What is a good heuristic for multi-point A* on a directed graph?

Question: I am conducting a stateful search of a large graph in an effort to find some solutions of minimal cost. With an admissible heuristic for estimated time to completion from a given state (as in A*), I would be able to drop states out of the search queue to improve runtime, otherwise I need a good heuristic that can advance better states with some variety (or even a better search function altogether). What would be a good heuristic to use, when there are multiple target points to reach, in any order?
Some of my thoughts on generating a heuristic (of estimated time to goal):
Since we want to underestimate in all cases, I can drop most of the stateful details and just express the graph like so:

A strongly connected directed graph $G$ on $V$ vertices and $E$ edges with positive integer costs, with $L$ leaf nodes not counted in $V$. The problem is to visit a subset $S \subseteq L$ of the leaf nodes in minimum time.

(Also, the search space includes "wormholes" that also have time costs, but I'd rather not represent them as edges, since the search space can traverse a wormhole from anywhere to: a) specific previously visited vertices, or b) a previously visited vertex with a certain action performed. If I generate a minimum directed spanning tree, the total cost of the tree essentially implicitly assumes wormholes can be used at any time to a previously visited vertex for 0 cost... which I'm fine with, as it underestimates by ignoring the costs and limitations.)

The MDST can be generated using some variety of the Chu-Liu/Edmonds/etc algorithm, and I've found some decent notes on generating one from every vertex.  However, I only need to visit a subset $S$ of the leaf nodes (I can easily remove the rest), and I don't care how many other vertices are included, which turns the problem into an NP-hard Directed Steiner Tree problem. It seems overkill to solve for this, but at least there are usable approximations.
I can generate the all-pairs shortest path table using Floyd-Warshall in $O(V^3)$ or learn one of the faster solutions. Presumably, I could make a graph $G'$ by taking all the shortest paths from the root to $S$, add all the nodes included in those paths, take the shortest paths from those nodes to $S$, etc., and generate an MDST on that, in something like $O(EV + V^2log\ log\ V + V^2 S^2 + E\ log\ V)$, but that might just not be worth the effort.

So the options I'm thinking of at the moment are:

Use an approximation algorithm for the Steiner Tree. These come with proofs of being within $2 - 2/|S|$ of the cost of the true optimum, so I could just divide the total cost of the generated tree by 2 to guarantee an underestimate.
Use the full MDST but only count the edges used to reach the remaining nodes of $S$. This potentially overestimates but might be a good heuristic to pick states to search from.
Do something with the shortest pairs? While I could divide the shortest paths by $|S|$ and sort of guarantee that it underestimates that way, I think it would tend to encourage moving towards clumps of leaves, rather than toward the nearest leaf.

Do any of these sound reasonable, or are there other options I'm overlooking that could be better?
Answer: Just use an exact algorithm for the directed Steiner tree problem. Being NP-hard does not matter, in practice you will get optimal solutions to huge problems. See the following software:
https://scipjack.zib.de/


How is this metal, hollow sphere manufactured?

Question: I just came across this sculpture and am really interested in knowing how it could even be done?
I thought that they put 2 hemispheres together but there isn't any weld lines- is there any other methods that could make it please?
Source:https://www.davidharber.co.uk/sculpture/mantle.htm
Comment: why don't you simply ask the artist?
Answer: On the video on David Harber - mantle at 15 s in you can see this internal shot.

It appears to me that 1, 2 and 3 are continuous connections but 4 is overlapped and indicates an extremely neat weld.
If I had to come up with a method of manufacture I would be looking at draw forming hemispherical sheets from flat stock - either mechanically or by fluid - and laser or water cutting the hemispheres. It might make sense to make the full sphere in more than two pieces to avoid having to cut too close to the "equator" and to allow some overlap.
Answer: It looks like you've already received a pretty solid answer on how this specific ball was made (and I agree that it looks like it was welded).
For what it's worth, there are a few cases of hollow steel balls being made without welding though. One is used to make hollow ball bearings that are hollow to reduce mass. There have been hollow ball bearings for quite a while, but conventionally they've been made as two hemispheres, welded together, then the outside polished so there was no visible weld mark.
I have, however, read about a more recent method that's especially useful for small bearings (that are hard to weld together) or bearings with really thin walls to keep mass to a bare minimum.
Caveat: I read about this a while ago, and I'm going from memory, so I may get a few of the details wrong.
In this method they start with a plastic ball approximately the intended interior diameter (seems like some kind of polystyrene, but I don't remember for sure). They spray metal powder around the outside to a little more than the desired thickness.
Then they heat it enough that that 1) the metal just starts to sinter (enough to stay one piece, anyway), and 2) the polystyrene evaporates and dissipates through the still porous layer of metal powder.
When the polystyrene is gone, they heat the metal up more (and I think put it under pressure in a mold) to fully sinter the metal so it's a single, solid piece of metal. As I recall, they were using these are ball bearings, so after the metal was sintered, they polished them about like you would normal ball bearings (with the proviso that the ones with thinner walls can't withstand a lot of pressure).


Objective C - UITextView letter spacing and vertical spacing

Question: How can I set the letter spacing and vertical spacing for a UITextView?
Trying to do it from nib if possible but if not, is there a property I can set through code?
Thank you,
Tee
Answer: There is no property within the UITextView to explicitly set the letter spacing, or vertical spacing - with the native controls it can't be done.
If you want to do this you're going to have to roll your own. There's a SO thread about changing the UILabel/UIFont letter spacing which ought to provide you with a direction to go in.
With that said, I have to ask the question why you want to do this? Apple is very specific about it's interface elements, and my thought is that tweaking a UITextView is going to be very off putting to your users.
Answer: As gavin has said, really;  if possible you could change to a UILabel and set the lineBreakMode property, in conjunction with the contentSize property of the label's frame to partly achieve some light modification.
You could also replace spaces with a number of spaces for example from a string object, but again as has been said, I wouldn't advise tampering too far with this, especially if its going to be a public appstore project.
Good luck!
Answer: Well if you are looking for line height you can get like this.
<code>yourUITextView.font.lineHeight
</code>
This would give you line height according to the current font size. This works perfectly in iOS 8. Not sure about backward compatibility.


Biped species with trunk evolved to use for locomotion

Question: So currently in my speculative evolution scenario, I have a creature with an elongated trunk that it uses for rock climbing. This species transitions to a savannah like lifestyle and I was wondering if there was a gait that could incorporate balancing on their leg-like trunk at any point? any help would be appreciated
Comment: *Striding on its noses there comes the nasobame, with its young in tow. It isn't yet in Brehm's, it isn't yet in Meyer's, and neither in Brockhaus'. It trotted out of my lyre when it came first to light. Striding on its noses thereon (as I've said above), with its young in tow, there goes the nasobame.* (Christian Morgenstern, [*The Nasobame*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nasobame), 1895.) (See also [Rhinogradentia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhinogradentia).)
Comment: I suspect the reason you're not getting answers is that no one wants to come right out and tell you "no." A monkey's prehensile tail exists primarily to balance the body. It's not used for running and some species have developed ways of using it for other things like holding on or help climbing. But your trunk isn't providing that advantage. Worse, the body is off-balance because of it - unless it's too small to be useful as a third leg (which would almost be necessary if it's a primary manipulator). I suspect you're doing things (\*Continued\*)
Comment: ... backwards by imagining a cool-looking creature and now you're trying to find reasons for the cool-looking features to exist. I could imagine a bird with a long beak & tongue evolving into your trunk & biped. But such a creature has no need of the trunk to walk/jog/run. It might use it like a hand/arm to anchor to a tree or building corner to help pivot while running. But the only reason for using it in regard to gait is because the creature isn't biped - unless you're thinking gorilla/chimp? Evolution would favor arms over trunks for that, but it might work.
Comment: Please clarify your specific problem or provide additional details to highlight exactly what you need. As it's currently written, it's hard to tell exactly what you're asking.
Comment: Bipedality implies a very evolved brain, as you need to constantly monoitor your mass center to not get off your area of standing. Quadrupedality evolved far earlier than even the rudimentary brain, since standing on three legs and moving the fourth does not need such strict movement and balance control. I would wonder how did your nosebames' ancestors lose their front limbs while living in rocks, having extra support is very beneficial in that environment.
Comment: The issue I see with using a trunk for locomotion is it puts a lot of torque on your neck, which is rather more complicated and delicate than equivalent joints such as hips or shoulders.
Comment: As the automated notice said, more information is required - literally the only pieces of information we have about your creature are that it is a biped and has an elongated trunk.  With no idea of any other aspects of its anatomy or size (some configurations do not scale well) and no idea of the physical parameters of the world (eg gravity), any answer is going to rely on vast numbers of assumptions.
Answer:
Quadripedal Gait with Trunk Balancing:

Initially, the creature might use all its limbs (including the trunk) for rock climbing, leveraging the trunk's flexibility and grip to maneuver on rocky surfaces.
As the species transitions to a savannah-like lifestyle, it could adopt a quadripedal gait where the trunk is primarily used for balance and stability. The front limbs would still be important for grasping and climbing.

Bipedal Gait with Trunk Balancing:

The creature could use a bipedal gait on the savannah, with the trunk acting as a balancing appendage. The trunk would help maintain stability during locomotion, especially during sudden turns or when traversing uneven terrain.

Serpentine-like Locomotion:

The creature might exhibit a serpentine or undulating locomotion, similar to snakes. The trunk could be used for gripping and anchoring onto rocks or trees, while the rest of the body moves in a wave-like motion to propel itself forward.

Hopping or Vaulting:

The creature could use a hopping or vaulting gait, where it pushes off with its limbs and uses the trunk to aid in balance during mid-air maneuvers. This would be useful for crossing gaps or jumping between rocks.

Suspended Swinging:

The creature might have the ability to swing from its trunk-like appendage, similar to gibbons swinging from tree branches. This swinging motion could help it navigate between trees or large rocks efficiently.

