My raspberry pi is having issues booting (It kinda boots) (Need help please)

Question: I have a pi (Obviously), but it won't boot fully. I have the SD card that came with it (I payed extra for the pre-formatted one) and it boots just fine, shows the normal console, and I don't see any errors (one command failed to execute according to it, but it said it ignored it and it didn't look important). Once it's done booting, it shows a black screen. No mouse cursor, no way to input anything. I was wondering what I could do? I am running raspbian 11 or 13 (don't remember which). My friend brought over RISC OS and it didn't boot either, it hung at the console. Any help is appreciated!!! (I need it for a project if you may be able to help but it's not the end of the world.)
Comment: It might be useful if you let us know which model specifically (e.g. B+) and what output you are using to connect (e.g. HDMI). Personally the first thing I'd be looking at is What the LEDs are doing. (They function different on the B+).
Comment: What were you wondering - "what I could do?"
what do you expect from your Pi?
Comment: The black screen may be the normal console.  Not all distributions launch a graphical user interface.  What happens if you type on the keyboard?  Is anything echoed to the screen?
Comment: I have the model B, and I set it up to boot into xwindows after boot. I need to try a different power supply, but the ACT button doesn't blink in a pattern, it's abnormal. Also, I'm using RCA (analog) for my video output. Read my comment on the answer and you'll see what I found out.
Answer: I would check the power supply (or borrow from your friend). Many power supplies do not provide enough juice even when they say they would.
If you have the model with Ethernet, you may want to check if it assigned the IP and try to ssh from there. If you could login, that means your monitor is not accepting the signal after the boot (you can configure various HDMI settings using config.txt file).
Comment: I have the model B, and I set it up to boot into xwindows after boot. I need to try a different power supply, but the ACT button doesn't blink in a pattern, it's abnormal.
Comment: Also, I just tried a keyboard, and it does the funky text thing where you press a button and it prints out a random key (not the one you pressed). So yes, it does mirror text, just not in the normal way. It doesn't go to a command line, it just prints random keys. I'm assuming this is a software-level issue that can be fixed?
Comment: Doesn't sound like a software issue assuming your keyboard works elsewhere. Try a better power supply.
Comment: My keyboard driver is corrupted, I need to reinstall raspbian anyway. I think that's my issue seeing that part of the screen is clipped off, I didn't set it to auto-boot into xwindows, and It's probably clipping off the command-line "example/example> " part. Thanks for the help though!


Load details of a root category and subcategories

Question: How do i load all the sub categories of a particular Root Category?
I need to form a tree like structure for traversing all the sub categories (including the inactive ones).
Kindly help.
Answer: For performance reasons, I would suggest to load all required categories at once, with as few DB queries as possible.
Then, simply fetch the children categories as needed from the main collection.
You can achieve this by filtering the path attribute once you have the according path value of the parent category.
$rootCatId = 4;

// First query
$category = Mage::getModel('catalog/category')->load($rootCatId);

// Second query
$collection = $category->getCollection()
    ->addFieldToFilter('path', array('like' => $category->getPath() . '/%'));

Then, build a recursive method to fetch all children as needed from the main collection.
function processChild(Mage_Catalog_Model_Category $category)
{
    static $collection;
    if (is_null($collection)) {
        $collection = $category->getCollection()
            ->addAttributeToSelect(array('parent_id', 'path'))
            ->addFieldToFilter('path', array('like' => $category->getPath() . '/%'));
    }

    // Process the current category, for example echo out the id :)
    echo str_pad("{$category->getId()}", $category->getLevel() * 3, ' ', STR_PAD_LEFT) . PHP_EOL;

    foreach ($collection->getItemsByColumnValue('parent_id', $category->getId()) as $child) {
        processChild($child);
    }
}

$rootCatId = Mage::app()->getStore()->getRootCategoryId();
processChild(Mage::getModel('catalog/category')->load($rootCatId));

This is just an example, depending on your use case you will probably modify the code to use a class property instead of a static variable, and use a method instead of a function.
Note that this will only work for categories assigned to the current store, if the flat catalog tables are enabled. If you want to be able to work with arbitrary categories, regardless of the current store, use
Mage::getResourceModel('catalog/category_collection')

instead of $category->getCollection() to always use the EAV based collection.
And finally, just for completeness sake, a pointer to a core method which gives you the nested categories for the current store:
Mage::helper('catalog/category')->getStoreCategories();

So, If you want to start from the store root categories, you might as well use that method.
Answer: To creat a simple one level check you can use the following:
$_rootCatId     = 3;
$_rootCategory  = Mage::getModel('catalog/category')->load($_rootCatId);
$collection = $_rootCategory->getChildrenCategories();

/* @var $cat Mage_Catalog_Model_Category */
foreach ($collection as $cat) {
    echo $cat->getId().' ' .$cat->getName().'
';
}

Here it loads a category and gets each direct child category. At this point you can call $cat->hasChildren() to check if you can go deeper down the tree of categories and repeat the process for each category.


Filter PGN for games for one sided openings

Question: I want to filter a PGN database for games where one side plays a series of moves but I don't care what the other side does during that sequence. For example the bongcloud is where one side plays 1. e3 ... 2. Ke2. (I know there are lots of variations but that's ignore that for now). I don't really care what black does on turn one or two. How would I filter for that? I don't want to list out all the moves black can make and then input 20+ parameters. Is there a simpler way to achieve this?
Answer: I found an answer. After spending a few hours digging through PGN-Extract's website I found this:
* b6
means that you are interested in all games in which Black replied 1 ... b6 regardless of White's first move. The sequence:
d4 * c4 * Nc3 *
will pick up Nimzo-Indian, Grunfeld, King's Indian, etc. defenses. This notation is not possible with positional variations
Edit:
You put the above text in a file and then set it as a parameter when calling pgn-extract like this:
pgn-extract -v[file that contains the rules]
Comment: Sorry it took you several hours to find it in the documentation I wrote for pgn-extract! The documentation has tended to grow slightly chaotically over the years as each new feature was added but I would be happy to receive suggestions for how it could be improved.
Comment: For reference, you can find pgn-extract at [Inline Link] (https://www.cs.kent.ac.uk/~djb/pgn-extract/) It's free and open source.
Comment: Simon: thanks for those suggestions. I will aim to do some revision. I have also been thinking that it would be good to have a section of typical use cases for ease of reference.
Comment: @kentdjb I would suggest rewording the index/table of contents to be more concise and intuitive.
For example, the two entries in this [image](https://imgur.com/c13909e) can be combined and shortened into "Matching by FEN"
And another [four entries](https://imgur.com/pwWy8ux) could be shortened into "Matching by Game Result". This makes finding what you need from the index much easier and less daunting because you're not just looking at a giant wall of text.


export Arabic text with foxpro

Question: I am trying to export  arabic text from my database table in visual foxpro (9) to an Excel sheet, but the Arabic script appears as Latin characters, the inverse (Excel to foxpro) workes good
Comment: Does adding the AS codepage clause to your COPY TO or EXPORT command help?
Answer: Go to your PC windows control panel to region and language and open it.
in the administrative tab click the button Change System Locale, you will be prompted to choose the Locale language choose an Arabic language of your choice, and hit OK, on the same administrative tab
another button is there called Copy settings, click on it, when prompted (Copy your current settings to ?) check booth options then click OK.
Now go to Fox-Pro and Tools, options, regional, and check the (use system settings) if already checked check again, hit Save as Defaults, OK.
last things to do, Exit Fox-pro, and restart your PC.
Try exporting Arabic text again if it works (great) if not the Arabic text in the fox-pro table was inserted using none Arabic supported keyboard or operating system.

export Arabic text with foxpro


VLookup - Wksht 1 has multiple values in 1 cell - search for values in columns to the right of matched values in Wksht 2, return the sum in wksht 1

Question: I am using the VLOOKUP function to search for values in one workbook (Workbook 2 below, highlighted in blue cell F513 - 515,600.05 and cell F518 - 96,560.46) 6 columns to the right of column A, based on multiple values in another workbook, within ONE cell (Workbook 1 below, highlighted in yellow cell A15 – 401-05-0000, 403-01-0000).  I would like the results to be added together and the result placed in one cell (Workbook 1 highlighted in green cell G15.  How should I modify the VLOOKUP function below at the red arrow to do this?
Comment: What have you tried so far?
Answer: If you have Excel for MS365, you could try SUM with VLOOKUP and TEXTSPLIT:
<code>=SUM(VLOOKUP(TRIM(TEXTSPLIT(A15,",")), '[BVAR Balanza julio 2023.xlsx]Balanza de Comprobación'!$A$387:$F$834, 6, FALSE))
</code>
With older versions of Excel, you could add multiple VLOOKUP's together, using some variation of LEFT, RIGHT or MID to pick out each individual lookup_value. For example:
<code>=VLOOKUP(TRIM(LEFT(A15,FIND(",",A15)-1)), '[BVAR Balanza julio 2023.xlsx]Balanza de Comprobación'!$A$387:$F$834, 6, FALSE)
   +VLOOKUP(TRIM(RIGHT(A15,LEN(A15)-FIND(",",A15))), '[BVAR Balanza julio 2023.xlsx]Balanza de Comprobación'!$A$387:$F$834, 6, FALSE)
</code>
This method is not dynamic, however. If the number of lookup_values changes, you would need to modify it accordingly.
Another option worth considering is to have a separate row for each lookup_value, then GROUP the desired rows together (Shift+Alt+Right; or, on the Ribbon, go to the Data Tab > Outline > Group). Add a subtotal at the bottom of each group, then use the expand/collapse (+/-) buttons in the left-hand margin to show/hide details.


Is there an ETF that performs consistently better than VGT over multiple date ranges?

