Batch File Creation Using the Dewey Decimal System

I wrote a batch command designed to create ten folders: one for each of the ten major categories of the Dewey Decimal System.  Inside of each of these ten folders resides one hundred folders that correspond to each of the sub groups of the dewey decimal system. 

Basically, the code consists of a big long series of make directory commands that look like the following:

md 000Generalities
md 000Generalities\000Generalities
md 000Generalities\001Knowledge
...
md 900_GeographyAndHistory\999Extraterrestrialworlds

I realize there might be a more elegant way to accomplish the same thing using -p but what is done is done.

I thanks to the University Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for publishing the entire Dewey Decimal System's structure online here.

Windows Tip - Create Lots of Files Fast

Credit goes to TechHead74 at this location for the following tip, which allowed me to quickly create a large number of folders.

Hi everyone! So I did find an answer to my question. I used the format that Steve provided for a while until I recently found a much better and easier way to do this. Below is an example. You can change it for your own purposes later.

1.) Create a root folder in which you want your other folders to appear.

2.) Open Notepad.

3.) Save your blank Notepad document as dir.bat.  Exactly like that (minus the period at the end of bat, of course).

4.) Within the dir.bat document, write the following:

md test1

md test2

md test3

md C:\Users\janedoe\Desktop

5.) Save and then close the dir.bat file.

6.) Go to Start -> Run.

7.) From the Run screen, browse for the dir.bat file and select open. In this example I would find it at C:\Users\janedoe\Desktop.

8.) Select OK. A command window may flash on the screen momentarily. That's okay.

9.) Go to the C:\Users\janedoe\Desktop. Your newly created files will be there.

Notes:

- you can replace the test1 files with the names of the files you want to create

- to create file names with spaces put them in quotation marks. For example "md test 4"

- if your file folder has a name with spaces in it, put quotation marks around it. For example, md "C:\Users\jane doe\Desktop"

- to create a sub folder put a slash there. For example, md test3/graphics.

- double clicking the file is the same as running the file. If you want to edit the file right click the file and select edit.

Happy Birthday William Blake!

Global Warming

Let's Print Lies!

The Wall Street Journal slipped farther away from credibility when they went to press with this nonsense about Global Warming.

Thankfully, at least one writer bothered to look up the qualifications of the 16 scientists in question who are not climate scientist and published this rebuttal piece.


There Must be an Easier Way to Get Ice

As if Global Warming wasn't doing enough damage, a guy in Chile was found with five tons of ice stolen from a glacier in the back of his truck according to this article.

Her Smile

Perhaps this drawing of the girl who sometimes makes me coffee will soften the blow of needing to get your gadget and technology related news from one of the other approximately 9,000 news outlets that cover these topics:

Teal and pink energy lines and pupils not quite as bright in IRL 

Formatting File Names

I Should Have Known This Before!

Over the years, I have developed a system for naming files that I find very useful.  Here is that system:

XXX_SubjectMatter_yyyy_mm_dd_0n

xxx = the abbreviation of the category, which is never more than three letters long, i.e. AR = Accounts Receivable, AP = Accounts Payable, J = Journal (because I'm secretly a 14 year old girl), N = Notes (which I edit and published on Clean Sheets and Dirty Girls), etc.

_ = the underscore character

SubjectMatter = a name for the file that I will remember later, i.e. MyNamingSystemExplained or something similar would be the title of the entry devoted to a piece of writing I might do on this topic.  If I was saving a copy of an a news article from the internet this is the place where the title of the article would be placed.

yyyy_mm_dd = the date in this format because that way it can be sorted by name on the computer and come up in chronological order. I always (try) to save dates in the computer in this way.

0n = zero and a number that increases by one every time I save a file so that I or anyone I am working with can quickly identify the current version of the file, which is the one with the highest number at the end.  This is important when making revisions to a single file or when sharing the file with another person.  Even in a small office environment it is possible for two people tasked with making edits to a presentation or sales document to work on an older copy of the file if there is no system in place to identify which copy of the file is the most recent. If I know that the type of document will include a lot of files, I will make this more than two digits long.

