How to change login labels

Question: I want to know how to change the login label such as Username or Email Address to Username within the wp-login.php?
Answer: All of these strings/labels are passed through translation functions, so you can use gettext filter to modify them.
function change_labels( $translated_text, $text, $domain ) {
    if ( 'Username' === $text ) {
        $translated_text = 'Username new label';
    }
    return $translated_text;
}

function register_change_label_filter() {
    add_filter( 'gettext', 'change_labels', 20, 3 );
}
add_action( 'login_head', 'register_change_labels_filter' );
// this way our filter will work only on wp-login and not everywhere on site...

Answer: @William : although your solution may work, it's not the proper way (which is why you got a downvote).
What you really want to do is customize the login page. Start here: https://codex.wordpress.org/Customizing_the_Login_Form
On that page, you'll find this suggested code:
<?php
if ( ! is_user_logged_in() ) { // Display WordPress login form:
    $args = array(
        'redirect' => admin_url(),
        'form_id' => 'loginform-custom',
        'label_username' => __( 'Username custom text' ),
        'label_password' => __( 'Password custom text' ),
        'label_remember' => __( 'Remember Me custom text' ),
        'label_log_in' => __( 'Log In custom text' ),
        'remember' => true
    );
    wp_login_form( $args );
} else { // If logged in:
    wp_loginout( home_url() ); // Display "Log Out" link.
    echo " | ";
    wp_register('', ''); // Display "Site Admin" link.
}
?>

Better to do it the right way, rather than some DOM kludge. IMHO.
Added
As mentioned in the link, you can use the above code to set the $args you want to use. Just use the filter:

This login form has the filters: login_form_top, login_form_middle,
  and login_form_bottom. Each can print text in the form, as shown in
  the image on the right.

See the link for details on that, and the image referenced.
**Added **
If you look at the wp_login_form() function, you will see the source code referenced here: https://core.trac.wordpress.org/browser/tags/4.9.7/src/wp-includes/general-template.php#L0 .
At line 419, you will see this line:
$args = wp_parse_args( $args, apply_filters( 'login_form_defaults', $defaults ) );

which tells you that you can change the login form $args by using the
add_filter('login_form_defaults', 'your_login_form_fields_function');

So there is a filter that can be used to change the login form values (see this code for the $args parameters, shown in the wp_login_form function (see above source code reference, starting at line 390).
Which answers the question: how to change the login form fields/descriptions, by using the appropriate filter. And also shows that if you dig into the code a bit, you can find filters that might help you with a question.
Comment: This will work for a custom form, but not the login form on wp-login.php, which the question references.
Comment: There was an implied filter in there, which would allow you to change the args. Probably should have mentioned the filter, but that info is on the page; right next to the area that has the code I referenced. But I'll add to my answer.
Comment: As far as I can tell none of those filters are applied on wp-login.php, as that form is not based on `wp_login_form()`.
Comment: @JacobPeattie : see the 2nd 'added' to my answer. The initial answer referenced building your own form, but linked to Codex about customizing the login form. And if you (or anyone) were to dig a bit deeper into that reference, you'd find that the wp_login_form function is used in templates to display a login form. And then you would find that there is a filter you can use. Which was the point of my answer: point a person in the right direction, with some hints from the Codex, and they will find their solution. And learn something in their effort. I stand by my answer, regardless of downvotes.
Answer: Another way to change the text for any wordpress text is to do a 'translation'.  WP by default is in en-US, you could add (for example) en_AU (Ausatraian English).  Any translations not provided, will use the default language.  You could use any translation plugin or editor to create 'translations' just for the text's that you want to change.  Basically give your website an 'accent' ;)
Comment: Isn't it easier to use `gettext` filter? I don't think that changing language of site just to change this labels is a good idea...
Comment: Well rather than hardcoding the new text in a plugin, use the translation files.  Not really changing the language (still english ;) ), just saying instead of this text, send out that text.  It might even be possible using a en-US language tag if people don't want to use other english tags
Comment: You don't need to hardcode it - you can still (and you should) use this new text with translations. There is a reason why languages have locale (why it's not EN, but en_us, en_gb, and so on) and you shouldn't use them for changing labels. It's a nasty hack/work-around and not a solution.
Comment: In this case hacking the login is quicker, but I disagree that translations are a 'hack'. To change some text to present say a dialected/accented version of the words used (ie the language) for a niche audience imho this a cleaner way to go.  Adding a plugin even with it's own terms to be translated seems rather circular and more work.  Imagine one wants to call users 'mates', maybe say 'G'day' not 'welcome' etc, the cleanest way to change consistently through the install is by 'translating' to a version of language (a dialect) Otherwise one is left hacking sections to change the text.
Comment: Imagine this situation... You inherit some site. It's in English. You notice that some labels are changed. How do you check how are the changed? (Remember, that you don't need *.po files for translations to work, and *.mo files are binary, so you can't use grep to find any string in them). You're right - it's quicker this way, but it's a dirty hack - you won't be able do document it, and if you forget why and how it was done it's almost impossible to debug it... As a developer to developer - please, never use translations this way...

How to change login labels


Why current flows along a transmission line?

Question: Say I don't have a ideal transmission line i.e resistance/length!=0.
Also E-Field exists between the two conductor lines. How then current flows through the line? There is no E-Field along the line right?
Comment: CHeck this animation from Wikipedia, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Transmission_line_animation3.gif
Answer: Sure there's an E-field along the line. When you apply a voltage at one end, the other end is still at 0V — how is that not a lengthwise voltage difference?
Comment: If you want me to address that specifically, you're going to have to show us the reference.
Comment: Yes there should be an E-field but in many places I saw they are only considering E-field existing between the conductors
Answer: The following answer is related to RF communications transmission lines. In power transmission lines the answer would be a little different than the following.
Almost all RF transmission lines consists of two conductors.  The purpose is to transmit a relative high frequency signal (electromagnetic wave) through the line by changing the voltage across the line following any AC waveform (mostly sine but triangular, square is possible).  The change of voltage polarity from peak positive to zero and then to peak negative between the 2 conductors creates a permanent time changing electric field between these 2 conductors, which moves through the dielectric between them at a speed near the light speed (but never equal unless the dielectric is air). The speed is not of any concern since in our human perception it is "instantaneous". Then, what about the electric current? Since there is a change of voltage between the two conductors at any specific point, there must be also a change of the amount of charge that produce it. This change in electric charge at any point along the transmission line is produced by an electric current, back and forth, that exists because of the time changing voltage applied to the transmission line.  So a back and forth electric current exist in a transmission line when an AC voltage is applied at any end of this line. Note that the transmitted information is received at the end of the transmission line by measuring the change in voltage at that end.  By the way, a change in intensity and polarity of an electromagnetic field that hit a conductor also creates this change in current and, as a consequence, a change in voltage at the end of this conductor.  This is the behavior of an receiver antenna.....
Comment: Can you put some paragraphs in. It's a wall of text at the moment.
Comment: I'm not sure it would help. This is just a lot of hand-waving that doesn't really explain anything.
Answer: There is a voltage difference!

