Tracking bugs

/. When working on small projects, or if the software needs to run on windows for some reason, it appears to be worth using a smaller bug tracking system than bugzilla. While on the topic of development stuff, subversion appears to be the version control system of choice now-a-days. Search on /. for numerous discussions. Having said that, get-svn or Mercurial supposedly make svn much more tolerable. A lot of people say svn isn't worth it ... you can't do enough to CVS to make it good. Git was Linus' answer. Discussion. And comparisons. And more discussion. And comparisons.

Watch out for rebate centers screwing you

So in February 2005, I decide it is worth it to buy some expensive phones for the wife-unit and I since there are enough rebates to make the phones free. After getting them, we see all the conditions that go along with the Inphonic rebates and dutifully note the 1 month window, six months after activation. We submit four rebates for my two cell phones in the summer of 2005, paying careful attention to dot all the i's and cross all the t's, making sure to mail the rebate in no earlier than 180 days and no later than 210 days after service activation. Each envelope had identical contents, with the minor exception that two had one type of rebate form, and two had a different type. All forms were mailed out the same day, and I'm certain that all were received by them within a day or so. How can I know? Because I received four confirmation emails, one dated Nov 1st, two dated Nov 2nd, and one dated Nov 3rd.

Included in the confirmation email was a web link to check online status of the rebate. Every two or three weeks, I checked the online status of the first one, the second one, and the fourth one. I left the third one marked as new so it would be easier to find the confirmation emails. On Jan 11th, I get a status email saying that they are processing three checks for me. Three?! Guess which one they claim had a late post mark? That's right - it just happens to be the one I never checked the status on. What are the chances of that? I try to avoid conspiracy theories whenever possible, instead assuming that the most obvious answer is the most likely one (Occam's Razor) - so I'm willing to assume that someone fat-fingered something. But after looking into this and seeing all the trouble that has been reported about Inphonic, am I being too generous? Is it possible they monitor to see which rebates have the status checked on, and then intentionally fat-finger the post mark date, hoping you won't notice until it is too late (or you give up in disgust)? Is it safe to assume they have not thrown away the proof (the envelope) six months later?

Awesome way to do a FAQ (cingular, in this case)

It would be worth it to put all FAQ's on something like this. Well, assuming that you can trust that others won't sabotage it.

Marking your ground (before digging it)

Here is something worth knowing: they are working up an "811" number that is a one-stop-call to do before digging. Utilities should contact you and/or mark your ground as follows:

• Yellow: Gas, oil, steam, petroleum, or gaseous materials
• Orange: Communication, alarm, or signal lines, cables, or conduit
• Blue: Potable water
• Purple: Reclaimed water, irrigation and slurry lines
• Green: Sewers and drain lines
• White: Proposed excavation
• Pink: Temporary survey markings
  

Wireless stuff

I wonder if it would be worth-it to buy an RFID reader to verify that Chase didn't do anything silly in their implementation of their "blink" credit card. You know, something like putting even an encrypted copy of a social security number, birth date, or mothers maiden name on the card. Speaking of silly implementations of RFID, Wired has an article.

Speaking of verifing things - if you are paranoid about surveillance bugs, it looks like you can buy something from TSCM to let you know if you get too close to one. Or you can buy a scanner and put a specific sequence into it.

On the topic of wireless interference, microwaves severely impact the 2.4GHz spectrum: Channel 6 (4-8) is absolutely murdered, half of channel 11 (9-13) is murdered, and the edge of channel 1 is severely degraded. 5GHz is much, much cleaner - at least until some brilliant microwave vendor invents a unit that operates at that frequency.

Someday when I move out to the country, I may need to find a way to get better Internet access than what is typically available in the area. Solutions abound.

