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I can't imagine it was very difficult. It's not as if they're trying to hide anything or even pretending it's secure.

It's a 2.4GHz transmitter using GFSK modulation. All the information is in the datasheet, downloadable from their website.

You can get transceivers for a couple of bucks on eBay. Knock yourself out...

Then you can replace it with a $1 CFL instead of a 75c incandescent.

I don't see what the big deal is.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/120536841539?lpid=82

I see them all the time in Home Depot at $3.95 for a 4 pack.

In any case, your 1000 hour incandescent will last you 500 years at 2 hours/year usage... seems like a lot of griping over nothing.

Even Core 2 Quad bare CPUs still go for $65-$185. I'm still waiting for them to come down before I put another $50 into making my Core 2 duo system viable for another few years.

Well, here's a new section for my "beating down democracy" book.

Suppose you want to discredit crypto-currencies, or at least dilute their effect. What can you do?

You can start a raft of new currencies with sketchy names and origins. Currencies based on celebrities, currencies based on businesses, sports (such as Nascar commemorative plates - good as gold in many US locations), and even personal currencies!

"We can't stop people from using BitCoin! What can we do?"

"Let's generate alternatives - so many that people won't know which ones to use."

"You mean like software standards?"

"Yes - exactly like software standards."

"Heh. They'll never see that coming..."

i think at this point they are to late and the network effect will stop most most of the truly pointless "new" cryptocurrencies which are really just new block chains, i think there is still room for a truly new cryptocurrency as long as it actually brings something new to the table better algorithm, new features, integration with other existing blockchains, stronger cryptography, better anonymity, new paradigm.

I would like see for example a currency that uses more that just a double sha2 or just scrypt in case they it get broken like md5 did, so use like scrypt, sha2 and sha3 on the same block.

Well, here's a new section for my "beating down democracy" book.

Suppose you want to discredit crypto-currencies, or at least dilute their effect. What can you do?

You can start a raft of new currencies with sketchy names and origins. Currencies based on celebrities, currencies based on businesses, sports (such as Nascar commemorative plates - good as gold in many US locations), and even personal currencies!

"We can't stop people from using BitCoin! What can we do?"

"Let's generate alternatives - so many that people won't know which ones to use."

"You mean like software standards?"

"Yes - exactly like software standards."

"Heh. They'll never see that coming..."

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Build-Robotic-Hand-Kit-by-4M-Toysmith-Christmas-Toy-Craft-Science-Fair-Project-/121173958773?pt=Educational_Toys_US&hash=item1c3687e075

Oh no, that's cheap and ugly and practical... We need our feel-good 3D printing hype to feel better about ourselves... Never mind Krukenberg hands...

Raspberry Pi +
Raspberry Pi Camera +
dummy camera http://www.ebay.com/itm/NON-FUNCTIONING-SECURITY-CAMERA-/171187177851?pt=US_Dummy_Cameras&hash=item27db8d097b +
Buck converter http://www.ebay.com/itm/LM2596-USB-DC-DC-Step-Down-Adjustable-Power-Supply-Module-LED-Voltmeter-Needle-/360719055201?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53fc87f961 +
PoE Power Over Ethernet Injector Splitter Adpater Cable http://www.ebay.com/itm/PoE-Power-Over-Ethernet-Injector-Splitter-Adpater-Cable-/390700244783?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5af78c9f2f

Raspberry Pi +
Raspberry Pi Camera +
dummy camera http://www.ebay.com/itm/NON-FUNCTIONING-SECURITY-CAMERA-/171187177851?pt=US_Dummy_Cameras&hash=item27db8d097b +
Buck converter http://www.ebay.com/itm/LM2596-USB-DC-DC-Step-Down-Adjustable-Power-Supply-Module-LED-Voltmeter-Needle-/360719055201?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53fc87f961 +
PoE Power Over Ethernet Injector Splitter Adpater Cable http://www.ebay.com/itm/PoE-Power-Over-Ethernet-Injector-Splitter-Adpater-Cable-/390700244783?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5af78c9f2f

Raspberry Pi +
Raspberry Pi Camera +
dummy camera http://www.ebay.com/itm/NON-FUNCTIONING-SECURITY-CAMERA-/171187177851?pt=US_Dummy_Cameras&hash=item27db8d097b +
Buck converter http://www.ebay.com/itm/LM2596-USB-DC-DC-Step-Down-Adjustable-Power-Supply-Module-LED-Voltmeter-Needle-/360719055201?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53fc87f961 +
PoE Power Over Ethernet Injector Splitter Adpater Cable http://www.ebay.com/itm/PoE-Power-Over-Ethernet-Injector-Splitter-Adpater-Cable-/390700244783?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5af78c9f2f

Hey, no. That is cool. I'll just hide it in a button. Do you feel more comfortable now that you can't tell if I am recording you?