Say I don't have a ideal transmission line i.e resistance/length!=0.

Ok, a normal transmission line.

Also E-Field exists between the two conductor lines.

Ok, that's still the case with any normal transmission line. But why should it matter?

How then current flows through the line? There is no E-Field along the line right?

Why? Of course, there is an electric field along the line, and a current flows - as proven by usage of almost any hair-dryer or washing machine.
In fact, there wouldn't be an electric field along the line, if the transmission line was ideal.
Comment: The last statement is simply false.
Comment: @DaveTweed: Explain why, please! If the transmission line was ideal in the sense of having zero resistance, the smallest electric field would necessarily imply an infinite current.
Comment: Not at all. Even a superconducting transmission line has the characteristic inductive and capacitive effects. The current doesn't become *instantly* infinite! It takes time to build up, during which, there's a lengthwise E field imposed across the self-inductance of the line.
Comment: @DaveTweed: Well, I have to agree. There are longitudinal electric fields even in superconductors, if you look at the propagation of waves with longitudinal e-fields, but the (temporal and spatial) average electric field strength along the line does still decrease towards zero with increasing conductivity of the wire.


Flush lever for toilet

Question: How do you fix a flush handle that will not push down?  It will not move.  The toilet will flush if I remove the lid and pull up on the chain.
Comment: Lou - Open up the lid of the toilet water tank and then use your smart phone to take a clear of the inside at the flush handle. Post that and you will be able to get a much better answer than as asked now.
Comment: If the handle will not move even with the cover removed, the simplest fix may be to replace the handle-and-rod assembly. Most hardware stores should have inexpensive generic replacements, and it's easy to do.
Answer: I suggested above in the comments section that you should be posting a picture of the inside part of the flush lever for evaluation. That said if the lever does not want to move then there are two good possibilities here, both of which will likely require replacement of the lever assembly with a new generic unit.
The first possibility is that the current non-functioning lever is all made out of metal and has been in the tank for literally ages. Many times the rotation point where the lever assembly passes through the wall of the water tank builds up deposits and/or corrosion to the point that the lever can no longer be moved. Another possibility is that the fastening nut that holds the lever in place has come loose and allowed the collar in the hole to turn. The collar usually has a built on stop that limits how far the lever can be moved. If this collar turns then the limit stop may be what is keeping the lever from turning.
The other possibility, which is much more common on more recent day toilet installations, is that the flush lever assembly is made all or partially out of plastic. These have the advantage is being less susceptible to the corrosion problem but can have problems of their own. These can also have problems with the turning collar issue if there is a bad match between the collar size and the typical square hole through the water tank wall. Plastic assemblies can break which is often caused by the plastic getting old and brittle. Breakage can manifest itself in the rotating part of the lever mount and prevent proper operation.

Flush lever for toilet


How to ask for clarification when I lack the reputation to do so?

Question: I'd like to ask BertR for clarification regarding his answer to this question. However, I don't have enough reputation to comment. The guidelines say I shouldn't submit an answer that is really a request for clarification, so what should I do? Also, I'm pretty sure I shouldn't even be asking this question here, but can't find a suitable place to ask questions like this. I don't have enough reputation for chat either, so I can't ask in there.
Comment: What do you want to ask?
Comment: Actually, I thought another source contradicted a couple of your examples, but as I  checked them to answer you here, it became clear that I had just confused a couple of characters. All clear now. Thanks for the offer though.
Answer: Yes, this is the right place to ask these types of questions.
The reason for restrictions on this site is to encourage involvement in the site which is supposed to help you understand and appreciate the site.
It prevents new users from jumping on the site and participating without first taking the time to have a look around at how things work.
You can see the different privileges available and what amount of reputation you need to reach those levels by looking here https://chinese.stackexchange.com/privileges
The hardest part is usually the first 100 points, this is usually because new users want to jump in and do everything straight away. But it isn't that hard to get there.
The easiest way for you to get your first 100 points:

Provide suggested edits by looking at other people's messy posts and making a significant improvement with style, structure or grammar etc. Note, small, insignificant edits are usually ignored
Provide a good quality answer to another persons question that is likely to attract up votes
Ask good quality questions. Good questions only get rewarded with half as many points as good quality answers and the site only want questions that are worthwhile, good quality and are based on a real problem that someone would have. So it is not recommended to ask questions just to get reputation, but if you can think of something interesting to ask this is still a way for you to build your reputation.

Welcome to the site and I hope you enjoy your time here and get to find your way round quickly!
If you have any more issues please feel free to ask them here on meta or in chat.
Comment: Thanks for the clarifications. And now I can upvote!


Photo gallery app with time stamps

Question: In the default camera roll you can't see the time and date of your photos. Is there any app I can install to have my photos displayed like camera roll just with dates? It's quite annoying to search through over 2000 photos. A date selection or sorting would be nice.
Answer: PhotoCal and PhotoHistory both allow you to browse photos by date. PhotoCal will also scan your Photostream.
Comment: Thanks dude, PhotoCal does the trick. Looks very nice and makes browsing Camera Roll aweseome. Bye bye default camera roll.
Answer: Photo Timestamps is a third party app that provides this information. It's not free, but it's also not $4.99. It's got a really clean, minimal interface (obligatory disclosure: I made it).
Comment: Thanks for the tip. I love minimal interfaces. But I am befriended with PhotoCal already. The feature of the map is really nice. Also the categories for month or year are better than you just the whole camera roll since (at least on my phone) I have over 11'000 photos.

