How to Map a Folder to a Drive Letter

Last week, I reformatted my ThinkPad. Usually, I create two partitions for a Windows implementation, one for the OS (C:\) and one for data (E:\). This time around, I did something wrong when executing the restore and now have a single C: drive … Too lazy to rerun the restore process, I decided to make lemonade.

In an effort to utilize the structure implemented by Windows, Program Files are in C:\Program Files, rather than E:\Program Files. Personal data are organized in My Documents and work data are organized in My Work, rather than a custom structure on the E: drive (ok, My Work is a slight deviation). With one exception, things are OK so far.

Here’s the problem. I write a lot of automation scripts for work (meaning I’m on a command line a lot). The command line prompt usually looks something like this beautiful thing:
'C:\Documents and Settings\[me]\My Work\Projects\[projectname]\[subfolder][\subfolder2][\...]‘
Oddly, the GUI world isn’t all that bad… Thanks to Executor there are aliases for my most accessed folders. Really, the only place this is an issue is on the command line.

[Li/U]nux, and by extension, OS X, allow one to create links between files using the ln command. Alas, a similar utility does not exist in Windows land. (truth be told, SysInternals has something similar, but it comes with a few complications.)

Enter SUBST:

Using SUBST, one can create a virtual drive that maps to a folder. Not as powerful as ln, but still very useful.

SUBST P: "C:\Documents and Settings\[me]\My Work\Projects\”

Now all my projects are readily accessible. Less than 10 keystrokes gets me from an empty desktop to any project, on the command line. Taking it a step further, a simple Perl/VBScript/AutoHotKey script will allow me quick access to map specific projects (and SharePoint Folders) to the letters of my choosing. (Two steps further and a startup script maps a couple drives automatically)

It turns out, if you work with it, not against it, Windows is only mostly bad. I’m constantly learning new tips and tricks built into the OS that allow almost as much flexibility as *nix.

Cheers,
Chris

For the GUI inclined, the folks at NT-Wind have a free utility called Visual Subst which does similar.

How to cook your garlic and enjoy it too.

Hypothetical situation: Yesterday you made a stew. It was a tasty stew, a satisfying repast. Its remenants shall assuage more than one future bout of hunger, but tonight you crave variety, something new, something different.

Assesing the ingredients at hand, you identify a potato, some small  bit of garlic and a steak. Together, they server as the means by which you’ll feed yourself this night. The potato (microwaved out of lazyness), a bit of butter, salt and most of the garlic make a side dish of mashed potatoes. The steak, covered in a salt/peper rub will cook nicly on your George Foreman grill (For it is summer and they heat of a stove is far from welcome).

At the last minute, you realize a bit of garlic, minced, with a few drops of olive oil would lend itself well to the steak. There is but one problem, dear reader. How do you keep from burning the garlic, roasting it to a bitternese beereft of its former savory goodness? The cunning chef would find many a suitable solution within a quick glance of his kitchen. I shall share with you but one.

Find a cork, not one of those plonking cheap rubber/plastic substitutes, but a real cork. Cut it in half, crosswise and place each half on a side of the grill. Place your steak in the center of the grill and pour over the top of it your garlic and oil. Lower the lod of the grill so it rests on the cork, thos pillars of strength, protecting the delicate balance of flavor.

To further augment, lay a second cork lengthwise above the upper lip of the grill’s cooking area. This will rais up the back end of the lid in it’s hinged track such that there is eaven heat across the top of your steak.

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Google can suggest many uses for those leftover corks. My personal favorite would be the DIY Laptop Stand, combining multiple vices of which the author is guilty.