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There's a cognitive bias called law of the instrument, which says "when you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail". For me, that hammer has always been software programming. My first job was an administrative assistant at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business's Alumni Relations. I was given an excel spreadsheet of alumni contacts to filter through. Instead of doing it by hand which was expected, I wrote a VBA script to do it in a fraction of the time that it would have otherwise taken.

This trend continued and carried over to my latest job as a technical support agent for a web hosting company. In this capacity, I found myself copying and pasting a lot, and repeatedly performing certain tasks with what's being copied. For example, one of the first things that was done with a domain name is to look up its DNS records using a tool called dig. Normally, this involves copying the domain, opening up or activating the command line prompt, and performing several dig lookups to determine the relevant records. It quickly became apparent that these and many other tasks are performed frequent enough that one could benefit from automating some of those actions.

This is how Agent Multitool came about. At the very basic level, Agent Multitool is a clipboard history app, giving you easy access to previously copied clipboard entries. But, it comes with perks. Agent Multitool will analyze the copied content, and based on that, offer you prepackaged actions that will speed up and optimize your workflows. You can read up more about it and download the app from here.More

This release of Beast Timer brings lots of bug fixes and the addition of new features. Notably, Beast Timer now connects to Garmin devices, and allows you to pair the app with the watch. From the watch, you can then see information about the current exercise/set. You are also able to control Beast Timer from the watch, for example by pushing a button on the watch to advance to the next set. Check out the watch app here, on the Garmin Connect IQ app store.

You are almost certainly using this app at the gym. As is such, you can now choose an image as your gym membership card and display it easily from within the app. For those gyms that require you to use their application to display the gym card, you can also launch their app directly from within Beast Timer.

Below you will see the feature additions and bug fixes, taken mostly from the source control commit logs. Note the majority of the bug fixes are not listed here because they contain technical jargon.

[Features/Additions/Changes]
* Added setting to disable long press to complete all sets in Beast Mode
* Added Garmin ConnectIQ SDK
* Added setting to enable/disable Garmin Connect IQ
* Upgraded realm.io from 0.87.4 to 4.1.1
* Added menu item to redo Connect IQ initialization in Beast Mode
* Added Show Gym Membership Card fragment/code
* Added code to choose a gym membership card image
* Updated FilePicker Library
* Added toolbar icon to display gym card, which is hidden after gym card's displayed
* Added saving/loading preferences
* Made it a preference to turn on screen on next set
* Gave notifications a background color
* Allow loading of more exercise history items while in Beast Mode
* Added option to launch another application when Show Gym Membership Card button is pushed
* Ensure that the Show Gym Card button is hidden once clicked
* Ensure the app compiles using API 28
* Show Snackbar when opening Beast Mode which allows redoing Connect IQ initialization
* Added helper app that allows one to use Samsung Galaxy's physical button to advance to the next set

[Bug Fixes]
* Fixed an issue where if all sets of an exercise were deleted, the next set added to the exercise would result in a set defaulting to active status
* Fixed an issue where if the user's screen times out while editing a set, then the set data would be incorrect upon resuming
* Make sure we advance to the next correct set if we uncompleted a set or group above the current active group
* Spotify was trapping the onKeyUp action in BeastModeActivity, so we check for onKeyUp too now
* Fixed a bug where if we turn off the screen and trigger onPause while in Beast Mode on a page of a different exercise of the active set, then upon turning on the screen again the set information of the different exercise would be put in place of the active set
* Fixed a bug where the textViewCenter below the center number picker wouldn't update correctly when a cardio exercise was selected
* Fixed bug on Galaxy Note9 where AlarmManager didn't set alarm (for playing sound when timer gets to 0) if the screen was turned off
* Improved processing of list of installed applications in Preferences when selecting an app for the gym card
* Ensure that the Show Gym Card button is hidden once clicked
* In viewing exercise history graph, save previously selected graph type and graph duration.
* Have notification icon change color based on status of the current setMore

I am getting reports that Snappy Upload is displaying the following error message when logging in:

"An error was encountered while trying to log into your account. You're using a version of Snapchat or operating system that's no longer supported. Please upgrade your device's operating system and update to the newest app version to use Snapchat. Thanks!"

I am aware of this issue and am working on fixing it, you should see an updated version Snappy Upload that has this error fixed in the coming days (at most a few weeks by my best estimates). Thank you for your patience and understanding.

* Edit 2017-12-1
This is turning out to be harder than anticipated, but it's not yet time to wave the white flag. However, it will definitely take longer.More

A little under a month ago, a Sound Booster user named Abby contacted me and reported sound distortions when using the app. She mentioned that she was using bluetooth speakers, and that the sound anomalies only occurred when she was using those speakers. I have a bluetooth headset, and it's used as a part of the routine tests performed with each version of Sound Booster before they are released. However, I have never noticed this happening and could not reproduce it on my end.

As luck would have it, several days ago I purchased a new pair of bluetooth headset. I was using it with Sound Booster casually when I noticed Abby's issue. Now able to reproduce the problem, I went to work to try to fix it. It turns out the problem only occurs if you are using bluetooth headsets and speakers, and only if the app that is playing audio (eg. iTunes) has its volume turned up to the max. My theory is that newer bluetooth headsets and speakers do their own audio boosting and calibration and therefore it would “double boosting” the audio that Sound Booster provides.

The fix is an added option in Preferences named “Bluetooth Volume Over-boost Protection”. It’s a mouthful but does describe what it’s supposed to do fairly clearly. It is on by default for all bluetooth headsets and speakers, and will protect you from over-boosting by encouraging you to use the volume up/down buttons on the bluetooth device and not from the app. Note that you will still be able to use system-wide equalizer, individual app volume adjustment, and other Sound Booster features with this new option turned on. Version 0.31 has been submitted to the Mac App Store and should be live any minute now. Thanks Abby!More

Ever wanted to send the PERFECT picture that you took earlier to your friends on Snapchat? Now you can. Say hello to Snappy Upload.

Snappy Upload is a utility for sending pictures saved on your phone to your friends on Snapchat.

Using a choose, add/edit, and send process, it makes sending saved pictures on your phone to your friends on Snapchat quick and easy.

1. Choose a picture from your phone.
2. Add a caption and/or choose from a selection of resize-able emoji.
3. Send it to as many friends as you'd like all in one go!

That's it, give it a try yourself!More