JMeter: Writing to CSV causes an extra blank line to be written, but only sometimes

Question: Using JMeter I have been trying to produce a CSV of the ID of all the database IDs that my web app creates. I'm simply looking to save one column of strings without any spaces, however when I do that I get inconsistent outcomes in the CSV file. Sometimes there are skipped lines and sometimes there are no skipped lines. I have tried working on this with JSR223 and Flexible File Writer but both give the same result, always the same issue. I thought there was whitespace or a line break in my variable but the debug listener indicates that is not the case (also when I remove the '\n' character from Flexible File Writer the entire output prints to a single line, so I think there are no line breaks present)
Answer: I solved this one just there now myself. Turns out I was setting the listener to listen to some other samplers in my test plan instead of just a single one, those samplers didn't have the ID property in a JSON response, so they output blank results, leading to blank lines being output. Solved, hope this can be of help to someone else in future :)
Answer: Probably it's somehow connected with scoping rules, either your JSON Extractor tries to fetch a variable from another Sampler or Flexible File Writer is listening to another Sampler when the variable is not set yet.
Make both direct children of the Sampler which produces this id and it should resolve your issue.
Alternatively add a Debug Sampler or Debug PostProcessor and see what are createdRecordID variable values for each step of your test using View Results Tree listener, most probably there is a blank value somewhere.
Comment: Yes, that was the issue, the penny dropped about 30 mins ago for me. Thanks for the help tho :)


Trying to Find Compatible 15A Tandem Breaker for Older Electrical Panel

Question: I need to replace a 20A tandem breaker with a 15A tandem in order to protect 14 gauge wiring on two circuits in my home. The circuits are in the bedrooms and family room, respectively, (no kitchen, bathroom, or laundry receptacles) and everything on the circuits is rated for 15A or less. Unfortunately, the label/diagram for my panel is missing. It's a CTL panel with 20 slots.  I've uploaded photos that (hopefully) contain enough information to help determine what type of 15A tandem breaker I need. Can anyone help shed some light on this situation? I'm guessing I need a BR type without the physical restrictions, but I'm not sure if the brand matters. Any help would be much appreciated.
Answer: There's probably a big sheet of labeling somewhere, often hiding on the inside of the deadfront that you removed.
However, if you see Challenger, Westinghouse or BRyant, then what you want is an Eaton BD1515.  These panels (through a complex evolution) end up as the Eaton BR family, which if you look is cross-listed Type A or Type C.
Comment: Sweet! Thanks for your help
Comment: Ok, thanks. I noticed that the BD is cheaper than the BR and more widely available. But the former has some physical restrictions built in (to prevent overloading a panel?). Am I okay going with the BD type because there's a notch in the bus bar on my panel? Just trying to understand the difference between the two.
Comment: @Justin yes, I'm looking right at the notch.  It's plainly there.
Comment: I can't access the cable jackets to determine if each hot wire has a neutral (in order to eliminate the possibility of a MWBC). As an alternative solution, can I replace both of the adjacent BD2020 tandems with BD1520 and still keep 240V between the (theoretical) MWBC hots?  That way I can protect the 14 gauge wires in the house without upsetting the (theorectical) MWBC balance.
Comment: @Justin ask that as a whole new question.


What do Poké Beans do?

Question: What is the purpose of Poké Beans? Like does feeding one bean increase any stat of my Pokémon like speed or attack?
Answer: PokeBeans have several effects, for example:

Increase the affection of the Pokemon (Regular bean = 3 points; Patterned bean = 5 points)
Have certain effects if put into the boxes in Poke Pelago
They are used to develop islands in Poke Pelago

The effects are as the following:

Isle Abeens: The spawnrate of wild pokemon is increased
Isle Aplenny: The growth time of berries is cut in half
Isle Aphun: The time needed to finish an exploration is cut in half
Isle Evelup: The time needed for training is cut in half
Isle Avue: Increases the gained happiness.

Every bean lasts for a specific time: a regular bean will last for 30 minutes, a patterned bean for 1 hour and a rainbow bean for 2 hours.
Answer: Feeding a Pokémon a Poké Bean will increase that Pokémon's affection. Patterned and rainbow Poké Beans will increase affection more than normal Poké Beans.
For the effects of affection, check out this question.
Answer: Feeding PokeBeans to your pokemon will increase there affection towards you, which in turn can trigger certain evolutions(Eevee evolves into Sylveon with 2 hears and 1 fairy move. link
The second, and for most players the more important use of Pokebeans is that the reduce the time of all Poké Pelago actions.
It will cut the growth time of berries, it will reduce the time pokemon need on trainings and it will reduce the expedition caves.
Comment: 1 Fairy move is enough.

What do Poké Beans do?


sql server installation errors regarding WMI service

Question: I am trying to install SQL Server 2008 and during the pre requisite check its always fails on
WMI service "Failed".
I went to the event viewer and found this error in there.
"Failed to Initialize WMI Core or Provider SubSystem or Event SubSystem with error number 0x80040154. This could be due to a badly installed version of WMI, WMI repository upgrade failure, insufficient disk space or insufficient memory."
I know there is a lot of space available in my hard drive. Also i tried a few things after googling like WMIFIX.bat file. The file ran fine but did not fix the problem.
Has anyone had this problem? If so do you have a solution?
Answer: if you have a domain so Run this Command with administrator Privilege
you can copy this Command and Past in Notbat with .bat extention. and run them.
Rundll32 setupapi,InstallHinfSection Ndi-Steelhead 132 %windir%\inf\netrass.inf
Netsh firewall reset
sc config SharedAccess obj= LocalSystem password= "" type= interact type= own
sc config RpcSs obj= LocalSystem password= "" type= interact type= own
sc config RpcLocator obj= LocalSystem password= "" type= interact type= own
sc config winmgmt obj= LocalSystem password= "" type= interact type= own
sc config Wmi obj= LocalSystem password= "" type= interact type= own
net start winmgmt
net start Wmi
net start RpcSs
net start RpcLocator
net start WmiApSrv
netsh firewall add portopening TCP 135 "Open Port 135"
netsh firewall add portopening TCP 445 "Open Port 445"
netsh firewall add portopening TCP 139 "Open Port 139"
netsh firewall set opmode mode=DISABLE
shutdown /r

if your problem did not solve you Can execute this Command in Command Prompt with admin privilege.. you can just copy  and paste them in notepad and rename it with .bat extention an run the file..

net stop winmgmt
C:
cd %systemroot%\system32\wbem

rd /S /Q repository

regsvr32 /s %systemroot%\system32\scecli.dll
regsvr32 /s %systemroot%\system32\userenv.dll

mofcomp cimwin32.mof
mofcomp cimwin32.mfl
mofcomp rsop.mof
mofcomp rsop.mfl
for /f %%s in ('dir /b /s *.dll') do regsvr32 /s %%s
for /f %%s in ('dir /b *.mof') do mofcomp %%s
for /f %%s in ('dir /b *.mfl') do mofcomp %%s
echo DONE reboot

    pause
just it and have a good day  !!!!!
Answer: Run the WMI Diag Utility.  Here are the instructions how to do this:
Download WMIDiag.
To run the WMIDiag tool:
  1. Open a command prompt window.
     (Use "Run As Administrator", if applies to your Operating System version)
  2. Navigate to the wmidiag folder that was created when you ran Wmidiag.exe.
  3. Type cscript wmidiag.vbs.
View what the output of that is and post what it says.  That'll give you a better indication of what's happening.
Here is a reference for the above instructions.
Comment: i read the error log report and first of all its huge, also i dont really see what to do since it doesnt say which services dont work. Also I'm using Vista 32bit if that helps
Answer: I faced this issue when I tried to install SQL Express
For me, following steps worked out which I referred from http://mikeymurph.me/fix-wmi-service-error/
Run the following in Powershell in Administrator mode

PS C:\Windows\system32> winmgmt /verifyrepository
WMI repository verification failed
Error code:     0x80041002
Facility:       WMI
Description:    Not found

PS C:\Windows\system32> Winmgmt /resetrepository
WMI repository has been reset

Now try to install SQL Server again.


Schmitt trigger

Question: Why does feedback on the inverting pin and input on the non-inverting pin result in an amplifier (non-inverting amplifier) while feedback on the non-inverting pin and input on the inverting pin result in a trigger (Schmitt trigger).
Answer: I think you may misunderstand feedback: -

Full negative feedback results in no voltage amplification.
As negative feedback is reduced, amplification rises until it reaches a maximum. This occurs when the device is "open-loop"
Negative feedback can be cancelled by an appropriate amount of positive feedback
Feedback (to the non-inverting pin) has no effect if the input is a voltage source.

When the input is a voltage source fed thru a resistor (for instance) positive feedback does have the effect of creating a schmitt trigger because it creates hysterisis: -

Input signal is "U" and output signal "A" has no hysterisis - in effect it is an op-amp with no net feedback as per (2) and (3) listed at the top. In a simple way of explaining things it has "infinite gain".
When a little bit of positive feedback is applied, upper and lower thresholds are created and output "B" results - it has the ability to block out small changes in the input because of the effect of hysterisis which, is due to positive feedback.
Think about what happens - a real signal input is low and starts rising. Due to positive feedback the non-inverting input is kept a little lower than the real signal. When the real signal reaches a certain magnitude, the non-inverting input reaches the same voltage as the inverting input and, at that point, one tiny bit of extra voltage or noise on the real input tips the balance and the output flips. This now causes the voltage on the non-inverting input to be a little higher than the real input and, for the output to flip back the real input has to reduce by the hysterisis level.
Think of it like a toggle switch - you move the lever slowly and nothing much happens until you reach a certain position then, it flips over without further pushing - this is hysterisis.
Answer: The voltage at the output of an op-amp is
$$
V_{out} = A(V_+ - V_-)
$$
There are two situations that you described:
Output connected to inverting pin
If \$V_+ > V_-\$, then the output will be positive, and it will raise \$V_-\$ until the output is stable (where \$V_+ \approx V_-\$).
If \$V_+ < V_-\$, then the output will be negative, and \$V_-\$ will drop until everything is stable.
In both cases, you end up with a stable output voltage that depends on how the feedback is set up.
Output connected to non-inverting pin
If \$V_+ > V_-\$, then the output will raise \$V_+\$ even higher, continuing until it hits the positive rail.
If \$V_+ < V_-\$, then the output will drop \$V_-\$ even lower, continuing until it hits the negative rail.
In both cases, the output will either slam high or low and will stay there until something else changes, so you get a Schmitt trigger.
Answer: The schmitt trigger needs a small amount of positive feedback to function. In other words, when the Schmitt trigger switches, part of the output is fed back into the positive terminal to ensure that the output stays at the new output voltage.
A non-inverting amplifier needs negative feedback to always produce the correct ratio between the output and input voltages so the output is constantly trying to push just enough current to make the negative and positive inputs be the same.