Not possible with a Nokia 808 (or at least using it's h/w) - for $350 USD?

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313&_nkw=nokia+808&_sacat=0&_from=R40

No problem. "Warm-white" LEDs have been available for a while now.

eg. http://www.ebay.com/itm/220865905075

So the real challenge may be: can we build a device that automates lens detection, focuses a small laser on the lens in question, and keeps it there while both the lens and the wearer of the countermeasure laser move along. +1 for a switch that will briefly increase laser power to burning strength. As in using a 2W Laser diode at low power. Capability :-)

Dear god, what an idiot. You're gonna waste half your life developing something, just to take someone's eye out with that.

Anyone know if those LED baseball caps really work? What about a can of spray paint, aimed at the Glass-hole?

This looks promising, it's an IR based 'camera blinder' that hides your face:
http://www.slashgear.com/surveillance-cam-blinder-2010369/

Dunno how effective it is against different camera types and it does require you to wear a dumb-ass headband but it looks like a promising concept.

I've been playing around with various IR LED types, such as this one, at a couple wavelengths, and I found that in darkness and twilight, you need only very few to become a huge blob of ghostly light, but in good lighting conditions, a good camera like an Axis P3367 and even some of the crappy webcams I tried will see them as merely little points of red light. So I'll integrate a bunch in my backpack's straps and on it's surface, to at least get that commute, including subways etc.. covered, but with little hope of completeness.

So the real challenge may be: can we build a device that automates lens detection, focuses a small laser on the lens in question, and keeps it there while both the lens and the wearer of the countermeasure laser move along. +1 for a switch that will briefly increase laser power to burning strength. As in using a 2W Laser diode at low power. Capability :-)

Anyone know if those LED baseball caps really work? What about a can of spray paint, aimed at the Glass-hole?

This looks promising, it's an IR based 'camera blinder' that hides your face:
http://www.slashgear.com/surveillance-cam-blinder-2010369/

Dunno how effective it is against different camera types and it does require you to wear a dumb-ass headband but it looks like a promising concept.

I've been playing around with various IR LED types, such as this one, at a couple wavelengths, and I found that in darkness and twilight, you need only very few to become a huge blob of ghostly light, but in good lighting conditions, a good camera like an Axis P3367 and even some of the crappy webcams I tried will see them as merely little points of red light. So I'll integrate a bunch in my backpack's straps and on it's surface, to at least get that commute, including subways etc.. covered, but with little hope of completeness.

So the real challenge may be: can we build a device that automates lens detection, focuses a small laser on the lens in question, and keeps it there while both the lens and the wearer of the countermeasure laser move along. +1 for a switch that will briefly increase laser power to burning strength. As in using a 2W Laser diode at low power. Capability :-)

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19880010181_1988010181.pdf

*There* we go, had to check that before I could go to bed...

I probably shouldn't buy one though...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Watkins-Johnson-TWT-Amplifier-7-to-12-4GHz-Unused-Condition-/190858149076

Well, if the whole fixture is too expensive, you can always just bypass the starter and run 115v to the pins in your existing fixture and throw in some of these:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wholesale-T8-20W-SMD3014-LED-Tube-4ft-48-Fluroescent-Lamp-Replacement-Forsted-/300956970852?_trksid=p2054897.l4275

$22/ each if you buy them in lots of 4, meaning about $176 to replace all your fixture's bulbs with LEDs. Instant start, long life, and you can choose warm, neutral, or cold. Although that's if you have a T8 fixture (I assume?) if you have T12, just shop around.

In any case, I just typed the keywords into Google shopping for both of these, if this is something you are actually interested in doing, you can shop around and get considerably better prices than that for panels. It's up to you :).

Reasonable alternatives would not be priced at $27 a pop or pose a serious mercury contamination risk for disposed of bulbs

Get a clue. You can buy good 10w (60w equiv) LED light bulbs for $4 a pop on eBay. I bought a batch of 10 from this guy. They come on instantly, are very bright, and contain no mercury. Even after an hour, they are barely warm. Unlike CFLs, they work in the cold, so you can use them for a porch/garage. They are made of impact resistant plastic. While installing one, I accidentally dropped it 8 feet onto a concrete floor. It bounced, but didn't break. So far, I have had zero failures. Since the seller has a 99.4% approval rate, my guess is most other customers are happy as well.

