May 2013
2 posts
8 tags
9 tags
My Digital Life, Filing part 2: Life meets...
Intro
My life plan is a large outline of what I want to achieve or attain in life and the tools I think I need to get me there.
It breaks into large means of delivery that broadly align to how I (should) spend my time.
My filing buckets should align with these chunks.
As my focus in life shifts to help me meet my goals, my filing should adapt to help me deliver.
What is a life plan?
...
April 2013
1 post
10 tags
My Digital Life, Filing part 1: Why and What
Intro
Effectively capturing and storing information so it can be retrieved and used whenever and wherever needed is important. Especially so for those who geek out about being super organised, or who have lots of files. Lots is written about this and I’ve read much of it (note this excludes how librarians do it which feels too much even for me). I’m still iterating my system, but...
January 2013
1 post
5 tags
You don't need to type www or .com in iOS Safari -... →
November 2012
10 posts
3 tags
Twine →
onethingwell:
A cross-platform tool for writing and publishing interactive fiction, text adventures, &c..
GUI apps are available for OS X and Windows, or you can use the twee CLI and write in your text editor of choice.
4 tags
JDU Themes: How to make custom photoset layouts... →
jduthemes:
Chances are that you’ve already seen examples of photosets with special layouts (e.g. 3 rows, 3 columns or 4 rows, 1 column) made by certain individuals on tumblr, and you might have asked yourself how they do it. One way is to install a Greasemonkey script that someone developed, and if…
Many thanks for the incredibly helpful tips on how to get some completely custom photo...
6 tags
6 tags
Review of stock iPhone apps: the Contacts App
What I like about the app
This is a capable app that does almost all I could really want:
it syncs with my Google contacts (everything marked as in ‘My Contacts’ anyway)
it integrates seamlessly with the Mail, Messages and Phone apps, as well as Spotlight
it is straightforward and clean. In particular, the quick select letter and search bar on the right was a great innovation
...
7 tags
Review of stock iPhone apps: the Calendar app
Every iPhone owner can do the basics on the device; that’s the beauty of its intuitive simplicity. But there are plenty of power tips for savvy users to discover. This post gets under the skin of the iOS Calendar app, what I like about it and don’t, how to make the most out of it, and ideas for alternatives when it just doesn’t cut it.
Review of the iPhone Calendar app
The...
8 tags
Review of stock iPhone apps: the Music and Video...
Introduction
Every iPhone owner can do the basics on the device; that’s the beauty of its intuitive simplicity. But there are plenty of power tips for savvy users to discover. This post gets under the skin of the iOS Music and Video apps, what I like about them and don’t, how to make the most of them, and ideas for alternatives when they just don’t cut it.
Review of the iPhone...
7 tags
Review of stock iPhone apps: the Clock app
Every iPhone owner can do the basics on the device; that’s the beauty of its intuitive simplicity. But there are plenty of power tips for savvy users to discover. This post will cover:
what works well
where things can improve
tips to squeeze that little bit extra out of the app
potential replacement or complement apps (though usually, for me, the app’s simplicity, speed, clarity,...
7 tags
Batch rename and edit Simplenote notes on Mac OSX
Introduction
I want to share some useful tips, for those who use both Notational Velocity (or nvALT) on the Mac and sync it to Simplenote. If you don’t use this workflow it comes highly recommended and is great for managing plain text notes.
The problem: you use a Mac and want to batch edit either the content or the title of your Simplenote, Notational Velocity, or nvALT notes – there is no...
4 tags
Why I love and hate technology journalism
Introduction
Tech journalism has many great, thoughtful articles about the numerous gadgets and inventions that make up so much of our lives. While such writing has the power to educate, excite and inspire, much of it also diminishes us.
As a simple fan of tech and tech news, I want to draw a line in the sand about how amazing tech journalism can be, how dangerous it can be, and how writers...
September 2012
14 posts
6 tags
Going paperless in techy detail
Nine steps to declutter paper files by scanning into digital form
Select documents to scan: almost every document you have can be stored digitally in an effective way (from bills to notes, letters to certificates). However, there are some select physical documents that should be kept and Lifehacker has set out a great system for managing which paper files to keep.
Dip your toe into digital...
5 tags
My seven principles of digitising documents and...
Seven principles for going digital the right way
Outputs: use as little digital space as possible: go for the lowest quality you can before you notice a drop in your enjoyment or its usefulness, while using good quality hardware. Do this because:
Digitising a large media collection can take up terabytes of data
Terabytes of data takes a lot of time and money to maintain
Smaller files =...