Schmitt trigger


What is the semantic relationship of the words 'ask' and 'tell'?

Question: I'm not quite sure which of these semantic relationships it would be: Synonymy, Hyponymy, Hypernymy, and Antonymy. Or would there be no semantic relationship between these words?
Comment: They're both speech act verbs, but that's a large class and the relationship between this particular pair of verbs in the set is unique and, as far as I know, has no special Greek name.
Comment: Related question with a similar semantic relation: https://linguistics.stackexchange.com/questions/25949/verb-pairs-similar-to-buy-and-sell
Answer: I think you can call them cohyponyms of words like speak, say, etc. That is, they are both hyponyms of the same word.
Answer: The way they are presented here, you assume they are antonyms in a given context, but you are aware that's not always true. Strictly speaking, you cannot take primary verbs (as opposed to verbs derived from nouns) out of context and assign them tense, aspect, semantic relation, just as you cannot take man and assign a unique Position of Sentence (PoS) without corresponding sentence.
Proof: I would always prefer answer or respond, being a second language learner though, and I tend to understand tell as a synonym of say (or at least a close hyponym, as ?say me is not synonym, but say! is). But that's off-topic here, because it depends on language specific context. The proof will be complete once the question is closed. And my answer can't be denied by being accepted. This is proof by contradiction. Q.e.d.


A mysterious bet

Question:
What is a bet that most people take with the intention of losing it?
Comment: "Hey cutie, bet you five bucks you won't go out with me" ^^
Answer: More specifically than TacoV's answer, maybe it's

 life insurance. This could be seen as gambling on your own life, which you always lose in the end (hence intention of losing?) but want to keep as long as possible (which could be seen as losing the 'bet' since you're losing money that way).

This specific answer is good because

 not any kind of insurance will do: you might either want to get the money or keep the item you're insuring if it's less valuable than your life, depending on context and circumstances.
Answer: Is it

 Insurance

Since you'd rather not get the money :)
Answer: Probably not the intended answer, but:

 Shorting a stock is when you "bet" that the stock will decline in value.

A mysterious bet


Comparison of Decision Trees: RTED vs MLE

Question: I read two papers discussing how to compare between decision trees. One of them is RTED (that is specifically for trees and sub-case is decision trees) can be found here (RTED: A Robust Algorithm for the Tree Edit Distance)here:
and additional approach is COMBINING CLASSIFICATION TREES USING MLE by Shannon and Banks (Shannon, W. D., & Banks, D. (1999). Combining classification trees using MLE. Statistics in Medicine, 18(6), 727-740.). I would like to know if the MLE method is a sub case of RTED algorithm for comparison between decision trees?
"Comparison between decision trees" I mean, given 2 decision trees we would like to compare the structure of them. It means by the location and the name of each node. The RTED transfers the trees into a Bracket Tree Format that contains the names of the tree nodes and compares between the 2 strings. The output is a number that is the Tree distance value (also know in literature Edit Distance).
The question is if the algorithm described by Shannon and Banks (called MLE) is a specific case that is covered by RTED algorithm. If the final result of comparison between 2 decision trees will yield same result. If the answer is No, what are the cases in which the different algorithms will give different results?
Comment: Welcome to CS.SE!  What do you mean by "comparison between decision trees" and by "sub case"?  What are your thoughts, and what's your reasoning?  I suggest editing the question.  It'd also help if you could give a self-contained summary of those algorithms, if they're simple enough.  Also, you can clean up the citations a bit: We expect references to fulfill the minimal scholarly requirements and be as robust over time as possible. Please take some time to improve your post in this regard. We have collected some advice [here](http://meta.cs.stackexchange.com/a/1201/). Thank you!
Comment: Rather than leaving clarifications in the comments, please make sure to edit the question, and edit it into a form that reads well for someone who encounters the question for the first time.  Right now the question is a bit of a  wall of text.  Would you like to edit the question to make this a bit more friendly to read?
Comment: I edited the question as you guided me with your clever questions. Can you help me please with further editing?
Answer: The main difference between MLE and RTED is that RTED can compare any kind of decision tree even non binary such as CHAID. In addition, each of them has different approach for scanning the tree. MLE is from top down and find all the possible paths while RTED can go in breadth way.


Guidance about using pith in marmalade

Question: I've been looking at recipes for orange marmalade and some say "don't use the pith because it's too bitter" but the photos often show the peel and pith (the part just under the peel) in the final product. And some say just to use the pith and pips in a muslin bag (ie thrown out at the end). Any guidance on this?
Answer: I'm posting this as an answer even though I really have very little experience, just some vague stuff I've picked up along the way.
The pith is all about bitterness. Bitter is a big part of the flavor profile of marmalade. So, how much pith you want to use is very subjective. How bitter do you like it? That's the difference in recipes.
Personally, I like maybe 3mm of pith still on the peel that stays in the marmalade.
I can see no benefit at all to using the pips.
Comment: Good answer, but cooking the pith and pips in a bag to be removed, is done to extract pectin.

Guidance about using pith in marmalade


How to export bookmark list from stock android(ICS) browser to pc

Question: I have been using the stock browser which came with the phone for awhile and it has been really useful. Currently I have a large number of articles I have bookmarked that I would somehow like to get on my PC. I tried to use the "share" functionality but it allows you to share only one link at a time, and I have over 50 articles. Is there any way to export the entire list?
Comment: What phone do you have? Manufacturers tend to customize the web browser so the answer is different from one phone to another.
Comment: @DanHulme I flashed ICS on it myself, It's the stock android browser.
Answer: Using  "Bookmarks Sort and Backup"
you can copy your bookmarks from the default Android Browser to your SD Card Directory ( /mnt/sdcard/BookmarkSB/ ).   The filename will include a datetimestamp so you can easily tell which file you just created.  They  are regular bookmarks.html  formatted  Netscape bookmarks files that can be imported into any browser or viewed in any browser.
You can view the file with any File Explorer app by opening the folder  BookmarkSB  (/mnt/sdcard/BookmarkSB/) then open the file you just created with Browser or any other browser.
One way to copy the created file to your PC:
You can use an app such as "3CX Droid Desktop"
Download the file from your tablet to your PC.

Invoke 3CX Droid on tablet,
open the url in a browser on your PC   i.e.  http://192.168.0.xxx:8080
then in File Explorer within 3CX Droid viewed on your PC, open the folder on the tablet select your file,
then use 'download' on the 3CS Droid File Explorer menu  which will save your file on the downloads folder used by your browser,  the shortcut to view your downloaded files is probably "Ctrl+J" on your PC.
Open the HTML bookmarks file

FWIW  if you were to import into another Android browser that cannot sort bookmarks you would want to sort bookmarks in your default browser in reverse order before you export.  Rearranging bookmarks one bookmark  at a time would be very tedious.   This is assuming that import inserts them  one at a time at the top of your bookmarks instead of at the bottom.


Warning: Illegal string offset - on homepage

Question: I have a question regarding an issue that has just recently been causing issues with my website. I have been getting a fatal string error from my website just wondering if anyone knows how to resolve this issue or has had a similar problem and found a solution to it.
Answer: It' an error in the 'flatsome' theme. You need to contact the theme developer via their support page.
Unless you want to dig around in their code, fix something, then have a theme update break things again. (Not recommended, but if you are headed that way, make a child theme).
The theme support page is your best next stop.


Potential PHP problems with EE 1.13 or CE 1.8

Question: My client is on an old server running PHP 5.2.17, should I encourage him to upgrade to 5.3 or will it be ok?
Answer: The support for PHP 5.2 ended in August 2011, so I recommend to update the PHP installation.
The configuration site on magentocommerce.com shows that PHP 5.3 is required.
Some weeks ago we had some issues with a PHP 5.4 installation, EE 1.12 and atomic repo (some segmentation faults) and we stepped back to 5.3.
Update: The error was

Fatal error: Cannot override final method
Mage_Core_Model_Abstract::clearInstance() in various PHP-Files

with PHP 5.4.17
Answer: I suggest to try with PHP 5.4. If it is EE installation please talk to support first as 5.4 is not officially supported yet (not fully tested) but works correctly since 1.13/1.8 based on the feedback i got.
Comment: In my experience it seems to work - but there are reports / documented SimpleXML bugs regarding how Magento makes use of simplexml objects returning a custom class name/type.
Comment: We have also had issues with php 5.4 a while back, and downgraded to 5.3, thus suggest to go with 5.3


Linux media streaming server?

Question: we need to implement a media/video streaming solution on Linux, a-la youTube but for our internal use. Any decent open source tools for this?
Answer: If you need a streaming server, you can use Darwin Streaming Server
Answer: Yes, there's lots. Have a google for progressive download video php. There's a free player and code samples here.
You'll also need something like ffmpeg for manipulating the video files
Comment: If you're going to deliver progressive download, just use the base HTTP Server.  The only time you should consider an application server is if you needed some sort of access control and even then there's better ways.
Answer: Red5 has some nice streaming features, check it out.

Linux media streaming server?


