AirTags and Kids

I’m in the midst of a short stay at Walt Disney World this week. Something that I didn’t expect to see, but I keep seeing, is kids wearing AirTags. There are kids with AirTag necklaces. There are kids with AirTags hanging off their clothes. I even saw one little girl with an AirTag connected to her shoe.

When they were first released, a common question was “Can I use AirTags on my flight-risk dog?” According to Apple, No. And there are, frankly, better options. The question I never heard at the time was, “Can I use AirTags on my flight-risk kids at theme parks?” I know Apple doesn’t want you to use an AirTag to track people, but parents of small children are using Apple’s tracker for just that.

Mac Power Users 625: Apple as the Measuring Stick, with Austin Evans

YouTuber and podcaster Austin Evans drops by Mac Power Users to talk about his content business, how Apple is competing in the wider marketplace, and the gear he uses to get work done with a growing team.

This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:

  • TextExpander from Smile: Get 20% off with this link and type more with less effort! Expand short abbreviations into longer bits of text, even fill-ins, with TextExpander from Smile. 
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January in the MacSparky Labs

The first month of the MacSparky Labs went swimmingly. I spent a lot of time working on the back end of things as I added features and figured out friction points. But I still got a lot shipped to the members. Here’s a list of content that got released in January.

  • January 27 – I released a video sharing the tech gear I bring with me on trips with the Backstage and Early Access members..
  • January 26 – I did a zoom call with Early Access members sharing how I’m using calendars these days. (It’s kind of nuts.)
  • January 25 – I released a screencast demonstrating how to capture ideas on the iPhone with shortcuts.
  • January 22 – I released the journaling webinar video to early access members …well … early.
  • January 21 – I released a walkthrough of me building a shortcut from scratch to manage scheduling new podcast episodes to the Backstage and Early Access members using Shortcuts, Obsidian, Mail, and Calendar for Backstage and Early Access members..
  • January 19 – I made of a video of myself building the slide deck for the Journaling webinar and narrated it with some of my favorite Keynote techniques for the Early Access subscribers.
  • January 18 – I made and released a screencast about how to capture ideas on the Mac using Keyboard Maestro and Obsidian.
  • January 17 – I released my video interview with Kourosh Dini to Backstage and Early Access members where we talked about DEVONthink, Obsidian, top-level task management, and music.
  • January 14 – We had the first MacSparky labs virtual meetup on Zoom for Backstage and Early Access members.
  • January 12 – I released of video of me setting up and testing vibration and leak sensors in my home. I also shared an unsuccessful experiment to rig up my mailbox with a vibration sensor. (I haven’t given up on that one yet.
  • January 10 – I shared a video update and an example of how I block schedule.
  • January 7 – I did my quarterly planning with a Zoom room full of Early Access subscribers.
  • January 5 – I made a video answering some of the most often asked qustions following my big announcemnt.
  • January 3 – I released my first video to the MacSparky Labs members

Wizards No Longer United

I was too old to understand Pokémon Go, but I was interested in Niantic’s “Wizard’s Unite” game that came out a few years ago. The game was set in the Harry Potter universe and required you to catch digital creatures out in the real world. My enthusiasm for the game lasted about a week. I found that I preferred engaging with the actual world around me more than the little window on my phone. It sounds like I was not alone as the game is shutting down today.

All that said, I do think these reality interactive games are going to be huge in the future as technologies like VR/AR glasses evolve into something that you don’t have to literally strap to your face.

Automators 94: Legal Nerd-ness with Jeff Richardson

On this week’s episode of Automators, Rosemary and I are joined by Jeff Richardson: lawyer by day, automator for life. 

This episode of Automators is sponsored by:

  • Fitbod: Get stronger, faster with a fitness plan that fits you. Get 25% off your membership.
  • Doppler: Sync environment variables at scale.
  • New Relic: Monitor, debug, and improve your entire stack. Sign up now and get 100GB of data free, forever – no credit card required.

Journaling Webinar Now on YouTube

Last week I did a free webinar on how (and why) I journal. It came out great, and I’ve got a lot of positive feedback on it. I usually add the webinar content to the appropriate Field Guide after I’ve finished it. In this case, however, I don’t have any Field Guide where adding a 45-minute journaling webinar makes sense, so I’m posting it to YouTube. Enjoy


There are a few links I mention in the video. Here they are.

Sparky’s Journal Prompts Page

Day One

Obsidian App

Craft App

Roam Research

Also, if this sort of thing interests you, please subscribe to my YouTube channel. I’m going to be posting there more regularly going forward.

Audio Hijack is Getting Scripting Support

Rogue Amoeba has the details on their website:

Perhaps the single most notable change, however, is something making a return from years back: scripting support. In the years since Audio Hijack Pro 2 was replaced by Audio Hijack 3, we’ve never stopped getting requests for some type of scripting to make a return. After much research and experimentation, we’ll soon be providing a from-the-ground-up JavaScript-based scripting system, as well as Shortcuts support.

I agree with Jason Snell. Audio Hijack has been my go-to audio recording tool for years. As a podcaster, I can record my mic, the Zoom audio, and a combined version of everything all at once. It’s this ability in Audio Hijack that has all of us nerds with our knickers in a bunch about podcasting on the iPad. It’s powerful enough, but it cannot do that.

That said, every time I record a show, I issue a silent prayer for Audio Hijack to get scripting support so I don’t have to take so many manual steps, even using my beloved, there is only so much I can do. This is going to be an awesome update. I can’t wait to put it in the rotation.