Photo gallery app with time stamps


Variation of Fermi level in doped semiconductor with applied voltage

Question: Is Fermi level of p or n type semiconductor constant with respect to applied voltage ? Please explain. From the attached image it seems Fermi level of intrinsic semiconductor varies but that of extrinsic semiconductor is constant.
Answer: Fermi level is defined only in equilibrium. Not when bias is applied. In that case there are only quasi-fermi levels, usually marked  with \$E_{Fn}\$ and \$E_{Fp}\$. The current through the device will be proportional to the gradient of quasi-fermi levels. So if no current flows, then the quasi-fermi levels will be flat. The band diagram shown in figure represents a MOS capacitor and no stead-state current can flow through an ideal MOS capacitor and hence the quasi fermi level is marked flat.
Intrinsic fermi level (\$E_i\$) is the fermi level of an intrinsic semiconductor at equilibrium. This level is fixed with respect to conduction and valance band. So if band edges change (with position), \$E_i\$ also changes.
Answer: Fermi-level of any semiconductor depends only on two factors:

Doping
Temperature

In equilibrium the distance of fermi level from conduction band and valance band is fixed. Now if you apply battery, the bending of the bands will be such that the distance of fermi level from Ec and Ev remains same.
In the given MOS capacitor, the semiconductor is at negative potential of battery (Inversion), hence raising the band level against the oxide surface. Which causes the fermi level of semiconductor to go beyond the metal fermi level (which were initially coinciding). While intrinsic fermi level is shown bend at interface as usual. (fixed with respect to Ec and Ev).


Does Sharepoint Differential backup put the site collection in read only mode?

Question: Does Sharepoint Differential backup put the site collection in read only mode?
Comment: anybody exp with diff backup
Answer: Actually, that's going to depend on what release and build version of SharePoint you're using.

If you have a SharePoint 2007 farm that hasn't yet been patched to Service Pack 2, you're going to have to manually lock the site collection before you back it up, regardless of whether its a Full or Differential backup. (And for goodness sakes, please patch it up to Service Pack 2 and the latest Cumulative Update as soon as you can!) This blog post has a nice writeup of what was introduced in Service Pack 2: http://sharepointblog.michaelrperry.com/2009/06/stsadm-backups-with-service-pack-2.html
But if you have at least Service Pack 2 of MOSS 2007 or SharePoint 2010, SharePoint will now automatically lock the targeted item before backing it up and then unlock it once the backup is completed. If you don't want to lock the site, use the -NoSiteLock switch in your call to Backup-SPSite (this works w/ SharePoint 2010, not sure if there is an equivalent option w/ SharePoint 2007 or not)

John
Comment: Also note if you backup using PowerShell you can also specify -UseSqlSnapshot. This will take advantage of the SQL Snapshot feature and ensure that the data is consistent and not changed during backup and not put your Site Collections in read-only mode.
Comment: Good explanation about when locks apply, though you can't do a differential site collection backup...
Answer: I don't think it was intentional, but this is actually something of a trick question. Let me explain.
There are basically two different types of backups that you can perform: farm-level  (catastrophic) backups and site collection backups. The former is used to back up components such as the entire farm, a Web application, a content database, etc. The latter, on the other hand, is used to back up an individual site collection. Each backup type is implemented and conducted differently within the SharePoint Object Model.
To help tell them apart:

Farm-level backup: STSADM.exe -o backup -directory <UNC path> or
Backup-SPFarm (for 2010)
Site collection backup: STSADM.exe -o backup -url <URL> or Backup-SPSite (for 2010)

So, here's the tricky part: full-farm backups can be carried out in full or differential mode, but site collection backups can only be carried out as a full backup. There actually isn't any "differential site collection" backup using out-of-the-box tools.
John Ferringer's answer is absolutely correct for site collection backups, but I'm guessing that you were probably asking whether or not your site collections (any of them) would become locked (i.e., placed in read-only mode) if you were to carry out a differential farm-level backup that included content databases where site collections are housed. The answer in that case is "no." Those backups are not handled in the same was as site collection backups, and so there isn't the same need to lock site collections.
Comment: +1 This is a very good point about the distinction and explaination.
Answer: No, you would need to set it yourself before performing the backup.
Edit: See John Ferringer's response. My answer was deprecated with the release of MOSS 2007 SP2.


Outlook EAS with Certificate Authentication

Question: I use EAS (ActiveSync) with Certificate authentication. I have been able to configure this without problems on iOS and Android. However, I don't know how to configure Certificate authentication for Outlook on Windows. I have already imported the PFX file into the Windows Certificate Store. Internet Explorer is able to Access the Active-Sync directory but Outlook is still not able to connect. Any ideas?
Answer: How do you obtain the certificate? You can check the using method with provider. Certificate for ActiveSync may be installed in AD: Certificate Authentication for ActiveSync


Sending the same proposal to multiple funding agencies

Question: I am planning to submit a proposal for possible funding. There are three sources of funding I can apply for, and unfortunately the evaluation periods all three overlap. Typically there exists an option to state this while submitting. I am wondering if such a statement has any impact on the chances of being funded (of the three grants, I much prefer a specific one). Moreover, two of the agencies uses external reviewers and since my proposed work builds heavily on the previous efforts of three persons (one of them a prolific reviewer), there is a risk in reviewer overlap. I wonder how a reviewer would perceive this. In particular, would a reviewer be less inclined to recommend a second proposal for funding if they have already recommended a first on the same topic? PS I was advised not to make any statement of overlap. Is this an  unofficial custom?
Comment: Talk to the program officers from your funding sources.  Some funding sources encourage simultaneous submission; others discourage it or even forbid it.  There is no universal rule.
Answer: It really is better to not do it. At least simultaneously (might be ok if the proposal was rejected).
If you absolutely have to go ahead, try to fine-tune and change the proposal as much as possible according to the agency requirements.
Comment: I am sort of in a predicament where I have to submit at least two of them. I could skip the third.


What energy range is considered as a "high-energy" or "low energy" cosmic ray?