TinyMCE Cleans certain divs

Question: I have a page and want to use TinyMCE to edit certain elements on the page. When I am trying to edit the following elements, the actual content loaded inside tinyMCE is as present in column 2
Original : As loaded in MCE

1234
 : 1234

A	B
 : AB

I understand there is some html validation going on which checks the parent child element relationships (e.g. tr should come only if there is table as parent). Is there a way I can tell tinyMCE to stop doing this and allow me to edit tr elements directly without editing the complete table elements. i.e. I want to stop tinyMCE to make any change in the loaded HTML irrespective its valid or not.
Also, I tried the verify_html and valid_elements settings but seems not helping here
Thanks
Answer: You got two options here

You use the cleanup: false, tinymce init setting which will
disable the html checking

or you can use the better option
2.. and define which elements and childelements the editor should accept as valid
In your case your valid_elements do niot need to get updated, cause tr, td and label are already valid elements by default (but you may define them invalid if you like).
What you will need to do is to add them as valid children to the valid_children setting.
If you want to define tr tags as valid child elements of p-tags and other elements you will need to set something like this
    valid_children: "body[p|ol|ul]" +
    ",p[a|span|b|i|u|sup|sub|img|hr|#text|tr|td|label]" +
    ",span[a|b|i|u|sup|sub|img|#text|tr|td|label]" +
    ",a[span|b|i|u|sup|sub|img|#text|tr|td|label]" +
    ",b[span|a|i|u|sup|sub|img|#text|tr|td|label]" +
    ",i[span|a|b|u|sup|sub|img|#text|tr|td|label]" +
    ",sup[span|a|i|b|u|sub|img|#text|tr|td|label]" +
    ",sub[span|a|i|b|u|sup|img|#text|tr|td|label]" +
    ",li[span|a|b|i|u|sup|sub|img|ol|ul|#text]" +
    ",ol[li]" +
    ",ul[li]",

Comment: @ManuelArwedSchmidt: yes, Moxiecode removed the feature "cleanup: false"
Comment: Note: feature is deprecated nowadays. It looks like only valid_children and valid_elements control the cleanup now :/
Comment: Just wanted to add this, in case somebody stumbles upon this: I am currently using this setup to avoid any cleanup of old, partly WORD-generated html and it works just fine:  verify_html:false,fix_table_elements:false,schema:'html4',invalid_elements:'', valid_elements: '*[*]', valid_children: '*[*]'
This allows any html, with a small risk of keeping 'uneditable' properties from the previously used WYSIWYG-Editor.
Answer: We use the editor to define email templates with our own customized language and tokens that are replaced when the email is sent.
None of the suggested solutions worked for us because we sometimes mix our custom language with html and it keeps modifying it from the source code we were putting in, so we worked around it by surrounding the invalid html with comments and add a special character sequence directly inside the tags to know to remove these special comments later on.
So the special tags might look like:

You can then remove the special tags  when the content is to be used or rendered.
The drawback is that the stuff between the comments will not show in the editor (or on the page until the special comment tags are removed).

TinyMCE Cleans certain divs


Upload extracts of text files

Question: I am looking for a way for clients to upload a piece of a plain text file from within their browsers.
The situation is as follows: We have a pipeline that needs to work on only a small piece of a large data file that users will upload. We want to not upload the entire file but rather, on client side, extract from their local file the relevant data, and upload only that.
As far as I am aware, this cannot happen via JavaScript, or any new HTML-5 features, for security reasons. Its possible to upload the entire file, but not cut it up, and extract pieces to upload.
The reading I have done makes me think the only way to do what we want is via a Java applet.
I have found lots of Java Applets (eg: http://jupload.sourceforge.net ), but these don't let me extract pieces of a file.
Any suggestions of where I could find how to extract a piece of a file would be appreciated.
Note, this is not asking about how to upload a file, or about slicing up a file and uploading all of the resulting slices. Both of those I have found solutions to.
Answer: Actually this is possible using just pure JavaScript with the help of the FileReader API: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/DOM/FileReader
I used it to resize jpegs (either with canvas or webgl) and reinject the EXIF data into the resized images before uploading them.

Upload extracts of text files


CMake 2.8.10 installation for mac os x fails creating symlinks

Question: I am updating Cmake in my Mac Book pro with OS X Lion 10.7.5. The old version of Cmake is 2.8.8 and the new one is 2.8.10. When I run almost to the end of the installation process, the installer prompts
for creating a Symlink to /usr/bin of several tools. After click on continue, the installer throws an exception telling that couldn't create symlinks. Previously of the process,  I've moved to trash the old version of Cmake and then using finder I got nothing more files of Cmake on the machine. Any idea how Can I complete the installation succesfully?
Answer: In my case, attempting to install cmake 2.8.12 on OSX 10.8.5 failed. The cmake-22.214.171.124-Darwin-universal.dmg installer downloaded directly from cmake.org would hang while running the post install scripts. I found and removed all the symlinks described by willyMon, but it still would hang, requiring me to resort to ps + kill to unhang the installer.
For me, installing via brew did the trick:
brew install cmake

It installed 126.96.36.199 in /usr/local/bin without a hitch.
Comment: This solution fits the best and saved hours of work! Thank you!
Answer: Opening the Applications folder in a terminal
cd /
cd Applications/

then doing:
sudo bash
CMake.app/Contents/bin/cmake-gui

Then run from the CMake GUI:
 "Tools->Install For Command Line Use"
works OK for me.
Answer: Ok, after looking in deep for this error, I found that I missed some simple detail and this was the key to solve the problem. The Cpack installer of Cmake 18.104.22.168 try to create symbolic links to this files:
-cmake-gui
-cmakexbuild
-cmake
-cpack
-ctest
So, from a terminal I've removed all the previous Symlinks that the older version created, then I ran the installer again and the installation was done succesfully without any errors or warnings.
Comment: Depending on your version of cmake, you also need to remove ccmake.


How do I set up a political conflict in this large city?

Question: Many of my players express interest in "political intrigue," but I'm not really sure where to place power and what conflicts regarding it might be. The setting is a large, well-armed city that was founded decades ago as a prisoner colony of criminals who traded their remaining punishment for defending said city. The city itself is positioned in a mountain pass fronting a largely unexplored wilderness. Finally, I'm thinking of making it an independent city-state and/or influenced by multiple nations.
Comment: If the question were re-worded to be something along the lines of: "Given this scenario insert scenario what would the likely societal implications be, and what kind of conflicts would be likely to arise?" it may be better.
Answer: Since the majority of your populace have a criminal mindset, conflict is going to come pretty easy to them.  Even given their freedom in return for their defensive contribution to the city, they are going to fall back on violence as a method for social climbing.  It is what they know.  The undercity (beneath the rule of law) will be a realm of extortion, thugery and assasination.  Loyalties will be pretty obvious down at street level, but your players may still have challenges, negotiating a safe path for themselves among the gangs and warlords.
Meanwhile, the city founders (whom I'm assuming were not criminals) will want to pursue politics as usual with methods ranging from overt power-brokering, favor-trading and nepotism to covert but non-violent blackmail.  This is the realm where conspiracies will florish, allowing your players to uncover the hidden motivations for the actions of the city's power elite.  If they discover something juicy about someone very high in the tree, they might even be able to get into the game of manipulating the manipulators.
Where the two factions meet, there will be unifying conflict.  The power elite will put aside their personal agendas to deal with an uprising from the unwashed masses.  Meanwhile the warlords will parlay to mount an assault on the ivory towers.  So the secret to keeping the intrigue alive is to keep the two factions from meeting.  A strong police force would probably be enough to keep the city founders from getting scared, while simultaneously keeping the street gang warlords from getting ambitious.
The only other thing you need in this recipe is a little prosperity.  For the same reason that war between the factions diminishes the opportunity for intrigue, a mutual enemy or shared threat (starvation) provides a similar unifying, intrigue killing force.  So give the city a couple years off from any danger emerging from the unexplored wilderness, and let the chicanery begin!
Comment: Awesome, thanks! How do I figure that kind of thing out?
Comment: How to figure this kind of thing out?  Read.  Charles Nordhoff's Botany Bay is an excellent view into life in a prison colony.  Ivory Tower Intrigue, any polititian's unauthorized biography will do in a pinch but its a lot more fun to read political satire like Stanley Bing's Rome Inc.
Answer: Think about what intrigue is, which is typically a brutal - yet covert - competition, typically for power. Why does this situation arise?

An established goal to compete for - if all your players what different things, there is no need to compete. Historically an imperial throne or political advantage for their faction are classic areas where intrigue arises. Tipping the political balance a little in favour of your faction may be just the thing you need to achieve a long-term goal.
Powerful factions who want to achieve the goal - the groups or people who want to achieve the goal need to have sufficient power already that they can organise and engage in intrigue.
Well balanced power bases - if someone has significantly more power than anybody else then there is little need for intrigue, because they can break cover. However, if everyone is evenly matched ( and/or playing their cards close enough to their chest that they all believe themselves to be evenly matched ) then they need to find more covert means to build secret alliances, expose one another's weaknesses and try to build sufficient power to achieve dominance.
Potentially an instrument of balance a truly skilled political operator- a brilliant emperor or civil servant perhaps - can maintain power by allowing intrigue to divert their political adversaries' energies so they are focused on their own rivalries and not on overthrowing the people at the top. In this way it can be a valuable political tool for a leader who may not have as much financial clout as other members of the court but has managed to attain power through political flair or public popularity, the latter of course being another factor that can be influenced by intrigue.