Question: It is surprising since the index it is based on is not well known, but when ever I compare it over 6mo, 1y, 2y, 3y, 5y, etc, the only one that comes close and occasionally does a bit better is QQQ, which is based on the NASDAQ, and then, for only one of those date ranges.
Comment: Rule of thing: Nothing consistently outperforms anything else. Except for some ETFs which are designed to go down on average, which are consistently outperformed by almost everything
Comment: Jacknad, the simple answer is 5 years is nothing.
Answer: Your questions is unanswerable the way you wanted it.
Time horizon
Even 5y is a rather short horizon for investing in the stock market. Investments are judged by performance of decades, not years. The main reason being that investments need not only perform in the good times but also in the bad times during a prolonged recession. Otherwise performance cannot be "consistently" better
Composition
If you look at the index composition, this is basically an Apple and Microsoft ETF. This level of concentration can make for stellar performance in the right times, like Apple going from a company with high hopes but mediocre performance to one of the most valuable companies of the world. But it also makes for really bad performance if the high-weight companies fail to deliver
Focus
Both ETFs you mention are based on the tech sector which has indeed seen great gains. However, the tech sector is a classic growth sector. Historical data shows that growth stocks tend to perform pretty well during extended bull markets but pretty bad during bear markets when all those high hopes come crashing down to reality. The problem is, we will only known in hindsight how far they will rise before the next bear market and how far they will drop when the time inevitably comes.
So, comparing ETFs for minuscule differences is not really helpful in selecting one of them.


What is the difference between a double fugue and a fugue with multiple countersubjects?

Question: The double fugue is apparently a type of fugue with two subjects. What I don't understand is what differentiates a second subject from a countersubject, and why a so-called double fugue cannot be called a fugue with several countersubjects(assuming there is another countersubject), why the second subject is not simply a countersubject. What differentiates a second subject and a countersubject, and what differentiates a double fugue from a fugue with several countersubjects?
Comment: I think we might be able to be clearest if we understand how well you know single fugues. The better you understand single fugues, the clearer the differences with double fugues will be. Have you analyzed any single fugues? Have you had any guided analyses of any double fugues? If you look at Beethoven Sym. #9, mvmt. I, measure 218, there's a clear double fugue with two subjects stated at the same time and then both answered a fifth higher. One counter subject starts immediately in vlns I and flutes, which is totally dependent on the subject in the cellos and basses, not a third subject.
Comment: @ToddWilcox That's interesting, because many analysts do count that single syncopated note in different registers as a third subject. This was partially the essence of my question, this ambiguity that is often present.
Answer: A normal fugue begins with the subject being stated (in the tonic) by one part (say A), which goes on to take the counter-subject when another part (say B) begins the subject (in the dominant). If there are two subjects they are stated together at the start of the fugue. They may well work well as counter-subjects for each other, but there is no way in this situation to assert which one is the subject.
Comment: A double fugue **begins** with two subjects. In a normal fugue one subject is the countersubject, and you know which it is because it starts after the other one finishes.
Comment: I'm trying to get across that your answer needs to better explain how to distinguish a second subject from a run-of-the-mill countersubject.
Comment: If there's not way to assert which is the subject, then how can one say it's a double fugue to begin with? This answer seems to be a restatement of the question.
Comment: But if the two subjects acts as countersubjects, how can you tell they aren't just subject and countersubject? How does one know that the "second" subject is a subject? (And they don't have to start at the same time. A double fugue can begin with one subject and countersubject, then introduce another subject and countersubject, before bringing the two subjects together later on.)
Comment: A countersubject gets played against (counter to) the subject. If a second subject was introduced later in a fugue I would expect it to be prominent, and to be repeated through the parts with a countersubject in the same way as a normal fugal subject. Of course, given any prescription somebody will have written a fugue that it doesn't describe adequately! Did you have any particular fugue in mind?
Comment: @Aaron this answer is perfectly clear to me.  If you think something requires better explanation perhaps you should write your own answer.
Comment: In principle a composer could write a piece where the opening section was fugal with subject A and countersubject B, but the remainder was fugal with B as the subject and A as the countersubject. You might tell that B was the subject when A had ceased and one part entered with B followed by A, with the other parts following the usual successive entry pattern. I think this would be an example where your question would be unanswerable for the piece as a whole, though answerable for sections separately.
Comment: @phoog I suspect the answer is clear to you, because you already understand what a double fugue is. I don't care to write my own, when this one could simply be clarified.
Comment: Seeing the new answer, we now have blatant disagreement on what a second fugue subject is (the new answer implies the second subject does *not* get stated together with the first).
Answer: A counter-subject is typically a continuation from the subject, in the same voice.  So in a typical simple fugue, a first voice enters with the subject; then a second voice enters with the subject, and the first voice continues in counterpoint.  Usually, this continuation (a) involves a distinctive motif and (b) recurs following the subject in other voices; these together establish it as the countersubject.
A second subject enters independently, in a new voice.  So in a typical double fugue: voice 1 enters with the first subject; then voice 2 enters with the second subject; then voice 3 enters with the first subject (and voice 1 usually proceeds to a first countersubject); then voice 4 enters with the second subject (and voice 2 possibly proceeds to a second countersubject).
Here's an example double fugue, the Kyrie Eleison from Mozart's Requiem.  The first subject is highlighted in red ("Kyrie eleison", in the bass and later the soprano); its continuation as a (debatable) counter-subject is in orange.  The second subject is in green (in the alto and then tenor).

A second subject is usually quite clear and unambiguous.  The trickier and often debatable point is identifying a countersubject.  Simple fugues usually have clear countersubjects, but double fugues often don't have any (since the main subjects often supply enough density of counterpoint).  In this Mozart example, there's certainly no second countersubject — the alto states the second subject, then stops and rests while the tenor states it in turn.  And the first countersubject is debatable: After stating the subject, the basses do continue while the sopranos enter with the same subject.  But each voice that has the first subject has a different continuation after the first few bars — there's no distinctive independent motif that consistently follows the first subject.  So personally, I would analyse this fugue as not having a clear countersubject.  But I think it can also reasonably be analysed either as (a) the basses' line from the end of bar 4 onwards is a countersubject (it recurs sometimes, though not consistently); or (b) the motif in bars 3–4 of the basses is the countersubject, not part of the main subject (since it sometimes occurs independently of the opening "Kyrie" motif).
Answer: To put it briefly: A second subject receives an independent exposition of its own of some sort; whereas a mere countersubject only appears as a counterpoint to the main subject, never being exposed or stated on its own and always showing dependecy to the first subject.
There are different ways how to execute the exposition of a second (third etc.) subject:

There can be a full-fledged exposition in several voices following the exposition of the first subject (or even followning the first development of the first subject) [example: the second subject of the triple c# minor fugue from the Well Tempered Clavier I].
The second subject can be exposed simultaneously, or rather almost-simultaneously, with the first subject, in a common exposition [example: Kyrie eleison from Mozart's requiem].
The/a second(ary) subject can be introduced later in the fugue as an innovation/part of development [example, of a sort: the third subject of the c# minor fugue from WTC I, slowly emerging from the accompaniment of the second subject, and gradually gaining prominence and independence].

Of course, border cases may occur - it is all matter of the degree of independency of the countersubject/secondary subject. The more independent it is, the more it deserves to be called a second subject and not a mere countersubject. It definitely is a mere countersubject in case it:

only enters together with the main subject;
is never stated independently of it;
is never independently developed;
always combines in the same way with the subject;
is not significantly more prominent than the main subject.

But should the melody which started as a countersubject (or something else, such as an episode motif) sometimes be stated without the main subject, or combine with it in different ways (thus showing independecy), or be developed independently of the main subject, or be so prominent as to effectively overshadow the main subject -- then it approaches the status of a second subject.
By "prominence" I don't only mean a nature contrasting to the main subject - most countersubject have such a contrasting nature; rather, I mean that the countersubject must distinguish itself both from the main subject and from the rest of the material of the fugue in order to be able to claim the status of a true second subject. For example, the countersubject of the f minor fugue from WTC 1 contrasts strongly with the main subject and is generally extremely prominent in the fugue - so much, in fact, that it provides all the rest of the material of the fugue. Consequently, there is nothing against which it might stand out, and so it is not a second subject: it is simply serves as the overall "background" material of the fugue which provides a contrasting scene for the only true subject of the fugue.
Another example of a typical, completely dependent countersubject is the one from Fugue g minor from WTC I - which is remarkable by being obtained from the subject by retrograding it (which also underlines its dependent nature).
On the other hand, in F# major fugue in WTC I, the disitnctive semiquaver motif introduced in the top voice in measure 7 and quickly dominating the fugue can indeed be argued to be a second subject of a sort (in addition, the fugue also has a regular, completely subservient countersubject, which is only later supplaned by this figure in its function of accompaniment of the first subject):

it enters quite independently, in a contrasting manner, after the exposition of the main subject in all three voices has been completed;
it is distinctive and prominent;
it combines with the subject in various ways;
it is developed/reworked in various ways;
it does not sereve merely to accompany the subject.
Comment: IMHO this is the best answer, but it might benefit from clarity about how it's not always obvious when a fugue is a double fugue, and you really have to analyze the candidate subjects against the characteristics listed in this answer. Another way there can be a clear double fugue is when two subjects are stated at the same time and then developed at the same time and each may have counter-subjects, essentially two single fugues happening at once. This is the Beethoven way (often).


How did the word "humor", which originally represented bodily fluids, end up representing funny things?

Question: The etymology of humor shows it represented bodily fluids. It is understood that there was a belief in the ancient time, when each type of bodily fluids were attributed to particular state of mind. But it is not clear how it ended up representing something funny.
Comment: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=humor
Comment: Probably it was from the phrase _(in) (a) good humour_, which came to simply assume _good_, much as _style_ or _taste_ have default assumptions of **good** _style_ or _taste_.
Comment: Well I did look there before posting here, but the connection is still not clear. Thought someone got more to add to it.
Comment: @Benny: If you looked there before asking here, it's usually a good idea to mention that specifically in your question, along with a link, or some pasted text in a quote box. (Otherwise, we don't know you've seen that, so it's harder to realize that you're looking for something "more.")
Comment: Why close? Do you know the answer? Heh?!
Comment: J.R, I realized that yesterday. Will keep in mind :)
Answer: According to the humors theory of physiology, both mental and physical health are dependent on a balance of the four primary humors: bile, black bile, phlegm  and blood. A person who has an excess of one humor and a deficiency of the others is out of balance  and is accordingly spoken of (still) as being out of temper (Latin temperare, 'mix') or as having a melancholy, bilious, phlegmatic or sanguine temperament.
Humor thus came to be a synonym for imbalance or eccentricity of character, the stock-in-trade of intellectual Renaissance comedy. Ben Jonson for instance wrote a popular play, Every Man In His Humour, and a sequel, Every Man Out of His Humour; the prologue of the latter defines the comic treatment:

        Some one peculiar quality
  Doth so possess a man, that it doth draw
  All his affects, his spirits, and his powers,
  In their confluctions, all to run one way.

