Waiting for the Watch

I’m a weak, weak man. - Casey Liss (in reference to the Apple Watch)

On a good note, I slept really really well on Thursday night. On a bad note, I set my alarm incorrect and didn't end up pre-ordering my Apple Watch until around 2am. My watch Apple Watch Sport 42mm Space Gray Aluminum Case with Black Sport Band isn't shipping until June. I think it's the first time since the original iPhone I've missed getting a device on the first day. I mean, I preordered on the first day, it just won't arrive at the soonest time.

I had a friend comment that they wanted to get the watch because they will be able to discreetly check all their phone alerts and it won't be socially awkward. Yeah, no. I wonder how many people are under this false pretense. When I started carrying a Palm Pilot lots of people asked me if it helped me be more organized and I always told them "NO!" A digital organizer can help an organized person be more efficient, but it cannot help a disorganized person become organized.

So, slave to your phone? Well instead of checking you phone every 30 seconds, you'll be checking your watch every 30 seconds. It's not going to make you less engaged with your phone and more engaged in the moment. The other this is that frequently looking at your watch is WAY more socially awkward then frequently looking your phone. Go figure.

Windows.Toggle V2

Like the quest for perfect weather itself, looking for the perfect weather app can sometimes feel neverending. - Serenity Caldwell

After I got my Nest last year I wrote a fun little script that checked the outside temperature (Forecast.io) versus the inside temperature (Nest) and told me if it was a good idea to open my windows. Nest didn't have a public API at this point, so it was using hacks against the website URL to make it happen. Since then, Nest released a real API and I got around to updating the script.

I had to think through how I wanted to write it. What I wanted to do was write a Swift script to make the updates, but with both kiddos in my life I have a hard time imagining when I'll find time to figure out how to write a Swift app. So instead I busted out Perl, my old faithful, and go to work. It only took a few days to make the updates.

Now it's all working beautifully. It pushes Growls to my computer which pushes Prowls to my phone which pushes to my watch. Wonderful.

Check it out on Windows.Toggle on Github and read about the awesome home automation devices I've been wiring up.