The choice of gait will depend on various factors, including the creature's anatomy, the environment it inhabits, its specific ecological niche, and the types of locomotor challenges it faces. Additionally, considering the evolutionary context and gradual transitions from rock climbing to a savannah-like lifestyle will help in creating a plausible and engaging speculative evolution scenario.
Answer: I am assuming that the evolution of a trunk to help with rock climbing would result in a fairly strong appendage. While it would offer little advantage in forward mobility, it could be used to stop more quickly (as five points of contact will have more friction than four), to change direction faster (as the trunk provides an additional bracing point to help pivot, or could be used to grab onto an anchor point and swing the creature in a new direction), or as a method of quickly jumping backwards away from danger. If the creature became front heavy, it might need to use the trunk to move forward. Think of a horse with a much larger head. The trunk stabilizes the head while the body moves forward. Then the head moves forward and balances on the trunk again.
Does your creature need to be able to use it for locomotion? Is there a story need for it? Would the story be different without that trait? A throw away line about the creature having an odd gait due to its trunk can be enough to satisfy an audience as their brain produces possibilities and fills in the mental image.
You need to determine if the trunk offers an evolutionary advantage or not. If so, then what is the advantage? Adapt it to better suit that role. If not, then assume it will atrophy over time and eventually have less of an impact on gait. Evolution does not work towards a specific form. It weeds out forms which are less competitive than the alternative. The environment will drive the adaptation. It takes energy to grow muscles. If that muscle group is no longer being used, those with smaller trunks would use less energy and thus have more for their overall survival. This is not unlike fish and other cave dwellers which lose their ability to see, as it offers no survival advantage.
If you want to keep the trunk but evolve it, you can look at animals like the narwhal for ideas on odd adaptations. The narwhal "horn" is actually a tooth. Perhaps your creatures evolve so that their trunk becomes shorter, stouter, and long nails grow from the end. It then uses it to defend against predators or for mating rituals. If moving from a mountainous region to a plains biome, it could use its trunk to shield its eyes from the brighter sun. Wrapping the trunk around the top of the head might balance the weight enough to prevent gait interference. Anything which has a detrimental impact on survival will quickly cause change in a population. Neutral and/or beneficial mutations would survive and become dominant traits.


Sorting dropdowns based on their contents

Question: So I have a sort that is alphabetizing a dropdown:
$(".product-actions select").each(function() {
// Sort all the options by text. I could easily sort these by val.
$(this).html($("option", $(this)).sort(function(a, b) {
    return a.text == b.text ? 0 : a.text < b.text ? -1 : 1
}));

});
The product-class element can contain two types of dropdowns. One that display colors and one that display sizes.  This sort works perfectly for colors. However, in sizes I didn't account for clothing sizing and shoe sizing. Alphabetizing shoes sizes is great, but with clothing I want it to display from the smallest size to the largest and it becomes a problem.
Here is how the size dropdowns appear:
Shoes
<select class="size" data-option-key="size" data-priority="0">
  <option value="color" selected="selected">size</option>
  <option value="05">05 - $198.00</option>
  <option value="06">06 - $198.00</option><option value="06.5">
</select>

Clothing (sizes range from XS, S, M, L, XL)
<select class="size" data-option-key="size" data-priority="0">
  <option value="color" selected="selected">size</option>
  <option value="L(14-16)">L(14-16) - $158.00</option>
  <option value="M(10-12)">M(10-12) - $158.00</option>
  <option value="S(6-8)">S(6-8) - $158.00</option>
  <option value="XL(18)">XL(18) - $158.00</option>
  <option value="XS(2-4)">XS(2-4) - $158.00</option>
</select>

I'm trying to figure out how to for these two differently. Can anyone give me some advice on how to handle this sorting?
**Note - In the shoe dropdown, that price is being added on after the size.
Thank you!
Answer: you can use an JSON object and to use that for your compare function.
It's quiet simple:
var shirtSizes = { "XS" : "0", "S" : "1", "M" : "2", "L" : "3", "XL" : "4"}

then use your compare function while looking up values in the object.
return shirtSizes[a.text] == shirtSizes[b.text] ? 0 : shirtSizes[a.text] < shirtSizes[b.text] ? -1 : 1


How do I download mods on Garry's Mod for Mac?

Question: I have Garry's Mod for Macintosh. I can download maps with ease, but I'm unsure how to download general mods and SWEPs.
Comment: The mods are written in Lua, so it shouldn't be an issue - have you actually tried it?  Also, aren't mods downloaded automatically when you join a server in Garry's Mod?
Answer: Here you have disscusion on Steam Support about it.

Go to ~/Library/Application Support/Steam/SteamApps/[your
username]/garrysmod/garrysmod/addons
Place the folder containing the info.txt file in that addons folder.
( ~ means your user directory, your "home" directory)

Hope it helps.


10 resistor voltage divider calculations for LM3914 IC

Question:
I need to calculate the voltages on the 10 resistor voltage divider (V1,V2,V3...), but i don't know how to work it out. So far I found V1  by doing $$V1=Vs*(R3/(R3+R2))$$ and found V1= 0.5 Volts. Can I get some help on how to calculate the rest?
Comment: Instead of "blindly" using the voltage divider formula, **think** how this works. There's 1.25 V at the top of R2. You know the values of all resistors. Then you can easily determine the currents. There are only 3 different currents: I(R2) , I(R3) and the current through the string of resistors. The string's current is constant (all currents are), what does that mean for the voltage across each resistor?
Comment: I'm not looking to find the voltage across each resistor by just doing V=IR, I need to calculate the output voltages of the voltage dividers.
Comment: And how is that different from my approach? If you would know the voltage across each resistor then.... ? You're stuck in the "must use voltage divider formula" mode. It **is** possible to solve it that way. But it is **easier** to do the way I propose. But if you prefer to use the voltage divider formula 10 times then be my guest. I'm just an EE and **very lazy** so I always **think** to find the simplest/easiest way to an answer.
Comment: With the way you propose wouldn't the voltage be calculated the same for every resistor on on the string of resistors?
Comment: *wouldn't the voltage be calculated the same for every resistor* AHA! Yes, across each resistor the voltage will be the same. But are V1 - V10 across one or more resistors? Ergo: you can just add ....
Comment: @Bimpelrekkie  Totally agree about thinking to find a lazy way. My Maths teacher used to say "Mathematicians are lazy people. Unfortunately, the converse isn't true."
Answer: V1 is the resistor divider of the R2 and R3||CHAIN_RESISTANCE. That is you need to calculate the equivalent resistance of R3 with the total chain resistance in parallel with it in order to calculate V1.
\$Rp = R3||R_C = 1/((1/470)+(1/10,000)) =448.9\Omega\$
So
\$V1 = 1.25 * 448.9/(448.9+680) = 0.497V\$
After that it is easy. There are 10 resistors in the chain, all of them are the same resistance.... Once you know V1, the rest should be easy.
Consider this..

simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab
Do you see a pattern here?
Answer: Disclaimer: This answer doesn't contain values or formulas. It descripes the way to go:

You know, that there is no change of the overall resistance, so the
voltage drop over R2 and R3 will always be the same
You can use the caculation of resistance in series and parallel one
after another to get the value you need and calculate the voltage drop over R3
Count the resistors to GND from your searched voltage measure point to know, how high the resistance is and do it analog the step above to get your final searched Voltage value
You may recognize, that you don't have to do this steps for all
values, as the resistors are all the same (percentage calculation)


Cauchy's functional equation without the assumption of continuity

Question: I have been reading the book Functional Equations and How to Solve Them by Christopher G. Small. In chapter 2 the first section about Cauchy's equation $f(x+y) = f(x)+f(y)$ has a theorem that states the following

Let $f : \Bbb R → \Bbb R$ satisfy Cauchy's equation. Suppose in  addition that there exists some interval $[c,d]$ of real numbers, > where $c<d$, such that $f$ is bounded from below on $[c,d]$. In other  words, there exists a real number $A$ such that $f(x) ≥ A$ for all $c ≤ x ≤ d$. Then there exists a real number $a$ such that $f(x) = ax$
for all real numbers $x$.

Here continuity is not assumed.
In the exercises, problem 2 is supposed to lead you through the proof of this theorem. However the problem states :
This problem asks the reader to fill in the details of the proof of Theorem
2.4, above. Let $f :\Bbb R → \Bbb R$ be a continuous function satisfying Cauchy's
equation. Suppose in addition that there exists some interval $[c, d]$ of real
numbers, where $c<d$, such that $f$ is bounded from below on $[c, d]$.
a) Show that $f(nx) = nf(x)$ for all real $x$.
b) Define $p = d − c$. Show that $f$ is bounded from below on the interval $[0, p]$.
(However, it need not be bounded below by the same constant as on
the interval $[c, d]$.)
c).......
My confusion here is the fact that the problem says $f$ is supposed to be continuous unlike the actual theorem also going by that logic part b of this problem is almost trivial since I just have to say that a continuous function on a closed and bounded interval must be bounded below. But then it feels like the other assumption given in this problem that the function is bounded on $[c,d]$ is completely redundant so there must be something I'm missing but I can't seem to find a way to prove part b if continuity was not given.
Sso to boil it down to what's important, my question is how to prove b if $f$ was not stated to be continuous but the assumption about boundedness was given.
Thanks in advance
Answer: Assume that $ f : \mathbb R \to \mathbb R $ is additive, and bounded below by  the constant $ A $ on the non-degenerate interval $ [ c , d ] $. Then, for $ p = d - c $ and any $ x \in \mathbb R $ we have:
$$ \begin {align*}
& & & 0 \le x \le p \\
\implies & & & c \le x + c \le d \\
\implies & & & f ( x + c ) \ge A \\
\implies & & & f ( x ) + f ( c ) \ge A \\
\implies & & & f ( x ) \ge A - f ( c )
\end {align*} $$
Therefore $ f $ is bounded below by $ A - f ( c ) $ on $ [ 0 , p ] $.
You can see that no property of $ f $ other than additivity and boundedness on $ [ c , d ] $ is used above.