Over the next century, humor passed by degrees from signifying what makes a character ridiculous to anything which excites more or less sympathetic laughter.
Comment: Brilliant answer! Provided more information than I hoped for. It is amazing how meanings change over time, particularly getting influenced by imagination of artists of the time (poets in those days, writers and comedians in this age along with poets of course)
Comment: *Humor* was a chic buzzword in Jonson's day: he heaps scorn on the dandies who liked to characterize their fantastic mannerisms of dress and behavior as *humors*.


Can't find "Local server multiplayer" button in 0.13.1

Question: I have got a problem. I have seen a lot of people teach how to join another person's world by clicking the "local server multiplayer" button. But I can't find that button in my Minecraft PE 0.13.1 running on my iPhone 6+! There is only a "multiplayer game" button, but not a local server button!
Answer: I think I see what you mean. If you are saying that the multiplayer is not working, as worlds on a LAN should appear in the main list but they don't, there is an easy fix. However if you mean how to join an MCPE server on the internet, I've written about that at the bottom.
Joining a server on your local network (WiFi)
You first need to open Minecraft on both devices, turn off multiplayer game in options, open a world, then leave that world again, and turn on multiplayer game in options. This should hopefully reset multiplayer broadcasting, so it should work.
If that doesn't do anything, quit Minecraft on both devices. On your home screen, double tap the home button and end Minecraft by swiping up all the apps (all iOS users probably know this). Then, once again on the home screen swipe up from the bottom of the home screen (from the top if on android) and enable airplane mode on both devices. After ten seconds disable airplane mode, connect to your network and open Minecraft ONLY on the device on which the world is saved on. Wait and other ten seconds and disable airplane mode. Open Minecraft as normal, and you should be able to join.
Joining a server on the internet
However, as I mentioned before, to join a server there is a different method. Open the create world screen as normal, and click on the arrow button in the top right. It is next to to the advanced button.

On this page enter the name you want the server to appear as, followed by the IP, followed by the port number, usually the default.

After this, your server should appear in your worlds list, above the minecraft worlds, there are many servers availible if you have the time to find them (many have websites as well online).
Answer: If you two are right by each other, then 1 simply on the hotspot with/without 3g/4g. And the others connect to that hotspot he/she creates, anyone of you host a Lan game, it will work as long as you had set the options for Broadxast to Lan beforehand. That is if you had no routers or had difficulties with it.


Resetting Xfce Panels to default settings?

Question: How do I reset my Xfce panels to the default settings that Xubuntu uses?
Answer: XFCE stores it's configuration for the running session in xfconfd. Feel free to back up the files you're going to delete first.

Shut down the panel first, xfce4-panel --quit
Kill the xfce4 configuration daemon, pkill xfconfd
First delete settings for the panel, rm -rf ~/.config/xfce4/panel
Clear out the settings for xfconfd, rm -rf ~/.config/xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml/xfce4-panel.xml
Restart the panel, run xfce4-panel. This will respawn xfconfd automatically. Note if you need or want to restart xfconfd manually know that on my installation it was in /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/xfce4/xfconf/xfconfd which was outside of $PATH.

This clears it for the running session, regenerates the files, and sets up the default for future sessions.
Want it in one line?
xfce4-panel --quit ; pkill xfconfd ; rm -rf ~/.config/xfce4/panel ~/.config/xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml/xfce4-panel.xml ; xfce4-panel;

Comment: I suggest using the `mv` command or at least suggesting to copy the folder elsewhere before deleting anything.
Comment: except that using `rm -rf` can be dangerous if you miss-type, If you accidentally move something else, you can simply move it back.
Comment: I wouldn't suggest that. This is a simple reset to defaults. In no paradigm does a **Reset to Defaults → Apply** provide for an **Undo**. I take it the users understand this, as I could not think of anything that would lead them to expect anything else.
Comment: THANK YOU! my panel disappeared and I was having trouble finding a way to restore it with my old (backed up) settings without logging out, this worked!
Comment: @EvanCarroll I did back when I made that comment - apparently it got some downvotes as well.
Comment: @weronika if it works for you, vote it up.
Comment: Regarding the permanence of `rm`: Non-power users should be encouraged to use the `trash-cli` package programs to send things to the trashcan, which can then be recovered or deleted forever later. After installing (`sudo apt-get install trash-cli`), you can simply call `trash files-or-dir-to-send-to-trashcan` and then go to the Trash later to restore it if you need to.
Comment: Thanks! I have used this to store two separate xfce4-panel configs and swapping them when changing monitor configuration. I did not know about `xfconfd` bit so that was a huge help.
Comment: it worked, thanks except the `pkill xfconfd` it required `sudo`
Comment: @Faizan than your conf is totally borked.
Comment: Similar with https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?p=1658467&sid=bcc75e1a0a469703b5f0b5a12d2c5b76#p1658467
Answer: The only thing I can say that would make it easier to just run:
rm -r ~/.config/xfce4

Then simply log out and back in. This will just reset xfce4 back to default. I'd recommend avoiding the -f flag unless necessary especially if you are using the sudo command which is not an issue here but anyway. Using only the minimal force necessary is always a good idea.
This also limits the commands a user has to enter, you can also open up your file manager and select view hidden files and go into the .config folder and right click and delete the xfce4 folder and then log out and back in. No commands necessary.
Comment: You could just as easily do it in one line, `pkill xfconfd; rm -rf ~/.config/xfce4/panel ~/.config/xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml/xfce4-panel.xml; xfec4-panel`, which would stop you from having to logout, and not nuke other potentially useful settings in `~/.config/xfce4`.
Comment: The other answer did not work for me on xfce 4.12 on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, but this answer worked great. Just thought I would give a heads up for anyone reading this.
Comment: solution from @EvanCarroll is better. Worked for me. Thank you kind sir!
Comment: I found that not killing xfconfd but doing `rm` alone resulted sometimes in corrupted settings.
Answer: In my case I didn't want to switch the entire panel to the default, I just wanted to switch to the default layout because I recently upgraded from Xubuntu 16.04 to 18.04 and there were some changes to the panel plugins.
Here's what I did:

Right-click anywhere on the panel (except for one of the open window buttons) > Panel > Panel Preferences
Click Backup and restore
(Optional) Click the Save Configuration button to save your current configuration
In the list of configurations, select the one corresponding to your version of Xubuntu. For example, I'm using Xubuntu 18.04, so I selected Xubuntu Bionic.
Click Apply Configuration
Answer: xfce ships with xfconf-query - a powerful commandline utility for dealing with the xml config files inside of:
$HOME/.config/xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml/

.
There is no man page (on Fedora only?) but there is help available:
$ xfconf-query -h
Usage:
  xfconf-query [OPTION…] - Xfconf commandline utility

Help Options:
  -h, --help            Show help options

Application Options:
  -V, --version         Version information
  -c, --channel         The channel to query/modify
  -p, --property        The property to query/modify
  -s, --set             The new value to set for the property
  -l, --list            List properties (or channels if -c is not specified)
  -v, --verbose         Verbose output
  -n, --create          Create a new property if it does not already exist
  -t, --type            Specify the property value type
  -r, --reset           Reset property
  -R, --recursive       Recursive (use with -r)
  -a, --force-array     Force array even if only one element
  -T, --toggle          Invert an existing boolean property
  -m, --monitor         Monitor a channel for property changes

To list the available channels you can open xfce4-settings-editor which is the gui tool for working with xfconf.
Or you can run xfconf-query -l.
We can use this knowledge to create a script to reset every existing xfconf property to its default via --reset or -r
#!/usr/bin/env bash
while read channel
do
    for property in $(xfconf-query -l -c $channel)
    do
        xfconf-query -c $channel -r -p $property
    done
done < channels.txt

...
$ cat channels.txt
displays
ristretto
thunar
xfce4-desktop
xfce4-keyboard-shortcuts
xfce4-notifyd
xfce4-panel
xfce4-power-manager
xfce4-session
xfce4-settings-editor
xfce4-settings-manager
xfwm4
xsettings

or slightly better (without the need for a static channel list):
#!/usr/bin/env bash
for channel in $(xfconf-query -l | grep -v ':' | tr -d "[:blank:]")
do
    for property in $(xfconf-query -l -c $channel)
    do
        xfconf-query -c $channel -r -p $property
    done
done

Answer: The defaults for the panel is stored in /etc/xdg/xfce4/panel/default.xml. So to restore that default, just do:
cp /etc/xdg/xfce4/panel/default.xml ~/.config/xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml/xfce4-panel.xml


On an inequality about asymptotics of Whittaker functions

Question: I'm reading Wallach's paper 'Asymptotic expansions of generalized matrix entries of representations of real reductive groups'(Lecture Notes in Math., 1024,287–369) and got confused by one statement there on asymptotics of Whittaker functions. Near the bottom of page 361, there is an inequality without proof
$$|f_{\lambda,v}(x)|\le C_{n,v}x^{-n} for \ \ all \ \ x\ge 1 \ \ and \ \ all \ \ n=1,2,...$$
where $\lambda$ is the Whittaker functional on an irreducible generic smooth representation $\pi$, $v$ is a vector in $\pi$, $f_{\lambda,v}(e^t)=\lambda(\pi( exp \ \ tH)v)$, $H\in \mathfrak{a}$ and the smallest eigenvalue of $ad H$ on $\mathfrak{n}$ is 1 (see on top of page 358 of that paper), here $(P,A)$ is a standard parabolic pair with unipotent radical $N$ and $\mathfrak{a},\mathfrak{n}$ are Lie algebras of $A,N$ respectively.
I couldn't figure out this simple fact. Any help or reference are appreciated in advance.
Answer: Not sure about the level of generality in Wallach's paper, but if that Whittaker function is given by a Jacquet integral (Multiplicity One for Whittaker functions), you can integrate by parts many times and would give you the result.


