Author Archives: Matthew Cassinelli

A Pair of Shortcuts to Log Podcast Episodes in Airtable and Play One at Random in Overcast đź”—

Julia M. on her blog Rampant Procrastination:

1. Open the information tab in Overcast of a podcast you wish to log to Airtable.

2.Select the text of the information tab from the podcast title down, grabbing as much of the episode description as you would like to be included in the notes field in Airtable. Press copy to put this text on the clipboard.

3. This shortcut is used as a sharesheet extension, so press the share button and select Shortcuts, then run the shortcut to log the podcast.”

This post is a great write-up from Julia explaining a way she’s saving podcast episodes to Airtable, plus pulling from that database to play one again at random.

She has little technique for grabbing information from Overcast on the clipboard before sharing the episode, and wrote up how she’s extracting the information from once it’s in the shortcut before sending it through Airtable’s API.

Definitely subscribe to her new blog and give her a follow.

If you have a blog post about Shortcuts, always feel free to tweet me the link. I post some of them here and in my newsletter too.

Six Colors: Simple sleep tracking with Shortcuts đź”—

Dan Moren, writing for Six Colors:

What I really wanted was for iOS to be a bit more intelligent. For example, it could realize that when I turn off my bedside light (which is a HomeKit-compatible Philips Hue bulb) I’m going to bed. And then, when I pick up my phone in the morning it could log that I’m awake, and store the resulting information in the Health app.

Alas, that functionality doesn’t exist. So I made it myself using a pair of Shortcuts.

While I was away at Disneyland, this great set of shortcuts snuck by me.

This is the exact approach I have so often – I think “why can’t my pocket computer do this?” and then Shortcuts lets me roll my own solution.

Read the link on Six Colors.

The Case of the Last Case 🎙

New episode of Supercomputer out:

Alex and Matthew reflect on the month’s Apple-related news, giving the hot takes some room and seeing how we’re feeling after some extra context. Plus, there’s a celebrity appearance.

Continuing along with new topics, Alex and I are starting an occasional “Cold Takes” show to cover news in the last few months with some added perspective that time gives everyone.

Continue reading “The Case of the Last Case 🎙”

Keeping track of the year’s progress with Siri Shortcuts

Time often seems to move both very slow and extremely fast, all at once. Especially if you’re hyper-connected, each moment can feel important and yet the first two months of the year can fly by and it seems like it’s just getting started.

For those who’ve been too connected, a tiny Twitter account has been there to remind you of the @Year_Progress by tweeting out small graphics showing the current percentage of time past this year.

As of writing, February 19 is 14% of the way through 2019. But I didn’t use that Twitter account – I built myself a shortcut.

Continue reading “Keeping track of the year’s progress with Siri Shortcuts”

There Are Many Like It, But This Home Screen Is Mine 🎙

New episode of Supercomputer out:

Alex and Matthew cover their home screens, so open the episode to check out the shots.

In episode 21, we wanted to refocus our subject matter more for each episode.

We’ll be doing an occasional cycle of shows – a good topic, some guest appearances, a look back at the news of the last few months, and more philosophical episode that takes things to a higher level.

We’re always looking for diverse and interesting guests, so please send us recommendations at supercomputerpodcast@gmail.com.

Plus, we started a Patreon for anyone who feels like supporting the show. We’re gearing up the patronage rewards, but rest assured the show is free and it’s not required. That being said, we really appreciate everyone who’s signed up so far.
Continue reading “There Are Many Like It, But This Home Screen Is Mine 🎙”