Who is creating Documents/Video/Pictures/etc. in home directory

Question: I had Ubuntu-14.04 installed in a minimum configuration, i.e. with no X Windows support. Later I added x-server packages for my card, and a lightweight WindowManager (I don't want KDE or GNOME), so I normally launch X with startx, however someone keeps on creating Documents, Desktop, Download, Video, Music etc. directories in my $HOME. I thought this isually done by "advanced" desktop environments. What application/daemon can be behind this anyways?
Answer: This is carried out by the xdg-user-dirs1 package.
The file /usr/bin/xdg-user-dirs-update is run at logon and creates the files based on defaults in /etc/xdg/user-dirs.defaults, or if it exists $HOME/.config/user-dirs.dirs.
If you want to disable it, the setting is in /etc/xdg/user-dirs.conf, or uninstall the package, if dependencies allow.

1: The package name was xdg-user-dirs-update on Ubuntu. On Fedora and Arch it is xdg-user-dirs, same as on Ubuntu (at least since 20.04).
Comment: Run `dpkg -S */xdg-user-dir`.  It should show you all packages that provide files named `/xdg-user-dir`.  Hopefully, it'll give you a clue.
Comment: If you follow the vertical lines above `rc` it show you what they mean. `r` is for `Remove` and `c` is for `Conf-files`.  What this means is that the package has been removed, but the config files haven't.  You need to purge the package - `sudo apt-get purge xdg-user-dirs` to remove them.
Comment: thanks for response, I've removed packages 'xdg-*' however two still remain: xdg-user-dirs and xdg-user-dirs-gtk. Even 'apt-get autoremove' doesn't help. Who is holding them?
Comment: I don't know.  I tried `sudo apt-get remove xdg-user-dirs` on my test VM and it offered to remove it.
Comment: 'apt-get remove xdg-user-dirs' say "package is not installed, so not removed". Also, 'dpkg -l | grep xdg' adds 'rc' at the beginning of the line. What does it indicate? (I know that 'ii' would mean "installed")
Answer: These directories are specified by Freedesktop under the name xdg user directories. It's used by quite a few applications, not just the most in-your-face desktop environments.
There is a utility xdg-user-dirs-update which creates these directories if they're missing. You can try to track the invocations of this utility, but that's a lost cause: sooner or later an application will want one of these directories and create them all. On Ubuntu at least, it's called from the session startup scripts that are executed whenever you start an X session, and you can't suppress that without dirty tricks (or being root).
To get the directories out of the way, edit ~/.config/user-dirs.dirs and set them to the paths you like. The only one that you can't really change is XDG_CONFIG_HOME=~/.config, because that's used to find the user-dirs.dirs file.


Count the number of raster tiles in each polygon in ArcGIS

Question: I have a raster from the TRMM 3B43 product that contains a grid of 0.25 x 0.25 tiles (in degrees). I also have a shapefile with a number of districts. I want to know how many raster tiles are included in each district (polygon). Ideally, I'd like to know it as a continuous measure (i.e. polygon A contains 2.43 tiles) but if it only counts complete tiles its also OK.
Answer:
Convert your raster into a binary value of 0 for no data and 1 for data
Con(IsNull(Raster1),0,1)
Use either Zonal Statistics (spatial Analyst) or Zonal Statistics as Table (spatial Analyst) functions to calculate the number of grids within each of your polygons. Parametrize the function using SUM so that the zonal summary counts all the cells and sums the cells within the polygons. Since all cells with data are coded as 1 the sum will give you the number of cells per polygon. However, for smaller polygons you will still have 1 for each of the polygons, even if the same raster cell covers multiple small polygons. This will inflate the number of cells if you use the statistics from the zonal summary.
Comment: Convert binary raster Con(IsNull("RASTER1"),1) to polygon. Intersect it with districts. Summarise areas by district ID and divide by area of cell. Result with decimal points accuracy
Comment: area / cell_area = number_of_cells
Comment: I wasn't sure if OP wanted # of cells or area. Of course Area is probably the needed end result, but wasn't specified in the question.  It is possible # of cells is OP's end game, if for example it was needed to create a categorical index of areas that have more or less of a certain # of cells.
Comment: Second thought yes, its a much better option complete with the faction value.
Answer: While reclassifying as mentioned above is one method, another is the Tabulate Area Tool.
This will allow you to tabulate the area of individual pixels based upon the polygons you wish to examine, and will also tell you the number of pixels per polygon. It is commonly used for automating an error matrix (with some additional minor calculations required).
Comment: +1 for a better alternative
Comment: -1 It is not a better alternative because raster is continuous surface - precipitation grid. Tool will not work on a floating point raster or will produce countless number of fields if raster converted to integer
Comment: I meant the choice of the function 'tabulate area', the first step of changing the raster into a binary is still needed. yeah..It is not a complete answer though..
Comment: Thanks Corey, yanes and @FelixP, will indeed try out these methods and see what results. Indeed, I was looking for a continuous measure (e.g. 2.54 tiles in certain polygon) so your suggestions below seem appropriate.
Comment: No problem @Francisco I've recently worked out a similar problem using non-contiguous polygons and a DSM and had this pointed out to me by a colleague.


Dynamic Expression Operator

Question: Is there a way in apex that I can use a dynamic expression operators. For eg.
var operator = '>';
if( a operator b) {
}else{
}
Answer: Not directly; Apex Code is a strongly typed language, and doesn't really have the capacity to evaluate code in an interpreted manner. The closest you'd probably get is either rigging your own interface, or using Visualforce expression evaluation, which is fraught with limitations and pitfalls.
For example, let's say you built this interface:
interface BinaryOperator {
    Object evaluate(Object a, Object b);
}

You could then implement classes:
class StringLessThanBinaryOperator implements BinaryOperator {
    public Object evaluate(Object a, Object b) {
        return (String)a < (String)b;
    }
}

Which you could then call using the interface:
BinaryOperator op = new StringLessThanBinaryOperator();
String a = 'Hello', b = 'World';
if((Boolean)op.evaluate(a, b)) {
    // ... A is less than B

We also don't have template interfaces, so this means you'd also be forced to implement types for each data type you want to support. However, some standard types can be evaluated using the Comparable interface, which means that you could get some built-in support for less-than, less-or-equal, equal, greater-than, and greater-or-equal by calling, for example:
if(a.compareTo(b)<0) { // A is strictly less than B

if(a.compareTo(b)==0) { // A is equal to B

As far as the Visualforce expression method, you can write code like this:
Component.Apex.OutputText text = new Component.Apex.OutputText();
text.expressions.value = '{!IF(A < B, A, B)}';
String result = text.value;

However, as far as I know, variables you examine in this manner have to conform to Visualforce rules, like having a public getter/setter, etc. Therefore, it's also incredibly limited, but you can construct strings that could be used to determine values dynamically.
Answer: If you want to do a lot of that sort of logic you can factor it out into a separate class:
String operator = '>';
if (Ops.create(operator).evaluate(a, b)) {
    ...
} else {
    ...
}

So Ops.create is a static factory method that creates instances of the sort of interface that sfdcfox describes.
Answer: I don't think this is possible. I have seen similar where you create the logic in code e.g.
    if(operator == '>' && a > b){
    }else{
    }
    if(operator == '<' && a < b){
    } else{
    }

Answer: You can use ExecuteAnonymousResult executeAnonymous(String code) for something like you describe, but it would need to contain the complete string. As such, you'd need to modify the complete string of code when you wanted to change the operator. There are a number of limitations on this and it's not especially well documented on exactly how to use it. See Anonymous Blocks, SOAP API and SOAP Headers for Apex from the Apex Developer's User Guide.
From the documentation:

An anonymous block is Apex code that does not get stored in the metadata, but that can be compiled and executed using one of the following:

Developer Console
Force.com IDE
The executeAnonymous() SOAP API call:

From the above, since it's not stored in the metadata, I don't believe it could be included in say a trigger or a class. Here's more from the documentation:
You can use anonymous blocks to quickly evaluate Apex on the fly, such as in the Developer Console or the Force.com IDE, or to write code that changes dynamically at runtime. For example, you might write a client Web application that takes input from a user, such as a name and address, and then uses an anonymous block of Apex to insert a contact with that name and address into the database.

Note the following about the content of an anonymous block (for executeAnonymous(), the code String):

Can include user-defined methods and exceptions.
User-defined methods cannot include the keyword static.
You do not have to manually commit any database changes.
If your Apex trigger completes successfully, any database changes are automatically committed. If your Apex trigger does not complete successfully, any changes made to the database are rolled back.
Unlike classes and triggers, anonymous blocks execute as the current user and can fail to compile if the code violates the user's object- and field-level permissions.
Do not have a scope other than local. For example, though it is legal to use the global access modifier, it has no meaning. The scope of the method is limited to the anonymous block.
When you define a class or interface (a custom type) in an anonymous block, the class or interface is considered virtual by default when the anonymous block executes. This is true even if your custom type wasn't defined with the virtual modifier. Save your class or interface in Salesforce to avoid this from happening. Note that classes and interfaces defined in an anonymous block aren't saved in your organization.

I'm not certain if this code could be called from say a custom object to run in production code as it can't be included in the metadata. So how to use it other than in Execute Anonymous, etc could be problematic.

Dynamic Expression Operator


What is the easiest method of checking SMART status for your hard drive?

Question: I've seen programs in the past that were able to check the SMART status of a hard disk drive but it wasn't easy for me to find. Also, I think I had to boot into the CD in order to check on it. What is your preferred method for getting this data to hopefully preempt any disk failures?
Answer: I think "S.M.A.R.T. Monitoring tools" is the one I've used before. They give you all the parameters.
If you are going to be fooling with SMART, I'd recommend looking at the Google paper on drive failures. They are one of the few groups on the planet that have enough drives to do any real analysis, so their comments on the usefulness of SMART are probably the best research you'll find on the subject.
Comment: I will second the above!  The google whitepaper on drive failure is perhaps the most authoritative work on the topic of drive failure to date.  Very interesting statistics concerning the threshold where the chances of drive failure begin to skyrocket.
Comment: The link to the Google paper above is now a 404. I suspect that the new home for the research is: http://static.googleusercontent.com/external_content/untrusted_dlcp/research.google.com/en/us/archive/disk_failures.pdf
Comment: @RichardJFoster: Thanks. I've updated the link in the answer.
Comment: FYI, from the Google paper referenced above, SMART results are poor predictors for an individual HDD failure although once the first errors show up there is a high (38x) chance of failure in 60 days.
"This result suggests that SMART models are more useful in predicting trends for large aggregate populations than for individual components."
Comment: i suggest installing also https://gsmartcontrol.sourceforge.io/home/index.php/Downloads or for windows
Answer: I like the free version of HD Tune.
From the website:

HD Tune is a Hard Disk utility which has the following functions:
      * Benchmark: measures the performance
      * Info: shows detailed information
      * Health: checks the health status by using SMART
      * Error Scan: scans the surface for errors
      * Temperature display
  HD Tune may also work with other storage devices such as memory cards, USB sticks, iPods, etc.
Comment: HD Tune is excellent.
Comment: Is that a 15 day trial after which you have to pay?
Answer: I use SMARTReporter on my Mac to put an icon in the menu bar.  As long as it's green I feel OK.