If you think about the environment that intrigue creates it is one where everyone is playing for advantage against everyone else. This is typically based around mistrust, rumour and shifting alliances which only last as long as they serve both parties involved- the moment someone can gain advantage by selling out a current ally, they will. Everybody lies at least some of the time. New players appearing on the scene will be immediately interesting to all the players around because of how they can influence the balance of power- small advantages over a long time can be sufficient to alter things in any faction's favour.
You could takes some lessons from history - Rome and later the Byzantine Empire were great homes of political intrigue, as were the Italian city-states of the medieval period and the renaissance which- among many others, gave us the Borgias and the Medici, while the courts of the Chinese imperial dynasties were no less intrigue-ridden. You can find interesting examples going back from the early days of recorded history right up to modern politics. In fiction there are a lot of great examples to take inspiration from - George R R Martin is a classic example, but Guy Gavriel Kay and Dorothy Dunnett are personal favourites of mine for constructing complex political situations where characters weave webs of intrigue to overthrow their enemies.


cron job on web server

Question: How would I go about telling my web server (Webfaction) to just run a python file and let it keep running forever? Someone told me I should use cron but I haven't found any good material on how to run it once, and have it not stop.
Comment: Your Python file could take care of the "running forever" part with a `while` loop or something along those lines.
Comment: I realize this. When I ssh into my server, run the file, then close the ssh window, however, the file stops. Or when I try to run it in the background with `&`, it also stops.
Comment: It's a very bad idea to keep running a process forever. In any case if you do want keep running it, you will have to run an infinite loop for this. If you could tell what you are trying to achieve (what is your python file doing), the people here will be able to help better.
Comment: what you need to do is:
Answer: From what I understand, you want to keep your process running after close ssh. You could use screen.
Answer: The absolute easiest way is to use something like nohup to make the process a daemon:
http://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/nohup-execute-commands-after-you-exit-from-a-shell-prompt.html
Answer: what you need to do is:
nohup ./path_to_your_script.sh &
once you do that you can logout, close the terminal, whatever and your script will continue running until the server is restarted or you kill the process
Answer: Cron runs periodically forever.  Cron jobs can be run by the minute, hour, daily, weekly, or monthly.  Here is an extensive reference:
http://unixgeeks.org/security/newbie/unix/cron-1.html
Here's a quick reference:
http://adminschoice.com/crontab-quick-reference
Comment: Ideas how I could just let it run once, forever?
Comment: What does once forever mean?  Only one time?  Or one time on a periodic interval forever?
Comment: @tekknolagi: If you put the special time spec `@reboot` into a cron job line the job will get run once at bootup (if that cron version supports it). There are many ways to do this - this is only one.
Answer: Running in screen is fine for testing, but at some point it will break for one reason or another (WebFaction does like to kill processes when you use too much memory) if then you'd need to go restart it automatically.
Supervisord (http://supervisord.org/ ) is pretty good for running things and restarting them if they fail for whatever reason. It also handles "daemonizing" processes which is what it's called when you detach a process from the current terminal so that it will carry on running after you've quite your season (when you log out of SSH), it is possible to write code in your Python script to do this yourself but why bother when there are awesome tools like Supervisord?
Of course there's always the possibility that Supervisord will die (or be killed). This is where you could use Cron. Cron let's you run something periodically. A nice property of the way that Supervisord is usually set up is that if you try and start it while it's already running it won't actually start a second time so you if you set up a Cron task to start Supervisord every 5 minutes then you should be ok.
Answer: The best practice method for something like this is:
1) Write the script such that it first checks for a lock file to ensure there are no other copies already running and/or check that the process is not already running.
2) Put an entry in cron to start the script every so often, say once an hour.
3) Your script could use a while(1) loop to keep itself running "forever".  However, it is best to never have a script run forever since you could have potential memory leaks that accumulate over a long time and eventually cause your system to swap and then you have a really slow system.  Have it run for many thousands of iterations or kill itself after a certain amount of time.  Cron will kick it off again on the next timeslot.
4) Log your output using >> redirect to a log file so you can catch any messaging you may want to output for status.

cron job on web server


150 VS 300 VS 450 lumen rear light for daytime use

Question: Which one would be good for riding in daytime especially when it's sunny?
Comment: Especially in daylight, a lot depends on the lens and how it focuses the light.
Comment: are we talking real lumens or chinese lumens?  450lm seems improbable for a rear light
Comment: Real lumen as I'm getting the Cateye Viz.  Which Cateye Vis is good, 150, 300 or 450 then?
Comment: Blinding all drivers because you don't like speeders is not only petty, it *reduces* your safety on the road, both because their vision is impaired, and because they'll be annoyed. Picking fights with operators of 4,000 pound vehicles is always a losing proposition.
Comment: I use a pair of "Lezyne LED Femto USB Drive Light Pair". They're bright enough to be seen, but not too bright that they blind drivers/pedestrians/other riders, and don't need a massive battery. The front is 15 lumens, and the rear is 5 lumens. https://road.cc/content/review/268425-lezyne-femto-usb-drive-pair 150 lumens is overkill, as is anything above that.
Comment: From the product information page, the Cateye Viz. seems to be 40 lumen by default and up to 450 lumen in "daytime" mode
Comment: The lumens race is real and more than just an annoyance for people following. Inhibiting someone's vision (ie a car driver) with a super bright and/or flashing taillight risks dazzling them or making them look away, increasing the risk of accident -- opposite of the goal.
Comment: @WPNoviceCoder I dislike drivers who drive fast so serves them right
Answer: Which lights are you considering? Even 150 lumens seems astoundingly powerful. For comparison, the Bontrager Flare R City (which I use) is already somewhat irritating to look at after a while, and it's only 35 lumens. I'd hate to be driving behind someone with a 450 lumen rear light blinding me. Having a bright and noticeable light is not helpful if you blind or annoy drivers behind you.
The primary factors in my mind for a rear light would be battery life, the optics / beam shape, and the flash pattern. Obviously, a long battery life is practical and convenient. A good beam shape ensures you are seen from a variety of angles (not just from straight backwards). An interesting flash pattern which mixes a variety of pulse durations can help attract interest without expending too much battery energy. Note that flashing lights are not legal in every jurisdiction.
Comment: @Sam To quote the first review I read online: "My initial impression of this light was that it is too bright - LED lights can be very jarring to some and I want to be considerate to others." "This light is bright enough for all urban environments and whilst it has a couple of flashing modes that conserve battery life, I'd advise against using them because they are unnecessary, aggressive, and can trigger seizures in onlookers." Not a good choice in my opinion. You really don't need that much brightness.
Comment: The Cateye Viz light.
Answer: The measured brightness is less important than the beam formation, or lens configuration.
Ideally for daytime usage, you want a rear light that gets driver's attention and lasts the whole ride.  It also has to not overheat in sunlight.
Whether that light can blink, strobe, throb, pulse, or has to stay on solid depends on your locality and the road regulations.  Most of the world would accept a blinking red rear light in the daytime, but do check.
For daytime use I personally choose a light that has a sharp on-off profile, and a beam shape that covers the rear-most 90 degree arc.
By contrast at nighttime I prefer both a solid-on red and a throbber that moves from low to high and back again over ~1 second rather than the sharp-edged and blinding.  So your DRL might be a different unit to the nighttime one, or the same light running in a different mode.
Consider that a rear light is not a "seeing" light, its a "be-seen" light, and the lower lumen levels are perfectly adequate at that.  By contrast the front light needs to illuminate the land in front of you and needs more "throw"
And a lower lumen level will run for longer on a charge, meaning less chance of it going out suddenly.   I always ride with multiple lights, but on some commutes I've lost almost all due to flat batteries exacerbated by cold.
Answer: lumen level is less important than other considerations.
Answer: 50 lumen is a typical car brake light. Quite irritating if constantly on right in front of you.
150 and possibly blinking is WAY too much. It can blind and disorient a car driver or a bicycle rider with whatever bad consequences you can imagine.
300 and 450 are proportionally worse. 450 is a typical (maybe somewhat worn out) car headlight.
The good news is that you probably can't easily find a honest 150 lumen rear light.
Please, pretty please, constrain yourself to 20 or 30 lumen for your rear light.
Comment: You are underestimating car light brightnesses. 50 lumens isn't a brake light, not even a car rear light. A car rear light is 5 watts and brake light 21 watts, so a rear light is slightly below 100 lumens and brake light slightly below 400 lumens. A car headlight (halogen) is 900 lumens dipped beam, 1500 lumens high beam.
Comment: @juhist you are underestimating the car light optics. A 21W bulb used for the brake light has ~150 lumen (when new, 7-8 lumen per watt is pretty good yield for an incandescent non-halogen bulb), after half of it hits the the reflector it is like 120 lumen and after the red filter that absorbs 2/3 of the visible spectrum in order to make the white light red it is maybe less than 50. The rear light is likely 10 lumen, considering that the 5W bulb is less efficient. ...
Comment: ... In headlights, I think 1500 is the absolute ECE maximum, the usual case is ~15 lumen per watt for the bulb (it is 60W for high beam) and about 20% loss in optics that gets you ~650 lumen for each high beam when everything is brand new. One gets about 1000 lumen with xenon or LED, again with everything brand new, but both xenon and LED dim as they age as well.
Answer: When designing a rear light for my bike I did various tests. The most difficult one was on a small country road in a forest. The bike was in the shadow from the trees, and we picked the time of day when the sun would hit the friend driving the car behind me right in the face and blind him.
Without a rear light, the bike was pretty much invisible to the driver, because it was in the shadows. And I was riding in a bright orange t-shirt.
I settled on a bunch of high-candela red LEDs, some of them aimed towards the sides for intersections, and some aimed towards the back. It is important to focus the beam of light in a tight angle horizontally, but in a wide angle left to right, so it is clearly visible to a driver far behind you or to the sides, but will not blind the cyclist riding right behind you by sending too much light upwards into his eyes.
Blinking frequency around 5 Hz. It was very safe and visible in the above worst-case scenario.
This consumes about 0.3W when on (less when blinking) so it should be at most 10 lumens, considering the lumen efficacy of red LEDs is low because the lumen unit includes the eye sensitivity, which is low in the reds.
Obviously it has a light sensor, so at night it stops blinking and switches to a more civilized intensity.
Now a more technical analysis of the thing.
First, the cyclist is riding with a symmetrical beam front light instead of a proper StVZO which means he cares neither about blinding other people, nor about seeing the road.

Second, visibility towards the side is... mehhh... terrible. I made sure my light beamed out more than 180° around the rear, so if I'm arriving at an intersection, the driver arriving perpendicular can both see the front and rear light so they know it's a bicycle. That cost two extra 5 cents LEDs. But they didn't think about that.