6 tags
Declutter your home by cheating: digitising media
Garage mulch: nature’s nudge for me to declutter
I hate moving. I have too much stuff and I stupidly pack and move myself. One benefit of moving, especially emigrating, has been to act as a great catalyst for decluttering. Looking only at my media, I’ve gone from:
2003: three car loads of CDs, DVDs, books, files, papers, and photographs, that I rarely looked at and a garage full of boxes...
Don't just buy apps. Fiddle. It's about how you... →
The App Mentality
Frankly, the whole app-driven mentality is flawed. When you think of these things in terms of what apps to use, you do it more from the standpoint of how are you going to best spend your money rather than how are you going to best accomplish your best work. Sites like this are probably partly to blame, but let me see if I can try to help clarify things a bit…
For those...
4 tags
Run out of ice? Put those ice cube trays to better...
The 84 year old ice cube tray’s ten cool uses
Create, store and readily dispense clink-worthy cubes of ice, to keep drinks or other things cool
Ice in drinks dilutes, so freeze the drink itself (eg iced tea or juice) so as the cube melts it adds drink, not water
Store useful frozen portions of liquids and foods. (Note: one ice-cube is roughly equivalent to two tablespoons)
Cubes of...
4 tags
The history of the computer - shown in cool... →
4 tags
If a dryer sheet is used without a dryer does it...
Ten uses of dryer sheets (those perfurmed, softening, anti-static little wonders)
Fabric softeners entered home use and became popular in the 1960s but required interrupting the wash cycle to add them in after the detergent. However, [Dryer sheets came along in the 1970s][5] to provide some of the benefits of liquid softener, while reducing static build-up during drying and being placed in at...
4 tags
Clear, strong, versatile: I salute you pyrex bowl!
Five uses for a versatile, sturdy, cheap kitchen staple good
Food preparation: you always need bowls for prepping your food – such as beating eggs or combining ingredients. Pyrex works well because:
You can see what’s in them from all sides
They clean up perfectly meaning you can whisk egg whites in them
They’re strong and can take (small) drops, bashes, and knocks
They come in all sorts...
5 tags
Lost your contact lenses? Use the spare lens case...
Contact lens cases: tiny pots of organisational goodness are super useful, especially when space is at a premium
Importantly they are free if you have spares at home, or at most cheap; small; water-tight; have curved insides for easy retrieval; and two distinguishable compartments. These help them deliver five cool uses:
Storing liquids for travel: I use two cases, every time I travel – one...
5 tags
When life gives you lemons, use them as, err......
Lemon’s many uses, neatly organised into seven categories
NOTE: if trying any of these for the first time – be careful, especially on expensive items of furniture or on yourself.
Removing stains from clothes:
Ink spots: While ink is wet, apply lemon juice liberally to the spot, then wash the garment on cold cycle with regular detergent.
Rust and mineral discolorations: Use one cup lemon...
4 tags
Declutter by using dental floss for (almost)...
Dental floss’ eleven central uses
Cleaning
* teeth (hopefully you already know this one)
* any hard to reach crevice about the house
Emergency sewing needs
* including buttons, hooks or patching holes
* repairing severed arteries
Tying chores
* a temporary luggage lock
* shoelaces
* wrapping packages
* trussing up meat for cooking (unwaxed...
5 tags
Search Spotlight For Emails/Docs From Certain...
Spotlight lets you use keywords to further refine search results. One commonly used by many people is kind: — type kind:spreadsheet quarterly reports, for example, and the search results will only include spreadsheets. Typing kind:spreadsheet on its own will list all the spreadsheets you have on your system.
Using the author: keyword, you can specify the author of the document—the person who...
5 tags
Quickly Copy a Website URL into an Email with...
“Hit command, shift, and “i” and an email message will automatically open with the page title in the subject and the link in the body.”
via Lifehacker
6 tags
12 Keyboard Shortcuts for Navigating & Selecting...
6 Text Navigation Shortcuts
The first group of keyboard shortcuts allow for quickly moving around text:
Jump to beginning of a line – Command+Left Arrow
Jump to end of a line – Command+Right Arrow
Jump to beginning of current word – Option+Right Arrow
Jump to end of current word – Option+Right Arrow
Jump to beginning of all text – Command+Up Arrow
Jump to end of all text – Command+Down...