General relativity theory

Question: As I understand general relativity theory (please correct me if I'm wrong), time becomes dilated and space becomes compressed around mass, and this is responsible for gravity. I'm struggling with precisely how that results in gravitational force between masses. Can someone explain that to me (please keep any required math understandable to a lay person).
Comment: possible duplicate of [How exactly does curved space-time describe the force of gravity?](http://physics.stackexchange.com/q/3009/) and [How does relativity explain gravity, without assuming gravity](http://physics.stackexchange.com/q/65363/)
Comment: Albert Einstein, together with some of the brightest physicists and mathematicians of his day, spent *years* developing just the underlying basics of general relativity, due in no small part to the complexity of the math required. An explanation at the level you want simply might not exist, unfortunately.
Answer: The theory of relativity consists of two by Albert Einstein formulated physical theories:

The special theory of relativity (1905):

The special relativity is a theory of spacetime structure and an evolution of the Newtonian notion of space and time which before that were considered to be absolut (e.g. no limitations to possible magnitudes of velocities were known before) and independent of each other under coordinate transformations (Galilei transformations). Special relativity is based on two postulations which contradict this physical space and time model:

The laws of physics are the same for all observers in uniform motion relative to one another (principle of relativity).
The speed of light in a vacuum is the same for all observers, regardless of their relative motion or of the motion of the source of the light.

Especially the second postulat would not be true, if the speed of light transformed as any other velocity under the Galilei coordinate transformations. For this postulates to be true, therefore the Galilei transformation needed to be altered to take into account the observation that there seemed to be no higher velocity then the speed of light (No physical object, message or field line can travel faster than the speed of light in a vacuum) and as a consequence the space time structure seemed to have a structure in which

time and space are not independent of each other under new to be found (Lorentz) coordinate transformations, and
observer which move with constant velocity to each other measure different values for the distance between two spatial points (length contraction) or different time differences (time dilatation) in their respective frame of reference (Two events, simultaneous for one observer, may not be simultaneous for another observer if the observers are in relative motion).

The new defining feature of special relativity which takes this correlation between time and space into account is the introduction of the four vector concept. For example a space point is described by the four vector $x^{\mu}=\left(ct,\boldsymbol{x}\right)$, where $c$ is the speed of light and $\boldsymbol{x}$ the spatial three vector in Euclidean space $\mathbb{R}$. Every point in the four dimensional space time (called Minkowski space) is assigned such a four vector in such a way that $s^{2}=x_{\mu}x^{\mu}=g_{\mu\nu}x^{\mu}x^{\nu}=\left(ct\right)^{2}-\boldsymbol{x}^{2}$ remains invariant under Lorentz coordinate transformations. This is the defining feature of the notion of space and time in special relativity. $g_{\mu\nu}$ is the metric tensor by which the metric (e.g. the distance between different points in spacetime is defined) in the Minkowski space is definded. It is a constant quantity independent of $x^{\mu}$, which marks the Minkowski space as so called flat. This is the geometrical prescription of a flat space and is used throughout the special relativity in which gravitational forces between massed are not considered. This is where general theory of relativity sets in.

The general theory of relativity (1916):

General relativity is a theory of gravitation. An important principle is the equivalence principle, under which the states of accelerated motion (which cannot be accelerated to each other in special relativity) and being at rest in a gravitational field (standing on the earth´s surface) are not to be distinguished. What is different is that the free fall is inertial motion, a free falling object is falling since this is the way how objects move with no force acting on them, instead of this being due to the force of gravity as is the case in classical mechanics.
In classical mechanics one has a prefered special frames of reference defined by the movement in space and time, namely objects in free motion move along straight lines at constant speed (That means one needs due to Newton external forces to change this state of the object). But in general relativity the equivalence principle states a universality of free fall.  The trajectory of a test body in free fall depends only on its position and initial speed, but not on any of its material properties, for example a person throwing a ball in an gravitational field will observe the same trajectory as the one throwing it in an accelarating object, provided that this accelaration induces the same relative force. This is summarized in the statement that the inertia mass $m_{a}$ and the gravitational mass $m_{g}$ are the same, $m_{g}=m_{a}$ (experimentally very precisely confirmed). This suggests the definition of a new class of inertial motion, namely that of objects in free fall under the influence of gravity. This of course defines a new geometric structure of space and time, the notion of curved space time. The trajectories of free falling objects are geodesics obeying the geodesic equation and being the generalization of the notion of a straight line to curved space times.
The mathematical formulation of general relativity is based on differential geometry (especially of differential manifolds). For someone unexperienced in mathematics this is probably the highest challenge in tackling general relavitivity.
To answer your question, what you experience as a force in newtonian mechanics is in general relavitivity mathematical refomulated and encoded in a spacetime dependent metric $g_{\mu\nu}$, resulting in a curved spacetime described by a curvature tensor $R_{\mu\nu}$. These quantities are connected to the mass and energy content of a space time by the (by Einstein 1915 formulated) Einstein field equations:
$R_{\mu\nu}-\frac{1}{2}{R}g_{\mu\nu}=8\pi G T_{\mu\nu}$,
where $T_{\mu\nu}$ is the energy-momentum tensor containing the energy-mass distribution of a spacetime and $g_{\mu\nu}$ is the resulting $x$-dependent metric of the respective spacetime, which on tries to find (which is mathematically very difficult due to the nature of theses equations beeing a coupled system of differential equations for $g_{\mu\nu}$)
What you should keep in mind:
"Technically, general relativity is a theory of gravitation whose defining feature is its use of the Einstein field equations. The solutions of the field equations are metric tensors which define the topology of the spacetime and how objects move inertially."
Masses induce a curved spacetime in which object move on geodesics which are not straight line in general any more, e.g. the famous experiment during a sun eclipse where it was confirmed that the light (the photons) of a far away star are deviated by the curved space around the heavy mass of the sun. This was a phenomenlogical affirmation of the model of gravitational forces in terms of a local metric and a curved spacetime created by masses in the spacetime, which would be without this mass, flat.
Answer: As Hasenet says in his / her answer, the biggest challenge you will face understanding general relativity (hereafter "GR") is the mathematics of differential geometry. I am not a Real Relativity-ist, but I do have a pretty good grip on the geometry side of things, so I'll have a try to see whether I can help you along the lines of what I did for my daughter and friends at school.
You also might enjoy the very last chapter of the second volume of the Feynman Lectures on Physics. The chapter is called simply "Curved Space" and I would highly recommend you should read this.
For an intuitive understanding of GR you keep two things in mind:

John Wheeler's immortal summary: ""Mass tells space-time how to curve, and space-time tells mass how to move."
An accelerometer - as an instrument in a thought experiment – more on that soon – and, if you end up studying GR, I would go so far as to say teach yourself in some detail how real accelerometers work, especially the mass on spring ones and keep this working in mind as you're doing the problems.

Mass Tells Spacetime how to Bend – The Left Hand (Geometry Side) Side of the Einstein Field Equations
The essential form of the Einstein field equations  (hereafter "EFE")  (the ones given by Hasenet without the cosmological constant which is the subject of much of cosmology at the moment) for your purposes in SI units is:
$\mathbf{G} = \frac{8\,\pi\,G}{c^4} \mathbf{T}$
(the scalar $G$ on the right being Newton's universal gravitational constant, $c$ the freespace lightspeed) and we could, if we liked, redefine our units so that they would read
$\mathbf{G}  = \mathbf{T}$
Note that such a unit definition is not quite the one wontedly used by Real Relativity-ists.
Here $\mathbf{G} $ and $\mathbf{T}$ are $4\times4$ matrices – they are symmetric (left the same if you reflect the matrices in a line down their leading diagonal) so there seem to be 10 independent equations and they are matrix functions of the space and time co-ordinates, whose geometry is to be determined by solving the equations. The Einstein equations bend your mind a bit too, because what you are doing in solving them is discovering relationships (geometry) between the supposedly independent variables of the differential equations – this is an odd situation not found elsewhere in physics. Maxwell's equations of electromagnetism, for example, have solutions specifying electromagnetic fields as functions of the independent space and time co-ordinates, and these co-ordinates truly are the "independent variables". Certain further symmetries (Bianchi identities) lower the actual number of independent equations to 6. But just think of the above, matrix equation as a whole from now on. Also, there are four unspecified degrees of freedom to change co-ordinates, so its very complicated. But ultimately what you hope to get from the equations is the equations for the geodesics - the "straightest" possible lines one can have in curved geometry. These geodesics define the relationships between the spacetime co-ordinates to show us the geometry defined by the field equations. If the EFE were for two dimensional curved space, like a ball or other curved 2-surface, they would give you the equations for the straightest possible lines on the ball, and then you can think of pasting all these lines together in proper relationship to one another to build the manifold of spacetime, much as you weave a cloth from threads.
The left side of the equation $\mathbf{G}$, called the Einstein tensor, describes the geometry of space and time – how spacetime "bends". This is an unvisualisable concept and so seems weird at first sight. But it is related to the logical extension of the intuitive curvature we intuitively understand by our everyday experience with balls. Mathematically the curvature tensor $\mathbf{R}$ (and the Einstein tensor is a simple function of this) simply tells us how we would fail if we tried to label space and time with "flat" co-ordinates, just as there is always distortion present on a flat map of a curved surface like the Earth's surface. The jargon statement is "$\mathbf{R}$ measures the "block" to any attempt to integrate the tangent vector fields on the manifold to a Euclidean manifold". Another way of looking at this is, as discussed in Feynmann, is that a creature whose whole World were the surface of a ball and who couldn't see the ball from outside in 3-space could tell the ball were curved simply by drawing triangles – i.e. whose sides were the "straightest possible on the curved surface" and observing that their angles add up to more (on a positively curved surface like a sphere) than 180 degrees: indeed the discrepancy is proportional to the triangle's area. (See the Wikipedia article on spherical trigonometry). Try imagining  a triangle made up of a "straight line" (more generally called a geodesic or geodetic line – on the 2-sphere a great circle) drawn from the equator to one of the poles, a second geodesic from the pole to second point on the equator and then the last geodesic linking the two equatorial points. The sum of the angles is 180 degrees plus the difference between the longitudes of the two equatorial points. A second way you can detect the sphere's curvature without going outside the sphere is by "parallel transporting" a vector around a closed curve on the surface. You should look up the Chinese "South Pointing Chariot" for a good visualisation of this idea – it is the idea of sliding a vector along a closed curve so that it is always a constant angle to the local geodesics. In general, when you get back to the beginning, the vector is pointing in a different direction from how it was when you began. The difference between the directions measures the curvature (the curvature tensor $\mathbf{R}$ defines the transformation between these two vectors in the manifold's "tangent space"). The extension of this parallel transport idea to higher dimensions is how mathematicians describe "curved" manifolds in higher dimensions. Try not to get too overwhelmed by not being able to really visualise curvature in higher dimensions – this mathematical idea of changes wrought by parallel transport around closed curves is "all there is too it" (it's quite normal to feel quite frustrated and insecure with this idea when you begin thinking about it – after a while you understand that there is a degree of abstraction here beyond what we've evolved to perceive by our senses in our wonted, Euclidean 3-space, and you realise that the mathematics truly is "all there is"). A third and last way to notice your space is curved is to draw spheres and measure how much their surface area differs from the Euclidean geometry value of $4 \pi r^2$. For a visualisable 2-sphere, any circle (locus of all points at a constant geodetic-line distance from their centre) drawn on the sphere has a circumference (i.e. the measure of its boundary, just as the surface area is the measure of the sphere's boundary) that is less than $2\, \pi\,r$ where $r$ is the length of the geodesic joining the centre and any given point on the circumference. This third way of visualising curvature is the most relevant to the EFE as discussed in the Feynman lecture. It is actually less general than the parallel transport idea, and, accordingly, the Einstein tensor is a kind of "averaging" by a process called "contraction" of the more descriptive "Riemann Curvature Tensor" which casts the full parallel transport idea into symbols (one also subtracts some bits from the average to make the contracted tensor "traceless" - but that is an aside for now).

