diff --git a/examples/debugging/sync_bp.py b/examples/debugging/sync_bp.py
index 64a6e14b..8c4ba6e9 100644
--- a/examples/debugging/sync_bp.py
+++ b/examples/debugging/sync_bp.py
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ import tractor
 # disable `pbdp` prompt colors
 # for prompt matching in test.
 def disable_pdbp_color():
-    if os.environ['PYTHON_COLORS'] == '0':
+    if os.environ.get('PYTHON_COLORS') == '0':
         from tractor.devx.debug import _repl
         _repl.TractorConfig.use_pygments = False
 
diff --git a/tests/trionics/test_patches.py b/tests/trionics/test_patches.py
index 9f2b942f..36bf1a59 100644
--- a/tests/trionics/test_patches.py
+++ b/tests/trionics/test_patches.py
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ def test_wakeup_socketpair_drain_eof_patch_works():
     # First call MUST return True; idempotent guard
     # prevents False on subsequent calls within the
     # same process.
-    assert applied is True or applied is False  # idempotent
+    assert isinstance(applied, bool)  # idempotent (order-dependent value)
 
     # Cap wall-clock at 2s; SIGALRM raises in main
     # thread which interrupts the C-level recv loop
diff --git a/tractor/devx/_stackscope.py b/tractor/devx/_stackscope.py
index 35f22a49..e6ea00e5 100644
--- a/tractor/devx/_stackscope.py
+++ b/tractor/devx/_stackscope.py
@@ -71,17 +71,18 @@ def dump_task_tree(
     Do a classic `stackscope.extract()` task-tree dump to console at
     `.devx()` level.
 
-    Also unconditionally tee the rendered tree to two
-    capture-bypassing sinks so SIGUSR1 dumps remain visible
-    when the parent process has captured stdio (e.g. pytest's
-    default `--capture=fd`):
+    When `write_file`/`write_tty` are set, ALSO tee the rendered
+    tree to capture-bypassing sinks so SIGUSR1 dumps remain
+    visible when the parent process has captured stdio (e.g.
+    pytest's default `--capture=fd`); the SIGUSR1 handler passes
+    `write_file=True` for exactly this reason:
 
-    - `/tmp/tractor-stackscope-<pid>.log` (append-mode, always
-      written) — guaranteed-readable artifact even under CI
+    - `write_file` -> `/tmp/tractor-stackscope-<pid>.log`
+      (append-mode) — guaranteed-readable artifact even under CI
       / `nohup` / no-tty conditions. `tail -f` to follow.
-    - `/dev/tty` if a controlling terminal is attached —
-      best-effort, ignored if the device is missing or write
-      fails. pytest never captures the tty.
+    - `write_tty` -> `/dev/tty` if a controlling terminal is
+      attached — best-effort, ignored if the device is missing
+      or write fails. pytest never captures the tty.
 
     '''
     import os
diff --git a/tractor/ipc/_linux.py b/tractor/ipc/_linux.py
index cd7de870..f7434ceb 100644
--- a/tractor/ipc/_linux.py
+++ b/tractor/ipc/_linux.py
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ import sys
 try:
     import cffi
 except ImportError as ie:
-    if sys.version_info < (3, 14):
+    if sys.version_info >= (3, 14):
         ie.add_note(
             f'The `cffi` pkg has no 3.14 support yet.\n'
         )
diff --git a/tractor/runtime/_portal.py b/tractor/runtime/_portal.py
index e0577d69..738599ac 100644
--- a/tractor/runtime/_portal.py
+++ b/tractor/runtime/_portal.py
@@ -340,9 +340,9 @@ class Portal:
                 raise_on_timeout
             ):
                 raise ActorTooSlowError(
-                    f'Peer {peer_id} did not ack `Actor.cancel()`'
-                    f'-RPC within bounded wait of '
-                    f'{cancel_timeout!r}s'
+                    f'Peer {peer_id} did not ack its '
+                    f'`Actor.cancel()` RPC within bounded wait '
+                    f'of {cancel_timeout!r}s'
                 )
 
             # legacy fire-and-forget path: log + return False so