IT Professional
Jack of all Trades, Master of Some
I have been working on something totally new for me this past week or so. It is a new plugin for the Elgato #StreamDeck. It currently has 10 #Mac automation-related actions (as illustrated by the 10 default icons in the photo), and I hope to submit it relatively soon to the store as a free plugin.
For anyone in the MacSparky Labs community, check the automation channel for details of a beta version.
Another monthly round up is out now. Find out what I got up to in May, including pieces on #KeyboardMaestro, #SuccessFactors Learning, #3DPrinted RC car ramps, and many other geeky things that crossed my path and my mind.
New post up using #KeyboardMaestro to build a piece of functionality I missed from the NoteTab text editor - something that while running appends any clipboard updates to a special clipboard. A bit like a printing calculator roll.
https://www.thoughtasylum.com/2025/05/26/keyboard-maestro-clipbook/
Looks like the #LovecraftInvestigations "Crowley" #Kickstarter campaign just hit its first stretch goal of £100K.
New Mythos episode creation unlocked 🥳
Half way through the month, and the next stretch goal will be at £150K for production of a feature length story involving #TheDepartmentOfWorks 😮
Will they reach this one...
The #LovecraftInvestigations Kickstarter for "Crowley" is less than £4K from its first stretch goal, with 19 days to go. Is this a good omen? Will we get that new Mythos episode in which Lairre and Parker check out the goings on in Midwich? I hope so!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/crowleyaudio/lovecraft-investigations-crowley/
Time for my monthly round up of what I've been up to. I had a productive month so it is a long one.
There's lots on #Alfred, a bit on new hardware and software (including some #AI now) for my #Mac and there's a new NAS in my life. There's a little 3D printing stuff and a bit of an update on the Automators podcast #Obsidian vault. Some fixes, some learning technology insights, and a bit of a dive into some changes to some of my writing processes.
I hope May is quieter 😆
The Lovecraft Investigations Kickstarter campaign for "Crowley" started yesterday and it already hit is target 🎊
Now they are on for stretch goals. Please check out the Kickstarter page (including the audio teaser) and see if you can help Julian and co reach the next level, and you never know Lairre and Parker amy just have to figure out what's going on with those cuckoo children (or not) in Midwich.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/crowleyaudio/lovecraft-investigations-crowley/
This Easter weekend I've already released new versions of two #Alfred workflows ('Bypass' for Apple #Shortcuts and 'Read the 🤐 Manual'), and a brand new one 'Factor' for #Warp (the terminal app).
Today I'm pushing another couple of small'ish updates. This time for 'Slink' (a workflow for SearchLink by @ttscoff ) and for 'Noise Player'.
Find them all at https://www.thoughtasylum.com/alfred/
An extra long weekend and the #Alfred workflow updates keep coming. This time an update to "Read the 🤐 Manual", a workflow for looking up 'man' pages to remove an outdated view option and add in new keyword options.
https://www.thoughtasylum.com/alfred/alfred_read_the_manual/
I recently posted about how I am using #Alfred to run commands in the #Warp terminal app. If you want the custom terminal script and or workflow support, none of which use GUI scripting, you can find them in the post:
https://www.thoughtasylum.com/2025/04/19/alfred-using-warp-for-your-terminal/
@rnailo Aha, thanks. 👍
I updated the version number in the workflow, and in the main Alfred page, but there's a data store I missed on the website.
I'll update now.
Bypass, my #Alfred workflow for Apple #Shortcuts has a few updates today. The main things are being able to choose a shortcut to run from a set of shortcuts you associate with the current app or current focus mode, and it's now easier to specify your own trigger keywords.
https://www.thoughtasylum.com/alfred/alfred_bypass_for_shortcuts/
@ctietze @roguewolf Exactly. I came across that video before when looking for options. My issue is catching the cable with my legs or arm of my chair.
I tried a simple mass and using what I have right now in terms of cable pinning as pulleys but it was unsurprisingly not smooth.
I am expecting I will need to put some 3D printed spools on the multiboard to help smooth the motion but I may need to box them too.
Unfortunately so many little projects and so little time 😔
@roguewolf @ctietze I also use some spring loaded cable clips for a cable that runs under my desk. This is useful if you want to pull the cable in and out and my experience with them is very good.
At some point I want to add some sort of recoil mechanism, but this might be a nice, simple alternative to the all out system for lots of cabling I've been using.
"It's about what they believe, isn't it, not what we believe."- Matt Heawood
Like podcasts & great storytelling? I'd like to introduce, or simply remind you about, the Lovecraft Investigations by Julian Simpson. He has plans to build out the story universe that look very exciting.
Free episodes at the BBC Radio 4 page:
https://bbc.in/4ctyLI1
Check out Julian's plans:
https://bit.ly/42erhoY
Want more? Check out the impending Kickstarter for the new mini-series - "Crowley" 😱
https://bit.ly/42usWpi
It's time for my monthly update again. My March post is up and it is jam packed with hardware, software, trials, tribulations, 3D prints, and projects. I have had a very busy month.
After putting my back into spasm last month, a postponed but briefer trip to London is underway. Tonight I'm at a production of Much Ado About Nothing and as we wait for it to start there seems to be a lot of music playing from the 1990s when I worked in a nightclub.
Do you use #Obsidian on your Mac? Do you want to set notes as read only? Yes, well check out my most recent post on locking notes in Obsidian.
https://www.thoughtasylum.com/2025/03/23/locking-notes-in-obsidian/
March is here, so it's time for my February round up. This time it is mostly new bits of hardware and some 3D printing of storage/organisation-related solutions.