SMARTReporter is a free application for Mac OS X that can warn you of some hard disk drive failures before they actually happen! It does so by periodically polling the S.M.A.R.T. status of your hard disk drive. S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology) is a technology built into most modern hard disk drives that acts as an "early warning system" for pending hard disk drive problems. SMARTReporter can notify you of impending hard disk drive failures by sending e-mails, displaying a warning dialog or executing an application. The current status of your hard disk drives is always displayed through the customizable menu item.
Because SMARTReporter relies on the S.M.A.R.T. implementation of Mac OS X, it only supports ATA, SATA or eSATA hard disk drives, if you want S.M.A.R.T. support for your SCSI or FireWire hard disk drive, send feedback to Apple.
Please note that a S.M.A.R.T. alert doesn't mean that your HDD will completely fail for sure, nor can S.M.A.R.T. catch all possible HDD errors - it's just a very valuable indicator.
Answer: SeaTools for this and several other health tests. Other vendors have similar free testing utilities available.

SeaTools is a comprehensive, easy-to-use diagnostic tool that helps you quickly determine the condition of the disk drive in your external hard drive, desktop or laptop computer. It includes several tests that will examine the physical media on your Seagate or Maxtor disk drive and any other non-Seagate disk drive.
Comment: Ok, looks like it will support non seagate disks, right?  (I posted that question at:  https://superuser.com/questions/1316054/does-seatools-for-windows-support-non-seagate-drives )
Comment: I had to use the USB version since the normal produced the blue death screen
Answer: For Unix-like systems there is smartd.

smartd is a daemon that monitors the Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology (SMART) system built into many ATA-3 and later ATA, IDE and SCSI-3 hard drives. The purpose of SMART is to monitor the reliability of the hard drive and predict drive failures, and to carry out different types of drive self-tests. This version of smartd is compatible with ATA/ATAPI-7 and earlier standards.
smartd will attempt to enable SMART monitoring on ATA devices (equivalent to smartctl -s on) and polls these and SCSI devices every 30 minutes (configurable), logging SMART errors and changes of SMART Attributes via the SYSLOG interface.
Answer: CrystalDiskInfo is my preferred SMART info tool now, simply because it's less hassle than downloading and installing smartmontools and is available as a portable application (so you can easily stick it on a USB drive or Dropbox).  You can also configure it to actively monitor your drives and report any issues in a popup notification, as well as show each drive's temperature in a separate taskbar icon.
Update: make sure you download the portable edition.  The "Installer edition" has OpenCandy adware built-in and the "Shizuku edition" features anime art on the left side of CrystalDiskInfo's main window.  The Shizuku edition's installer also tries to install the Amazon browser bar by default during setup, but you can opt not to install the browser bar.
Comment: The installer no longer contains OpenCandy (in experience, at least).
Comment: Avoid Crystal now - it was great but the latest version (5.6.2) contains a lot of malware :(
Comment: Not sure whether the malware claim was ever justified, but I've been using the non-portable version of CDI for years and never had an issue with malware, bloatware or adware. It's also by far the easiest and most user-friendly solution compared to most other answers to this question.
Comment: @RobertMacLean it looks like the "Installer edition with OpenCandy" is the evil adware version.  The "Shizuku edition" installer will install the Amazon browser bar by default but you can opt not to install it during setup.  The Shizuku edition also seems to feature anime art by Suisho Shizuku on the left side of CrystalDiskInfo's main window.  Have you tried the portable version?  That one still appears to be clean.
Comment: yeah the portable one still seems clean. Maybe you should change the link to that one?
Comment: Good idea; I left the link to the main page but added a direct link to the portable edition.
Comment: I've used it and it doesn't have any adware, spyware or bloatware.
Answer: I just got Disk CheckUp but I am still figuring out how to use it.
Answer: If it's a Windows system, I recommend SpeedFan - it also lets you submit your SMART data to the SpeedFan website and gives you a nice little online analysis.
Comment: The only problem is they hide the download link on their site.http://www.almico.com/sfdownload.php and It follows the text that says "The latest version is"


A question involving position and momentum operators

Question: Assume the Hamiltonian of a quantum particle to be independent of time and be of the form $H=\frac{1}{2m}(\hat{p}^{2}_{x}+\hat{p}^{2}_{y})+V(x,y)$. Define a new operator $\hat{p}=\hat{p}_{x}-\hat{p}_{y}$ and such that it commutes with the $H$. But then this implies that $\hat{p}$ is independent of time. In other words, $\hat{p}(t)=\hat{p}(0)$ for all $t\in [0,a]$. But we can find $\hat{p}(0)$ from the initial value of the problem or from the initial conditions of experimental setup in the lab. Therefore, $\hat{p}_{x}(t)-\hat{p}_{y}(t)=\hat{p}(0)I$ for $t>0$. Now, the commutator $[\hat{x}(t), \hat{p}_{x}(t)]=[\hat{x}(t),\hat{p}(0)I+\hat{p}_{y}(t)]=0$ for $t>0$. But how can this be true?
Comment: Why is $[\hat{x},\hat{p}(0)]=0$?
Comment: since $\hat{p}(0)$ is just a constant and we are considering the commutator of $\hat{x}(t)$ for times $t>0$.
Comment: Another question: are you imposing any condition on $V(x,y)$ so that $\hat{p}$ commutes with $\hat{H}$? It seems to me that the only way that could happen is if $V(x,y) \propto (x + y)$. But I could be wrong...
Comment: the example I had in mind was exactly what you said i.e. $V(x,y)$ being proportional to $(x+y)$.
Answer: For clarification, we are working in the Heisenberg Picture, where the operators $\hat{O}$ follow the Heisenberg Equation of Motion:
$$i\hbar \frac{\text{d}\hat{O}}{\text{d}t} = [\hat{O},\hat{H}].$$
Your problem is that you seem to assume that $[\hat{x}(t),\hat{p}(0)]=0$, which is not true. The fact that $\hat{p}(0)$ is a constant in time does not alter the fact that it is still an operator $\hat{p}(0) = \hat{p}_x(0) - \hat{p}_y(0)$, which may not commute with $x(t)$. Now, you might be tempted to think that for $t>0$ the commutator $[\hat{x}(t),\hat{p}_x(0)] = 0$, but this not true either, since $\hat{x}(t)$ depends on $\hat{x}(0)$.
This can easily be seen if you actually solve the problem. I'm going to assume that $V(x,y) = \alpha (x + y)$, so that $[\hat{p},\hat{H}]=0$. If you solve Heisenberg's Equations of Motion for this Hamiltonian, you can show that
\begin{equation*}
\begin{aligned}
\hat{p}_x(t) &= \hat{p}_x(0) - \alpha t \mathbb{I}\\
\hat{p}_y(t) &= \hat{p}_y(0) - \alpha t \mathbb{I} \\
&\\
\hat{x}(t) &= \hat{x}(0) + 2 \hat{p}_x(0)t - \alpha t^2\mathbb{I} \\
\hat{y}(t) &= \hat{y}(0) + 2 \hat{p}_y(0)t - \alpha t^2\mathbb{I} \\
\end{aligned}
\end{equation*}
Clearly, $\hat{p}_x(t)- \hat{p}_y(t) = \hat{p}(0)$ is independent of time, as you have shown. However, $$[x(t),p_x(t)] = [x(0),p_x(0)] = i\hbar,$$
as you would expect.
Comment: I don't think it's possible to do what you're proposing: creating a particle in a certain state doesn't change the operator. I find it's easier to understand this in the Schrodinger picture: the operators remain the same irrespective of the state in which the particle is prepared. Now, the same operator in the Heisenberg picture is simply: $$\hat{A}_H(t) = U^\dagger(t) \hat{A}_S U(t),$$ i.e. it just changes differently with *time*, so I don't see how you could write $\hat{p} = C \mathbb{I}$...
Comment: thanks for answering @Philip I know that we should get the answer of the usual $I\hbar$ but in defense of the problem what if the system is prepared in such a way that $\hat{p}(0)=CI$ for some constant $C$ and $I$ is the identity operator. This, corresponds to a particle whose momentum in the x component differs by a constant from the momentum in the y component. We could even prepare as system where $\hat{p}(0)=0$. What about then?
Comment: suppose you have an source of electrons that lets out electrons with $\hat{p}_{x}=\hat{p}_{y}+CI=\hat{p}_{y}+C\sum_{p} |p><p|$. This is a valid operator acting on the Hilbert space in question.
Comment: Again, I don't think this is possible: you again speak of a source of electrons that somehow changes the **operator** $\hat{p}_x$. Look at it this way: $\hat{p}_x(0)$ is just the momentum operator in the $x$ direction in the Schrodinger picture, and similarly for $\hat{p}_y(0)$. Now, the operator $\hat{p}(0)$ in the Schrodinger picture is just $$\hat{p}(0) \equiv \frac{\hbar}{i} \left( \frac{\partial}{\partial x} -  \frac{\partial}{\partial y} \right).$$ This doesn't change whether the particle is in a state of definite momentum, or in any arbitrary state!
Comment: I think it matters, because as I pointed out $\hat{p}(t)$ is independent of time and hence is equal to $\hat{p}(0)$ in other words it is a stationary state. Now, if a particle is prepared at time t=0, such that the difference of the momenta in the corresponding direction is constant then it will stay constant for the duration of some time until the system gets disturbed. Also, during that time, the operator $\hat{p}_{x}(t)$ and $\hat{p}_{y}(t)$ will have eigenvalues that differ by a constant momentum C and as a result the commutation relations don't agree with the usual ones. that's all.
Comment: I really feel like I'm missing something basic here: $\hat{p}(0)$ is an *operator*, isn't it? Not a state? How can $\hat{p}(0)$ be a "stationary state"?
Comment: Let us [continue this discussion in chat](https://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/109989/discussion-between-user11937-and-philip).


make call using bluetooth from android

Question: i have a android phone without sim. i have another phone with sim in hands free profile enabled using bluetooth. is it possible to send a call number command from my android phone to that phone ?
regards
Answer: No.
The long reason is - Handsfree profile has 2 sides / roles , one is Audio gateway and the other is Hands Free side, Android only supports the Audio gateway side and thus 2 android phones will not connect to each other via the Hands Free profile.

make call using bluetooth from android


Voice removal from a recording

Question: I need an old steam pump sound, and the best I can find (http://www.freesound.org/people/3bagbrew/sounds/73415/) has occasional child-sounding voices in the background. I'm a bit of a noob to Audition; is there an easy way to remove/reduce these voices?
Answer: I'd say short answer, no.
You have a few options, which aren't very good.
You can cut the clearest sections and use only that. I heard a few parts without kids screaming. But then it might be choppy. You'd have to crossfade the pieces and hope they sync up well.
You could also buy software. I don't have any that could do this. But people talk about izotope rx all the time. I believe that might help, A LITTLE.
Answer: If your audio is stereo you can do what all good scareokee machines do (pun intended). In Adobe Audition simply open your audio clip as a waveform and select Effects Rack (usually left panel)>Stereo Imagery>Central Channel Extractor>Select "Vocal Remove" under preset and click apply.
Voila stereo voices be gone.

