I’m accustomed to having a hot-key in my text editor for inserting a time-stamp. Now I have a plain-text note-taking application that I want to use for managing my time, but it has no bells or whistles. It doesn’t allow the creation of macros and it doesn’t have a time-stamp function.

All is not lost! Using Automator, I created a service which calls a shell script to generate a nicely formatted time-stamp. I haven’t found a way to assign the service to a hot-key, but in many text input areas, a contextual services menu can be brought up with a simple right-click of the mouse.

Simple, nice, and convenient.

Here’s how to do it:
Fire up the Automator application. Create a new “Service” workflow:
(click to enlarge)

For the operation, double-click on “Run Shell Script” and set it up as shown in the image below:
(click to enlarge)

You’re done! Now you can insert 2011-08-04 16:58:06 time-stamps 2011-08-04 16:58:13 everywhere 2011-08-04 16:58:20.

Note: this is under Snow Leopard / Mac OS X 10.6.8. It probably will work under anything from Leopard onward.

I’ve had a few requests on Flickr to document what I’ve been using for bug hunting.

Well, here it is. Nikon 105mm f/2.8 macro, 36mm (and/or sometimes 24mm) Kenko extension tube(s), and Nikon R1 close-up flash system. I’ve been shooting mostly hand-held, 1/200 sec at f/10-f/22. I make up for hand shake by taking three or more pictures for each one I even consider keeping.

Using Xcode and Interface Builder is like a bizarre, retro-futuristic dream, where Code Warrior for Palm OS has somehow evolved into the interface for the Great New Empire.

On the date of the last scheduled shuttle launch, I started thinking about return on investment.

NASA’s entire cumulative budget, from 1958 through the present, in dollars (adjusted to 2007 value), has been $843 billion.

Our little adventure in Iraq has cost over $1 trillion.

Which has done more for us as a nation?

Wikipedia page on NASA’s budget
Wikipedia page on Iraq war expenditures.

I just received my paper copies.

You can get a copy too!