Controling humidity of Vermicomposter in winter to prevent mold

Question: I've recently inherited the responsibilities of taking care of a vermicomposting box. We used two of these plastic bins to make the composting box:
http://torontobestmoving.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/basic-plastic-bin2.png
The handles on the sides make it easy to move around. But we would like to not move it a lot, because its very heavy already.
The box has been sitting outdoors till the end of last month when we moved it indoors. I'm concerned about mold or some kind of fungal buildup because of the humidity. How can I either control or lock the humidity in the box
Answer: You don't have to worry too much about molds or fungi in a worm bin. Molds are useful and help decomposing the bin contents. However, you do have to regulate the moisture level of your worm bin! If a worm bin is too wet it will start to smell and the worms won't like a lot of water. If a bin becomes excessively wet your worms may even die and/or drown.
Most worm bins have a draining system for draining superfluous liquid. It is not very hard to add such a system to your bin.
Option1: Add a raised floor to the inside of your bin, for example made from the bottom of a similar-sized container. You'll have to make some small holls in the second floor so the water can seep through. If you then add a small tap at the outside bottom, you can drain the water every now and then.
Option2: Alternatively you can make some small holls directly in the floor of your bin. It's best to place the bin in a raised position in another open container so you can catch any fluid when it drips out.
With the first option you still have a closed system, so there is no worry of smell. A drawback is that it may not be easy to add a tap that doesn't leak around the edges.
The second option is easier to achieve, but any water dripping out is right in the open, so there may be a smell.
Apart from adding a drainage system, there is another alternative.
Option3: Carefully regulate the moisture content of your bin. This may not be easy, but it is doable. You'll probably have to dry wet materials like fruit peelings a bit before you can add them to your bin. If the bin still is becoming too wet, add dry cardboard or paper to get back to the correct moisture level. If you've dried your materials too much and the bin is not wet enough, simply spray with a bit of water.
Comment: @Raiyan. Mushrooms are no problem for worms and may even speed up the decomposition process. To prevent mushrooms from starting to grow you can stir up the top layer in your bin every once in a while.
Comment: Thanks. I'm a bit concern about fungal growth inside the bin. I've already seen a few mushroom heads popping up.


Waiting for response to full MS

Question: About three months ago, an agent that I had queried responded with a request for the full manuscript of the novel that I had written to her about. It's now been nearly three months, and I haven't heard anything back. What's a reasonable amount of time to wait before pinging her and inquiring about the status of the manuscript? What's an appropriate way in which to query?
Comment: @way0utwest: it was email, as befits any agent not stuck in the dark ages.
Comment: Did you email or snail mail it?
Answer: Generally 90 days is the standard wait time before sending an inquiry. You might want to check the agent's website and see if they have something in their submission guidelines that says how long you should wait before sending an inquiry.
Generally a simple email asking the status of your submission is acceptable. It may be that they just haven't gotten to it yet, or they replied and the reply got lost in cyberspace. Just remember to be polite.
Comment: Excellent point about things being lost. you never know if an email arrives until someone responds.
Answer: It's perfectly reasonable to follow up at this point. I've read numerous agents' and editors' opinions on this, and never have I seen anyone claim you should wait longer than three months (one such example).
I'd suggest you follow up with an email, reminding the agent of your previous correspondence and asking politely when you can expect a response. Email nicely rides the line between slow (snail mail) and too immediate (phone).

Waiting for response to full MS


What prayers are obligated to say

Question: What prayers are Jews obligated to say? I've heard that the average liturgy is 30 minutes but Rabbi David Bay Hayim does one that's only 9.
Comment: There are many different types of prayers said - some as part of a daily liturgy and some prompted by specific moments during life. Different prayers take different lengths of time and different places say the same thing at different speeds so your question, as it stands, is very difficult to answer.
Comment: https://www.jewfaq.org/prayer.htm
Comment: Is the 9-minute referring to the morning prayers? Afternoon? Evening?
Comment: related: https://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/5412
Answer: The order of prayer has many components of varying degrees of requirement, and also is different for different times of day, days of the week, and days of the year.
The core component of the prayers is the Shemona Essrai/Amida prayer, the "18 blessings" (actually 19, but that's not for here) that make up a single unit of prayer, "standing" before God, including praise, requests, and thanks to Him. This is a said at all prayer times, morning, afternoon and night. On Shabbos and holidays a shorter version is said, and on the High Holidays a longer version is said, though still with the Shabbos omissions.
Before the Shemona Essrai of the morning and night prayers, the Shema is said with its blessings before and after. This is also a core part of the prayers.
On certain days of the week and on (almost) all special days of the Jewish calendar, the Torah is read after Shemona Essrai. This is only read in a congregational setting, and can be as short as a few verses to the reading of a very long section of the Torah, as set for the reading of that particular day.
On Shabbos and holidays, an additional prayer is said to mention to special sacrifices brought in the Temple on these days, and to pray especially for their reinstatement.
Surrounding these are many other parts of prayer that are less central, and can be lengthened or shortened by the various traditions (nuschos). There are the recitation of the offerings (korbonos) and introductory hymns (Pisukei D'zimrah) before prayer, supplications (tachanun) after the prayer, additions for fast days (slichos), and other parts of the liturgy that vary significantly between European and Mediterranean rites, and between western and eastern European versions.
So, what is "obligatory"? Shema with its blessings and Shemona Essrai are obligatory. (The obligation of Shemona Essrai at night is technically less than the two times during the day, practically it is also obligatory.) That does not mean that other parts can arbitrarily be skipped, and differing circumstances have different rules, what can be said at a latter time and what can be omitted from time pressure, and what is really optional.
30 minutes is a normal (somewhat quick) time for the weekday morning prayers. The nine minute prayer must be the afternoon or evening prayer, which have basically just the "core" prayer and much less of the additions mentioned above.
Comment: Excellent synopsis, @Mordechai. Though I think a 30 minute Shacharit is perhaps more than "somewhat" quick :)

What prayers are obligated to say


Can I ask about societal topics related to EE?

Question: I've been looking through US census data, and I noticed that male EE majors tend to get married much earlier than other engineering majors (https://data.census.gov/mdat/#/search?ds=ACSPUMS1Y2019&vv=AGEP(25:35)&cv=SEX(1),MAR&rv=FOD1P&wt=PWGTP). Is it okay if I ask why that might be here? If not, can anyone suggest other places to ask this question, or look for more information?
Comment: Why is this question downvoted? This is the meta. Even if the answer is no, where else are you going to ask this kind of stuff but the meta?
Comment: This isn't how science works - you need to question if the study has accurate data to begin with rather than blindly trusting it to be correct then drawing strange conclusions. For example if this study only covers USA, it might be that EE is a more common degree in states with a big electronics industry. In which case the study might actually show that people in Texas get married much earlier than people in Michigan or whatever - that is, cultural differences between states in USA, which is completely unrelated to the EE degree itself, but more likely related to religion etc.
Comment: If you really want proper data you need to control the sample of the population that is surveyed. You can't ask a question like that here or on reddit and expect to get a truly representative sample of EE majors. How would you even know if respondents have an EE degree?
Comment: @HAL, take this question to our [EE.SE chat](https://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/15/electrical-engineering).  Don't post it to the main EE.SE board.
Answer: The help center advises on What topics can I ask about here?:

questions about electrical and electronics engineering topics, which
include electronics, physical computing, and those working with
microcontrollers, Arduinos and embedded systems.

Furthermore, What types of questions should I avoid asking? states:

You should only ask practical, answerable questions based on actual
problems that you face.

Since the census question is about people, not engineering or electronics, it is off-topic here.
You can look through the list of other sites in the Stack Exchange network, but I didn't notice anything relevant to your question there.


Why multiply by $\frac{\pi}{4}$ when converting a light source's angular diameter to its solid angle?

Question: Why does the formula $$\Omega =( \text{angular diameter} * \frac{\pi}{180^{\circ}})^2 * \frac{\pi}{4}$$ give a more accurate calculation of the solid angle of a light source from its angular diameter than the formula $$\Omega =( \text{angular diameter} * \frac{\pi}{180^{\circ}})^2$$
Answer: It is just the formula $A=\pi r^2=\pi d^2/4$ for the area of a circle in terms of its diameter. Think of the angular diameter as a length, and the solid angle as an area (both suitably normalized by the distance of the object from the point of observation). The light source is supposed to be circular in appearance, unless there is a good reason to suggest otherwise.


How can I save a file in a SQL Server database if have its file path?

Question: I am building a C# desktop application and I need to save a file into a SQL Server database. I have come up with some file chooser which gives me the correct path of the file. How can I save that file into the database using its path?
Comment: Please do not use the name or tag "mssql". There is no such product, and  using these makes it harder for people to find your question later.
Comment: Which version of SQL Server are you using?
Answer: It really depends on the type and size of the file. If it's a text file, then you could use File.ReadAllText() to get a string that you can save in your database.
If it's not a text file, then you could use File.ReadAllBytes() to get the file's binary data, and then save that to your database.
Be careful though, databases are not a great way to store heavy files (you'll run into some performance issues).
Answer: FileStream fs = new FileStream(fileName, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read);
BinaryReader br = new BinaryReader(fs);
int numBytes = new FileInfo(fileName).Length;
byte[] buff = br.ReadBytes(numBytes);

Then you upload it to the DB like anything else, I'm assume you are using a varbinary column (BLOB)
Comment: -1 any solution that proposes to load an entire file into a byte[] deserves a downvote in my book
Comment: @RemusRusanu and what solution would you suggest in this case?
Answer: So filestream would be it but since you're using SQL 2K5 you will have to do it the read into memory way; which consumes alot of resources.
First of the column type varchar(max) is your friend this give you ~2Gb of data to play with, which is pretty big for most uses.
Next read the data into a byte array and convert it to a Base64String
FileInfo _fileInfo = new FileInfo(openFileDialog1.FileName);
                if (_fileInfo.Length < 2147483647) //2147483647 - is the max size of the data 1.9gb
                {
                    byte[] _fileData = new byte[_fileInfo.Length];
                    _fileInfo.OpenRead().Read(_fileData, 0, (int)_fileInfo.Length);
                    string _data = Convert.ToBase64String(_fileData);
                }
                else
                {
                    MessageBox.Show("File is too large for database.");
                }

And reverse the process to recover
byte[] _fileData  = Convert.FromBase64String(_data);

You'll want to dispose of those strings as quickly as possible by setting them to string.empty as soon as you have finished using them!
But if you can, just upgrade to 2008 and use FILESTREAM.
Answer: If you're using SQL Server 2008, you could use FILESTREAM (getting started guide here). An example of using this functionality from C# is here.
Answer: You would need the file into a byte array then store this as a blob field in the database possible with the name you wanted to give the file and the file type.
You could just reverse the process for putting the file out again.


