Category Archives: Mobile App

chat, Feeds, group chat, Mobile App, Profile

Spring Time Updates

It’s spring time and there is plenty of work at the base camp clearing brush and pruning apple trees. I Graincheked the process and made a public feed. Generally the goal as I learned it, is to get sun and air to the apples on the branches. My strategy is based on 5 conditions I learned about pruning plus 1 that might be unique to the very overgrown trees at the base camp:

1: Remove anything that isn’t part of the apple tree. I had a very mature bush like plant that had pushed its way to the top and was tangled in the upper canopy. The bush needed to go along with smaller versions of the same that were sprouting up around the base of the apple tree. This may be more unique to my overgrown trees.

2: Remove dead or diseased branches. I had plenty of obviously dead branches, some I took down that probably could have stayed and some I left that probably won’t produce. The birds were very excited that I was touching their tree so I left some branches just for them. Lots of decisions to make and it was super interesting to watch the living portion of the tree take shape as I removed the dead. I’ll have to look into what the apple wood is good for.

3: Remove branches below 4 feet. I have plenty of deer in the area and don’t mind sharing some fruit resources with them so I left a few of the lower branches and took those that were dragging on the ground.

4: Remove suckers, which are branches that grow from the roots or trunk. It’s amazing to me how determined plants are to grow! A little root shows through the soil around the tree and a branch or entire tree sprouts out and shoots for the sky. I pruned almost all of the suckers but left one that had basically replaced half the tree with a trunk of its own that measures 4+ inches across.

5: Remove water spouts, which are branches that grow straight up. My understanding is that a bird should be able to fly through the tree and water spouts would deter this. They will also cast shade on the more valuable branches. I found that my trees, full of character, have complicated branches that are difficult to interpret. Some branches may have started as water spouts but now have a branch that perfectly fits into a sun spot.

6: Remove branches that wind around or cross over another. Pruning was very satisfying as it seems like each step in the process was breathing fresh air into the apple tree. When I pictured a branch putting out leaves, blossoms and apples it seemed claustrophobic until some of these branches that were attempting to take up the same space were removed. It wasn’t always clear which branch should be taken and which should be left though. I went around and around the tree a few times making more adjustments as I went.

I Graincheked the process in the Base Camp project using a new task called pruning. This allowed me to make a custom feed called Agriculture that includes just this new task and any similar tasks I may add in the future. The Agriculture feed is shared publicly and any Grainchek user can check out my agriculture progress at the base camp!

Feeds, Mobile App, Profile, Projects, Tasks, Uncategorized

Untie the knots

https://www.tiktok.com/@grainchek/video/7077524856518085931?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7061918611515098629

In this systematic approach to drawing two interlocking chain links I start with a rectangle as the base shape. Pretty simple. All the action starts with the first line off of the base shape. I give these lines the value of c (clockwise) or cc (counter clockwise). I found that if half of the lines are c and the other half are cc, then when I have completed the systematic drawing of the chain links, the two chain links are not interlocked. Then I start with a base shape that has an odd number of sides: a triangle. When all the lines are c, the result is a knot. When half (rounded to the nearest whole number) are c and the remaining are cc the knot is untied… I don’t really understand how this happens or why but I can observe different patterns with varying base shapes and varying ratios of c to cc.

At Grainchek we are working hard to untie the knot of time tracking. What are the variables that affect a user’s interest in tracking time? Why do I track time inaccurately? If we adjust the parameters within Grainchek’s time tracking system what is the outcome? It’s different than observing odd and even polygons become links and knots but some of the mystery is similar!

Feeds, Friends, Help, Mobile App, Projects, Tasks

Who are “We”

My name is Peter Brosey. I’m a carpenter in Maine. When it comes to developing Grainchek, I basically try to stay out of the way. In spite of trying NOT to get in the way though, Grainchek has ended up being a little awkward to operate. I can assure you that all the awkward, “why did they do it that way”, parts of Grainchek are my parts! I teamed up with an excellent team at Bacancy Technologies that built all the amazingly smooth experiences.

NO COMMENTING OR LIKING: that is me, I enjoy the quietness of knowing that when I post an event, my friends, family and co-workers can view it if they want to, when they want to. No voting. No commenting. The amazing chat interface in Grainchek that includes sharing feeds and events within the chat thread is my team. They built a fantastic communication platform within the app!

SUBFEED SETTINGS COLLECT EVENTS: this is from me again. I enjoy building and assembling. I enjoy the process of taking a pile of lumber delivered to a job site and building something that people will occupy, use or operate. In Grainchek I have lots of levers and buttons to generate time tracking content. Then build feeds that report to other feeds and collect only certain types of content from a specific time period… Public feeds that can be viewed in your bio: this is the careful, considerate work of my team.

NEW TASKS NOT SHARED: this is also my design. When I add a new task to a project it is, by default, not included in any of the existing feeds. If I want to include it in a feed, I go to that feed and check the box. I recognize that this seems cumbersome and awkward when we are accustomed to sharing everything and need to specifically request the do-not-share option. The answer is to include a general feed in every project. The general feed includes all time frames and tasks, even new tasks: My team did a great job putting this together and fitting it into the different scenarios where feeds are handled in the app.

It seems likely that over time these strategies that were important at the beginning may change as Grainchek grows and shapes to fit the needs we’re working to satisfy. For now though, in addition to the fantastic work that Bacancy has done, Grainchek has some unique quirks based on my perspective!

Feeds, Help, Mobile App, Projects

Offline Work

I will be working on a remote job site in northern Maine and can now track my time in Grainchek even when I don’t have internet access.

In the past few days we completed the offline module so that critical components of Grainchek like posting time tracking events and viewing those events in a feed, can be done even when we don’t have internet access. Part of the experience that I want to provide through Grainchek is the ability to share events with others. When I am on a job site I can share every event posted about that project with the manager of the work, or the home owner. In order to accomplish this each event post is stored on a database that Grainchek accesses using an internet connection. For me it is still amazing to see an event that someone else posts pop up on the feed I built to collect their events! Now, with the offline module, even when we don’t have internet access, Grainchek will store the events we generate until we do have access. Then Grainchek will access the database and update it with everything that has happened.

Feeds, Friends, Help, Mobile App, Tasks

Shifting the date

After carefully tracking billable days for month, it’s time to detail a daily report. In this demonstration I explain the quick component intended for setting a feed’s start date/time and end date/time. Then shifting if forward and backward a day at a time. In this way the feed becomes a detailed report of each day. The strategy behind the design of Grainchek is to provide tools that can be used to assemble a time tracking platform that works for the unique circumstance of different users as well as different projects.

Feeds, Friends, Help, Mobile App

Friend Shares a Feed

Grainchek is a mobile application platform for tracking time. Each time tracking event can be assembled into feed. These feeds can then be shared with other Grainchek users. In this demonstration I use a sub feed to collect the events of a feed that has been shared with me.

Feeds, Friends, Help, Mobile App

Adding a Sub Feed

Grainchek is a designed to be platform where each user can assemble the tools, levers, buttons and gadgets to perform in a way that works for each intended use. In this demonstration I show how I assemble a unique sub feed for each billable task in a project for the purpose of reporting how much time was spent on each task.

Feeds, Friends, Mobile App, Tasks, Uncategorized

Designed Complication

The Grainchek app, by design, gives the user control over how to track time, what time tracking events to include and in which feeds. Sub feeds are created for the user’s own feeds or from a friend’s but still only using the information the user decides to include. Then a feed can be shared with other users but those users decide which events to include in their own sub feeds. This basic demonstration is intended to communicate a practical application of Grainchek’s time tracking tools: