Tag: work

…in which I talk about my recent experiments with Applescript and Automator, and probably bore you to tears.

So, in case you’ve never met me, I am the kind of person who likes to have things my way and will go to great lengths to customize things to be as close to my idea of perfect as possible. I would say I border on obsessive sometimes when it comes to attempting to achieve that perfection, but that would be a lie. There is no bordering, I’m all the way in. I’ve taken up residence in my obsessive compulsive need for things to function in the best possible manner.

To this effect, I’ve learned a lot about how Automator and Applescript work in the Mac OS X environment. I have to admit, I think Automator is one of the reasons I am starting to prefer Mac over PC. The fact that I can create miniature applications (applets) to do the things that, in my opinion, I need to do is invaluable to my pathological nature. Automator allows me to call forth commands and scripts from almost anywhere within the Mac environment and combine them into free running programs. It really is a great system.

Until recently, I had a free-standing application that would synchronize several different items with my Motorola Q through the Mac. It would automatically upload contacts, calendar items, photos, and music. Several factors have resulted in my abandoning that software. First off, with the University’s adoption of the Microsoft Exchange mail system, contacts and calendars are synchronized wirelessly on demand. Additionally, I found that I never really viewed photos on the phone. And finally, with my upgrade to OS X 10.5, I would have had to pay an additional $25 to upgrade to a Leopard compatible version of the software. I just didn’t see that it was worth the price, and system resources, just to move some music occasionally. Having previously purchased a pair of bluetooth stereo headphones, however, I really want to take advantage of the fact that my phone can play music. That, combined with the fact that I have over 20,000 songs in my iTunes library made me really lament the loss of that software. I decided there must be a way I can facilitate this process at no cost. First, I started surfing the web looking for a free alternative. Finding nothing, I turned to automator, which I’ve used in the past for smaller tasks, but never something of the complexity that this has turned out to be (links to the actions and downloads I used are after the break).

I found, in Automator, that there is a command that can read a list of tracks in a specified iTunes playlist. How handy is that? So I chose the smart playlist I had created previously for my Q and called in that data. I then passed that data on to a file copy command which would copy (not move) all the files discovered in the playlist to a location of my choosing. I had discovered my solution with only two Automator actions. As of 5:00 yesterday, I was happy with that. This morning, however, after having played a custom HeroScape map and then tweaked it after everyone left, I decided I could tweak my script to be better and more efficient.

Having failed to find a way to mount my Q as a drive on the computer, I am relegated to pulling out the memory card and use the card reader built in to my monitor (I honestly never thought I’d use that) to mount the music folder. Since I was already physically taking the card out and inserting it into the computer, I figured there had to be a way to save myself from having to click to start the applet. After some searching online, which actually resulted in several methods of triggering an action on mount. I decided upon installing a Preference Pane (another nice customization option for Mac OS X, modular system preferences), that simply watches for events, and performs other events in response. So I told the Do Something When (the preference pane) to watch for my SD Card to be inserted, and respond by running the applet. It worked flawlessly. I found that I could also tell DSW to watch for an application to quit. So I told it to watch for my applet to finish and then unmount the drive as a response. I no longer had to touch the computer at all to copy files to the card. Each step was getting more efficient, but thin I hit a snag.

My card is a 1gb card, and I was telling it to copy 128mb of music to it every time I tested the system. Turns out, there was no mechanism in my applet to remove the old files, so the SD card was getting more and more full, and finally failed to run the applet because there was no more room. I had to modify the system. I found that there was an Automator action to move files to the trash, so now, before copying files to the card, it first moved all the files in the music folder on the card to the trash, theoretically making space. Unfortunately, it was moving the tracks to the Trash folder on the card and leaving them there, so I wasn’t actually gaining any free space, only moving stuff around.