Question: I have been studying cosmic ray muons lately, and I'm having trouble with making sense of all the eV values. What is the approxamate range (in eV) for "high-energy" and "low energy" cosmic rays? Does this differ with the particle? (e.g. between primary and secondary cosmic-rays or between particles such as muons, electrons, protons, pions etc).
Answer: This depends on context. There are no generally-accepted definitions of energy ranges.
"Low energy" in a neutrino experiment like BOREXINO or JUNO will be 100s of keV, whereas for dark matter experiments, that's already "high energy". Similarly those neutrino experiments will think of 10MeV as "high energy" but that's just where the fun starts for SuperK. Not to mention IceCube and similar detectors which go way higher in energy, and even less to to mention dedicated ultra-high cosmic ray experiments like ANITA etc.
This is all just bad jargon, but there is an underlying reason for this confusion. Tom Gaisser assembled this now-famous plot showing the cosmic ray spectrum:

Note that the horizontal axis spans 12 orders of magnitude! That's a huge energy range. Not surprisingly then, a large number of experiments are needed to cover all that. And this doesn't even consider the fact that there are different kinds of particles to measure, and that the flux drops by some 30 orders of magnitude from left to right on this plot (note the unit on the vertical axis). Thus, "low-energy" for one experiment is "high energy" for another. Don't get hung up on this, that's what the incorruptible electronvolts are there for.
Answer:
The energies of the primary cosmic rays range from around 1 GeV – the energy of a relatively small particle accelerator – to as much as 108 TeV, far higher than the beam energy of the Large Hadron Collider. The rate at which these particles arrive at the top of the atmosphere falls off with increasing energy, from about 10 000 per square metre per second at 1 GeV to less than one per square kilometre per century for the highest energy particles. The very high-energy cosmic rays generate huge showers of up to 10 billion secondary particles or more, which can be picked up by particle detectors when they are spread over areas as large as 20 square kilometres on the surface of the Earth.

Qualitatively, the energy is compared with energies available in the laboratory for experiments. The very high energy ones need the huge detectors in cosmic ray experiments . A list of cosmic ray experiments can be found here.


How to initiate a call on a GSM module from DTMF tones

Question: Can someone tell me if it is possible to make a call from a GSM module using only the DTMF tones that a keypad puts out? If not, can someone explain how I would make the call using only the keypad, and maybe another bit of equipment?
Comment: Which microcontroller you are working on.?
Comment: there is a ATtiny converting pulses to DTMF tones, but thats it.
Answer: Cell phones using GSM (and other transmission schemes) do not use DTMF for dialing.  There's no dialtone.  Instead of digits being sent one at a time like a landline phone, the complete number is entered first, and then it is sent out all at once.
There is always a microcontroller associated with making a call.  The device that actually connects to the cell tower is called a GSM modem.  The modem is connected to the microcontroller over some serial link, usually UART but it could be SPI or I²C.
The phone number is sent from the microcontroller to the UART using an AT command.  AT stands for Attention, and dates way back to the dialup modes in the 1980 made by Hayes and other manufacturers.
Back then, the command ATDT was used to make a data connection over the phone network.  Today 30 some years later, the same command is being used to dial voice calls with cellular modems.  For example,
ATDT8005551234
would call the number (800) 555-1234
If the far end answers, the GSM modem answers: CONNECT.
So the cell modem does not send the number to the cell tower as DTMF tones.  Instead it is part of a data stream.  What may be confusing, is after the call is made, you can press digits on your keypad and hear the DTMF tones; this is just provided as a convenience to navigate menu trees and the like.
Enough background.  You say you want to turn a rotary dial phone into a cell phone.
Well your first problem is when the user picks up the phone, you are going to want to provide local dial tone.  Then you are going to have to count the pulses coming from the dial, and use those value to simulate someone pressing a key on the cell phone.  Finally you will have to have some sort of timeout, a couple of seconds maybe, to determine the end of dialing.
It would be possible, but probably pretty difficult, to attach wires to the cell phone's keyboard and operate the switches using miniature relays or the like.  The problem is attaching the wires; the pads for the keys are not going to be easy to solder to without disrupting the operation of the keyboard.  The cable fro the keyboard to the rest of the phone will be a flexible ribbon cable, and impossible to solder to.
Another way of doing this would be to actually tap into the serial link going to the cellular modem; this will also be very difficult (and likely impossible) depending on how the PCB traces are routed, since you are going to have to break up the TX lead from the microcontroller to the modem, and substitute your own (I'm assuming a UART connection).  You can't have two TX leads connected together. The RX lead probably doesn't need to be cut, just tapped into.  Then you have to get the documentation for the GSM modem the phone is using, and learn how to control the modem.  Unfortunately the commands are not exactly the same from one manufacturer to another.  I have seen these documents running 400 pages or more.
Comment: @FuaZe  When you release your finger on a rotary dial (after moving the appropriate finger hole all the way clockwise to the stop), the dial generates a pulse corresponding to the number dialed -- 2 pulses for '2', 10 pulses for '0' at a controlled rate (usually 10 pulses per second, sometimes 20).  Simple enough to just count them with a digital input to the microcontroller.   No need to add any extra components like a potentiometer.
Comment: I am trying to convert a rotary dial phone into a cell phone
Comment: @LouisNel Rather than trying to connect into a cell phone, you would be much better off buying a standalone GSM module, l[like this one from Sparkfun](http://www.sparkfun.com).  They also converted rotary phones to cellular a while back.  Although the product is no longer being sold, they have left up the [page with all the documentation](https://www.sparkfun.com/products/retired/286) including the schematic..
Comment: You need an input (variable potentiometer) to receive the location of the rotary dialer, processor (microcontroller) to calculate the location and transfer it to a number which is added into a AT dial command and an output (GSM module) which will make the call.
Comment: @tcrosley That is sort of my plan, can you recommend any parts, GSM module, micro controller, etc. If there is a GSM module that has a couple of GPIO pins that I can program to generate the command(preferably in python).
Comment: "Rotary as a Service" could be offered by the company, using early media to receive the DTFM, or using an special number and then redirecting. No idea if some telco does it.


Latch locks when door handle pulled down

Question: Had our front door repainted (simply took off hinges and then replaced).  Now, when you open the door by pulling handle down the latch stays stuck such that you can't open it from the other side.  You have to pull up on the handle to release it and then the door can again be opened.  Any thoughts?
Comment: Hello, and welcome to Stack Exchange. Pictures of the latch, and perhaps the make/model, would help.
Answer: Are you sure the handle wasn't removed?  It's certainly a slight misalignment so that the latch is binding.  It could be that when it was rehung the door shifted slightly, or same thing with the handle being removed and replaced.  Either way, I'd loosen the handle enough that you can shift it very slightly but have it hold the position while you test it.  When you find a position that eliminates the binding (which I bet you do), retighten it.  If this doesn't seem to be the problem, let me know.
Answer: Have you tried any WD-40? Some paint or something else may have gotten inside the mechanism. As Paul mentioned above, these are finicky and anything can throw them off.