False.

Problem solved - just resume production of these:

Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab

This was a stunningly sophisticated science kit that cost $50 new. $430 adjusted for inflation.

There was nothing phony about our Atomic Energy laboratory. It was genuine, and it was also safe. We used radioactive materials in the set, but none that might conceivably prove dangerous. There was a Geiger-Mueller Counter. It was accurate; a carefully designed and manufactured instrument that could actually be used in prospecting for radioactive materials. The Atomic Energy lab also contained a cloud chamber in which the paths of alpha particles traveling at 12,000 miles a second could be seen; a spinthariscope showing the results of radioactive disintegration on a fluorescent screen; an electroscope that measured the radioactivity of different substances.

---- quoted from A. C. Gilbert's autobiography: ''The Man Who Lives In Paradise'' Rinehard & Company
1954.

A. C. Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab

The auction price on eBay in June for an incomplete set in fair condition: $4500. Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab, Original 1952

No problem. Just throw an electric generator in the back to charge it while you drive.

Do you have any idea how large and how heavy a 100-200 kW electric generator is? Have a look.

But, truth be told, all trucks use this method, with improvements. First, they keep the engine in the front, under the hood. Second, they skip the hybrid part :-)

I have a $40 digital microscope from eBay.

It's top heavy, so I inserted a rare earth magnet in the base and covered over with felt. It now solidly sticks to metal surfaces. It's also manual aim and manual focus, with no staging. This can be a pain for certain applications.

I use it for surface examination when I'm experimenting with process - such as processes for making PCBs. Here's an example. I take pics of the final result and create a LibreOffice word page describing the details of the process and how well it worked out. This goes into my lab notebook.

Here's another example.

For medium magnifications it's pretty useful, and I like being able to grab digital pics on my computer and annotate, save notes, and send to people (like in the post above).

and obviously most people have neither the tech nor the interest to clone mag stripe cards;

I'd be very surprised if the criminals couldn't get their hands on the equipment. It is widely available and not particularly expensive.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Long-Range-WiFi-Signal-Collector-Parabolic-Antenna-DIsh-Reflector-Portable-Unit-/271233047826?pt=US_Networking_Boosters_Extenders_Antennas&hash=item3f26bfdd12

No way you 3D printed anything like that at a library for 6$ you liar. You, at best, 3D printed a gizmo to HOLD a parabolic reflector. Liar.

This gizmo seems to better match description and stated orientation:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-Point-Tractor-Gooseneck-trailer-and-Receiver-Hitch-/220379997998

its a standard Inset-Fed Microstrip Patch Antenna
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Antenna-Panel-2-4Ghz-14-dbi-High-Gain-WiFi-Wlan-Extender-Directional-Long-Range-/190819940020

US $15.38 better?

want to make one yourself?
http://www.carookee.net/forum/broadcasting/13/inside_2_4Ghz_Panel_Antenna.17565369.0.01105.html

e-bay honda mustang

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Philips-PT902-9-Portable-Digital-LCD-TV-with-FM-Tuner-and-hdtv-tuner-/111204767070

While the HDTV might be an option, forget about that '7" HDMI touch' display unless you think a native resolution of 800x480 is enough for all your computing needs. Yes, it says nice things like '1080p' but all that means is it can accept signals close to that resolution and rate. It down-converts them to be displayed on a WVGA screen. The ad you linked to does not mention this, but then it is a 'US seller'. Better link to the source which is not the US but China:

7-Touch-Screen-Display-HDMI-1080p-RCA-AV-VGA-TFT-LCD-Monitor-For-PC-POS-Car-DVD (just one of the many ads for these things)

For that price you might as well buy two cheap Android tablets which sport the same display and touch screen, no computer needed. No, they are not as open as the RPi but they are hackable.

I do agree that it sounds silly to make a 'Raspberry Pi' monitor. Just make a cheap HD monitor and market it as such to the RPi public and all others.

The 7" one you listed is utter joke. First of all it is not under $100. You forgot to look at the sneaky $70 shipping charge. After you add that, you are looking at $150.

