Sawyer Paul's Blog, page 32
November 1, 2018
Plex no longer syncing rating tracks from offline use
I generally rate my songs in Plex, because I haven’t been able to trust iTunes’ sync in years. Usually, it’s rock-solid. I’ll sync songs offline to my phone, rate them on the go, and sync them back to my server. In the last month or so, I’ve found that rating songs while I’m offline will just erase that info when I sync. Anyone else experiencing this one?
October 30, 2018
Early Results after using my Shortcut for logging Fitbit Weight
Here’s an example of habitual automation. At work. The screen shot below is from when I was manually remembering to set my weight in the morning like a sucker.
The screen shot below is after I added a “check weight” shortcut to my morning routine.
This is the difference between having to remember and setting up some scaffolding in advance. I was surprised to see how well this worked, and also how seamlessly I was after to make it a part of my morning.
October 27, 2018
Shortcut update
I’m beginning to see the appeal to not just making shortcuts in iOS but also tinkering them to be simpler and more powerful.
This morning, I updated my “toot” and “drafts” shortcuts to save these text files to Dropbox directly, rather than kicking the text over to Drafts before saving the file.
Dorky fun.
October 26, 2018
Fran’s Not Here 30 - I Just Want to Yell at a Man in a Tube
Not all Halloween costume ideas are good, you know.
Fran’s Not Here is a show about Toronto, co-hosted by Robert Pilgrim. Subscribe via RSS, iTunes, Overcast, Pocketcasts, and Soundcloud. Listen to older episodes on Mixcloud.
It drives me crazy that OneNote insists on rich text editing while at the same time forcing “straight” quotes.
It drives me crazy that OneNote insists on rich text editing while at the same time forcing “straight” quotes. Really wish there was a way to change that.
…is there a way to change that?
October 25, 2018
More Things, October 26, 2018
With the help of an IFTTT recipe that turns what I save to Pocket into a Markdown link, I can easily make a linked list blog post again. Hence, the return of More Things.
Articles are ordered from oldest to newest.
Habitica, self-care, and ableism
An ode to Toronto dance parties of the 00s
A Day In the Life of a Female Incel
The Powerhouses of the Internet Are Turning Hostile to Websites
The Coders Programming Themselves Out of a Job
What Makes ‘The Good Place’ So Good?
Apple Watch can help break iPhone addiction without going offline
You Have to Stop Canceling and Rescheduling Things. Really.
Jameela Jamil gets real about periods, depression and Kim Kardashian
When Twitter users hear out the other side, they become more polarized
Simply put, libraries are incredible
Hyperbolic Discounting: Why You Make Terrible Life Choices
Has 10 years of Spotify ruined music?
Apple Shortcuts: The Bicycle for the Mind is Back, but it’s Electric
Thousands Of Swedes Are Inserting Microchips Under Their Skin
October 24, 2018
Morning Pages, October 25, 2018
The back streetcar door stayed open. Fourth and I were closer to the front and the thing was packed, so we couldn’t see exactly what the idiot looked like who didn’t know about the back step. But enough people were yelling at him that he’d figure it out, or someone would shove him out. There probably wasn’t any room for the person to stand, so they’d have to do that thing where they put one foot just underneath the seat to the door’s right, and the other on the lower railing. They’d have to do that every time the streetcar came to a stop, and it would be uncomfortable and strange and nobody should have to do it. But everyone has,and this person would have to. Unless they wanted to wait another ten minutes for the next one, but who knows when that one would actually come.
“I think he’swearing headphones,” Fourth said. I shook my head. Someone was actually going to have to touch this guy or we’d be here forever.
October 23, 2018
Cura, Oct 24, 2018
Note: The playlist embedded above will always be the most recent playlist and might not match the list below.
Cura is my Spotify mixtape. You can listen to it and subscribe here. I keep it as one playlist so it’s easy to subscribe to. I update it fairly frequently, but I also keep an archive playlist so you don’t have to miss a thing.
I hope you like it. I made it for you.
Here’s the track listing for this week:
The Wanting By J. Roddy Walston & The Business
This Is Not Who We Were By Mull Historical Society, Mixed By Colin Macintyre And Brian Macneil
October 21, 2018
Shortcut for logging Fitbit Weight
Also on: Reddit
This shortcut allows you to update your weight in Fitbit by just entering the number after a shortcut. I’ve built it below for text input, but you could easily make it a Siri voice command.
This is especially useful when looped in with other shortcuts as a routine.
This is a two-parter. I’d just share these, but this process requires your actual phone number, so manual instructions it is.
Step 1: IFTTT
First, set up an IFTTT applet. If this: sms. Choose “Send IFTTT any SMS.” Then that: Fitbit, then “Log your weight.”
Click “Add ingredient,” then “Message.” Choose your preferred unit of measurement. Then, click done.
Copy the phone number it provides in the summary of the applet. You’ll need it for step 2.
Step 2: Shortcuts
Add the “Number” element. Use “Ask when run” if you’re doing this manually.
Add “Send Message.” Make the recipient the number IFTTT provides. Set “Number” as the content. Turn “Show when run” off.
I have an alert that says “Log your weight to Fitbit” before the rest of the shortcut runs, because I tend to group this shortcut into other routines. But that’s optional.
That’s it!
October 19, 2018
Fran’s Not Here 29 - Horse Girls
It’s Halloween in Toronto or whatever.
Fran’s Not Here is a show about Toronto, co-hosted by Robert Pilgrim. Subscribe via RSS, iTunes, Overcast, Pocketcasts, and Soundcloud. Listen to older episodes on Mixcloud.
