Category Archives: Tutorials

Helpful little guides on how to do stuff, sometimes you may even learn things!
Of course do let me know if you stumble upon any factual errors.

Using Siri to add items to a Reminder list : Or how to spontaneously add groceries to a shopping list

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An image probably can demonstrate this best.

A feature of Siri and the Reminders app I haven’t heard anyone talk about yet is its ability to add items to particular lists. Its probably been covered on a couple Siri how-tos but I feel it wouldn’t hurt to re-state it.

Chaining

After you have entered one item into your shopping list you can use Siri’s context aware capabilities to continue adding items to the list without having to say the lengthy “to the shopping list”. Just start saying by activating Siri again via the mic button and preface any item you want to add to the list with “add”. So you would say something like this “add Honey”. And viola! Siri knows which list you’re talking about and you don’t have to sound like some sort of demented enchanter rattling off “add bacon to my shopping list, add soap to my shopping list” ect.

Have fun!

More often then not I find myself attempting to roam the deep recesses of my mind while walking through the grocery isles because I forgot to jot down consumed food items. Now I don’t have an excuse as the barrier is so low to capture these observations. And yet I still manage to every now and then…

Sends files wirelessly to your Kindle with Automator and OSX Services

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Oftentimes the kindle store doesn’t have a couple of those self published magazines and or books that you so desperately long to read on your Kindle. This lack of an instant solution makes you jump through multiple steps to get the content on your Kindle. I recently found myself in such a situation after purchasing the e-book version of Hacker Monthly. They provide a mobi version which is supported by Kindle so I set about tinkering with an automator service that would as effortlessly as possible get it on my Kindle. Sadly I can’t offer a one click solution from the self publisher to your Kindle. but with what I created I can help ease the pain slightly. Continue reading →

Doggy doorless, a promising guide for the dog laden apartment tenant.

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The later months of our new puppies’ potty training presented a problem to my wife and I. The first couple of months were hit and miss of course, with us attempting to take the puppy outside on a schedule. Accidents occurred every now and then, but he was getting better at holding it and we got better at taking him outside more often.

He was still having accidents ( little bundles of joy and stink ) in the later months of his training when we would let him run around freely inside after eating. We decided it would be best to confine him to his crate for around an hour after eating in order to get the brew nice and toasty before heading outside, ergo no more accidents.

My wife being the more animal astute one, had heard about a rare training method that was supposedly pioneered by Himalayan monks involving a bell placed in such a way that a dog may ring it to be let out. I personally think it originated from a pet related magazine but it is not the duties of the man to question the origin of his wife’s tales.

As skeptical as I was, evident to my wife by my slack jaw and misaligned eyebrows, a doormans bell was purchased on a happenstance trip to Office depot. Continue reading →

Styling different post types within the same loop in WordPress

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Originally posted on the GuRuStu Group Blog ( post link )

Now that WordPress has finished up the internal API for custom post types we can begin taking advantage of all the cool new ways one can organize content within it.

To learn more about custom post types check out Justin Tadlock’s great custom post type article.

During a recent company project I had to work out how to output unique HTML for different post types in the search results. The solution was surprisingly easy thanks to the new template function get_template_part(). This technique can also be transferred to the main loop if you are going output different post types together. In the case of search results, if you set your new post type as search-able it will show up together with your posts and pages. Continue reading →

Switching Spaces the slightly easier way for those without magic mice!

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Switching between spaces in OSX is pretty simple already with the default shortcuts. Simply hold down ctrl and press directional keys. Recently more intuitive methods have emerged by using apps new like jitouch, that create simple gestures for both the magic mouse and multi-touch trackpads to easily switch spaces.

But what if you don’t have a newfangled magic mouse or multi-touch trackpad? Well I may have a solution for you, warranted you have a full sized keyboard. Continue reading →