Introducing myself: Jose from Spain

Quantified Self QS newcomers
1

Hi everyone!

My name is Jose and I’ve been interested in QS for more than 5 years. As I also love Java programming, I have written some apps to track some of my activities.

As I think that QS is most complete/easy/effective when no manual input of the tracked data is needed, I have written a fitness app that guides me during my workouts, and also allows recording external workouts. Similarly, I have created some sort of iTunes clone that tracks the albums I listen and suggests music.

However, the most part of the tracking is done in another application, a custom chatbot that lets me store all kinds of data. I think that the natural language interface is the most useful and flexible method of both storing and retrieving information. I record regularly information about my finances, movies, books, to-do lists, etc. I also use it as an agenda (birth dates, anniversaries, and so on). The initial idea was to convert data logging is an informal conversation with a friend, with some random element to make the conversation more fun. For instance, when you enter a movie, it sometimes asks you to score it, specify the genre, tells me the last time you saw it, etc. I specially love the way it presents the information in graphic format (pie charts, histograms, etc.)

I have not published these apps, but I would be happy to upload some screenshots or share them if anyone is interested. I would also love to receive feedback any feedback about any of these ideas and/or similar projects.

I have also been trying to find information about QS in Spanish, but I have not found much. Does anyone know about blogs/forum/websites for QS in Spanish?

Best!

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Please do share screenshots or any insights you gained!

There used to be several Quantified Self meetup groups in Spain, but I don’t know what their status is…

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Hello Jose! I am also new to this community and I am in the same situation as you, I’m Spanish and I was looking for a national group but there seems to be none. I am not in the technical side but definitely love quantifying and would like to dive further in this. I think I could be a good tester!

As for the manual input of QS data, I totally agree. I think that manual input is not only a hassle but it also biases the data depending on what you’re measuring (i.e. mood tracking).

Please do show us some screenshots! Your app sounds a good idea and I’m sure you’ll find valuable opinions in this forum.

Nice to meet you! :slight_smile:

4

Hi Carmen!
Nice to hear from you! The main application that I use for QS is a chatbot called Momo and the data are entered as conversation. For instance, if the user says…

Ayer vi “El quinto elemento”. (Yesterday I saw “The fifth element”)

…the bot saves that and creates XML records with the date and the title of the movie. Another example, if the user says…

El sábado gasté 5 en cine en entradas para “Jumanji”. (Last Saturday, I spent 5 in movies en tickets for "Jumanji).

…the bot creates XML records with the amount, the date, and the category of the purchase.

With that information, the bot can do some cool things, such as showing the info in a calendar or as statistical charts. For instance, these screenshots show some data for movies as a pie chart, a calendar, an histogram and a list.

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graficos1.png1280×1024 94.6 KB

I use a different application (also selfmade!) for storing information about workout/fitness, because I needed a more complex application, with some functionality for guiding the user through the workouts and some music to improve the experience. I have also developed one last tool for storing cooking recipes which includes some functions for storing QS data, but I only used it mainly as a cookbook.

The main idea under all these application is storing the information in a simple format, but flexible enough for rendering the information in many different ways.

I have found that the data about purchases are great for staying on a budget and deciding future purchases. I also used quite often the information about the movies I see, because I love movies and these data help me decide which movie I will watch again. I have found that, at least for the movies I like most, I enjoy better watching them again if I wait about one year.

Apart from that, I also use the bot for reminders (now I almost never miss an anniversary/birthday/date) and for storing miscellaneous information, such as the books I read, or the size of clothes. It also includes some functions for storing various lists (for instance, holiday checklists).

I would definitely love having a tester and I would love to know which data are you interested in tracking. The applications above are available and free to use, but it could be interesting in tailoring it to a real user (besides the developer).

Well, it has been quite a long answer! If you would like to know something else about these ideas, just let me know!

5

Hello José,

Thanks for taking the time to answer me! This is quite impressive!
The fact that you can introduce natural sentences to the app sounds amazing, specially since my main problem with budget tracking apps is how complicated it usually is to add a purchase. I think that, from the user interface point of view it is a very promising feature that could be used also for meal tracking (has anyone ever found the perfect meal logger? because that’s another pain in the ***).
As you say, simplicity is a key point on tracking. For instance, I use a fitbit band and not the xiaomi one because FB has a better automated tracking of most activities, while xiaomi’s requires more tuning.

How can I access Momo and maybe have a try? I don’t watch many movies but expense tracking sounds great and I’ve tried a bunch of fitness apps (my main one being fitibt’s right now) but I am curious about the personalisation you’ve made so if you want to share it with me I’ll be happy to have a look.

I envy you for having the power to develop whatever you wish! :wink:

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Hi again Carmen,

It’s great having your feedback! I love developing things, and it’s really nice to hear other points of view over these fascinating subjects.

After answering you, I decided to pull together all the applications that I have developed for QS in a blog post for a series that I am writing about the QS. This blog post includes all the information required for downloading the applications and trying them:

I think that the first part of the series could also be of interest to you, as it covers similar topics, but from a wider point of view:

If you prefer just going for the Momo application, you can simply download it from:

http://www.antakirasoftware.com/momo/download.htm

Please note that this is much of a WIP, so there may be some issues. If you need help on making it run, I would be glad to help you. And new ideas and enhacements are welcomed!

Hope you like it!

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Hi Jose, I know it is a year later but I hope you are still reading the forum. I’m going to be in Spain in July and thinking about trying to organize a Meetup with the Spanish QS group in Valencia or elsewhere. Are you interested?

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Hi, My name is Steven Taylor and i am new on this Forum. Professionally i am a web designer.

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Hi Gary,

I think that the idea of the Meetup is fantastic! I would like to attend, but since I must stay in Granada during that month, I’m afraid that I won’t be able to attend. Anyway, please let me know if you finally organize something!

Best regards,

Jose

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Nice to meet you, Steven!

I don’t if this is what you wanted to do, but aren’t introductions supposed to be done in new threads?

I’m really glad to see your message, but you may get a little bigger exposure if you start a thread.

Anyway, I hope to see you soon here!