | $1.67 | $19.99 | | IFTTT | $3.99 | | | | $101.09 | | | | | | | Included with Cell Phone | | | | Disney TV | | | | Apple Music | | | | | | | | Blogs | | | | Hey Dingus | $1.00 | | | Matt Langford | $1.00 | | | Flohgro | $1.00 | | | Vlad Campos | $1.00 | | | Manuel Moreale | $1.00 | | | Numeric Citizen | $1.00 | | | | $6.00 | | | | | | | Total | $219.31 | |
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