Taweez found in my mothers room

Question: Me my 3 brothers and my mom recently shifted to a new house. Before we did we found out more about shirk and threw all taweez and oils and stuff away. In my family. Black magic is a common topic the thing is that although we dont own any taweez and stuff it was found folded in a open wide area (inside infront of my moms door) in my moms room. We have no idea how it got there. And none of us know about such things or own such tgings. Could someone explain this and translate it please. Jazakalla
Also im unsure if it is a taweez or what
Comment: It would be better if you asked  your local trustful mufti/scholar about this.
Answer: This chit of paper is related to Arabic numerology. This is popular in many parts of India. Each Arabic letter represents a number. Numbers from each letter is combined to get a value for Arabic word or Ayat.
The most popular number is "786". This number represents "bismillah hirrahman nirrahim"
There are two ways in which they are used. First of all imagine a person  who is not very proficient in writing Arabic (which is quite common in India). They purchase a new notebook. They want to write "bismillah hirrahman nirrahim" in the beginning. However they don't how to do that. So they write "786" and move on. The top number on your slip is also "786".
The other way is: a shopkeeper takes a slip similar to what you have. In that slip he puts numbers corresponding to various names of Allah. (For example - 308 represents - Ar-Razzaq - which is one of the favorite). This is supposed to bring good luck to the shopkeeper.
I cannot recognize the numbers in your slip - other than 786. If Sufism is common in your region, your imam might be able to identify the names or verses represented by this slip. That should clarify the purpose of the slip. It is possible that it is part of black magic. However it is much more likely that it is intended for protection against dark magic.
Apart from some followers of Sufism, most Sunni scholars consider it to be Bidah (innovation).
Note: If you are down-voting my answer, you are most welcome. Please provide reasoning in the comments. I promise, I will not argue with you. I am writing this since unexplained down-votes have perplexed me earlier in this forum.

Taweez found in my mothers room


Live Linux USB to boot on a MAC but made on a PC?

Question: I'm trying to get more info on this subject.
How to create a Mac bootable live Linux USB on Windows?
I'm trying to create a bootable linux live USB that will work on a MAC (by holding the option/alt button down while booting)OSX Lion 10.7.something.  This USB must be created on a PC however. Windows 7 or 8, it doesn't matter which one I use.  The link I mention above does say to use UNetbootin yet in the second paragraph, under requirements, there is a blurb that the resulting USB will only be usable on PCs.
I'm a little new to the Linux community and I'm learning about EFI so my question is, is it a specific distro that would launch on both Windows and Macs as a live USB or what do i need to do to accomplish this task?
Bottom line is: I'm trying to help a co-worker recover files. I don't have a MAC myself nor access to one.  Virtual box with MAC software is also off the table.  Within my curriculum we are studying live boot USBs, so the challenge has been issued.
I don't know whether EFI is an issue or not. What process do I take to create this USB?
Answer: Just wanted to Post back with the answer to my own question.
It is quite possible.
Short answer: you need 2 things along with a windows OS installed on a comp.

Rufus rufus.akeo.ie
EFI Bootable Linux like Ubuntu 14.0 or higher http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop

Must be for 64 bit OS (amd64)
Choose GPT for the partition Scheme and FAT32 for the file system, in Rufus and create. This will work for MAC or for windows 8 computers like Surface Pro 1-3 (when modifying their boot order). Silly easy.

Long answer: a collection of information
It comes down to BIOS vs UEFI. (great link here https://wiki.manjaro.org/index.php?title=Some_basics_of_MBR_v/s_GPT_and_BIOS_v/s_UEFI)
BIOS, using MBR partitioning scheme, is obviously used on windows 7 and earlier pc's, along with some Linux OS's as well.
GPT (GUID Partition Table), using UEFI which replaces BIOS, is used for MAC computers along with Windows 8 computers like Surface, Surface PRO, and others.
At the end of the day, the LIVE USB that was created worked on both Win8 and MAC computers as the partition scheme was the same. A second USB would be needed to live boot with computers that use MBR/BIOS.
Thanks to LiveWireBT for an answer. If only I'd checked it earlier it may have saved me all the research time!
And thanks all for letting me post here!
Comment: And please, if there is more that anyone can add to this (or correct me if needed) do so, for the sake of correct information.
Comment: Thanks, I was helped with your research!
Answer: Answers suggesting UNetbootin are mostly misleading. While it is correct that Ubuntu Mac images use or setup BIOS emulation on Macs, UNetbootin is only for booting legacy PCs.
I don't have much experience with Macs either but the following answer might help you booting Macs with EFI: Can I make a bootable USB flash drive for Mac from Windows


Stop Windows 7 from forcefully shutting itself down when waiting to update

Question: I have had this happen to me twice now.  I'll be in the middle of working on something that has resulted in me not rebooting my machine for several days.  If Windows 7 is waiting to install updates it'll eventually get to a point where it forces a restart to install the updates.  The problem is that it doesn't notify me or tell me that its going to do this and I've lost work as a result and most recently had a VM become corrupt and unusable.  Is there a way to at least get it to prompt me before doing this?  It used to...
Comment: Good question i'm sure it will be of benefit to many people
Answer: There is a registry setting you can add that will prevent this.  Detailed instructions and a downloadable registry key can be found here: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/prevent-windows-update-from-forcibly-rebooting-your-computer/
From the site:

Open up regedit.exe through the start menu search box or run dialog,
  and navigate down to the following key, creating new keys if they
  don't exist.
<code>HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU
</code>
Create a new 32-bit DWORD value named NoAutoRebootWithLoggedOnUsers
  and give it a value of 1 to prevent automatic reboot while users are
  logged on. Delete the value to put things back to the way they were.

