TITAM - Technical issues that affected me

 Similar to this post , but a different issue. Problem:  You can't redeem a Google Play gift card, they need "more information", which you provide. Then Google replies with "According to our system, your Google Account or one of the Play Gift Cards you submitted isn't eligible for appeal."  Meaning you've just lost your money. Solution: It seems there isn't one. The most likely explanation seems to be that gift card codes are being stolen between time of purchase and time of redemption .  Meaning by the time you try and redeem it, the funds are already gone.  But nobody seems to know for sure. Although people love to hate on Google, it is not in Google's interest to deny legitimate customers use of their bought-and-paid-for gift cards.  Consistent failure to honor would destroy that part of Google's revenue stream. The only solution, therefore, is to not buy Google Play gift cards.

Google search results may show results such as "www.nexus-card.com" at the top of the search listings.  These companies are NOT the CBSA - they are private.  They charge $100-$125 on top of the actual government fee of $50 $USD. You do not need to use such a company to acquire or renew a NEXUS card.  So, that's basically $100 for nothing. When renewing, be sure you're dealing directly with the government.  Correct renewal link here .

I used the logging function for real for the first time last week.  It works well, although the software has now started to crash occasionally under XP. The crash is not a big deal, because it only occurs when you begin logging.  In other words, if it starts logging, it's fine.  If not, you know before you lose any data. This would be a total pill if you were waiting for an event before you started logging, because it might crash as soon as you press "Start".  But you could always start logging ahead of the event. The only other problem is that the software does run out of buffer at about 45 hours, max.  If you want to do weeks of logging - like I did - you have to save and reset the buffer every 2 days tops or lose data. Oddly enough, what little I have found on the MS8226T meter indicates it does not have this problem.  It still has the RS-232/USB interface - same style as the MS8218.  In fact, aside from the 50,000 count display...

So today I receive an email from My Cable Mart , a cable vendor in the USA that I used some years ago.  I used them because I needed long HDMI cables (50') and they were one of the only places that had them at a reasonable price. The email was punting a 15% off sale they are having.  It's been a long time since the last promo email - I can't even remember when that was - so either this is something unusual or times are tough (or both). Looking back, I paid $105 ($USD) for a 50' HDMI cable back in 2007 - same cable is now $102, with a much better exchange rate.  A quick check shows Future Shop selling them - finally - at $200 now, for their "house brand" no-name cable. I have nothing against no-name cables.  I love them.  They work, and you don't pay for all the marketing and other bullshit.  But it's pretty plain that the markup on cables is still huge. And why not?  When I worked in retail, we sold camera filters worth $1 to people for $15-$30...