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Originally Posted by id10t
For work related stuff? Knowing how to use a *nix command line and the various programs in the textutils, fileutils, and related packages.
I also tend to write programs - from simple aliases and scripts to full blown applications - to do what appear to be repetitive processes as soon as I realize I'll be doing the same thing more than once or twice.
15 years ago I saw three of our employees doign their every-two-years "build the catalog by cutting and pasting from this excel document to that excel document". Took 'em 3 weeks every two years to do this. First year they were moved into my department, I looked at what they were doing, sent them to go get me a cup of coffee across campus (about a 15 minute round trip) and when they returned I had a simple shell script that would do the entire job in about 10 minutes of run time, using cat, cut, sed, and grep.
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Indeed. Creating basic Excel shell scripts is my superpower as well. Also did some script automation for server builds using korn scripts in Unix.
Prior job, I automated the disaster recovery process in a programming language called REXX.
As for stuff around the house, here are some small 'life hacks' that I use:
- I use a leaf blower to 'sweep' out my garage of leaves and dirt. Much faster than the old fashioned broom technique..
- Since I am ambidextrous, when I'm painting, I can use both hands brushing on paint. Comes in really handy when up on a ladder - it extends my reach significantly.
Other stuff:
- When I travel on an airplane, anything that can leak (hair gel...etc) I put in plastic ziplock bags, just in case it leaks, it won't get all over my other toiletries.
For track stuff:
- I have separate 10 gallon crates that I use to keep stuff handy - one for tools, one for safety gear (helmet, hans, gloves...etc), and one for trailer stuff. Far easier to quickly grab what I need when I know where to look for it! IF everything has a place, then it is easy to keep track of everything!
Above all: I try to put stuff back to where I store it as soon as is feasible. At the end of the day, I clean up my tools, and put them away. That way, when I start up on something the next day, I can easily find where my stuff is. Stitch in time...
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