I have used this registry hack successfully on many computers and I can't think of a single time it has forced a reboot on me.  When critical updates are applied that will require a reboot, it does still pop up the "You need to restart" message near the system tray, but it does not reboot on its own.
Answer: Change your Windows updates settings to "Download updates but let me choose when to install them".  Then it will tell you updates are ready and you pick when to install and reboot.
Go to Control Panel>Windows Update. Change it in the first dropdown box.
Answer: Microsoft only forcibly reboot your machine after three days of the install being ready and you having continuously chosen not to install it. Additionally, the only updates that are mandatory installed by Windows Update are security updates. Unlike other companies, Microsoft does not push out feature updates (such as language packs etc) as mandatory updates (they are listed as "Optional" and Windows will not force you to reboot to install them).
Even worse - Windows Updates effectively tell attackers where the bugs are, because the patches can be reverse engineered. "Critical bugs" such as being able to buffer overflow system drivers remotely are massively dangerous, and you only have a short period of time after the update is made generally available before that bug will be known and being used "in the wild". Consequently disabling or choosing not to install Windows udpates is putting your machine at significant extra risk.
Perhaps a better response to your question is to look at it orthogonally; instead of "how can I turn the rebooting off", think "why does the reboot get in the way of my computer doing things?"
If you're using (or writing) a program that needs to do multi-day processing, consider very seriously whether a better approach is to regularly save "checkpoints" in order to allow resuming of the program. Doing so will not only allow your program to survive the reboot, but also mean that your work won't be lost if there's a power cut, if the program crashes and will probably make it easier to see how your program can be distributed over a number of other machines.
Once you've done this, you can schedule your program to run at boot by disabling the user login screen and putting a shortcut to your program in the "Startup" folder in your start menu, or via the Task Scheduler.
Once you've done this, Windows will be able to interrupt your task to install critical security updates, reboot your machine and then when your machine comes back online, the program can restart from the last checkpoint before the machine turned off.
In the limit case of you running a program that you don't control and hence can't force to checkpoint, consider installing it in a virtual machine with no networking. This way your host will be able to reboot (to protect your main computer) and this will cause the virtual machine to suspend. When you come back online your unpatched (but not network connected) virtual machine will be able to resume and your host machine will be protected.
Alternatively you can run the whole program on a laptop that's not plugged into the network at all. If you do this you'll not get any Windows Updates and you won't be indirectly connected to attackers who can exploit you, so the whole discussion becomes moot.
Finally, just because I know this will come up: This is not a theoretical risk. Small companies, individuals and academic organisations routinely lose critical data by cyber attack due to not patching their machines. DO NOT assume that being hacked only happens to people who are not like you. You really don't want to have to explain to your CEO, Dean or wife that all of your customer data, student records or banking documents are being sold on the Internet at $2 a piece because you "turned off Windows Update".
Comment: My concern has nothing to do with whether or not the updates should be installed.  My main beef with how this currently functions is that since the reboot is a force reboot it kills everything without giving me the option of saving.  As the result I've lost data from word documents I was in the middle of editing an most recently I had a VM completely killed (I can't get it to load now) because it was running when the force reboot occurred.
Comment: Now that I think of it I'm thinking perhaps my configurations have gotten messed up somewhere along the line because I no longer receive the notices telling me that updates are available and that I need to restart.  I don't tend to ignore those for very long but since I'm not getting them anymore it makes it hard to choose to reboot when its convenient.
Comment: That isn't the default configuration for Windows, but it is configurable via Group Policy. If you're domain joined, ask your IT administrator to stop screwing with you. If not, flash your OS and start again.
Comment: @SecurityMatt This solution will solve all my problems with being unable to save window position state + custom desktop arrangements + etc : "In the limit case of you running a program that you don't control and hence can't force to checkpoint, consider installing it in a virtual machine".
Comment: @SecurityMatt Also great explanation about the security aspects + necessity. Very important for a home (or esp business) computer, less important for a media machine, but extremely useful to be aware of.
Answer: I just turned off the automatic updates like BroScience explained before. And now I use WuInstall to manage my Windows Updates. It has some nice options above all it lets you specify if you want a reboot or not.


Equivalent of Szabo and Ostlund book for DFT

Question: Szabo and Ostlund book Modern quantum chemistry [1] is extremely useful to understand Hartree-Fock and post-Hartree-Fock methods. Not only it explains the theory behind such methods, but it is also oriented towards a practical implementation. Following this book I was able to implement an Hartree-Fock code from scratch in order to perform Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics.
Since I already work with software packages based on density functional theory (Gaussian09 for calculations in vacuum and QuantumESPRESSO for solid state systems), I would like to implement a simple DFT code in order to better understand what is going on inside the "black box". However, I would like perform this task using a plane wave basis set: this is somewhat more involved than using Gaussian basis sets since it involves periodic boundary conditions and pseudopotentials. In addition, I will have to take care of fast Fourier transforms everywhere and of the approximation of the exchange-correlation functional.
Supposing that I will be happy with the local density approximation, there is a book out there similar to Szabo's book for DFT? Notice that I am not interested in the basics of DFT but I am searching for a good book explaining in details the practical implementation using PW.

Here some comments on the books I already considered:
Martins [2]: This book contains a lot of informations and is oriented to solid-state electronic structure, therefore it explains plane waves and pseudopotentials. However I think that it works well as a reference but not as first reading to understand in details the concepts.
Giustino [3]: Very nice book with the goal of teaching DFT to undergrad students. For this reason is too simplistic and does not go into technical details.

[1] A. Szabo and N. S. Ostrlund, Modern Quantum Chemistry: Introduction to Advanced Electronic Structure Theory, Doever Publications, 1996.
[2] R. M. Martins, Electronic Structure: Basic theory and practical methods, Cambridge University Press, 2004.
[3] F. Giustino, Materials modelling using density functional theory, Oxford University Press, 2014.
Comment: Check out *The ABC of DFT* by Kieron Burke  [here](http://dft.uci.edu/doc/g1.pdf). It's free and comes in at 104 pages. Also, see Kieron's group literature page for other gems [here](http://dft.uci.edu/research.php#literature).
Comment: I'm not confident enough to post this as an actual answer (might be too basic), but the [CPMD folks](http://cpmd.org/cpmd-tutorial#section-4) cite v2, part 5 of [Handbook of Molecular Physics and Quantum Chemistry](http://goo.gl/9OqGah), "Density Functional Theory: Basics, New Trends and Applications." Unfortunately, it looks terrifically expensive, though it's available in a few [European libraries](http://goo.gl/sw0TGm).
Comment: Assuming LDA with no exact exchange and pseudopotentials the job is plain and simple search of minimum of a functional. Assuming plane-wave, the function in question is decomposed into a set of plane waves, so the job is minimaztion of a function over the decomposition coeffecients.
Comment: Have you had a look [at this question](http://chemistry.stackexchange.com/q/14630/4945)? Maybe you could comment on the sources that are referred there, to make it easier to not give duplicate answers.
Comment: @Martin-マーチン I don't think the question is useful to me... In the comments you read " you are not even supposed to understand how DFT calculations are done step by step" or "everything you need to know about SCF is in Szabo & Ostlund". I would like to go a step further and implement a "simple" DFT code from scratch. S&O was extremely helpful to implement the HF method in a Gaussian basis set and I would like to find something similar for DFT. The books on which I studied DFT are extremely superficial and only explain the basic theory...
Comment: @Brian Thank for pointing this out. I will try to give a look to this book, provided that I can access a copy from my University.
Answer: I can recommend the book of Yang and Parr, although I am not sure it deals  with plane wave bases at all. In principle, a DFT code is not really different from a HF code. In fact, you can use exactly identical codes, just replacing the Coulomb and exchange integrals by numerical integration of some functional. E.g., if you choose $X\alpha$-LDA, than your exchange functional is
$$K = C_\alpha \left(\frac{3}{\pi}\right)^\frac{1}{3} \int \rho(\mathbf{r})^\frac{4}{3} \mathrm{d}\mathbf{r}$$
You can evaluate your density numerically, choose any numerical integration scheme and obtain the exchange energy. That works even, if you still calculate the Coulomb integrals the HF way. However, you wouldn't save much time since you still have the $\mathcal{O}(N^4)$ step in the Coulomb integrals, where $N$ is the number of basis functions. But once you integrate the Coulomb integrals numerically, you have basically a working DFT code.
There is a number of papers about choosing the correct grids and integration schemes for numerical integration. Once, I read one that compared the radial grids quite well, but sadly I don't remember the reference. But the buzz words would be e.g. Becke grid, (Treutler?-)Ahlrichs grid or simply Gauss quadrature for the radial integration (most of the grids are a form of Gauss quadrature, though). For the angular integration there is e.g. the Lebedev grid, but its calculation is a little more involved.
My suggestion, based on teaching experience, is to write first a HF code in a Gaussian basis. Then you pimp it with a numerical integration scheme and something like $X\alpha$. In the next step, you replace your Coulomb integrals. Lastly, you can switch from a Gaussian basis to the basis of plane waves. The last step only changes your matrix elements but not the algorithm (HF/DFT) itself. Since you first implemented a HF code for a Gaussian basis, you can always check your algorithm before going into uncharted waters.
Answer: Two of the books that I found close to your needs (i.e. not a basic intro but a detailed implementation including programming and algorithm) are the following:

