CVS Attic in DVCS
One handy feature of CVS was the presence of the Attic directory. The primary purpose of the Attic directory was to simplify trunk checkouts, while providing space for both removed and added-only-on-branch files.
As a consequence of this, it was relatively easy to browse all such file names. I often would use this as my “memory” of scripts I had written for specific purposes, but were no longer needed. Often these would form the basis for a future special purpose script.
This isn’t a very commonly needed use case, but I have found myself being a bit reluctant to delete files using DVCS systems, as I wasn’t quite sure how to find things easily in the future.
Well, I finally scratched the itch – here are the tricks I’ve added to my toolkit.
Hg version
A simplistic version, which just shows when file names were deleted, is to add the alias to ~/.hgrc:
[alias]
attic=log --template '{rev}:{file_dels}\n'
Git version
Very similar for git:
git config --global alias.attic 'log --diff-filter=D --summary'
(Not actually ideal, as not a one liner, but good enough for how often I use this.)
Bluetooth Finder for Fitbit
Pro tip - if you have a Fitbit or other small BLE device, go get a “bluetooth finder” app for your smartphone or tablet. NOW. No thanks needed.
I ended up spending far-too-long looking for my misplaced black fitbit One last weekend. Turned out the black fitbit was behind a black sock on a shelf in a dark closet. (Next time, I’ll get a fuchsia colored on – I don’t have too many pairs of fuchsia socks.)
After several trips through the house looking, I thought I’d turn to technology. By seeing where in the house I could still sync with my phone, I could confirm it was in the house. I tried setting alarms on the fitbit, but I couldn’t hear them go off. (Likely, the vibrations were completely muffled by the sock. Socks - I should just get rid of them.)
Then I had the bright idea of asking the interwebs for help. Surely, I couldn’t be the first person in this predicament. I was rewarded with this FAQ on the fitbit site, but I’d already followed those suggestions.
Finally, I just searched for “finding bluetooth”, and discovered the tv ads were right: there is an app for that! Since I was on my android tablet at the time, I ended up with Bluetooth Finder, and found my Fitbit within 5 minutes. (I also found a similar app for my iPhone, but I don’t find it as easy to use. Displaying the signal strength on a meter is more natural for me than watching dB numbers.)