Carrying Stones

Some of my posts are little more than a link, and what right do I have to steal eyeballs from someone else’s amazing work? While seeking a way to create a Daring Fireball-style Linked List I found Chris Armstrong’s website Chasing Perfection where he was doing exactly what I wanted. I sought him out on Twitter and he helped me create a Linked List that sends readers straight to the linked site.

In another experiment, I used Storify to capture the conversation for others seeking the same solution. So, here you go.

[View the story “Linked Lists at Squarespace” on Storify]

Basically, there are three steps that are covered by Squarespace support.

1. Install jQuery via code injection in the header code.

   <script type="text/javascript" src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1/jquery.min.js"></script>
   

2. Inject a little more code into the header.

   <script type="text/javascript">
   $(function(){
   $('.extLink').each(function(index){
           a = $(this);
           a.closest(':has(.title)').find('a.journal-entry-navigation-current').attr('href',
           a.attr('data-link')
           )
       })
   });
   </script>

3. For items in your Linked List, be sure to add the following in your Raw HTML. Using Raw HTML ensures the additional tag isn't ignored. I'm placing this info at the top of my posts.

   <span data-link="http://HeadlineLink/" class="extLink"></span>

My sinuses went haywire this week so I’ve been on a rotation of medicine to help shake this bug, which is where niche apps like HabiTimer (affiliate link) for iOS really shine. It comes from Sciral for $0.99.

While setting up a series of reminders in Apple’s Clock app, or even the amazing Due for iOS and Due for Mac (both affiliate links, and Due will get its own Apps I Use article later), can be tedious, HabiTimer makes it easy to set periodic alarms. It’s perfect for those times when you’re sick and need to remember to take your medicine every four hours. For hourly reminders, users may simply swipe their finger down a row of time slots to enable alarms set to go off every 60 minutes.

The app also includes its own set of alarm sounds showing off a combination of whimsy and functionality. Learn more about HabiTimer straight from Sciral’s website or follow @sciral on Twitter. Sciral also seems to be affiliated, if not the same as, Arciem LLC and publish a related iPhone app called Sciral Consistency. For Mac OS, they develop something called Flying Logic, which is billed as “a highly visual, easy to use software application that does for reasoning what spreadsheets do for numbers.” I have no idea what it’s for and don’t plans to investigate.

This isn’t an app I use every day, but I keep it on my iPhone for those situations where it perfectly fulfills my needs. HabiTimer has certainly earned its keep for me this week.

This article is part of a series focused on Mac and iOS apps that make my life a little better. I have two goals: to provide value for the dapper readers of Carrying Stones and to help my keyboard make the clackity noise.

One of Emma Coats’ 21 story rules:

“#4: Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.”

∆Permalink∆

Editing text on your Mac? Want step up your game? Remember these two keyboard shortcuts.

• ⌘ – Right Arrow
• ⌘ – Left Arrow

Those keystrokes will take you to the beginning or the end of the line your cursor is on, respectively.

Free Bonus item! Press ⌥ – Right or Left Arrow will carry you forward or backward one word at a time instead of one character at a time.

This article is the first in a series focused on Mac and iOS apps that make my life a little better. I have two goals: to provide value for the dapper readers of Carrying Stones and to help my keyboard make the clackity noise. Note that you will encounter affiliate links as you read. If they lead you where you need to be I appreciate your support.

The Finder

Open the “About Finder” information box on any Mac to find Apple’s simple definition that states the Finder¹ is “The Macintosh Desktop Experience.” Astute readers will note the copyright extends from 1983 through 2011; the entire lifespan of the Macintosh computer. The Finder is a simple file browser that provides an elegant interface to manage and find files. The ubiquitous Wikipedia provides a decent history lesson.

This default software at the core of the Mac OS is taken for granted by most users. It’s what you use because it’s there. Enthusiastic users like you craved more from the desktop experience on their Mac. It was inevitable that a developer would rise to offer a replacement.

Path Finder

Apple’s Finder had been around for almost 20 years before Cocoatech released the (oddly-named) SNAX alongside the launch of Mac OS X in 2001. The company came to its senses and dubbed the wunderkind Path Finder opening the door to fidgety nerds itching to get more done right from the file browser.

Good writers discourage clichés, so I shouldn’t call Path Finder a Swiss Army Knife or the Finder on steroids just because this single program provides features that Apple spread across several apps. Cocoatech baked in access to a command line interface, an editor to work with plain and rich text, image and PDF viewers, a variety of file compression tools and more. The application, now in its sixth iteration, more than adequately replaces the Finder, TextEdit, and Terminal.app and offers services that begin to make the Finder look a little shabby.

Here’s a screen shot to show what Path Finder looks like on a typical day for me.

Here’s another shot with its power-mad wings spread wide.

Yeah. That’s a lot to soak up all at once and could really lead to some crazy-making scenarios; however, it does provide a glimpse of what Path Finder has to offer. Season to taste. Make it as simple or complex as you like and make adjustments on the fly that complement the task at hand.

What’s in it for me?

This article is an introduction to the application–not a user manual–so I won’t go in-depth about Path Finder’s feature set. What I will do for you is share what makes Path Finder work for me.