Spacetime Tells Mass how to Move  – The Right Hand (Physics Side) Side of the Einstein Field Equations
Now we look at the stress energy tensor $\mathbf{T}$. This is where much of the physics beyond pure geometry comes in, and I have a considerably weaker grasp of the ideas here, so hopefully some Real Relativity-ist can help me out here.
The stress energy tensor defines the spacetime distribution of the energy, sometimes appearing as matter i.e. stuff that fulfils the Pauli exclusion principle, sometimes appearing as "pure energy", i.e. stuff that doesn't fulfil the Pauli exclusion principle, like light, or radiation, especially in the early Universe. It's all the same to the EFEs. The stress energy tensor also has certain symmetries and properties that ensure that things like local conservation of energy are true. Once you realise John Wheeler's intuitive idea, most of the work in "discovering" the physical theory of gravitation is in understanding the form of $\mathbf{T}$.
But once you have the essential idea that this is the distribution of "stuff" in the World, you've essentially got it: the equation $\mathbf{G} = \mathbf{T}$ encodes John Wheeler's wonderful sentence: the distribution of stuff in the world defines the spacetime geometry, which in turn defines how that stuff has to "move around" (distribute itself in space and time). The solutions of the EFE give us the geodesics in the geometry – equations of paths followed  by small (in the sense of being too small to disturb $\mathbf{T}$) "test particles".
Where does Force Come Into It?
GR does not deal with force directly. It simply tells you the geodesics and, by pasting these together, the geometry of the spacetime manifold. Gravity at its essence is the geometry of spacetime.
Force comes into the picture exactly as it always does in physics - through Newton's second law. Now it's time to bring out your imaginary accelerometer. A reference frame in "free fall" is one following the geodesics. A satellite orbiting the Earth is in "free fall" – it is following geodesics in the spacetime manifold defined by the stress energy tensor represented by the Earth's presence. An accelerometer on the satellite would measure nought. Frames following geodesics generalise the inertial frame concept from special relativity.
However, if you want to deviate from a frame following geodesics (i.e. from frame of free fall, or a locally inertial frame), you need a force. This is Newton's second law. You feel a force through your bottom on your seat or your shoes on the ground because the reference frame following the spacetime geodesic would be accelerating at $g$ metres per second through the surface of the Earth towards the Earth's centre. However, you can't do that – the matter in your body crunches up against the matter of the ground and your seat, and the latter pushes back on you so that you accelerate upwards relative to the free fall frame at $g$ metres per second. The force you feel on your bottom is, by Newton's second law, simply $m\,g$. Read about the macabre fate of "spaghettification" that ultimately awaits all hapless astronauts falling into black holes. What is going on here – where are the forces coming from that spaghettify the hapless spacefarer? Inside the black hole, spacetime is highly "nonuniform" – the freefall frame varies swiftly between different but nearby points in spacetime. The freefall frame for your hand is significantly different from the freefall frame for your chest. So, by Newton II, if the spacefarer wants to keep their hand at the end of their arm, they need to apply a force to keep it attached. That force comes from tensions and compressions in their flesh and bones. Ultimately the tensile / compressive stresses needed to keep the different parts of the body deviating enough from their local freefall frames is too great for mortal flesh and bone, and the poor spacefarer drees his or her "spaghettified" weird.
One now understands an accelerometer to be: an instrument measuring the deviation of its frame of reference from the locally inertial (free fall) frame. I forgot to say that an entry level accelerometer won't do. You need one that also tells you the acceleration's direction - which sophisticated ones in aicraft for example always do. Also, given the spaghettification comments above, it has to be infinitely small and sensitive so it can probe neighbouring space time points separately and also infinitely light, so that it doesn't disturb the stress energy tensor.
A question I've seen several times on this site is whether acceleration is absolute in GR. One doesn't get a straight answer to this question, because it depends on what you mean by "acceleration". It is true that there is always a change of co-ordinates that can spirit the numerical "acceleration" away locally in any frame. But I think it is best conceptually to think of the accelerometer. Your frame of reference sitting on the Earth is not following a spacetime geodesic - it truly is accelerated relative to that geodesic and your accelerometer will measure this. In this standpoint, acceleration is absolute - it is the shape of the spacetime manifold and different reference frames passing through a point in spacetime in acceleration relative to each other at that point will get different readings on their accelerometers. From the accelerometer thought experiment standpoint, acceleration is indeed absolute.

As well as Feynman, if you want to study further and grasp the GR project bit in your teeth, you might like to see the discussions of GR in Roger Penrose's "Road to Reality". I have been browsing a free to download book "A First Course in General Relativity" by Bernard Schutz. This one has an unusual and neat, thorough discussion at the end of the experimental measurement of gravitational waves and the technology and measurement procedures astronomers currently use to try to do this. The classic is "Gravitation" by Misner, Thorne and Wheeler. This is also very thorough, but a big project compared to the more succinct and modern Schutz and I think I would probably try Schutz first if I were studying GR for the first time. I've noticed on this site a book by Wald "General Relativity" discussed quite a bit but I have no experience of it other than a browse at bookshops. It can be cheaply bought in Kindle edition, which is seldom for technical books and this might be a plus.
Comment: As a "real relativist", I *wish* we used $G = T$ instead of all these $8\pi$'s running around.  That more people don't use $G = 1/4\pi$ continually baffles me.
Comment: @Muphrid notice I called you a Real Relativity-ist, not a Real Relativist! I'm sure many physicists would bristle at being called the latter :)
Comment: Eh, the dictionary I have has room for both philosophy as well as science under the definition of the word. But it does leave the question of whether a relativist can also be a relativist undecided.
Comment: @Muphrid Wow - my dictionary says so too and I never even knew -that's surprising, because I spend heaps of time reading dictionaries - so thank you for that! I always thought that when the people who do real GR for a living occaisionally call themselves "Relativitsts" that they were trying to be slightly humourous. This perception is strengthed because the people I know well who do real GR for a living would call themselves cosmologists or, in one case, computational astrophysicists.
Answer:
I'm struggling with precisely how that results in gravitational force
  between masses.

It doesn't result in force between masses.  In General Relativity, gravity is not a force, gravity is geodesic deviation.
The mathematics are formidable and, if one wants to understand precisely how it works, well, you'll just have to dig in and keep at it.
So, if you'll settle instead having a general notion of how it works, consider the following:
(1) free from any forces, the path of an object in spacetime (the object's world line) is a geodesic which loosely means that the path is, in some sense, as straight as it can be.
(2) if the spacetime is flat, the geodesics are straight lines and, importantly, two geodesics that are initially parallel will remain parallel.
(3) if the spacetime is curved, two initially parallel geodesics will, in general, not remain parallel.
Now, consider the surface of a globe and, in particular, the lines of longitude and latitude.
The lines of longitude are great circles and thus are geodesics of the surface of the globe.
Note that, at the equator, the lines of longitude are all perpendicular to the equator and thus, are initially parallel there.
However, as you move toward either pole, the lines of longitude converge, getting closer and closer together until meeting at a pole.
If these lines of longitude were the world lines of objects in some spacetime, you can see how it would appear that the objects "attract" one another and move closer and close until they collide.
Matter and energy curve spacetime such that the world lines, like the geodesic lines of longitude on a globe, do not remain parallel.
Again, if you wish to understand the particulars of the relationship between matter / energy and spacetime curvature, be prepared to devote quite a bit of time and effort.  The other answers give a hint at the particulars.

General relativity theory


Trying to identify this houseplant

Question: I was given some cuttings of this plant but I can't seem to identify it so I can care for it properly. Can someone please identify it? Thanks
Answer: I am not sure how you have this plant potted, but it appears to be a species of Epiphyllum cactus. It is a genus of night-blooming cactus species (Cactaceae family). Some common names are "orchid cactus" and "queen of the night". Yours may be the well known Epiphyllum oxypetalum, but the condition of your plant makes a positive identification difficult. They are native to the Central Americas and bloom at night with spectacular white flowers that last for only one night. Here are some links that might be of more help with your plant.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epiphyllum
https://www.gardenclinic.com.au/how-to-grow-article/queen-of-the-night
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epiphyllum_oxypetalum
Comment: Definitely an Epithyllum. Does this plant get much light? They don't need much, but is that new growth that looks like string?
Comment: Thank you for the information, very helpful. I'll research more to make sure it has proper care.  It is potted in soil but there's a top coat of sand that helped eliminate fungus gnats. It sits on the sill of a large window, on west side of house, protected by covered deck, so it doesn't get direct sun. And yes, the string-like pieces are new growth. I wanted to find out why it's turning brown.
Comment: @TimNevins If you grow them from seed, the immature growth looks like string until it starts to broaden out into the mature leaf shape, but I've never seen one as extreme looking as the OP's picture. Usually you get about an inch of "string" and once the plant gets going you can take a cutting from the mature part of the leaf, to get rid of the "string" completely, rather than let the leaf flop over like the OP''s pictures.
Comment: The spots on the leaves and large brown patches looks like a virus-like disease. There is no cure except to cut off the affected leaves if they look unsightly. Fortunately, it doesn't seem to spread from one plant to another. It may a problem caused by "inbreeding" between the many thousands of hybrid epiphyllum varieties that have been created.
Comment: Since the whole plant looks such a mess at present, it might be worth taking one or two cuttings from undamaged leaves and seeing if those grow without the "string" and brown patches. There is plenty of information on the web on how to take epiphyllum cuttings, and it's easy to do.

