u/GendoIkari_82

Ever since moving to Azure DevOps; we've followed this same release process for almost all our projects (we run about 15 different projects/repos). Using trunk-based development. But something feels off sometimes, and I'm wondering if we're doing something wrong.

1. Dev makes branch off of master to do work
2. Dev makes changes, 1 or sometimes more commits, pushes and creates PR to merge into master.
3. PR is reviewed and approved, merged into master, triggers a build to send master to test.

This happens for several different tickets. At some point, based on schedules, client needs, and priorities, project manager says that everything in test is good to go for the next release.

1. Release branch is created off of master.
2. This release branch is built to Stage environment.
3. Things are re-tested in Stage (not as details testing, more high level to make sure the deployment did what we wanted).
4. Same branch (even the same build artifact) is released to production.

This generally works, but results in a few different annoyances/problems:

• If something needs to go to prod before other things that are already in test (a hot fix), we need to cherry pick into a new release branch made off of the current production release branch.
• It can be hard to know what exactly is new in a release. Generally it means comparing the new release branch to the last one, but then you just have a giant list of commits (and any cherry picking that happened seems to mess with this, where a cherry picked change will still show up in the commit diff even though it is in both branches).
• We sometimes have to hold off merging things into master (keeping the PR open) just to be able to finish testing everything in Test; we can't add anything new until the release branch has been cut.
• If all but 1 thing is good in Test and signed off on, but that 1 thing requires us to wait, then everything has to wait.
• I keep seeing examples of setting up pipelines where the same pipeline has multiple stages for test->stage->prod (or often dev->test->prod instead). This isn't possible when master is what goes to test, but a release branch is what goes to stage+prod. We do use multiple stages in a single pipeline to release to stage then prod.

Outside of completely abandoning trunk-based development, can this process be improved? How do others do release management for trunk-based development?

The other day there was a strange and confusing play that happened during the Red Sox - Blue Jays game. I've read about 3 articles about it which each explain it similarly, but there's a couple things I'm not understanding from what I've read.

The setup was simple... runner on 1st and 3rd, 1 out. Several people incorrectly thought there were 2 outs (scoreboard said so). Fly ball is hit and caught; both runners advanced as soon as the ball was hit (because they thought there were 2 outs). Ball is thrown to first to get that runner out, for the 3rd out of the inning. The player who ran home got his score counted, even though he didn't tag up.

The ruling was that the Blue Jays "failed to appeal to third base" and they they "only appealed to first base". And that "the appeal play decision takes precedence in determining the out". This is the part where I'm lost. I understand that an "appeal play" is when the offense does something illegal (like failing to tag up), and the defense "appeals". But what does it mean to "appeal"? The rules say it's not "appeal" as in talking to an ump to get a review; so not the standard English definition of "appeal".

So first, how do they "appeal"? Is it just throwing the ball to first base; that is "making an appeal"?

And second, what does it mean that "If the third out is made during a play in which an appeal play is sustained on another runner, the appeal play decision takes precedence in determining the out". Takes precedence over what? That sentence, directly from the official rules, sounds like it's missing something. And also what is "the appeal play decision"? What "decision"?

I feel like I understand most of the general concepts that come into play here; I just don't understand a lot of the language and sentence structure that the MLB rules uses.

In May (I think) I enrolled in Verizon Dollars after seeing it on the app. Every month I've seen it say something like "you'll receive $7.20 when you pay your bill". But my total dollars is still showing as $0. Last month, a rep told me that the program wouldn't start until the July bill. This month, a rep told me that it was only for Verizon Visa Card holders.... despite the FAQ specifically saying that a Verizon Visa Card is not required (though you get more rewards if you have that).

Waiting now for another rep to respond.... but does this program actually work for anyone? Is it just my account, or the whole program?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying season 5 was bad or that I didn't like it. But I'm annoyed about the whole thing...

The thing is, I was really enjoying the story as it was progressing through the first 3 seasons. I couldn't wait to find out what would happen when Peter activated the machine. And then, suddenly he's erased from time so we go to an alternate timeline where none of that stuff ever happened.