• Bread crumbs – Just above the main file browser (or below depending on your preference) is a trail of breadcrumbs showing where you are in the file system, also known as your path and looks like /Users/Billy Bob/Library/Application Support/Path Finder. This helps to move quickly among adjacent folders and can really speed up the workflow.
• Tabs – Web browsers introduced most of the world to tabs, providing a way to bundle all of those loose windows scattered across the desktop under the aegis of a single window. It works great for the web and it’s awesome in the file browser. Surely Apple will roll tabs into the Finder one day, but they’ve been available in Path Finder for years.
• Drop Stack – The Drop Stack is a holding pen for files you need to move from one place to another. It goes beyond mimicking copy and paste for moving one selection of files. The Stack happily corrals files dragged from any location and waits for them to be dropped together somewhere else. Indispensable!
• Search Filter – Search? Seriously? Oh yes! This isn’t like the Spotlight-y search you get when you click the magnifying glass. It filters filenames to help you find what you’re looking for in your current window. Can’t find that handful of PDFs buried in a mess of 2,000 photos? Type .pdf in the search box. Boom! Finished. Now just drag them to the Drop Stack and keep working.

Bookmark shortcuts to common folders, tag files OpenMeta-style if that’s your thing, and enjoy the criteria-based search. The most recent major release introduced batch renaming of files. This feature isn’t as powerful as a dedicated tool such as A Better Finder Rename Version 9,² but it helps you get the job done in a pinch.

After I decided to launch this series and began flipping through my apps looking for a good candidate, Path Finder seemed like a no-brainer. I spend a lot of time in the app every single day and thought it would be easy-peasy to write about, but it wasn’t. That actually provides some insight into what makes the software so brilliant.

First, I depend on it more than those who haven’t seen the light yet because I use its features.³ Second, it’s features are so embedded in my daily work that I forgot about some of them. It’s like breathing. And believe me, I breathe easier knowing Path Finder is there.

Alternatives to the alternative

This isn’t a one-pony show and other developers are vying for attention on the desktop. I settled on Path Finder years ago and haven’t used any of the alternatives listed below, and this certainly isn’t a comprehensive list. A quick search for “apple finder replacement” unveils a smorgasbord of possible replacements to the Finder, but these seems to keep bubbling to the top.

• Leap 3 (affiliate link) is $19.99 in the Mac App Store from Ironic Software Ltd., also known for popular document management tool Yep. Learn more about Leap at its website.
• TotalFinder is $18 from developer BinaryEdge. Curious users may take advantage of a 14-day trial run. The company also offers a souped-up version of Apple’s Spaces called–wait for it–TotalSpaces, which is free until it escapes beta testing for release. The developers also offer a bevy of free software geared mostly for their peers.
• Xfile is available from Rixstep, which bills itself as “a constellation of programmers and support staff from Radsoft Laboratories who tired of Windows vulnerabilities, Linux driver issues, and cursing x86 hardware all day long.”⁴ The company’s software is provided according to a byzantine array of price points according to number of clients from single-user to 50 or more users.

If you’re the sort of trooper who actually read all the way to the end of this foray into nerdery, please let me know what you think. I hate comments, so please find @ELBeavers on Twitter or just do it the old-fashioned way and send me an email.

Limiting the Ars Technica home page to “My Stories” published since my last visit is genius.

I should visit more often for the top-shelf writing.

Have you ever hit the wall, that point where work has become tedious and frustrating and you begin to feel trapped.

I’m there.

Life at the office has been crushing lately. Budgets keep getting cut and everyone is asked to act out the cliché, “Do more with less.” My solo office began with less, so doing more with even less is difficult at best. Soul-crushing is a more apt description.

My starting salary nearly five years ago was pretty sweet. Since then, it’s been cut each year while the benefits slipped away. The largest pay cut comes in the number of hours I must work now to chip away at an overbearing workload. Every day I work 12 hours instead of eight means another 30% cut in daily pay, and some days 12 hours is optimistic. If my work day rises to 14 hours, it’s a 43% cut.

Yesterday, the office kicked off Memorial Day weekend by closing at 2:30. I left just after 6 loaded down with time-sensitive work to finish at home during the “holiday.” I’m about to begin that on this beautiful Saturday morning, but wanted to unload here for a second for all of you to enjoy.

The frustration has to go somewhere, right?

You should make something tomorrow because I made something today. My wife is working toward launching her new sewing business, Crafty Beaverbrats. You can take a peek at her Etsy Store.

Look for Julie’s art to take over the South very soon. It won’t be long before everything south of the Mason-Dixon is quilted or cozied and resting on some frilly thing, probably delivered in a snazzy handmade tote. She may even dress you up.

My wife is clever and talented, which makes her invincible in most situations. I’m just happy (and lucky) that I get to build things for her upon request (except the deck, I know dear) and stand at her stand. She is a great woman who makes me a better person (except for this old man back pain I’m suffering at the moment.

something something pinched nerve I probably won’t sleep ow

Her custom sewing table isn’t finished, set at an ergnomically correct 26 inches to match her seated height, but the healthy skeleton has come to life. Some sanding, some stain, a few finishing touches et voila. My back tells me I lost a few hit points today, but the day is mine! My manhood leveled up with the purchase of a circular saw to go with all of that lumber we loaded up on the borrowed Honda Pilot and applied my newfound power to produce this!

Good Luck Julie! I love you!

Neil Gaiman Addresses the University of the Arts Class of 2012 on Vimeo:

“Neil Gaiman Addresses the University of the Arts Class of 2012”

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/42372767 w=500&h=375]

Great advice for artists (and isn’t everyone an artist at the work they love to do?). Watching Gaiman’s address is a worthy investment of 20 minutes.