Voice removal from a recording


Lac Operon and Arabinose Operon

Question: In the lower concentration of glucose, what among lactose and arabinose, when both are present in the growth medium, is more likely to be utilized by E. coli?
Answer: It's been done.
Both are expressed.
I remember reading about lactose as a special case. The lac operon is not induced directly by lactose, but a different enzyme present in small concentration converts lactose to allolactose, and the allolactose induces the lac operon.
I vaguely remember reading an explanation, that at low lactose concentrations a fraction of cells would randomly get enough lactose to convert to allolactose to induce the lac operon. Then those cells would transport lactose. This would reduce the lactose concentration in the medium so that other cells would not start using lactose. A fraction of the population would use it up, while the rest concentrated on other energy sources. It would be less efficient for the whole population to gear up to use lactose and then use it up fast.
I don't remember where I saw that story and I don't know whether it's been refuted.

Lac Operon and Arabinose Operon


Is it permissible for a woman to learn Pirkei Avot & Shulchan Aruch?

Question: Is there anything prohibiting/restricting a woman from reading Pirkei Avot or the Shulchan Aruch?
Comment: Are you aware of a source for such a restriction? Have you encountered an opinion that gave rise to this question? Any of the above would enhance the question.
Comment: Very close relative: http://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/7071/3
Comment: In my shul, the rav who has Orthodox S'micha, even though the shul is Conservative, teaches Shulcah Aruch during the winter and Pirkei Avot during the summer during Shalosh Se'udot. Men and women are present. Regarding Pirkei Avot, in particular, I feel that some young seminary grads NEED to learn it. Based on their behavior, some may have forgotten some things about ethical behavior during their year in Israel. BTW - this would apply to men, too.
Answer: Rav Moshe Feinstein zt"l in Igros Moshe, YD III, siman 87 (top left column) famously said that girls can learn pirkei avos:

משום שהוא עניני מוסר והנהגות טובות יש ללמדם בהסבר לעוררן לאהבת תורה ולמדות טובות
Because it inspires mussar (ethical self-improvement) and a good way to act. It must be taught in an explanation that inspires them to love Torah and gain good middos (character attributes).

As far as learning Shulchan Aruch, it is clear that women should learn the halachos that are relevant to them. This codified by the Rema in YD 246:6:

ומ"מ חייבת האשה ללמוד דינים השייכים לאשה
And nevertheless, a woman is obligated to learn the laws that are relevant to women.
Comment: Just sociologically: in right-of-center Orthodox communities, they're often okay with Pirkei Avot because Rabbi Feinstein explicitly mentioned it and it's *mussar*-focused, but a woman picking up a Shulchan Aruch might raise some eyebrows. Even concerning "the halachot they need to know", some rabbis felt that a girls' school could only use practical digests, vice Shulchan Aruch. (On the other hand, as discussed elsewhere, the concern may be more about what men demand their daughters learn, than what a woman chooses to pick up and study on her own.)
Comment: And of course, "laws that are relevant to women" is almost all of them.
Comment: Correct @Shalom - I am aware of this that is why I kept the answer as parev as possible
Answer: Women can lean definitely Pirkei Avot & Shulchan Aruch (why not?). On the contrary - women are obligated to know their halachic obligations and there is no other way for that other than studying Torah.
Comment: Your [edit]ing in a source for your claims would improve your answer.
Answer: There are different opinions when it comes to women learning Torah, however I believe everyone allows for women to learn Pirkie Avos. With regards to Shulchan Aruch, all laws that apply to women I believe everyone would agree is allowed as well.
I wrote up some sources a few months ago which I'll place below, however I don't recall if it's I complete copy and past from somewhere else or a combination from a few places so I'm sorry in advance if this is a rip of from someone else.
The Gemara (Kiddushin 29b) teaches that women are not required to study Torah. The Mishna (Sotah 20a) records a celebrated dispute between Ben Azzai and Rabbi Eliezer if it is advisable to teach women Torah.  Ben Azzai believes that one should teach his daughter Torah and Rabbi Eliezer strongly advises against it.  The Mishna concludes with Rabbi Yehoshua's statement which supports Rabbi Eliezer's view.  The Rambam (Hilchot Talmud Torah 1:13) and the Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh Deah 246:6) rule in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua.
Even though the Chafetz Chaim endorsed the Bait Yaakov movement he did not specifically approve the teaching of Gemara to women.  He explains his position in his commentary to Sotah 20a (in his Sefer, Likutei Halachot): It seems to me that this [issue of refraining from teaching Torah to women] applies only at those times in history when everyone lived in the place of his ancestors and the Mesora was very strong for all, and this constituted sufficient motivation for everyone to act in the same manner as their forebears....In this type of situation we can say that women should not study Torah and women will learn the ways of Torah by emulating their righteous parents.  Today, however, when the Mesora has become very weakened, and it is common for people to live far away from their parents, and women learn to read and write a secular language, it is a great Mitzvah to teach women Tanach and the Mussar of Chazal from Pirkei Avot and Menorat Hamaor, so that the truth of our Mesora will become evident to them.  The alternative, God forbid, is for women to deviate entirely from the way of Hashem and Torah.
The Satmar Rebbe (Vayoel Moshe pages 451‑452) points out that the Chafetz Chaim limited his permission to the study of Tanach and Mussar. Similarly, Rav Moshe Feinstein (Igrot Moshe Y.D. 3:87) rules that women may not study Mishnayos with the sole exception of Pirkei Avot.
Those who believe women should study Gemara
Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik taught women Gemara at the inaugural Shiur delivered at the Stern College Beit Midrash and instituted girls' study of Gemara at the Maimonides School in Boston.  Rav Meyer Twersky (Tradition Summer 1996 pages 98‑99) explains the Halachic basis for his grandfather's practice:
The Halacha prohibiting Torah study for women is not indiscriminate or all‑encompassing.  There is complete unanimity that women are obligated to study Halachot pertaining to Mitzvot which are incumbent upon them (Rama Y.D.246:6).  Clearly, men are permitted to provide instruction in these areas.  A father's obligation of Chinuch relates equally to sons and daughters (see, for example, Yoma 82a).  The prohibition of teaching the Oral Law to women relates to optional study.  If ever circumstances dictate that study of the Oral Law is necessary to provide a firm foundation for faith, such study becomes obligatory and obviously lies beyond the pale of any prohibition.  Undoubtedly, the Rav's prescription was more far‑reaching than that of the Chafetz Chaim and others.  But the difference in magnitude should not obscure their fundamental agreement: intuitively, it is clear that the guidelines of the Talmud in Masechet Sotah were never intended for our epoch. This is not an instance of modernism, but Torah intuition.
Rav Eliezer Waldenberg's Teshuvot Tzitz Eliezer (9:3), based on the Chafetz Chaim appears to concur with that of Rav Twersky.
In September 1986 a number of students asked Rav Aharon Soloveitchik (after completing a Shiur delivered at Yeshiva University) his opinion about teaching Gemara to women.  He responded by citing the Torah Temima (Devarim 11:19) who quotes the Teshuvot Maayan Ganim.  This authority writes that Chazal only prohibited coercing women to study Torah.  If, however, they choose to learn Torah, then they deserve full support of the community.
Rav Chaim David Halevi (Teshuvot Asei Lecha Rav 2:52) adopts a similar approach. He writes that high school girls who wish to study Torah are permitted to do so.  He cites the Chida as supporting this view (also see Prisha to Y.D. 246).  Rav Yehuda Henkin (Teshuvot Bnei Banim 3:12) points out that this approach explains the phenomenon of women in various generations who were Torah scholars.  The examples of outstanding women Torah scholars include Bruriah (see Pesachim 62b and Eruvin 53b), the mother of the Prisha (whom the Prisha occasionally quotes and notes that she was proficient in many areas of Halacha), the grandmother of the Maharshal, the wife of the Netziv, the wife of Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer (regarding whom it is said that she helped edit the Even Haezel ‑ Rav Isser Zalman's commentary to the Rambam) and Nechama Leibowitz.
Rav Aharon Lichtenstein often points out that Talmud Torah promotes Ahavat Hashem (see the Rambam's Sefer HaMitzvot, Mitzva number three).  Thus he argues that women who study Torah have the opportunity to fulfill the Mitzva of Ahavat Hashem.  Rav Lichtenstein and Rav Henkin argue that women who study secular studies at the highest level should also study Torah at the highest levels including the study of Gemara.
Comment: https://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/7071/is-it-forbidden-for-a-woman-to-learn-gemara
Answer: Historically, there were many wome who studied Torah. Currently, we have women who teach Torah, and Rabbi Avi Weiss has given some women the title "Rabbanit". Women are allowed to be mashgichot (kosher supervisors), so, I assume that they are learning some parts of Yoreh De'ah to know what to do.
I am citing these as examples of what appears to be a permissibility. However, there are so many differing opinions on this subject, that are all credible. You may want to read this article which throughly addresses the diferent opinions on this issue. I decided not to excerpt anything from it, as I think all the opinions mentioned are valid, and I can't decide which ones I like best.


How to get contract address when receiving an ERC-721 token in a contract?

Question: I'm writing an NFT staking contract and I want my contract to accept NFTs only from 3 specific contracts. I have implemented IERC721Receiver and the onERC721Received function successfully fires. What is the best way to get the contract address of a received token?
Answer: The token that is being transferred will call the IERC721Receiver methods. Therefore you can use msg.sender to detect the address of the token that is being transfered.

The ERC721 smart contract calls this function on the recipient after a transfer. This function MAY throw to revert and reject the transfer. Return of other than the magic value MUST result in the transaction being reverted.

