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Ask HN: Manual daily task that takes = 5 minutes

4 points by tmaly 11y ago

Do you have a manual task that you wish was automated that you do at least 3 times a week that takes at least 5 minutes to perform?

mod 11y ago
Brushing my teeth.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- tmaly 11y ago
  I think we need to wait for some form of microbe of nanobot to handle this task. I remember Japan was testing some solution that you simply flush in your mouth and it is supposed to stop cavities. No need to brush in this case.
oxguy3 11y ago
I have some weekly-updated government datasets I have to pull in. I'd love to automate it, but government tends not to run their websites with automation in mind, so the file names tend to be different every week, and the day it updates varies, and it's just a general pain in the butt.
- borplk 11y ago
  Do you mind posting a link? I'm good with this stuff I could potentially help you out with a script.
- tmaly 11y ago
  I have a similar task, but I was able to automate it with a perl script. I use Web::Scraper module along with ORLite. I check the site on a frequency for a file or change to text on the page using a simple MD5 hash of the content, or the name of the file in a link. I keep track of it in a simple sqlite database. When there is a change in some SEC spec or a new file on Edgar, I grab it, mark it as processed in sqlite and then mail it to the people that need it.
hanniabu 11y ago
Pooping * checking on for that I know takes about +-5min to cook in oven or on stove, but every time is different so you must constantly check it * looking for something to watch on tv * turning on the comp, opening all my workflow programs, reseting all the window sizes to the proper size * organize and compile my notes, this means taking notes from my phone, desktop, and paper, and bringing them all into the same text file, at the same time I merge it with the previously existing file and organize all the notes in the correct sections * to go along with previous, coverting a text files dashes(bullets) and indents (more bullets) to json, using the tiered format in the text file to dictate the hierarchy in the json * reliably cleaning litter box * cleaning of bunny cage * reliably feed pets with fallback system in place * development environment setup, the overhead for starting a new language or framework sometimes is a lot, would be great to just download a docker styled program with everything I need for all languages in it to play around with and test new things out, not a full blown ide though
- FlopV 11y ago
  * reliably feed pets with fallback system in place * Don't they have feeders that do this for dogs and cats? What's wrong with those?
  - hanniabu 11y ago
    They don't have any backups, such as feedback loop to make sure that food was dispensed and if it wasn't then have a second port dispense food. My friend got one and sometimes the food falls into the dispenser in a way that it creates a supported arch so it blocks the food from actually entering the dispensing channel.
    - FlopV 11y ago
      Makes sense, thanks for the explanation.
richerlariviere 11y ago
Check if I got a reply on HN. I don't always go to threads page it would be nice to automatically be warned about a reply.
- joshschreuder 11y ago
  There was a service at http://hnnotify.com/ http://hnnotify.com/ but it seems to be down. See here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10521491 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10521491
  - richerlariviere 11y ago
    Hey thanks! I will take a look.
tmaly 11y ago
So I posted this question because I saw this comic on xkcd that is a chart showing how long you should work on making a task more efficient before your spending more time than you save. I always see these ask hn questions about coming up with ideas for a startup. I thought if you phrase it a little different, you might get a better set of ideas by looking at manual tasks that take at least 5 minutes.

4 points by tmaly 11y ago

Do you have a manual task that you wish was automated that you do at least 3 times a week that takes at least 5 minutes to perform?

mod 11y ago

Brushing my teeth.

deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
tmaly 11y ago
I think we need to wait for some form of microbe of nanobot to handle this task. I remember Japan was testing some solution that you simply flush in your mouth and it is supposed to stop cavities. No need to brush in this case.

oxguy3 11y ago

I have some weekly-updated government datasets I have to pull in. I'd love to automate it, but government tends not to run their websites with automation in mind, so the file names tend to be different every week, and the day it updates varies, and it's just a general pain in the butt.

borplk 11y ago
Do you mind posting a link? I'm good with this stuff I could potentially help you out with a script.
tmaly 11y ago
I have a similar task, but I was able to automate it with a perl script. I use Web::Scraper module along with ORLite. I check the site on a frequency for a file or change to text on the page using a simple MD5 hash of the content, or the name of the file in a link. I keep track of it in a simple sqlite database. When there is a change in some SEC spec or a new file on Edgar, I grab it, mark it as processed in sqlite and then mail it to the people that need it.

hanniabu 11y ago

Pooping * checking on for that I know takes about +-5min to cook in oven or on stove, but every time is different so you must constantly check it * looking for something to watch on tv * turning on the comp, opening all my workflow programs, reseting all the window sizes to the proper size * organize and compile my notes, this means taking notes from my phone, desktop, and paper, and bringing them all into the same text file, at the same time I merge it with the previously existing file and organize all the notes in the correct sections * to go along with previous, coverting a text files dashes(bullets) and indents (more bullets) to json, using the tiered format in the text file to dictate the hierarchy in the json * reliably cleaning litter box * cleaning of bunny cage * reliably feed pets with fallback system in place * development environment setup, the overhead for starting a new language or framework sometimes is a lot, would be great to just download a docker styled program with everything I need for all languages in it to play around with and test new things out, not a full blown ide though

FlopV 11y ago
* reliably feed pets with fallback system in place * Don't they have feeders that do this for dogs and cats? What's wrong with those?
- hanniabu 11y ago
  They don't have any backups, such as feedback loop to make sure that food was dispensed and if it wasn't then have a second port dispense food. My friend got one and sometimes the food falls into the dispenser in a way that it creates a supported arch so it blocks the food from actually entering the dispensing channel.
  - FlopV 11y ago
    Makes sense, thanks for the explanation.

richerlariviere 11y ago

Check if I got a reply on HN. I don't always go to threads page it would be nice to automatically be warned about a reply.

joshschreuder 11y ago
There was a service at http://hnnotify.com/ http://hnnotify.com/ but it seems to be down. See here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10521491 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10521491
- richerlariviere 11y ago
  Hey thanks! I will take a look.

tmaly 11y ago

So I posted this question because I saw this comic on xkcd that is a chart showing how long you should work on making a task more efficient before your spending more time than you save. I always see these ask hn questions about coming up with ideas for a startup. I thought if you phrase it a little different, you might get a better set of ideas by looking at manual tasks that take at least 5 minutes.