Fine, so I think I get to sit through season 4 and exploring this other timeline before getting back to finding out about that. Then towards the end of season 4, I can't wait to find out how they resolve this whole "getting Peter back to his own timeline" thing. So now there's 2 pretty major storylines that I'm looking forward to finding out the ending of.

Then season 5 starts... and it's basically like they just canceled Fringe completely and replaced it with a different show which starred similar characters. Not that the future world isn't interesting, but it's got basically nothing to do with getting any resolution on the threads that had been getting built up in season 3 and then 4. It was only towards the end of season 5 that you even find out that the future world they're in is the future of the non-Peter timeline; so I guess Peter never does get back to his timeline. And we just never find out at all what the fate of that original timeline was; what happened after the machine was activated.

Anyway, from what I understand, there were issues trying to get the show renewed for another season, and making this drastic change to the overall show was the only way they could get a season 5. I just really would have liked to seen a proper conclusion to everything being build up from season 1-3, and then also everything happening in season 4.

Ok, rant over. It was a great show. For the first 3 seasons, I really loved it. John Noble especially made it so much fun to watch. Season 4 was good in its own way, though I wish they had figured out how to get Peter back to his own timeline within the first few episodes and then continued the story from there.

Edit Thanks for the replies! I see I worded some stuff badly… I did understand that it was explained that there wasn’t another timeline for Peter to come back to. What I really meant was that I wanted to see stories continue in the world where Peter was always there; I was disappointed that they couldn’t ever reverse his erasure from time because it kind of reversed a lot of the character growth; especially his relationship with Walter. And I knew that he combined the universes with the machine; but we don’t get to see the results of that.

Following up on another similar thread about plot holes... I am always bugged by people referring to things as twists, when they are simply story beats that you may have not seen coming. A twist is when the audience is holding on to a truth, and then you find out that the thing is not actually true.

A character suddenly being killed at the end is not a twist. Finding out that a character you thought was dead is actually alive is a twist, because you were lead to believe they were dead.

I've seen people refer to the ending/escape in Shawshank redemption as a twist. No, Andy escaping is a plot point, just like Brooks being released and Red getting denied parole were. It might be a surprising plot development you didn't see coming, but it didn't take a key truth that you held to and suddenly show it to be not true.

The truth you are holding to could be explicit or implicit. In Star Wars, you are told specifically by a trustworthy character that Vader killed Luke's father. Therefore finding out that Vader did not kill Luke's father is a twist. In the Sixth Sense, it's implicit, because the main character being alive is just something you take for granted when watching basically any movie that doesn't specifically tell you otherwise.

But "the main character won't die at the end" isn't an implicit truth that you just assume. Maybe it could feel that way if you've never watched a movie where the main character dies. But people dying is normal; it happens in real life and in movies.

There's room for some grey area I think. For example "the bad guy wins" has some room to be called a twist, though I personally normally wouldn't.

So annoyed... so Gruv was matching Amazon's sale, and Gruv also sells through bestbuy.com. Through a rewards program I have at work, I'm able to get a Best Buy gift card... so I added a bunch of good sale stuff to my cart. Chernobyl, Back to the Future Trilogy, Knock at the Cabin, Sinners, One Battle After Another. All for about $88.

Was looking through the deals to find my last pickup to fill out the $100 gift card, and I took time to redeem my points for the gift card. And as I'm browsing, I notice the prices seem off. I go to my cart, and it's empty. All "sold by Gruv" products have just disappeared from Best Buy. I guess the sale ended, though I would expect the same products to be there at an increased price or something. Either way, I now get nothing.

I guess the gift card won't expire; will have to keep an eye out and wait for the next sale...

*Edit* Woah wait... suddenly everything is back! I had to find them all and re-add to my cart, but they're all there. And thanks to me ranting on this thread, I knew exactly which things to look for to re-add. This time I just checked out with those ones instead of wasting any time; will find something with the leftover gift card later!