A fair point, but there are many, many, MANY others without the ridiculous shipping charges:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Car-9-Digital-Stand-alone-Headrest-Monitor-Screen-HDMI-VGA-Port-Touch-Button-HD-/171098185346

This project would be nothing if not for the clever marketing of linking this to the Raspberry Pi. Otherwise, it's just an overpriced, under-spec'd and under-featured monitor. With the switch to HDTV, every cheap little TV out there has HDMI inputs, and can incidentally also work as a TV:

19" HDTV under $100:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Seiki-SE19HY10-19-720p-60Hz-LED-HDTV/28379383

7" HDMI touch, under $100:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=161137962772

I think it partially invalidates your argument.

Not really as one (the primary?) reason for the new connector is size. The old connector effectively put serious limitations on the form factor and size of their devices, for example the planned iWatch would either have to rely on a standard USB or a second proprietary Apple connector along side the 30 pin one or be ridiculously clunky all of which would be poor business decisions. The ideal solution from Apples perspective was to drop the old connector in favor of a new smaller one in order to greatly expand the possible designs of products that can go with it .

if you want to upgrade you'll if you want to rebuild an inventory of accessories

Why would you need to rebuild your accessories when switching to iPhone 5? It's not like you don't have Lightning to 30 pin adapters.

I just found out you can buy a FF OS Phone for $80 on eBay (for development I suppose)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281165818989

Worth nothing ?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-Macintosh-Portable-Apple-Model-5120-Many-Extras-/281177197897?pt=Apple_Laptops&hash=item4177778d49

but without extra ;)

"We all know it's very difficult for DNA to be replicated, and it certainly isn't self-replicating, so it's not as if some party could obtain the DNA, replicate it, and then place it on their counterfeit product."

Do I detect a note of sarcasm? :)

The comments say you can get a used PCR thing for less than $1000. I wasn't too sure, so I looked.

Sure enough, it looks like Ebay is a pretty good source.

If I had easy access to three button mice, I'd buy them.

Enjoy!

Pick up a TC1000 then at half your willing price:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=tc1000

> You want Windows Phone 8 to die so consumers have less choice?

I do want more choice in the phone space, but I don't trust or want it to be from Microsoft - or for that matter propriatary. Why do you want Microsoft to have more control of our digital lives? They have more than enough. Competition works best with a bunch of small players in a market.

So yes, I really just want an actually "open" system to actually be given a chance to shine*. (I'm currently holding on to my Palm Pre Plus which still rocks, but is slowly dieing). I'm currently thinking about getting a Firefox OS device [2], but the specs are SOOO bad compared to my Palm. If I could get it without a dataplan w/ AT&T, I would have already purchased it.

I think the new gen of open source phones that are coming have a better shot (in that the company will actually try*!). Firefox OS, Ubuntu Mobile, Jolla, Tizen.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Pre
[2] http://www.ebay.com/itm/271258990669
* Nokia gave open systems 1 release after saying it was a dead platform and then switched to Windows phone. HP gave up on their TouchPads after 2 months of sales.

Ah, the clunky "PreyPal"; still running a most unprofessional, clunky operation. Yes, the banks are too expensive but at least their operation is professionally run and you can actually get prompt customer support when you need it for a credit card matter ... And, just for fun, the latest febrile hallucination from the Ho, Ho, Ho at eBay “No Seller Fees ! Get Paid with ebaY Vouchers! Who Needs Cash Anyway?” http://cappnonymous.wordpress.com/2013/09/05/no-seller-fees-get-paid-with-ebay-vouchers-who-needs-cash-anyway/#more-3026 eBay is running a limited-time promo whereby sellers can avoid all eBay selling fees if they agree to be paid with eBay vouchers (redeemable only at the “company store”) instead of real money: “Keep 100% of Your Selling Price! Pay No Fees – Limited Time Offer!” http://pages.ebay.com/sell/nosellfees/ Gee, eBay is offering to forgo their Final Valuation Fee (FVF) income in the hope that sellers will agree to let eBay keep 100% of the sale price in eBay’s own piggy bank! Looks like eBay is now competing for deposited funds directly with its other “pretend bank”, PreyPal What’s up eBay, won’t the guys at PreyPal let you play with their users’ uninsured deposited funds in the PreyPal “pretend bank”? And, how many clunky, uninsured “pretend” banks can any one unscrupulous commercial entity offer to its naïve consumers? Talk about crazy ideas, this one has to take the cake. What can this nonsense be all about? Utter desperation for cash is the only thing that I can think of. Or, are buyers now getting really that thin on the ground? Hmmm, maybe that could explain those massive “oceans of red” that we now see in the completed listings of scrupulous sellers ... But, seriously, who would take up this offer? Given that it would undoubtedly help eBay with their cash flow, it would do nothing for the seller’s cash flow. And, who would be silly enough to trust this latest non-FDIC insured eBay “pretend bank”—or the PreyPal pretend bank for that matter—with the safekeeping of any but the smallest amount of their funds? Regardless ... eBay's crooked marketplace ... http://bit.ly/11F2eas The clunky "PreyPal" ... http://bit.ly/UVXx53 And the ongoing joke of it all ... http://bit.ly/YvxFEg “Ignorance can be fixed, stupid is forever.”—Don Wood ... Clearly, John Donahoe’s condition is forever

Encryption isn't a weapon. Period.

