Tools

I’m a professor of anthropology and a writer. Sometimes, I write tools to help me writer, or do my research. Enjoy.

  • Structur.py
    Structur is a simple, Python-based command-line tool to help extract and organize coded text from research notes. I’ve been using it for a year now, from the Finder. It’s useful to find the structure of longer pieces of text. I was inspired by John McPhee’s writing process, which he describes in Draft No. 4. Structur… Continue reading Structur.py
  • q_transcribe
    I want to introduce q_transcribe a simple tool to transcribe images using QWEN 2 VL AI models. What did I do to write q_transcribe? I’ve added some simple logic to a CLI wrapper that Andy Janco wrote to run QWEN 2 VL from the CLI. q_transcribe can be used to transcribe typed and handwritten text… Continue reading q_transcribe
  • dejatext.py
    DejaText is a Python script for identifying duplicate and similar text in a directory of text or markdown files. It scans a directory of .txt’ or.md’ files, identifies duplicate and similar text segments, and produces organized reports for easy review. As part of my writing, I find it useful to go through a project and… Continue reading dejatext.py
  • iPad Mini + Tailscale + Screens + Better Display = Relibale screen sharing to MacBook
    Here’s the problem. I have my MacBook at the office on campus. I want it to be running through some long image processing tasks that are taking days. It requires an external hard drive. I don’t want to disconnect it. However, sometimes, I need to log in to do work, like post grades over the… Continue reading iPad Mini + Tailscale + Screens + Better Display = Relibale screen sharing to MacBook