Where does the energy used to rotate the axis of a flywheel orthogonally go?

Question: I have a wheel spinning away from me in the vertical plane. The angular momentum is pointing to the left. The axis of rotation is horizontal, and it is supported on either side by a bearing and the whole mount is on a turntable constrained to rotate about the Z-axis. Think of a free spinning bike wheel. It requires force to rotate the assembly due to the gyroscopic action of the flywheel but lets say I rotate it 360 degrees so that the direction of the angular momentum is brought back to where it was initially. Now, a force has been applied through an entire 360 degrees of rotation, reversing the direction of the wheels angular momentum twice.

My question is WHERE has the energy gone ? What has it been converted to ? ie What evidence is there of work having been done ? (It seems that this energy just disappears, but we know that can't be.)
Comment: What is energy converted to when you move any object around before putting it back in its original position? Say you pick up a pen, and put it back down, is there any evidence of of work having been done?
Comment: You may think about carrying a box. You take it from rest to motion to rest again. Where did that energy go?
Answer: No net work has been done, and the energy of the system has not changed, because angular kinetic energy is $\frac 12I\omega^2$ and $\omega$ hasn't changed. (And neither has $I$.)
I think your trouble is in imagining that the force is applied through the whole 360 degrees of the rotation. Instead, you will apply a torque to accelerate the system, then an equal torque in the opposite direction to decelerate it. Between the acceleration and the deceleration, the system will rotate at a constant angular velocity about the $z$ axis. This is the angular version of Newton's First Law.
It feels like work has been done, because your arm is lossy, but if you could somehow pull the energy used to accelerate from some lossless energy store, then put it back during the deceleration, you'd come out even.
Answer: Ok, this question was very well posed and I think it deserves as high-quality an answer as we can manage. Here is my feeble attempt...
Most people who have manipulated a gyroscope observe that it seems to take more force to orthogonally rotate the gyroscope when it is spinning. What actually happens is that the original force they apply is redirected. This causes the person to instinctively apply a second corrective force to counter the redirection of the original force. This second force seems, to a person, to constitute additional work. In reality, the second force is only a static force, not a force through a distance, so it does not constitute actual "work".
It is much like two people trying to move a car where the first person pushes on the rear bumper (the original force) and a second person tries to help by pushing on the car sideways (the second force). It seems like more total force is needed to move the car in this way, but so long as the car doesn't move in the sideways direction that the second person is pushing it in, the second person does no additional work.
Human experience with manipulating spinning gyroscopes trains us to believe that more work must be done to manipulate a spinning gyroscope because we feel that second force and allow it to distort our estimate of the amount of work that is really being done. In fact, the amount of "real" work that needs to be done to orthogonally rotate a spinning gyroscope IS THE SAME as the amount of work that needs to be done to rotate a non-spinning gyroscope. (Queue small mind-blowing hand explosion)
If one were to built the rig depicted in the excellent figure above, one would observe that the friction-less bearings supporting the shaft along the z-axis would apply the secondary forces, and that the effort needed to rotate the spinning gyroscope around the z-axis would not seem to be more significant.
Answer: Apparently this answer didn't do it for you.  I will try from a slightly different angle this time.
There is a popular conception that spinning things gain "stability" as a consequence of their rotation.  This is not wrong: if an object has a large angular momentum, and you want to change the direction of that momentum, it requires a large angular impulse (large torque, or a long time, or both).
The error comes in assuming that because a large torque is required, a large amount of work must be done.  Work is the dot product of angular displacement and torque.  If they're perpendicular, no work is done.  And in this case, during the period that the flywheel axle is rotating around a vertical axis at a constant rate, they are perpendicular. You do not have to supply any torque about the vertical axis to maintain this rotation.  All the necessary torque is supplied by the shaft mounts: there's an upward force on one of them and a downward force on the other.
Here is an analogy using linear momentum.  Let's say you have a heavy block sliding frictionlessly on a track.  Changing the direction of motion requires a force.  If the track has a vertical loop in it, the direction of momentum rotates through 360 degrees.  During that time, a large force was required to produce this change in momentum. The track supplied this force (it's the normal force).  After traversing the loop, the block is traveling along the track at the same speed and in the same direction as it was at the beginning.  So where is the evidence of the work done to rotate the block?  There is no evidence because no work was done.  The force was always perpendicular to the velocity.  It's the same with the flywheel.  The torque applied to the shaft of the flywheel during the rotation is about a horizontal axis, and is perpendicular to the angular velocity of the shaft mounts, which is about a vertical axis.
Comment: That is my point. No work has been done, but energy has been input to the system yet leaves no evidence of its expenditure - neither heat, nor change in speed of spin of the flywheel, nor any kind of radiated energy. If the turning were to be effected by a motor instead of a hand, we would be able to make that motor perform work whilst leaving no evidence of any having been done. This seems to contradict the Law of Energy Conservation.
Comment: What makes you say that energy has been input?
Comment: Whenever a force is applied over a distance, that constitutes energy. Force is required to change the axis of rotation of the wheel and that force must be applied over a full 360 degrees to return the wheels axis to its original position.
Comment: The force is not in the direction of the displacement.
Comment: How so ? The displacement is in the direction of rotation of the wheels axis. Just like trying to twist a spinning bicycle wheel while holding it in both hands. As you stated, "a large torque is required".
Comment: I'm just repeating myself, but that torque is about a horizontal axis, not a vertical axis.
Answer: This is just a variation of your previous question.

Here the change in angular momentum $\Delta \vec L$ is out of the screen and again you find that the displacement of the forces is at right angles to their direction, no work is done and the kinetic energy of the system does not change.


is it ok to withdraw the money that a scammer put into your account that you "won" to save for yourself and then tell the bank you were scammed?

Question: Would it be really bad if I withdrew some of the money the scammer sent me that I "won" to keep for myself and then tell my bank that I think I've been scammed?
Comment: "Would it be really bad to defraud my bank?" Yes, yes it would.
Comment: Does this answer your question? [I won $9500 in a game. Now they're asking me to send it back via different means, promising me more money if I do so](https://money.stackexchange.com/questions/150518/i-won-9500-in-a-game-now-theyre-asking-me-to-send-it-back-via-different-means)
Comment: @XavierJ I don't think so - the OP evidently already knows that this is a scam.
Answer: Removing the money from the account does not change the fact that it is not yours because you got it through fraud. Not knowing it's fraud doesn't change it either.
All you will accomplish is that when it gets reversed, the bank charges you an overdraft fee, and you have to pay it back then. If you already spent it, it becomes a loan with whatever interest the bank thinks it likes. Either way, it's simply going to cost you extra.
Aside from that, as mentioned in another answer, once a normal average person should have realized it's fraud, you can't claim ignorance anymore, and you would become a part of the fraud. Claiming to be more stupid than a normal average person is not an excuse either.
Answer: Yes, committing fraud is really bad.
I am assuming this is the same scam you posted about here.
As the answer states in that question, that deposit is going to be clawed back as fraudulent and you will owe the money to the bank. By spending it, especially KNOWING it was fraud you become complicit and could be investigated by law enforcement.
Don't do it. There is no way you are going to be able to keep the money.
Comment: @KaylaDavidson **YES**. Do not spend the money.
Comment: @KaylaDavidson Moreover, this entire discussion could be used in a subsequent investiation to prove that you *intentionally* committed fraud, and things will go badly for you.
Comment: @KaylaDavidson Contact your bank. NOW.
Comment: what if i spent some before i found out it was fraud will they still hold it against me?
Answer: No, because it's not your money, and besides that, it wasn't even the scammer's money.
If you stole it, you wouldn't steal the scammer's money, you'd (try to) steal another victim's money.
The money you received is in most cases the money of another victim. It can also be a forged cheque, but as you received it through an online transfer, it's likely just money they've sent you from the account of another victim.
It's relatively easy to get the banking data of someone, through spyware, phishing, tech support scams, stolen credit cards, etc. It's more difficult for the scammers to actually get hold of the money. So instead of sending the money from hacked accounts to themselves and risk getting caught, they transfer the money to you, it's you who they want to trick into taking the money out and sending it to the scammers through an untraceable and irreversible channel. When the original victims realize that their accounts have been emptied, they will report the fraud, and guess what, you are the one who took that money. You'll be accused of theft or money laundering.
This is why you must not touch that money, and it's even a good idea to make a statement (and have written proof of it!) that you have nothing to do with that money and you suspect the transfer was fraudulent.
Comment: More likely, the way this scam typically works, there is no money. The transaction is fake, but it can sometimes take the bank up to 2 weeks to figure that out. They will make the money available to you in the meantime in good faith, but they will eventually figure it out and reverse it. If you try and spend it, you're spending the bank's money, and they _will_ get it back. That's what banks are especially good at.
Answer: There is no way to benefit "innocently" from a fraud.
The best you can hope for is to break even after everything settles, if you don't count the hassle (there WILL be hassle).
And it is possible to break even just because the bank is forced (by the law) to absorb the collaterals (there are always some collaterals).
If you benefit, chances are you will be investigated and likely prosecuted as a part of a fraud gang.
Answer: Assuming this is related to the question you posted previously. I think it's important to look at how this scam typically works to understand why trying to spend the money is a bad idea.
So here's how the scam works:

Scammer "deposits" $9500 into your account from a fake overseas bank. The money isn't actually real.
Because the sending bank is overseas, it takes your bank extra time to verify whether or not the transaction is real, sometimes 2-3 weeks. But they make the money available to you in good faith that everything is legit. Your account now shows you have $9500 more.
Scammer asks you to send the money back (to a different real bank account) with a promise that you will get more if you comply.
You send $9500 to the scammer's account. This transaction is real and really debits your account by $9500.
Your bank figures out the original transaction was fake and reverses it. Your account goes down $9500 again.
The scammer is now $9500 richer and disappears, your account is down $9500 from where it started. If that sends it into a negative amount, your bank comes after you to make up the difference, likely charging overdraft fees on top of it.