Third, it costs 40€ and they couldn't include a 2 cent light sensor to make it behave properly at night? Come on.
Fourth, it has a rechargeable battery. So if the battery's out, you can't put in a fresh AA, you have to wait for it to recharge.
Fifth, it can be mounted vertical or horizontal, which means it has a symmetrical beam and will blind cyclists behind you.
Basically, 450lm rear light is simply retarded. It won't just make drivers angry, it will also cause any cyclist behind you to strongly want to catch up and make you eat the damn thing.
A 3€ blinkie on the back of the helmet is a much better option. If you come out from behind a row of parked car at an intersection, drivers coming perpendicular can see it.
Answer: You need to consider your use case:

Are you looking for a light for use at night? In that case they're all far too bright.  Anyone coming up behind won't be able to see anything except the red dazzle.
Are you looking to be spotted in daylight by a driver approaching at speed, as early as possible (even with bright clothing, if you're in and out of shadows you may want lights)? In that case all of them still seem too bright, with the possible exception of the 150 if it spreads the light over a wide arc. The 450 certainly does illuminate on a very wide angle.

Even reputable manufacturers sell unreasonably dazzling lights - this is particularly obvious for front lights which do have uses e.g. on singletrack, but is true for the rear as well.  Some are also at that maximum brightness for a very brief flash.  For the rear lights, some seem to be sold on the assumption that you'll mainly use the much lower power options. Note though that Cateye's description is a bit odd:
<code>Constant (40 lumens):5 hrs
Flashing (40 lumens):65 hrs
Group Ride (130 lumens):10 hrs
Daytime Hyperflash (450 lumens):14 hrs
</code>
That "group ride" mode is only suitable for a back-marker, unless you want the following rider to hit you or a pothole, because they won't be able to see a thing.
Note that red lumens are not the same as white lumens because the definition of the lumen takes into account the sensitivity of the human eye, as well as rear lights not needing to illuminate the ground.  So you should expect much smaller numbers than you would for front lights.
As a point of comparison: The Lezyne Zecto Drive has an 80 lumen "daylight flash" mode.  Mine is an old version so may be a little less, but it's very visible even in sunlight, quite annoying close behind at dusk (but that's when I use it most, if I don't expect another rider behind - on Saturday, for example, I was heading into the sunset solo), and dangerously dazzling in the dark.  The main night time modes on the current model are 10--25 lumens; I'd expect the latter to be good for being spotted at a distance, and too much for a rider on your wheel.  My main (steady) rear light is dynamo-powered and is good in the dark, less so at dawn/dusk.  I often also use a light built in to my helmet for long-distance visibility.
Answer: None of these, except maybe 150 lumens would be barely acceptable.
In comparison, a car taillight bulb is 5 watts if implemented using the old incandescent technology. That's perhaps around 90 lumens. This highlights the insane brightness of these lights.
With current state-of-art LED technology (150 lm/W), those would correspond to about 1, 2 and 3 watts. Maybe a bit more as white LEDs have been optimized but red LEDs perhaps not so much.
How would you power those?
If you power those using a dynamo hub, it will take a large share of its current capacity. This will leave less current available for the front light, where you need it the most.
If you power those using for example two AA batteries (4.8 watt-hours combined), you get runtimes of 4.8 hours, 2.4 hours or 1.6 hours (perhaps little less because a switch-mode converter doesn't have 100% efficiency). That seems bit too little for my tastes, although 4.8 hours might be barely acceptable if you use rechargeable AA batteries instead of disposable ones.
Usually you select a rear light that consumes little power, and use most of the power for the front light.


Existence of Subgroups of Index $p$

Question: When I was attempting (and ultimately not succeeding) to answer this question I wanted something in group theory to be true, which I didn't think was. Namely if $G$ is a finite group and $p$ was a prime such that $p$ divided the order of $G$ then $G$ had a subgroup of index $p$. The proposition is clearly true for nilpotent groups, but beyond that I couldn't decide anymore. In particular I'm curious about whether or not its true for solvable groups and if it's easy to construct a counterexample for any prime $p$. For $p=3$ we have for instance $S_5$.
Comment: It's true for supersolvable groups (apply induction to $G/N$ where $N$ is a cyclic normal subgroup of prime order, together with Schur-Zassenhaus), but it's also true in $S_4$, so that is not a necessary condition.
Comment: A closely related question is whether there is any characterization of finite groups that have subgroups of all possible orders (i.e. possible by Lagrange's Theorem).
Answer: The alternating group $A_4$ has no subgroup of index 2.
Comment: So it fails for solvable groups. I'd imagine then that nilpotent groups are the most interesting class.
Comment: In fact $A_n$ has no subgroup of index $p$ for $p\not= n\geq 5$ (though it is not solvable).
Answer: If $M\leqslant G$ has index $m$, then $G/\text{core}_G(M)$ embeds into $\text{Sym}(G;M)\cong S_m$.  If $G$ is simple, then $M$ is core-free, so we have that $G$ injects into $\text{Sym}(G;M)$ which is of order $m!$.  Thus whenever $G$ is a finite simple group and $M$ a subgroup of prime index $p$, $p$ must be the largest prime divisor of $|G|$ and $p^2\not\mid |G|$.  In particular, $|A_n|=n!/2$ only divides $p!$ when $n=p$.
Answer: As the example given by Gerry shows, even if $G$ is solvable, it does not necessarily have a subgroup of prime index $p$ for every $p$ dividing $|G|$.
However, there is a partial result for solvable groups. If $G$ is a nontrivial solvable group, you can show that $G$ has at least one subgroup of prime index. Note that this might not be true for nonsolvable groups. The alternating group $A_6$ is one example of a finite group with no subgroups of prime index.

Existence of Subgroups of Index $p$


sync signal on parallel DC/DC-Converters

Question: I am currently designing a circuit to drive a high power laser-module at 12V/40A. I found the idea from Marco Reps https://github.com/marcoreps/laser_driver very inspiring for my design. Since the power to drive the laser is so high I decided to utilize 2 Converters instead of 1 module to save costs because DC/DC - Converters at 500W are kind of expensive. I found the I6A4W02033V from TDK which can supply 20A at 3,3V to 15V. These converters already have a sync option so I think it should be possible to parallel them. The Datasheet states https://product.tdk.com/info/en/documents/spec/dc-dc-converter/i6a4w_spec.pdf that one converter can be configured as master by connecting its MS pin to VIN and connecting SYNC from the master to the SYNC from the slave device. It also says that the SYNC signal from the master can be inverted by connecting it to GND instead of VIN. I had the idea to invert the signal to reduce noise on the combined outputs since in my theory the ripple voltages of the converters should theoretically cancel each other out as they are phase-shifted by 180°. Is this approach possible to reduce noise or do I miss something there?
Comment: If I remember well here is a specific IC from LTC that can generate those SYNC signals for interleaving. LTC6902
Comment: Look at this bargain: Murata UCQ-1.2/30-D48NHL2-Y : https://www.aliexpress.com/i/4000089074021.html?spm=2114.120574126.96.36.1998dbfd94cLX0
Answer: You're right about driving different converters (power trains) with different phases of a master sync clock.  Doing so increases the ripply frequency on the output and thus makes it easier to filter.  We design/build SMPSs with multiple power trains (2 & 4 being the most common) all the time.
But in your case, you need to make sure the individual converters allow themselves to be connected in parallel.  If they do, it should be so stated on the data sheet.  If not, you run the risk of one converter trying to supply all of the load current.  I skimmed through the data sheet for the converter you referenced and did not see any discussion about operating converters in parallel.
Answer: I'm unsure that they can be connected in parallel and, for me, the only realistic option is to build one yourself using the LTC7871 (for instance): -

The picture above shows a 24 volt output capable of delivering 180 amps so, re-arranging a couple of values to give 12 volts out isn't going to be a hardship. If you dig through the data sheet details you'll probably find that when operating with 12 volt on the output, the input voltage can be significantly lower than 36 volts too (if that helps).
You can also buy a demo board too: -
Comment: Thank you for your suggestion! Although the input voltage isn´t that big of an issue this circuit would probably make the voltage regulation a bit easier and get rid of the issues of load sharing but I am not sure whether it can achieve the low ripple needed for sensitive laser-diodes. However I will definitely look into the datasheet a bit further.
Answer: I do think that, if you wan't to use just two devices in interleving mode with 180 degrees, the module already support this without any other needs.
Synchronization:
The i6A modules can be synchronized to one another or to
an external clock within ±20% of nominal value shown on
electrical characteristics page by using pin 32 (SYNC) and
pin 33 (MS). Interleaving of switching can also be achieved
for input noise cancellation.
If MS pin is tied to Vin pin it will become a clock master. In
this mode pin 32 (SYNC) will become a clock output that can
be used to synchronize other i6A power modules.
If MS pin is left open, then pin 32 (SYNC) will become a clock
input and the module will synchronize to the clock signal with
no phase shift.
If MS pin is tied to GND then pin 32 (SYNC) will become a
clock input and the module will synchronize to the clock
signal with 180-degree phase shift.
In bold you have the combination 1st master, SYNC becomes the output for 2nd slave, SYNC input with 180 degrees shift.


Regarding buttons that takes user outside the app, how do I get them back to the original app?

Question: I have an app where the user undergoes a sign-up flow. During that flow, the user needs to enable "family sharing" on iOS which involves going into the iOS device settings and completing a series of steps. After they complete this step, they need to continue the sign up flow on the original app. How can I make sure users know to return to the original app after they enabled "family sharing"?
Comment: What's the reason that family sharing has to be done in the sign-up flow, vs. after the initial user has signed up?
Comment: @Izquierdo "Technical Issues"... but basically there's 2 devices, A and B. Device A starts the process, and at some point Device B must download an app and complete the process. When Device B downloads the app, they must have family share enabled for certain features to work. An alternative would be to enable family share when Device B opens the app, but then we would have to convey to the user that they must go back to Device A and add Device B to their family. The flow is already fairly confusing imo, so I'd like to prevent the user from having to go back and forth between devices
Comment: Is Device A's ability to use the app dependent on Device B? Or would Device B simply not have full functionality until Device A turns on family sharing?
Comment: @Izquierdo Device B would simply not have full functionality until Device A turns on family sharing.
Answer: Invite the user to turn on Family Sign-Up immediately after the main sign-up flow on Device A is complete. Because it's not required to finish registration on Device A, you'll see more successful sign-ups (for the reason you're getting at in your question, which is that when users leave an app, they might not come back, for a variety of reasons that you can't control.)
As soon as the main sign-up flow is done: "Congratulations! Welcome to [app]. Let's add your family. Next, you'll be taken to your Family Sharing settings. Turn that on."
If the user turns on family sharing and doesn't come back to the app - they're still done with the tasks they needed to complete.
If they don't successfully turn on family sharing, the app can detect that and invite them to try again the next time they visit the app.
Either way, you don't risk losing the main account sign-up when the user leaves.
What about Device B? Well, they've downloaded the app, and they'll either want to create a new account, or sign on to a family plan. That's a pretty easy thing to offer on the first screen.