Trying to identify this houseplant


What do you call disciplining children by preventing them from accessing a certain toy?

Question: What do you call disciplining children by preventing them from accessing a certain toy? I thought about "grounding children" but it means preventing them from going outdoors.  This is not what I mean because they can go outdoors but they can't use their RC car.
Comment: grounding is not "going outdoors"; It's for teenagers and means "not going out" with their friends, for example. Little kids are not grounded. To be grounded, you have to be old enough to go out on your own, without supervision. There is no term for what you are looking for. You just say: You can go outdoors but you can't use your RC car.
Answer: "Taking away" toys or privileges seems to be the most common phrase to express this (as in this example or this one). See the following examples from these sources:

"Taking away toys"
"take away a fun event"
"take away their school-issued Chromebook"


Repeater, ListView, DataList, DataGrid, GridView ... Which to choose?

Question: So many different controls to choose from!  What are best practices for determining which control to use for displaying data in ASP.NET?
Comment: This question has only one definitive answer: It depends. What are you trying to do?
Comment: @Tomalak I'm just displaying a list of data ... normally I just use the Repeater but wants to see the pros/cons of using the others.
Answer: It's really about what you trying to achieve

Gridview - Limited in design, works like an html table. More in built functionality like edit/update, page, sort. Lots of overhead.
DataGrid - Old version of the Gridview. A gridview is a super datagrid.
Datalist - more customisable version of the Gridview. Also has some overhead. More manual work as you have to design it yourself.
ListView - the new Datalist :). Almost a hybrid of the datalist and gridview where you can use paging and build in Gridview like functionality, but have the freedom of design. One of the new controls in this family
Repeater - Very light weight. No built in functionality like Headers, Footers. Has the least overhead.
Comment: Is it still up to date this answer? (since it's from 2008 and it's 2013)
Comment: @Michel Repeater became strongly typed since .NET 4.5. I like that a lot.
Comment: Hmmm..  "No built in functionality like headers, footers", well, there is the HeaderTemplate and FooterTemplate.. if you want to put in things like your  and  tags.
Comment: @MichelAyres I would say yes in general.  While MS has made some updates to webforms since 2008, the general ideas conveyed in the answer are the same.
Answer: Everyone else hit it: It Depends.
Now for some specific guidance (expanding upon WebDude's excellent answer above) ...
Does your design fit into a natural spreadsheet or grid view of the data? GridView.
Do you need to display a list or other formatted view of data, possibly with headers and footers, and probably with specific controls and/or formatting for each record of data? (EG, customized links, possibly LinkButtons, or specific edit controls?) Does this display specifically not fit naturally into a spreadsheet or grid view? ListView
If you meet all the criteria of ListView, but you would naturally fit in a grid, you may consider DataList.
I go for Repeater when I just need some basic data iterated with some custom design bits, no headers, no footers, nice and clean.
Answer: Markup View
Declaring the following sample code is possible for all 3( ListView, DataList , Repeater)
<code><asp:ListView runat="server" OnItemCommand="Unnamed1_ItemCommand">
<ItemTemplate> <%# Eval("Name")%>    </ItemTemplate>
<asp:ListView>
</code>
in the following lists You can see the available templates and options for each of them and see the differences for yourself
ListView (note the edit,group,insert ,layout)

AlternatingltemTemplate
EditltemTemplate
EmptyDataTemplate
EmptyltemTemplate
GroupSeparatorTemplate
GroupTemplate
lnsertltemTemplate
ItemSeparatorTemplate
ItemTemplate
LayoutTemplate
SelectedltemTemplate

DataList (note the Style pairs)

AlternatingltemStyle
AlternatingltemTemplate
EditltemStyle
EditltemTemplate
FooterStyle
FooterTemplate
HeaderStyle
HeaderTemplate
ItemStyle
ItemTemplate
SelectedltemStyle
SelectedltemTemplate
SeparatorStyle
SeparatorTemplate

Repeater

AlternatingltemTemplate
FooterTemplate
HeaderTemplate
ItemTemplate
SeparatorTemplate

Code View (advanced view)
CompositeDataBoundControl:
look the following  classes hierarchy (and related controls).
these controls hosts other asp.net controls in their templates to display bound-data to user

Some descriptions for better clarifications
The ListView Control
The ListView control also uses templates for the display of data. However, it supports many
additional templates that allow for more scenarios when working with your data. These templates include the LayoutTemplate,GroupTemplate,ItemSeparatorTemplate.
The ListView control (unlike DataList and Repeater) also implicitly supports the ability to
edit, insert, and delete data by using a data source control. You can define individual templates
for each of these scenarios.
The DataList Control
The DataList control works like the Repeater control. It repeats data for each row in your data set,
and it displays this data according to your defined template. However, it lays out the data defined
in the template within various HTML structures. This includes options for horizontal or vertical
layout, and it also allows you to set how the data should be repeated, as flow or table layout.
The DataList control does not automatically use a data source control to edit data. Instead,
it provides command events in which you can write your own code for these scenarios. To
enable these events, you add a Button control to one of the templates and set the button's
CommandName property to the edit, delete, update, or cancel keyword. The appropriate
event is then raised by the DataList control.
The Repeater Control
The Repeater control also uses templates to define custom binding. However, it does not show data as individual records. Instead, it repeats the data rows as you specify in your template. This
allows you to create a single row of data and have it repeat across your page.
The Repeater control is a read-only template. That is, it supports only the ItemTemplate.
It does not implicitly support editing, insertion, and deletion. You should consider one of the
other controls if you need this functionality, otherwise you will have to code this yourself for
the Repeater control.

The above Descriptions are from MCTS Exam 70-515 Web Applications Development with Microsoft.NET Framework 4 book.
DataGrid is not even mentioned in this book and is replaced by popular GridViews and answered nicely by other users
Comment: Great descriptions of all the answers !
Comment: My goodness... the definition of a complete answer. Well done.
Answer: It all comes down to how you want to layout your data.
If you need to control the layout (like tables versus CSS versus whatever), when use a Repeater or ListView. Between the two, ListView gives you a lot more events and built-in commands for editing, selecting, inserting. Additionally paging and grouping functionality. A Repeater is extremely simple, it repeats a layout with the data. Since you're building the layout by hand, Listview and Repeater require more code.
GridView is an updated DataGrid so there is hardly any reason to use DataGrid. GridView works really well when hooked up to standard ASP.NET datasources, but restricts you to a tabular layout with lots of layout rules. GridView requires less code since you're using a built-in layout.
Answer: Indeed!  I've blogged on the differences between the ASP.NET 4.0 data tools.  Basically, gridviews are the most powerful way to present tabular information, whereas ListView controls are for more complicated displays of repeated data.  If I were giving advice to an ASP.NET newbie, I'd tell them to learn gridviews inside out and ignore the other controls to begin with.
Comment: Just to add a comment to my own blog: 2-3 years down the line, what I'd actually recommend is learning ASP.NET MVC instead, which makes the question irrelevant (and also makes raising events from grids trivial).  However, it is a LONG learning curve!


How do I create a round cornered UILabel on the iPhone?

Question: Is there a built in way to create round-cornered UILabels? If the answer is no, how would one go about creating such an object?
Answer: iOS 3.0 and later
iPhone OS 3.0 and later supports the cornerRadius property on the CALayer class. Every view has a CALayer instance that you can manipulate. This means you can get rounded corners in one line:
view.layer.cornerRadius = 8;

You will need to #import <QuartzCore/QuartzCore.h> and link to the QuartzCore framework to get access to CALayer's headers and properties.
Before iOS 3.0
One way to do it, which I used recently, is to create a UIView subclass which simply draws a rounded rectangle, and then make the UILabel or, in my case, UITextView, a subview inside of it. Specifically:

Create a UIView subclass and name it something like RoundRectView.
In RoundRectView's drawRect: method, draw a path around the bounds of the view using Core Graphics calls like CGContextAddLineToPoint() for the edges and and CGContextAddArcToPoint() for the rounded corners.
Create a UILabel instance and make it a subview of the RoundRectView.
Set the frame of the label to be a few pixels inset of the RoundRectView's bounds. (For example, label.frame = CGRectInset(roundRectView.bounds, 8, 8);)

You can place the RoundRectView on a view using Interface Builder if you create a generic UIView and then change its class using the inspector. You won't see the rectangle until you compile and run your app, but at least you'll be able to place the subview and connect it to outlets or actions if needed.
Comment: If you want to do this in Interface Builder instead of code, you can set a User Defined Runtime Attribute with key path "layer.cornerRadius" in the Identity Inspector.
Comment: view.layer.cornerRadius still draws the entire view (offscreen instead when it's enabled) and only at the CoreAnimation layer will it clip your view. The cost is that it will make putting any view with it enabled in a UIScrollView, kill your scrolling performance.
Comment: Using cornerRadius inside a UIScrollView will *kill* your scrolling performance? I *might* believe you if we're talking about a UITableView, but a single rounded-corner view isn't going to grind the view drawing system to a halt.
Answer: For devices with iOS 7.1 or later, you need to add:
yourUILabel.layer.masksToBounds = YES;
yourUILabel.layer.cornerRadius = 8.0;

Comment: Set the corner radius but masksToBounds is slow for scrolling/animation. If you set the layer's background color vs the view that's enough in conjunction with the layer's cornerRadius on 7.1 (where it would have stopped working with only cornerRadius).
Answer: For Swift IOS8 onwards based on OScarsWyck answer:
yourUILabel.layer.masksToBounds = true
yourUILabel.layer.cornerRadius = 8.0