Taken from https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-721
Be aware that for ERC-721 tokens this only applies to the safeTransferFrom methods. It is still possible to transfer the tokens to your contracts by using the transferFrom method.
Comment: Thank you so much it definitely works. Regarding the last part of your answer, I'm handling the staking logic on the ```onERC721Received ``` function and I'm calling the ```safeTransferFrom``` function from the ERC-721 contract on the website so... Is there anything extra that I can do except warn users not to manually transfer tokens to the staking address?
Comment: Require that msg.sender is equal to one of your 3 addresses? Otherwise it will revert the transaction with an error message of your choice.


Get rid of "Bluetooth OFF" icon on windows 8

Question: Windows 8 is one hell of a wonderful operating system.
One of its particularly splendid features is presenting information on turned off devices. In particular, when the bluetooth radio is turned off, it presents the user with a high-contrast blue and red icon. Clicking on it, informs the poor soul of the fact that the bluetooth is off.

I am curious if there is a way to get rid of this icon. HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Control Panel/Bluetooth/Notification Area Icon only seems to affect the active bluetooth icon (regular white and blue state). Hiding all notification icons is also not an option.
Just as a note, I am running this on Lenovo t430 with the recent Bluetooth driver update (Broadcom v184.108.40.20630).
Please help me get rid of this pesky eye-sore of an icon.
Thanks all
Answer: Open msconfig/task manager and turn it off in autostart.


Is IBM Rational different from IBM Rational Rose?

Question: As per my knowledge Rational is a testing tool and Rational Rose is a modelling tool.
Answer: Rational is a company that makes tools for software development life cycle. Rational Rose is one such tool built by Rational.
Rational is now part of IBM. See www.rational.com.
Answer: Rational Software (a company that was acquired by IBM about 7 years ago) and remains a brand in the IBM Software Group. The Rational portfolio is quite broad concentrating on overall Application Lifecycle Management and System Management solutions. Testing, Quality Management, Configuration Management, Mobile Development, Requirements Management, Change Management, Agile Development, Mainframe Development, Enterprise Modernization and much more.
Answer: There is IBM Rational Test Real Time , and it is used for module and unit tests , as well as performance and memory profiling . it is mainly a testing tool . know nothing about rational Rose .


What is the C++ standard library equivalent for mkstemp?

Question: I am transitioning a program that uses temporary files from POSIX FILE to C++ standard library iostreams. What's the correct alternative to mkstemp?
Comment: the STL is not the same thing as the C++ standard library. `STL` is commonly used to refer to the containers, iterators and algorithms components of the C++ standard library. IOStreams is not really part of the STL, and the STL doesn't need to have an equivalent for every part of the C standard library (which is also available in C++), or for various POSIX functions
Comment: Not sure about `iostreams`, but there is always `tmpnam`
Comment: @DavidHeffernan `tmpnam` is indeed a good alternative if you can ignore the (small) risk of a file with that name being created in between.
Answer: There is none. Note that mkstemp is not part of either C (C99, at least) or C++ standard — it's a POSIX addition. C++ has only tmpfile and tmpnam in the C library part.
Boost.IOStreams, however, provides a file_descriptor device class, which can be used to create a stream operating on what mkstemp returns.
If I recall correctly, it should look like this:
namespace io = boost::iostreams;

int fd = mkstemp("foo");
if (fd == -1) throw something;

io::file_descriptor device(fd);
io::stream<io::file_descriptor> stream(device);

stream << 42;

Comment: @vy32: That's silly. Boost is de facto a second standard library in C++. Avoiding it is counter-productive. AFAIK IOStreams doesn't have too many dependencies, so you can include it with your code if you don't want people to download it separately.
Comment: Again, unfortunate. I don't want to use boost.
Answer: If you want a portable C++ solution, you should use unique_path in boost::filesystem :

The unique_path function generates a path name suitable for creating
  temporary files, including directories. The name is based on a model
  that uses the percent sign character to specify replacement by a
  random hexadecimal digit. [Note: The more bits of randomness in the
  generated path name, the less likelihood of prior existence or being
  guessed. Each replacement hexadecimal digit in the model adds four
  bits of randomness. The default model thus provides 64 bits of
  randomness. This is sufficient for most applications
Comment: Thanks. But I don't want to use `boost`. It's not built in to my compiler, and I don't want to require people using my source code to download boost.
Comment: Boost's `unique_path` is as bad as `std::tmpnam` due to the race it leads to.
Comment: This doesn't change any of the issues `tmpnam` has: just tmpnam properly warns you of potential data races while this does not. You need to `open(O_EXCL)`, or you need another way to ensure there are no races.
Answer: There is no portable C++ way to do it. You need to create a file (which is done automatically when opening a file for writing using an ofstream) and then remove it again when you're finished with the file (using the C library function remove). But you can use tmpnam to generate a name for the file:
#include <fstream>
#include <cstdio>

char filename[L_tmpnam];
std::tmpnam(filename);
std::fstream file(filename);
...
std::remove(filename);   //after closing, of course, either by destruction of file or by calling file.close()

Comment: This is unfortunate. Isn't there a way to open a stream from an already existing open fd?
Comment: @vy32 CatPlusPlus has a boost solution to do that, but if you don't want to use boost (like you said in your comment), then there won't be a portable way to create a stream from a file descriptor, I think.


How do I upload my Bootstrap developed template to my web hosting provider server

Question: I have just developed a bootstrap template offline and I want to know how I can upload these files to a live site without using a CMS application. Do I just upload them via FTP to the hosting server or are there other alternatives to deploying these files?
Comment: This is really too broad a question since there's numerous ways to transfer/upload files to a hosting account. In addition to the methods Abu lists below, many control panels like cPanel and Plesk have built-in file managers that will upload and set permissions on files simultaneously. If you have a hosting account with a control panel, look for that option.
Answer: FTP is a good way to upload files to a live server especially if they are static files. Even if they are php files ftp/sftp is the easy way.
There are other methods for e.g. git sync etc. But I'll assume you're just uploading regular html/php files, in which case ftp is good enough and widely used.
Filezilla is a good free ftp program to upload files to the server.
Once you have that make the connection to your server using your ftp/sftp credentials. I would recommend using sftp as that is secure.
Once you're connected locate your public_html folder and just transfer all your files there overwriting any index.html files. Be sure to name your homepage index.html or index.php as most servers are configured to run that as the index file.
If your index file is inside a directory, place it outside of that and into your public_html to avoid http://example.com/dir/index.html
Hope that helps.


Java Applet AccessControlException

Question: I am doing a security course and a module on client side attacks, which is why this post might seem evil or outdated.
I have a Java applet fetching a malicious jar file and trying to then download and execute a malicious binary on a Windows 7 host.
When debugging the applet in Java Console I am getting the following error:
basic: Applet resized and added to parent container
basic: PERF: AppletExecutionRunnable - applet.init() BEGIN ; jvmLaunch dt 186710 us, pluginInit dt 8044964 us, TotalTime: 8231674 us
java.security.AccessControlException: access denied ("java.util.PropertyPermission" "java.io.tmpdir" "read")
    at java.security.AccessControlContext.checkPermission(Unknown Source)
    at java.security.AccessController.checkPermission(Unknown Source)
    at java.lang.SecurityManager.checkPermission(Unknown Source)
    at sun.plugin2.applet.AWTAppletSecurityManager.checkPermission(Unknown Source)
    at java.lang.SecurityManager.checkPropertyAccess(Unknown Source)
    at java.lang.System.getProperty(Unknown Source)
    at Java.init(Java.java:19)
    at com.sun.deploy.uitoolkit.impl.awt.AWTAppletAdapter.init(Unknown Source)
    at sun.plugin2.applet.Plugin2Manager$AppletExecutionRunnable.run(Unknown Source)
    at java.lang.Thread.run(Unknown Source)
basic: Removed progress listener: sun.plugin.util.ProgressMonitorAdapter@1089de1
security: Reset deny session certificate store

I believe this corresponds with the below line of code:
String tmpdir = System.getProperty("java.io.tmpdir") + File.separator;

The applet has been compiled as below...
/opt/jdk1.7.0_80/bin/javac Java.java
echo "Permissions: all-permissions" > /root/manifest.txt
/opt/jdk1.7.0_80/bin/jar cvfm Java.jar /root/manifest.txt Java.class
keytool -genkey -alias signapplet -keystore mykeystore -keypass mykeypass -storepass password123
jarsigner -keystore mykeystore -storepass password123 -keypass password123 -signedjar SignedJava.jar Java.jar signapplet

I think the solution is something like that detailed here but I'm not sure what exactly to add to my code in order to bypass this restriction. I have all-permissions set in a manifest file on my local Kali box but I don't know enough about Java to know if this should or should not be fixing my error.
echo "Permissions: all-permissions" > /root/manifest.txt

What do I need to change to fix this exception and have my applet run?
Answer: This exploit is totally broken as of today and no updates to the course materials whatsoever...
At least the official offsec forums provide some hints on how to get this working.
Some people say, it'll work, using an older java version (prior 1.8.0_144).
Unfortunately this didn't work out for me.
So I had to try another "fix" to get it working:
Adding permission java.security.AllPermission; to the grant section in C:\Program Files\Java\jre7\lib\security\java.policy on the target box.
Unfortunately I totally dislike this workaround, as I feel the exploit to be worthless, when I have to modify the security settings on the target box in a way, I normally just can't do.
Hope this helps, anyway :-)

Java Applet AccessControlException


Convert Windows CryptoAPI PRIVATE KEY BLOB to bouncy castle RsaPrivateCrtKeyParameters

Question: Is there any way (similar to FromCapiPrivateKeyBlob in Mono) to convert a Windows CryptoAPI PRIVATE KEY BLOB to RsaPrivateCrtKeyParameters used by Bouncy Castle?
Answer: Have a look at the Org.BouncyCastle.Security.DotNetUtilities class to see what is there in the way of conversions.
I will look at adding methods for interop with CryptoAPI blobs.


Is a conditional Get kosher

Question: Is it valid if a get is given to a women with a condition say.. if you move to china within 50 years of the giving of this get the get becomes null and void from day one and anyone she remarried during these 50 years makes her an eishes ish and chyiv misah and any children from this union are mamzeirim?
Answer: The Shulchan Aruch EH 143:20 when discussing that a get can be given on a condition, so long as it doesn't specifically bind her for the rest of her life, mentions exactly your case of 50 years:

צריך שלא יתנה עליה תנאי שעומדת בו כל ימיה כגון ע"מ שלא תאכלי בשר או שלא תשתי יין לעולם או כל ימי חייכי שאם התנה כך אין זה כריתות אבל אם אמר לה כל ימי חיי או כל ימי חיי פלוני או עד חמשים שנה ה"ז גט ויש מי שכתב שאפי' הרחיב הזמן יותר מכדי חיי האדם כיון שהוא דבר פסוק הרי זה גט:

He must not require of her any conditions which apply for her entire lifetime such as: "on condition that you do not eat meat or drink wine", or "that you never drink wine", or "for all the days of your life" as if he forced her to to accept these conditions this is not a dissolution of the marriage. However, if he told her, [that the condition applied]: "all the days of my life", or "all the days of ploni's [a hypothetical third person's] life", or "for fifty years", behold - this is a [valid] divorce. There are those who hold that even if he expands [the duration of the conditions] beyond the length of a persons life, because the time is [explicitly enumerated and] decided this is a [valid] divorce

In the next Halacha, he mentions a case of not going to her fathers house, which the SA says shouldn't be done since it's almost impossible to rely that she will do that. However moving to china would be a legitimate condition.
Comment: And as it's a valid condition, then yes -- whether those kids are mamzerim will depend retroactively on whether she moves to China in the next 49 years.