The bottom line is, you won't be keeping the money because it isn't real in the first place. If you try and withdraw any of it, you will be on the hook for it when your bank gets around to reversing the transaction. That money belongs to the bank and they will get it back from you.
You are better off reporting the fraud to your bank today so they can get started on the investigation. You haven't done anything wrong yet, so you don't hav any thing to fear from this. The sooner they can get that done, the sooner the dust will settle and you can put this debacle behind you.
Answer: Like I stated in a comment on one of the answers on your first question:

Don't touch that money, don't try to spend it, don't withdraw it, don't transfer it.
Leave it where it is, and notify the bank that you suspect you may have received a fraudulent payment. You may also want to notify the police. They probably won't be able to do anything, but at least it shows good faith, and lessens the chances they knock on your door asking about your participation in some kind of fraud.

If you start withdrawing / moving the money away you may be considered as part of the operation. You certainly don't want that.
Even if they believe you are a victim, it is highly likely they will reverse the transfer soon and come looking for the money. They will not be impressed if you try to prevent them from taking it back, and your "victim" status will evaporate.
Answer: If you know enough to be able to tell your bank that you were scammed, clearly you know enough to know that the transaction was fraudulent. Also, the mere fact that you're contemplating withdrawing some of the money prior to telling them shows that you're expecting the transaction to be reversed.
If you withdraw it, you'd be knowingly and deliberately benefiting from fraud. I'm not a lawyer, but I suspect that this would put you in a bad position legally (and certainly financially, given that the transaction will almost certainly be reversed once the bank finds out that it was fraudulent).
Most likely the money was stolen from some other victim in the first place, so the money rightfully belongs to them, not you.
Answer: You won't have to worry about fraud. Your bank will have a hard time believing you. Your argument is 'I've won some money which I'm withdrawing and the person who scammed me sent me money'
Bank: So where Miss do you think you have been scammed. They said they will send you money. They have. You now have it. Problem?
If you think hard about it, by taking the money out and claiming its a scam means you're defrauding the scammer AND the bank and you calling them is quite literally admitting it.
Just take all the money out and close your bank account. Open another account with the money you have at a different bank. Then you're not commiting fraud, you're not being defrauded and you get to keep the money! Yay
^ this last paragraph was obviously sarcasm for anyone without a brain. Don't commit fraud
Comment: I have a hard time figuring out where sarcasm starts and ends in this answer. As written, I think it's very confusing what your actual message is. It's better to clearly spell out the facts, and clearly mark hypothetical situations as such.
Comment: You're joking on the last paragraph, right?
Comment: @FelipePereira absolutely!


How to implement a fictional language in my novel?

Question: As a writer, I used to write short stories and poems. As a reader, fantasy is my favorite genre.
I created some what of a language for my (first ) novel. It's phoneme, pronunciation,  rules and a set of words.
The outline / first draft of my novel is also completed. It is an extra terrestrial fantasy story.
I am decided to participate in this Nanowrimo, and sets everything according to that.
But when I start writing,  the problem arises.
How to implement my new language in my novel?
I am planning to write the novel in my mother tongue.  But the invented language is the mother tongue of all my characters.  Also none of them know my mother tongue.
The problem is about dialogues,  if I write them completely in my new language,  it will really difficult to readers.  If I use only some words from my new language ( like words for hi, god, king, queen, land ) and write everything else in normal language will it feel wired?
How to do it in correct way?  Please Help.
Comment: Are you targeting the broad audience (which might like an easy read) or linguistic enthusiasts (who would appreciate learning new fictional language)?
Answer: Whatever language your readers speak, they expect your book to be "translated" into that language.
I write in English for English speakers, I have written stories set in the ancient past where the characters, at best, would be speaking in Old English, but that might as well be a different language. I was careful to not use "modern" words and stick with concepts and comparisons they would plausibly understand, but still, their dialogue was in English understandable to the modern reader.
You pretty much have to do that, trying to teach readers a made up language will destroy their reading immersion, and they won't read your book. On TV, subtitles may suffice, or on Star Trek, told from the "human" POV, they build in translations, or use the universal translator, or rephrase so the person understands (Star Wars does this for everything R2D2 says in beeps). An example:

Alien (scowling): Trukof tolay vis cunato?
  Human: Of course it comes with whipped cream! We're not barbarians!