Ab initio molecular dynamics by Marx and Hutter (published by Cambridge Uni Press)   - This has some info on the implementation of algorithms in CPMD code. Some flow charts of the algorithms.
A chapter (Ch 6) in the book "Computational Physics" by Thijssen (also by Cambridge Uni Press) comes with a short computer program (downloadable from the companion site written by the author of the book).


It rains in Gadyukino

Question: It rains in Gadyukino village every other day on average.  Assume the probability of rain on any given day is 50% and independent. A local weather forecaster has the sole duty every day of predicting whether it will rain the following day.  His predictions have a 75% success rate. What quantity of information (in bits) is carried by a single forecast of his?
Comment: In my view, it is reasonable to try interpreting the problem assuming the statement is complete and correct - and the initial statement allowed such an interpretation, including independence of days (otherwise the statement would be incomplete about how the history affects the weather), and also about the quantity (_how much_) of information (see [quantities of information](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantities_of_information)).
Answer: "How much information" sounds vague. But it has a rock-solid definition, in the grand tradition of Shannon et al.
Assume an independent 1/2 chance of rain every day. Then the weather transmits one bit of information to Gadyukino every day - namely, whether or not it is raining. Say the forecaster can receive $x$ bits of information per day about the future. Then what is the minimum value of $x$ so that in the limit, the forecaster predicts with 75% accuracy?
Consider a time period of $4n$ days for large $n$. There are $2^{4n}$ possible weathers during this period. For any particular forecaster prediction sequence, the number of weather sequences that let the forecaster claim a 75% accuracy rate is $\binom{4n}{\leq n}$, where the notation means the number of ways to choose at most $n$ wrong days out of $4n$ total days.
Stirling's approximation says that $\binom{4n}{\leq n} = 2^{(4\log 4 - 3 \log 3)n}\times poly(n)$. Call this quantity $X$ for ease of typing.
Each forecaster prediction sequence allows $X$ possible weather sequences. There are $2^{4n}$ total weather sequences. Therefore, the forecaster must have at least $2^{4n}/X = 2^{(4 - 4 \log 4 + 3 \log 3)n}$ possible prediction sequences that he might say.
In order to be able to choose from that many prediction sequences, the forecaster must receive at least $\log(\text{that many})=(4 - 4 \log 4 + 3 \log 3)n$ bits for those $4n$ days. (EDIT: This doesn't account for the fact that the forecaster can change his mind based on whether he's been right so far. My intuition says an information-theoretic bound should still work, I'll think about it.)
This works out to $\boxed{1-\log 4 + \frac 34 \log 3 \approx 0.43766...}$ bits per day. This is an upper bound on the amount of information the forecaster needs. Does this much information suffice? I don't know. Shannon probably solved this problem when he created information theory, but I'm having trouble finding a reference.
Answer: It rains on alternate days on average, which means that:

If today it's sunny, it's likely that it will rain tomorrow.
If today it's raining, it's likely that it's sunny tomorrow.

The forecasters peruse the recent weather statistics and discover that 75% of the sunny days were followed by a rainy day.
So, if today it's sunny, we have a 75% probability of rain tomorrow.
Why we assumed that today it's sunny? Because it says that rains occurs every other day, and if today it's rainy, a 75% chance of rain for tomorrow would conflict with the assumptions.

It rains in Gadyukino


Can't find sprint button?

Question: What is the sprint button in Minecraft 1.5.2?
I know it's a silly question to ask, but I can't seem to find it. Thanks in advance for the help.
Comment: iirc, 1.5 didn't have a sprint button, I think you need to press your forward key (w by default) twice in rapid succession.
Comment: also can you tell me how to get jar files, cause i'm having some problem with it, thanks in advance.
Comment: @PigDestroyer - Please ask that as a seperate question... And what .jar files?
Answer: Quickly double tap then hold the forward key (default is W) to sprint.
Alternatively, in version 1.7.2 or later, you can hold Ctrl and W instead of double tapping it.
You cannot sprint if your hunger bar is 6 units (3 drumsticks ) or lower.
Comment: You mean your **Hunger** bar?
Answer: In Minecraft 1.5.2 there's such no sprint key, but there's another way to sprint.
Quickly press , quickly release it, and then hold it to sprint. At the beginning it could be a bit hard, but after some days it will become easy to do.

Can't find sprint button?