If Device A already added them as a family member, all they'd need to do is connect to that login.
If Device A didn't successfully add them, they could see a friendly message like, "Are you waiting on a family member invitation? Enter their mobile number, and we'll send them a link to connect."


Intuition on finite homotopy groups

Question: As I have been studying algebraic topology, something that I found puzzling was the existence of finite homotopy groups. For instance, $\pi_{4}(S^{2})\cong\pi_{5}(S^{4})\cong\mathbb{Z}/2\mathbb{Z}$. I was wondering if there was any kind of intuitive reason for why this might be true, and if there are spaces $X$ such that $\pi_{1}(X)$ is finite. Speaking very roughly, it would seem that a finite, nontrivial fundamental group means that if you repeat a closed path enough times, it can be contracted to a point, something which I find rather hard to visualize. So the question is: Is there any intuitive reason for the existence of finite homotopy groups?
Comment: Think about one of the simplest examples, $\pi_1 \mathbb RP^2 \simeq \mathbb Z_2$.   The key picture is to think of $\mathbb RP^2$ as a Moebius band capped off with a disc.  The fundamental group computation boils down to the fact that the inclusion map $\mathbb Z \simeq \pi_1 \partial M \to \pi_1 M \simeq \mathbb Z$ is multiplication by two.  In homology the existence of torsion produces some rather subtle behavior, such as the torsion linking form  http://mathoverflow.net/questions/36987/intutive-interpretation-about-linking-forms
Comment: One can get any group as $\pi_1(X)$.
Comment: One result which gives a geometric criterion for finite fundamental group is the Bonnet-Myers theorem.  It provides an upper bound on the diameter of the universal cover of a Riemannian manifold whose Ricci curvature has a certain lower bound; in particular, if the Ricci curvature is bounded below at all then the universal cover is compact and $pi_1$ is finite.  As an application, it is possible to express the Ricci curvature of a compact Lie group with a bi-invariant metric in terms of the Lie bracket, and consequently any compact semisimple Lie group has finite fundamental group.
Comment: Check out this post: http://mathoverflow.net/questions/60877/geometric-meaning-of-torsion-in-homotopy-groups
Comment: One way to visualize why repeating the loop multiple times allows it to be contracted to a point is outlined in the following post: https://math.stackexchange.com/a/2863497/54797
Answer: The simplest (to understand) case of finite $\pi_1$ is the group $SO_3$.  This can be illustrated using an arm or a belt!  $SO_3$ is the group of rotations in space and a based loop in $SO_3$ can be thought of as a description of the motion of an object in such a way that it ends up back where it started.  By attaching a strip of paper to the object, it's possible to see this path in space.  For example, taking a belt and holding one end fixed whilst moving the other, or moving your hand (your arm forms the "strip").
So: hold your hand out in front of you, this is easiest if you do it palm-up.  Keeping it palm-up, rotate it under your arm back to where you started.  Your arm is now twisted (hopefully not too badly).  Continue moving your hand in the same direction and with your palm facing up but this time over the top of your arm.  When your hand gets back to where it started, your arm is now magically untwisted!  So two times round the loop gets you back to an untwisted state, thus $2\gamma = 0$.  But $\gamma \ne 0$ as evidenced by your twisted arm at the half-way stage.
If you find this difficult to do, here's an alternative way using a belt.  Take a belt and twist it once (that is, hold it out straight and imagine an axis along its length, then twist one end all the way around).  Now try to straighten it without twisting either end (though you can move either end in space).  Can't be done.  But if you twist the belt twice then it can.
(There's some funky you-tube videos showing the arm twists.  If you get really good at it, you should do it with a beaker of water.)
Comment: I did it once (not in a seminar) and broke the glass!  My algebraic-topology lecturer used the belt demonstration.
Comment: I did this in a seminar once - with a cup of water :)
Comment: Andrew -- great answer! I just edited the 0 out of $SO_3$.
Comment: Thanks! I suppose I got too caught up in the formalism of homotopy groups, rather than thinking more visually.
Comment: See also John Stillwell's book _Naive Lie Theory_, in which he explains
this "plate trick" maneuver that Andrew describes on p.184 (with a drawing) to illustrate that the group SO(3) is not simply connected.
Answer: Some neat examples of finite fundamental groups G of 3-manifolds are given by the quotients of the sphere S3 of unit quaternions by a finite subgroup G, such as the quaternion group {1, -1, i, -i, j, -j, k, -k} or order 8, or the double covers of orders 24, 48, 120 of the rotations of the platonic solids.  The case of the group of order 120 gives the Poincare 3-sphere, which has the same homology of the 3-sphere but different fundamental group.
Comment: And at a more banal level, one can get any finite cyclic
group in the same manner :-)
Answer: About $\pi_5(S^4)$, this is already in the stable range, so that it is isomorphic to the cobordism group of immersed curves in the plane. That is clearly ${\mathbb Z}/2$ since you can cancel double points pairwise by attaching handles. There are papers from the late 1970s and early 1980s by Koschorke, Sanderson, and Eccles that describe these correspondences. Basically they are Pontryagin Thom constructions. The cobordism group of immersions with specific normal bundles is isomorphic to the homotopy group of a Thom space. WHen the bundle is trivial, the Thom space is trivial. See also a recent preprint of Snaith about the Kervaire invariant 1 problem.
Comment: It looks like the 1980 paper "Multiple points of codimension one immersions" by Peter John Eccles is pretty accessible.  I'll start there www.springerlink.com/index/2504061088521677.pdf
Comment: Oh, and $\pi_4(S^2)$ can be identified with immersed oriented surfaces in 3-space. It is amusing to find the generator. Hint: it is an immersed projection of the standard torus $(e^\theta, e^\phi) \in {\mathbb C}^2$.
Comment: This connection sounds very intriguing.  Could you go into a little more detail, or point me to a particular place to start reading?
Answer: To distill some points made in other comments, you must understand $\pi_1$ and covering space theory simultaneously, as they are two sides of the same coin and each informs the other.
Ryan's description of $RP^2$ as a Mobius band capped off by a disk hints at the process to produce a space $X$ satisfying $\pi_n(X)=G$  for any group (abelian if $n>1$) $G$. (If finite $\pi_1$ is hard to visualize, think about a space with $\pi_1$ the real numbers, or the circle!) The basic idea is to take a wedge of $n$ spheres and attach some $n+1$ disks. The idea is that the $n$-spheres generate and the $n+1$ disks introduce relations.
Note that $SO(3)$ is obtained from $RP^2$ by attaching a $3$-disk which doesn't affect $\pi_1$
but does $\pi_2$. So $\pi_2(RP^2)=Z$ and $\pi_2(SO(3))=0$.
But your question hints at more subtle kinds of examples, namely $\pi_n(S^k)$ when $n>k$. Those are finite (except for some cases when $n=2k-1$) and non-trivial for many $n$ and $k$. Note that there are no $n$ or $n+1$ disks around, so these groups are non-zero for interesting reasons. Sorting out what the $\pi_n(S^k)$ are and why is a beautiful and impossibly difficult branch of mathematics. Scott hints at some geometric approaches using immersions and embeddings. There are many other ways to study these groups.
Answer: Perhaps it isn't necessary to add another answer, but here is one more nevertheless.

Given any discrete group $G$, form the classifying space $BG$. A map of $S^1$ to $BG$
is equivalent to giving a principal $G$-bundle over $S^1$. Such a bundle can formed by
gluing the ends of the trivial bundle $[0,1]\times G$ with a twist given by an element
of $G$. So in this way, we get $\pi_1(BG)=G$.
Of course, invoking $BG$ is perhaps violating the spirit of the question.
When $G$ is finite, we can approximate
this by something more concrete. Let $V$ be a faithful unitary representation of $G$ with no
trivial summands (e.g. the complement of $\mathbb{C}$ in the regular representation).
After replacing $V$ by $V\oplus V$ if necessary, we can assume that $\dim V>1$.
Then the unit sphere $S\subset V$ will be simply connected, and $G$ will act on it without
fixed points. So the quotient $S/G$ will have fundamental group $G$.
This is the same construction used (implicitly) in many of the other answers.
Comment: I think you need a more restrictive hypothesis on G. This is not the case for every compact Lie group, $BS^1 = \mathbb{C}P^\infty$ which is simply connected, hence $\pi_1(BS^1)=0$. It is true for finite groups and $\mathbb{Z}$.
Comment: Good point. $\mbox{}$
Answer: One approach is to understand this as part of the geometry of universal covering spaces. Such spaces are simply connected (even sometimes contractible), but may have finite groups acting on them sufficiently "nicely" (and there's the catch) so that the quotient inherits the finite group as its fundamental group. In fact if the long exact sequence of a fibration (of homotopy groups) applies, you can force a fundamental group to coincide with a discrete group as fibre.
Answer: A lot of standard examples have $\pi_1(X)=C_2$ or have a $C_2$
as a factor. I think it's harder to visualize spaces with larger cyclic
$\pi_1$, so here's a simple example.
Pick a positive integer $n$. We'll
construct a space with $\pi_1(X)=C_n$. Take the closed unit disc $D$
in the plane: $D=\{(x,y):x^2+y^2\le1\}$. Identify points
on the circumference an angular distance of $2\pi/n$ apart. We
get a quotient space $X$, where $(\cos t,\sin t)$ and
$(\cos(t+2\pi/n),\sin(t+2\pi/n))$ are identified. In $X$, the map
from $[0,2\pi/n]$ to $X$ taking $t$ to $(\cos t,\sin t)$ is a loop $\lambda$.
Tracing out $\lambda$ $n$ times gives the whole circumference.
This big loop can be contracted by passing it over the centre of the disc $D$,
but no smaller positive integer multiple of $\lambda$ can be contracted.
Now, intuiting higher homotopy groups is a much harder matter ....

