1. Fast greetings: I sign most emails with either “Thanks, {Return}Alex” or “Best, {Return}Alex”.  To save some time, I use “t,” and “b,” for those phrases, respectively.  This permits me to quickly finish an email and then send (using Alt + s in Microsoft Outlook or Tab then Space in Gmail).

2. Personal data: If I type “Addy”, Texter types out my home address.  ”mynum” types out my phone number.  Both of these are simple time savers that I’ve used a lot while communicating travel plans or shipping information.  When I was in the UK, I used “uknum” for my local phone number.

3. Loyalty info: “starwood#”, “skymiles#”, “wbs#” and about a dozen other word + # combinations make up my library of travel numbers.  As a frequent traveler, I got tired to looking at my cards or a spreadsheet to keep track of all my numbers.  Instead, I just type “hhonors#” and Texter inserts my Hilton Honors number.

4. Dates: “dt” and “dts” are the Texter codes I use for long date and short date respectively.  One of the great features of Texter is the inclusion of built-in commands.  In this case, I put %dl in the replacement text for “dt”.  This tells Texter that when I type “dt”, I want today’s long date (Monday, 30th of July 2010).  %ds produces a mm/dd/yy value instead.

5. Email lists: I find that email programs are generally quite annoying when you want to maintain groups of people in mailing lists.  For each program you have to setup your contacts into lists.  Instead, if I have a group of people that I’m emailing often, I just create a “@emaillist” hotstring, which tells Texter to put in my list of email addresses.  This can be a great time saver if you switch between Outlook and Gmail regularly.

6. Quick replies: For the same reason as number 5, Form emails are another great use for Texter.  If I type @Comment into Gmail or Outlook, Texter asks me who I want to write to (a little prompt appears) and then puts in “Hi person, Thanks for your comment on Justanasterisk.com. I’ve posted a reply to your message which you can see on the site.  Best, ab”  Obviously, person is the name that Texter asked me to provide in the beginning.  If you want to try this, include %p in your script.

7. Meeting details: Meetings inevitably require a ton of similar information.  One thing that I use constantly is “mtg#’ which inserts my dial-in number and meeting ID for the participants.

In the end, Texter is a tool that can really speed up your Windows work.  I started with a small number of uses, but the list has grown.  I don’t recommend trying to think of every use for Texter at once.  Instead, it’s easiest just to start using it for a few things and then add as the inspiration strikes you.  Also, make sure you go back and delete the Texter hotstrings that you don’t really use.  I find that this helps avoid problems and unexpected results.

Good luck and share any cool ideas you have in the comments!

~ab

If it doesn’t start there automatically, my favorite line from the 1989 Batman is “Where does he get those wonderful toys?” (at 1:17 into this trailer).  It’s just such a perfect description of how I find geek tools to be both empowering and entertaining.

A friend recently asked if I had any links to share and I thought I’d start the new year with a list of some of the blogs that I read.  My hope is this provides that answer to your question about my toys (yes in this fantasy, I am Batman).

Mental Floss – Some blogs are on my reading list just for me.  I almost never plan on sharing anything I find on Mental Floss (it’s my guilty pleasure) but often the factoids and trivia I pickup here filter their way into my conversations.  I feel like I owe them a permanent footnote after my banter but as I’m not going to end each sentence with “fact provided by Mental Floss”, this shoutout is going to have to do.  My favorite fact to date?

In Dom Perignon’s day, bubbles were considered a serious wine flaw, and the good monk actually went to considerable lengths to eliminate them during his 47 years as cellar-master.

“Bubble Trouble: The Not-So-Sweet History of Champagne“

Check it out and enjoy.

Flowing Data – The lovely graphs and well… data make this site a truly fascinating read.  I’m certainly not a visualization fanatic, but I adore the beauty of this rapidly growing field.  Maybe the blog’s author won’t appreciate it, but it appeals to the same parts of me that enjoy shopping at Muji or the Apple store.

