Things I Automated This Year

This year, I used automations:

• on my iPhones,
• iPads,
• Linux servers and personal computers.
• in real life.

Apple iOS

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I separated Apple Shortcuts as its separate story.

Linux

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I use Linux on and off since 2007, and I use it daily on my laptops since 2019. I set a cluster of servers shortly before switching from macOS to Linux.

• If you’re interested in the topic, follow the tags: Linux or Operating Systems.

Servers

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I have a cluster of servers, and I run multiple Linux distributions. Generally, it’s just two:

• Debian or DietPi on ARM processors.
• Arch Linux on x86-64 processors.

However, they’re the same with the regard to scripting. I use bash.

I’m not trying to cover all the possible automations I do, and I’m trying to focus on this year only. Because, frankly, I could just forgot something I made a couple of years back, what is still working. E.g. I have a set of scripts that do incremental backups with rsync, they are triggered a couple of times a day.

Create Entry

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There is a counterpart script to an iPhone Shortcuts. (A set of scripts.) All of my entries into all of my blogs are created with the help of a script. For iPhone, I use a slightly modified version, but in general they all are mostly the same. I decided not to try creating one mega-script, but use a simpler design and go with just different scripts.

• An example of a such a script, I guess I’ll add it later right here. I want to think of the better way of publishing it.

Weather Log

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I log hourly weather info into daily files.

Sometimes it’s handy to understand what the weather was yesterday. Not a single weather app I’ve ever tried in my entire life represented its data as ‘yesterday was cold and today is a bit warmer.’ So I could actually made simple decisions of what to wear, and not deciphering a very complex set of data.

The script does nothing too complex. It utilises ansiweather and is logged on all of my devices (to collect the information regardless of blackouts). It collects all the info in plain text information for me, and I have a special script that parses is and removes all the duplicates. It’s pretty neat, I like it.

Desktops

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On Desktops, I use Arch Linux on my computers and laptops and Fedora Linux on shared computers. I’m happy about Fedora as a low-maintenance distro, and I have mostly nothing automated there.

Fedora

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I have only one script. There’s this computer that runs media for us, an HTPC. Sometimes I work from it, but mostly not. It’s just attached to a 32" 4K display.

I have a systemd timer that sets the display brightness to its lowest at 8 pm (probably, I want to set it less ambitiously to 9 pm), so it triggers ‘hey, it’s time to get started being prepared for sleep.’ It returns back to normal in the morning.

Arch

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Oh, on Arch, I have a gazillion scripts I’ve made this year. I don’t even know where to start and whether I should even try to describe them all. I think, I’d like to at least try covering most of them, or the most interesting ones. As I basically rewrite my OS (so to say) to fit my workflows. Since I do it on a weekly basis, there’s a lot to talk about.

I say weekly, not daily, as I’m keeping myself from improving things all the time, I have to do something with the computer too.

IRL

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Automation isn’t only about computer systems, but about repetitive tasks too.

They not necessarily must be automated Wallace-style mad scientist way. My vision is that these tasks are automated through some positive habits.

Sorting Rubbish

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Apart from regular sorting of our wastes, we collect plastic caps, batteries, and tin cans (for the AFU). For that, we have special containers located on the ground floors of each section of our apartment complex.

At home, we have a special (custom-made) vertical shelf with shoes in our dressing room. Bottom shelves are for kids shoes, so I’ve learned to put those caps or tin cans on the lowest levels, so Hnat (our kid of 3 yo) would notice.

No batteries though, they’re dangerous for kids. They seem to understand they cannot ever eat them, yet I’m still nervous about that, and so I keep them out of their reach anyway.

For me, that was always the problem to not forget these tiny little things, yet for him that’s some game he enjoys. He never forgets to get the waste outside of the house! So, now we have this tiny tradition. A few times a week we have at least something (most times that’s caps, of course), so we get it with us and put into the recycle bin.

A tiny thing, yet I found it worth having noted too. I guess there are many things we could make a game of, and enjoy doing them with the kids. Automation can be fun and interesting, before it becomes… well, automated, and not too noticeable.

Lamps

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I’ve bought a set of tiny led lamps on batteries, with motion sensors.

• They all have USB-C chargers, and they hold the battery up to a week or so.
• They have magnets, so I can easily hang them in different places.
• They form a nice way to the bathroom, so we have no need to turn on the bright light at nights.
• They have a stylish minimalistic circle form, so they’re much better than I expected them to be.

I bought them mostly for two scenarios, for blackouts and probably for kids to go to the toilet at nights. The latter I wasn’t sure about, since they do that not often. Yet it’s just more convenient to have them.

They turned out to be super-handy, and the number of situations we use them for, is just much more than I originally thought.

• E.g. when I come home late at night, and everyone is sleeping, they light the corridor enough for me to get undressed and enter the bathroom, where they are present as well.
• When one of the kids has fever, and we need to check temperature or give some meds, it also helps to light the room enough to not wake up everyone. They’re not too bright, and they’re of a yellow colour, so they’re much better than an iPhone’s flashlight lying around.

It works like magic, they turn off within 30 seconds or so. It’s plenty of time to do something, and it’s not too long till they turn off. Before them, I had my iPhone always ready as a flashlight, but it’s just so much less convenient. It’s nice to have that iPhone skill for out-of-home situations, but it’s much better to just have those lamps at home.

Charging them is less hassle than I expected.

• Since they’re USB-C lamps, and I have many USB-C chargers being here and there, I just take lamp to whatever charger is free right now, and that’s it.
• When I need it the next time, it’s usually charged already, so I take it back.
• I don’t need to check on the lamp ever, as if it discharged, it won’t spread light, easy. This gets more complicated when the blackout situation is too bad, yet it mostly good these days. And not everyone is at war with their barbaric neighbour these days. (Yet?)

Backpacks

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I’m a backpack — how to name it — enthusiast. I have too many of them. I love them. I designed one myself, and I think I will design more later in life.

I have different backpacks for different occasions. Turned out it’s super-convenient! As they are designed differently, and what’s very comfortable for a casual city stroll isn’t comfortable for visiting a grocery store, or leaving the city for a weekend, or leaving the city for a week, or visiting office, or visiting parents.

My current backpacks are:

• for casual city travels, a light one, my primary
• for visiting grocery store or local food market, a very durable one
• for office visits (I have 2 different ones, but logically they’re the same, the 2nd one is just more waterproof, for a worse weather).
• for light travels (a weekend)
• for bigger travels (a week), I designed it myself
• for digital-nomad-style travels (months), is basically a huge Thule bag-backpack hybrid.
• a special one (two, actually, but nevermind) I designed for my city-farm, to make deliveries. It’s designed for microgreens in mind, and for microgreens only, to deliver them to the restaurants.
  • More on that in its special story.
  • (I’ll update the link when it’ll be published.)

Also, I have a couple not worthy of my mention. E.g. there’s this bag-like backpack, basically a bag with one single space, it’s an additional one, if I want to buy something extra that cannot fit into my current one, and I can still travel on my bike. That’s one of my favourites, yet it’s nothing special to talk about.