Is a conditional Get kosher


Signature operation of RSASSA-PKCS1-v1_5 requires private key. Superficial limitation, or are public parameters mathematically incapable of it?

Question: In the case of RSASSA-PKCS1-v1_5, is it simply that the cryptographic libraries and APIs are designed to only sign if determined superficially that it has a private key, or is the public key mathematically incapable of signing?  Or perhaps in asking this way there is some major wrong assumption I'm making about keypairs and how they can be used?
Comment: You'll have to define _"mathematically capable"_, which is different from _practically capable_. That $n=p\,q$ with $p$ and $q$ primes and $p<q$ mathematically defines $p$ and $q$ from $n$. Are we thus _"mathematically capable"_ of finding $p$ and $q$ from $n$? If yes, then we are _"mathematically capable"_ of signing with the public key. If no, well, that's complicated, but the short answer is no.
Answer: Signature schemes are designed so that being in possession of the private key is required to sign messages. The public key in isolation only allows to verify signatures.
Compare this to public-key encryption schemes, where the private key is what is required to decrypt, while the public key in isolation is only capable of encrypting a message.
For more details on how asymmetric signature schemes are formalized, take a look at the appropriate section of any standard textbook, e.g. Chapter 13.3 of The Joy of Cryptography.
Another thing to keep in the back of your mind when studying RSA-based signature schemes is that, while the signature operation bears some resemblance to the encryption operation of textbook RSA, care must be taken not to conflate the two. For one the signature operation utilizes the private key, while encryption utilizes the public one. Further there are significant differences in the type of padding used in real-world schemes. See e.g. this answer for more on that.


ERROR: Found inconsistency in table HBase

Question: We are using HBase 0.94.7 with two region servers. We have a region always in transition. When I do the hbase hbck, there are inconsistencies found. But neither hbase hbck -repair nor hbase hbck -fix would help because of this region in transition. Here is the log from hbase hbck
ERROR: Region { meta => LogTable,\x00\x00\x01\xE8\x00\x00\x01@\x07B\x02\xCF\xEF\xCE>.,1374573828457.f41ff2fae25d1dab3f16306f4f995369., hdfs => hdfs://master:8020/hbase/LogTable/f41ff2fae25d1dab3f16306f4f995369, deployed =>  } not deployed on any region server.
ERROR: There is a hole in the region chain between \x00\x00\x01\xE8\x00\x00\x01@\x07B\x02\xCF\xEF\xCE>. and \x00\x00\x01\xFC\x00\x00\x01@\x08\x1E1\x0F\x07&\xCE\x11.  You need to create a new .regioninfo and region dir in hdfs to plug the hole.
ERROR: Found inconsistency in table LogTable
ERROR: Found lingering reference file hdfs://master:8020/hbase/LogTable/f41ff2fae25d1dab3f16306f4f995369/l/d9c7d33257ae406caf8d94277ff6d247.fbda7904cd1f0ac9583e04029a138487
ERROR: Found lingering reference file hdfs://master:8020/hbase/LogTable/f41ff2fae25d1dab3f16306f4f995369/l/b4f4b4ba52f041d5b9ee03318cac7fb7.fbda7904cd1f0ac9583e04029a138487
ERROR: Found lingering reference file hdfs://master:8020/hbase/LogTable/f41ff2fae25d1dab3f16306f4f995369/l/ee7dd42b15fe4622882ec6a7a773e01f.fbda7904cd1f0ac9583e04029a138487

When I tried hbase hbck -repair, it loops infinitely because of the region in transition:
INFO util.HBaseFsckRepair: Region still in transition, waiting for it to become assigned: {NAME => 'LogTable'....}

I have no clue how to resolve this problem, can anyone help?
Thanks
Answer: try this:
hbase org.apache.hadoop.hbase.util.Merge

Usage:
bin/hbase merge [table-name] region-1 region-2

Answer: This looks like you had a failed region split, see [HBASE-8052] (https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/HBASE-8502) for more details.
This bug leaves references to parent regions that have been moved in HDFS.  To fix, just delete the reference files listed in the HBCK output e.g. hadoop fs -rm hdfs://master:8020/hbase/LogTable/f41ff2fae25d1dab3f16306f4f995369/l/d9c7d33257ae406caf8d94277ff6d247.fbda7904cd1f0ac9583e04029a138487.
Once the bad references are gone the region should be assigned automatically.  You may have to do the assignment from the shell, in my experience though it only takes a minute or two for the region to get reassigned.  Then run hbase hbck -fix again to confirm there are no other inconsistencies.
Comment: You are removing the region which means that data will be permanently lost!!


SAXS vs. X-ray diffraction?

Question: Both small-angle X-ray scattering and X-ray diffraction can be used to obtain structure factors, though I imagine the wave vectors accessible to each are different (?). What are the main differences between both, and why are structure factors obtained using the former technique often plotted on a log scale in y (and sometimes in x too?), whereas that's not the case for the diffraction-obtained functions?
Answer: Small-angle X-ray is a device to investigate the structure near the surface (1-100 nano-meters). The x-ray is a high penetrating measurement for the structure of whole crystal structure. Therefore, looking into the surface structure, we make the x-ray a glancing incidence angle (0.1 - 5 degree).
For a glancing angle x-ray, the diffraction intensity is, of course, much smaller that the larger incidence angle. In order to observe the diffraction intensities  over  a larger scale of magnitude, we use log scale. For example, the ratio of two diffraction intensities $1$ and $ 10^{-6}$, the weaker diffraction will be completely depressed in a linear-scale plot. The log-scale will be employed to observe both diffraction lines.

SAXS vs. X-ray diffraction?


iPhone 5 Updates Frozen

Question: I have an iPhone 5. I have apps that are updating but never finish.
I tried restarting. I tried some examples on this website. I waited days for it to refresh. Nothing seems to work. The "Updates All" is greyed out. You can't select it. Recently upgraded to iOS9 9.0.1(13A404).
Answer: I would connect your phone to a computer, open iTunes and delete the apps from there that are not updating properly. Once this is done, simply unplug your phone from your computer and re-download those applications.
Answer: If the previous answer doesn't work re: deleting the hung apps, your next best bet would be to do a factory restore and reload from backup - it almost sounds like the upgrade partially failed.
Instructions for doing this can be found on Apple's site

iPhone 5 Updates Frozen


How to self educate on securities analysis?

Question: I am looking resources for self-education on security analysis. I read some books such as Intelligent Investor by Graham and trying to get further knowledge (will be using this knowledge for myself). My goal is to utilize this information for personal finances/investing.
Comment: What are your goals, and have you determined how securities analysis plays a part? I ask because for many people, significant securities analysis is not as critical as good budgeting and a commitment to regular contributions to a simple retirement plan.
Comment: What is "securities analysis" ?
Comment: @Grade'Eh'Bacon updated the question
Comment: @ewr3243 I mean - what are your basic financial goals? Are you looking how to invest your first $5k saved as a 20 year-old? Saving for a house in 3 years as a 30 year old? 2 years away from retirement? Depending on your stage of life, basic personal finance [including budgeting and the very basics of using tax-advantaged accounts {ie: 401k in the US} with a simple diversified index fund investment strategy] probably make more sense as a starting point, compared with actually evaluating securities yourself, for individual 'stock picking' [which is somewhat niche, and carries high risk].
Answer: One of the books that was the most influential for me was "A random walk down Wall Street".  It is great because it introduces you to all of the most familiar analysis techniques.  However, the main thrust of the book is that any and all analysis techniques have flaws, especially technical analysis.
Divided into 2 main groups:

technical analysis
fundamental analysis

One of the most important lessons to learn first when investing is humility, and that simple index investing will nearly always be superior.  But for me, I still love analyzing fundamentals so I've done it all my life.
The other great writer is Peter Lynch.
His book is "One up on Wall Street"
Answer: I would suggest buying a used copy of Sydney Cottle's version of Graham and Dodd's "Security Analysis," unless you are very good at accounting.  Once you have read that, read the 5th edition of Graham and Dodd's "Security Analysis" which is the 1943 edition but with extensive notes made by leading investors and professors because the world of 1943 has changed very significantly in law, accounting rules, liquidity, exchange mechanisms and so forth.
I would skip technical analysis unless you are going to work inside a securities firm.  The House Always Wins is a good rule in technical analysis.  You cannot outrun them.


How to determine drivers of h2o random forest predictions?

Question: I have an h2o random forest algorithm. I trained the algorithm, tested it, and interpreted the performance. The algorithm is a binary classifier, so it's spitting out 1s and 0s for each record in the test dataset. I reviewed the variable importance plot to determine which fields are contributing the most to the predictions. However, I would like to know which values within those fields are the most important for determining why a record is classified as a 1. How do I do this?
Answer: Some ideas. First, you could print out the trees (or export a POJO and go through the java code). This will tell you some of the decision thresholds being used.
Alternatively, partial dependence plots might be what you are after?
The other road you could take is to treat the model as a black box (and once the number of trees in your forest increases, it effectively is), and try something like LIME to explain the model. (Search "h2o" and "LIME" to get some suggestions.)


Extending chart functionality in SSRS

Question: The default chart object in the SQL Server (2005) Business Intelligence Development Studio doesn't seem to some have formatting options like :

specifying the text direction of labels in the x and y axis
adding a trendline to a bar chart
arbitrarily resizing items in a chart - for example, if I resize the chart object, everything gets resized accordingly but I can't keep the size of the chart the same while extending the area of the legend for instance.
multiline chart labels

So what I want to know is

is there any easy answer to the formatting problems mentioned above?
what websites/books/resources/examples would you recommend I look
    into for extending the functionality of the chart object?
Answer: Some colleagues of mine gave up on the stock control and bought Dundas charts
The stock charts are cut down versions of Dundas.
Answer: yes you can specify the text direction of labels in the x and y axis

Go to chart properties and in the tab x and y axis enter the chart title and in the title align use the combination like left/right/center align.
you can change the legend line go to the chart properties click legend tab inside this
there is an option for "display legend inside plot area" and you can include the trendline there
you can use multiline text labels when the text limits extends
Answer: I don't see how you can resize the legend, puting inside the plot area looks ugly for pie-chart
Answer: I'd recommend go with the dundas chart components gbn suggested.
If that's not possible at least this article should solve issue 1.

