Things I’ve Made

Emulate a numeric keypad on a Windows computer that doesn't have one. (I wrote this on 2019 Jan 05. )

Automatically calculate a dilution table to get your stock DNA/RNA to a desired concentration. Handy for standardising PCRs. (I wrote this on 2017 Dec 08. )

I like using an egg timer for time management but I don't want to disturb others with its ticking, so I made MP3 tracks of an egg timer. (I wrote this on 2016 Feb 17. I last modified it on 2016 Feb 15.)

Perform mouse/keyboard actions with every line of text in the clipboard. (I wrote this on 2015 Aug 26. )

Use one keypress in Adobe Reader to create and pre-fill ’Note’ annotations with the highlighted text, making it possible to extract your highlights from exported FDF data files. (I wrote this on 2007 May 12. I last modified it on 2020 Aug 14.)

Annotations made in PDFs can be exported as FDF files, but FDFs are full of junk formatting and are not directly usable. This tool pulls text annotations from FDFs and presents them as plain text for use in other programs. (I wrote this on 2013 Nov 28. I last modified it on 2020 Aug 14.)

Auto-Incrementer is a tool that helps you number things quickly and easily with a single keypress. (I wrote this on 2014 Sep 23. )

In this article I outline my improvements to plaintext workflow with the AlphaSmart Dana. Previously, importing .TXT files to the Dana and exporting Dana's .PDB files as .TXTs was a slow process requiring several manual operations. I have produced a software suite that a) reduces it to a single drag-and-drop operation, and b) allows batch processing of many files at once. (I wrote this on 2013 Jul 04. )

Drop a plain text (.txt or Markdown) file onto it, and it sticks the contents into a .RTF file. (I wrote this on 2013 Jul 03. )

Scratchpad is a quick-and-dirty note-taking tool with a minimum of frills, meant to show up when you need it and get out of the way when you don’t. (I wrote this on 2012 Dec 27. )

This script detects special character keystrokes that are performed (presumably while an AlphaSmart is dumping text using the Send function) and outputs the correct special character in its place. (I wrote this on 2012 Jun 05. )

Imagine you have a lot of blocks of text that need to be wrapped in quotes or brackets or something, way too many to do by hand without developing RSI. TextWrapper lets you wrap a highlighted block of text with a prefix and suffix string in one keystroke. (I wrote this on 2012 Dec 27. )

A tiny, portable program that captures the contents of your computer screen with one keypress, and saves it in lossless PNG format. Stick it on a flash drive and off you go! (I wrote this on 2011 May 31. )

The Instant Text Automator lets you quickly write and use macros based on Autohotkey's Send function. (I wrote this on 2013 Jul 17. )

The biggest word generator on the internet. Picks up to ten words from a list of more than 2,200 common nouns. Useful as a brainstorming tool for writing and problem-solving. (I wrote this on 2022 Dec 08. )

SimTypewriter is a pared-down online and portable text editor for writers, meant to replicate the text input style of a typewriter to help you become more productive. (I wrote this on 2009 Mar 14. )

A list of frequently-used common nouns in the English language, delivered in a plain .txt format. (I wrote this on 2013 Jan 26. I last modified it on 2019 Feb 10.)