I spent a good little while trying to find a way to empty the Trash on the SD card alone (since sometimes I actually do go back and check the trash on my computer). Short of some pretty specific Unix commands, there was no way to do it, and since I was trying to make this applet adjustable (in case any of my variable change later on) I needed to figure out something different. I finally stumbled up on an Automator action that simple deletes files rather than moving them to the trash, and I’m okay with that. I was trying to avoid downloading any third party actions, so that my applet would be as self contained as possible, but I just can’t find a way around this, at present. At any rate, I now had the files deleting correctly, the new files copying, and then the SD card dismounting. I finally decided that a nice alert as to its completion would be nice, so I added a Growl action at the end that pops up and informs me that its completed and dismounted.

All in all, its a really nice process that I may not use nearly as often as would be merited by the amount of effort that went into creating the system, but what I think is more important, is what I learned from it. I know more about Automator and Applescript than I did before. This is how I learn, its how I’ve always learned. I find some lame project that doesn’t amount to anything of real value, but the processes can be applied to more important things down the line.

To that same effect, I’ve once again, surprised myself with my ability to decipher web code and rebuild it to work the way I need it to.

Yesterday I found that I needed to build a specialized page for the new CVAD web site but once it was built, it just wasn’t working the way it was supposed to. After some fine manipulating of the core programming, I was able to get my page to work just fine. It was a foray into completely foreign territory for me, but everything seems to have worked out perfectly, so I’m proud of my progress. I know that I often don’t credit myself with my adaptability or ability to learn, but in moments like that, I’m always surprised at how adept I really am at absorbing and reworking things that I have so little experience with. That’s definitely a skill that could get me work in other, more lucrative positions (damn you shirt.woot, why are you in St. Louis?).

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…in which I talk about the nature of being support staff.

I’m sure the same is true in the public sector as it is in government and public education, but tasks have a way of rolling downhill. The problem is, if tasks, recognition, and money were on one of those rock-sorting conveyer belts, money would be a tiny rock and would fall through to someone far up the line, recognition would be a medium sized rock and would probably trickle out a few bins up from where I am… and from where the big ass tasks and workload rocks fall.

Here’s the thing, with a few details as possible: from up on high, several millions of dollars have been allocated for a grant. Someone in our College is working on that grant and was in need of some research in an area that, while I am not specialized, I am at least familiar and savvy. So now I am tasked with providing research and data for a project that I will in no way be related to as it come to fruition. The millions of dollars and the praises and accolades will fall far from me, while I sit in my office and continue to be over worked and under appreciated.

This is the plight of “staff.” We are the gears that grind in the background. We are the Morlocks to the Eloi utopia that is the upper echelons of a research University. Pardon my hunched back and penchant for human flesh.

in which I talk about small victories.

Yesterday I got to sit in my hanging chair again, read a little bit, and take a nap.

Earlier this week we finished watching House M.D. on DVD and are now only slightly behind the currently airing episodes, which is actually a bit frustrating because that means now, not only can we not watch them at our leisure, but we have to wait until the latest season either reruns or comes out on DVD to continue.

Today, and actually this week for the most part, has been a series of small successes at work. I’ve knocked out a ton of small tasks, both from my “to do” list and more that have just cropped up. I feel pretty good about the progress my work is making. My work log for the past two days has been packed with things I’ve completed, so on paper I look really busy. I love knocking out tons of tasks and keeping active and helping people. Its why, despite my outward appearance some days, I really do appreciate and enjoy my job. I feel terrible when I don’t have the solution for someone, but I feel like I should have some kind of heroic fanfare when I actually save someone’s work by fixing their computer or even just helping them to get on the internet.

On top of all that, the questionnaire we had to fill out for this compensation study on campus, was not only approved by my supervisor, but improved. I had shorted myself on some of my tasks and responsibilities and he made me look better than I made myself look. So, long story short, work’s been good. Really, the only thing that could make it better, would be to work in an environment where everyone else had a bit of excitement for their jobs as well. The oppressing drudgery that other people wade in around me at their jobs makes it hard to keep an optimistic and positive attitude about my position here. I understand why they’re so negative about working here, and I know that it can get weighty at times, but overall, its still a good job and rewarding in the end. If nothing else, we have our perpetually chipper student assistant, Robin, who keeps the office bright and happy in lieu of the depression seething from the darker corners. Yay!