Extending chart functionality in SSRS


Calculation between Raw GPS data to latitude,longitude points?

Question: I am working on the GPS related project. The objective is to understand the calculation process of the raw GPS data (server side calculation). It means " How did we get the latitude and the longitude points from GPS raw data (the converion between the Raw GPS data to latitude and longitude points).I have been searching for the material related to this. But still can't find one.
Comment: http://www.physics.org/article-questions.asp?id=55 explains how GPS receivers work.. what do you mean by 'raw data', Lat/Lon/Elevation is as raw as it gets!
Comment: there is gps  'differential correction' to consider too. example using a base station and rover http://what-when-how.com/global-positioning-system-and-gis/differential-correction-gps-and-gis-part-2/
Answer: Short Answer
Go to the European Space Agency's GNSS Tools site, and download the GNSS Data Processing eBooks and open source tools. They provide good introductory materials on the topic you are interested in.
Long Answer

The so-called "GPS raw data" are actually the pseudoranges, carrier cycle counts, dopplers, and etc for the L1 and (optionally) L2 and L5 bands for every satellites tracked by the GNSS receiver. Textbooks call them the GPS/GLONASS/Beidou (or just GNSS) observables. The true raw data are coded radio waves.
You need specialized equipment that can output such observables. The smartphones can't, unless they are equipped with specialized chips. For example - I work with the Trimble R8s.
The computation on the GNSS observables into coordinates (i.e., lat/long) is called positioning. And, there are many kinds of positioning, e.g., autonomous, differential, relative, precise, and etc.The positioning done by recreational devices and mobile phones is the autonomous positioning. On the smartphone, the GNSS chip performs this positioning. There is no "server-side".
Answer: Here are the general steps that a GPS receiver executes in order to calculate a position.
First, the receiver has to synchronize its clock. For this it needs to collect data from at least 4 satellites, to trilaterate a rough position, and synchronize the receiver clock. The satellites emit information about their onboard time with atomic clocks, their position (ephemeris) and other error corrections, which GPS receivers use to solve 4 variables (ECEF 3D position X, Y, Z and Time).
Once the clock is synchronized within a minimum initial accuracy, the receiver continues to pick up satellite signals and gets pseudoranges, doppler and noise values, which can be used to solve the time and pinpoint the location with better accuracy. GPS receivers emit the same encoded signal as the satellites, and compare the phases of the signals to assess the elapsed propagation time since the moment the satellite emitted the code, then knowing the speed of light, evaluate the distace as c (speed of light) * t (elapsed time) + other corrections. The whole process involves several other details and algorithms, which I am not going to go through here, but further reading can be done on several websites such as the MIT OpenCourseWare GPS Course, or with Purdue University, and many others.
The last trivial step is to convert the X, Y, Z coordinates to Latitude (φ), Longitude (λ) and Height (h), which can be displayed. For this, an algorithm such as this one is used:
a = 6378137.0 | semimajor axis of the WGS84 ellipsoid
f = 1 / 298.257223563
b = a * (1 - f) | semiminor axis of the WGS84 ellipsoid
e_sqr = 1 - (b^2 / a^2) | eccentricity squared
e2_sqr = (a^2 / b^2) - 1 | second eccentricity squared
p = Sqrt(X^2 + Y^2)
θ = atan(Za / pb)

φ = atan((Z + e2_sqr * b * sin(θ)^3) / (p - e_sqr * a * cos(θ)^3)) | Latitude
λ = atan2(Y, X) | Longitude
h = p / cos(φ) - a / Sqrt(1 - e_sqr * sin(φ)^2) | Ellipsoidal height

Answer: There is an open source project called RTKLIB (github) which essentially is a software-defined GNSS receiver. It primarily deals with differential calculations (RTK) where you use two receivers in tandem but is also able to compute a position from a single antenna/receiver. You just need a hardware receiver that can output raw GNSS observations (like the u-blox NEO-M8T) and plug it into RTKLIB. The library then computes so called "single" solution which is what you are asking about.


Problem associated with transaction schedule

Question:
Here, Read_item(B); and B;=B+temp; have written parallelly. what happen here? What is the problem associated with the above transaction schedule?
Answer: If the transaction isolation level is set to read uncommitted or read committed, the writes in T2 would be overwritten by T1. When the transaction isolation level is set to repeatable read or serializable T1 would be rolled back because the record it tries to update has changed since it's transaction started and an error is thrown.
My answer is based on postgresql. You can read more about transaction isolation in the link below. Make sure you read the documentation for the right dbms and version for there are differences between them.
https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/transaction-iso.html


Can I use Mass Effect 3 DLC while offline?

Question: Every time I open Mass Effect 3, it connects to the EA network with the message "Validating DLC". For something like the pre-order guns, I don't see this as being a big deal, but for something bigger, like an entire DLC squadmate, I don't want to be "always online" just to use my Rastafarian squadmate.
Do I still have access to unlocked DLC while offline? Do I lose access to unlocked DLC if I load a save file with the DLC while offline?
This, in my mind, is a dealbreaker when it comes to buying the darn things in the first place...
Comment: Not positive regarding ME3, but DLC is able to be played offline in ME2: http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/106/index/815554/4
Answer: I haven't verified the work around, but I can confirm that on a PC with origin, if you have any kind of DLC linked to your account you must be connected to the internet long enough to load your save. If you are disconnected at any time prior to that you will not be able to load your save or do anything really except start a new game.
Short answer: No offline play with DLC.
Comment: [picture of an attempt to load ME3 while offline](http://i.imgur.com/IgxGX.jpg)
Comment: Well that's unfortunate.
Answer: It seems like it does authenticate every time, and if you're not able to authenticate, you won't be able to load that DLC on a subsequent run.  It seems like it might even lock you out of a save created with DLC if you're unable to authenticate said DLC, but I'm looking for official confirmation of this.
One poster on the Bioware forums posted this workaround, although it requires that you have internet access at least enough to authenticate for a little while:

Start Origin.
From Origin, Start Mass Effect 3.
Wait for all of your DLCs to authenticate then load a save game. If you are in Normandy Shuttle Bay area, check if your CE items and Preorder bonus are there, if they are then Save game and exit to Main Menu then close.
Just close Origin, remember just close and not Log Out or Play Offline.
Disconnect from the internet.
Use the desktop shortcut of Mass Effect 3 to start game, NOT ORIGIN.
Comment: Oy vey. At this rate, I might want a separate installation for Multiplayer, exclusively.
Comment: Any luck with official confirmation?
Comment: @RavenDreamer, no, I've gone digging again and can't turn anything official up.  It might be time for some SCIENCE, although I can't science this on the Xbox and give you a PC answer...
Answer: I launched Mass Effect 3 (from the desktop shortcut, if that makes any difference) after logging in to Origin in offline mode with no WiFi connection, and it worked fine. Loaded up my save just fine even though I have extra items from the CE (which Origin seems to treat like DLC) and completed From Ashes on that save.
I think it only authorizes the DLC the first time you play after downloading it.  Maybe it checks again whenever you play while online just to be sure.
Answer: you cannot play dlc offline.  It wont even let you load your save game if you are offline.
Answer: As I've been reading through this, a lot of people seem to have different experiences, however it should work for everybody.
Currently my net adapter is broken, and thus I can't use any internet on my gaming pc at all. I can use all the DLC just fine without internet, except for any weapons that are given through DLC (like the reckoner).
If you get the can't authorize, simply close the game, restart origin, (without internet connected) login to origin (cause it still knows if your account info is correct or not).
Once you have logged in, find the Mass Effect 3 in your library and click more information so you can see all the DLC that is installed. Click the play button in the top of the information page and it should authorize correctly.
Answer: I just found this fix. Hope it helps and its better than being still needing to be online when loading game.
Some routers have curfews on them limiting usage past... some time in the evening.
So of corse my fav single player game that I have for basicly that purpose of playing offline now does not work. My online hours are teken up by online games.
So... How to fix this(at least for PC):
-First close origin. Completely and utterly. If you feel so inclined destroy its .exe in task manager jsut to be 110% sure its dead.
-Then disconnect, not from the internet alone but from your local network completely. If your on desktop upplug the net cable(in my exp usually a blue one) and for laptops just shut off your wi-fi adaptor.
-Then run origin. Login.
Origin will then run offline default and you -should- be good to go.
Hope it helps.
Answer: It's true, I've made the exact same experience. The game tries to verify my DLC every time I start the game, a definite dealbreaker.
Upon searching in the Bioware forums, it seems some players do not experience the problem. One of the moderators commented how the original poster doesn't have all the necessary information, but rendered no explanation whatsoever. It was also posted that patch 1.02 would fix the problem. I can definitely confirm that this is not the case. With the patch applied, the game still won't load DLC-saves unless I start the game while being online.
Answer: No, you can't start your game if you have DLC and are offline.
Answer: I have a fix for this, but be warned that it's easy to mess it up by accident.
Go online with a good internet connection, load up the game. Load up your save, exit game, exit origin.
Disconnect from internet, turn off the automatically connect option.
Go on offline and it should remember your last authentication. It works for me so long as I don't go online by accident.
Answer: I found out after I moved that I am in an internet dry area. Trying to connect to Origin was virtually impossible and playing ME3 without DLCs suck. I purchased all the DLCs for ME3 before I moved and I read every board I could find on the subject. I finally was successful at playing ME3 off line with the following DLCs:

All henchmen armors
Leviathan
Retake Omega
From Ashes
Citadel Apartment

I'm not sure what I did but I'll give the steps I used. First I completely removed Origin from my laptop, then reinstalled it with all it's updates. I turned off my wifi and unplugged my cable. I then started Origin and it came up offline and I selected ME3.
I imported a character save that I played in ME1, imported that save into ME2. If nothing else I would be able to play with all my info from the previous games. When I finally got to Normandy in ME3, I noticed in the email I had one for the Prothean Artifact. Bottom line is the only DLC that I don't have is the weapons packs but I can live without that. I hope this helps and if someone can tell me what I did to solve this.
Answer: I do this "trick" with all my Origin games, Dragon Age 1-2-3 and Mass Effect series.  sign into your origin via password and username(or email on your account) say "remember me" and maybe "hide" for security while activating and updating but later unnecessary. AFTER activating the game, playing a while, I'd say through Mars and when your on the ship your DLC's will start informing you via messages on screen "your so and so is loading" once this occurrs you can go offline anytime after you exit the game AFTER you have "checked download"  it will do this after you exit gameplay to menu DO NOT exit the game entirely to desk top in fact, don't do that EVER! with ANY EA game!  next it will authenticate maybe once or twice more, go to the menu/title screen then exit the game. in the Origin Client browser, tell it to "go to offline mode" then exit origin DO NOT sign out. in fact, NEVER sign out. it will(of 2016 patches) save your info. if you must sign in again you will of course need to get online. if you do not need to(rarely you do BUT you use ccleaner and delete Origin cache it will delete your cred!) then merely relaunch origin and you can play the game offline with saves and DLCs this MAY or MAY NOT pertain to "From Ashes" nor "Citadel" (according to rumor) why I am reluctant to buy those particular DLC. but it DOES IN FACT apply to all the others offered in the Deluxe editions. This trick works with Origin and Steam client.
Comment: This is very unclear as to what you're saying. Caps on every other word doesn't help either.