Intuition on finite homotopy groups


performance between the data structures

Question: I have developed two existing data structures and I want to see their performances over a certain algorithm. In this case I use Dijkstra's algorithm with binary and Fibonacci heaps. Just to ask, if I have 100 to 1000 number of vertices in the tested sparse digraphs, how many times should I execute my program for a single n vertices? How do I know that the empirical differences in performance that I've obtained between data structures are not due to chance?
Answer: You can use the program ministat to get statistical information about runtime differences. This blog post gives an example for the usage.
But in general, comparing runtimes is difficult and very machine dependent. Ideally you would find another performance measure that doesn't change so much between processors.
You should also take care that your input instances are well chosen. Random instances might behave very differently from real-world cases, but the latter are typically hard to come by. You should try modelling "interesting" properties of real-world instances and generating instances that also have those properties. You can also try to look very hard at the data structures and try to generate instances that trigger worst-case behaviour, but that is typically also very hard.
Comment: Thanks Andrian. It helps. At least I get an idea how to proceed my experiments.
Comment: If you like the answer you can upvote and possibly accept it. I believe saying 'thank you' is discouraged because it adds no content.

performance between the data structures


User make assets subfolder in the frontend

Question: I have a standard user profile form. But now I would like that the user can upload images in new subfolder and make own subfolder.
Is there any solution or a plugin for this?
Answer: No idea if it lets users create subfolders on the front-end, but this is the closest plugin I could find: https://straightupcraft.com/craft-plugins/assets-browser
If that doesn't do it, most likely you'd need to do some custom plugin work to do what you're looking for.
Comment: If I wanted to do this in my own plugin, would it essentially just be listening for the `users.onActivateUser` event when a new user registers/activates their account, then using PHP's `mkdir()` function to create a subfolder for that particular user in my assets folder?  Then it seems like the rest is simply setting the file upload field in the profile form to target that user's subfolder, presumably by id, as the destination. Is this the right track?
Comment: @Ryan you need to know there are two kinds of folders in craft. First: your local file system folder you create with `mkdir()` second: your craft `FolderModel` you require in order to manage assets in your cp. The `insertFileByLocalPath` function to include assets to the system requires such a folder model ID. So if you don't want to throw every asset into the same craft folder you would need to create one of those as well. I would suggest you create a new question then I'll show my code to create subfolders, insert files in it and link those to an entry.


in CiviMail, when using "view in browser" link, how can forward to a friend be disabled?

Question: When a person clicks on the view in browser link in an email, the email is generated on a webpage. This webpage also includes any tokens like Forward to a friend, which on this webpage does not work. How can the html for the web-page version of the email be edited to get rid of such token (or the unsubscribe token?)
Answer: Try wrapping those items in  . Civi's css will hide it on your website, but email clients will not.
Answer: Thank you for the suggestion, Coleman, but we can't get the "hiddenElement" class to affect the display. We are particularly keen to hide the 'Unsubscribe' link at the bottom of our emails when 'viewed in browser'.
Are there any plans to allow the 'View in Browser' page link within the mailing to be include a Contact ID (and a key token to prevent forgery?) so that 'Unsubscribe' can work as expected, even when the mailing is being 'viewed in browser'?


Do toggle bolts have to be perpendicular to the floor?

Question: Recently I installed floating shelves on my drywall using toggle bolts. I noticed some websites mention that toggle bolts need to open up in a way that is perpendicular to the floor. When I installed them I didn't pay attention and I'm wondering does it matter if my toggle bolts were installed with the wings being parallel to the floor?
Answer: I can think of two things.

When installing, being horizontal will help the wings unfold, as one of them isn't fighting gravity.
Once installed, load is often in shear (meaning not straight-out, but at an angle downward).  If installed vertically, this will put much more load on the top wing of the toggle than the bottom wing, and it could be a "point load" which might help it dig into the backside of the wall in a non-desirable way.   If laid horizontally, the wings will see more of a pulling load, and be loaded evenly.

However, it would be tricky to keep a toggle from turning as you install it, so I don't see any way a novice installer could control whether it's horizontal or vertical.
Answer: That depends on the design of the toggle.
Some have internal springs that mean the direction does not matter - except for being aware of the support it is clamping to.
Others use their own mass to cantilever themselves into position so with those you have to get them positioned correctly.
Sometimes I have had a toggle close to a joist / object so it can only go vertical (or horizontal) and they work fine (why I like the spring type...).


Is it too early to ask about the status of my paper?

Question: I submitted my paper to an Elsevier math journal specialized in my research area on May 3rd. The paper is a bit long but on a fairly mainstream topic. The paper status is still "with editor" since then.
Because of my job situation and the job evaluation on the line, it is crucial for me that the paper is published promptly. I know that 17 days is normal for "with editor" status. But given the type of the journal and my situation, is it too early to ask for an update on the status or let the editor know that the time is very important for me? or it might hurt the process? If it is too early, how long more should I wait?
Comment: Does this answer your question? [What does the typical workflow of a journal look like? How should I interpret a particular submission status?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/55665/what-does-the-typical-workflow-of-a-journal-look-like-how-should-i-interpret-a)
Comment: "it is crucial for me that the paper is published promptly." Prepare a plan B: a paper may need major review, the complete process may last 1/1.5 years.
Comment: Even supposing that you do not harm, it's difficult that asking "for an update" will really help fastening the whole process.
Comment: @AlessandroDellaCorte, Number Theory.
Comment: I would say it's reasonable to put in the comments/cover letter when you submit a statement like: "I will be on the job market soon, so anything you can do to expedite the refereeing process would be appreciated."  If you know the editor, you could still tell them this now.  BTW if you mean JNT, they try to get reviews back quickly, so I wouldn't worry about it.
Answer: Yes, it's probably too early. Time to review varies by discipline (I believe maths is particularly long, while medical science can be relatively quick). In any case, two/three weeks is too short for anything other than an editorial rejection. I wouldn't start chasing a paper until two or three months had passed with no notifications.
Some journals offer expedited review, but this is usually for papers with urgent findings (e.g. on Covid), not for career reasons. You could ask, but be prepared for the answer to be "no".
Reviewing is a volunteer activity (lots of problems with that, but anyway...) Finding reviewers takes time, and it's unlikely you would incentivise them to speed up by saying "it would be helpful for the author's career if you did this quickly".
Comment: Thank you for your response. I understand and agree with your points. My question was about the editorial part of the process; if explaining the situation could help expedite this part (Asking the reviewers, ...) or might sound pushy in the early stage, which it seems you think is the latter case.
Comment: It's unlikely that you can expedite this part of the process much. Waiting for reviewers to agree to review the paper will form most of the time at this point. Again, you can ask, and if you're polite it could help by a few days (e.g. move your paper up the pile for editorial review).


Substitute for Bench-Top Jointer

Question: My old Sears 5 1/8" jointer motor is dead.  I can't find a replacement.  Trying to haul a new one to my shop in Mexico seems impractical.  I'm contemplating buying a jointer plane or a hand held electric jointer.  Any recommendations?
Comment: See also one of the other answers, which pointed to a jig which turned a smaller handplane into a bench-mounted edge-jointer plane, by providing additional guide surfaces. See also discussions of edge jointing on tabe saw or router, and face-jointing on a planer by using a sled or rails to stabilize the board.
Comment: Here is the previous Question referred to by keshlam: [Methods of jointing without a jointer](http://woodworking.stackexchange.com/questions/2484/methods-of-jointing-without-a-jointer). There are numerous options as you can see and perhaps the most expedient and efficient for anyone with a router is to use that for the purpose. If you don't already have one a good router is by far and away the most versatile of all power tools, and amazingly costs quite a bit less than a decent new-build hand plane.
Answer:
I'm contemplating buying a jointer plane or a hand held electric jointer. Any recommendations?

It depends on a few things, in my opinion: how accurate you want to be, how hard to you want to work, and how much do you want to spend.

Accuracy
Jointer planes can be amazingly accurate in the right hands.  They have the ability to finesse an edge by thousandths of an inch per pass of the plane.  However, there is a bit of a learning curve to using one.  If you do it all the time, though, it will become second nature.
I should add that using a jointer plane alone in lieu of a power jointer is not an entire solution.  To dimension rough boards, you will want to have at least a jack plane or a fore plane to do the rough dimensioning, then come back with the jointer plane for the final flattening passes.  Jointer planes are usually set up to take very fine shavings, whereas jack/fore planes are set to hog out material.
A handheld electric jointer can be accurate if used correctly.  They have two plates that you can adjust to a pretty fine shaving (< 1/16" in most models).  You can finesse an edge just as well with an electric jointer as with the manual one mentioned above.  However, just due to the powered nature of the tool, it is a bit less controlled than a hand jointer plane.
Mostly, I've seen electric handheld jointers at construction sites where a carpenter needs to hog off the edge of a board to fit it in a space.  I don't know that I've ever seen one in a "fine" woodworking shop.  This may be because the "fine" woodworkers use a tabletop jointer like what you just broke.

Effort
Hand planes take sweat equity to use, there's no doubt about it.  In the time it takes you to flatten a board with a combination of a jack/fore plane and a jointer plane, you could have done two or three with a tabletop jointer and planer.  If you're not averse to that, hand planes work well, like they did in the hundreds of years they were used before electricity.
Electric handheld planers take minimal effort to use, as is expected from an electric tool.

