Gordon Meyer

Built-in disk dock for OS X

I've used Dragthing since the days of System 7. (For you youngsters, that's before OS X was Mac OS.) But lately, thanks to Alfred and Keyboard Maestro, I hadn't been using it much at all. When I recently switched to a newer Mac, I decided to try living without it.

The thing I miss most, it turns out, is its "disk dock;" a feature that makes it easy access all drives. As an alternative, I put the Volumes folder in my OS X dock. I set the folder to display as a fan; an option that's available via the contextual menu. Here's how it looks:

It turns out this is a pretty good substitute, although you have to get used to seeing the occasional odd volume that gets mounted by various maintenance tasks, which you'd normally never notice. If you're not familiar with the Volumes folder, it's one of those Unix-y things. To access it, so you can drag it into your dock, in the Finder choose Go > Go to Folder, then enter "/Volumes" and click Go. Then drag the Volumes folder proxy icon, from the top of the Finder window, to a spot in the dock.

There's a good chance I'll end up installing Dragthing for some of its other nifty features, but I'm pleased to have remembered a solution that doesn't require any additional software to make it work.

Automation to move messages to a folder in OS X Mail

Back until a few releases ago (OS X Tiger, i think) OS X's Mail app would remember the last folder you moved a message into, even between launches. In other words, if you moved a message into the folder "Orders," the menu item Message > Move to 'Orders" Again would persist until you moved a message to a different folder. This was very handy for me, as I rarely file messages, except for receipts from web-based shopping.

I finally got sick of manually filing these messages. (Hey, it only took a couple of years, right?) So I investigated ways of automating this process. This Mac OS X Hints thread was useful, but way overkill for my needs.

I ended up creating a Keyboard Maestro macro that simply moves all selected messages in the "Orders" folder, which is "On my Mac," inside the "Personal" folder. It's only available when Mail is the active app, so it's not otherwise cluttering up my macro menu. See below for the details.

Naturally, after creating this solution, it occurred to me that there's probably a much easier way. And there is, albeit still a little manual. Just add the target folder to Mail's Favorites Bar, then you can drag a message to the folder. Yeah, sure, that works too.

Curio to Staus Board

I use Zengobi's Curio to manage several side projects, and I very much like Panic's Status Board for iPad. So, I was glad to see this tech note on how to use the two together. Fun stuff.

By the way, if you visit the webpage for Status Board, don't overlook that the simulated display is showing your local time and weather. Darn clever.

See also: A New Curio - Gordon Meyer

Keyboard Maestro: Feel less square with Urban Dictionary lookup

If you come across a word that you suspect is a slang term, but you're not sure what it means, there's no better resource than Urban Dictionary.

I made a Keyboard Maestro macro that automates the process of looking up a term. Just select the word or phrase you want to define, then activate the macro.

A summary of how it works is below, or you can grab it from this gist.

See also: Keyboard Maestro: Look Up a Shorter Synonym on Thsrs

A use case for Keyboard Maestro Web Access

I'm clearly a big fan of Keyboard Maestro. I've known about its built-in web server for a while, but never had a good reason to use it, despite having spent some time considering the possibilities. (And I'm not unfamiliar with remote control over the HTTP, having used X2Web for home automation quite a bit.)

But the other day it suddenly dawned on me; it's a simple way to solve a frequent inconvenience. You see, I live and work in a loft. This means that my computer is basically in my living room, dining room, kitchen, and so on. This is a benefit when I'm waiting for an incoming chat message, or email, or FaceTime call. I can hear the ring tone no matter where I am. But when I'm not expecting an important missive, it's a drag hearing the other beeps and bongs that go off for various reasons. I'm not mindful enough to mute the computer when I walk away, so I inevitably end up having to dash back and silence it when it starting making noise at an inopportune time.

But now that problem is solved. I created a very simple macro that toggles the mute setting. I then turned on web access for that macro, and of course turned on Keyboard Maestro's web server. Now, from any other computer, iPhone, or iPad in the house, I can trigger the macro without walking a step. Ahhh, sweet, sweet silence.

Soda Stream: Tips and Tricks

I've had a Sodastream home carbonator thingy for a couple of years now. I love it. I really enjoy carbonated beverages, and the Sodastream is an easy way to inexpensively have a lot of variety of pop (or, soda, if you're from the West) at hand.

I have to admit that I approached the whole idea with some trepidation. But my fears were unwarranted as the Sodastream is easy, clean, and fast to use. Dare I say it is even a little fun? Even if you don't enjoy it, you will enjoy learning just how little materials are used in making soda and how much price-gouging the big guys engage in.

The Sodastream model that I have is pictured below. I don't know exactly which one this is because they make a dizzying array of seemingly barely distinguishable models. (Seriously, wtf?) Presumably they all work the same, and aside from some unnecessary accessories, the models are interchangeable. If I were buying one today, I'd probably get this one.

Now on with the tips!