The Universe as We Know It

Lifehacker – The brain child of Gina Trapani, Lifehacker has developed into one of the most vast compilations of useful information on the web.  I can’t count the number of times I’ve searched (on Google) with the terms “Lifehacker” and my query (like best chat client).  It’s just a fantastic way to get at the old stuff.  Moreover, what makes me really jealous is that the new stuff is good too…  These little nuggets will sit in your brain until needed.  Here’s a recent article that I thought exemplified the best of the blog:

Top 10 Mind Hacks for Making Your Resolutions Stick

Weburbanist – Although this is the noisiest site I’ve ever seen, the RSS feed is bearable and worth a read.  The point seems to be featuring gorgeous photography and design and the blog succeeds most of the time.  Sometimes it’s not my cup of tea but it’s often at least entertaining.  Here’s a taste:

Mind-Bending Digital Photo Manipulation by Erik Johansson

Gizmodo – You cannot love gadgets and not be drawn to Gizmodo.  The site really doesn’t need much of a description – they review the coolest, newest stuff and tell us all the gory rumors.  Interested in hearing about the much hyped mac tablet?  Check Gizmodo.  Want someone simply to tell you which gadgets are hot?  Read this article:

The Best Gadgets

That’s probably enough for now.  Remember to use Google Reader to maximize your blog reading experience!

Enjoy

~ab

The hive five articles – Lifehacker uses reader polls to gather “best of” research.  This can range from best journaling tool (winner pen and paper) to best people search engine (winner pipl.com)   In a world of a billion choices, five is a much more manageable number and these articles let you head straight for the cream.

Productivity tips – Over the years (and it  has actually been a few), I’ve learned more about productivity than anything else from Lifehacker.   Maybe it’s just an area of interest, but it was here that I first learned about Getting Things Done by David Allen or 43 Folders by Merlin Mann or the printable products of David Seah.  For a quick view of the big fish in productivity ideas on Lifehacker, try this link out.

Finally, let’s not forget the day to day tips (the traditional lifehacks) like how to make your own drano.  These were the basis of the original site and it’s what you might call a strong area for the Lifehacker team.  Check out the DIY articles or try searching the Lifehacker for tips in any area – chances are good that someone has written or posted something.

Thanks again to the Lifehacker team for the shout out.

~ab

Here is the link

Wanted to share the good news. Thanks for reading. As always, please feel free to suggest new posts either in the comments or to posts@justanasterisk.com.

~ab

Despite this noise, I’d like to propose that Twitter is occupying more of your mental bandwidth than you’d care to admit.  If you have a moment let’s take a look at some numbers and links to prove my case…

Check out the image below (thank you Google Insight).  It shows that in the US, we are coco for twitter puffs and that most of the world is hot in pursuit.  The darker the area on the map, the more Google searches have been performed for Twitter.

Moreover, the trend is increasing!  The graph below shows how we’ve steadily increased our searches for Twitter of the past two years.

So what’s my point?  Well maybe you should at least take a look at twitter!  Who knows?  You might find someone worth following or (gasp) be inspired to write your own.  JustanAsterisk in on twitter (but we’re not very good at it), so here are some alternatives to show you what’s going on:

1. seemonkea’s twitter – One of my favorite technology dudes, and a good friend, seemonkea (not his real name) tweets regularly with an interesting stream of sites, music links, and randomness.  It’s a great break from office life, his tweets are like the chocolate chips sans the cookie and other fluff.

2. Pogue’s twitter – If you’ve never read anything by New York Times columnist David Pogue, you’re missing out.  He writes about technology like we do, but with talent.  Check him out in your next newspaper AND take a peak at his prolific tweeting…

3. Lifehacker’s twitter – Like the blog but with a nervous tic, the lifehacker tweet spouts little factoids and tidbits many times per day.  It’s a great place for links but perhaps less entertaining than the two above.  However, if you’re looking for something new, it’s prime real estate.

There are tons more twitter users who are actually worth reading.  I recommend a simple test – take a favorite person and Google their name + twitter.  The results are often interesting.

Enjoy the new toy!

~ab