For years, I was had been using mm_dd_yy in my file names.  Only about one year ago did I finally switch to yyyy_mm_dd, which makes so much more sense because it can be sorted by a computer and have the results appear in chronological order.  If I had only been reading the latest from the International Organization for Standardization (I.S.O.) I would have been on to the more useful way of expressing dates years earlier!

Here is the link to the xkcd comic on the subject of correctly formatting dates for all your chronophiles.

Middle Class Economic Might

Amazon Prime

One of the best things about having a job is that all of those little things that I have been putting off purchasing are now things I can more easily justify buying.

This year I bought in to the Amazon Prime thing in order to get free two day shipping on virtually everything that is available on amazon.com, which is virtually everything that is available for purchase on the planet.  Plus, I get access to the Prime media library, which has been nice since I have cut ties with my cable company as I posted about here (it's funny, you should read it).

A lot of writers have worn the letters off their keyboards describing how awful it is that online retailers are using tracking tools to better understand their consumers.  I say that this process isn't going far enough and that I would like to have more of a say in what goods and services are shown to me when I log in to my account with amazon.com.  Recently, my employer asked me to look up some information on

Artist Stephen Cheetham

Stephen Cheetham is an artist.  His website is here.  Below are my favorite of his creations:

69th Anniversary of D-Day

On the 69th Anniversary of D-Day it is time to take a moment to remember the brave members of the armed forces who have been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.  Here is a website where you can read their stories.

Just one of these heroes was given the opportunity to fire a flamethrower on Sons of Guns.  His official Medal of Honor citation is as follows:

WILLIAMS, HERSHEL WOODROW

Rank and organization: Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, 21st Marines, 3d Marine Division. Place and date: Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, 23 February 1945. Entered service at: West Virginia. Born: 2 October 1923, Quiet Dell, W. Va. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as demolition sergeant serving with the 21st Marines, 3d Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, 23 February 1945. Quick to volunteer his services when our tanks were maneuvering vainly to open a lane for the infantry through the network of reinforced concrete pillboxes, buried mines, and black volcanic sands, Cpl. Williams daringly went forward alone to attempt the reduction of devastating machinegun fire from the unyielding positions. Covered only by 4 riflemen, he fought desperately for 4 hours under terrific enemy small-arms fire and repeatedly returned to his own lines to prepare demolition charges and obtain serviced flamethrowers, struggling back, frequently to the rear of hostile emplacements, to wipe out 1 position after another. On 1 occasion, he daringly mounted a pillbox to insert the nozzle of his flamethrower through the air vent, killing the occupants and silencing the gun; on another he grimly charged enemy riflemen who attempted to stop him with bayonets and destroyed them with a burst of flame from his weapon. His unyielding determination and extraordinary heroism in the face of ruthless enemy resistance were directly instrumental in neutralizing one of the most fanatically defended Japanese strong points encountered by his regiment and aided vitally in enabling his company to reach its objective. Cpl. Williams' aggressive fighting spirit and valiant devotion to duty throughout this fiercely contested action sustain and enhance the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.

Season 2 of Clean Sheets and Dirty Girls

The summer here in San Diego is far too beautiful to spend all day in front of a computer screen.  Also, I prefer to spend my computing time sipping coffee in a dimly lit room and when there are beautiful women showing off their skin outdoors it is difficult for me to stay inside. All of this is to say that I will be adopting a seasonal approach to publishing CSaDG.  Much like television shows take a creative break during the summer, I have been taking it easy on my blogging activities during the summer as well.

What does all of this mean for you dear reader?  Lucky for you it means that I have been gathering material, tweaking the content I have planned, screaming at my intern*, am willing to assume the role of Entertainment Director, who much like the people who hold this position aboard cruise ships is willing and able to arrange hours of entertainment just for you, and in general am going to step up my blogging activities with new vigor in the fall.

I promise:

• More explosions!
• More danger!
• Twice the danger!!
• Intrigue
• Clean sheets and
• Dirty Girls

He never waits for the other shoe to drop; he throws it down!


*While I was called "sir", which is rare for me, the good people at Starbucks did follow up that comment by informing me that "I would need to leave immediately".**
**I hope the creators of The Simpsons will forgive me for paraphrasing their joke for your amusement.