Comment: Please don't clutter up Stack Overflow with translations of Objective-C answers into Swift, particularly when the only change in this case is changing `YES` to `true`.
Comment: The change in this case is minimal, but as a general point translations from Objective-C into Swift are often very useful.
Comment: How about editing the original answer and adding Swift translation there?
Answer:
you have an UILabel called: myLabel.
in your "m" or "h" file import: #import <QuartzCore/QuartzCore.h>
in your viewDidLoad write this line: self.myLabel.layer.cornerRadius = 8;

depends on how you want you can change cornerRadius value from 8 to other number :)

Good luck
Answer: You can make rounded border with width of border of any control in this way:-
CALayer * l1 = [lblName layer];
[l1 setMasksToBounds:YES];
[l1 setCornerRadius:5.0];

// You can even add a border
[l1 setBorderWidth:5.0];
[l1 setBorderColor:[[UIColor darkGrayColor] CGColor]];

Just replace lblName with your UILabel.
Note:- Don't forget to import <QuartzCore/QuartzCore.h>
Answer: Swift 3
If you want rounded label with background color, in addition to most of the other answers, you need to set layer's background color as well. It does not work when setting view background color.
label.layer.cornerRadius = 8
label.layer.masksToBounds = true
label.layer.backgroundColor = UIColor.lightGray.cgColor

If you are using auto layout, want some padding around the label and do not want to set the size of the label manually, you can create UILabel subclass and override intrinsincContentSize property:
class LabelWithPadding: UILabel {
    override var intrinsicContentSize: CGSize {
        let defaultSize = super.intrinsicContentSize
        return CGSize(width: defaultSize.width + 12, height: defaultSize.height + 8)
    }
}

To combine the two you will also need to set label.textAlignment = center, otherwise the text would be left aligned.
Answer: I made a swift UILabel subclass to achieve this effect. In addition I automatically set the text color to either black or white for maximal contrast.
Result

Used SO-Posts:

How to draw border around a UILabel?
Add a border outside of a UIView
Check if UIColor is dark or bright?

Playground
Just paste this into an iOS Playground:
//: Playground - noun: a place where people can play

import UIKit

class PillLabel : UILabel{

    @IBInspectable var color = UIColor.lightGrayColor()
    @IBInspectable var cornerRadius: CGFloat = 8
    @IBInspectable var labelText: String = "None"
    @IBInspectable var fontSize: CGFloat = 10.5

    // This has to be balanced with the number of spaces prefixed to the text
    let borderWidth: CGFloat = 3

    init(text: String, color: UIColor = UIColor.lightGrayColor()) {
        super.init(frame: CGRectMake(0, 0, 1, 1))
        labelText = text
        self.color = color
        setup()
    }

    required init?(coder aDecoder: NSCoder) {
        super.init(coder: aDecoder)
        setup()
    }

    func setup(){
        // This has to be balanced with the borderWidth property
        text = "  \(labelText)".uppercaseString

        // Credits to https://stackoverflow.com/a/33015915/784318
        layer.borderWidth = borderWidth
        layer.cornerRadius = cornerRadius
        backgroundColor = color
        layer.borderColor = color.CGColor
        layer.masksToBounds = true
        font = UIFont.boldSystemFontOfSize(fontSize)
        textColor = color.contrastColor
        sizeToFit()

        // Credits to https://stackoverflow.com/a/15184257/784318
        frame = CGRectInset(self.frame, -borderWidth, -borderWidth)
    }
}

extension UIColor {
    // Credits to https://stackoverflow.com/a/29044899/784318
    func isLight() -> Bool{
        var green: CGFloat = 0.0, red: CGFloat = 0.0, blue: CGFloat = 0.0, alpha: CGFloat = 0.0
        self.getRed(&red, green: &green, blue: &blue, alpha: &alpha)
        let brightness = ((red * 299) + (green * 587) + (blue * 114) ) / 1000

        return brightness < 0.5 ? false : true
    }

    var contrastColor: UIColor{
        return self.isLight() ? UIColor.blackColor() : UIColor.whiteColor()
    }
}

var label = PillLabel(text: "yellow", color: .yellowColor())

label = PillLabel(text: "green", color: .greenColor())

label = PillLabel(text: "white", color: .whiteColor())

label = PillLabel(text: "black", color: .blackColor())

Answer: If you want rounded corner of UI objects like (UILabel, UIView, UIButton, UIImageView) by storyboard then set clip to bounds true and set User Defined Runtime Attributes Key path as
layer.cornerRadius, type = Number and value = 9 (as your requirement)
Answer: xCode 7.3.1 iOS 9.3.2
 _siteLabel.layer.masksToBounds = true;
  _siteLabel.layer.cornerRadius = 8;

Answer: Another method is to place a png behind the UILabel. I have views with several labels that overlay a single background png that has all the artwork for the individual labels.
Answer:
Works fine in Xcode 8.1.2 with Swift 3

.cornerRadius is the key property to set rounded edges. If you are using the same style for all labels in your application, I would recommend for an extension method.
Code:
 // extension Class
extension UILabel {

    // extension user defined Method
    func setRoundEdge() {
        let myGreenColor = (UIColor(red: -0.108958, green: 0.714926, blue: 0.758113, alpha: 1.0))
        //Width of border
        self.layer.borderWidth = 1.0
        //How much the edge to be rounded
        self.layer.cornerRadius = 5.0

        // following properties are optional
        //color for border
        self.layer.borderColor = myGreenColor.cgColor
        //color for text
        self.textColor = UIColor.red
        // Mask the bound
        self.layer.masksToBounds = true
        //clip the pixel contents
        self.clipsToBounds = true
    }
}

Output:

Why Extension method?
Create a Swift file and add the following code, which has the Extention method to the "UILabel" class, where this method is user defined but will work for all the label in your application and will help to maintain consistency and clean code, if you change any style in future require only in the extension method.
Answer:     UILabel *label = [[UILabel alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectMake(0, 0, 100, 30)];
    label.text = @"Your String.";
    label.layer.cornerRadius = 8.0;
    [self.view addSubview:label];

Answer: Did you try using the UIButton from the Interface builder (that has rounded corners) and experimenting with the settings to make it look like a label. if all you want is to display static text within.
Answer: In Monotouch / Xamarin.iOS I solved the same problem like this:
UILabel exampleLabel = new UILabel(new CGRect(0, 0, 100, 50))
        {
            Text = "Hello Monotouch red label"
        };
        exampleLabel.Layer.MasksToBounds = true;
        exampleLabel.Layer.CornerRadius = 8;
        exampleLabel.Layer.BorderColor = UIColor.Red.CGColor;
        exampleLabel.Layer.BorderWidth = 2;

Answer: Works perfect in Swift 2.0
    @IBOutlet var theImage: UIImageView! //you can replace this with any UIObject eg: label etc

    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
//Make sure the width and height are same
        self.theImage.layer.cornerRadius = self.theImage.frame.size.width / 2
        self.theImage.layer.borderWidth = 2.0
        self.theImage.layer.borderColor = UIColor.whiteColor().CGColor
        self.theImage.clipsToBounds = true

    }

Answer: Depending on what exactly you are doing you could make an image and set it as the background programatically.


Unable to start Tomcat server instance

Question: I am trying to run a project, but till now can't get it work properly.
The database connection string is a JVM parameter in the tomcat server instance startup towards AWS amazon web server.
but when I try to run it I get these errors
org.apache.catalina.startup.ClassLoaderFactory validateFile
WARNING: Problem with directory [/Applications/eclipse/Eclipse.app/Contents/MacOS/lib], exists: [false], isDirectory: [false], canRead: [false]
WARNING: Problem with directory [/Applications/eclipse/Eclipse.app/Contents/MacOS/lib], exists: [false], isDirectory: [false], canRead: [false]
java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: org.apache.catalina.startup.Catalina
at java.net.URLClassLoader$1.run(URLClassLoader.java: 202)
at java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method)
at java.net.URLClassLoader.findClass(URLClassLoader.j ava:190)
at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:3 06

I have Eclipse Java EE IDE for Web Developers Kepler Service Release 1 running on MAC os and Tomcat v7.
I am trying to check the functionalities of an already created project using DJDBC_CONNECTION_STRING.
It is the first time for me to check a web service, so I am not sure what else needed to make the connection!
It is a new instance I have just created after downloading Tomcat v7, using
Preferences -> Server -> Installed Runtimes to create a Tomcat installed runtime, then I added a new server and pointed the the installation directory to the downloaded source. I'm still not sure about the JRE library (I have two options default and javase6); I tried both but with same result.
Answer: You need to set:
"Use Tomcat installation (take control of Tomcat installation)"

If Server Location is disable follow the instruction of this answer:

Right click on my tomcat server in "Servers" view, select
  "Properties…"
In the "General" panel, click on the "Switch Location" button.
The "Location: [workspace metadata]" bit should have been
  replaced by something else.
Open (or close and reopen) the Overview
  screen for the server.

Unable to start Tomcat server instance


Dragonvale Breeding community wiki?

Question: Similar to what Bicycles.SE has here, why can't we have a community wiki for "How to breed x Dragons"?
Comment: If you're going to downvote, you could at provide your opinion on the 'why can't we' bit of his question.
Comment: What problem are you trying to solve?  What makes Dragonvale questions different than others?
Comment: Most questions are just "How do I breed x dragon".  Having one page addresses any new dragons that may come in the future
Comment: Why is having one page with a whole ton of answers to search through better than having separate pages that make it easy to find what you want?
Comment: @Retrosaur While I wish Arqade was more welcoming of DragonVale breeding questions, I don't think a community wiki is the answer.  The Stack engine works best for discrete ask-answer relationships.  With more than 100 dragons in dragonvale, and many times that many potential breeding pairs - I believe it is far better to deal with them one question at a time.
Answer: This was proposed before and not very warmly received by the community.  There are some points raised in the comments on that answer that I think are relevant.
After the fallout due to a previous Dragonvale discussion there have been far fewer Dragonvale breeding questions on the site - I count 2 breeding-related questions from the last month, despite the current in-game promotion that allows any previous limited-time dragon to be bred again.
I'm not sure there's really a problem to solve here, and if there is, this isn't a solution  that people seem interested in.