• For the first year or so, Sur La Table was the best place to buy refilled gas canisters. But Sodastream seems to have really expanded their distribution so there are a lot more places now. Nonetheless, Sur La Table will often let you sample flavors so it's worth stopping by a location near you.
• Now that you can find Sodastream consumables in lots of stores, you might not need to ever visit the Sodastream website, but it's still a great place to buy syrup. The selection is better, and if you sign up for their email newsletter, they often have coupons to save on shipping.
• Although the Sodastream instructions say to carbonate your bottles until you hear three "buzzes," I found that two buzzes is sufficient. You might like more, or less, carbonation. Experiment, and if two works for you, your gas canisters will last longer.
• Similarly,experiment with how much syrup you use. The fill-lines inside the cap are just suggestions (if you can even see them, I find them rather inscrutable) and keep in mind the "best" amount of syrup will vary by flavor. For example, I prefer less Ginger Ale syrup than I do Root Beer.
• My friend Nate understands physics better than I do, and he suggests that chilling the water before carbonating it will use less gas. Subjectively, I agree.
• Also courtesy of Nate, be sure to heed the warning that you must add the syrup after carbonating the water. If you do it before, you'll regret it. Although I understand the resulting geyser is spectacular.
• If you enjoy a cocktail on occasion, you need a Sodastream. Period. Keep a bottle of just soda water and your home libations will never be the same. Trust me.
• Buy an extra canister of gas if you can afford it. It's a lot more convenient to have a spare on hand.

I might periodically update this list as I discover or learn of more. (Please let me know of your own!)

Review: Fake TV

Although the Fake TV is advertised like it's infomercial junk, it turns out to be a nice product. In brief, it's a small sophisticated LED light that emulates the patterns and colors emitted by a television. It's sold as a burglary deterrent, because it makes it looks like a home is occupied by someone watching the boob tube.

The device is smaller than I expected; about the size of a medium coffee cup. This turns out to be an advantage when it comes to proper placement of the device, but it was a surprise when I opened the box.

Fake TV really does generate a convincing illusion. But there are a couple of things you should be aware of, both positive and negative. On the plus side, because it's LED powered, it should last for a very long time and is inexpensive to operate. Although I use it with a timer so my neighbors don't think I"m an insomniac, it would be safe and efficient--but perhaps less convincing--to leave it turned on all the time. (There is no off switch, you have to unplug it to turn it off.)

On the negative side, the lights aren't very bright. This means that the Fake TV has to be positioned close to an uncovered window; it definitely isn't bright enough to shine through most window coverings. I also ended up putting the Fake TV on the inside window sill because my windows are covered with a UV-filtering film that has a slightly dark tint. The Fake TV's small footprint and light weight made this easy to do. (Just make sure that outsiders only see the light from the device, not the unit itself.)

The bottom line for me is that Fake TV is a useful and inexpensive home security addition. Amazon has the best price by far, and check out the reviews if you want more opinions. It has a large number of mostly 4 or 5 star reviews.

Update: After writing this review I noticed that there is now a brighter model, the FTV-11. I have the FTV-10. It costs about $10 more, but I'd get that one if I were buying today. The new one also has built-in timer and dusk options. The timer options remain unchanged from the first model.

Emptying my sleeves

Almost 10 years ago, I launched with website with the name "Nothing Up My Sleeve." Soon I'll be retiring the name, but I'll continue to post new content here. Please pardon the dust over the next several weeks as we remodel to better serve you.

Your baby's weight in gold

Wow, I'm a big fan of Withings Smart Body Analyzer and Baby Monitor, but their new Smart Kid Scale seems a bit too expensive at $249. I have it on good authority that kids tend to grow larger and will soon not be able to utilize this device. But I certainly won't judge you if you consider it worth buying, you can't go wrong with connected devices from Withings.

See also: My review of the Withings Baby Monitor

Alfred 2 workflow: Create img tag

I've been itching to try my hand at creating a "workflow" for Alfred 2, so I decided to adapt my script that creates a fully-specified HTML img tag for any type of image file.

Creating this workflow was more work than I thought it would be. (But it was fun.) That's partly because Alfred 2 is new, so there are a limited number of examples to learn from, but also because the feature is only "documented" in a user forum. (Which is active and helpful, nonetheless.)

To use this workflow, invoke Alfred 2 and type "mapimg," then press Tab. Now type the first few characters of the name of the graphic file, then press Return.

The workflow will extract the width and height of the image, then put a fully-written img tag on the clipboard. The output looks like this:

< img src="http://www.chicagomagicstudio.com/map/gfx/ShawMahatma1895.png" width="366" height="183" >< /br>TITLE

Now this workflow definitely won't be useful to you as-is. It's hardcoded to create exactly what I need for one of my websites, and it won't be what you need. I'm sharing it with the spirit and hope that one or more of its pieces will be useful for others.

To that end, here are some details about its implementation.

• The workflow is configured so that the only acceptable parameters are jpeg, png, and gif images. Also, it's only searching the folder where I stage files for my web server. You'll definitely need to change the latter; do so Search Scope tab of the File Filter action.
• The Copy to Clipboard action will optionally paste the results into the frontmost application. This is a great feature, but I opted not to use it because I don't want the additional cognitive overhead of having to set the cursor location before invoking the workflow.
• In addition to changing the website path that's hardcoded in the script, you'll probably want to eliminate the trailing line break and placeholder "TITLE" that I add. Adding alt text is left as an exercise for you, too.
• The trigger name I use, "mapimg," reflects that this is creating a link for my Map of Chicago Magic website. That's what the workflow icon reflects, too. If I create a version of this for another of my sites, I'll use a specific name for that one too. Ideally, there would be one workflow that asked which website path to use, but I didn't try to figure that out. If you do, please let me know.

Finally, let me add that I'm really pleased with Alfred 2. I started using Alfred less than a year ago, having been a LaunchBar user since Mac OS X 10.0, and I'm looking forward to the workflows that others share. I hope you find mine useful; download it using the link below.

Download the mapimg workflow.