Was $1+2+3+\cdots=-\frac{1}{12}$ in Ramanujan's letter?

Question: In the letter Ramanujan wrote to Hardy did he say that $1+2+3+\cdots=-\frac{1}{12}$. I have been hearing this ridiculous statement for some time now. And now people say that Ramanujan wrote it. Is it true?
Comment: Proper MathJax usage would be $1+2+3+\cdots= - \frac 1{12}$ rather than $1+2+3...=-\frac 1{12}$. $\qquad$
Comment: If $s>1$ then Riemann's zeta function is $$\zeta(s) = \sum_{n=1}^\infty \frac 1 {n^s}, \tag 1$$ and substitution of $-1$ for $s$ in that equality yields $$\zeta(-1) = 1+2+3+\cdots.$$ But that substitution yields a series that does not converge.  However, by analytic continuation of $(1)$, it turns out that $\zeta(-1) = -1/12$. $\qquad$
Answer: Ramanujan did write down the expression in his first notebook as shown here.  For a quick overview of this series, John Baez's lecture notes are a good starting point. These notes suggest that Ramanujan's observation goes back to Euler, though I have only seen the related alternating series $1 - 2 + 3 - 4 \dots = \frac{1}{4}$ mentioned in Euler's publications (see E352).
Comment: @Gerald Edgar, thanks for pointing that out.  The answer appears to be yes, the formula is mentioned in his first letter to Hardy: see page 30 of [Ramanujan: Letters and Commentary](https://books.google.com/books?id=Of5G0r6DQiEC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Ramanujan:+Letters+and+Commentary&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwixrLuD147NAhUH5GMKHfZQBKoQ6AEIHTAA#v=onepage&q=Ramanujan%3A%20Letters%20and%20Commentary&f=false).
Comment: But the question is not whether Ramanujan wrote it in his notebook, but whether he wrote it in his famous letter to Hardy.
Comment: Nice reference.  Of course we should note that before Ramanujan gives these sums, he says that the series are divergent.  And after he does it, he notes that there is required a discussion of when to use them and when not.  When written without these two additional parts, the sum is (as the OP said) ridiculous.
Comment: I have read in multiple papers that Euler did derive this sum using the alternating zeta function and its relationship to the zeta function.
Answer: Here is the relevant text from Ramanujan's second letter to G. H. Hardy, dated 27 February 1913 :

Dear Sir, I am very much gratified on perusing your letter of the 8th February 1913. I was expecting a reply from you similar to the one which a Mathematics Professor at London wrote asking me to study carefully Bromwich's Infinite Series and not fall into the pitfalls of divergent series. … I told him that the sum of an infinite number of terms of the series: 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + · · · = −1/12 under my theory. If I tell you this you will at once point out to me the lunatic asylum as my goal. I dilate on this simply to convince you that you will not be able to follow my methods of proof if I indicate the lines on which I proceed in a single letter. …

Source : wikipedia page on $\Sigma n$, anchor at "Ramanujan summation".
Answer: He did say that in his second letter to Hardy, and as it turned out, it is not so ridiculous after all. This sum is being used in physics like in string theory.
Comment: This does not seem to add much to the answers that were already given...


Is PSN card country locked in Europe?

Question: I created a PSN account in one country in Europe and I was able to buy PSN cards there and load credits on my account.
However, now I live in a different European country and I wonder if locally bought PSN cards are valid for my account. User experience reports seems to vary a lot and I can't find a definitive answer (and I don't like the idea to waste my money trying myself). The two countries are using the same currency (i.e. Euro)
Comment: This sounds like a question that could be best answered by asking Sony. I believe they have live chat available on their support page.
Comment: You might want to add the specific countries to the question. Otherwise you are likely to get the same varying user experience reports that you found in your research.
Answer: If it`s not been changed after the release of the PS4. The PlayStation network cards are country specific if not i all cases then in most. It does not matter if the currency is the same it is still locked to that specific area. Look at the the flag in top left corner.
http://uk.playstation.com/pscards/

Is PSN card country locked in Europe?


Where did these small tan bricks come from?

Question: I was going through an old box of LEGO bricks from the 70's and 80's and I found a number of small bricks that appear to be about 2/3 size. They have the LEGO logo, and appear to be the official tan color (05). I can't find a reference anywhere as to their origin.
Answer: These look like Modulex bricks:

Modulex was a building system that was designed for adults. It was developed by The LEGO Group at the same time as their Modulex sets were produced from 1963 until 1965, and were exclusively available in parts packs by colour. The LEGO Group made Modulex a separate company in 1965, and the text "LEGO" was removed from the studs and replaced with "M".
Modulex bricks were formed with a cube type 5 to 5 width/length ratio, meaning that, unlike very nearly every product produced by The LEGO Group, they were not compatible with LEGO bricks, which have a 6.5 to 5 width/length ratio. Modulex bricks were available in a wide array of unusual colours, shapes, and sizes.
from Brickipedia
Comment: Also: If you absolutely need more Modulex product: http://minibricksmadness.com/


washing machine trap

Question: How far can the trap be from the washing machine? The trap now is about five feet from the waste line and the machine is next to it. I want to move the machine 10 feet from the trap, but don't want to relocate the trap. Is that OK?
Comment: Check the manufacturer's documentation for the washer, as it might have restrictions. Also check local plumbing codes for trap arm length.
Comment: For code, you would need a 4" pipe size for a maximum of 16'  Are you looking for opinions on a non-code option?
Comment: Can you provide a photo?
Comment: Consider running the drain hose with a high point in the middle of the run between the machine and the trap, so that when the machine's pump stops you won't have an entire hose-full of water draining back into the machine.
Answer: Typically washers discharge into a standpipe, which extends 18"-42" above the trap weir. The plumbing can then continue on 5'-8' before there's a vent (5' for 1¼" pipe, 6' for 1½" pipe, 8' for 2" pipe).
References:

IRC Table P3105.1
IRC P2706.2

washing machine trap


Which language are precompiled contracts written in?

Question: So I heard that the precompiled contracts perform functions that are difficult to do using EVM opcodes. Does that mean the precompiled contracts are not written in EVM opcodes. Which language are precompiled contracts written in and how are they integrated into Ethereum?
Answer: Precompiled contracts aren't written in a particular language.
Usually someone proposes a new precompiled contract and suggest a possible implementation. It can be written in any language, python for example, the idea is the details and behavior are clear.
Once it is reviewed by the community and there's an agreement to adopt it. Each major client will develop its own implementation. Sometimes they'll use an external library written in assembly/C for performance reasons, others they will implement in the same language used by the client.
Answer: You can checkout the reference to go-ethereum's implementation of precompiled contracts here https://github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/blob/master/core/vm/contracts.go


How do I get circles on small interior holes to adhere to the bed?

Question: I'm using a RepRap printer, PLA (Hatchbox 1.75 mm), SketchUp, and Slic3r. The heated bed is covered with a blue polyester sticker.  When I print small holes (1 to 1.5 mm radius), slicer software considers the holes outside edges for the first layer and prints them before the internal first layer. The problem is, unlike the actual outer edges, the holes have no brim and the small first layer circles stick to the extruder rather than the bed. The rest of the first layer print sticks and the print eventually recovers with slight defects depending on where the lifted circles end up. If I could print the first layer circles after the surrounding first layer was printed, this wouldn't be an issue.  I've tried different bed and extrusion temperatures.  All four holes in different locations do the same.  First layer is 0.3 mm thick.  Second layer is 0.2 mm thick.
Comment: Could you add an image of the print and of the sliced first layer?
Comment: I don't have a picture right now.
Comment: I'm considering making the first layer solid across the holes, then punching through the single layer.
Comment: I had a similar issue and I had trying masking tape or glue to try and help and they didn't make a difference. I then tried a 3D print build surface. This has helped and I no longer have the issue. Have a search and see if you can find one which will fit your current build plate.
Comment: try to print the first layer 0.2mm
Comment: Putting a 0.2 mm layer across the hole bottoms so that the slice didn't put small circles on the first layer worked.  Large circles on the first layer weren't an issue.  This worked because they were through holes that could be located from the top and they were holes for screws that could easily penetrate the thin layer.  The layer was too thin to keep the screws from turning and feeding into the attached part, but served to keep the screws from falling out of the hole.  It would be difficult to locate holes that weren't through holes using this method.
Comment: @PerryWebb I've done so many times (because this gives a better aesthetic first layer), to find those holes look at the design and push with you fingers over the surface where a hole should be, the 0.2 mm layer will dent, while the rest won't.
Answer: are you using hairspray or tape to help with bed adhesion? If not that might help.
Also try printing the first layer slower or try adjusting the bed level offset so you are squishing the first layer down a bit more.
Comment: The z offset is close enough that the extruder slightly marks printed surfaces if moving across them.
Comment: how much the first layer measure? if your first layer should be 0.3mm and this measures 0.38 so your Z offset is incorrect. and this parameter is not enough to adhere the filament with a nozzle 0.4
Answer: I would use a very slow print speed for the first layer, something like 20mm/s or less.
This will make your first layer so slow you will be tempted to bite the steel rods.
If you were using Cura (I don't know if Slic3r has a similar feature) you can change this parameter only for those areas where you have these small holes: with the Custom Supports plugin you can specify a different print speed for a specific area
Answer: You didn't say what type of bed you have, but I'm guessing glass. Do you have a BuildTak or comparable generic surface you could clip on and use? I've never had adhesion problems like this with my Ender 3, which came with a BuildTak clone; PLA just sticks, with no brim, no glue, no hairspray, etc.
Comment: There is a tape sheet over the glass.
Comment: @PerryWebb Maybe you should add that to your question by [edit]. What kind of tape? Painters tape or Kapton tape? I use 3DLAC on glass, never fails.
Comment: Given how little trouble I've ever had with adhesion compared to how much folks seem to have with tape, glue, hairspray, etc. on glass, I think there's got to be a huge difference in the effectiveness of BuildTak/clones vs these methods...
Answer: Print at 5% of the print speed, and ramp up cooling to 100%. This should give the plastic time to shrink and adhere to the bed. If not then use a raft.