Dragonvale Breeding community wiki?


Better way to distribute releases

Question: I make the APK and IPA build for the weekly releases and I upload them to dropbox and send the link to the customer.
Is there any other better-automated way to share the final IPA / APK file with the customer?
Comment: Better asked on http://android.stackexchange.com/ or http://apple.stackexchange.com/ as it is about app deployment and not testing.
Comment: The quality of the release management maybe, but not the how do I ship to customers. You could argue that the whole SDLC is part of QA. Other SE's probably have more experience with releases ande delivery of mobile apps. Is this a task you would let your tester do, sounds more DevOps or Operations? Even if it was ontopic then the question is too broad or opinionated, because what is better?.
Comment: But why,release management is also a part of QA roal.
Answer: For beta distribution, you can use for example fabric.io (free), and upload binaries with gradle (android) and Fastlane (ios). If you configure fabric in your apps, you have also dashboards with crashes, and much more data.
Configuration for gradle (Android):
Distribution with Gradle
Configuration for fastlane (iOS):
Upload a new build to Crashlytics Beta
You can also use this on Continous Integration system, what I recommend.
Comment: Just now i tryed with fabric ,But for that i had to add some binary to my build so it is not going to work.Let me try with others.
Answer: I usually don't like "what's the best tool for" questions, but the answer to this is too good to ignore hockeyapp
After simple registration apps are pushed to your device.

Better way to distribute releases


I2C Interfacing with HIH6130

Question: I'm trying to read data from sparkfun's HIH6130 Breakout for measuring humidity and temp data. Following this instructable (though without the i2c shield for the pi), the provided python code just gets the maximum values possible for the device. Looking at the I2C lines on a scope, it looks like the smbus2 library is sending a write bit when it should send a read. After googling, it looks like the HIH6130 is not compatible with SMBus, as it does not have registers to request from, and the code from the instructable used read_i2c_block_data(), which needs to specify a register.
Is there a python library that can actually do I2C (not SMBus) communication? Or is there some way to use smbus2 to just send a read bit? I've looked at write_quick() but I need that for reading. The code below does seem to send a read bit, but the data values do not change as expected when temp and humidity change.
The wiring is definitely fine as the pi detects the device at the correct address. Also, the sensor sends correct values when interfacing with Arduino and the Wire library, which I understand to be actually I2C and not SMBus.
Any suggestions for what I can do? I just need to specify a read bit and then read four bytes from the HIH6130.
Thanks!
<code>from smbus2 import SMBus, i2c_msg
import time

bus = SMBus(1)
msg = i2c_msg.read(0x27, 4)

while 1:
        bus.i2c_rdwr(msg)

        # Access the data in the msg object
        data = list(msg)
        print(data)
        time.sleep(1)
</code>
Answer: The pigpio Python module will issue raw I2C commands.
I2C read
I2C write
The lg local and lg remote Python modules can do the same.

I2C Interfacing with HIH6130


How to form a Page URL of wildcard item in scriban

Question: I have created a variant to list down data source items using result variant selector and all these data items will need to point to wildcard content item .How to form URL of wildcard item in Scriban?
Comment: Wouldn't it be a good idea to have a linkprovider handle this for you (and use the ootb link methods in Scriban)? This way all your links to those items will be consistent.
Comment: how OOTB scriban link methods work with wildcard item?
Comment: If you fetch the url of an item, the Scriban extension will use the linkprovider (note: this is an assumption, didn't test this but would seem rather silly if it didn't). So you should get the data item and request the link. And let the linkprovider handle the logic. The logic in the linkprovider should generate the correct link towards the wildcard (instead of the dataitem).
Answer: Step 1: get your link correctly
To make sure the links to a wildcard item are consistent in the whole site, you should tell Sitecore how you want the links to be created. This used to be creating your own LinkProvider. SXA already has it's own linkprovider - it is documented here how to add a custom one. Short version:
<linkManager defaultProvider="switchableLinkProvider">
<providers>
<add name="customLinkProvider" type="Sitecore.XA.Foundation.Multisite.LinkManagers.LocalizableLinkProvider, Sitecore.XA.Foundation.Multisite" cacheExpiration="5" addAspxExtension="false" alwaysIncludeServerUrl="false" encodeNames="true" languageEmbedding="always" languageLocation="filePath" shortenUrls="true" useDisplayName="false"/>
</providers>
</linkManager>

And add your linkprovider name in the SXA site definition item.
It did also find this article though: https://www.konabos.com/blog/sitecore-linkprovider-is-now-obsolete This mentions a new way of creating custom linkprovider code. I didn't test this and I'm not sure if this is also the case in a SXA environment so you will have to check this yourself.
In this link providing code you need to check whether the item is one of your data items and if so create the url towards the wildcard item as you please.
To test if a correct url is generated, just link to (one of) your data items in a RichText field and let Sitecore generate the urls.
Step 2: use it in Scriban
If you request the link to an item in Scriban, it will use the Sitecore api and that means the linkprovider will be used as well. So if step 1 was completed successfully, this should work fine.
So you'll need sc_link (with the data item as argument) or data_item.url.


How to perform a time evolution of a quantum state with Qiskit Aqua?

Question: How can we perform a time evolution of a quantum state for a given Hamiltonian with qiskit Aqua operator flow? I'm interested in it due to its higher efficiency.
Answer: This is a very general question, and I myself am only beginning to learn how to implement Hamiltonian simulations on Qiskit, but here are some resources which may be useful.
This Stack Exchange thread details basic theory of Hamiltonian simulation.
This tutorial on Hamiltonian simulations outlines how to implement a basic one assuming you have already decomposed your matrix into component Pauli matrices. I myself am looking to learn how to automatically decompose a Hermitian matrix into its Pauli matrices using qiskit if possible.
Additionally, I am linking a similar thread here.
Answer: If you already have your Hamiltonian written in terms of the Pauli gates $\{I,X,Y,Z\}$, you can evolve your circuit in time simply by creating an unitary time-evolution operator with the Operator.exp_i() attribute and applying it to the circuit with QuantumCircuit.unitary(). Have a look at my YouTube channel, where I explain in great detail how to do that.


What do you call a person who views things differently?

Question: Is there a particular word/phrase to describe a person who views things differently in a positive way? Or looks for new ways to describe a situation
Answer: A lateral thinker, perhaps?

lateral thinking - noun [ U ]
a way of solving a problem by thinking about it in a different and original way and not using traditional or expected methods

Cambridge Dictionary
Comment: It's up to you, but I wouldn't accept answers immediately (unless it is exactly the answer you were looking for). Doing so may discourage others from posting their answers. You never know -- you might get a better one. Give it 24 hours is the general recommendation.
Answer: The person hears (or marches to the beat of) a different drummer.
Answer: Innovator, rebel, revolutionary, free-thinker, non-conformist, iconoclast, radical -- all can be positive in the right context.
For example, Steve Jobs was referred to as all of these, at various times in his life (and after his death).


How do I make an object always be a duplicate of anything?

Question: I can duplicate objects, but I need one to be an exact copy of the mesh at all times. That is, whenever object 1 moves because of an animation, gravity, logic, etc, the second will do the same. Other than just making a full duplicate so they have the same logic, how can I do this?
Comment: you could do a copy location constraint
Comment: Why do you need that?
Answer: If you duplicate the object in question using ALT+D as oppose to Shift+D The objects will be linked. Anything done to either object should be reflected with the other(s).
Edit:
Do note wiki.blender.org is a viable resource when looking for information like this.
The entry found here directly pertains to your question.
Answer: In addition to Terus' answer, there are several ways to assure that translations of one object are also reflected in another object. These include parenting, constraints and drivers, to name a few.
The simplest solution will be parenting the duplicate to the source (which will be the parent). Select the duplicate, then the source, then press Ctrl + P, then "Parent to Object".
Now, when you move the source, the duplicate will move the same way. This also applies for rigid body sims and animation.
To learn more about the other methods, read about constraints and drivers.
Answer: Parent the "follower" object to the object to follow. Unless you animate with armature and shape keys, the follower will inherit all transformations from it's parent.
In case of armatures you treat the follower the same way as other skin meshes by deform parenting them to the armature. Indeed the vertex groups should be set accordingly.


How to create a folded/bent icon in Inkscape?

Question:
I am curious how to create this folded/bent icon in Inkscape?
Is that I create a whole picture, and then apply effect on it? Or i have to separately make each of them?
Comment: Cut the image into 3 pieces and skew each
Comment: a "Benticon" is my favourite new of the week!
Comment: @DigitalLightcraft do you have any idea?
Comment: @joojaa
Thanks for mentioning the 'skew' part. If you have posted as answer, i would have voted that.
Comment: @zflaw I didn't have a computer in front of me to make a answer out of the comment. Better the points go to somebody who has a score of 400 than me who has 22000+. But your question actually solved another problem people were having as I tracked down a longstanding bug in illustrator because of this.
Answer: Fairly simple, like @joojaa said: Cut the image into 3 pieces and skew each.
Here it is, step by step:

Draw your vector icon / image. It might end up being a group of several objects, which is fine.
Overlay three (or more) rectangles that will be used for "folding" the icon.
Cut the image. You can either duplicate the image and mask it with each of the rectangles (this is what I did). Or you could actually cut the geometry of the image, which will be more involved but result in a smaller file, since you don't duplicate anything.
Select each image part and skew it to your liking. To skew, select the object (F1) then click on it again. You will see the rotation handles on the corner of the object and the skew handles on the sides. To skew it symmetrically, you may want to place some guides above and below. You may possibly want to use "Align and Distribute" (Shift+Ctrl+A) to align the top and bottom edges of each part.
Produce overlay objects for the shadow. If you worked with a clipping mask in step 3, you can simply duplicate the skewed objects, release the clip, deselect the clip object (Shift + Click) and delete the rest. You will then be left with the skewed overlays, as shown in step 5. If you did actually cut your geometry, you should duplicate only the skewed background shape and end up with the same result.
Finally, pick a black fill (#000000) and a low opacity (e.g. 0.15) for both shadow overlays. Voilà.
Comment: Just excellent!! The 'skew' part is just opening my eyes. Your steps by steps are resourceful!