Catfood WebCamSaver 3.27 is out. This has a big increase in the list of working webcams and so definitely worth upgrading (or trying for the first time).
Code: I fix a pet peeve with Todoist so the Alexa Integration sets a due date. Also, here's how to use the new Google Search Console API to monitor the index status of your pages. Both in Google Apps Script.
Timelapse: San Francisco Shoreline. Sunsets 8 (Nice Pacific view from my roof) and 9 (the March 27 storm in San Francisco). Both sides of the Golden Gate.
Shot as the rather moist storm of March 27, 2022 rolled into San Francisco. Some decent clouds and then a good soaking, probably the last of the season. Looking north-west from West Portal.
(Published to the Fediverse as:
Sunset #9 #timelapse#video#sunset Time lapse of the March 27, 2022 storm in San Francisco, California. Shot looking north-west from West Portal.)
Today, for no great reason, I decided to see if it's possible to walk the full perimeter of Treasure Island. I parked at the Treasure Island Museum and headed north up the Avenue of the Palms. I've been here many times and it offers stunning views of San Francisco and both the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge. The path continues around the north of the island and then you need to work around a blocked off area to get back to the coast. The east side is less appealing with a lot of garbage along the path and a view of many barges and the Port of Oakland peeking out under the new section of the Bay Bridge. Finally I was fully thwarted as the entire south west corner of the island is a mess of construction (and a rather unpleasant portable toilet staging area). I had to head inland all the way to 9th Street before cutting back over to the Avenue of the Palms. Overall I'm glad I tried but I can't recommend it.
(Published to the Fediverse as:
Treasure Island Perimeter #hike#sanfrancisco#treasureisland#map 4 mile hike around the perimeter of Treasure Island in the San Francisco Bay. It's not possible to fully circumnavigate the island.)
(Published to the Fediverse as:
Both sides of the Golden Gate, a Time Lapse #timelapse#video#sanfrancisco#kirbycove#grandview Shot from Kirby Cove in the Marin Headlands and Grand View Park in San Francisco, a timelapse of the Golden Gate.)
South from Golden Gate Heights Park, Sutro Tower from Twin Peaks, south from Golden Gate Heights again with more clouds and west from Grand View Park. Photo is a panorama of Golden Gate Park from Grand View.
I'm switching from the more ambitious specific weeks to a timelapse of the week (TLOTW) when I have one.
Catfood WebCamSaver 3.27 is available to download.
This release contains the latest webcam list and will upgrade any current set of webcams. I'm currently releasing updates for WebCamSaver every three months with the latest cams.
By Robert Ellison. Updated on Monday, September 29, 2025.
I love almost everything about Todoist. It's rich enough to scratch all my productivity itches while also being basic enough that I don't spend time gardening my tasks. Also, their Android app is just gorgeous, the exact opposite of Google's ascetic descent into identical lists of black in Material Design.
The one problem is the Alexa integration. You can add tasks to your shopping list or your to do list. The shopping list works great for me. I check it once a week when I do my grocery shopping and everyone knows to just tell Alexa when they need something. The to-do list is a disaster. These go to a separate to-do list project without a due date and I will never ever find them there. Anything else I add will end up in the Inbox with a due date of today so I'm forced to classify and if necessary reschedule it. Which is exactly what I want.
When I say 'Alexa, add x to my to-do list' I want that task to be visible. This integration design flaw could lead to at least one child growing up in an unfamiliar part of town without parents, or worse.
I emailed Todoist and they politely declined to change the way the integration works. After a brief period of steaming I've rolled up my sleeves and fixed it with their API. Which doesn't use OAuth so now I love them even more.
The script is below. Create a new Apps Script project in Google Drive (New and then choose More to find this) and copy in the code. You can get the API token from the bottom of the Integrations section in Todoist settings. Then just click the clock in the Apps Script project and schedule checkForAlexaTasksWithNoDate() to run as often as you need. The script will check the Alexa To-do List project and if anything is in there without a due date it will set it to today to force you to deal with it.
Updated 2022-12-06 21:27:
Todoist have updated their API to v2 (migration guide). There are no breaking changes for this code and so I got it working again by changing v1 to v2 in the API calls. The code above has also been changed to update dates in multiple projects, this is because I started checking for tasks with no due date in the Inbox project as well as Alexa tasks. You can delete the Inbox call if you don't want this behavior (and add additional projects if needed as well).
(Published to the Fediverse as:
Using the Todoist API to set a due date on the Alexa integration to-do list (with Apps Script) #code#appsscript#google#drive#todoist#productivity Script to fix an annoyance with the Todoist Alexa integration where tasks are added without a due date leading them to be overlooked. Requires Google Drive and Todoist.)
