ldstephens

Drafts is my go-to app for capturing all my text-based ideas. Once I'm ready to turn those ideas into blog posts, I rely on Drafts actions to move them to iA Writer, my preferred writing environment.

Previously, I used a “Save files as” Drafts action, which involved a few cumbersome steps. First, I had to manually change the file extension from .txt to .md (Markdown format for blog posts). Then, I needed to navigate through Finder and select the specific folder (Ideas or Drafts) where I wanted to save the file. This process felt inefficient, and I wanted a more streamlined way to move my content directly to the target folder.

To create an action to do exactly this requires using Drafts Bookmark feature.

A bookmark is a reference to a folder in the file system. Bookmarks allow you to grant permissions to work with files in folders that Drafts would not otherwise be able to access due to App Sandboxing security.”

The File action step can be used to save content from Drafts to files. File action steps can be configured to use a Bookmark by selecting the “Bookmark” destination, and assigning a bookmark name.

To get started, I installed the “Save to File in ‘Test’ Bookmark” action, which writes to a file named “Test” in a designated bookmark. I then customized the action for my needs, creating Bookmarks for both my Ideas and Drafts folders in Finder. With these actions in place, I can now save directly from Drafts to the desired folders. Since iA Writer mirrors these folder structures, the files automatically appear in the corresponding locations within iA Writer.

Resources:

1. Bookmarks | Drafts User Guide
2. Save to File in “Test” Bookmark | Drafts Directory

A 4.8 magnitude earthquake struck New Jersey on Friday, roughly 60 miles north of where we live.

I was working at my desk when I felt a low rumbling begin. As the intensity increased, the house started shaking. Having lived in Southern California for most of my life and experiencing numerous earthquakes, I immediately recognized the tremors. While it wasn't a major event for me, it was a different story for residents of the Tri-State area (New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut) unaccustomed to such ground movement. Buildings rumbled and swayed, triggering a flurry of panicked phone calls.

Within hours, the Holland Tunnel was closed for inspections, causing delays for drivers. Flights departing from LaGuardia and Newark airports were also grounded, resulting in up to 45-minute delays.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy activated the state's emergency operations center to assess any potential damage. Similarly, New York Governor Kathy Hochul's team is continuing to evaluate critical infrastructure, including roads and bridges, for any possible damage.

My note-taking system was a chaotic mess. Determined to get organized, I cleaned it up.

Breaking Up with Apple Notes

Apple Notes offered initial convenience, but exporting notes was limited to PDFs. I wanted the flexibility of having my notes in accessible files, not a closed-off database.

Decluttering and Consolidation

The first step involved a purge of obsolete and unused notes in Apple Notes, slashing the count from a 260 to 69. These remaining notes were then imported into my Obsidian vault, where they were merged with my existing note files. This consolidation means all my notes now reside as individual files within Finder.

A Streamlined Filing System

For optimal organization, all my files organized in Finder in 3 main folders:

• My File Cabinet: This folder is for all my critical documents.
• My Obsidian Vault: This folder houses all my notes and highlighted excerpts.
• Writing: This folder is a central repository for all my writing projects and archived material.

Effortless File Retrieval with HoudahSpot

By transitioning everything to individual files, I have HoudahSpot for effortless searching. HoudahSpot for Mac is a powerful and intuitive search tool that revolutionizes how you find files on your computer. No more aimlessly clicking through folders or relying on rudimentary search functions. HoudahSpot empowers you to locate files swiftly using a vast array of criteria, including file names, content, modification dates, and more. Its intuitive interface paired with advanced search capabilities makes it an invaluable tool for anyone seeking to streamline their file management on macOS.

Independence from Proprietary Apps

Most importantly, I've liberated myself from the constraints of proprietary database apps. My valuable data is no longer hostage to a single platform.

Kev Quirk

So I just sent my email subscribers a final email explaining that I won't be sending them any more emails. That's because I've cancelled my Buttondown subscription and decided to stop the post-to-email service on this blog.

Well, a few days ago I sent an email to all the subscribers on the list asking them:

• Whether or not they find the service useful
• If they do, to send me an email to let me know

It been 4 days and no-one has emailed me, so I think that's pretty telling. […] A very conservative estimate of my web server logs show that this site (and RSS feed) gets many orders of magnitude more than that, every month.

