Chit Chat Across the Pond

Latest Episodes:

CCATP #667 – Mike Price on Keyboard Maestro Jan 06, 2021

Show notes

This week our guest for Chit Chat Across the Pond is Mike Price, also known as @Grumpy in the podfeet slack and our live show chat room. During the live NosillaCast, I have to perform a super repetitive set of tasks to add chapter marks as I'm recording the show. If you enjoy there _being_ chapter marks, you should give partial thanks to Mike, because he figured out how to automate the process for me using Keyboard Maestro from keyboardmaestro.com/...

The thing that fascinated me was that he didn't know Keyboard Maestro before creating this automation for me. In this conversation he explains what Keyboard Maestro is, how he learned it, and what you can do with it. I asked him to break down each panel of the software for me methodically and explain the interface, because while I've done some super simple automations with Keyboard Maestro, the interface continues to confuse me.

David Sparks has one of his famous Field Guides on Keyboard Maestro, which are really mini-video tutorials. Mike watched David's Field Guide to learn the tool, so I've included my affiliate link in case you want to learn from the great MacSparky yourself: learn.macsparky.com/...

Mike is funny, articulate, and a brilliant developer. We used a Google Doc to collaborate on an outline, and Mike added enough detail that I think it could be really valuable for you as a reference guid for our discussion so I've included it in the shownotes: CCATP notes with Mike at docs.google.com/...

Mike also promised to provide the Keyboard Maestro macros that he talked about during the show: DoNotifications, Grumpy's Hindy Chapter Marks, and possibly the most useful, his XKPasswd Macros to connect to Bart's awesome password creation tool. Here's a link to a zip file of his macros - remember to be cautious when downloading macros from the Internet so check them carefully before enabling them!

CCATP #664 – Tom Merritt on Time Management Dec 08, 2020

Show notes

This week's guest is Tom Merritt, prolific podcaster, author, and lover of dogs. I asked Tom to come on the show to explain how on earth he does as much as he does. We walk through all of his podcasts, what he has to do to prepare for them, and how he makes the time to get all of them done. He talks about the research required for each of them and even how some require him to watch TV. On top of podcasting, he's an author, he walks his dogs, he exercises, and even spends time with his wife, Eileen.

You can find links to all of Tom's shows at tommerritt.com/... and his books at tommerrittbooks.com/.... You can follow Tom on Twitter @acedtect

CCATP #646 – Doug Kaye on The Levelator Jul 14, 2020

Show notes

Doug was one of the founding forces behind podcasting (his podcast was the second one created!) He founded The Conversations Network in 2002 with the intent of coordinating a global team of volunteer podcasters to capture and publish lectures, seminars, and other significant events that would otherwise go unrecorded. Out of The Conversations Network came the beloved podcast software tool, The Levelator.

Doug has turned his attention now to photography and I highly recommend you give yourself a treat and go to Doug Kaye Photography at https://dougkaye.com/. His photos are absolutely breathtaking and every one is completely different from the next.

CCATP #631 — Rosemary Orchard on Shortcuts Mar 26, 2020

Show notes

CCATP #627 Robin Christopherson on Advancements in Tech for Accessibility Feb 25, 2020

Show notes

This week we're joined by Robin Christopherson. Robin is the host of the Alexa skills podcast Dot to Dot and he’s co-host of the weekly Tech Talk show from the Royal National Institute of Blind People. Robin is also Head of Digital Inclusion and part of the globally-acclaimed accessibility and tech team of AbilityNet and has spoken at numerous events in recent years. Oh yeah, he’s also blind.

Robin tells us about how the advancements in technology have made such a huge difference in the lives of people with disabilities. He also explains that in the US at least, people with disabilities refer to TABs, or the Temporarily Able Bodied. He talks about th ework AbilityNet is doing in the UK to try to get accountability for companies that don't comply with the laws around accessibility.

He suggested an interesting (and funny in a British uncomfortable comedy kind of way) video about Diversish: https://youtu.be/oOQYFZMglCc

He's funny and fun even though we're obviously talking about a subject near and dear to his heart. You can follow Robin at his very odd Twitter handle, @usa2day.

CCATP #616 — Don McAllister on Automating ScreenCastsOnline Nov 18, 2019

Show notes

This week I asked Don McAllister, owner of ScreenCastsOnline to come on the show to talk about how he automates the production of his video tutorial podcast business. We start at his humble beginnings as a new convert from Windows with a Mac mini and a monitor, up to and including a global workforce with automated workflows. He's even moved his Mac Pro into MacStadium so it's a resource for his back end production folks.

I must do a disclaimer that I do screencasts for Don's show, which means I have a conflict of interest in telling you how awesome it is. We try to stay to the technical parts of the show production but we're both so enthusiastic about the service it's hard to avoid talking about the quality of what Don and his staff creates.

You can find ScreenCastsOnline at screencastsonline.com and you can follow Don on Twitter @donmcallister

CCATP #599 — Dr. Devon Polaschek on Psychopaths Jun 21, 2019

Show notes

This week we’re joined by Dr. Devon Polaschek. Dr. Polaschek is the Joint Director of the New Zealand Institute for Security and Crime Science at the University of Waikato. I will further embarrass her by mentioning that she was recently awarded with a Queen's Birthday honour (as in Queen Elizabeth). Dr. Polaschek has has been made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to criminal psychology.

In this interview, we talk about Devon's work with imprisoned psychopaths and her successful efforts to rehabilitate them. It's a fascinating discussion of the perspective of psychopaths: how they differ from other criminals and the ways in which they are similar.

CCATP #588 - Jeff Gamet on TextExpander Evangelism Mar 27, 2019

Show notes

Jeff Gamet of Smile joins us to talk about the life of an Evangelist for TextExpander. We talk about some of the cool things you can do with TextExpander that you may not know about, how TextExpander works on Windows now, how awesome Jean MacDonald was when she was in this job and even funny snippet abbreviations. If you'd like to learn more about TextExpander you can go to textexander.com and you can find Jeff on Twitter and Instagram as @jgamet.

CCATP #557 - Tom Merritt on Community in Podcasting Aug 04, 2018

Show notes

This week Tom Merritt, host of the Daily Tech News Show, (and co-host of Cordkillers, Sword & Laser and Current Geek) joins us to talk about the importance of the community to his podcast. We’ll explore how he created such a thriving and participative community, what it means to him, what it would be like without it and even the downsides of having a community. It’s probably one of my favorite discussions with Tom and I always love talking to Tom. You can follow Tom on Twitter @acedtect.

CCATP #552 - Steve Harris on Mac App Store Improvements & Dark Mode Jun 20, 2018

Show notes

Steve Harris, developer of Feeder and Keep It from Reinvented Software joins us to talk about how much the Mac App Store has improved for developers and also about the work that will go into making apps work in Dark Mode on macOS Mojave.

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