Star Wars is a good example of what I am talking about: "Long Long Ago in a Galaxy Far Far Away," there is zero chance people were speaking modern Earth English! Heck, WE weren't speaking it a three hundred years ago. Whatever language Luke and Hans and Leia were speaking, George Lucas translated 95% of it into modern American English for us, and the audience didn't care about that for one second.
We do the same thing here on Earth. Vikings has everybody speaking English, nobody would watch it if they spoke their natural Old Norse, we couldn't understand it. Shows set in medieval times have everybody speaking modern English, because Old English is mostly unintelligible when spoken.
Use your made up language like "alien" languages are used in Star Wars; in places where the context is clear, or it can be translated by another character, or the response of the other character gives the reader the gist of what was said.
In particular, you can use it where English will not do, your alien language can have concepts covered in a word that demand a sentence in English. Or it can have words used for romance or intimacy that just don't translate, but readers can get the sense of what is meant through the context.
It is like a spice: A little of it helps complete the fantasy, too much of it starts to get in the way of reading immersion. And by "little" I mean little, like 1% of dialogue.
Comment: [Elmore Leonard said](https://www.writingclasses.com/toolbox/tips-masters/elmore-leonard-10-rules-for-good-writing), "Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip." Readers tend to skip the parts they can't understand.
Answer: So, there are several ways to do this:  First, translate into English everything except proper nouns (specific names of people, places, or things) or culturally unique concepts, and insulting words or expressive comments (Mein Gott! for a German who is fluent in English) and anything with counting or math that does not need to be done in communications (even if you're a foreign student, most people mentally read numbers and do math in native languages.  Even SETI messages are done by making use of numbers to communicate because Math is a more universal language.  A common tactic is for the broadcast of a sequence of on prime numbers (Whole numbers that can only be divided by themselves and one 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 11..) as the concept is very basic in mathmatics, but too random to occur in nature.)
Additionally, slip words of the conlag into dialog in places where the context can give the meaning without explaining it directly.   Consider the "Scruffy Haired Nerf Herder" line from Star Wars or the Use of the Klingon word "peta'Q".  In both cases, they are not properly defined in their first use, but the times where they are used contextually imply what they are.   Starr Wars later confirmed what a "Nerf" is, specifically stating their a disgusting livestock animal, but the audience already knew it was something that was really demeaning to herd because Han responds to the insult by taking offense to the mildly insulting use of "Scruffy" and ignores the implication of being a Nerf Herder.  We instantly see this as along the line of someone calling a woman "a cheap whore" to which the woman responds "How dare you call me 'cheap'?".  The joke is that they are only insulted when the insult is untrue... if you're gonna be a whore, at least be a high end one, amiright?
Similarly, the word "peta'Q" is frequently used as a fighting word insult in Klingon, with it's frequent use by them and the mild reactions of non-Klingons so insulted to the near murderous rage of Klingons so insulted.   It was later confirmed that the word means "dishonored" and the implication is that it's a rather crass way to say it which is why it always comes through the Universal Translator even when the Klingons are speaking English.  The best word to describe the contextual meaning of "peta'Q" doesn't translate into anything in English.  It would be like a human calling an alien "You Mother f--ker!" and the alien gets the translation of "you father!".  The F-Word's practical translation is not carrying the implied meaning of the word.
Prayers and other ritual recitations may also remain intact even if the translation is pretty standard if the religion requires use of a certain language.  This is fairly common as Judism, Catholics (until to Vatican II), and Islam all require readings be done in specific language (Hebrew, Latin, and Arabic respectively) and this was common among the religious on Star Trek and one of the few ways the Vulcan and Bajoran languages were used.
Another trick is to not invent new words but a new alphabet and keep the English spelling.  You can uses more than 26 characters (I'm fond of paring "Sh", "Ch", "Th", and "Qu" separate symbols than their constituent letters).   One thing that commonly comes up that is interesting is that if a cypher-text is spoken, it's commonly held to sound nothing like the words spelled (D.C. comics has two of these languages, in Kryptonian and Interlac.  Both use English words and convert each letter to a symbol with a one to one translation, but spoken Kryptonian sounds vaguely Nordic and Interlac sounds equally different.).   This does occasionally occur in real langues, for example, Mandarin and Japanese do not sound a like and it's fairly easy to tell the difference upon sound.  However, the written Mandarin and Japanese are fairly so similar that a person who can speak and read only one language can still read the other with minimal information loss.  Even languages with the same alphabet use different sounds for different letters.  For example, English pronounces the letters "U" "V" "W"  as "You", "Vee", and "Double-You" respectively, but German pronounces the letters "Oooh", "Vay", and "Double-Vey".   Even dialects will change the pronunciation as the letters "H" and "Z" depending on what nation you're from with British English using "Hayche" and "Zed" while American pronunciation being "Ayche" and "Zee" (one British Commedain performing in America drew attention to common British English things Americans get confused by quipped that he pronounces "H" the way he does because "There's a feakin' H in it."  He then conceded that the Americans do have a better building floor numbering system where the ground floor is the first floor as opposed to the British, where the Ground Floor was the floor on the ground and the next level up is the first floor, because "That's how Numbers work").
If you're doing a play, one of the best "speaking a different language" gags can be seen in the British Comedy "'Allo 'Allo'" where the actors are all British, but are playing characters centered around French Resistance in a small provincial village during Nazi occupation.  All characters speak in a ridiculous accent of their nationality.  When necessary for humor, a characters accent will represent the language they are speaking in, so if a French character starts speaking in a German accent English, the other French-accented English speakers will hear him speaking German.  Typically these changes will be given a  quick acknowledgement by non-speakers as scenes where two different accented characters talk, it's usually assumed both are speaking the same language but the non-native speaker has a notable accent of his/her native language.  Typically, the character changing his accent denotes an attempt to sound like a native speaker.  Additionally, a running gag was that all English speakers (who use very exagerated English accents peppered with frequent use of "Britishisms" and idioms) were portrayed as fluent French Speakers, but terrible at pronunciations, and depicted this by giving their dialog in French accents, but the dialog was always littered with malapropism (the recurring English Intelligence officer, who was undercover as the towns police officer, would enter every seen with a greeting of "Good Moaning" when he meant to use good morning) and only the French were aware of the poor speaking skills (the Germans always believed he was speaking proper French).   The English were always unable to understand any other language while speaking with British accents, so the malapropisms were always their "French Accent" and the show gave different explinations as to why it was consistently mispronounced (the British believed that they were using thick Parisian accents, which the main characters couldn't understand due to their provincial French accents.  The French characters just thought it was because the British were idiots.   Both are plausible as the British could be using a different dialect, but were still idiots for not realizing most of France is not Paris).
Other works, normally when dubbing into a different language from the work, may depict sterotypes traditionally associated with accents in their native even if characters wouldn't use that accent if they learned the second language fluently.  For example, in Japan, most American characters will use an Osakan Accent, even though the Americans who learn Japanese will speak with a Tokyo accent like the Japanese nationals in the work.   The reason for this is that the Japanese Sterotype of Americans has a lot in common with that of Osakans (and Japanese media is usually made in Tokyo, so the creative staff will see it as familar).   Similarly, when Japanese Media hits the United States, Osakan characters will usually be given Brooklyn or Southern American accents, as their much more hot headed and boisterous characteristics fit with American associations with those accents.  Additionally, an overly polite character in Japanese usually gets a Queen's English Accent as the Japanese character is overly using honorifics which to Japanese sounds overly proper.  The English language doesn't have honorifics to the extent of the Japanese language, and Americans rarely use the ones they do have.  But Americans do see Queen's English accents as being overly proper.
Another example is German accents where the Americans do have an ear for a few different accents, ranging from a Prussian/Norhtern German (Typically these characters are the Nazis who yell "Macht Schnell" or are brutal and efficient and almost mechanical), the southern/Bavarian accent (much more polite and friendly, even when being honest.  Typically the Nazi Scientists or the Nazi that insists that they are not barbarians and exude culture.  Or Swiss).  The other two are more Austrian though rarely called that and are more based on two different individuals speaking styles.  The first is "Clearly this is Hitler" and is often loud, grandios, and speaking to orderly mass columns of followers who have already organized into a military formation and with no concept of an indoor voice.  The second is "The Arnold" after Arnold Schwarzenegger which range from "Defiantly a killer robot pretending to sound human," to "the one good guy with a German accent" to "clearly Action Movie Hero Arnold in a film that was not written for him to be the lead role" (both Characters were Austrians, though the Austrians are happy to not be associated with the former and the latter is more of an American-Immigrant dream come from a not very remarkable Europe, and become famous, rich, and become the hot guy all the women want to be with and all the guys want to be.).  Arnold's accent is also kind of goofy nievity, and it's clearly exaggerated in his later films (Arnold does not talk nearly like that in Real Life these days)...  clearly he can act... but he can't get rid of the accent (and it's half the fun of seeing his films).
Interestingly, Germans do see similar accents, but not always in the same light.  Where American sees Bavarian Germans as scientists who are more cultured and jovial in than their more barbaric northern/Prussian brothers, Germans see Bavarian accents not to dissimilar to the way English speakers see the American Southern accent (Drunken backwards hicks) and when they dubbed "Hogan's heroes" all German characters in the series (of which only the two regulars were not Nazis) were given ridiculous over the top Bavarian accents... not only pointing out that the Nazi Party formed in the region, but also pointing out that everyone who joined was stupid or drunk or both, and usually very much the first).
Answer: Yes, writing a new language for you story is quite challenging. In working on fictional languages in the past, I started by determining what sounds the nationality uses (there are hundreds of basics sounds used in English, but most people stick with the Phoenician alphabet for simplicity's sake), then deciding on a subject phrase syntax (subject-adjective-affinitive is a good one - "Car red drives" = the reader know what the subject is before it is described), conjunctions, articles, pronouns, affixes and suffixes (if your language uses that system), and finally a list of nouns and a list of pronouns. A randomly-generated list of nouns, verbs, and adjectives should work well enough to toy with. After that, try writing in your language and see what kinds of shortfalls it has, and fix them as you go along. This process is similar to how languages are born in the first place.
BUT (and I can't stress this enough) I wouldn't mess with this during NaNoWriMo. If the words absolutely need to be there and you can't just say, 'The alien gurgled and smacked angrily, like a half-full water balloon falling down stairs' (which is usually the MUCH better answer).
If you must have your own language, then just type nonsense words that are phoenetically acceptable for now. If you come up with rules or words on the fly, write them down in a notebook sitting by your computer (or typewriter or whatever) and figured out the pieces later. If you are determined to do this, then more power to you, but be forewarned that writing a simple and functional language is a similar amount of work to writing a full novel. So you are doubling your work.
Some tips to help you work with character who are speaking in a foreign tongue:

Assume your story is translated into English from whatever language the Point-Of-View character speaks ("Vikings" on the History Channel is a great example of this). Usually, it is more helpful to describe what the language sounds like than it is to throw a scramble of letters onto the page; to the reader, after all, that's exactly what your language looks like.
Proper nouns should be maintained in their native language unless they are constructed from common nouns, in which case you have the option of translating those basic nouns into English. In my story, for instance, dragons are named stuff like 'Blight' and 'Calamity' and 'Ravage' and 'Fellwind' so I translate their names for the reader's convenience. Other less meaningful names like 'Kebra' and 'Toumi' remain as-is because there is no special meaning that is important to the reader.
Avoid anachronisms. pick an Earth time-range that fits the technological setting your story takes place in, and stick to words and references that are normal for that era. In futuristic Earth-based tales, you can use classic references like Bach and Batman, but should avoid off-classics like 'How I Met Your Mother' and 'Glee.'
Objects that exist only in your world, for which there is no English word, can have a special name, but it should be short and memorable.
Words spoken in your fictional language should be rare, and should be italicized. "Yabeed?"
Don't spew gobbledygook if you can avoid it. No matter how cool it is, if the reader doesn't understand it, then it shouldn't be there. There are rare cases where a specific word is actually a plot clue stuffed into the gobbledygook, in which case you can have at it.
Make it easy to pronounce. If it is being represent in English, the characters should follow English rules.
Keep the basics of your languag into consideration. Watching foreign films is great awareness for this. Apple, acorn, and avid all start with 'a' in English, but suddenly potato, toad, and doll all begin with 'yavat' in your made-up language. You MUST keep this in mind.
Your langue may not be letter=sound. My current story features two languages, one of which is a glyph language (similar to traditional Chinese), and one of which is syllable-based, where they still have a sound-and-letter alphabet, but children quickly learn to use the advanced symbols that represent whole syllables at a time. I have to keep that in mind, as there are several scene when character are learning to read or write.

Finally, don't get 'World-Building Disease,' where you develop your world so much and so often that it gets in the way of your writing time and prevents you from getting published. I promise you that if writing is your big dream, writing is what you should be doing. Writing a new language is tertiary, at best. I can't tell you how many hours I wasted on a similar envdevor, once. No matter how excited I was, I couldn't make it work, and had to scrap it in a fit of frustration, having wasted 3 years of writing time on something the reader was never even going to see.
Answer: Here is how I dealt with Lissien, the language in my dragon book.

Pick a few root words and use them a lot. This gives readers an idea of what you mean, through repetition and similarity. Thus the dragons are Lissai, their language Lissien, an adolescent dragon is a glissond, an adult female an olissair, a clan leader is a hlissak, the king is hlissosak, leaders of other animal species are called hlisskans, the unit of distance is a lisstal (one dragon wingspan), etc.
Most of the foreign words I used were for titles, alien flora and fauna, measurements of distance and time, and coinage (unicoins, carved from unicorn horns).
I tried to use names that are suggestive. So instead of Maple trees, I call them Spin-nut trees (because that is what Maple seeds are). I called oil "liosh", tar "osh" and tar pit became oshpit. A sea serpent I called a lebyatan, suggesting Leviathan, the Biblical sea serpent. Triceratops I called "dryzerdops". Tigers I called "taggers".
Try to reserve the alien words for important plot points or to increase versimilitude. I created a dragon sport, a board game, and a legal system.
Names are tricky. I tried to capture appearance or character. A hot-tempered Red Dragon was Anspark. A sweet-talking political leader I named Tongaroi (from Tongue and a word meaning Royal). A dragon leader prone to fury I called Lofty K'fuur. A maroon colored dragon I named K'Maron. A rouge colored one I named Rougelek.