Magento 2 Component Manager Won't Load componentGrid/components Times Out

Question: Magento is version 2.1.2 the issue is on the system > web setup wizard > component manager the page loads forever (ajax loading icon spins). My server is:
Litespeed 5.0.9
PHP version 7.0.12 (all magento 2 requirements met)
Using suPHP in Litespeed
The error is:
Fatal error:  Maximum execution time of 60 seconds exceeded in /home/rentinst/public_html/vendor/composer/composer/src/Composer/Repository/ComposerRepository.php on line 539

on the ajax call:
http://testinst.rent-manager.com/setup/index.php/componentGrid/components
The code that the error refers to is:
$includedData = json_decode($this->cache->read($cacheKey), true);

I have already tried the things listed on these 2 pages:
https://github.com/magento/magento2/issues/4756
https://community.magento.com/t5/Technical-Issues/Magento-2-Component-manager-won-t-sync-Continuos-quot-please/td-p/37204
actually maybe others have the same issue: https://github.com/magento/magento2/issues/4546
but any ideas?
I have:
1) Checked and reset all folder permissions, they are all ok. I use:
find . -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;
find . -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;
and made sure that my public_html is also 755
2) Cleared out var/di, var/cache, var/generation
3) Made sure and re-verified that the Magento public and private access keys are ok they are in system > web setup wizard > system config (they are also stored in var/composer_home/auth.json)
Just a guess but perhaps it is timing out with one of the "providers"? Any debugging or guesses on how to fix this?
Ok so I did a fresh Magento 2 install and the component manager is working, so it is for sure one of the packages/modules I have installed, does anyone know how to correct the package so the component manager doesn't timeout?
Comment: you helped me with similar issue, turned out when using static data in the ConfigProvider (as opposed to API call) the JS component loads as expected, timeout was my trigger, I think I'm moving my API call somewhere else for now
Answer: Looks like you need configure your php and increases max_execution_time to 600 (10min) for example.


Can't use skype desktop on windows 8

Question: I just bought a new pc with windows 8 and have been using the skype app for windows 8 until I needed the features of the desktop version. I got the desktop version and tried signing in and it says "we can't open skype you're already logged in on this computer please sign out and try again. how do i fix this? I am not using a microsoft account on my pc just in case that helps you out.
Comment: After the restart delete the %tem% folder and try to make login but this is not a permanent solution,skype need to fixed this bug but you can use your sky from this procedure.
Answer: If you are not using MS-account then you can sign out of Skype Store App by opening it, then going to settings. There is a sign out option for your account (again: if you are not really signed in with MS account).
After signing out you can use the desktop version.
If that wont work you can always uninstall the store app and reinstall it.

Can't use skype desktop on windows 8


Does OSX Mavericks prevent third party software from having a "Save as" option?

Question: I'm considering upgrading some of my machines from Snow Leopard to OSX Mavericks (and possibly buying a new Mac Pro), but I'm extremely concerned about losing the "Save as" option in third party software such as Photoshop, After Effects, Avid etc. My question to anyone running Mavericks is this: Have you come across any piece of software that still has a "Save as" option? (If anyone has had experience with an Adobe product running on Mavericks that would be even better).
Answer: The answer to this question is complicated.  Way back in Lion, Apple began to offer optional API's to software developers that would make it easier for applications to manipulate different versions of saved documents.  The most noticable repurcussion of these updated APIs was the replacement of the Save As.. menu item by Duplicate and Rename... menu items.  For those interested in the details, the best guide is the relevant section of John Siracusa's masterful Lion review.  However, use of these new APIs was optional, and the old functionality is still supported in Lion, Mountain Lion, and Mavericks.
Most non-Apple software still uses the old Save As menu for now, but in Mavericks some of the Apple applications have migrated to the new Duplicate menu.  As far as I know, Apple has not announced any plans to make the Duplicate model mandatory in the future, so this inconsistency is likely to stick around for a while.
Bottom line: In Mavericks, most applications still have the Save As... menu item.
Photoshop in Mavericks, using the familiar Save As... menu item:

Textedit in Mavericks, using the new Duplicate menu item:
Comment: Thanks for the great answer @BringMyCakeBack! I read the review you linked to and came to the realization that I was suffering from a prime example of what the author described as "geek panic". It does seem that Apple implemented a pretty elegant method of version control with Lion/Mountain Lion and Mavericks. Do you know if that auto save feature is active in Photoshop? In any case, thanks again!
Comment: I'm still using CS4, which doesn't have any autosave, even on Mavericks.  I've read that Adobe implemented its own autosave feature in CS6: http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/background-auto-save-cs6/
  However, this is different than the new `Duplicate` functionality that the Ars Technica review was talking about.
Comment: The Persistant 'autosave' feature is not for fully integrated 'heavy' suites like Adobe, and shouldn't be looked at like that.

It's for small developers to have simple, effective and intuitive means of providing an autosave functionality. It doesn't support versioning or anything of that level.
Answer: Third-party applications don't lose their "Save as..." option.  I use Photoshop and Illustrator CS5, and both still have "Save as".  So do the apps in Office:Mac 2011.  I did a quick glance at my apps and couldn't find any app that did have "Save as..." before Mavericks that didn't have it after I upgraded.
Comment: Fantastic! Looks like I'll be upgrading some of my computers this weekend. Thanks so much @nadyne!
Comment: Don't forget to backup before you upgrade! :)
Comment: I have everything backed up on a mirrored raid, so I think I'm good. :) Did you have any issues with information loss when you upgraded to Mavericks?
Comment: I didn't have any issues, I just always believe in making sure that I've got a good backup when I upgrade.  The time when you most need a backup is when you don't have one!


sources.list with tilde symbol (sources.list ~) generated in /etc/apt directory

Question: I am running Ubuntu 16.04 and new to Ubuntu. Please let me know what I did wrong:
In my system a sources.list~ file and also a trusted.gpg~ file was generated.
Answer: You did nothing wrong - every time when you edit the sources.list file or when you add or remove a repository, a backup of the old .list file gets generated with the ~ suffix, so in case you want to revert something later on, you can delete the new file and rename the old file by removing the "tilde".
If you don't want to keep the backup file, you can delete it by executing one of these commands :

sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list~
sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/<repository-file-name>.list~

The same you can do with the trusted.gpg~ file when you don't want to keep it in the system.
Comment: but unknowingly I was deleted my source.list~ and trusted.list~ yesterday. So I will check and see when I add any repository next time. Thank you sir.


Story: Humans transform themselves into the indigenous life form on a Venus-like planet

Question: I want to identify a short story that involves humans using a machine to turn themselves into the native creatures (lizard-like) on another planet, maybe Venus. The turned humans go off into the grey and stormy surroundings, but never report back. The story ends with the narrator transforming and discovering that the native lifeforms see the planet in all its beauty, colors and sound organized by their brains.
Comment: This is "Desertion" by Clifford Simak. It has been identified before on this site, e.g. [here](https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/84440/looking-for-title-of-sci-fi-short-story-about-attempts-to-colonise-planet-venus). It has been reprinted [a bunch of times](http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?47576). You can read it for free at the [Internet Archive](https://archive.org/stream/Astounding_v34n03_1944-11_cape1736#page/n63/mode/2up).
Comment: By the way the planet is Jupiter. If this is the story you were looking for please post a comment to let us know. If "Desertion" is *not* the right story, please try to remember some more details and add them to your question.
Comment: Four men, two by two, had gone into the howling maelstrom that
was Jupiter and had not returned. They had walked into the keening
gale — or rather, they had loped, bellies low against the ground, wet
sides gleaming in the rain.

For they did not go in the shape of men.
Comment: John: Welcome to Science Fiction & Fantasy Stack Exchange.  If user14111 is correct, the following is moot (for now), but please be advised that we prefer story-identification questions to have more information.  Identifying it as a short story (rather than a novel or a series) is helpful.  It could also be helpful if you remembered whether you read it in a hardcover or paperback anthology or collection of short stories, or in a newsstand magazine such as *Analog* or *Asimov's* or *Omni*?  What country and language did you read it in?  Do you remember anything about the cover? … (Cont'd)
Comment: (Cont'd) …  Male or female author?  Well known or unknown?  *When* did you read this story?  (Please try to give an (approximate) date range.)  How old was it then?  There are thousands of books, anthologies, collections, and magazines to go through, so anything that narrows it down will be helpful. Please do not respond in comments; [edit] your question to make it more complete.  You may be interested in checking out [our guidance](//scifi.meta.stackexchange.com/q/9335/30482) on asking good story-ID questions.
Comment: Possible duplicate of [Looking for title of sci fi short story about attempts to colonise planet (Venus?). Scientist and his dog are main characters](https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/84440/looking-for-title-of-sci-fi-short-story-about-attempts-to-colonise-planet-venus)
Comment: @A.M.Neville We do not close ID questions as duplicates until both have confirmed answers, either by acceptance, or in comments.
Answer: Ok, well I'm going to answer what we've all been pretty sure about...
The story you're looking for is "Desertion" by Clifford D. Simak.

A later tale tells of a research station on the surface of Jupiter. (This story, first published as Desertion in 1944, was one of the first stories about pantropy.) Simak's version of Jupiter is a cold, windswept, and corrosive hell where only advanced technology allows the station to exist at all. A scientist is accompanied by Towser, his tired and flea-bitten old dog. But there is a problem. Men permanently transformed to survive unaided on Jupiter's surface leave the station to gather data and inexplicably fail to return. Finally, the scientist transforms himself and his canine companion into the seal-like beings that can survive the surface. They leave the station in their new form and experience Jupiter as a paradise. Towser's fleas and irritations are gone and he is able to talk telepathically to his former master. Like the previously transformed station personnel, the scientist decides never to return.

(from Wikipedia)
It should be noted that, while "Desertion" can be found in many anthologies out there (I first read it in The Ascent of Wonder: The Evolution of Hard SF) It is a part of Simak's own anthology City (1952), which uses "Desertion" as part of an overarching story about the slow, voluntary decline of the human race. I would recommend you give the whole anthology a read, though of course the story can be read alone without problems.
Comment: THANK YOU!!! I have been trying to find the name of this story since 1979 when I read it in 8th grade in an English book that was lying around the classroom. now I should be able to track down the name of the book which had several other good stories. FYI - this was not assigned, and I was reading it when I was supposed to be doing something else.


In Expression Engine How we can avoid same ip address again from entry views tracking

Question: In expression engine for different channel titles different view count is there .But how we can avoid same ip address again from view count.
Answer: The EE template count doesn't filter on individual IPs, or not count duplicate IPs. You're better off using Google's webmaster tools and use their tracking when it comes to page counts.