QGIS mean error - RMSE - QGIS georeferencer

Question: I would like to know if the mean error computed by QGIS georeferencer is referring to the RMSE (root-mean-square error). I calculated myself with the residual pixels X and Y but I don't have the same results.
I find 4.48 with my calculation and QGIS gives me 5.79.
Comment: It depends on the quality of the data source and what your referencing data to. https://gis.stackexchange.com/questions/8900/generally-accepted-root-mean-square-rms-error-for-rectifying-topographic-maps
Answer: Looking at the source code for qgsgeorefmainwindow.cpp, function QgsGeoreferencerMainWindow::calculateMeanError in particular, the calculated "mean error" is the sum of the squares of the residuals divided by the number of points minus the minimum points required to specify the transform, i.e. adjusted for the degrees of freedom.
I haven't redone your manual calculation point by point, but a poly 2 transformation is specified by a minimum 6 points, and 4.48^2*15 approximately equals 5.79^2*(15-6), i.e. your sum of squared residuals is about 301 and the difference is the denominator.
The rationale here is that the total (squared) error should be considered not as spread over all (enabled) georeferencing points, but only over the excess points that overspecify the distribution and contribute to "error". There is of course no actual differentiation between "first" points that define the transform and "excess" points that have errors, but to have the RMSE scale properly as you add or subtract points, or be otherwise comparable between different data fitting, you need to make the adjustment.


How can I disable a turn button lock without destroying it?

Question: This has been asked before, but answers often center around "don't use the lock" or put something in the slot. The door to my patio/pool has deadbolts and a lever lock.  No one ever admits doing it, but somehow the button on the lever ends up in the locked position.  We were once locked out in night clothes.  Putting something in the slot would keep the door from simply fastening without locking.  "Don't use it" has been our intent all along, but something goes wrong. A new lock, etc, is not likely to help.  I don't want to cut a connecting rod and destroy the lock.
Comment: Replace the knob with a non-locking knob?
Comment: Maybe you could put a tight fitting tube on the handle, so that you have to reach in to turn the button.
Answer: I've put tape over the turn-knob, but that solution is imperfect.   Get a different doorknob set that omits that "feature", and throw this lockset in a gallon Ziploc for refitting at sale time.
Since lock quality is not a factor, a $10 passage set should suffice.
Answer: Locksets that use a turn-button to prevent operation from the outside usually have a drive post that interfaces with the turn-button and extends to the latch; to effect the locking function. If you disassemble the lockset you may be able to remove and discard the post, effectively converting your lockset into a non-lockable "passage" lockset.
Answer: Super glue the button into the unlocked position.


Shooting fire ball in the sky

Question: I'm hoping someone out there can answer a lifelong question that's bugged me for years. I'm 60 now and always wondered what me and my friend saw back in the 70s in Windsor, UK. We were going early morning fishing at about 2:30 in the morning, it was a very clear sky, you could see all the stars, it was beautiful! As I turned to speak to my friend, behind him was a burning ball of fire running parallel with the ground. I shouted to him: "Look!" He turned around. We watched it go across the sky and then just go out. It was low enough to hear it burning. It looked like a big bale of hay on fire. The only thing I can think of is a meteor, but the trouble I have with that is the angle… and would you really hear it burning? I'm truly honoured that I saw something that was probably a trillion to one that night, but all these years it's bugged me: what could it have been? Can anyone help?
Comment: @GregMiller: OP was in Windsor, UK, while the event you mention occurred over Australia, half a world away. Meteors are "local" phenomena. OP's event might be related, but it definitely is NOT the same event.
Comment: The only astronomical related thing it could be is a bolide.  Could it have been the 1978 meteor mentioned in this story, which many people actually heard? https://earthsky.org/space/whoosh-can-you-hear-meteors-streak-past/
Answer: From the description you provided, it sounds like you may have witnessed a bolide, which is a very rare type of bright meteor. In fact, only a handful of them are detected each year.
Essentially, they're moving too quickly and are too massive to break apart in the upper atmosphere like most normal meteor or "shooting stars" we see, so they explode instead. This happens much lower in the atmosphere as well, creating an extremely bright explosion, which yes, is indeed occasionally audible.
Assuming that is what you saw, congratulations, because you are one of few who have ever seen one!

Shooting fire ball in the sky


Preview: Remove all annotations

Question: Is it possible, using Preview (or maybe some other tool if not doable with Preview, but Preview preferably) to remove all annotations from a PDF file, without manually deleting every annotation?
Answer: In the "Tools menu", choose "show inspector". In the inspector, select "Annotations inspector".
Press CMD+A to select all annotations, then click backspace to delete them.
Comment: It even recognises and removes annotation made by other programs!
 (Tested with annotations made by PDF Expert on the iPad.)
Answer: PDF Expert can do this!
In menu bar, Edit then Remove All Annotations.
Comment: Question asks explicitly about Preview, and there is an answer which shows that it is straight forward with preview. Why would I want another tool than the built in one for just this?

Preview: Remove all annotations


A phrase where you make an effort and succeed

Question: Let's say a sports team puts in a lot of effort and as a result perform very well. You could say they have "-blank-ed themselves" as praise.
I feel like the word is on the tip of my tongue but I can't think of it.
Comment: _the effort they put in really [paid off](https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/pay+off)_
Comment: It is interesting to me that my search for "outdone themselves" turned up results on ESPN while "acquitted themselves" turned up results on BBC sport. I wouldn't go so far as to claim this question ought to be tagged "British English" but there definitely seems to be a preference.
Answer: Someone who does exceptionally well, particularly compared to their past performance can be said to have "outdone themselves"

We knew the importance and significance of this tournament, and credit must go to each and every individual. And also to all the management and backroom staff. They've all outdone themselves."

Source: ESPN
Answer: They have excelled (themselves):

transitive verb
: to be superior to : surpass in accomplishment or achievement
intransitive verb
: to be distinguishable by superiority : surpass others · excel in sports · excelled at lipreading
Comment: Please attribute correctly to comply with ELU guidelines **and copyright laws**.
Answer: Ah! I just thought of it, acquit.
"They acquitted themselves well."
edit

Stephen Robinson's side acquitted themselves well against the Scottish
  champions in November's League Cup final

Source: BBC Sport
Merriam Webster: To Acquit Oneself
Comment: Look more closely, folks.   This is not a "thank you answer"; the OP is *not* posting "thank you" *as* an answer.   This is an answer, PERIOD.   Then, parenthetically, the author thanks the people who participated; yes, that part should be edited out.   But this ***is*** an answer, and it should not be deleted.
Comment: You need to add a linked and attributed supporting reference showing this sense of 'acquit', even though the answer is correct. ELU regulations.
Answer: be a howling success TFD

To be extremely or triumphantly successful.