Good luck!


rhythmbox won't play certain songs

Question: For the most part Rhythmbox works fine. However, there is one song in my library that it refuses to play, or add to any playlist. VLC will take it, and Audacity will as well, but Rhythmbox will just exit silently. Running with -d yields a similar output to the other non-broken MP3s. For what it's worth, I'm running Rhythmbox 2.96 with Ubuntu 12.04 Help?
Comment: Could you explain in more details how you discovered what was the issue and how to solve it? You can answer your own question below, and mark it as accepted so people that might find in the same situation as you were know why is happening, and how to solve it.
Comment: I think there was some error in the MP3 file that caused it to fail. Opening it with Audacity and saving it removed the error, so now it works. Case closed or something.
Answer: Make a copy of your mp3, open it in Audacity and make a tiny inessential edit in it, perhaps cutting a little bit of time off the blank space at the end of it, and then save your mp3 at a slightly higher bitrate. Select File -> Export and from the Export File window select Options -> Specify MP3 Options -> and then change the Quality settings to a slightly higher bitrate. When you Export the mp3, redo every entry in the Edit Metadata window to make sure that the metadata tags for your exported mp3 have been entered correctly.
Comment: The OP has indicated that this has worked - so I've undeleted it +1

rhythmbox won't play certain songs


Using SharePoint via Office Hub on Windows Phone 7

Question: What settings are required to connect to SharePoint via the Office Hub on Windows Phone 7?  I've heard so many contradictory things that I have no idea what it takes.  Is it using claims auth? classic auth, while on an intranet?
Comment: Where is your SharePoint environment?  Is it internally hosted, SharePoint Online, hosted online somewhere else?
Comment: Corporate 2007 environment, Dev 2010 environment. Looking at using hosted sharepoint 2010 implementation, but need to know what works with the phone.
Answer: Currently the web application needs to support anonymous or forms-based authentication (which requires claims), because Windows Phone 7 does not support Windows authentication. I think you can also use Basic authentication but wouldn't recommend it.
There are ways to implement FBA so that the credentials map to AD using an LDAP authentication provider.
The Microsoft recommended solution, for an intranet situation, is to use Forefront UAG if possible. This translates from FBA to Windows so you don't need to do a lot of work on your SharePoint configuration. But of course you have to implement (and pay for) UAG.
This may well all change with the Mango release in late 2011. I think a lot of people will be waiting for an update to WP7 to support Windows authentication rather than try to get it working.
Comment: Thank you.  I'll set this up in my dev environment and see if i can get it to work.
Comment: There are some caveats to this. First, NTLM works fine for domain names without dots in them. Fully qualified domain names fail, but the old netbios style names work because WP7 trusts them. Also, there are reported cases of claims working without FBA. See Jason Taraby's response in this thread: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/winphone/forum/wp7-sync/sharepoint-doesnt-support-this-authentication/5ba8116a-6955-4486-b19e-c93affa346a8?page=4&tab=AllReplies
Comment: No, sorry, NTLM authentication is not (yet) available on Windows Phone 7 for accessing web services or the Office Hub. And to those people down-voting me - please don't shoot the messenger! Tom, you can access SharePoint using NTLM from the browser using NetBIOS-style domain names (which IE assumes are trusted), but not the Office Hub.


How can I make windows 8 shutdown automaticaly after a set amount of time?

Question: Is there a way to set a timer that will automatically switch my laptop off after a given amount of time?
I like listening to music before bed and at the moment I need to get up to turn the laptop off.
Comment: Here you go: http://superuser.com/questions/215531/how-can-i-shut-down-the-pc-after-specified-amount-of-time
Answer: 2 ways to set up Windows 8/8.1 auto shutdown:

Way 1: Set up Windows 8/8.1 auto shutdown through run command.
Step 1: Open Run dialog box.
Press Windows key+X to open the Quick Access Menu, and choose Run in it. BTW, you can also press Windows key and R key at the same time to directly open Run dialog box.
Step 2: Enter a shutdown command in the empty box.
The command inputted is a little dissimilar according to different time you want to set up to automatically shut down your computer. For more info, please refer to the following example.
If you want to make the computer automatically turn off in 30 minutes, you can type "shutdown –s –t 1800" or "shutdown.exe –s –t 1800" (without double quotation marks) in the box and click OK.
Tips: The number, 1800, in the command stands for 1800 seconds. That is to say, the computer will turn off after 1800 seconds (30 minutes). Moreover, you can decide the time to make the computer automatically shut down by changing the number in the form of seconds in this command.
Then, the system will prompt you that you're about to be signed off.

Way 2: Set up Windows 8/8.1 auto shutdown through Task Scheduler.
Step 1: Right-click Computer and select Manage in the menu to open Computer Management.
Step 2: Click Task Scheduler on the left list to open it, and choose Create Basic Task on the right side.
Step 3: Input shutdown as the basic task name and tap Next to move on.
Step 4: In Trigger, choose when do you want the task to start from Daily, Weekly, Monthly, One time, When the computer starts, When I log on and When a specific event is logged. After that, click Next.
Step 5: Set the start date, shutdown time and frequency. Then, tap Next to continue.
Step 6: In Action, make sure Start a program is selected and click Next.
Step 7: In Start a Program, enter C:\Windows\System32\shutdown.exe as the program/script name, input -s as argument and tap Next.
Step 8: In the next interface, click Finish to complete the settings.
Source: http://www.isunshare.com/windows-8/windows-8-8.1-auto-shutdown-how-to-set-up.html
Answer: the shutdown.exe command, built into Windows, will do the trick.  Here is an article explaining how to use it.
Or type the following for an interactive GUI:
shutdown /i
Answer: I know how to do that in Windows 7 but I guess that is almost the same process like in Windows 8. Basically all what you need to do is to enter in Control Panel / System and Security / Administrative Tools and then click on Task Scheduler where you can menage all the things not only for shutdown but also and for other actions. Here you can see how it works step by step just follow text in this blog :


How do I fix my video and audio on mac

Question: I have just recently experienced a problem with my finder, iTunes and others applications on my mac, but I used the safe boot solution and it worked , the apps are now responding, but I have movies and music on my iTunes and I tried watching the videos on vlc but it's saying that my mac lacks quartz extreme acceleration who's is required for video output and my iTunes is not playing any of the songs and the volume is not working as well. Thanks
Answer: If you're indicating that you're in Safe Boot and your audio is not working on the built-in speakers of your Mac... that's expected. Safe Boot is a testing environment only and some things simply do not function there due to the imposed limitations of Safe Boot, for the purpose of testing.
If Safe Boot fixed your primary issue, then simply restart. If the issue is still resolved, then hooray. If not, then you have something causing an issue in at least one of the following locations: Launch Agents, Launch Daemons, Startup Items, or Login Items.

How do I fix my video and audio on mac


USB tethering question

Question: I plan to switch from Windows to Ubuntu tomorrow but my PC doesn't use an ethernet cable because I haven't had a hole drilled in my wall and etc, and I'm using either my phone (Samsung Galaxy Trend Lite S7390) or my tablet (Vonino Onyx Qs) with USB tethering, and my question is: Does Ubuntu 14.04 support USB tethering from Android devices?
Answer: Yes, Android's USB tethering shows up as an USB RNDIS device, which has been supported in the Linux kernel for several years.
Comment: Ok, thanks! I had ti manually install the drivers on Windows 8 so I wasn't sure Ubuntu was gonna support it.
Answer: yes for sure! you just have to enable it in your android settings:

if you got troubles or want more clients to use this connection, you can also establish a WiFi-hotspot in the same menu (as highlighted in the picture).

USB tethering question


Highcharts export in IE malformed

Question: Our app that uses Highcharts 2.2.1 fails to render any export options (JPG, PNG and PDF) properly in IE10.
Generally applies to all chart types which are malformed in result.
In spline type, a weird transform of data points is being done with this result, they are transformed to a grey strong line. Seems like the original spline border is thicker and in front of points (just a guess). In Piechart mode, original colors are transformed to grey. This also happens in Column charts.
As I am not able to insert here more than 2 links, so I include weird behaviour images for spline chart type, which is probably worst:
original chart screenshot
exported chart - image taken from export directly
Answer: In Highcharts 3.0, we rebuild some elements in Core, so I advice to update to Highcharts 3.0.2 and to the newest jquery, then all problems should disappear.

Highcharts export in IE malformed


Why doesn't the Gospel of Peter, who was given the keys to the kingdom of heaven, lead the new testament?

Question: St Peter was the first to recognise Jesus as Lord. He was the only desciple to be given the keys to the kingdom of heaven. 1 Chorinthians 15:5 says that the resurrected christ came to him first and not to the others. He was the first Bishop of Rome and crucified himself upside down in commemoration of Christ. Therefore, with these 5 accolades which the other desciples do not pocess, he should be leading the new testament and not a tax collector called Matthew. This makes a basphemy of Christ who gave the keys to the kingdom of heaven to St Peter and not to Matthew, Mark, Luke or John.
Comment: It's important to know that just because a document *says* it is written by Peter, or anyone, that doesn't always mean it is. There are plenty of other 'gospels' around that we can be sure were not written by the people named as authors.
Comment: Welcome to Christianity.SE. For a quick overview, please take the [Site Tour](http://christianity.stackexchange.com/tour). And for more about what's on-topic here, please see: [What topics can I ask about here?](http://christianity.stackexchange.com/help/on-topic). As it is, your question seems more like a statement than an actual question. Though it is likely to be closed, I do hope you'll spend some time browsing the questions and answers here.
Comment: Robin, it is in the Gospel of Matthew that the passing of the keys is recorded.  Might not that non trivial assignment be considered of some importance in deciding how to arrange the canonical books?   I'll leave the issue of the provenance of the books of Peter to others.  The other point is that the Gospels have teachings of Jesus in them, which would influence any decision on "what books come first" in a collection of the canonical sources.
Answer: We don't know exactly why the four canonical Gospels were chosen and the other Gospels excluded.  We certainly don't know why there were arranged in the order that they were.  However, the following issues may have played major roles.
(1)  Apostolic authority.  Matthew and John were believed by early Christians to have been written by their namesakes, and Mark was believed to have written down the testimony of Peter.  Luke is an oddball in this regard, but at least it was accepted to be a genuine work of Luke the physician.  The Gospel of Peter was (and is) believed to be a forgery, not actually written by Peter.
(2)  Antiquity.  The four canonical Gospels are the oldest Gospels we now possess.  They may or may not have been the oldest Gospels known to the early Christians, but they were certainly very ancient, having been written some time before 100 CE.  The Gospel of Peter, in contrast, was probably written in the second century.
(3)  Order of production.  It was believed that the Gospels were written in the order given in our modern Bibles, which may explain why they were arranged that way.  (See Augustine's Harmony of the Gospels 1.2, for instance.)
(4)  Orthodoxy.  The four canonical Gospels were interpreted as orthodox in their theology.  In contrast, the Gospel of Peter was believed to support the Docetic heresy.
In my opinion, momentum was probably also a major factor.  Once the four canonical Gospels were grouped together, adding or subtracting from them would have meant changing the standard, which is (IMO) harder to do than to get the standard started in the first place.  But this is just my opinion, and nothing I have heard from scholars.  In contrast, the four points above are well-known to scholarship.
Comment: They are arranged by what was believed to be their chronological order of authorship. They didn't have the Markian primacy theories at that time apparently and since then the order became standard. http://christianity.stackexchange.com/a/43535/24841 I know you mention this but your intro makes it sound like we don't know at all.