Encryption is no less a weapon than, for example, a bulletproof vest. And though you can buy those on eBay, you must vouch to be an American and promise not to export it...

The president didn't ask the IRS to hurt opposition's finances

Oh, but he did... Of course, he retained a perfectly plausible deniability, and there is not enough evidence for a "beyond reasonable doubt" conviction. But there is plentiful "preponderance of evidence" none-the-less...

Ever hear of "ProPay" or "Skrill"? http://pages.ebay.com/help/pay/methods.html
I was curious about alternatives also, I noticed a large number of posts bashing ppl that use paypal which is fine I'd rather not use it but none with alternatives. I tried..

It's well known that they do this sort of stuff -- regularly sweeping money into a bank account will also get your account frozen.

When I first read your comment, I thought PayPal might do this to encourage people to spend the money in their PayPal accounts within the eBay-PayPal ecosystem, so that PayPal can milk 3% off each transaction. But then I realized that sweeping money into a bank account was commonplace among businesses whose suppliers don't accept PayPal, such as a business that buys radio control cars from a distributor and sells them on eBay or on its own web site. Is it really that much easier easier for an online retailer that sells physical goods to provide itemized invoices than for a company that sells services?

I got: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-PC-TV-Box-AV-Android-4-2-AML8726-MX-1G-8G-HDMI-SPDIF-Remote-Control-/221275964220?pt=US_Cable_TV_Boxes&hash=item338513433c

Under $70 shipped. I believe it can also run linux, but I want android for XBMC Full HW accel (thanks to PIOS team) and full Netflix HW accel in 1 box. Also that 70 has enclosure. Yes only dual core, but it has played everything I've thrown at it in XBMC and streamed from multiple sources fine, plays netflix great.

I'm really satisfied with it for the price so far. Just need netflix to make a remote friendly app for android (have one for googletv, shouldn't be that hard.).

Those CDV-715 victoreen meters are considered a joke. They don't use Geiger tubes. They use Ion Chambers which are only useful at levels that would be fatal to a human within hours. If it detects anything then you are dead. So that was not a particularly good example and that $5 meter won't be particularly useful unless someone nukes your front yard and I think at that point you wouldn't need the radiation meter to tell you to run, not walk, away. Victoreen did make one meter that was a Geiger counter: the CDV-700. Those can be somewhat useful if they are properly calibrated but such calibration is not cheap.

http://www.ebay.com/gds/What-Geiger-counter-is-best-for-your-needs-/10000000103552954/g.html

Almost every seller on Ebay is now listing their CDV-715's as Geiger counters and fooling people into buying them. The CDV-715, 710, 720, and all others that ARE NOT the 700, are survey meters for VERY high levels of radiation that would be lethal within hours, produced from a nuclear bomb. THESE ARE TOO HIGH EVEN TO DETECT THE RADIATION DIRECTLY OFF THE REACTOR IN JAPAN! Buy these as cool collectables or as a preventitive measure in case we get nuked. Never pay more than $40 for one unless it's a rare collectable model.

My point is, the northeast blackout proved just how unprepared most Americans are for a power outage. I understand the technical challenges of living on the 30th story of a building are much greater than for my house in the middle of no where, but there are some basic things you can do to function for a few days without power if need be.

IMHO, too few people know about CAMPING gear. Just think of it... crazy people VOLUNTARILY go off-grid, in extremely harsh conditions, yet get along quite well.

They have:
* good food ($100),
* plenty of clean water ($40),
* get hot showers ($10),
* have an ample supply of power $10,
* lots of light ($10),
* plenty of news and entertainment. ($20),
* modern conveniences ($30),

etc., etc.

They even sleep comfortably in -30F degree weather (if you don't mind lugging around a punching bag).

I bought one of these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/400435109432?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

XBMC full HW playback (I use the DroidTV firmware which is a firmware from the Midnight Gx2 or something, supposedly the boxes that aren't midnight brand had an Audio sync issue, i put that firmware on it first minute I received, no issues) based on the PIOS XBMC port. Netflix full HW playback. With XBMC play right from SMB or anything else for that matter.