The ultimate brake fluid comparison chart

Many years ago, in a land far away, I created one of the early brake fluid comparison charts that ended up floating around around the internet for a while. It has recently been replaced with a updated chart, which I will attempt to keep updated even further:

DRY:401F -- WET:284F --- DOT3 MINIMUM (GLYCOL BASE)
DRY:446F -- WET:311F --- DOT4 MINIMUM (GLYCOL BASE)
DRY:500F -- WET:356F --- DOT5 MINIMUM (SILICONE BASE)
DRY:500F -- WET:356F --- DOT5.1 MINIMUM (GLYCOL BASE)
DRY:527F -- WET:302F --- AP RACING 551 ($12.95/0.5L OR 16.9 OZ)
DRY:527F -- WET:347F --- VALVOLINE SYNPOWER DOT3 & DOT4
DRY:536F -- WET:392F --- ATE SUPERBLUE/TYP200 ($9.95/1L)
DRY:543F -- WET:349F --- Endless The truth DOT 4 ($35/1L)
DRY:550F -- WET:284F --- PERFORMANCE Friction Z rated ($6.27/16 OZ)
DRY:550F -- WET:284F --- FORD HEAVY DUTY DOT 3 ($4/12 OZ)
DRY:570F -- WET:284F --- WILWOOD 570 ($5.65/12 OZ)
DRY:572F -- WET:284F --- US Brake/AFCO Racing 570 Gold
DRY:572F -- WET:421F --- US Brake/AFCO Racing Ultra HTX
DRY:577F -- WET:300F --- Brake Man
DRY:585F -- WET:421F --- Earl's Hypertemp 421
DRY:590F -- WET:410F --- AP RACING Super 600 ($16.95/0.5L OR 16.9 OZ)
DRY:593F -- WET:420F --- MOTUL RBF600 ($12.95/0.5L OR 16.9 OZ)
DRY:590F -- WET:518F --- CASTROL SRF ($69.00/1L 0R 33.8 OZ)
DRY:601F -- WET:399F --- BREMBO LCF 600 PLUS ($26.75/0.5L OR 16.9 OZ)
DRY:610F -- WET:421F --- NEO SYNTHETICS SUPER DOT 610($11.95/12 OZ)
DRY:610F -- WET:421F --- PROSPEED GS610 ($39.95/16 OZ)
DRY:617F -- WET:413F --- Endless RF-450 ($45/1L)
DRY:620F -- WET:425F --- COBALT SUPER XRF [seem to no longer be available]
DRY:622F -- WET:424F --- Endless RF-650
DRY:626F -- WET:417F --- WILWOOD EXP 600 ($16.95/0.5L 16.9 OZ)
Arranged by wet boiling point:

DRY:401F -- WET:284F --- DOT3 MINIMUM
DRY:550F -- WET:284F --- PERFORMANCE Friction Z rated
DRY:550F -- WET:284F --- FORD HEAVY DUTY DOT 3
DRY:570F -- WET:284F --- WILWOOD 570
DRY:572F -- WET:284F --- US Brake / AFCO Racing 570 Gold
DRY:577F -- WET:300F --- Brake Man
DRY:527F -- WET:302F --- AP RACING 551
DRY:446F -- WET:311F --- DOT4 MINIMUM
DRY:527F -- WET:347F --- VALVOLINE SYNPOWER DOT3 & DOT4
DRY:543F -- WET:349F --- Endless The truth DOT 4
DRY:500F -- WET:356F --- DOT5.1 MINIMUM (GLYCOL BASE)
DRY:500F -- WET:356F --- DOT5 MINIMUM (SILICONE BASE)
DRY:536F -- WET:392F --- ATE SUPERBLUE/TYP200
DRY:601F -- WET:399F --- BREMBO LCF 600 PLUS
DRY:590F -- WET:410F --- AP RACING Super 600
DRY:617F -- WET:413F --- Endless RF-450
DRY:626F -- WET:417F --- WILWOOD EXP 600
DRY:572F -- WET:421F --- US Brake/AFCO Racing Ultra HTX
DRY:585F -- WET:421F --- Earl's Hypertemp 421
DRY:593F -- WET:420F --- MOTUL RBF600
DRY:610F -- WET:421F --- NEO SYNTHETICS SUPER DOT 610
DRY:610F -- WET:421F --- PROSPEED GS610
DRY:622F -- WET:424F --- Endless RF-650
DRY:620F -- WET:425F --- COBALT SUPER XRF [seem to no longer be available]
DRY:590F -- WET:518F --- CASTROL SRF