Why doesn't radioactive water emit radiation?

Question: Why is standing by a pool of water used to store radioactive depleted rods safe whereas standing by a radioactive piece of metal is harmful? Why is the water in the second loop of a two-loop reactor not radioactive if it is so close (but not touching) to the contaminated/radioactive water of the first loop?
Answer: I will assume that for the pool of water distilled water is used.
As we know, water molecules consist of Oxygen atoms and Hydrogen atoms.
In order for any substance to become a source of radioactivity some of its atoms must be transmuted to a radioactive material.
My understanding is that there is some probability of a Hydrogen nucleus capturing a neutron, turning the Hydrogen into Deuterium. However, Deuterium is stable; not a source of radioactivity.
There is some probability of Deuterium capturing a neutron, turning the Deuterium into Tritium. Tritium has a half life of 12 years.
But clearly the rate of production of Tritium will be very low.
My understanding is that the possible transmutations of Oxygen are into stable isotopes of Nitrogen and Fluorine

Hence in order for the water in the pool to become activated: metal from conduits and so on dissolves into the water at some non-zero rate; these atoms can become activated.
Source of this information:
Answer to question on Quora:
Does water become radioactive after being used in nuclear power plant?

[Later addition]
So we have that the water of a storage facility pool is activated to only a very small degree.
That raises the question: if the activity of the radioactivity is denied opportunity to activate another substance, where does the energy go?
The energy ends up as heat, and that's it.
The emitted radiation is energetic, so it will knock water molecules into separate atoms. Those loose atoms quickly encounter each other again, and form a bond. This bond formation generates heat.
Neutrons decay into a proton and an electron and a neutrino, the proton and electron soon encounter each other and combine, creating a Hydrogen atom, and some heat.
Answer: This always depends on the specifics. You have three questions:

Why doesn't radioactive water emit radiation? If it's radioactive, e.g. because it's tritiated, it does: by definition.
Why is standing by a pool of water used to store radioactive depleted rods safe? The water in this case is a shielding against the radioactivity emitted by the depleted rods. So it is safe because the water does what it's put there for: shield you from the radioactivity of the rods.
Why is the water in the second loop of a two-loop reactor not radioactive if it is so close to contaminated/radioactive stuff? For that it would need to get "activated". Activation is possible depending on the type of radioactivity (neutrons in particular do that) and the type of material (water doesn't get activated easily). So it will become a bit radioactive, just not nearly as much as the rods themselves.
Comment: Whatever water does or does not do, I am certain its causes causes were not about definitions.
Comment: Thank you, "The water in this case is a shielding" Why is water so special? What are its physical/chemical properties that make water so special that it is used as a shielding?
Comment: it's cheap. it contains lots of hydrogen which has the same mass than neutrons so it moderates neutrons well, i.e. they loose their kinetic energy quickly. plus it's liquid and thus can be pumped around.

Why doesn’t radioactive water emit radiation?


Questions about devices which take pictures, but where the camera is not the "first" feature: on-topic?

Question: The question How to get photos off iPhone 4 wirelessly has generated controversy about whether it is on topic. Is it?
Answer: The question is more important than the device. If it was a question about taking the pictures, it would most likely be on-topic, regardless of the device.
In this case the question is not about photography or photo editing at all, which places it in a grey zone at best. It might barely pass for on-topic just because the files to transfer happens to he photos, but in this case I think it would be better to transfer the question to superuser. There it can actally be a clearly on-topic question, and you are more likely to find users that is able to answer the question.
Comment: I was the original poster. I think my question is on topic because it deals with photographic workflow. The iPhone is much more useful as a photographic tool if one could automate getting photos off the camera, rather than having to wait to use a cable to do so. Moreover, it's not merely files being transferred, but photos with metadata, to be placed in appropriate folders, perhaps uploaded to photo sharing sites, to be done automatically in background. As it happens, before the thread closed, I got the correct answer on it, to use the Eye-Fi app. So, the process worked ...
Answer: Here's my point of view. Yes, it's on topic, because the distinction between "camera" and "device which takes pictures and also does other stuff" is blurring. So whether the camera is the first feature listed or the last is not relevant.
Thought experiments:

What if the question were about transferring photos from the Nikon D90?
What if it were about transferring photos from some other DSLR that had wireless connectivity?
What if it were about a Pentax K200D, which presents as a USB Mass Storage device just like a hard disk?
What if Ansel Adams were asking how to transfer photos from his iPhone?
What if the question were about transferring photos from a newly announced Canon G99 high-end P&S and the trendy feature du jour was that the camera could also make phone calls?
What if the OP had said he wanted to transfer the photos so he could import them into Lightroom and do fancy things with them?

Now if the question were about general iPhone file transfer, I would agree that it's off-topic. But it's not, it's about photos specifically. We don't know whether the OP is going to just shovel them onto Facebook or do something more sophisticated.
Keep in mind that books have been published containing "serious" photos taken solely with the iPhone.
I think that by saying that this question is off-topic here, we would be treading dangerously close to saying that the iPhone can't be used by "serious" photographers, which is a value judgement IMO we shouldn't be making.
Final notes:

I agree that it's also on topic on Super User.
I don't believe it's a particularly exciting question, but that doesn't make it off topic.
Comment: I don't think anyone would try to make the distinction that iPhones can't be used by "serious" photographers...I use my iPhone all the time. I think the simple point is that the question pertains to a fundamental technical operation of the iPhone, and while photos are the subject of the transfer, the answer about "how" is something the person asking the question is *much more likely to get an answer for* at superuser.com. The goal here is to get the asker help. If the question was "can I import photos from my iPhone directly into Lightroom", I think thats a much more on-topic question here.
Comment: Agree on the goal. But supposing that the OP would get better help at Super User, does that make it off-topic here? That seems orthogonal.
Comment: What if Ansel Adams were asking about how to ride a bike? I think that the profession of the one asking the question is totally irrelevant.
Comment: @Guffa, the point is that AA is obviously a serious photographer, and the purpose of that thought experiment is to demonstrate that the "seriousness" of the iPhone user should not be relevant.
Comment: I am not sure whether it is off-topic or on-topic here...thats what Guffa's thread is about. ;-) I don't think it really fits just because the word "Photos" was used. But on/off topic aside, I do think the question is more relevant at superuser, and as such, I think the asker is likely to get more answers with more relevance than here. I would have the same questions about someone asking something like "How can I connect my Nikon D90 to my computer?" Sure, its about a Nikon D90, but this site is **"Photography and Photo Editing"**...and such a question still fits better at superuser.


Lower abs not hurting

Question: I am doing excercise cruches for abs but my upper and near chest only hurt while lower down I don't see any effect at all. Why is this are abs are worked out separately for lower middle and upper ? Moreover I am feeling backpain while doing crunches just behind upper abs is that normal
Answer: Your focus isn't to train the upper / mid / lower abs -- crunches only target the rectus abdominis. In addition, crunches places unnecessary strain on your back, which would explain the LBP.  Try to think of your core as layers rather than sections.
The core and low back muscles work together. The transverse abdominis (TrA) is the first muscle that fires literally every time you move. If you can keep your (TrA) correctly activated you're on the way to more efficient movement, a stronger body, decreasing your pain etc.

Here's a better alternative to crunches
The plank with hip flexion adds emphasis to key foundation areas including your shoulders, torso, and deep spinal stabilizers.

Planks with Hip Flexion

Start in a push-up position with your hands beneath your shoulders
and feet shoulder-width apart.
Keeping your hips and torso still, draw one knee toward your chest.
Return to the starting position and repeat with the opposite leg.
Answer: This is because crunches mainly target the upper abs.
To target the lower abs I suggest doing hanging leg raises or reverse crunches. If hanging leg raises are to hard for you at the moment you can also do leg raises while laying on the floor. Static holds (like planking for instance) will also develop your abs overall.
About the pain as you describe it, does that feel like pain in any muscle or is your back hurting from laying on the ground? I never felt anything like that before while doing crunches.

Lower abs not hurting


Adjective for this kind of personality

Question: What's a word for someone who likes the finer things in life - classy taste, but makes do and replicates that expensive taste with cheap things?
Comment: Realistic? Responsible? Normal? Average? Intelligent? Unaffected? Budget-conscious? Or are you looking for a negative word, and if so, why? Can you provide more context?
Comment: ...... typical? (taking 'cheap' to mean 'less expensive' rather than 'trashy')
Answer: While not limited to affecting expensive trappings, the term poseur (or poser) is often used to mean

a person who assumes attitudes or manners merely for their effect upon others

It also may not reflect a true appreciation for quality, but merely the impression it conveys.
[Collins American Dictionary]
A related concept is veneer of respectability.  One of Macmillan's definitions of veneer is

a pleasant appearance, or a polite way of behaving that is not sincere:
  a veneer of respectability

Again, this is not limited to luxury goods.
Answer: Cheapskate implies someone who always find ways to pay less or as little as possible, but does not imply poor, and would often be used towards someone who has means, but still wants to spend like a tightarse.

Adjective for this kind of personality