If This Then That

        IF                    THEN

Have you ever found yourself doing something that you feel like someone or something else should be doing for you and go "damn, I really wish my computer would do this for me!"? Well me too. And so did the folks who made If This Then That (IFTTT for short).

IFTTT is a very cool website that allows you to create custom "recipes" to basically automate things for you without you having to learn any programming languages. The way it works is you connect your existing accounts or sign up for new accounts for things they call "channels", like Gmail, Google Calendar, Nest, FitBit, Craigslist, Twitter... basically any software or smart device that they've hooked up with (there are currently 366 different channels, and they're adding more all the time), and you can create a "recipe" that will do something for you when something happens. They have tons of pre-made recipes up there already you can start with. If you create your own recipe, you can publish it!

Here are some examples:

Text me when a VIP sends me an email
IF my gmail receives an email from a specific sender
THEN send me a text message to alert me about it

Farm Tractor Tweets
IF an Ebay search finds a new posting for a used tractor for sale,
THEN send a tweet about it along with a photo on twitter!

Receive an email if there will be rain in your area tomorrow
IF the weather forecast shows rain is predicted in your area,
THEN send an email to you letting you know

If the temp rises over 99F, email the president about global warming
IF the current weather goes over 99 degrees Fahrenheit,
THEN send an email to the president about global warming

There are tons of other great recipes (including some that are actually useful) so I encourage you to explore and see if you can find any that you might use.

Cheers!
Daniel

Python!

Howdy everyone! It's been too long, sorry about that.

So I've been obsessing lately with Python, and wanted to share my newfound respect and obsession. In fact, I actually created a blog completely devoted to Python, which will focus on its use for CPAs and accountants. I haven't actually started posting on that blog yet, but I have some plans for it.

If you have never heard of Python, or are familiar with it but haven't used it much, it's awesome and I encourage checking it out. There are some great free resources online to learn from, including several great courses on Coursera. My favorite is the Rice University series.

Afraid of Python because you're not a programmer? No fear! It uses mostly plain English and simple statements. Of course it can get massively complex, and looking at new code and libraries and all of the different options for writing and using it can get daunting, but if you start small and basic, you'll quickly learn how powerful it is.

Why would you care about Python? Because it's MEGA POWERFUL.  I used to think Vlookups, Sumifs, and Pivot Tables were the next level in Excel. Visual Basic definitely is up there in the next level category in excel of data analysis and performing many calculations. BUT in the Excel world, there are limits. And there's a lot of room for errors. With something like Python, especially Pandas (more on that later, in the python blog), you can have HUGE amounts of data, and perform analysis and calcluations much more efficiently, accurately, and consistently.

I'll keep most of the Python specific things on that blog, however if there's something I add on this blog that can also be done in Python, I'll mention it on here.

Check it out!

Cheers,
Daniel