The only content that it seems to have issues with, is the 60 FPS certain codecs. 20% of the time the audio will go out of sync on the 60 fps content. But 99.9% of my content is 23-30 fps. I only discovered it by accident, I was recording Disney HD for my kids and automatically reencoding the content with Handbrake batch script. And it was reencoding at 60fps by mistake instead of 23.97. Fixed my batch script and no more issues.

Cost me what $15 more then a Roku. My only problem is Netflix has not released a remote friendly android App. Sure I have one of thsoe mini wireless keyboard/trackpad's for netflix or any other non remote friendly app. My wife has picked it up very easily.

This. My interest in electronics was kindled (no pun intended) by my father's old correspondence course materials. They came in periodic installments that were inserted into two large brown binders. It was the National Radio Institute course similar to these

There were other books on the shelf too. Time was, you could tell a lot about somebody from the books on their shelves--the number, quality, and type. If you were invited into their home, to glance at the books on the shelf was not toooooo much of an invasion of privacy, if done properly. There's an un-written etiquette there, I'm sure. Now?

OK, so maybe you've got electronics course materials on your iPad... but you're kid's just gonna play Angry Birds or something. All the options aren't there, and he doesn't have to ask questions like, "why doesn't this book have pictures?" or "why does this book have this funny looking map in it?" or "what's in that big thick book there?" or "why is that one on the top shelf where I can't reach it?".

You never had to keep all your college texts. There are some I returned, and some I kept. Some I haven't cracked open in years... but I won't be surprised if my nephew some day is here and asks, "what's a differential equation?" because there's a book about that. How would the iPad generate such a question from an inquisitive child?

Right now the Firefox OS phone is on sale at the ZTE Ebay stores in the US and UK:
anywhere in Europe
and
US and Canada

For those of us that genuinely want to test webapps on a device designed specifically for them.

isopropanol does not freeze unless you count "Temperatures found at the south pole, or on mars" as being a sensible design concern.

Freezing and flashpoints of isopropanol + water solutions

Failing that, you could fill the bottle with clear acrylic or epoxy resin instead of either, and it will NEVER freeze. it's a tad expensive but the resulting bottles wont explode when heated, wont spring leaks, freeze, etc.

You basically need a jeweler's scale (pocket-sized ones go for under 7$ on ebay, shipping included), a set of rechargeable AAA batteries (those cheap scales drain them relatively quickly) and a spreadsheet that you can carry around on, say, your mobile communication device.

There. Now, you know how much of a certain food you're taking in as it is now rather simple to weigh your food.
On a plus side, if you end up being frisked by police for any reason, you can break the ice by explaining that you're not a drug dealer and that the white substance on your pocket scale is powdered sugar and not some narcotic substance.

Looking up said food in your spreadsheet lets you know how many calories per gram said food contains.
Like you stated above, you already know how to find that for the ingredients.
How much of each ingredient is in actual food you end up eating? Easy.
You got the recipe - you got the ratio of ingredients in the dish. You only need to calculate the amount of calories per gram ONCE per dish.
You don't got the recipe, cause you're eating at a restaurant or you don't want to bother your friends for the recipe - guesstimate.
It's not like one "imprecise meal" will ruin your diet. Or your data.

Stuff you're "adding to taste" can be ignored if it's less than a "significant amount of calories" per serving - i.e. if it's used as a SPICE.
In other words, if you're adding a spoon of butter to an entire pot of "dish X" - it does not really matter.
Though nothing stops you for weighing out the average amount you use (weight of spoon of butter minus the weight of spoon) and adding that to your spreadsheet too.
On the other hand, if you're spreading butter on slices of bread and eating them - that's not a spice, that's FOOD, and you can easily check how many calories of butter you're spreading on average per an average slice of bread and write that down in your spreadsheet.

Stuff you can't find exact calories for - write them down and ROUND UP their calories to the closest thing you COULD find exact calories for.
Considering it erring on the side of caution.

You could probably make a simple app for adding calorie counts of various ingredients in your spreadsheet (or an actual database at this point), subtracting the weight leftovers or packaging and/or empty plates after the meal (when eating outside your home).
You could add shiny graphs to show what you've been eating and how often, personal weight counters, a pedometer option to show you how much of your meal you've just walked off, goals, medals for inputting X numbers of unique (one for each ingredient or dish) calorie counts for food (gotta catch them all)...

There. Now you can treat dieting as a programming task.