Too high a battery float voltage is a problem I've seen on many of my APC SmartUPS units, and one that appears to be rather common. Sealed lead acid batteries do not tolerate too high a standby voltage, and suffer from dramatically shortened lifespan when run at elevated voltages and temperatures. In the worst case, overcharging results in elevated temperatures and rupture of the battery case. Outside of warranty, APC is of no assistance, suggesting only that I purchase a new unit. (Helpfully, they offer a discount with the trade-in.) Nonetheless, I'd like to not think of $7-800 purchases as being disposable items.

I've long sought a manner to adjust or recalibrate the battery voltage on my SmartUPS SUA1500 RM2. It would also be nice to be able to adjust the battery charging voltage to use other types of batteries; e.g., flooded lead-acid marine or car batteries. This post describes, using information from a variety of sources, an approach to recalibrate the battery voltage and other measurements on SmartUPS devices by using the PROG mode available by serial connection. It also suggests a method for modifying the UPS circuit board when PROG doesn't work, as with my SU700 units.

Motorola provides no method of permanently accepting SSL certificates or documented method of adding certificate authorities to the phone. For many services, I cannot justify the expense of signed SSL certificates. Often, I'm one of very few users and am happy to install or manually accept such a certificate when needed. With my previous cellular telephones, particularly the Nokia 6600, adding certificates proved trivial. However, upon switching to a Cingular-branded Motorola Slvr L7, warnings of such self-signed certificates while accessing my email and web services seemed unavoidable. Alas, I have installed a new CA...

Since 2001, 400 scientists (as of July 2005) have signed the Discovery Institute's "A Scientific Dissent From Darwinism" petition. This has been championed as an endorsement by the scientific community of the religion-based concept of "Intelligent Design", despite a clear lack of scientific training with most signatories. In response, shovelbums.org has posted the following petition to counter any notion of broad support within the scientific community. It has recieved over 1500 signatures in its first 4 days. If you are of similar conviction, please read and consider and signing the "A Scientific Support For Darwinism" petition.

No, I'm not on Facebook -- but I once was.

Some years ago, I did succumb to the Facebook peer pressure and joined the site. Unsure of any other value, this did cease the flood of invitations by email. Eventually, I added a photo, listed my contact information, and confirmed friendship with, well, my friends. In time, I became increasingly cynical: Why should I have Facebook friends when I can have real friends? Is Facebook only a popularity contest? Did I have an interest in spying on old pals' online social lives? (Simply, no.) Perhaps most importantly, how does publishing a network of my (virtual) friends erode my privacy?