I stopped taking new email subscriptions and sending emails for posts to existing subscribers of this blog several months ago for essentially the same reasons as Kevin. The majority of the views for this blog come from read write.as, the RSS feed and google search.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote that I had sold my M2 11” iPad Pro and iPad Mini.

So, in the spirit of simplifying my life, I decided to ditch the iPads so there's no more internal struggle about underutilizing them. I traded them in for an iPhone 15 Pro Max, joining my trusty M1 MacBook Air. With Apple Silicon Macs, everything changed for me. They are a game changer!

So I thought I would update you on how that has worked out. Honestly, I don't miss having an iPad at all. Between my iPhone 15 Pro Max and M1 Air, I get everything done. It has simplified my life. No more wrestling with whether the iPad fits in my tech hardware stack. What a relief!

“Even though Apple doesn’t sell one, USB-A to USB-C cables are easy to find. However, I also think it’s important to stick with brands you know. It’s your car, after all, so you don’t want anything that could be a fire risk. […] These are some picks from reliable brands that should keep CarPlay up and running on day one.” Zac Hall

• Belkin braided USB-A to USB-C cable
• Anker braided USB-A to USB-C cable
• Amazon Basics USB-A to USB-C cable

Hey friends, I know that many of you use Alfred. I came across a workflow that I thought you might be interested in.

There are times when I'm doing something in Safari, like research, and have a lot of tabs open. Sometimes I would like to have a list of all those open tabs. Well, this is where this workflow comes in. Robb Knight has written an Alfred workflow that does exactly that.

Here's what it does. It copies open tabs from Safari in various formats:

• Copy current tab or all
• Choose which of the pages to copy if copying all
• Copy as:
  • Markdown
  • Markdown list
  • Titles only
  • Links only
  • Titles and links

The keyword trigger is sf

You can download the workflow here

Robb also has other Alfred workflows that you may be interested in and you can check them out here: Robb Knight – Alfred Workflows

I left Android for an iPhone years ago. And I've always been happy with the product and its ecosystem and would fucking hate to see it become like Android. I believe Apple's satisfied customer base is a strong defense in its lawsuit.

Apple can argue that their high customer satisfaction and brand loyalty prove they offer a very desirable product. Customers freely choose iPhones, indicating a lack of forced market dominance.

Ben Lovejoy

After literally years of investigation, the DOJ antitrust lawsuit is finally official. Apple is accused of using a dominant market position to lock in customers, block competitors, profiteer, and stifle new technologies.

David Sparks

A taxpayer-funded lawsuit against a trillion-dollar company is not going away anytime soon. […] Can the government force Apple to make the iPhone more (for lack of a better term) hackable and diminish its market advantage? I suspect many Apple customers don’t even want that.

I’ve been keeping my journal in Day One since 2016 with over 600 entries.

The one feature that keeps me hooked on Day One is “On This Day a built-in memory machine for my journal. It automatically surfaces entries I’ve added on the current date in past years, taking me on a journey down memory lane every morning.

Walmart

BENTONVILLE, Ark., March 15, 2024 — Walmart will begin selling MacBook Air with the M1 chip – continuing to deliver premium quality and unmatched affordability for customers. MacBook Air features amazing performance and a long battery life in its thin and light design. This is the first time customers can purchase a Mac directly from Walmart. The MacBook Air with the M1 chip is now available on Walmart.com and will soon be available in select Walmart stores for only $699.

John Gruber: “This is a big deal. When the M3 MacBook Airs arrived last week, Apple dropped the M1 Air from its lineup and moved the M2 Air to the magic $999 spot in the lineup. But it looks like Apple is going to keep producing the M1 MacBook Air for this deal with Walmart. These aren’t refurbs, or leftover stock (Apple hasn’t kept excess stock in inventory for bestselling products for decades — keeping inventory low is one of the hallmarks of Apple’s operations in the Cook era).”

I’m writing this very post on a M1 Air. It’s a great machine and I love it. It does everything that I need it to do.