As a whole I like the receipt scanning feature a lot. I don't use it all too often, but whenever I have a receipt with more than 2 categories on it, I tend to use it. I love especially how it even includes the tax amount on each split. But a big annoyance is that when you have to modify any of the splits (which of course you do; I would never expect it to place every item in the correct category without my input), then you also have to re-calculate all the totals manually, and you basically lose all the advantage of having that math done automatically.

Any chance of a feature where you could tell the system how to split the receipt before it does all those calculations? Something that shows you all the items, and you pick the category for each one, and then it creates the splits with the correct amounts?

Just curious... there's a lot of options of Bluetooth speakers out there; some by known audio/speaker brands, some by no-name cheapy things. But plenty of options which have good reviews and are pretty cheap. Does a speaker from Milwaukee make sense for over $100; is it a great sound quality compared to the average cheap speaker? Or is it mostly a matter of durability; able to survive the potentially harsh conditions of a construction zone?

If the latter, then I don't think it would be for me, as I can easily place another not-as-durable speaker up on a shelf in my garage where it's safe.

I need a belt. I had one for many years which worked but looked terrible by the end. The I broke 2 separate replacements after just a month each. I keep seeing adds for belts like Anson and Groove; does anyone have experience with these? The ratchet / micro-adjustment system is a nice to have but not a must.

Modern cars use computers to control all sorts of things, such as how much acceleration to give when you press the gas pedal, smart detection of needing to do an emergency stop, steering assist, etc. I use computers for a living, and it's not too uncommon for them to have various little issues... such as the screen freezing up for just a second, a program freezing, and full-on crashes that require a reboot.

How do car computers prevent things like this from happening? It seems like a small glitch comparable to the issues I experience on my PC could cause something like the breaks to suddenly slam on by themselves, or me pressing the gas pedal and it taking a full second to actually respond.

My best guess is that it's mostly about them being very specialized computers; they only know how to do the specific things they need to do to control the car. But what else is there that adds so much reliability?

Was looking at adding an m12 blower to my m12 wish list. But I’ve never actually used one. Is it kind of like a less powerful leaf blower? Currently I sometimes used a compressed air can to clean off my projects or my tools; would a spot blower basically replace that need; or is it only for larger clean-out jobs?

My other question, is there no Fuel version of it? I guess maybe there’s not enough engineering to have anything to improve with the Fuel line?

I picked up the 4K copy of Blade Runner 2049 because I've only heard great things about it. But here's my dirty little secret... I'm not a big fan of the original Blade Runner. I've watched it twice, and both times just didn't get into it. But it's also been probably 15 years since I've seen it, and I don't remember many specific plot details. So, if I watch 2049 without rewatching Blade Runner, am I going to be missing some important context? Should I rewatch the original just to get important background, or will I be fine jumping straight into the new one?

From what I could find on Google, it's Automatic Glide Control. Weirdly enough, it does not seem to be mentioned anywhere in the user's manual. I have a 2019 Hybrid LE, but I also looked at newer/current gen manuals and could not find any mention of it there. So for one thing, why is it not mentioned in the manual?

From what I can gather on my own, it only activates if you are in Eco mode, and it only activates automatically. It seems to activate whenever you take your foot off the gas while in Eco mode.

But what does it actually do? My speed slowly drops while it is on, just as I would expect from any car if going fast and I take my foot off the break. So what is it controlling? What is it doing differently than if it were not on?

I recently bought a deal at HD for a hammer drill and an impact driver. It came with a XC 4.0, CP 2.0, and an extra XC 5.0 added on. Before this, I’ve only ever used a CP 1.5, and it’s always been enough. Pretty sure the deal isn’t hackable (at least I don’t see an option to return the 5.0 separately looking at the order online). But those batteries sell for $130 new, which is more than half what I paid for the whole set ($210).

Is there much chance that I’ll regret not having a 5.0 on hand when I already have a 4.0 and several lower power CP? Not sure what I could get for it on something like Marketplace; but it’s new in the package still.