Cost
You can probably find a used electric handheld planer for under $100 USD.  Heck, find some retiree who used to do carpentry as a hobby and he will probably give his to you.
When you enter the world of hand planes, you enter a big rabbit hole.  You can definitely find hand planes for cheap if they're in poor condition or if the owner doesn't know what he has.  They will often require some work to get into usable shape.  Otherwise, you can do the Lee Valley or Lie-Nielsen route (among others) and buy new, but those babies are expensive.
Comment: Thanks grfrazee.  I have my logs cut to the thickness I want and use my thickness plane and drum sander to smooth the rough sawn surface.  I'm mostly concerned about the edges although, using a hand jointer plane may speed up the first part of smoothing the rough cut boards.  I'm inclined toward the hand plane.  I am concerned because the wood I use (guanacaste) is notorious for tear out.  Still the hand plane sounds best.
Comment: @CarlCarlson, *"(guanacaste) is notorious for tear out"*, we have [a previous Question](http://woodworking.stackexchange.com/questions/99/hand-planing-edge-joined-board-without-tearout) on that. I wasn't around then so I would add to that and say that if you're planing difficult, tearout-prone woods having the cap iron as close to the cutting edges is the #1 thing to concentrate on. The cutting iron is of course assumed to be as sharp as you can make it.

Substitute for Bench-Top Jointer


Printing a pdf file stored on server to client side printer

Question: I am generating PDFs file dynamically in my application using Apache PDFBox library.
I have jsp page which is having Print button.When user click on that print button i want to generate PDF file and at the same time show pdf file on browser and apply window.print() method.
How can i achieve this in my jsp page?
Answer: Create a pdf link on your page and the link should be mapped to the actual location the PDF exists on your server.
The browser actually handles what to do with the pdf (based on your browser settings) .... whether to download it or open it via plugin. The bottomline is you cannot control it via server side code.
In either of the case you cannot apply window.print() because that is only applicable to browser window and not pdf plugin functionality or if it gets downloaded then he has to manually open it.
Answer: There is an alternate solution to this. That is show the pdf in a div in your html and print that div.
For how to show pdf in a html div you can look Display Adobe pdf inside a div
For printing a div or any other html element there are jquery plugins available. I have used print.js that will print a html div, it will also maintain your css.
So when user clicks the print button first show the pdf in a div and then call the print function to print that div.


Why question Paul's apostleship now

Question: Lately it seems many are rejecting Saul/Paul as a legitimate apostle of Lord Jesus. I guess I'm trying to figure out if this is a new concept or a fairly old one.
Comment: Is there anyone in particular you're thinking of? It would be good if you could [edit] this to ask about someone in particular who rejects the apostleship of Paul and what their arguments are. Otherwise this question isn't really focused enough.
Comment: @NigelJ Generally, as C.S. Lewis observed, that's the *purpose*, and attacking Paul first is the tactic.
Comment: @Mary, perhaps there's another good question there.  When *did* people start saying that Paul taught a different gospel, and what inspired that movement?
Comment: If people want to remove Paul's words (and influence) they will need to throw away 65% of their bible. Paul + Luke + Mark (and probably Hebrews as well) must all go. Paul 'laid the foundation as a master-builder'. Take away the foundation and the building collapses. Up-voted +1.
Comment: More precision would be nice.  There's been a long history of people claiming that Paul warped Jesus's teachings, since the 19th century, but it's impossible to be sure from your comments.
Comment: @RayButterworth  Well, in the 19th century at least, generally wanting to reject teachings on the grounds they came from Paul, not Jesus.  C.S. Lewis noted that people thought Paul was responsible for most of the references to Hell when it was actually Jesus.  And I have in this current day had someone tell me that if he were a Christian, he'd listen more to Jesus than to Paul -- and it had to be broken to him that I had quoted Jesus.
Answer: A speculative answer:
It's a natural attack angle for theological liberals and others who reject the authority or veracity of the NT to take, as rejecting Paul's apostleship allows you to reject 50% of the NT out of hand, as well as the clearest expositions of most standard Christian doctrines.
As attempts to sever Christianity from its historical orthodoxy escalate, so will attacks on Paul.
Comment: @NigelJ Because 1) It accepts the premise that attacks on Paul are increasing, and 2) infers a specific main motive. Both of which I think are true, but are not definitely, irrefutably true like that Paul's apostleship was questioned during his ministry. So they answer different parts of the question, with different degrees of certainty.
Comment: It's also speculative because we don't know who are the people doing it, given the lack of clarity in the question.
Answer: I have interacted with a few 'organizations' and individuals who strongly oppose Paul's teaching and apostleship.  Below are a few links that may be of interest.  In my estimation the centerpiece of their hatred of Pauline doctrine is grace.  Just as Paul was accused of promoting licentiousness in his day:

God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged. But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man) God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world? For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner? And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just. - Romans 3:4-8

and was accused of despising the Law:

And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him, Crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place: and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place. - Acts 21:27-28

so are there today those who would take occasion to misrepresent the grace of God in Christ and attempt to bring the unstable and unlearned back under the ministry of condemnation
There is nothing new under the sun and the enemy of our souls has no need to use any but the tried and true methods of spiritual murder.  Here are the links I mentioned above.  There are certainly more, some more aggressively against Paul than others.  All of them massively mishandle (perhaps deliberately) Paul's words and doctrine.  Many of them present as meek and gentle.  Please be careful and, if you are not yet apprehended of Christ, stay away from such as these.
Exodus 2 the Kingdom
Christianity from a Jesus Words Only Perspective
Jesus Words Only
Answer: It's gone on since Galatians
A major theme of Galatians is a defence of Paul's apostleship as genuine and his gospel as genuine. It's not subtle; Galatians 1 and 2 arguably have Paul's defence of his apostleship as their main topic.
As Galatians is most likely the very first NT book written, or close to, this is not new.
It's an important theme in 1 and 2 Corinthians as well. (Thanks NigelJ for suggesting I add them).
Comment: One could the Corinthian epistles as well, I would suggest. Up-voted +1.
Comment: @NigelJ True. I'll edit it now.
Answer: Paul doesn't have a resounding endorsement of his own apostleship in 1 Corinthians 15:8

And last of all He appeared to me also, as to one of untimely birth.

or "abnormally born" (NIV).
@Dottard Biblical hermeneutics translates ..

The noun here is ἔκτρωμα = untimely birth = miscarriage or lifeless abortion, or birth beyond term.

Thats not a very positive self-assessment of his credentials.
Personally, I think this is humility, however for his opponents (which there are many) a statement of weakness is another yard stick to beat him with. The opponents will simply say apostleship is the 12/11 disciples selected by Jesus in his earthly ministry, but obviously I question their underlying motives.

Here I'm stating that a key part of being an apostle is one who has seen the resurrected Christ, this being the basis Jesus has selected Paul.
To address the allegation of eisegesis (comments), Paul goes on to say,

9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

I struggle the inaccuracy of my exegesis.
Comment: This is not a competent overview of _all of Paul's words_ regarding his own apostleship. Despite being untimely, he yet exceeded the other apostles as he says, they adding nothing to him by conference and he excelling in behaviour.

Why question Paul's apostleship now


1980s movie about a handsome alien visiting Earth and meeting a woman

Question: The story is about a handsome alien/man visiting from another planet. He meets a woman and helps her fight a gang. In the end, he dies at the hands of the gang and his spirit returns to his planet. It was a low-budget film. I believe it is set in Los Angeles, but I'm not sure, and I remember that the woman was an artist who lived in a warehouse type of building.
Comment: For the duration of the first 2 sentences, I was thinking "Earth Girls Are Easy."
Answer: Seems to be Alien Warrior (1986)
Final scene ("spirit"):

Plot

An alien from another dimension who is basically Space Jesus lands on
earth to fight the "Great Evil" that has been unleashed on the urban
wastelands of 80's Los Angeles. He builds a Ferrari out of junkyard
parts and befriends drunks, street urchins, and hookers.


Variation on partial least squares regression (PLSR) that does not assume linear relationships between variables

Question: Partial least squares regression (PLSR) is a statistical technique that allows you to predict multiple response variables from multiple predictor variables. It works by essentially running separate principal components analyses (PCAs) on the matrix of the response variables and the matrix of the predictor variables, and then it regresses the equivalent axes from each. For example, the first PCA axis from the predictor variables is regressed with the first PCA axis from the response variables, the second PCA axis from the predictor variables is regressed with the second PCA axis from the response variables, and so on. It isn't exactly PCA that is being performed on the matrices of the predictor and the response variables, though, because the goal is not to capture the maximum variability within predictor and response matrices. Instead, the goal is to capture the maximum variability between the predictor and the response matrices. Thus, what I have been calling PCA axes may not actually be true PCA axes - they may be rotated to allow the subsequent regressions between the predictor and the response variable axes to be better.
Since PLSR is based on a similar technique as PCA, it assumes that there are linear relationships between variables. In practice, these relationships are not always linear.
Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) is a more robust technique than PCA as it does not assume relationships between variables are linear, but NMDS axis scores may be somewhat meaningless, especially when there are high stress values.
Is it reasonable to use a technique like NMDS to generate axis scores to use in PLSR regression? In other words, instead of using a technique like PCA to generate axis scores for points to be used in subsequent regression analysis (where we regress the first axis from the predictor variable ordination with the first axis of the response variable ordination), could we use something like NMDS and avoid making the assumption that relationships between data are linear?
Thank you!
Answer: After thinking about this question for a while, I think the best option is to transform all your variables so that they are related linearly and then use PLSR as normal.


Change default size of User Preferences pop up window

Question: Is it possible to change the default size of the preferences popup window?
Answer: AFAIK no, but you can change any area's type to user preferences via the menu in the far left of the header:

You can then temporarily make it the size of the entire blender window by pressing
⎈ Ctrl↑ Up arrow. Toggle back to the previous screen layout with ⎈ Ctrl↑ Up arrow again.
(⎈ Ctrl↓ Down arrow works too)
If you just want to get to the prefs quickly with more screen real-estate, then perhaps this might help.
Comment: Gandalf, Thanks for the answer. I currently enter the preferences with a button on custom pie menu i am working on. Would it be possible to get to the preferences with any of the layouts that you are showing by pressing a button on my pie menu?, thats what i am after. I will work with Blenders entire UI hidden because my pie gives me everything i need, so entering the preferences by using what you are showing is not an option because in that case i have to bring back parts of the ui only for this function,hope that makes sence.
Comment: @JimmyLivefjord That should be possible; you could make a custom operator in python which changes the current area to user-preferences, then point the pie-menu at that.